Good morning, dear readers.
Please come quietly in the front door–no knocking needed–you’re all invited. You can sit on the living room floor, if you like, or at the kitchen table or, OK, I’ll move over and we can share the couch. Let’s not even turn on any more lights. OK, OK, who said they want some coffee? I’ll put a pot on to brew. Oh, you want some tea? What kind? Never mind, we’ll put out a selection.
Let’s not talk much. Let’s just sit in the semi-darkness and be present in this early morning dawn. Not that we can see the sun. It’s raining lightly outside, drip, drip, drip. The tree-skeletons are starting to show in the woods, as the finery of yellow and red leaves drape onto the wet earth. Surprisingly, patches of green leaves still remain, tender leaves, leaves not yet touched by a hard frost.
Brightest yellow leaf in puddle
It’s 48 degrees this morning (8.88 Celsius). I was lazy and just checked the computer, instead of walking into the kitchen and peering out the window at the thermometer. I know one of you volunteered, but this seemed easier.
It’s so peaceful, isn’t it?
Part of me wants to write a peaceful blog every day. I love quiet, peaceful blogs. You stop by them in cyberspace and you let out your tense breath (you didn’t even know you had a tense breath until then!) and you suddenly notice your heartbeat stilling. Maybe someday I will stop writing wild & crazy blogs about heart catheterization (whoa! That got your pulse pumping, didn’t it?) and Freshly Pressed (oh come on, Kathy, I’m sure that didn’t make readers peaceful, did it?) and I will simply post quiet, soothing, lulling beautiful photos and calming peaceful words.
Or not. **grin** Because there are so many sides to us. There are the peace-loving sides and then there are the fun-loving sides. And all the sides in between. And, when you have a blog, all the different sides get a chance to speak their truth, if you let them.
See how it’s getting lighter now? Hear the woodstove motor humming in the basement? Anybody getting hungry for breakfast? There’s not a lot to share–but, by golly, we’ll find food for all. I know. We’ll make oatmeal. Hands up for who wants oatmeal. You, you, you… oh come on, I can see some of you frowning. The two of you can have my cereal. There’s a little almond milk. And you two can have the last two eggs. I’m not making it all for you, though. We can take turns in the kitchen. Thanks for volunteering to wash dishes.
We should get started soon. I have to go out to work at the school this morning. For maybe three hours today. It’s a day off school for the students. Teachers are at an area-wide inservice. So the old school will be…peaceful. Quiet.
Kind of like this morning at home.
Kind of like this blog.
Peaceful, yes?
If we start to lose our feelings of deep peace we’ll breathe deeply (deeper, a bit deeper) and feel our feet on the earth and sweep our gaze widely around us and watch our breath instead of following those crazy renegade thoughts into their next reaction. Peace can be cultivated, you know, and wooed. It can be our soul mate, just waiting for our love and attention to be re-kindled even in the busiest or craziest moments of our days.
I am imagining all of us so relaxed that we’re feeling exquisitely good. NO falling asleep allowed in the car or at work!
Anyone else want to share their suggestions for cultivating peace?
As they say in church: Peace be with you.
And also with you.
OK, enough peace talk. Looks like the oatmeal is ready. Shall we chop some apples and sprinkle with cinnamon and maybe add some raisins?
Lake Superior Spirit 
Sounds like a really yummy breakfast, Kathy. I could join you, but then it may not be so peaceful. I can picture us laughing hysterically about something.
Great blog for me to read this morning. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Oh yes, indeed, how we would laugh hysterically! But then the others would send us to the basement for our giggles until we could control them and tiptoe silently but merrily back up the circular stairway to the peaceful room.
Smiling at you Kathy for being so thoughtful and so intuitive. How did you know that a peaceful blog would be just perfect today? And yes, raising my hand, oatmeal sounds yummy today, I brought some dried cranberries to share too! They taste really good in the oatmeal 🙂
Kathy I love all the sides of your beautiful self, the peaceful, quiet side, the wild and crazy side, the contemplative side, the practical side, the silly, giggling side, every bit of you! You add a richness to my days by being here, thank you! ♥
Mmmm, thank you SO much for those dried cranberries. They taste so wonderful. I shall have to buy some the next visit to the co-op. Oh how the “sides” love your unconditional acceptance, Brenda. They all want to be like you, perhaps by 2012?
Thank you for starting my day so wonderfully!
