Out of the Mouths of Babes

I love quoting kids.
Kids have a way of telling it like it is without coloring the story or embellishing the moment. They can say it all with a minimum of words.....and you usually know exactly what they wanted you to know. No more....no less.

We spend alot of time with our nearly-three-year-old granddaughter Kayla. She has really learned our personalities, our idiosyncracies and so much more. Nothing much slips by her. She knows that Poppi means business and there is very little grey with him; really just black and white. I tend to be the one who is a little more lenient with the lighter approach.

The other day we were working a puzzle of shapes with her. I had no idea she had a clue about octagons, pentagons and trapezoids but she worked her way through the puzzle with flying colors. (No doubt she has done it at nursery school, but we can pretend it was just a genius moment!! :) )
Well, Poppi wanted to see if she really knew them as I described. He quickly picked up each piece..."What's this Kayla? Correct, a pentagon. And what's this? Yes, its an octagon. And this? Kayla, what's this? Kayla? Kaaayla? What's this? " I must interject here that most nearly-3-year-olds can have the attention span of a gnat, so I always allow for that, but not Poppi. After a bit of a pause.....Kayla took his face in her hands and said "Poppi, relax!!!!"

There is just no response to that.

My Nanny

It's ages since I have blogged. It's not for the lack of thoughts, reflections, ideas and opinions. I have alot of those; perhaps too many.

Its Thanksgiving. I always find this a reflective time of year...particularly this day. I have many things in my life to be grateful for. A loving husband, children and grandchildren, a big extended family that stays in touch, a warm and welcoming home, good and loyal friends and so much more.
On this day, I always have special memories of my Nanny. Its probably all the cooking, the delicious smells of roasting turkey, fresh baked pies, the kitchen hopping (well not hopping but moving at a faster pace than usual) with activity. I remember the excitement of the day in years past and the buildup of our family walking on the path through the woods to our grandparents house where all the aunts, uncles, cousins would meet for a feast to beat all feasts. Our Nanny was the grandest of cooks I have ever known. She could run circles around most of the Food Network shows. I think I learned alot from her....or at least I hope I did. She had alot to teach all of us kids.

Once I start thinking of her and Thanksgiving cooking each year I naturally progress to thinking what an impact she had on my life and most of my childhood memories revolve around her. Its not that we didnt have a loving mother....but our mother was caught up in the raising and caring of 5 children whereas my Nanny could make each of us feel very important, very special. I loved her for that.

Time spent with Nanny was special time. She taught me to darn socks. Who actually does that anymore? No one. But the weekly sewing classes with Nanny were an important part of my life and an opportunity to have the undivided attention of a caring adult. Bi-weekly manicures with Nanny were special moments too. I would sit on a small stool in front of her bedroom easy chair while she pushed cuticles, trimmed nails and buffed a shine on my nails that sparkled!

Nanny was an avid reader and set the standard by which I read today. She always made time for reading, as busy a life as she had. She read to us when we were little and as we grew up we could discuss various books with her. She was always a listener.

I could not let another Thanksgiving go by without making a special remembrance about my Nanny. She made me so much of what I am today. The fact that I can open my home and share a meal with family, can pick up a piece of needlework at any time and read with such joy almost any kind of book. I hope I can make my grandkids feel as special as she made me feel.

There is something very special about the relationship between a grandmother and granddaughter. If you have had that relationship, or are building on one now.....you are a lucky person indeed!!

Language Skills

As you may or may not know….I have our granddaughter Kayla here several days a week. She is a live wire…keeps us busy….keeps us in a near state of exhaustion and gives new meaning to the words grand parenting skills . There are moments of downright hilarity and others of sheer frustration. Kayla is very lucky that I have a fairly good memory of doing this all before with her Mother!

Kayla’s favorite expressions of late have been the emotionally charged words:

“OH NOooooooooo!!!!”

And the even more alarming words….

“Uh OHhhhhhh!!!”

It occurred to me that with this sort of vocabulary she should not be considering any of the following professions at this time.

Brain Surgeon

Fine China shop owner

Explosives Detonator

Gynecologist

Nuclear Waste Management

Sword Swallower

Painter of Highway Median lines

Sculptor of fine marble

Lion tamer

Just thinking out loud here……..

Now is the winter of .......

