A New Mother’s Day Love Language

There are all sorts of paths to labeling what causes us to feel good and right about things.


Though I am not an expert , I am aware of the idea of the ‘5 love languages’, as a way I assume to identify what floats our emotional boat.


Are you about words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, or physical touch?





In honor of Mother’s Day, let’s add a few more, shall we?


I’ll go first.


Here are a few more love language additions that speak to me:


* digging in the dirt


*college football


*anything grandson related


*going to the flea market


*creating piles of things to give to any one of our 3 daughters


*anything Motown


*zinnias


*shoes that are cute and don’t hurt


*laughing


***

What are some of yours ?


Happy Mother’s Day weekend !

The Encouragers

I can’t imagine life without the encouragers who cross our paths.


They say to you and to me, wherever we meet,

I see you, you are not invisible, I see your effort, and I get it.

This is not just about complimenting people (which seems to be a lost art these days), but rather about noticing. 


It is one of my favorite things to do,with people I know and people I don’t know.



With people I know, it is part of friendship and connection.

It is commiserating or laughing wildly at what we both think is crazy.

It is saying to each other “I get you” .


With my students it may not have sounded complimentary , but it was.


Usually quietly at my desk I might say, ”You need to straighten up”, or “You know this, why aren’t you showing it?”, or “You’re smarter than this”.



With people I don’t know it happens in random places:


saying to a passing shopper at the grocery store “your hair looks great”,
or to a sales clerk who looks teary-eyed “everything’s  going to be ok” ,


or to the young Geek Squad member at Best Buy who is trying to explain why my computer is not really broken, “you’re doing good-hang in there with me”.



Blog land is full of encouragers.


They write emails to bloggers who are absent and ask if everything is ok.

They read posts and comment.

They continue to comment even on one way streets.


They write comments to say “they are glad you’re back!".

Dear Daughters: My IPod

 

Dear Daughters:

An important part of your genetic history

is archived,

not in scrapbooks or photo albums but

on my

IPod.

You have proven a million times over

that you are smart enough and cool enough

to not

place music into generational categories,

thereby ignoring it,

if it is not a product of your generation.

That makes me very proud.

So here is a starter list 

of award winners,

not of the experts,

but from me,

from my IPod.

***

Best Male Voice……..Michael McDonald

originally of the Doobie Brothers, and to date as a single artist.

I know his hair is white, which may not fit your esthetic, but aside from that,

his covers of Motown are some of my favorites.

And his voice.  Oh my.

Best Intro to a Soul Song…….. Shotgun, Jr. Walker and the All-Stars

I can’t tell you how many times I hit replay on this one.

Even in my 45 record days,

in my lavender bedroom,

in front of the mirror.

Best Male Lead Singer of a Band……..Steve Perry, Journey

His second award should be

Most Recognized Voice.

Don’t Stop Believin makes me want to drive fast.



Best Soul Group/Best Album…….. The Four Tops

The Four Tops Greatest Hits

This album was the soundtrack to

my freshman year at boarding school.

Best British Soul Voice Period…….. Steve Winwood

Do not play Roll With It while driving.

Texting has nothing over dancing while driving.

Best Creative Band……..Fleetwood Mac

Favorite Song……..You Make Lovin Fun

Best Marvin Gaye Dance Song……. Got to Give it Up

Best Marvin Gaye Friendship/ Family Song……..Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Best Song to Get Your Dad to Dance………Taking Care of Business, Randy Bachman

It works every time.

Best Driving to Work Song…….. Start Me Up, The Rolling Stones


Best Soul Sounding Female Country Singer……..Bonnie Raitt

plus from Bonnie Raitt

Best Female Heartbreak Song……..I Can’t Make You Love Me

Best Easy Listening Song……..Nick of Time


Best All -Time Album for The Time It Was Created…….. Tapestry, Carole King

Best 70’s Band…….. Creedence Clearwater Revival

CCR was all about country and soul and protest.

