Good Morning Saturday, October 11, 2014

Hello Everyone,

I’m trying something different today.  I’m sitting on my wonderful porch enjoying the solitude of my back yard.  The weather has finally gotten cool enough to do this.  I can’t do it on the weekdays – yet, but weekends might work out well.  It reminds me of sitting in the backyard of my cousin Dick’s home in Connecticut.  Here is his garden:

So serene 1

Here is my back yard:

On my porch!

I never appreciate this type of thing until someone points it out to me and that was Steve yesterday.  It’s fun sitting out here in my comfy clothes listening to the birds cause trouble.  The cats get excited to see and hear them too.  It’s funny.  But I love my back yard and I love this weather.  I could go for a little less humidity but 73 degrees is fabulous!  I could love the 60’s too, but I’ll take 73 today!

I’ve been in the habit of coming out to the porch and sitting with a cup of coffee and reading my devotionals on my iPhone.  Today’s was very appropriate.  “Be still and listen to the stillness within”.  Darlene Larson Jenks.  It’s from the book “Each Day A New Beginning”.  It’s an Hazelden book and it is an app on my phone.  I don’t read it everyday, but today I did and it was especially meaningful for me.  This app is pretty cool, it allows you to forward it to friends if you wish and I did that.  I think everyone should take this advice.  Additionally it says:  “How comforting to know that all answers are as close as our quiet moments.  God never chooses to keep the answers from us.  We simply fail to quiet our thoughts long enough to heed them.  Our minds race, obsessively, all too often. We jump from one scenario to another, one fear to another, one emotion to another.  And each time our thoughts capture a new focus, we push the answer we seek further into the background”.  Wow – so powerful and so true for me.  I love the saying in AA – a work in progress!  That I am.

The day is waking up now, I hear neighbors coming out and doing some work, making noise etc.  I’ll be doing that later this morning.  I have a guy coming over who is a “handyman” and he is going to help me clean my back gutter.  That should be around 10 or so.  By then the day will no longer be still or quiet and will be a little warmer, but that’s OK.  I’m looking forward to seeing what can be done up there.

Yesterday I had my carpets cleaned.  They look fantastic and all of the little kitty spots are gone.  It was worth the $125 to get it done.  That is what my guy from work charged me last year so I’m happy that it was consistent.  I think these guys yesterday did a better job.  It sure was quick – only about 1/2 hour.  Not a bad payday at $250 an hour!  The guy shared with me that he has a contract at The Vineyards – has had it for years – which made me feel better about his reputation.  I think I’ll use him from now on.  Even though his guy “Sal” is missing an ear.  That still creeps me out a little!

Just got a text from Jackie about riding Red to a Women’s Meeting in Bonita at 10 this morning.  I would love to do that.  A great thing to do but I’m doing my gutters then, so I’m going to try to make the Brown Bag later.  If not, I’ll for sure get to the Naples Group BB meeting even though Polly, Ralph and Heather won’t be there because they are at the Quarterly.  I wonder how people will be when Polly doesn’t bring her cookies?  But knowing Polly – she made arrangements.  I like that meeting – it is at a good time on Saturdays and like I said yesterday, I’m trying to get to more meetings.  If I combine it with working out at work before I leave, I can make it to a 5:30 meeting at the 24 Hour Club.  That would be a win-win!  I think there is a Grapevine Meeting there one day a week.  I think it is Mondays, but I’m not sure.  I’ll see what happens on Monday next week.  I’m going to try the new “routine” then.

You know what I like about this “blogging” thing?  It keeps “saving the draft” so I can get up and do things like get another cup of coffee, change the laundry – etc.  So now I’m going to put in another load of laundry and put the first load in the dryer…..be right back…….

So when I sit at my dining room table doing this blog, this is the view I have through the kitchen out to the street.  This picture doesn’t do it justice, but you’ll get the point.

My front window.

I have a stained glass panel sitting on the window sill that I bought at the Angel Ball many, many years ago!  I’ve always loved it.  I’ve moved it to different places in my life and I’m trying to remember how many places I’ve moved it.  I think the first place I had it was when I lived in “mid town” Naples off of Belair Lane.  Next I moved to The Vineyards and lived there about 10 years.  My next move was down to Old Naples on 9th Avenue and I lived there about 10 years or more and finally I moved it here where I am now.  I think the only time I “hung” it was at Belair Lane.  All of the other times, I just propped it in a window.  I love that stained glass.  It has a lot of history with me.

I guess that’s about all for now.  Time to get rolling and get ready for my roof climbing.  Have a beautiful day today!