Mundane

This has been a rather mundane week, so maybe I can keep this post shorter than usual, but don't count on it.  Often times, I feel like my blog posts seem so mundane as I drone on about my ordinary life. 
Is there a way to find purpose in the mundane?  How can we make mundane marvelous and meaningful, rather than monotonous?

Akin to the Sister Cheryl's thoughts in "Where is God Calling You?", I find myself wondering why we have trouble with the mundane and routine.  Why do we feel as though our days are not only not noteworthy, but maybe not even worthy?   Because we live in a culture of instant gratification, have we forgotten the subtle beauty of the ordinary, the sweetness of the simple, or the blessings of day-to-day life?  Doing dishes, weeding a garden, or folding laundry can be a chore, but they can also be a time to contemplate.  It is why I enjoy walking my dog, riding my horse, working out on the elliptical and hiking in the woods.  Also, mundane tasks, inglorious chores, even burdens, can be a way to see the Face of God or be the Hands of God. 

Saturday morning I woke at 5:12 and the power was back on.  Fifteen minutes later I got a text from Joe that he and Britney arrived in Puno after an all night long bus ride.  Glad I missed that.  Seen right, she is holding a millipede (I think this was at Machu Picchu though).














I checked on the nest of Song Sparrows by the front door.  There were two more babies and two eggs yet to hatch.

I did two loads of laundry, and before working at the pool from 2-7, I planted this crapemyrtle (seen right, behind the rock).  It is a Bloom Bash variety and has dark burgundy leaves.

The minute I got home I fed Maggie and then took her on a much needed one hour walk/hike.  We went up Library Trail and hit Sculpture Trail, where I noticed this new cat sculpture (female on one side, male the other).  I had Maggie sit by it to give you an idea of size.  It was dark by the time we got home, and just about bedtime.

Sunday I started this blog post.  It was an unexciting, unproductive, boring day and my weekly calendar had nothing on it... thus the reason for my blog title.  (It was also a rainy, gloomy day.)  I did two more loads of laundry, one with dog blankets and bedding.  I put Maggie's thick beds away because she has been choosing not to use them lately, it's just too warm.

After getting home from church, I have no idea what I did all day, but I did notice that Facebook is like the fridge, if you're bored, you keep opening it.  I get disgusted with myself for eating a bunch of 'crap' (and viewing it on my computer).  I did a lot of sitting around, but there were some dog walks.  During a long one I took the above photo of this beautiful cactus in bloom.  I also went to the gym and worked out on weights and swung by Food City on the way home, toting with me several salads along with ice cream and a few staples.

Before bed I got this photo from Joe.  Can you see what Britney has scooped out of her nasty looking green soup?  An even grosser looking chicken foot.  Another reason I prefer not to travel abroad, but to stay home and eat my kind of food.  In a photo (guess what's being eaten) they sent last week, there were ladies sitting near them eating guinea pig.

Monday was National Maritime Day but I could not change my outside entry decoration because of the bird nest.  I usually put my wooden flag out for the whole month, but I was unable to on Armed Forces Day and wouldn't be able to for Memorial Day either.  I did check the nest which either had more babies or the four had gotten larger.  Now the parents will be coming and going more often to feed this crew.  This stupid Blogger site flipped the photo upside down.  Ugh, but you get the idea.




I was gone from the house, horsing around, from 10:30 until 3:30.  I met Deana at the barn and we rode to Terry's where we met Jan.  Seen here, Jim's horse Zip is very interested in Sandy.







Sunny and Donkey came to greet us and seen in left photo, they were looking at Jan and Cash.






We gave Deana a tour of Terry's farm, and while Jan was showing her the tack room, I held Sandy.


Then Jan got this photo of the four of us girls together.

Next the three of us (six if you count our horses) rode into the Glade.  Seen right, we were leaving Terry's.





We enjoyed each other's company, the beautiful day, the sweet smelling honeysuckle, pretty wild flowers, and the nice roads and trails to ride on in the mountain foothills.

Here is another (video attempt) of Jan jumping Cash.







Deana and I decided to go back to Wildwood by way of the power lines because the new trail was rather muddy and slippery.  Seen right, a view of Jan from the top of the hill where we paused in the field (the forbidden zone) to watch Jan heading back to Terry's.

I jumped right into yard work shortly after getting home.  I did a lot of weeding, tied the daffodil leaves into neat bundles, and planted these three arborvitae.


During clean up, I put Maggie (who had been tied in the yard) into the house.  Soon I discovered she was watching me finishing picking up tools outside.  (Note, she is not allowed up on the balcony.)  This is where she was also sitting when I came home from Church on Sunday.  Apparently, I had forgotten to put her in the Mancave.

While hauling dead limbs, that had come down in the yard, to the other side of the creek, I saw this oval deer size depression in the tall grass (seen left).  I wondered if a deer had bedded down there overnight sometime recently.








We all (the cat, dog and I) had a late dinner and then I took Maggie on our usual long evening walk.  Just before bed, I got a photo and text from Joe.  I was glad to see he and Britney were in Arequipa and having a more normal (mundane if you will) meal of pizza, beer and pop.

Tuesday was overcast and looking like rain.  I went to the pool before 9 am to open it for the day, doing the mundane tasks of cleaning and setting out pool paraphernalia.  Shortly after getting it ready for customers, a little rain shower occurred.  A bit later it cleared off, so I continued to hang out and wait for customers or see if my boss wanted me to close it for the day.  The call came shortly after noon, and I was out of there by 12:40.  I went to the conference center to turn in the days paperwork and pick up maps, guest passes, and area information to give the visitors I was expecting on Saturday. 

