This is so cool!....

http://www.naturesoundsfor.me/

An exercise for the future....

My boss' wife is a financial adviser. She came by for a visit on Monday and we got to talking about Allan's imminent, potential retirement. It has been determined by Suzanne and Allan that I must have a new job before Allan can leave. I like the idea although I'm comfortable here and it won't be comfortable to move to the unknown. But I don't know what I want that job to be...AT ALL.

So she said for me to take a tablet and start writing down what I want to have, what I want to do and what I want to be. She said it might surprise me the ideas I get from that exercise and in the end it might open up some new possibilities. She also asked me to think about what I would want to do if I only had 5 years to live and if I only had 1 year to live. Automatically, that didn't include work for me. So she said to think about what I'd have to do to be in a place where I could do that if, heaven forfend, I should find myself in that situation. LJ is a little easier than a tablet so I'm going to work on this here. I've already found some interesting things. So in no particular order...

To Have:
Security, in some measure
Animals
A small subsistence farm- i.e. meat and food providing animals, large garden, pets, land
Time for family, friends, hobbies, and spiritual needs
Love
A home
Yarn
Fabric
Money enough for necessary repairs and maintenance of vehicles and property.
Ability to travel occasionally
Family and friends near me
Children, although they don't have to be mine

To Do:
Give back
Adopt or foster children
Travel
Love
Raise animals
Raise a garden
Lots of crafts (knitting, sewing, embroidery, soap making, scrapbooking....)
Organize
Help others
Teach (Not necessarily formal education)
Grow
Learn
Create processes
Create efficiencies
Create a better world, even if it's only for a few people
Teach others the joy of traditional hobbies and pastimes (Maybe even values)
Encourage courtesy, kindness and thoughtfulness in others

To Be:
Good at whatever I choose to do for employment
Spiritually strong which would include JLQ's
Loved (but not necessarily by everyone- that's just not possible and I know it)
Strong
Proficient
Organized
Helpful


I'm going to keep working on this list but what I am really enthusiastic about right now is being a headmistress at a school for girls, which emphasizes traditional values and hobbies while teaching the value of hard work and courtesy. I'd like it to be on a farm where the girls will share the farm chores. I would like it to be available to foster girls as well as other, perhaps more wealthy (since that pays the bills), girls. It seems impossible right now and maybe it won't be possible but it's a goal. I would be happy having such an environment for a long term foster home as well. Maybe I could adopt children into that environment also.

I guess the first step will be paying off some bills so I could maybe afford property that would support such an endeavor- maybe find a higher paying job (ok what would that be? Wait! Weren't we just here?). Anyone else have ideas?

On thankfulness.....

I was pointed to this blog from another and thought it very interesting. http://rhythmofthehome.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/connections-maybe-we-all-should-show-some-gratitude/

I want to try out their daily gratitude routine. Maybe put them into a little diary that I keep by the bed.

You can't tell me that Cats don't communicate with us...

Last night I was sitting on the couch and Puddin was yowling at my feet. He got up on the couch walked over to where the blanket had fallen off the back of the couch, looked at the blanket, looked at me, looked at the couch seat, looked at me, and yowled. When, like an obedient human servant, I put the blanket on the seat, he immediately crawled onto the blanket and fell asleep.