Merry Christmas to you 2009

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Foliaged Again!

The Trees have been ablaze with colour* this year! Despite my sickly state, (H1N1 has reared its ugly head at our house) I put Wesley down for a nap and took a walk down our street, capturing some of the fire that was alight in our neighborhood trees. I was afraid that in the days to come the vibrant shades would begin to fade. Heavenly Father does amazing work!



I always try to capture our street, alive with fall's color, every year.

It always amazes me that our trees turn from green to yellow in a matter of days.

This is looking up into the trees in our yard. I warmed the color up just a bit, because the camera just didn't seem to capture the sun-drenced yellow that was streaming through the branches. This I think, barely does it justice.

* colour-I wanted to use this spelling, because in this case I felt "color" just fell flat from the richness of hues I was trying to express.

I mourn for Madeline.

I'm also immeasurably inspired by Madeline. I only recently found out she passed away, and It makes one of my life-long goals improbable now. I thought she would be fascinating to meet. Now I'll just have to seek her out in the next world.


"Of course. It's all been said better before. If I thought I had to say it better than anyone else, I'd never start. Better or worse is immaterial. The thing is that it has to be said; by me; ontologically*. We each have to say it, to say it in our own way. Not of our own will, but as it comes through us. Good or bad, great or little: that isn't what human creation is about. It is that we have to try; to put it down in pigment, or words, or musical notations, or we die."

-Madeline L'Engle 1918-2007

This will keep me going. I will continue my musings....

*Ontology-from Greek, to be. It is the philosophical study of the nature of being, existence or reality. Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as metaphysics. -Wikipedia

Father's Day for Richard 2009

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Signs of Spring

Is it flowers? Green grass? Butterflies? No,.........Mud.



Unplug the television
And make way for an old vision
Wich will be a new vision, yes
Headliner, lay the foundation

Dig your hands in the dirt
That's right
Children play with earth
That's right

-Arrested Development (one of my favorite CD's I listened to in high school)




I never thought I'd be the kind of mom who minded a little mud. After all it's a right of passage; mud pies, gardening, finding worms, playing in the sand box. I just wish it didn't mean so much work! Cracks and crevices of shoes, carpet, jeans, hair, faucet handles, sinks, and of course cleaning the soap itself.



Reynolds will be five this week! His birthday is on the 24th. We've had quite a few conversations about the specifications of this special day. Originally the cake was to be a "tree cake...three dimensional". I was game, I'd looked up some ideas on the web. But, now the request has changed to an "ice cream cake". I was very excited about this prospect. To me that meant buying one at Dairy Queen or Cold Stone Creamery. Again, Reynolds was very specific. It is to be a cake made out of ice cream cones. We attended a baby shower where this cake had been the hit of the party. So, I will ask for help and attempt this fiasco-to-be . Remind me to post pictures of the outcome.

Tree 1. Carson 0.

Tree 1. Carson 0.

Blindfolded, Running at top speed = Bruised and scraped cheek. Scraped chin. Bloody nose. Two scrapes on the back of each hand. Wind knocked out of you. Two bruised/scraped knees. = Lesson learned.

And the answer is.....

Thank you for your participation in the Who's Who of Heath Boys....The answer is...

A. Wesley
B. Carson
C. Reynolds

All prizes will be awarded in the form of personal satisfaction in knowing that this was time well spent. I think most of you got it right, with the exception of Richard. But that's ok because I still confuse their names on a daily basis.

WesReynCar...O, be some other name!

A.
B.

C.

"O, be some other name! What's in a name?...So a [ Heath boy ] would, were he not a [ Heath boy ] called, retain that dear perfection which he owes without that title"*

This is an interactive, as well as informative blog. Let's play match that Heath baby. These pictures were all taken on the respective blessing days. All three are wearing the same outfits, and all three are tuckered out from a long day of being ooooed and awwwed over. Can you tell them apart? Take the quiz.

* William Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet

A promise is a promise.

Carson has been asking me to teach him how to make a slide show. I told him that it would be our spring break project. Today was that day; and it took all day! We decided to showcase his pictures from his 7 year-old birthday party, using Windows Movie Maker. This is good for us. To have some sort of documentation of the events in our lives. I'm not a scrapbooker (insert audible gasp!) I won't impose my philosophy on that, not here, not now. But I do love photos, and creativity...so I needed another option. This seems to be the perfect way to capture the emotions and energy of that special day.

Carson did most of this himself even the typing and spelling. I did help him find the music. He chose 'Science' for the theme of his party, which is appropriate since that consumes every waking thought for him. His favorite question posed to me on a daily basis is, "mom, what should I invent now?" A gallery of inventions will be a follow-up blog post, I promise. I need some way of cataloging the chaos that fills the art room/science lab.

Valentine's Day 2009

I worked on this project for a surprise Valentine's Day gift for Richard. It was my first real attempt at a slide show. I want to post it somewhere where I can share it with family and those friends who don't mind a little mushiness. So, here goes.

The Artichoke...a blogworthy subject.

I'm trying to remember when the act of eating artichokes became a tradition in our household. My mom was the one who introduced us to the mysterious vegetable. I can remember sharing one with my mom and aunt in a Kansas City cafe when I was very young. I felt grown up eating such a sophisticated delicacy. Peeling the leaves from their reluctant host dipping them in the sauces presented in the smooth, white ramekins. Oh yes, this was noshing in style.

We now have them at our Easter time meal because they are at their peek from March to May. I buy them when they are green and robust, but not too tightly closed, just starting to open. I usually steam them in a pot of boiling water for anywhere from 20-30 minutes. The dip of choice is a simple one. 3 tbs. of miracle whip to 1 tbs. mustard. ( I know, nothing fancy about that, but it's my favorite.) There are more ideas at this website; http://www.gourmetsleuth.com/artichoke.htm

My sister and I have been known to present them as "break-a-leg" gifts after a theater performance, instead of flowers. It's much more fun to hand over this thorny thistle wrapped with a bow, if nothing else to see the expression on the recipient's face. I did that once when trying to get the attention of a boy I liked in high school. It was December and I decorated an artichoke with a red bow and knocked on his door.... I guess since then it's just always been my signature. If you walk into my kitchen you'll see what I mean. I still regret not buying the artichoke pj's I found at TJ Maxx. I try to christen all my friendships with a ceremonial eating of an artichoke. Richard and I had our artichoke date and watched Benny and June back in 1994. And if I know you, and you've never tried one before...well, watch out! It's just a matter of time.

And so I Begin the Beguine.*

I've put off starting a blog for far too long; mainly because I wondered/struggled with the question..."who is your audience?" All those repeated college English classes coming back to haunt me. Am I blogging for me?..posterity?...to impress my present acquaintances with my prolific prose?...possibly ( how I do love a good stream of alliteration!) To disperse my skewed view of the world to the masses? (oh yeah...privacy controls..) I hold so many good conversations within the confines of my mind that I want to let them be free...free to bombard the thinking of others. Bump into your thoughts mix and mingle and disseminate. Of course, I'll have to grow a thicker skin with all that feedback I'm sure to get. So, for all these reasons I've put off the act of electronically documenting my life. But here goes...the entries are bound to be as varied as the fleeting thoughts that....oh look....the buds are starting to appear on the....Well, you get the idea.

* beguine- A spirited ballroom dance based on a native dance of Martinique and St. Lucia. Also a song by Cole Porter that is one of my favorite singing in the shower songs. Definition provided by The American Heritage Dictionary. (I believe that reading blogs should leave you edified.)