Update then good nite

1. My dad's good. Two stints ~ still bossy .... ummmm, just because the blood flows better to the heart doesn't mean the patient changes personality. Oh, well.

2. Grapeseed oil is better to use instead of olive oil if you need to stir fry with heat. (Never used it. too expensive.)

3. I need to lose 5 pounds. So, I'm making the announcement and giving it a serious go starting tomorrow. Actually, I thought I was doing everything just fine, but this last 5 pounds my doctor says I would have to lipo off, and I'm not doing that ~ unless someone wants to pay the $4500.00,hahahahaha, - just kidding ~ New shoes that don't hurt my ankle will have to be involved so I can begin walking...Committment coming.

4. Another open house on Sunday. This will be four. Seems like a lot. Time to get down to it. There's a buyer for my house out there. They just need to come here and make the deal soon.

Maybe some laughter would be good; it's supposed to help in weight loss. I don't know if you have to be holding a twenty pound weight while laughing though.~~~

Here's some actual Things Said in actual court rooms.

Questions asked of Park Rangers.

Church Bulletin Quotations

The Immagration March

Honestly, I'm not sure what is going on and what should be done about this whole thing.

First, I don't think someone who has lived here and was born here, and done things by the rules should feel that they are being dissed. But then again, don't people who play by the rules sometimes always get dissed?

There are different opinions on all sides ~ Illegals want to be safe, and have a better life, Corporations are taking advantage of the situation, Other people are being straight and paying for it through the nose ... Risk.

I don't know what to think ...
What is fair?
I think of little children growing up safe and healthy. It's not all about what you have. But a child deserves some kind of safety and security and a good meal and the love of his family.

I see those people running across the boarder and I think, they must be doing that because they want something better than what they have.

But yet, I know people and have employeed people who did it the right way. It was hard for them. It cost them money and more time (they came from El Salvador, and what a story they have), so it's not that it can't be done...but why? Why isn't it being done right in the first place?

New News Old news crash

Oh it's always something!

Today on Oprah I heard that I am burning oil! I have been Sautéing my veggies in Olive Oil and thought I was doing a good thing. Now I hear that I am burning oil! Fudge! And burning oil is not good for you.

So. Tonight here's what I did ~

I mixed together garlic, onions, mushrooms, red and yellow peppers with the oil, and placed them in a pan on a low temperature. Then I topped that with sliced tomatoes that I sprinkled with basil and oregano and Nature's Seasoning salt, and sea salt and pepper. Then I topped that with mozzeralla cheese and spinach and let it steam until pretty. It was brilliant! It was so good! You could put that on anything or nothing! Madam B ate hers on a pita bread, and I just ate mine.

What I did for Mr. B, who is not quite the vegetarian that Madam B and I try to be, is put that concoction on top of two all beef patties that I had made earlier. He loved it! Now, also, for his, I added more sliced onion because he loves onion, and he thought the whole thing was great!

And cheap also! The peppers were on sale today, lucky us!

Be creative! Build something good and let me know what you made! Put it in your blog! Share with us and eat healthy!

Can you read your heart?

Well, here we are ~ The First Monday in May

My dad's in the hospital. He went to the doctor for his scheduled check up on Friday, and had some chest pains that day, so he mentioned it to the doctor, who set him up with tests on Monday. He had more chest pains, very slight, on Saturday, so he went to the emergency room and the doctor decided to keep him. They went ahead and completed all his tests, found he had a blockage and are inserting a stint this morning.

I saw my dad last Monday He was laying down and had covered himself with a blanket and had been resting for awhile. I told him he looked really pale. And he did look really, really pale to me, almost ashen. I don’t have that great a relationship with my dad, though I think albeit unspoken we are both working on it ~ my point in bringing that up is that ~ I wonder, had my mother looked that pale, I would have been more forceful in asking a battery of questions? ….oh well …

He said to me, ‘well, I’ve been sick! And I played golf today!” I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed with me or not for mentioning his pale appearance, as his voice tone is never a clear indicator to me what he is thinking about anything I have said. (I remember standing there and thinking to myself, ‘he really doesn’t look good.’) But, I just said to him, ‘well, as long as you’re taking care of yourself…’ and I drifted off the rest of my sentence.

It sounds routine, the stint procedure, and it sounds as if he will be the better for it after it is done. I’m sure he will be fine. He does eat well, and he plays golf twice a week, and even though my mother says he doesn’t do all that much, this may be the reason why. Perhaps he has been more tired from the blockage, and healthy people sometimes don’t think they are having trouble with their heart.

I looked up all the symptoms for a heart attack and even though they sound simple; I think they are not. I think they can be ignored or over looked very easily by anyone of any age. A word to the wise on that one: We really need to be in tune with our bodies to know when something might be wrong.

Some warning signs of a heart attack are pasted below. I did notice though that not all the symptoms listed on all the sites are listed here:

The American Heart Association and other medical experts say the body likely will send one or more of these warning signals of a heart attack:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.
• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms. The pain may be mild to intense. It may feel like pressure, tightness, burning, or heavy weight. It may be located in the chest, upper abdomen, neck, jaw, or inside the arms or shoulders.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.
• Anxiety, nervousness and/or cold, sweaty skin.
• Paleness or pallor.
• Increased or irregular heart rate.
• Feeling of impending doom.

Some links for information:

http://www.heartinfo.org/hrtatkang.html

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4595

http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/Heart/heart_attack_identifying.htm

On that third link, they mention indigestion, if that is unfamiliar to you as a symptom for your body. And that symtom is not listed in the list by the American Heart Association. See what I mean? In my opinion it can get confusing, and I can see why a heart attack, or heart problems, can easily be overlooked.

Take care ~ be aware of yourself. If you can't read your body, start now to get to know yourself better, body, mind and spirit.

You can call me Old Fashioned....

...or just plain old, but I cannot understand WHY parents would want to clothe their children in pimp gear.

Please protest this stuff.

This is really low and dumb, in my opinion ...not to mention stupid....

Pimpfants?

This is a new infant clothing line. I am flabbergasted at the idea that people will actually buy this stuff.

What is wrong with people?

Firstly, the word pimp. People are now using it to mean 'style'. Puh leeze.

Parents ~ don't do this. You do not have to embrace this. Take some charge and call some things what they are. This is unnecessary, cruel and the beginning of nothing good.

T-shirts called Babybeaters? And kids looking tough and like punks? These are innocent children being corrupted by stupid minds who just want to make a buck in the name of being cool.

What is wrong with this picture??? Except for the fact that it is totally wrong.

Protest the Pimpfants and protect the children.

It's early AM ~ So what kind of coffee am I?

You Are a Soy Latte

At your best, you are: free spirited, down to earth, and relaxed At your worst, you are: dogmatic and picky You drink coffee when: you need a pick me up, and green tea isn't cutting it Your caffeine addiction level: medium

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Shakespeare makes the rounds

Tonight I was circling the Homeschool blogs and found an entry at Take Time to Smell the Coffee that shared a photo of a lovely Anniversary Gift. (Isn't it just brilliant?)

