And the End of August

Most of you who would even venture to this blog already know that Monday August 31 brought the dramatic entrance of Nolan James into this world mearly 9 weeks early at 3 lbs and 9 ozs and 17 inches long. We have been to the hospital every day and last night had our first opportunity to touch him. It was overwhelming - and my gratitutde to God for the miracles it took to perserve his life poured out of me like an offering of praise.

I am so proud of Mommy and Daddy - Joe and Mindy. They have been strong, and sacrificing and are doing everything they know how to do to give Nolan the best. Mindy is doing well, I am so proud of her. She is walking and regaining her strength - fighting the pain of the C-section.

I will write more another time but here is my darling, God's gift to the world.

August Weekends

Busy weekends. I have had an interesting August. That’s a good thing because most of my life is not all that interesting. Each weekend was filled with unique joys. Here is a little summary of August.

Kings. What a beautiful crop of kids. We hung out with the most huggable, energetic, funny and entertaining kids for a weekend. Young Pastor and wife whom we have grown to love, moved to Wisconsin and we had them at our house so they could pack theirs without having 4 kids around under 6. under foot. Bill and I dedicated our weekend to just giving them a good time. I loved it, planned kiddie foods, swimming, movies, a nature hike.
We walked around the neighborhood looking for trucks. By the fourth one, we heard, “Wow! We saw a thousand trucks!” In the pool, the favorite words were “Do it again! Do it again!” (Motorboat, motorboat go so slow. Motorboat motor boat go so fast. Motorboat motorboat Step on the gas! And…around they flew through the water with squeals and splashes.)


Brother Kenny, For the first time ever, my brother Kenny spent a birthday with us. I couldn’t wait for him to come because I bought a special gift while I was in Hot Springs, Arkansas this spring, our hometown. Kenny had worked at Dryden Pottery as a high school kid. He worked with many of the glasses, and cups and bowls created by Mr. Dryden using our fathers glaze formulas. Many years later and many styles and designs beyond, the pottery pieces are now well-known collectables. I purchased a set of glasses and cups from the 1968-70 era, sold as antiques in the Dryden shop. Kenny probably glazed them, or fired them or
packaged them when they were new. What fun to give him a piece of his own history.

Wedding -Nephew Jordan – My mom and I took a flight to Nebraska for my nephew’s wedding. Which I already shared.

Max – My grand-dog. And grand he is – all 120 pounds of him. Our son and wife took a little vacation and we took the dog. He is Grandma’s boy. Scared to death of Ebbie the 20 pound mini Schnauzer. He has the softest ears of anything I have ever touched, softer than a horse’s shnoz.

Anna-May The foal I dream about. My sweet young Nadara – longtime friend, took me to see her foal today. Anna-May is almost 4 months old. She is so smart and mischievous. Her mama got her first ride since Anna-May was born. What fun. I want the dang horse now. Really – really want her!

And now - what will September bring??
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She Danced

She danced! Cane and all. It was worth the trip. In the midst of the busiest week a registrar can have (last day of fall registration), I took a day and flew with my 84-year-old mother to the wedding of my most affable nephew, Jordan and his beautiful bride, Melissa.

My mother was looking so forward to this one. Her last grandchild to get married. Melissa had been to Florida and mother loved her - as we all did. Not only that, we had the privilege of seeing Leon, the husband of Jordan's sister, Tessa. Leon is a war hero in our book and Tessa is a brave and good mom of precious Natalie.

Family is fun - and the celebration was great. I didn't know anyone but my few family, but I enjoyed their joy. I also enjoyed my dress. I bought a dress - probably my most favorite dress in years. Very plain and simple but I loved my dress. No one said it looked pretty or anything - but I didn't need it -because I love it! I bought for one reason only -

I wore my soft and striking cashmere wrap that my most talented daughter made me and the dress made the wrap look perfectly perfect!

But the best of the best, is Mom enjoyed herself. As we left, she walked right out in the middle of all the dancing 20-year-olds and did a little jig with her grandson. He was delighted and it made it all worth while!! Can I just say AHHHH!

