morning again.  i have no picture.  am moving around in the question of What Works?.

in the link that nance sent:

"time is the raw material of creation"

"The math of time is simple:  you have less than you think and need more than you know."

these two thoughts are enough i think.  they say it all, really.  ok then.  How does this work?  What will work.  i am getting down to yet another Basic Equation.  How can i do it/What works?  Soon, the milking will begin.  and with milking is a lot of DETAIL.  cleanliness for one.  and not simple cleanliness, but impeccability.  sterile.  cannot sterilize the teats, but they too must be washed.  very clean.  clean.  ok.  any storage jars must be steril.  cheese making pots, sterile.  kitchen surfaces.  as can be guessed, we are talking about Time. 

so i need to really evaluate what i NEED to have in the days.  and then, how to Make it Work….so there is Enough room for what i NEED.  so, these posts right now are about looking at that.

I NEED to have cloth time.  not only time to Make it, but Time to Dream it UP.  Time to let it come under it's own terms.  

I NEED to go forward with the Goat partnership…milk.  cheese.

what else?  well…the established requirements, little things of living, the largest of which is Meditation time.  i think i worked that out this morning, or began to.  and Season will change it all around.  but for now, in the warm months,  i like to get up when it's still dark.   make coffee.  sit. let the threads of the nights dreams untangle from me.  and after that first cup of coffee,  i like to go back to bed.  it's usually another 20 minutes or so of sleep and i get to wake up all over again, more Ready.  this morning i just positioned the pillows in the bed and immediately began my meditation there instead of coming out to the morning chair where all around me there are things to look at, things that call my attention.  so…i want to see if it works to just Sit in bed.  i'll bring down all those extra pillows so i can sit against the wall at the head of the bed.

will see if that Works.

 

IMG_5965f

 looks pretty much done.  at a glance.  how i did this is hand stitch linen to the existing cushion covers…while they were ON the cushions.  i have callouses on finger tips.

IMG_5966f

the square paint thingy on the right side is the one called Willowy White.  on the faux Ivory, it looks a grey green???  on the blue wall, it's an undescribable uhhhh "presence".  i like it.  and maybe i would like it as the cabinet doors???

IMG_5971f

the high cabinet doors are patinaed with cooking grease.  i cannot say how much i love the deep glowey amber color.  i took one off and cleaned it last week.  it is now not so beautiful at all.  and then…What about the collage on the wall????  with the faux ivory, the whole energy is changed.  but maybe it's the way stuff goes.  the purpose of all this change is to set a new tone for when all the cheese making gets underway.   

so this is it for a while.  mind drifted to cloth and i have 3 days now for that.  for those days, i'll just look at what i have done.  

 

 

 

 

Posted in

24 responses to “85…What Works? …..continuation of day 84”

  1. Mo Crow Avatar

    “grasp the point of each contingency” I saw that written on a wall a long time ago and it helps

    Like

  2. Mo Crow Avatar

    and then dance with it

    Like

  3. Valerianna Avatar

    Turning the question around… I remember listening to Clarissa Pinkola Estes wondering what, exactly, wisdom IS? Her answer to the question is – Wisdom in what works. Keeps popping up when reading the last few posts of yours, so, third time around, I thought I should post it!

    Like

  4. KAMFreeman Avatar

    having a challenge posting a comment today :~(..k

    Like

  5. KAMFreeman Avatar

    Being willing to explore a variety of “schedules” “rituals” “organization” of the hours we use in the day…freedom to adjust, redefine, sit with and alter when necessary…so much a part of getting the days journey to accommodate needs of all manner…and time for just being…in silence, in writing, in stitching…what a treasure it is as that process for me has clearly been defined by my steps….and your story reads as an open exploration of any and all possibilities. Somehow as I read your words today I floated to your home…envisioned the process as I saw the bed, saw the spaces…and felt that Grace was in her element…ahhhh, it was a most delicious experience to follow you about.

