Friday Foto....

Simply stunning....

Of the 2,853 (I kid you not) photographs from my youngest daughter's wedding this past June, this one is my absolute favorite.

For those of us who know and love these two kids, this photo truly captures the essence of their relationship - the pure love and total joy they find in each other's company.

And are they funny! It's like watching a running sitcom when the two of them get started....

Posed photographs are wonderful to have, but more often than not, it is the captured spontaneous moments that I enjoy the most.

I promise to post more photos from this day in the weeks to come. Spinning through them can make me dizzy. Seriously. So I need to pace myself.

Happy weekend to all!

p.s.  Hurry home, Englishman!

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” 

― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

I didn't discover "Anne" until I had my daughters.  I came upon the work of L.M. Montgomery through the films first, then sought out her books. The girls and I would listen to the books on tape while driving up and down the Parkway during the summertime. And the soundtrack to the original film is one of the most soothing pieces of music I've ever heard.

There was a series produced called Road to Avonlea, created by Kevin Sullivan, based on the L.M. Montgomery books.  I used to let my class watch it on rainy days at lunchtime.  They absolutely loved it.  I noticed that even the Eighth Grade students, the boys as well as the girls, who would monitor them in the classroom would get caught up in the stories, hoping for a string of rainy days so they could see it in its entirety.

If you are not acquainted with Anne of Green Gables or any of the other numerous books by L.M. Montgomery, I highly recommend that you seek them out.  The vivid imagination, high-spiritedness and pure joy that is "Anne Shirley" is treat not to be missed, whether you are a young woman or a Grandmom like me.

And yes, I too, am so very glad I live in a world where there are Octobers, my favorite month of the year!

Wednesday's Wisdom....

Talk about it.....

It's taken me many years to learn the value of talking about thing that are bothering me, whether they be a problem or a worry.  "A problem (worry) shared is a problem (worry) halved" is a popular proverb.  And I've actually found it to be true, when I've put it into practice.

"I don't want to bother anyone" or "It's no big deal" or "No, really, I'm fine".  Sound familiar?

Those are often excuses I've used to keep things inside, swirling in my head.  Experience (as well as the Englishman) tells me, that's not a very good place for me to keep them.

It doesn't have to be that I'm necessarily looking for some sort of answer. Oftentimes, it is enough just to say something out loud, to have another person listen and nod.  To clear it out of my head so to speak, so I can look at it and possibly find some sort of solution or at least peace.

I've learned that having the courage, taking the time, or being just so filled with something that I think I'll explode, and talking about it can bring tremendous relief.  More often than not, things are not always as bad as I imagine them to be.  It's just that I might need someone else's perspective to see that. 

In addition, through the experience of sharing with others my "stuff", I've learned that there is often a benefit not only to me, but to the listener.  Sometimes, my sharing has given the other person the opportunity, or even the self permission they need, to open up about what is filling their head at the moment.

Talking about it - getting it off one's chest - dumping - are key watchwords for me to remember when my head starts to fill with all manner of imaginings.  Maintaining a "clear head," devoid of worry, allows room for the lovelier aspects of life to reside.  

Tip for a Tuesday....

Be Prepared

Yes, it's that time of year again.  Time when colds start to run rampant, allergies rear their ugly heads and coughs start (or continue, ugh!).

Now is the time to start stocking up on those necessary items to help ease the pain so to speak and get you through, both night and day.  Since illness never seems to arrive at a conveniently scheduled time, I have found it best to have several key items on hand for what is inevitably coming....

Things like multiple boxes of Kleenex, Halls lozenges, ginger ale, individual containers of applesauce, aspirin, vitamin C, chocolate bars, chicken soup, and tea bags.

OK, so chocolate isn't medically helpful for either cold or flu, but it is a necessary daily component for my overall well-being.  I'm quite certain the Englishman will back me up on this one.

It might be helpful to start thinking about getting in a few things so one is not rummaging around in cupboards in the middle of the night, wishing one had picked up that bottle of aspirin....

A Monday memory.....

As I was perusing some entertainment articles last night on the computer, I noticed that the cast of Full House was celebrating their twenty-fifth reunion.  

Good Lord - has it really been twenty five years since the Englishman and I would sit on the couch, surrounded by our own three daughters, watching the antics of the three Tanner girls?

Now that's enough to make me feel old!

Television has been a huge part of my life since I was young.  Whenever I was home sick from school, my mother would wheel in the television which sat on a stand from the kitchen and place it at the foot of my bed.  I'd watch such classics as The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Andy Griffith Show, Leave It To Beaver, and I Love Lucy.

As a family, we would have dinner on TV trays on Saturday night, so we wouldn't miss a minute of The Jackie Gleason Show, a variety show which was broadcast live.  "And away we go..", Jackie Gleason would sing out as he'd do a quick two-step shuffle off the stage to begin the show.  Sunday nights were sacred, for Ed Sullivan was on at 8pm.  I can still remember when the Beatles appeared for the first of three appearances. (My mother once teased my father-in-law that it all started to go downhill from there, once the Beatles arrived on our shores....)

When I was in high school and college, Saturday nights were reserved for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.  You wouldn't dream of going out, no matter who your date or the destination, until you had seen Mary.  If you were staying in, you followed it up with The Bob Newhart Show, staying awake to finish the evening with Carol Burnett at ten.

As I said, while our girls were growing up, there were certain programs that we watched together as a family, including Little House on the Prairie, Growing Pains, and Family Matters. When British programs became more available, the Englishman was quite happy to introduce the girls to such classics as Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served, and later, a real favorite, The Vicar of Dibley.

These days, we are establishing new traditions with the youngest generation, the Grands.  While the Englishman and I eat lunch with Little Miss on Sundays, we tune in to watch Caillou, a cartoon show for pre-schoolers.  The fact that it is narrated by "the Grandmother" is merely coincidental as to why I enjoy it so much.

Routines.  Traditions.

"It's a good thing" as Martha says.

Friday Foto....

How adorable is M, riding on her new pony!

This is, in fact, a rocking horse which I purchased for "the nursery" when the Englishman and I were starting a family of our own.  It's been sitting in the loft (aka attic) since we moved into our current home. 

The horse's mane and tail had seen better days, so the Englishman and I set about restoring it for the next generation.  My solution for the ragged looking hair was to purchase a cotton mop replacement.  Between the two of us, we snipped, unraveled, and cut the mop into usable pieces.  The Englishman screwed it in securely, then reset several screws on the horses' body to assure a safe ride for the Grands.  Here's another look at our handiwork:

We are really pleased with how it turned out.  And looking at Little Miss' face, I think she is too!

Have a lovely weekend everyone!  

Thursday's Thought for the Day....

"The only real failure is the failure to try, and the real measure of success is how we cope with disappointment, as we must.  It doesn't matter if we feel that we're too old, too scared and disappointed...we get up in the morning.  We do our best.  Nothing else matters."

                                                      "Evelyn" - writing in her blog
                                                      The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

My sweet and thoughtful Englishman purchased this film for me yesterday on iTunes, remembering how much I enjoyed it when we saw it together in the theater.  Even better, he put it on last night so I could settle in and watch it right away.

And this time, I took notes. As I wished I could have the first time I viewed it.  Portions of the film's dialogue really touched my heart and need to be recalled, over and over.  

There is so much in just this quote alone - about success and failure.  And about doing our best.  That should count for something.  When we do the best that we can, with who we are and what we have to work with.

Try.  Cope.  Do your best.

Wonderful advice - so important to remember.

(and important to see this film!)