Author Archives: mittonmusings

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About mittonmusings

A Canadian, lifestyle blog with an inspirational twist!

Just Sitting Around…

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Welcome back, beloveds! It’s been a spell… and a lot has been and is going on, but I’m still in that “writing funk”. Lots to say, but no clear direction. Ha! Maybe that’s the way it is in life. Always something, isn’t it? And no clear direction as to where it’s going… but here we are at the writing table again and somehow we’ll get through it and something will come out on the other side.

So, where to begin? Well, working on a few projects here at #Itsnottafarm. Last winters ice storm caused several of our cedar hedges to bend over, leaving overhanging branches across our driveway… so I have decided that I am country girl enough I can handle the branch cutter… yup, chopped down several trees. Until a rather large trunk killed off the trimmer! (No worries, Hubby fixed it again, I think!) Nonetheless… processed quite a few in the time allotted. Enough, in fact, to create a “rustic” cedar arbor for my flowering vine. Well. I have the start of one. I have a plan. I have several saved Pinterest pins. The logs currently are sitting on my lawn.

The beginnings of my arbor!

What else has been going on? Oh yes, my beloved father in law turns 95 this month! Which sparked a giant family reunion and a party with the gathering ‘outlaws’. And all my kids arriving home. It lasted for a full 4 days and several large meals later. So the pantry was raided, leftovers created, and a giant stack of bedding to launder. My septic isn’t sure it can handle it all… so the laundry is sitting there in a pile too.

Ninety five years young! What a legacy! Dementia has robbed his mind from enjoying the celebration, but the rest of us enjoyed the company and catching up. Family is good. Quirks, of course. Moments, of course. Yet a godly heritage is priceless. My introverted self needed a day to recoup, though, so I spent a day just sitting around after the chaos.

Then there’s the floor. We decided to rip out the old, stinky carpet in our family room. Okay, we paid somebody to do it. That was an adventure: loading all the boxes into our van only to discover we ordered the wrong colour. Luckily, we checked before we left. We then proceeded to unload, return and purchase and load the new pile of vinyl flooring into said van. The van’s power steering died on the way home. And so, although we have a new and beautiful floor, our dead van is sitting on the lot of our mechanic waiting to receive it’s fate.

My new chick birds are growing and exploring more and more! I found them foraging out on our driveway yesterday! They still haven’t fully integrated with my older girls (the big girls chase them off) but they are getting braver. They will start laying eggs in a couple of months. I am hoping they will use the nest boxes, because recently the older girls are only using them intermittently. I have to get the curtains up. Maybe the nest box pads need changing. I don’t know how to encourage the girls to nest at home 100% of the time, because currently there is a pile of eggs just sitting “somewhere” on our property going to waste.

It’s been really hot these days, so there has been a lot of sitting on our porch where the breeze is beautiful. Or by the pool, where it’s still hot but near the water… and the action of everyone else who chooses to swim. You should see our grand baby! Dunking under like a little duckling without a care in the world! Ooo. I want a couple ducklings. And a goat or two. So I sit and scroll on my phone dreaming and planning but second guessing myself as I probably should not add to the creatures we already have. Or should I?

So. There’s been a lot of “sitting” in the last couple of weeks. Active sitting. Is that a thing? Active sitting? Yes, I believe it is. I’m sure you’ve heard about sitting and “waiting on the Lord”. Lots of references in the Bible direct us to sit, or “wait” upon God’s perfect timing for something. It is not passive idleness. Yes, often it involves rest, but that rest is often necessary to fully see your next steps clearly. Like recouping after family reunions.

Sometimes the sit is not easy. Sometimes it comes face to face with hurts, doubts and realizing that the best options aren’t the ones God has designed for us. When I do find that pile of wayward eggs, I am sure a few would have been eaten by wildlife. The rest will certainly be rotten after sitting several weeks in this heat wave. Gross. Life lessons via the coop. Always interesting.

Sometimes the sit is full of planning, anticipation and a building up of courage. Realistically, I probably spend more “enjoyable” moments planning projects and dreaming about them than I do in actually engaging in the project itself. Cedar arbor case in point. Baby ducklings online are way cuter than the ones pooping in my yard someday. Sometimes that sit before the Lord strengthens your faith, renews your prayer life, and in reality is often more peaceful than the journey ahead. Especially if that journey is letting go. Like our dying van who carries so many memories in its seats.

So, yeah, it seems as though I’ve been “sitting around” a lot lately. In a writing lull. In a seemingly non productive moment of catching up but never accomplishing anything mode. Although maybe, just maybe, like this post, just “sitting around” seemed to write itself. In a direction that God wanted it to go. And that makes it all good. Updates on my arbor soon, friends, I promise!

How Do You Describe Yourself in 10 Words?

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Welcome back. I’m a bit behind in my post this week, but have had a little bit of writer’s block. Nothing has been hard pressed on my mind. Not that I haven’t been thinking of things, of course, but what to share… anyway, I did what any good writer does: Check a few writing prompts to get the juices flowing (thanks wordpress.com). Nothing really grabbed my eye there either except one. Here was the posing question: How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?

Describe yourself in 10 words or less…

Okay, so the obvious. Physical features? Body type? Hair colour, eye colour, skin tone? All irrelevant, really. Does it matter? Does it cause instant judgement if you are a curvy girl? Dark skinned or almond eyed? Do you have an accent? I think about these things when I send out resumes. Or random emails. Do you wonder what I really look like physically when you read this public blog post? Does it matter to the words I print? Realistically, it does. Our views are tainted by the subliminal signals given off in our physical appearances. You’d be less likely to listen to my conservative, religious world views if I was a middle-aged, white American male with blue eyes and silver hair.

