The snow geese are back

This weekend the fields were white with them. It was only going to be a matter of time before a knock came on the door.  "Do you mind if we hunt the geese in your field?"  My husband gave permission and laid down the ground rules and the man thanked him.   Though this is a poor shot (taken from the deck of our pool) the ground was literally white as if we had had a heavy snowfall in some places.

Happily when the men came with their guns the geese had flown and the fields had turned their usual spring brown.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy a well cooked meal of goose and have spent my fair share of time hunting.  But when the ground is white with these beauties....

my heart stops and my breath is caught in my throat at the sight and sound of them.  Not on my land please.  Let them take refuge here.

The Simple Womans Daybook 11 March 2012

Outside my window....the sun is setting on a lovely day.  The temperature was in the mid-60's today with bright sunshine. 

I am thinking....about family and how quickly children grow up.  Though it is cliche it does seem like only yesterday that mine were young.  Now I sit here listening to the sounds of my grandchildren playing together.

I am thankful for....the man that I call husband and friend.

From the kitchen....my family just enjoyed steak, mashed potatoes, and corn that came from our garden last summer.  What a blessing to sit down to a meal that was totally produced by the labor of your family.

I am wearing...jeans and a hoodie.  Now that the sun is setting the temps are going down too.

I am going...to bed early tonight.  I have a dentist appointment early tomorrow so I need to get plenty of sleep.

I am reading...nothing in particular right now.  I have so much reading to do each week for school that I daren't start anything for pleasure.

I am hoping...I have plenty of courage to make it through my dental appointment tomorrow.

I am hearing....Ian and Layn making truck sounds in the living room, Doug in the basement putting wood in the furnace, and Savannah chattering to herself.

Around the house....everything is in its usual weekend state of chaos. 

One of my favorite things...the simultaneous quiet and chaos of having the kids here and the babies playing and yet being able to sit back and enjoy them all.

A few plans for the rest of the week....school, survive the dentist, family, and being ready for anything that comes along.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

This is one happy little girl.  What a pleasant afternoon she and I spent together on Friday.

Coming at creativity from the back door

The girls group at our church has decided to make a quilt to raffle off, the money to be given to a worthy charity.  When I heard about their intent I spoke with the moderators of the group and offered my services.  I don't claim to be an expert and with my own creative abilities at an ebb right now it would seem like a no-win situation for them to have me onboard but hey, beggers can't be choosers and all that.

Actually even though I find myself incapable of creating I am still able to teach. 

So last Sunday my husband and son gracioiusly hauled my sewing supplies to the church hall and MK and I set out to assist whoever showed up.

There were lessons in color matching and pattern choices.  Once everyone had decided what they wanted to make the lessons in measuring and cutting began.  The students all did exceptionally well with their cutting.  The teacher managed to cut every one of her pieces wrong!

Then the machines were threaded and the sewing commenced.  One of the girls needed a lesson in how to run a sewing machine but that was ok. Once she had that under control Matthew was there to coach her when she had any additional questions.

Jacinata pieced this pillow top all by herself and next week she will be putting it together and completing her project.

Two of the moderators made two very lovely blocks which will contribute to a bright and vibrant quilt when we get this project done.

Hanging out with Uncle Matt

This week Savannah is coming here since her other babysitter had a death in the family.  As soon as her mom pulls into the driveway Uncle Matt is there to help bring her into the house.  (I think he likes his niece!)  She doesn't mind him being around either.

 

He sits in the rocking chair with her on his lap and she grins and chatters away.  Uncle Matt just listens with a big contented smile on his face.

 

Even when she gets put down on the floor to play with the toys she is one happy baby girl.  It would be a shame to tell her that is a wooden banana that she is currently biting on.  These are happy days.



Playing hookey!

