Watch me!

A few weeks ago, friends with children were over. In the course of the evening, we saw several little shows. The fashion shows and plays were not bad, really -- mercifully short, mostly parading the results of dress-up, complete with big-girl announcer, "And now presenting...Ballerina Cheerleader!" (These children are delightful children, and this whole post should absolutely NOT be construed as casting any aspersions on them or on Earthgirl.)

The adult conversation turned to an article I read in "Wonder Time" magazine a long while ago that I found helpful. The phrase, "short and well-rehearsed " can be helpful to the harried adult who too often has heard, "Watch me!...no, wait...I did it wrong...no, wait...I'm going to do it good this time...no, wait...I think I need to do it this way...no, wait..." and, worse, the group effort: "Watch us...no, wait, you're doing it wrong...no, YOU are!...no, wait, you're supposed to be the Mommy...no, wait, we can jump higher... no, wait..."

I think the author is right on that our clapping and wildly (gamely?) praising every little effort is not building self-esteem and talent, but doing them a disservice. Maybe we are teaching them that working to perfect a performance is not important, but that any little effort should receive reward. Maybe instead we should instruct them and even help them to plan and practice. Maybe we should speak a little truth in love.

Greenery

Right now I have no flowers in my yard worth cutting. In fact, a lonely Daylily and an exuberant Knock-out Rose are the only blooms period.

Two weekends ago, when we expected guests, I bought some bouquets from Publix (the 5-day guarantee seems to work), and put arrangements in the family room, on the piano and jelly cabinet, and of course, in the dining room. I really enjoyed having the flowers. Since I don't have any houseplants, they were the only live decor in here (except for maybe a napping cat, but he's practically comatose under the fan, so "live" is a bit of a maybe). But I don't want to spend money on flowers every week. What to do?

Foliage! Greenery! That's what. That lora petulum needs a trim anyway. I plunked a few sticks in a vase and tied a little ribbon around it and called it all done. I think there are even a couple of little blooms. That little vase of green is a spirit-lifter for me.


My home church is a little country church. When I was growing up, different ladies in the church were in charge of different months as housekeeper (maybe it was called "hostess"?) During your month, you'd clean up a little (dust, sweep, straighten up the hymnbooks), and put flowers up front. Seldom were these purchased flowers. Potted plants might be used, azaleas and camellias in Spring; roses, daisies, marigolds, lilies in the Summer, chrysanthemums and more camellias in Fall -- but flowers weren't the only choices. Sometimes there would be a big vase of Summer greenery or Fall foliage or a dried arrangement. And sometimes a lady would resort to one of the artificial arrangements stored in an unused Sunday School room. As a child I did not realize how surrounded I was with natural beauty and grace. Today, though, I am cooking peach preserves and I have this little vase of greenery, and I thank God for these simple things.

New and Improved

Must be my age, which is close to 50 - real close.That must be why I'd like things that work to just stay put. Stay the same. Rufuse to be new and improved.

My E-mail changed on me yesterday - not the gmail account attached to this blog, but the email I have used with the same address for about 13 years. Every now and then, I open it as usual and, "Ta da! Welcome to your new and improved Message Center!" I don't want changes in my Message Center; I just want to click in the same spot and have my inbox appear. I don't care if the "send" button is at the top or on a sidebar; I just want it to stay put.

What if, about once a month, you walked out to your regular US Mail and discovered that, "Ta da! Starting today, the little door opens on the side. Oh, and the little red flag is blue now, and pops out from the front."

After casting about, taking a lot of extra time just to open and respond to a single message, I saw a little, obscure box over to the side, "Click to return to Classic Email." Hurray! Aren't the classics always better?

...but it's Summer

Yes, I said only 15 minutes, then it's back to some schoolwork. {We are doing a little school 2 days/week this summer to finish a few things we want to finish and to get further in Math just for fun}

But it's Summer, and Earthgirl and the little boy we watch are making frog houses in the cool damp sand under his playhouse, and it's Summer after all. There will be hotter days and rainier days to stay inside and enjoy some schoolwork, but today the frogs need houses and the children need fresh air and dirt.

