Mindful Living

It’s Not Just Friday. It’s Pole Bean Day.

Posted on by Jean Campbell

I try to gang all my meetings and errands together. I pick a date to get them all done. I assume I will not be able to do regular work on that particular day. This was supposed to be that day. But my first meeting ran over, bumping my second meeting out of the running—it was a lunch with a new user's group, so no one would even miss me. Cool. My afternoon meeting was canceled due to illness, and so I found myself at home with nothing planned or pressing. Part of me really wanted to blow... Continue reading

Grill Starter Kit: A Jar of Used Cooking Oil

Posted on by Jean Campbell

We don't fry much anymore, but my daughter had a birthday recently and she wanted burgers and real, home fries. Hey, it's her day. She gets what she wants. And they were yummy. But afterward, there came my usual fried food cleanup quandary. I don't like to pour the used cooking oil down the drain. It could clog things up. I hate to fill the garbage up with this stuff knowing the bag could tear and then what a mess. Throwing it out in the yard seems wrong as well. What to do? Save it for... Continue reading

Move!

Posted on by Jean Campbell

If I were a bit more mindful of my tasks and not so attached to the outcome, I’d enjoy my work more and suffer less physically. I must be watchful of overdoing. This tendency and its result are obvious during my days in the garden. I’ll have a bed I want to put in or a walkway I MUST get constructed over the weekend. Come Monday morning, my hands are beaten to shreds, my back is aching, and my feet cry out with that first morning walk across the floor. It is easy to make the deduction:... Continue reading

Repurpose: Scarf Turned Draft Buster

Posted on by Jean Campbell

What a serendipitous discovery! I've been doing a great deal of organizing, cleaning, and culling over the month of January. It's a pretty regular event for me. I get the Christmas tree off to the kindling heap and holiday decorations packed up and out of the way. This activity almost always instills in me the burning desire to bring order to my ever chaotic household. I love scarves of all kinds and I've collected quite a few. There are several I no longer reach for when heading out in... Continue reading