A Life of Simple JoyReducing stress, increasing joy one post at a time!

I sometimes think naps were created for Sundays… or is it the other way around? No matter. Some days, we simply need or want a nap. Take cool rainy days. There is nothing better than snuggling up with the window slightly cracked, drifting off to sleep to the sound of gently falling rain. Then there are warm summer days. How refreshing it is to take a nap after a warm day spent outside. I think naps give our bodies a chance to rebuild and renew when the weather is warm. The heat seems to take a lot out of all of us and a nice nap puts it all right back.

There are tricks to taking a nap, though. I try to avoid falling into a deep long sleep. This makes me groggy the rest of the evening and sometimes makes it tough to fall asleep that night. All I want is a brief sleep to refresh me for the afternoon. I like to have the fan on no matter the time of year. The fan creates white noise, shutting out the sounds from outside. The fan also cools off the room, making me sleepy. I don’t like to lie down right after lunch since I don’t want to sleep on a full stomach. Sometimes, I read a bit but often, I just close my eyes and drift off.

There are days when I don’t sleep but I do relax and allow my mind to solve any problems that I am unable to solve when I am fully awake.

Most of all, a nap is just a great treat during the day. A simple joy that gives me a great afternoon and evening.

It is raining today. Not so unusual if you live in the Midwest where I grew up but a bit off the norm for Southern California, at least this time of the year.

I love the rain. I like the way it sounds outside my office window this morning. I love the way it smells, so fresh and clean. Most of all, I love what it is doing in my garden. When I know we are scheduled for a rare Spring rain, I like to get out in the garden before the sky opens up. I take time to turn the soil around my plants so the rain is able to soak in more effectively. I put in any new plants so they can have a day or two of cool, damp weather before the warm SoCal sun returns. Even more important, I bust out the manure. Yes, I am old-school when it comes to fertilizer. I try to avoid chemicals as much as possible. Don’t like them in my yard. Don’t like them in my ocean. Most of all, don’t like them in my cat. Fido walks around in the garden, gets the chemicals on his paws and then licks it off. YUCK! So, it’s manure for me!

Manure has always been inexpensive at the store but they have lowered the price even more. Such a deal! I put my gloves on (I’m not THAT into manure!) and drag the bags to my yard and garden. Reaching into the bag, I break up the clumps and spread a layer of manure over my grass. I add it around my roses. I spread it in my flower beds. Then I wait for the rain to do its part. Drop by drop, the rain breaks up the manure and carries it into the soil. Between the rain and the manure, my garden plants and grass must feel like they are in paradise. Does the manure smell? Of course! It smells like Spring and that’s a Simple Joy any day!

This product is one of the most versatile items you can have in your pantry. On Thanksgiving, I use Swansons Chicken Broth in my dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy. During the year, I like the broth in the box. I don’t use all of it at once and it stores beautifully for a week or two. Swansons now has a smaller box of broth that is the perfect size for our family.

For Thanksgiving, I buy a case of broth in cans. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I use the entire case. Not only do I use a lot of it on both these holidays, I also use it for other meals. I make chicken soup with it, use it with chicken and rice and make quick gravy in small batches.

Swanson’s Chicken Broth is a staple for your pantry during Thanksgiving, Christmas and throughout the year. A Simple Joy that make meal prep easy every day.

Halloween is a big event in my neighborhood.  But then, every major holiday is a big event in my neighborhood.  I live in a very large historic district and the very appearance of the neighborhood lends itself to Halloween.  In the days to come, house after house on block after block will begin the process of decorating for the season.  People come from all over the county to bring the children trick-or-treating to our streets.  We make it well worth the trip.

I have already begun my plans for our house.  After I beg my husband into running white Christmas lights across our porch ceiling, I plan to string cobweb from one side of the porch to the other.  A headless man will take his position in my rocker, his pumpkin head on the table nest to him.  Tombstones will dot the front yard and, if I am lucky, a body will occupy one of the gravesites.  This job has been held by my daughter’s friend for the last two years.  I remember last year when the girls took a break for dinner, one child came to the door and demanded to know, “Where’s the body?  We heard you had a body in your yard!”  Good news travels fast.

It takes a couple of weeks to slowly complete the decorating process.  It takes only one day to dismantle the whole thing.  I always begin to get a bit misty as I pull the cobweb off the porch.  I soon cheer up as I remember it will soon be time to decorate for Christmas.  I usually begin humming a Christmas carol as I finish my work.  That is the simple joy of tradition.

