Quiet Before the Storm

Walla Walla University Campus

I had to wear layers and my fleece jacket yesterday even though the sun was strong on us.  Went with my roofer/contractor to pick up materials for fixing my home's missing roof shingles that blew off in the last wind storm a few weeks ago.  It's part of the sale agreement and though they haven't signed yet, neglecting your roof is a silly thing to do.  He was going to start today but...some kind of front has blown in and it started raining this morning and has increased all day.  Fortunately the roof doesn't leak.  The weatherman has promised us wind as well, worst case scenario 35mph with up to 57mph gusts.  No roofing today or maybe tomorrow either.  The upside is it got considerably warmer.

I'm still packing stuff for storage, giving stuff away to charity, and wondering how I ended up with all this stuff that I don't want.  I have inside "storage" for my wall art, paintings etc. at my son's house.  He has a huge blank wall in his dining room, and he wants to hang some it.  That would be okay with me especially since if this house ever closes I will be in an apartment until something suitable shows up on the market.  It will enable my art teachery with my grandkids.  We'll have our own little museum.  Even if the storage were climate controlled I believe art is meant to be seen.

I also found in my hoard, two unfinished quilt tops made by my maternal great-grandmother Nancy.  I had forgotten about them.  They were made, we think, in the 20's or earlier from all sorts of scraps from the time and before.  When my mother was born to Grandma Grace we think Great-Grandma Nancy had been living with a son on a cattle ranch near Heppner, Oregon.  If you think sagebrush and juniper you'd be right, although there are some lovely canyons out that way.  Lovely and deadly once.  There was a devastating flood in Heppner Flood of 1903 called the "second deadliest flash flood after the 1889 Johnstown flood" in the United States.

Everything is up in the air with the house; I am waiting to see if the potential buyers sign the latest counter-offer.  Oddly enough, living in this chaos, I have achieved some level of peace of mind.  I've been exercising to a DVD called "Older and Wiser."  Aimed right at my demographic.  I pray, especially in the 12 step fashion, "dear Lord, I have come to see I am not in control of my life or anything else..." and I am practicing the kind of deep breathing exercise that helped me deliver three children without any drugs.  Last night I woke anxious and shaky at 1:30am.  Got up, had a little water and a potty break and got back in bed and started the breathing meditation combined with counting backwards from 1000.  I remember getting down to 898 and then I was out again.  It was restful sleep, although when I sat down for before lunch I snoozed for about 20 minutes.  Feeling pretty good now.  Hope you are all well also.