Day Forty Nine 2012

Neil and I had a great time visiting grandson Knox and his mom and dad today. He's growing up fast! Loves his musical mobile and laughs and "talks" and coos. All the little sounds and faces he makes are so precious! Those tiny legs and arms are always on the move. He's so lovable I could squeeze the stuffing out of him. Already looking forward to the next time we can visit. Miss you guys!

Day Forty Eight 2012

Grandson Elijah's kindergarten class studied the American Bald Eagle today. He made this nifty Bald Eagle hat and allowed me to take his picture with it on his head. He couldn't remember much about the bird until I reminded him that it is the national bird of the good old U.S. of A. His main impression of his picture of the Bald Eagle was that it looked like an Angry Bird (of Angry Birds video game fame). I think he's right. It's that arched eyebrow. It's a fitting symbol of our great nation (sorry, Ben Franklin, not the turkey, of all things). Here's a link if you want to learn more about the American Bald Eagle--a fascinating (if not angry) bird. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Eagle

Day Forty Seven 2012

 I love those who can smile in trouble,

who can gather strength from

distress, and grow brave by

reflection. 'Tis the business of little

minds to shrink, but they whose heart

is firm, and whose conscience

approves their conduct, will pursue

their principles unto death.

~Leonardo da Vinci

Day Forty Six 2012

A random shades of gray kind of day

Day Forty Five 2012

Grand daughter Shelby is a fifth grader in middle school where holidays like Valentine's Day are pretty much ignored. Gone are the days of decorating a shoe box destined to be stuffed with heart-shaped greetings from classmates. I think she misses that kind of stuff a little bit, but she made the best of it and celebrated the sentiment of this day by wearing a heart decorated head band and tights and a pink heart-shaped necklace. And maybe, just maybe, she received a bouquet of roses and a heart-shaped box of chocolate truffles from two of her biggest fans.
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone.

Come live in my heart, and pay no rent. ~Samuel Lover 

Day Forty Four 2012

I picked up grandson Elijah from school this afternoon. I feel grateful that he likes to share with me things that happened during his day. One of his highs--checking out a new book from the school library ('Pokemon'--he was looking forward to reading it at home this evening). His low for the day--learning that a classmate's mom had died (this same classmate had already lost his dad) and now he has to live with his grandparents. I could hear the regret in his voice when he was telling me the story. He's such a good kid, blessed with a tender heart.

There never was any heart truly great and generous, that was not also tender and compassionate.
Robert Frost

Day Forty Three 2012

Neil and I went to see 'Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace' in 3D this afternoon with grandson Elijah, grand daughter Shelby, daughter Holly and son in law Jerry. I haven't seen a movie in 3D since 'Jaws 3D' in 1983. I remember that one as being insanely laughable. 3D technology has come a very long way in thirty years. I enjoyed watching 'Phantom Menace'  (although wearing a pair of glasses over a pair of glasses is awkward--and I forgot how long this movie is--not to mention I could do without Jar Jar Binks). But I got the biggest kick out of watching Elijah sitting on the edge of his seat at times, soaking up this story (while wearing his Angry Birds hat and his 3D shades--wish I had a picture of that). He loves playing his 'Lego Star Wars' video game on his Nintendo DS, so seeing these same characters in action on the big screen should make playing the video game even more fun for him. Especially after watching Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi duke it out with the evil Darth Maul (Elijah calls him Dark Maul) in the most awesome lightsaber battle ever choreographed. I never get tired of watching that part. It was fun sharing 'Star Wars' with yet another generation of my peeps. May the force be with you.

Day Forty Two 2012

Saturday greetings from what feels like the North Pole! Hubby Neil's fur lined mad bomber cap and my fur trimmed hood sure felt good today while we were out and about this afternoon in 25 degree weather. We got a dusting of snow last night, but thankfully the sunshine was back today. Winter has returned with a vengeance to middle Tennessee. The mild temperatures have spoiled us rotten!

Day Forty One 2012

Snow on the buttercups. This was bound to happen. Happy TGIF, everyone!

Day Forty 2012

Be grateful for luck. Pay the thunder no mind - listen to the birds. And don't hate nobody.
Eubie Blake

Day Thirty Nine 2012

Thanks to generous peeps (daughters Kelly and Holly and hubby Neil), I am enjoying my Christmas and birthday gifts--a Bose audio headset that arrived today (can you say Amazon gift certificate?!) and an iPod Nano that I'm stuffing with my favorite tunes. These two gadgets (I admit it--I like gadgets) make for a most excellent combination. Bose sound is everything it's cracked up to be and these are very comfortable. (I hate ear buds.) I'm in musical hog heaven.

Day Thirty Eight 2012

Hubby Neil and a couple of his co-workers received a thank-you recently, apparently for a job well done, from another company they'd done business with. Turns out it's the gift that keeps on giving--a year's subscription to a cookie club called Cheryl's. This month, just in time for Valentine's Day, he got a box filled with soft, heart-shaped frosted cookies. They're pretty tasty. The next batch will be egg-shaped in time for Easter. Sweet! Unless you're trying to drop some pounds. And all this comes on the heels of the scolding I got from dear hubby about buying too much cookie dough from our middle school peeps last fall. I can't really fault him, since the cookie club subscription was a gift. But I probably won't be buying any cookie dough from anybody this year. Here is the link if you want to check out Cheryl's goodies.   http://www.cheryls.com/

Day Thirty Seven 2012

I did not err; there does a sable cloud
Turn forth her silver lining on the night,
And casts a gleam over this tufted grove.

~John Milton coined the phrase 'silver lining' in Comus: A Mask Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634

Day Thirty Six 2012

Grandson Knox watched his first Super Bowl tonight. Well, it did hold his attention for a few seconds.

Congrats to son in law Kerry, whose New York Giants beat the Patriots and won the Super Bowl in what turned out to be one of the more exciting finishes in this over-hyped game. It was nice to have a team to root for this time. And it's always fun to watch the underdog win.

Day Thirty Five 2012

Always kiss your children goodnight - even if they're already asleep. 

~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.