Easter Sunday

This Easter is different. 

I wonder how many times that statement has been uttered today and during the past few days.  It is different.  We still celebrate the intention of the holiday - Jesus.  However, we celebrate and honor it so differently. 

At our house it has been quiet with the exception of the falling rain and thunder.  No excitement and anticipation over gathering lots of eggs from the grass or flowers or numerous other places they might be hidden.  No eggs to hide or hunt.  No little feet running and squealing.  No little voices giggling.  No teens or tweens rolling their eyes when we ask them to pose for a photo.  No photos. No grandchildren or children here today.

It has been quiet here today.

We are all staying home.

While, we miss seeing the grands and our children and we miss sharing a feast and fun time with them.  We know that such is the way it is today.  Quiet. Staying home.

You see, today, we are not only celebrating and honoring the sacrifice made for us, we are also honoring the sacrifice asked of us to stay home in hopes of preventing the spread of this dreaded virus.  We are celebrating the health of our family.  We are honoring those who are sacrificing for us so that we might be healthy and stay healthy. 

Mike and I sent treats to the grandchildren and they have shared their thanks and how they have enjoyed them this week.  It is not quite the same as sitting on the porch watching them dash round the front yard as they gather up the colorful treats.  Yet, it is better in some ways because we know that they are safe and healthy in their homes with their parents. 

It has been quiet here today but it has also been a day of rejoicing and celebration for all the blessings we enjoy as a result of the ultimate sacrifice as well as the current sacrifices.

We hope your Easter has been one of celebration and honor and that you and your family are healthy and safe staying home.

Early Delivery!

Since we are staying home, our family Easter gathering has been called off and we are hoping for a family get-together later this year.  I'm not sure if an egg-hunt will be involved but I am sure giggling and high-jinks will be if everybody can come together because that is just what happens when the ten grands and their parents are together.

We turned to online order and delivery for the treats this year.  When I was ordering, the companies were telling me that delivery might take longer for non-essential items.  Well, evidently chocolate coated cookies are deemed essential for some of the grands.  Abby Lee seems to concur with the early delivery!

By the way, I think one of the big brothers is enjoying one of the treats in the background as well!  I tried to capture the looks on their faces by getting a screenshot from the video. They all seemed to think the treats were a good deal.

Big Stuff!

I am ever so grateful that our children share pictures of what is going on in their lives.  I'm so thankful that they frequently send us videos and pictures to share windows into the lives of our grandchildren.  I think I am ever so much more grateful lately than ever before.

This past week we got some photos which shared some big stuff that is going on in Bryan and his family's life.  While they are somewhat accustomed to being at home more than most folks because Bryan and Jessica both work from home, the break from school and preschool and church and just getting out and about has still been a bit of a strain on them, I think.

Rainy days which keep the littles inside are always tough for children who thrive outdoors.  So, when Jessica sent this photo of Linley with her bowl of pop-pop this week, we couldn't help but laugh out loud.  Mike also said he wished he had a big ole bowl just like that and could sit beside her in front of the TV and munch all afternoon long during a rainy afternoon!  Big stuff for this girl!

Then, at the end of the week when the skies were blue and the temperature was warm, we got photos from Bryan sharing a bit about the fishing trip that he and Harris made, we had another opportunity to smile and enjoy.

I love the serious look on Harris's face and how he is holding his mouth just right to get the job done.  In the moving shot, we could hear Harris say, "Oh Gosh!" and when we saw the fish, we could certainly see why!

It seems like another boy was pretty excited about their haul as well!

After seeing the message below, I really wish I had seen the action shot of Jessica!  I recall a time when she and Bryan were visiting on a football Saturday and Mike fried fish.  She showed us how much she liked fried fish that day and I'll bet she got her fill at this old-fashioned fish fry as well!

Big stuff!

March Reflections

I get a newsletter from Emily P. Freeman each month.  I must have signed up while following her blog sometime back.  I like that she shares books she's reading, interesting posts she's read, and some reflections for the month.

This month she let three questions guide her own reflection and encouraged readers to do the same.  So, as one of her readers, I'm going to share my reflection this way as well.

1. What was one moment of joy in March?
2. What was a moment that surprised me in March?
3. What's one thing I want to leave behind moving into April?

I love questions like that and the reason I do is because they provoke thought.  I'm in the process of writing about books that provoke thought but that has turned into more of an epistle than a blog post. So, I've put it on hold for a while to do a little bit of...thinking.

