This Reminds Me

Archive for March, 2010

Spring Break is half-over, but the best part of it – my sister Judy, brilliant niece Sarah, and her kiddos James and Laura – returned to Houston this afternoon.  I really miss them when they leave.  This house is way too quiet. 

While shopping at the San Marcus Outlet Mall, James (3) named every color of Crocs in a display.  “James, you’re so smart,” I said.  He replied – with both hands slapping his cheeks – “No, I’m handsome!”  The boy is so right.

Zoom….Zoom…..Cousin Hannah the Airplane.

Laura looks incredibly like her mother as child.  I’ve not started calling her “brilliant niece Laura” yet – but I might.  The child can read at least a full grade or two above her kindergarten level.

Hannah, Princess Sarah, Princess Judy and Rachel preparing snacks for Family Movie Night, because we had to watch…..

…..remastered “Gone with the Wind” in Blu-Ray. Keith gave me a collector’s set for our wedding anniversary last year.  Judy and I pored over the accompanying booklet, program reproduction, color prints, etc.  I always remember my mom talking about a college friend and her double-dating to see it in 1941, with their beaus furtively counting out change for the tickets.

Julia lost a bottom tooth last night.  She and Laura compared going rates for the Tooth Fairy rewards.  Julia told us about classmates in Russia losing teeth and putting them under the refrigerator for the “Tooth Rats” to get.

Ever play “Apples to Apples?”  What a hoot!   Feckless Judy actually tried to rationalize every answer before she learned  “funny” and “matching” were equally likely to win.

Poor James.  He’s ovarian-challenged.

Hooray for cousins!

Remember I said Keith was saving bottles to incorporate in the platform design for his Big Green Egg?

The Man – he doth progress.

This was the first time I’ve actually entered his garage-cum-lair in four or five years. Nope.  Not kidding.

Don’t mind the Ringo hair and  Hasidic beard.   He’s growing them to portray Peter in our church’s Living Last Supper for Easter.

Careful where you step!

We have new works of art around here this week.

Lois has hung (yet another) work of art of her anime-covered wall – a certificate of membership in the Latin Junior Classical League – Latin Honor Society.  She’ll be coming at state soon.  Retty-pray oolcay, huh?

A tasty work of art:  Hannah just completed her 4th cake decorating class.  This week’s theme:  The 80′s.  Yellow cake colored purple (top) and pink (bottom) with green almond icing and a “Saved by the Bell” sunglasses theme.  Cakes just want to have fuh-unn.

Julia came home yesterday with a “World War 2 Guy” American solider she had drawn in class, complete with secret weapons like a body shield and “gets bigger when thrown” star.   A great addition to my refrigerator works of art, and interesting because…..

….my cousin Clyde – whom I re-discovered on Facebook – had recently sent me this picture he had of a real World War II guy – my dad (Navy subs) plus my mom.  I’d never seen it before, and I treasure it.

Rachel is a work of art in and of herself – plus she’s KIN’s “Employee of the Month” at her elementary school.  Working in the after-school program is great training for her future job as teacher.  She needs a good job so she can afford to buy her mother nice gifts.

Finally – this future work of art.  Keith has been saving liquor bottles for two weeks.  He’ll heat and shatter them, mixing them in concrete as a platform base for his  outdoor cooking Egg. I’m sure it’ll be gorgeous – no kidding.  But I love it that he leaves the bottles on the counter, as I’m sure it gives the kids’ visiting friends something to talk about when they go home. (hic)

We’ve had a chaotic couple of weeks with basketball, choir, Latin competitions, trading germs, etc.   Today’s been the first day in many that I haven’t sounded like a emphysemic sailor hacking up a lung.   When I feel cruddy, everything either wears me out (makes me sad) or riles me up (makes me mad.)  I got to thinking about what my mom used to squint and bark at me whenever I expressed these emotions:  “”Well you just better turn that ‘mad’ or ‘sad’ to ‘glad,’ Missy.”  Mom was never big on dispensing gushy buckets of sympathy.

So here goes – tuning to Channel Glad now…..

The sad news from a Sea World last week made me glad Shamu didn’t see us as bathtub toys in 1998.  Though maybe Rachel had a few doubts at the time.

I know many friends really enjoy the Olympics – more power to you.  But personally – I’m glad they’re soon to be over.  They’re preempting “The Office,”  and that’s a show the girls and I watch together.  The last time I watched the Olympics was the 1972 night the Russians stole the basketball game via repeated do-overs.  I vowed I’d never watch again – and forgiving soul that I am – I haven’t.   U-verse – btw – has had a terrific application for the Olympics.

My continuing rancor at that travesty of a game is kind of funny since my favorite basketball player now is Russian.

There is little that makes me more glad than to hear my girls sing.  Tonight was Hannah’s pre-UIL concert.  That’s her – top row, far left.

“Walking in Jerusalem” really made me smile.  I just finished the book of John in “Faith by Hearing” yesterday.  I wonder about John.  What made him so beloved?

About two years ago, Julia caught a snippet of “Ben Hur” on TV and has pestered me ever since about seeing the whole movie.  “Mom, when are we going to watch that Jesus movie?”  I really didn’t think she was ready for it until recently.  I bought it last week (if I’d just waited one more week, I could have recorded it for free on U-verse – sigh.)   She and I are watching 30 – 45 minutes every few days.  Well, we probably watch 30 minutes, and have 15 minutes of questions.  She’s gotten the concept down – Judah Ben-Hur was a man whose life intersected with Jesus’ at different times, but Judah didn’t know who Jesus really was in those early meetings.  Last night, she told me, “Mom, that’s like us.  Everybody knows Jesus’ name but they don’t know who he really is.”   I was very glad to hear her say that.

From sad and mad to glad. 

Thanks, Mom.  I’m feeling better already.