She Can Do It All

(I wrote this post a few weeks ago and then I thought it went to cyber heaven.  How glad I was when I found it today!)


Yes, I know.  It's been several wagon loads of days since I have set down here to share some of my thoughts.   Now, if I were my friend who can do it all, posting my blog would have been done long before the wagon load of day even thought about crossing the sky a month ago.

It's hard to believe a month has gone by and a lot of great things have occurred during the month.  But today my thoughts are about my friend, Margaret, who can really and truly do it all.

I am sure that you know a person who can cook up a storm, or one (surely there are not too many) who even cleans her house from top to bottom--maybe even the baseboards--on a regular basis (ugh!) and maybe you even know one who irons the sheets, or one that can sew a bedspread or curtains or both in the same day.  Or one that has her own tool belt and knows how to use the tools.

But how many women can you think of that can do all of the above?   Plus play bridge?   And keep a beautiful garden?   And knows how to enjoy a glass of wine?  And enjoys laughing?  And can create a gourmet meal in a few minutes?  I could go on and on.

Margaret is that kind of person.  She is a hundred pounds of ability and she goes a hundred miles an hour each day.  (Hmmmm-it just dawned on me--maybe if I went at that speed I might get more done.  But then again, can I go at that speed even if I tried?  I don't think so.)

You don't find many like her.  In fact, I would say that Margaret is one of a kind.  She not only is so talented in the ways mentioned, she is also so helpful.  When she sees where she can help, she does.  (And since I usually need lots of help, I love having her around!)

Now here is the best thing about my friend for thirty-five or so years...she loves me and my family.

The fact that she loves my daughters, my sons-in-law, and our grandson means more than the best gourmet meal she can prepare (and let me tell you there have been many of those!)  She even loves my husband.  (They are both very smart and try to outsmart each other on a regular basis.  Fun to watch!)

In fact, there have been so many fun times with her and our husbands over the years including vacations to Florida, tennis matches, Trivia Pursuit matches (that ages us, doesn't it?), Mountain View trips, and many dinners and nights out.  The memories make me smile and the jokes and laughter between us fill my heart with gladness.

How lucky I am to have such a friend.  When she's around, the wagon loads of day are definitely better.

Thanks, my friend who can do it all.  You are a treasure.

Changes

A little bit of winter crept its way into the wagon load of day this morning.  Just a touch to remind us that soon we won't be seeing the beautiful leaves turning colors nor even the leaves on the trees.  Of course we all know that Arkansas winters are fickle.  The middle of December can produce a day much like  this--crisp but sunny. 

But change is definitely in the air.   Change manifests itself in many ways and it's not only in the seasons. 

Today it is the moving truck outside our neighbor's home.   I knew this day was coming for a couple of months but I wasn't ready for it.  It has produced a sense of sorrow for me.  The sorrow is for a lost opportunity.  She has been my neighbor for 6 months and I have visited with her only a handful of times.  I am sorry for that and told her so today as I gave her a goodbye hug. 

We could have been good friends; we could have enjoyed going out to dinner and sharing a bottle of wine.  We could have started our day with a cup of coffee together and encouraged each other to do the things on our lists for the day. It would have been fun to have a real neighbor that I honestly knew not just waved to while passing. 

So as I watch the boxes being loaded and soon the truck pulling away, change is taking place.  Will I take this unwanted change and learn from it?  Will I seize opportunities as they come my way and embrace them?  Will I make the effort next time before it is too late? 

Will I change?

The answer I guess will be found in the next few wagon loads of day.  I hope so.

Becoming an Entreprenuer (of Sorts)

I think I woke up yesterday before any wagon loads of day went by at all.  It was still dark and the house was still very quiet.  No dog nudging me; no husband clinging glasses around; no Today show on.  So why didn't I turn over and try to wait for the wagon loads to start their journey across the sky.

Well, it's because I have a lot on my mind.  I am preparing to try my hand (with a girlfriend) at having a booth at a flea market/antique mall.

Isn't that how Sam Walton started???  Sorta, kinda, maybe???


My friend and I had talked about doing this for the last few Tuesdays when we would get together for lunch and shopping.  (She likes to call our get-togethers "Tuesdays with Leta."  I don't know that we could write a book about that, not just because someone else has done so with "Morrie," but because we do very little constructive except to laugh and laugh.  I guess that's good though.)

Anyway,  my goal in having a booth is two-fold--one is to reduce the load of treasures I have stored in the attic and two is to sell some of my art that I have been doing for a good while.  I've come to realize that you can only give so many pieces of art that you create to friends and relatives for gifts.  I make more (because I love it) than I can give away.  So I hope some people will buy them.  I promise they will be my new best friends if they do!

Then my friend's hope was to empty some out of the storage rooms she is paying a monthly fee for.  Evidently, the storage rooms are very full with furniture, etc. that she can't use in her present residence.