Well, I was impressed by the unique style and wanted to check out the site Shakespeare's Den. I started searching around and found this blog post called Shakespeare in the Courts posted in Dogberry's Dish!

And I thought how clever is that? Anyway, I read the little post, and I thought, "Wow", you just never know when you're going to hear about Shakespeare and another good thing in the same sentence except about all the time.

A Song by U2

Yahweh

Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes and make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt and make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul and make it sing, sing

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Take these hands
Teach them how to carry
Take these hands, don't make a fist, no
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth, give it a kiss

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I'm waiting for the dawn

Still waiting for the dawn
The sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean

Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Why the dark before the dawn

Take this city
A city should be shining on the hill
Take this city if it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break

Off the road again ....

Short blurbs of thought~
I'm home after a round trip to South Florida and back through Eutis...

Gas prices are about $2.83 in the middle of the State; $2.95 and up in the southern areas, as high as $3.05. Crushing blow, I must say, ... what is to be done? It is supposed to get worse over the summer. It hurts us because we are in the lawn business and, well, lots of gas used there, and when the prices keep going up and up, it's really difficult to set a price for your customers and still continue to make a profit! Tough times.

In mentioning gas prices, I was thinking about all the times that engines are running and no one is moving. For instance, in a bank line, or a fast food line, or a prescription pick-up line ...I've made up my mind not to leave my car running for these things. I avoid the lines altogether and go inside if they are long. I also avoid banks that don't have adequate parking. Would it help if everyone did this? I think so, but I don't know...

I think too, why wouldn't everyone want to do this, that is, be more conservative? I don't know. Maybe that's not even the issue.

Do we care about high gasoline prices? I do. I don't like this at all.

Tony Snow says the prices are high 'because people are so jittery' .... Really? Well, I'll calm down if that would help. Actually, I thought I was calm. I'm more flabbergasted than jittery!

Then there's the Supply and Demand theory. Here's a long article. I read it. But I'm not sure I know any more now than I did before I read it!

This article says that China's growth is responsible for the high gas prices, and let's us know, that "IF you think gas prices are through the roof now, beware the advent of the Chinese family car."

Actually, I've heard China's growth blamed on a lot of things like shortages in concrete and other building supplies, and jobs, and I heard a news commentator today say that China is a Super Power and is acting like one and we are not! (I knew we should not have bought all those Beanie Babies!)

I wonder how much this is going to affect us?

Time will tell, won't it? Got any plans in your pocket for changing your future gas budget?

There was a time I didn't think much about gas. Just went and got it. Drove where I wanted, and then went home. But see, I always planned my route around town and such to make the best of the situation, so I was already on the top of my game....Maybe I should learn to ride a motorcycle and make my own toilet paper. Grow my own green lettuce and bananas. After that, it should be easy, right? Hahaha.

But seriously, I am going to see if there's any way to squeeze just a little more out of the turnip. The days and the definition of convenience are changing.

"If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher."
- Unknown

Time is a teacher

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
-Zora Neale Hurston, folklorist and writer (1891-1960)

I look back and see what I could have done, maybe should have done, but yet, didn't do. And now I will circle back. Maybe not as far, but you can't leave it behind until you are done with it. Until a lesson is complete, it will ride with you. Then, and only then, can you pass it onto another. Perhaps your children.

But your children are in the cycle of You. You in Production. You in Training.

So you take their little hands, and you lead them. They trust you, and you do the best you can do. Perhaps they will not circle back as much. Perhaps they will jump hurdles because they listened when you told them they were there. Perhaps they will be looking elsewhere when you point out the trap, and they shall stumble. Just ask them what they learned, and go on. There is something to be learned from every experience. And I hold fast it can always be something good.

And then, eventually, we will reap what we sow.

"He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God" ~ Micah 6:8

The Ying and The Yang of it

Balance. All things must balance, grasshopper. I have seen the chaos, and the chaos was Me!

There will always be Ying and always be Yang.

Ying ~ I have a clean house.
Yang ~ I sit here typing with my t-shirt on backwards.

Ying ~ My laundry is caught up!
Yang ~ I haven't remembered to take my vitamins as often I should.

Ying ~ My bathrooms are organized, shiny and smell good, and the draws are lined with new paper.
Yang ~ I left the car in drive yesterday when I ran into to return a movie.


I think one can see the picture. Although I have attained a goal I have always wanted to reach, I have not learned to do all things in their proper order. I have shifted my bad habits from the Ying to the Yang.

But! I do enjoy having a clean house! And if I can get *here*, then I can get *there* for the rest of it.

I realized also, that I have created new habits! Yes, Charlotte Mason, you are right. Habits are key. I think it takes two to three weeks to form a new habit, and I think it's been about that long since I started this project.

Regarding the housekeeping, I had to really look at my worst habits and focus on them. For me it was Putting Things Back. Which I drag my kids back for - (and they say that one is most annoyed by the things one does themselves that are annoying) - so my kids are better at it than I am!

But more later ~ my thoughts are scattered and I've not time to harness them because I am preparing to go out of town tomorrow, and today I am making another stop at Goodwill. Decluttering...another key. A big, bright and beautiful key ...

So my advice to anyone preparing to venture into the world of a Clean House - begin Decluttering.

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. ~Lin Yutang

I would like to point out that the above quote is very, very old. So rest assured having to much stuff around is an age old problem. However, at my age, it's more of a problem because I am beginning to trip over things!

And so I find I was wrong....

In a recent post, I said I couldn't be married to the extreme of what I thought it took to live in an orderly and clean house.

Well. I was wrong.

It's been lovely. It is lovely. And it's been easier than I ever imagined.

I think the goal of getting there is the most difficult. But once you are there, it is so peaceful! At first you think, “oh my word, I have nothing to do!” And you feel a slight bored or something unidentifiable because it’s new …but alas, you are really just experiencing the feeling of being free from clutter. As the feeling was foreign to me, I did feel a strange reaction at first.

Of course, you do have something to do, but it’s so much easier now. Some folks call it maintenance, but really, now, it’s how you live.

My motivation to Go Forth and Clean was the fact I'm selling my house. But the feeling that an orderly and clean house has brought me is something I have no wish to depart from ... I shall keep this 'new habit' in it's resident place of forefront. It shall become my way of life.

Putting things away has become easier and easier. Being efficient has become easier and easier.

I had company for dinner on Easter Sunday and the major concentration was on the preparation of food for the guests, and then the company itself! It was wonderful!

A plan and good tools – no, let’s say great tools – are important.

I’ll share some of my personal favorites later. Right now, I’m going to sit on the porch and have a cup of tea with Madam Blueberry (without whose help these surroundings would have not been possible without the loss of my sanity. I thank God for such a gift as her.)

"What would happen if...."

she asked, "if I put a cooked potato in the oven and sliced it really thin?"

"Why don't you try it? You could try a cooked potato and a still potato."

Still Potato? What is a still potato? We are still wondering why I said, 'still potato'...a raw potato is still a potato as much as a cooked potato...
oh well, who knows...

