Saturday, October 31, 2009
Pumpkins
One Saturday H took Elliott to work with her and I took the girls to the pumpkin patch. They enjoyed picking out pumpkins and looking at all the colors, sizes, and textures.
Then we bought some mums and came home to make an autumn grouping for our front yard.
The babes' Aunt Donna and Uncle Terry gave the three these neat pumpkin pieces. They were a neat way for Lucia, Elliott, and Mazie to decorate pumpkins. They enjoyed picking our their features. They would tell us which pumpkin was theirs.
Just missing 98
Monday, October 26, 2009
The Altar
Here is poem number three in my installment of Project40.
The Altar by Charles Simic
The plastic statue of the Virgin
On top of a bedroom dresser
With a blackened mirror
From a bad-dream grooming salon.
Two pebbles from the grave of a rock star,
A small, grinning wind-up monkey,
A bronze Egyptian coin
And a red movie-ticket stub.
A splotch of sunlight on the framed
Communion photograph of a boy
With the eyes of someone
Who will drown in a lake real soon.
An Altar dignifying the god of chance.
What is beautiful, it cautions,
Is found accidentally and not sought after.
What is beautiful is easily lost.
Junk Pile Road
I am in awe of how my children are growing up so fast. Mazie carried Mr. Mouse with her and I gave the children each a sucker from their parade loot. When Mazie and Lucia finished their sucker I took their paper sticks and put them in my pocket. I looked to Elliott to collect his stick but didn't see it. "Elliott, where is your sucker stick," I asked him. He looked up at me and said, "I put it in my pocket." When we have these little glimmers of conversation they make my breath catch in my chest. These tiny little beings are communicating with me like little children. It is something I am still getting used to.
I am so thankful for the days we have together. I just wish they didn't go so fast.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Shades
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Oatmeal
I often get irritated at excessive packaging.
I have been buying the store brand instant cinnamon and apples oatmeal. But, I don't really like to get it because my children eat about four packets of it at one meal and it has some unnecessary ingredients in it. So, when my sister and I were together I told her I wanted us to concoct a recipe for cinnamon and apples oatmeal. The first batch we threw together we ground in the blender. This made for very pasty (paste as in glue) oatmeal. The next batch, which we were happy with, we threw into a gallon size Ziploc and shook. This is the way to go. It couldn't be easier and you can just keep refilling the same baggie with the ingredients.
Of course there are infinite options with oatmeal. Here is the one we made.
alem's easy oatmeal
2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 tsp cinnamon
<1/4 tsp salt
2 tablespoons flax meal (or oat bran or wheat germ)
1/2 tablespoon sugar (though with subsequent batches I have left sugar out)
1/3 cup diced dried apples
Put all ingredients in a baggie. Shake.
Put desired amount in a bowl and pour just boiling water to cover.
Let stand 2 minutes.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Hum Along
The Speaker
The speaker points out that we don't really have much of
a grasp of things, not only the big things, the important
questions, but the small everyday things. "How many steps
up to your front door? What kind of tree grows in your
backyard? What is the name of your district representative?
What is your wife's shoe size? Can you tell me the color of your
sweetheart's eyes? Do you remember where you parked
the car?" The evidence is overwhelming. Most of us never
truly experience life. "We drift through life in a daydream,
missing the true richness and joy that life has to offer." When
the speaker has finished we gather around to sing a few
inspirational songs. You and I stand at the back of the group
and hum along since we have forgotten most of the words.
"The Speaker" by Louis Jenkins, from Just Above Water. © Used with permission of the poet.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Parades
These first pictures are from the homecoming parade. It was a cool day, high in the mid 50s. I bundled the babes and made them some hot chocolate. They got lots of loot and had a good time.
They even got to see their Nana on a float. Her class was celebrating a reunion and they participated in the parade.
From an early age, Elliott has not liked loud sounds. He still doesn't. He will not come out of the car during the parade, though he watches very intently.
Here is Mazie with her buddy Brandon. Isn't this a study in opposites? This picture has given me the idea of making flash cards with pictures of opposites on them, pictures of things the three see in their daily life. I made some flashcards for my niece Avery last Hanukkah that had pictures of us and our life to match the words, words like tree, goat, cousin, aunt, house. Maybe I should work on some opposite cards. Mazie and Brandon would make the perfect "big, little" conparison.
Here we are at the Fire Prevention parade. H is on our town's voluteer fire department. She loves it and we are proud of her.
Here is Elliott, hiding from the noise but still instructing his sister to pass the candy.
H and Mazie picking up candy and watching the fire engines.
Elliott, hiding and watching.
The JBoys riding on the fire truck. They are good about giving us the loot. At supper the night after the homecoming parade, I asked the children what they most enjoyed about the parade. Lucia said the fire trucks. Elliott and Mazie both said the band. (Mazie says "banna" and Elliott says "ban.") In talking about the parades the three things they always mention are the fire engines, the band, and the candy. Elliott has even taken an interest to his drum since the parades. Thanks for checking in on us. We hope your life has been a lovely parade lately.