.....our discontent. Made glorious summer by this son of York;

OK…so I am waiting for the glorious summer, even a passable spring would be nice.
This has been the germiest (I know its not a word, but it fits!!) winter on record for this household. I have never seen or heard so much coughing and wheezing, nose-blowing and aspirin-taking, shawl-wrapping and Vicks-rubbing and then some! We have broken records around here for days/weeks of non-stop illness. We have also broken records on Kleenex use and antibiotic taking. Its ridiculous.
This is Germ Warfare at almost its worst!!

There has been a bit of fortunate distraction.

We have 7 gorgeous little puppies from Olivia and Brodie. They are precious and full of beans and give so much joy to some rather bleak days.

We also have Kayla-Days! These provide a terrific distraction. Looking at books, playing with blocks, watching Noggin, riding the car, playing with the dogs and learning to walk and run. WOW….it makes for full days! But….ya gotta love nap time!! I call it my refueling time. (Of course she refuels at the same time)

And knitting…..one of my most favorite hobbies of the moment. So much gorgeous yarn….so little time. But its fun learning a new craft and having something wonderful to show for the quiet hours of focus on the knitting needles. You can cough and knit at the same time, thank goodness. I love it!!

Best of all….there is retiree-Chuck!! Who knew it would work out so well to have him around all the time. Its been amazing so far. To take on the puppy care as a team has been terrific. Its so much easier when you handle it together and having two sets of eyes observing their antics, doubles the fun!! Chuck has always been a hands on man….so the pitching in on house chores has been even more appreciated during this Germy Winter.

So….I am hopeful spring will arrive a bit early around here. It will be nice to get out and about with Kayla and the puppies….breathe some fresh air, feel some warm sunshine and feel healthy again.

It really has been the “winter of our discontent” where germs are concerned.

Saying it without pictures...........

I had a wonderful experience today. I would really like to be able to express the importance and heartwarming meaningfulness of the moment….but I doubt I will do it justice.

My sister came to visit from up north. She arranged a get together with another sister over lunch. A sister I had not talked to for a very long time for many reasons; many of which are not worth even thinking about any more. I was able to re-unite with my local sister after far too much time had gone by. It was one of those memorable moments in time that will probably remain with me for a very long time….perhaps for the rest of my life. That would be a very good thing. For the first time in our lives we engaged in wonderful conversation and laughs that were able to wipe away meaningless words, gestures and thoughtlessness on my part. For the first time I felt like we were truly engaged in each others conversation and it gave me that warm feeling I was missing.
I hope it’s the rebirth of more wonderful and heartfelt conversations and the beginning of a time in our lives that will rise above everything that may have come before.

Life is short. Life is what we make of it. Life can be very good
My life feels more complete than it has in a very long time. The missing piece is back where it belongs and I know I am better for that. Welcome back into my heart Anne. You have been missed.

I'm Done.....!!

Yup....I'm done!
Me. Queen of the Unfinished Project!
Myself. Who probably actually has enough projects, kits and patterns to keep myself and a small village busy into the next century.
I. Who has absolutely no reason WHATSOEVER to set so much as a foot inside a craft shop or yarn store for the rest of my life.

I bought the yarn.

I knitted and cabled until my fingers were numb, chapped and twisted.










I plugged along. Moaning and groaning to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen to me....whether they wanted to or not. "See those cables? See how small they are? Do you know how long its taking to knit this?" Lots of kind people listened, nodded their heads and humored me. They really were very, very kind.













Well....here it is! Done!!!

And you know what? I loved every minute of it!!!
I think she likes it.

Big Man....little man

Sometimes we see something,…..a picture, a captured moment, a tender touch and it brings back a lost moment to us. Or at least a moment we thought was lost. And then there it is. I had such a moment the other day.

Time goes by so fast that we are afraid we will forget special moments, special relationships. But I am reminded of one special one recently. We can get so caught up in what we did and do for our children that we forget what they did for us…and how they helped us through difficult times.

