ALL ABOUT LIFE BEYOND KINDERGARTEN! Kindergarten is the basic building block for all future learning. It is true that everything you need to know in life was really learned in Kindergarten. The trick is to remember what you learned when you were five or six. What you liked then will most likely be something you will like now. So be true to yourself and who you really are and who you will really be. Look back and you just may find your true self! Yes…this blog is about a variety of topics…because we are all a smorgasbord of thoughts and ideas.
It happened…I held myself back as long as I possibly could. And then I was at a department store yesterday and I just by accident walked towards the baby area. There was a force pulling me to the back of the store. A force stronger than the pull that was being emitted from the shoe department. I love shoes. I have found something that I love more than shoes…our baby grandson! He will be born in December…I am trying my best to be very patient and not get carried away with shopping!
My patience was truly tested in the baby department and this is not even my most favorite store. I looked at every possible piece of boy clothing in the entire area. I left not even a blanket untouched.
I suppose that I might as well calm down…after all…he will be a tiny baby! He won’t be deciding what to wear for quite a while! I will choose the most adorable things that I can find! We are just very excited about our grandson!
What I possibly bought for our grandson…not admitting any purchases…
A favorite…the clothespin wreath…our wreath was a bit disorganized compared to this one! However, it was still very beautiful to us!
I loved making any and all crafts with my Kindergarten students! Of course, we were never in school on the 4th of July! So our own children had fun making some of the same crafts pictured below.
In fact, I am sure that we still have most ~if not all~ of their creations. Where?! Who knows?! Just tucked away safely in a box! Some things are just to special to simply throw away!!!
Yum! July 4th Flag Cake decorated with blueberries and raspberries!
Children love to bake…with a little help from an adult! So what if the process is somewhat messy and every bowl is used for the batter! Fun is what we are looking for…and a wonderful July 4th Flag Cake!
I found this cake more than twenty years ago or so in a terrific children’s cookbook titled Pigtails and Frog Legs published by Neiman Marcus in 1993. I absolutely love this cookbook…many of the recipes are for the entire family…from appetizers to salads to main dishes to snacks! A few months ago, I posted another favorite recipe for ~Jar Bars~ from the same cookbook…
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking pan. In large bowl, beat both boxes of pound cake mix with milk and eggs until blended. Pour into pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Loosen edges; invert onto rack; cool completely.
When cake is cool, beat whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form, reserving a cup for piping. Place cake on large platter or tray; spread whipped cream mixture on sides and top of cake. Arrange blueberries and raspberries on top of cake to resemble the American flag, with blueberries representing the stars and leaving space between each “stripe” of raspberries. If you choose to decorate more…spoon remaining whipped cream mixture into decorating bag with medium-sized star tip; pipe 6 lines between raspberries to represent the white stripes on flag. Then pipe decorative border around bottom edge of cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
***If you don’t have a decorating bag…no worry! Just leave the stripes and border as they are! Or use your imagination for additional decorations!***
I met my husband on a Saturday when I was 24 years old. He is seven years older. He was already established in his career. He was certain about his career. I was still deciding what I might be when I grew up. I am honestly still deciding what I might be if I should ever grow up.
He is quiet and fairly serious. I am talkative and rarely serious. I might be serious for thirty minutes a day. I do have deep thoughts, but I would rather write a story about them. That way…I can ponder the thoughts at a later date. He does not care about writing. I think that he has not recovered from his freshman writing class at UT-Austin. I would still be taking the freshman writing class if I could.
He is tall. I am short. He had dark hair, but it is now gray. I had very blonde hair and now have sometimes blonde hair with a thank you to the beauty shop. In fact, I am very near desperate to get highlights right now. He would never consider changing his hair color. He is logical. I am not logical at all. I dislike math intensely. He is an accountant.
Yes…I met him on a Saturday many years ago. The next day…I told my best friend that I was definitely going to marry him. We had a beautiful wedding two years later. I just knew immediately that he was the right one.
OPPOSITES ATTRACT!
