by my side

Learning and living go hand in hand. My mother was one of those people who loved to live and loved to teach. Every time I was with her she'd show me something about the world or something about myself, that I hadn't ever thought of. She'd help me find something wonderful in the smallest things, and ever so wisely she helped me understand the enormous worth of every human being. All our lives, we rework the things from our childhood, like feeling good about ourselves, managing our feelings, and being able to say good-bye to people we love...

and the home of the brave

O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain
For purple mountain majesties, above the fruited plain!
America! America! God shed His grace on thee,
And crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

O beautiful for heroes proved, in liberating strife
Who more than self their country loved, and mercy more than life!
America! America! may God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness, and every gain divine.

O beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!
America! America! God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty in law.

Words: Katharine Bates, 1904. Music: Samuel Ward, 1882

I'll soon be done digging!

I'm so behind this season, for what reason? I couldn't say... Usually, I am all done by the end of April! I plan on getting the back garden planted this morning. Oh well, the early bird may get the worm, but it's the second mouse who gets the cheese :) Perhaps my garden will be the loveliest it's ever been this year...

check a gain!

Eye have a spelling checker
it came with my pea sea
it will plainly marque four my revue
miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
and weight four it two say
weather eye am wrong oar write
it shows me strait a weigh.

As soon as a mist ache is maid
it nose bee fore two long
and eye can put the error rite
it's rare lea ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
It's letter perfect awl the weigh
my checker tolled me sew.

wait, I take that back! do-over

no sooner did I post no news from south of the border and I got this :)

hi! i can't stay on too long, but i wanted to drop a line. the phone number that i gave you is for the house they bought, but we're staying in a rental house across the street, because of the construction. i'll try to give you a call again the next time we sleep over at the other house, though. anyway, everything is lovely, and i'm having a great time! i love you!
rach

I love you too sweetheart!

down Mexico way

No news from south of the border, and I miss hearing from you on your way home from work every day Rachel... you must be having a great time! I can't wait to hear all about it. I do believe this is the weekend Katie leaves for Virginia, "where the birds warble sweet in the springtime" and if you read my blog Katie, I love you! good luck, stay safe and keep in touch on occasion OK?

playing in the dirt

Since this is the first sunny day in the last 4! I plan on getting some major weeding and planting done today. Maybe even the first Bar-B-Q of the season :)

"It's sombodies boitday taday"

Happy 24th Birthday Rachel!

Happy Mother's Day

Who ran to help me when I fell, and would some pretty story tell, or kiss the place to make it well...

Chasing Redbird

Ikea saves the day!! I just love that place. We got just the cabinet we wanted. A bit smaller than we would have liked, but then with just the two of us living here now (that was very hard for me to say) it will do fine. We ran a few errands before we went to Ikea, and got a chance to see Alex before she goes home, and had lunch with Rachel and Becky before the garden party. They both looked so nice, and I enjoyed their company in the diner and during the ride to Bryn Mawr. Rachel gave me a pretty perfect book for mother's day and only she and I know why it's pretty perfect. Although if my sister and Ann Marie were to see the cover they would know too... A mother is a wonderful thing. Wouldn't you agree?

call me Mr. Blue...

Beth is out this week, so I had to help Fr. Cletus arrange the funeral of a parishioner's mother. I could barely contain myself when she started talking about how selfless and generous the woman was. It brought to mind my own mother and how even though she had NOTHING, when any of her children or grandchildren were coming to visit she would go to the vending machines in the nursing home and have a whole "spread" as she would call it, of stuff for the kids to munch on and drink... Sometimes I can think of her and feel so good and other times I feel so lost.

snow blind!

Our new bathroom is so white you need sunglasses to take a shower :) We are so happy with it. Now the task of finding a new medicine cabinet that fits the old space. It's been a real challenge, and so far we haven't been able to find anything. I'm counting on Ikea to save the day this weekend. We will meet Rachel at her apartment, have lunch together, give her a ride to Bryn Mawr with her luggage for her trip to LA/Mexico with Alex, and then (think positively) get a medicine cabinet at Ikea (and I'm sure I'll find a thing or two other than that as well) and head home.

happy birthday to you

Carrabba's was a real treat last night. Birthdays 4! Rachel, Katie, Becky and I got to spend some time with Alex. I really like her, and I can see why you do too Rachel! she reminds me a little bit of you :) and then talking to Callie on our way up to Woodstock today, all about her tooth falling out, and what the Tooth Fairy left for her. The wedding was beautiful. A "hippie" wedding with a jewish twist, in a barn up in Woodstock, NY. The barefoot bride wore Vera Wang, the groom wore a wreath of flowers on his head and the surroundings, while decorated like a commune right out of the 70's, were very elegant casual.

Happy May Day