A smattering of thoughts

Weddings need neither size nor pomp to be absolutely Perfect! Small, intimate and fun suffice to make the weekend delightful.

Twelve hours driving in the driving rain makes you edgy and tired - even sitting in the passenger seat. The driver just plugs ahead staying totally at attention. 

There is no such gratitude as that for the young highway patrol man who says, "Just go a little slower the rest of the way home, ok?" And waves you on your way. Phew. 

Bright sunshine the days before and after your 12 hours of rain makes you wonder if you might have checked acuweather just a little more closely.

No matter how nice the hotel bed, there is no place quite like your own bed. 

Family extends beyond blood kin over and over. And so we wrap up a young woman with hugs and welcome only to discover later that we made her day ~ maybe her life.

Better to have preferences over expectations ~ oops ~ fell into that trap again. And the reality was perfection just not exactly what we "expected". 

Home to find a groomed Tessie. Her sitter treated her to a doggie spa treatment and she looks Lovely, smells Wonderful, and is posing just a bit. She knows. :)

Those are Monday morning thoughts on a Tuesday ~ with blessings

Re-reads

I love re-reading books. As much as I appreciate the library, I like having the books on my shelves. That way I can wander by, see one that looks only vaguely familiar and pull it out. As most of them are mysteries, sometimes I remember who done it and sometimes I don't. Doesn't matter. If it is good and the characters are well written and the plot intricate without being ridiculous, I Love a good re-read. 

I also love historical novels ~ especially those dealing with all the intrigues around the life and times of Henry VIII. Talk about good material and complicated characters. Those are also good reading and re-reading. After all, we know how it turns out. Anne Boleyn will be executed, Henry's quest for a son is fruitless (as it were) and Anne's daughter, Elizabeth, will eventually rule Britain as one of the greatest monarchs of history. In this case, even a first read is a re-read! 

The book I am presently reading is the first of a series, the third of which I discovered on my shelf the other day. It even had a note in it from my daughter returning it to me. I had loaned it to her because one of the characters reminded me of her as a teenager. I had No memory of this book. And so my re-read, became a read that has led to two more in the series that I am thoroughly enjoying! ~ blessings

Little Things - 2

I have seen the publication and am Very pleased with the article placement - and it is translated into Spanish as are most of the articles in this paper. 

The shelves have been sanded and are in place, looking lovely, filling in an empty corner in the library. The rest of the shelves (only 3) are cut and ready to be oiled. 

The forecast is good enough that grandsons will arrive tonight. 

Gratitude for it all ~ blessings

The Little Things

*sigh* When the little things come along one at a time we hardly notice them. When they arrive in a bundle, they can be frustrating. 

I am actually published! A blog I wrote in November has been published in a delightful free newspaper that appears every two weeks or so in the area. It was due out yesterday. It was out yesterday - a friend has read it. I can't find a copy yet. *sigh*

I'm putting in new library shelves, except that the top hole is too small for the shelf holder - and D was out to lunch. And he got home, found the correct drill, drilled the hole - and went back to the office. At which point I discovered that his so carefully shaped shelves need to be sanded Just a Bit in order to fit. *sigh*

And if I breathe in to produce one of those *sighs*, I just might breathe in Gratitude ~ that I am published; that the library shelves are done and lovely; that D is around to be

creative with wood; and that life is good and we are blessed ~ blessings to you too 

The Prayer Chest

The Prayer Chest by August Gold and Joel Fotinos is a delightful small novel about the power of prayer. It is worth reading, savoring, and thinking about. Very nice. Enjoy - with blessings

Snow hiking

There is hiking. Pull on your hiking boots and go. There is snowshoeing. Put your hiking boots in snowshoes and go. And then there is snow hiking. Snow hiking falls in between the other two. You wear water proof, very warm boots but now snowshoes and walk in snow that is only an inch or two deep. When there is only an inch or two of fresh powder, it means that the animals haven't hidden away from a storm but are still out doing their thing. And so we see the fresh and lively tracks. 

A blog or two ago I wrote about seeing with Tessie's nose. This morning we had a delightful walk and saw many fresh tracks -- none of them big and bear like. A coyote running - one straight line of little prints going on and on. He stopped to sniff at a rabbit's track -- and only sniff I guess because the rabbit's tracks went straight across the trail and kept going so she must have gone past before the coyote came by. 

It was a wonderful walk and as much fun for our eyes as for Tessie's nose ~ blessings

I can only laugh

Oh dear - I was downstairs in the den when I needed to do something upstairs. I had tv on however so waited a very few minutes before heading upstairs. And on the way up I found myself saying right out loud, "ok, I'm heading up these stairs for Some reason - I guess it will come to me some time." . . . heheheheheheheheh

Sure enough at some point I remembered. *sigh* All I could do was pick up what I had come for and laugh my way back downstairs. Find a way to laugh at yourself once in a while - it feels good ~ with blessings

Kindred spirit

It is always fun to find that a good friend thinks and feels about something the same way you do. Today at lunch my friend and I ended up talking about the synergy that brought the writers of the Declaration of Independence together in that moment, at that time to create a new country. 

I have spoken here before about being "such an American" - and to discover that my friend feels the same way about patriotism and the vision of our founders. 

We didn't say anything new - and it was the first time we had ever had this conversation. We define patriotism the same way: the ability to challenge, criticize as well as praise and agree. We recognize the founders' vision And the ways in which the country has veered from that And the ways in which it has gotten better and better. 

It was a fun energetic conversation and it delighted both of us. And she has never seen the musical "1776" so I am loaning that to her next week. Fun!  ~ blessings