Billy Butterfly and Madam Blueberry

Yesterday, after living in my especially made Butterfly Guest House for 13 days, Billy Butterfly stepped out of his chrysalis. He dried his wings, gave Madam Blueberry a lovely show of those same beautiful wings before he flitted up and away to test them out.

His namesake, My Billy and I, had watched him leave the tree where he had stayed in so long,not moving we were a wee bit worried, and then thought, "oh home, he thinks this is home~! "

We really hope he stays around.

Billy Butterfly

Just born!! My first butterfly from my garden! Details soon!

25 things you know if you have a son ....

I received the list below from a friend of mine.

She and I pretty much raised our same age sons side by side as in right across the street. We were neighbors for 18 years. Our boys meet when they were 3 years old. They are both 21 now. We have such funny and good memories.

One thing I know for sure, it sure was easier having someone close by going through the same things as me. Our boys did a lot of things together; it's such a long list! Rode bikes, played with every lego there was, tinker toys, swimming, played soccer on the same team as little kids and soccer in high school together, and became lifeguards together, crazy times ~

25 Things You Know If You Have A Son...


1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 square foot house 4 inches deep.
2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.
3. A 3-year old boy's voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.
4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20 x 20 foot room.
5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up in the air a few times, before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.
6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn't stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.
7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words 'uh oh', it's already too late.
8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.
9. A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.
10. Certain Legos will pass through the digestive tract of a four-year-old boy.
11. Playdoh and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.
12. Super glue is forever.
13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can't walk on water.
14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.
15. VCR's do not eject 'PB & J' sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.
16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.
17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.
18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.
19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.
20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a five-minute response time .
21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.
22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.
23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.
24. 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.
25. 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid

When weeding, ....

... the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. ~Author Unknown

(That was just too funny to me. Been there, done that.)

The Dense Gardner

Mr. B says that's what I am. A dense gardener. It's not as bad as it sounds. (But it's sorta true in all senses of the word.)

Mr. B had a Lawn Care and Maintenance business for over 20 years. He says the people who plant like I do, i.e. putting things in difference sizes close together, are dense gardeners.

Oh well, I just like looking at a lot of plants together. I like putting colors together that bring out other colors. I like dimension.

And also, I don't really follow gardening rules. I mean I use the best dirt I can afford. But I fertilize with food. I feed my plants anything that's pure food. I feed my roses coffee and coffee grounds. I prune when I think I want too to encourage a growth a certain way. I take careful care not to overstress any of my plants.

My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant's point of view. ~H. Fred Ale

I talk to them. I can't help it. It comes naturally.

In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful. ~Abram L. Urban

Today I moved some plants that had grown together beautifully. Some portulacas and some blue dwarf, and as I was putting them in their new place, I whispered 'I love you' -- my mother in law walked up. She was smiling as me. I really don't know if she heard me, or if she was just smiling.

The portulacas are orange and the blue dwarf - well, they are blue -- they look really nice near the white rose. This is really no good without photos. I have to get that straightened out.

God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done. ~Author Unknown

We Will Homeschool for Food

~For Nature Study, I decided to have Madam Blueberry grow food.

I found a kit that had Sweet Peppers. It was in a cute little container, everything included, and I decided we would start with that. Madam B was happy with the idea and cheerfully set it all up and has been taking care of them.

And then came yesterday.

She moved the cute little pot out in an area for sun. And surprisingly, it poured here. Poured, poured, poured. She hasn't seen the little pot yet. I moved it this morning. I'm not sure the peppers are going to make it ... they look really, really wet.

I am trying to decide what else to plant this year. Last year we grew tomatoes and lettuce and herbs successfully, and my one cantaloupe, that I took 40 pictures of - could also be counted as a success.

This year I am expanding, and putting Madam B in charge.

We have to do something. Food prices are just rising.

I'm thinking about a lemon tree and a lime tree. I friend of mine grew these successfully on her porch.

I'm thinking about bananas. A friend of mine grew these on his porch.

(Did you guess I have a porch?)

What do we use? What do we use, I muse. What could I be successful with? I really want the peppers. They are so expensive in the store! Onions, maybe garlic? I use a lot of garlic.

Herbs are easy. They are so friendly and faithful and smell good. I'll do more herbs this year.

I have some chili peppers out there. It's a really pretty plant. But someone told me you can't eat them the first year. You have to let that crop die off, and you can eat them the second year. Problem is, I don't know who died off already. And, I don't know what degree of chili pepper hot these are -- I think I've talked about this problem before ...

There is a Pepper Heat Scale. When I tried to post the link, it wouldn't work, but it's very interesting. This scale was invented, or founded, or discovered in 1912 by a man named Wilbur Scoville. There are units of measure for pepper hotness and apparently, some people can get addicted to the affect that the peppers give. And, separate from this issue, I have read eating hot peppers can be very good for men's health.

I know it's not a sweet banana pepper growing out there, I do like those, maybe I'll plant those; the pepper I have is first yellow, then purple, then red with little white flowers. Doesn't look as dangerous as it is -- The information at the Pepper Heat Scale site explains that if you bite into a really hot chili pepper, your brain thinks you bit into hot coal! My eyes are sweating just thinking about it.

Strawberries! Fantastic, and I think they can be grown in pots successfully. I even saw a kit for Tabasco Chili Peppers, but I don't think I'd eat those. I would grow them, though, if they were pretty.

Looks like I'm going to have to get another job to support my plant habit!

More than a fair exchange

I've been a little short on the dollars lately, as we all go through this now and then, but just as soon as things got tough here, a special friend of mine was helping me out! And my heart was touched with the beauty of the gift and the love that sent it.

I love that, don't you? Helping someone when they need a hand? Getting by with a little help from your friends is a fine way to live, as long as you are being a friend to someone, as well. And I try to be.

Yesterday, I decided to help someone out even though it would mean I wouldn't be able to spring for lunch for myself; I picked up a gallon of milk for a hard working mother of two. Not that she needed the money, but it was the 'time' that she didn't have to go and get it, she had been out of milk for two days - so I went and picked some up for her and took it back over to her office. She was so grateful. It felt good.

Today, I go over to a friend's home to visit. She and her husband, as a way to make money on the side, have been emptying out storage lockers (rooms - people have so much stuff they can't keep it in their home, so they rent a place to keep stuff.) They get paid a very small amount to take everything out, and then they can keep the stuff and they have been having garage sales.

Well, you know as well as I, when you are short on cash flow you don't usually buy things for yourself, right? So, what am I into these days? ~~ my garden, plants ~~ and I have been looking for plant stands. Those things are not that cheap.

So, what does my friend give me today?

A plant stand - ?

Okay ...How about two plant stands?

AND, how about a great big planter pot? In yellow, the color I wanted? AND two smaller ones, not little ones, but smaller than the big one - in Yellow, also?
Oh, and one more thing ...one of the plant stands needs some finish work on the top. She and I said I could probably mosaic that; I was thinking something in blue - I'm planting blue, white and yellow in front of my house --

So low and behold, my friend has some plates in a bag that a lady had broken up for mosaic work and decided she didn't want them any more ...

AND guess what color?

Hah! Blue and White?

Yes!
Not just any ole blue and white, but a rich, beautiful looking blue!

I think I got back more than the $3.48 I spent on the milk!

Some days, life is just grand.

I know things like this happen to anyone who gives something to another. If only the whole world could just remember to be kind. We would all have more than we ever thought we needed and most of what we wanted!

"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born."- Anais Nin

"My friends are my estate."- Emily Dickinson

Someone squished my days

In the end, it's all about love...

I cannot believe it is Thursday of this week already. My feet hurt. I'm not sure why.

#1 son and I went on a holiday this past weekend. We visited my niece and nephew in Eustis for a baseball weekend. You may have never heard of Eustis, but there was hardly a hotel to be found because the weekend there was packed full of activity. A festival, a bike race for some kind of bikes, something else I think, and baseball!

(My mother calls the place "Huestis". I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe because Huestis sounds more like a place than Eustis? I don't know. It's a long list of things grandma calls things, that aren't really the things they are called, for the reasons we just don't know about.

When I finally did, gently, correct my mother regarding the correct pronunciation, after my niece had lived there about 4 years,
She said, "Really? It's not Huestis?"
"No. It's pronounced like You tis."
"Really? You tis? Are you sure?"
Okay, never mind.
Hey, who am I to correct grandma. I won't do it again. Hearing Grandma say Huestis is more fun anyway.)

Two of my great nephews (who knew I would be old enough one day for Great Nephews?) are playing their first year of baseball. Oh my gosh, it was just so much fun, I can hardly tell you to really explain it.

Kenny is seven, and Dakoda is nine. I almost said they were 5 and 7, because, geesh, they keep growing up! They looked so serious in their baseball uniforms (I almost said 'outfits' yikes!)

