November

Gratitude is the word of the month isn't it?  To be thankful.  Give thanks.  Forgive, appreciate, offer acknowledgement for our blessings and that which we enjoy?  Too often I tend to kick against the pricks so to speak.  I like to find new ways of looking at the same thing.  I like to step outside of the box, and see how the view is from there.  This month however, I can not stray.  I can not, for I believe that to be happy, to experience joy, you *must* be grateful.  Peace is found in the sweet nuances of humility. In that solitary place where we realize that but for the generosity and kindness and love of others, our lives would be less.  It is then, that we can allow ourselves to fill with the sweet peace that feeling connected brings. 

I am grateful.  I am grateful to my family, my friends , for their unconditional love and support of course, but more for their specific support. Their comments that are narrowed down to the very thing I am struggling with, or proud of, or worried about, or hungry to have acknowledged.  I am grateful for my readers, for their support and wonderful smiles.  I am grateful for this amazing, incredible country in which we dwell, and blossom hourly.  I am grateful for so many things, that this space could too easily be over taken by my over full heart.  May I simply share this, 

Take this month.  Take a week.  Take a day, or even an hour if you need to begin there, and just breath in your gratitude, relish in it, and let it refuel you for the coming days, weeks and months ahead, for I promise, it will. 

I don't know if it is a tradition yet, for sometimes we are lax, but at Thanksgiving time, we enjoy going around the table, and telling something specific we are grateful for. We have don many things over the years, to focus our hearts and minds on more than mashed potatoes and stuffing.   One year I recall, every child, inlaw and grandchild wrote a little, "I enjoy Grandma/ Mother/  because" and we put it in a booklet for her placesetting. Another year, we had crafts for the children while dinner was being prepared. We always bow together in prayer, and we always eat too much! 

Next month, : Untraditional Christmas Traditions. I'd love to have you send in Here  a tradition your family enjoys. . . something beyond caroling/ christmas eve pj's... and over spending.   Thanks!  Looking forward to hearing from you.  ---<-{@ M

 
Did you know that bleach continues to act, until neutralized?  It will eventually eat a hole through your fabrics. 
To stop the erosive properties of Bleach, add a half cup of vinegar to your rinse water. 

Series I bonds.  These are amazing, they hold their value more than any other, and if you get some quickly, the rate is almost 4.5% Difficult to find a yield with next to zero risk, that high.  The rate is variable, but has held for the last few years.  You can cash them out any time after the first six months without penalty.  Interest compounds daily.  Close those low yield savings accounts and get some. . .

Here Today

~A duck comes into a library... and asks, "Got any M's'? 
The librarian says, "SHhhhh... we can't give out just one letter.  Scoot!"... 
The duck sheepishly scoots out... The next day he comes back, and asks,  "Got any M's'? 
The librarian says, "SHhhhh... I told you yesterday that we can't give out just one letter. Go find a book!"... 

So he waddles out again, and the next day he comes back, " "Got any M's'? 
The librarian says again, "SHhhhhh... you can't come back in here asking for letters, if you ask once more I'm going to nail your bill to the counter!"... 

The duck dejectedly goes out again, but with tenacity, comes back the very next day with a beaming smile, 
"Got any nails???"  He asks? 
She looks disgusted at him and shakes her head. "NO, we don't have any nails either!"... to which the duck grins from ear to ear... er... ducks dont have ears... from side to side, and asks, 
"Got any M's?"...

Toss all ingredients together except for barbeque sauce and grated cheese. I use my hands, it is very gushy, but it makes me feel like I am really cooking. :: grins :: 
Shape and place in a Large loaf pan.  Make an indent in the center, along the length of the loaf.  Sprinkle grated cheese, then cover up with loaf.  Top with Sauce. 

"The conundrum is one of the most favored forms of amusement for the social circle; the answer to this style of riddle generally contains a pun, and the merriment occasioned can be better imagined than described. " ~ Conundrums, Riddles, Puzzles and Games by Sarah J Cutter cira . 1896

Poems - by Lewis Carroll
( I think this should be called the 'transitive property of literature)

 
1. No interesting poems are unpopular among people of real taste. 
2. No modern poetry is free from affectation. 
3. All your poems are on the subject of soap bubbles. 
4. No affected poetry is popular among people of real taste
5. No ancient poem is on the subject of soap bubbles. 

