One Part Inspiration...

This weekend we travelled up-country (or maybe down-country ..my sense of direction isn't that great) to attend the wedding of the son of friends of ours from our growing up years.  It was a little strange to think that we have  reached the season of seeing the next generation starting their branches of the family tree.  We decided to make a family holiday of it, and started by picking up our #2 son, who had just come to the end of his work experience at camp.  They let him go a little early, so we could get on the road in good time.  We had hardly got out of the campgrounds, when the word " ice cream" was mentioned.  None of us had had breakfast, and it seemed a good alternative.  So we stopped at a local ice creamery and then hopped back in the vehicle, on our way to an adventure.  The scenery was just stunning.  We passed mountains, and streams, and lakes.  When I saw these clouds, I thought they looked like they w...

They are installing new water mains along our street.  The people are very pleasant, and when they see you are turning into your driveway, instead of continuing down the road, they make every effort to scale back the work and let you through. Since we have some room on our driveway, they have used it to dump loads of gravel, park huge excavators, and pile up pipes.  The other morning, I was pulling out of the driveway, and because there were so many workers and big machines to my left, I decided to turn right and go around all the construction. The sun was in my eyes, I was on a bit of an incline and the van sat a little higher than a car.  So,  I drove right into the large hole they had dug, in preparation to install the pipe.  CRUUUNNNNCCHH.  Having got myself into the hole, I realized quickly, that I also had to get myself out of the hole.  I avoided eye contact with anyone and CRUUNNCCHH drove out of the hole, and kept going.  ...

Sometimes I just feel spoiled rotten.  And I love it.  At the end of the school year, one of my piano students made me this stepping stone.  She is the author of the quote on the stone.  I left it in my living room for a long time, enjoying the thoughtfulness that went into making it.  Once I was confident it had set enough, I put it in my garden.  Another day, a friend of mine came over for part of the afternoon.  She knew that I was going through a rough patch, and brought me these flowers and a bucket of blueberries from her mom's garden.   How fortunate I am. 

The year our girls turned 10, my sister and I took them away for a weekend. It was part of our decision to be intentional parents.  My sister had already forged the path, by doing something similar for her son.  The idea was, that at 10, the girls were on the cusp of adolescence, and if they had some information about what lay ahead, it might help them navigate the waters of teenage years. So we rented a cabin on the lake, and  listened to tapes on "Preparing for Adolescence" by Dr. James Dobson.  In between, we went shopping, got new haircuts,  and took them to get their ears pierced.  One night we got all dressed up and went out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.  This year, they celebrate their 21st birthdays.  So my sister and I decided it might be a nice idea to take them away again for a girl's weekend.  When we broached the subject, my daughter's first question was "Are we going to have ...

A while ago, I was watching a program where a professional organizer was the expert guest.  The other guests, a young couple, were overwhelmed by the amount of laundry, toys, dishes, and paper their house had.  The camera panned out around the house, and it was evident that there was very little organization in the house.  The woman explained that she was so busy taking care of the kids that she didn't have time to do anything else.  The husband said it was hard to live in a house with so much chaos. Then the professional organizer began giving advice.  Only one thing that he said stuck with me.  It was: "Finish the cycle".  In other words, if you fold the laundry, finish the cycle and put it away while you are going.  If you are clearing the table, finish the cycle and put them into the dishwasher.  Those three words struck a chord in me.  They are the key to completing any job.  Since that time, I have found those words e...

Just after Christmas I purchased this SD card.  It was a bit of a splurge, but I had been wanting to get one, because I wanted to be able to enjoy more pictures on my digital frame that my daughter had bought us.  It has a much larger memory capacity. I brought it home, all pleased with myself, and put it away, The trouble was that I didn't remember where I had put it.  Our house is not that big. What I'm not using, is in storage. And yet, I couldn't find it  A.n.y.w.h.e.r.e. Every once-in-awhile I would go through my stuff to see if I could find it, but to no avail.  There it was.  Gone. Until last week.  I went on an errand to find a paper that I needed for another project.  I went through my stuff again, and for some reason, I looked in the area where I keep the phone book.  And guess what dropped out?!!!  YAY!