Much Nothing with Much to Do

"Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us."

So there we are, from Mary, if I recall correctly, in Pride and Prejudice.

My mind is not working all that well as of late, but I am enjoying this book, albeit slowly I go in the reading. When I have a book like this, I have a tendency to go slowly and reread some of the phrases. I like to feel things sink in, to be in some of those moments like a time traveling ease dropper (like Mr. Darcy!), taking in the text and living it as much as I can. Yikes! That probably sounds insane!!

Of course, I can't get Colin Firth out of my head as the face of Mr. Darcy. I like him in the part.

I laughed out loud to myself in Chapter 6 where Mr. Darcy, in regards his fond feelings coming up towards Elizabeth, wishes "to know more of her, and as a step towards conversing with her himself, attended to her conversation with others." -- then you find out, as he is hanging around her conversations, he himself is not saying very much, if anything at all. I found this so comical and read it to Mr. B who also found it funny. It was nice to share a laugh.


"Not all who wander are lost." .... J.R.R. Tolkien

I'm glad of that because I am feeling lost. I have so much to do, I'm sinking into my state of overwhelmedness. It's familiar to me, but I don't really want to be there right now. I need to make a fresh new list tonight and start fresh in the morning. Grab the bull by the horns, belly up to the bar, all those kinds of things. I should probably just drink coffee all day!


Among the numerous luxuries of the table...coffee may be considered as one of the most valuable. It excites cheerfulness without intoxication; and the pleasing flow of spirits which it occasions...is never followed by sadness, languor or debility. ~~ Benjamin Franklin

Maybe that's why I like coffee. I have tried to quit a few times in my life, but I always return to it. I think I just like it. I always associate it with relaxing, but it does help me stay focused. Focusedly relaxed. Nirvana!!


There is a wonder in reading Braille that the sighted will never know: to touch words and have them touch you back. ~ Jim Fiebig


I thought that way a unique thought! I thought that was a neat thought. I love having a good book. I feel a bit boring this evening. I shall make my leave now.

Tu Tranquilo ~~

Still away from home

"Fear less, hope more;
Whine less, breathe more;
Talk less, say more;
Hate less, love more;
And all good things are yours."
~~ Swedish Proverb

I just popped in to remind myself ~ I'm still here.

I've been away from my computer, and am still out of town, so I'm borrowing my son's computer for a moment.

It's funny about having a blog. It's like a part of my life now, and when I don't post and then look at the missing dates ~ I feel like I've lost some things I would have like to remembered.

I been visiting with my family these past couple of days. It's been fun. I love seeing my boys (they live away from home now); they are so funny. They might not be as funny when I'm not around -- we all know that moms are great audiences -- but it feels good to have the whole family together.

The weather here in South Florida has been beautiful.

The first day we were here, there were some good winds though, and there was a fire at Jonathan Dickenson State Park the next day. US 1 was closed for a large section near the park, the smell of smoke could choke you, and the neighboring houses all ran their sprinklers through the night.

Today is two days later, and you could see where the fire had crossed the road and still catch that heavy smell of smoke for a half mile or so.

We came down to South Florida this particular weekend to see Leo Kottke in concert. I had never heard of the fellow, but I'm married to an audiophile (which is --" An individual who is very interested and enthusiastic about the sound quality of a stereo or home theater system") --who just loves this particular kind of stuff. Leo was very good. He did some amazing things on the guitar and made it look so easy.

He played two very long songs when he first came out, not saying anything to the audience, and I thought to myself, oh gee, I hope we get a story or two. I do like guitar music, but I like the stories that people have to tell, also. He didn't disappoint. It was a lovely concert. It felt like a sweet night of hanging out with friends.

So important can be dancing

How can we know the dancer from the dance? ~William Butler Yeats

Thoughts from Pride and Prejudice ~~

Dancing at a ball was very important. This is where the young ladies must show themselves off, so to speak. I don’t know how else to phrase it! Her posture must be elegant, her gown was important as how else to show off her figure, and I’m sure the gentleman were interested in that… her ability to dance was of extreme importance! --And, as Lizzy alluded to Mr. Darcy, this is where one would engage the opposite sex in conversation. I find this incredible! It seems one would be out of breath entirely, especially if one were asked, dance after dance, and then, after several dances you encounter the gentleman one’s heart was set upon ~ it seems if the young lady pulls it off to be admired then she is a remarkable young lady, indeed!!

It’s like a mating ritual! But much more important. Just think about it...how many ways were there for a lady to express herself at that time?

On with the dance! let joy be unconfined;
No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet
To chase the glowing hours with flying feet.
~George Gordon, Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. ~Agnes De Mille

Inside out Days

In Spain, attempting to obtain a chicken salad sandwich, you wind up with a dish whose name, when you look it up in your Spanish-English dictionary, turns out to mean: Eel with big abcess.
Dave Barry


Some days are days played inside out. Ever do that with your life? Maybe have breakfast for dinner, and pizza for breakfast.

Madam B and I have not been sleeping well. Maybe the traveling has thrown us off, I dunno. Anyway, the other night, it's near 11 PM and she's not tired, so she opens up all her school books on the floor. It was quiet and the cats weren't there to gather around her as per usual.

They are book stalkers. They wait until she's comfortable in a chair with a nice comfortor, her book open, and she begins reading aloud, they especially interupt if she reads aloud. They claim the place in front of the book, climb over the book she has propped there, and place themselves between the book and she. And then they do that circle dance until they feel comfortable and have a view which enables them to glare over the top of the book to make sure I am paying attention.

So without the cats, it was a lovely quiet evening for studying, and she was able to get most of her work done, so it made today delightfully light - went to the gym, cooked, read Book of John, Scarlett Letter, and ended the day with the math and a grrrrr... :) ....math is not our favorite.

