"SOMEBODY'S BABY"

Yesterday nine year old "L" spent the day with me. 

I needed to do some shopping which included a trip to the health food store to grind my own almond butter. 

The "homeless man" was sitting on a bench by the front door. He's always there, just sitting, just staring. I usually try to buy something that he can eat and give it to him on my way to the car. 

One bitter cold day last winter I bought him three apples. He looked up and smiled... he has the most beautiful blue eyes but no front teeth... whoops, that was going to make it hard to eat the apples.

So on this sunny summer day "L" and I bought him a big "LOVE" chocolate bar. We handed it to him and those blue eyes, ever so slightly, fluttered a thank you.

Once in the car "L" asked... "What's wrong with him?" 

"I'm not sure" I answered. I paused and then I said. 

"We all make choices, some good and some bad. His choices have brought him to a place that's hard. Maybe, I continued, you could imagine him the same age as your little brother. Once upon a time that man was somebody's baby."

I love my job as the school librarian / math teacher. Teaching school will either keep you young or turn you grey. I go back next week and I am both excited and reluctant. 

I know going in I have to arm myself with PATIENCE. I live for the "light bulb moments" when real learning occurs and in between I look at those faces full of personality and spunk and sometimes learning challenges and know that someone at home is hoping I will help them, teach them, love them, they are all...  "somebody's baby"

My daughter use to play this song for "L" when she was tiny... 

PLAID 

From punk to preppy! 

Plaid made its first big appearance in the late 17th century. 

The rebels of the Scottish highlands donned the cross- hatched tartan as a mark of clan identity and a symbol of rebellion against the English. After the Scottish rebellion in 1746 the wearing of plaid was forbidden, the ban spanned four decades. 

Over the years plaid has been linked to a diverse array of cultural groups... railroad workers, lumberjacks, cowboys, farmers, truckers, hippies, hipsters, grunge rockers, gangster rappers, surfers and skaters. I've probably missed a few. 




Today it holds a ubiquitous place in the modern fashion world, running the gamut from punk to preppy, an enigma that just won't die.

So, as fall approaches its not surprising that plaid is once again front and center with a lot of mixing and matching.

I love this big bold scarf paired with a classic glen plaid jacket that looks like it may have been borrowed from "him" There are no rules this season.

If you are not comfortable wearing lots of pattern use it as an accessory  Check out these great shoes.

Plaid is the one item that I would never toss because it just keeps reinventing itself. Suddenly that old scarf lurking in the back of a drawer, has the "wow" factor. 

 Fall 2014.... think plaid!

BRINGING SUMMER HOME! 

Its August and summer is waning and though the days are still hot there's now a cool breeze that waifs through my open bedroom window at night. 

Mother Nature has once again proven herself reliable and the bounty is abundant. 

Nothing can surpass a vine ripened tomato eaten like an apple with a little salt.

Although I grow a small garden, I look forward each weekend to a walk through the park that hosts our local Farmer's Market. I've purchased lettuce there so sweet that dressing would have ruined it. The corn is hot and buttery and the artisan breads, infused with herbs, hardly sit in the baskets before they are sold.

One lovely women sells her homemade jalapeno jelly in varying degrees of "heat"  A dollop of that will warm you up on a brisk winter morning 

And then there's the "WAFFLE LOVE" truck that parks at the curb and sells waffles right on the street.

At almost $10.00 a pop this is not an everyday indulgence. 

Still, I have to admit that it was worth every penny. The picture says it all! 

Bringing summer home is a joyous end to the season and Mother Nature has been more than generous this year!

Here's a couple of fabulous recipes...

WAFFLE LOVE  - These are unique because they are not made from a batter but from a dough recipe.  For more details click on the link

ingredients (This comes close)

• 3/4 cup whole milk, scalded and cooled to warm milk
• 2 tablespoons water, warmed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 large eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 cups Belgian pearl sugar 

RASPBERRY JALAPENO JELLY  for more details click on the link

ingredients

3 or 4 jalapeno peppers (leave seeds in and dice small)

1 medium red bell pepper (diced small)

1 medium green bell pepper (diced small)

6 c sugar

1 1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 pouches liquid pectin 

1 1/2 c raspberries

WHEN THE EMPTY NEST ISN'T EMPTY ANYMORE...

   The art of  Jennifer Yoswa www.jenniferyoswa.com

If my children have launched and are deep into families of their own. then why is my nest not empty?  Let me explain...

There was an all too familiar phone call from one of my children requesting that they keep their Christmas presents hidden in a spare bedroom. OK, you can do that. 

