Now (while it is still called today)

"Life is only all our moments slipped on in a row, one after the other — and if you turn slow in the light, the moments might shine translucent.
And the surprise of it catches you and releases you and it is what you always hoped and always knew.
There is glory in every now.
Strange —-
how you can turn, turn direction a bit like the wind —
and all this grit becomes such startling grace…"

This is taken from Ann Voscamp:  http://aholyexperience.com

This made me think of knitting row after row of yarn and ending up with a beautiful tapestry of colors.  Life is to be lived in the "now."  I try every day to be "present" everywhere I am.  It's a work.  Like a work of art.  It's the art of living.  That's what I want to remember and be remembered for.  That I took the time to make those around me feel special.  Everyone wants to be noticed and heard.  Breathe.  That's how we need to live.  Just breathe.  There's glory in every NOW.

Going to Try a Little Something

I'm going to try a little something.  It's time to memorize.  I haven't done that in years.  So to get started I'm going to use the Beatitudes.

Here's the first few weeks worth:

Matthew 5: 1-2
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

Matthew 5: 3-5
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.  Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Matthew 5: 6-8
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

I will admit the last verse (seeing God) is my favorite.  But mercy rates up there highly! 

Costa Concordia

Unbelievable.  It goes to show how a little recklessness can shipwreck your
reputation.  It will make you abandon your pride.  To err is human, to forgive
Divine. 

Source: piccsy.com via Terri on Pinterest

Time with Lola

Lola and I went to Central Park today.  Just not "the" Central Park you might be thinking.

The first time she went down this slide she was holding on to the bar above and just plopped down and I believe it surprised her because it surely surprised me.  But have no fear!  She got over that immediately.

It was a lovely playground made by the city near us.  We enjoyed visiting.  This was our first time since the day started out so cool (77 degrees).  We plan on making this visit many more times in the future since cooler weather is coming with the fall.

I am busy planning and working on our backyard for my youngest daughter's wedding.  We, at least, are going to be able to put our money in our own landscaping.  We're building a pavilion for the ceremony and later will use it for grilling and a hot tub.  I am excited about that.

The week after her wedding she and her husband will be honeymooning and we will watch Lola.

But the following week we are leaving with our RV for a short trip to Arkansas four-wheeling.  That will be a welcome relaxation from all the wedding plans.  Then on to planning our oldest daughter's spring wedding.  This time it will be held at a mansion.

Alpha and Omega

"I am the Alpha and Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."  Revelation 1:8


Today we celebrated Easter.  All of our family went to church together and afterwards had dinner there.  Lola, my granddaughter, got to hunt eggs with several other toddlers.  


My oldest daughter got engaged earlier in the week and we were able to visit and see her ring.  She was very excited and happy.  We really like her fiance.  He called her dad a week ago and asked to come over for a man-to-man chat.  They got together and he asked permission to ask Melissa to marry him.  


Time really seems to fly these days.  They will be getting married next year in April.  Lots of time to plan the wedding.


When I was a child we had a large family Bible that I would read.  There was a passage that always intrigued me.  It was from the book of Revelations chapter 1 verse 3:  "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it;  for the time is near."  At the time I was especially interested to know that I would be blessed for just reading the Bible.  

Blizzard Brings out Memories

I never read the Little House books until I home-schooled my children. We read through the series and I cried at the appropriate places (couldn’t help it). That blizzard was the saddest part. I thought they were so brave and strong. We also loved the series on tv with Michael Landon. I have all the books. The Long Winter was all about the blizzard. Here is an excerpt:


“This life is a difficult riddle,

For how many people we see

With faces as long as a fiddle

That ought to be shining with glee

I am sure in this world there are plenty

Of good things enough for us all

And yet there’s not one out of twenty

But thinks that his share is too small.



Then what is the use of repining,

For where there’s a will there’s a way.

And tomorrow the sun may be shining,

Although it is cloudy today.



Do you think that by sitting and sighing

You’ll ever obtain all you want?

It’s cowards alone that are crying

And foolishly saying, ‘I can’t!’

It is only by plodding and striving

And laboring up the steep hill

Of life, that you’ll ever be thriving

Which you’ll do if you’ve only the will.”



On the Banks of Plum Creek has a chapter about The Long Blizzard in it too.

My favorite books from childhood were the Little Women series. I loved Jo so much. I also loved Heidi. But I believe my favorite books as a child was The Boxcar Kids. I could make-believe that life all day!

