Pumpkin

I must have done something right tonight. Pumpkin was giving me all sorts of lovings. He curled up around my arm, play bite me a little then gave me a good tongue scrubbing.
He's such a cutie!!

Maya Angelou

What can I say? Maya Angelo is awesome! - and that is a major understatement! Here are a couple of excerpts from her writings.

From "Even the Stars Look Lonesome" on moving forward.
"So, I gave my ex-husband the Bay Area -- I gave him San Francisco and Oakland and the hills and the bays and the bridges, and all that beauty. And I moved to North Carolina. I though I'd find a small, neat little bungalow and I'd step into it and pull its beautiful walls around my shoulders. I though that was very poetic, and that way I would just sort of muddle through the rest of my life.
However, once I got to North Carolina, I realized that my gigantic old-fashioned furniture would not be accommodated in a bungalow. I also considered that if I moved from a ten-room house in the hills of Oakland to anything smaller, I would be implying, at least to myself, that my circumstances had been reduced."

Ok, that thought of doing something against what my inner voice is telling me to do only reduces me. How can I do anything that will reduce me?
Sometimes I really fight with myself on doing or not doing something when what I really need to do is get quiet and listen. I can’t listen when I am talking – and my inner cynic can scream loud and long. But that is not what I need to be doing. I need to shut the inner cynic down. I can’t scream louder or become more persistent than the critic because then the critic wins even when that critic is me. I can, however, shut the critic down by becoming quiet. Breathe deeply. Let the good flow into your being. Exhale allowing all the pain, anguish, hurt, bitterness, disappointment, and ugly thoughts flow out and vaporize upon hitting the clean, fresh light.

Here is a poem I enjoy becuase I've felt this way many a time.
"Woman Work" by Maya Angelou

I've got the children to tend

The clothes to mend

The floor to mop

The food to shop

Then the chicken to fry

The baby to dry

I got company to feed

The garden to weed

I've got shirts to press

The tots to dress

The can to be cut I gotta clean up this hut

Then see about the sick

And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine

Rain on me, rain

Fall softly, dewdrops

And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here

With your fiercest wind

Let me float across the sky

'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes

Cover me with white

Cold icy kisses and

Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky

Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone

Star shine, moon glow

You're all that I can call my own.

Inner Healing

It's been past time for me to do some inner healing. I started out with my Comfort Queen (http://www.comfortqueen.com/) and found some other great sites with ideas that are clicking with me today.
http://zenamoon.typepad.com/
http://forum.belmont.edu/cornwall/archives/005147.html

Katrina GRADUATED June 9, 2006!!!

Katrina graduated tonight!!!!!!! I am so proud of her! She's work so hard. We all yelled when she walked up to receive her degree! Kaylee kept wanting to go with Aunt Katrina. Jordyn yelled so loud for her!

CONGRATULATIONS KATRINA!!!!!!!!!!!

I am a little sad too. This is a great time in her life but part of me still sees the little girl and misses that part of our relation ship. I love the new adult relationship but sometimes miss the other part too.

Rememberies answered - favorite season

Rememberies - Ok, we've been doing a lot of reminiscing at work lately so here's some of the things we have been talking about.
1. What is your favorite season? Why?
All of them.
Springtime the beautiful flowers from the early purple crocus, fuzzy pussy willows, multicolored tulips, and pink, white or purple hyacinth to the stately purple iris, abundant floribundas (roses), and stately trees budding to bloom all make me want to spent time outdoors. Planting the garden and the smell of the earth after a long winter. Going to the Erie Street market/farmer's market.
Summer brings quite weekend mornings sitting on the patio watching and listening to the red-winged blackbird male sitting on the fence while he sings his little heart out. Weekend cookouts with friends, the kids and grandkids. Pool time! Hey, having our own pool means I DON'T have to look good in a suit! No more swimsuit buying stress! I can chunk dunk if I want! And the neighbors can't see if I do or don't! SPLASH!
Fall, the orange, yellow, red foliage is awesome! Early fall canning all the good food for the winter. Late fall putting the garden to bed for the winter. Walks down Bloom to look at the fall colors with Buster leading the way.
Winter, hot cocoa, snuggling up to the wood burner when it's cold, electric blankets, Scotch Broth (a soup), Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays. February brings pining for Spring and seed catalogs to dream of the perfect garden!

