One Part Inspiration...

I've been putting it off in every way possible. I've cleaned. I've partied. I've slept. I've phoned a friend. I've asked the audience. And tomorrow, I can no longer ignore it. The inevitable has arrived. I have to get my taxes done. Better get a good night's sleep. It's going to be a long day!

End of day. Looking back. I am thankful. Thankful and tired. Drove many miles. Garage sales! Season has begun. Got great bargains. Drove across town. Picked up son. Heard about concert. Glad he's home. Looked at gardening. Encouraged the timid. Got rid of weeds. [Some weeds.] Ignored the rest. Had a chat. A catch-up chat. I love my daughter. Dropped off son. Bowling party. Four hours. Came home. Made dinner. It was good. They said so. Picked up son. He had fun. Time for bed. Good night.

The phone message you find on your cell from your husband to say he just wanted to tell you to have a great day. The little package from the Kindergarten twins who wanted to share their Easter candy with "Miss Marni". The flowers your daughter put on the table 'just because'. The unexpected note from a long - lost relative in the mail. A comfortable bed with freshly washed sheets in the new scent. A celebration coffee for your co-worker who passed the e-course. Text messaging. (Haven't tried tweeting yet) Homemade pizza crusts that turned out well. Hearing your son say "I love you Mom. " Often. With feeling. Walking with music on your iphone and being able to check it later for 'results' because it's also a pedometer.

From time to time, I browse through second hand stores. I am always hoping to find treasures. Maybe I'll find some clothing which won't cost me an arm an a leg, but will make me look like a million bucks. [I realize this is a tall order, but "hope springs eternal". ] Or for a couple of bucks worth of fun, I'll look for cool tools, CD's, replacement containers, or a bit of stationery that I can use to write my quick notes in my role as " Executive Mom ". [These notes are written in haste before the child exits the vehicle, when you find out at the last minute, that there's no possible way that he can skip phys ed today because they are rock climbing and if he misses it, Mr. Diddleydoo threatened to drop his mark so far down, that the rocks would cry out. So you pull out the pretty stationery (that you bought at the second hand store) from the glove compartment, and write a sweet but insistent little note to the teacher. " Dear Mr Diddleydoo: ...

I think of my mom every day. Some days, I think of her sitting in the rocking chair, crocheting. She worked the needle back and forth and created fine pieces of work. Some days I think of her sitting down with a cup of tea. She preferred a "china cup rather than a mug, Marn". Put the milk in first, and no sugar thanks. Some days I think of her running the wash through the wringer washing machine. She tried to teach me, but all I could imagine was catching my fingers through the wringer. Some daysI think of her praying. She prayed often and in many ways. I have a Bible of hers and there are little postscripts all the way through with dates and names indicating her bringing her requests before the throne of God. Some days I think of her writing. She had such flowing script. And her grammar was always gud. Some days I think of her arranging flowers. She rescued the perishing from arrangements and set them in small little dishes or rose bowls so there'd be a few more days for...

Getting medical tests done rank high on the list of "druther nots" in my books. I'd druther not get them done. In the medical world, you leave your dignity at the door and pick it up on the way out. One of these "druther not" stories has become a family legend about how recover from one of these visits. I was told I had to have a T.B. test in order to get the job. My husband came too, since he had had a bout of kidney stones, and needed a follow-up test done. The medical office was small, making it impossible not to infer meaning from other patients' purpose of their visit to the office. It was about 10 feet from the sitting area to the receptionist, taking down each person's particulars. If you tuned in just a little bit, you could learn where they lived, when their last visit was, the last time they ate or drank, along with other facts which no one else needed to know. However, the magazines we should have been reading were old, and not even clos...

Matthew 8:23-27 " Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He rep lied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him! " I have been thinking about these verses. Let's look at the facts. Jesus got into the boat. The disciples followed him. So far, so good. [It's always great when a disciple gets into the boat with his/her master. It shows faith. Or companionship. Or naivete. Or maybe it shows some of each of these. ] The storm comes up. Not just a little rain shower, but a wind, rain, hail and thunder and lightning - kind of storm. There was no warning for...

If you were in Grade Eight Home Ec, you might have a take-home project to do on the weekend. Your teacher might require you to make a photo essay of the steps you took to make the Blueberry Muffins. First, you preheat your oven to 400 F. (200 C), Then you line your muffin tins with paper liners. Then you sift together: 250 ml. of flour 50 ml. of sugar 1 ml. of salt 10 ml. of baking powder Make sure you have invited a friend over who can interpret the numbers for you- because your mother runs an antiquated kitchen and only has Imperial measuring utensils. This friend might come in handy a little later also, when the muffins are baking. Make a well in the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix: 1 small egg 125 ml. of milk 30 ml. of oil Beat this together, pausing to pose for pictures every once in a while. Don't forget to remind your mom that her job is to document this process - don't let her near the project. She must remain on the OTHER side of the counter-out of r...

It has been a quiet day. Everyone's been home, doing their own thing. I decided to make Easter buns. Once I made that decision, it set the course for the next several hours since I had to wait for the bread to rise and then punch it down and rise. So I busied myself with various things on my list. Laundry, vacuuming etc. were all accomplished. There was even time to lie down. After lunch, the bread was all finished baking and still, the quietness prevailed. Time for another nap. Everyone seemed content to be in their own little corners. It was a little too quiet. Suddenly, I had a really good idea. Let's have a family Easter egg hunt . The kids are really too old to "do" an Easter egg hunt but they were all game. Off we went, to the big Stupor Store, and let them loose with a small budget and a the name of the person for whom they would buy candy. Then we came back and my husband and I relaxed while they hid the candy and went on the candy hunt. I...

10. I gave a lecture today on "Music Therapy in Dementia Care" to a group of students in the Resident Attendant Care course. It went so well. What I was most happy with was the fact that this little tiny gadget (flash drive) went with me and the Power Point which I had worked hard on went smoothly. I am just amazed that so much information can be captured on something as small as a stick of gum. WOW ee! I was just saying to my husband that just over twenty years ago, I thought that an electric typewriter was top of the line. Now, we can carry all sorts of information in our pocket and still have room for our keys! 9. I had lunch with my husband today. It was such a nice oasis. We chatted about the kids and things that had happened in our days and weeks. It's been a long time since we've had a chance to do this. It was so great. 8. It rained only enough to make the meteorologist's prediction of rain correct. Then the sun came out and saved 'spri...

As I was doing some clean up today, I took the paper garbage down to the burn pile to get rid of it. It had been piling up for some time and there was quite a load. Last year at this time, we were using the wood stove to get rid of burnables. However, in order to renew our insurance we had to have 'a guy' come and look at it. He took about five minutes (and our 135$) to tell us not to use the stove - even though it works fine, he told us that there was "this and that" wrong with it and therefore, in his informed (and expensive) opinion, it was best to let it become a place to showcase collectibles. Therefore I am resigned to using the burn pile instead. Every once in a while, I become more environmentally aware and recycle but today, I needed to get rid of the garbage without making another stack somewhere else in the house. As I set the fire, I thought back a few months ago when my husband went away for the weekend. I began cleaning and got so" fired...