Thrifting for Doilies

Yesterday morning, THGGM and I headed out for our usual Saturday entertainment. Thrift shopping.

Mostly what I found were great deals on clothes for my mom and for Baby Boy.

But, for me I found all of these doilies and such. They were .25 cents - .50 cents, except for the small table cloth on the right, which set me back $1.25.

I could not believe it.

Glad I had my weekend fun on Saturday morning, because I have been sick the rest of the weekend.

Every ailment I get fell upon me during the night.

Except for a headache. I don't have one of those. For which I give thanks!

up, Up and AWAY!

This is Oldest Son when he was but a wee little man. I believe he is 11 months old in this picture.

Presently, he is in an airplane with his lovely wife and her family flying to Aruba for a two week vacation.

My. They DO grow up.

Oldest Son was a thumb sucker. THGGM and I were very happy about this, as it was the ONLY time he did not talk.

One day when he was two, I noticed that he hadn't been sucking his thumb for a while. So I asked him, "Why don't you suck your thumb anymore?" To which he replied:

"Because I am growing up to be a man, and mans don't suck their thumbs!"

What's Changed?

Two years ago in July, when I started this blog, I wrote a "Twenty-five Things about Me" post. Here is an update"

Fifty Things about Me

by Judy

* * * * *

1. I'm still left-handed

2. I still cannot produce tears

3. I only have a cat, my dearly loved dog died in March

4. I'm not talking about the mouse in my kitchen!

5. I still thrift shop for books. And everything else but food and underwear

6. Presently, I do not watch much TV at all

7. I'll not even attempted to raise an indoor plant

8. There is still wicker furniture and a porch swing on my front porch

9. I was married at 19

10. But, now that was 28 years ago

11. Youngest Son still weighed the same at birth, and still lives here

12. I could look at Lake Michigan all day

13. I do like to rubberstamp cards. The mess on my dining room table proves it true

14. I decoupage. Although in this humidity, nothing dries

15. Pondering what to do occupies my thoughts

16. Collecting stuff. Hmmm. I DO do that!

17. Driving does not bring me pleasure

18. Soup, stews and chilis? Yes. Stir-fry, too

19. Oh, let's skip over the one about being tidy!

20. I haven't gone to Florida yet. I don't even want to

21. Piano playing. Yes. Improvement? No.

22. THGGM is fun to be with. Always.

23. I haven't played Twister in awhile

24. Coffee remains my drug of choice

25. I have three kids, two are married. I have two wonderful in-laws

* * * * *

And now, for the NEXT Twenty-five

* * * * *

26. I have a darling grandson

27. I have hundreds of children's board books

28. High humidity makes me sick, Sick, SICK

29. I go to bed late and get up early

30. I like to vacuum

31. My eyesight is very poor

32. I have a key chain Boggle game in my purse

33. I need to have my carpels tunneled

34. I am diabetic

35. "Will Throw Fit for Peanut M&M's"

should be printed on my sweatshirt

36. I mourn long and hard for lost pets

37. I'm always in the middle of a minimum of four books

38. I want a doll house

39. Research is something I enjoy doing

40. Weird songs get stuck in my head

41. I was blessed with a happy childhood

42. Unlike many of my friends, I do not hate men

43. If I could have any car, it would be a black Lincoln Town Car

44. I don't have a car

45. I shop at Michael's every week, but rarely go grocery shopping

46. I have paper in every color, but no cream for my coffee

47. I have zero tolerance for loud obnoxious people

48. I enjoy silence very very much (very much)

49. Blue Moon is my favorie ice cream

50. I have a book in my head

Thinking Back...

Recently I stumbled upon some old journals of mine.

I was reminded of just why I quit keeping that kind of journal.

I wrote the very same things over and over and over again.

Okay, so maybe not ALWAYS the same thing, but definitely a theme.

Especially the years I homeschooled Oldest Son.

Or, he 'unschooled' himself. It's really hard to say what happened.

But, as my journal laid out, I had DEEP fear that he was going to grow up to be a blathering idiot and it would be all my fault.

