THE BEST PLANS CAN SOMETIMES FALL SHORT
{10/21/2015 @ 718 p.m.}
I had every intention to get a lot of journaling done today, but it just didn't work out that way. Instead, I got completely sidetracked in making sure I had all of my journaling material inserted into a document to publish as the first A Journaling Odyssey Handbook. It ended up I was missing a great deal of material. It took me a bit to find it and then cut and paste it into a document.
I, also, ran into a snag I hadn't anticipated. I combined the years 2012-2014 of everything I've written about journaling into one document on my laptop and it ended up being 1,020 pages of material. (Gulp!) However, it has major formatting issues and there is some material no longer applicable I need to delete. I imagine it will end up being somewhere around 800 pages or so.
Who knew? I had no idea I had that much written about journaling in 2012-2014.
I will work on formatting and editing so I can publish it sooner rather than later. Who knows how long that will take.
I will then combine my 2015 material and will format it, edit it, and publish it.
Believe it or not, but I actually have a great deal more material than that. It is somewhere around 500 pages or so. Nevertheless, I am trying to keep these first two books mainstream and less spiritual. Later I will certainly publish more on prayer and biblical journaling. Just not now.
Hopefully tomorrow I will get a great deal of journaling done before I even think about editing, "A Journaling Odyssey Handbook 2012-2014: Timeless Journaling Information, Hints, Tips, and Prompts."
FALL: MY THOUGHTS AND MEMORIES ON THIS AUTUMN DAY
{10/22/2015 @ 721 a.m.}
I cannot see beyond my back fence as the bright white fog has settled in the area. Earlier it was ominous. Now, it's rather beautiful. (Then again, I sit here in my jogging pants and am not leaving the house.) It reminds me the true vision I have. The fact is I cannot see fully and need glasses and a two by four across my head from time to time. The only true vision I have is my faith.
I love Fall. It's my favorite season. The beautiful colors. The sight of the leaves changing and falling from trees to the ground and streets, adding texture where they fall. The sound of walking and driving through the leaves, never mind kicking them out for fun and to see the sights and hear the sounds when you do. Pouncing on the leaves is a blast as well.
Fall also means cooler weather, which in turn means what feels like a brand new wardrobe since I haven't worn the clothes in six months or so. Moreover, the cooler weather is delightful for me because I can fully breathe. I suffer from dry sinuses, so the coolness is heaven for me. The cooler also means perfect sleeping weather. We kick our thermostat down to sixty-five degrees and add a couple of inches of covers and flannel sheets! Love it.
Speaking of which... I took the flannel sheets out of the linen closet last night and washed them. They will go on the bed tonight.
Flannel sheets are my favorite.
They stir up so many fond memories for me. My Nana introduced flannel sheets to me when I was little and I spent the night at her place. My joy of them stems to her. She was so fond of them and her fondness of them was contagious.
I remember talking about them and my Granny and Pa bought me a set I wore out. Granny had to repair them a few times with her sewing machine.
Then, as an adult every other year, I get one or two new sets of new flannel sheets when they go on sale at the store--and they always go on sale. So, I drag my husband to the store frequently so I can keep my eye on their pricing.
There is nothing better than on a cold night to slip into the soft cocoon of the flannel sheets and the fleece blankets. Oh, the delight!
Another thing I love about Autumn is... pumpkin. Yep. I am addicted to pumpkin and cannot get enough of it. I make myself pumpkin lattes at the house year round, but they taste a billion times better at this time of year. Anything pumpkin does. Do I even need to mention how the coffee houses and restaurants come out with their pumpkin specialties: pumpkin spiced fill in the blank, latte, tea, coffee, muffins, frozen custard, pie, etc. Oh, I tremble with delight at the mere thought.
A FALL JOURNALING PROMPT
What do you like about Autumn?
What memories do you have of the Fall?
What do you think of the Fall weather?
What do you think of the Autumn wardrobe?
What do you think of pumpkin?
What do you think of Autumn?
By the way, using both words of Fall and Autumn for a reason and am not trying to be annoying. They stir up different connotations and meanings in us. I hope it stirs up your journaling.
COUNTING MY BLESSINGS
{10/22/2015 @ 809 a.m.}
There is something else I really love about the Fall. It reminds me that Thanksgiving is just around the corner and so is the end of the year, plus the birth of Jesus Christ the Messiah and Savior. All of this naturally brings me to what I started in earnest two years ago and that is counting my blessings. I have been trying to count my blessings in all I do.