I should have the internet closed down and have all my books open.  I should be writing a critique comparing the movie The Shootist with the book by the same name.  Or I could be writing the manuscript pages that are due this week.  There are always the pages of folk tales to be read and commented on but somehow....here I sit. Other thoughts swirl in my head and other words itch to be spoken.
No, I am not a political activist. Though I know what is right and what is wrong I am lacking in the ability to think on my feet or express myself clearly without a great deal of thought and preparation.  Nor am I a great apologist.  I know what I believe and I am able to explain those beliefs and tell them to others.  But alas, again I am not an off-the-cuff speaking kind of person.  My brain is incapable of those kinds of acrobatics.  No, my forte is poetry and prose of a more creative nature.  I can look at a summer day and express it in language that paints it on the canvas of the mind so that those who cannot see with their hearts may catch a small glimpse of the majesty of God. 
Still I sit here with the words backed up at the tips of my fingers.  It is as if the sun that is shining today, the crisp flakiness of the croissant that I had for lunch and the sharpness of the chlorine in the pool this morning have all worked like a catalyst to loosen whatever has been stopping my mind up until now. 
And so I gaze out my window and see, not the drab brown of winter, nor the melting of the snow. No, I see the shades and tones of the colors of fertility as I look at the browns of the fields waiting for the warmth to wake them to their potential.  Instead of the cold snap in the air that used to tighten my joints and slow my mind I feel only the briskness of the breeze that cleanses the old and brings with it a promise of something new.
And I pray that this change may stay with me and keep me moving forward toward healing and the next adventure.

Swimming lessons.

Tuesday morning is swimming lesson day for Layn.  Every Tuesday he and grandma pack the pool bag and drive with Uncle Matt down to the Y.  Even though Uncle Matt isn't Layn's life guard we take him with us to save gas. He works out in the gym before his shift begins.  Today we were watching Savannah too so we packed up Auntie and Savannah and took them with us.  We thought that since Savannah liked her bath at home she wouldn't mind the swimming pool.  We were right!

She took to splashing and grinning as soon as she got into the water.  Uncle Matt was good enough to take these picture before he started his workout so that we can always remember Savannah's first day at the pool.

The Simple Womans Daybook 5 March 2012

Outside my window...there are several inches of snow on the ground, again, with more coming down.  This has been a very strange winter.  One week we will have temps in the 50' and the next we will have snow and ice and temps in the 20's and 30's

I am thinking....what could possibly be in the mind of a nearly two-year-old boy.  He is currently in the process of moving all his toys from the kitchen into the sewing room.  We have finally gotten him to understand (I think) that if he has toys poured out in one room he must pick them up before he goes to play in another room.  Wonder what thought process is going on in that little head of his.

I am thankful for....the good time that I had yesterday teaching a some nice people how to sew. 

From the kitchen....only time will tell.  Melissa is in charge today since it is her day off and I will be out of commission.

I am wearing....jeans and a tee shirt.

I am creating....umpteen pages of brilliantly written manuscript for my creative writing class. Let us hope that the professor agrees with my assessment.

I am going...to the hospital today for some outpatient procedures.  It is time to succomb and find out what is wrong with this body of mine.

I am reading....The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout

I am hoping....that the GI doctor finds the issue and says that the fix doesn't require any surgical or invasive intervention.

I am hearing....Layn talking to himself as he drives his engines all over the sewing room floor.  A wonder if little boys are born knowing how to make truck sounds.

Around the house....it is home and that is the way I like it.

One of my favorite things....being able to sit here working while Layn does his own brand of work.

A few plans for the rest of the week....drop off the estimate for the damages to the car so the insurance company can approve the repairs.  Work on school dilligently like the good girl that I am, and hopefully be ready to give more sewing lessons on Sunday.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you....

Matthew, MK and I spent Sunday afternoon helping teach sewing to the moderators of the girls group at our church.  I love this picture of the contrast between Matthew's 1960's vintage sewing machine set up next to MK's modern machine.  I always say to the kids it's not the machine but the talent of the person sitting at the machine. 

Do you mind if I make some bread doughs today?

What a silly question! Matthew thought he would make some bread doughs today and asked me if I minded.  Any mother who did is crazy.  My kids know all I ask is that the kitchen be left clean and neat when they get done.  So he took Savannah with him to keep him company and I kept Layn with me.