I am beginning the process of preparing my garden and house for winter.  While we don’t have cold or snowy winters in Southern California, we do get a lot of rain.  Therefore, it is necessary to take steps to protect the garden and prepare it for the coming spring.

The fall work I do in the garden takes on a much slower pace than my spring activities.  I always feeling in a hurry to get my plants in so I can sit back and enjoy them.  Since I know it will be awhile before I see the fruition of my autumn work, I relax and enjoy it more.

I have scheduled a trip to the garden center and am preparing my list of needed items.  Grass seed and fertilizer, ground cover bark and stone, and fall plants are my primary concern.  I want to thatch our yard this year.  The grass has become thick underneath and I want to clear it out before I begin reseeding.  Bark and stone will go around the plants in the garden just after I put in my bulbs and fertilize.

Our climate allows me to put in plants this time of year that other climates would prohibit.  Mums on both sides of the porch, surrounded by small pumpkins will complete the process.  I can then sit back on the porch and enjoy the effort of my work.  Garden is a simple joy but one that gives us great returns.

Fall is my favorite time of the year.  As children return to school and the weather begins to  change, I am always filled with an expectancy for the days ahead.  The warmth of summer fills me with a lazy attitude that is shaken off with the first cool morning.  I feel a stirring need to “do” something.  All the projects that have been put off because it was “too hot” are once again taken on with a renewed sense of urgency.  While I enjoy the laid back attitude of summer, I am thrilled by the desire to accomplish my goals.

I recently sat on my front porch on one of the first cool mornings of fall.  I curled up in the easy chair with my shawl wrapped around me, sipping my coffee and enjoying the sound of the neighborhood birds.  I watched the cat stroll across the porch in front of me, heading for his food dish in search of breakfast.  I notice his coat, which had gotten thin during the summer, has begun to fluff out once again.  He has lost his skinny summer tail, in preference for his fat winter tail.

Lifting my eyes to the trees across the street, I am surprised to see that the leaves are changing.  While this may not be unusual in the rest of the country, trees do not normally acquire their fall colors until close to Thanksgiving.  Yet, here it is, the middle of September and the trees are already taking on their brilliant fall coloration.  I can’t help but wonder what this says about the winter to come.  This appears to be a sign, for me at least, that winter may be earlier and cooler than normal.

A few days later, we have the first significant rain of the season.  Once again, it seems the season is rushing itself.  I take up my seat on the porch, protected from the downpour but still enjoying the slight cool mist of rain that covers my face.  I pull my shawl around my shoulders and dream of the days ahead, taking note of the pleasure this simple joy brings.

I still remember the first time I saw Old Towne Orange.  We were on our way to a restaurant on the east side of Orange and had to pass through the Old Towne business district on our way.  As soon as we entered the traffic circle, I felt as if I had gone back in time.  I stared our the window at the old buildings and huge pine trees that line the circle.   I talked about the place for days and thought about it even longer.  A few years later, my family and I moved into a house just a few miles from Old Towne.  I never missed an opportunity to go to Old Towne.  I would drive around the neighborhoods and admire the old stately houses that lined the streets.  I became familiar with the stores that surrounded the circle.  And I counted the days until I could come to live in this wonderful community.  From the first time I saw Old Towne, I knew my eventually living there was not a matter “if” but a matter of “when.”

We have lived in Old Towne for four years now.  I never get tired of wandering through the neighborhood because I always find something interesting.  In the morning, I take my walk through the streets of Old Towne and around the circle.  This month, I’d like to tell you about some of the interesting sites found around the circle.  The circle itself houses a wonderful fountain in the center.  Large trees and park benches surround the fountain, offering a nice place to relax and reflect.  The splashing of the fountain masks the sound of the traffic making its way around the circle.  Children run through the grass and reach over to play in the fountain.  Occasionally, during the summer, someone will wade in the fountain.  I find the benches in the circle are a perfect place to sit with my coffee and watch the people go by.

Speaking of coffee, just across the street from the circle is Starbuck’s.  It is housed in a grand building that resembles a bank more than it does a coffee house.  That is because it is a bank.  Starbuck’s shares space with the local branch of Wells Fargo.  People making transactions at the bank are treated with the incredible aroma of freshly ground and brewed coffee.  This bank is the only one I have ever seen that has chairs at the teller windows for the customers.  Bank patrons sit across the counter from the teller to conduct their transaction.  This unhurried way of doing bank business is in keeping with the Old Towne way of doing things.

