Living And All That Entails

I wish that I could slow down time. It goes by much faster now than when I was young. Summers used to stretch out before me like a vast distance full of laziness, fun, explorations, and interesting things to get into.

When I was a young parent, I wished for time to speed up- largely due to some difficult or annoying time one of my children was having. I just wanted to get to the other side of some things.

Now, as a grandparent, I realize that I was wishing away precious times. Children grow up so fast. Then the grandchildren do the same thing. The times when my children wanted to climb up into my lap and snuggle with a book are long gone. The times when problems they face are as simple as not getting the last favorite color of ice pop, or being included in something their friends are doing, are long gone. We are all admonished by an elder that time flies, and to enjoy every last minute with our children- and we don't really believe it. Nope.

I've seen a whole life. I can remember my own grandmothers at the same age I am now. They seemed so old to me- and so calm. It was as though they had seen so much that very little surprised them any more. I wished I could get to the point of being calm about life. They seemed so wise. I wanted to be wise. I actually said this out loud to my mother once: "I can't wait until I am old and don't have to worry about anything any more!" She laughed. Now I know why.

Yes, I've seen a whole life and it's not very long. Not long enough.

Years ago, when some dear friends of ours were beginning their family, they looked at us with our group of children and said,"We can't wait to not tell other people what you didn't tell us about being parents". We laughed and explained that some things just have to be experienced for oneself.

Today I will be watching the movie "Chicken Little" with my youngest granddaughter. I know this because we watch it every day. I notice different things about the characters than she does, of course. I want to be more like Fish. He just moves through even the most dire of situations with amazed and boundless happiness. If I had lived more like Fish, would I have gone through life taking more risks? No, probably not. But maybe I would have been less worried about things. Maybe I would have traveled this journey with my head up and noticing the richness around me instead of tucking my head down and just getting through it. Being quiet and listening is the advice I should have heard and lived by.

Live with joy. Live in the moment. That's what I wish for the rest of my life and the rest of my children and their children's lives. And is this the secret to my own grandmothers calm? Had they each reached this same conclusion when they were about my age and started to live within the moment, enjoying each savory and sweet moment? I'd like to think so because it would be wonderful to follow in their footsteps. Maybe they are nodding and smiling now, thinking that I've finally learned their most important lesson.

Up To Date

Wow, it's been almost exactly three years since I blogged here last. So many changes....there has been a birth (a granddaughter who is now two), a divorce (the parents of same granddaughter), my son and his little girl (also same as above) have temporarily moved in after the divorce while he attends culinary school at le Cordon Bleu (!). Her mother and father share custody.
We thought our daughter was extremely ill with some sort of agressive cancer but the last tests show she's miraculously fine again after tons of bad test results. The bone marrow biopsy was good. Yea! and thank you, God.
Parker and Jackson (twin grandsons) had prolasped bowel issues, and those seem better. Their little brother Noah is healthy and growing too.
My husband has semi-retired and works from home mostly for an exclusive group of clients.
All of the grandchildren are pure treasures and we are so fortunate that we get to see them all the time. Bryn and her family still live very close to us.
We've been able to get a trip in to the Outer Banks. We love it there. The house was wonderfully full up there this summer- kids, grandkids (running as a pack), and friends. Great times.
Don bought a boat for the family to enjoy. They have made great use of it this summer, in spite of storms and schedules.
I'm still cross stitching and sewing. The gardens need attention badly. I'd love to plant some vegetables so the grandchildren can come play in the garden.

Soapy Sunday

Well, I didn't get around to making that batch of soap until today. It's a lemon/lime citrus soap. Currently, it is going through the gel phase, and the color seems to be staying light yellow. The last batch of soap I made was a slightly apple and herb/floral mixture of scents- and I named it Orchard Morn. My husband loves this soap- it just aged enought to be able to use it beginning this week. It lathers great and smells fresh. But doesn't smell girly. I have ordered Autumn and Christmas fragrance oils to get going on those soaps. The other soap today was a glycerine M&P soap for the kids- it is cotton candy scented. But the best part is that it is made into little plastic bags of soap holding a cute plastic fish. Like you win at carnivals.

It was hot today and especially hot making that soap out there in the garage lab. I didn't drink much hot tea today after this morning's cup of Almond Biscotti.
I adore this tea. I adore Rachel's teas.

Tonight while I get some quilting done, I will have to have a non caf tea, hmmmm, like my absolute favorite Enchanted Fairy Cake tea! It reminds me of maraschino cherries for some reason. It reminds my daughter of Amaretto Sours.

Tomorrow's activities will include changing linens, laundry, floors, and digging the kitchen out from under the weekend. And we went out to eat last night!!

Change is in the air!

We can feel Autumn! It's on the horizon, but not here yet. The days are still hot and humid, but early in the morning it is just a tiny bit cooler. Cooler weather will be energizing.

This weekend I really need to get a few things organized around here-especially my teas- or my tea collection. Maybe I need to put it onto a spread sheet- with descriptions and my notes about the teas. Scent By Spirit has the Fall teas up and Tricky Treats tea is back. There are several of the Fall'Oween teas that I would like to try besides the Tricky Treats. I think I have Cinilla Moon- see, this is why I need that spread sheet!

Today's plans include making some soap, getting to the post office to send something off to a fellow tea lover, clearing out some room in the refrigerator, and finding that elusive green quilting thread that has gone missing around here. Maybe I can get some cookies made with Aryanna since she won't be able to help with the soap (lye and a six year old just don't mix well).

