This Reminds Me

Archive for October, 2010

When a generous friend give me something for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, I don’t open the box or bag if it’s sealed.  I just shove into the Rubbermaid cabinets in the game room and know that when we’re ready to organize it all, I’ll see it then.

The fabulous WOW “Women on Wednesday” bible study class to which I belong met here tonight.  We organized.  And saw it all.

Johnnie, Linda and Barbara – folding/compressing T-shirts into Ziploc bags and squeezing out all the air.  Keeps the shirts clean, plus the bag becomes part of the gift.  All this prep work takes hours and hours.

Jenae repackaged 36 pairs of tri-pack “Bob the Builder” underwear, plus compressed T-shirts and packaged knit caps.  This after working all day – as Johnnie, Linda and Barbara did, too.  I’ve long said that a group of busy women can work circles around any other group – period.

Julia’s been my biggest “daughter helper” this year.  She doesn’t have the after-school jobs and crushing homework loads of her sisters.   She’s been known to bounce a ball or two – just to make sure they work, of course.

I do have the world’s most generous friends.  It was crazy timing – my friends Mary Anne and Shelley both called while we were organizing, saying, “I’m sending more!”    Lisa, Laura, Charlotte, Bart, Renee, Stephanie,  Jo and everybody else – you know who you are.  And one day, I want a seat at each of your banquet tables. Everyone who gives humbles me. They don’t get fancy plaques or commemorative T-shirts or verbose thank-you letters signed by someone important.  The people around them have no idea how generous they are.   There’s really only One who knows.  Of course – he’s the One who matters.

I think every box gets a knit cap this year, thanks to Keith’s mom.  The caps are all ziplocked and ready to pack. We also have enough really cool nylon backpacks and/or mesh bags for each box to have one.

Aren’t these colorful tubs neat?  Found them on clearance at Sam’s for $4.81 per set of two.  I bought four sets, then asked my friend Johnnie to grab four more.  Julia created the signs on the sides, like “Girl Toys” and “School Supplies.”   They really hold the stuff, and I can just stack them inside each other for easy storage year-to-year.

Halloween candy goes on sale Monday.  I plan to be at Wal-Mart plenty early and empty some shelves.  Then we pack – that’s the fun part!  All this preparation – while necessary – is definitely the dirt work.

Julia’s been pressing me to promise we’ll “do more” than last year’s 117 boxes.  Truly – that just doesn’t concern me.  We’ll do as many as we’re supposed to do.  We’ll pack what we’re supposed to pack.  That’s our part.  Then we hand them off to Samaritan’s Purse, and God gets them to the kids that are supposed to have them.

The kids getting them – well, that’s something I really would like to see.  Someday.  Maybe.

But for now, I just look around this game room and say, “WOW! “  And look forward to packing with the girls and my friends next week.

One of the “fun” parts of parenthood is watching your kids discover their own talents – especially when those talents were totally unsuspected.

Rachel – a college sophomore – is required to take one art class to fulfill the fine arts requirement of her education major.  She signed up for “painting” grudgingly.  She’d never painted.  Didn’t expect to like it.  Grumbled about the timing, the location, the materials required, etc.

And guess what?  She’s loved it!

I’ve long said that she has a better “eye” than do I for composition.  Her photos are almost always better than mine.  BTW – Neither Keith nor I have any artistic talent whatsoever.  The last thing I painted was our driveway gate in Houston when we were trying to sell the house.

My seven-year-old great niece Laura snapped this picture of herself this summer with Rachel’s iPhone.  It’s blurry and kind of silly.  I would have deleted it.  Rachel saw something else in it, and, fortunately, kept it.

The original iPhone picture, snapped by seven-year-old Laura…whose birthday is today, BTW. 

After sawing the wood for her own frame, stretching her own canvas and painting for 30 hours – here is Rachel’s rendition of – and commentary about -  Laura’s iPhone picture.

Used to be, I hung her “art” on the fridge.

This time – I think not.

Way to go, Rachel!