When I hear them now, I think of James Lee Burke novels.

Favorites:  Born on the Bayou, Green River, Fortunate Son.

Proud Mary is just a little too stereotypical CCR for me.

Fortunate Son makes me think of Viet Nam and

the draft.

Ask Dad about his memories of the draft.

***

Tomorrow I am posting Summer hits 2013.

What are your favorites?

Dear Daughters: Decorating for Christmas

Dear Daughters,

I have decorated our home for Christmas many different ways,

and without a doubt,

this year has been the

SLOWEST. 


In fact,

as I sit here writing this,

I am still not quite finished.


Lesson #1

There is no schedule; there is no deadline.

Just enjoy the process.

When we remodeled this house

23 years ago,

this room, which we call the study,

was the front porch.


The floor still has a slight slant.

I find that endearing, don’t you?

After all, I’m a little slanted too.


Lesson #2

Embrace the odd, the quirky, the slanted, the not so precious. 

That is where treasures are found.

At a time in my life when the world talks about

simplifying,

I have wondered why I keep doing this-

even as slowly as I have this year.

Honestly,

I think it is because there are some things- some traditions-

that are just too special

to neglect.

I am not quite ready to file this away in the downsize folder.


Lesson #3

You get to decide how you feel about this in your home and in your life.

Isn’t that wonderful?

And finally,

this decorating business is all about my love of you, and Dad,

and traditions, and sparkle.

Lesson#4

You cause that sparkle.

Love,

Mom

***

Linking to:

Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Cowgirl Up

Wow Us Wednesdays

Dear Daughters: Out of the Ordinary Questions

Dear Daughters,

One of my favorite things to do

as a grandmother is to

shock your sons/nephews/ and my grandsons

with out of the ordinary questions.


In the photo above I had just asked Mills if he wanted to hop up in the driver’s seat of this roofer’s truck

in our driveway.

He did- while trying not to smile.


I have also been known to turn to Harrison and say-

“Do you want to drive?”

(Don’t tell his parents.)

We did- together-

in the Love’s convenience store parking lot outside Three Rivers.


Other questions?

*I bought 3 kinds of Blue Bell- how about a bowl of all three?

and-

*Who wants to load the popcorn popper?

It is so much fun!



Love to you all-

Mom

Unlocking Creativity

(Traditional Home 2012)

This is a bait and switch post.


I do NOT know what unlocks my creativity

in terms of design in my home.


In addition-

to make matters more complicated,


I have entered a sort of indecisive,

hand-wringing stage of late

where ideas dart around and rarely land.


And so when that happens, the phone calls to daughters start

beginning with me saying

”Don’t hang up. I just want to ask you about my paint colors.”


If that doesn’t work, I text friends (Anna, Jenny) or email other bloggers (Karianne).


And so today,

after days a la Cinderella’s step-sister trying to jam her foot into the wrong shoe,

something broke loose,

and my creativity rebooted and started to flow naturally again.



Why today?

I have no idea. 

It just did

after doing the things I listed below.


Here is what I learned if you are ever faced with this stumbling block:



*Decide what you don’t like.

I eliminated a large portion of the

color choices for our guest bedroom at Sherwin Williams by scanning the board and saying

”No, no, no…”




* Once it clicks ,and you feel your creative juices flowing-

Run!

My house may be a big hot mess right now

because 4 rooms have been repainted in the last week

(my utility room is now cobalt blue),

but I am seizing the day.


* And finally, when I asked our daughter the librarian

if she wanted to come by during her lunch break today to

look at the white paint color I picked 

(I know… I was really pushing my luck),

when she agreed,

I ran around the house 90 miles an hour

fixing her lunch

and putting things I thought would look good on the bed in the newly painted bedroom.



That worked

MAGIC.

