Month: December 2013

The New Year is coming

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The New Year is coming

In the gray of the morning, a little pink came out to surprise us with the joy of nature. It is quiet in our house now, with my grand daughter having gone back to San Francisco on the 22nd. All the toys are stored, and the quiet of the morning is almost overwhelming.

Little children bring such amazing joy to your life, with their exuberance in the questions about everything. Everything is new and wonderful to them. When we are young we see things so very differently than we do as we become adults. It is too bad we can not keep some of the innocence as our lives grow with our age.

The first day Claire left, I enjoyed the quiet, (sort of) but by the second and third I missed the joy of her laughter, the questions about everything and the hugs and kisses.

As my house recovers from our colds, and life gets back to “normal” I pause to wonder, what can we do to bring the joy that children see on daily basis into our lives?

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MERRY CHRISTMAS

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Merry Christmas and I hope to all my followers and friends that yours is a million times better than mine!  My son and grand daughter left on the 22nd, and no word from them today.  My middle son is in California and no word from him today.  My husband, youngest son and I all have miserable colds, so there is a non-harmony of coughs through out the house.  I suppose it is good we did not plan to get together with anyone, as we are not good company.

So maybe my redo of the Twice the Night Before Christmas should be for the day of…..

T’was the morning  of Christmas and all through the house,

Every person was coughing; wife, child and spouse. 

The stockings, once hung by the chimney weren’t there

As we celebrated Christmas early for our dear little Claire.

The adults were all snuggled in front of TV’s

With one for Michael & Maxx, but none left for me.

No celebrating or cooking this year

As mom did not feel really of good cheer.

When out in the yard the only clatter

Was the dog barking at neighbors, so it didn’t really matter.

Chinese takeout is dinner, never done it before

No taste buds with cold buds, no need to eat more.

Would go to a movie, but coughing is loud

So stay home and write the Sad Day of Christmas away from the crowd.

Here is to better Christmases in the future!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

John Deere Floor Matts

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John Deere Floor Matts

Over 20 years ago one of my best friends in life gave me John Deere car floor matts for a Christmas present. She knew that I grew up on a farm in Northern California and the first “car” I ever drove was a John Deere Tractor, friendly called our “Johnny Popper”. I loved growing up on that farm and riding the tractor with my father, learning good work ethic, laboring hard in the summers and enjoying the fruits of our labor in the winter by the fireplace.

Those matts were in my Porsche 911 that I drove for 19 years till it was totaled some 8 years ago, and they made me smile, even on a gray day with the memories of my father and my childhood. When I replaced the 911 with a Boxter, I went to the wrecking yard and got the matts our the 911, as they were important to me for some strange reason. The Boxter was a challenge, as it always leaked oil and just did not drive the same as the 1986 Red Carrera.

When I sold that car and drove only my Jeep Liberty for several years, they graced the floor of that car. They had become my personal tradition.

Three years ago I finally remarried and for a wedding gift my new husband bought a Red Porsche Cabriolet, so I thought what a great place for my John Deere matts, but they were requested to stay in my Jeep.

A year ago we sold the Jeep and leased a shiny new Red Mercedes for me to drive. Boy, those John Deere matts looked good in that car. But every time my new husband got into the car, he grumbled and repositioned the matts as they really were not made for a Mercedes.

Today, as I put away my Christmas decorations, knowing no one was coming for Christmas, I decided that my John Deere tradition of the floor matts should go away too. Today for me is a day for changing traditions and letting go.

My John Deere floor matts are in the bottom of the recycle bin and will be interesting to see if anyone but me notices the difference.

May your new year be full of new traditions, no sad farewells and the strength to accept changes as they come your way.

 

Aftermath:  My husband read my blog and did not realize the significance of my John Deere Floor Matts.  He went out to the recycle and reclaimed them, cleaned them and reinstalled them.  That is the best Christmas Present ever!!

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Everyone should believe they can be a Princess

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Everyone should believe they can be a Princess

My beautiful grand daughter left to go back to SF with her father after spending three weeks with me. The house is quiet, the toys are packed up and put and away and there is a very empty space in my house and in my life. He will have a a small Christmas back in SF with his girlfriend.

I am looking for the faith in Christmas. It is Christmas Eve day, and we already did Christmas while she was here, so no plans for the actual Christmas day. No big dinner, no lots of friends and family.

As you grow older and your children have their own lives, it is your place in life to accept that you need to redesign your Christmas.

I always loved the Holidays, as it meant family and friends, great food and festivities. Growing up, my mother’s family was close by, so all the aunts and uncles would get together with great food and loud conversation. As I grew and married everyone lived further apart and the tradition seemed to dwindle.

Now, I am in my 60’s and celebrated Christmas morning on the 21st, so I could watch my beautiful three year old grand daughter open presents and was thrilled with the joy of watching her excitement. It was so nice to have two of my sons for dinner and conversation. But where is the rest of the connected family.

It is Christmas Eve day and I am grateful to have all my family members healthy, no matter where they live. I didn’t do Christmas cards this year and most likely will only send a few out to my close friends, as last year, I did not mention one wife that was between jobs and one girlfriend and I became the scum of the earth for not saying anything. One of things I have decided as I look to the New Year is that you cannot make everyone happy. Of my immediate family I was the only one to send out cards with photos of all them; but rather than enjoying what I wrote, it was the complaint of what I did not write.

It is a beautiful sunrise this morning once again, and time to think about the sunrises in our lives, enjoy the moment, let the unhappy people in our lives be unhappy without making us feel that way, put on our Princess Crown and remember what Christmas is all about. It is not what is once was with family and friends in my life, but knowing they are independently happy will have to be enough joy for me to share with the world.

May you find “The Princess” in your life and in your heart and accept the beautiful life we are all lucky enough to enjoy.

Not my ordinary blog, but something I have been thinking about for a while.

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Bad McDonald’s

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Bad McDonald's

For the first time in about ten years I drove through McDonald’s in my local town to get a Happy Meal with my grand daughter. Well it was not so happy for me when I ordered a wrap and when I opened it, there was a half inch diameter of mold on the flour tortilla.

I drove right back through and was given a refund, but for some reason that just did not seem enough. I called corporate McDonald’s and reported the incident.

Guess I would not want a gift certificate to McDonald’s…..

What would you have done?

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Its a new look for our Christmas Tree??

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IMG_4663Its a new look for our Christmas Tree??

Christmas should be a time of joy, but with so much commercialization it is sometimes hard to remember what it is really all about. Family, love, the birth of Christ and sharing! I feel so lucky to have my beautiful grand daughter for the three weeks before Christmas. This is her first Christmas in the US and she is loving the lights and Christmas Trees and happiness of the season.

Our tree will be righted later today, but it just did not want to stand up straight this year… It looked so great when we picked it out, we knew it would be happy in our home.

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And now I know why I live here!!

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IMG_4834 IMG_4829 IMG_4830 IMG_4831And now I know why I live here!!

I chose this beautiful site to build a home some eight years ago and every morning I wake up and enjoy the view. The builder totally cheaped out on everything, so maybe by the time I am 85 I will have the house the way it was intended to be.

For now I will just have to enjoy the view from the house and not worry about inferior molding, baseboard, cabinets & trim….

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Nature caught while shopping for a Christmas Tree

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Nature caught while shopping for a Christmas Tree

I love what you find when you are not looking. We were looking for the perfect Christmas Tree and the beauty of this field and little shed captured my attention and made me think I need to start painting again soon. I miss the wonderful feeling of placing paint on the canvas and joy or discovering how colors look in juxtaposition.

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