Good Morning Starshine

The earth says hello… 

It’s 7:00 am on a Sunday. What the heck am I doing up? It’s the weekend and my chance to sleep a little later. And I blew it.

I am definitely not a morning person. It’s not that I don’t like morning. I just don’t like to get up. There’s no particular reason. There’s just something about early morning and staying under the warm covers that seems to encourage my best sleep. I’m really a night owl, not caring to go to bed early. I’d much rather stay up until midnight or so then sleep in until I wake up. Unfortunately, like most people nowadays, I have to work and work starts in the morning; extremely early in the morning.

Snooooze

After I’m up it’s not so bad. But not immediately. I need time. I’m not one of those cheerful, full of conversation, smiling morning people. I more resemble Oscar, as in the Grouch, not the hotdog. Talk to me and I may answer with a grunt or something unintelligible. I move slowly and long for caffeine. After a cup of coffee or a Coke even, my blood starts to circulate and I slowly wake up and return to civility.

A long time ago when aerobics was the dance exercise of choice, an early morning class was offered. It sounded great because it would work perfectly with my schedule, allowing me to go to class and then come home and get myself and everyone else ready for the day. The first class came and I was ready. I had worn my sweats to bed so I could sleep a little later so I was set when I woke up. I headed out the door with great anticipation. I arrived to see a bunch of Barbies, decked out with full makeup and color coordinated fashionable exercise attire. What the heck? I quickly moved to the back row to find a fellow teacher, a male, in sweats, bleary eyed, messy hair, like me. After I warned him not to look at me and explained what the consequences would be if he uttered one word about my appearance at school, we began the routine. I was immediately a beat behind and if they went left I was going right. I stayed in that class for about a month until, secretly relieved, I realized early morning exercise was not for me.

Aerobics in the early morning is just a blur...

I still wait until the last minute to get up, pressing the snooze button however many times I can get away with it. I get ready and head out the door for the hour long trek to work. Maneuvering the road I’ve witnessed the sun rise many times. In the winter the sky is pitch black when I leave and the sun may or may not be coming up by the end of the drive. In the spring and summer though, it’s lighter when I leave and I see the sun peeking over the horizon the entire trip. The colors are amazing. Oftentimes the moon is on one side of the road while the sun is on the other.

Holding my phone up in the car. Notice the mirror?

Morning is a great time to reflect and plan the day. For some people that is. Me? I’ll stay up and decide what I’ll wear and what I want to do for the next day the night before. I’ll watch re-runs or a movie without interruption or work on a project. I’ll quietly slide into bed beside the morning person I married. When the alarm goes off I’ll squeeze every minute of time I can at daybreak, staying in bed under the covers before I have to get up and face the day.

Early morning singing song… 

I finished the Sassymetrical! I didn’t have enough of the beautiful handspun yarn but I managed to blend in some different skeins I had, pretty well if I do say so myself, and the average person won’t be able to notice. It’s way too hot to wear it right now, but in a couple of months it will be just right. I’m ready for fall already!

Front of Sassymetrical

Back of Sassymetrical

Up close with pin

The first light color is where I started adding different yarn

I haven’t had much time lately but I did finish an easy read mystery. Surprise! There were a lot of giveaway books at the library where our family reunion was held this summer so I picked some up. They are older, but they were free!

“Caught in the Shadows” is about a computer hacker who, while doing her job, stumbles upon some secrets of her own past. It’s full of twists and turns making you wonder about the true identity of the ‘bad guy’ all the way to the end. I’m reading another, “A Window Over the Sink”, and it’s funny and nostalgic but it hasn’t grabbed me yet. I’ll finish it, because that’s just something I do but it may take a while. And I might squeeze in a couple of others in the meantime.

A lot of good it did me to get up at 7:00 except that I was able to catch up on a couple of shows I like that I’d missed and I got to knit some on my ‘secret’ project. But I’m rested, just like I would have been if I’d just stayed in bed. So all is well. Good morning!

Good morning Starshine. 