Six loaves of white bread in the oven along with some loaves of other bread of his own creation waiting to be baked.  The kitchen smells warm, cozy and delicious.

The heat from the wood furnace is perfect for raising bread doughs.

Of course he doesn't neglect the cleaning up part of the deal.

He even loads and runs the dishwasher.

Wise words from one of the most beautiful women ever born.

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway. If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”

--Mother Teresa

Yeah, he's styling!

This morning while I was getting the laundry started Layn snagged this hat off the counter in the laundry room.  Ordinarily he would never voluntarily put a hat on his head but today for some reason he seemed to feel that a hat was just the thing to complete his outfit.

He made quite a production of taking it off and putting it back on again, backwards.  He also liked to pull it down over his eyes.  I don't know if he knows how much entertainment his grandma got out of watching the simple and innocent interaction of a little boy and a hat but it made my morning.

Of course it doesn't hurt that those blue eyes are hard to resist.  I wonder if they make 2-year-old size cowboy hats?

The Simple Womans Daybook 27 February 2012

 Outside my window...the snow that fell over the weekend is now dirty and drab looking.  Though I don't particularly like snow it was so pretty when the world was all covered with it's white coat.  Maybe it is because this has been such a brown winter.
I am thinking....about all of the writing that I have to do this week.  Not thinking, oh boy do I have a lot to write but rather where do I start first.  Maybe I am getting my groove back finally.
I am thankful for....a husband who loves us and shows all of us how to love each other.
From the kitchen....that is a very good question. I don't know but I'll be sure to give it some thought and get back to you all on that.
I am wearing...brown skirt, rust colored top with a green vest.
I am creating....words strung together that, I hope, have meaning.
I am going...to the dentist today (ugggg!!!!!!) Don't get me wrong I like my dentist as a person, he is very nice. I just don't admire his choice of profession.
I am reading....The Shootist by Glendon Swarthout
I am hoping...to get my schoolwork done a little early this week.  MK and I have tickets to see some Irish dancers and I don't want to be feeling guilty about going to the show.
I am hearing....the laundry machines humming away, MK running her sewing machine in the kitchen, and the fan on the furnace making sure that we are nice and cozy.
Around the house.....all the cleaning up has been done and Layn is down for a nap.  It has a nice Monday morning feel to the day.
One of my favorite things....the day MK and I spent together yesterday sewing and teaching a couple of her friends how to do the same.
A few plans for the rest of the week... survive this trip to the dentist and the trip to the GI guy tomorrow.  Get a lot of schoolwork done so that MK and I can relax and enjoy The Rhythm of the Dance on Wednesday.
Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

They are learning to play together. Maybe Layn will even learn to be a gentleman.



Some days are like that

Observing the day

Today is Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday as some would call it.  It is the last day before Holy Mother Church blesses with the penitential season of Lent.  When my kids were little we observed the day in various ways, with the traditional pancakes, sumptious feasts before the Lenten fast and other such treats.  Now there aren't so many at home to celebrate with and spoil as well.  That doesn't mean that we let the day go unnoticed though.  Layn got all dressed up in his second best and when we went out to take Uncle Matthew to work we went to the China Buffet for lunch. Then grandma took him to the thrift store in town and bought him a new toy tractor.  Tomorrow we will be annointed with blessed ashes and reminded of our mortality and our sinfulness.  Though Layn is too young to enter fully into the practices of Lent I am sure he will notice the lack of desserts and TV time in our house.  He will also be a part of the deepening of our prayer life in his own little way.  The Incarnation is for him as well as for the adults who understand what Lent is about.

Remember man that thou art dust and to dust thou shalt return.

Indulging myself!

May I invite all of you who read my blog to check out this link.  My son Ryan's guest post today on ignitumtoday is really rather good, if I do say so.
http://www.ignitumtoday.com/2012/02/20/how-liberal-are-our-liberal-arts/

I just love a man in an apron!