Kenny, as far as I'm concerned, was responsible for his team winning the game. He not only got a hit, he got two men out! (Men? Did I say "Men"?) He tagged them using his special "Eye On You" method. He catches the ball, runs after the runner, all the while eyeing them directly in the eyes, which probably paralyzes them with fear and then he tags them out! It was fantastic to watch. Brilliant. Just really top of the line pro-league stuff. Move over famous baseball people.

Dakoda looks like a shy player. But underneath that dimpled smiling exterior lies the heart of a bobcat..... Just waiting for the ball to come his way. He was always ready, glove up and into the game. He played third base his first game, and right at the beginning of the game, he showed what he was worth on the field! He caught a pop fly!

It looked like it was not going to stay in his glove. He had to stretch to get it. It was right there at the tip, but he held on! And Then! He threw the ball to second for a double play!!
Okay, well, they said the ball should have gone to first, and somehow it did end up on first, I can't remember now, how it did, but Kody saved the game with a double play.

He really did save the game because they won by one run!!

It was fantastical!!

But more fantastic than any baseball game I have ever watched, was watching my niece and her husband - The Mom and The Dad - just jumping up and down all excited at their boys out there on the field. It felt so good to see family love in action. It really did bring tears to my eyes.

I mean, I have seen my beautiful niece grow up into this really terrific person. I have such a great time with she and my nephew and her boys. She is seven weeks older than my #1 son, and who would have ever thought she would one day be one of my best friends? I get overwhelmed with emotion sometimes thinking about it.

What it is about life is, ya' gotta wait it out. People give up to quickly. The good stuff comes after the hard work and labor. People get tired of hard work and labor, oh that is gruelling, so many people don't stay for the good stuff at the end.

When Jesus stayed late at the wedding of Cana and they ran out of wine. His mother, one of the first to have faith in what he could do, advised him of the situation, and told the servants to do whatever he told them.
They did.
Next thing, people are praising the host for serving the best wine last. Of course, we all know that Jesus turned the water into wine (and apparently it was some mighty fine wine) The people who had stayed around were impressed! The good stuff was there to be savored at the end. They had been blessed.

That's what I'm doing at this time in my life. I'm living now in the good stuff now. And don't I just love it`I reveille in thinking about it! The wine is mighty fine and takes many forms, sometimes resembling shots of tequila in little glasses. But, fine, mighty fine, good chuckling way to pass the time at the end of the banquet when you think all the good stuff is gone. :)

Tell me who admires and loves you, And I will tell you who you are.
~~Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuvee


Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
~~Denis Waitley

The Beatles did say it -- All You Need is Love, Love, Love is all ya' need--

Spread the word --
All ya need is love, dot dot-dot da-dah --
All ya' need is love, love,
Love is all ya' need

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah ....

Note from postmaster -- look for photos to come soon.

What punctuation mark are you?

I was visiting my best friend's blog (Tim's Mom), and clicked on this Puntuation Mark test.

I am a Question Mark? Okay ... I would have guessed I was a semi-colon because I get along so well with Leslie!

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Leap Year 2008

I have to make a leap year post! Here's a leap year quiz I found on line --

1. Who first proclaimed the last day of February to be a leap year day?
A. Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt
B. Julius Caesar
C. Pope Gregory XIII
D. King Richard II of England

2. U.S. presidential elections occur every four years, but two presidents -- Thomas Jefferson and William McKinley -- won election in years that were not Leap Years. Why?

3. Which of these nations once had a Feb. 30 on its calendar?
A) France
B) Sweden
C) Russia
D) Iceland

4. What historical figure once used a celestial event on Leap Year Day to great advantage?

5. European countries gradually switched to the Gregorian calendar, which standardized our current Leap Year system. Because different calendars existed at one time, two famous authors have the same date of death, but didn't die on the same day. Who were they?

6. Leap Year Day plays a crucial role in which of the following stage plays?
A. "Richard III" by Shakespeare
B. "A Marriage Proposal" by Anton Chekhov
C. "The Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan
D. "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

7. A tradition once held that women may propose marriage only on Leap Year Day, but such proposals from women have grown more common regardless of the date. What well-known male athlete from the Cincinnati area famously accepted a marriage proposal from a female celebrity?

8. On Leap Year Day 1972, Don and Nancy Brazelton of Greenhills became first-time parents when Mrs. Brazelton gave birth to their son, Christopher, in a Volkswagen Beetle on the way to a Cincinnati hospital. To commemorate the blessed event, Volkswagen of America gave them what?
A. A free 1973 Volkswagen Beetle
B. A free set of tires
C. A $50 savings bond
D. Nothing

9: What's the name for someone born on Leap Year Day?


_____________________________________
ANSWERS
1. B.

2. The last year of a century isn't a Leap Year unless it's evenly divisible by 400. Jefferson was elected in 1800; McKinley in 1900.

3. B. In 1712, Sweden added two Leap Year Days to its calendar during the transition to the Gregorian calendar.

4. Using an almanac, Christopher Columbus successfully "predicted" a lunar eclipse on Feb. 29, 1504, convincing natives in what's now Jamaica to cooperate with him.

5. William Shakespeare and Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, on April 23, 1616. Shakespeare's death on the Gregorian calendar used in England today would have been May 3, 1616.

6. C. The character Frederic is apprenticed to pirates until his 21st birthday, but he's only had five birthdays because he was born on Feb. 29.

7. Baseball star David Justice, a graduate of Covington Latin High School, accepted a marriage proposal from actress Halle Berry in 1993. They divorced three years later. Other women who proposed to their husbands include Ruth (from the Biblical Book of Ruth), Queen Victoria and Patti LaBelle.

8. C. An urban myth held that Volkswagen gave free cars to parents of children born in VW's.

9. A leapling.


Hope you enjoy the Leap Year!!

I do know someone who has a birthday today. My #1 son's grandpa is 92 years young! And I mean, young. Whatever it is one needed to figure out about how to make the best of great genes -- this man did. He is as witty and sharp as he's always been. Now the body, well, that's not such an easy thing, but still - he takes care of everything on his own. A really great guy, father of 8, husband to a saint, I've lost track of how many grandchildren and greats, but I'll find out.

It's a chilly day here in Sunny Florida, and I will be making a trip with #1 son, and my mom to Eutis! Two of my little nephews are playing their first competition baseball games this weekend!

It's actually cold here

A. In Sunny Florida it is 67 today. Tomorrow it is supposed to be colder. Ready for this -- 45 lovely degrees! It will go up to 65, though, so no worries.

And what a beautiful sky tonight. All coral pink and brilliant, looks like lovely pink sand. When I figure out the picture thing, I'll post one of the sky tonight. Which hopefully will turn out better than my dot of an eclipse.

I get really frustrated with myself trying to learn these things!

B. Mr. B's job - His first day of on the job training. And his instructor said, 'if you do things the way they showed you in class, you will never get done.' Is that always the way? Is life like that? Is there a manual somewhere and then you read it, and say, 'oh yes, this is the manual, we took the test, but none of this will work in a practical sense?' Makes things tough to sort your way through.

And that is all we are doing. We are sorting our way through.

C. I have a house project going. Since I live in a small house, I have really needed to assess where does one actually need to keep things? What are our habits? How do we really live?

An example: Mr. B always put a handful of clothes to wear again - somewhere. His hand goes out - and the clothes go 'somewhere.' Since he has 'no where', he puts them on a my dresser. So, I need to create a 'where' of a place to accommodate that habit. And I will.

I am going to work on doing something brilliant in our closet. I don't know what exactly, and I'm hoping I can do it without a lot of money -- but that's my plan right now.

I have a lot of blankets in that closet. Blankets and comforters that we used to use all the time. But gone are the days when my house was daily a place for tents and forts, and children wrapped up in comfies to hear a story I was reading aloud ("wahhh, I so miss that!!" she says smiling through the tears).

So, I have been washing them and refolding them (so I can store them properly), and I've found for them another place other than my closet to be. And I have freed up a lot of space! Okay, great. I don't know what the next step is, but I'll get there.

I realize my goal for the closet might be a little out of my ability to achieve it on my own, but if I don't do it that way, I think I would stall in mid air.

The incompetency train...

...runs straight through the DMV.

I misplaced my drivers license. I am so angry with myself. My son needs some information for his college application that concerns my drivers license number and, so, I took it out of my purse to get the info and from there it went into the abyss.

So, today, my son calls and says he needs the date I first got my drivers license in the state of Florida. Drat. Who knows that when they are older than Jackson Browne? I got my license to drive in the state of Texas in 1962. And then I moved back to Florida and got a license ...but who knows the date?

So, to get the date, I needed my license.