A move to England when I was such a young mother was life altering. Yes there was excitement, but it was so tinged with fear and anxiety it’s hard to remember how I physically got myself on the plane and left this country. I carried with me, a 7 month old baby. They may speak the same language over there, but the way of life, the customs, the expectations …they were so different. I did not have the sort of personality that stepped into a new and totally unknown community and grasped it. I was terribly afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing. Would I stand out? Would my harsh American accent draw attention to myself? How to take a shy and retiring personality full of fear and self-doubt and work its way into the community? It would be so easy to find every excuse to say goodbye to my husband in the morning….and just mark time until he returned from London in the evening. But it would make for some long and lonely days.

Enter…the best little excuse in the world for integrating yourself into a new community, a new country and a totally new way of life!! This little man here was responsible for totally immersing me into the English way of life. He was my companion. He made me get up each morning and throw myself into the day where the British world of nappies, teatime, Dr. Who, well-baby clinics, church crèche, neighborhood parks with prams all formed the mainstay of the English way of life. He made me fill my days.

I look back and think with fond memories of just how much this little man did for me. My world revolved around his daily needs. His endearing personality and charm opened the world to me and introduced me to so many wonderful people. He was without question a conversation starter. I have never told him what an important part he played in my life and my adjustment to living in a new country away from family and friends. How he filled my long days with joy and helped me cross that barrier of feeling alone.
I am so fortunate that he made that journey with us when we moved away to the UK. I am not sure the entire experience would have ever worked out as well as it did if I hadn’t had him to share it with at the beginning. He made that initial immersion a most wonderful experience.

I see him now with his little man and I think to myself....I hope he can someday look back and realize the joy that he shared with new adventures and new experiences with his little boy and be as thankful as I am.
I will forever be grateful to have had that experience outside the United States and am even more grateful that we took those steps onto foreign soil with this little fellow….he made the experience richer for us all.

Turkeys = ?

Ok...so I'm not totally mean spirited. I'm not jaded. I'm not wicked...not evil.....not totally a skeptic, not malicious, not vengeful, overly sarcastic, vindictive or......well, maybe just the slightest bit evil and sarcastic.

Yesterday, just a mere two weeks before the ELECTION TO END ALL ELECTIONS......(dear Lord let it pleeeeasee be over)....I was sort of daydreaming at the computer and glanced slowly to my left, gazing at my birdfeeder just outside my window and found something VERY prophetic about the 3 ENORMOUS turkeys sucking up all the birdseed from my little birds.

There is a message here....I just know there is a message..... big turkeys....little fellas.....politicians, electorate, birdseed, money........hmmmm. Its a sign, I know its a sign.

Common sense and politics

About the only bit of common sense I have heard in the past weeks is a suggestion made this morning by Campbell Brown on CNN.
There is a potential of both candidates spending over 30 MILLION dollars per week between now and the election on November 4th. The majority of this will be spent on negative advertising. She suggests the candidates knock it off and donate these millions to charities which are hurting in the present economic climate. We don't need to hear any more negative ads and lies from either party.
So gentlemen, listen to the lady and ante up, ok?

I think I've Found It!!

This may be the invention of the year! I have been lamenting the fact that I am no longer good at multi-tasking. Its just not happening for me any more. But Hark! I have come across something that will definitely be a boom to those frustrated by trying to keep things clean, while trying to entertain the younger set.

Kayla is here for a week and while trying to keep a happy smile on her face but not exhaust myself with the effort, I borrowed a cool little car thingy from Emily. I believe it was the last thing she brought through the door when she dropped her off with her suitcase(s). It really IS a cool thing. I have a long kitchen….I have a lot of dogs and foot traffic….I have a 10 month old granddaughter who thinks its pretty neat to whiz from one end of the room to the other with a car that makes zooming sounds and reverse beeps Its very entertaining. Add to that some thick white socks and TaDah! We have a clean or at least cleaner floor!! I am going out and buying little matching sponges tomorrow, attaching them to her feet....and Voila! a washed and buffed floor.

How clever am I????? If you want to borrow her for said purpose of floor cleaning, give me a call and I will leave her on the front porch for ya!! :)

What's Happening........?

Seriously, what the heck is happening? I can remember when life was at a slightly slower pace. NOT a snails pace, but a reasonably doable pace. I remember telling friends I would come over and share a pot of tea with them in the afternoon and not feel like I was slighting anything, anything at all. And those were the days when I had 3 little kids under the age of 7 and no clothes dryer or dish washer or in some cases no car.
We live our lives so much in the fast lane, that when a moment or two becomes available where we can relax for a bit, meet a friend for a coffee, sit quietly and read or knit it becomes impossible to disengage our brain and ON switch and just relax. What’s that about? Why do we feel the need to cram every second with jobs, and commitments and errands and appointments and promises?? And when we actually find that “lost” few moments for R and R, we find our mind leaping to do the things we left undone.