So these inside out days are different. But kind of fun.

Something to try

Parents should conduct their arguments in quiet, respectful tones, but in a foreign language. You'd be surprised what an inducement that is to the education of children. - Judith Martin

Blog Blankness

Rest not! Life is sweeping by; go and dare before you die. Something mighty and sublime, leave behind to conquer time. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

The driveway is covered with leaves. I sweep them and they are quickly back again. I was watching someone sweep recently. I said it was good exercise. Peaceful exercise.
They said their blower was broken. I can't remember who I was speaking with. Isn't that awful? Could that be aging or serious signs of detachment? Regardless of the outcome of that thought, I do enoy sweeping the driveway.

It seems everything around me needs attention. And I feel the challenge to answer every call. I do wish the Lord had provided me with a more attractive manner in which to set my brain to do this. My manner seems to be quite messy. I hold a thing for a minute, someone needs something from me, I bring the thing, do the bidding required, return to another place to maybe get one other thing going before returning to my original thing and I've lost my pen and the thing I was holding. I am the nightmare of the lost and many times never found items. Oh, and I do strive for more steadiness and even kneel and focus ... it just never stays with me for long. Jesus said, "Do not fear." I try not too. But I do fear I won't get my things done. I must work on changing that.

But I continue. Unjaded. Just desirous of results that can be call Fini!

I'm reading Pride and Prejudice and just finished Chapter 4. Tim's Mom is reading this as well. I feel like I was spoiled by the A & E 6 hour presentation. I can't come to conclusions on my own on the characters. I'm being influenced by what I've watched over and over again. I don't know if that fact means anything except it's greatly interfering with my wanting to finish the book! But it seems like an easy read, so I will finish it. Tim's mom suggested I make up a reading schedule. I don't think I could do that as this time of my life.

I am scheduling a lot lately though. I have so much scheduling to do, I'm scheduling my scheduling.

I did finish the Johnny Cash autobiography.

When I went over to Tim's mom's blog to get the link to post, I noticed I have been indicted in a tag game. I am a tag game ender as no one really reads my blog to pass the game along. And E-Yikes also,

I have noticed dear Tim has tagged me. I shall have to stretch my brain (even more than usual for the beginning of the week!) for answers!

Actually, I was thinking of making up a tag game myself! I might still do that.

Some random thoughts that have floated on by~

"Swear only by your hope of heaven and your fear of hell" .... Johnny Tremain

Even monkeys fall out of trees .... Japanese proverbs

"If music be the food of love, play on.".....Twelfth Night (Madam B is reading this and enjoying it.she’s enjoying the humor.)

"Love is an ideal thing, marriage is a real thing; a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished." .... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (that is a strange thought? Yes?)

He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough....

Lao-tzu

Conduct is more convincing than language....John Woolman

And conduct is what I am involved in mostly right now. Many, many things going right depend upon my conduct. I shall continue to think about this, and I shall act accordingly.

"There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things." - Niccolò Machiavelli

Worry - interest paid on the trouble before it's due

Worry Not. Fret Not. Only think, decide and do.
For worry only takes away from the power of today.
Fretting allows you a little physical outlet
but doesn't rob all your strength.

Just know ~ there are potholes in the road,
look out for them and make a safe swerve,
there are days your hair is unhappy,
have a good hat on hand,
there are days you are tired,
have a good book around to read,
there are days there are more things to do then days!
Make a list! With your favorite pen!

But it's no matter really.
What matters is that what gets done
was what was in the
Priority column
Don't sweep the sidewalk
If the house is on fire.
Don't wash the car
If the cake's burning in the oven!

Pay attention to your surroundings,
Real happiness and freedom
come down to choices that require
effort on our part sometimes.

Pay attention. You could surprise yourself!


tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

John R. Cash - The autobiography

I was raised on Johnny Cash. My dad was a real fan. When I visited my parents recently, my dad lent me his Johnny Cash autobiography so I set about to read it. Since my father is not known to share his things freely, I thought this was a rare opportunity for me to broaden our relationship.

I had seen the movie Walk the Line and thought it was pretty good. I had figured the book would reveal to me nothing new.

But I didn't know there was a time that Mr. Cash was robbed in his home at gunpoint on the evening of Christmas Day in 1982. It happened just as they were about to bless their food before dinner, three gunman entered yelling “Someone’s going to die here tonight”.

Cash’s son, John Carter, was eleven at the time, and one of the men held a gun to the child's head the entire time they were there. The child was calm and answered the questions of the gunman with "yes sir" and politeness in his responses.

There were 10 people in the house that night including Cash, his wife and son, and a friend of the son’s named Doug. Doug was at first mistaken for Cash’s son, and the gunman grabbed him, held a gun to the child’s head and announced if everyone didn’t do as they said, the young boy would die.

At this moment Cash admits he didn’t know if he should tell the robber he was not holding John Carter. But the gunman looked at the boy in the face and realized he held the wrong child, pushed that boy away, then grabbed his son and held the gun to his head for the next two hours as they went through the house collecting money and valuables.

This happened in Jamaica where the Cash’s have had a home for quite some time. They think it was someone they knew because aside from knowing their names, the dogs never barked. But they aren’t sure.

The Jamaican police assured them the men would be caught, and indeed they were. Not only caught, but shot *trying to escape.*

Cash writes, “So what do I think about all that? What’s my stance on unofficially sanctioned summary justice in the Third World? I don’t know. What’s yours?”

“How do I feel about it?” he continues, “What’s my emotional response to the fact (or at least the distinct possibility) that the desperate junkie boys who threatened and traumatized my family and might easily have killed us all (perhaps never intending any such thing) were executed for their act – or murdered, or shot down like dogs, have it how you will?

“I’m out of answers.” He says.