Meals at our house are very often a cooperative effort.  Partially because of necessity, everyone is either coming and going from work or, in my case, busy with school and taking care of babies.  But I also like to think it is mainly because being together in the kitchen is just a lot of fun.

After Mass on Sunday my husband and I picked up a stray, (we have a tendancy to do that sometimes). Actually Joe is a friend of Matthew's from church.  Anyway, we picked him up and stuffed him in our car and brought him into the madness that we call home.  The reason for all this

 is to enlist another slave in the meal preparation process that goes on just about every Sunday afternoon.  Yesterday's menu: roast stuffed chicken, beef roulade, oven browned potatoes, steamed broccoli and steamed asparagus.  We finished the meal off with a delicious chocolate cake.

I don't know if Joe will ever succomb to the torture of having to prepare and eat such a meal again. But you never know since it bought him a day away from his five sisters, he just may consider it a fair trade.



He's just so photogenic when you can catch him unaware.

Ever since he was born, Layn has had a camera stuck in his face.  I can just hear my son the sergeant telling me, "At ease the camera!"  Layn has gotten so used to it that it is hard to get any decent candid shots of him.  Now that my camera is dying the death that may change though.

As soon as he sees me take it out of my desk he is right there with the cheese-cake grins.

There are so many moments in a little guy's life that need to be captured though that it is hard not to haul out the camera, sneak through the house, hunker down behind some piece of furniture and get just that perfect moment captured forever.

Washing dishes with his daddy!

This one was well worth the stealth that it took to get it.

Then there are those oh so rare moments when he is actually absorbed in his toys and even sitting still! How to capture and hold onto that fragment of time without spoiling the peace and quiet created by his stillness.

Oops! Grandma is busted. Doggone flash gave me away.  Well I have the evidence just in case I need to prove that he does sit still.

The Simple Womans Daybook 20 February 2012

Outside my window...the sun is shining brightly.  I can see Ian's beefers standing on the hill across the road eating away at the roundbale that Matthew and his friend Joe brought over last night.  There is a rightness about watching the steers placidly standing in the sunlight enjoying their breakfast.  The sight of them is almost like a benediction on the day.

I am thinking...about human relationships. Sounds high fallutin' doesn't it.  Actually I am thinking about the struggle that goes on inside of me between what is right and good and my hermit-like tendancies.

I am thankful for...the house finches that have already begun to build their nest in the rafters outside my window.  Perhaps their presence is a sign of an early spring.

From the kitchen...there is much in the way of leftovers to tide us over until the busyness of Monday yields to the relative peace of Tuesday.

I am wearing....jammies still.  I kind of stayed up too late last night finishing an assignment so hubby lovingly let me sleep in this morning.

I am creating...works that are lovely to look at and a joy to behold.  I have always liked that line. I haven't a clue where it came from but it has stuck in my head and made a home there.

I am going....nowhere fast! Actually I no longer do things fast I am getting too old for such folderoll.  I am staying home today.  I have given Matthew the nod to take the car to work and leave me wheeless.

I am reading...Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol for a school assignment.  It is an easy as pie read since it is my favorite story and I read it every Christmas.

I am hoping...to get the bulk of my work done by Ash Wednesday so that I can attempt some possible creative work for the rest of the week.  We will see how that goes.

I am hearing...MK, Layn and Melissa upstairs.  By the sound of things Layn has the brush and dustpan and is sweeping the floors.  I hear Matthew in the living room moving some electronic equipment and the fan on the furnace making sure that we are all nice and warm and cozy.

Around the house...all is in chaos. Now that grandma is back in school the general picking up and tidying doesn't always get done so things tend to pile up.  That is okay I find though.  It means that this is home and everyone is comfortable living here.

One of my favorite things....my whole family in the kitchen together.

A few plans for the rest of the week....work diligently at my assignments, prepare for a fruitful Lent, and attempt to engage in some form of creativity.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you...

There is something endearing about a little boy engrossed in the exploration of his favorite truck.