Keith and Lois met Alton Brown- my fave Food Network guy – at an Austin book signing in 2005 - I’ve always been jealous.

The night I posted this bog - June 9, 2005 – was also the night I broke 1,000 blog hits. So exciting!  I ran upstairs every half-hour just to see the counter advance.  Now I get about 1,000+ hits a month.  And I run a lot less.

Tonight Keith and I went to an Alton chat session and signing at The Twig book store.  Major fun!  And way better than a mere signing.  So take that, Lois!

The Twig ordered 300 copies of “Good Eats – The Middle Years” for autographing 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.  They sold out by 5:30.   Alton answered questions from the arm-waving members of the audience – including me.  I asked, “How many kids do you have, and do they cook?”  Alton responded that he and his wife had three children, all embodied in their 10-year-old daughter who was sometimes a 24-year-old woman, sometimes a 3-year-old boy and sometimes a herd of wild animals.  He said as her hormones began to swing, he saw more and more personalities living inside her.   Keith and I totally got that.  And Alton’s 10-year-old daughter doesn’t cook.  Ours – on the other hand – has advanced to preparing single servings of Kraft Mac’n'Cheese.

When he signed our book copy, I told Alton I’d fallen in love with him during the episode in which he smoked bacon in a junk yard.  He nodded sagely and named the episode - “Scrap Iron Chef.” Some day – not sure when, but some day – Keith and I are going to do that.

Now – what to cook this weekend?

It’s a toss-up about who’s more excited for Halloween – 10-year-old Julia, or her three teenage sisters.

Today Rachel bought mini-pumpkins for all to decorate.

Rachel’s inclusive rainbow pattern…

……and on another, a simple reminder of the holiday

Lois’ pumpkin isn’t finished yet.  After this first coat is dry, she’ll continue to decorate it as an apple.  Why?  “To fill the cracks of my heart, since you won’t get me an Apple i-Touch.”   As Keith sing-songs to them at least once a week, “Life is so hard, my parents are so mean.”

Hannah shows her Twilight fixation….

…including painting Bella, Edward and Jacob on the back.  She claims membership in “Team Edward.”  Hourly.

Yep, that’s Julia’s “Trick or Death.”

When all dry – the pumpkins may join other decorations on the fireplace.  Aunt Judy gave Rachel that stuffed white ghost when she was two or three years old.

My favorite fireplace decoration is the candy can toddler Hannah made in pre-school.

Halloween breakfast plates – of course!   I have a terrible, terrible dish weakness.  Breakfast/dessert plates for Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas – I’ve got ‘em.   It’s a sickness.  There was a super-cute set at the Disney outlet store a few months ago that I didn’t dare buy.  I was afraid Keith would set the dishes outside – and me with them.

Halloween flag out front….Thanksgiving flag is on top of the stack, ready to go next….  Did you know Halloween is the second only to Christmas in decorating dollars spent?

Lois and Hannah are soon to host the Halloween party for the Latin Club at school, and we’ll be going to the church “Fall Festival” soon, too.

I know a lot of folks – especially Christian friends – object to Halloween.  “It’s Satanic, its origins are evil, etc.”  Maybe so, maybe not, I don’t care. Whatever primitive people did or do now – just don’t care.  For me, it’s always been about dressing up, feeling down to the bottom of the bag for the caramels and having fun….except in 5th grade, when the only costume in my size was Fred Flintstone.  Having to wear a boy’s costume was more horrifying that any “ghost” in his mom’s old sheet, I tell you.

I don’t argue with anyone about their choice to have fun, or, instead, turn off their porch light.

But for me – we’ll be handing out candy* October 31.  Big boo-tiful handfuls of it.

Enjoy!

*San Antonio friends – We are gathering “stuff” for Samaritan’s Purse boxes.  I will go to Wal-Mart and buy about $100 worth of candy on 11/1.  If you have any left-over, non-chocolate (non-melty) candy or gum you’d like to contribute – just bring it to work, church or our house on or before Wednesday, 11/3 – when we’ll be packing.