So, I had to go get another one! Drat. $15.25! And, I didn't know they would be taking a picture today and I looked like Methuselah's Crazy Mad Sister in Law! It rained! Not a stitch of make-up. My hair was frizzy. I'm just getting over a cold -- but nope, you had to have a new picture taken! And it's 4:27 PM and they close at 4:30. No time for primping.

Grrrrr.

So, I get this horrible thing done and then ask, "Okay, I need the date of when I first got my license"
and they say, "Sure" and so they click, click, click and say, "2003 -- October 19, 2003.

"What?"
That is not even remotely close!! Not even a tad, teeny bit in the right era!!

Okay, so, they say, "Well, this is what we have (insinuating, *I*, am wrong...) so, what you need to do is go to the Clerk of Courts office, They have 'everything' there. 'Everything' about your license."

So, I high tail it over to the clerk of courts office (alright, it's right next door, but still ....)--So, I go in and "blah, blah, blah" says I "story, story, detail, detail" all nice and everything,and the nice lady says, "Sure, I can find that information for you. Just give me $2.25 and I'll give you this report." (I'm thinking, how many nice plants I could buy with this money I've spent!!)

She prints out the report, hands it to me ...
AND
The report says ---
October 19, 2003!!!

What?
No.
That's not even remedially correct. As a matter of fact: That is catastrophically wrong! (My gosh, no wonder you people can't catch any criminals!!)

I don't know what happened on October 19, 2003, but I'm sure it didn't happen to me in the DMV!

Good Grief.

So, in conclusion, I can only conclude that, once again, there has been proven out the old adage, you can't tell which way the train is going by looking at the tracks. Especially if they run through the DMV!

Happy Birthday to my Darling Daughter

My only daughter turned 18 today.

To say I was overwhelmed by the event is one of those statements that one finds under things. Truly. I have been overcome by emotion for the greater part of the day. Reading cards in the Hallmark store had me weeping. I choose a card with what I thought were befitting words, and then ended up writing a brief novella inside the flap.

There's not enough that can be said about a mother's love anyway, not it's depth, it's height, it's volume, it's boldness, nor it's purity. A mother's love encompasses in the boundaries of those things that only God knows about and can explain.

And God explains things with rainbows and clouds and stars and moons and suns and flowers and singing birds. No Hallmark card can top that.

I am barely able to contain the joy of having a daughter such as this. God has blessed me. Her character is strong and resolved. She is introspective, reflective, and charming. I find her wit brilliantly entertaining to me. She and William Shakespeare would have shared a great laugh over tea and scones.

I love her truly, madly, deeply.
Thank you, God, for a gift such as she.
Her beauty surrounds her and runs through her like a river.
May she always be yours, this gift of mine.

Lunar left overs

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.~Charles Darwin~

Last night was an eclipse of the moon. It was truly lovely. Madam B and I watched it from the front yard. I tried to take a photo. All I got was this teeny tiny little dot in a black space. I held the camera as far away from me as I could, Madam B began laughing, 'oh yes, mom, that extra foot will definitely make the difference." It didn't.

I have a new computer, and I'm not sure how to post photos on it. I have a new camera, too, and I don't know how to load the memory card on here. I'll put that down on my list for another thing for do. I only have 5000 things, so far, so now 5001.

My mom is ill. Things are not right when your mom is ill. We've all had this crude flu thing that the world is sharing, and mom started coughing on Monday. I could tell by the sound of it, ummm, not good. She went to the doctor today, for blood work actually, and my dad insisted that she speak to the doctor about this condition she's in, and the doctor didn't like it at all (the condition, not that my father spoke). So, she's being treated for pneumonia, she feels awful and she's laid up in bed (lain up? laying up? laid up? oh, she's in bed very ill). I don't like that picture. Me poor mum, so tiny in the bed. Nope. Don't like that picture.

Mr. B is still out of town doing his training. He misses me terribly but our friend Pam is an excellent cook and cooks a fine dinner every night. Which I hadn't been doing lately, so he's made out on this bargain.

He went by the house we lived in when we first got married. He says it looks so small! Well, it was small. It was only a two bedroom! Funny, how time makes things look differently to some people.

I'm still on the down low from the flu bug. I'm tired. I wanted to get a few things done while Mr. B was out of town, but I ended up being exhausted every night. Oh well.

I have done a lot of shredding. The shredder is actully fun. When Jacob comes over, as he did this morning at 9 AM, in his pajamas with a big smile on his face, he loves to do some shredding. Four year olds think things like paper shredders are really cool, something akin to large bulldozer equipment in their living room. I forget what he calls it, I'll have to ask him again, but I save up the papers for him, and we sit there together, and he puts them one at a time in the shredder and each time we are constantly amazed at the results. Jacob shouts, "Wow!" a lot.

He's learning the paper can't be to thick, can't be to thin, can't be to wrinkled, either. It's funny to watch him try to unwrinkle a paper. He once asked me to iron it, but I told him, nahh, it'll be fine. I let him mess up, too, now and again, when he doesn't follow my instructions. Of course, I don't ever put the machine in too much danger, and Jake in no danger, but now and again, he jambs up the machine, and we have to take time away from our fun to go unclog it. So far no damage has been done and a lot of paper has been successfully shredded.

I'm still working on my decluttering. I've begun to realize that one must surely not need as many pieces of paper as I keep. I must have some kind of fear of something. What kind of fear could a person have that doesn't let them throw away a copy of a bill that they paid right away? Maybe if I just start throwing everything out, I'll discover what it is when it happens to me! Okay, that will be my new rule - Unless it's tax related, shred it.

Oh my gosh! The cat just crashed into the sink!!

Life is always at some turning point.
~Irwin Edman~

Not Last Week of Training

They said it was 8 days of training. Now, it's 10 days of training. Which only proves one more time the old adage; you can never tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks.

My flu has turned itself into the common cold. I don't know if I should stand up and cheer. Never mind. I'll get to dizzy.

Here's a cute story - A friend of mine took her three year old son to a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal, his mom handed him the fortune cookie which he carefully opened. As the little white piece of paper with his fortune popped up out of the cookie, he excitedly exclaimed, "Look Mommy! I got mail!".

Job saga - last week of training

Driving to the training place and back is costing $25.00 a day in gasoline. Friends of ours live about 30 minutes from the place (we live 2 hours), and have offered to let Mr. B stay with them to help with the commute. There is even an offer of one meal a day.

We have decided to accept the offer. This will be the last week of training. Then, we should begin to have an idea of what we are up against. It's really annoying not to know, but trusting God in all things is comfortable.

In my humanness I do have concerns, but they are for tomorrow. And the Good Lord will probably beat me there.

I often find myself constantly adding things up. I do have to remind myself to relax. Ah, but not that often - just now and again. I take a deep sigh and find something to do. There are lessons to learn, and by golly, we are going to learn them.

Take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. --
Matthew 6:34 KJV

If the flu is in hell...

I don't want to go there.
I felt the beginning on Thursday. Did all those great things to take care of oneself, much positive thinking and gargling. I made it to 5 PM.

Then I was on the couch, unable to move, at all until last night. (I moved to the bed.) I thought if I moved something really bad would happen to me. And I wasn't sure what it was. Just knew it would be bad. I wasn't sure I would survive it. I took no medications. Drank no water. Ate no food. I turned off my cell phone. Sounds felt like power drills through my eyeballs.

This morning I actually walked around. Had some chicken soup (healing soup made special by my mother in law) Then drank some coffee. THAT was a mistake. My body said, "You fool. You absolute fool. Putting coffee into me? You have your nerve! Why do you think people lose weight when they have the flu? Well, guess what, girl?"
It's not over yet.

This is the first moment of very clear thought I have had. How clear this is, I'm not sure.
Conversations seem like a dream.

The dreams I had when I was melded to the couch were like movies, scary movies. I was driving buses with killers on them, along with Nicholas Cage, whom I never think about during any given day ...flying planes into houses accompanied by Dane Cook who was injured in the crash...then there was an air attack by the Asthma Association (yes, only in a dream). I was told by headquarters that they do this on a regular basis.

The dreams went on and got crazier. I have no idea how high the fever got, as I felt as if I'd never slept.

I have no idea how to advise someone how to not get this. I didn't get the flu shot this year. Nothing personal. My doctor's office ran out, and I never got back there.

Even though the coffee has racked my body, I think it gave me a moment of clarity, which seems to be passing by me now. And I'm fading away, the aches and pains in my joints are shouting at everything I'm mad about, and my head is beginning to throb. Probably because I'm doing something strenuous, like typing ...

later,
and may you be safe from all flu germs.

Twists and turns on the journey

Is life a journey? or an assignment? is it your job or career? your family?

Some people never ask themselves these questions. Some people can never escape these questions.

Mr. B began his training for his new job today. And, it sounds terrible - so far. First, they scheduled the new employees to show up in the wrong city. Where they are supposed to be is another 30 minutes away - making the drive a 90 minute commute. Secondly, they said, 'don't expect to have another life outside of this one.' Oh, bad sign if your journey is not 'my career is the journey.'