Rememberies

Ok, we've been doing a lot of reminiscing at work lately so here's some of the things we have bee talking about.
1. What is your favorite season? Why?
2. What was your favorite toy as a child?
3. Hoola hoops or skate keys?
4. Clackers with or without the plastic piece so you can't hit yourself with the balls?
5. What did you do to torment your siblings if you had any?
6. What made you afraid?
7. What made you happy?
8. What is your favorite sound? Why?
9. What is your favorite smell? Why?
10.What funny thing made you laugh hysterically in school?
11. Who was the bully who picked on you in school?
12. Who did you bully?
13. Who was your favorite teacher? Why?
14. Who was your least favorite teacher? Why?
15. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Ken

This is my dearest hubby Ken. He's the love of my life.

Naomi

This is Naomi learning to knit.

She is so patient! Learning to knit is not easy. I can't wait to see the final afgan.

Naomi hides well when it comes to picture taking. I have very few pictures of her.

And who does this look like? I have to find the picture of Larry doing the same thing about 20 years earlier. I swear you couldn't tell the pictures apart!

Four Generations of Heilmans

This is Grandma Irene Heilman, Aunt Joyce, my cousin Patty and her twins. I don't remember what year this was taken but it is more than 7 years old.

Family photo

Ok, this is an oldie - Grandpa Heilman was still alive. There were 12 people missing from this photo. Can you find me, Katrina and Brannon? I was still married to Larry in this picture so the picture is over 18 years old. Ok, did I just admit that? We have grown from these 56 to great grand -kids, nieces, nephews to great-great grand -nieces and nephews. And this is only my Mom's brothers and sisters. When the first cousins are included I quit counting so many years ago I don't know how many there are now.

Ok, the photo caption says 1985. I'm dating myself!!

Joleen

Ok, Jo is as good at avoiding the camera as I am but every now and then I do get a picture of her.
She is now a Mrs. of almost one whole week. When I get some pics of Juan and the kids I'll get those up.

I'm so happy for her, Juan, and the kids!

Past Times

I hope this comes through so that you can read it. I was going through some old pics and found a few of the Fourth of July camping at Aunt Lois and Uncle Dave's in Wolcottville, Indiana. Every July 4th holiday we have a family campout. This has been going on since my cousin Steve was small. Ok, I'm 40-something so Steve has to be close to 50 by now. This is the picture of the outhouse rules that were written one year when the big kids were bored. Actually, my Mom being the youngest, I really was too young to help but I always thought the rules were funny. In essence the rules went through the alaphabet and excluded all the letters that started the last names of the families from using the outhouse.

This is Kaylee's quilt.

This is the first quilt I made except for blue jean quilts. I took a quilting class with my friend Karen. I love working with flannels. The material is so soft and reminds me of home. I learned that to get a square quilt you must trim each block so they are all the same size. Sounds simple doesn't it? Well I didn't know that and kept wondering why my quilts were not square. It is so simple once you know that you have to square up each block!

Jordyn's quilt

This is Jordyn's puppy quilt.
I had lots of fun making it. It took me over a year since I am very good at procrastinating. I learned a lot too. Every quilt is a new learning project. When you don't have enough back material I learned to divide it into thirds or quarters and put in a matching fabric that helps create a pattern.
The back has hand drawn puppy paws that I put in Jordyn's name, the date, and who made the quilt.

Grandkids

We had the grandkids this past weekend! What a joy! I love being G'ma. i really needed some "grandma time". We had such fun! Jordyn, Kaylee and I did all the grandma things that moms won't let kids do because it is too much mess. We painted, colored with chalk on the garage floor, played with silly putty and play dough. Then we planted the yellow rose bush on the south side of the house by the red rosebush. Kaylee was picking the rosebuds off, pulling them apart while saying "ooooo pretty"!
Saturday we picked up Alyssa and all went to the zoo. I think this was Kaylee's first time at the zoo. If not her first time it was her first time with grandma and grandpa. Kaylee liked the ducks and was not about to leave them. We ended up telling her there was more to see. Once she understood "more" we didn't have any trouble going onto the next exhibit.
Alyssa like playing at the playground. So did Jordyn and Kaylee. Alyssa liked the hippoquarium. They couldn't get enough pictures of the hippos.
Jordyn took some good pictures of the baby ducks and elephants. so did Alyssa. Kaylee talked about teh mommy elephant, baby elephant (Louie) and the poo - lots and lots of poo.
Jordyn liked riding the train in Africa!. She wanted to ride the carosel but that is not a good idea (she gets carsick). I wasn't chancing her getting sick in grandpa's car.
The blue frogs - yes blue- were neat. I didn't like the (s)"nakes" (as Kaylee calls them) though. thhhhssssss yuck!
By the end of the day we were all tired! There was still plenty of zoo to save for the next time!