So, then we perhaps look at education, or religious beliefs or job description. Age, maybe? Life and world experience? In this world of social media and instant information, a quick Google search will give you the basics on almost anyone. The recent passing of Ozzy Ozbourne flooded tonnes of posts. Each with their own twist. Was he a loving husband and father, or a crazed, bat-head biting lunatic promoting the devils’s music? A talented rock musician who shaped a generation, or an unintelligible drug addict? I’m glad I am not famous. Too many people judge you when you are famous. It doesn’t matter what you do, either. Peace keeper or Terrorist. I suppose it depends on what side you are on.

Recently saw this post: Ozzy on Sesame Street: Do we judge?

I am purposefully not going to answer the prompt question outright. I am going to leave it there for your own musing and thought. What I will say, is that I would love to be in God’s unfathomable brain when He creates people. He knows our little blip of existence in the great line of time. He knows who we will meet and why. He paints those skin tones and eye colours on purpose. He knows how we will feel about this or that and what drives our passions and goals. He knows our deepest darkest secrets and still loves us. Yet, He gives us a free will to choose our own destiny. Like I said, I’d love to be there when He’s mixing it all up. By the looks of some of you, He has a sense of humour, too. Just teasing.

So. There. Four hundred and seventy six words later, and a blog post is on the page. It’s a little shorter than normal, but then, so am I. A little rounder too. Hopefully, the words sparked a little musing for you this week. How would you describe yourself? Why? How did you come up with those initial thoughts? How do you describe your spouse? Your kids? Do we judge? Me? I’m a uniquely designed daughter of the King of Kings who created a fuller version of a slightly crazy chicken loving girl who shares my thoughts out here on the internet once and awhile to encourage strangers to think a bit about what they might think of themselves and others. May you go forward and be prompted by your own thoughts on the subject!

The Dual Nature of Floods: Devastation and Renewal

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A few weeks ago, I told you the hubby and I were visiting Montreal, and it was hot! Forty plus Celsius. On Sunday, we went to visit a family friend (and a faithful blog reader — he’s gonna be so excited I mentioned him :)) As we were enjoying his back porch, catching up on old times, the rains finally came in. And then it came down. Torrents of water filled the old Montreal streets and quickly overwhelmed the storm drains. Our friend received a call that his church basement was quickly flooding… so we all braved the downpour and headed over. We arrived to find the afternoon’s Spanish congregation mopping frantically. Amidst attempts at shuffling the lunch potluck and emptying mop buckets back out to the street, we managed to get the flood somewhat under control. I giggled when the Spanish guys tried to Google translate messages to me from Spanish to French when we all spoke English… but we made do, and with mostly hard work and a few shop vacs, got the floors mostly back to “normal”. They have a hard road ahead dealing with the municipalities and church government to plan for future floods.

Caution: Wet floors. Yep.

To make matters worse, after that few hours of soggy labour, we returned to our rented room to find wet throw rugs and puddles in our basement abode! It wasn’t a huge disaster, and although none of our belongings were affected, our host graciously discounted our time significantly for “our troubles”. As I dotted our room with slippery footprints, and hauled towels and throw rugs into the shower stall, I mused: God is still in control, but a little rain can easily change our circumstances. We build tall buildings and establish our roots, only to have them quickly washed away in major floods and mudslides.

We’ve watched a few documentaries about flooding. The news certainly shares its moments of this or that disaster and the rescue efforts in the wake of tsunami’s and flash floods. People have been swept away so suddenly; lives lost in a blink of an eye. Others loose everything but their lives. And then the aftermath. Clean ups hundreds of times the scale of our little church basement episode. Waterborne diseases and filth and mold, mud and … well, you get the picture. Water can be so life giving on one hand; we need it for our very survival, but so devastating at the same time.

Hurricane Katrina, Texas, Western Canada: Floods create Disaster

The great internet tells me that the most horrific flood in history was the 1931 floods in Yangtze, Yellow and Huai Rivers in China. The death toll was estimated between 1 million and 4 million people. God promised He would never send another world wide flood to destroy the Earth, but 4 million people is a significant dent. Plus the after effects of disease etc. Yeah, sobering thoughts. So, can floods, like wildfires, have benefits?

Again, the internet tells me flooding can replenish our groundwaters, wetlands and transport much needed micronutrients to the soil. Dry land, when flooded, can spark new growth or animal re-population. Much like the Biblical description of flourishing trees of abundant fruit, planted near streams and overflowing riverbanks, the water source once again revitalizes life.

Alas, what do we learn, my friend? I’m about to self talk because it’s been a tough week for me. I’m feeling a little overwhelmed by a “flood” of things filling my mind with doubts and sadness. So, here we go:

  1. God is still in control and we can trust His promises.
  2. Tiny floods mean we need to work together to get the job done.
  3. Sometimes the rain is needed and is refreshing.
  4. Find your security. Don’t get swept away. Be prepared, for a time of flash flood can happen quickly, and catch you by surprise.
  5. When it is all over and the dry land once again appears, it will be in a state of replenishment, and new growth will result.

I am reminded of Ezekiel’s description of the flood waters flowing from the Temple in Chapter 47: with its many trees growing along its riverbank, for it makes the salty waters of the Dead Sea fresh again, and there will be swarms of living things and life abundantly wherever this water flows. Be blessed and refreshed my beloveds.