The Simple Woman’s Daybook – September

Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year’s mistakes had been wiped clean by summer.

Wallace Stegner

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“Another turned page”. That’s what September has always been for me. A chance to start fresh, like the freshness of the air breezing into the house through my open windows. A chance to make new plans and goals. Regroup. Pivot. Check. Ask God for what He expects of my life going forward.

In truth, September usually turns out to be busier than I want it to be. Fall activities like winterizing the trailer, readying the garden and yard for its winter slumber, getting back into household routines, meetings, and volunteer activities … these take up precious minutes that I’d rather spend in tranquil reflection. But life isn’t like that, is it?

So I snatch these quiet moments to reflect and recenter myself; to look for the truly important, the beautiful, and what brings me joy.

Hello Friend,

How was your summer? I’m so glad you stopped in today. It’s been a hectic few months and about time we had a good visit. I’m offering tea and cupcakes; tea brewed by me, cupcakes baked by a specialist. Please help yourself.

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For Today

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Looking out my window …

Is an expanse of green surrounded by rustling trees, under a September blue sky. We’ve come out to our small slice of property where we keep a vacation trailer. It’s quiet. So quiet. The land, the trees, the sky, the quiet. All little pieces of heaven. At the edge of our boundary, the neighbour’s vegetable garden sits idle. Normally I’d see her in her garden about this time of year, harvesting her potatoes and carrots, but they moved away in the summer, so never planted in the spring.

I am thinking …

That I’m so glad we got our wedding well done this summer. Our province has just moved into new restrictions because of rising hospitalizations, and the wedding we had in August would not be possible now. It was a beautiful day, Babe was a gorgeous bride, and I got many wonderful comments on my fascinator.

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I am thankful …

For The Cowboy. Two personalities could not be more different than he and I are. I’m pretty sure that, had we had access to one of those dating sites before we ever met 43 years ago, we would never have been put together. For example, as I sit here reflecting and writing about the quiet, he has just fired up the power washer and is proceeding to wash down the very trailer in which I sit meditating. I can only laugh at the irony. I’m convinced that it is our differences which keep this marriage so very interesting and fun. He has expanded my horizons in ways I could never have imagined all those years ago. Yes, I am indeed so very thankful for him.

I am wearing …

Black capris, white and black-striped V-neck top with ruffles at the elbows, gold earrings.

I am reading …

Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy. This quote from page 33 made me cry:

We fool ourselves if we believe that life is the tedium of our to-do lists broken up by occasional highs … and occasional lows … Everyday life is utterly extravagant. It is morning glories we did not plant. It is four children we did nothing to deserve. It is moonlight and starlight, rainbow-coloured leaves and autumn rain. It is the shelter of trees, the songs of birds, and the enduring sight of a farmhouse on a hill. It is more beautiful than it needs to be. It is more meaningful than we can begin to comprehend.

Chrisite Purifoy, Roots and Sky

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I am listening to …

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I am hoping …

To start a new blog thread that focuses on our brand new house-build. I need to document this journey, and it’s been a long one even before the diggers go into the ground. If you don’t mind, I will share that journey here at times, mixed in with our other visits.

To give you a taste, the expanse of green I mentioned earlier will give way for the house we’ve been dreaming. Yes, it’s finally time to take that dream off the shelf, permanently. Exactly a year ago I wrote about keeping dreams on a shelf, at Dreams and Other Burdens.

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It’s exciting and a little bittersweet, this dream, and it’s why that expanse of green is so precious to me in this moment. I’ve captured many images of it in my mind and digitally, so I can go back and remember …

Which brings me to what I am learning …

To capture moments – snapshots – in my mind more than on any device or camera. Instead of preserving for the future from behind a lens, I’m choosing to be present in the moment; to open new pathways in my brain where I consciously store these memories. What a wonder.

Closing Notes …

I hope you are enjoying the extravagant Septemberness of September in your little corner of the world. Thank you so much for the visit today.

Stay safe out there, and see you next time.

Shared Quote …

There is a clarity about September … the sun seems brighter, the sky more blue, the white clouds take on marvelous shapes; the moon is a wonderful apparition, rising gold, cooling to silver; and the stars are so big.”

Faith Baldwin

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http://thesimplewoman.blogspot.com/

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Feature Image by ddzphoto from Pixabay