One Part Inspiration...

Winter draws near. The sky alternates between calling for snow. and embossing the surrounding vista in crisp clear relief. I sigh And begin conducting the garden's "Solstice Finale".

For several weeks, I've been hearing comments being made regarding Christmas. I hear two very different sides of this celebration. The first side has been playing Christmas music for several weeks now. They LOVE Christmas and all that goes with it. They are definitely Santa wannabees. Because they are techno savy, they substitute LOL (Laugh Out Loud) for HO HO HO, but other than that, you might even confuse them for Santa. When you talk to them, they say things like: The music? Love it!!!!!!!!! In fact, I buy a new CD [or two or ...seventeen LOL ] every year and start playing i t [them], the minute that Halloween is over! LOL The shopping? Start that on January 1st!!!!!! Then I forget what I bought, because I hide it too well so I go and buy more. LOL . [Sometimes I just give the presents to myself too, for good measure! LOL ] The baking? Well, if I can't find the right recipes in my 1001 recipe books, there's always a recipe exchange going on at work and I c...

"Mom", he said " I need to go get some supplies for a project I have to do." I thought he was talking about a school project. Turns out, it was for school, but it had nothing to do with his classes. "Super Hero" day was coming up, and he wanted to be prepared. We made the requisite journey to Value Village. It happened to be around Halloween anyway, so the prospect of getting an outfit was fairly heavily weighted on the side of success. I left him to browse while I looked for items that might suit me better. After a while he came and said that he'd found something. "How much?" was my reply. "40$". After I picked up my teeth off the floor, I suggested that we try somewhere else. Much as I love my Superhero, there's a limit...... So off we went to another thrift shop. We browsed. And talked about various shirts and hats, and what he'd have to do to alter them to become Superhero-type attire. Of course, all that trying...

These are my new barn boots. Whenever I wear them memories of my days as a mom of young children crowd into my mind. As long as we've lived here, wearing the boots has been a symbol of being out one the farm. The following is one of my stories.... I remember the day my #2 son got lost. He was tall enough to reach the door handle. But he was too young to remember that he needed to call back to mom when she called him. Out he went. On a big-kid adventure. I had no idea that he was gone. Except that after awhile, I heard the silence. When I realized that he wasn't in the house, I began looking for him. I went upstairs and downstairs. I looked in the garage and on the driveway. I called and called to him. No answer. I put my boots on and started out into the field. There's a creek at the bottom of the hill. I worried that he'd gone down there and fallen in the creek. More calling. More silence He wasn't at the creek. We have a lot of acreage. I began to panic ...

For the past several years, I have taken this particular time of the year as holiday time and it has become a treasured precursor to the busy season that approaches. It is a holiday that I hold in my back pocket - something to look forward to as I work my way through the fall. It has been just what the Dr. ordered. Four days of "more of this". I've enjoyed every minute of it. Although I didn't have any particular goals in mind for these past few days, it has been a complete pleasure to look ahead to the next day and say "tomorrow, I can...." just for the fun of fitting that little something different into the schedule - where my regular schedule doesn't allow it. So to that end, I'm going to give you my "top five" for the weekend. One of the pleasures was to attend the last football game. Even though #35 didn't get to play much, I enjoyed hooting and hollering any way. And previous to that, I cheered him on mentally as he sang in ...

I don't know if you are anything like me, but I find myself stopping at the "CLEARANCE" bins. I sift through all the items looking for a deal on my favorites. Truth be told, however, I like to find new and exciting options in the bin just for the fun of trying out a product without paying top price. Such was my experience a little while ago when I found this item. It was marked down from$4.97 to $3.99 and promised "sheer moisture". Not only that, but I was also given the assurance that it was "advanced care". I'm advancing. So I thought I would try it out. So I picked up a bottle, took it up to the cashier, and gave it a whirl. As a consumer decision goes, it was a good one. The moisture was just as sheer as it promised. The minute I put it on my hands, the at-once cooling effect and the rapidity that it dissipated into my skin was truly amazing. The smell was light and airy. It was like going out into a spring breeze. This product seeme...

Today, I was in Grade Two. I haven't been in Grade Two for a very long time. It was a little like throwing a whole bunch of balls up in the air and trying to catch them all at once. Re-entering that world was an adrenalin-filled experience. In Language Arts, we spelled words, and sounded out phonograms. I felt like the special helper when I was asked to read a chapter or two from the chapter book. I was relieved that when it came time for Math, we were counting by Fives. I was good at that back in the day, so didn't have to try and keep up there. In Socials, I felt myself scrambling mentally as we discussed lakes, and rivers and inlets and bays. I tried to keep it all strait straight in my mind. In P.E. the kids ran around like crazy. And I was amazed at all the energy they displayed so late in the day. These last couple months of working [as somewhat of an observer] in the school system , I daily pay silent tribute to all that teachers do. I only have to concentrate ...