A rainy day in a quiet life

      It's stopped for now but we've had rain for hours, I woke in the night to hard rains making music on my metal roof.  And thought how wonderful I now have a solid roof to protect this old house and me.  And a comfortable bed to snuggle back into and sleep.

     I worked on some knitting yesterday and I cut 1/4" grosgrain ribbon into lengths for face masks, and now have enough ready for 20 masks, it's time to start making child-sized masks again and I do have the fabric for that, and more ribbon ordered. 

     And I did work on plotting out as much of my Ameren billing as I could, I seem to be short on records that are before 2010 but know I have owned this house and lived here since 2006, so those records are gone.  The house has had a lot of work over all the years it's been mine, and yes, that's given me that under house utility area and that over 600 sq. foot expansion up under that steep roof, my studio, retreat, and even space that someday might actually become that 2nd bathroom.

     I need to get boots on and make a store run and should do that while it's not raining, and I will get to that, right now I am tucked in my studio with an archeological program playing on YouTube and have been knitting on the next pair of socks for son Ben.

     Finances are stable and going through 10 years of checkbooks sure showed me a lot of discretionary spending over the years, I am slowing that way down now as I work to pay off my debt load and do more to get ready for retirement, I want the house to be ready for that fixed income, and my finances so that I don't have to sell stuff to keep the utility bills paid in the winter or not have adequate food in the house.

     And, yes I do want a nice supply of stuff like yarns to knit with, fabrics to sew with, and a comfortable place to enjoy those hobbies.  Planning will help me gain that and I like making plans,  Sticking with them is a bit of a problem for me but I am working on more discipline on that issue.

     I know this life of mine is not what I dreamed I would have when I was 18 or 32, but it's what I have now and it's my choices and hard work that has given me the stability and security that I now have and that I do treasure.