Also we had a magical time in the fourth grade with our teacher Mrs. Gray. She would read to us after lunch for an hour. She read Silver Chief Dog of the North by Jack O'Brien to us. We waited excitedly every day for her to continue the story. I loved that book and that woman.

Too Much

     You can never spend too much time with the ones you love.  I remember the times spent with my children so clearly now that they are grown.  There were times we played in the sand.  Times we tinkered with blocks.  We went for walks in the pasture.  Took a fishing pole with us.  Good times we spent swinging on the glider of the swing set singing, "How do you like to go air in the air?  Up in the sky so blue?  I think it is the most delightful thing ever a child could do."  That was only yesterday or so.  We played with Barbies, built Legos and Duplos before that.  We drove our firetruck and hot wheels and tricycles all around the porch.  We sat on the rooftop.  Baked the tasty cookies together.  Swam in the pool on hot sunny days.  Trips were made to the zoo and parks.  With picnics here and there.
     There was bath time, supper time, bedtime, stories to tell, nursing time, rocking time, and days to fill.  There were tears to dry, laughter to share, hearts to hear, and time to listen.  We played dress up and make believe, and forts were built.  In winter we made snowmen and snow ice cream.  In the fall we raked leaves.  But spring and summer were always the best.  Trying to skate with roller blades was difficult for me but I tried.  We played basketball and softball.  Attended a lot of football games and watched a certain cheerleader proudly.  There were parades to watch, proms and dances, contests and competitions.  We drove many miles and shopped many hours.
     Trips made to shop for groceries, time spent reading books aloud, especially enjoying Little House on the Prairie together.  We read the Bible together, prayed together, and attended church together.  We went to many concerts and even won tickets for backstage passes a few times.  We stood in lines to meet our favorite music artists and get their autographs and photos taken with us.
     Time was spent learning to drive.  And taking that driving test.  Whew!  Three graduations from high school and three first time trips to move into colleges.  This mom had the hardest time with that.  Moving them several times through the years since.  All these years and all these joys have never been enough.
     You can never spend too much time with the ones you love.
     You will never look back and say it was too much.

Arkansas Fall 2010 Moccasin Gap Trails

We rode at night with a full moon above

Our four wheelers are in love

My love

self photo non gratus

This our group shot.  We set my camera's 10 second timer and Mark (the one
leaning down ran from quite a distance through rocks and water to get there)

Close up of our Scorpions

Here is the first attempt at running to make the shot.  Mark runs every morning.

Arkansas Trip Fall 2010 018.MTS

this and that

 I do love this

and I do love camouflage

Happy Halloween

My cat Kissa yawning

Long Time No See

I have been away so long.  I'm on Facebook practically every day but I haven't found the energy or time to look at blogs lately.  Can you believe I don't read The Pioneer Woman's blog anymore?  I used to check it religiously but now I  can't find the time.  I see her posts on Facebook sometimes and wander over if I feel like it but I have just not been interested in spending that much time on the computer.  Except I manage to give FB a quick check several times a day if I'm home.  It's just easier I guess.  I still have everyone on my google reader and perhaps will get the urge to read blogs again.  But it does take a lot of time and before you know it you haven't gotten anything done that you need to do. 

I have a new development in my life.  My granddaughter's dad has gone to work for my husband and he brings the baby over to me five days a week.  Now do you see what I've been doing with my time?  I am enjoying every minute.  I can't think of a more important thing to get to do.  She is on a list for the daycare at the hospital where her mother works but until she gets placed she is at my daycare.  And I'm good!  No one is going to take better care of this baby.  I'm certain of it. :))

Sunmaid

My daughter told me that when she was little she thought I looked like the Sunmaid girl on the Sunmaid Raisin boxes.  Yesterday was Mother's Day and after lunch the girls snapped a shot of me.  What do you think?  

Golden Driller

The Golden Driller is reportedly the largest free-standing statue in the world. He is 76 feet tall, so high that he rests his right hand atop an actual production oil derrick. Built of iron and concrete, he weighs nearly 22 tons and is expected to survive 200 mph tornadoes. He was declared Oklahoma's official state monument in 1979, and the plaque at his base dedicates him "to the men of the petroleum industry who by their vision and daring have created from God's abundance a better life for mankind."

