The Simple Woman's Daybook, Aug. 2016

Today I am linking up with The Simple Woman for her monthly Daybook, a place to share photos and thoughts on the simple pleasures of life.

For today...

Looking out my window...

the sun is shining and everything is a deep green again after Saturday's much needed all-day rain.  The weeds are, unfortunately, growing quite well, too.

I am thinking...

that I could really use a nap before Bible study tonight.  We always have a good time and stay late.  I don't want to be falling asleep in the middle of it.

I am thankful...

for the friend who called on the way to her doctor's appointment this morning to ask if I'd like to have brunch afterward.  It was good to get out and spend some time with a friend I don't see much of these days.

One of my favorite things...

a warm, juicy tomato just picked fresh from my own vine with a bit of salt and pepper.  It's summer in your mouth.

I am wearing...

demim capris with embroidered cuffs and a neon green t-shirt touting "Beach, Sunshine, Paradise."

I am creating...

an organized home.  Turning my daughter's room into a private space just for me after she moved out has spurred me to go through the whole house exercising the excess and organizing things to help life run more smoothly.

I am reading...

a book to review for Revell Publishing.  It's not a title I would normally choose for myself, but I am learning a great deal from it.  It's called I Wish He Had Come With Instructions: The Woman's Guide to a Man's Brain.  While I am learning about men, I am learning a great deal about myself.

I am hoping...

tonight's the night my husband finally gets done fixing his truck.  It took a while to decide what was wrong and what the solution was, then we had to find the necessary kit (not available from regular auto parts stores...only found online) and order it and wait for it to come, and then began the ordeal of removing the old and putting on the new.  Through all of it he has been using my car.  I have been without a vehicle for over a month.

I am learning...

to take my thoughts captive, to be in control of them, rather than me being controlled by them.  I am learning to stop before I speak or act and think about what is motivating me.  Why am I saying this?  Why am I doing this?  Am I doing it because I really want to and because it lines up with God's truth?  Or am I motivated out of fear and emotional neediness?  I have been stunned to realize just how negative and toxic my thought patterns have become.

In my kitchen...

tomatoes picked from the plants growing in pots on the deck march across the window sill ripening to perfection in the morning sun.  The last remnants of this past Saturday's gender reveal party can also be spotted...a stack of pink and blue plates, a dish that needs to be returned to the one who brought it, a blue balloon drifting lazily in the corner.

By the way, grandchild number 3 will be a boy!

In my garden...

which is really just a collection of pots on the deck, the tomatoes are ripening with dizzying speed, the peppers are growing but seemingly taking forever to ripen, the herbs are thriving, but the cucumbers...have failed.

I added a new "pet" to the garden today.  He's very low maintenance, but cute as can be.

Board room...

I have been pinning a lot lately.  I am pinning recipes to use summer veggies and those for the crock pot since school will be starting up in a month and I will be heading back to work.  My quest to "get organized" has led me to pin all things that streamline spaces.  Finally, I have been pinning ideas for bathroom remodels as the main bath in the house, the one my daughter claimed as her own all through her teenage years is in sad, sad shape.  That is the next big project on our list.  We like the idea of a rustic look and of course I want streamlined and organized.  I tend to like just a bit of an industrial look as well. I think I found the perfect look...

Pinned from The Pink Tumbleweed

Post Script...

My husband is not really the camping type, but I came across this site for an amazing little campground right here in our home state.  I am working on him...because this place just looks delightful and fun.  You can stay in your RV, camper or tent, but you can also rent "cabins" that resemble anything from an Amish home to a pirate ship to Noah's ark to a covered wagon and more!

This cabin is a caboose!

Shared Quote...

"None of us like to have people trying to 'fix' us. We want to be accepted for who we are, even with our idiosyncrasies. When we feel accepted, we feel safe. When we feel safe, we're more likely to make changes on our own." - I Wish He Had Come With Instructions, The Woman's Guide to a Man's Brain by Mike Bechtle

Closing thoughts...

It's hard to believe we're in the last month of summer already and it will soon be time for school to start up again and for me to head back to work...unfortunately, I haven't found a different job while I've been off.  

This will be the month when we finally begin to do some things for fun.  There are flea markets to see, zoos to visit, fairs to be enjoyed, and birthdays to celebrate.

My mom and I share the same birthday in August.  This year marks 72 for her and 52 for me.  To mark the occasion we are taking Mom to Conneaut Lake Park to ride the roller coaster.  The Blue Streak was once the biggest, fastest wooden coaster between New York and Chicago and the ride everyone wanted to go on.

When my mom was growing up, her mother forbid her to ride it and being a good girl, she listened and she never got to ride.  A few years ago cousins talked her into going to the park to ride it.  She went and bought a ticket, but the coaster broke down and didn't reopen again that day.  As Mom said, after nearly 60 years, her mother was still winning.  This year I decided it's past time for Mom to ride that roller coaster and she is excited.