Little is not little for long

Little things become the big things

Don't they?

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

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

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

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

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

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


~Miss Roxie

Christmas Eve 2005

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



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


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


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



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

James has a very good life

Christmas Lights by Madam Blueberry

Days of Christmas past with smiles

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

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

Cookin' and Bookin'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Holy Whiskers! Bat Cat! Still Working?

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

Write Your Own Caption

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

A well rounded personality

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

Graduated to Dumplings

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

The Early days of Madam Blueberry

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

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

Such Lovely Day

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Looking through some photographs

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

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

Tu tranquilo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aint's life just grand!

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

Do not despair

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

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

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

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

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

Fleeting as they are
They are YOURS!

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

Peace be with you.

Tu Tranquilo.

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

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

….George Santayana


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

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

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

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

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

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

What Advanced Degree Should you get?

The evening

~ spent in complete and utterly useless entertionment!

(Last one, now time for bed)

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

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

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

How Observant Are You?

Just a few fun things to pad the stress panels!

Your Observation Skills Get A C

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

How Observant Are You?

How do you live your life?

How You Live Your Life

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

How Do You Live Your Life?

Patience Grasshopper, Patience

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

The Afternoon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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