Then I corrected myself with 'real' potato. I have no idea where my mind was...but she went on and decided to put the 'still' potato in the toaster over, sliced it real thin, and the results were some really great tasting potato chips! She liked the thicker ones, I like the thin ones.

Gone ahead and tried anything lately?

Short glimpse

I have felt like it was Friday since Wednesday.

I couldn't find my car in the Publix parking lot today. I was walking around with my grocery cart, when my husband called me on my cell phone...
"Hey honey, are you at Walmart?"

"Nope, I’m in the grocery store parking lot, and I can't find the car. I hope you aren't going to ask me to do anything."

"Uh....no. Just keep talking to me until you find the car."

I keep talking while pulling my cart, trying not to look totally ignorant and spaced out, but I think it was too late.

I finally did find the car. I was three rows and three cars off.

Maybe it’s because tonight is The Full Pink Moon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four Americans is suffering from some form of mental illness. Think of your three best friends. If they're okay, then it's you.
~~Rita Mae Brown

Schools in a Crisis

A buzz from Oprah ~ (you should be able to view it here.)

Tuesday (April 11th), Oprah started a segment on this subject of public schools in a crisis. She has teamed up with Time Magazine (here's a link for that blip). Time Magazine (and I have not read the magazine article, but I did watch both Oprah shows because I was curious) headlines Drop-out Nation which features Central Indiana's Shelbyville High School, but Indiana says they have grabbed the attention of the media because it is trying to do something about it's problem ( a huge drop-out rate)...and I say good for them.

There was one school featured today that had rooms made for 38 seats and there were 50 students in most classrooms (in Los Angeles). The school is built for 1,500 students and there are 5,000 in enrollment.

~~~(What I was wondering was, why isn't that a fire hazard? – and what is happening to the money going to the schools?).

There were schools in the District of Columbia where the ceilings were falling down, the bathrooms were unusable,

~~~(Again, where are the City, County and State Code Marshals? And who is accountable for how the money is being spent? Doesn't someone know how to use a phone? Or write a ton of letters? How did this get this way?)

and, of course, gates and bars, and prison looking atmospheres are showing openly for some students to attend everyday.

She mentioned, too, that the education many of the children in our public schools are receiving is not measuring up to the standards that are needed to succeed in college. She also mentioned lack of parental involvement. Her guests included Bill and Melinda Gates and Kevin James, an ex-pro-basketball player who took over three schools himself (and they are doing well.)

Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, say they are making an effort to help. Some articles don't agree with their ideas. Mr. Gates seems to have some good ideas, though. One was that all schools don't have to be exactly alike. He created one school himself where there are no books! It's called High Tech High.

There are those who are not happy with the way ‘they report’ that Gates is thinking. I don’t know. Not everyone needs college, do they?….did Einstein? Okay, so everyone is not Einstein, but still!....We are not cookie molds.

The Gates’, and Oprah, and Mr. James all talk as if they want America to be better educated. What’s wrong with that? But, I’m sure some people will see some kind of agenda somewhere other than the one projected …because that's usually the way things go now and then, isn't it?

I know there are people who aren't a fan of Oprah's. I remain thinking that, she may be all about ratings, as someone in her business does need ratings to continue on with what they do, and I think she is trying to do something good, from her way of viewing things.

Here’s another thing I wonder about; did anyone ever think that there is an education out there for them even if the public school does not provide one? Oh, here’s one …Amblesideonline!

Who would-a-thunk that someone could go online and find an education all for themselves if they really, really want it!? And free!! (I use it and I love it!) Even if someone doesn’t own a computer, computers are available for free at the public libraries.

And if a person doesn’t want to print out material from a website, there are books available in the libraries that you can actually read on your own! Amazing isn't it? To think that one could figure something out by reading and thinking all by themselves? But, I suppose to bring that up is to bring up the fact that some libraries aren’t up-to-date with the public school books? And another thing is that when the kids can't read, they are usually hiding that fact from everyone because they are embarrassed. Why wouldn't EVERYONE want to help someone who can't read well if they want help?

All the guests were on target when they said that parents needed to get involved. What has happened, as I see it, is that many parents have separated themselves from the job and responsibility of their child’s education. They have handed the keys to their children’s future over to the government. It was never meant to be this way.

On Achieve.org you can click on your state and see how it stacks up.

I realize some of my comments might be cheeky, but it seems to me that not all the equation is complete. Somewhere, there is something else missing. The direction home?

Such good Brownies!!

THESE _are_ really, really good ....I mean, really...
I had mine with a bit of the great frosting that Madam B made (I'll have to get that recipe in my blog) and some fresh strawberries. And yum, yum, yum...


Rich and Chewy Low Fat Brownies

Amazingly rich and chewy, you would never know these are low fat. I have people asking me for this recipe whenever I make it. The applesauce is the secret ingredient in these delicious brownies! This recipe also doubles well and will fit into a 9x13 pan.

1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups white sugar
2 egg whites
3/4 cup applesauce

1. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl using a hand mixer. Add egg whites, applesauce and vanilla.

2. Mix all other ingredients in a separate smaller bowl and add to the wet ingredients in the large bowl. Do NOT overmix!

3. Spray 8x8 dish with PAM and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

ENJOY!

so to sum up ....

Twelve people came to the Open House...only need one buyer.

Madam B (who is definitely interested in culinary arts) and I went out. We went to Barnes and Nobles. She bought three Mangas and I bought "Shakespeare After All" by Marjorie Garber. I saw the book by Harold Bloom about Shakespeare but this books had more plays (38) and really went in depth to compare one to another..the jacket says it's ..."a ceremony of adoration" and I adore Shakespeare.

I don't know why. I have one friend who says that the feelings I have about Shakespeare have to do with reincarnation. I do respect and adore this friend, but I don't feel reincarnated! But, yet, the affection I feel for Shakespeare's works, I cannot explain. No one I've ever hung out with has felt what I've felt, and then along comes my daughter, and bingo! She loves his works, too.

We bought Midsummer's Night Dream for the next reading. I read in this new book I have that this is Romeo and Juliet inside out! Interesting. Don't think I haven't noticed that there are many repeat things in his plays!

We thought we might catch a movie, so we went to see what was playing and time-wise the choice was "Benchwarmers" and "Inside Man" ... We chose "Inside Man"...It was okay. But Denzel Washington, who played Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing was in the movie, so we thought, okay, wouldn't be that bad. And it wasn't really, just okay for afternoon prices ...

Oh, and about a clean home...I'm thinking, everyone should do this, at least once. My home looks like a show place almost. It's lovely, just so clean and shiny and smells so good! Give it a shot, seriously, you might be surprised at how you feel.


Certainly this is a duty, not a sin. "Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness."
~~ john wesley

I need a new connection...

My brain has stopped. Functioning in complete sentences. I lost the. I forgot to pick up the. I broke the. Where are my? Anyone seen the? Oh there's the. Did you pick up the? She called and said. Who? Which is? Oh gezz is that the? Why did you park? Now, where did I put my? Shoes. Keys. Leather cleaner. Soap. Cat food. Paint brush. Hedge trimmer. Radio. Audio Tape. Hair dryer. Cookies. Jackson. Henry. Elizabeth. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Wine.
Open House. Today. Two to Five.

