It's a Sweet Life

    And this is why...

                 Oh and this...

                             And 'cause you can't really see her in the other photo, this, too:

                                  

                              And these folks take up a big space in my heart (my Momma and my sisters)!

      Oh dear, I can't forget fabulous five cousins, otherwise known as the Bosom Bottom Club:

                                                    
        Or these friends who have stuck with me through thick and thin (and trust me, thin was a long time ago), good times and bad, and have encouraged and inspired me in ways too numerous to recount.

Or these dear ones who continually refresh the heart of this woman with
their authentic and genuine faith.

    And to the rest of you who make my life sweeter than a honeycomb, I hope you know who you are. You bring sunshine on rainy days, leave the Shalom of God in your wake, and never fail to make an impression of grace upon my life. You leave me blessed and filled with wonder at the goodness of a God who would lavish such love upon a woman like me. I think I need to pinch myself. Thank you again for your love, your faithfulness, and your friendship. You mean so much to me! Soli Deo Gloria...

Music to Soothe This Savage Beast

    If music soothes the savage beast, this music soothes my savage heart. These works of art continue to alter my perception of this world. The afford me a glimpse of that which I can barely comprehend: the nature of the Divine. The Glorious Impossible. The Word become flesh. The Lover of my Soul: even Jesus, the Holy One.
Come, share in the joy, and be transformed. It's some of the best music this side of heaven!

The incomparable Yo-Yo Ma playing Ennio Morricone's Gabriel's Oboe and the Falls.

       Woods in Winter by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

When winter winds are piercing chill,

And through the hawthorn blows the gale,

With solemn feet I tread the hill,

That overbrows the lonely vale.

O'er the bare upland, and away

Through the long reach of desert woods,

The embracing sunbeams chastely play,

And gladden these deep solitudes.

Where, twisted round the barren oak,

The summer vine in beauty clung,

And summer winds the stillness broke,

The crystal icicle is hung.

      

       

       Where, from their frozen urns, mute springs

                     Pour out the river's gradual tide,

                        Shrilly the skater's iron rings,

                      And voices fill the woodland side.

             Alas! how changed from the fair scene,

                When birds sang out their mellow lay,

                     And winds were soft, and woods were green,

                And the song ceased not with the day!

         But still wild music is abroad,

          Pale, desert woods! within your crowd;

              And gathering winds, in hoarse accord,

          Amid the vocal reeds pipe loud.

            Chill airs and wintry winds! my ear

         Has grown familiar with your song;

    I hear it in the opening year,

       I listen, and it cheers me long.

Both images were taken by a former student of mine, Josh B. Carter.

Valentine Happy

     Here's a little Valentine happy to get you in the mood. Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. My younger sister and I both have February birthdays and we are almost exactly one year apart. When we were younger our momma split the difference between us, and we usually would have a joint birthday party on Valentine's Day. I loved it. Red hearts. Candy. Paper Doilies. What's not to love about Valentine's Day? When my children were little I always baked a heart-shaped cake on Valentine's Day. The kind with fluffy white icing pulled up into peaks. I still have the pans. Maybe I will dust them off and bring them out now that I have granddaughters. Oh wait. My granddaughters are probably still a bit too young for that fluffy white icing.

Image from The Pretty Blog

Image from The Pretty Blog

     The two pictures below are from one of our joint birthday parties. To this day, I remember this particular party. The plastic doily hats were a bit hit with the girls. Not so much with the boys. I also remember that we got matching Timex watches with little black bands. I think my sister still has hers. She took care of everything. I have no clue where mine is. Does that tell you anything? She's at the head of the table in the top picture. I am at the opposite head in the bottom picture. I look like I am picking my nose. Knowing me, I probably was. That fuzzy figure in the left is my momma. Photos were taken by my Daddy circa 1962, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Dress Shopping

     I am going shopping with a friend today (see earlier post here). We are going into no-man's-land. Literally and proverbially. Seriously, no man alive would be caught dead doing what we are doing today. Shopping for a dress for the Mother of the Groom. In case you didn't know, the Mother of the Groom is the woman at the wedding with no official status. Tradition tells us that she is supposed to wear beige (I actually did at my second son's wedding!) and shut-up (I tried really hard to do this, but if you know me, you know that this was a nigh unto impossible task). I think my friend will be better at this than I was.
    The Mother of the Groom is the woman at the wedding who must take her cue from everyone else. Tradition also dictates that she cannot select her dress (length, style, or color) until the Mother of the Bride has selected hers, and she must also wait until the Bride gives her permission to go forward with this task. The MOG must also make discreet inquiries as to the style of the MOB's dress and must make sure that while her dress is similar in length, style, and fabric choice,  i.e., short, tea length, or long; sequins or no sequins; chiffon, silk, or satin, she can do NOTHING that would upstage the Mother of the Bride. Furthermore, she absolutely cannot COPY the Mother of the Bride, instead, she must delicately follow her lead.
   It's all about navigating the intrepid wedding waters with serenity, style, and grace. My friend should be fine. She has all three in spades. I did some online perusing today to get myself in the right frame of mind to accomplish this all important task. I discovered that there is quite a range of options out there. Some of them are literally mindblowing. Take a look at what I found!