Time to catch up.

Today is 9/11/06. Patriot's Day. Everyone remembers exactly where they were five years ago. I was home with my oldest son. He was home from work that day. My other children and husband were either at work or in class. We all made sure we knew where we all were immediately- I was thankful that I either heard from them or was able to talk with them right away. Years have gone by- but it still seems so fresh a wound.

In the years since, our family has celebrated weddings, birthdays, births, hurricanes, and we have had some illnesses and also unfortunately, deaths. We all cherish the times that we have had together and the times and celebrations yet to come.

One of the happiest recent times was the arrival of my daughter's twin boys. They are a precious reminder of love and hope. They are treasures. Additionally, our beautiful daughter in law has also announced that our family will grow by one more in February 2007.

Yesterday, Florida felt an earthquake. I had never felt anything like that before. It was centered out in the Gulf of Mexico. It shook the house and rattled things about. Hopefully, we won't get to experience that again. They say it was a 6.0.

Happy things now...I have widened my tea knowledge recently and I am enjoying tea more than ever. My granddaughter and I have always enjoyed having our teas parties together. We have collected special little tea cups with chintz rose designs and various teapots for the season at hand. The teas we have had have varied from rose and cirtus flavored to spicy chai blends. She is my constant companion where tea is concerned.

I discoved Scent By Spirit Teas and have found them to be wonderful. The teas that I had always had trouble enjoying were green teas (eek, so bitter) and Earl Grey (so bitter and cardboard). I am happy to report that I now adore Earl Grey as well as green tea. One of my current favorites is Enchanted Fairy Cake Tea.The knowledge that I have gained from SBS is largely responsible for that- along with very fresh tea. I sound like an ad- but truly, I never knew how stale some of the tea I was having had been until I had fresh tea. I like having lots of different teas and seem to be collecting quite a few.
Today my cup holds Beautiful Earl Grey tea. I have added lemon and sugar. I have a quilt out to work on tonight. The skies are threatening rain here, so I need to take my little dog out for a walk before the skies open.

Fruits of my Labor

These are some fruits that I have been making into preserves. I think cherries are so beautiful, especially the Rainier Cherries. The peaches are wonderful this summer.

It's back to school today for my 17 year old son. The baby of the family. I know he must have been a little excited to go back because I found him in the kitchen about 2:30 this morning. I'm sure he will miss sleeping in, but he will be happy to see all of his friends again. Traditionally I bake a cake on the day the kids go back to school, so I will do that today.

I need to re-sand a part of the family room floor today too. I didn't like the way it came out when I refinished that portion. The area that had to have new stain put on it was "off" just enough to drive me nuts. So I will re-sand and re-stain today. I need to mix a different stain color.

I finished a little Lizzie Kate scissor keeper the night before last. A tiny project- but I wanted to keep my scissors in a padded case when I took them to my stitching group. I'd really like to get my Mirabilia Petal Fairy finished- she's so pretty. And the Chatelaine Mermaid so I will be ready to participate in Judy Odell's finishing group for it. It's going to be such a beautiful box. But I'd also like to start a reproduction sampler...More than any of that, all of my cross stitch stuff needs to be neatened up. Maybe some of it can be sold or traded so that it won't take up quite so much space in that extra bedroom in case Mom needs to come stay here for a time. I have a great wall mural for that room that hasn't been put up yet. It's a beach theme room. The mural is of two beach chairs and an umbrella. They look as if you could walk up to them and sit down, have a drink and watch the ocean.

I know she is getting a bit nervous about her upcoming discussion with the surgeon. She told me she wasn't especially looking forward to having surgery. And she's scared that's she's really sick.
I keep telling her that we won't know until we talk to him and that worrying about it now doesn't get us anywhere (I wouldn't be able to take my own advice). I have told her to be sure that she eats so that she will be as healthy as possible when she goes for surgery. But I don't think she is eating well. I package meals and freeze them for her so that all she has to do is heat them in her microwave. She isn't using them very quickly.

Birthday party and other things

Well, the birthday party went well and everyone had a good time. My daughter called yesterday to say what a good time she and her husband had. She also called today to tell me that she has a stress fracture in her foot from stepping off a curb wrong. That hurts.

The birthday boy seemed to like his presents-special sunglasses, cash, and fishing things. He loves both saltwater and freshwater fishing. Last year he began flyfishing and practices that diligently.

The back to school shopping was successfully completed for our youngest son, and he's happy. He will hate to give up his summer. Me too.

This cross stitch pictured is a section I have pulled from the Tsunami Sampler that I found. Stickideen von der Wiehenburg did a wonderful design that benefits the Tsunami relief that UNICEF is doing. The design is much larger than just this one section, and is very colorful. Now I am wondering if someone will be doing a Niger children's food relief sampler.

My stitch group will meet here at a dinner a week from tonight. I haven't decided on a theme yet- I need to work on that today. Once the weather cools in the Fall, we will be doing a garden dinner outside. But the mosquitoes are too terrible in August. One of our dear stitch friends is having a birthday mid month and we will be celebrating that at a restaurant.

On the 22nd, we have that appointment with Mom's surgeon. He will be reviewing the liver tumor and the gall stone situation and deciding the best path to follow with all of this. Then I will know better which path our family will be taking.