A Small Sanctuary

Rain all day yesterday, and it is rainy now, about 2 hours before dawn. Indeed, torrential downpours is more like it and there will be flooding today. Not wild about the flooding, but it is so nice to have a wet year again! I love the rain! and all it's forms, water runs down the bark, drips from the leaves and the blossoms, collects on the lavender. The cats have tried to go out, and that was, literally, a wash. At least, with the window open, I can hear the rain...

The Schwann's truck comes today, and the cats will have a shipment of canned unicorn on it. They will once more be the unicorn meat eating cats instead of the dried elk meat eating cats...winter is hunt season for unicorns, and I can only get unicorn meat in tins this time of year...

I do winter gardening, straightening and shaping, but not rain gardening. But it's cozy inside, and I enjoy it, rather than the heat. I did miss my AA home group yesterday, I napped right through it, but had one the day before and one tonight.

A friend laughs at my naps. I am no where near geriatric yet, and I still nap. It makes up for the odd hours before dawn that I enjoy. It also creates quality time for my animals; they love to nap, too. With me.

So far, with this massive front, I have missed thunder and lightning, but it came this morning about 4 AM.

There are roses in the garden, but if I did this today, I would end up with a nose full of water...

I feel very good again today, as I am med compliant, and sober. My head is still crazy sometimes, I binged a bit last night, but in therapy, we pinned it down to a specific time in my life; it is purely emotional eating.

Speak of the devil, today is group, and I couldn't be happier. I enjoy the class, because that is what it seems like. And I enjoy the company of women who seem more normal to me than many others do. They are wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, but most of all, they are themselves. We laugh and cry together, one of us has died from breast cancer. I think my days with these women will be too short. I have made friends with 2 of them outside of the group, and hope to hold onto these friendships, long after group is over. One of them is Pancake's mother...remember Pancake?

Meanwhile, my coffee tastes good again this morning, and I sit underneath the 'Wedding Ring' quilt that was my Mother's favorite. The dog doesn't snore so heartily this morning; I keep waking him to get coffee. The television has been on all night, as it hasn't since my Mother died. It is company and and it reminds me of her.

The carpet is a soft grey, and the living room is mostly cream, with touches of red/pink and teal. The cushions have leaves in dark brown on them, and the light from outside gleams on the leaves of the plant I keep at the doorway...thunder in the distance. The dark walnut, cherry and mahogany gleam. There are subtle lamps placed here and there in the room, one to read by, the others for the soft color that light brings. The lamps are, for the most part, coffee with cream colored, as are their shades. One is an old, converted gas lamp, that my Great-grandfather owned. It's shade is a white globe against the softer colors. There is the dolphin made of ironwood and many scented candles, ginger and pine, and one that smells of the forest floor in summer.

The gladiolas bloom, framed by the cat window. There are pictures from friends on the wall: one is a sketch of a lamb, an original work given to me by Carolyne Landon and framed in soft green. Another is an Egyptian papyrus, framed in soft, dark, pink by my bestest friend from high school, Dark Star. Two more are framed scarves from India, from my mentor and friend, "Didi". There is my Mother's picture of two cranes by a stream, done in chinese silk, and framed in gold. Exponential gave me a painting as well. Clouds and sky, and it hangs below the reproduction of the Madonna and Child, from medieval Italy.

At times, I love my small sanctuary, as much as I love the rolling nature of the field, or the dark, mysteriousness of the forest. I know you like the descriptions of the forest more, I have gotten many emails about it. But today is a day to feel secure against the weather. Today is a day to be grateful for the roof over my head, and the paintings of the forest, by my Father's mother, on the walls of my bedroom. Today is a day to be grateful for the taste of toothpaste, and the fact of running water in my home. Today is the day to be happy about the water falling from the sky, to tend the flowers, the dahlia, and daisies, the lavender and the zinnia. And the soft, uninterrupted glow comes from the lamps...