    Like

  6. grace Forrest Avatar

    when that happens, just wait. i go to retrieve them.
    here it is below. xoxo

    Like

  7. grace Forrest Avatar

    grasp and dance….things pressed to forehead. yes. ok.

    Like

  8. grace Forrest Avatar

    Wisdom may come down the road…right now just looking for What Works…
    I wish CPE lived down the road. i would go sit at her
    gate.

    Like

  9. grace Forrest Avatar

    ritual of hours.
    THANK YOU for floating here…floating around with me
    in My Element. what a good term for it.
    my element.
    yes.
    Our Element.
    like that a LOT.
    thank you.

    Like

  10. Michelle in NYC Avatar

    My foolish boy neighbors are keeping me up again. They’ve been silent for a while but they started up for the Memorial day weekend late last night and earlier this evening, and just now a drunken boy visiting them, having banged on their door intermittently for an hour, was let in and they are having a heated discussion and reeling against the wall between us. But what I came to say is WOW Grace…transformations are so enlightening. Your space seems to be opening up, and maybe time will do that too. your earnest effort is visible. Your wishes seem to manifest with each breath of your just going…so WOW once more!

    Like

  11. patricia Avatar

    i’m really appreciating the thought you’re giving to the “time” you’ll need for the upcoming goat/milking/cheese making endeavor. and the importance of proper sanitary conditions. right now it seems huge, i think, but here’s my prediction–once you get your routine down, it’s going to flow into the pattern of your days almost without notice. i’m thinking back now. to milking. to cheese making. i milked before i went to work. i milked when i got home for from work. 45 minutes for each session. it’s a meditative time. a trip into another dimension almost. 5 does. after all sorts of home made efforts, i ended up using a commercial natural teat cleaning product that came in a big tub–maybe 1000 cloths per tub. then i kept a jar in the milk room. first few squirts went into that to be observed for any noticeable irregularities–and to get rid of any milk that might have residual stuff in it. once the milk bucket was full, i poured it into sterilized glass 1/2 gallon jars. when the milking was over, back in the kitchen, i strained the milk to get rid of hair or anything that may have fallen in the milk. the milk went directly from one sterilized jar to another. i used bounty paper towels–wasteful perhaps, but i was never comfortable reusing previously strained material. then quickly into the refrig. you want the milk to cool quickly. in the summer, i would place the jars in a sink with ice to speed up the chilling. every sat. or sunday i made cheese. you need LOTS of milk for this. you’ll end up with a ton of whey (which you can drink–and/or give to the animals) and the best cheese you’ve ever had.
    basic sanitary efforts and techniques–similar to canning– work fine. boil everything. because we had so much milk and a lot went into the freezer for winter i did begin storing milk for freezing in gallon size ziplock bags–but there’s only one kind that is really not leakable–double zip i believe. for the actualcheese making, boil your pots, empty and add the milk. then of course the milk gets heated to a pretty high temp which also should help get rid of unwanted organisms.
    i remember thinking–people have been doing this for EVER in locations probably much less sterile than my kitchen. i was imagining nomads on the steppes of some far away land. it helped me realize that yes indeed i could do this w/out jeopardizing the health of my family and friends. results are going to blow you away. probably the healthiest time of my life.
    you will be absolutely fine–and this whole process will simply become another seamless part of your already wonderfully full days.
    so much love to you

    Like

  12. patricia Avatar

    didn’t mean to take up so much room!

    Like

  13. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    sometimes I feel lilke I spend too much time trying to figure out how to spend my time. Some days, I establish a schedule,…no, an accounting of what is key to Me and other days, I forcefully stick out my tongue at it with a nyah nyah and then the next day am adrift. And the accounting begins again. Maybe that is just the rhythm I am.
    Speaking of accounting, what was in the cast iron frying pan on the kitchen floor in the first pic and who got to eat it?