Return to center court

So this offer it was made with counting hopes sure,
it was laid
there before the house of the people
whose all they have is being bade
in the house on which the offer was made ...

Countered.
Declined.
So take the ball back to center court and shoot from there!

Open House on Sunday. The place where I brought my children home from the hospital to begin their days.

My sentimental side is awaken.

She be right, mate

.... so the Australians have the saying for all will be well. And I do believe it will be. Sometimes we can't see the big picture because the tapestry rug is upside down. And I know that ultimately, it's all in God's hands anyway. That's my belief.

We got the first official offer on our house. So that negotation is in the works for the back and forth. The house is still clean, however, (or should I say halleluiah), as we have decided to give the open house this Sunday, anyway.

My tricks for speedy unclutteredness include places to put things ~ everything should have a place, even if that place is the garbage or Goodwill. Keeping a house really clean, as opposed to uncluttered, now there is where the real work comes in, it can be done, but it is tiring for me!

I decided on a maintenance schedule of a major job being done everyday, that is dusting, windexing, cabinet door wipings, all those things are on a cycle of everyday Madam B and I do one of those.

Vacuuming? How about a lot? We have three cats and they won't check their coats at the door no matter how many times I ask! So Yup, every time I think of it, I vacuum one room or two, and I have a place for the vacuum cleaner to go ready set.

I have a plastic bucket that holds the emergency dusting and windexing and wiping tools in a special place.

Now posting this reminds me, I better go clean something. In the long run, I could not be married to this plan. It's not my thing. I love a clean house, I do, I do, I do, and I have learned to value and adore this neatness, but I could never live this extreme. Maybe spurts of extremeness, but not married to it.

Living under the name of For Sale....

It can be a tad stressful. I love having a clean and neat home, love it, love it, love it ~ but being on call is tough. Someone is coming at 12.30 tomorrow.

I put myself on a two hour notice, so we are 'trying' very hard to get things organized for a two hours *from this moment showing*. Well, not two hours from the middle of the night ~ but you know what I mean. I have created a few tricks.

Madam Blueberry is being very helpful. I don’t know what I would do without her. She has a genuis for tidiness. That particular gene skipped me.

She is still experimenting with the cooking and Saturday she made some icing from scratch, and it wasn’t turning out thick enough. She had found the recipe on line. It's one that you cook, but seemed simple enough, however, I had to go to the store and buy two boxes of confectionate sugar in the middle of it all, which did get dumped in the icing before it became nicely spreadable, and then it became so good that I gained two pounds eating the cake it was on.

It wasn't just the cake that got iced. She covered the kitchen in icing. She is a really messy cook. The refrigerator was iced, the water filter attachement, everything, and the floor was sticky like we were having a 'bee showing'.

She says it’s because she is creative. I say she is just messy. We are still debating the issue.

She still remains, though, the very best girl. I don't care if she ends up icing me and decorating me with Easter colored sprinkles while I sleep. It's great to have her in my life.

"Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
~~ Ecclesiastes

You know when you're overwhelmed....

...when your to do list is three pages long,
you leave the oven on all night,
you turn on your wash machine and
your wash cycle cleans the wash machine and no clothes
and then when you finally remember to put them in,
you forget to unload the washing machine for the fifth time,
you forgot you parked the car down the street,
misplace the keys that go with that parked car,
you left the left over pizza out all night,
and

You Forget THE TIME CHANGE!

So, you come in to post on your blog because you feel so inadequate, and then your daughter follows you in the room and says, "Let me read you something from the Bible..."

She reads a few Psalms aloud, we talked about forgiveness just because you do when you read the Bible sometimes, you end up singing a song about forgiveness that has the line, "and I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness, even if you don't love me anymore..."

And then we began to talk about Is there a proper way to ask for forgiveness? Can you just write an email? or a note? Or should it always be face to face? We have always thought, if possible, that it should be face to face, but understanding that I phone call could do....but face to face and stating what you are asking forgiveness for, and then asking, 'will you forgive me?'

But regardless of all that deep thinking, I think forgiveness is key...so today, I must forgive myself for my inadequacies and move on as I am already an hour behind!

Dancing Bee

Isn't life pretty? Bees dance everywhere. Have you danced yet today?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time.
~~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Truth and Lies

Does anyone remember the Ann Landers column? I grew up reading her column.

I was continuing my packing and found this newspaper clipping I had saved from Tuesday, February 7, 1978. This is the poem I had cut out:

What Became of a Lie
~~M.A. Kidder

First somebody told it,
Then the room wouldn't hold it,
So the busy tongues rolled it
Till they got it outside;
Then the crowd came across it,
And never once lost it,
But tossed it and tossed it,
Till it grew long and wide.
This lie brought forth others,
Evil sisters and brothers,
and fathers and mothers,
A terrible crew,
As headlong they hurried,
The people they flurried
And troubled and worried,
As lies always do
So, evil-boded
This monstrous lie goaded,
Till at last it exploded,
In sin and shame
But from mud and from mire
The pieces flew higher,
Till they hit the sad liar,
And killed his good name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Always tell the truth. That way, you don't have to remember what you said.
~~Mark Twain

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then there's this poem by Emily Dickenson that I just absolutely love. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it, as it is great for that. I could tell you what I think, but have some fun on your own, as it's one of those poems that is simple and short, yet deep, linear, circular, and dazzlingly blindingly openly bold! ~ and a riddle, of course, much like all of Emily's work.

Tell all the Truth but tell it slant-- 
Success in Circuit lies
Too bring for our infirm Delight
The Truth's superb surprise

As Lighting to the Children Eased
With explanation kind
 The Truth must dazzle gradually 
Or every man be blind. 

-Emily Dickinson, poet (1830-1886)

Is love where you look?

"Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
be it ever so humble, There's no place like home."
~ John Howard Payne

Being gone a week can be refreshing. It's the dickens traveling in a car for hours for me, though. The trip straight through would be about 6 1/2 hours, but I just can't quiet make that and not be totally asleep for two days afterwards.

So I break up the trip and stop in and take advantage of the kind hospitality of my relatives. This last trip I stopped to visit my sister both up and back. She and her husband share a home with one of her daughters and her husband and their two children. My sister is younger than I and has 4 grandchildren!! None of my kids are even married yet.

She has custody of one of her grandsons who is in the fourth grade. (So that puts three boys in the house ages 5 to 10).

When I arrived I was greeted with a glass of wine at the back door - long story, but I had gotten "lost" on or near 429, kept losing cell service because I was in the middle of the real nowhere - yes, Virginia, there is a nowhere -- and had everyone a little bit freaked out, but as my husband had always reminded me 'dear, you have a map...' so I managed to save myself while aging my parents and family ...

so anyway, I was comfortable with my feet up and my sister thrusts upon me Nathan's school back pack and began to unload his work in my lap for me to review. And then came this huge pamphlet looking item and my sister was totally freaked out about a science project that was required for the Science Fair at his school. She was distressed because the notice said "the parents and child" were to do this project together. I don't know why exactly, but I thought this was so funny that this excited them so. She was sure they couldn't do this! and sure they wouldn't have the time or ability! And just sure, so sure This Was Impossible!!!

