On the Path

If you are like me, the problem with deciding to change some parts of your life is that they don’t happen nearly fast enough and some things must be placed on the back burner. So here we are with the end of January quickly approaching and I feel like I have been a huge procrastinator. Luckily, I ran across this article on procrastination this morning that woke me up. The line that hit me straight between the eyes was this one.

You should know that some people who think of themselves as procrastinators really aren't. In a world of unending deadlines, they just put too many things on their "To Do" list. They're not avoiding tasks, the mark of a bona fide procrastinator; they're getting things done, just not as many as they would like.

So it got me to thinking and I went back over my planner for the past couple of weeks. Taking into consideration that the day job has been consuming ten plus hours every weekday I started looking at the things I had accomplished in spite of that. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I was a tiny bit surprised.

I began to see that what has been happening this month is what happens before you set off on a trip. There are a thousand details to see to. There is the mail to be stopped, pets to be boarded, a refrigerator that needs to be emptied, itineraries to be set and double-checked and finally bags to be packed.

At long last you come to the juncture. It is time to depart. One last look behind you and you firmly shut and lock the door and turn to go. These moments call for a deep breath as you pick up your luggage and step forward.


As I am still having some issues with my digital camera I stopped by MorgueFile for this photo. This was taken by Gracey from Orillia Ontario Canada.

Stay tuned. I am hoping to have some photos of new work for next time.

Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb. —Sir Winston Churchill

Optical Optimist

2007 has toppled in like a toddler who is unsteady yet on his feet bringing with it a state of trepidation. So far the New Year has seen the death of a family member and the requisite funeral, transmission issues with my car that sent it to the garage for the better part of a week and a host of other annoyances at every turn. But ever the optimist I choose to believe that we are just front-loading the year with some of the bad stuff to make way for a year that will prove to be stellar.

The forecast for the next few days around here is that we are due for a snow storm… maybe. This morning I woke to find a light dusting a snow on the ground and was struck by the beauty of it. As I walked around the yard I happened to glance towards the barn on the next parcel over and thought a shot of it would make a wonderful addition to my blog this morning. When I came in to get my digital camera I discovered that the batteries barely had enough charge to turn the camera on and then it immediately shut off. Of course there are no replacement batteries to be found.

Not to be deterred I headed up to Morgue File and found a photo that is a pretty close approximation of my view of the barn this morning. LOL Ok, sans barn.

Eugenia Beecher, who happens to live in Illinois also, took this photo. Maybe that is why it bears such a close resemblance to the view I see from my yard. If you have not used Morgue File, surf up there and take a look around. It is a great source for reference photos.

For myself I am an optimist - it does not seem to be much use being anything else. —Sir Winston Churchill

Happy New Year

The champagne bottles have all been upended in the pursuit of marking the passage of one year into another. Auld Lang Syne was dutifully sung, and the merry makers of a few hours ago are quietly slumbering in various and some unusual locations around the house.

Yet try as I would I was not able to sleep for more than a couple of short hours. This day holds too much promise for me and I find that I don’t want to let these first precious hours slip away unnoticed. So I put the coffee on and while the others slept I watched the sun rise. Well sort of anyway. It is overcast and rainy here so instead of anything brilliant it was more like watching the sky turn to a lighter shade of gray. But courtesy of FreeFoto I am able to share the type of sunrise that I imagine for this New Year.

May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibility. —Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey