Burlap and Lace

My daughter and I like to spend time together when ever we can, but when we are with each other and a pile of material, glue, paint, scissors and twine we are thinking it may just be the rapture and we have not been left behind!

Middle One and I set aside two days a while back to redo her kitchen/dining curtains.  Five years earlier I had made the curtains that we were now replacing.  It was time for a change.

As we struggled to take the old curtains down, memories of struggling with the construction of those plankety-plank-plank valances flooded over me.  They had a scalloped design, three different fabrics and full lining.  They were a bear!  Well really they were roosters... you'd probably recognize them from the "Old World" design craze of five years ago.



They finally came down and we started creating their replacements.  Middle One loves the vintage look and had purchased feed sacks for the new curtain material.




As we were arranging and cutting and pinning the sacks together I could hear my mom telling me of my grandmother's reaction when he-man and I installed wood floors in our home.  Seems as if grandma and grandpa had worked all their lives to afford wall to wall carpeting and now we were tearing it out to put down the same kind of floor they had worked so hard to cover up.





Designer fabric to feed sacks is much the same, don't you think?



Middle One has very creative ways of repurposing old material and furniture so I trusted her vision and away we went, two sewing machines humming, cords zigzagged about the room and burlap deprei flying everywhere.

 Her house had been turned into a sweat shop.  Her children would pass through every so often for drinks or food and then quickly disappear as if they were entering a war zone.

But after the fuzz cleared and the floor had been swept numerous times and pins gathered the end result made Middle One very happy.  And I got to spend time doing what I like most... being with my family and working with my hands.  

Good by Roosters, Hello Cigar Sack

Lace and Burlap; opposites attract

He-man built the island and Middle One's hubby made the galvanized tub light.  Bluebird says hello.

More lace and burlap and grandma's crocheted table scarf

Middle One bought an old door from a salvage yard, painted it with chalkboard paint and her now favorite accent color of turquoise.  It is where the kids practice their spelling and list their household chores.

Now I suppose I should tackle the thirty some projects I have waiting at my own home.  Oh, but it is so much more fun to do it for someone else.  Especially when that someone is Middle One.  She makes my heart sing.


Thanks for walking with us through the sweat shop.  Thanks for visiting our homes and saying hello to our family.  I hope you can do something fun with someone you love.  I hope that whatever they ask, you can trust their vision and give them your full attention.  I hope they make your heart sing.

We Live On

Picture viewing is a traditional activity whenever He-man and his family get together.  They flip through pages of albums, boxes of prints and envelopes of stored memories.  And they are notorious for playing the "who looks like who" game. 

It was not only natural that they should go through pictures during the time of their mothers funeral -- it was anticipated and enjoyed by all.  At least one family member could be found digging through the several boxes of pictures stacked in M's living room at any given time throughout the weekend.

I certainly enjoyed the time I spent strolling down memory lane and I was surprised to find myself announcing my own "who looks like who" picks.

On the left is a picture I took of a picture of He-man when he was a little tike.  Don't you think he is adorable?    But not any more adorable than the picture on the right, who is grandson number five.  Now you know why I have named him Clone.

The picture on the left is He-man's sister, M.  She was pretty darn cute too.  And it obviously lives on in her youngest grand daughter shown in the picture on the right.

Pictures keep us connected in ways we might not expect.  I know that when He-man's mom lined up all the grand kids for her photo shoots heavy sighs were shared amongst them.  The kids would begrudgingly get into formation of tallest to shortest and wait and wait and wait while Grandma got just the right shot.  It was agony.

But now they are happy, happy, happy to spend time standing in line to look at the same pictures that once caused them such pain.

Hope Clone likes looking at the endless pictures I take of him and He-man.  They are just too good to pass up and I am banking that someday he will be happy, happy, happy to hold the moments they shared in his grown-up hands as well as his heart.






Have a happy, happy, happy day.  I hope you connect to someone today who makes you feel like the adorable creation that you are.

No Tasha Today only Swirling, Twirling Life

Wow! Life has been swirling at a whirlwind pace. 

My son and his wife have been learning how to integrate the newest child into their family schedule.  Funny thing is Little Miss Boo has pretty much rearranged any preexisting schedule with her own.   

 

She is lovely and demands little attention… but babies have to eat every few hours, change their attire several times a day and be burped, cuddled, rocked and rolled in between.  Their routine continues through the dark hours of the night and into the first light of each day. 

 

Tornado has been a bit confused by the interruption and would like to have his mom back as she was before going to the hospital.  

Thank goodness for dad, who is off work for another week and big sister, Sunshine, who has taken the position of live in nanny.

In the midst of Little Miss Boo’s entrance I ran off one Saturday to officiate at a wedding in Tulsa.  I enjoy offering this service to the cute and not-so-cute couples I have met.  The couple I married on Saturday was adorable.  One of those high school sweet heart stories.  They were married in a 1920’s mansion in Tulsa.  The bride dressed the part in her 30’s Hollywood glam gown and hair.   

She walked down the stairs looking like a dark-haired Lauren Bacall.  The groom looked nothing like Bogart but was one of the nicest men I have ever worked with.  It was pure fun and celebration!

A few days after the wedding He-man and I took off for Wyoming to attend his mother’s funeral and spend some time with his father and brothers and sisters.  While it was the best ever being with family, any time we spend away from home costs us time when we return.  Much the same as after taking time off work and returning to a desk of overflowing projects and unanswered messages.  

 

Soon after parking our car in the drive and unloading the luggage the lawn mower was humming, the washing machine purring, bird feeders were being filled and plants were drinking with gusto.   

 

A fast trip to the grocery store to restock the fridge and I was ready to call it a day. 

 

After driving – or I should say sitting (he-man did all the driving) – for eight hours I was stiff and sore and ready for a long warm soak in the tub.  And of course, there is nothing like falling into your own bed. 

 

And off we go again on Friday.  

This time to Fort Worth so I can officiate at another wedding.  I already know the couple and believe you me they are super cute.   

The mother of the bride is easier than most and the mother of the groom is phenomenal.  The wedding of my nephew and soon to be niece will be a grand time for the family and I am pleased beyond pleasure to participate in their special day.

Welcomed birth, unwanted death, wonderful weddings, steady recuperation, gathered grief, shared joys, needed maintenance and warranted rest have all been  churning in the whirlwind of late.  Sorry there have been few postings but I have not figured out how to post every day and still give attention to the winds that call my name.

As I continue blogging, maybe I will figure it out.  Feel free to help by giving me your input or suggestions. Like, "keep it short"…  or "add more photos"…  or "more of _____ and less of _____."

Thanks for visiting.  

I hope your life is moving with a gentle force that brings you together with the ones you love, be it birth, death, healing or integration.  May your energy hold out and love hold you up.

Today We Celebrate Lois

He-man's mother passed through the veil on Tuesday.  Her family, friends and community will gather this morning to celebrate her life and give glory to life renewed. 





Her husband of 71 years is sad and told us he will miss his life-long friend.  They were quite a couple, producing six children each with their own style of gumption and humor. 


Years upon years of challenges and grace transformed raising family and keeping the wolf from the door to long glances out a window, piles of books beside the easy chair and countless silent looks that held volumes of understanding.   

When I first met Lois and her hubby they seldom demonstrated affection.... but in their later years I was gifted to witness many tender moments. The simpliest gesture of a guiding hand gently placed on the small of her back or two hands clasped as one would soften my heart.

My mother-in-law accepted me as her own from the time I married into the family.  She taught me how to make cinnamon rolls, barbecued ribs - the BEST barbecued ribs - and fresh tomato soup.  She held my children tight against her chest as she wickedly rocked them into slumber.  She told me stories of her son, whom I married, and of her years trampling through the timber with her own lumber jack husband. We became much more than friends and I am forever grateful for her presence in my life.  


I have been with he-man's family since Wednesday and will remain in Wyoming until Sunday.  I hope to post something, but if it takes my attention away from what is most important now, it probably won't happen. 

Please enjoy this day and the days to come.  Express your appreciation of family or friendship or the glory of life in whatever way you say it. 

May peace be always yours.

As a rule,

Man's a fool.

When it's hot 

He wants it cool.

When it's cool,

He want's it hot.

Always wanting what is not.

My grandfather would recite this verse a-plenty, I'm told.  I never met my grandfather but through this small poem I formed an image of him that I began building since my mother first shared his favorite catch-phrase with me oh so long ago. 

Today there is a popular movement sweeping through our culture.  Thousands of books, articles and tapes on "Living in the Moment" line bookstore shelves .  It is a subject that I have been interested in since my early twenties, but did not give intentional focused study until the last six years, really.   

It dawned on me this morning as I heard my grandfather's phrase humming through my brain that he was teaching about living in the present moment as well - about what we do when we don't get what we want and how we find our joy when challenges surround us. 

Since the birth of Little Miss Boo I have been thrown into the moment.  

When you follow a tornado all day, you can't have your mind on much else but where the wind is churning at that very moment.

A tornado moves fast and changes directions on a whim. 

Leaving its signature behind in, oh so many, places.  

The amazing thing about this Tornado is that when he is within the presence of Little Miss Boo his whirlwind settles.  It's as if the Tornado has entered it's own eye.  He stands on his tip toes and slowly ( I can't believe I even typed the word slowly in the same sentence as Tornado) walks toward the burrito wrapped bundle resting in his mom's arms.  He moves his arms toward the wrapping and then stops in mid-air, gives a big smile and leaves it at that.  There is no shaking, poking, grabbing or screaming.  Just gentle delight.  Amazing!

