It Happens to Be

Tissue Tearin Tiger

This morning I sleepily shuffled to the other end of the house to wake the boys, so snoozy that my eyes were mere slits, open just enough to keep me from breaking my neck in the dark.    I flipped on the hall light and announced a new day was beginning – Wake Up; it’s time to get ready.  Announcement complete, I turn to make my way to the soggy sleep snuffer (a.k.a. the shower). As I pass the linen closet it occurs to me that I need a clean towel.  Eyes slightly ajar now, I turn the door knob and what happens next could be defined as Eye-Opening.  Out of the closet leaps a ferocious and vocal tiger, ah hem – cat. The clambering and meowing and fluff that accompanied her exit was enough to let me know that she had spent the night in there. Like most cats, Katie has a personality that rivals some of the strongest Type A people I know. She had to express her displeasure in a manner that would make the greatest impact – thus the “Tissue Confetti Fit” ensued.  (Note: This is not the first time a 12 pack of tissue has succumbed to the wrath of Katie Bird claws.)

  

Despite this escapade, Katie is the coolest cat.  She has been hanging out at our house for about three years now but prior to that she lived with my sister for the first six or seven years of her life.  We have come to love her high strung kittyness and actually argue over who her favorite family member is – we all want to be the one she loves on.  She is quirky in the sweetest sense. With her bob tail and affinity for down comforter sleeping, we wouldn’t know what to do without her.

 

When I get home tonight, I have a mess to clean up.  Katie’s precision and accuracy in her shredding technique do make this tissue confetti a great additive to the compost barrel – albeit expensive!!! Now that I think of it, I trimmed her nails last night – maybe she didn’t like her manicure and locked herself in the linen closet??? 

Meow!

A Perfect Example

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28

These are probably not the pictures that your mind conjures up when you hear this scripture but it’s one of the first things I thought of when I saw the Eco-Dorm garden at Warren Wilson College.  Even the casual observer can see how these creatures are working together; some pollinating, others eating harmful insects and some just beautifying the landscape and making me smile.  What was amazing was how many critters there were in such a small area.  You haven’t seen bugs until you’ve seen the likes of these guys – thousands of bees, butterflies, ladybugs and others that I couldn’t even identify – all living in harmony for a common goal.  So what if their goal was survival, for us (humans) it means life as well.  Only about 10% of flowering plants are able to pollinate without animal assistance, which leaves a whole lot of work to be done. We can be thankful that so many of the fruits, vegetables and flowers we enjoy are made possible by those “working together for good”.  Not only were the insects hard at work, there are some pretty special people working hard to make this garden so impressive. I was fortunate enough to meet Jeremy who is one of the caretakers of this little slice of heaven. 

Jeremy was full of knowledge about the plants and overflowing with energy about his work and the sustainability of this project. For those of you who don’t “buy in” to the green living and sustainability culture, Warren Wilson College is a perfect example of how these practices are being successfully employed.

Thanks to Jeremy for indulging all of my questions and sharing some exquisite blackberries and tomatoes with us!! Oh, and an extra-special thanks to Leah (Jeremy's sister) for so patiently waiting to go to breakfast - which wound up being lunch because we chatted so long!

These berries were part of their breakfast, er...Lunch.

This girl is having some breakfast too....isn't she (I know, this is probably a male L)the most spectacular sight!

Check out more photos of this wonderful haven at my flickr photostream.

Ciao ~ Renee

Soft Sounds

One morning last week my husband and I found ourselves sitting at the table sharing coffee before work. Mind you, this is extremely out of the ordinary for us. Our mornings are usually crammed with alarm clocks, hair dryers, closet rummaging, and noise levels teetering around the 100+ decibel mark. But as we sat there unrushed, with our children indulging in summer sleeping hours; my husband looked at me and said, “I miss soft sounds”.

Oh! I had been so busy basking in the glory of this simple time together that it hadn’t even occurred to me how truly quiet our house was that morning.  Not silent. Just Calm. Quiet. Soft sounds – you know, the ones that you have to be paying close attention to hear. Like the clink of a wedding ring on a coffee cup, tinkling wind chimes on the deck, the chirp..chirp…chir-oop of the finches on my bird feeder. Pleasant, soothing sounds.

 

I never asked him to clarify soft sounds but it was these things that flooded my mind as I tried to appreciate the statement he had just made.  It seems to me that far too many days go by that I don’t appreciate the “soft sounds” in life. Always rushing; frantically searching for last minute items, hurrying children into car seats, rushing through the yellow light to make it to the next destination – all on hyperdrive. It was only because of the conscious decision to get up a bit early (this was my precious husband’s idea) that I had the opportunity to reflect on how hurried, rushed and LOUD my life is.  I’m so grateful that those two words helped me re-focus, if only for a short while; and pay attention to the less obvious, softer sounds in my life.  They are many, mostly pleasant – I might make getting up early for coffee with him a habit!

Renee