Loved, deeply

One of my favorite blogs* is having a ...not sure what to call it. It isn't a contest. An invitation, maybe? You can read about it here: Jeanne's All Four Love invitation. Basically there is a different love-inspired theme each Friday. You post photos that you feel fit the theme. So, I thought I would participate. A fun way to get me back in the habit of posting regularly and in "real time"!

When we were at Disneyland my nice Canon SRL camera was stolen. Stolen is a euphemism for: "she set it down outside a restaurant, she is pretty sure, and when she went back two hours later it was not there!" The police were very kind to not make me feel like the complete idiot I knew I was. And, the nice hotel guest attendant working the night shift didn't make me feel dramatic when I cried to her at 11:00pm that I had lost my purse with my new sunglasses, $300 cash, and my expensive camera that had hundreds of Disney photos on it (the camera and pictures were the real reason for the tears).** Like I said, I wasn't 100% sure where I'd left it.
So, I finally spill all those beans to say that my pictures for All Four Loved are taken on my iPhone (which I had luckily, uncharacteristically put in my jacket pocket that night rather than in my purse), so they are not the best. Still, they represent some of the ones I love deeply.

We have been sick, sick, sick for over a week. So, the pictures of my precious creatures certainly capture real life. Here is Mazie, having fallen asleep on the couch.

Here are Lucia and Elliott sharing a snack of jelly bellies.
Showing their favorite colors: blue and orange. Sharing makes them happy--and me even more happy!
My final photo for my loved deeply photos is of our chocolate lab Molasses. The beginning of the year we lost our sweet Sipsey, Molasses' daughter. Sipsey was about to turn 13 years old. Molasses will turn 16 in September. I know my time with Mo is running out, and I know that I will likely never have a dog as wonderful as her. One of the biggest regrets I've had since having our three is how little attention my dogs get. For a long time my babies, our labs were displaced when we brought home three tiny babies. Since Sipsey is no longer with Mo, I try to spend a little time with her every day, make sure she is okay and that she knows she is loved--deeply.I hope you enjoyed a glimpse of a few of those who I love deeply. Wishing you a wonderful day filled with those you love deeply.

*There are many reasons to visit her site, one being the great playlist you can listen to. She has great (or my?) taste in music.

**After returning home, I remembered that my personalized embossed leather bracelet that I bought at a fair in fourth grade was in there too. Major bummer.

Mama Mazie

Throughout our house we can almost always find someone who is under Mama Mazie's care. I love when I discover some little creature she has looked after.

Mazie is such a joy to me and to those she has taken charge of.

Poem #16

Resume' by Dorothy Parker

Razors pain you;
Rivers are damp;
Acids stain you;
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren't lawful;
Nooses give;
Gas smells awful;
You might as well live.

I really like this poem. I don't know anything about Dorothy Parker except I quote that I've read that is attributed to her: "I don't know anything about being a millionaire, but I bet I'd be darling at it." Isn't that a great quote? Don't we all feel that way? Given the chance to be filthy rich, wouldn't we be gracious and generous, darling yet down to earth?

One thing I like about the poem is the rhythm. It goes along at a happy little clip, contrary to the subject of the poem. And while subject is heavy, the end is hopeful.

My favorite thing about the poem though, is the title. At first, I skimmed over the title not letting it affect my reading of the poem. Without the title, the poem seems almost hopeful in its delivery. Don't go to all those dark places, just make the best of it. But, with the title, the reader is forced to reckon that the speaker of the poem has tried each of those things. Much the way an employee puts projects and undertakings on their resume', the speaker of the poem does the same in this poem.

This poem reminds me of a Langston Hughes poem I used when I taught middle school English. When we talked about the importance of titles, I'd use one of his poems. I'd write it on the board and cover the title up by taping up a sheet of paper. I'd ask the students to write about the poem for five minutes and we'd discuss. Then, I'd uncover the title and ask them to write again about the poem. Then, we'd discuss how our readings were changed by the title.

The calm,
Cool face of the river
Asked me for a kiss.

Read it and think about what the poem evokes for you. Then click on comments and read the title, seeing how that changes your reading of the poem.

Class dismissed.

