Leisure Time

Thoughts Like Ants in an Ant Hill
Most of the time I have a bizillion thoughts going on inside my brain day and night. I have so many thoughts sometimes that I can't sleep. (Like several nights ago when it was finally around 3 AM before I started the zzzzz's.)

But when it comes to lassoing one or two of those thoughts and bringing them out in the open, well good luck to me.

One Thought Will be about Church Goers and Atheists
Someday I'm going to put Jimmy Dorrell's newsletter and an article from our newspaper on here. Jimmy is a lover of God and a prophet to the church. The newspaper article is a plea to stop hating atheists...written by atheists I think. That's coming soon. (And when I say "soon," that often means before the New Year if I'm lucky.)

My thought tonight will be a short one b/c I have more things to do before I lay down. So here's the short thought:

Leisure Time Rules
I like not having deadlines. I like not having to do position papers. I like my time not so dominated by things needing to be finished and done and finalized and mailed off. But right now, I'm back on the clock trying to get things written, emailed, snail mailed, and turned in for "the man." I thought I finished all that in 2009. Yet once again, I am back in a type of "school" in order to become more and do differently one day.

I like the kind of leisure that allows me to read, to write, to nap on the sofa, or to sit in my rocker on my deck and listen and look out into my backyard. I like having space and energy to say "yes" to a friend inviting me to have coffee or for  Mexican food or for a walk. I like having time to create. I like enjoying time to blog. I'm sacrificing several things that should be getting done NOW in order to lay down a few words. And so NOW will become tomorrow night which is already crowded with its list....

Leisure Time is Foolish to this Culture
I think leisure time is rare with most people for a variety of reasons.

I think leisure time is laughable for most of today's culture.

I think leisure time (and those who imbibe) is labeled "lazy" or "stupid" or  "antiquated" by today's culture.

The Kingdom of God and Leisure Time
Yet I think the kind of leisure time this blog is discussing is on par with the Kingdom of God.

That kind of leisure,  "wasted" time is like the mustard seed nestled in the dirt or like the one lost penny and a woman sweeping or like a farmer broadcasting his seed while he sings or like the Maker noticing a sparrow taking a tumble from a limb. That kind of time is like a woman's prized, hidden treasure of expensive never-used perfume in an alabaster jar. That kind of time is like that same earthy smelling ointment/perfume oozing and dripping from the tips of Jesus' curls on his head.That kind of time is like dipping bread together and drinking wine together before the big showdown just hours away. That kind of time is the aroma of fish cooking over an open fire on the beach by the Greatest Griller for his friends.

Jubilee
After I graduated from Asbury acquiring my doctorate (in five hard years), I took a year off and participated in the Kingdom of God. I call it my "year of jubilee."

And really at this age and stage in my life, I don't have time to allow anything else to interfere with God's Kingdom that lives in me and around me.

Coming Soon
I promise: Atheists and today's new prophet to the church to come soon . . . as soon as I have some leisure time.

Zach and the Newly Transformed Guest Bedroom

As I type up this little blog thot, Zach the Cat sleeps soundly on the guest bed behind me on this Memorial Day holiday. It’s nice to have his presence in the house as I piddle on projects or as I jump on the computer and set my writing muse free.

One of my projects on this 3-day weekend has been accomplished—rearranging my guest bedroom that also doubles as a corner home office. I have longed for better “office” space and better aesthetics in general in my guest bedroom.

And so I dismantled the room.

Out went one of the two twin beds. In came a fake tree-type plant. Out went a night stand. In came a five-foot long bench. Out went one of my two book cases. In came an oval braided rug. What was against the wall is now open and turned towards a window. What was up against the window is now pointed towards the door.

The room is wonderfully more open, airy, light, and free of furniture crammed in all corners, against walls, and in front of the window. I love it.

Zach the Cat hated it.

When he first gingerly peeped into the new-and-improved guestroom, he stopped at the door and bellowed. Nothing looked familiar to him. His favorite window perch—which was the foot of one of the twin beds at the front window—was gone. His other window perch atop the two-drawer file cabinet was gone. The twenty-plus-year-old blue two-seater sofa/pull-out-bed which served as an alternate sleeping area for Zach was now on the opposite side of the room (which means the WRONG side to Zach).