When he hears Little Miss Boo cry he stops racing wherever he was going and another big smile creeps over his face.  His eyes shine like he has just been given a secret to hold.  It gives me pause.  How does he know that Little Miss Boo is a thing to be wondered instead of explored, or dismantled or thrown across the room?   

So much joy and insight has been given to me from living in the moment with Tornado.  I have discovered that even a fast moving storm can transform into a gentle flowing wind when listening to new life crying to make itself known.

So from my grandfather to my mom to me and now to Little Miss Boo, I wish you a moment, whether hot or cool, stormy or clam, where you might enter fully into its presence to witness life's gift of renewing awe.

Sendng You A Bluebird's Song

My thoughts have been with so many of my friends who are walking down rocky roads right now. 

My dear friend of twenty years has been struggling with mental health issues over the last three years.  She and I would meet for morning coffee every Tuesday.  We shared the joys and challenges of our lives so intimately that we developed an inner alarm that sounded when one of us needed to be contacted by the other.

But the misuse in her youth has set itself solid in her psyche, holding my friend captive to fear. Her daughter is trying to arrange the best possible care for her mom while taking care of her own family and attending to what her employer requires and maintaining relationships and all else that comes with living in this world.

A young mother is finding herself distanced from her own.  The attentive, giving, creative mother she has always known is not the mother she has right now.  Some how, some way, her mother has changed.  Pain inflicted her mother's heart when life pulled the rug out from under her feet.

I wonder if the pain of her fall was simply too much for her to bear so she didn't - bear it, I mean.  She just cut it off - shut it out- stuffed it down.  The only problem with that medication for pain is that it anaesthetises relationships as well.

A friend of my sisters is wading through the swampy waters of a disturbed marriage.  Her husband decided that he no longer wanted the life he had chosen with her more than a decade ago - the life that created two adorable, tree-climbing boys - the life that held first days of school, family vacations, Thanksgiving dinners and the unforgettable Christmas surprise.

She is now trying to piece her life back together in a way that will continue to give her boys what they need in a family and what they voice in their prayers.






So to J.A., G. J., T.A. and K.G. I send you my love.  I wish I could make the pain go away and the fear subside and the challenges decrease and the joy return.  But I can't and I'm not even sure that I should.  After walking my own bumpy roads and reaching the other side, I know the tremendous gift awaiting you if you can travel the road to it's receiving.

So in the meantime I will sing the song Bluebird sings to Little Miss Boo. 

"Never fear, We are here.  We believe in you.  We love you.  We are here to help you.  Never fear, we are here."

Brand Non-Spanking New

The package we've been waiting for for nine months arrived yesterday at 10:13 a.m. - all working parts in order and fully functioning.  There was no instruction manual, but a slew of trainers accompanied the delivery and made themselves available at the push of a button.  Often times these packages arrive by canal, but ours was delivered by hand.  It wasn't wrapped in the most fashionable paper, but was securely covered in a protective coating.  After a gentle washing away of film and packing materials we could see more clearly the precious product we had received.  Everyone wanted to hold it and inspect it, astounded at the amalgamation of its miniature parts

So get yourself a cup of coffee, or a glass of water, get comfortable and enjoy the following presentation.

Off we go to the pick up station, package not yet delivered

It takes a van to haul the package home...tiny package...lots of accessories

Getting on the proper attire for pick up and delivery

A few last minute instructions from the delivery room attendent

Last time to rest before the package arrives

And here it is, glowing like the sun

Just one last string to clip and...

there she is - brand non-spanking new!

Dad takes another look and all seems to be working perfectly

Shipping Label

Finally mom gets her hands on her

Identity of contents must be documented and filed

before officially handing over the package to dad

and yaya,

and where she has wanted to be from the moment she was delivered... with her mom.

The receivers of this gift are enjoying a few moments before the package is whisked off for a final prepping

The prep attendant has been working in this department for over 40 years

She is an expert at delivering a polished product...

...that everyone wants to hold...

...and count the toes,

and rock,

and kiss,

and sing a lullaby

Well... not everybody.

 That's pretty much how it was only a whole lot busier.... people coming and going, children sharing excited stories, waiting rooms packed with other families eager to see what God was bringing.  It was a delightfully filled day.  You would think that after receiving three of my own wonder packages and observing eight other packages arrive that I would be used to it by now.  But not so.  I am still blown away, swept up and taken to a different plane when I am in the presence of new life emerging.  It's a mystery, a miracle and a gift beyond measure.

Incubation in here

Miracle out here

How many miracles is one allowed to witness in their life?  I guess I'll never know for sure, because mine just keep coming.  So I will take what is given, give thanks and introduce you to our miracle number 10, Lttle Miss Boo.

Have a Wonderful Day!  Treat each other well.  After all, we all started out as a miracle... maybe we still are?