A list for a list

Here is something I've been doing for a while now. Since having children, I've found my brain truly doesn't work like it used to. (The word truly always makes me think of the movie Roxanne. You too? "Earn more sessions by sleaving." I think that was my sister's and my favorite part.) I've never been one to go to the store without a list, but now sometimes to create the list takes more brain power than I have. So, I created a list to refer to when I have an upcoming shopping day. This has helped me to forget less. I tend to make one big trip toward the beginning of the month getting as much as I can for that month. The trips when I haven't referred to the list are not as successful. For a while I printed the list off and referred to that; now I just pull it up on my computer.

Laundry

Paper towels

Toilet paper

Puffs

White vinegar

Cascade

Method dish washing tablets

Windex

Pinesol

Comet

Kitchen sponges

Gain

All

Downy sheets

Downy liquid

Dawn

Clorox

Shout

Biz

Trash bags 13 gallon

Freezer gallon

Freezer quart

Storage gallon

Storage quart

Wax paper

Foil

Plastic wrap

Diapers*

Wipes

Dog food

Cat Food

Hall Closet

Qtips

Cotton balls

Bandaids

Toothpaste

Toddler toothpaste

Butt paste

Aquaphor

Soap

Deodorant

Toilet paper

Liners

Tampons

Fridge & Freezer

Eggs

Milk

Butter

Yogurt

Cottage cheese

Shredded cheese

Block cheese

Cream cheese

Miso

Ketchup

Yellow mustard

Dijon

Duke’s mayo

Bread crumbs

Flax seed meal

Peas

Green beans

Corn

Bacon

Turkey sausage

Ground beef

Roast

Steak

Ground turkey

Salmon

Fish

Shrimp

Chicken breast

Roaster chicken

Lettuce

Carrot

Celery

Beer

Wine

Puff pastry

Tortillas

Pantry

Coffee

Tea

Green Tea

Herbal Tea

Quaker Oats

Sunbutter

Peanut Butter

Jelly

Salad Dressing

Olives

Pepper

Applesauce

Cereal

Raisins

Prunes

Dried fruit

Almonds

Walnuts

Nuts

Mini Nillas

Goldfish

Artichoke Hearts

Mandarin Oranges

Canned Tomatoes

Tomato Paste

Pasta Sauce

Honey

Wine

Beer

Splenda

AP Flour

WW Flour

SR Flour

Cake Flour

Corn Meal

SR Corn Meal

Vanilla

Chocolate chips

Onions

Potatoes

Apples

Bananas

Triscuits

Brown Rice

Mac& Cheese

Pasta

Chicken broth

Beans

*This list was obviously made a while ago. I need to update it, but wanted to publish the original first. I have things to take off and a few things to add.

Year's First Visitors

We had a great visit with this year's first visitors. W has been a close friend of H's and mine for many years, since they worked together at the beach one summer during college. W brought her two girls, 18 months, E & F, for a visit on this crisp but sunny first Monday of January. We walked to the barn and then had lunch together.
I love the picture above. Elliott has taken F's hand as they all run toward the barn.


W's girls are beautiful and very well behaved. They are calm and play well. W is a great mom, very consistent and engaged and loving. We are so glad they came to see us.
We have lots and lots of babies at the barn this winter. Sheep and goats. They are all such cute babies. Brownie had one of the first babies and my three have really taken to it. They've gotten to hold it quite a bit and they have named him Villie.
Below is the shelter that the five of us built in December when cold weather was coming. It was fun doing a project together as a family.
Come back soon, W, E, and F.

Project 40,

Downhill slide. That is what I am on--with the Big Four-Oh at the bottom. I thought it might be a good idea for me to check in with my Project 40 list. I've had to amend the list a bit. My knees are giving me trouble since I finished the half marathon in April. So, I am done with running--at least for a while. I don't plan to get all these finished by June, but during the year I am celebrating 40.

