They say we are in for some wintery weather this weekend.
Well, it’s winter. The chill is on, as the meteorologists are fond of saying.
It has been a hard week and I am ready for some down time. And some baby time.
Have a good weekend.
“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”
–Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Mississippi River freezes solid in February 1905.
Il fait froid! There are ice chunks in the ol’ Mississip today, but I don’t think one could walk across it. I certainly wouldn’t want to try! Here are some interesting historical photos of our frozen river through the years.
I plan to stay warm at home this weekend packing up Christmas decorations. But I also have two birthdays to celebrate, including daughter #3’s, so I’ll be out and about.
I saw a fox run through our back yard early on Christmas Eve morning. Maybe he’ll be back.
Thus by the snow I was made aware in this short walk of the recent presence of squirrels, a fox, and countless mice, whose trail I had crossed, but none of which I saw, or probably should have seen before the snow fell. Also I saw this afternoon the track of one sparrow, probably a tree sparrow, which had run among the weeds in the road. (Dec. 14, 1855)
–Henry David Thoreau, A Writer’s Journal
Since it is Epiphany,
it is time to watch 3 Godfathers (1947)–an all-time favorite.
What have you got on the docket?
The OM and I are also babysitting the wee babes. Please note that the 16 lb. dynamo is now on the move for real! Keep us in your prayers.
Have a good weekend!
The painting is “Tracks in Snow” by Morten E. Solberg.
I went back to work yesterday, and I must say it was hard to do so after ten days off!
Over the holidays I started reading my father’s old copy of Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway.
It was not great, but it held my interest and is better than a lot of things that pass for literature these days. I also re-read some Wallace Stegner essays and started My Sixty Years on the Plains, which my DP gave me for Christmas. Written by a mountain man who was born in Scotland and raised and educated in St. Louis, he recorded his personal story of life on the plains in his eighties in 1905. It is well-written, full of detail and his viewpoint is quite sophisticated. I am enjoying it a lot.
Indeed, I received a lot of lovely presents this Christmas. My favorite, of course, was my pair of Luther socks (“Here I stand”) which the OM sent to Germany for.
I was quite touched to say the least.
The best present was having my wonderful children (and the wee babes) home and knowing that they love to be there.
We had lots of fun. After daughter #2 and her DH left on Wednesday, daughter #1 and I even got a few things done around the old manse. We found and brought up our old crib which had been dismantled back in the early ’90s, wrapped in plastic and stored in the basement. She and the OM managed to put it back together (without a manual) and then we scrubbed it ’til it looks like new.
We went to Buy, Buy, Baby and bought a new crib mattress. We are ready for small visitors. I should note that we also took all the dolls out of the doll case and washed/changed some doll clothes, rearranged the dolls and generally spruced everything up.
I have a new calendar, a new year, a lot to be thankful for, and much to look forward to. How about you?
All the feels…
And, remarkably, no one got sick!
The diet starts next week.
“Out of all the things you could not have there were some that you could have and one of those was to know when you were happy and to enjoy all of it while it was there and it was good.”
–Ernest Hemingway, Islands in the Stream
So we’ve been pretty preoccupied these last few days. We’ll be back soon when we have a minute to reconnoiter.
Daughter #2 and her DH are heading back east today. Uncle Nate was a big hit.
Things will slow down a bit now. Everybody needs a rest.
Hope you enjoyed your Christmas long weekend!
We’re in the home stretch now!
I had the house pretty well cleaned up this weekend. Then the wee babes came over on Sunday night. The wee laddie likes to eat and blow raspberries at the same time, expressing whatever food is in his mouth all over the place! It is a neat trick and c’est la vie. The Christmas creche is fair game as well.
Although everything he sees goes into his mouth, he is so active he seems to burn off any and all calories. Case in point: the wee laddie climbed all the way up our stairs to the second floor.
Talk about Mt. Crumpit! I wish I had the core strength of our 16 lb. dynamo.
Little Lottiebelle takes a more measured approach to things. She is unimpressed by her brother’s antics and accomplishments.
Stairs? No way, José!
