Thirty-four Days

It rained today.  It has been 34 days since we had rain in the Bay Area.  That’s a long time – for winter.

I smiled today because I overheard someone announce that it was raining and another lady smiled and said, “I’m gonna love drifting off to sleep tonite!” 

I love rain, but it is pretty sweet when you hear things like that anticipation.  

Gotta love that cozy, snuggly, sound of rain!

J

Cookies in the Freezer

Today, I baked.  I also sewed, did laundry, cut hair, cleaned up, and fixed the phone problem with help from a friendly guy on chat. 

But – the thing that made me smile the most is knowing that from my mixing and baking and forming and freezing – there are trail mix cookies, and berry muffins in the freezer.  These go along with the pumpkin bread and ranger cookies I put in there a couple of weeks ago.

Having these little goodies in the freezer is so convenient – you can take a loaf of bread or a few muffins with you when you visit a friend who is sick or recovering or you can bake a dozen cookies when the friends of the kids show up and want to play games and hang out. 

Yep – I’m ready for anything – well, almost anything with cookies in my freezer!

J

To Be Educated

"To be educated doesn't mean you know everything.It simply means that you know how to learn--that you have  a thirst for knowledge, and that you continue to ask questions, continue to seek the truth, and continue to build character."

J

Contentment

"Contentment is natural wealth, luxury is artificial poverty."


Socrates

J

Around the Water Cooler

It was a busy day again in the back yard.  There were lots of squirrels running around with peanuts in their mouths, lots of birds flying around.  A big blue jay came hopping in on the deck rail to see what was happening.

Mostly the robins were hanging around the birdbaths.  They were just shooting the breeze, getting caught up on the latest gossip.  Comparing nest eggs, having a drink or two and loving the sunshine.

J

Raindrops on Roses

I've been considering my favorite things lately.  There are so many, it would be difficult for even Rogers & Hammerstein to put them into a song.

So here are a few of my favorite things:

~Conversations with my kids – they are practically all adults now and they are individuals.  It’s amazing to have a conversation with someone you’ve known since before they were born.  It’s humbling and enlightening.

~Rain – I love it, I think because I was born in Seattle, I need it too.

~The smile you see in someone’s eyes before it gets to their mouth.

~Letters in the mail – old fashioned, but so sweet.

~Someone’s laughter wafting through the house – this never fails to make me smile.

~A new pattern or new fabric…..or both.

~A quick wit or word plays that make me think.

~The way a smile speaks volumes at any age and at any time.

J

Bridges

I’ve been thinking about some of my favorite things lately. 

One of my favorite things is bridges– the kind that let you go to new places.

We have quite a few bridges in the Bay Area – some of them are very well known and have their own songs.  I love traveling over a bridge.  First of all, they are a marvel to me of engineering – they still amaze me.  Second, they let you, usually, go a bit above it all and see things with a new perspective.

The Richmond/San Rafael Bridge is a high one – there’s a pretty great view from up there.  I have a friend who really doesn’t like the height of that bridge.  This bridge has over 11 million travelers a year. The San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge is the workhorse, taking over 38 million vehicles back and forth across the Bay in a given year.

The San Mateo is a pretty cool bridge because it hovers just over the water, with really spectacular views of the Bay on each side.  Fourteen million travelers head east or west on this bridge.  The Dumbarton Bridge is south of us and carries only 8 million vehicles in a year. 

The most famous one though is the Golden Gate – a really great looking bridge.  I would rather walk out onto this one – you can see so much more if you are on foot.  It’s a treat to see this bridge in clear weather or foggy – it’s red color lighting up the horizon. 

Just some of the bridges that make me smile…

J

Baby Smiles

I was shopping the other day and a woman walked by with a baby in a tummy-pack.  The baby was facing forward taking it all in.  I made eye-contact with that little one and smiled…and you know what?  She smiled back – with her five-month-no-teeth best.

J

Hopes for our Children

There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children -
one of those is roots, the other, wings.

~Hodding Carter 1907 - 1972

J

Splish Splash

You’ve probably heard the song, “Red Red Robin Goes Bob Bob Bobbin’ Along,” or maybe, “Rockin’ Robin.”  And I’m sure you’ve heard, “Splish Splash, I Was Takin’ A Bath.” 

Well, yesterday we witnessed all three in our backyard bird baths.  There were about six adult robins sitting on the edge of our two birdbaths, they were chaperoning about ten baby robins who were splish-splashing all over the place in the baths!  The deck was soaked around them and it was a sight to behold.

We have a flock of robins that live nearby and they often come to bathe in our beautiful birdbaths. We always know they’ve been here because they splash water everywhere. 

It made us smile to see them bring all the kids for a pool party!

J

Winter Poem

Of winter's lifeless world each tree
Now seems a perfect part;
Yet each one holds summer's secret
Deep down within its heart.

~Charles G. Stater

J

Happy New Day!

Can you believe it’s already the second day of 2012?  It’s sometimes hard to believe how fast time flies.

How long will this year be new?  It seems a bit unrealistic to think that it will be new for long, before you know it we’ll be looking right into the face of 2013.

So it might be better and happier to think about this year as 365 “Happy New Days.”  Really, when it comes right down to it, this won’t be a very happy year unless we are committed to making each day happy.  I know, not all the days ahead will be happy ones, that’s unrealistic, but if we are going to look back on this 2012 from our vantage point in 2013, we will be better satisfied with the outcome if we look on each day as its own precious time.

Almost anyone who knows about planning and succeeding will tell you to set goals.  Some, at this time of year, confuse goals with resolutions which tend to fade as quickly as the wishes for a happy new year.  Goals, though, must be broken down into doable parts.  To really make the goals for this year successful, we will have to work each day on them.  Breaking old habits or beginning new ones take time, relationships take time.  Life takes time.

We can’t see what this year will hold for us, but we can know it will be successful if we live it one day at a time.

J

Soup in the Freezer

Sundays are busy days.  Today I was working on getting my files cleaned up and ready for tax time….I know, I know, that doesn't sound like fun, but it’s my accounting background rearing its ugly head!  Ha Ha.  I just like having all that put together and ready to go.  I also like having my files cleaned out and ready for 2012’s papers.

So with all of that as well as some pattern sorting and preparations for next term’s quilting classes, I had a full day.  Ken was working of course, so why not get some of those things ready to go?

But, I didn’t want to cook dinner.  So I went to the freezer and found two delicious soups to serve.  My homemade split-pea with barley (recipe from California Pizza Kitchen) and chicken and dumplings, except there weren’t any dumplings left.  So I baked some fresh biscuits and made a salad and dinner was on and easy.

Definitely lots of things to smile about today!

J