Wednesday in North Idaho

Beautiful First Glimpses of Morning Light

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

There seems to be no two days alike for us when Summer is here, and newly wed life is full of learning experiences. I’m still getting our own little routines in place (and admittedly, this isn’t my strong point) I , and our ” bones” schedule, though fairly helter-skelter of late, is slowly coming back into shape. No matter what the rest of the day may hold, one thing is certain about any weekday: they start early.

There’s nothing like waking up in the morning and realizing that there is a whole new day awaiting you. I love to hear the birds sing in the morning, and to see the gentle glow of a sky warmed by the sunshine that isn’t quite visible just yet. Better yet, starting the day off kneeling together to ask God’s blessing and direction is a blessing that I cherish deeply.

Today looks like it will be absolutely beautiful- and warmer. Both of those things make me happy, for while there is a definite chill to the air, and there are a few signs that Autumn is not far away, I am not quite ready for cooler days and snowy weather once again, and any warm day is welcome here!

Mornings are almost always busy, and today is no exception to that rule. Scott and Katie (our sister-in-law) both work at Quest Aircraft

Scott & I standing with one of Quest's Kodiaks post production

and their shift starts at 6, and they should be out the door between 5:30 and 5:45 each morning. It is my first responsibility to pack up their lunches while they prepare for work, and make sure that they have breakfast if they want it. I learned long ago when it was my brother’s lunches that I packed that planning ahead is quite essential, because there are few things I dislike more to start off the day than to realize that I have nothing ready to feed “my people” as I lovingly refer to the heads under this roof.

Thankfully, thanks to yesterday’s baking and cooking, lunches are no problem, and all too soon for me, Scott is out the door and headed to work.  I always stand at the door and watch and wave or blow kisses until his car disappears around the corner. Katie usually takes a little longer to get ready, but by 6, the house is almost always quiet again, and I clean up lunch fixings (Usually a sandwich or two, or some of yesterday’s dinner- which no one complains about
eating again, as a general rule!

A Morning Quiet Time

before slipping back upstairs to our room, where I settle myself down on the bed again, pillows propped behind me for some quiet time of my own with God, and to watch the sun complete its rising and to listen and be still in my heart.

Breakfast for me is a quick meal of whatever look good. Cooking for one- myself- does not tend to make me feel the very most creative, and more often than not my breakfast is either fresh fruit and bread or cereal, or something like “tea and biscuits”. Over breakfast, I plan out my day, and try to keep myself motivated to be efficient with my time.

I live an ordinary life. My day is much like hundreds of other newly-wed girls out there, and I have my struggles and my strong and weak points with the rest.

For me, getting a good start in the morning is essential. I can accomplish twice as much as usual bright and early in the morning. The new sunshine and fresh, cool air makes me feel energetic and motivated, and by afternoon, I’m winding down and switch to a more relaxed approach to housework, and admittedly, afternoons make cooking much more interesting than cleaning, especially when I know that my people will be home and (we hope) hungry.

Menus & Shopping lists

Today my “to do” list included the normal week-day adventures in conquering laundry mountains, de-wrinkling clothing, polishing the bathroom,  banning left-over-for-too-long food from the fridge, sweeping floors and racing some deadlines for writing and for my current web design job. I had hopes of baking a few dozen little cookies to toss in the freezer (as frozen cookies seem to be the favorite sweet thing for certain guys in this house. Not that certain girls don’t ever eat frozen cookies either…)

I like lists and being organized. I like a perfectly orderly and tidy house. I like planning ahead and getting things done on time. But my lists and plans don’t always turn out like I’d envisioned. Unexpected things come up. Guests drop in. Someone isn’t feeling well and needs some extra help. Work takes longer than I could have ever imagined, and some days just are nothing other than murphy days when nothing at all seems to go “right” and one can laugh or cry, but in the end just make the best out of it.

Realistically, I am not always a perfect house keeper and homemaker, though I desire with all my heart to be just that. Sometimes that lack of matching the mental image of perfection that I have set as my own personal goal is due to circumstances beyond my control. Then I learn to flex a little and grow a little. Sometimes it’s because I’ve gathered up onto my plate more than I can chew- and more than the priorities that God put on the plate that morning- Other times, it is simply my own lack of keeping on track, and letting myself become distracted, lax and pretty much just lazy.

