Shopping Day

Today I am actually looking forward to going to Sprawlmart! It's been ages since there has been any quick snack food available .. not a bad thing .. but when in the depths of despair, ... aaah, well, maybe just a little package of Red Vines candy will be a good thing ;). First I must get the little guys fed their breakfast (Nathan & my little grandson, Jake). Then daughter, Ann, is 'letting me out of my cage' to go shopping.

Today's blessing: Health & a fully stocked garden & freezer full of good eats.

A Season of Change

Summer is dragging on and on. Thankful for the blessings .. there is just so much of summer that I can stand .. then it's time for a change. This has more to do with summer vacation .. as in Nathan being home all summer than the actual 'summer' itself. Today has been one of those days. Nathan was in desperate need of a 'full body spa treatment' .. and that left me in charge of being his stylist. His hair is cut, nails trimmed, ears cleaned, tummy fed. I so had to psych myself up to do this 'to do' list. Here it is Sunday morning. I should be in church. But I feel like complaining instead. The weather outside is gorgeous. I will find it hard to be still in my spirit today. There is just so much I can take .. then my patience wears thin. Patience is usually one of my strong points .. but on beautiful late summer days, and I'm stuck at home again, I'd just like to scream as loud as Nathan did this morning when he was having a bath. Just pour some cold water on me. Some times I just want to run away. Maybe I'll go buy a one way ticket to some unknown place. I'll be better tomorrow perhaps.

Friday reality hit home regarding Nathan's education. When I registered him for school they had set up his classes for general education .. not the life skills class he needs. Now a great sadness came upon me as I looked at his little slip of paper with a 'normal' class routine. Drafting, math, physical education, ... so on. Six different teachers .. a locker with combination .. and a table to pay for extra curricular stuff ready and waiting. He was with me freaking out a bit as we walked through the building. People were laughing .. unknowingly .. upsetting him from their laughter. I looked once again at 'normal' and realized that's just not for him. So we were directed to the counselor's office and had his class schedule changed. A period of sadness came upon me at what could have been .. normal .. has to be exchanged for special accommodations.

Sorry for complaining ... thanks for listening.

Summer Fix

The last month of summer is upon us. School is starting soon. Buses will be en route full of anxious students. Moms and dads can catch their breath ... for a moment. Gardens are winding down. New clothes have been purchased along with lace up shoes. Paper, pencils, rulers are ready. What are your best memories of the end of summer ~ beginning of school?











Photos: Nathan at his basketball tournament, August 22-23, 2009

Basketball, Behavior & Constitutional Rights

Nathan's day camp ended last week. He was getting a bit tired of going four times a week and is glad to be home. Yesterday I signed him up for a basketball tournament (3 on 3) scheduled for this coming weekend. A few local organizations are sponsoring a group of special needs teams to participate in the area event that includes athletes from many different towns. Nathan and his little (gal) friend are on a team with two college age girl basketball players. The kids will be rotated in and out during the three games. This event is 1) local and only for one weekend. 2) A sport he likes and has some degree of success .. making baskets is fairly easy for him as he has great hand-eye coordination.

Soon he will have a program developed to help further his life skills at home and assist me in letting go of over mothering him. A common trait in parents of kids that have been medically, mentally, and/or physically challenged as youngsters. I'm excited about this new endeavor if the result will be in his independence (from yours truly).

Jesus is still on the throne, regardless of what the front page of the local newspaper says. Exciting times/frustrating times politically in the USA.

I encourage everyone living stateside to read our Constitution to know what it says. Many steps are underway to weaken the very fabric of our democracy.

Live, pray, breath, and pray some more.

Amen.

Ten things to do today:

1. Get up before my family .. sit on porch rocker and wait for the sunrise, fresh coffee and Bible in hand .. contemplate Proverbs 15
   
2. Read the newspaper
3. Clean the wood floors
4. Clean the bathrooms
   
5. Change the beds
   
6. Always laundry
7. Pick backyard veggies ... drive to farm and buy peaches
8. Watch a silly 1955 sci-fi movie called 'Them' with hubby
9. Read my gardening book
10. Relax .. take a bubble bath .. read a magazine .. do some 'deep' thinking while soaking away my aches.

Enjoy your Saturday~

Beyond the Storm ....