I told her not to worry, reminded her that this was 4th grade we were dealing with, just give me 5 minutes on Goggle, and I was certain to solve her problem.

After a brief search I came up with the idea ~ not a soft burrito ~ but a plan for a science project that would allow my great nephew to do the project at home and the parents not go crazy. Four petri dishes, some cotton swabs, a little saliva and some gelatin, and one notebook, and I think the child will get an 'A' if he practices observation and takes his notes on a daily basis while awaiting the mold to grow. Oh yes, and two cats besides, one male, one female...

I went through the booklet that was sent home, helped them get up-to-date on what was due, which was naming the project, writing the hypothesis, and listing their supplies. After I walked them through it, I think they began to feel that this was doable even though a few hours before my arrival, they were ready for the Prozac farm.

I have got to say, it felt good, it felt really, really good to help them. It felt good to know something. It felt good to solve a problem. It felt good to help my sister simplify something in her life as she works so hard. And it felt good to take the fear out of 4th grade.

It's funny how things work out sometimes. You find yourself somewhere and think sometimes, 'what am I doing here?' ...and really, you are so needed just at that time. You might not know it at the time, but have faith. And then keep it.

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, 
flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. 
Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, 
certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. 
- Robert Louis Stevenson 

"Home again, home again, jiggity jig."

I've been gone a week

I left last Saturday for South Florida and just returned home last night. Today I am just chillin' and feel like I fell into a soft pillow and am enjoying it.

I had a good time visiting my family and helping my brother and his wife take care of their youngest son, as his regular baby-sitter was on vacation. He's a peach! I got to visit my sons, as well.

Here are a couple of photographs ...That is my son Sean, doing the 'magic', and my little charge, Jacob, being amazed ...

In Her Shoes

What a sweet little movie.  I cried.  More than once.
Family can be a difficult thing.  Family's aren't perfect.
Because people aren't perfect.  We can struggle hard,
but we will never see perfect here on this earth,
in families or any where else.

I think it's about forgiveness.  And acceptance,
and love conquers all.

That's what I saw in this movie.  The worse things done,
turned out to be the best things done in some ways.  
A hard reality.

The character of  Maggie, played by Cameron Diaz,
couldn't read or do math well at all.  She's been getting
by on her good looks pretty much.  The power of
which runs out quickly when you can't add or read very well.

Was she dyslexic?  Or learning disabled?
They never really tell us.  But her reading greatly improves when
she begins to read poetry to someone who can't see
her pretty face but can recognize a gift of understanding.

Her sister Rose is smart and not as pretty, but loves Maggie
very much and has spent her life protecting her, yet, is so
very annoyed with her, but can't stop loving her.   

So she forgives, and loves,
but in between she doesn't know how to cope until their
long lost grandmother and a bunch of old people come
into their lives.

Add to the top of that an evil stepmother, and a father
who lives in denial, and you have a family story that
made me cry.
I loved it.

Here are the two poems from the movie.  They fit perfectly.

E.E. Cummings - I Carry Your Heart With Me

I carry your heart with me
(i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)
i fear no fate
(for you are my fate, my sweet)
i want no world
(for beautiful you are my world,
my true) and it's you are
whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun
will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret
nobody knows
(here is the root of the root
and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky
of the treee called life,
which grows
higher than the soul can hope
or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder
that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart
(carry it in my heart)