I want a brain vacation. I don’t care so much about the body….just an opportunity to turn the brain off for a bit and mindlessly do some crafting or writing or reading. Not feel accountable to anyone for anything….including myself. Mostly myself.

I don’t think I suffer this “sickness” on my own. I think most of the people that I know are over-committed, over-stimulated, over-committeed (I made that word up) and just plain over the top. We all have forgotten how to say the word no…perhaps we don’t really want to say the word no. But we are cheating ourselves of opportunities to live a completed life. A life where each commitment, each unfinished project (you want projects, I got projects), each undertaking is completed.

I fear what friends and family will say when I am no longer here. “There she lies, the queen of the unfinished project. She lived ½ a good life.” Eh…maybe ½ isn’t so bad. Know anyone who wants a half-knit sleeveless cardigan or a half-written poem or a half-read book??? I’ll never get them finished in this lifetime.

What's In a Day?

It would be ridiculous to assume that every day is a great day. Some days are downright crummy….other days are filled with touches of absolute brilliance. Sometimes I find it helpful to string those moments of brilliance together and make a patchwork of my best days. It’s also very helpful to try to spend even the tiniest bit of time each day with each of those things. The in between bits that aren’t so good….well, they become less significant if I can focus on those wonderful distractions.

We live in times where we are bombarded with negativity. You can find it anywhere and everywhere….the local paper, the radio, the television, the internet, even contacts from friends. These are times when it seems the world thrives on negativity; you rarely hear about the “good stuff”.

Here is some of the good stuff in my life…..the things that make me get up in the morning and try to make each day better than the last. I hope you have lots of good stuff in your life too!!

This is how I start my day!! A hot cup of coffee brought to me every morning by this wonderful man!

These sweet little souls Chloe, Zack and Kayla bring more joy to my life than a person could want! How lucky am I?!! Today Miss Kayla looked up and spotted my new blown glass hot air balloon. The morning sun shone through it and it looked glorious. She was mesmerized. It was one of those special moments. Twice. The first special moment was when my Beloved gave it to me on our anniversay at the Cape.

If I can read and knit for an hour each day, I am a happy person. If I can do it for longer, I am even ecstatic! I love this book and I love this knitting project.

There will always be more wonderful books and more scrumptious knitting projects as well!!

These puppies bring pure joy and brilliance to every single day. They are so much fun and such little troublemakers....all at the same time. What's not to love about a puppy??! Three? Triple the fun! Working with them for a while each day is inspiring and invigorating...and I believe it

lowers blood pressure too!

So...try to find the fun and inspirational parts of each day and string them together. It will become a patchwork of joy, love, discovery and sheer brilliance and it will far 0utweigh the negative bits!!

Two Moose For Sister Sarah

I try to take my political pleasure wherever I can find it!
Being rendered pretty much mute in recent days because of the over zealousness of our present day media “geniuses”, I am thrilled to see for once that many were themselves rendered pretty much speechless after the speech last evening at the RNC.
I have always been a Democrat and in recent years tried desperately to set an example by following as much discourse as I could from both sides of the aisle. I try to read as much as I can so that I feel truly informed. I also try to watch as many round table type discussions on the various networks and cable stations so I can see the entire political picture from all directions.

I have panicked in recent months as I felt the entire system was spiraling out of control. Too many members of the media were starting to spew out personal interpretations and were lining up and taking sides. No matter when I would pop on the news programs, there they would sit, out shouting each other with their opinions and looking like children on a playground arguing over a dodgeball game. These are not journalists….these are self serving pundits looking for their own show. I have been devastated in recent months by this continual 24/7 assault on our intelligence.