So, at this time, we are just coasting. Going through the motions of following through what this job might really be like, if indeed it is different than described today, but at the same time, changing our plans. A job like this isn't what we want for our journey together.

So, watch with us as we decide what to do, how to play the cards we drew, and make the hand turn out as we would like it to be.

Oh my! our cat just fell into the open washing machine half full of water and then got out and ran through the house panicked! If one should believe in signs, wonder what that is a sign of?

Good day,

Miss Roxie

Yes, I love flowers...

Last week I moved some hanging plants to where they can be viewed from my dining room window, which is the most visible window ~ and it is just lovely to look out the window and see the flowers displayed there.

In a Woman's Day magazine I read this little clip:

"Take 2 minutes to smell the roses and say so long to the blahs. People who made a point of looking a flowers first thing in the morning reported feeling cheerier and even more energetic throughout the day, according to a recent study."

Now, they don't say what study, but maybe that's not important when you are looking at flowers.

I know I find a real pleasure looking at nature. Sunsets and sunrises. The ocean on a windy day. Even beach sand has it's allure for me.

And shells! How beautiful are shells!

You know, I was just thinking it is a genuine responsibility to have a garden. You have brought plants and flowers into captivity and now you are responsible for them! Serious business to be responsible for the life of something.

Invitation to the party

I'm ahead of myself and behind at the same time. I've got my tax things ready for the accountant which I don't normally have done until about August! That's freaky. But, in the rest of my life, I remain, in a way, stagnant.

This, this being part of the unemployment statistics, is very warying. As much as one wishes to be positive, one must still deal with feelings, comments and questions from others, as well as the comments and questions that well up from inside ourselves, causing all kinds of emotions that run a tributary of wild thoughts through our minds.

Emotions must be respected. That is how someone is not made to be crazy.

Lots of people want to deny feelings that are what some might call 'negative' ...but feelings are real things, real messages are being sent and must be received and dealt with least they deposit themselves somewhere in our body or in our actions that could be deemed unhealthy. A person can feel nervous about a situation and find that their body is flushed and think their blood pressure is going to shoot their brain out of their head! Most likely - not.

Just relax and let it pass. Otherwise, you might lead it in the wrong direction. Take deep breathes, drop your shoulders, give them a roll back and relax.

In respecting all our feelings, we can allow them to pass through without damaging ourselves or things around us.

I have found that movement is very important. Positive movement regardless of whether you clean a drawer, weed a flower bed, or go for a walk, or pet the cat. I have cleaned the inside of my cabinets and the cabinet doors. Something that has always been in the back of my mind to do. It's lovely. Even Mr. B noticed! And I've started back on a regular workout routine. (Let's see how long that lasts!)

But, if one should feel the need to be still, than by all means, respect that feeling and be still. Outside is probably best. On the beach is probably better. Sometimes, being still is best.

But, I know regardless of the situation right now, there could always be something worse going on in my life.

The consequence of changing things in the middle of one's life, without preparation, is surprise. Like - **Surprise!!** Only there is no party. Except for the one you might give yourself.

The wandering mind

I'm beginning to wonder where my mind has wandered off too...
as you know your mind is not with you
when you begin to wash clean clothes.

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road should I take? she asked. Where do you want to go, was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter."
~~Lewis Carroll

It's always a place to be

If you got up today and didn't feel like doing anything, honor that feeling for a moment or two.

Take the moment outside with you. Look up. Expand your chest and breathe. Let yourself feel the air going through you body, circling all the parts of your being. Stretch and breathe deeply.

Sometimes I think when we are overcome by the feeling to not doing anything, that is exactly what we need to do. Nothing.

Don't feel guilty about it. Allow yourself to be recollected. Allow allow all the little particles of thought that went scurrying about all day, all week, all however long, to settle in a nice soft place. Be there quietly for the settling and the reconnection.

Then, quietly, move on.

Status Quo

What do you think would be the status of a bag of opened pistachio nuts that go through the wash cycle? I have first hand knowledge on this.

I also know about wallets, keys, pedometers, candy bars, flip flops, change and regular bills, gum wrappers, tissues, fast food napkins, air filters, old hoses, cable wires (clipped and unclipped), caps that go on cable wires, caps that go on other tools, tops that belong on other things like laundry soap or bottles of water, and other assorted miscellaneous pieces of plastic, ping pong balls, along with other substances that could no longer be identified, not excluding the standard of sticks, rocks, washers and bolts.

"One out of four people in this country are mentally unbalanced. Think of your three closest friends. If they seem okay, than you are the one."
Ann Landers

When I grow up

When I grow up, if I live in this world,
I want to be detached by my poetry.
My poetry will make the walls I need,
and if someone is looking for me,
they can read a poem I have written and find me.
And if it's not me they are looking for,
perhaps they can find themselves
or their friends or loved ones there,
when I grow up.

When I grow up,
I don't want too much stuff.
That's too much dust and space taken up,
by material things,
I want living things around me
When I grow up.

Still stunned

I'd like to not focus on my husband being unemployed, but that's not really working, uh, no pun intended. I am going through my daily stuff, wondering when I should change that stuff. I have a part-time job, and I'm wondering when I should look to seek full time employment.

I went to the grocery store today. I took a list with me, but I didn't bother to look at my list and bought only what we needed for today. I'm wondering now, what do we need? We've never had that much nor have we wanted much, but our basic needs we've always been able to meet and a little extra now and then, so I'm thinking, well, we should be okay for a while, but truthfully, I don't know. I really don't know what to expect.

I know that Mr. B has to go through his cycle of emotions about his situation. He's quiet man. He's a good worker. A hard worker by most standards in this country, let me correct myself here - A hard worker by any standard in any country - he's a person who gives all to the hour for his employer. Come the end of the day, he is always entitled to his paycheck. So, now he feels cheated by something. Some mystery something that writes on the wall, hard word deserves a good reward. What did all his hard work get him, he thinks. But I'm thinking, maybe, rewards are paid in the likes of other things. Maybe reward for hard work is paid somehow, by the universe. Maybe it's paid by the devotion of your family in times of need. Maybe it's paid by the phone call of concern and offer of help from your nephew when he finds out about your situation. I refuse to forget that love conquers all ...

I know Mr. B is in a rationalizing mode, as I realize, as he does also, that the place he was working for was not well managed, and cast a blind eye in his direction for his value as an employee. They focused more on his age. They choose youth, so that they could pay them a lower wage. It's a capitalistic society we live in, after all. Profits are a great concern to the corporation. And while I don't think any one begrudges any one making a profit for a job well done, it's how they come about those profits, how they reach the goals of those profits, that bothers the conscience of a lot of people.

There is not much in the newspaper in the way of decent employment for hard working men.

I am waiting for that light to go on in my head that we are in real trouble. But it's not dawned yet. We are all quietly turning off all extra lights (haha, again no pun intended), but oh gee, we already do that, ummm, so where can we cut back we are discussing.

There are always bumps in all roads of our journeys . Life is not always smooth sailing, now is it? And every cloud has a silver lining. Things always happen for the best. It will all work out - anything sound familiar yet? We all have heard, and even know these little truths to be true. We all know that all will be well. Now comes the challenge - Can we live it?

I'm going to keep track of us and see if we can. Resilience is needed now. Spiritual resilience. But regardless of our situation, I know, things could always be worse.

(And remember, love conquers all.)

Ancora Imparo

The credit for the quote is given to Michelangelo and means "I am still learning", and I find that is me. Each time I scale some mountain that contains new information from experiences, I look over the top and see stuff coming I do not know about. It looks foggy at first, but if I wait long enough, the fog clears, and I walk through a lovely forest of peace and then, out of nowhere, the fog appears again.

So, just when you think you have experienced much, a new curve is thrown and out of the fog comes something different. Mr. B called me yesterday morning to tell me he has no job. Unemployed and so late in life, very interesting, and possibly, worrisome place to be. I have no idea what we will see when the fog clears.

Come to think of it, I might feel more like Alexander Graham Bell when he realized that his instrument of new discovery actually worked - "What has God wrought?"

We shall see.

We are concerned, but not to the point of worry. Actually, I'm not sure I do worry anymore. I try to 'go placidly amid the noise and the haste' and it seems to work for me, as I don't like noise and I don't like haste.

There is also another philosophy that I have learned from and that is the one that talks about viewing the same things from different angles and seeing different things. So, we are not looking at this harshly as of yet, and hopefully, we won't find ourselves 'living in a van down by the river!'
'

Masterpiece Theater and Jane Austen

January begins has a fantastic schedule for Jane Austen fans!