At first, we set out to follow a loosely based curriculum. I was called for jury duty. Good thing unschooling was in our plan. I missed the first six weeks of school.

I'd already heard threats - when we did not send him to kindergarten. THGGM's grandmother threatened to call the authorities. We said, "Fine. Go ahead." Kindergarten wasn't required.

By highschool we heard tons of critical remarks. How would he be socialized? Good grief. What is a family, if not a social unit?

He worked. That was in the larger circle of society.

He acted in community theatre. It isn't called 'community' for nothing.

Our other choice for high school was an inner city public school. It was large, and he could have easily been lost in the crowd. He didn't want to do that.

Many of the people we know who worked in education had scathing things to say. How could I, a high school graduate teach him?

Oh, well. We did it anyway.

One thing I remembered from high school was that it wasn't really required that you LEARN, it was just required that you completed tasks. So, when I completed the tasks required for high school, I left and went on to LEARN.

We did our schooling without many bells or whistles. We went to the library often.

I scrimped and saved for what I felt was necessary.

For four years of high school, we spent well under $3,000.

We read great books. We read good books. We read comic books (so shoot me).

Things went very well. We both learned much.

But, when I went to bed at night and hauled out my journal, my fears came out to haunt me.

Yes. I knew this was best for us. I felt God had led us to do this. But I still had that nagging fear of things going badly in the end. And, it all being MY fault.

We didn't do much math. I hate math. He hated math. Not doing much math made me feel incompetent (although, for over a year my job was balancing checks and deposits from five different banks every night - and, i was darling at it).

After four years of high school, during which time he took not one test of any kind, he went on to get his GED. He done good.

He worked full-time for a year, THGGM taught him to drive. It was a long ride to work (they worked together).

I will never forget (and will mention it over and over on my blog, because it is MY blog and i get to mention stuff over and over if i want to!) that I had to guess at a GPA on his college application. How do you guess at that? I figured that we didn't move on until he had mastered something, and the only thing he hadn't mastered was Spanish (although he could say with mastery 'the king and queen are crying in the bathroom'), so I guessed at 3.8.

He was accepted.

His first report card in college had a GPA of 3.8. This included a math class. His only college level math class.

During college, he married Daughter-in-law, who would not have married him were he a blathering idiot.

They studied for a semester at Oxford. They both studied literature. Both graduated with awards and degrees in humanities.

He graduated summa cum laud with a GPA of 3.8.

Today he worked his first full day at his new job.

He is a personal banker.

I feel as if I should write my final journal entry on the subject.

"Oldest Son, at the age of 25, has a job.
He works at a bank, as a personal banker.
He applied because it was close to his home
and he hadn't been able to work for a year
due to a severely broken leg. His early life
prepared him to write, draw, speak in
public, act, cook and do just about any
thing but be a personal banker. Yet.
a personal banker he is. And, he is not
a blathering idiot. Truly educating a
child seems to be more showing him the
benefits of learning than it is forcing him
to complete assigned tasks. If one knows
how to learn one can do just about
anything necessary for survival. It also
helps to be a very good actor!"

There. Now I ought to be able to sleep in peace tonight.

Baby Boy's Tooth

Well. I had to take about a hundred pictures to get it, but, here is the tooth!

The beauty of a digital camera is being able to TAKE a hundred pictures, and then delete the 99 without the tooth!

Tuesday Thrifting

Yes, yes, believe it or not, I took a quick trip to the thrift store last night.

I found two cute little things for Baby Boy in 18 month sizes. Some of his 12 month sizes are stretched to the limit.

I found some old red velveteen ribbon, a large heart-shaped cookie cutter and a glass salt shaker.

And, another flannel blanket for toy making. This one is khaki and white plaid.

When I passed by the small stand that holds patterns and old craft magazines, I saw a brown envelope. It was from the days when name, street, city and state were enough to get the goods to your door. It was .69 cents, so I bought it - sight unseen.