For the last 48 hours Zach has refused to sleep on the one twin bed left standing. I would put him up there, push his hinny down, and say, “See, it’s a great place to sleep. You can even see out the window from this angle.” But as soon as I tip-toed away, down and out he’d go.

I brought in a five-foot long “church bench” in front of the window. I even put two blankets on it for a soft perch. In my mind, it's just perfect to sit there and watch the world walk and drive by.

Zach has hesitantly jumped up there and ponderously looked out the window for a few minutes, but I can tell he’s not excited about it like he was  about the end of the twin bed or the top of the filing cabinet.

“This looks really pretty,” I explained to Zach as I pointed to the church bench. He turned and eye-ed it for a moment and then turned back to slowly, disgustingly walk away.

The breakthrough happened today. As I was in and out of the house working on three other projects (which are impossible to complete in the remaining hours left of this holiday), I noticed Zach was nowhere to be found.

Not on the sofa in the living room (a familiar sleep spot).

Not on my bed or in my rocker in my bedroom (other familiar resting places).

Then I spotted him. He was in the guest room on the solo twin bed curled up on my newly cleaned comforter. I went over to him and whispered in his ear how happy it made me to see him ease up on the guest-room criticisms, judgments, and general unhappiness. Then I lightly kissed the top of his head.

He purred as he kept his eyes shut.

With my cat asleep on the twin bed, the newly transformed guest room is now prettier than ever.

Ragged in the Rain



A profusion of pink roses

bending ragged in the rain

speaks to me

of all gentleness and its enduring. 

~The Collected Later Poems of William Carlos Williams



Deck Strain...I Mean Stain

Do you like my deck?

You're right.

This isn't my deck nor my home nor my neighborhood.

My humble deck is 1/8th the size of this pictured deck.

After the eight or so steps over the last eight days of readying my deck to stain (thank you Google for guiding me to those helpful steps and stages of deck cleaning, brightening, washing, etc.), I finally applied my water-based (acrylic), semi-transparent, light redwood stain yesterday.

Today I'm applying moist heat to my back. I don't get why it strained my body to stain my deck. Surely not the age thing...?

I think there are slight images

of cat paw and cat rear prints in one corner.

I would have never believed my picky cat would walk across and sit down on a freshly (stinky) stained deck.

Unlike God who declared, "I make all things new" (Rev. 21:5), I can only make my deck like new . . . for a while  . . . until it fades and needs another go-around next year.

SO GLAD this project is completed.

Now on to the list of 48 other home projects....

Zach's Tatt

I got a tattoo for upcoming Mother's Day.

Don't tell Mama Kay!

(It's a secret.)

Procrastination Queen

Why?  Why do I wait to get things done? Why do I KILL MYSELF in writing and formatting and creating AT THE FLAT LAST MINUTE?!

I've had since ... oh say ... February (maybe January) to get my assigned "lecture" done for tomorrow's Big Dilly... and I just got off the computer 2 minutes ago (10:30ish) finishing it.

I've had since .... oh say ... last fall to get my other assigned "lecture" done for Friday's Big Dilly . . . and I'm still finishing up the 10 pg. handout, notes, Power Point.

And it's mere days before taxes are due, and I still have not gathered all my stuff together for my H & R visit.

Why do I DO THIS PROCRASTINATION???!!!

I'm 56 years old and I still have to work on self-discipline and organization and orderliness.  It's like I'm getting worse with age instead of better.

I'm supposed to be organized by this age.

I'm supposed to be planned, poised, and prioritized by this age.

I'm supposed to be calm by this age.

I'm supposed to be wise and smart and collected by this age.


sigh.......

At least the computer didn't crash, the printer didn't jam, and the assignment is done.

Off to bed for this immature procrastinator. 

Come to think of it, I think I've been this way all my life.

See, I'm even running late for bed.....

Gnawing

I have nearly chewed all my nails off.

When I write, I chew.

When I have things due that are breathing down my neck, I chew.

I've worked and worked on two presentations which are due next week.

I am STRESSED about them. Why? That's not like me.

And so now there's little acrylic nail pieces in the living room and at the desk where I type.

I'm in "nail hell." I need help. I should be in a Nail Biter's Support Group.

Instead I will go to Wonder Nails tomorrow after work and get all new acrylic nails laid on top of my psycho-looking nails.

Two weeks from now I will be calmer and my acrylic nails will stay on longer.

Sigh.

For now I will paint over what I have left and then go to bed to start another new day.

Amen.