Quote-of-the-Day

Love is the great democracy--all of us are equally deserving of its welcome. ~Bradford Keeney

Day of Rest

Last night at dinner, we were talking about table manners. As you can imagine, Mum was v. strict with us growing up. It was like dining with the queen every night. I will not raise Barbarians! So I said, "You know what's the worst?" And before I finished, my nephew interjected: "Watching a live birth?" Hahahaha Above is a pic of yesterday's walk through the woods.

In this purely for the laughs

I'm at Mum's helping with Pioneer Sister's kiddliewinks. Convo on the way home last night:

Nephew #2: Hey! I see penis!
Little Sis: Penis?
Nephew: Hehhh . . . . not penis. Venus!

Sounded like penis to me. Glad he clarified. Hahahaha

Mum got a new desk chair and saved the big box for the kids to play in. It's a house, it's a spaceship, it's a . . . . bed? I was looking for Nephew #1. There he was, curled up in the box with the flaps closed up.

Me: Oh, there you are. What are you doing?
Nephew: I'm going to bed in the box. Now go away.
Me: OK.

A few minutes later, Mum is standing there talking to the box. You need to come out and get ready for bed . . . blah blah blah . . . brush your teeth . . . blah blah blah . . .

I look over to the guest room and there is Nephew safely tucked away in bed.

Me: Um, Mum.
Mum: [to the box] You need to come out of the box. [to me] What?
Me: He's not in the box anymore.
Mum: Ohhhhhh . . . [eye roll]

Nephew this a.m. said to Little Sis: Hey! Don't you know that when I'm in the box you're not supposed to push against it?

That's right. We don't like it when other people challenge our boxes. Today we're going for a hike and then it's off to see a Charlie Brown Musical. Fun times!

Quote-of-the-Day

20 years ago I was at a lecture with some Indian guru. At the end of it, everyone could talk to him for some personal advice. I don't remember what my question was, but he said to me in broken English to meditate more. Afterwards, I was talking to other people and they were marveling at his wisdom.

Yoga Chick: He is so right, I have not been meditating enough.
Random Guy: That's what he told me, too. I've really been ignoring my practice.
Me: Wait a minute . . . .

That's right. That was his advice to everyone. Which, when you think about it, is not bad advice. Things are much more peaceful & balanced after meditation. All those little Mark Twain worries melt away. Meditation, not medication. ;-)

And you thought this was a hair wash post.

HAPPY Birthday!

Today is Pioneer Sister's b-day. The first 4 of the clan were 16 months apart, she is 4th in the line-up. Mum once said, "Don't ahhhsk me about the '60's, I was too busy having children!" My sister is my mother's daughter: nothing stops her. She blazes her own trail and has the just do it attitude. For the purposes of this blog, I call her Pioneer Sister because she is. She & BIL renovated an old hunting lodge in the middle-of-nowhere from the ground up. Literally! At 8 months pregnant with #3, she was down in the hand-dug stone well repairing it. This past summer, she finished painting the whole house on the outside. I marvel at her strength and tenacity. She really is one of those Super Moms who does it all: takes care of the house, the family, the garden. On top of that, she can do math so well, she works for an accountant!

In our family

she did come

smiling, sweet

red-haired one.

Standing guard

at Christmas time

gifts to open

in a line.

Ghost tag games

Husker Du

playing Spit*

We LOVE you.

Happy Birthday

little sis

Happy birthday

Here's a kiss.

*Before you say Eeeewwwww! Spit was a card game and she was always the fastest at it!

Snapshots from the New England Road

It was quite the trip. I got gluten free pizza on my birthday! And we had 21 inches of snow in the middle of it all. As we were driving on the highway through the blizzard, John said, "Talk to me, Hali." I'm too busy praying, I said. We stopped in Lebanon, NH at a ski/golf shop. I got some great long underwear, the kind that skiers & mountain hikers wear. Warm but not bulky. I didn't have much time because John said, "You're cutting into my nap time." Hahahaha

Here are a few pix in no particular order . . . in answer to Are you drinking coffee? Just for last week:

"Certified" sounds so official. Who is this "Rainforest Alliance" of the Holiday Inn? I hope this rainforest "content" is only coffee. And what's the other 70%? Uncertified content?

This was so funny to me because I have more wood in my woodshed and WOW! Really? That's how much wood costs? John said it's for the tourists who want to have a log fire.

I took this next picture for my nephew who loves all-things-piratey:

This was a great seafood lunch. The most entertaining thing is listening to John identify people's patterns in the restaurant. Then John said as our young waiter was taking our order, "This guy is an Enneagram 7." Remember Keanu Reeves in Bill & Ted's Most Excellent Adventure? Yeah, like that. I said he was in a band, so John asked him if he was. Psychic today! How did you know? Waiter Guy asked. And then, Guess what instrument I play . . . trick question! I don't play anything, I'm the lead singer. So cute. Hahahaha

This is a v. popular restaurant. The Illegal Sea Foods restaurant is in the back alley. Hahahaha

I'm back, baby! * F5

Are you using "baby" now? Because you know, that's my thing. ~George Costanza

And there's my Seinfeld reference for the day. And here's a little guy who was in my front yard this a.m.

Just a frosting of snow.
Is this the Big Storm we were bracing for?

*I'm back and I'll be posting daily unless my satellite doesn't work.