This one definitely fits the traditional wear beige and shut-up category. It's a bit too frou frou for my friend.  

   This is for the semi-sporty Mother of the Groom. My friend doesn't fit this bill either. 

 This is for the Marrakesh Mother of the Bride. My friend doesn't like this trendy look. She's much more traditional. I bet she's also afraid that people might wonder what she is hiding under all those layers.

     I call this the VaVa Voom Mother of the Bride or what an aging cougar might wear. Nada on this one. My friend will not be showing any of her charms. I am glad. I don't want anyone in Texas thinking we Nashvillians have poor taste.

     Do you remember Uli on Project Runway? She might have designed this dress. I think it's a little too artsy for my friend. I don't think she would ever wear anything that looks like it had been tye-dyed, much less walk down the aisle in it!

     This dress actually caught my eye even though my friend will definitely not do strapless. She would have to fashion a little bolero of some kind. Then I noticed the price of the price of this dress. Gasp. Gasp again. $4,560. Are you kidding me? That might be more than she and her husband will be spending on the rehearsal dinner and the plane fares and the....you get the idea. Do people really pay those prices for a Mother of the Groom dress? I couldn't do it. And neither can my friend. Besides, I really don't like the dress that much. 

     On all the websites I checked out, I could not help but notice that all but one featured ultra thin glamorous looking models who might pass for a "mother" but only if the mother had been dieting religiously, getting Botox regularly, and was a child bride when she married the fantasy father. 

      I did manage to find one normal looking woman.

      But the problem is that she is wearing white. And everybody knows that there is only one person who gets to wear white to the wedding, and that is the BRIDE. 

      Oh well, we are off to laugh, to cry, make a few memories, and hopefully, find the PURFFFECT dress!

       

My Happy

Having a bad day? This might help.

Or this...

Told ya so.

   The Husband and I both got our happy this week from two little people we both love more than we ever dreamed we could love somebody other than our own children. Of course, it might be in part because these two special little people are our children's children. But just look at the love.
   Oh, and in the first photo, Little Two is trying to sign, "I heart you." That's baby sign talk for "I love you." Just so you know.
     Now then, admit it...don't you feel better already?!

Art Crawl Tomorrow

     I just found out that one of my favorite peeps will be the featured artist at Pangaea TOMORROW, Feb 3, from 5-8 pm in Hillsboro Village at the Art Walk. I am sorry to be giving you folks such late notice but I just found out the good news. If you can't make it, be sure to contact the artist via her website: http://elizabethfosterart.com and please don't be put off by the fact that so much of the featured art has already been sold. You can always contact her and find out what she has available. I don't know about how it will affect you, but it was love at first sight for me. Elizabeth Foster has a thing for birds and so do I, so it is no surprise that I have not one, not two, but three of her delightful  paintings. They make me smile every day...seriously.

         While you are down in the Village, check out one of my other favorites:  BookMan/BookWoman is one of my long-time haunts. I find that I must go in there just to inhale the smell of the books. New bookstores may try, but they simply cannot approximate the timeworn scent of aging leather, accumulated dust, and ink on ragged cotton paper. It can be addictive. I also cannot walk out of the place without buying something. They always have a dollar table. And who can't find something to bury your nose in on a dollar table?!  And don't just think they only sell used books, BM/BW can order just about anything. My Book Club has registered to purchase our monthly reads at a nice discount from them.
       Finally, if you love chocolate the way I love chocolate then you don't want to miss the salted caramel tart at Provence. They come in three sizes: petite (just for one), not so petite (can be shared by two or a hungry one) and what I call the share size. If you haven't had salted dark chocolate, you haven't had chocolate. I don't know why, but the taste makes me crazy...crazy for more!
   And just because I want too, here are a couple of pictures of Little One playing at my house last week. In the first photo she is riding her horse, Ryan. In the second photo, she is discovering her shadow. I waved first, then she waved and her shadow waved. She turned around and looked to see who was behind her. She got a bit perplexed. She would turn back around and wave some more. And of course, the shadow waved with her. She looked up at me as if to say, "What?!"  I was no help. I laughed hilariously until I almost wet my pants. She did this over and over again. I finally had to scoop her up and come inside. I don't think she could figure out why I found it so funny, so touching...or so magical.

  

     Hello shadow! 

Where oh where did my shadow go? 

Discovering things with the grandchildren is just so much more fun!