Memory List

Something I heard – sss-whir-r-r-………s-s-s-swhir-r-r-r….a fan blowing as I lay down to nap –not because I am tired but because I am sick…It sent me to a crevice in my mind where memories are stored. Memories of things that sum up the times of my life. So I have decided to make a list of things I remember as a child. Go ahead – make your own list. Those crevices are covered over most of the time and you might not be able to pull it out again later.
1. I remember bazooka gum had a joke in the wrapper. I used to collect them.
2. I remember riding in the 1950 something station wagon with the back window down. We hopped back and forth across the back seat. There were no seatbelts
3. I remember the hot evenings in the heart of the Mississippi delta. The bed felt damp when you crawled in. The attic fan pulled the stale air out of the attic and the damp night air across my bed. I remember waking up in the morning with salty sticky sweat across the back of my hairline.
4. I remember getting a colored TV because the Texas Longhorns were playing in a bowl game.
5. I remember Simmons drug store and the wooden floors that creaked and clicked under my mother’s heels. The druggist sat high – behind a tall counter that made him look like a judge in a white coat.
6. I ran through the mosquito spray as the truck slowly sprayed the neighborhoods to rid the city of its most popular resident. It was like a cloud of poison that spread through yards. We chased the truck for blocks giggling with delight as we ran into each other in the fog.
7. I remember the floods – our neighbor used a row boat in the street when the floods came.
8. I remember walking the two miles to the pasture where my horse was kept. The tar in the road made impressions of my feet.
9. I remember when John F. Kennedy was shot. I was in Science class.
10. I remember when there were race riots. My mother came and got us from the movie theater. Danger was there – in our own town. None of it made sense to me.
11. I remember getting a packet of sunflowers at the movie theater when we saw the The Day of the Triffods.
12. I remember watching Elvis on the Ed Sullivan show. I remember the first time the Beatles were on the show too.
13. I got a poodle skirt and a crunch slip in the fourth grade. Unlike most girlie things, I liked wearing them.
14. I got the mumps. What in the world are the mumps and who named them?
15. I used to love chocola. It was a chocolate soda that puts Yahoo to shame. I loved Fizzies too.
16. I couldn’t wait for National Geographic to come each month. The stories of worlds beyond seemed a fantasy to me.
17. I used to think Troy Donahue was “keen”.
18. I remember wearing pedal pushers and learning the bop and practicing the hula-hoop.
19. I loved baseball – especially the New York Yankees. I collected trading cards even though I didn’t like the gum so much.
20. I loved my Davy Crockett hat. I used to listen to the Davy Crockett record and sing along while pretending to be going through the woods hunting bears in the living room. “Davy – Davy Crockett – King of the Wild Frontier!”
21. I had paper dolls, and paint by number kits, and a Lie Detector game, and a Chatty Cathy doll.

Well - now I could just keep going because there are TV shows like Superman and Dick Clark, and there were foods like Salmon patties every Friday at school, and 6 cent cokes, and there were sounds, like baseball games on the radio, and hi-fi's, but what do you remember about the times of your childhood?

Sharing Poetry

I don't always like to read poetry unless I read about it first - but I do write poetry once in a while. I re-read it a year so later and decide if it makes sense. If it does - I call it good and if it doesn't I wait a few more years and try again. If the second time it reads dumb or poorly written or meaningless - I toss it. Once in a while I have a keeper that each time I read it - the application or nuances increase in value to me - so I declare it good.

Here is one of my favorites - because I use the imagery of one of my favorite things. It has many applications - personal awareness, temptations of infidelity, the loss of your young daughter to adulthood and how it feels to you, or just what you see is what you get - protecting your beautiful pet from the change that happens once the horse has had the opportunity to foal. When that happens, the mare may not returns to that sense of freedom and innocent passion for the wind and the ride and for that fear you want to protect her. Hope you like it too.

THE FOAL

My foal promenades the corral,
And like a sail in a hurricane her mane whips the wind.
The passion in her eyes belies her lighthearted prance.
Her beauty, her innocence I must defend.

From the stable I beckon her "Come!"
Sweet oats to assuage her; she halts. She quivers her flank.
What beckons her beyond my gates of harbor and home?
"She's going to leap." My heart sank!