1. Moment of joy:

I was kind of surprised as I sat and thought about all that had happened this month and all that had not.  I had so many different things that brought me joy.  I guess I will go with one of the first ones that was W-A-Y back at the beginning of the month.  A little girl whose name is Joy brought me joy as she does lots of other people.  

She is the youngest of three girls in her family and her older sisters are several years older than her.  So, she has been watching her older sisters go off to school all of her life.  She has seen them dress up to participate in school spirit days, Halloween dress-up contests, book character dress-up days, and sports team uniform donning times.  Her mother is like her mother before her and her grandmother before that and the children always pose in their finery or their wackiness so that the moment can be memorialized for years ahead.  

This year she is officially a school-girl attending Pre-K and her school had dress-up days.  So, it was her turn to shine.  They wore school spirit attire.  They wore wacky, weird get-ups.  She was so excited to have the opportunity to participate and dress up she did.  She was wild and wacky and full of spirit and a Flucy Luci like her book character, Fancy Nancy.  The top photo is her the night before book character day when she dressed like Fancy Nancy.  The next photo is her on wacky, tacky day.  I'd be willing to bet that there were few folks who were as wacky as that girl!  She and her mother planned her ensembles well in advance and she made sacrifices like sleeping in the hair curlers and getting up early to add pipe cleaners to the wacky hairdo.  All of these efforts were worth it, though, because it brought Luci Joy lots of joy.

I know for a fact that her pleasure in dressing up brought others joy as well.  My heart smiles every time I see these photos of her reveling in the fun rites of passage that children go through.  I also know that on wacky tacky day, this little pipe cleaner hairdo, mismatched socks and shoes, and bright patterned clothing wearing girl went skip-hopping along with her mother into the grocery store after school and many other people got to experience joy in her school spirit and her pure joy of self-expression!

2. A moment that surprised me:

Narrowing down to one moment of surprise for this month was truly a feat! What a month of surprises and changes was this one - not only for me but for everyone in our world today.  

I think the moment that surprised me most, however, was when I acknowledged a feeling of contentment.  I think it has become the norm in our culture for us to always want more and always need to do more and always feel there is more.  Yet, during this time of staying at home, (For the record, today marks more than twenty days of staying at home for me.) I came to realize a couple of weeks ago that I am really content.  I don't feel the need for more.  I'm satisfied with my station in life.  I'm satisfied with my home.  I'm satisfied with what I have accomplished professionally.  I'm content to just be as I am.  

I didn't feel the need to apologize for sitting around on the porch one sunny day last week and reading a book.  I don't feel the urge to do something productive like cleaning baseboards or sweeping out corners just because I have the time off from work. I am just content to be.  I don't ever recall feeling that phenomenon before.

3. One thing I want to leave behind:

Boy! This is also a difficult one to hem up!  Aren't there so many things about this particular month of March that we all would like to leave behind?  Aren't there so many things that we have already left behind during this particular month of March?

On the day that it was announced our school district would be dismissed for a long weekend to provide time for deep cleaning because a parent had visited one of our schools and had tested positive for COVID-19, a different mindset crept into me.  

I would look at people differently.  I would look at places differently.  I watched for details that I had never watched before.  I felt like I was wearing a cloud over my head and just waiting for the downpour that was going to come upon me.  I kept thinking - what if?

Those feelings began to take over my whole being and I started constantly being on the edge of an anxiety attack.  I was snappier even than usual.  I was more stand-off-ish.  I watched others so very closely.  I would have to remind myself to pause and take a deep cleansing breath.  I would have to breathe deeply and close my eyes to prevent myself from bursting into tears.  It was overpowering.

I want to leave that panicky feeling behind.

As we move forward into April of 2020, I look forward to navigating a new way of life.  I know that we don't just blink our eyes and nod our head or twitch our noses and magically we are transported.  However, I'm ready to move forward and take what March has taught me into this journey that we call life.

Discovery On A Morning Walk

Being home is a gift to me. I love where we live and I am glad to be where I am.

I always have ways to occupy my time and am never bored. To me, down-time means I get to read or craft or cook.

So, this time has felt like a gift and a blessing to me. I've enjoyed every minute of being at home.

I will admit that there are times when the blaring of the television or the updates from online have seemed a bit much for me. So, when rain wasn't falling, I went out for a walk.

I don't want you to think I've taken up hiking or I've become health-conscious or something like that.  Don't get silly.

I simply take a stroll - down the driveway or along the creek.  It is not like I'm counting steps or logging miles.  I just take a mind-clearing walk.

