Quote of the Day: Pema Chödrön
“We think that if we just meditated enough or jogged enough or ate perfect food, everything would be perfect. But from the point of view of someone who is awake, that’s death. Seeking security or perfection, rejoicing in feeling confirmed and whole, self-contained and comfortable, is some kind of death. It doesn’t have any fresh air…
To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest….
When we wake up, we can live fully without seeking pleasure and avoiding pain, without re-creating ourselves when we fall apart… We can give up on being perfect and experience each moment to its fullest.”
Pema Chödrön from When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times
Experiencing each moment to it’s fullest is something Mr Chiots and I try to do. It’s easy in good times and difficult in tough times. Embracing the tough times truly does make them easier and helps you see them for the learning and growth that they provide! Living well is all about experiencing everything that comes our way, whether good or bad!
Do you try to avoid difficult situations or do you experience them for what they bring to your life?
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Welcome
When we decided to move to Maine all of our friends and family started talking about coming to visit. They all said, “I hear Maine is wonderful, I can’t wait to visit you.” When we lived in Ohio, we rarely had a visitor, but we also had a very small house and no guest room. Now we have 2 guest rooms — and they’re being used!
I set them both up a couple days before Christmas when we found out my parents were coming up for a visit. There was no time to paint, but I did clean them well and tried to make them as homey as possible. New flannel sheets were ordered, along with electric mattress pads, furniture was moved in that was stored in the garage and fabric panels hung over the windows.
I’m really glad I got them set up when I did, another friend come visit this week so they’ve been used a lot already. They’re nothing too exciting, just a collection of random things, but they’re comfortable. I am planning on making quilts for the beds and painting the walls, I just have to find the time to do that, which may not be until next winter! Having guests is more about conversation and visiting than it is about the decor of the guest room anyways.
Do you have frequent guests in your home?
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Friday Favorite: The Sun in Winter
Yesterday I was talking with a friend about how much how wonderful the sun is in the middle of winter. When you live in a northern climate, seeing the sun on a short winter day is cause for a small celebration. I’ve noticed here in Maine, seeing the sun on a winter day is more common than in was in NE Ohio. Northern Ohio has the reputation for being very gray in the winter and it truly is. We’ve been enjoying beautiful clear sunny days and LOVING them.
I think the sun coupled with snow makes for a kind of brightness that you can’t achieve in the summer. There’s just something about the warmness of the sun and the coolness of the snow I find amazing!
What do you notice most during the winter in your area?
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Bloom Where You’re Planted
Remember those tiny citrus trees I got when I went to Monticello way back in 2010? Last fall the little lime tree bloomed like crazy, but none of the blooms set fruit. That’s not really uncommon for the first bloom of a fruit tree. Now it’s blooming again.
There are only a handful of blooms and it’s inside in our office. I also noticed the other day that the variegated lemon is blooming as well. It resides in our bedroom window.
The smell of these blooms is way too much for me, so I’ll be moving the tree out into the landing for a while. It probably won’t set fruit, but I’m excited because these beautiful trees are finally reaching maturity. I’m fairly certain that next fall/winter I will have finally see fruit!
Do you have any houseplants that produce fruit/food?
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Always a Hoot
Mr Chiots and I laugh, A LOT! We’re both by nature kind of silly people, put us together and it’s pretty much a constant joke around here. Nothing is done with seriousness, everything is done in fun. The best part of that is, it makes chores fun instead of drudgery.
Take for example Mr Chiots heading out to knock the icicles off the back of the house, he can’t just knock them off, it has to be done with flair and fun. Naturally, I had to take photos to document the fun.
How would I caption this photo? “Now that I have the shard, what am I going to do with it?” Some of you will know exactly what that’s from!
How would you caption this photo of Mr Chiots?