When did I lose her? No time for assessments,
She knows not what lies in the mirage of ecstasy she senses.
Have I not endowed her with abundant provision?
My boundaries her security, seem now only fences.

"Steady Girl!" My warning scatters under hoofs;
With a virgin lunge she chases the whinnies of the wind beyond.
Unbridled, untamed, naïve - and I unprepared
For the pain of forever reaving our bond.

A lasso, a sugar, a ruse I will plan.
Before tempest’s lusty stallion seduces her virtue
And salacity awakened she gallops like a gale.
Finally I grasped her tho' she restively withdrew.

I reassure her with whispers through the gates.
She neighs a shudder and cantors away, tenuous, her fidelity.
I must keep constant watch for now her eyes will be
Always on the wind that whinnies temptingly!

Thomas Edison's Guests

Thomas Edison gained about 1100 patents on products he invented! We learned a bellyful of such facts about Tom and his good friend Henry Ford on Friday. What a great vacation day. We got the idea a few years ago from Channel 8 News to do a Florida road trip on a tank-full (of gas)with the grandkids.

We have had some adventures – to see the Lippizaners, to the ride the steam engine, to see Solomon’s junk castle and more. We took off to Ft Myers on Friday.

We learned how deep inflation has affected our lives when we realized that Thomas Edison bought his 13 acres of coastal paradise for $20,000. – with a house on it! Of course that was almost 100 years ago – and wages were $1.00 -$5.00 per day so guess you need to put it into perspective.
The sky was cloudy most of the day and it only got hot near the end. Then the thundering rain shower rushed us to the car for a cool and sleepy drive home. I was most impressed with my 8 and 12 year on grandkids who did indeed soak it in. Andrew was impressed with the Model T and 1937 roadster, the movie projectors, and the number of times Edison failed before making the light bulb work.

Emma was impressed with the first talking doll that you crank up in the back. We learned that if she was dropped – the talker broke because she was so fragile. She was astonished to hear that upon her market failure, they buried all the dolls in a big hole near the factory where they likely rest to this day. She wants to know where that factory is.

Bill and I were amazed at the opulent lifestyle of the wealthy – even in the early 1900’s – and knowing the anti-Semitic sentiment both Edison and especially Ford maintain, supporting Hitler’s rise to power, and the cruel task mastery of their sweatshops made quips about their generosity or character slightly distasteful.

Edison did a great deal of research in rubber. Supported by many, including Harvey Firestone. No joke! Thus his very large banyon tree – second largest in America only to one in Hawaii.
The kids enjoyed the individual guided tour on little ear pieces. You dialed the number on the phone of the spot you were in and got a 45-90 second little talk about it. Emma enjoyed the kitchen and guest room. Andrew the library and

the lab.

Memorable Day

What makes a day memorable? Something phenomenal? Extraordinary? Unexpected? How about something ordinary? Like an ordinary July 4th. That’s the memorable day we had today It was hot and in the sticky rush to finish household and outdoor chores, the yard got mowed, the lanai swept, the groceries purchased and then the rain came.
We spent some time scratching our heads and looking for yet another solution for the doggies. Jack has learned to jump over the 4 ½ foot fencing we have set up in our bedroom to give the dogs a nice-sized pen. Last month he learned to push the fence to the side and get out. We had to add zip ties to tie the fence to the bedroom desk. Now he jumps right over the top of the pen… Ebbie, our mini schnauzer is always glad to follow Jack’s example…but she can’t jump - thankfully. So we now have a fenced- top.

We grilled out burgers and my youngest son and his wife came - they are carrying baby Nolan who is our grandson yet-to-be born. Christy and her hubby and two kids came so we had a quite the affair. We play Balderdash – and laughed and had hot home-made biscuits with strawberries and whipping cream.

We wore American flags and USA stickers, and sipped all-American cola through decorated red and blue straws . We wore glow-in-the-dark necklaces and watched the boys grow chest hair for an hour and a half – lighting June Bugs, Flaming Rockets, Star Dust, and the Big Rebel. A great 4th of July fireworks show.

We had watermelon smoothies, took photos, watched the history channel special on the Revolution and watched Emma dance to Hot Buttered Popcorn. A memorable day just because……