It's January 2006 ~ Oh My

The future's there for anyone to change, still you know it seems, it would be easier sometimes to change the past....jackson browne

Here I am. I feel like I'm running two lives at once, one is moving, one is staying, and one is in transition. Well. That's three. So okay, now it makes sense. Ha.Ha. No, it doesn't.

As I prepare to move on to another home, I think about all the things that have happened in this one. I brought two babies home from the hospital here. I was looking at some photos of Madam Blueberry when she was just one hour old last night and others when she was 5 days old. And I had written under one photo - one in which Daddy looked so very, very tired -- "Scarlett has tired Daddy out, and she's not even 16 yet!" And now, Madam B will be 16 next month!!

I remember bringing my Sean Mike home from the hospital. That was 19 years ago. And I remember he had two surgeries ~ one at 14 months and one at 16 months ~ and I remember sitting in a chair with him after the second surgery and realizing, "he is not going to let me lay him down." And I held him for near 24 hours before I could lay him down without him crying or whimpering.

Now we are packing and throwing things away and sorting our lives into boxes. It's a strange feeling.

I hope the friends I have made here will come and see me. And I want to come back and see them. And I will miss Sasha and her children, as they are like family to me. We have raised our kids with common ideas, and we have been there for each other for "pick up and deliveries" ...hahaha...of kids, or food, or movies, or wine, and who knows what else. We have borrowed so much stuff from each other, it's incredible!

But I shant worry or stress. Daily life will bring that to me all by itself. I shall just go forward each day with the plans that are made, follow my list of things to do, and try hard to be a charming addition to the setting. hahahaha. That might mean I should comb my hair properly and not wear my Pooh Slippers to the mailbox!


The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails. ~~ William Arthur Ward

Six directions of the mind in an octagon world

I need a kickstart to get back to my blog. When my thoughts come ready to write, and there is no access for me, as has been the case for the past week, it begins to slow me up. Or down. Depending on ones point of view of things.

Let's see ~ I was going to post some things that happened over the last two weeks, but decided not too.

Right now, the assorted I am's and we are's are thus ~

I am reading Pride and Prejudice (finally). I'm also reading Johnny Cash's autobiography because my father lent me his copy, and he lends nobody nothin' (so you can be durned sure I will be reading it!)

I am trying to get a semester schedule together for Madam B. She jumped in for school today where she left off, and that will work for now. We will take a closer look at the year end projections tomorrow. I usually end up taking off the two full weeks in December. I just don't usually plan on moving to another city in the middle of the school year!

We are packing, as we will be moving (Lord willing) in the next couple of months. It's ... got me... in kind of a ...coma. I can't think of anything else to describe it. I can't allow myself to think of ALL that must be done; I have to just do what is on my projected list for the day. And actually, that probably has me very distracted.

But this daughter of mine, I can't say enough good about her. She was a master help to me over the holidays and is everyday. She had such a time while we were away - she burned her foot, she sliced her finger, and she didn't bring any clothes for warm weather! Needless to say, she was glad to get home.

We arrived late last night, and my mind is still scattered.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow I will focus more clearly. Not that I didn't do anything today - I did some laundry, went to the bank, grocery shopping and visited a homebound friend of mine. Talked with my mother in law, son, niece, a friend, my husband, my daughter (listened to narrations on Michelangelo and Johnny Tremain).

I have no desire to consider this day wasted. I worked. I rested. I read. I visited. I reflected. I loved. I thought of people I love and I miss. No wonder I am tired.

I'm rambling. Clearly. Or unclearly. Depending on ones point of view of things.

Little is not little for long

Little things become the big things

Don't they?

A small hug for a child everyday
becomes the big love they carry away

A small kindness done for a friend
that you repeat
over and over again and again,
becomes a security and trust
that will not bend

A small little kiss or a peck on the cheek
given everyday or even each week
turns into a heart that is happy and proud
and lives in the pleasure of smiling out loud

Each little thing that you do each day
no matter how small you may think it to be
becomes later the biggest thing it can be

When it is the biggest
that it ever will be,
will you be happy
to see what you see?

Will you be happy
to know what you've made
by your little gestures
of each passing day?


~Miss Roxie

Christmas Eve 2005

This is our house with our Christmas lights and one guitar player out front.



These are two of our family guitar players. The third one couldn't make it for Christmas, but we will all be together for the New Year. (The really good looking one is my handsome son Sean)


We built a little patio outside. But that lovely fire just would not keep going! We kept trying and trying to blow that fire to keep it going!


Finally we got totally serious. Our blower can blow winds up to 170 mph. So we thought, hey! this will surely work!



And this is us .... smiling through the smoke...

James has a very good life

Christmas Lights by Madam Blueberry

Days of Christmas past with smiles

The kids smile pretty for the camera. My little girl's first Christmas ~1990. That was the year Madam Blueberry received her sweet soft kitty as her first Christmas present. (Yes, we still have Kitty.)

I see by your outfit that you are a cowgirl. I see by your outfit you are a cowgirl, too. We see by are outfits that we are both cowgirls. So if you get an outfit you can be a cowgirl, too.
These are the cousins in very good luck. Each has parents, grandparents and assorted relatives who love them very much.

Cookin' and Bookin'

"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." J.R.R Tolkien

Well, we are making merry crazy cheer over here! Choose to make merry or choose to go crazy! I'll take the food and drink with my merry, thank you.

It has been just non-stop for us here. I doubt anyone is really interested in what we did, but when I look back I want to know it because I have done so much that it's doubtful I will.

Madam Blueberry has baked and double the recipe for Blueberry Muffins (of course),Tea Cookies (these are the best little cookies-no eggs in them-perfect for company and gifts), and Pumpkin Muffins. I made Cranberry/Walnut/Oat Muffins (these are also a winner-healthy, I think) ~
And we did the standard cleaning that gets done when the company comes...anyone know about this? Ha and Ha! Tough work that.

