BURNED TOAST

Tomorrow we leave, with our trailer and our new dog, for our camping trip to Pinecrest. I will miss my writing table, my computer, and reading every one's posts but I will be enjoying the beauty of Strawberry Lake and being able to read my new Steven King book "Duma Key".

I just recently read my first-ever Steven King book called "Lisey's Story" and couldn't get the book out of my head for a few weeks. I really enjoyed his writing style and the fact that I wasn't able to know what was going to come next. His story was totally unpredictable and that is what kept my eyes glued to the pages. So far, "Duma Key" is doing that for me once again. I bought the book at Costco a few weeks ago and would have had the entire book read except that I thought that it would be good to have a book to "chew on" while we are camping. There is nothing waiting for you to do when you are camping and that is what I like about it.

Here at home we don't have that many pressing items on the agenda either. Hmmmm..."should we mow today? What should we have for dinner? Oh---------there is that load of laundry that needs to be washed. And, should I spend some time up at my sewing machine today?" Life when you retire early is filled with a lot of time to just "be". It's a perpetual holiday; a week where every day is a Friday. It's not bad really. And, where we live is so off-the-beaten-path that we don't have road noise or neighbors that are noisy either so there is lots of time to sit outside in the hammock or a lounge chair and read.

Most days I sit at this desk that holds my computer, a lamp, a few cherished rocks, a ceramic bowl that holds my "stuff", and a ceramic sculpture made by Jimmy Adamson. His piece (you can see a glimpse of it off to the right) is a giant plate that holds giant pieces of blackened toast and around the plate are the words that read "Even if you burn your toast you can scrape it". Isn't that true!!!

I bought this piece when I was going to school for my art degree. Occasionally, the teachers would put up some of their own work for sale and I had been salivating over this piece for a long time and let him know each time I saw him. One day he came up to me and asked if I would like to buy it. You bet!!! So, now it is one of my favorite things that I look at each day. Jimmy has gone on to retire also and I think how lucky I was to be at the right place at the right time.

I'll miss seeing all your favorite things too while I am gone. I have gotten used to "clicking" each day and being inspired by everyone. How diverse everyone is yet how similar too. We all seem to have a love for wonderful things: books, nature, good food, animals, people that inspire us, and basically just life. Some of life isn't so glorious but it is still life. We, as bloggers, sometimes are bombarded with unfriendly people who just don't understand our point of view. But, that is life. "Into each life a little rain must fall" as the saying goes. And, so we just hold our heads up and keep putting our hearts out on our sleeves because for us it is making a difference. For us it is important.

So, to all of you who have had some "burned toast" served to you on a platter occasionally, I say: SCRAPE IT. And keep on eating.

See you in a week.