MONDAY MUSINGS: IN NEED OF MOSEYING AROUND

Mosey: to move in a leisurely manner.

My husband and I decided this past weekend was to be designated rest and relaxation, and furthermore, we planned it to be a three-day weekend for us. We both needed it and Dan had been giving me the, ‘you’re doing too much and need to pull back on the work schedule’, lecture. He’s right, not that I wanted to admit it to him, lol!

My schedule has been incredibly brutal the past few months. I've had to put in several six-day workweeks, which left me worn out and cranky. Everything, including things I normally enjoy doing, became an effort. I realized my husband was correct when I finished up my workweek on the fourth so tired I cried. So, I took off a week to indulge in moseying mode. Most of last week was sleep and rest approach to it. Once I felt relatively rested and human again, I hauled out my list of spring chores and broke them down into small projects and leisurely made my way through the top of the list. I’m not going to angst over page two onward. Just doing it in a steady manner and have accomplished quite a bit without exhausting myself.

I designate each nice morning to sitting in the sunshine and watch nature at work and it’s perfect for contemplating life, hearing my thoughts. I spend some afternoons lying in the warm sun getting in touch with the peace of nature and watching the clouds. Sunshine is great accompaniment coffee drinking and reading. It puts my life into perspective.

I want to start walking a half a mile a day in the early mornings. I need the regular exercise to get those endorphins going in my system after a winter of sedentary life. It gives you energy to tackle the rest of life with a measure of enjoyment. Relaxing allows for my creativity to revive. I actually felt like writing and have done several poems—my favorite therapy, let me tell you, that felt pretty good. Been feeling like an amputee lately because I had no energy or desire to write.

Friday we headed down to my sister’s and spent the day. We had a blast. Afterward, Dan took me out to dinner. We had a nice leisurely dinner involving wine, good conversation, lots of laughter, just unwinding, and making plans. It was a good day.

Saturday and Sunday I moseyed up to the kitchen table to enjoy breakfast prepared by my extraordinary breakfast cook, aka, my husband Dan. I did a lot of moseying around the homestead this weekend. I puttered in the garden areas, clearing dead stuff out, raking the protective covering of leaves away, while listening to the birds and the wind in the trees. We were able to get a few projects done inside. Sunday was mowing the lawn before this week’s rains come in. We had some spot work to do on the roof where a limb had broken off the tree in the back brushed the back of the house during heavy winds. Dan and my son Jake took care of that while I did other things.

One of the good things about having the time to hear my thoughts and be reflective is I've determined I need less stress in my life and in work. So, I’m looking at training in another skill that’s much less intensive so I do have time to let my creativity out to play. I don’t do well when I’m on the New York minute and I’m out of balance.

This has been a nice mosey along week. I’m enjoying it.

• How about you? Have you had time to mosey? Or are you on the New York time clock?

SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS...?

Well busy, hot, and sweaty. I swear there are times there isn’t enough hours in the day to get what has to be done finished. At least the hay is cut. The garden is alive, despite the lack of normal rain and relatively weed free. I have a list of things to do and have enjoyed ticking off the completed items.

But the sad truth is we tend to focus on the things we have to do. Those are the things that weigh on a person. We’re adults and we have responsibilities. But summer isn’t just about the must do things. Isn’t also about fun? We need to take time to find the fun and joy of being.

Being a person who needs balance in my life, I realize I also need fun things to do. Things I enjoy. The quiet time sitting outside of a morning with a fresh cup of coffee and listening to the birds sing up the sun. The quiet chuckle over silly hummingbirds arguing over who owns the feeder—or the flowers. I have a pair of nesting swallows that have a nest every year in the eaves of my breezeway/patio. It’s always fun to watch them raise up their babies. My horses, cats, and Danes—all give me joy and I do spend a lot of time with them.


Laughter is one of life’s joys.

I've also had a chance to go to the theater and see some good movies. So far my favorite has been The Avengers. Visits to my family are always something I enjoy and in the summer I try to get down to visit every other week. Two weeks ago I took a day and just visited family. My mom and I had a great time laughing and joking and sharing life’s moments. My great uncle Buddy sent my mom a small book he put together of the fox ranch my grandfather had back in the 40’s and he raised mink in the 50’s. She grew up in the Hayward area of Wisconsin and the ranch was at Lands End. Very remote and still is.  Lots of pictures of the house he built for my grandmother, pictures of my mother as a girl, my great uncles and aunt. Some pictures I hadn’t seen of my great-grandmother and grandfather Adams. Weddings, holidays, and family parties. He did it in story form and my mom loves it. He’s a published author and a retired (well mostly) wildlife biologist. He written and co-authored quite a few non-fiction books on the subject.

Later that afternoon I spent time with my brothers sharing a few beers around the pool and talking kids, jobs, and the vagaries of life after forty. Damn those body parts anyway.

I’ve visited with a nearby friend; I call her the goddess of the woods. She’s full of laughter and fun. She is a fascinating conversationalist and natural healing practitioner. 

And I’ve read quite a bit. Currently I’m reading a really good thriller called 72 Hours by William Casey Moreton (and will be reading more of his work). Other excellent books I’ve enjoyed; I Own The Dawn The Night Stalkers, ML Buchman, The Flower Reader, Elizabeth Loupas, Midnight’s Master, Donna Grant. A non-fiction, You Are A Writer (So Start Acting Like One) Jeff Goins. I’ve read other good books but these are in the excellent category for me.

And writing. I’m having fun with my current story and characters. I’m writing slower than I normally do but it’s steady progress.

• What have you done to balance out all the Must Do things? 
• What are some things you enjoy doing away from the computer and internet?
• Any fun vacation plans?

Making a living is not the same as making a life.