Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks

Well, actually, this is about an old dog relearning. Aren't there some lessons that we have to relearn periodically?

Had a wonderful day on Sunday with son, J, and his family. Amazing how my grandchildren are growing up. The 12 year old girl has a mind of her own and is beginning to share it with all of us. I find the outlook and opinions of teens to be insightful, idealistic and interesting. She has never been one to share freely; so it is a special gift when she does. The boys, 9 & 6, enjoy the outdoors, running playing army and rough housing on the water slide. Vicariously, I spend endless hours in the sun with them.


So what's the trick? When it comes to holidays. in our house, food is very important. We feasted on brisket and ribs, potato salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and more. For dessert I made strawberry shortcake, my hubs favorite with real shortcakes, lots of fresh strawberries and real whipped cram. Oh, yum!!!! Now for the teaching moment. When we started to assemble the special treat for the kids...one wanted no whipped cream, one wanted no shortcake, and one wanted only shortcake. The adults tried despertely hard, too hard, to sell the dessert with all parts together. It ended up with noone being real happy or enjoying the "treat." It would have been so satisfying if I had mixed up a batch of brownies from a box for the kids. I forgot the first lesson in feeding kids, "keep it simple."

Brownies from a box, cubed watermelon, chocolate chip cookies, these are te favorite desserts for my grandkids. Why did I try to glam up the final course? Next time it will be back to the basics for the kids. Thanks to Ivy, Jack and Hudson for reminding me that the simple  life is rewarding.



A Summer State of Mind

Long days of sunshine and heat mean spring is over. Summer comes with muggy mornings, hot afternoons, and long evenings. I love it!!!

Summer fresh fruits drip juice down my chin. Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs come to my backyard. The smell permeates my neighborhood  The sides star with baked beans, potato salad, corn on the cob. What are your favorites for a backyard barbque?

Do you have special sights, sounds, tastes that mean summer to you?  What colors are summer? I always love yellows and pinks which remind me of sunny flowers. Lavendar is the shade of dusk.
Light and shadow.

Summer dreams in my workroom.

Ready, Steady, Sew

Excitement here in the workroom. Computer is back, rested and restored. Yah!!!! I missed having easy email access. Sure, I have a smart phone on which I get notifications, but I'm 68 so trying to respond to said notices is very long and time consuming. Es and esses are interchangable. Fingers must spread with age because mine cover too much space on those teeny tiny keyboards. And my smart phone has a bit of a sense of humor. Periodically it decides I must be speaking Spanish and reverts my texts from hello to olla.  What the average 8 year old can type out in 5 minutes can take me 30. So I've been saving up emails that require several paragraphs.

Good consequences for lack of easy internet communication - email, facebook, blogger, research, shopping - are lots of sewing. I have caught up with all the special orders. Now I'm working on pieces to have in some shops. Keep your fingers crossed that I might be able to add 2 more stores shortly. That possibility has lead me on a search for someone to help me. Anyone want to apply for a job that pays little? I'll keep you all posted on how many applications I receive.

Here are some informal pics of what is hanging on my door waiting to go to photo spot. I've been catching up with more sundresses and onesies. Using some bright colors.

Forward into summer.

Blog Limp

Can't download pictures
Barely able to open blog
Help is on its way
Finally
How long to being healthy
Technically?

No forward this week
Like a runner jogging in place at a busy corner
Not losing ground but gaining
No forward

Be back as soon as possible.

Kind Hearted

The clock never gets turned back. The good old times can not be reproduced. But what we learned can be remembered and reused. The death of a family friend reminds me that the 50's were a gentler time. Social rules were easier to interpret. Above all else be gracious and kind. Treat others - equals, superiors, and servers - with grace, respect and kindness. Ranting and shouting is crude and rude. It is not a good debate tactic. Where did we lose our social rules? When did it become acceptable to scream and interupt? I feel so out of step. An alien in a new world. What do the rest of you think?

Mommy Love

All my love goes out today to my sibling sister mothers, all my sister-in-law mothers, niece mothers, daughter mother, daughter-in-law mother, business friend nothers, (did I forget any of the special moms in my life?) friend mothers. You have touched my mothering in more ways than you will ever know. I admire your mothering skills, solutions and sharing.

I have fed on your knowledge. You have kept me upright when the weight of motherhood has gotten me down. I'd like to hope that I've done the same for you. On this Mother's Day I celebrate all of you. How colorless my life would have been without you. The fellowship of mothers has been wonder-full. Thanks for all the memories!!!!

Happy Mother's Day to the mothers of my life. Hugs and kisses.

Momisms

Or things I swore I'd never say.

1. Don't run with the scissors, you will fall and put out your eye. Have you ever met someone who actually put his/her eye out? Neither have I. Despite my mom warning me and my siblings, we ran and survived. Also, the boys who owned bb guns did not shoot out an eye. We did dumb things despite our moms' warnings. And I have to smile when I watch my grandkids do dumb things which require their parens to issue dire warnings.

2. Eat that, there are kids starving in China/Africa (pick famine ravaged ountry of your choice.) This really didn't make sense when my mom said it. Still doesn't but for some reason it is repeated at many a dinner table. Usually relates to anything green, leafy or healthy. Did you ever hear it over a cookie or cupcake?

3. You are not leaving the house looking like that! Teen thinks, "The older generation just doesn't understand fashion. What if I said that when you were ready to leave for the grocery store or mall in those dorky Mom jeans and Keds. I just spent 45 minutes on make-up and my outfit. I'm styling and sexy. When I have teenagers I'll respect them to enough to let them wear what is current while they try to look 21 years old!!!! At least 5 years older so the cool guys try to pick them up."  EXACTLY what your parents are trying to avoid.

4. If a friend jumped off a bridge would you do it too? Classic parentese for, think for yourself. Don't be a follower, be a leader. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know your kid is thinking that life was different when you were growing up. Temptations were different when you were growing up. You were not cool, wouldn't know cool if it happened, so on and so forth.

And the biggest of all
5. because I said so. We all swore we would never say this, and yet after laying out every logical arguement when protests continue, you open your mouth and out it comes. Don't you want to run to the closest mirror to make sure your Mom is not starng back at you?

What are some of your favorite Momisms?  

A Good Show for All the Handcrafters

Poppy Fest was a great success, and not just for Mama D and Annarella Girl, but for all the handcrafters around us. That included a basket maker, stained glass maker, woodworker, and jam maker. Everyone was happy with the turnout. People were so supportive and appreciative of the handmade goods. Kudos to the organizers. It is such a huge job. Thanks to Mother Nature for being cooperative. I can't say enough for the experience.

Now on to the special orders. I will be busy in May. Hurrah!!!! The store in Georgetown called "Wonderful Things" on Austin Ave where we have a few things has just reordered. Thanks you very much!!!! So I'm working on that. If you are local, you probably know what a great gift store they are. Now that you can find Annarella Girl there, they are even better. Is that blatant self promotionn?

You can always find me on the internet if you are out of town or "Snickelbritches" in Temple, Texas.

 After a string of mediocre shows, it was certainly nice to feel loved again. Thanks again to all who stopped by, talked to us and bought. Feeling the love. Back at ya'.