Running Out of February

And really, that's not a bad thing, watching February come to a close. One month closer to the end of winter and the beginning of spring. We've enjoyed an exceptionally mild winter. Lovely really. But what happened to all the winter projects I had planned? For the most part they are waiting. My own book is waiting, simmering so to speak, never completely out of my thoughts, it vacillates between a full boil and a stew. So why isn't it ready to serve up on a bed of white paper?

Because I find myself...

Reading, not writing. Working at church, not writing. Babysitting and visiting grandkids, not writing. House cleaning, cooking, entertaining, rearranging furniture, shopping for new furniture, visiting with friends, talking on the phone, browsing the internet (no end to interesting stuff to read out there!), goofing off on facebook, relearning to crochet again (yes I'm aware of the redundancy), figuring out life and relationships, spending time with my husband, taking walks...not writing.

Those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them.

One of my precious charges.

The two of 'em.

The Beaver Dam, frozen over, but too snow-covered to skate on.

Tracking a beaver. Did you ever see beaver footprints in the snow?

                                                              Me neither.

By the Light of the Moon

A little moonlight, 

                 a little snow,

                         a walk in the woods.

     

                                                           

                                            A couple of red birds in a snow covered tree.

And the kitty lies down with the dog

                                          inside the cozy warm house, in a nice sunny spot.

Reposting a Quote

From my other blog, Write the Vision... The nicest place to be is in someone's thoughts. The safest place to be is in someone's prayers. And the best place to be is in God's hands. C. Marilyn Austin I know friends are thinking of me and praying for me -- and I'm returning the favor. What a safe, secure, content feeling. Wish I could stay here forever. You too?

Too Young, Too Soon, to Say Goodbye...

Susan Niebur, aka Whymommy, passed from this world into heaven. Her husband entered a final post on her widely read blog, Toddler Planet -- http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/goodbye/ 

An amazing life, inspiring, vivacious, brilliant, kind, generous, loving, short. Too short. Her mother and father shared that her passing was gentle and peaceful, a small consolation, but hugely comforting.

In Susan's last post she revealed her reluctance to call on hospice care. A post before that told of her trip to the hospital with breathing problems and pneumonia. I remembered when my brother was very sick with cancer. The last I spoke with him was 2 weeks before he passed, April 21st, his 36th birthday. I hung up the phone and cried because I knew he was dying. That memory washed over me when I read this post on Toddler Planet -- http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/how-did-we-get-here/
And I cried, because I knew Susan was dying.

I awoke last night, not having heard anything for days, startled, sad, called to pray in the middle of the night. God gently preparing me, and kindly using me... to pray.

She was ready. How kind of her parents to share that with us... and this: Susan passed away this morning, gently and peacefully, with Curt at her side.