I am the luckiest!

Before doing this post, I had to sneak a heart shaped chocolate (dark chocolate, of course).
What is Valentine's Day without chocolate and those we love?   I am lucky to have been loved and cherished by a dear, sweet father who has passed on.  I'll never forget the Valentine's Day he sent me this beautiful bunch of roses to tell me how much he loves me.

 

Check out the latest on my father's life story here.

I'm also the luckiest to be loved and cherished by this guy for 36 years.  Happy Valentine's Day to all my loves, wherever you are!

Valentine's Day Memories -- the Valentine Box

How many of my generation suffered psychological damage because of this elementary school Valentine's Day traditon?

Shortly before Valentine's Day, a large, decorated box magically appeared on the teacher's desk.  We could hardly concentrate on our school work, anticipating the day when each child would recieve his/her share of the cards that were placed in the box throughout the week. Back in the 1950's we weren't told we had to give a card to every kid in the class. We made one out for the teacher, and then only to the kids we "liked".  Kids nervously chewed on their pencil erasers as the teacher slowly walked up and down the aisles, doling out the precious cards.

 Would I be one of the "popular", or at least "liked" kids? I knew that the pretty girl with the curly blond hair, saddle shoes, and full, swishy skirt, supported by layers of starched petticoats, would get the most cards.  Where did I stand? Would I get enough cards so I wouldn't feel like a reject?  Somehow I did, and I could hold my head up high. But I felt guilty stealing a glance at a sullen boy hanging his head over  two or three cards.
Many years later, I breathed a big sigh of relief when my first kindergartener came home with a note telling parents to make out valentine's cards for all the kids in her class.  Times had changed for the better in that respect.

still raising a kid....

TaTa, the baby of the family, the last of eight kids, the child of our old age...I feel sorry for him that he lives life as an only child, his older brothers and sisters married or away at college.  Life must be pretty boring living with an old grandpa and grammy. He is the focus of our daily attention. He must feel like a bug under a microscope. Poor kid.  He doesn't even get spoiled. He drives around in a beat up Chevy pick-up truck with a busted out side mirror.  He has to be in by 11:00p.m. on the weekend. Parenting an "only child" presents different challenges. We do have our "moments".

 So I'm grateful for the wonderful women's conference the church put on last weekend.  Randall Wright, an author,speaker, and teacher (who is also related to son-in-law Walter) reminded us that as parents, we are coaches. Our kids are on scholarships (they've been given everything), and so there are expectations.  The secret of good coaching is to have clearly defined rules (and consequences)and high expectations along with good relationships (lots of positives -- hugs, "I love you's"). With teenagers, there are many times you don't "like" them or what they do, but they must feel our unconditional love. 

 What's not to love about the baby of the family?

February in my backyard

The big freeze in January left its mark in my yard.  My "taller than an avatar" avocado tree (15 ft.) that I grew from a seed is looking bad. My beautiful blue flowered plumbago bushes look dead too. Hope they both come back to life in the spring.

But all isn't doom and gloom. Many plants here in south Texas thrive in the cold and were unaffected the unusually hard freeze we had. My holly bushes produced their biggest crop of berries. My fall veggie garden, which was totally unprotected during the freeze, is still producing. That's south Texas for you.

Cut 'N Shoot!

Welcome to Cut 'N Shoot Texas (a real town 40 mi. north of Houston)
"Where the men are tough, the horses are swift, and the women are soft, and where we take a bath every Saturday night whether we need one or not."

I kind of have an idea why they gave the town that name. The residents probably did a lot of what Grandpa and I were up to last Friday afternoon (in fact, it's what we're doing this afternoon) --- me, cuttin' up my quilt fabric...

'n grandpa shootin' at the rifle range!

ready, set, quilt!

Don't you love the bird themed fabric that Courtney chose on the internet for her baby girl's quilt? She also chose the beautiful rose pink floral that co-ordinates with the design on the birds.  The remaining fabrics were easy to pick, once I knew what Courtney wanted. The backing is a light lilac with white polka dots.  With Courtney being way up north in Minnesota, it was so convenient for her to use the internet to select her fabric. It was so easy for me to hop in the car,and head out to the fabric store,where I easily found her fabric, and best yet, it was all on sale for 40% off.  I'm going to start cutting this afternoon. Grandpa just headed out to the shooting range with Uncle Bill and Matthew.  I told him, "Take as long as you like, I've got lots to do."

how time flies!

It seemed like time slowed down a bit when we first entered January.  Where did the time go? Just slightly  more than one week to enjoy the January page of a delightful  calendar (featuring grandkid photos) Lauren put together for me.

                                        

Decisions to make before the month is out: Do I sign up for the Connoco Philip's Rodeo Run? Jessica and Walter are doing it, so I could join them, except they're running the 10 K and I would be doing the 5 K. Can this old lady do a 5K? Sounds like a really fun time afterward -- a big party, with lots of give-aways.  I think I'll do it.
Things accomplished:  Not too much, outside the routine stuff I do.  Trying to remember my New Year's Resolutions. As long as I remember to breath, I'm halfway there. What I'm itching to do is to start on Courtney's baby quilt, and start reading another good book (my last read was The Illustrated Man, by Ray Bradbury -- what an imagination and great writing style he has!) Oh, one thing I did today -- be sure and check on my newest entry at storiesofthenyefamily.blogspot.com. I've been getting all those old photos organized and doing a little research on life in 1913.