Who knew that all Sherwin Williams Snowbound

(Sherwin Williams 7004 )

needed

in a room with lots of natural light was

a white coverlet on the bed

which I will be spray painting in gold leaf,

a burlap pillow,

a mercury glass urn,

a chinoiserie vase in taupe and white,

a few antique gold accessories,

an antique gold and glass lamp from the flea market,

leopard print fabric that will cover a desk chair I am painting gold,

and two intaglio prints in gold frames I found at the flea market?

Who knew?


Apparently,

I DID.

***

Linking to:

UnderTheTableandDreaming
Make it Pretty @TheDedicatedHouse
Twisted Party @ DebbieDoos
Cowgirl Up @CedarHillRanch

 

 

Reverse Bucket List

Bucket lists make me nervous.

(wait for it…wait for it…)



What happens if you don’t finish the list?

What happens if item #4 isn’t what you thought it would be?


I have a solution-

a

Reverse Bucket List:

a list of things already done.



Here is part of mine:




* Seeing my husband’s face, as he sat in the Chicago Cubs dugout

the weekend Katherine ran the Chicago marathon for Parkinson’s research.

(my grandson and my father)


* Watching these two guys eat Blue Bell ice cream out of my mother’s

milk glass bowls.


and

*Working with this funky, quirky house

that was a HUD listing,

had been abandoned,

had fire damage in the hall bath,

and

is my

HAVEN.



So here’s the deal ladies.

You have a bucket list-

 

you always have.


It’s behind you.

Never Say Never: My New Kindle

As a sometimes rebellious person,

I have cultivated my fair share of

stubborn opinions.


One such opinion,

for example,

is that

books are found in libraries,

or from bookmobiles,

or in boxes at the flea market,

or from a friend/daughter/brother.

 

I have books everywhere,

and I can not imagine my life without them.

 

However, when Target marked their Kindles down 50%,

I gave up.

 

Have you ever noticed that when you give up,

good things are apt to happen?

I am in love.


It is light,

the font matches my eyesight,

and I ordered James Lee Burke’s

Creole Belle

one night at 10:00 pm.

I am in heaven.


And yes-

I still have a 500 page overdue library book in the den

that I can’t wait to start as well.

When Truth Meets Fiction Part II: San Miguel De Allende

 

(source)

When I am not running my bait shop in Southern Louisiana,

in my mind’s eye,

I can be found here,

in

San Miquel de Allende,

a beautiful colonial city in Southern Mexico.

(source)

Having visited there several times, I have had the luxury

of a few practice runs.

A day in my life there would include daily visits to the

mercado for fresh fruit and avocados,

and I’d be wearing my favorite San Miguel sandals -

which are perfect for walking the city’s cobblestone streets.

On my way there, I’d greet the store merchants who were sweeping

their front step.

”Buenas dias.”

 

I think my mother’s braids would be perfect, don’t you?

All I would need are these

a few of these,

this skirt ,

and these earrings.

Vamanos!

 

Secretariat

 

If the number of times I have watched the

film Secretariat is any indication,

I LOVE the film

but I especially love the horse.

This horse and his success transformed

our hearts and our country’s landscape.


Aside from all of the political positives

(hope during a time of Watergate, Viet Nam, and general disillusionment),

Secretariat was a warrior.


Much like other pivotal moments in our personal histories,

we ALL remember where we were when watching

the Belmont, which he won by 31 lengths.


Many of us were crying.

Jack Nicklaus was as he watched the race in his living room.

Coeds standing at the rail at the Belmont,  who had never been to a horse race before, cried as he flew by.

As the Belmont approaches and another horse has the chance to win the Triple Crown

join me and watch the film for the 10th time.

You won’t regret it.

Wish I Had MY Red Pen

 

(favorite grading pen:  red, medium point BIC pen)

***

Just when I’ve decided to take a

blogging break (today),

someone nice writes me an email and says

she enjoys my blog.



Now what to do?


I went back to my earlier posts-

I have written 673-

(which prompted me to shout

“Good night nurse!”),

and I saw a distinct difference in my writing

from one year to the next.


