It’s Friday! It’s random! Let’s go ….!
1. Our trees are have peaked and with the rain this week many have let go. There are still beautiful scenes to behold and yesterday I noticed another favorite of fall – that rich autumn smell. The fresh smell of wet leaves and plants letting go of their summer glory. The fragrance that reminds us all what Mother Earth smells like and all that she gives us.
Many scenes like this one right now google.images.com
2. I’ve taken the past 3 days off. Why? Because after leading an 8 1/2 month project while also covering another’s duties for 7 of those same months, I hit the wall. Everyone around me asked the same questions: what are you taking time off for? Where are you going? Are you going away? What are you going to do with all that time???? And my answer was the same: nothing. I’m not committing to anything. I’m going to rest, read, rest and read, in that order. And I have. I don’t feel the urge to “fill up” every spare minute with more to do. You?
3. Heard this morning of that a friend’s Dad passed away last night. That’s the stage of life we’re in now-a-days. Most of us have (mostly) grown children + aging parents and there’s a whole lot of both. Tomorrow I’ll make up some soup & other foods and have Hubbs drop it off to the family. Good thing I am rested and had that time off ~ see how that works?
4. Tomorrow marks 4 years of blogging. 4 years! In my very first post “Who’s the turkey” I wrote about things that I still write today – Mom, cooking, traditions, personal, relationships, joys, life lessons, and faith. Some topics can stand the test of time.
5. And this last photo is for my blogging buddy Dianna who writes at “These Days of Mine.” She has a pair of wild swans who visit their yard in S.E. Virginia and when I saw this picture I had to snag it for her. Taken in my home province of Saskatchewan, Canada earlier this fall, I call this one “Seven Swans a Swimming.” Millions of birds are very happy to summer “up north” where the world’s wheat basket is located. And yes, there are only 68 days till Christmas!
photo credit: Owen Lasseur
How’s your week been? Do you ever take time off just to “be?” Are you seeing migratory birds in your neck of the woods?
Congratulations on 4 years of sharing thoughts that stand the test of time. Love your Seven Swans a-Swimming and thank you for the countdown to Christmas. I can already feel it coming as family makes plans. I like your lesson in #3 on how things work. uh-huh
Thank you Georgette ~ It has been a great ride 🙂 MJ
My favorite vacation when I worked was a staycation. I needed a little of that every year. For traveling vacations, I needed a day to recover! Congratulations on 4 years and you are right. Some topics stand the test of time.
I agree on both counts 🙂 4 years – I’m surprised and delighted MJ
Aw….thanks for thinking of me with the swan pic! Glad you took some time off for R & R!
Our leaves haven’t begun to change yet, but I’m hearing from blogging friends in the northern and western parts of the state that the leaves there are close to peak — early this year!
Sorry about your friend’s dad, and how thoughtful of you to send food.
Congrats on the 4 year blogging anniversary! We began within a month of each other. So glad we’ve become blogging buddies.
I knew you’d enjoy seeing those 7 (girls) a swimming 🙂
So glad we’ve become blogging buddies – and I hope we get to meet in person one day, too – MJ
4 years…and counting. Well done!
Thank you much!
MJ
#2 is kinda in the vein of something I’m thinking of writing next week. I actually gave notice on my job before finding a new one. I could try to negotiate additional time between jobs, but at this point, I am just burnt out. I need more time and space, not to throw another intensive task (job searching and interviewing) into an already unwieldy mix. I am so looking forward to the breather. I feel ya on this one.
Good for you for knowing what you need to do and leaning into it BEFORE you had all details sorted out – sometimes we know more than we think we do – the key is to getting out of our own way 🙂 MJ
thanks for blogging~ ! I appreciate the energy you invest in it. Good for you that you took some down time w/o apology. Read a book a few years ago on the topic of stress. Author compared us as humans to electric motors…Electric motors are rated by something called a duty cycle. ie. they are designed to run only so long under load and then they need to cool down or they will burn out (and up) a 50% duty cycle = run 1/2 the time under load/ then no load. He said he believed the human frame has something like a 30% duty cycle max…after that things start to overheat. As far as birds…I stopped yesterday morning to snap a picture of some Canadian geese coming in for a landing out by my parents. I love Fall..DM
I love your electric motor analogy and will definitely steal that 🙂 thanks DM! Power down or burn out = excellent!
I love fall, too ..my favorite. Very heavy frost outside this morning and the yard looks crisp. Hubbs is in fleece, I have a tee shirt on 🙂 Such is life!!
MJ
4 years! Wow. Congrats….
Thanks David, it snuck up on me 🙂
There just comes a time when we have to stop, look and listen. In the military they used to call it “Rest and Recuperation.” 🙂
Yeah! You got it! MJ
I’m just in love with this time of year – the colors, the smells, the coziness, apples and pumpkins. I’m soaking it up every chance I get.
Good for you, taking some time off, just because. I’m going to do that soon, I swear! Sometimes our bodies and minds just need to recharge. You can’t be your best self if you’re tapped out.
Too many funerals and wakes for us lately too. We’re in the same stage of life.
It’s cold and crisp outside today ~ I’m going to simmer spaghetti sauce and make a stew, fold laundry and read. That’s it. I’m loving my self-imposed hiatus and feel like a million bucks!
The visitation & funeral will be hard but we’ll band together as friends and that part will actually be good. MJ
Hi MJ, glad you took some time to rest and rejuvenate. I’m a huge believer in doing that on a regular basis. Love the trees and swans!
Today was the four year anniversary for my blog…like you, hard to believe it has been four years since I started this journey, and like you, I still write about many of the same topics. Maybe that just means we’re being true to ourselves and what’s near and dear. Anyway, happy birthday/anniversary to you and your blog! You’ve been a wonderful inspiration for me! ~ Sheila
Thank you for your kind words – you are always consistently helpful, nice, insightful and generous – and I appreciate that very much.
congrats on 4 years for you! Here we go … 🙂 MJ
Congratulations on four years! I’m glad you were able to take time off when needed, and yes, you got blessed, and were able to be a blessing to another during that time. I was noticing as we traveled, listening to the radio, how many of our favorite singers are no longer with us. I’m glad to be back home, back to see my “regular” yard birds–and to keep an eye out for visitors from the north.
Thank you for your kind words; Glad you are back home and I’m looking forward to seeing your yard visitors, too!! MJ