What I got were DOZENS of patterns - for embroidery, stenciling, sewing - and best of all - a pattern for felt baby shoes!

I have been so thrilled ever since!

It was all under five dollars.

(i am SUCH a cheap date!)

It Is a Mere Five Months Until Christmas

Grandma Judy

Yup. This is me.

I look like a grandma.

My new favorite pass time is cropping pictures.

I used to love to crop in journalism class in high school.

This is MUCH easier!

"Anybody Home" Is Two Years Old Today!

To celebrate, feel free to visit my two other blogs, which are just young things not yet a half a year old.

Plethora, at www.judyh58a.blogspot.com

Inky Fingers, at www.judyh58b.blogspot.com

And, I thank you for visiting me! Why, without you, I'd be just as boring, only no one would know!

All the Better to Bite You!

Hooray! Someone has his first tooth!

If you think he's going to show it to you, guess again!

Thrift Finds

THGGM found this beautiful Homer Laughlin serving bowl at the thrift store today.

I so enjoy having an extra pair of eyes along to scan for things I like!






I found the wooden carrying tray. I've found the perfect spot for it already.

Now I must decide what will go into it!

My projects are stacked up like planes circling O'Hare Airport waiting to land. I can't let them land until the runway is clear. Sometimes I swear I can hear the engine sputter and the project crash before it even has a chance. So sad.

Besides the usual two thrift stores THGGM and I hit on a Saturday, we went to another larger one across town. Last time we drove there, we were met by a tiny handwritten sign saying they had closed early. Tonight, I called first. They were open, so we went. But, oh, how disappointing! I did pick up another Anne Rice novel for Oldest Son and another Walker Percy for me, but that was it.

Well, that's it until Thursday, when I head out again!

Twenty Bucks Worth of Fun

Yesterday, I went thrift shopping with my sister.

I had loads of fun on just over $20, including lunch at Hunan.

I found a flannel blanket for Baby Boy. This is a great way to find soft fabric for making him toys!

Last week I found the GUESS shirt for 99 cents, in perfect condition.
For 69 cents I bought the tin cup.

One year, THGGM and I hunted EVERYWHERE to find three tin cups so we could do a Christmas stocking like Laura and Mary in the Little House Books. So, now when I find them, I buy them!

And, you know, one can never have too many wicker baby shoes!

This seriously messed up silver cup was only 99 cents.

Because it says "Baby" on it, I bought it.

I might someday polish these.

But then, I might not.
I found another globe, too.

But, mostly I bought books.

I found a hardcover Anne Rice book for Oldest Son, a book of best sport's writing for Youngest Son, two road atlas' for me (i was thinking, one for each car...but i just realized this minute, that we only have one car!), and a couple of old anthologies and assorted other books.

Baby Boy spent the day with Uncle Youngest Son. They had a fabulous time. Both of them like to watch "Cold Pizza" and Tiger games. Especially ones were the Tigers win!

The A B C's of Me

A - My maiden name begins with an A, which means I used to be first in line - for things like shots.

B - Books! I love Books!

C - Cluttered. My life is cluttered. I have a love/hate relationship with clutter.

D - Daughter. I have a Daughter whose name begins with D.

E - Eat. I am working on eating sensibly. This is not easy.

F - Fat. I am fat. Not a fan of fat. No.

G - Grandma! I am a Grandma!

H - My last name begins with H. This is how I met THGGM. As the alphabetical seating charts went at school, we often ended up sitting across from each other.

I - I went thrift shopping today.

J - Judy is my name.

K - Kids. I have three.

L - Library. I love the smell of the library. And the books.

M - Mom. I have a very nice mom.

N - Noise. I do not like noise. No. Not normally, anyway.

O - Ornery. Humidity makes me ornery. I am often ornery.

P - Pet. I have one. A male cat named Barb.

Q - I am Quite the Queen of this cluttered castle.

R - Reading. I find reading to be relaxing and refreshing and reasonably affordable.

S - Sons. I have two sons.