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A sample of some interesting magnets…
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And…my husband and I with our daughter and son-in-law, December 2016!
Rainy days are most always my favorite days. I like the cool and crisp air, the sound of raindrops on a metal roof, the distant thunder of an approaching storm. I feel like life is slowing down on rainy days. I feel like I have more hours in the day. I have time to read a book, make a list of things that I need to do, organize any scattered pictures, straighten a closet…I can do anything I want without rushing.
I feel happy on rainy days.
And then…like magic…the sun returns and the world brightens. The colors are so much more vivid and the sunlight makes the shadows dance. When the sun does make a triumphant return, I can think of so many fun places to go, new challenges to try. I feel free when the sun shines…I feel vibrant.
I feel happy on sunny days.
Maybe sunny days are my favorite days. I simply cannot choose. The fact is that all days are really my favorite days. Why not? I have another day to love my family. I have another day to make someone’s road easier. I have another day achieve a goal. I have another day to learn something new. I have another day to make a brand new friend. I have another day to get in touch with an old friend. I have another day to laugh, to smile, to find where joy might be hiding. I have another day to make certain that I look at the glass half full instead of half empty. I have another day to be as positive as possible.
I choose to feel happy on all days. I only have one day to make this day a best day.
“This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
Psalm 118:24…New American Standard Bible
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Music has directed so many of my thoughts and my feelings. I came to a conclusion about sunny versus rainy days after first hearing…
“Sunshine On My Shoulders”
by John Denver.
I was in my early twenties and still deciding who I was and who I wanted to be. The words to the song seemed to speak loud volumes of sense to me…then and now.
Read the words and listen to the song…it may be a slow tempo, but maybe it needs to be slow…so that we can hear each word distinctly and find our own meaning!
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Sunshine On My Shoulders
Written by John Denver
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry Sunshine on the water looks so lovely Sunshine almost always makes me high
If I had a day that I could give you I’d give to you a day just like today If I had a song that I could sing for you I’d sing a song to make you feel this way
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry Sunshine on the water looks so lovely Sunshine almost always makes me high
If I had a tale that I could tell you I’d tell a tale sure to make you smile If I had a wish that I could wish for you I’d make a wish for sunshine for all the while
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry Sunshine on the water looks so lovely Sunshine almost all the time makes me high.
I’ve been playing around with different iMovie programs and felt like this trailer “fit the bill”.
We will be leaving Ocean Springs, Mississippi tomorrow weather permitting and going to Alabama. Our plan was to leave today but was awakened to thunderstorms and warnings. Getting a little wet is not a problem but having a mast that is also a lightning rod is. Our plan is no schedule.
I couldn’t have a car on campus when I was a freshman in college. School rules said…NO, NO, NO. It was just as well…I had yet to have my own car anyway! I had never even thought about getting my own car. Having my very own wheels seemed like a very remote prospect.
Good luck came my way when I met a group of girls in my dorm from Waco…one of them had a Volkswagon convertible! Saved by the bell! Freedom! Of course, it was a bit uncomfortable when six or seven girls piled inside. But…who cares?
As the second semester was almost complete, a special something happened! My uncle worked for the Ford dealership in my hometown. Uncle Merton told my Dad about a FORD MUSTANG that had just arrived on the used car lot! A Mustang from one of the first years that they were made! I certainly did not mind that it was used! No problem there!
The car was blue. The car was fast. The car was…well…totally cool. But…most important…the car was a good price!
The blue Ford Mustang became mine!
When I took my FordMustang to college for the Fall semester, I was so proud that I drove around campus for at least an hour every day. It is a wonder that I had time for class. I kept that car spotless and admonished anyone who left a scrap of paper in the car. Actually, I must have been a truly problematic friend!
I bought a blue trash container to match my car. No litter in my car!
One day, I picked up a guy who I knew from the school newspaper staff who was walking back to the dorm. I felt sorry for the boy since he didn’t have any wheels. I must have been a show-off. Anyway, he got in my car and proceeded to try to light a cigarette. He might have succeeded except for the fact that I quickly grabbed the cigarette and threw it out the window.