The inlaws, all 6 of them, arrived last night, so blow up mattresses are blocking the cold from the floor. But they arrived to a lovely pot of hearty soup (Oh my soup has been great lately - they asked me to make another pot today), a warming fire and candles were lite and smelling nice. It's easy now with cell phones to time the arrivals right to the mini second.

My NBF (Neighbor best friend - I call her that because you don't always get to be close friends with a neighbor and when you do, it's something different than just meeting someone you get along with; we are more like related and good friends), she came over and visited for a bit, listen to everyone prattle away at her, gave out her hugs, and we sent her home with some goodies. It was only fair.

Today my sister in-law and I braved the grocery store. It was something that just couldn't have been done before hand no matter how hard I would have tried.
So we shopped for the next three days worth of supplies.

I came home, half of the group departed for the movies and I cooked ~
my soup
stuffed meatballs (stuffed them with mozzarella cheese)
taco filling
sausage
spinach casserole
chicken parmigian

I think it took me three and half hours and a shot of tequila to get all that done. The spinach casserole and the Parmigian are in the oven, with the first batch of meatballs.

Some of this stuff is for tomorrow. My sister in law felt guilty leaving me doing all this cooking as she headed off to the show with the kids. But I told her - I'm done until tomorrow at this time - (When I make the sausage/egg casserole for Christmas morning).

I still wish I had an extra day in here!!

The boys should be here in another couple of hours. I am looking forward to that! This is the part that is most exciting!!

The crew from the movies is just getting back. I'm signing off for now.

Holy Whiskers! Bat Cat! Still Working?

We have long known that our cats have super powers. But since we knew that they had made themselves comfortable in this lazy cat's life we had provided them, we were sure they would be giving up their desire of the outside world. It seems their friends have come to find them. Perhaps the mission is that important.

Write Your Own Caption

This is James. He is our talking cat. What do you think he was saying on this day?

A well rounded personality

The skills of Madam Blueberry were never limited to just the kitchen.

Graduated to Dumplings

After much begging and charming, er, uhh, practice, Mommy allowed Madam B to assist with dumpling making. You may be able to discern that Madam B was quite happy with this decision, and we would like to comment at this time, the dumplings, were indeed, probably the best (beginners luck!) ever!

The Early days of Madam Blueberry

In the earliest time of young Madam's life, she had shown interest in the finer things of behind the scene dining...her curiosity lead her to explore food making with as much hands-on as possible allowed by the original kitchen manager, Her Lady of the Mild Manor, Miss Roxie, known then, and often now, as Mommy.

Seen here, she is making sugar cookies decorated with green sugar sprinkles. Quite sugary and green, they were.

Such Lovely Day

One ship sails East,
And another West,
By the self-same winds that blow,
Tis the set of the sails
And not the gales,
That tells the way we go.

Like the winds of the sea
Are the waves of time,
As we journey along through life,
Tis the set of the soul,
That determines the goal,
And not the calm or the strife.
~~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Don't you think the day passed quickly? How did you spend your time? Ben Franklin tells us time is not to be squandered. But he was such a busy fellow, I wonder if he did any relaxing at all! If he and Thomas Edison were around today, the experts diagnose them ADD!

Time is such a teacher. These days I wake up with the idea that I want to remember *this day*. I want it to pass well spoken, well thought of... That's one reason I love my Blog. It helps me keep track of my life. It helps me remember that I always want to be kind. Because what am I going to write here? I write about my day, I think about my day because I write about it.

"Good thoughts are no better than good dreams, unless they be executed"….Ralph Waldo Emerson

Madam Blueberry and I went shopping, completed all the tasks at hand, and then enjoyed one of our favorite things...sharing a coffee and a treat at Barnies! We love their coffee! I think the name of today's coffee was Nutcracker Sweet (it sure was good). And our special treat was a Spinach Feta Pretzel. I know it sounds weird, but it went together well, and I wouldn't mind having another some time.

My goal is to have all the major things in the house done by Sunday night. We are going out together this weekend to finalize some shopping we need each others minds for, and then the rest of the week will be baking, delivering gifts to friends and neighbors, enjoying the scents of warm burning candles, watching the fire, and renting a few movies. Just want to chill out together until the gang's all here!

For everything there is a season,
And a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate,
A time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Looking through some photographs

I keep a box of the *imperfect* photos in a special box. After a few years, I go through them and make a collage. Last night, I was going through my old photos box and found so many that I don't know why really, I tagged as *imperfect*. When I look back now, I love these!

Isn't it funny how things can look so different from a distance.

Tu tranquilo

I'll just close my eyes for a minute....

"I must lose myself in action, lest I wither in despair."~~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

You see, I went to the gym today. And I haven't been in over a week. (It shows itself in the oddest places, especially in the desire part of the mind that can think of every excuse NOT to go today…)

But before I went to the gym, I had to stop and buy gym shoes. I have not been able to find my shoes for a week. But for me, that is not highly unusual. If you know me, you know I am always and forever looking for my shoes.

However. This time, the loss was real. Oh well, I needed a new pair anyway.

But the old feet in the new shoes thought they could do many things at the gym that they probably should not have done.

We got home and I had a cup of tea and a bite of something to induce mind revival (which lasted all of about 35 minutes....)
Let’s say….
I managed to stay awake until around 4'ish. I did put some dinner on the stove - on low...to simmer.

I had actually started it last night. It was Madam B's Almond-Chicken-stir-fry (The almonds, chicken and mushroom part)
and I added my extra thoughts to it ... put it on the stove and sat in the chair to rest these weary bones shall we say? ...

I *awakened* myself making strange sounds (men call it snoring), and realized I needed to thank God that I had not burned the house down!