No way I spoil this little girl!

It may seem like I take a lot of pictures of my two grandkids. I surely don't take any more than any other grandmother does, do I?  I know I don't spoil then, not at all.  I only get them things every other time I go out to the store.

I have to tell you that even though it is the dead of winter around here when I saw this little bathing suit I knew it was the one for Savannah.  She is a very fashionable young lady and we don't get just anything for our little 'Nanna.

Then I saw this little pink robe near the bathing suits, well how could it be calling her spoiled to get her a proper cover-up to go with her bathing suit? 

Nope, this little girl is not spoiled and this grandma sure isn't the one doing it, no way.

Rare moments that are getting rarer

Tuesday of this week Matthew, my youngest child, was sworn into the Army.  He will be leaving home on 21 August.  For those of you who are not mothers it may seem plenty of time.  For those who have never let a child go it may seem like a date in the distant future, not to be thought about right now.  For those of you who are not letting your youngest, most fought for, and most dearly bought child go it may seem like simply a day in the life. 

This is not so for this child.  So this mother doesn't dwell on the inevitable nor on the heart that will be both swelling with pride as it breaks into a million pieces.  This mother takes out her camera and captures the moments.

She strings them like pearls on the thread of her heart so that when he is gone she can take them out and run them lovingly through her fingers.

Each pearl will be blessed with a prayer, no a thousad prayers for his safety and sent with wings of love to the God who made him, the Blessed Mother who cradles him, and the Angel Warrior who defends him.

Holy Michael Archangel defend him in battle.

Come home safely Uncle Matt so that your little Savannah will always know her big brave and loving Uncle.

Giving our all

Today Matthew was sworn into the United States Army.  He is the fifth of my five sons to enter the armed forces.  Talk about mixed emotions. My heart not only swells with pride and love for this son who is, with courage and reliance on the grace of God, approaching this next step into manhood, but also it aches to see him leave home knowing just what he is facing.

You will live in my prayers as you never have before. May the Lord hold you in the palm of his hand.  May his Blessed Mother wrap her mantle lovingly around you and may St. Michael the Archangel guide you in your battle for heaven.

Outside my window....old man winter decided to rear his ugly head last night. We woke up this morning to 4 or 5 inches of snow that fell last night. Temps are in the 20's with a stiff west wind that drops the windchill below 0. It is a good day to sit inside and do what needs to be done. There will certainly be no pull of the weather calling me outside like there was last week.




I am thinking....about this mornings reading from Mother Theresa. She talks about temptation being the fire that purifies us like gold in the furnace. Lately I have not been trying too hard to resist those little temptations to imperfection and mediocrity that have come my way. I need to head out to confession and make a new start turning my back on my moods and errant emotions.



I am thankful for....a husband who stands firm when firmness is called for. I thank God for him every day.



From the kitchen....there is plenty of leftover beef stroganoff from yesterday to satisfy this crowd.



I am wearing....green tee shirt and sweat pants.



I am creating....completed school assignments.



I am going...to stay home all day until Matthew needs to report to the recruiter this afternoon.



I am reading...Danial Deronda by George Eliot



I am hoping...to get the bulk of my writing done early this week so that I can work on some other projects.



I am hearing...Layn climbing the stairs to take his first nap of the day, the sound of the windchimes out front that hang under the eaves of the house blowing in the wind, and Isabella trying to find a comfortable place to lay down here in the sewing room.



Around the house....things are neat and clean and in full Monday morning swing. We have to be quieter than usual today though. Ian is sleeping because he had to be out plowing all night last night.



One of my favorite things...having virtual coffee and conversation with my online friends.



A few plans for the rest of the week....school, holy hour, doctor's appointments, and more school.



Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you....

This boy is often the only reason to get up in the morning! Time to bust out of that malaise and get back on my own road again.

Building bad habits!

Matthew has had a bad cold lately and we consequently cannot keep tissues in the house.

He has developed a one box a day habit.

I think he has become a "chain blower"