Wordful Wednesday - The Natural Art

PRELUDES - I

by: Madison Julius Cawein

There is no rhyme that is half so sweet
As the song of the wind in the rippling wheat;
There is no metre that's half so fine
As the lilt of the brook under rock and vine;
And the loveliest lyric I ever heard
Was the wildwood strain of a forest bird.--
If the wind and the brook

and the bird would teach
My heart their beautiful parts of speech,
And the natural art that they say these with,
My soul would sing of beauty and myth
In a rhyme and metre that none before
Have sung in their love, or dreamed in their lore,
And the world would be richer one poet the more.

Picture of this sunset sky taken last night,

June 30, 2009

Wordful Wednesday

This week's words come from Ashton, my six year-old grandson.

A little background:

I had gone over to my daughter's house for a "Taster's Table" evening of fondues and sauces with some of her friends. When I arrived, my son-in-law, Joseph, was getting ready to take the kids to Chuck E. Cheeze for the evening to get them out of the house.

So here's how it went...

Ashton: "Yaya, have you ever been to Chuck E. Cheeze?"

Yaya: "Yes I have! I used to take your mom and Uncle Hunter there when they were little!"

Ashton: "Was it in BLACK and WHITE??"

Hahahah........ Gennie had to explain to him that "black and white" is only for old movies and television, etc. - not for real life!

Every now and then it's fun to be able to get glimpse inside the minds of the young ones!

Yaya loves you, Ashton!

Sisters

Memories of childhood may someday fade
But never the special games that we played…
Though our tea party days have come to an end
You’re always my sister - forever my friend!
My big sister, Lynda, and I

The Best Investment You'll Ever Make

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18

and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family.

Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down.

It translates into:* $8,896.66 a year,

$741.38 a month,

$171..08 a week.

A mere $24.24 a day!

Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is :

Don't have children if you want to be 'rich.'

Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

Naming rights: First, middle and last! * Glimpses of God every day. * Giggles under the covers every night. * More love than your heart can hold. * Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs. * Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies. * A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate. * A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites. * Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to: * finger-paint, * carve pumpkins, * play hide-and-seek, * catch lightning bugs, * never stop believing in Santa Claus.You have an excuse to: * keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, * watch Saturday morning cartoons, * go to Disney movies and * wish on stars.You get to frame rainbows, hearts and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof * taking the training wheels off a bike * removing a splinter * filling a wading pool * coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs and * coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.You get a front row seat in history to witness the: * First step * First word * First bra * First date * First time behind the wheel

You get to be immortal.

You get another branch added to your family tree and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren.

You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever...

and love them without limits, so that one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!

Love & enjoy your children, grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!

It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!

Temecula Time - at last!

Doug and I *finally* got to have a little get-away day today! After errands and must-do's, we headed for Temecula... a lovely old-timey town with plenty of antiques and funky junk stores. We ate lunch at Mad Madeline's, and wandered the antique stores and shops for hours. We found a few goodies, enjoyed our time together, and had a great day!

Pretty in Pink

Little Mitzi had her spay surgery on Tuesday, and they sent her home with a cone collar so she cannot bite and lick her stitches. She was supposed to wear it for 10 - 14 days!! The thing is, she has skin allergies and issues, so she is a professional tummy scratcher. She rubs her tummy on the carpet, she is an expert at using her hind legs to scratch just the right spot on her belly, and she ingeniously drags herself down the stairs on her stomach to get in a little extra scratching! Obviously, the cone collar was NOT going to stop this schnauzer from putting her stitches in jeopardy. We decided that a little onesie might at least shield them from the worst while allowing them to "breathe" and heal properly. So here she is in her size 24 months cute pink onesie! It came with a little skirt, but we decided to spare her the further humiliation of that! She has not worn the collar at all because licking and chewing have not been a problem.

Doesn't she look pretty in pink?!

(By the way - the human red eye removal feature won't remove doggy blue eye!)

Wordful Wednesday

RAIN MUSIC

On the dusty earth-drum
Beats the falling rain;
Now a whispered murmur,
Now a louder strain.

Slender, silvery drumsticks,
On an ancient drum,
Beat the mellow music
Bidding life to come.

