Not Worth Your Time. Really.

Some things I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I sit around and ponder:

-the word "moisturize"...when did that come into being?  it had to have been a marketing creation.  before "-ize" was fashionable didn't we just hydrate?  (sure enough, looked it up, first came into play in the 1940-50s)

-contrary to what seems to be the commonly held preference, I vastly prefer a nice paperback book to a hardcover book.  I can not stand dust jackets--they are forever falling off and getting in the way.  and let's be honest: a big hardcover book does not make it easy to read in bed.

-the words "honey" and "bunny" rhyme.  but I wish that they were also spelled alike.  I end up writing "hunny bunny" because "honey boney" is just. not. right.

-lemon slices in water is dreadful.  really.  it tastes like soap.

-how do you pronounce the word "comfortable"?  do you say comfort-uh-ble or comft-ur-ble ??  Interesting stuff there.

-where did "a whole 'nother" come from?  is it from "a whole other" or "another"? how is the word "whole" allowed to jump in the middle of "another"?  I'm confused.

That's all for now.  I told you it wasn't worth your time...maybe I should have told you I don't offer refunds.  oops.

Of Art and Quilts and Such

One summer day, not so many years ago, I sat at a round table in a banquet room watching my younger brother and my new sister in-law beam from ear to ear while getting to spend a little time with an aunt and uncle I rarely get to see.  I am not the best conversation starter...my mind sort of goes blank and I can't figure out what to say, but there is one definite area of interest I share with my uncle: art.  My uncle is an artist--he has been painting for many years.  I, as you may know, am a quilter...and occasionally I get the chance to spend some time on the more artistic side of quilting.  I love being creative, and seeing other people's creativity.

This particular summer day held a conversation that went something like this:

me:  So...I still don't have one of your paintings...
uncle:  well I still don't have one of your quilts...
me: hmmm. good point.

[insert thoughtful pause]

And that's how the deal was struck--he'd paint me a painting and I'd quilt him a quilt.  He thought--hmm, she likes trees...and I thought--hmm, his paintings often have high contrast colors...and finally, much time later, the deal has been completed, and I am so very happy with the results.

The painting:

The quilt:

limericks about limericks

I can write a haiku or cinquain,

But a limerick can be such a pain.

I've tried and tried,

My brain is now fried,

I can't think up a single refrain.

(or maybe...)

I felt inspired to write,

but my children began to fight.

I couldn't win

Amid the din

So my limerick is a fright.

Snails, Worms and Hamsters, oh my!

We've been having some of those "living science" moments at our house. You know, where things happen in real life that give you experiences to back up your book knowledge.

A week (or two?) ago Melinda got a hamster. She has been working for months to prove she can be responsible for taking care of a pet, and she is beyond thrilled to finally be in possesion of the little rodent. This is not your typical hamster, this is a Robo hamster (short for some dude's name, not the cop). It is tiny and interestingly colored, and Melinda is in love--though she admits that it has taken a lot of time and effort.



Also, going hand in hand with all the gardening that has been going on here, is the delightful discovery of snails and worms. Delightful for the kids at least--snails haven't been delightful for me since I discovered them smooshed and crunched in between my toes while walking down the sidewalk barefoot at night many years ago.

We've had snail races, and have harvested worms from their condemned ivy metropolis & shipped them out to worm farms in neighboring flower beds. Seeing little girls squeal and hop around with handfuls of wriggling worms gives me the giggles. Discovery is delightful.

Playing in the Dirt

Living in Southern California has its pros and cons, and some things that make their way onto both sides of the list. One of those things, for me, is the weather. There is no autumn, only a pretense at winter, and but the merest hint of spring. But my, does my garden grow! If I am not able to connect with the outdoors by shoveling snow and raking leaves, at least I can console myself by digging in the dirt and growing plants.

Our new house has so much landscaping space that I get lost in my dreaming and planning. My day speeds by when I am pulling weeds and pruning. I get giddy when I visit the nearest Garden Center.

I have planted strawberries and rosemary, basil and cabbage. I have started pulling out ivy and some oddly chosen plastic plants that look much better in a trash bag than in the garden.









I have treated myself to a lime tree, a 5-way apple tree, and a 4-way cherry tree. I had to limit myself because I would truly love to also bring home an avocado tree, a pomegranate tree, as well as pears, nectarines, peaches, plums...but I think that I am doing a good job so far at pacing myself. It's a difficult thing to do!

Honestly, I'd rather be playing in the snow, but playing in the dirt is good too.

What's on your desk?

Life has a way of happening all around me, even without my permission.  Inevitably, mess takes over in some part of the house that I've been less diligent in scrutinizing.  The dining room, for example, is used less than the office.  So it is remarkably easier to see if something is out of place in the dining room than the office.  Since our office is also used as our school room, much of our daily living happens in this small space.  Somehow, in places where I spend more time, I am more blind to the accumulating disaster.  I wish I wasn't that way, but I am.

When I take my "mess blinders" off and try to look objectively at this area, I am actually quite appalled at what I'm living in!  School books and papers, puzzles and games, bills and mail, cameras and computers: they have taken over.  I'm surprised we all fit in the room.  It's really pretty atrocious, though I like to tell myself that it can all be cleaned up rather quickly...once I get those blinders off and actually deal with it.  Sometimes it takes some special circumstances to get those blinders off, something unusual in the midst of the mess, something like this:

Where I'm From

I'm a sucker for creativity.  Especially in my kids.  What can I say...I think they are some of the best people on earth!  Timothy recently brought home from school a creative writing project that I just loved.  I'm sure that he's not nearly as thrilled with it as I am, after all, it was coerced creativity--not the easiest thing in the world, especially for someone who doesn't typically express his creativity with words.  I had to share it though, so here it is:

Where I'm From

I am from videogames and TVs,

Computers and laptops

and from Legos piled on the floor.

I am from mud pies and dirt cakes,

and oddly shaped anthills,

which got trampled at first sight.

I'm from Ana and Jack,

Mexico and Canada,

even some Italian.

Wake up and Go to sleep,

Come here and Go away,

are more familiar than they need to be.

I'm from Deep Fried to Broiled,

Scrambled to Poached,

all with a little sauce.

I am from the long, repetitive

prayers at night,

and reading my long, dreary

devotional book.

Through every computer document,

and every jam-packed storage box,

unfolds the many vast memories

from my family's tree.