Tag: single mom

The Plant Wipes

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My daughter stood in the doorway and said, “Your room has such a vibe since adding that plant.” I agreed, and a couple have been added to her room, but she’s been forewarned “If you come home one day and your room is my new studio, you stayed gone too long.” 😂

Hill Country Water Gardens began as an Artist date, but now it’s routine for immediate inspiration. I’ve written about it here, and it’s my happy place, but instead of looking for flowers for the yard, I discovered the magical, massive greenhouse filled to the brim with houseplants. That’s where the plant wipes were stacked as a display and just seemed like they would add value to my life and the plants.

You saw the smallish Fiddle-leaf Fig in the post, The Plant Stand, and that one is doing so well, I purchased a larger version for my bedroom. I don’t know if you noticed the tree in the feature photo of Queen of Everything, but that’s Jordan’s Fiddle-leaf Fig. They’ll get huge if you let them. The leaves are large, but I noticed over the weekend they love to collect dust. Well, that simply won’t do.

I brought the plants wipes home, opened the container which was reminiscent of baby wipes. Pulled one out, laid a leaf in my hand, and wiped the entire surface. I started at the top and worked my way down, one leaf at a time. The wipe began turning black, revealing evidence of dirt from each leaf. I’d discard it, grab a fresh one and keep wiping. It was a meditative experience.

I learned things about the plant being that close up, and they say working with your hands is food for the soul. Maybe that’s why I’m happiest in the yard with dirt covered hands. As you can see, there’s no dirt on this plant thanks to an odd little item we’ll remember as the plant wipes.

Feed Your Soul

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It’s hard for me to disappoint people and be okay with it. I felt the need to step away from one of my jobs for the weekend, but that means the weekly newsletter won’t go out. Of course I could sit here and push through to get it composed and scheduled, but my thought all week has been, “What condition is your soul in, Barb?”

Over the years I’ve often remembered a song by TobyMac where he sings, “I don’t wanna gain the whole world and lose my soul.” I’ve always wanted to impact people’s lives in a positive way, but what they don’t tell you as you’re pouring into other people’s lives, there’s a balance. To all my world changers out there, take time to pour into your own world.

A photo shared with my daughter last night.

Reading Simple Abundance this week has fed my soul. What she’s writing about is precisely where I am. Examining every piece that makes up my world and asking it, “Are you pretty and useful, or just pretty useful?” As there’s almost another decade in the rearview, there’s still purpose burning deep inside.

I’m going through items in my home room by room with that question in mind. I moved a large piece of art I’ve had for years from my bedroom to the kitchen and it’s like it has new life. I’ve learned that plants love light, but aren’t happy sitting on the window sill in the heat, so, why do I still have one sitting by me on the sill looking miserable?

Because I like it there. The container it’s in is a gorgeous deep jade, but there’s not enough energy for it here where I sit and type, so we’ll move it to another room until we find the balance of light and energy it needs. I moved it to the kitchen near the window, but now I have an empty space beside my desk. I’m learning to be good with spaces.

I followed the words of Simple Abundance and am listening to the soundtrack of Out of Africa, and it feeds my soul. I refuse to look at any work related apps until Monday, and am pondering how I want my coffee this a.m. Will it be a pour over, or Chemex?

When my daughter asks, “What are your plans for the weekend?”, I’ll swiftly respond…”Whatever feeds my soul.”

The Second Half

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Last week I posted a series of memes on FB about aging. I want people over 50 to be excited about the second half of life. One of my walking routes through the neighborhood takes me by a couple of old Ford trucks that have been cared for. They’re gorgeous, and I think about my truck being considered a classic one day.

My neighbor is older than me, and he’s my life mentor. When I’m perplexed about the best way to fix, or do something, he’s my Guru. He shares what he would do, and then has several suggestions on what not to do. I tell him all the time, “You know everything!” He chuckles and says, “No Barbara…I’ve just been here longer.” In the book I’m writing, he’s called Hercules, and there’s a chapter entitled, “A Hammer, Screwdriver and some duct tape”, filled with his wisdom.