Ironically, I haven't been doing very well with this over the last month since Kara our feral double cancer cat went Home... I need to remedy this for her alone, if nothing else. She has made me most appreciative this last year and a month and week.
And just like that my emotions shifted.
I miss her so.
I am fighting the tears and the emotions that were just stirred up as I look outside at the bright fog and I see birds at our bird feeder. The birds make me smile. Their dark bodies against the white fog. What a beautiful contrast. Both are full of life, the bright fog and the sparrows.
Emotions are so fickle and are constantly changing. This is why it is so important to journal. It's better to get the emotions out on the page than allowing them to control us as we have to do this thing called life.
I am grateful for the opportunity to provide the birds with food and water. We live in a new housing development and there aren't trees. Which reminds me. We need to get a couple of bird houses.
I am thankful that I can get my emotions out in my journal so I can do my best to fully live and search for all of the blessings each moment brings.
And just like that, I no longer feel like crying about Kara... until I wrote that... Sigh.
When I stop and think about Kara... and the year she had with us. From her perspective it was like seven years or so. That is a good chunk of her life she loved and knew love... and it was for the first time from what we can tell. Oh, how she loved us. It showed. She adored us and she was well aware she had it good and she was blessed. That, too, showed.
And, oh, how we loved her!
Thank the Lord.
Kara's strength, resiliency, love, and spunkyness (is that a made-up word?) were her greatest qualities, along with her loyalty and steadfastness. There is so much I learned from her, and can continue to learn from her, and can apply to my life. I am so thankful for Little Bit.
Pumpkin tea! That's another blessing counted I forgot earlier.
YORKSHIRE TEA
I am also thankful for my most favorite tea in the world, which comes from Yorkshire and Harrogate, England. Yorkshire Tea is the best.
If you are curious, give it a try. It's so delightful. It's a black tea.
http://smile.amazon.com/Taylors-Harrogate-Yorkshire-Black-Count/dp/B000HRS7OM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1445526870&sr=8-3&keywords=yorkshire+tea
I just made some London Fog style, which is where you put the milk or cream in the cup first, then add the boiling water, then the tea. I add the yellow sweetener and that adds an extra smoothness to the dreamy concoction.
I get the tea every other month as a subscription at my favorite online retailer. Both the subscription and the retailer. I am also thankful for, us those who make the Yorkshire Tea.
MORE BLESSINGS COUNTED
I am thankful for...
The sound of the water filters in the turtle tanks.
The sound of the tick-tock from our cuckoo clock my husband bought us when he was in Germany.
The flock of birds that just came to our bird feeder.
The sweet breathing of our beagle as he sleeps.
This moment.
The next moment.
The previous moment.
BLESSINGS COUNTED LIST
{10/22/2015 @ 932 a.m.}
The colors of the season. I love all shades of orange, turquoise, purple, brown, green, and gold.
The sound of a train.
The sound of an airplane.
Heat.
My home.
That I am not working outside like the constitution workers nearby are.
Our back patio.
Our back view.
A washer and dryer.
Clean flannel sheets.
A JOURNALING PROMPT: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS
Make a long list of what and who you are thankful for. Make it at least 25 items, preferably 100 or more.
Then, journal more specifically about a few of them. Go into depth about why you are thankful for... and the memories attached.
Keep doing this exercise between now and the end of the year.
Make it your goal to count at least 10 per day... and write into depth about three of those each day.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF THE MISSING CLOTHES
My husband 'B' and I moved into our new home over the summer.
We have a storage room and four closets.
Since it's been cooler, we decided we needed to move some winter shirts to our main closet. We thought they hung in one of the three other closets. Hah! They do not. So, we either put them in totes in our storage room or they were lost by the movers. We think it was the former and will go on a search and rescue operation this weekend.
How curious.
MORE THINGS I COUNT AS BLESSINGS
The couple of new winter tops we bought last night so we don't freeze to death before we find our winter wardrobes.
How as of yesterday I lost two pounds (decades more to go).
The fog is lifting and I can see further.
A LIST OF FUTURE JOURNALING I WANT TO DO:
THE FIRST OFFICIAL THANKSGIVING IN THE NEW WORLD (THE USA)
http://www.berkeleyplantation.com/four-centuries.html
WHEN TIME SNEAKS UP ON ME
NANOWRIMO
TO DO
Save pics down from faith journaling.
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