Preschool Fun

Today when I picked up my grandson from preschool all the kids and teachers were outside on the playground. The sun was brightly shining, but it was still chilly so I was surprised they were outside. Each of those thirteen children were busy doing something different. Some were swinging on the swings....some were rolling on the ground. The big silver slide had a line waiting to go down (the very same slide my children used to play on when they were his age). The monkey bars were full. Several children were running after each other around the perimeter of the playground. All of a sudden the teacher says "Time to get in line". The children run to get in line and sing their parting song. Then their names are called and they can go to the person collecting the child. As soon as he locates me, he is excited and calls out my name as if he hasn't seen me for days when it was actually only 2 1/2 hours earlier that I dropped him off. Oh what a sweet sweet feeling of being loved!

The Dishrag Queen

I love to knit dishrags! This is a story about how I became the dishrag queen. Back in the early 80's I met a woman named Norma. She was an accomplished knitter and was always knitting something. She knitted these dishrags and I very much wanted to learn how to knit them. She taught me how to make them. Since then I have made many dishrags. I always have a dishrag on a set of needles...when I'm chatting on the phone I knit. When I'm riding in the car I knit. I knitted in the waiting room through 8 hours of surgery when my Dad shattered his hip from a fall. Again, I knitted through my son's hernia surgery in the waiting room (all by myself). I knitted all the way home (with tears streaming down my face) after leaving our daughter for the first time at IU. I knitted on all the college visits thereafter-both to Bloomington and later when our son went to Purdue. I've knitted through many baseball games (go Cubbies!), softball games, basketball games, football games, and old movies. I knit when I just need to unwind if only for a few minutes. It is almost second nature to my being.

One of the best things about my dishrags is the pleasure I get from not only making them, but giving them away. They make people smile. Once you use one of these dishrags, you are spoiled for life.

The Weekend

Yeah! It is the weekend....today I: played domino runs and marble runs and hot wheels with a precious grandson. We shared lunch together. We went to the library together. We read some books together. He went home and so did I. Then I fixed spaghetti and shared it with my husband. Yum-o, a Friday night favorite. We are both looking forward to the weekend to unwind and do the things that are important to us. All to soon Monday will be upon us. Bring it on!!

Reflections

This morning I read a quote from Jon Bon Jovi in my Guideposts magazine. It has stayed with me all day and I would like to share it.

"I can tell you this: It's passion, not pedigree, that can and will win in the end. Free yourself from comparison. Just because someone has fancy sneakers doesn't mean they can run faster."

It occurred to me that some people spend their whole life searching for something that is right in front of them and they never realize it. That is why I try to count my blessings every day and be thankful for this life I am living. Some days this is easy and some days it is almost beyond my reach. That is when I tell myself that it's not about me.

My Golden Girl

This is my dog Buffy. (Isn't she cute?) She just came back from being groomed. She loves being the center of attention and she is MY dog. Nine years ago she took the place of the last child leaving the nest. And she is my friend and my grandson's friend. And she is oh so cute. She loves puppy biscuits and would do anything to be on the receiving end of one! She can dance, play dead, sit up, and shake hands. Did I mention she is cute?

Disappointment

Old man winter is alive and well. I even turned the heat up a few minutes ago. My dog is trying to get close to me so she can get warm. I am trading my spring jacket in for my winter coat tomorrow. Good thing I did not pack the winter stuff away. I even heard the four letter word (snow) in the 3 day forecast. Boo! Hiss!

Grandma Erma

Last week I made a lemon pie....mind you it wasn't just any old lemon pie, but my Grandma Erma's lemon sponge pie. This pie is a perfect combination of sweet and sour and turns out every time I make it. That might be because memories of my Grandma become vivid as I enjoy making and eating this pie. But here's the thing about my Grandma - she never had a written recipe for anything - it was all in her head. It took my mom (the daughter-in-law) many "trys" before she would achieve Grandma-like clones of many of her homemade dishes. Mom told me that she would visit Grandma and hang around her kitchen while Grandma was involved in baking. Grandma would never tell her how much of anything a recipe took - it was always a little of this - a little of that. In our family many recipes were treasured and kept a secret...always a guessing game. I can remember my Dad teasing my mom that she didn't hold her mouth 'right' when something didn't turn out like Grandma made.
I have my 'secrets', but if anyone asks me for a recipe I will gladly share it......well, except for Grandma Erma's Lemon Sponge Pie!!