But! Here's the good news! I have discovered that if I quadruple Madam B's sauce and add some of my thoughts and cook it on low for 45 minutes (to an hour maybe??), you have a lovely, rich, smooth looking, good tasting sauce!! (And the house did smell a lot like Almonds, but that's okay.)

Aint's life just grand!

Just another piece of the jumbo puzzle that says “All’s Well That Ends Well.” (Good dinner!)

Do not despair

Oh, I wish for all the world that people really knew that life is truly short..
that children grow up faster than you ever think they will,
even if you know it...
It will happen faster than that ~

No matter what day it is
What time of the year it is
There will always be "one more thing" to do.

Don't pretend to yourself that
This
time of year...
Especially
THIS
time of year
will be any different!

Don't despair!
Rejoice!
Be Happy!
Take that deep breath the whole world talks about! It will do you good!
If you feel like you want to yell ~ run down the street dancing! or whisper!

Tell yourself
You Will
You Can
You Must!!
Make the most of these moments ...

Fleeting as they are
They are YOURS!

Take the time to organize, delegate, and make sure there is time to celebrate!
With your family and friends and even strangers! Smile. Inside and Out.

Peace be with you.

Tu Tranquilo.

By any other name, it's still a mess!

“Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds.”

….George Santayana


I cannot function with physical chaos around me. It's a problem I need to conquer perhaps, but for right now, I am challenged to expediate a way to function. My house is a complete disaster. Not a *little* bit messy ~ but _nothing_ seems to be in it's place messy, just too many projects going at one time --

Preparing for Christmas and guests (how many sheets, blankets, towels do we need, who sleeps where?)
Packing for moving
Sorting for a garage sale
Wrapping presents
Shifting things to other closets for storage
Working on a fabric paint t-shirt (Madam Blueberry must be creative when creativity strikes!)
Filing end of the year paper work
Laundry with No Home! (and you _know_ what that is like!)
Moving furniture to try to decide best place for the tree (which is on the deck)
Christmas ornaments and decorations everywhere in boxes - what to keep, what to go...
Yikes!

Problem is, I can't think when clutter is around me. So I have to do something about this so the sea of my brain cells can begin to part. I miss that feeling.

So this is like the No-Win Scenario for me!

I have put Mozart on the CD player. And, now, that I have made my plight public....I must have at it!

"Well done is better than well said." ~~ Ben Franklin

What Advanced Degree Should you get?

The evening

~ spent in complete and utterly useless entertionment!

(Last one, now time for bed)

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

How Observant Are You?

Just a few fun things to pad the stress panels!

Your Observation Skills Get A C

You tend to notice the big things in life... But the details aren't exactly your forte

How Observant Are You?

How do you live your life?

How You Live Your Life

You are honest and direct. You tell it like it is. You're laid back and chill, but sometimes you care too much about what others think. Your friends tend to be a as quirky as you are - which is saying a lot! Some of your past dreams have disappointed you, but you don't let it get you down.

How Do You Live Your Life?

Patience Grasshopper, Patience

Tolerance is the only real test of civilization ...Arthur Helps

The Afternoon

I just came in from shopping and a visit to the post office. My packages are on their way. After being offered three choices of shipping arrangements, I was thinking, “my gosh, is there a wrong answer here?” “Doesn’t everyone want the same thing? the *fastest, cheapest, on time for Christmas* shipping?” ~ Anyway, I made my choices and chose not to worry about it now …

Strange thing at the post office...I had not realized that it has become the practical thing to do, regarding the attendance of your packages, to address and tape and shove them in the box while you are waiting in line! I must have missed this in some Woman's Magazine article about 37 ways to get *12 things done at once*, or something.

Both women in front of me where handling their paper work and packaging while they were in line! I really didn't know what to think, except that I am so old school (I really felt tagged). I was brought up in a different era. I don't like to judge what is new and progressive, but I'm not quite sure what I want to adopt as my current life style doings in all the new ways of handling things.

One woman had time and completed her task before the line came to her. The other woman, however, discovered she had the wrong box and the wrong address label. So, she quickly began to change it all so she would, heaven forbid this -- actually spend a few more minutes there!

(I did overhear three of those ladies talking and they were not happy with the season or the task of shopping; they basically said they would be glad when all of this was over. I thought, "oh, too bad, isn't that sad." Seems like one would be in a hurry for, oh, say gall bladder surgery to be over, but not so much for Christmas ....)

It turned into a bit of a-hoopla for the wrong-package lady. The contents she had seemly placed neatly in the other box, was now being shoved like old laundry in this correct, smaller box, with it’s correct label. And two people, including myself, did pass her. The lady who passed her in line first asked, "is it okay if I pass you?"

And I said, "well, I would think it's okay...", ...on the inside :) -- but on the outside, when my turn came to pass her, I asked permission as well. I thought the other woman has now set a precedent and far be it for me to throw any rudeness in the arena.

Few things are harder to put up with than a good example.....Mark Twain)

The Revised Revision of the Revised List.....

Murphy's laws tells us, whenever we set out to do something, something else must be done first ~ and ain't that always the way!

My list is on *ready alert* at all times. Hopefully, I won't lose it _again_ between now and the next 15 minutes. And I thought I had already bought those Holiday stamps!~ But maybe I didn't because I really wasn't that impressed with the choices this year.

My plan is to get out early today and do some of the things on The List, while Madam B attends to school doing the work she can do on her own. She and I are tired. We stayed up late, sorting and wrapping things that needed to be mailed today and making revisions on the lists!

The Morning –

So, I'm off for round one.

This entire list making effort is so that we are able to take time to have fun this holiday! We have lots of baking planned, and we haven't settled yet on the Christmas menu for the weekend at all!