T - Today starts with T, as does Thursday which is the day today. This Thursday started off with Thunder.

U - Underwear. I have lots of this. I feel secure if I have a lot of underwear.

V - My Vision is poor. I sometimes see double, which isn't such a problem, except when reading music.

W - Westie. The only dog I ever had was a Westie. She died at 16 years in March.

X - How did you learn that this stands for 'kiss'? My mom once sent me a card at camp. I could not understand why it said OX OX OX.

Y - Youth. My favorite quote from "It's a Wonderful Life" - "Youth is wasted on the wrong people!"

Z - ZZZzzz - Now, that's what I need to do.

PM Appointment

Baby Boy went to the doctor today!

He and his mommy let me tag along. Of course, I brought my camera.

He is 20 lbs., 12 oz. and 29 inches long.

A BIG Baby Boy!

His heart murmur hasn't improved at all, so he will be seeing a heart specialist, soon.

AM Appointment

This morning I took my dad to see the heart specialist for his annual ultra-sound.

My dad was born with a seriously messed up heart. Just how messed up wasn't discovered until he was in his 70's at which time he had heart surgery to repair it. Now, he and his heart are 80.

Today, he had two different technicians do the ultra-sound. They gave each other glances, made notations on his chart, and generally seemed more concerned than the technicians in the past ever seemed.

I started getting nervous.

What I saw on the screen looked like Northern Lights. At times it looked like the Musical Fountain in Grand Haven, sans the music.

Once, I was sure I saw Rodin's "The Thinker". Yet another view looked like a feasting Jabba the Hut.

They viewed every nook and cranny of his heart. I did not see Jesus, although I know he is in there.

When we went back to a consultation room to talk to the doctor, a nurse came in and said they would be doing an EKG. She kept asking my dad over and over again if he had noticed any changes in the past year.

My nervousness increased. When nervous, I get all jokey, and don't know when to quit. If THGGM was there, he would have stopped me, but he wasn't there. I blabbed on.

My mom was doing great. She actually answered most of the questions, and answered them correctly. She might not remember what season we are in or what day it is, but she does have great recall of my dad's medical records.

Then the doctor came in.

I was braced for bad, or at least not AS good of news as before.

I was wrong. His heart remains stable. So stable, in fact, that they have stretched out his appointment for next time by another six months.

My dad's heart specialist is a wonderful doctor. His bedside manners are impeccable. He always listens so intently to everything my mom says, even when she gets somewhat confused (although, she didn't today). He never gives false hope, but always is encouraging. I've heard from a friend that he takes his vacation time to do surgeries in third world countries. I really like him.

When your heart doctor gives you an appointment for a year and a half, and actually plans that you will be there for it, well... I believe my dad left with a bit more pep in his step!

Be still MY beating heart.

Doing the Grandma Thing

I wish you could hear the 'sound track' that goes with these pictures. I finished up the giraffe for Baby Boy today.

He is actually squealing with joy as I throw the giraffe up in the air and it lands on him!

It's so much fun being a grandma!

It shocks me that I am actually hand sewing the same toys I cringed at when they were made for my kids.

Oh, well. I guess it's my duty to make strange things for Baby Boy to stick in his mouth!

Rub-a-Dub-Dub, Baby Boy in the Tub

This grandma couldn't resist.

Really.

Is there anything cuter than a baby in a bathtub?

I think not!

Saturday in the 60's

If this were a hot summer Saturday in the 1960's, it would have gone something like this...

I would have woke up early. The only thing on TV were agricultural quiz shows. I watched them. My sister's hated it, as they could hear the sound of the buzzers all the way upstairs.

Breakfast was a leisurely affair. My mom would get up and make breakfast. My dad would appear dressed and ready for the day.

Since it's summer, I didn't have to go to piano lessons. I hated piano lessons. I paid for them myself, by doing work at church for my dad, who was the custodian. The apple falls not far from the tree. I dusted auditorium chairs. Then, walked a few blocks for piano lessons. But, in the summer, I was free! Of course, I still had to do the work, but I was free from the lessons.