Another bowl of oatmeal? Or would you like a fried egg? You are very welcome.
A simple “yes” and a thank you, Lady of Peace…
And you, my friend, can bring home the leftovers because you live so close. All the rest of the guests will have to fly and so they can’t carry home the leftovers and, heavens, Barry and I can’t eat them all. LOL!
I know what that experience of sharing morning with you is like from spending a few hours with you in NYC…
Because being in your presence is peaceful.
Yes Oatmeal please, with works!
Some great photos!
Why, Jeff, do you feel this hug? I hope so. Thank you for that peaceful comment. I sometimes think I am a very peaceful person, but hyper-sensitive to when peacefulness is not predominant. Would you like another bowl of oatmeal? There is more than enough.
Kathy,
I was wondering what that feeling was? A hug from you! Oatmeal is always good but more than one bowl is too much!
Oh GOOD, I am SO glad you felt it! Have a wonderful day, Jeff.
I’m with Jeff – oatmeal with the works, please! And “Brightest yellow leaf in puddle” was a great way to launch a peace-filled day. Thank you!
Want to know a secret, Laurie? These two photos come to us from the 2009 blog, published before I discovered cropping and photo editing. So I just photo edited them a bit and brought them forward to admire again.
Rain does good things, like make puddles for pretty leaves to lie in and to reflect the tree skeletons from above. I’ll take the oatmeal with cinnamon and a little sugar and milk. Chopped apples would be good, or berries. Bananas would be wonderful. No raisins for me, please. I love grapes, but do not like the nasty old codgers they become when dried up.
Oh, Carol, I would have offered bananas for the group, but we didn’t have any in the kitchen. Yum, bananas! Oh, there are some frozen strawberries in the freezer; would those be nice? We don’t have regular milk, but we have almond milk. You do not have to eat the dried codgers, lol.
I’ll have a banana in my oatmeal, but don’t worry – I’ve brought it along. Thanks for the invite to breakfast in the soothing rain.
Oh good! I KNEW someone would bring along some bananas. I am glad you came. Wasn’t it a peaceful time?
Oatmeal is what I would call porridge I think,..? (or am I confused with muesli?) If it is, then I like porridge but I’m generally too lazy to make it for just myself since Himself developed a lifelong phobia for the stuff after his mother made it for him often as a child and he was forced to eat it.
Let’s just say that I’ve tasted my mother in laws cooking and I fully understand because she thinks things with big uncooked lumps is fine to serve up in any dish. No sugar or cinnamon in her versions either she proudly told me once when I asked her about porridge, she said she liked it healthy. (Himself almost choked on his coffee when she said that and told me afterwards that ‘edible’ would have been his first preference LOL).
I think oatmeal is porridge, kiwidutch. I am 60% sure that it is. Poor Himself! Big uncooked lumps? No sugar or cinnamon or other delights? Please pat his hand consolingly from someone across the sea, and urge him to sample a delicious spoonful topped with at least six delicious additions.
May I add some walnuts to your wonderful oatmeal? I can smell your wood smoke and coffee while we all share space in your peaceful woods. You simply have no idea how well timed this particular blog is. That lovely leaf floating on the image of the trees against the sky,…..awesome! Am wondering how Barry’s surgery went? Wasn’t it yesterday or am I off? Thank you again for slowing my breathing and helping me put a really bad week in perspective!
We INDEED have walnuts in the freezer, Susan. Along with a handful of cashews and some sunflower seeds. I am happy that this blog was well-timed. Barry’s knee surgery was Wednesday and went really well. He is healing nicely, we hope. Please feel free to email any time if you would like to share more about what is happening in your life.
I love quiet … for me it is refreshing and comforting. However, I know a lot of people that are very uncomfortable with silence of any kind.
I love your first picture … the reflection is a great background for a leaf.
It’s interesting that folks would find silence uncomfortable. Like you, I find it so healing. Always thinking of you fondly as you heal, and as the leaves fall to puddles all around your cabin.
I love your puddle pictures. Yes, this is a peaceful post. It reminds me of your coffee on the deck post from some time ago. I still wish that you and I could sit and have coffee together some day – your deck or mine! 🙂
Remember that day, Karma? Oh, didn’t we have fun? Who would have expected that we would be sharing oatmeal together yesterday? Or was in the day before? I would love to have coffee with you some day. I’m not drinking it every day now, but saving it for special occasions like being with friends.
