This is the Big One

Go Green!

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Road trip :: Montana!
Pool hall :: Cue stick
Extraordinary :: Special
Jackson :: Hole, Wyoming, Jessie, Michael
Heartfelt :: Sincere
Wet :: my yard right now. We've had a bunch of rain
Strangle :: Cut-off
.com :: the internets
Touched :: by an angel
Insipid :: unsuspecting, that's not right, but that's what I wrote

Are you going to finish strong?

relative. It all is.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Studio :: Photography
Meetup :: flickr, nanowrimo
Ostrich :: head in the sand
Jokes :: laugh
Estranged :: separated from
Random :: acts of kindness
Slap :: smack
Hotel room :: tryst
Inscribe :: write within
Polar :: bear

Be Blessed

saw this on flickr, of all places.

People are often unreasonable, Illogical, and self-centered; Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, People may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, You will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, People may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, Someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, They may be jealous; Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, People will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, And it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, It is between you and God; It never was between you and them anyway.

Be Blessed,

-- Mother Theresa

Sun Rises the First Day of Spring

dilo01
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

Happy Spring! And happy autumn to the folks down-under!

Update!

Thanks for all the well-wishes and concern. My SIL was finally brought out of the medically induced coma. The tubes are out. She's chattering away. Rehab will be lengthy, as she broke several bones and had to have her left shoulder basically replaced, but the sun is out.

Thank you all!

Happy Saint Pat's!

greeters345678
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

and Go Green!

springsprung

springsprung
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

No Mutterings

Sorry, no mutterings this Sunday. It was one of THOSE weekends. You know, the ones with great fun, great joy, great fear, great relief, great concern.

Wedding shower for niece #3. Great time. Fun games, food, people. Niece's mother-in-law-to-be is a real gem. I wish we could adopt her.

On the way to the shower: accident involving my nieces, their children the two C.J.'s, my nephew and their mother. Trailblazer t-boned by a vehicle running a red light. Trailblazer rolled twice, ended up upside down. All were transported to the hospital. All were cleared medically except their mother, my deceased brother Jeff's wife. She was thrown from the vehicle. Multiple fractures and contusions, total shoulder replacement. In ICU now, critical but stable, medically induced coma. Expected hospital stay, a week. Expected rehab: multiple weeks.

So grateful that the children are all okay. Little Caleb Jeffrey, 2, is such a little man. Charli Jo, 18 months, voiced her displeasure at the poking and prodding, but she is fine. My nephew was fine. The nieces are banged up a bit, but cleared.

Today I just kicked back. Brother Boo and wife and one of their daughters came out to the farm. Dug trenches, took pictures, had a fire, roasted weinies.

Hope you all are doing well!

{{{hugs}}}

catch a falling star

catchafallingstar
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

Catch a Falling Star
Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away!
Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day!

For love may come an' tap you on the shoulder,
Some star-less night!
Just in case you feel you wanna’ hold her,
You’ll have a pocketful of starlight!

Catch a falling star an’ ( Catch a falling . . . ) put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away! ( Never let it fade away! )
Catch a falling star an’ ( Catch a falling . . . ) put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day! ( Save it for a rainy day! )

For love may come and tap you on the shoulder,
Some star-less night!
An’ just in case you feel you wanta’ hold her,
You’ll have a pocketful of starlight!

( . . . pocketful of starlight! ) [ hum in time ]

Catch a falling star an’ ( Catch a falling . . . ) put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away! ( Never let it fade away! )
Catch a falling star an’ ( Catch a falling . . . ) put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day! ( Save it for a rainy . . . Save it for a rainy, rainy rainy day! )

For when your troubles startn’ multiplyin’,
An' they just might!
It’s easy to forget them without tryin’,
With just a pocketful of starlight!

Catch a falling star an’ ( Catch a falling . . . ) put it in your pocket,
Never let it fade away! ( Never let it fade away! )
Catch a falling star an’ put it in your pocket,
Save it for a rainy day!

( Save it for rainy day! ) Save it for a rainy day!

Words and Music by Lee Pockriss and Paul Vance
Emily Music & Music Sales Corp. ~ ASCAP

theolder

theolder
Originally uploaded by Aunt Owwee

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Mourning :: Dove, sadness
Approval :: Rating
Lotion :: Hand
Perspire :: Sweat
Language :: English, Swahili
Defection :: Switch to the other team. Ugh
Play :: Piano
Graphic :: Picture
Spicy :: Meatball
In love :: Is nice

Writers

We are fortunate here in mid-Michigan to have a wonderful independent bookstore, Schulers books. Originally from Grand Rapids, they now have two stores in the mid-Michigan. They do a great job bringing in authors for signings and talks.

Tonight Bryan Gruley was the featured writer. My friends Deb and Carol and I HAD to go to this one: the book is called Starvation Lake, and it is based on the lake that Deb's family has had a cottage on for over 70 years. Deb has taken us up there for the last five years for girls' weekends: they've been a blast.

Gruley gave an excellent talk and I'm looking forward to reading the book. Also in the crowd was Pulitzer Prize winner Eric Freedman. My head is swimming.

The advice of the day to all wannabe writers: "ass to chair".

Wanting

Wants. Now there's a subject. I had found myself for years tamping down my wants. My needs were met, sort of, but to want something, oh boy, that was a recipe for disaster. Either the want would be denied, or worse, it would be given and then realized as a humongous mistake. *sigh* I know. I'm being dramatic. But somewhere along the way I found myself becoming more and more okay with things as they were. This would be fine, if things were really okay, but I'm no monk and well . . .

Moving to the farm was a game changer. Living here, in this haven of rural solitude and wonderful family stories was something I really wanted, but: Would my family support me in this decision? Would I be able to hack it? Would I like it once I got here? To get past all of the other W's, I had to give myself permission to come here for a year and see how it worked. No further expectations. (Of course, my brother and brother-in-law said I'd have to hire a moving company if I moved again. They're only good for 20-year-moves.)

And of course, moving here has been perfect, a bit of paradise, and not just for me, though I'm the chief recipient, but for my family in so many ways.

And why all this round-about-ranting and shouting? Well, of course, I'm finding I'm wanting again. And I need to develop a plan.

What do you want?

It's Been Years!!

I don't think I've had an honest-to-goodness cold in years!!! I know it's been long enough that I don't have any medicine in the medicine cabinet. I do have Vicks Vapo Rub (works for toe infections) and aspirin and that's about it. And do I ever have a doozy.

But I am grateful that I don't get them very often.

Unconscious Mutterings

I say ... and you think ... ?

Pain :: in the butt
Lego :: toy
Trooper :: State
Flicker :: Flickr!!
Character :: Actor
Determined :: Bound and
Wing :: and a prayer, wind beneath my
Control :: tower
Automatic :: transmission
Yeah :: sure