beauty in the moments

sigh. hi all. as i sit typing this, i'm looking out the window and hearing the birds and seeing the sun and feeling a small breeze. it looks like it might be another 'perfect' day.

i really am trying to evaluate how i spend my days. time is so fleeting. the part of me that cannot BELIEVE i am in my 50s wants to slow things down a little. every day is truly a gift. lately, that is the lesson that keeps coming to me.

i have a lot of work going on this summer. it's all i can do not to wind myself up in it, and live there. but i refuse. i am hoping to stay focused and do what i need to do each day, but not live in the 'what ifs' and 'how will it go' and 'what will they think' of things. it's hard to do.

yesterday i worked and also left work behind. it was good. today, the plate is full up again, and the temptation to freak out and let it consume me is there.

instead, i will look out the window, remember the whole of things, and thank God for another perfect day.

happy Tuesday :)

I'm thinking of trying to learn a new skill - wanna help?

lime green goodness

pinterest project

doing surgery on a broken limb

still one of my favorite things ;)

sure, I can use another raised bed! thanks jim and rachelle :)

Found this little quiet spot right in my neighborhood. those are baby ducks zipping around and eating bugs :)

'nothing' defined

i started out this weekend with the best of intentions. my 'simple summer' plan is simply to make no plans. i find that is the most relaxing option for my head.

saturday was a glorious day to carry out 'nothing' - because it was doing this:

ps. I'm sorry to my SF friends. I have been praying for this kind of thing.

Not really a problem, except that i was in the middle of this:

which caused this:

all of which led to a glorious day of making rhubarb bread, reading and napping. my version of perfect 'nothing.'



sunday the plan was to do more of the same. however, while sitting in the sunroom admiring the pretty view:

i got the idea to paint the sunroom ceiling yellow (this thought has been rolling around in my head for quite awhile).

so after church, i went to ace hardware, got some supplies and started doing this:

notice the wrong color at the lower left. yellow is tricky.

which really went quite swimmingly, even though i only got as far as the initial coat of paint.

then something got into my brain, and i started doing this, just to see what was under there:

before you know it, i was staring at this:

actually, the conversation in my head went something like "ohmgosh" this is hard to do. maybe i can get anne to help me. or some boys. (which says a lot about anne that i thought of her first).

i seriously laughed at myself as i inched the carpet up. it was HARD work. i have not been that sweaty since i used to run marathons, people. i finally got the brilliant idea to cut the carpet into chunks. i also think i got stronger as time went on. that's because willpower is actual POWER.

anyway, when I got to this part, i was kind of incredulous:

because seriously, NOW what the heck am i going to do?!?

sigh. i guess i'm not very good at 'nothing' weekends :)

ps. i also have another project waiting in the wings. stay tuned.

wonderful wonder

sigh. great big sigh.

it's the end of a most lovely, rainy afternoon in which i have accomplished very little. which is exactly what i needed.

i love rain. i love rainy days. i do get kind of crabby when the sun never comes out, but there is really nothing better than a leisurely rainy day. it's like the whole word slows way down.

today made me miss blogging. i miss telling you about the garden. it's been a pretty wonderful spring in the garden, even though the rain has made it sort of a start/stop/start experience. still. i am enjoying the pace this year...a simple summer.

one of the garden additions. a junk metal goat :)

the tomatoes got a new home...pretty down to earth digs!

i had to remove some moss from a new bed i'm making. i wish i could transplant it - so pretty!

new reading spot. with homemade chandelier, which is kind of cool.

here's the new garden...in progress. yep, that's a bunny watching over things.

i need to figure out how to clean my gutter...but for now, it's making room for a rain barrel that used to be petunias.

everything is neon...!

my little miss likes rainy days, too. more snuggling.

a few things left to plant.

hi guys! i have missed you :)

I kind of switched.

I think one of the reasons that I kind of don't blog much anymore is that I have switched over to Instagram. No - there really aren't words or stories, but I do like pictures. Lots of pictures.

You can join me over there if you like!

My name is
bobbigaukel


duh :)

may...be

may! it's may! it's almost halfway THROUGH may!

yikes. i am not very good at blogging anymore. so, quick updates through iphone pics:

2 trips to Mpls. in as many weeks. this is bing, he was a nice companion on my last trip. i think it was because i let him have some of my donut.

little missy is spending a lotta time here lately. tail wagging on the keyboard is something i am getting better at deflecting. better, but not excellent.

 the new couch is kind of slippery. i think in summer it might leave damask prints on the back of bare legs. vintage and practical do not exactly go together.

succulents (and ferns) (and ivy) at 'hunt and gather.' of course.

mother's day stash. the lady did flinch a little when i was taking her picture. little did she know i would crop out her head, because i just wanted to show the apron :)

on the way home from mom and dad's house. burning ditches. there were about 8 firetrucks just over this hill, but i was too nervous to stop and take a pic. i took this one while driving 55 :)

the cannas have been growing in the basement/sun porch for about a month....ready to go outside soon!

trying a new color oxalis for the front porch. burgundy with yellow flowers. i can hardly wait to get all the pots prettied up!

schwew. that is what the iphone had to say :) happy spring (finally) y'all!

where oh where

let's see. i have been gone a long time, so i will just give some random updates:

on tuesday, i shoveled about 5 inches of heavy snow.

yesterday, i raked leaves and picked up sticks and cleaned the gutters.

i am learning to be flexible like that :)

i still am not sure how to wear skinny jeans without boots, though. life is hard.

i bought a couch about a month ago. the guy has still not delivered it, and i actually really don't care anymore. says something about impulse spending.

i did NOT buy this absolutely darling 'loveseat' for my office last weekend, when lou and i decided to drive 4 hours to minneapolis for a 2-hour thrift sale. i have thought about it every day since.

yeah. go figure that one out.

 siesta is scurrying out the door every chance she gets these days. cats just KNOW. good things are out there.

other than that, i'm trying desperately to get into a mode of less = more. which makes it hard when i want to go to every thrift store in the tri-state region. Lord, help me.

otherwise, things are well. busy, but good busy. and i have both a dentist AND a doctor appointment set up in the next two weeks. 2 years of procrastination is about to be tackled.

pray for me that THIS time, procrastination was not a big mistake.
happy friday y'all!