The best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

Andy Rooney

I love a clean truck, and growing up, we hand washed our cars. I’ll still hand wash my truck, but it’s too hot outside to be enjoyable, so I’ll run him through a carwash. Hercules has a Ford F150 older than Steve, (my trucks name) and he takes it through the Glide carwash. When I ask, “What are you doing today Hercules?”, he’ll say, “Today we ride the Glide Barbara.” He loves that carwash, so one day I took Steve.

This carwash felt like walking through a hurricane. It’s powerful, and I told Hercules I couldn’t ride the Glide after it almost ripped one of Steve’s sideview mirrors off. He said, “Don’t you fold them in?” I said, “Yes, but the force of the wash popped it out and bent it backwards!” This is when he realized a girl drives this truck. Hercules, would have shrugged it off while reattaching the mirror with duct tape.

I found a more gentle car wash for Steve and drive him through regularly. He’s 14 years old, and at the stage where things give out, and parts are replaced, but fortunately he hasn’t let go of anything major.

I’ll be 58 this October, and to some that sounds old, but I’m excited. Everything we learned in the first half, can be applied to the second half, and by refining our experiences we get to do it right in the second half.

The Plant Stand

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I watched my actions, and they all seemed normal until I caught the stick on fire. Sitting on my zafu meditation cushion, I grabbed the lighter and lit a stick of Palo Santo and thought, “What would a man think seeing me light a stick on fire inside the house, with music for plants playing in the background?” Just another reason why the doorway is still empty! 😂

I mentioned here about having house plants, so now I’m really into plant stands. Just like everything else, I’m particular about them, so the one that gets my attention has to speak to my heart. World Market has become my favorite store. It’s inspiring to walk through, and it’s close by which makes for a refreshing, afternoon break from the laptop.

The first plant stand was for this smallish fiddle leaf fig. This guy was my test subject, purchased at a local nursery for less than $20. I left him sitting in his plastic pot for almost a month, just to make sure he was happy before any further investment. Since placing him in the plant stand, he’s doubled in size, so he’s happy.

Sunshine pillow and plant stand ~ World Market.

This may be the first stand for this plant, but he was sitting in a woven basket before this stand. I did some research on plant stands to see what was available in stores before driving around. I hadn’t purchased a plant stand for an indoor plant in years, and I’ve learned it’s best to see something in person if possible before buying. Nowadays, the picture seems to outdo the actual product.

I saw a stand on the WM website, which showed it available in store, so off I went. When I got there, they were closing the doors, but let me in with a warning, “We close in 10 minutes.” Quickly, I walked over to the plant stand area, but didn’t see it, so I walked through the store thinking it might be part of a display, and it was. It had a large, artificial version of my plant sitting in it, which was a good sign.

I wanted more time to ponder the stand, but felt pressured by the store closing and couldn’t decide. It was pretty, but it looked better in the photo than on the store floor. As far as I could tell it was the only one in the store, so I was taking a chance leaving it. There was a less expensive woven basket sitting nearby that would work, so I took it up to the cash register to pay. The cashier told me if it didn’t work, to bring it back.

Stepping outside, I heard the click of the double doors locking behind me. Holding the receipt, I already knew I’d be bringing it back, because I’d listened to my head instead of my heart. A few days later, I returned to the store, but this time came home with the plant stand.

Cover photo by Spacejoy on Unsplash

Feel the Music

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Whenever my daughter wanted to lighten the mood, she would step into the room and belt out the ‘and I’ part of this song like a mini Whitney. Whitney Houston had a set of lungs like no other, and recorded this song for her movie, The Bodyguard, but it was written by Dolly Parton.

