THE DUST WILL WAIT

With all the usual  hub bub of the Christmas season it seemed an impossible task for my daughter to plan and implement a wedding. Especially one decided upon after a life changing event in November.  There were lots of things that had to be done.  One day we took the grandchildren out to the parks and collected pine cones.  They helped turn them into sparkling center pieces. The venue was chosen in another town about an hour away.  A future relative of hers gave her the deal of the century.  Free. The days flew by and everything seemed to just fall together. There had been no hitches or glitches.  None. Just hours before the wedding we packed up the grand children and drove away.  We had all the other things that we were responsible to transport to the ceremony.  Our clothes were hanging on the door hook and our personal bags were placed in the back of our vehicle.  The bride had gone ahead and was already involved wit...

Always Thanksgiving.  The last Thursday in November. The ones I remember as a child included dinner ending with pie.  Lots of pie.  I can't think of any of my mama's pies that weren't spectacular. Turkey was so so.  I'm sure my aversion to meat was already in motion.  My youngest granddaughter does not like meat either.  When she is at my house I prepare an extra helping of whatever I'm having instead of meat.  She is happy. Neither did I partake of the turkey stuffing in my early years.  Mama cut the onions and celery up so that they were  recognizable.  I was picky about that. I still am not crazy about hunks of onions in food, so they get pulverized before I put them in my dishes. I like chunky celery now.  Thank goodness my childhood antipathy for some crunchy good things went away. Mashed potatoes and gravy was never left on my plate.  Licked it clean.  I am still a 'tator' girl.  Fried, baked, boiled, ho...

I took a walk above the diversion dam this afternoon.  I loved the sun reflecting off the stubble field, and the snow in the more distant foothills. The wind was blowing and the birds were not active.  It didn't seem to bother the ducks, however. This week my 4-year old, 6-year old, and 8-year old grandchildren made "shoeboxes" for O peration Christmas Child .  They found things that they really wanted to have for Christmas, too.  But I hope they learned something about sharing from the experience of picking things out for someone else.  The boxes were due at church today so I snuck around and took a quick cell phone shot right after the service ended. Doesn't seem possible that the holiday is speeding towards us again. $igh. .

The years keep rolling. The 60’s, The 70’s, The 80’s, the 90’s Doesn’t it seem that  Y2K was just last year? ( Hey,  what did we call the decade ending in 2010? The Aughts?  My daddy might have said “Twenty aught one, Twenty aught two.) If you are reading this you survived the 2012 apocalypse. Now, what do we call the next seven years? The teens? That sounds ominous. This is the future that at one time in my life appeared so distant that it seemed unattainable.  I was certain to never grow to be that old. But it was. And, I am. It   is not what I thought it would be. I am disappointed in planes, trains, and automobiles. I am in awe of computer technology and medical science. I am grieved by the exclusion of formality and the derision of etiquette and respect.   I am astonished by satellite, 9oo9le e@rth , and  instant awareness. I am frightened when I look in the mirror.  But I’m excited each morning that I am still a...

The month has rolled around once more and we return to the meme being hosted by Murrieta 365.    I've been faithful to my commitment to post the First of The Month . The goal is to capture one thing repeatedly on the first of each month. It can be a landscape, a person, an animal, a project; whatever your focus is, is fine. It can even be a record of where you are each First of the Month. My theme is my three grandchildren, Zbub, Mizelle, and Dinkum. It is called: Watch them grow!  Of course this was actually the last day of the month - but who could blame me for wanting to capture a Ninja, a Transformer, and a Lady Pirate. (Archives - previous months posts)

You know you've been sick when the grandchildren come for the holiday and you don't take one photo. Not one.

Merry Christmas from our house to yours.

Katabug is hosting today's Fun Monday. She's being very seasonable with her choice of topics. I look forward to some wonderful posts today. The rules were: In the spirit of the season I would like to see your favorite Christmas tree ornament. Not to be confused with the WHOLE tree. I want you to zoom in and show me one or a few(you know I can't choose just one!) of your favorite ornaments. If you don't decorate a tree, show me your menorah or dreidel, Kin ara, or Yule Log. I want to see your favorite decoration for this holiday sea son. When I was a little girl (in the 50's) my favorite Christmas Tree ornament was a blown glass raspberry. My mom had a special attachment to it. Every year she packed it away with much care and concern. When she died 14 years ago, my eldest brother claimed it and keeps it wrapped securely with his Christmas decorations. (They were still in storage at his house in North Central California and I was unable to get a picture of it...