There is surprisingly little room between the Golden Driller and the parking lot, and standing near his base provides a steep and somewhat saucy angle. Every few years some official talks of moving him deeper into the Fairgrounds, where he would be less likely to alarm passing motorists. But The Golden Driller remains where he has been for over 40 years, guarding the entrance to the International Petroleum Exhibition Building, which showcases trucks with three-story-tall tires and the latest models in back yard derricks.

Today was a windy day in Oklahoma.  We visited the RV and Boat Show and I shot this photo of the Golden Driller.  He was built in 1953.
****Disclaimer***I know this is not the largest statue in the world.  Not by far.  This was just information about the driller from an old article.  :))

Flamingoes

I love flamingoes.

I didn't realize they were such a noisy and rather mean bird.

We visited them at the zoo yesterday.  They are a lot more pink 

at the zoo because of the dye that is in their food pellets. 

In the wild their color comes from

carotenoid proteins in their diet of animal and plant plankton.

Caribbean Flamingo

Some flamingoes live high in the Andes of South America.  They do a funny dance of courtship.

Massive volcanoes and flamingo colony-South America -BBC

Can You See the Real Me?

I am black and white, antique, and original.  Will the real me please stand up?
We went to see Roger Daltrey of the Who and Eric Clapton last night at the BOK Center.

Roger Daltrey sang some classics such as "Behind Blue Eyes."

Clapton sang some classics such as "Layla" and "CrossRoads".  One of my favorite songs he sang was "You Look Wonderful Tonight."  

He sang "Rock and Roll Heart."

He also sang "Change the World."  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGDIxcuPT7s
But "You Look Wonderful Tonight" tops it for me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NaMuBX4aMmw
WT:  Did you see Clapton in Hyde Park back in 1966?  I guess you aren't that old...

Chauffeur For a Day

Once Einstein was on his way to deliver a speech to university students. His faithful chauffeur not only drove his car, but was always present amongst the audience during all his speeches. Einstein had delivered this particular speech so many times that his chauffeur had actually memorized it. On that day Einstein, while on his way to the university, said aloud in his car that he felt tired. So his chauffeur suggested that they change places and that while he delivers the speech, Einstein could drive them back home. Their identities wouldn’t be a problem because Einstein wasn’t more than a university professor then and so no one in that university would recognize him. So he agreed but was a little thoughtful about what his chauffeur would do if he was asked any difficult questions by the students, after the speech. However, the speech went well but Einstein’s thought came true. A student came up with a question. Here’s what the chauffeur said “Why, that question’s so simple, that even my chauffeur can answer it.” And so Einstein stood up from the audience and easily answered the question, much to the amazement of the audience.

Lowering Cholesterol Slideshow: 15 Tips for Avoiding Heart Disease

Lowering Cholesterol Slideshow: 15 Tips for Avoiding Heart Disease

Absente, mais pas d'esprit

I have been absent from my blog for quite some time. I just have not had a thing to say I suppose. I've been messing with facebook and reading my google reader of blogs but not diligently. Being a grandma takes time. Especially when the daughter is finishing college. She will graduate this spring. We've went through some changes over here at the hacienda. We put new bamboo floors down in the living room, hallway, and bedroom. That took a lot of my time moving furniture and CLEANING and getting rid of unnecessary items. Also cleaning a few closets. We bought some new leather furniture for the living room and that required more moving too. You should have seen my husband and I moving a sofa bed into a distant bedroom. We had to stand it on its end and then turn it around a tight corner and remove the bedroom door for it to fit. I am surprised we made it and no arguments either. Whew!!

I have been making new recipes and eating out occasionally too. We are planning a spring break trip to Arkansas again. This time we will be sleeping in our RV and our friends have toy haulers. We will get to try out our little shower and I do mean little! I don't believe we will use the toilet, don't want to clean that out or be left with any fumes. The campground we are staying out will have showers and bathrooms.

I bought a new laptop for our business computer so I could be portable and the old computer was failing. I got a monster screen 18.4". It's taking some getting used to with the keyboard being so different. I had the most difficult time loading my Quickbooks and importing my old files. I have done this before but this time it seems that everything that could go wrong did. Being on the phone with support team was not the most pleasant experience. I had to have remote access help. After about four hours, it was accomplished.

I will finish with this update. The title of this post reads "Absent, but not minded".

Guess What Grandma's Been Doing?