Daybook

Giving thanks - for God. For the new things this season is bringing to life. Time spent together with family. A guest room that welcomes visitors to rest and be at home with us. Ideas that come and go, and the lessons we learn from each of them. Dates with my sweetheart.

Outside my window - it rained yesterday - a storm blew up pretty unexpectedly. I assume it continued to rain through the night because my deck chairs are still wet. I'm glad I brought the cushions inside before the rain started - now I can still enjoy some time before the day really gets rolling.

A wren visited us last week in the strangest way. I kept hearing a tapping on the sliding glass door while I was at the table and it startled me for a moment, thinking someone had come up on the deck and was knocking. But it was this little tiny bird, apparently confused by his own reflection, tapping-tap-tapping on the glass. He persisted despite my best efforts to make him stop. He was still there when I came home a couple hours after running errands. By the time John joined us, that poor little bird had been at it for the entire day. I introduced them and left again. When I returned, John shared his incredible photo of Wren (yes, I named it) and told me the story of how he had coaxed it with recordings of wren songs. He didn't expect it to reconnaissance until it felt comfortable enough to perch on his shoulder, but that's exactly what happened. I had been encouraging my sweet husband to spend more time on the deck in the fresh air - I should have just hired wildlife to capture his attention LOL.

The garden is partially successful - we've had a few sugar snap peas and green beans. Neither produced as much as we hoped. The tomatoes are just now turning red, but the cucumbers have done well. Not as well as last year - but still good enough to get some pickles made. I hadn't connected the idea that if my kids and grandkids loved pickles so much, I had the perfect way to use up the bountiful harvest of cucumbers. Sometimes it takes me a minute. If you watched Friends, you'll understand when I say I often hear Chandler speaking, "There it is..."

Clothing myself in - my favorite summer time pajamas. I sometimes have to force myself out of them mid-morning. I start working before I take the moment to get changed. If my clothes could be as comfortable as my pajamas...

In the kitchen - I love waking up to a clean kitchen, so that nighttime routine of making sure it is has become very important to me. My days just start better when I can enjoy my coffee knowing I have a fresh start. There are two fed and happy sourdough starters to use when I'm ready. Later this week the kitchen will be busy with Rachel and me both preparing for our booth at the Saturday flea market.

Writing - I've decided to shift gears with my use of AI. I don't plan to eliminate it entirely, but I will reduce the amount of times I use it, reserving it mostly for research and statistical information as needed.

I focus mostly on blog content but the topic of my WIP has bubbled up in conversation several times recently.

Reading - still working on my daughter's WIP. In my defense, I'm not reading anything else either. Tonight at our Mastermind, she had me read her outline for the series. I'm gonna need to finish this draft up so I can continue reading...

Watching - Hart of Dixie. Sometimes.

Listening - New Brandon Lake playlist, and a lot of other stuff too.

Making - Bread. All the bread.

Camp - It's on the horizon! We skipped our planned trip in July due to anticipated weather related issues. I'm not sorry about that. Hoping our rescheduled dates will be much better.

The week ahead - coffee, conversations, dough day, baking day, and a monthly flea market where we recently started selling our baked goods! It's a good week.