~~and I loved this next one ~~


One Art
by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something everyday. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour spent badly.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster;
places, and names and where you meant to travel.
None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones...And vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent,
I miss them. But it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (a joking voice of gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not to hard to master
though it may look like (Write it) a disaster.

~~~~~~~~
For finding the poems, for feeling those feelings,
I'm glad I found the movie.

Under the sink

And Chapter Two.

Step One:
Continue thinking about it - the loveliness of Spring Cleaning. Think about how lovely it would be if your entire house was clean, clean, clean. Think about all that dust on the baseboards where you can't reach, and your vacuum doesn't because the attachments need your assistance to do so, and oh how boring is that? Think about your blinds, and all the turning back and forth and how many times have you wiped them down, or up, as the case may be, or not, which is the case in most cases.
Then
Think about ... under the kitchen sink.

Step Two: (For the brave and not faint at heart)
Now go there. Make sure your children are supervised at this time as danger could lurk on yonder quest.
Open the cabinet's doors and look.
Close them.
Are you still conscious? What did you smell? What did you see? Was it pretty?
Now picture loveliness under your sink. Picture a tiled floor, and attractive, or at least sterile buckets, to hold the various things you have under your sink. And while we are there, ask yourself this question ... "Do I really need everything that's under there?" Answer that question with the truth.
If you, in fact and most likely, don't need all that you see ~ throw that stuff out.

Matter of fact.

Step Three:
Do that now. Go back to your sink with a bag that will hold garbage. Collect all the things that are gross, disgusting and/or unidentifiable and put them in the bag. Do not hesitate on this step! Now, go throw that bag away.
Jump up and down, or do a little dance, or a cheer, you have accomplished a very great deal! Then wash your hands.

Step Four:
Make a cup of tea, put your feet up and read another chapter of your favorite book. Then return to the sink. Which now is stripped down to only what you need. If during this next step of four, you run across something you do not need or recognize - Throw it Out! The motto ~ When in Doubt, Throw it Out!

Now, for this step you will need some time alone most likely depending on the age of your charges because you need to bring everything out of that deserted, lonely area and place It on the floor in front of your very own eyes. If you so decide to accept this mission, consider this a project and make sure that you gather all your necessary tools. HOWEVER. Before you go on to this step, I want you to think about something, (subliminal message -planning- planning- planning) and that is, the bottom floor of your under-the-sink area. What does it look like? Can it be wiped up easily? Nooooo? Well then, let's address that - and no, I don't mean, like 'hello, how are you?" I mean, style and class.

Why not?

Here's are some suggestions for that floor area:

1. Contact paper. I've done this. It works okay. And you can buy a color or print that's sweet or funky and suits your personality.

2. Pieces of stick-on vinyl flooring. I have this as a matter of fact. Madam B installed it (one of those Tom Sawyer moments) and it's lovely, and easy to do. Now we lucked out because my sister gave me a box of it years ago, and so I used that. But you can buy this at Home Depot, or the like, if there are no friends who have just put down vinyl flooring and have a few left over.

Whatever you use, the idea is to create an area that is clean looking and can be wiped up quickly to maintain this level of loveliness you are creating.
Trust me. You will be so happy you spent the time doing this. It is such a good feeling to reach under the sink and see clean and orderly looking back at you.

Step Four:
Hopefully, you did step three and got the flooring selected and in, and now you have to put things back! And hopefully, while you were out picking up the flooring choice you thought about what you might like to put your assorted under-the-sink items in after your have finished with your project. You didn't? Drat! ~ Well, it'll be okay. You can just place them neatly on New and Improved Attractive Chosen Flooring! Aren't we just so cool!

For safety, I am sure if your children are of a young age, you have reinstalled your child safety lock, and if they are old enough, you have the genius and foresight to have them help you complete this task.

And now you must all rejoice together in the newfound piece of orderliness in your home!

I am finding that as I complete each of these tasks and leave behind an area that is clean and organized it is just a most wonderful feeling. Seriously. You will smile more.

Next time, I will be addressing the food pantries and cabinets! Think about painting!! I do all the time. Anyone who knows me well can vouch for the bold truth in that statement.

End of Chapter Two
Reference Chapter One

Tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

Preen and Idem

Go ahead. Use them in a sentence. I challenged Madam B today in scrabble, as I did not know these two words! The stinker! Triple word score on 'idem'. Oh well...I got 'whale' on a double word score. Shows you where my mind is.

Madam B has started Henry V. At first she was not that excited about it because it is not a comedy. She never starts her next Shakespeare reading right after finishing one, as she seems to need time to 'let go' of the last one. Does that make sense? It's like we have to talk about and talk about, and see if there's a movie, and kind of court it awhile before we can say good-by and move on. I say 'we' but I don't read along with her so much anymore, as I just can't keep up. And I haven't read Henry V, but I told her that I would read it with her, and she said, 'nah, that's okay,' because I know she wants to just enjoy it at her leisure. But I will be looking forward to the movie!

"Men of few words are the best men." King Henry V (Act 111 Scene 2)

Did you know that "what the dickens" was a quote coined by Shakespeare years before Charles Dickens was born?

From "The Merry Wives of Windsor" ... Mrs. Page says, "I cannot tell what the dickens his name is my husband had him of." (that is a very weird line.)

It sounds strange, but 'what the dickens' was a euphemism for calling on the Devil.

Spring Cleaning ~ A lovely necessity

It's true. It's nice to get the house all cleaned. We all know that it's true (anyone remember the Moody Blues?)

Welcomed to Miss Roxie’s True Tales of Spring Cleaning

CHAPTER ONE

One good place to start ~The Oven.

Hopefully you have a self-cleaning oven and have been turning the little dial-ie set switch on for cleaning all during the year. Good for you! (Or, like me, you could have a self-cleaning oven and broken your dail-ie set switches long ago.)

Or, you have cleaned it and didn't put down one of those flat slide things that go on the bottom of ovens that you can throw away when they are soiled with the toil of your cooking and baking and slaving with love for your family at mealtimes and holidays and science experiments.

So, to start out on the job of cleaning a long overdue disgustingly, dirty, well-used oven we relax, make tea, and read the next chapter of our favorite book before we get to:

Step one: Open the oven door. Look inside. Close the door. Walk away.
Return 2 days later. Sigh again. Open the door. Drop your shoulders; look up at the sky, chin aggressively pointed upward, and ADMIT IT! It's your fault!!

Let out a huge big sigh and a whine. It's okay. It's stress relieving. Then forgive yourself. You have been busy. You have baked many a good treat here and made many a good meal! God loves you! Now. Deal with it. You are woman! Make the roar!!
Okay. So you have a situation and you must face it. Square in it’s ugly grimy, gunky face.

Step two: Decide your method of attack. Bombing the oven out of the kitchen is probably against the law and it's potentially dangerous. Okay. Well, it would be dangerous. Skip that.

How about trying the ammonia in the oven over night trick? And good luck with that! Hahahaha. Sorry didn't mean to laugh. The rumor is - put this product in a cold oven, over night, and then the next day - Like Magic! The gunk will just come off! Apparently, these researchers must have just baked one cake on one day a few years ago during a famine.

And, not to mention, ammonia left alone sitting somewhere emits Vapors and Fumes which when inhaled - and if it's in the air, guess what! You inhale it -- can cause lung damage!! I don't recommend the ammonia. But that's just me.

Then there's the old Vinegar trick. Yes, just saturate that oven with vinegar. Oh, right. Vinegar doesn't 'stick' to anything, really, so, umm, maybe just let it sit on the bottom and loosen the gunk for you? An idea. Yeah, it will - after a while –like in a gazillion years. Nothing personal against vinegar, I like vinegar. I use it all the time for cleaning and laundry brightening ...but dirty ovens? Oh my dear sweet innocents ~ it works Only If You catch the gunk on it's Way Down five seconds after you took the brownies out! It can take days to work while you and I “s-c-r-u-b” the gunk. But pay attention to that word “scrub”, it becomes key in the plan. Vinegar – good, yes, but Magic? No.

Oh, of course, you can buy some harsh product like Easy-Off (not). Yes, absolutely, you can buy some chemical products and spray them on and leave them for the allotted amount of time. But - Get Out Of The House With The Children!! And wear the gloves on gloves and gas mask while you are cleaning it out! Put newspaper on the floor in front of the oven to make sure your floor isn’t eaten away, oh, and make sure your phone has 911 plugged in - just in case ...Did I mention these cleaners _can_ put you in the hospital if you breathe while you're cleaning? Just make a mental note ...