Persuasion - January 13, 2008

Northanger Abbey - January 20, 2008

Mansfield Park - January 27, 2008

Miss Austen Regrets - February 3, 2008

Pride and Prejudice - February 10, 17, + 24, 2008

Emma - March 23, 2008

Sense and Sensibility - March 30 + April 6, 2008

Great Souls

"Great souls take advantage of every moment and every opportunity to give happiness to others through kindness in their thoughts; such souls are willing to overlook weaknesses and mistakes and have the desire to help everyone reach their potential."

I found this quote today and loved it! I want to be a great soul.

It reminded me of this quote --

Love generously, Praise loudly, Live fully ~~ Elias Porter

Nothing much else really going on. I've been keeping up with things around the house today, just didn't feel like going out. Lots of laundry to keep me busy.

Last night, I watched the movie Waitress. it was that typical story of someone who has it tough, really, and oh wouldn't it be nice if someone just came along and helped them out - some great soul - and they did.

The movie wasn't what I expected it to be at all, but it was a (mostly) happy ending, and I love happy endings.

My caterpillar has passed. This makes me sad. I looked up everything I could find today about it, and there are so many things that could have gone wrong. Some of them could have been my fault, but it is difficult to know for sure. But I will correct those things I know about, you can be sure, before I try this again.


"Christmas is not a date. It is a state of mind." ~~ Mary Ellen Chase.


So don't be frazzled by the season! ~~ Be dazzled for the Reason!~


Have some hot chocolate and relax!! It's a lovely evening.

On the 5th day before Christmas....

I can-not be lieve it is almost Christmas! I know I am sure to catching on to things - but, goodness gracious somebody needs to light a ball of fire under me!

I don't have that much to do, really. Some things are last minute no matter what --

talked with an old friend last night. That was cool. She called me at 10:13 PM - so my cell phone said - and that's my birthdate so I think that's cool beans.

Last this afternoon I had to make a run to the dentist with Madam Blueberry, as she had chipped a tooth and didn't have a clue as to how - but they took us and charged us - gosh, it's good to be a dentist - and then we went to Barnes and Noble for some last minute shopping. I still have one more thing to pick up, aside from food and such.

It's raining bullets from the sky and they are not paper -- (see Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing) ...

The presents are wrapped.
The tree is shining brightly.
The house smells like candles -- fragrances like vanilla and sweet treats.
My daughter is reading.
My husband is listening to music.
Our new kitty is sleeping peacefully now, so he will be up all night (grrrr, can't wait till he gets tha feeling that he has conquered everything in the house and finally settles down. Ooops, why? Because then, Madam B will want another kitty, because kitties are so lovable and cats are too settled....)
My caterpillar, Willie, is in sleeping on his Milkweed plant. I bought myself a fish tank for housing caterpillars. I know I'm like a first grader with them, but I really love them! and -- well, they are not mine, they are God's, but I figure I'll just babysit them until they are ready to fly ...

Listening to: Hard Times, by Charles Dickens. What a wit he has with character names -- Mr. M'Choakumchild? Hysterical! The novel is not so.


"So, Mr. M'Choakumchild began in his best manner. He and some one hundred and forty other schoolmasters, had been lately turned at the same time, in the same factory, on the same principles, like so many pianoforte legs. He had been put through an immense variety of paces, and had answered volumes of headbreaking questions. Orthography, etymology, syntax, and prosody, biography, astronomy, geography, and general cosmography, the sciences of compound proportion, algebra, land-surveying and leveling, vocal music, and drawing from models, were all at the ends of his ten chilled fingers. He had worked his stony way into Her Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council's Schedule B, and had taken the bloom off the higher branches of mathematics and physical science, French, German, Latin, and Greek. He knew all about all the Water Sheds of all the world (whatever they are), and all the histories of all the peoples, and all the names of all the rivers and mountains, and all the productions, manners, and customs of all the countries, and all their boundaries and bearings on the two and thirty points of the compass. Ah, rather overdone, Mr. M'Choakumchild. If he had only leamt a little less, how infinitely better he might have taught much more!"



Yes, indeed ..."how infinitely better he might have taught much more!" - if only he had learnt a little less ....

That's about all for now.

Take care out there ...
Don't be frazzled by the season. Be dazzled for the Reason.

Just another Manic Monday

Part 3:

Just when you thought, oh please, not one more thing - you run out of gas. Stone cold - O.U.T.

I do thank God that I was IN a parking space at the grocery store when I KNEW for sure that I was OUT of GAS! I cannot imagine my horror of that situation had I been with one of my nephews at the time! I would never have out lived that story.

I called Mr. B. who had not even left his job site - it was almost 6:30 - and he was over an hour before getting home, so he started rapid fire asking me, "have you called ??? or ??? or ???" --

"No. Darling. I called you first." I know he loves me and worries about me because he knows I don't do gas cans.

So calmly, I called #2 son.

The conversation was simple:

"Hey Sean, you home?"
"Yes."
"I'm up at Publix, and I'm out of Gas."
"Be right there, Mom."

Now. Who could ask for anything more?

So - how does someone run out of gas in this day and age? Broken gas gauge. Oh well.

So - Sean came up with a 5 gallon can and as he poured it in my tank, and any conscientious observer would have been able to tell it was, indeed, Stone Cold Emp-TEE!! Goodness Gracious, I am a lucky woman!! Sitting in a parking space! How lucky is that!

Part 2:

Our house is a haven for some furniture my oldest son has come to possess for a home theater he and Mr. B plan on building together. The furniture was a deal. Couldn't be passed up, so - there are theater seats in my already small living room and our Christmas tree was on the front porch.

I came home this afternoon and Voila!! Madam Blueberry had the furniture rearranged so you can walk around, the tree inside the house, decorated, and the house in now decorated and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! She's been wrapping all the presents and has them under the tree. Oh, she does spoil me.

Part 1:
"What's well begun, is half done." ~ Horace

I must be well begun, because I am always half done!!

A Color Test

I found this on a message board ~ Try it --

The Color Test

So, are you left brained, right brained ....or do big words bother you, too?



Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering....Winnie the Pooh

The Brain and Music

Music cleanses the understanding; inspires it, and lifts it into a realm which it would not reach if it were left to itself. ~Henry Ward Beecher

There are some interesting facts on this that I am sure most people have already heard about.

Browsing through the library yesterday, I came across a book - Making a Good Brain Great by Daniel G. Amen, M.D. - and since "I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words Bother Me," this book looked like it might hold some interesting keys for me.

The chapter on music talks about how the brain listens to music. It listens with it's whole self. We hear often about 'left brain' and 'right brain' but rarely 'whole brain' -- unless you mean bread. Oh wait, that's ...something else.

Anyway,
The book states that certain types of music can enhance the function of the brain, the memory, and emotion. While other types of music can help us solve problems.

And because the brain can process music with both of its sides; music is found to be healing and enhancing of any function it needs to make because music does integrate the whole brain.

Singing is supposed to be good for our brain. The book speaks to singing, not singing well. Singing stimulates the parts of the brain involved in memory. Bet you can still sing the "ABC" song, can't you? So did you know, you know Mozart? See just how cool you are?

Thomas Jefferson used music to help him write the Declaration of Independence. He wanted to use just the right wording, and if he should get stuck, he would play his violin. And voila! We are all created equal!

Music also makes you move. If you can feel it, why couldn't you heal with it? Studies say that following surgery, those patients in intensive care where background music was played needed lower doses of medication than those where no music was played at all.

I'm all for it. Music everywhere! Let Music be the Food of the world -- It's good whole brain substance.

So, go listen to your favorite stuff. Take your newfound or rediscovered calmness, happiness and less stressful being out into the world tomorrow and make this a better place! And I will do the same.

Tu Tranquilo,


Miss Roxie

Music, once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of spirit, and never dies.
~Edward George Bulwer-Lytton

The Heisman Trophy Winner 2007

Congratulations Tim Tebow - This year's winner of the Heisman Trophy. A homeschooled Florida Gator!

On January 7, 2007, Tebow was featured prominently in an ESPN “Outside The Lines” feature on homeschooled athletes seeking equal access to high school athletics in other states. In fact, his popularity inspired "equal access" supporters in Alabama to name their bill in the Alabama Legislature "The Tim Tebow Bill"....

Happy Birthday Nate the Great

And he's thrown the pass that is life ......


Twelve years ago today, Nathan was born and shifted my status up to The Great Aunt Sasha. I loved my new title. He was only about 4 lbs, as he was born a little earlier than expected, but against all odds, and he is still overcoming odds and continuing to conquer the world - he came home to be loved by us all.

We wish you a Very Happy Birthday, Nate the Great! And many, many Happy Returns.


And he scores!!!! Best wishes, Nathan, from Uncle Desi, Aunt Sasha, Bill, Sean, Scarlett, Shadus, Harley and other assorted family members and friends.

Historic Date

December 7, 1941

In rememberance of those who fought for freedom, we say Thank You.

