Daybook Musings: A New Turn

Today: February 15, 2021

By definition, a daybook is simply a journal or diary. I love journals. Prayer Journals. Art Journals. Project Journals. Bullet Journals.

I especially love paper & pen, but keyboards will suffice as well.

Years ago, on a different blog, I used to occasionally post along with Peggy at The Simple Woman. I always enjoy reading these brief glimpses into a writer’s week, so I thought I would pick up the habit again.

Looking out my window…it is another dreary day – cold and wet – but the birds are at the feeders that I put up in the yard a few weeks ago. I also throw seed out onto my back deck, which is messy, but the deck is decrepit and falling apart anyway and that brings the ground feeders closer to my window. So far I have been visited by flocks of goldfinches, sparrows, chickadees, and dark-eyed juncos, as well as a few bluebirds and hermit thrushes, a pair of cardinals, a pair of mourning doves, a downy woodpecker, and a rarely seen blue jay. I have a lot of trees in my 1-acre yard and I love the sounds and sights of nature here on our shady corner lot.

One of my favorite things… is my electric tea kettle. I didn’t become a tea drinker until about 10 years ago or so, but now I’m a huge fan and drink it daily! I got my first electric tea kettle about a year and a half ago, and I set up a drink station on the desk in my kitchen, with the tea kettle, coffee maker, mugs, basket of teas, coffee grounds, sweetener, spoons. It makes me happy, as does my pretty, floral Pioneer Woman mug filled with Carrot Cake Rooibos tea. Yum.

I am thankful…to have my mother here for an extended visit. My dad passed away the week before Christmas, and at the very end of December my mom came down here to North Carolina to see her grandchildren and great-grandbaby, to rest and relax after months of caring for Dad, and to get a reprieve from the New England winter. It has been many years since she has been able to leave him to travel down here, so it has been a treat to have her with me. She has a comfy chair and ottoman in the guest room, as well as her sewing machine and a television, so she is quite content and has been reading, sewing, and working puzzles on her iPad. My hubby goes walking with her at the park most days, and sometimes I go too. Between our streaming services and DVD collection, I have introduced her to a number of my favorite movies that she has somehow never seen – live action Mulan and Aladdin; Julie & Julia; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Prince Caspian; Blast from the Past; 100 Foot Journey; Jojo Rabbit; We Bought a Zoo. She dries the dishes each night while I wash, since my dishwasher needs repair. I am sharing my stash of chocolate with her.

I am also thankful for good friends, and even though it took us a while, three of my besties and I (a Cali girl, two Carolina girls, and a Caribbean girl) are now connected on Marco Polo and even though I can’t hug them, I love seeing their faces and hearing their voices! This Friday night I will be with another group of girlfriends for our monthly Wine Club, and that is always such a fun night! I’ve recently reconnected with both my college roommate and a high school friend via email after many years of little more than a Christmas card, and I’m so glad to have them back in my life as well. There are a few other friends who are dear to me, and while I don’t get to see them often, they have permanent residence in a corner of my heart.

I am learning….about blogging. I started this blog about 6 months ago but feel like I am just learning the ropes. I just purchased a bundle from Elite Blog Academy called The EBA New Blogger’s Toolbox, which includes over a dozen e-books or resources and have been reading, reading, reading and learning, learning, learning. I swing back and forth – sometimes hourly – between “do I really want to do this?” and “this will be fun!”.

I am watching… Heartland (season 2); Virgin River (season 1); All Creatures Great and Small (PBS – just started); Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. I don’t watch a lot of TV, but sometimes at night after Mark goes to bed I will watch something for an hour or two or three. I tend to be a night owl, but I’m trying to be better about my sleep schedule.

I am creating… in my Art Room, which I was able to quickly organize in the girls’ old bedroom at the same time we were redecorating the boys’ old bedroom to create a Guest Room for my mom’s visit. We moved around furniture between several rooms, and now the Art Room has the extra long twin bed as a “daybed” and extra place for someone to nap or spend the night (thinking down the road to someone coming over for sleepovers at Grammie’s house!). We moved an old, black painted dining table that once belonged to my in-laws into that room to serve as my art table, and I bought a tiered rolling cart to corral some of my art supplies. I am still organizing the space, but I love having a place just for my creating, and look forward to many productive hours there.

Quote to share…

“Don’t shine so others can see you. Shine so that through you others can see Him.” ~ C.S. Lewis

Closing thoughts… if you’ve read through this post, just know that I am grateful you are here. I hope you’ll come back often and join me in this little journey to form a community and spread positivity here at Retired Homeschool Mom. I’d love for you to comment and let me know who you are and what you think.

Read more posts in A Simple Woman’s Daybook HERE.