The Simpler Life

Tonight, I am not home.  No...I am relaxing in my very own room at The Lamp Post Inn and Gallery Bed & Breakfast!  It is located in a quaint town along the Mississippi River in McGregor, IA.  My hosts are Ramona and Dorrance.  This is my 2nd year staying with them, as they have graciously opened their home to me while I am here in town to perform for a Chamber of Commerce event.

I am soooo enjoying the peace and tranquility here.  There is no TV...although they do have wireless internet access, obviously! 

Here is a picture of the room I am staying in:

This is the 'Butler's Quarters'.

As I look around the room, I am thinking about the simplicity it has to offer.  No clutter...PEACE!!  There is a simple order in this room.  Everything I need is at my fingertips.  This shows me that I can certainly survive without all the 'things' I think I must have.

I am asking myself, "Why...why do I seem to feel more secure with all the 'stuff' I have and cannot seem to let it go?"  And, yet, I know I do not feel security.  I feel overwhelmed helplessness, disorder, discontent, and the list goes on!  Now, I realize I have quite a bit more of the unusual things...such as PUPPETS!!!  Puppets, props and more puppets do seem to take over my house at times!  More on that later...

Back to 'stuff'...and the 'why'.  I don't know the answer, but I am praying about it.  I truly believe that when I discover the 'why' of hanging onto the 'stuff', I will discover the freedom in letting go of the 'stuff'!  I am also praying that I will continue to work on discipline...discipline to create peace, just as I'm feeling here at this Bed & Breakfast! 

And, speaking of 'breakfast'...I am going to go to sleep, now!  Breakfast is fantastic at this place!  I'll let you know what we have...I do know we're having some type of breakfast bread, because Ramona was baking it when I arrived this afternoon...mmmm...the smells in the air were wonderful!

Until breakfast....I mean, later...

Shari

 

Working on balance!

Today has been a busy day, as I've been preparing to go to a nearby town tomorrow morning to minister with puppets.  When I was winding down for the evening, I was tempted to just sit down on the couch to watch a movie...veggin' out, ya know!  Well, something inside of me said "NO!  You have to balance out the day!"  So...I thought about what one thing really bothered me a lot about my house, and my fridge came to mind!  Every time I opened the door of the fridge or freezer, this is what greeted me:

I made this picture larger so you could see how gross the shelf is!  It's been like this for about a week...why is it that something this easy to clean takes so long to actually get to?

Oh, yeah...we are guilty of being pop-a-holics!  I've thought about starting Pop-a-holics Anonymous!  Seriously...

There it is!  The dreaded refrigerator!

But, after about 1/2 hour, this is the make-over:

I found 2 unused plastic shoebox containers to try to...um...contain...like items.  I do think I will look for other containers that are not quite as tall, though...and I still need to label them.  It's a start...

See the clean shelf!!  It was VERRRYYY sticky!

I think it's time to do a little grocery shopping now.  It's much easier when you can see what you have!

I do have to show one thing that my daughter thought quite disgusting...see if you can figure out what it is:

If you guessed 'cilantro', you are right!  At least in it's 1st lifetime!  LOL!  This was the worst food item found in the fridge, though...

For the little time it took, I am very pleased!  Thank you, Lord, for reminding me to keep balance in my day!  If I can keep this going on a daily basis, balance, order, and peace will be a constant in my home!

I'd love to hear how you organize YOUR fridge and freezer!

Organizing bit-by-bit,

Shari