Like a cat whose ears are being scratched...

I am quietly and serenely thankful...thankful for so much.

There are not even words to express the depth of thankfulness I feel.

I am blessed beyond measure.

Hoping your day of Thanksgiving is a wonderful outpouring of love, family, friends, and blessings.

Elijah Graham

We will call him Eli.

This is Eli's mommy and his great-grandparents putting together his new bed recently.

This is where Eli will sleep.

We now have a matress, crib sheets, a comforter, and some other cutie pie things for the boy.

Anxiously awaiting his arrival in February.

I am Eli's grammy.

Furlough Friday

The daughter had a great idea.


I was on yet another furlough day (so far we've had three).
It was Friday.
The national fair arrived not so far away from our city the day before.


Yes, she's pregnant.
No, she couldn't ride any rides.
But, she was craving fair food...you know- nachos, corn dogs, cotton candy, funnel cakes...
Need I say more?
We laughed, shared most of the food from the above list...walked around, looked at the fun fair sights...and sweated profusely. (It was SO HOT.)
But it was fun.
I could not resist taking her photo with her lunch delights...so many people did that to me years ago when I was pregnant with her...I felt I should return the favor. Nice, huh?

Not long after that excursion, I got a terrible cold and spent the rest of my really long weekend in my pajamas resting (coughing, sneezing, hacking, and trying to breathe!)
Monday was a holiday....still in pajamas...thought I might be able to risk returning to school on Tuesday...no such luck...came home...more pajamas...all the while still trying to breathe...and not sound like I should be wearing a hospital surgical mask.

Really, I am better. And already it is almost the weekend again. How time flies when you are not at work. Hope your week has been a healthy and happy one.

My Grandson

It's a BOY!

The daughter will have a son in February, and my heart is already bursting with grandmotherly love.

Nine Things

In honor of this unique day, 09/09/09, nine random things:

1. I have THE biggest sweet tooth ever...in fact, I think I have all sweet teeth.

We have a swanky market in town called The Fresh Market, and sometimes, we go and get the oddest completely unnecessary things like an enormous sucker (a cavity waiting to happen), fresh ground cashew butter (who doesn't need that?), gummy bears (sweet teeth, I tell you), mix & match beer (which I do not even drink), and random Indian seasonings.

2. I love the beach in winter most especially.

Windy, cold, a sweater pulled around me...the freezing sand on my bare feet...the crashing of the waves and the cry of the gulls...it speaks to me like nothing else...invigorating and real...waking me up from the slumber of daily life.

3. Vincent van Gogh's birthday is March 30.

My very best friend in the whole wide world, Sally, and I have celebrated on this day with dinner, a drink of two, cards, and cake...just like any birthday! (Perhaps we will do it again this coming year!) What could be better than your best friend, a wonderful meal, and a dead painter? Well, for someone who gave the world his Sunflowers and Starry Night...nothing!

4. I love this little girl's feet.

Tiny toes, chipped polish, tickle spots, and flip flops...these feet carry her everywhere in her busy world...I am standing on the sidelines watching them grow...watching her grow...watching her move through this world...in awe of her abilities and talents...

5. I treat my cats like children.

Maybe that should make me ashamed...I am not sure. But, I can not help it. Look at these three, snuggling in front of the fire place. We had five at one time, but Horatio (the middle gray cat) died last January. Sometimes, I miss him more than I could express. I have a sorrowful longing inside my heart that will not fill up with anything else. However, the other four keep me smiling and laughing and snuggling. At least, they share the house with us.

6. Speaking of cats...this is Norton...on my favorite red sheets...in my bed.

One luxury that I love (regardless of the budget) is wonderfully soft sheets...the higher the thread count, the better...the more vibrant the color, the best! After the husband washes these and puts them on our bed, I could rest there forever and be happy...pure bliss!

7. I wish I lived somewhere wonderfully cold and snowy.

Maybe I would get tired of the work of it...but there is something so moving to my soul about snow. I love looking at it, being in it, and experiencing it so completely. We so rarely get snow here that things actually shut down and the city comes to a screeching halt. If I lived somewhere that had snow more often, it would be such a wonderful thing. Real winter!

8. I will be a grandmother in February.

No matter how many times I say it, it still surprises me. We have come to accept this as an exciting fact, and are looking forward to this day as a wonderful experience for our family. My parents will know their great-grand child! As a very young mother myself, this is not what I wanted for my daughter, but she is not nearly as young as I was thankfully. She is much more mature and capable of raising a child than I could have been at 17. We will find out whether it is a girl or a boy next week. I am going with her to watch the sonogram and be amazed and cry like a grandmother should!

9. Today, I am 38 years old.

Hope you are having a great week, and today brought you something special.

Whew!

Back when it was summer...and I had leisure time to lazily spend the day with this sweetie pie...I did not realize how fast the time would fly and it would be almost September so soon...Whew.
I am missing those precious summer days when we laughed and played and did whatever we wanted!

School is not so bad for the beginning of the year. It's middle school- 7th grade, 12 year olds- so what can I say? It could always be worse. Things have been VERY hectic, making up for the two furlough days..we had to cram six days of pre-planning into only three. I have just this afternoon finally gotten through all of the hundreds of returned forms that we sent out to parents on the first few days of school. I can always complain, but I will not. I am thankful to have a job and a pay check!

Hope to catch up soon, and make a decent post with something exciting and nice photos to go along...ha! We'll see how long that takes.
Hope all is well for you in your world. Have a great week.

Furlough Days

Was supposed to start back to work this past Thursday. Budget cuts...two furlough days (and one more later in October), so why bother. Apparently there are people who just assume that teachers will take a pay cut and come to work anyway. Not this teacher.

The weekend is well underway, and I do officially start on Monday. *sigh*
I always feel a bit depressed when summer comes to an end.

Am working on a huge scrapbook project for my cousin's birthday, so I need to get back to work. Hope you are doing something fun this weekend.