And yet another

Its almost noon here, and I've spent the morning running errands. This small valley town closes on Mondays, so fewer people are out. There are only a couple of bigger stores like Home Depot and KMart that stay open, plus the grocery stores. And after unloading a full trunk in my Saturn Vue, I was ready to do house chores like watering plants, and mopping the hard wood floors.

I did get outside to see the pond in the west garden. Leaves are peeking fall colors and this pic doesn't do them justice. What I did discover is that the pond has a leak. My guess is that raccoons have just played around in it a bit hard. My next chore is to remove the stones and the pond frame and replace the piece before winter sets in. With a working motor, it is a source of moving water for the critters and birds. Soon enough the leaves will fall and it would make it time to clean out the pond anyway.

I was reading about being blocked in working with quilting. The article spoke about quilters needing to step back and away for awhile. Some never return and others come back refreshed. It gave me pause to think about how quilting fits into my life rather than BEING my life.

Each year, I made a list of quilts I wanted to create and get out, and then worked almost non-stop. This year (2014), I moved some of the quilts on that list to the 2015 list and gave myself some space. Its been ok. At first I thought that I would probably try and do them, but I kept my word and let myself relax.  Right now, I have only a few quilting projects to work on in the next few weeks and really like being able to walk outside in the gardens, walk through the stores without pressure and plan a few things to do that are non-quilting.

I want to take some time and write letters to the elders in my family back in the midwest. Mail is so fun to receive. My life is busy just like everyone else's but those moments of connecting to folks I love is really, really important to me.

The leaves outside tell this story. Brilliant colors that start with green, move to the yellows and now to those bright reds. I know that a good wind can take them off their vines, because it will be time for that change. If the colors are like the seasons in our lives, then the vibrant reds tell the story of life just before it blows away. I just don't want to miss those seasons. And I will get back to quilting soon enough.