Broken Hair

 

This is every morning right here. It started the morning of May 5, 2001, shortly after midnight. I thought my poor little newborn just needed a good hairwashing, but then it was just sweet and fuzzy -- and still sticking straight up. When he was about 2 1/2 years old I found him standing in his crib fresh up from a good nap, hair justa' everywhere. He looked so cute, I had to giggle and ask him, "Joshy, what happened to your hair?" He pointed to the top of his head and said, "It's broken."

Greg has Native American heritage so he decided that in the spirit of 'Eagle Wing' or 'Tender Foot' and the like, his little papoose would bear the name 'Broken Hair' (just in case you've ever heard us use that term of endearment:)). In morning snuggles I also hear them joke about how many survivors were left in the F3 tornado that must have blown through his bed. Over the years it's become one of my favorite features. My not-so-little-anymore Broken Hair....I sure do love you.

Music In The Cottage

I really enjoy the blogs I read that have their own little soundtrack. Morgan's makes me want to walk down Beale Street and bounce on into B.B. King's, Ashley's sings with alot of 'Sugar & Spice' flavoring, Laurie's reminds me of when she used to make homemade dog biscuits for Henley....etc., etc. It's like a little extra layer of happy on your already delicious content!

I'm hurting for a way to say that I've added some music. Enjoy! (Or just turn it down).

Do You See That?!?

 

I feel like getting on a horse and riding through the streets like Paul Revere, shouting, "Spring is coming! Spring is coming!" What does my picture have to do with that? Well, this is a north facing room. And starting in the fall, there is no natural light, no warmth at all. I don't even go in there, until.....this happens! This is the second year in a row that, after seeing these little streams of light emerge, it actually made me catch my breath and clap my hands! It's the second year in a row that I've gone and placed my hands on the warmth and sighed with a little twittering of hope. Do you do crazy things like this or do I need seasonal Prozac??

No Thanks, Valentine's Day

You know, I never have been a big fan of Valentine's Day. Something about having to drum up the romantic notions just seems kind of insincere to me. It's great that those who love the lovelies get a day like this but I would rather not fight the crowds at the restaurants or waste $50 on jacked-up roses. Lest you think I'm made of stone, I DO like a thoughtful gift on a non-required day! Take for example a recent day at work that left me in tears by lunchtime. I was ready to quit by the time I drug myself home later that day. What a lift my spirit got when I walked in the kitchen and saw this:

 

What a sweet husband I have! We will probably do some sort of corny, fun, family thing next week. And just knowing I have a couple of real special guys with me will be all the cupid I need!

Stinkin Hibiscus

In all the ice mess I also had another tree nose to the ground but this one I was a little giddy over. Now, if I were Catholic and you were a priest, this would be confession time. Though I don't take to hugging them often I do love trees -- except one. My hibiscus tree. I hate that tree. I don't have a picture of it humbled on the terra firma because, why would I use memory space on a tree I don't like? Ok, this is where it gets ugly, Father. In its pitiful desperation, crying for relief from the inches of ice weight, I got on my big hiking boots and kicked it. Yes, I kicked the snot out of it. I'm so ashamed.

For you greenies out there, rest assured that IT DID NOT WORK! Lo, it stands today very proud and straight. It's a vengeful sort of tree that will, no doubt, pay me back for this by dumping even more large, squishy, rotted flowers on my front walk. I guess we'll just have to learn to get along together. Now, how many Hail Marys is that?

Fun With Ice & Power Outages

Remember my poor pine trees that turned brown and didn't look like they were going to survive? It was just a case of transplant shock and they came around to being the nice winter green I needed. Yay! Hold on. Not so fast with spiking the ball in the end zone! You know the old saying, 'What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger'? Let's hope so:

 

It rained ice all last week in our area. It was so thick that even after a weekend of 50 and 60 degree weather, it's still not totally melted. Don't worry about us, though! We're fine! Sure, we lost our power for awhile but you quickly learn the difference between what you really need and what's just fluff. After a near brush with frostbit fingers, Greg gave me one of the 2 pairs of gloves he was wearing. Lukewarm water and a few sugar packets are fair sustenance when you just laughed at the folks cleaning off the grocery shelves last Monday instead of going yourself. No, I'm just kidding! Actually, we were without power about 15 hours - perfect enough to have a little overnight adventure! Praise the Lord, we have a gas fireplace so (much to the delight of one seven-year-old) we drug in all our bedding, lit a bunch of candles and broke out the boardgames.

 

By 9:00 the next morning, as I was sitting at my hearth with an empty mug wondering what the pioneers did to make coffee, the lights blessedly flickered on. As I was silently thanking the Lord, someone else hollered out across the house, "Oh no!!"

Even though we never lost power again, the Banks Family spent 3 more nights in the hearth room! Like I said, you sorta figure out what's really necessary.