on a clear day . . .

. . . you can see snow on 'them thar mountains'! merced is in a valley, and so we can see the mountains, and they are beautiful on this particular sunny day.

sharing the weather report reminds me of the movie 'breakfast at tiffany's'. just an aside, but i digress....

ah, the new year has started. and with it, i find myself packing up the left-overs from my mother's former home...the realtor said the house needed to be cleared of everything, and have new carpet (new paint wouldn't be bad either). well, packing up and new carpet seem like the best my sister and i can do at this point; it needs to be on the market soon ... and don't people usually like to paint with the colors they choose? (honestly, the walls look pretty good; the new carpet will be fine; and no, we don't have time to remodel the kitchen).

i've been charged with packing the more tedious stuff; wrapping china, earthenware, do-dads; things i remember; each has a story. but honestly, i've found it easier, i think, to pack up my mom's stuff that she will no longer use. basically it means that someone else will be able to create new memories, or imagine what it must have been like to eat meals from these plates.

i wonder if they will conceive of red velvet cake (from scratch with real butter icing) served on clear fostoria dishes on christmas and valentine's day; or everyday meals served on the 'friendly village', or special occasions when the plates were encrusted with 24 karat gold, or. . . so many memories (and too many sets of dishes; i haven't started on the tea cups yet). but my sister makes the point that others will benefit from these fine items...and so they will.

clearing my mom's home is like starting the new year; get down to the very basics. just what you need, nothing more. i realize that everyone has a different view of what 'basic needs' are, but it does give one pause to reflect. asking the grand kids what they want to have is a way of passing on the family history; stories -- some funny, others touching, and some difficult to share. but the grand kids are now adults, and life is not always protecting the innocence. truth sets us free . . . . the new year brings about basic truths, and clearing the air, and starting anew.

on a clear day . . . the truth sets us free. and what better time to be set free than the new year; to set our hearts and lives free to be about what god is calling us to be about. to enter the year unencumbered. makes me want to 'clean house' too, but i have several loads of mom's stuff that will be waiting for an estate sale; what joy! but our united methodist women do a superb service of caring for other people's that's that are not needed any longer.

last week, i received an e-mail with a quote, and i neglected to include it on my post. so it has been waiting on my desk; now well worth sharing . . . . from dietrich bonhoeffer, comes these wise words: if you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure.

awesome words; truthful words; words we can live by. may it be so into the new year . . . .

ps: some of you have commented on the difficulty of trying to make comments; i've tried to fix the problem....thanks gwen; let me know if it worked!