Saturday, January 16, Velma Crain’s family met with her in Redding for lunch to celebrate her 97th birthday. Elmer, Mary, Emily, Melanie and I arrived at Velma’s (Elmer’s mother) about 12:00pm. Mary and Emily hadn’t been at Velma’s for some years, so I was able to give a tour of the home, the yard with about a half acre of planted gardens. Showing them the shed with our inheritance safe inside, different flower areas (bulbs, cut flowers, propagation pots), vegetable garden plot with fencing (deer out or veggies in), the potting shed and how the watering was done. Aaron and his family arrived about 12:30. So we did a repeat tour. Alyce found use for a shed in their yard after seeing Grandma’s. We then left to meet the rest of the family at the Redding Airport for a Chinese lunch. There were about 40 attending. Velma’s brother, Leonard, 4 of her children and their spouses, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, a nephew with spouse and their grandchild, Sam, Barbara and several Garden Club friends. We had plenty of food, a delicious cake, much laughter and merriment. A very typical Crain get-together. We arrived home about 5:30pm, thankful for family and a safe trip.
Dressing up
Evening Tidbit, December 19
When dressing, don’t forget to put on a smile.
Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance:…
Count Your Blessings
As Thanksgiving draws near, my mind has gone often to the things for which I am thankful. If you know anything about me, you know that being thankful is a theme of mine. I think a thankful heart is to be nurtured and exercised.
Today let’s count our blessings. Can we write a list of 100 things we are thankful for? I’ll start mine today and post it later.
Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.
Count your joys instead of your woes;
Count your friends instead of your foes.
Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.
Count your full years instead of your lean;
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.
Count your health instead of your wealth;
Count on God instead of yourself.
Are My Bags Packed Yet
It’s 12:20 pst, I’m supposed to get up in three hours and forty minutes and I still wondering about my packing. Do I have too much?What is too much? Have I forgotten something I really want/need? Will all three suitcases be over the weight limit? How much time will I read? How much time will I knit? I have to sleep sometime. I think I need to start all over with at least two of the suitcases, but will the third one feel left out, like I don’t really care about it or something.
As you can see, I’m much too tired and am probably making way too much about the whole thing. Margaret, will you come and pack for me?
(She has it down to a science.)
I am really excited about this trip. but it’s been along time since Elmer & I traveled with anyone. Will I be too close to the others or too aloof? I hope they understand I’m use to most of my waking hours being by myself . I wish I knew how to take pictures and down load them to the computer myself and I would show you what a mess I’m in, and then you could offer suggestions. But by the time Elmer gets up, I’ll have to be done. So I’m just going to shut my eyes, toss in everything and be done with it. Wish me luck. I’ll write tomorrow from somewhere other than Carmichael.
60 things
Sixty things You May or May not Know About Leslie
1. Likes yellow roses the best
2. Doesn’t like her feet messed with
3. Favorite meal to eat out Breakfast
4. First choice dark chocolate with almonds
5. Favorite vacation spot – ocean beaches
6. Next car Hyundai Genesis ( I’m hoping)
7. Loves to knit and challenge myself with new stitches
8. Determined to finish quilting projects
9. Would rather piece tops than quilt them
10. Happy my children live in Sacramento area
11. Been married 42 years
12. Born in Fresno, at St Agnus Hospital
13. Never lived more than 4 hours away from Fresno
14. Went to 4 grammar schools, 1 jr. high and 1 high school
15. Attended both ARC and Sac City jr. colleges for assorted classes
16. Could eat Chinese food several meals a week
17. Favorite color green
18. Favorite songs Not My Will and Every Need Supplied
19. Enjoys having stuff organized
20. but Procrastinates about organizing stuff
21. Volunteers in Kyle’s second grade class
22. Reads many types of books: mystery, science fiction, light romance, espionage
23. Grows violets, now that I know their favorite window, they bloom
24. Mistreats orchids and sometimes they bloom
25. Definitely a night person
26. Has seen sunrises and sunsets and knows the sunrises are not worth getting up for
27. Will get up early to see hot air balloons rise
28. Favorite holiday – thanksgiving
29. Enjoys being by myself
30. Enjoys just driving around for no real reason or destination
31. Loves to stop at yarn and quilt shops in new cities
32. Doesn’t really like garage sales
33. Knows that grandchildren are a special blessing from God
34. Loves black walnut ice cream at Baskin Robbins
35. Fascinated about how children learn
36. Knows audio books are the answer to how to anything and read at the same time
37. Thinks Bacon, tomato, Avocado sandwiches is a good breakfast
38. Must have lots of open (without curtains or blinds) windows in her house
39. Loves ironed pillowcases
40. Is learning to blog
41. Is being more open to people
42. Would like to go horse back riding on the beach
43. Collects thimbles from places she has been, has 30 (not all from places, some gifts)
44. Loves scissors that are less than 7 inches long
45. Thinks her children are wonderful, smart, beautiful and clean up well
46. Is a yarn and fabric fondler
47. Doesn’t have a passport, yet
48. Favorite scripture: Malachi 3:6a For I am the LORD, I change not;
49. Loves the fall because of the cool weather and the wind and the rain
50. Thinks she wants to own a dog
51. Would love to take a long road trip every year, home or abroad
52. Gets very frustrated with mechanical things that don’t work right, right now
53. Doesn’t really like to shop for clothes
54. Could not have picked more perfect daughter in laws
55. Volunteers at a school library one day a week during school year
56. Loves to look up words in the dictionary
57. Thinks thrift shops are okay
58. Would like to travel to England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland
59. Is going on her first cruise this year,
60. August 16 is my birthday and I am 60 years old.
Today’s Writing Prompt: Room
Describe your ideal writing and reading room.
lots of windows,
cool breezes,
plants,
books, books, books
desk – room to spread out
comfy chair for reading,
practical chair for writing
a cat for company,
no phone,
one Ipod.
yes
While waiting on the porch…
I have been waiting on the porch, for such a long time.
What have I been doing while I’ve waited?
I have been very busy.
1. I checked the driveway, yes, free from poison oak and stinging nettles
2. I checked the porch foundation, yes, secure and constant.
3. I swept down cobwebs of discouragement,regret and disappointment.
4. I washed the window to keep a clear vision.
5. I kept the steps de-iced with warmth, forgiveness and compassion.
6. I sat on the porch chair and prayed.
7. I washed the steps with tears.
8. I was watchful, even when busy, glancing out the window.
9. I paused often, listening for a knock.
10. As I looked down the road, I looked up.
The best part of waiting on the porch was opening the door and saying,
“Come in! I’m glad you’re home!”
Discovery…Continued
Mom asked me to expound on what I meant, so here goes, hopefully I can say it like I think it…
When we wait around for the Isn’t in our life to become an Is, we miss out on a lot of things. I will use my self for an example, there are a lot of things in my life that I would like to be different, but it isn’t my time for that to happen. So instead of wallowing in the fact that there are Isn’ts, I am going on with my life and making discoveries that I would never come across if they were Is-es.
Does that make sense?
I received a card for my graduation with this quote that I think says what I am trying to say in another fashion.
“for a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life but there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. at last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. this perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. happiness is the way. so treasure every moment you have and remember that times waste for no one. happiness is a journey, not a destination.” [souza]
Thoughts of Grace 