Some of my ordinary days are probably mundane, but the little secret for me has always been to look for the best and the bright spots in every day- no matter how beautiful, how common, or how dark it might be. Thus my “ordinary” life  is a beautiful, happy life that I wouldn’t trade for anything, even on the rainy days!

On this ordinary day, Laundry always comes first- it can take care of its self once I start it, and I can occupy those minutes with other things. So, washer swishing and drying humming, I ran out behind the house to the garden- now a virtual jungle of weeds- and tomato plants. Digging in the garden is one of the joys of country-living that I treasure. I grew up with my hands in the dirt, and after a few years of not being able to grow, this year has been happy for

Baby Squash Plants in the Spring

me-though the garden has fared poorly. I staked up some of the bigger plants and foraged for more stakes for the rest in the woods. I know it’s not a good idea to count tomatoes before they are ripe and are in your picking basket, but in spite of the deer helping themselves to a huge portion of my garden this year, I find that I can’t help but be a little hopeful that at least a few of the beautiful green tomatoes I counted out there will both ripen and last until I can pick them, instead of the pesky creatures who love produce as much as we.

One thing is official around here: while the deer may have a fondness for practically everything from potato tops and okra flowers to ripe tomatoes and baby cucumbers, they do not seem very much interested in the summer squash beds, and nearly every day I can haul in a few squashes to supplement our dinners. Actually, with half a dozen in the fridge and half a dozen near ready to pick, it is more likely that summer squash is our dinner, rather than a type of side-dish supplement to the meal. In any case, our grocery bill has gone down and our squash consumption has gone up, and I count it a very good thing, considering that we both love steamed summer squash, and N&K, who eat dinner with us every night, at least eat it, because at this rate, if the weather holds out, by next week it’ll be more than a few a day, and we’ll be wishing we had someone to leave “gifts” of squash for before long!

I always am slightly amused though, how days differ from my “mental list” nearly

Our Kitchen

always in some ways, and while I did spend time in the garden, and did get quite a bit of laundry done, I ended up doing computer work much more than I had intended or wanted, did not get the shopping list compiled, forgot to ask Scott to pick up a water filter, and suddenly realized that it was later than I thought (Happy realization, that- for my favorite moment of the day comes sometime mid to late afternoon on most days), and in the scramble to get the biscuits ready to go in the oven and the gravy done there were a few mishaps and flour seemed to enjoy dusting my recently-washed floors and counters with a little powdery white.

I was stirring up the biscuits when I heard that sound I’ve training my ears to pick up- the quiet sound of crunching gravel and every time I hear it, my heart skips a beat and I run to the window to see just who is arriving home, as more than once I’ve nearly rushed pell-mell to to the door only to find it is Katie, who while I am always happy to see, was not who I was expecting or really wanting

Summertime Love

to see right then. This time, when that white Subaru pulls in front of the window to turn around, I know the happiest moment of the day has come and I temporarily abandon my biscuit making to rush to the door and shall spare you the details of our greeting, but I hope that my heart always skips a beat when the door opens and I see my man.

Our afternoons are definitely wind down times for all of us. Scot had a long and busy day, Katie had a stressful one, and dinner is served with bits of work-news and random conversation about the day.  This dinner was also a “remembering” dinner, as Katie and I recalled and laughed over the antics of her little brothers and memories from our Alaskan Childhood days when we never dreamed of marrying brothers.

Full Moon

More often than not, dinner come to an end, and dishes cleared up, we sit at the table and talk awhile. Today, with Nick gone for a couple days, Katie wandered off to her room to read.  Scott had some computer work to do, I had to finish folding up a comforter and some sheets, and before we know it,  early-to-bed as is our custom has slipped by a little too far, and we haven’t gone out for our
evening walk nor have I managed to store any cookies in the freezer, but the day has been happy, and beautiful and best of all, just as we began it, we close it with the One who is the first cord in our three-cord rope: thanking Him for protection, for blessings, and for the beauty that He pours upon us every new day.

Pictures are random ones taken over the summer- I didn’t manage to take any on the day that I wrote about.

The rest of the week…

• Monday at the Farm in the City by Lanier
• Tuesday in the Writing Life by Elisabeth
• Thursday at the Little Pink House by Gretchen (with series introduction)
• Friday in Sunny Southern California by Ashleigh
• Saturday at Castleberry Farms by Jeannie
• A Peek into Your Day by YLCF Readers