Those beautiful pictures go perfectly with your peaceful breakfast. So sorry I missed it. I promise I’ll be there next time. I’ll bring cookies 😉
Michaela, in cyberspace we are NEVER late! Breakfasts continue on for days… However, I am thinking of your cookies and wanting one. Now. Thank you!
Peace can be evasive, and that’s why I always welcome your blog. Just reading it and looking at the pictures brings a soothing calm.
Bonnie, gosh, peace CAN be evasive. Our crazy thoughts are always trying to convince us that everything is falling apart, and that certainly is NOT peaceful. Thank you for saying that about this blog.
Great picture of the leaves and tree reflected in the rain puddle.
I love oatmeal on a cold morning with a little sugar and milk. Chopped apples, berries or raisins are always welcome.
I am glad you came to our morning gathering, dearrosie. Do you like tea or coffee?
Love those autumn leaves in the puddles with the trees reflecting.
Kala, I am glad you liked this picture. so many of the fallen leaves look so enchanting. Thank you for visiting.
Thanks for the peaceful start to my day. Yes please about the apples and raisins.
Dawn, wasn’t it peaceful? We are now out of raisins. Would currants do as a substitute? There are still a few apples left. I know afterwards you will want to go travel around the Keweenaw and see your old haunts.
Definitely a peaceful blog, one I enjoyed deeply, quietly as the sun goes down over the mountains. My evening will end slowly. A light dinner, a soup maybe, it is cold up here (about 40 degrees ?, 6 Celsius). Some reading and probably some happy quilting while drinking a herbal tea. Thank you Kathy for making me aware of how peaceful my evening could be too. Love your pictures !
I am breathing more deeply and peacefully just reading your comment, Isa. It does sound cold up there in the mountains. Wondering what kind of soup you chose to make, and what kind of herbal tea you like. (I like your blog because it IS so peaceful, Isa.)
HI Kathy, for once I felt I have actually visited your place, in reality and we had the most peaceful and blissful morning breakfast 😀 How I want to feel that same coffee smell! I enjoy peace and quiet too, its nice. Thank you for the beautiful thoughts 🙂
How nice it was to meet you, Sonali. Do you like to drink coffee, or do you prefer tea? It was the most peaceful and blissful morning, wasn’t it? thank you, always, for stopping by and pausing and sharing of yourself.
Your blog always makes me think and smile and breathe a little deeper, Kathy. I like a rainy, quiet day with dim light and drippy sounds. I like oatmeal, too – sometimes.
Barb, we’re a Mutual Peaceful Admiration Society (MPAS) because your blog makes me feel the same way. Today’s light is still dim, but the wind is blowing fiercely, scattering fallen leaves everywhere. (I like oatmeal sometimes, too. Not ALL the time. Sometimes…)
I had steel-cut today and thought of you. I put fresh strawberries and blueberries and blackberries in my bowl – the blackberries were soooo big! It was snowing and blowing hard. I was a little bummed – some of my friends and I had planned a big hike for tomorrow. Now – two of us will drive to meet the other in a “warmer” part of CO. Hope you’re cozy there in the UP.
We are cozy, Barb, at least inside. Outside a cold wind has been blowing for days. No snow yet, though. I would like some of your blackberries, please. They sound delicious.
Peaceful, happy, joyful, amusing, and breakfast on top of it all (I’ll bring some honey. Honey’s good with oatmeal).
Mmmm, honey is delicious! We do have some in the cupboard, south Korean honey from chestnut trees, a gift from Christopher’s future in-laws. But your honey would be delightful, as well. I am glad you were able to come. Very much, Val.
Where do you keep the tea towels ? Amy-Lynn and I can dry the dishes.
Oh how I love you and Amy-Lynn! Volunteering to do the dishes! You can come for breakfast any day. 🙂
Kathy I felt so peaceful as I was reading this post. It is so special to start a day with restful and quality thoughts. Mmmm…..the breakfast sounded pretty good too.
My mornings (the days I don’t go to work) have been very peaceful lately. So glad to share them–and breakfast–with you, as well.
Kathy, I am SO sorry to have missed breakfast but the peace and quiet of the morning still lingers in your words 🙂
In the Cyberworld, we never miss breakfast, Colleen. I saw you sitting over there on that white couch in the corner, smiling and silent, your own peace and quiet adding to all of ours.