chalk board update

buy stamps
Cry, "Champs!"
Hi, Gramps!
Bye, tramps
dry camps
my lamps
high ramps
die, scamps!
Jesse, visit Dallin

(That last thing on the list was a message from my grandson, I think he hadn't noticed we had a rhyming thing going).

And I DID get stamps today!

birthday girl

Today is my birthday. Someone once told me that life begins at forty but ends at fifty. I’ve thought about that through these last 18 years and have decided that, for me anyway, it is not necessarily true. Oh sure, I am moving a little slower, I wake a bit achy in the joints, and I know the pharmacist’s first name. But all in all I think this is the best time of my life. Years of experiences have made me skilled and wise. My children are way past those hard years of needing constant vigilance and I now can enjoy them as intelligent and capable adults; their children have become my delight. Working has widened my circle of friends as well as my circle of influence, a very rewarding thing for me. Although my body is aging, I feel better now than ever before, if only because I can take time to take care of myself and things like arthritis and diabetes give me the motivation to do so. My perspective on life has evolved over the years and I think I finally have a handle on what it all means, what works. I have a greater compassion for others, I am more accepting. I have a more relaxed attitude about things, I’ve learned how to be flexible and adapt; I am calmer. And I now know what it means to love and be loved, “the supreme happiness of life.” Most importantly, I now appreciate who I am, who I have become and I am very comfortable with myself. I like myself. I am in a position to honor my needs and respect my wants. There is a peace and joy about me, within me, that I haven’t really experienced to this degree before. The little pleasures of life seem grander and I enjoy them so much more than I used to. Life is more delicious. It has taken me a very long time to get to this place, but I love being here. For me, I’d have to say that life began at 53 and it just keeps getting better!

chocolate quilt

Queen-sized quilt designed by and for my daughter-in-law, Kira. Machine appliqued and hand-quilted by me.

take meds

The chalk board in our kitchen is a handy place to leave notes, makes lists, and, for me, reminders to myself of things I might forget to do. Recently I left myself the reminder "take meds" so I wouldn't forget as I left town for the day. When I came home, the reminder had grown into this list:
make beds
rake heads
stake sheds
break sleds
fake reds
shake dreds
bake breads
wake Neds

Then this week, I left the reminder "trash day" which by the end of the day had grown to include:
ash tray
cash pay
mash clay
sashay
splash play

I'm thinking my children have too much time on their hands. They need to find a Ned somewhere to wake up or some clay to mash...