19 Days till Christmas

"Tis the Season to be jolly...." Deck the Halls

Madam Blueberry went shopping with her dad to get a tree last night. They came home empty handed because the trees were a little bit pricey for what you are getting. Madam B is a very sensible girl. More sensible that we had thought, actually. Maybe we will put lights on a pole?

Yesterday was my sister in law's birthday. She is another ageless type person. Her spirit is forever young. Seven of us celebrated at Chili's fine foods restaurant because Shannon has just started to work there as a hostess. Her very first job! So, what we did tonight was make a memory! Making a memory is one of the best gifts you can give someone.

We have all our gifts wrapped up to date (thanks to Madam B - who has really wrapped them twice because as soon as she put them on display, Shadus, the new kitty, 'played' with them....grrrr).

I still have more thinking to do as far as what to buy for whom. I did order somethings on line because I really don't care much for shopping. I like browsing. Probably what would work best for me is to buy a lot of things that I think people would like ,during the year, and then shop from my closet. I think people find my standing and thinking in public places annoying. And sometimes I talk to myself. Out loud. But really, today that shouldn't matter to much because people will just think I'm on my cell phone. Hahahaha.

I'm going to head out today and do some think-shopping in public.

I had a good look at my butterfly garden this morning. Gosh, I really love it. I recommend gardening to anyone for just the most beautiful and delightful experience. Boy, I need to get some new photos~~


"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind...." Ephesians 5:23

December 4, 2007

What is reality but a concept of our own daily perceptions?
~~Miss Roxie


Now the 5th --

The Christmas Shopping and Planning of Baking and Feasting begins. (Actually, began on December 1, but I didn't get that post posted.)