Those are noble goals, right.  But it can't be denied either that we both just like going to antique malls.  For that matter, who doesn't?  (Never mind--I realize many are like one of my sisters.  She can breeze through a gigantic mall before I get through the first booth.)

But then that may be the reason I have so much in my attic.  As I think about it, there is most likely a direct correlation between the two.  Nevertheless, going "antiquing" is something else I enjoy doing.  Nothing is wrong with that, right?

Don't answer that--unless you agree with me.  (I have discovered that frequently a person wants others' opinion IF they agree with her or him.  Many times I, I mean she, will keep asking people until she finds one that does finally see the light and agrees!  Why others don't is beyond me.)

Well, I digress.  Back to the booth.  When we got the courage to sign up for a booth, we were told that there were 29 people ahead of us.  Oh well.  It dashed our dreams somewhat but we thought that would give us plenty of time to gather our valuable treasures.  We figured that maybe in a few months or years, we would be called. Even though I am quite aware of how "waiting lists" go, I was still surprised when we got a call last week only a week or two after being put on the infamous waiting list.

We were told we could come in and pick out the booth we wanted and after paying a deposit, we could start moving our stuff in even though the 1st wasn't until 3 days later.

Well, we decided on our booth (the smallest they had and the cheapest) and then it was the time of reckoning for me.

ALL that stuff living in the attic had to come downstairs.  ALL that stuff living in the attic had to be priced.  ALL that art stuff living in the guest house/art studio had to be brought in to go through.  ALL that stuff had to be loaded up in the car, unloaded in the booth and arranged in an inviting style.  And then ALL the stuff I decided not to take right now had to be stored (back in the attic???)  Why, oh why, do I have ALL that stuff???

With all the moving stuff, pricing stuff, bubble wrap and newspaper to protect the stuff, you can imagine the mess in the living room where I decided to work.  (Think, if you dare, yard sale.  Same kind of mess.)  It was in absolute disarray.  Even the poor dog was discombobulated.  He was unsure where it was safe to go.  As a matter of fact, I think my husband was too.  So that was what I had facing me in the early hours of this day.

The house hasn't yet fully recovered but there are things in the booth as you can see in photo.  I knew the booth was small but I am sure it shrunk.  It looks a little sparse now, but my friend hasn't put anything in yet.  I think she's worried that I've taken all the space.  In my opinion, it needs more treasures.  In fact, I added more today.  And, of course, there will be more tomorrow.
 
And then, hopefully, there will be less and less eventually, you think?  I really hope so.  I need to get rid of some of these things.


But while I was in the antique mall, I found this really cute....



Okay, I guess I'll wait for a few wagon loads of day to go by before I start adding to my attic collection.

Maybe.

A Really Special Birthday

I can't tell you how many loads of day this lovely friend of mine has seen.  But I can tell you she is special.  And she is having a birthday soon--today in fact!  Here is your birthday cake, Milly!  No calories--no mess!


Although I have known her for a long time, I really got to know what a wonderful person she is when we went to London together.  (Actually, her daughter--my friend Becky--went along too.  That's how I came to know her in the first place.)  

We had more fun exploring London and the countryside.  I can't tell you how hard it was for us "younguns" to keep up with her.  We got to London and didn't let jet lag stop us.  On to the Changing of the Guard we charged after throwing our suitcases in the charming little hotel with the Peter Pan windows.  We walked a million miles and we also "minded the gap" on many a subway without missing a beat early in the morning or late at night.

We even managed to take in a play the first night.  It was so thrilling to be in London at the theatre with my friends seeing "Oliver" performed.  Ahhh.  I love the thought of it even now.  However, I don't think I have ever told anyone this even after all these years, but I must admit I dozed a little during the play.  The time difference was catching up with me.  But I am sure Milly didn't sleep a wink.  She never wanted to miss a thing. (She probably knew I slept a bit but she kept it to herself!)

Being generous and kind with others, being encouraging, always smiling--that's Milly. 

When we returned from our wonderful trip, I decided that we had to continue our English adventure, so I invited Milly and her daughter to a tea in the garden in my backyard.  Eagerly, I met them at the front door and was tickled to see them gracefully walking up the drive in their hats, gloves, and I'm sure "sensible shoes!"  How English!  They may have even have given me the "royal wave."  It was so fun.  Come to find out the hat and gloves were Milly's ideas!  Fantastic! 

That's another reason I love and respect her so much.   She is willing to have fun and if you know me at all I love a good time!  Yet she doesn't have fun at others' expense.  She seems to know and understand what makes a person tick and she finds ways to encourage them.

One way Milly has always been so good in encouraging others is through her letter writing.  She has always had such a wonderful way with words.  She has sent many a letter of thanks or encouragement and concern to those needing to know that someone was thinking about them.  She wrote me a note once that I have kept ever since (about 12 years or so and I even know where it is today [surprisingly] and I treasure it). 


Reading those nice thoughts written so long ago still touches my heart.  (But that is just the kind of thing she does and has always done.)  I love having such wonderful experiences with her and be able to learn from her.  As I face each day for the rest of my life, I hope to exhibit some of the wonderful qualities she has of courage, patience, love, and devotion to others.  She is a beautiful person.






