~ I am 60 ......

..... years young today.

How did that happen?

Where have the years gone?

Where is that little girl?

Ah!  She's still around......

sometimes when I look in the mirror

and see beyond the crows feet

and the puppet marks

and the lovely inherited

family jowls,

I see her twinkling in my eyes.

I hear her when I laugh.

We've come a long way.

We've been through a whole lot.

We embrace my 60 year old self.

Happy Birthday to me!

~ A Christmas Carol ....

Serve me up some "A Christmas Carol" with those cookies and hot chocolate

and I will be very content.

This is my "must see" movie during the holidays.

Heck, I could watch this movie in the middle of July.

But it must be the 1951 version.

Whenever I watch this movie, something magical happens within me.

It calms me.

It warms me.

It makes me happy.

I just love Ebenezer Scrooge.

Not the man he was

but

the man he became.

"Some people laughed to see the alteration in him,
but he let them laugh,
and little heeded them;
for he was wise enough
to know that nothing
ever happened on this globe,
for good,
at which some people did not have their fill
of laughter in the outset;
and knowing that such as these
would be blind anyway,
he thought it quite as well
that they should wrinkle up their eyes in grins,
as have the malady in less attractive forms.
His own heart laughed:
and that was quite enough for him."

God Bless Us, Every One!

Merry Christmas!

~ Oh My Darling, Clementine ....

Clementines.

I can take them or leave them

but

my husband just loves them.

He looks forward to these little juicy citruses.

I love the scent that fills the room

when he peels one open.

Each little segment is carefully placed on the plate

waiting for his eager fingers

to grab one up and pop into his mouth.

The smile that comes across his face

is as sweet as this little fruit.

For that alone, I will keep buying these little gems.

Oh My Darling, Clementine.

~ All that glitters ......

....is gold.

I finally put the tree up and decorated it.

It's a small tree.....artificial....but it is stunning if I may say so myself.  

I've opted for simple elegance.....

gold and red ornaments.

May the light of Christmas

fill your home

with happiness and love.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas
from my heart to yours

     ♥               

~ "How beautifully ....

....leaves grow old.

How full of light

and color

are their last days." ~ John Burroughs

It takes me forever to rake leaves.

Not because it's a

back breaking job.

Not because it's a

thankless chore.

Not because when you think

you've completed your task,

you turn around

and find more leaves

have surrounded you.

It takes me forever

because I get mesmerized

by these fallen gems.

Their colors.

Their textures.

Their scent.

I am addicted to Autumn.

~ Pumpkin ...

....pie.

Pumpkin bread.

Pumpkin soup.

We'll have to make it fast because

tomorrow night there will be

frost on the pumpkins!

Yes, the weather forecast for tomorrow

night is calling for

6 to 8 inches of ...... gulp! ...... SNOW!!!!

That's right, snow!!!!

Bring in those pumpkins

and start cookin'.

btw.....head on over
to Kelly 
and see what monsters
she has conjured up!

 

~ Inconsolable ....

.....is how I feel.

My dear cousin Marc lost his battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) this morning.

He was more like a nephew to me and my sisters and brother.

I regret that I was not able to see him when I was up in New Hampshire in August.

The loss I am feeling is overwhelming.

My heart is broken.
♥



~ Three Ghosts .....

..... and a pumpkin!

I have collected Lenox trinkets over the years

and this is probably

my favorite Halloween trinket.

I love that the ghosts have their little tongues sticking out!

It makes me laugh!

Boo!



A Piece Of My Heart ...

......has just left.
Our 35 year old son just visited us from North Carolina this past week.  It had been a year since we saw him last.  Sadly to say, I was ambivalent about the visit.  We've had a rocky history, details of which I will not get into.  The past is the past.  So, as I said, I was unsure of his visit .... of his motives.  His visit was two-fold.   He was concerned about his Dad's health issues and wanted to see for himself that everything was okay and he recently connected with a high school friend and they are currently in a long distance relationship. 
The visit was nice.  No real drama took over.  He seemed to be calmer.  I didn't question it.  I didn't want to jinx the fact that maybe he was finally growing up.  I'm not saying that everything was perfect .... but it also wasn't as bad as I had anticipated. 
We can never go back and change the things that were.
But we can go forward and hope that the things that were have taught us lessons.
We say "I love you" at the end of each phone call.
We choose our battles.
A Mom's heart is a funny thing.  As he was leaving and we were saying our goodbyes, I found that I was now ambivalent about his leaving.  I hugged him hard and my heart was aching with the thoughts of "will he be okay?" .... "will he take care of himself?"  ..... "does he know he is loved?"   I watched as he got into the car to leave .... I looked away for a moment .... and when I looked back there was my 5 year old son climbing into the front seat yelling "Bye, Mom!"   I told him "I love you.....I love you...." over and over again.   I wanted to make sure that he knew he is loved.   And then I cried for what seemed like forever.
Stay safe, Keith.   You are always in our heart ♥ 

Cracker Jack ...

Cracker Jack .... brings back so many childhood memories.  

What was more fun? 

Eating the caramel coated popcorn or getting sticky fingers digging in for that prize? 

I occasionally treat myself to this little snack

and I still giggle as I stick my hand in the bag

wondering what the prize will be!

