TJ
TJ
TJ
Even though it has remained hot and humid for weeks on end, and we've also been experiencing drought and red flag conditions, a few nice breaks in the heat have allowed moments for me to get back outside to play in the soil! Experiencing the wonders of my garden again after so long, awakened the sleeping poet within and inspired me to write a few lines about her. Even though she had been left to her own devices for many weeks, she seemed to do quite well on her own. I used to spend many sweet and solitary hours writing poetry, drawing and painting in my younger days. Sadly, I tend to forget those loves until some small something nudges them awake again. I will definitely be doing more of those things in the future!
I have been attempting, once again, to get higher quality sleep and have a better sleep schedule. I have attempted this a few times before, but end up getting discouraged when my mind refuses to cooperate and demands to stay up late. So, I have always thrown in the towel and went back to my night owl ways. This time, I am determined to push through the hard part. I have been applying every bit of good sleep hygiene advice that I have in my arsenal. It is still a work in progress but I am hopeful I will get there. Or...at least achieve some improvement.
Our family had sad news this past week with the sudden passing of a close family member. It is still fresh and raw and we are in the early days of processing it, but we are a family of faith so that helps to comfort us in these dark days.
I hope your week was filled with pleasant weather, good news, garden blossoms, sweet dreamy sleep and a hopeful heart for bright days ahead!
Thanks for stopping by!
💋xo,
TJ
Inspired by the untamed and self sown beauty that is a small section of my garden, left mostly to it's own devices during our unusually hot summer. I am a wilting flower in hot temperatures so I was unable to tend and reign in much of it but...it THRIVED. And thankfully, these flowers aren't as delicate as their mama! All photos are unretouched and unfiltered, as the beauty of nature simply cannot be improved upon by such, in my humble opinion.
I present to you my wild, untamed, rambling thoughts that mirror the garden as I visited her at sunrise...
this moment is what she lives for,
tomorrow is not a thought.
my garden is a wild child,
her living not for naught.
will you let your garden blossom?
running yon and here and there?
living as a wild child,
like my garden, will you dare?
So, let's get back to it shall we?!
It has been one long, hot and humid summer. And the one day we got a bit of rain, thanks to Harold, it was just enough to create a sauna for us! Someone in our area said "you know it's bad when we're praying for a hurricane! ". Weather has been strange and extreme in many parts of the country and my heart and prayers go out to all.
With keeping cool as one of my top priorities, I have been concentrating my efforts mostly inside, with only short trips outside to try and keep our lawn and garden alive by watering and brief trips out to run necessary errands. One the rare days that the humidity is not suffocatingly high, I try to do "bonus" outdoor jobs, with seed sowing being at the top of the list, in hopeful preparation for a fall harvest.
I still find ways to enjoy the great outdoors by watching the birds, squirrels and even wasps making good use of the little birdbath oasis I keep full with fresh water for them. All creatures are welcome at TJ's Sweet Birdbath Oasis!
I have been whiling away some spare moments sipping on cold, sweaty glasses of iced tea while reading books I was able to download for free from OceanofPDF . I mostly read nonfiction and have found several of the books on this site that I have been curious about.
In the kitchen, I have been having to be creative with meal planning and prep, as finances seem to keep getting tighter and tighter living on our fixed income in this precarious economy. I continue to focus on purchasing sale items in bulk and cook and bake as much as possible from scratch which seems to be our saving grace when it comes to keeping our bellies full.
On a more dismal note, in winding up this week, I found out that some of my social media accounts were commandeered as a "prank", supposedly (not a very funny one). I probably would have never known except for the fact that the person (someone we know and who has since apologized profusely) picked the one Instagram account that hasn't been used in a good while to send messages. I began getting questions from a few folks that took the time to privately message me about comments made on their accounts, knowing I hadn't been using the account lately. Luckily, it was caught early and no real harm was done so...all's well that ends well. I have learned from this ordeal to never leave my phone laying around unattended! I will ask that anyone that may have received messages from me out of the blue, please know that this is what happened and kindly disregard. The WWW and social media definitely have their upsides and downsides!
How have you been spending your summer?
Thanks for stopping by!
👄xo,
TJ
There's a new "Morning Routine and Where I've Been" video up over on my TJ's Sweet Home YouTube channel! I'd love it if you'd stop by. See you there!