Last night, I listened to a new candidate. This was no common, everyday member of the elite Washington establishment. She also wasn’t actually someone I would vote for come November. BUT….she was new…she was fresh and she put it all out there. It was simply….Here’s Me….Here’s My Family….Here are my Challenges.
I was fascinated by her candor….her honesty…..her rather simple appearance…..and I thought to myself…. Welcome Sarah. Let’s see you change it up a bit in the next two months. Let’s see you meet the issues head on. Let’s see you add some new and unpredictable energy into what has been possibly one of the worst election seasons that I can remember. I still probably won’t agree with much that you say but I sure am happy to see a new face. I was even happier to see the usual pundits rendered pretty much speechless last night as they sat back and looked like they had been smacked upside the head.

Nice job girlfriend.

Kayla.....in training

Well….we started off on our journey today.
Being the fashionista that she is….she insisted on buying the leotard first. We discussed a bit about the concept of “putting the cart before the horse” but she wasn’t buying the idea.
I pressed on.

Our initial venture into the gym brought us to the mats. We would begin our search for medals on the tumbling mats where she would have an opportunity to show these judges what she is made of. It was unfortunate that she chose to spend much of the time on her back…but we forged on with only the occasional episodes of whining and sniveling and pleading. She was beginning to show wonderful form. Clearly though, we need to address the issue of the diaper sticking out of the leotard. This might ruin our whole argument of age discrimination at the Olympics. That, and the absence of a significant number of baby teeth.

Our biggest problem appears to be the concept of space. As much as her form had moments of sheer brilliance…..she just couldn’t find it in herself to remain on the mats. I reminded her repeatedly that this was going to cost her 5/10 of a point deduction each time she insisted on working outside the box. She didn’t care. She can’t count.

The grueling schedule seemed more than she could handle. At times I would find her nodding off with her thumb in her mouth. This was unacceptable. I must find a way to keep her focused on the prize.

We will be back in the gym tomorrow. We have much work ahead of us.

Kayla......as Olympian!

What started out as a dream this week….quickly became an obsession. The Olympics were at full tilt! I was awake many nights past 2 in the morning, sitting on the edge of my bed watching the competitions. The more the hours went by, the more excited I became. The competitions were more than exciting…they were thrilling!! The girls representing us in gymnastics, in the most focused competitive of modes,were master technicians executing skill after skill and showing no signs of fading. This was more excitement than I had seen in some time. These girls were driven to compete on a higher level than we had seen in some time. They were determined to bring Olympic glory and gold back to the US of A!!!

I started thinking. Could there not be a thrill or two right around the corner for ME in London in 2012?? I mean, I have been looking for a reason to return to the Mother Land. This might just be the inspiration I needed..….with a real possibility of glory!! OK, so I am not Bela Karolyi, but I like the occasional challenge and I think I am up to this one!!

I looked at Kayla….she looked at me. Could I possibly assume the role of Coach over Granny-sitter? Would I be able to convince her that we were answering to a higher power on this trip together over the next 4 years? Would she learn to trust me? Would she accept my grueling schedule of early rising for gym workouts , carbo-loading and weight training? Would she respond to my demands? Would she still let me change her diapers and put her down for naps? Could she become the human gymnastic machine that I envisioned?

Would she get past the incessant infantile questions…..”Grandma, does my butt look fat in these pants?”

I think she can succeed. I see her future before her. I see us travelling around the world together meeting challenge after challenge….accumulating gym bags full of medals…standing on risers listening to the stirring sounds of our National Anthem.

For now……we work together….facing the future with chills running down our spines….wondering if we too can become another famous gymnastic team…like Bela and Nadia…..Bela and Mary Lou……Bela and Keri…

We will become the famous Grandma and Kayla….. Olympic trainer and Olympic medalist.

For now…it’s back to basics….

Kayla! One and a two and a three and a lift, lift…lift!!!! Good Job!!!!

And now a word from our sponsors.........

I LOVE the Olympics. I love watching all kinds of sports competition. Football….not so much. But that’s ok…there are plenty of fans to go around for that sport. I am amazed at my diverse interest where sports are concerned. I will cheer for just about anything….archery, cross-country equestrian events, water polo, men’s badminton, synchronized diving….you name it…I pretty much am a fan. I LOVE the fact that we have this wonderful distraction during our hideous election process.

I wake up with an entirely different attitude in the mornings. It is not so much that I need to see the US of A win everything or BE ON TOP of the leader board. I just love seeing people competing at something they love and seeing all the smiling competitive faces. OK, there was a real WOW moment when the men’s relay team did the come-back-of- all-time and I did leap off the bed and nearly break my ankle jumping around. But hey….I still hung onto MY pants…not unlike Michael Phelps. If his pants slip any lower the cable company is going to start charging us a premium rate and call it an adult channel….but, I digress.

