Stick Horse Cowgirls

My now- grown son likes to remind me of a “scam” we used to run on him when he was young.  We put a special calendar up on the wall just to record his good behavior.  He would earn one of those gummed gold stars on the calendar for each of several specified good deeds. He now tells us that he paid great attention to the opportunity to fill those little calendar squares up with the shiny stars.  It caused him to eat way more green beans than he would otherwise have eaten (which would have been none).  It was responsible for many more beds made without asking.  It just, generally, served to achieve parental purposes at very little cost to Dad and me. Son now says (good naturedly), “ I can’t believe I fell for that!  All that effort for a stupid star!” And we both wonder why it worked like it did. I was reminded of this the other day as I played my latest time-waste game on my I-Pad – Bedazzled .  I become mesmerized by this game, trying to line u...

    I’m cooking today—all day!  I’ll be cooking tomorrow too for our family gathering.   C will be enjoying Thanksgiving dinner at her sister’s home with family.  She’s taking apple enchiladas!  Maybe she will share her recipe with us all! When it’s all over  I will be exhausted for sure, but we have so much to be thankful for— not that I always remember that……     We may use the real china like my grandmother always did and her silver which stays in the wooden chest in the buffet.  I’ll make homemade cranberry sauce with a little orange essence and there will be the canned jellied variety for hubby who is picky!  Visit www.susanbranch.com for her great recipe for cranberry sauce in the oven!  I’ll serve some spiced peaches in a crystal dish because my grandmother Elsie always had them on the Thanksgiving table—apple rings at Christmas.  Traditions live on in those that follow.  I usually feel a ...

Nothing like a sex scandal to bring me out of temporary blog retirement. But, really, this isn’t a “sex scandal” per se , rather something much more. I smiled to myself that the very last post I wrote on this blog was about Benghazi, which is so intertwined with this subject matter which is: Generals Petraeus and Allen; Paula Broadwell and Jill Kelley. For your reference as we go through this scenario, here is a little diagram: Deep breath…here I go. When I hear diametrically-opposed opinions from someone I respect, I sit up and take note. In this instance, it is my blog friend, Karen, from This Old House, Too. Karen’s posted a couple days ago on this subject, lamenting that we have to hear about this scandal ad nauseum and that it is nobody’s business but that of the players. I don’t get this and replied (lengthily, as none of you will be surprised), that it is, indeed, my business when the head of MY CIA engages in risky behaviors. This is Karen’s reply (in color) to my co...

  Inside Cats are such connoisseurs of comfort!  These sweet boys were rescued from a plastic bag in a trash dumpster!  They had five littermates who thankfully have all found homes!  Someone’s “trash” is another’s treasure.  My grandkids are really enjoying the new kitties!   Such a little imp!     Always into something!   Outside The big rescue dog, Cowboy, always watchful and protective.   Barn kitty, Pumpkin,  is checking out the coop!     Free Range Chickens lay tasty eggs!  Perhaps they think the gazing ball is a huge egg!     Cowgirl in training!     Have a great week! V

    “Witches and goblins and jack-o-lanterns bright Creep through the town on a cold October night.  You can hear the sounds of running feet when nothing can be seen And the strangest things can happen on a WILD HALLOWEEN!”   “”C” and I sang this song during childhood in the sixties and now I sing it to my grandchildren!  Almost nothing we loved more than trick-or-treating in our neighborhood.  Mrs. Korte who lived up the street, dressed as a witch and gave out wax lips, mustaches and fangs!  She played spooky music too, so her house was the highlight of our night!  It was a simpler time—we never heard of the ugly side of Halloween—it was so much fun to use our imagination, dress up in a costume and run up and down the streets under our parent’s watchful eye in the cool of the autumn night.  Later at home we would pour the candy out on the bed or table and see what treats we would enjoy.  Remember the peanut butter kisses...

Okay, I got special permission from V to veer from our usual path… I tend to avoid commenting on politics or world affairs too much.  This is partly because I have a lot in my own little world to contend with, and this absorbs most of my energies.  It’s been a while since I have had the luxury of being impassioned about politics or world affairs. It must be added that the cynicism that pervades my philosophies in general applies here, too.  I have a suspicion of politicians of all stripes and I doubt very much that my thoughts, one way or the other, will change the world. But lately the riots against the US in the Middle East and throughout Muslim communities worldwide  have captured some of my attention.  The images scattered throughout this post are from those events. I have listened with growing chagrin about the murder of one of our ambassadors and the disrespect being shown to us by the riots outside our embassies throughout the world.  It was...