I am also storing a couple of dozen huge bins of expensive quilting fabric for my daughter. She's an amazing quilter but the fabric... there's a lot. It makes it hard to park in the garage. 

Another daughter has a "flea market" business going this summer and has left a few clothes racks and boxes of hangers piled next to the quilting bins. Did I mention it makes it hard to park in the garage. 

I have three broken kitchen aids in the same garage, all from different homes. There was some kind of epidemic but my son swears he can fix them. I'm headed to Williams Sonoma to buy a new one!

There's someones running stroller, I haven't identified the owner yet and the old trampoline mat... "Don't throw that away, I'll be back to get it"  No one has returned. 

OK... I can no longer park in the garage!

I've given notice to these people ... Come and get your stuff. Anything left after the 1st of September will be up for grabs at a garage sale. No one really believes me.

Now that I've got that off my chest I'm ready for my son, daughter-in-law, four grandkids and a dog to move in. Their old house closes tomorrow and their new house isn't ready for a couple of weeks. 

Its a good thing I love all these people!

THE NEST IS NEVER REALLY EMPTY!

BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY

When my youngest son left to spend two years in the Phillipines as a missionary he was so excited that he didn't even look back. 

Then a couple of months before his homecoming I heard this song. The lyrics resonated in me.  

As hard as it is to let adult children go, setting them free insures that when they do return... its because they want to!

HOMEWARD BOUND

by Marta Keene

In the quiet misty morning

When the moon has gone to bed

When the sparrows stop their singing,

And the sky is clear and red,

When the summer's ceased its gleaming,

When the corn is past its prime,

When adventure's lost its meaning,

I'll be homeward bound in time,

Bind me not, to the pasture,

Chain me not to the plow,

Set me free to find my calling,

And I'll return to you somehow

One of my 5 favorite books of all time. Reading this will change your perspective on life!

IN THE AIR ...

LAWNS  TIPS click here...

We have had, in my estimation I rather mild summer, we've even avoided staggering triple digit temperatures. Last week there was a cold snap that left us with rain and the highs in the mid 70s. 

I went out very early this morning to mow my lawn and as I was riding my mower in the cool air I got a strange whiff of fall. 




Its way too early, but there it was.  If I'm smelling fall now... I just hope winter keeps its distance.

"ALL THE KINGS HORSES AND ALL THE KINGS MEN... "

When my oldest grandson was not quite five he began to talk about divorce. No one is sure how it got started but he was upset for months.  He was afraid that his parents were getting divorced.  They reassured him over and over of their love for him, his siblings and for each other but he was still plagued. 

He could feel that divorce was coming into his life but at his tender age he misplaced it. His parents weren't divorcing... his grandparents were. Because my oldest and his family live a few hours away, they were able to put off telling their children for a long time.  They saw us both, just not at the same time. They were afraid of this little boy's reaction. When they did tell him they got what they expected... a tsunami of tears.

Divorce is hard and calling it a "death" is pretty accurate. It doesn't just affect the couple it effects the entire family. I thought because my children were adults that they would handle it easily. I couldn't have been more wrong. Each, in their own way, has walked through "hell" and still, eight years later, its the elephant in the room. 

My grandchildren are always eager to tell me when they have seen grandpa and exactly what he did and said. That was painful for me for a long time until I realized what they were doing. In their little minds they are trying to reconnect us. Just two weekends ago little six year old Andy said to me...  

"Grandpa is coming to our house... you know that man that's suppose to be your husband."  

A little surprised, I just smiled.

Do I regret divorcing? No.  Thirty-three years of living a lie was enough. But, having said that, when people confide in me that they are thinking of divorce I always tell them.

 "You'd better think about this long and hard before you do it" 

I know there are many times when it is an inevitability, but if there is anything to work with, any chance for change and a reconnection I would TAKE IT!  

Yesterday I listened to JK Rowling, famed author of the Harry Potter series, speak about failure and how it propelled her toward success. Its the old pendulum analogy... however far we swing to the left we have the potential to swing to the right. I get that, but the fear and pain from failure has kept me sitting quietly in a puddle, hoping to go unnoticed and unscathed.

Now suddenly my "puddle" feels stagnant and I am surprised to find myself yearning for what I said I would never have again... a relationship with a man. Not a husband, just a friend... OK maybe a boyfriend... no just a friend. Even talking about it makes me queasy. 

Knowing that if we stand still while the pendulum swings we might get hit, I'm not sure where to begin, not sure I can even begin... 

Maybe wanting is a start