So I wish her a most wonderful birthday and hope that with every wagon load of day--tomorrow and everyday--she will be blessed.  She deserves it.   Happy Birthday, Milly--my sweet friend.

I Love Praise!

What happened to August?  Certainly more loads of day have gone by than I can count, but I am inspired today.  

Last night a friend, for whom I have great respect, gave me some unsolicited praise.  Ka-boom!  That's all it took--a few kind words--to give me a much needed bit of encouragement and here I am again.  I know!  I know!  I am easy that way.  But it got me to thinking, too, how little words of encouragement or PRAISE can lift a person's spirit.

Think about it.  It is so nice to hear something positive or complimentary, isn't it?  I can't think of a person who doesn't like it.   

So, why is it so hard to do?  I wonder if some people aren't brave enough to do it.  Maybe being brave enough comes with age.  I know now that if I see a person and I admire her outfit, her hair, or even her looks, I am more than likely to tell her.  I don't know that I did that when I was younger.  I hope I did but likely not.  I was probably not brave enough.

Will others think one is out of bounds by giving a compliment?  Will that nice-looking man think you are "coming on" to him if you throw out a compliment?  (Well, I kid myself.  Maybe a few years ago.  Now, he would probably say, "Thank you, ma'am."  Or think to himself, "Oh, boy, an old lady thinks I'm nice-looking!  Gee!)  But you know what I mean.  

Does one think that a person probably already knows what you are admiring about them?  Or maybe a person thinks it will give another, as we used to say, "the big head?"  

Or are we mainly thinking more about ourselves than others?  Hmmm.

Maybe it's little bit of all of the above.  Maybe it's none.  Nevertheless, I love praise.   I really think most people do.  (Maybe most don't say it publicly, but obviously I don't mind!)    Anyway, thanks, my friend, for giving me a nice dose of praise last night.  I thought about it with every wagon load of day that went by today!  

Olympics--Family Style

Uh-oh, I've let many wagon loads of day and weeks go by without a post.  But I'm back to posting regularly, I hope.  And just in time to comment on the Olympics.  

I have always loved the Olympics--Summer or Winter.  I could spend hours watching the competitions--those I kinda know the rules for and those that I have no idea what is going on.  Same goes with the Opening Ceremony.  Loved it!  Mostly.  This year it was a little long at first, I thought, but worth watching to see the Queen parachute into the arena, and to see the lighting of the torch and hearing Sir Paul! 

But the NBC broadcast held nothing over our own rendition of the opening ceremony.  This year my daughter, son-in-law and grandbaby came over to watch it with us.  But we did more than just watch.  We had decorations--the Olympic rings glowed on the front porch railing comparable to the ones hanging from the Tower Bridge.  Our guest were greeted with silly string!  (And they still came inside!)  We ate BBQ and red, white, and blue strawberries made by my daughter.  (Couldn't have been more patriotic!)  

Then, we had our own Opening Ceremony while watching the other one on TV.   But our games began right then.   Why wait?  And why wait on the confetti.  It came early in the evening much to our surprise.

The baby was especially taken with the confetti.  He would gather up the confetti on the floor (yes, this was all over the living room floor along with the silly string which was very fun to clean up the next morning), and then he would count to three and throw the confetti over and over.  1st place accomplishment, indeed.

Grandbaby absolutely loved all our other the games as well.  Somehow he got first place in every event.  (We did have medals!)  He executed the paddle ball competition quite well for never having seen or held a paddle ball.  He, in fact, had an innovative approach at playing.  He held the ball and dribbled the paddle.  (He is very smart and athletic already at 18 months.)  He was superb in the stick horse dressage competition. 

Soccer was no problem with a basket full of at least 50 balls.  Many goals were made.  And that led to the basketball competition for which I must admit he was quite gifted at getting a lot of the balls back in the basket, even himself.  Since Grambo poured them all out, he did help the shortest player on the team in getting them all back in the basket.  (By the way, "Grambo" is grandbaby's version of "Grandfather Jones" which the silly man actually thought would be his name.)

The fencing with glow torches might have been our favorite.  We all had to compete in this event.  Grandbaby was simply amazing with his talents of finding other ways to use the glow torch swords.  In fact, he wouldn't let go of his and ended up falling asleep on his mama's shoulder still holding his glow stick sword.

By the end of "Hey, Jude," we were all ready for sleep.  But it was a quite memorable evening, to say the least and a grand way to celebrate the Olympics, family style.

Now we have a few wagon loads of day to plan the closing ceremony.  The opening ceremony was planned by my husband, Grambo, going to the dollar store and spending 10 minutes and $11.00 on the decorations and the equipment for some of the competitions.  

What can I expect with 2 weeks of planning???  Oh, dear!

Sally

This week I visited my favorite yellow lab.  She has missed me, but really enjoys being in California.  I don't blame her! :)