Morning Psalm

I set the alarm for 5:40 a.m. This is the first summer with my daughter that I have found it necessary to do this. The other year's she was my alarm. It was dark when I was awakened by the ringing on my cellphone. I put my headlamp on and I followed my daughter downstairs where we hurriedly dressed under the beaming light. We put our sandals on and than we slipped outside. Although it was dusky I left the lamp behind in the cabin. We hurried through the dark trees to the beach. It was a low tide and there were still little twinkling lights on the mainland hills. We walked east slowly toward's them on the beach. My daughter began to collect shells in a bag. The sky began to quickly light up until even the wet beach under our feet glowed in the red of morning. A raven in a wind twisted fir watched with us or was it watching us? Somewhere across the water, loons were calling. "Your righteousness, God, reaches the skies. You have done great things; there is no one like you." Psalm 71:19
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One more time

It's evening and a northwesterly wind has kicked up. The tree's are sending down showers of needles and cones. I hear a large branch break and fall somewhere off in the trees. I go upstairs and hear flapping against the side of the cabin. What kind of bird is trying to get inside? I wonder outside to have a look. A piece of tar paper covering the plywood high up on the side of the cabin has come loose but I go to bed hoping that in the morning the paper bird will still be there. This wind reminds me that fall is nearly here. Soon the storms will come. The woodshed is full of chopped dry wood but if the weather holds I want to do all the fun things my daughter and I did this summer one more time. Than I will get serious, haul out the ladder and staple those wings down.
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Summer

I pulled the rug out of the sitting room, washed it and hung it up to dry on the fence in the sunshine. When I put it back I laid it down widthwise instead of lengthwise. I cut pictures of contemporary bird paintings out of a wordless children's art book I picked up at the thrift store. I replaced the dated family pictures I had framed in my hallway with these. This has been the summer that I completed refinishing my floor loom. (I've spent the last two summer's working on this.) I used Tried & True Danish Oil and will continue to apply it periodically. I'm really happy with this product and if you want to check it out you will find it on amazon. (No I never got anything free or any rebate for saying this.) The best part of summer is that it is still here. I'm still barefoot and there are still flowers blooming in my yard. Sent from my iPhone

When things need repair

No matter how practically simple I try to keep things invariably I still deal with repairs. Some things have helped me like anticipating what may go wrong and planning for that and if possible to postpone a decision on how to deal with a break down for as long as possible. This is generally not easy but it has saved me money. Sometimes by holding off long enough I will be led to a new decision that I had not previously entertained. There are other things I do. I take into major consideration worst case scenario and I google a lot of things. Prayer which I have mentioned last is in reality my first choice. I had a section of fencing that was falling down and I was faced with what to do. I took my time - prayed over it- planned out exactly how I was going to rebuild it and eventually I did. While it was a relief to complete this repair it came easier than I anticipated and I was left wondering why I often feel so incompetent. Still there is an incredible feeling of satisfaction in doing a good job and in getting it done. The picture is of my Estwing hammer that I "splurged" and bought for myself just before I began my cabin renovation and it is a pleasure to use. It was this tool that taught me that a well built tool is part of a process and in that way a good fit between you and it go beyond the definition of an object much like a good fitting brau is more than a clothing item.
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