Chords of earth awakened,
Notes of greening spring,
Rise and fall triumphant
Over every thing.

Slender, silvery drumsticks
Beat the long tattoo--
God, the Great Musician,
Calling life anew.

Joseph Seamon Cotter, Jr.

Oh how I loved the wind and the rain and the THUNDER! So rare is it here in Southern California, that many of us, upon hearing the Rain Music, were completely startled and caught unawares! But what a wonderful concert it was... especially the clash of the thunder cymbals!

SHARK!!!!!!!

Licking the shark cage

Playing "balloon stomp"
Shark Boy Ashton opening presents

Rebekah LOVED the frosting!

Shark cupcake cake

Shark Cake & Shark Boy

We went to Ashton's shark party in celebration of his 6th birthday today.

Fun Fun Fun!

It's Ashton's Birthday!

Now... and Then

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY ASHTON!!

Yaya and Papa LOVE you!

Wordfull Wednesday

BARTER

by Sara Teasdale

Life has lovliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has lovliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirits' still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for lovliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white hour of singing peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.

VOTE!

Yup... It was quick and painless, too!

The reason it was so quick and painless is because...

I was the ONLY one there at the time!

C'mon, California - get out the VOTE!

Fun Day with Rebekah

Waiting for Papa

Rebekah came and spent the day with Yaya so her mom could just veg...

We did our hair and then went to run some errands. We ate tangerine chicken for lunch and she played in the fountain outside the restaurant for a while.

We did some shopping and found this cute polka-dot dress... fun!

After we got home, she took a nap, and then wanted to watch Curious George - Sadly, we turned on the TV just as he was getting over, so it was Dora instead.

Then it was on to Legos and swimming. Now we're waiting for Papa to come home...

What a fun day!

Stacks and stacks

" Whoa! What did we put in that recylcing can... it weighed a ton!?"
This is what I heard after he dragged the big blue can to the street for the regular Thursday pick up.
What did we put in there? Okay, what did *I* put in there? EVERYTHING! I decided it was time to de-clutter. I love flat surfaces... they're good for sitting vases of flowers on, they're good for rolling out cookies and rolling buns (see related post), they're good for looking great when you're doing nothing with them. But... they're also good for stacking piles of 'I don't know exactly what to do with this' on.
I had finally had enough, so I rolled up my sleeves and decided I was going to make some real progress with it. (Just in the kitchen/family room area, mind you. The office is another story!)
I studied and sorted and make smaller stacks out of bigger ones. I tossed and trashed and agonized over this and that. When I was done, I filed a few things away, and then set about shredding a gazillion pieces of unneeded ephemera and minutia.
Then I tackled the smaller stacks again. This time I got rid of just about everything! Magazines that I haven't yet read, but really meant to... cards from people I love ... wedding and baby announcements ... paid bills... old insurance papers... coupons for stuff I think I might want... JUNK MAIL... papers, papers, papers... every everything that I possibly could.
When all was said and done, I loved it!
I could tell a difference - a real difference. My flat surfaces were flat once again, and my big blue recycling can was full of a hundred trees that needn't have died on my behalf! If only I could convince Edison and the water company and the bank and the cable company (and, and, and...)that I don't need or want all the extra papers they send along with my bills. I shudder to think how many trees I throw into that big blue can every year. Sigh.
However, I think I have figured out a way to never have to deal with this again: I'm seriously considering attaching my paper shredder to the mouth of my mailbox!
Done!!
Oops... I guess I better go attack the office!

Wordfull Wednesday

It is not what we take from this world,

but rather that which we give to it

that leads to our own happiness;

for the seeds of kindness grow

into the blossoms of joy.

Blossoms courtesy of Alisha - Thanks!!

Conundrum!

It's very summery here today... Waaaaaayyy too summery! I like the pool, but not the hot weather. Wish I could work it out to where I could have the former without having to deal with the latter. I'm gonna have to work on that!
(this is Hunter about 19 years ago... hehe)

Wordfull Wednesday

Wisdom... and a healthy dose of wit and cynicism!