Across from the bank and down the street a bit stands Watson’s Drugstore.  Watson’s is a landmark in Old Towne.  People come from miles around to sit in a booth and enjoy a meal along with one of the specialties from the soda fountain.  The restaurant takes up one side of the store while the pharmacy occupies the other.  It’s great to enjoy a malt while waiting for a prescription to be filled.

Once I’ve been fortified with a meal at Watson’s or a coffee and nosh from Starbuck’s, I’m ready to explore the stores.  One of my favorite stores is “House of Country.”  Sarah, the owner, carries a variety of new country items.  I can spend hours wandering through this store, picking out table linens, candles and stationary.  I bought my “good” dishes at “House of Country,” a set of red and white spackleware that amuses and amazes everyone who sees my holiday table.  Besides “House of Country,” I enjoy wandering through the garden department of “Country Roads” where I find a wide variety of herbs and scented geraniums, items that add wonderful fragrances to my front porch.

Speaking of my porch, I guess it’s about time to wander back and relax.  I slowly make my way past the stores and down the streets.  Passing through my front gate,  I step onto the porch and settle into my chair.  Sitting back, I consider my latest excursion to the circle and plan my next trip.  A simple joy, each and every day.

Vinegar

If you aren’t using vinegar as part of your house cleaning regiment, then you need to begin RIGHT NOW! There are so many things you can do with vinegar that I can’t even begin to list them all. I use vinegar in my kitchen all the time. After I clean my counters, I spray on vinegar to clean up the last of the cleaner. I use it on my stove to take away the last of the degreaser and any dirt on my stove. I use it to keep my floor nice between scrubbings. I use it in my laundry when I am doing a heavy duty load and want to rinse out all the detergent. After I do dishes, I use vinegar in the sink to clear out the soap. Then I spray my dish cloth with vinegar and rinse to take out the soap. Keeps my cloth smelling fresh. I use it to clean the frig. Do you get the idea? So many things you can use vinegar for around the house. It is a natural product that is safe to use around food, kids and animals. I keep a spray bottle full of vinegar handy all the time. Need more tips? Here is a site that offers lots of ways to use vinegar: Vinegar Tips Vinegar is not just for salads any more. It is an economical way to keep your home clean and fresh. That’s a simple joy any time of the year.

Clorox Clean Up Cleaner with Bleach

As I mentioned before, I don’t like having dozens of different products on hand to clean my home. I know some are for a specific chore, like silver polish or oven cleaner, but many products today overlap one another. I like to find products that do a variety of chores and do them quickly and easily. Clorox Clean Up Cleaner with Bleach is just such a product. I like cleaning with bleach. When I was a kid, bleach was one of the primary cleaners moms used in the home. to me, bleach smells like clean. I have a ceramic kitchen sink. It is older and tends to stain easily. This cleaner takes the stains right up with no effort on my part except to spray the bottle. I use it on my counters to clean and disinfect. I use it in the bathroom. It takes care of most of my surface cleaning in the kitchen and bathroom. WOW! This is a fabulous product that saves you time and money by doing the work of many cleaning products. A keeper for me in my home cleaning arsenal.

All Free and Clear

I should probably be ashamed to admit this but I am delicate. Yea, I know, to look at me, delicate would not be the first word that pops into your head. However, I do have sensitive skin. In part, I think it’s because I am a red-head. We tend to have sensitive skin. I also have asthma which does odd things to my skin. all right, enough of that. Let’s just say I was having a terrible time finding a laundry detergent that didn’t make me itch. Let me tell you, there is nothing worse than sitting across the table from someone that squirms and wiggles throughout the meals because they itch all over… unless you are the one with the itch. I was MISERABLE. We tried a variety of detergents that contained no fragrance or chemicals. I still itched. Then we found All Free and Clear. It WORKED! No more itching. This is an incredible product, at least for me. An added bonus is the lack of fragrance. One of my neighbors uses a fabric softener (can’t use this either) that makes me cough every time she does laundry. I am able to wear perfume and body powder and when I do, that’s what I want to smell. I don’t want to use my perfume, only to have it overwhelmed by my laundry products. So, if you have family members with sensitive skin or just want to use a detergent that has no fragrance, I highly recommend All Free and Clear. Thanks, All. Now I can stop squirming!