One Shopping Hand Off --

The Place - Bath and Body.
The Hand Off Strategy

~~~Bath and Body is giving $10.00 coupons with a $30.00 purchase. My daughter went in and made her purchase while I browsed around. After she made her purchase, she gave her $10.00 coupon to me. I made my purchase and my son looked at me and smiled and reached out his hand for the $10.00 coupon, so he could use it for his purchase! All legal and no animals were harmed.

We later met for coffee to discuss who should get the $10.00 coupon that Bill got, and I said it should be me, and he says it should be Madam Blueberry. I guess there's a technical call in there somewhere. It's becomes a philosophical question --

Wrapping -
Madam B jumped right in. We have paper and bows, etc from last year! Hooray! The gifts we have purchased so far are all wrapped! (Of course, you can't walk in this room, the new kitty has destroyed all remaining paper, and will probably get some rare disease from eating the wrapping paper.)

So - We organized a place for the wrapping goods - a large bag from Bath and Body suited that purpose.

Now we are moving things around in our living room to make room for the tree. All the furniture is askew and we abandoned that project and Madam B is outside working on Christmas lights. (We are the original creators of the rash last moment decision to beat the early rush into the realm of holiday insanity. Please be advised we do not promote the state of it, we only suggest that it does exist.)



You, after all, are the one who defines your existence. Be kind to yourself and other people during your time of definition.
~~Miss Roxie

Since the Monday Tempus fugit

Again. I have eight Save As Draft posts sitting -- to sum up. I have been busy as the bees in my garden. But aren't we all? Or is busy just a philosophy?

I've been attending to my normal everyday things - and rocking and rolling along with everyone else's normal everyday things. But there is always a thing or two to add to the everyday.

My biggest accomplishment? My butterfly garden!! I can't wait until I can get a photo posted. I got it together this week and last and two days ago, I was visited by my first butterfly!! yes! He was just beautiful -- and then today! a yellow one! Pale and lovely. It was such a great feeling!

I have several butterfly plants - When you go to sites on line listing butterfly plants, I couldn't always find those so we have -- Scarlett Milkweed, Verbena, (and some other lovely white and lavender flower), and some others I'll just take photos of.

When I was visited today by a Monarch and a yellow butterfly... It was such a good feeling to have two visitors!...I felt like,* feast your majesty; I'll bring in more color for you tomorrow.*

My husband is thinking because the children are so big and don't need mama in the ways they used to, he says I am enthralled with this because it is taking care of living things - "they need you," he said," you make them better, I'll bet they know you - and you always said you wanted a butterfly garden..." This is so much fun!

So I've got the knack of it. The butterflies are coming. Now, next, I will be finding the necessary plants for my moon garden or night garden as some people call them. This will be fun and exciting.

Good things on the horizon -
1. Madam Blueberry got her driver license!! Oh and wow - she is a good girl, an amazing girl, and she is a good and cautious driver. But still - my prayer closet will have new padding installed today.

2. My only sister is coming sometimes during the holiday time, and my niece and nephew, who are of very fine standing with me (and always fun), are also coming. I think they are coming for New Years - so the band is ready to rock and roll!!

3. Mr. B. is actually getting -vacation time - around Christmas!!

4. I am getting a laptop for Christmas!! I am really exxcciitteedd about that!

5. More later ~~

I hope everyone does not go crazy with holiday shopping. I have a survey to post in a day or two, maybe I will do that --something to think about anyway -

Whatever you are doing today, live for it - Today. The past is like a foreign land. Things there are done differently. Wave goodbye and Live in the Now.

Tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie

A Thanksgiving without left overs?

No leftovers! What? That is almost unAmerican! But it happened.

Well, it's weird. I got 'some' leftovers;
1. corn (boring),

2. cookies and brownies (fattening - but I ate them any way),

3. creamed spinach (I don't know about anyone else, but I don't trust creamed spinach that's been sitting out. It looks bad enough when it begins, but it's ending ...don't know that we would recognize it!)

4. a pumpkin pie that I made for my son Bill who did eat a piece and the rest they gave to me because Bill went to Gainesville to see the Gators do something -- something with sports and a ball of some kind.

5. raspberry tea (guess no one liked it so that gave it to me)

6. 2 globs of stuffing. I ate it for breakfast.

7. 2 packages of the 4 packages of rolls that I had brought. They are the Hawaiian Sweet rolls, so I've been eating them, and I'm sure I've gained 6 pounds.

8. Now I ask you, how can anyone have a successful left over feast with that?

So, I decided I am cooking a Turkey dinner. What day? Maybe Monday or Tuesday. Depending on wheather or not the turkey I buy is frozen. I have a friend who didn't know that you had to thaw the turkey, so she cooked it frozen. Interesting. This is the same friend who preheated her oven to make cookies and didn't know that her husband had loaded all the dishes, tupper included in the oven....the smell revealed all.

Anyway, I'm going to cook the whole shebang and I think this will become my Thanksgiving tradition. After Thanksgiving - I'll cook a proper Thanksgiving meal for all the people who didn't get the proper amount of left overs for a proper go at a second time around with Thanksgiving! Hey, sounds like a plan!!

Go ahead and be thankful right out loud

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." ~ Epictetus ~

Ah, Thanksgiving ...it was so much easier when I was not one of the cooks! Hahaha.

What a child waits for on Thanksgiving Day is just to be called to the table. Then, they graduate to setting the table. Then, they bring the food to the table and then, they all try to disappear before clean up and hope that Aunt Nan and Aunt Sheila just keep on washing those dishes!

It's like a graduation process, this participation in the food preparation for Thanksgiving ....

After I moved away from home, there came the day I was assigned things to bring - it began with bringing paper plates and napkins (she's young, she can't cook yet). Then, rolls were added to my list. Maybe after that, I brought some cans of something the corn or green beans, or maybe the cranberry sauce.

Then one day, after I had kids to be called to the table -- I made the turkey! and someone else brought all the other stuff. (And since then, my daughter has made the turkey!! Of course, now, she wouldn't eat a turkey ever/never.)

And then one day, I made everything, and people came and brought stuff besides what I made!

I became exhausted, and held a new appreciation for my mother and mother in law, but it was always a great time.

Many Thanksgiving years in the Tallahassee house, I put three tables together in the dining room, so we could all sit down together. Nobody cared that the tablecloths didn't match. What a challenge that was to get the food on the table, still hot, at one time! -- and to make my mother in law SIT DOWN so we could say the blessing! She was always serving, serving, serving, and still is, bless her heart.

But all the Thanksgiving memories are good.

I remember when my oldest niece was born. My sister was in the hospital for an extra day because of a complication, and we had Thanksgiving dinner at a restaurant after our visit with her and our newest family member, first niece, first grandchild...

This year we are having somewhere between 22 to 25 people for Thanksgiving dinner. How much food is that? If the turkey leaves the train station at 4 PM and travels at 35 mph (hahaha, not really...turkey's never take the train, know why? They don't have to - they fly!)

How much turkey per person? One is called upon to do the math, but only after one decides whom to believe. One site says if you are cooking a 12 lb turkey, that's leaving the train station at 4 PM going 60 mph (hahaha, not really, I just threw that in there about the train station) -- one site says 1/2 lb person, one site says it depends on how much turkey you want them to have, another site asks you what else are you serving (like anyone has just turkey?).

Anyway, up to a 12 lb turkey, so it says you are to figure 1 lb of meat per person. But if your turkey is 12 lbs, you decrease that to 3/4 lb per person. I haven't figured out why that is ....We have two 10 lb turkeys and one boneless turkey breast, and one ham, and 25 people. Oh well.

I love the answer to How much Turkey to buy for 40 guests. Actually, I could put in here plenty of discussion on line on how much turkey you need per person, and they are hilarious -- as people can get cheeky being asked to pinpoint such things as How Much Turkey Do You Really Need?

The winning answer, and it's mine is -- It all depends.

1. Do you want leftovers?
2. Does everyone eat turkey?
3. Don't forget kids will waste, so you have to figure them a least a half of the adult serving not a quarter. Parents will put the food on their plates, and they may or may not eat the turkey depending on how good the Sweet Potato Casserole is.
4. Are Des and Gene and Don going to be there? Then add an extra turkey to serve the three of them.
5. Count up what you think you need, and then buy more than that.
6. Bring ziplock bags to send home the leftovers in.

I know the story of Thanksgiving is being told differently than when I was in school. I know that a lot of people don't believe in the Pilgrims and Squanto and the first founding fathers sitting down together. But, all that aside -- What can you do on a day about Thanksgiving?

Just be Thankful. Right out loud. Go ahead and be thankful. Tell your spouses, parents, children, friends, neighbors ~ anyone you need to ~ all the things that you are thankful to them for. No one gets through this crazy world without the help of someone. So go ahead and be thankful - and say it right out loud. No better sound could you make.


"Thank God--every morning when you get up--that you have something to do which must be done, whether you like it or not. Being forced to work, and forced to do your best, will breed in you a hundred virtues which the idle never know."
~ Charles Kingsley ~

Thanksgiving Week 2007 - Day Two

1. Woke up late. Again. (Must make note: see therapist for underlying reason for waking up late when there is so much to do!)

2. Wash hair. Haired turned out worse than it ever has. Ever. Wore a pony tail. (Must make note: Don't bother to wash hair on busy days. Wear a pony tail.)

2A. Put contact lenses in backwards. When wearing monovision contacts this makes everything blurry.

3. Went Shopping. Did not have a pencil to cross off items on list that looked like it had been through the washer and dryer and than rolled in oatmeal exploded from the microwave. Bought pencil.

4. Came home. Unloaded groceries. Found that I had bought wrong Items for Madam Blueberry's special dessert of something that looks like a turkey you can eat. Got too many of one thing and wrong thing of another thing.

5. Went to work.

6. Came home from work.

7. Cooked dinner.

8. Turned television on to catch Oprah. Immediately turned it off, as Oprah's show was about buying gifts that costs way more than I make in a day for each gift!

9. Wrote down a list of things to be grateful for --

10. Turned on some music and danced

Thanksgiving Week 2007 - Day One/half way through

1. Got up late. Very late. I've been getting up at 7:30 AM and today I got up at 9:45. I thought, surely, _surely_ I had my clock set it's usual 45 mintues fast - at least. But no. I had overslept.

2. Went to Home Depot. I needed plants. Doesn't everyone need plants during Thanksgiving week when they have so many other things to do besides buy plants and play in the dirt? I took my mother in law, so I'll count that as a good deed.

I am expanding my butterfly garden. I bought a Scarlet Milkweed along with a couple of other things. I want to build a Butterfly House! I'll expand on that later.

Mr. B says I have attracted a new type of bee in my garden. It's one he's never seen and he has been stung by many bees. I got stung last week, and good grief, I thought I would cry forever!! Anyway, I want to help bees and butterflies exist.

3. Exploded my oatmeal in the microwave. Good Grief. What is the matter with me. Do I not think I get enought attention?

4. Go shopping. Make list. Come to terms with the fact that you will make more then one trip and it's okay!!

What do you Want Then?

1. Want wealth? Then don't need much.

2. Want happiness? Then be happy.

3. Want food? Then work.

4. Want music? Then sing.

5. Want to be comfortable? Then relax.

6. Want to bear the mark of a distinct individual? Then think for yourself.

7. Want to live life without regrets? Then learn from everything that happens to you.

8. Want to be right all the time? Then plan on learning to live alone.

9. Want to be loved? Then love people unconditionally

10. Want to turn your whites a creamy salmon color? Then wash them with yours daughter's pink socks!

Kitchen Confessions

1. My oven is full of salt. There was a fire in my oven. A big fire. I stared at it for a little while and then said some Mark Twain words under my breath. Thought I might be in a wee bit-a trouble there, and salt was the only thing I could think of. I had no baking soda. And I did baking soda once and it's a bigger mess than salt. Salt works. And, I'm here to testify, salt does not change after you turn on that self-cleaning unit. Salt is still there waiting for you.

2. I opened the burritos on the wrong side. I never notice that one side is correct or incorrect. I am not of the generation that recognizes these types of rules.

3. I cut through all the plastic things that say "tear here" with a knife. If I tear them, they do weird things that defy scientific terms of explanation of all things plastic. I detest them actually. I'm not sure what would make me happy. I think if someone just served me a burrito, that might make me happy.

4. I forget to run my dishwasher.

5. I spill things in that teeny weeny tiny little space between my oven and the counter top, gosh, I am still seething at the person who invented such a thing as that space. It's like you might as well put up a sign that says, "Welcome all bugs of any species. Come dine in the crawl spaces of my oven walls."