- What is the conclusion? 

I read so much, I guess I don't always consider writing up a review on all that I meander through.  This month I suppose what has caught my attention is a book called, "The Elegant Universe" By Brian Greene.   He puts Einstein's 'theory of everything' or TOE, into understandable language with tons of examples and parallels. It is fasinating to see how the universe is interlinked, and makes my world at least. . . so much smaller on one hand, and larger on the other.  Thoroughly an enchanting read,but definitely not for everyone. 

Making a Web page: 

Several choices to make first, and really this is most difficult part of the whole process.  Here is the steps I use to make a simple page. 
1. Decide on the content/ purpose.  What do you want to accomplish?   Personal site?   Poetry?  Family?  Business? 

2. Decide on a 'look'.  What sort of graphics do you enjoy?  Do you like a streamlined look?  A graphic intensive look?  Something lacy or something very business like and simple? 

3. Find a graphic, or a graphic designer to help you make a consistent theme throughout.  ( Yes, I can be bought. . . :: grins :: ) This is one of the most telling differences between a page that looks amateurish and one that looks professional. 

4. Decide on a color scheme and / or a logo.  Something that will identify you as unique to your viewers. 

5. Choose a font and or/ fonts ( I recommend no more than three ) to compliment your look. 

6. Decide on titles; Sections; Content of the page.  Photos of your dog rover?  A story about how your sister caught her hair in beaters while making the chocolate chip cookie dough?  Links and business information for potential customers?  Make an outline. 

7. Sketch it all out on a piece of paper.  Do not skip this step at first!  It will save you HOURS of time. I promise. 

That is all for now. . . 
more next month. how to put IMAGES - LINKS - and E-MAIL links on your page. 
 

The wind picked up to an angry gale and the rain spattered on the tinted window panes.  Adalia leaned back and heaved a heavy sigh.  The world seemingly was acting upon the turmoil and confusion within her.  All around lay the collections of a lifetime.  They surrounded, burdened and lifted her all at the same time.  "Some things are best forgotten," she whispered to no one.   The porch light from a single hanging bulb sprinkled like fingertips against the glass, begging to enter, yet forbidden.

 She lifted one document to peer at.  Her thumb caressed it, as if the action could bring back the moment it recorded.  "Adalia Butterfield.  In recognition of . . . "

 It went on, as did the piles of other papers and certificates, trophies and paper accolades from a life that seemed no more a part of her than the rain that pressed on the window outside.

 Her blue-grey eyes turned to the once familiar setting of the old family homestead.  Cracked plaster and peeling paint felt much like she did in her childhood surroundings.  Adalia felt like something once glorious and worthwhile, yet now little more than the abject remains of societal rejection.
**********

 The pounding on the door called her to attention and she turned to stare at the sound.  Her finger moved to the switch and the low whirring sound urged her chair forward.  She reached the door just as the pounding died down.  Footsteps could be heard retreating down the stone steps.  Adalia sighed, not even struggling with the door knob this time.  Her useless legs got in the way of the time worn sofa, and caused her to stick rather uncomfortably in the small entry way as she tried to maneuver back around.

 "Blasted ugly couch anyway.  I always disliked it.  Why didn't you get rid of this long ago?!"  Her wails to the nonexistent listener went unanswered.  A sob clutched at her throat and she angrily pressed it down with a curse.  Putting the chair in reverse, she managed to make it back to the piles of childhood and young adult memories.  With one angry sweep of her arm, most of it fell helter skelter into the large wastebasket below.  One small porcelain figurine went crashing to the ground, splintering into a dozen pieces.  The small head of a lamb hit her lap with a slight thud.  She picked it up, turning the piece around as tears bristled in her eyes.  Sticking out from the decapitated neck was a slip of paper no wider than a finger.  ( TO be continued in Dec )