I watched, “Here I Am“, about Dolly Parton on Netflix. I find her to be such an interesting woman. She was one of the first women to make it big in country music, and wrote a song early in her career to set the record straight called, Dumb Blonde. Dolly never cared what other people thought about her and she created a persona larger than life.

Dolly was asked to be on the Porter Wagner show and that gave her exposure because there weren’t many TV shows in the early 70’s. When Dolly was ready to leave the show and move on to other ventures, she wrote this song as her way of saying farewell to Porter. He had stopped listening to her, but knew she could get through to him in song.

This clip is from the movie The Bodyguard, which is one of my many favorite movies. This recording caused an uproar by people claiming it was Whitney’s song, but Dolly said, “It is her record. It never sounded that way when I sang it, but it’s my song.” Whitney sang this song to fill in the movie soundtrack, but it far outlived the movie.

I believe one of the kindest forms of love is when we love someone with our whole heart, but have to let them go, and do so gracefully. Your paths cross, intertwine and split, with no bitterness, only love.

My hope for every soul who crossed my path is…

“I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I’m wishing you joy and happiness
But above all this, I wish you love”

Even though you’re no longer in my life…I will always love you.

Whitney Houston ~ I Will Always Love You

It’s Own Time

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I bought a flat of impatient’s for the flower cart. It surprised the cashier when I sat the entire tray on the counter, and it surprised me too. I didn’t plan on planting many flowers this year, but plans change. The flower cart can hold a flat, or full tray, and they’re beautiful to see, but now I have 48 little impatient’s, patiently waiting to be planted. 😍

My God is sneaky. He knew I wouldn’t be able to look at an empty flower cart for long.

This week, I rearranged my bedroom, and moving the bed is always an adventure. It was pretty dusty under there, and I’ve written about it here. My daughter and I each have a long, rolling storage container for off season clothing under the bed. They had sat side by side with a small gap in between and captured all of the cat’s jingle balls. That’s a score!

Once the bed was moved, I had a semi empty wall. The artwork looked scattered, so I moved two pieces to fill the empty spaces. It all lined up perfectly, so I could see that was not my doing. On my best day I couldn’t do that, without scattering holes over the wall. This was seamless and took no effort. It’s like they’re resting on an invisible wall length shelf.

Local artist Rachel Brown. 💖

The wall of art gives an immediate feeling of calm and centered. I could add more art above this row, but that’s how it is with me. God lays it out perfectly, and I want to tweak it, but this time there’s nothing to tweak. And Dawn, when you read this you’ll know, the wall of art we spoke about in our letters, fell into place all in it’s own time.

From the post, ‘Just Say Yes.‘ Artist ~ Mrs. M

The Softer Side

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I changed my WordPress Theme again, and will probably keep changing it until I find one the right one, so bear with me. My friend Jeanne over at Still a Dreamer messaged me saying she couldn’t find my previous posts. Taking a closer look I realized there was no footer, just endless posts. Thanks to Jeanne speaking up, I enabled the search feature in the footer.

While there, I changed my tagline, and I knew a change was coming, just didn’t realize it’d be so soon. My previous tagline came from a small poster I purchased locally almost a year ago. It hangs by the coffee bar as a reminder to, “Never settle. Don’t even think about it.” I was looking at it the other day and it’s safe to say I have that one nailed, because I’m still single! 😂

One of my favorite women of the world was and still is Kate Spade. I have to be careful going down the Google rabbit hole because eventually I’ll start seeing some of her stuff. I love her style, it suits me, and Google knows it. I saw a quote by her recently, and this quote feels more like me.

The rabbit hole led to Etsy.

It’s softer and I want to nurture that softer side.

Considering I just went to the grocery store to purchase flowers, there is a softer side. I picked up a few groceries as well, but my main objective was flowers. I wanted to end my day by seeing flowers and start the day seeing flowers and who knows, a year from now maybe I won’t be single if I funnel some of the energy from being a strong woman over to the softer side.