Step Three: There is no getting around it. If you have a dirty oven, you must…Prepare to do battle. Get on your scrubs, ladies, because you are going to need them. I used baking soda (and that is so laughable) and vinegar (this was even more hysterical) and plenty of hot water (what a joke), got _some_ of it out, after four hours, and then I left the house. Really, I just couldn't take it any more. I went to Walmart and wandered up and down the aisle of harsh chemical cleaners, but just could not find it in myself to admit defeat and release some toxin in the air. I felt I had to muscle it out.

So I went back home.

Step Four: My luck just changed, my fortune cookie just cashed in because here is the best part, I came home and found my husband with his head in the oven and using his sander; he produced a clean and shiny oven!! LOL. I never appreciated electricity as much as I did that day!

Step Five: Do not allow anyone to use that oven until you buy that aluminum foil thingy for the bottom of the oven!! And they come in packs of two, and trust me my friends of the homemaking underworld, that is a good thing!

Then bake that husband a batch of cookies in your shiny clean oven and make a promise that you will NEVER, ever again, be neglect in wiping up the spills right away! You have just changed your life for the better! Remember that!

If you are real smart and excessively wise, you’ll make sure you pass this along to the next generation and instill the training of such while they are living under your roof.

End of Chapter One

Tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

On Line Safety

The following is an email message from one of our
local high schools
joined by Secure Florida, in conjunction with the
Florida Department of Law
Enforcement  ~
I applaud the community for getting involved:

"Kids go missing all too regularly,
and some of them meet their predators
online.  Combine them with the number of kids
that are exposed to
inappropriate sexual or violent material online,
and cyberspace can be a
hazardous place for young people.

Do you know the Web sites your child visits? 
Do you know who their
online friends are?  Are you sure?

A survey of youths 10 to17 years of age
revealed that although one in
five were approached or solicited sexually
on the Internet, half of them told
no one.

Social networking sites like
MySpace, FaceBook and Xanga, while popular
with kids, have become a prime hangout for
pedophiles and predators.
Parents and children need to know the
dangers surrounding relationships
formed online and how they can keep
from becoming a victim.

Interested media are invited to join the session."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

C D B?

I tried really hard to get a bee in action, and lo and behold, I did.

Spring around here

It's lovely out. The windows are open. So today I started, officially, spring cleaning. Well, it's more like just a continuation of getting the house ready to sell, but spring cleaning is fun.
First, I wanted to share a couple of photos with you ~~ This the view out a light from my dining room ~~ from three days ago, and then today ...

If the photos should decide they will come up in order, the first one will be a couple of days ago, and a recent one of today. You can see the intensity the dogwood has been putting forth by today.

Had a great time watering my shrubs. I have my own little spring cleaning watering system. I bake cookies and each time I put a batch in, I go out and move the hose, which is gently watering it's assigned charge.

Crazy little red bird sees himself

Here is that crazy little red bird looking at himself in Mr. B's side view mirror. Such a silly little bird!

The Mystery of Michelangelo

" I live to sin, to kill myself I love: no longer is my life my own, but sin's; my good is given to me by heaven, my evil by myself, by my free will, of which I am deprived". - Michelangelo






'But if, when near, the infinite beauty that dazzles my eyes does not allow my heart to bear up, and from afar seems not to reassure me or give me confidence, what will become of me? What guide or escort can there be who in regard of you will ever give help or strength, if you, when near, burn me, and, by parting, kill me?' - Poem by Michelangelo



"Up till this point, not one woman was to be seen in the entourage of Michelangelo other than the Madonnas whom he sculpted. Most of the female bodies in his work were sketched from male models or reworked classical statues". - Pierre Layris

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The first picture is of a woman (the Madonna?) painted next to the Christ in Michelangelo's The Last Judgement.

As Madam B was reading her book on Michelangelo by Gilles Neret, she came across the second painting, which is a 'supposed' painting of Vittoria Colonna. Then she noticed something....They seem to resemble. What do you think?

The 'insinuation is' that Vittoria Colonna was the only woman that Michelanglo ever loved.

From what Madam B is reading about Michelangelo, (in this book) his personal life is somewhat a mystery, but he seemed to have lived and died a tortured soul, who was a snob who thought everything aside from sculpting was "for nothing."

In a letter to Benedetto Varchi in 1547 Michelangelo wrote, "the more painting resembles sculpture the better I like it. The more sculpture resembles painting the worse I like it. Sculpture is the torch by which painting is illustrated, and the difference between them is the difference between sun and moon. "

He added, in a most treacherous aside --that seemed to have been aimed at his rival Leonardo Da Vinci:-- “If he who wrote that painting was more noble than sculpture shows the same understanding in other things as in that remark, my servant girl could do better.” Meaning, if he who did the painting thinks his gift is higher than sculpting, well, he’s wrong, according to the thoughts of Michelangelo.

One reason he gave for his despising painting so, was that it “prized the attractions of color over those of the ideas.” (Interesting thought.)

Here’s what he said about Oil Painting, “it is only suitable for women.”

Here’s what Michelangelo said about landscape painting it, “should be forbidden, being nothing but a vague and deceitful sketch, a game for children and undedicated men.” Plato’s view on this seemed to agree

About Portraits, it is nothing but the” flattery of ideal curiosity and of the imperfect illusions of the senses.”

So. There is Madam B’s narration.

Just Wednesday

"Enough is as good as a feast." John Heywood

I am tired today. I think I've had a feast of it this week!

What does one do on a tired day? Sigh. I ended doing several loads of laundry. As Athena and I have discussed, the laundry and the dishes fight for our attention. But yet, I feel a great sense of accomplishment to have washed and wiped them all clean and clear away! I know it is a temporary victory. I know the laundry and dishes plot together at night, in their duplicitous ways to draw attention to themselves with their repeated sense of repetitiveness, but it bears repeating, I feel a Zen in doing laundry.

What is Zen after all? A state of being true to yourself and one with the universe?...so, when I do laundry, I am so totally relaxed, it must be a Zen thing.
I don't have to dress for laundry. I can sip cups of tea in between laundry and it's never offended.
The laundry cares not about my mood or how my hair turned out. I doubt the laundry cares much about anything about me! So I can be totally me. I don't even have to brush my teeth for laundry!
I can pray while I do laundry, I can dance while I do laundry,
I can talk on the phone while I do laundry,
I can think about my best friend and miss her,
I can call my mother and leave a funny message on her answering machine,
eat out of the refrigerator, pile pencils on a desk, count pennies from the change jar, watch a bit of Vanity Fair, read to Madam B, even drive away while the laundry is laundering if I wish!!
Laundry is the Zen of all activities.
Have YOU done laundry today?

Madam B and I did some more reading from the Scarlet Letter. As the whole world knows by now, we are draggg-ging through this book! It's awful. This is not a book to drag through! But we will finish it together, and we are almost there.

However, we are not impressed with the Rev Dimmensdale at all today. His new revelation in the fact that he is forgiven by Hester Prynne, and possibly be free from his terrible burden, has made him act like a looney-tune, and we are wondering _what did_ she see in him in the first place!?! The book has never told us.

Forgiveness is such a necessary thing. Maybe the Reverend will settle down ~ but we have left him in the town putting his cloak in front of his face as he walked by a young girl wishing to speak with him. And she, such an innocent of life, is feeling now so despondent, as she feels it is she who has done something terrible to cause him to shun her. (She hasn't figured out yet, that he is a nut!)

Else today ~ I made some potato soup. It's so good, and good for you with onions and garlic, celery, carrots and the potatoes. The starch of the potato is supposed to be very healing, and it's gluten free.

The trees are starting to show spring. I want to get a few photos of the changes. We'll see if I remember to do that. My brain cells don't always cooporate with my thought process.

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"
~William A. Ward

Links, Paint Tips, and Pastry Bags

1. Fun links:

a. I found this link on the Jacksons Cafe message board.
When you click on the link, you can find out what was the number one song the day you were born (or married or whatever.)

