the long and winding road

had a scary dream about mom last night. i'm sure it's because i sat next to her at dinner and her altzheimer's is getting worse. she does repeat herself a lot and she gets belligerent over the silliest things. my sister was at the end of the table but sort of at another booth in the restaurant and my mother insisted she get a chair even though gail was perfectly happy...well, we got her a chair to make mom happy. that's the road we're traveling as a family now. whatever it is, if it makes her happy--just do that. my heart aches for my dad. he's with her all the time and so a night out with everyone is as much for him as anyone else. you should see him with her, though. he's so tender and sweet--i never saw him that way when we were little. he's perfect. i know daughters feel that way about their daddies but i'm speaking as objectively as i can...if you met him, you'd agree. by the end of dinner i had decided that it would be someone else's turn to sit next to mom next time we were all together....and then, after my dream woke me up, i decided i would endeavor to sit next to her every time we were together. if all i have to do is listen to someone repeat herself a dozen times and get a little cranky, i guess that's not too hard to bear. what kind of a selfish daughter am i, anyway? i know, of course, that there will be more to do and harder things to see as my family travels down this road but, for now, we are stopping to smell the roses along the way and love each other as best we can.

phew!

what a mess i just went through to find myself! ok--i'm just talking about my blog...not my soul or anything deep. speaking of souls, i just found a sweet pair of glasses to buy but etched into the side were the words "no soul to sell." this is a name of a company??? what's up with that? i can't buy those glasses! they lost my business due to their name. people are just not even thinking anymore...and don't get me started on that! if anybody takes the time to THINK about the proposed health care plan, surely he will see the trouble with it...heck, i'd be satisfied to hear that anybody had even READ the thing! if you want to be freaked out, read "that hideous strength" by c.s. lewis and compare it to the united states today. then read "the abolition of man" by him and watch your head explode. george orwell was clearly a prophet but c.s. lewis was, too! maybe they just knew the heart of man and knew how to read the writing on the wall. there is, after all, nothing new under the sun.

once more into the fray

well, another month has gone by with no blogging. i don't know that i have anything worth sharing...just an ordinary life. for all that, i can't go a day without checking in on facebook....

my son dylan got married last week to a wonderful girl from a wonderful family in charleston, sc. what a beautiful weekend we had there! and may i just say, i would be happy to live there! i wonder if the Lord will ever see fit to move us closer to our children and grands. it's certainly my heart's desire but i am content to be used of Him here while He would have it that way. sort of burger king theology...."have it your way. have it your way."

and now summer is here. i would like to stay on the beach (see last post) but already i feel myself pulled in several directions. i WILL read this summer. my short list: the abolition of man and that hideous strength by cs lewis, tears of the giraffe and morality for beautiful girls by alexander mc call smith, one of those murder mysteries by patterson from the series with numbers...i think it's the seventh one, and spurgeon's bio. and, of course, the perfect place to read is on the beach. i also need to totally revamp my history curriculum...it just needs help! too much social studies and not enough history.

and my question for the day is: what is the best candy? my answer is milk duds but my nephew says malted milk balls. my neice says reeses-no question. what say you?

it's may. my last blog? february! why? guess i have no real life to speak of...

anyway. taking a breath today now that my class play is over. we did anne of green gables and it went off without a hitch. i had to keep reminding myself they were only fourth graders so i shouldn't be looking for academy award quality. i just wanted them to be heard and understood. most of them rose to the occasion with a couple surpassing expectations and a couple never really meeting the mark. next, we do a mini-presentation of jonah and the whale and then our drama requirements will be fulfilled. the school year is winding down and, as it is with most teachers i think, i'm already planning on changes i'll be making next year. that being said, my ultimate goal for the summer is to sit by a pool or the ocean and close my eyes for three months. i'll let you know how that works out...

card club night results

here are my cards from last night's stamp club. we spend a great deal of time laughing, a good deal of time eating and-oh yeah-we stamp a bit, too. next month we are sharing designs. i only have to come with one which is a mercy. sometimes i stare at the stamps and can't think of a thing! oh- i didn't design the flower pot card. i got that idea from here: http://susiemccormick.blogspot.com/

just a card

made these for valentine's day stamp club. top to bottom: gift card cup. fill it w/ candy and a gift card. hey-it was for valentine's...candy had to be included! middle: treat boxes. bottom: um...cards! the one on the right has an acetate window. i had hoped it would look like you were looking out the window at a bird on a branch...use your imagination!

cannot believe they're predicting snow for tomorrow! wait. of COURSE i can believe it! i know better but hope springs up every groundhog day. well, perhaps it will result in no school on monday thus prolonging our precious vacation just one more day. speaking of vacation, mine certainly didn't go according to plan. MY plan was for a two day getaway with hubby at the beginning and a two day getaway with my sisters at the end...yeah--nada getaways. well, maybe for spring break. did manage to see a couple of movies with hubby and go shopping with one sister...all was not bad. saw slumdog millionaire, gran torino, and taken. my ratings: *****,****,*** respectively. had a swell time cruising around wrentham and decided on new china from villeroy and boch. don't tell. i think i'll just slip it into the house one plate at a time! what do you think? cute or what?