Field Trip!!! or, Hair Nets, A New Fashion Statement

Last week we took a field trip to our local grocery store. Now, there's something I never would have thought of, but when Science Geek invited us along, we jumped. In an unusual turn of events (a combination of small families plus childcare), I tied for most children. I had three with me. Yes, with this group, our child:adult ratio is usually 2:1 or better. Stop groaning, you mothers of many. When we are all old, my poor only daughter may be struggling with two ancient senile oldsters, while your children will say, "It's my month to ride Mother around to her doctor visits and store."

At any rate, I have bookmarked a site that talks about the many Factory Tours one can take. Their blog right now features a local favorite, Kennedy Space Center. We have not been there since Earthgirl was a baby, so it's about time to go back. In their archives, I found out about a cool-looking tour of Sally Corporation in Jacksonville, FL. I think we will just have to ride up there for that tour.

We loved looking down on the store from upstairs behind one-way glass.

So hard to say goodbye...

...and I won't say goodbye until the last possible moment. But that scruffy place above my right knee is just about ready to bust through. I see skin. Soon everyone will be able to. The hems have been shedding threads for over a year. When I give up my favorite pair of jeans (and I only have one favorite at a time), they are too used up to recycle much. These may still have some useable denim below the knees.


POP QUIZ: From whence came the word denim? (Answer below)

Back in the 70's, I won a district 4-H competition in the clothing and textiles project. During the Q&A portion of the competition, one of the judges asked me if I knew where the word denim came from, and I did. She was surprised, since she, a Home Economics professional, had just recently learned that. I may have won on the strength of knowing that little bit of trivia. Later, I took the presentation ("Cotton - The Clothesbasket of Today." A little corny, but descriptive) on to win State, and took a wonderful trip to Nationals in Chicago, where I did not win. As result, I missed a whole week of school, including the explanation of a limit in Calculus. I struggled for the rest of the year trying to make sense of why we were doing these things. During the first week of college Calculus, I got it - the explanation of a limit, and breezed (well, relatively speaking) through the rest of Calculus. Then came Differential Equations. --a whole 'nother ballgame. But I digress.

I love that recycled denim has come back around. During my teen years, we recycled a lot of denim. My Mama, Nanny (my grandmother), and I made purses, hats, vests, and they made some beautiful jackets. I look forward to Earthgirl growing into the jacket Nanny made me, comlete with little embroidered flowers on the collar, cuffs, and down the zipper. When we studied Julie and the 1970's in American Girls Club, we made little recycled denim purses one week.

1974: That's me, 2nd from the right, in a little top Mama whipped up from Holly Hobby fabric, and wearing my then-favorite jeans. Picture taken with my trusty little Instamatic.

Earthgirl (Summer 2006) is wearing a skirt I whipped up from my favorite jeans from 2 faves ago. (She and her friend decided they liked using their denim skirts as swimsuit cover-ups.) The jeans busted through the knees and I kept wearing them. When they busted through the seat, they had to retire. But they enjoyed a recycle season with Earthgirl before moving on.


ANSWER TO POP QUIZ: The fabric originated in Nimes, France. It was serge de Nimes, later shortened to denim.

Diligence - A Big To Do

We are pretty much home ALL DAY today - yay! There are 20 items listed on my To Do list for today. I have already thought of a couple I forgot, and have put the 2 laundry maidens to work (forgot "laundry" - imagine that).

I find that I seldom complete everything on my To Do list, but if I don't write it down, I wind up doing a whole lot of nuthin'. In recent years, that is, the post-45 years, I find I do better writing bigger and with a bolder pen for lists like this. I still like to write smaller with a fineline pen , but my list is not effective if I have to find a pair of reading glasses to glance at it.

My all-time favorite pens: Pilot Precise V-5, Pentel R.S.P.V, and Sharpies.

When we were up in Georgia for the wedding last week, I observed that my SIL was carrying around an old-fashion Flair pen. Back in the 70's Flairs were the coolest. Her list could be read from about 5 feet away. I gotta get me one of those.



As though I need more pens...