So happy to be…

Sunrise, Sunset

Sunrise, sunset,
Swiftly flow the days.
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers,
Blossoming even as we gaze...

If you’ve ever heard anyone say they live out in the boonies, they are probably talking about living out here! There isn’t a lot to look at. There aren’t many tall trees. There are no big rivers. There aren’t any lakes. But you can see for miles. Really. Off my front deck on a clear night I can see the lights of a town about 60 miles away. And there are gorgeous sunsets. This year there was some extra rain. The average rainfall out here is 12 inches. So far we’ve had around 20 inches. When it rains here things immediately turn green and bloom! It’s a nice change. The downside to that is when it is fall all the plants dry up and there’s huge fire danger.

Wild Sunflowers

The roadside was covered with flowers

After you live out here for a while you come to appreciate a certain beauty in the surroundings. You’ll swear you can see to the end of the earth. The sky is clear and beautiful, no smog or pollution. There’s plenty of room to move around.You can see the rain as it falls miles away.

The windmill in my backyard

The sun through the mesquite tree

My backyard

Clear, blue sky

Raining

Raining over Odessa

I really like the sunsets. I like sunrises too, but I don’t like to get up early. So, I see more sunsets than sunrises. The sunsets out this way are exceptional. The colors are from an artist’s palette, swirling reds, yellows, pinks and oranges. The backgrounds are blue, gray or black.Some look like water color paintings.

Sunset on the way home

Sunset by McCamey

Clouds in the sunset by Seminole

More clouds by Seminole

Hole in the clouds

In the early fall, before daylight savings time, it’s dark when I leave for work. By the time I get there or shortly before, the sun is rising. That’s the time I get to see the sunrise. After daylight savings time kicks in it’s rare I’m up early enough to enjoy the rising sun. It’s almost dark though, when I get home, so I can see the sun in various stages of going down. I guess it’s a fair trade off.

Sunset on another cloudy day

Almost dark

The sunrise is just as pretty. The vivid color isn’t there but the sun peeking through the clouds is magnificent. If there is a picture of heaven, the sunrise could be it.

Sunrise on the way to work

Early morning sun

Sunrise on the horizon

Of course the inviting colors attract me. I have some yarn that reminds me of the sunsets. I don’t know what it will be yet but I’m sure it will be pretty.

 

 

 

The sunrise begins the countdown to the end of another day. The minutes and hours fly by until another day is gone. Before we even notice, it’s a week gone. Soon a month, two months and finally a year pass. And we wonder why time passes so quickly. Would it slow down any if we stopped every day to appreciate the sunrise and the sunset? Probably not.

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

Knitayear is passing more quickly than I thought too. It was just the start of a new strip and now it’s already the second month. If you wonder why my blog dates are a little off it’s to keep it with the knitayear. You’d be surprised how confused I can get with a list of dates! Day 218, November 4 was a bit disappointing. Is there someone in your life that you let hurt your feelings over and over? You know it will happen and it makes you sad, but you don’t break away? It was that kind of day. I picked blue trellis yarn. It’s dark blue, light blue and white. It’s a ribbon yarn with little squares of ribbon then an open spot. Day 219 was much the same as yesterday. Different people, different reasons, same disappointment and hurt. Besides that it’s almost like I’m invisible, concealed behind some desk, not knowing anything. Oh well, I need to accept that it’s this way and move on. It’s November 5, and I found an off white cotton with little color dots. The offwhite symbolizes invisible and the little spots of color, which if you don’t look closely you won’t see, are the bright spots, the days I can be seen. Yes, they are far apart. It’s bound to get better. It’s Saturday, day 220, November 6, and I’m feeling renewed. I got to be with a group of ladies I like, we visited, snacked (of course) and knitted. It was a very much needed break for me. I picked yellow because it was bright. This yellow is cotton with a red and blue thread twisted around to make a solid strand. It’s like the group of friends, each with a different personality, a different life, but held together with a common thread as well. This day brought a happy sunset, and the hope that the sunrise tomorrow brings an even better day.

Now they must learn from one another,
Day by day.
Sunrise, sunset...