And I hear the wee babes went to see a certain jolly old elf…
They’re not afraid…
Well, this week I will wind things up at work and finish my to-do list and await the arrival of daughter #2 and Nate and daughter #1 on Friday. Woohoo!
P.S. I know you are impressed with my ability to screenshot Snapchat videos, right? I impress myself sometimes.
*Dr. Seuss
Today is my dear dual personality’s birthday! I will think of her often, as I do every day, and miss her.
I hope that all the men in her life (one husband and three sons) take care to lavish her with the love and attention she deserves.
Anyway, I am glad to hear that her grades are in and that she is officially on sabbatical! Huzzah!
Although she is nowhere near her 71st birthday, I still like this poem by Walt Whitman, My 71st Year:
After surmounting threescore and ten,
With all their chances, changes, losses, sorrows,
My parents’ deaths, the vagaries of my life, the many tearing passions of me, the war of ‘63 and ‘4,
As some old broken soldier, after a long, hot, wearying march, or as haply after battle,
At twilight, hobbling, answering yet to company roll-call, Here, with vital voice,
Reporting yet, saluting yet the Officer over all.
Happy Day! It’s a week ’til Christmas!
*Irving Berlin
Well, I bought our wreath from the Boy Scouts, our two trees from the Optimists and daughter #1 and I put up the outside Christmas lights. Mission(s) accomplished!
Quelle busy weekend, but, in fact, very fun. We babysat the wee babes on Friday night and managed to wrestle them into their pajamas and bed. On Saturday, daughter #1 and I went to our church Christmas bazaar and cookie sale where I got a few used books and rescued a treasure or two.
Then we went to the birthday party for the wee babes who were, it turned out, not in the mood for a big noisy party. They both suffered major melt-downs from the get-go. C’est la vie.
They are both teething ferociously and life is hard right now. Well, on to Christmas and more photo ops.
We came home and watched Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and drank wine and had a chip-fest. Perfect. We even watched one of the special features and found out, among other fun facts, that Edmund Gwenn really filled in as Santa at the 1946 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, including addressing the crowd following the parade. That is pretty cool.
Church on Sunday was Advent I and we sang some good Advent hymns.
Turn up the volume and listen to this wonderful rendition of a great Charles Wesley hymn!
And the super moon was really awesome!
Happy Advent!
*Hymn #57
Today is the boy’s birthday–he is 31! Happy birthday to our brown-eyed handsome man!
Here he is back in 1987 with the OM.
Perhaps he reminds you of someone?
Yes, it is rather amazing.
Here are a few more pictures which show the similarities…
As you can see, the boy was on the go and getting into mischief just the way the little bud does. Two peas in a genetic pod.
Lottie says, “What about me?” Well, we know she is the apple of her daddy’s eye, probably because she looks like her lovely mommy.
Anyway, we celebrated the boy’s birthday on Sunday night. But we will raise a toast to our wonderful son as he turns 31 tonight. I thank God every day for him and for being his lucky mother.
*”Brown-eyed Handsome Man” by Chuck Berry
I love four-day weekends! There is enough time to do what you need to do, and a little time left over at the end to get one’s head in order for the new week.
Our weekend was super-fun and full of family. We pulled off the Thanksgiving feast without a major flaw.
We fit ten adults and two wee babes at the table.
We mixed and matched our china and crystal to make it work. The food was all ready at the same time and was yummy. The beer and wine flowed freely.
The wee babes were as entertaining as usual.
So many skills.
But, of course, what would a holiday be without an emergency call for some broken appliance or downed system?
The thermostat broke and we had no heat, so that had to be fixed on Thanksgiving morning! Later in the weekend our washing machine broke and that one is pending. C’est la vie.
On Friday, daughter #1 and I brought up a lot of Christmas stuff from the basement. We decorated the mantel.
We also had lunch with our best buds at our favorite restaurant Cafe Osage.
And we did a little local shopping on Small Business Saturday.
We even sat outside and drank a beer on the patio–it was that warm–and listened to the symphony of leaf blowers in the neighborhood! Anyway, it was a glorious weekend combining friends, family, shopping, cooking, walking outside, decorating, movie-watching–all our favorite things.
Now it is Monday and time to face the music of another work week. Onward and upward.
*Psalm 100:4
dual personalities 