Since there are so many here to get ready, we may attend evening church on the 25th...
but several of my guests this year are Catholic, and one year we went to Christmas Eve mass with them when they visited.

...The year my Jewish relatives visited, we lite the Menorah with them every night in celebration of Hanukkah. We left the candals burning and placed them atop the wood burning stove, and one evening, after tea, we smelled something....We were all sitting right there and didn't realize the little flames had reached up and tickled my mantle in a forever kind of a way...I still have the marks on my mantle that marks the memory of the occasion.

Nothing like a memory ... you must not forget to make your memories in life! If someone ever asks you what you would like as a gift, and you can't think of anything? Tell them you want a memory!

Life is not about the things you get, it's about the memories you make. That’s the secret of holding on to things, holding on to life, holding on to love.

Tu tranquilo! ~~~

Mesmorizing

Sunday night

"The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. ~~ Albert Einstein

Has the mystery begun at your house? Tis the season to make much merriment! I hope you are making it, enjoying it ~ can't imagine those in the world with snow! So much snow.

We've got the outside lights up. Just a small part of them are out ~ don't know why. We are not light elitist extrodenairs, but we try.

We have a fire going. It only takes a spark.... A real fire I might add. Dear Darling Husband couldn't get a it to spark enough so he decided to use a hair dryer to fan the fire. He did fan a few things. Like soot everywhere. After a vacuum and a dusting, and a couple of hours, and Madam Blueberry blowing and blowing on the fire ~ since mama took the blow dryer away ~ we finally have a fire!

The Home Fires Are burning

Tis the Season to be Jolly

"I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys."
~ ~Charles Dickens

It seems true for my life. I do plan, at Christmas, to give something extra. I do count on the local charities in my town to provide a list of 'who needs what' in the newspaper ~ and I go shopping and take the items down there and allow myself to feel good.

Not that my heart is shut-up the rest of the year, but just that, I feel it's openly and freely expected of me at this time of the year. A sense of duty. I don't want others to feel disappointed on Christmas day. Everyone looks forward to being remembered at Christmas. And I look forward to remembering.


The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

My family will be home for Christmas this year. The boys will be arriving on the 24th, and I can't wait!

My husband's sister/husband/two girls, and parents are also going to be here. A tad bit crowded, but we will manage. Madam Blueberry and I are planning, and making lists, and organizing this year like we never have before. It's nice to have the help!! And she's good at it!

And I look forward to all the family craziness, in a way. It makes for a good memory. And memories are all you have at the end.

The buying and the giving of the gifts are fun, too,.... getting the *lists* from everyone ~ who each, it seems, as they get older, say, "Oh, I really don't need anything...", but secretly, we all want to buy just the perfect gift for them.

But no matter what we buy or receive, the greatest thing is having them visit you and share a laugh and an occassional *remember when*, and know that they love you -- They do, they truly do.


Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish. Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself. ~Francis C. Farley

It seems such a strange thing to fret about a greeting. I choose not to be offended, but I suppose it's easy for me because I grew up with "Merry Christmas" as the standard. I've long sent cards to friends who don't think of Christmas the same way as I do that carried a greeting of Happy Holidays. It's never bothered me in the slightest. I can't understand now, how it makes national news. Don't we have bigger things to worry about?

Let people just be themselves. Wish them well in their own language of Christmas. It's not really that big a deal. I see it as just another way to be kind.


At Christmas
A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;
Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime...
~Edgar Guest

Now, here's the loveliest idea,
One we could embrace the entire year...
What if, the way we are at Christmas time,
became the way of our daily design!

Most Expedient In What Order, Your Grace?

Lives are funny things. They take all these twists and turns on main highways, back roads, dirt roads, side streets and different driveways. There are days it's life in the fast lane, and there are days of life facing on-coming traffic. There is driving the wrong direction down the one-way, and getting on the off ramp ...

I wrote this the other day after returning from our trip. Traveling always takes me out of place for a day or two, in the sense of mind as well as geographically. It usually takes me a day to come 'round again ~ I was so far behind today, I'm glad it rained. One reason for that is because my darling husband can't work when it rains. (He owns his own lawn business) So he was home to help me today.

The rain always makes me feel safe inside. I am a shy person; perhaps not as shy as I was at one time, but I don't think shyness ever really leaves you, but I used to be so shy that I would only do my yard work in the rain. It really was nice. I wonder now, did the neighbors think me daft? But the rain makes me comfortable. I like the way it feels. I think I have felt all sorts of rain. Soft, Warm, Cold, Pelting ...I've allowed myself to walk in the rain many times. I don't do it much anymore, except to brave out to the mailbox. But I'm thinking I might reinstate that act of madness into my life.

Traveling always make me think. I have so much in my head right now, I have to sleep a few nights for it to shift around and come out properly.

I spent most of today with my paper work. Being self-employed brings so much paper work with it that there oughta be a law! Bills to pay, and mail to sort, and checks to write _on time_ I might add ...then there are the correspondences as I keep up with people in actual letters that require a mailbox and a stamp. I'm not complaining. I really don't mind it. I guess I just wish I could do it better and more efficiently.

I'm still up for being a Pirate. I've decided to be a pirate against mediocrity. I'm seeing it too often. Last night coming in from the last leg of our trip, and one more rough night of sleeping, I was looking forward to ordering a salad from Applebees ~ I love their Oriental Chicken Salad ~ but I think it will be the last time I order from there. My chicken was raw! I was astounded. I mean, really, you could kill someone with raw chicken!

I called the manager, and he apologized back and sideways, and said he's sending me a ticket for a free meal. But somehow, it just wasn't what I wanted right then.

I'm so saddened to see the way people wait on customers in stores. They are talking to each other and on the phone while customers wait or are just ignored.