http://home.comcast.net/~josh.hosler/NumberOneInHistory/SelectMonth.htm

b. Had a strange dream? Go to freakydreams.com and type in your dream. See if you agree with the interpretation.

c. Want to use a Latin quote and can't find it? Here is a place you might try:

http://www.yuni.com/library/latin.html


2. Some random tips about painting:

a. Awareness is key in any activity. Know where you are and your brush is, at all times, in relation to where things are, that should not be painted. Screens may not look visible at a side glance, but they do show up that white streak you painted on them while you were turning around with the paintbrush facing backwards.

b. Respect the laws of the universe. Do not put too many things on a ladder, and then move the ladder, expecting the things to stay on the ladder. Gravity does not change it's rule for stupidity.

c. Wear a hat. Paint in your hair looks like gray hair sometimes, but most of the time people know you have paint in your hair, and that is all you will hear from everyone you meet, "Hey, is that paint in your hair?". Or, "Have you been painting? That looks like paint in your hair."

d. If paint had a personality, it would be sneaky and playful. Paint goes places it's not suppose to go even when you think it does not. It will. And I think secretly, it is laughing at you. Somewhere in the universe, trust me, paint is laughing.

e. Paint Deep. Apply enough paint to your brush and keep it moving. This is a serious tip. Many people don't put enough paint on their brush. Painters call this 'dry brushing', and it's not a good look. Cover that surface with some paint! That's what you bought it for.

f. People do not believe that paint is wet. Ever. Even if you tell people, 'Hey, be careful! I just painted there,"... they will lean on that place you just painted. Even twice. Husbands do this in their best shirts. It's a universal rule.

3. The Pastry Bag and too many calories:

Madam Blueberry has been experimenting with substitutions in recipes. She has used the applesauce for oil in cupcakes, banana bread, and assorted muffins, and tried to use a lower fat butter type product (Smart Beat) in some Tea Cookies. She has also changed the flour from all white to white and wholewheat combination, and some all whole wheat.

So far, we have not been *too* displeased with the results, with the exception of the Tea Cookies - nope, never again on that one. However, I'm thinking, should we be bringing something for a gift, sometimes the original recipes are best. Less fat isn't always the Name of the Day. Sometimes you just need Really, Really Good.

The latest thing now with Madam B, is practicing with her pastry bag. A good friend gave her a gift certificate for a local kitchen finery store. It was a wonderful trip! She came home with many things, and still didn't use the complete amount of her gift certificate. She's happy we will be able to go there again soon.

She also met a real Chef there! Which was a definite highlight for her. She was asking the clerk some questions about her pastry bag, and the clerk motioned to a man at the counter and said, "This is the gentlemen who could answer your questions." They had a delightful conversation.

This Chef is the private chef for one family!! Can you imagine?! (I would love that job). He said it was an offer to good to pass up. That day he was making a birthday cake and needed a pound of white chocolate. Oh yummmm...

Anyway, Madam B came home and began baking like the Mad Hatter (without her chef hat that she got for her birthday! Shame on her!) just to use her pastry bag!! We had so many muffins and sweet cakes around that Mr. B suggested that perhaps she just practice with a pound of icing on a cookie sheet, and then just scoop it back and start again. I think that is a marvelous suggestion! (and my thighs gave a hearty 'here, here!' to that)



Family quarrels have a total bitterness unmatched by others. Yet it sometimes happens that they also have a kind of tang, a pleasantness beneath the unpleasantness, based on the tacit understanding that this is not for keeps; that any limb you climb out on will still be there later for you to climb back. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960

Crazy little red bird

This is a crazy little red bird.
He loves to spend his time pecking at my side mirror.
He looks like a little bandit, but he is a vain little birdie who loves looking at himself.

Shakespeare thoughts

From Twelfth Night ~

Olivia is depressed at the loss of her brother. Feste finds the words to make her smile again:

From Act 1 Scene 5

Feste: Good madonna, why mournest thou?

Olivia: Good fool, for my brother's death.

Feste: I think his soul is in hell, madonna.

Olivia: I know his soul is in heaven, fool.

Feste: The more fool, madonna, to mourn for your brother's soul being in heaven.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sonnett 116

“Let me not to the marriage of true minds” ~~William Shakespeare

Let me not to the marriage of true minds

Admit impediments. Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O no; it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;

It is the star to every wandering bark,

Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.

Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks

Within his bending sickle's compass come;

Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,

But bears it out even to the edge of doom.

If this be error, and upon me prov'd,

I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.

.

To Missey Gray

It was only in the world of cyberspace that I knew Missey Gray.

As per my usual blogging ritual, I popped over to Tim's Mom's place and read the Sad News there that she had passed away. My heart sunk. I had read Missey's posts many times on the Ambleside - AmbleRamble homeschooling list. My heart still feels such a clenching to think of her being gone ...

Crossing the Bar ~
Alfred Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar
When I put out to sea.

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam.
When that which drew from the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell
When I embark.

For, though from out our bourne of time and place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crossed the bar.

~May you rest in peace, Missey Gray.

March Hares and Mad Hatters

"In that direction," the Cat said, waving its right paw round, "lives a Hatter: and in that direction," waving the other paw, "lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad." "But I don't want to go among mad people," Alice remarked. "Oh, you can't help that," said the Cat: "we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad." "How do you know I'm mad?" said Alice. "You must be, said the Cat, "or you wouldn't have come here."
~~Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)

March First ~

The first thing that came to my mind when I realized the date was the Mad Hatter. I thought to myself, "I must be mad!" And I thought, why would I think of that? Ha! It's because in the book, Alice and Wonderland! ... the Mad Hatter is in the same sentence as the March Hare! So, I'm not completely mad. Just Somewhat. It's actually the thing that keeps me sane.

But from what I have read, Hatters, (people who made hats), truly did go mad! There were chemicals used in the hat-making process that included mercurous nitrate, which was used for curing the felt. If one should be exposed to this chemical for long periods of time, one would contact mercury poisoning.

The poisoning caused tremors that were quite severe. Often times the victims would shake uncontrollably. This came to be called "Hatter's Shakes." This shaking was accompanied by vision problems and confused speech, which made the victim, appear to be even 'madder'. Those with advanced cases of the poisoning developed hallucinations and psychotic symptoms. So, there we come away with the phrase, "Mad as a Hatter."

Lewis Carroll did not originally coin the phrase. "Mad Hatter Syndrome" was around awhile before Mr. Carroll mentioned it in Alice. But his Alice is whom I think, and I'll bet most people think, about in March along with the Mad Hatter. Or at least once in a blue moon.

I should think about St. Patrick's Day since I'm married to an Irishman! Here's an Irish Quiz , which I scored badly on! I just sent it over to my relatives. They should score 100%. I had no idea that Ireland was so small!

On the home front ~

we have been working on the front of our home! The new windows are almost completed, and they do look great. I love them. The house is much quieter. I am amazed at the difference. And I think they look so nice and are so positively functional.

It's fun to have done some of the work... well, the painting and helping to hold a window might not be considered much, but to me it was; it was Mr. B who's done the actual installing. He didn't think he could do it until he worked with someone and realized that it's not really that difficult. The guy keep telling him, 'you can do this, you know.' And he was right.

Madam B had a most interesting day, I thought. Aside from her regular academics, she painted the side of the house, made Tea Cookies, and changed the oil in the car. Her dad was on the assist with the oil change, but I have to say, I was impressed. She doesn't think it's really a big deal. I asked her if she put that in her daily school journal, and she looked at me like I was a Mad Hatter! "Duh, I just changed the oil, what's the big deal?" was her response. I think it was a big deal!

I have been doing a lot of painting. I really don't mind painting, I don't like the cleaning up ~ at all. I would prefer to just throw everything away.

Which is what I almost did with my soup today. I guess my arms were shaking and weak or something, and I went to sit down in a chair while balancing my soup, and misjudged the earth's gravity.

A man who is "of sound mind" is one who keeps the inner madman under lock and key.
~Paul Valéry, Mauvaises pensées et autres, 1942