Architecture: The art of how to waste space
Business: The art of extracting money from another man's pockets without resorting to violence
Conscience: The inner voice that warns us that someone may be watching
Diplomacy: The art of saying, "nice doggy" until you can find a rock
Experience: What causes a person to make new mistakes instead of the same old ones
Famous: The art of being conspicuously miserable
Hope: The feeling you have that the feeling you have isn't permanent

You are now entering the Mission Field

While driving around one day when I was in Florida, my Dad missed a turn and we used the parking lot of a little community church to get turned back around. As we were leaving the parking lot to get back on the road, this is the sign we saw! I said, "Dad! Wait - I gotta getta picture of that!" I can't help but think how very right they are... Anytime we leave the church parking lot, we are indeed entering the mission field. This is where OYM comes in - "OPEN YOUR MOUTH"! After all, are we not all missionaries?

Cute Chick!

When I was in Florida over Easter week, it was time for the Sandhill Crane hatchlings. We saw a few sets of parents with their long-legged chicks. Although I didn't get to do much formal sight-seeing this time, it seems that when you're in Florida, nature comes in search of you!
(click on the picture to get a better view)

Wordfull Wednesday

"Where we love is home...
Home that our feet may leave,
But not our hearts."
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Love you and miss you, Hunter. See you in September!

Here's Pie in Your face!

So we went to the spaghetti dinner/bake sale fundraiser for Girls Camp Friday night. Another thing they did to raise money was sell cream-filled plates for a dollar... Then you got the throw the "pies" at the victims. Ashton threw about 4 pies, and had a fabulous time!

Rolling Buns

My Grandma Hunter always made sure there were fresh-baked cinnamon rolls when our family came to visit. My youngest brother, Carl, when he was just a little squirt, called them "rolling buns", and the name just stuck! I can still picture her standing at the kitchen table kneading that yummy dough.

I needed to take something to the church bake sale fundraiser for Girls Camp, so I decided to make... what else? Rolling Buns! Here's the recipe (I let the bread machine do the kneading!):

Dough:

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1/3 cup butter, melted

4 cups all-purpose flour

Dissolve the yeast in warm milk. Add sugar and allow to rest 10 minutes.

Add melted butter and eggs. Mix well and pour into bread machine.

Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to machine 1 cup at a time while machine mixes.

Allow machine to knead dough for 7 - 10 minutes. Remove dough and proceed to assembly step.

Filling:

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup butter (or margarine), softened

Mix together cinnamon and brown sugar; set aside.

Assembly:

Roll out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle about 16" X 20", about 1/4" thick.

Spread softened butter evenly across dough.

Sprinkle evenly with cinnamon and brown sugar mixture.

Starting from the top of the long side of rectangle, roll dough down to meet the bottom edge.

Cut into 12 slices.

HINT: To cut rolls, Grandma Hunter always slid a piece of thread under the roll, brought the ends up and crossed them across the top, and pulled to cut. I mark off 12 even slices, then line the thread up and pull it across on the marks. (This method keeps a knife from mashing down the dough!)

Place rolls, evenly spaced, in a PAM-coated 13" X 9" baking dish.

Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled - about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.

Bake at 375 about 15 minutes, or until tops are light brown and dough is cooked through.

Do not over-bake.

Icing:

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine, softened

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

While rolls are baking, mix together icing ingredients with electric mixer. DO NOT add milk or other liquid. Beat until fluffy.

Spread on warm (not hot) rolling buns.

Seems like a lot of steps, but they're all easy-peasy, and soooooooo worth it!!

"Wet and Slippy"

Gennie, Ashton, and Rebekah came over the other day - one of those days when it was close to 100 degrees here (yikes!!). Gennie set up the Slip-n-Slide in the backyard, and Ashton had a great time with it. Rebekah expressed her disapproval by declaring that it was "wet and slippy!" We couldn't convince her that wet and slippy was a good thing. She stuck to riding her trike.

The Schnauzers go Summer

I took Mitzi and Max to the groomer this morning for their "complete day of beauty". They both got summer haircuts and scarves. Max was too embarrassed to show his!

Wordfull Wednesday

"We are words on a journey, not the inscriptions of a settled people"
- W.S. Merwin
I love that quote! Life is an ever-changing journey that we make each day... always transitioning and evolving, never predictable or settled. It is beautiful, fascinating, frightening, surprising. There is something new to learn from every day we live. Our quest is to discover everything we can!