On my walk the other morning, I took time to pick up a few fallen branches or some wood that had washed down the creek during flooding.  For some reason, I looked up and noticed this.

There are little buds on most every branch of this tree down near our creek.  Yet, this one little cluster of twiggy branch is much further along.

How about that?  Why do you think that might be?  I plan to keep a watch and see what I notice in the next few days.  I just found that quite interesting.

Bunnies Hopping Up Here And There

I guess it is just that time of year but around here, bunnies seem to be hopping up here and there.  This well-dressed young lady perched on the side of a tulip pitcher recently appeared in the front bedroom right beside the child's tea sets.

This little guy is peeking out from some hand towels in the guest bathroom.

This smiling pair with waggling friends have perched on the hearth.

The crackled little grandma reading to her grand is on the table at the end of the couch.

This sweet sleepy pair are on the buffet in the den.

This friend is cheering up the china cupboard in the kitchen.

This cheerful fellow greets you at the front door!

Spring and bunnies are hopping up all over the place around here!

Blue & White For Spring

In my opinion, blue and white are the best colors for every season.  So, spring should be no different.  I was quite fortunate to get a little bit of blue and white from my Granny's estate and it is now gracing our spring decor.

When I'm doing some cleaning and clearing out dust, I sometimes think I want to simplify.  Then, as I start to return things to the mantel, I generally decide that I like things the way they are.  So, it all goes back.  I hardly make any changes seasonally there either because I am pretty satisfied.  Sometimes I will add greenery or flowers to the urns/vases there but all-in-all it pretty much stays the same.

The cheerful bunnies hopped onto the hearth for the season.  I also added to the symmetry a bit by adding the blue and white eggs that came from my Granny's.

I just realized that one is nestled up against an illegal advertisement.  Oops!

I'm going to choose ti think the rustic sign is encouraging me to gather all my blue and white spring cheerfulness together there on the mantel!

Musical Lamps

As I was dusting and doing some spring cleaning in the front bedroom this week, I did a little lamp moving.  The little night light that sat on this book case was moved to the back bedroom and this little antique lamp with the green shade and marbles in it took that spot.

The brass lamp that was once at my paternal grandparents' shifted from the bedside table over to the table where the little lamp with the green shade once sat.

The little white lamp that I bought in a recent online auction now sits on the bedside table to balance out the white antique lamp that sits on the other side of the bed.

While I'm not excited about the floral shade that is on this little white lamp, I do like the shape of it.  So, maybe I just need to be on the lookout for a white shade with a tulip shape like that.  Spring fluffing continues!

A Little Peek of Sunshine!

What is this I see?

 It certainly has been a long time coming.

And, listening to the news reports, it may be short-lived!

Happy Saint Paddy's Day!

No shamrocks for us this year - at least not green-growing ones.  So, the greenery that we do have will have to suffice. 

On this drizzly, cool Tuesday, we hope you have all the luck of the Irish and then some!

May your wishes come true and your skies become sunny!

We are enjoying a low-key day and keeping dry and we hope you are, too.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Rain, Rain...

The ground here is dry, dry, dry.  We have dust and cracks in the earth.  The weather forcasters have predicted rain and the conditions of high humidity and high temperatures are just right for the rain but somehow it just seems to keep missing us.

That has been a good thing for the hay Mike is working to get rolled up and out of the field but we could use a really good soaking.

Things are not quite the same a couple of hours west of here where Bryan and Jessica are trying to get going with their house.  The dozer operator came by mid-week and leveled off a place for the footing to be dug.  They were on go to get started on Friday or Saturday of this week.

Then, Friday afternoon Jessica sent me this photo:

An ominous looking sky.  The leveled dirt is there to the left of the driveway.  A couple of hours later, we got this photo:

They got a downpour of a bit over an inch.  No footer digging is going on this weekend.

Stalking the Neighbors

I've been stalking the blue birds who have nested in the decorative birdhouse on our back porch.  I want to capture a photo of them as they flitter and flutter in and out from their nest.  They are a bit too wise for me and recognize that I'm sitting out there armed with my camera.  So, they avoid me and stay away from their nest when I'm sitting as still as possible out there.

In my stalking yesterday I gave up on my little blue friends and aimed my camera out toward the feeders where I captured a sweet little friend perched atop the shepherd's hook holding one of the feeders.

I also captured my knock-out rose as it was bursting into bloom and my hosta as it was spreading it's pretty blue-green foliage.

They were beautiful from every angle and my little ceramic bunny thought so, too.  I also saw something else peeking it's head out and preparing to burst into bloom.