#=ones I'm working on
*=ones I've done
X=ones I'm not going to do

X1. Run a 5K
X2. Run a 10K
*3. Run a Half marathon
4. Go to New Orleans
*5. Sew a Skirt
6. Sew an Apron
7. Sew a Pillow
#8. Memorize 40 Poems
#9. Read Les Miserables
#10. Sew a Dress for my Girls

11. Go to Oxford, Mississippi
12. Visit Lazy Magnolia Brewery
13. Take a Long Weekend Alone (3 Nights!)
#14. Send Novel to Agents
#15. Send Short Story to Literary Review
*16. Listen to Live music at xx Theatre
17. Visit Flannery, Carson, or Eudora's Home
18. Plant Calla Lilies
*19. Hang Wallpaper
20. Eat raw, organic, or do a detox diet for one week

21. Learn Calligraphy
22. Read One Hundred Years of Solitude
#23. Try 12 recipes from The Gift of Southern Cooking
24. Go to Helen Keller's home
#25. Plant a Lemon Trees
26. Read a Hemmingway
27. Read a Faulkner
#28. Attend a Literary Conference
29. Eat at Float-Away
?30. Go to an EmmyLou Harris concert (as of now, the only dates she has within five hours of us are during a weekend we already have plans during.)

X31. Eat Oysters in Appalachicola (may need to be amended)
#32. Learn 12+ Birds that live in our area
#33. Learn 12+ Trees that grow in our area
34. Teach a writing workshop
35. Go through Pioneer Woman's photography archives
36. Start Bee Hives
37. Watch last season of Six Feet Under
#38. Be able to do 40 Push-Ups
39. Make Mole' Sauce
40. Make a Video of my children's first 4 years

Some of Our Favorite Things

We are seriously loving our Legos. All three, but especially Lu and Bubby. Every day at rest time, all three of them choose Legos for the toy they get to take to their rooms.

We also enjoy making tall towers with the blocks.
Just a few of our favorite things right now.

Happy New Year

One of the things I enjoyed most about teaching is that you got to start over every year. Make big changes. Try new things. For the same reasons, I love the new year, and I love birthdays. Resolutions don't scare me. I have accepted that I will not get everything accomplished that I want; I have come to realize that I often put too much on my plate, try to do too much. Still, I think it is good to have goals, resolutions, to keep us striving to be a little bit better.


One of my favorite blogs mentioned trying to think of a word to focus on for the new year, something you want to become or refine. I have chosen the word engaged. I have certainly developed that motherly talent of checking out. I want to check out less. Multi-task as little as possible. Enjoy the undertaking or activity, whether it is a story with my children or cooking supper.

Since having children, and I think daughters specifically because women tend to have more of an issue with degradation, I have noticed how I talk to myself. In the past year or two, our pastor's husband gave a lay sermon that I really enjoyed. Part of what he talked about was the way that we talk to ourselves. He quoted Philippians 4:8 in his sermon: "Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things." That is something to ruminate on. Along with that verse, I think about my daughters talking to themselves the way I have a propensity to talk to myself. I would cry if, one day, I knew they were saying such harsh and awful things to themselves. Those two things have come together to help me to talk nicer to myself. I have cut way back on the harsh judgments of my appearance and even try to find things, appearance- and character-wise, that I do find acceptable or even valuable.

I write the above to give a foundation for my new year's resolutions. In thinking about how I hope all of my children talk to themselves--Lucia, Elliott, and Mazie Bell, I framed my resolutions a little differently this year, perhaps a little softer, more hopeful than dogmatic. I have an empty frame by my writing chair that I intend to put the list in:

Today I hope you:

• eat raw vegetables
• say something nice to yourself
• walk or do yoga
• write
• read a poem
• pray
• say no to things that are bad for you
• sit on the floor and play with lucia, elliott, and mazie
• notice your gift
• give thanks

I hope your year has started off well and that you are kindly moving yourself toward new goals. Much love to you.

House Fires

The week after Christmas, we went to watch the fire department, which H is a member of, burn an old house. They do it for practice. The children really enjoyed it. I thought it was interesting but quite scary. It will certainly make you think about your own home. This particular house was very old, and older houses do generally burn faster, but the speed and ferocity with which this fire spread was very upsetting. H has been on the fire department for four or five years now. There have been a decent number, too many, of homes completely lost. Several people in our area have perished in fires, including children.
Here are several things I've learned since H joined the fire department. First off, most house fires start with the clothes dryer. I never run our washing machine, dryer, or dish washer once I go to bed. In fact, I make sure their cycle will finish before the time I want to be in bed; otherwise I wait until the morning to start it. And, I try not to run the clothes dryer if no one is home. I don't always stick to this, but I try to do it as little as possible.