If I had my red pen from my days as a high school English teacher,

and I could write teacher notes in the margins of my own recent post margins,

I might write:

”Laura, where are you headed with this?”

“How many times do you plan to use the word amazing?”

”Dance with who brought you and get back to the voice of your blogging youth.”


See what happens when you receive a nice email?

Honor in Sports

At my oldest grandson’s last game of the little league season,

while standing at the concession stand buying my youngest grandson a

ring pop sucker,

I turned my head and saw this posted on the fence.


Mercy.

What else is there to say?


For all of the opinions rolling around out there,

I know, my husband knows, our daughters know, and our son- in- law knows

there is great honor in sports.



And when I stood at the chain link fence,

as close to the batter’s box as I could manage,

trying to get my blogging camera to focus perfectly on

my oldest grandson’s face of

pure determination- at age 8-

I knew every determined member of our family,

long gone,

was watching too.

And when I turned and saw my husband

tutoring our youngest grandson ,

who was all sticky and hot with ring pop all over his face,

in his new summer haircut,

on how to best swing the bat,

I knew my husband was remembering

a time in his past when he was looking up on the receiving end

of that same advice.

 

Door Knocker Earrings

 

source

I loved these earrings so much.

Did anyone else have Anne Klein lion’s head door knocker earrings???

They were the perfect gold earring , especially when paired with a boyfriend length blazer

with shoulder pads and the sleeves pushed up.

What was so wrong with the 80’s???

Everyone knows door knocker earrings are the most flattering.

And shoulder pads…?

Well, lifting the eye UP is never a bad thing.

So, when I saw these knobs at a local cabinet shop,

I flipped, had a flashback

and bought them.

Next quest?

A boyfriend blazer and

some shoulder pads…

Hunting Easter Eggs in the 50’s: A Confession

 

My list of special Easter  memories

is as vivid and sharp as if it were yesterday:


* the sharp smell of vinegar when dying eggs

*my new Toni home perm

* a white stiff, crunchy feeling Easter hat

*white ruffled socks and my Spring dress shoes

*Mamaw’s (my maternal grandmother’s) lush carpet grass in her backyard on Alice Street in Kingsville

* the blue plumbago blossoms I liked to stick to my ears as earrings

*my mother’s sewing machine whirring while she made us new dresses

and

*the dilemma I faced as a little girl hunting Easter eggs.

(my worried expression tells it all)

What dilemma might that have been?


I wanted to win… to find my share of the eggs,

while appearing otherwise.

I wanted to run fast with my petticoat bouncing and my shoes pinching.


I wanted to beat my cousins to every single egg, without seeming like I wanted to.

I wanted to demonstrate the importance of ‘sharing’

while grabbing with the best of them.


I wanted to show that I had learned that

‘company goes first ‘ lesson I was taught,

while winning it all.

And then Mamaw and Papaw would shout “GO!”,

and I forgot about it all.

***

Linking to:

 

Entertaining Myself

Late yesterday afternoon,

during that time of day in daylight savings time

I like to call that ‘in between time’,

and

after a hard fought Saturday working in the yard,

I plopped myself down and looked at some of my favorite things.

(Insert soundtrack of my life here.)

With my IPod playing,

and a cold drink in hand,

I did what I have done contentedly

ALL MY LIFE.

I entertained myself.

As it ‘got dark’, here is what I saw and thought.

Me:  ‘I love this olive tree so much.  It is old but still likes to look good when dolled up. That makes me smile.
I can relate.’

Me:  ‘Creating bokeh in photos is so much fun.  It makes things look great.

I wonder if my husband would walk behind me with little white lights so I can be framed in bokeh?’

Me: ‘OK. Time to get up.

It’s time to dance, especially in front of the den window

where my husband is watching basketball . That makes me laugh thinking about it,

which is one of my favorite ways to

ENTERTAIN MYSELF.’

***

Linking to