The peonies are just about ready to show their fluttery faces.

The false indigo has a few pretty blue blossoms starting to burst onto the scene.

This succulent, my hens-and-chicks, is showing off lots of cute little chicks.

So, my stalking continues...

When life gives you rain...

April has come and gone but it hasn't really measured up like past springtimes.  We are a bit dry around here.  So dry that there are large cracks in the dusty ground and in some places the grass is a bit crunchy.

It seems that everybody hasn't had the same weather pattern as us.  In fact, this past week our son and his family who live west of here by a couple of hours have had rain every afternoon.

Boy, has that been a good thing for their newly planted garden!

Boy, has that been a good thing for their newly established lawn!

Boy, has that been a good thing for this boy!

Just look at that face!  His dad sent me this photo along with the caption...

"When life gives you rain, stomp the puddles!"

Random Saturday Morning

I was talking to a co-worker the other day and we were sharing stories and grousing and - well - honestly bragging about things that only a couple of women who have weathered through:

• the breakup of a marriage after learning that their husbands were liars and cheaters
• living as a single woman while raising children and developing a career
• found a wonderful man and started a new life
• become a bonus mother to children we didn't raise but still love unmeasurably
• recognize that we are flawed but try our hardest to be Good Women
• recognize our spouses are flawed but are really fabulous in spite of it
• have a passion for teaching and learning but struggle with the ignorance involved in reforming a public education system we know could be second-to-none
• have parents with health issues
• working together alongside six other women in one room
• family

She shared how her bonus daughter is a wonderful young woman but needs to wake up and grow up and face up to some things...and I shared a couple of similar ideas.  I shared how my husband is wonderful but doesn't really realize it and wear it proudly.  She shared how her husband is so organized and focused and thorough with some things and then is oblivious to some things right under his nose.  We talked about our flaws and how we try so hard to keep our less-than-perfect selves under control and far too often fail.  We updated one another on all the news that is news and groused about the silliness and craziness that is going on in our world today.  Then, we parted ways and re-joined the hustle and bustle of the lives we live.

My conversation with Renee made me realize that having strong women-friends like her is what bolsters us up and keeps us going when the going is a bit rocky and the soles of our shoes are thin.  So, that sort of set the stage for today's blog post of a random nature.  The same random nature that our conversation meandered through...

This post made me want to rush out and buy a tube of lipstick for my daughter and daughters-in-law!  Now, I have never noticed any of them wearing lipstick of any color or name.  I think they may smear on a dab of gloss or something every now and again.  So, maybe the tube of lipstick wouldn't be for them to wear exactly.  Maybe it would just be there to be in that little zipper pocket on the side of the inside of their purse with the emory board and a band-aid or two.  It might even wallow around in the bottom with a couple of ink pens, a fast-food receipt, a matchbox car, a half-a-pack of gum, a kid's meal prize, and a petrified French fry only to be discovered when digging for their keys.  Then, it would remind them not to get lost in the demands of the children and the desires of the husband and the needs of the family and the guilt of wanting to be a Good Woman and they will Speak Louder.

I saw this post and realized that I could do something like that and maybe, just maybe I need to have a feather to tickle me a little bit.

I decided that I am just letting that front bedroom with my Granny's quilt simmer.  I'm not indecisive.  I'm not frustrated because I cannot find the perfect fabric for a bed skirt and window treatment and pillow shams.  I'm just letting it simmer.

I saw another addition of buffalo checks into Kim's life and determined that I WILL add buffalo checks SOMEWHERE in my house within the next year!  Plus, I realized that I am also going to watch for a coupon and add the beautiful toile that I love so much featuring the hunter and fisherman and pastoral colors and scenes SOMEWHERE in my house as well!

I read Karianne's post and tears welled up in my eyes and emotion swept over me and I realized that this is more the attitude that we need to wear daily than the one I've been wearing.  I realized that I truly miss sharing literature and particularly Holocaust literature with students and promised myself that I would work with a teacher next year and do just that.

This morning during my coffee slurping, I saw a couple of crafts that I definitely want to tackle and pinned a few ideas for later.  The two which seem simplest and accomplishable for now are creating leather tassels and decorating beautiful eggs.

Several of the blogs I subscribe to read showed spring tablescapes and spring door decor and springing up of their homes and I realized that I never even transitioned from the Let-It-Snow decorations in January to the Valentine's decorations.  However, sometime today I'm going to search for some eggs and bunnies and spring floral sprigs and transition to hopeful spring decor.

That is how my random day has stacked up.  How about yours?