Before I left town, I made a special trip over to Barnes and Nobles to pick up the book Pride and Prejudice. There wasn't one on the rack -- this is the one I wanted. I spoke to the clerk about ordering one, and he assured me the inventory showed 17 in stock! He tried to get someone to assist me. He paged and paged. No answer. He said the managers had not been answering his page three other times that day, and he could not leave his register. I waited until I had to go. I was so disappointed.

The last time I was in Barnes and Nobles (We go about once a week, I like to have a coffee and read, and Madam Blueberry just loves it there) ~ I ordered my coffee and a cookie and could not believe that I felt like I was interrupting a conversation between the two young ladies behind the counter who were complaining about this and that and the other thing regarding work. I asked if the manager was in, and the one young lady said, "I'm the manager." I just said, "Oh." Not being a good pirate that week....I'll have to write a letter. But don't you think we deserve better treatment? I mean, really ....

I am a bit weary from all the traveling, but I really feel quite good inside. It was fun to see my family and my two big sons. It's so strange looking at them so grown up!

I still can't believe it.
~~Miss Roxie

Time just passed and they are grown,
So wonderfully handsome and on their own,
Their own thoughts and their own plans,
It's hard to believe I held their little hands,
To cross the street or point to a star,
I never thought about just how far,
Their dreams might take them,
My sweet little men ~
Can't wait for Christmas
When they are home again ....
~~Miss Roxie
If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much....Jacqueline Kennedy Onasiss

Seven Sevens

Tagged by Tim to play the Sevens game....*Hopefully* I do it right!

Seven Things I say most often

1. I need to check my mail
2. Did you do your math?
3. Alrighty, then ….or Cool Beans.
4. Can you mute that?
5. Does the back of my hair look okay?
6. You need to write that down.
7. I have to go to the bank.

Seven Things I cannot do

(To which my family replied ‘what can mom not do?”)

1. Use my side mirrors to back-up
2. See in the dark
3. Advance beyond the Power On button on the remote
4. Leave the house quickly (getting better)
5. Let mediocrity go
6. Let the cat sit in my car
7. Drive a Semi Tractor Trailer Truck

Seven Things to do before I die

1. Complete my Spiritual Education
2. Go to Australia
3. Write/Finish my books (I have three stories in my head)
4. Read all the Great Classics
5. Go to Ireland
6. Learn to Juggle
7. Totally accept myself in every sense of the word

Seven Movies I’d watch over and over again

1. Pride and Prejudice (A & E Version)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean
3. Much Ado About Nothing
4. Great Expectations (A & E Version with Ioan Gruffudd)
5. It’s a Wonderful Life
6. Sense and Sensibility
7. Merchant of Venice

Seven Things that attract me to my spouse

1. His Kindness
2. He thinks I’m funny
3. He thinks I’m beautiful
4. He thinks I know important things
5. He has a good sense of family values
6. He has patience to match an oak
7. He is a good and honorable man

Seven (types of) Books I love

1. Any Book with Quotes
2. Art Books
3. To Kill A Mockingbird
4. Much Ado About Nothing
5. Books on History
6. Books on Attitudes, why we have them and how we can deal with them
7. Books with lovely pictures

Seven People to join in

(I don’t really know 7 people, really ~

So, here we go ~~

1. Katie Barr
2. Mama Squirrel
3. JavaMom
4. Southern Mama

Best lay the plans gently

"It will not do to leave a live dragon out of your plans if you live near one."~~The Hobbit

Does no one have a live dragon to deal with? We might have a couple....

So here we are leaving Wednesday night to fly into Thursday morning, which means the week is just about over, yes? That was 7 full days off without official school time. We did take reading books, but the most unfortunate thing happened, Madam Blueberry took ill. She spent two days alone resting - but, yet, did manage to bake her Tea Cookies and her famous BlueBerry muffins for the Naming Ceremony, and the Tea Cookies were found to be most charming!

We'll, it's been decided, that we will be hosting Christmas here at our house. There will be 8 guests. We are not established in such a way as to make 8 guests each extremely comfortable, so that will take some thinking. I'll work on that with Madam B.

We have school that must be done everyday until our official day of break which is ....ummm, actually not decided yet~!
And tomorrow we will address our list of things to do to make Christmas as peaceful and as fun as we most possibly can. I'll have a better idea of what is possible to do, after I talk over tea with Madam B.
So tomorrow goes down the general plan, places people will sleep, things to eat, places to park, and just things in general to think of, menus, snacks, etc. etc. etc. ....it will all work out fine.
I also have my bookwork whichs needs terribly to be addressed, so that's a priority for Tomorrow. No skipping over that one.

You know, it's funny to come back to your home, and not know where you are!

"I am a man of fixed and unbending principles, the first of which is to be flexible at all times."
~~ Everett Dirksen

"The best way out is always through."

~~ Robert Frost

I agree with what Mr. Frost thinks ~

'there's no way through it, but through it." ~~ Jackson Browne


I have a feeling this thread will be continuing. I am looking for the support of the world of blog.

On the road again

"Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life
for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family
for granted."
~Paul Pearshall

It's been a family weekend! We are not the Brady Bunch exactly or the Adams Family nor the Partridge Family, but we are a tad bit of each -- kinda like The Bradamstridge Family Brunch.
Ah well, maybe that's too formal, but close. We do try to act nice, are a little bit weirdish, and we do sing and have a band!

I know I have had some interesting discoveries this past week, but I've just not had time to get to a key board and write out my thoughts!

Since I've been away from my blog, I should just catch up with myself so I can see where I'm headed by where I have been.

Thursday we headed south, and made it to our destination on Saturday afternoon. My littlest nephew
was having a birthday party (on Sunday) ~ or more formally, a Naming Ceremony. His is of the Jewish Faith, but a naming ceremony is not inclusive of only the Jewish Faith, but this is the first one I have attended. My nephew Jacob is two, and he is just a hoot! He's one of those charming imps that grab your heart quickly and holdsfast.