Texture by Kim Klassen

and aptly called "Cracker Jack"
Photo submitted in "Texture Tuesdays"

'Nuff said!

~ How to become a "creeper" in your own blog without even trying.....

Yup!  That's an avatar of myself in the sidebar under "Friends".  I've become a "creeper" in my own blog.  I. Am. Mortified.  Who knows how long I've been there.  I didn't notice it until I was checking out who was following me.  Just noticed the numbers first......12 "Friends".   "Well", I thought, "how about that!!!"  Then I noticed a familiar icon.  Is. That. Me?????  How could that have happened?  Did I do that?

I said:  Are you serious?  

Me said:  What?

I said:  Did you add Me as a "friend/follower" in our own blog?

Me says nothing.  Me is standing there, arms behind me's back, kicking imaginary rocks.

I said:  I didn't do it ... it had to be you!

Me said:  It wasn't Me!

I said:  That's just not right.   We look like a "creeper".

I think about this awhile.....mortified about how this must look to other bloggers and people who have been kind enough to follow my blog.  I searched the forums on how to remove "Me" from the list.   I followed instructions step by step and I still can't remove "Me"!   I read comments from some blogging communities who make fun of people who follow their own blog!   I know all about "creepers" in the internet world and I've become one!!!!  I begin to panic.  Will anybody else notice?  What will they think? 

I guess I'll just ignore having Me as a Follower in my own blog and hope you will too.  I'm really not a "creeper". 

I just want you to know, I didn't do it!  It was Me!

Summer .....

Summer is turning its back on us.

The last of my sunflowers are stretching upwards

trying to get every last second of sunshine.

Summer's bright gems will soon give way

to Autumn's earthy jewels.

 

I was hoping to post this in the "I Clicked It Up A Notch" contest .... but I was too late!  
I'll be sure to post early next time. 

~Book or Nook ....

I was recently offered a Nook.   My sister-in-law upgraded to a new and improved Nook and she asked me if I'd like to have her old one.  I hesitated but finally said "Yes".  I took it home and set it down, picked it up, set it down, picked it up again and  tried to read a "nook book".  It just didn't feel right.  It actually felt awkward.  I missed the feel of holding a chunky paperback in my hands.  I missed the smell of the paper.  I missed turning the pages.  I missed placing my bookmark in the book after I was done reading for the night.  I missed the "book".   I'm not against technology .... I like having the latest and greatest of anything and everything but this just didn't feel right ... at least to me.  So, I guess with this one I'm going to be behind the times .... give me a good old fashion book to hold and read and I'm happy.   Now, excuse me while I go and curl up on the couch and read a chapter or two.

~ Kelly ...

   

 Let me tell you about Kelly.   We've never met face to face but somehow we've become friends.   We "met" a couple of years ago wandering through the forums at "Michael The Maven", soaking in anything and everything about photography.  We joined the "Project 365" where we took a self-portrait every day and posted it in the forum for constructive criticism.  Kelly quickly became my cheerleader.  She'd applaud my shots.....she'd inspire me with her shots......she'd encourage me when I felt that the project was just too much to handle.  We joined Flickr at right about the same time and used that as our "meeting place" where she continued to comment on my shots and shout out "atta girl" and make me feel so dang talented!  We developed a bond .... I feel as if I've known Kelly forever.  We e-mail each other.....heck!  we even snail-mail each other!  I lovingly call her my "Sistah".   She is my sister of the heart.  She is talented, gorgeous, genuine and I'm so glad I found her.  Her friendship means alot to me.   I wish we could hang out together .... we'd be like two silly little schoolgirls running around with our cameras.  It would be fun!   But she lives 2,397 miles away (as the crow flies).   Someday we'll meet up and talk like we've been friends forever over a fine glass of Merlot and chocolate.   Until then, I'll have to settle for having Kelly be "Just A Click Away".

Hello ...

Piece A Cake

Hello......come on in!  Sit.  Kick your shoes off.  Have a piece of cake.   I'm new to the blogging world but I'm hoping that we become old friends fast.  I love cake!  Chocolate cake.  Lemon pound cake.  Pineapple upsidedown cake.  Ah!  That's my favorite.   I remember when my mother would make it ... what a treat!  She made the best...and I do mean THE BEST...pineapple upsidedown cake.    We'd watch as she'd melt the butter in a heavy pan and then blend in the brown sugar.  She'd let that bubble, bubble, bubble and then she'd place the pineapple rings and allow the bubbling, gooey, caramelized brown sugar just soak right into the rings.  Here's the fun part ..... she'd let us carefully place the maraschino cherries in between the pineapple rings and smack in the center of the rings.  Then she'd pour the batter in the pan and pop it in the oven and we'd wait (impatiently) for that tasty treat to come out.  Once out of the oven, we had to wait for the "cool down".  But she was smart and let the cake cool off just enough and she'd cut us a piece of slightly warm cake.   Everytime I make this cake I'm reminded of home and my mom and when I take that first bite of slightly warm cake I'm a kid again.  

I hope you come back.  I've got thoughts and shots to share.  

Now, I'm headed in the kitchen for a piece a cake!!!

Photo by me!

Texture is "Sweet Treat" by Kim Klassen