It was raining when I got home, which made for a wet dog walk, and I was cold so I had a cup of hot tea.  Stevie was feeling much better and racing around like her old self which was reassuring and entertaining.  Maggie and I of course joined in, and broke the no balcony house rule.  Below, the finish to a game of hide & seek.

Stevie likes to hide in that stairway window and then jump out and attack Maggie, and chase her down the stairs.


It rained most of the afternoon.  I was going to do housework, in preparation for company, but was lazy and continued reading my book I had gotten absorbed in while sitting with nothing to do out at the pool.  Finally, I made myself at least go to the gym to do a weight workout.  I saw this sign on the way driving past Druid Pool.  We attendants at the adult pool are hoping it doesn't get too crazy busy out there in June when families are allowed to use it.  At least they are being encouraged to go to the beaches or indoor pool.


I couldn't tell how many babies there were out front, but I did observe that they are getting more feathers, and are hungry.

After a 7:00 dinner, I could see that a storm was coming, so quick took Maggie for a 15 minute walk.

We hunkered down, I read and Maggie hid in the mancave, while it stormed.  We went on one last walk before bed, in a cool mist.

Wednesday morning it started raining soon after our first walk of the day.  The forecast for rain all day ended up being fairly accurate.  But it was a good chance for me to get the mundane inside chores done.

Can you see three squirrels and two chipmunks in this photo?  There are two squirrels in the one flat feeder, count tails.







Seen in right photo, the rain started up.  It was off and on all day.  I slipped out on dog walks when the skies brightened, but did get sprinkled on at the end of two walks.


I also got out of the house to go to Ballroom Aerobics.  My legs felt like lead weights so I did not have a bounce in my step.  I probably should have stretched after my workout the day before.




By day's end I had the house completely cleaned and ready for guests.  I had even mostly accomplished the monotonous, meticulous, mundane task of sorting and filing the four inch pile of papers on my desk.  I still have remaining about 30 little note papers of reminders, things to do, lists of things to remember like people's names, movies and books to experience, projects, items to shop for, etc. etc.  Blogger flipped this photo too. 😒

During our last, long walk of the day, I turned to look back down the fairway of #18.  You can see how the day's weather panned out.  We had spotty breaks in the clouds with occasional sunshine, but also several rain clouds toting and dumping precipitation.  Maggie and I got sprinkled on yet again before reaching home.






Once home and in my PJ's, I treated myself to beer and popcorn and watched last week's and this week's Survivor (three hours total) so was up way too late.  I still needed to watch the reunion show to find out who won.

Oh, I had also gotten an update and photos from Joe and Britney.  These Peruvian traveler's experience is anything but mundane.  Seen right a viewpoint of the Andes I think from Santa Catalina Island.  Lower left they are atop a mountain pass with Colca Canyon below.  And lower right, Britney soaking in La Calera hot springs. 

It was 54 degrees at 6 am Thursday.  I saw Mr.Snapper back down at our end of the pond when I was putting out corn for the ducks.

It is hard to fathom that five years ago I posted on Facebook that school was out forever.  I can't believe I have been retired for five years.  Where has the time gone?  I also can't comprehend how I stayed up till midnight grading papers and was up by 5 or 6 am to tackle the next teaching day.  I deprived myself of sleep, my children of mommy-ness, and Joe of wifely duties.  But I did the best I could for my students.

The day didn't warm up much, and was quite cloudy and windy.  I needed a jacket when walking the dog and even turned on the fireplace for awhile.  I got all my little note papers taken care of, re-writing things on to six different lists.  Several notes I could just throw away because I had done the job listed or the event was now past.  I was hoping I wouldn't have to go in to work at the pool, and midmorning got news, it would be closed the remainder of the day.  That gave me five hours of time I wasn't planning on.  I bought groceries, finished watching Survivor (another great season ended), and took a nap.

It wasn't until 2 pm that I ventured outside to work in the yard.  Things were still damp, so I started with bush trimming.  Before photo on the left (with a potted redbud to see if I like it there).  Seen below, everything nice and trim.








I decided it was too much foliage to dump in back, so I filled the back end of the SUV with sticks, branches, leaves, and brush.  Brian had a trash can load of stuff too, so we stuck it in and he helped me unload all of it at the yard waste dump, at about 6:30.

I got distracted by this front corner bed and weeded it, and redid some of the rocks and brick.  I need to figure out the drainage, determine if it is an issue, and fix it if necessary.  Then I want to finish this bed.









Friday I worked outside in the yard from 9 am until 9:30 pm.  Yep, over twelve hours.  But I did take breaks to walk the dog and eat lunch and dinner.

I transplanted a dogwood, moving it in front of the electrical stuff at the side garage entry.  In its place, I put a cherry (seen above, between the two rocks) which was an impulse buy, on sale, and I didn't know where else to put it.  I also planted three Redbud trees.  I still need to plant six blue rug juniper that I placed (still in their pots) down in the mulch, seen above and left.

 
I really hacked back the forsythia and planted one of the redbuds in the center of this bed.  I want lacy, see through tree foliage, to better protect the birds when they are at the feeders.  It may shade the deck some, which I hope Joe doesn't mind.  I finished this bed with mulch.

Seen right was the next flower bed I tackled.  I trimmed all the bushes and even moved one over a foot to better space it with the others.  Then I weeded and weeded.









I finally ended, in the dark, mulching it.  And I got all of the mulch pile completely moved off the driveway.  I took the left photo the next morning.

I still need to work on this corner, seen right.  I want to transplant the iris and need to do something with the Surprise lilies that I think need to be planted deeper in the ground.  I have a little more mulch piled by the side steps to complete this bed.








I did haul another load to the brush dump, which was burning again.





The Song Sparrow babies are really growing.  I count five heads in this photo.

Although it was a quiet, ordinary, mundane week,  I enjoyed the pace and found it to be a refreshing change from the go, go, go.