After work, my dad liked to pick around at thrift and salvage places. I remember one hot summer morning he took me to this delightful place called Capital Wrecking. In one room the only thing there was a huge chandelier from a large hotel downtown. I remember it laying there, like a glass mountain on a bare cement floor.

Another one of our favorite places was the Do It Your Self Shop. This place had everything. It was orderly, yet messy enough to be interesting. I loved the smell. Like freshly sawed boards. My dad was the king of 'do it yourself'. He is a perfectionist.

When we arrived back home, lunch would be ready. My mom and sisters would have been baking all morning. If it was hot enough, mom could be found making potato salad to bring to a picnic. Going on picnics was something I remember doing a lot. I cannot remember the last time I've gone on a picnic. But, we did it a lot in the 60's. Sometimes, just down the street to a park close by. Other times, to the lake.

Some Saturday nights there would be an auction my dad liked to go to. I think it was the 4th Saturday. I could never keep it straight. Auctions scared me nearly to death, but in an exciting way, where it was worth the fear just to have the 'people watching' experience. My dad liked to bid on old tools, because they were so well made. He also liked to bid on the occasional 'grab bag' boxes of odd bits of stuff. Sometimes we would remark to each other about the old old junk people were snatching up. Snatching it up as if it were treasure. We were appalled. "Why would anyone want that?" Things change. I'm now one of 'those' people.

When we got home, everything was carefully put away in his garage. My dad had more stuff than any of my friend's dad's. But, NOTHING in my dad's world was ever a mess. His garage had so much order to it, he could tell if I even laid a finger on anything. His basement was even more orderly. If he had it, he knew it, and knew right where to find it. This trait he did not pass on to me, although he tried valiantly.

Usually, there would be a Tiger game on the radio, if not on TV. We would eat our popcorn and if it was REALLY hot, drink our pop while listening to what Al Kaline, Willie Horton and Mickey Stanley were up to. We only got to have pop when it was REALLY hot. It was a treat. It was also store brand pop. (it was not, and i repeat, not, soda!)

If this night were in the early 60's, my sister would give me a bath. This was always fun. She would let me have dolls in the tub, and I would yank their heads off so I could fill them up with water. This would mean that my dolls peed for weeks at a time. I was a realist. I still am, sort of. My entire life, the only kind of bath soap we ever used was Vel bar soap. I miss Vel.

But those Saturdays are gone. Like Vel bar soap.

And these Saturdays are good, too.

It Happened Again!

This is THGGM. Today, he is working in the southern portion of Indiana. He still has an eight hour drive home after that.

But, he will be riding home with a huge smile on his face.

(right about here my children will all know what happened. yes. one of THOSE stories.)

Someone he worked with yesterday guessed his age at thirty. Thirty. This guy is thirty and he thought THGGM to be his same age.

THGGM has children who are 25, 23, and 22. He has a six month old grandson. His goatee is white.

And, he wasn't with me, who would, I am sure, be mistaken for his mother.

Anyway, just for the record. He is 47. He looks 47. He acts 47.

So, we can add this to the stories of the ticket taker at the movies thinking he was a 'student' when he went to a movie with Oldest Son.

And, how about the one when Daughter was in Victoria's (has no) Secret(s) buying pajamas for a 'personal' shower for soon to be Daughter-in-law? THGGM wouldn't go in. Daughter held up some cute pajamas for her father to see, and the saleswoman said, "Does you husband like those?" I believe as the story goes, Daughter threw-up, or nearly did.

When THGGM and Oldest Son worked full-time together for a year, people thought they were brothers. As Oldest Son used to say, "Brothers? We have the SAME NAME!"

Oh well. He will be hard to live with this weekend.

What I Am Not

Just so you know. I am not a gardener.

I read blogs, so I know that many many people are.

And, this is the time of year it pays off.

I don't get to play.

I do have potted plants on my front porch, but they came that way.

I used to pot my own, but not this year.

