Yesterday was an interesting day.  Both Merril and I knew what we had to do and did it.
It was Market day.  We set up three tables at our church and put stuff that has been donated on it.  Nothing over $2 and all monies go to the Pantry to help get food stuffs and sell at a really cheap rate.
People love to bring stuff that is good, and that fits on a table.  Mostly it is stuff gleaned from downsizing and we are doing everyone a favour.  For example, there was a bicycle helmet for sale for $2.  Someone I know says they used to sell those helmets made of carbon fibre for about $170.  It went for $2.  Not everything is so expensive, but everything is a bargain.
So Merril and I did what we had to do.  We made twice what we aim for each time.  Yet it is about more than that.  We have a great chance to talk to those that come along.  People have incredibly interesting stories.  A lady who was blown away by what she got at our market used to work in biology and is now a writer.  She was virtually in tears when she picked up an old working typewriter for a bargain.  She also bought some non-fiction books and a vase.  It is a good feeling seeing others getting something special at a price they can afford.
Someone donated toy people and cars.  I brought them home to sort (all scientific research of source – ops, maybe my nose just grew).  Anyway the toys will be there when we do it again.
Merril is giving the communion talk at church on Sunday, so she went off for a bit and did some preparation.  She continued that at home later that day.
While she did that, I was getting our library together.  We were thinking of doing the cards ourselves but saw online we could get what we wanted for not a lot.  We decided to do that and save ourselves hours of work.
Then we saw the Lions had won.  Ended a good day well really.

I read something this morning which I think is beautiful.  "Love was here." In the finer print, quietly, "Love still is."
The quote is about grief.  The grief of losing a loved one.  It is my thinking that for me grief is temporal while love is eternal.  To think otherwise concerning grief would be to fly in the face of my experience.  I know the tears of loss – the knowing that time together is at best on pause.  Time passing does not completely erase the now or the absence in the present.  Nor would I want it too really.  Memories not only bring sadness but gladness.
On the basis that the quote from Heidi Priebe (the quote was in a James Clear email) is for the here and now, I agree.  As someone said, “you only morn for what you love.” 
"As long as there is love, there will be grief. The grief of time passing, of life moving on half-finished, of empty spaces that were once bursting with the laughter and energy of people we loved.
As long as there is love there will be grief because grief is love's natural continuation. It shows up in the aisles of stores we once frequented, in the half-finished bottle of wine we pour out, in the whiff of cologne we get for years after they've been gone.
Grief is a giant neon sign, protruding through everything, pointing everywhere, broadcasting loudly, "Love was here." In the finer print, quietly, "Love still is."
What happens down the track is not for me to determine.  I do not know the full picture.  I just know the one who is painting the full picture, and I trust them.
In the meantime, dad, mum, my brother, a good friend, live on in my memory.  A poor substitute for presence, but one I gladly hold on to.

I delayed writing anything today as an email normal comes through from James Clear and I wanted to see what he had to say.  I found it interesting because of what I have been doing.
"Inspiration comes on the twenty-fifth attempt, not the first. If you want to make something excellent, don't wait for a brilliant idea to strike. Create twenty-five of what you need and one will be great. Inspiration reveals itself after you get the average ideas out of the way, not before you take the first step."
Merril is doing a formal course of study at the moment.  I am doing an informal one of my choosing.
Why I find the above interesting is it is really my experience at the moment.  Merril asked me if I was enjoying what I am doing.  The answer is I am finding it a hard slog but was inspired to start it and am inspired at certain points.  It is great to learn new things and sometimes get a different perspective on what is known.
So I agree with what is being said.  Something that has been a motivator for me is what I wrote a while ago.  A quote from Earnest Hemingway.  “Gradually then suddenly.”  As I think I have indicted I am feeling this is a gradually time for me.  Gradually times are the times I reckon are for building.  They can be wasted but if used as a building time hopefully I am ready for the suddenly times.
It does not mean that gradually times are “rah rah”.  More often than not they are slow and steady.  Sometimes they are downright boring.  But the thing for me is that even boring times come to an end.  I really feel I need to take the good with the bad.
Sorta like a mantra I heard and use. “Never make a decision when you are down.”  By that I feel I should never abandon something when it is hard, when I felt it was right at the start.  Sure there are hard times.  To me that’s life.  But hard times end and trying to avoid them prolongs them.
So it does not matter to me if something is the 14th go or 25th.  If it was right at the start, it is right now - despite stuff rather than because of it.