Another thing that is good to know. Have a hammer or ax hidden outside your children's windows. That way if you can't get to them through the house, you can still get to them. If you have bedrooms on a second story or your windows are high off the ground, you also need to have a ladder outside so you can get up to bedroom windows. You can find rope ladders for sale that would facilitate a second story escape, but you still need a way to get up from the outside if you need to.

Another thing I've learned is why you don't ever put water on a grease or oil fire. Everyone knows not to do that, but sometimes I think it is interesting and even helpful to know why. This is how I understand the why: If you were to throw water on an oil fire, the water would sink to the bottom of the oil, stuck there. Once the temperature increases enough, the water basically gets so hot it explodes out of the oil, thus spraying all the hot oil and water everywhere. Very scary.
Finally, we have just introduced the beginnings of a fire plan to our children. We have told them if the fire alarm goes off at night, they need to sit under their bedroom window and we will come get them. We will add to this as they process. The next thing we will add is for them to shut their door and then sit under their window. But, we didn't want to overwhelm them.

I hope this has helped and given you some things to think about. Fires are very scary for parents to think of, but to have a plan and for parents to be on the same page does give peace of mind. Here's hoping none of us every has to deal with a house fire.

Christmas Crafts

This season the three and I did several Christmas crafts; I'd say more failed than were a success, but we did have a good time.
I tried to make more gifts this year. For the gifts--like bean soup mix and chai tea--that we gave in jars, I had the children color squares of fabric to tie around the tops. They enjoyed this, and I thought it added to the appeal of the gifts.
The babes really love snow globes, so much so that they've broken all the glass ones we have had. The one plastic one we have they have learned to take the stopper out of. So, I thought it might be fun to make our own snow globes. I learned a few things. I think we'll try again next year, making a few changes. There are two main two things I'd do differently. One is buy cheaper glitter. I just grabbed some Martha Stewart stuff and it was very fine. I think that courser, heavier glitter would look better. Also, I would attach the lid by itself and then once the hot glue had cooled, screw on the ring. I tried to attach and lid and ring at the same time and it was hard to get them on in a timely manner. Elliott's I never was able to screw on tight because the glue adhered while the thing was all caddywompus*. The only other issue is getting the Santa (or other) figurine to stay stuck to the lid. They came apart after a while in the water. I need to research a better glue, and I also think I should have glued the figurines and let them sit before putting them in the water. We'll try this again next year though.
For the employees that work with H, the babes and I dipped and decorated pretzels and, along with a packet of hot cocoa, put them in decorated bags. This was a lot of fun and I feel like went well. I thought they turned out to be nice little, simple gifts.


Our colossal failure of the season was the gingerbread house. First of all, we didn't get to them until the 26th. Second of all they did not stay put. We ended up making gingerbread cookies. As with the snow globes, I think it would have been better to do the project in stages. Let the icing holding the house together set up before turning three pre-schoolers over to it. (Obvious, I know.) I find it hard, though, to gear up for a project--get them excited, get all supplies ready, find chunk of time, etc.--and then not complete it at one sitting. But, they are getting older and I am (maybe) getting wiser. Next year I really want to do this early in the season so we can enjoy the gingerbread house all season. We went to their teacher Miss Debbie's house the day before Christmas to take her a gift. She had the most elaborate gingerbread houses that she had done with her children and grandchildren. She does them every year. I thought it was so neat. It was obviously something she really enjoys doing and then enjoys throughout the holidays. She inspired me to make more of an effort. I think LEM are getting to the age where we can really get into the project and, hopefully, we can put the houses out to enjoy and them not torment me to death trying to eat all the candy off them. We'll see!





Because the house fell apart after a short while, we ended up just making gingerbread...wait for it...cookies. Genius, huh?


We hope your holidays were sweet and that you enjoyed the mishaps along with the successes.

* I cannot find how to correctly spell caddywompus. I probably do not even know how to pronounce it correctly. It is a word my Grandma uses, and I try to use as many of the interesting words and sayings that she uses as I can. Perhaps I should ask her how to spell it. I know she knows.