Don't think too much...

I recently pinned a quote I love on Pinterest that basically says over thinking leads to negativity. Shortly after I saw a post by a blogger I follow, Tim Bronson at A Daring Adventure  http://www.adaringadventure.com/blog/
Tim basically ranked the quote as one of the 7 worst quotes on Pinterest and went on to state why he thinks so. I disagreed and posted the following comment on his blog:

I loved this post- I laughed out loud, always a good thing! I do disagree with your position on #6. I actually have a version of this posted where I can see it everyday and it helps me. I think it isn’t referring to “thinking” as much as the obsessive sort of over-analyzing some of us are woefully prone to. I enjoy being just slightly out of my comfort zone and being challenged so I live my life is a way that affords me those types of opportunities. But I tend to indulge in the kind of hyper vigilant thinking that makes me run everything out to pretty much every possible outcome, negative and positive. I have to know when to say “enough!!!” and just forge ahead. Things have a way of working out because I do exercise reasonably good judgment and I have skill. So- for those of use who do kind of just expect the worse possible scenario to appear and ruin everything thinking too much is a trap. I say consider wisely, plan well, and go. Which makes “leap and the net will appear” another of my favorite quotes.

 Repurposed and up-cycled objects have a way of bringing such soul and texture to a home! I have been working in this vein a lot this year and decided to share some of the things I have found and repurposed in my home. 



An antique clothes washing plunger (can you imagine?) makes a great T.P. holder in the bathroom. Particularly good for baths at summer places (ours is at the lake) that see a lot of guests and traffic.

This is an old rake just spray painted and hung on the wall to hold my necklaces.

Flammable; to easily set afire: combustible, incendiary http://thesaurus.com/browse/flammable

An unfortunate reality of living in the Rocky Mountain West is the annual fire season.  This year smoke hangs in the air, the famous hundred mile views of my home state are obscured, and it gets harder and harder to breathe. I wake up at night with the taste of wood smoke in my mouth and the sting of it in my nose. It is the smell of campfire unchanged from my earliest memory. Strange to have a smell I have long associated with joy and peace become such an unwelcome companion. 

simple life

I just spent 4 days in a vacation rental in Red Lodge Montana. In a really simple, very old, little house. It hides a cool secret- it looks like a regular house on the outside with painted wood siding. But when you open the door you walk back in time and enter a log cabin. VERY cool!
Anyway, living in a one bedroom house and walking every where I went for 4 days started me thinking of (actually longing for) simplification in own world.
Not that my life is complex. But it does need editing.

Looking forward to a very productive and simpler new year.

Hello

This is my first post and first (and only) blog. I live on a mountain in Wyoming in what would be considered a very rural setting in some parts of the country. In Wyoming it is not. The nearest city has more than 50 thousand residents which is considered a huge population in this state.
 I have diverse interests and I hope to connect with others who share some of them.
Topic for today is a favorite winter mountain activity of mine-   I went snowshoeing with my new Atlas Elektra women's snowshoes. Verdict? I love them for groomed trails. They are light and, because they don't have a serrated frame, they don't "drag" and are really fast. They absolutely will not replace my MSR Lightning Ascents http://cascadedesigns.com/msr/snowshoes/ascent/womens-lightning-ascent/product
for my typical outings which are almost always off trail and rambling over a variety of terrain. But for a fast paced outing on groomed trails I think I will reach for the Elektras from now on! http://atlassnowshoe.com/snowshoe/elektra-9-series
My friend above is Mr. Furious. He lives in the wood shed and spends a lot of time warning everyone and thing off of his turf.