Ordinary Days

There are always things or people we take for granted, and sometimes when they are no longer in our lives, we sense or see that they are missing. I am not sure I am any better at noticing what I love while I have it than other people are. This morning, at least, I am thinking about it.

Today is going to be another ordinary day that I have planned at the clubhouse so that I can pin the last two borders on two of the quilts I am working on for Winter Solstice Gifts. While I work on them, it is my hope that I pay attention to the stage they are in, how they look and how they feel to my spirit. This kind of work on a quilt allows for my mind to wander.

I don't think I ever took for granted the Northern Cardinal that is so abundant in MN. I just expected to see them wherever I went. Who knew that they don't fly west of the Rockies? Whenever I return to MN, I hear them and spend hours scanning the nearby trees just to catch a glimpse of them. The Northern Cardinal is like an heirloom quilt.

When I first saw the sweet little dash of red from the Purple Finch at my feeder here in southern Cali, I got mighty excited. But they are not the same in any way. Where the Cardinal is a more solitary bird whose territory is shared with a mate, the Purple Finch is friendly to other birds and shares the feeder with other backyard birds. It is an ordinary bird who choses to fit in freely. This Purple Finch is like a utility quilt that can be washed over & over, and dragged across the floor.

I love red. It makes sense that a splash of red in nature grabs my attention, just as much as a splash of red in fabrics makes me swoon. I just wish reds didn't bleed so much. I guess that's the price one pays to use it in a quilt. And there are things one can do to protect the integrity of the other fabrics.

When anything is ordinary, the definition says that there is no special quality to it, and that it is plain or undistinguished. Its probably ok to have ordinary days. There is room for ordinary in our lives. And today is such a day for me. Ordinary.