Did any of you see this heart-stopping YouTube video?  I first saw it on a news broadcast and only made it through the entire thing because the anchor said at the outset: “ Don’t worry—it all ends well.” I loved seeing this—how the little ducklings would scurry back to the guidance of their mother after their little group was scattered by the wind of passing traffic.  How she would wait on them to regroup before continuing her perilous path. It made me think back to one of my favorite childhood books: Make Way for Ducklings , by Robert McCloskey (1942 Caldecott Award.)  For those of you who don’t know this book, it is  about a family of ducks crossing a city street (with the help of the friendly traffic policeman) to get to the lake at the Boston Public  Gardens.  The book is famous enough to merit sculpture at the gardens to commemorate it. Another of my favorites was about Mike Mulligan and his steam shovel Marianne (by Virginia Burton, 1939.)...

Someone close to me once gathered her two precious children around for a morning devotional and Bible study.  Such a beautiful perfect-family picture.  Her seven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter were interested, earnest, and in good humor as they started. The lesson was about turning to God for assistance in cleaning up our lives.  Mom spoke to the kids about bad habits and how prayer can enlist the help of God and focus us on our efforts to break them.  “ Think about something you’d like help with this morning.  If you want to share it, fine.  If you are not comfortable with sharing, that’s fine, too.  We all have things in our lives we’d like to change and we need help to do it.  I’ll start .” Mom shared with her kids that she had gained a little weight and that she knew the reason was poor eating habits.  “ I need help from you and from God so I can remember to make good choices in my diet.  I need to learn to eat heal...

I’ve written about this before.  It’s worth mentioning again because we are all prey to the idea that our circumstances are special, different.  The rules and statistics don’t really apply, so we think.  This can cloud judgment. Mattie was married to a well-known personal injury lawyer, “Jim.“  I had heard of him; don’t know of him except by his reputation.  I expected to find lots of assets.  I was right. She’d been married to him 34 years.  She was 52.  He was 18 years older than her and at a well-preserved 70, rich and thanks to Viagra,  going strong in all respects. Frankly, it seemed to me that Mattie ought to wait it out…he was content to be married while he continued to sow his elderly oats.  Apparently when one is rich one can find plenty of fertile ground in which to do so, no matter your age.  Divorce was going to be emotionally hard and, surely, he’d either die or stroke out soon. But I always tell my clients, ...

Could it be that our heat wave is over?  It has been one long, hot summer here, dry as a tinderbox.  The only upside has been very little mowing.  Our grasses have struggled this summer,and I am thankful I no longer have horses in need of winter hay, because the price must be sky-high.  We’ve had rains now, and we’re only the the 90’s during the day, which is feeling like a cold snap! But early last week, the heat was still on.  I’d come home from work at 6 p.m. and my little car would still be registering over 100 degrees. On one of those mornings as I traveled to work, I noticed that at 7:30 a.m. it was already near 90 degrees.  My drive takes me along a four-lane, divided parkway, the two sides enclosing a wooded area which has paved pathways.  In the mornings I see health-conscious folks out walking, jogging or skating there.  This particular morning, I spied a young mother in her exercise shorts and tank top pushing a stroller.  ...

Oh, dear me!  My sister has recently put me onto Netflix, and I am so loving it.   Yes, I can get some pretty good, pretty current movie s through Netflix.  And I am a sucker for documentaries of all stripes, so I’ve done quite a bit of learning through those this past week.  But what has really done it for me is the ability to see all my favorite BBC series. I have rewatched all the Upstairs, Downstairs episodes.  I have worked my way through the first series of Downton Abbey , which I had not seen before.  Both of these reawakened my great longing for staff: A parlor maid to keep my house “tidy,” a cook to prepare and serve delicious meals so that I actually have  time to “dress for dinner,” and a butler to iron the creases out of my morning newspaper.  Sigh .  I love this escape. I have gotten two-thirds through the House of Cards trilo gy, and it’s just the best!  I love the smooth evil of Francis Urquhart (so ap...