6. I never clean my refrigerator often enough. That is one of the problems of refrigeration. It keeps bad stuff as well as good stuff at a reasonable temperature. But soon, there will be no mistaking that you need to throw*X* out. However, sorry to the one who tried to eat something that was nearing it's time of being *X*, but not quite reaching *X* point, still looks like a *V* maybe ...Nahhh, stay away from *V*, too. I think too much refrigeration is responsible for global warming.

7. These are not necessarily in the correct order of importance, but I store things in whatever I find handy to put a left over in. I've put whole pots in the 'fridge. I know all about the to quick cooling of pots ruining the pots (how do you think I found out?), but that does not stop me. When I am in a hurry to get out of the kitchen, let's say it's almost time for Ugly Betty -- anything could happen.

8. That's all I can handle posting right now. The tea kettle is whistling away and that means that steam is going all over everything and there won't be any water in the kettle when I get there ...and, oh yeah, burnt pot bottoms, hmmmm, that's another thing....

From "Just Here for Now"

It's a Friday -

Again --

When I first started blogging, I lost my blog. I'm not sure why now, that was so long ago and life continues on at a perpetual pace of 5th gear with a grinding tranny and unbalanced tires. But since this was my official first blog post, ever in the whole entire world, I wanted to save it and I decided to repost it ---

So here I am, and there you are, and we are looking at the same sky.

You be well.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a Friday
August 26, 2005


I do believe it's the last Friday of the month of August. August being such a long month. And August being the reason February has only 28 days because of being jealous of Julius and all...did you know about that? Augustus Ceasar was jealous that Julius got 31 days in his month of July, so the calendar had to be redone so that Augustus got 31 days in his month. But I don't think that's what makes August a long month ~ I think it's because it's hot. And somehow when we get to August, we are ready for a change. But that is probably not the case in Figi.

Perhaps I should introduce myself. Hello. I hope you are doing well and all is fine in your world.

My world is crowded with things to do.

I am married with children.
I am older than most of my friends.
I am taLLish with hair that graying, and I can't decide what to do about it.
I am bad with commas and proper spelling, but I try.
I am currently homeschooling one daughter who is 30 somewhere in her head, but 15 according to her birth certificate.
I have two boys that are not living at home. One is living on his own, and the other is attending a junior college and rooming with his brother. Look for the expansion of that relationship! LOL!
I am a mediator for many.

Today was a normal day by most standards in that it was boring and I was safe. I say safe because there is a war in Iraq and I can't quite understand a war in which men and women are dying and we are safe at home going through the drive through windows of the bank and shopping at our local markets.

In all of history, I am trying to remember about times that wars were fought and people were comfortable in there homes watching their favorite tv program ~ well, it just doesn't seem right that there should be a war and not all are involved. I find this very confusing, and honestly admit, I feel some guilt about it.

I don't mean to leave you feeling down or sad. But if you are a person of prayer, please pray for those young men and women who are serving in the armed forces.

And in my part of the world, it's that time of the evening where one would go and clean a kitchen and make their husband lunch for the morning ~ yes, he is working on Saturday.

And I am leaving on a trip tomorrow!

So ~ this is my first official blog posting. I guess now ~ I am a blogger!

tu tranquilo,

Miss Roxie
(who really is, Just Here For Now)

God, clouds, diamonds and love

Got time for a chat? It's kind of a long story.  I
hope I can remember it all, so I need to get it down
before I forget it ...

I was taking my 8-year-old nephew, Zack, to Hebrew
School. As we rode along, over to the west we saw this
beautiful sun setting into this dark cloud formation
and the sky was brilliant with the sun streaming
through those ominous clouds.  Somewhere in between
talking about the clouds being dark and the sun
shining through them and marveling at their beauty,
Zack asked me if God had a beard.

I told him, "Well, I didn't think so myself, but that
people might think so because people most often think
of things in a way they can understand, and they might
think that one as wise as God might have a beard, in
their minds.  I said I thought God was more like the
clouds than like an actual person like we are.

We talked about what God might be like if he wasn't
like a man, and how God would be like clouds.

I told him that we can see clouds, and we think
because we can see them that we can feel them, and we
think we can imagine exactly how they feel.  I asked
him if he had ever been in an airplane.  He said no.

I told him that when you are in an airplane, you can
fly over the clouds and you can clearly see them, they
even look like you can walk on them! But when you fly
through them, they don't appear like anything you have
seen from the ground or from above them, but you know
you are in them.

He declared to me, "But clouds are made of water!!
And you would be flying through water!"  I told him,
yes, but the water was "fine, fine, fine."..He
interjected quickly "Why did you say fine, fine, fine?
Why did you say fine three times?"

I said I used 'fine, fine, fine' three times in an
effort to explain something that is more than you can
imagine it to be from the word you actually know.  I
used the example of 'really, really, really tiny' -
"How tiny is that?" I asked him.  "Oh yeahhhhh", he
said, and I could tell by the way his voice sounded
that he had gotten the idea.

And we went back to talking of what God would be like.

I asked Zack, "What is the strongest, most beautiful
thing you can think of?"

"Diamonds," he answered.

What a  a very good analogy was to be made from his
choice of examples of what God might be like! -

I agreed with him that he was making a very good
point. I began, "A diamond was a good example of
something that illustrated people thinking they know
what something is, but that they might not really know
what it is because if they didn't know about diamonds,
had never even seen a diamond, and didn't know what
the properties of diamonds were, they would think
diamonds might be ...what?" I asked him,---and he
filled in the blank ...'glass', he answered assuredly
.

Then we talked about the different properties of
diamonds and glass (I'm not even half way to our
destination yet) - Zack knows all the differences
between diamonds and glass!! LOL -- He gave me a
qualified, scientific, genuine correct answer!

So, I said, God is like the diamond (we discussed the
good things about diamonds).  But, if someone doesn't
know about diamonds, they might think that God was
like glass, and all the while they might be thinking
they were looking at the very same thing.

Then, I asked him, how would you describe what love
is?  (hummms from the backseat)

"Can you see love?" I asked him.  (I hear, louder
hummmmmms, from the back seat) and I heard the door of
understanding open as he breathed, and I knew he did
understand.

He said, "You could sort of see love, but you really
couldn't because love is a feeling."

I said, "To me, God is like love, too.  Something you
can feel and maybe see evidence of, but maybe not see
clearly, but you do know it is love".

Then he said, "Without love there would be nothing.
Without love," he said (or more exclaimed), "Nothing
would be here at all.  If Adam didn't love Eve," he
said, "and didn't kiss her and make a baby with her,
there would be nothing here at all," he declared this
emphatically!!  I told him, he was right, that love is
that important.

We also talked other things; like about the sun being
93,000,000, miles away and that if you can't look
directly at it here on earth that must be an
indication of just how hot it must be, and Pluto not
being a planet and we couldn't remember the name of
the new planet, maybe it was Sharon, he said, but it
has a small moon and he could ride his bike around
it!!

Then, as we road past this little airport we pass
every Wednesday on the way to Hebrew School, he hoped
excitedly that we would see another airplane that
looked like it might land on us (as that had happened
last week).  "Remember that Aunt Sasha?  Wasn't that
cool?"

"Yes, it was, Zack," I said, "It was very cool."

Then we talked about what he wanted to be when he grew
up.  He said he didn't know. But, he wants to be
something that's hands on, but not dangerous.  Not a
fireman or a policeman because those things are
dangerous but he wants something that is definitely
hands on.  And he also said he can't bother making up
his mind now because what if he changes it when he
turns 9?

That's all I can recall at the moment, and I am
smiling.  There aren't too many things more
stimulating to the mind than riding to Hebrew School
with Zack on a Wednesday afternoon.



~~Zack's Aunt Sasha

a/ka Miss Roxie

Thoughts in a notebook

The shelves fell down again. I found an old notebook of mine -- here are some of things I have written down. These things are not dated but I got this notebook in the year 2000.

These thoughts can be recognized by some people, I am sure. I'm not taking credit away from people, I just had these things written down. I'm sure some of these things are paraphrased established quotes from someone, or even exact quotes. I have no wish to offend any writers.

1. You can't give away what you don't have. Do you have love?

2. There are no justified resentments.

3. No blame - no responsibility

4. All living creatures will respond and will cease to feel fear or enmity or anger in the presence of those who can send love in response to hate.

5. Don't die with your music still in you.

6. You can't get wet from the word 'water'.

7. A closed mind looks for ways to be offended.

8. Have a mind that is open to everything but attached to nothing. (I have some question marks after this thought and the name 'Thalopa'.)

9. No one knows enough to be a Pessimist.

10. Progress can be made in yourself if you can make an effort to give up your personal history and let go of some of the things from the past.

11. You can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it....Albert Einstein

12. Admit your error and choose differently and you can free yourself from blame.

13. We love the things we love for what they are....Robert Frost

14. Savor the moment. It is true that life is short. Live each moment one at a time. Slow Down. Find things to Savor. Find things that will wholly devour you. Find something that gives you life - something that will uplift you. Color!

15. Called Leslie from the Sushi Bar.

Life is Art

"A man who works with his hands is a laborer; a man
who works with his hands and his brain is a craftsman;
but a man who works with his hands and his brain and
his heart is an artist. -Louis Nizer, lawyer
(1902-1994) ~~

And I thought that kind of applies to me, too. And
many of you - if not all. I mean, I do work with my
hands, my little brain and my heart. I'm an artist in
this life in a way, I think. I like myself when I
think that. It feels better than some of the other
things I think about myself.

Then I was thinking - what is my medium? Myself? My
Wit? My never ending quest for information? My desire
to understand the people I am raising, so that I can
help them continue on in the world? And a zillion more
questions.

Art doesn't reproduce reality.  Art takes a spin around
it and allows things to be seen from different angles.
Is that what we do as we walk around and interact with
our children and our families and friends and strangers?
Are we not inferring some type of reality?  I.E. life is
good or life is bad, or life is boring, or life is nothing
but a string of days that are hard work?

But everything I touch is a tool. I have
to decide how to use it best to represent what I want
to have known ... or what I want to say. And then
someone else can interpet the cookies as they will?

All this, and I am still not sure of my specific
assignment. Just have an endless list of questions.

Yesterday I wanted to count all the lives I have come
in contact with and my head got really like
--boy-oy-oy-ing --. I just couldn't recall.

I had a down moment this weekend.  Just a crash and burn,
I think from so much activity.  Some people call them
'bad moods' - 'black clouds' - 'being stressed out' --
Whatever it was, it's over now.

I have recovered my heart.



   

What? What day is this and where am I?

The week has passed quickly by -- maybe it's been two, I'm not sure. I'm feeling as if I put two into one, though.

1. The bug people are going to reimburse us for the cost of replacing our shelving. (Thanks to my oldest son's cool, calm and collected way of handling things.

But, I can't complain. Because if I did, what if all the people that do things for me just suddenly stopped doing those things?

One thing these kinds of incidents do to me (I didn't post about what happened in CVS) is give me a desire to make my world a little smaller, as far as interacting with people is concerned. So, I do that for awhile, and then I venture out again. I try not to get too overly annoyed with people and things they do, but, it happens. But people do things and I get annoyed with them. (Not that there aren't nice people -- see how I am? I keep undoing my doings.)

2. Bill is in Gainesville for the Gator Game.

Sean is in New York. His girlfriend, Kellie, whom we all adore, goes to school at Columbia, and Sean is enamored with New York City! This is his second time there. Kellie has family there and Columbia is located in an area that allows them to walk and enjoy the sites of the city. So, Sean, is having a good time if Noel (the tropical storm force that followed him up the coast) isn't doing too much damage there.

It's quiet here.

3. I had to work in my garden. It is so neglected, poor garden -- all out there waiting for me, growing and smiling and falling all over each others overgrowth ... I did some pinching back, and transplanting (maybe one shouldn't transplant in October? Oh, good grief, it's November already! But it's Florida, maybe that changes all the rules?)

4. I don't know