On the Saturday was a surprise party for my 10 year old great nephew. He came in town for the Naming Ceremony, so as families have the habit of doing, we just combine all good things into one weekend.

It was a spinning few days ~ seeing my two big sons play football with their assorted nephews/cousins (4 of them from the ages of 5 to 10 ~ the two year old went off with Nana) was more heartwarming than I had imagined, I'm glad I decided to go out to the field to watch. I laughed so hard at the little boys catching the ball and running for touchdowns - in any direction of any pole!
Seeing my sister, her husband, my parents, my brother and his family and some of my brothers college friends....just makes you wonder Where Has The Time Gone anyway??
Then, we headed back North, and stopped for my sister in law's birthday party....

The night skies in South Florida are just breathtaking there near the ocean...
Houses are being built everywhere, everywhere, everywhere...we have got to run out of space soon!
How many people are on this planet anyway!

These are not the deeper thoughts I've had these past few days, but just the notes of some of the things that have happened in the last few days. Family is a very strange thing. A concept that puts you in connection with people just because you share a blood line. Serious business when you think about it.

~~~~~~~~
"What greater thing is there for human souls than to feel that they are joined for life - to be with each other in silent unspeakable memories." ~George Eliot
~~~~~~~

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
- - Frank Outlaw

Old Aging

Just to be clear ~

Old Aging is not aging gracefully or getting old-er in years. Old Aging is more of a thing that is done when one stops living in this present time. Old Aging draws a line in the sand of time and says ....

This is as far as I go.
~~ Miss Roxie

Not one new thing will I learn
My brain can no longer grow
My interest withdrawn,
New things make me yawn,
I've learnt all that I want to know...

Now, as you can observe, by the illustration above, this same philosophy can be adapted by any age! But, if I may suggest, don't let this form of thinking over take you! Run to the nearest book....and read it!!

Just for fun - take this Real Age test and see where you score!


“The time of life is short; To spend that shortness basely were too long.”
~~William Shakespeare

Any Soldier Somewhere

Support a Soldier

My neighbor and friend shared with me this link above. This will lead you to a list of soldier's names within different branches of the armed forces. These soldiers are in harm's way, and should you feel lead to share your support for them with gifts, you can click on a name and acquaint yourself with their needs and thoughts.

Seemed like a good idea to me.
~~~~~~~~~~~
People seem not to see that their opinion of the world is also a confession of their character.
~~Emmerson

And Yo Ho Yo Ho......

A pirate's life for me ...
Stardate ~ Captain's Log and Yo Ho Yo Ho, a pirate's life for me...

"Life's pretty good, and why wouldn't it be? I'm a pirate, after all."
~~ Captain Jack Sparrow


I have decided to be a pirate. It's seems illogical to live ones life and not be a pirate in something. So I am pirating against Old Aging. I am plotting against it in the way of deciding to just not notice it.

From my careful observations of old age, aside from the time your spirit spends in this body, I'm not sure it's something that takes a conscientious admission.

If I have an ache or a pain, I'll decide it's what happens to active people. If I can't remember where my car keys are, I'll decide it's because I lead such a busy life.

I've taken to wearing one hoop earring in my left ear as my pirate motto. Thought that might be more tame than a eye patch.

Madam Blueberry said, "Well Mother, if you wear just one hoop earring, and you are old, people will think you have just forgotten the other earring."

"Well," said I, "that is not something that a pirate would worry about, now is it?"
~~~~~~

"Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates."
~ Mark Twain

Left Brain/Right Brain?

Does your left hand know what your right hand is doing?

Are you left brained or right brained? Take this test and see if you agree with what the experts say.

I tested out Right Brain dominate.

I then took the Visual Test, and almost lost my balance when I had to cross my eyes! But I have a balance disorder, but be forewarned should you decide to try it!

The Joy of the Free Sock

The Joy of the Free Sock
~~Miss Roxie

I think that I shall never know
Of such a mass rebellion
As when a sock goes in the wash
And becomes a common hellion!

You’d think a sock
Would just go around
And come back on it’s own,
But no!
There in the midst of cleansing
Amid the soap and foam,
All laws defied
Your laundry’s lied!
And let the sock go roam!

Those sounds you think you hear at night?
The ones you can’t explain?
They’re eerie, yet melodious,
They’re cheery, but yet strange?

That is the Laugh of the Free sock!
Doing a wild abandon dance!
No foot inside
To guide its stride
It Lives now
The Life of Shapeless chance!

Nell's Daughter

Nell’s daughter in the Later Years

~~Miss Roxie

Oh, well now, this here girl,
her cool has done simmered down
To warm oatmeal
Some might say with a laugh,
But it’s true….
I'm no longer crisp cinnamon toast
With hot butter.
The days that I sizzle as bacon on china?
Oh honey,
Those will be the cold ones on the California coast!

Nah. It's normal days and hours and nights that have set in my routine.
A comfy pair of jeans can be recognized as a friend,
My car works each time I turn the key,
I want that stability,
Clothes are for comfort,
Style is for fun, and
That one time at the holiday parties during the year,

But that's okay.
It's okay.
It has to be
This life was mine,
Given and lived,
And still livin'!
Loving my husband, my children,
My family, my friends both seen and unseen,
My neighbors….
With all that I knew
How to do……
To change things for the better,
What else can you do?
But work to see things,
All things “together for good”
That became the plan

What I’ve seen my mother do
I did and
I still do
What I need
And I oughter,
So at the end,
Of the very long run,
At the end of my time
Of her time
Of our time together,
There will stand a mother,
My mother,
Who can feel, truly feel,
She can smile shyly and feel,
Radicially proud of her daughter.

I love you, Mom