    Like

  14. kat Avatar

    Love your thought process – the meditation in bed with all the pillows sounds so right. I so look forward to a time when I don’t have to immediately get up and get ready for a job outside the house. I enjoy the people and all once I get there (at least for now).
    But enough about me – the thing I’m drawn to so much and I think I’ve maybe even said something about it before – your wonderful little stove. And the tea kettle on top. I used to have a little guy like that and it was just wonderful. So I’m loving this portrait. (I also like that little patch and think that doors that color could be a wonderful soothing break in the whites.)
    And now to get ready for work. Have a wonderful weekend.

    Like

  15. lindamorris Avatar
    lindamorris

    julie these days i feel about time, and schedules and priorities, just like you expressed it here and am glad for the company.now let me see if this will actually post

    Like

  16. grace Forrest Avatar

    i wish i could change that neighbor situation for you.
    it’s really horrible and we are so helpless.
    well…opening up, i guess it does that in a way, but
    i think i’m going to need to tweek the color. it’s too
    harsh. we’ll see.
    i need to try to be clearer about what i mean about
    Time…i haven’t been able to “word” what i mean yet….
    love to you….

    Like

  17. grace Forrest Avatar

    i LOVE like L O V E when you talk Goat to me. and most
    likely, yes. it will all become routine. i am really
    hoping for that. PLEASE, never hesitate to take up
    room…it’s a HAPPY thing for me. Mi casa es su casa,
    right?????
    and, yes. if often think about how milking is such an
    integral part of so many cultures in so many parts of the world and has been forever. thanks for reiterating that for me. i do not hesitate for myself, but i guess am a little leary about others.
    LOVE

    Like

  18. grace Forrest Avatar

    oh you do have a good eye. that was refried beans for
    the toothless two dogs.
    thing about me is, i am best at daydreaming. and it is
    my nature to get totally immersed in what presents in any
    moment and forget time. it’s really a phenomenon.
    and for the most part, it doesn’t really matter. living
    alone works with that too. those days will just forever
    continue to arise, but with some things, that doesn’t work.
    if i want to do the milking/cheese thing, i need to do it
    in a way that is both comfortable for the Goats and for me. the thing i dislike most anymore is the sense of
    HURRY. i might even say that i
    hate
    hurrying….
    there are certain kinds of days that i absolutely love,
    that flow, that seem to Expand…that’s what i am looking
    at. What’s going on when that happens.
    xoxoxo

    Like

  19. grace Forrest Avatar

    linda…it did, but again, if seems not to, be patient.
    i am checking that comment box a few times a day and
    can now retrieve comments and get them to post….
    xo

    Like

  20. grace Forrest Avatar

    oh the stove. yup. she’s the one that came in the
    Airstream out there. an apartment size. i forget the
    year, but O L D ….the Dixie brand. and yes. i love
    her too.
    i think i need to do something about the white.
    and maybe the little patch, but….don’t know yet.
    i wish you a good day at work…..
    xoxo

    Like

  21. Julie Avatar
    Julie

    that last paragraph, I am having a helen keller “wa wa ” moment here, it all falling into place and of course turning the mirror on my own days. And as I cut the last EIGHT triangles, thinking and running to get paper, what moments contribute to the days where I feel content?? THANK YOU FOR THIS

    Like

  22. grace Forrest Avatar

    well…as Deb Lacativa so succinctly puts it…
    TELL…………………..
    SO
    tell…………..
    it all goes into the All of Us Pot into which we can
    dip our spoons

    Like

  23. Dee Avatar

    love the collage behind the stove… love the idea of going back to bed… love the notion of feeding the mind in non-linear ways… love the idea of balancing the precision of sterile conditions with the wild fecund states needed to create… always food for thought here!
    for me, writing is a ballast, and increasingly blogging – both posting and reading. If I go too many days without visiting others’ work or posting my own or writing in my daily page journal, I truly feel ‘off’.
    experiments in attention, consciousness, organization… hmmm. so much to think about!

    Like

  24. grace Forrest Avatar

    the COMMUNITY* grows in familiarity and meaning for me.
    it’s part of the whole.
    *blogging
    and the going back to bed…that time of sleep…just
    minutes really, but it takes care of something for me.
    am looking at that.

    Like

Leave a reply to patricia Cancel reply