So much for getting a date with that guy. He jumped out at the next corner. I made a “no smoking” in my car sign. I wrote it sort of politely.
And then it happened. My roommate wanted to go downtown to buy a sweater for a date that night. Of course, I agreed. Going downtown was another excuse for driving down Main Street while waving to people like I was in the Homecoming parade. It was slightly raining and a bit slippery. A car stopped in front of me to turn left…no brake lights…and we were both busy waving. So I plowed into the back of the other car. No one was hurt. I got the ticket…a big ticket. My Mustangwas (or so they said) fixable.
My parents were not at all happy. My roommate’s parents were not happy. We never waved again…well, not very much. Anyway, she stole my new boyfriend the very next week. She lost the chance to ever, ever ride in my car again!
One of my college dorms! I parked my car in the very front!
Eventually, I calmed down about my car. I was just so excited about having it! And then…it started acting up. The wreck was too much for it. Or maybe my driving was too much for it. Sometimes, it would not start at all. Sometimes, the key would get stuck. Sometimes, the gears would not work correctly. The air conditioner stopped behaving. Everything was wrong, but I kept it until I graduated. I even drove it (barely) for a year or so after graduation.
By that time, I was working at a newspaper and decided to buy a new car! No! Not a Mustang! My new favorite car…
A BRAND NEW CHEVROLET CAMARO!
I paid sticker price…no haggling at all. Where was my mind? Today, I would argue for three weeks about the price!
Barton Springs Pool at Zilker Park…a favorite local “place to be” in Austin, Texas…the ultimate summertime swimming hole to me!!
When you jump into Barton Springs Poolfor a swim, be prepared! The water feels absolutely freezing! Fed from underground springs, the water is usually 68 degrees to 70 degrees. Yikes!! Compared to the probably near or over 100 degree weather…the water is indeed cold…and just what you need on a hot Texas day.
Spanish explorers discovered the springs way back in the 17th century and eventually built (in about 1739) missions at the site. The springs were considered sacred and were first used by the Tonkawa Native American tribe who lived in the area.
There have been several private owners of the springs, but the last owner–Andrew Jackson Zilker–deeded it to Austin in 1918. The city proceeded to create a large swimming area by damming up the springs. Sidewalks were put into place and a bathhouse was built.
Barton Springs Pool brings about a yesteryear type of feeling to me…the bathhouse, the canoes and the rowboats/the picnic areas/the kids throwing footballs/ the happy swimmers just about everywhere. The key word is happy…hardly anything better than hearing laughter from all ages…at a beautiful swimming hole on a hot summer day!!
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The Swimming Hole
The Swimming Hole
A burbling tuneful peaty burn
Like amber whisky flowing clear
Where darting minnows twist and turn
Is soothing music to my ear.
Between the banks of rushes green
Below the falls a deep dark pool
Where lads who come to swim are seen
Enjoying fun and keeping cool.
I paddle in the flowing brine
Where icy waters cool my feet
And ripple through my toes, sublime.
A feeling rare, supremely sweet.
The swimming hole, a place to be
When sun is warm and spirits free
I spend a quiet happy day
And watch my worries float away
Looking out from a window, the grass growing nearby looks vibrant and damp from a recent rain. I see it so clearly.
I cringe when I think about the dense fog that is almost beyond my view. How can I possibly see clearly enough to drive through the hills and down the curvy roads? What if the fog extends to the highway? What if it is foggy in the city?
I wonder too much. I worry too much. I tend to make big things out of little things. I exaggerate. I make assumptions. I am just a regular person with regular person attributes and fears.
I am just a regular person with continuous hopes and dreams. My imagination makes me fearful sometimes and yet my imagination gives me meaning. I do need to see with clarity…I need to remove the fog from within me. Only then will I appreciate the sustenance that the hidden chapel in the picture will give me.
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