... tonight we lost all electric power. Did I mention the dawg and Nathan are home with me? Currently the dawg is asleep in her kennel placed in the kitchen. Nathan is about ready to get 'unplugged' (go to sleep) for the night. He sat on the porch for a while listening to the thunder and watching the lightning. A big step for him. We dug out the emergency candles, lantern and flashlight. Washed the dishes by candlelight. Contemplated how different life must have been a few generations ago without electric light. Maybe it was a better time. People went to bed earlier I'm sure ... just working for an hour or so in the dimly lit kitchen took some getting used to. Time to call it a day.

PC Blues

My computer has needed additional RAM for quite some time. It's been slower than molasses .. couple that with a bad part on my satellite dish ... taking me back to the stone ages of the information highway. I'm trying different things ... getting back my laptop on (permanent;) loan to daughter, and using a USB connect device on loan to me from my son-in-law. He fixed the lack of RAM and installed an external backup device. Sometimes I'd like to 'chuck' the PC out the same window that our TV satellite went out ... but I just don't want to be completely isolated and dependent on the public library's computer. I have pictures in my camera to share on my three blogs that perhaps can be uploaded with ease now (keeping fingers crossed)

Today has been rainy. Thank you Lord for the precipitation. It means no work outside today! No watering the garden or mowing the lawn. Last week was a doozy with busyness, company, gardening, running Nathan to/from day camp, home maintenance, etc. I hate to say it since summer is a much anticipated time of the year, but such a time that makes me look forward to the coming autumn and winter months. Each season has something to offer .. and towards the end of summer and winter (especially) I long for a change.

This Got Me Thinking ...

About the selection of Mr. O's new desk ;) ... card sharks, smoke & mirrors, a slight of hand ... stacked decks ... and cronyism. The economy, health care, clunkers for cash, two day jobs to plump the job market quotas, state of the nation, and war are better left to the serious minded ... not poker faced politicians.




photo credits: top
bottom .. Yahoo News

Minus The Boob Tube

... and getting back my mind.

There, I canceled our TV service this past June. It was costing me $65 a month for junk being teleported into my home. Junk news (especially politics), junk sitcoms (mostly reruns), junk soap operas (I never watched them .. except as a new bride .. nearly thirty years ago), junk home shopping clubs (I never could figure out how someone would spend money by seeing some person that talks and talks about a product .. then tells you you only have five minutes to hurry and call to order .. fill in the blank product), junk info-mercials, junk cartoons, junk sports (sorry hubby).

In place of tv, we have been reading the newspaper, going to the library and checking out books and a few movies, cleaning house, staying focused. No more lure in the middle of the day to suck me into the family room to sit and have my mind zapped. Our socks have all been mended, sewing projects that had been put off and put off forever (curtains) have been completed and I've taken up writing letters the old fashioned way (not that old fashioned .. those sent by pony express .. I did buy stamps).

If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

Can't you just see us come this winter when the snow is blowing, wind howling, and we can restart the old tradition of playing board games at the dining room table instead of sitting on the couch with a mindless look on our faces staring at a black box.

Ecclesiastes 10

¹ As dead flies give perfume a bad smell,
so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.

² The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left.

³ Even as he walks along the road,
the fool lacks sense
and shows everyone how stupid he is.

⁴ If a ruler's anger rises against you,
do not leave your post;
calmness can lay great errors to rest.

⁵ There is an evil I have seen under the sun,
the sort of error that arises from a ruler:

⁶ Fools are put in many high positions,
while the rich occupy the low ones.

⁷ I have seen slaves on horseback,
while princes go on foot like slaves.

⁸ Whoever digs a pit may fall into it;
whoever breaks through a wall may be bitten by a snake.

⁹ Whoever quarries stones may be injured by them;
whoever splits logs may be endangered by them.

¹⁰ If the ax is dull
and its edge unsharpened,
more strength is needed
but skill will bring success.

¹¹ If a snake bites before it is charmed,
there is no profit for the charmer.

¹² Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious,
but a fool is consumed by his own lips.

¹³ At the beginning his words are folly;
at the end they are wicked madness-

¹⁴ and the fool multiplies words.
No one knows what is coming—
who can tell him what will happen after him?

¹⁵ A fool's work wearies him;
he does not know the way to town.

¹⁶ Woe to you, O land whose king was a servant
and whose princes feast in the morning.

¹⁷ Blessed are you, O land whose king is of noble birth
and whose princes eat at a proper time—
for strength and not for drunkenness.

¹⁸ If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.

¹⁹ A feast is made for laughter,
and wine makes life merry,
but money is the answer for everything.

²⁰ Do not revile the king even in your thoughts,
or curse the rich in your bedroom,
because a bird of the air may carry your words,
and a bird on the wing may report what you say.

This chapter from the Good Book speaks volumes!