I think I have discovered the best distraction in the whole entire world. Every time we have an election, let’s be sure the Olympics is scheduled. It forces these broadcasters off the air and we don’t have to listen to their incessant interpretation of the politicians and what they said and what they meant to say. Do you know how lucky we are that John Edwards’ news flash broke the same day as the opening ceremony??? We were lucky enough to see the most brilliant opening ceremonies of all time and actually not listen to another politician tell us how deeply sorry they were for there repeated momentary lack of conscience and moral values. We didn’t have to hear over and over again of the pathetic sickness of a man so self-absorbed that he couldn’t keep it in his pants, even when his wife was going through her painful battle with cancer.

Yes…these fabulous Olympians have saved us from ourselves yet again. The distraction is wonderful….I wish it would last right through November 6th. But that would be selfish of me. I will learn to hit the off button more often and take my news in little briefs that give me just the basic details, without the personal interpretation.

The Olympics….I keep it on 24/7.
Stay tuned!!

Politics For Dummies

I am thinking we are way too tolerant of our politics in this country. I thought we started this country because we wanted a little more autonomy and were a bunch of free thinkers? I used to really care about politics. Actually I cared about it up until about a month or two ago.
I am now seeing our political system-slash-election system a giant waste of time. I think it’s become a humongous waste-o-time to see how our elections play out. Good grief, it’s been dragging on for months and months and it just gets worse.
We now have the two leading contenders slamming each other about how they are no different than B. Spears and P. Hilton. What the heck?? What are we, 6 years old? We have millions and millions of dollars being dumped into campaigns and I do mean dumped. We have talking heads out shouting each other about 29 different polls that came in yesterday morning and which poll means more than the other. We have one potential candidate (remember, we haven’t even had the conventions yet) making a speech in downtown Berlin, to a crowd of over 200,000 people. Do these people have nothing better to do with their lives then listen to one of our potential candidates speechacting in their town center?

People Of The World…..LISTEN UP!!! One thing we do really, really well in this country is make speeches about what we think you want us to say and do. We are terrific at it. Heck, I just heard half a dozen candidates in the past months promise me everything from lower taxes, lower interest rates, free health care, free education, cheap energy…you name it, we got it, for FREE (or at least cheap). For a price…we will even come to your country and promise you some of the same and throw in world peace!! We excel at telling you what we think you want to hear. We take your donations and promise the earth.

We need to rethink this whole election game. It’s disgraceful how much money we pour into this broken and tired system. The coffers for our elections could have rebuilt New Orleans. There is definitely something to say for the British system of dissolving Parliament and calling for a new government….in a month. That system is looking mighty good right about now.

If I don’t hear one more pundit tell me what he thinks of candidate A or B…it won’t come a minute too soon. And candidates?? Get your butts back down to the Senate floor and do the job you were put there to do. Enough of the travelling all over the country (and the world) in your fancy buses and planes promising us the earth. We don’t need the earth, we just need some common sense working for us back in the capitol. Oh and if I gave you $25 for your campaign, I want it back. My electric bill just came.

A Day in the Life............

of a yogurt carton, or how I spent my Tuesday......in pictures.

She who sits in the dish........

WINS!!!!

I love it when puppies do the sorts of silly things that make you stop and take notice of them. The sorts of things that make them stand out in a crowd. I sometimes second guess myself when evaluating a litter...and then.....one of them (who I was leaning towards anyway), does something that forces you to look at them and take notice. Kind of like a little tug on the sleeve...."Here, I'm over here. Look at me. I thought this up all by myself and I fit. Its a perfect fit. It must be my bowl. See. I fit right in it......perfectly. Its just the size of my butt. Thats it. I have to stay, because my butt fits perfectly in this bowl."

WHO can deny that sort of puppy reasoning. Dear Lord....don't tell me she's another keeper.

I rest my case........

I hate to say "I Told You So"....but, I told you so!

What has to happen, to force a city to sit up and take notice? It no longer seems that the safety and welfare of of the average man on the street (or student in the college) is important.



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