Grace in Small Things 7:365

1. Finding just the book we were looking for at the used book store.

2. Free gifty things.

3. Warm-cool breezy air against the skin.

4. Whole wheat capellini pasta that cooks in only 3 minutes.

5. Old Ontario tune "Rattle on the Stovepipe" with new lyrics (by Flapjack):

Last night I heard the lake ice creaking
Morning brought the first warm breeze
Snow is melting off the rooftops
Sap is running in the trees

We're dancing 'cause the ground is muddy,
Laughing for the longer days
Strum the banjo, squeeze the squeeze-box,
Grab the spoons
And start to play:

Rattle on the stovepipe
Bootjack Jews-harp
Rattle on the stovepipe
Bootjack Joe...

Scenes From My Kitchen Table

A container of combined Cadbury milk chocolate eggs and Hershey's meltaway eggs, an empty container of chocolate n almond lace cookies, packages of yellow Easter peeps and chocolate mousse bunny peeps.

Two over-ripe bananas, two nearly-ripe avocados, four sweet potatoes past their prime, a tin of leftover Christmas cookies, a few sheets of leftover Christmas paper, my pizelle press.

A household budget book, a hand-held solar-powered calculator, a pen, and a card box full of receipts that need to be entered, a small stack of newspaper coupons.

Two large, square plastic boxes of breast-pump parts and bottle parts that are not currently in use, a clean towel with clean bottle parts laid out, the spare nipple shield, a microwave steam-clean bag for sterilizing parts, a pair of tongs for moving clean hot parts.

An extra large container of powdered formula, a small plastic box with a bottle of infant anti-gas drops and eyedropper for administering drops, unopened prescription eye drops, a damp baby washcloth, pre/post-natal vitamins.

A folded paper towel, formula dust, a silver-plated butter knife, a tall drinking glass, a small yellow plate with wavy edges and bread crumbs.

Ten packages of soft, brightly colored "sculpty" oven-bake clay.

Sunlight, dust motes.
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Grace in Small Things 6:365

1. The extra-rich layer at the top of a container of whole-milk yogurt.

2. Summery warm temperatures after winter weather.

3. Chance contacts & a chance to make some ones afternoon with an appreciative email out of the blue.

4. Cheerful sunflower stamps.

5. A baby wiggling around and actually enjoying a warm water bath.

Better Now Than Never

I'm taking a crash course in the Do It Now philosophy. If I have a spare moment or more, I'm learning to do those things I need to do NOW. If I wait, the moment's gone, so gather ye rosebuds, eat breakfast, write a thought, etc. while ye may.

This has necessitated a clarity about my priorities that I sometimes don't have. Such as: do I eat or sleep or spent time on facebook connecting with friends? It's not always an easy choice (I need both for sanity).

Our latest sleep book tells us that chronically lacking sleep can bring on an overtired state, in which adrenaline not only keeps one moving past fatigue, but then prevents one from resting or sleeping when such time is available.

Oh, I can feel it. Last night, I lay awake for nearly half an hour, even though I had been craving sleep for the previous 24 hours. Similar things have happened to me when I was in school, where coffee made it impossible for me to take advantage of the time I was awake. I need to use every moment I can get my hands on!

So I'm practicing using those moments where ever and whenever I find them, and using them for what I really need. What I need is always sleep, but it's also wiping down the kitchen table, washing another bottle, getting dressed, getting a bite to eat, sweeping the floor.

Here I am talking about my routines again. Heck, yes, I'm also talking about maintenance! But my usual routines are fragmented. My time is shredded. Instead of an hour or fifteen minutes, I'm working with three minutes or a half hour that may end at any moment.

And even beyond routines, how much of a post can I write in one minute? How much can I edit images in 5 minutes? How quickly can I set up the sewing machine-calculator-desktop-kitchen so that I am ready to undertake something creative the next time a spare five minutes appears?

It's a daily version of living your life as if you may die any day. I can eat now, but at any moment, the baby may wake up and demand attention.

Seize the moment! Write that post!*

*Yes, even if it takes you all week.
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Grace in Small Things 5:365

1. The King's Last Song, a marvelous novel set in both ancient and modern Cambodia by Geoff Ryman.

2. Sturdy plastic packaging bags with zippers and snaps that can be reused.

3. A fresh budget book

4. Soft pink terry cloth.

5. Short snows that make everything look pretty and hushed, forcing everyone to slow down, that then melt and let Spring back in the door.

Grace in Small Things 4:365

1. Chubby yet delicate baby fingers

2. Blueberry-banana-walnut muffins

3. Sunlight glancing off of snow, car chrome, and ice-melt puddles

4. Plum and lavender-colored clothing

5. A bonus amaryllis bloom

Grace in Small Things 3:365

1. Leftover chocolate fondue

2. Flocks of birds picking over the holly berry trees

3. Cute baby sweaters that someone gave us that actually fit

4. Automatic overdrafts with no fee

5. Yellow daffodils from my sister's yard