The backyard, which a few years back was at least charming with it's corner of purple coneflowers, has a broken down picnic table that we haven't eaten at in years. And, a potting table. Just to mock me.

We used to eat at the picnic table everyday. Back before one of the boards on the seat rotted away.

Now I paint on it.

But, if tall thorny thistles ever come into vogue, I'm your girl. I can make those things grow, just by doing nothing!

Yesterday I heard a different sort of warbling in my backyard.

My usual birds are nothing fancy. Blue Jays. Robins. Cardinals. Sparrows. Starlings. Mourning Doves. (actually, i could more readily identify them by the poop on my laundry than by their songs - somewhere close by there are purple berries, of this i am sure!)

But this wasn't a sound that any of those ever make.

So, I ran out to see what it was.

I even grabbed my camera.

It was tiny and brown, with an orange chest. It wasn't a robin, as there was a big one of those sitting on the fence watching this intruder very closely.

The new bird hopped from tree to tree to roof and back, singing his new bird song.

I'm working on identifying it. I'm sure its nothing exotic, but I haven't ever seen one here before.

Last weekend, while sitting on the porch with Son-in-law, he saw a heron fly overhead.

I missed it.

I am not a gardener.

Nor am I a birdwatcher.

But occasionally, I take the time to enjoy a wee bit of what I am not.

Oh, Yes I Did!

I made something with my thrift finds!

The pattern - thrift.

The fleece - thrift.

The ribbon - thrift.

The stuffing - thrift.


I had an abundance of floss for sewing.

I'm a thrifty girl!

Oh, and he isn't a lion, like the pattern.

He is a polar bear cub.

Because I said so.

Baby Boy and Grandpa

THGGM is still on the road.

Indianapolis, today.

But this is where his heart is.

On his porch swing, on the front porch, rocking Baby Boy.

Reading Time at Grandma's House

Reading time is a highlight of my day.

Baby Boy LOVES to be read to.

He also likes those 'touchy/feely' books, which gives me a chance to read my book.

This week I'm reading "The Cape Ann" by Faith Sullivan.

Baby Boy still loves "The Folks in the Valley" and "Mr. Brown Can Moo".

Ripping apart catalogs is also a favorite activity. One upon which I frown.

If This Were a Summer Day in the 1960's...

I would have gotten up and had breakfast with my mom and dad. Oatmeal or Wheaties. A tea kettle would whistle when the water was ready for coffee. My mom would float back and forth between sink, stove, counter and table providing whatever was needed.

I can see her now packing dad's lunch, a lunch consisting of very thinly sliced dried beef on white bread. She wrapped it in waxed paper. In the back ground, WOOD AM radio is playing. We all fall into a hush when the weather report is given.

My mom's plan for the day - every day - always was to get her work done early, so she could relax. Relaxing to her was to take a lawn chair and a magazine out into the backyard.

I had a pool out back. It was long and shallow and green, with triangular red metal seats on each corner. I'm sure I still have burn marks from sitting on those seats in the hot sun.

Inevitably, one of the three neighborhood Pam's would be available to play with. If they weren't named Pam, they were Debbie or Cindy. The pool of names to draw from wasn't as deep in the 60's as it is now.

My mom had this wonderful idea from time to time. She would say "Let's have lunch on the back steps!" I still remember the day I did the same thing with my kids. It wasn't about them. She could just as well have said what I did - "I just scrubbed this floor and you, my dearly loved little mess makers, are eating your lunch outside today!" My mom had more tact.

I could play outside all day. Roaming from one Pam's house to another, and another. But, at 4:25 I would hear the 'work whistle' blow. We didn't live close at all to my dad's job, but we could hear the whistle. I knew what that meant. Come home and get ready for supper.

In my family, we ate at precisely the same time every single week day. We ate well balanced meals. Nothing was allowed to interrupt them. Not the telephone, nor a neghborhood friend 'calling' my name at the back door. Oh, how fun would it be to have someone 'call' me that way again. Lean into the screen on the old back porch and in a sing-songy way call "Juuuu-oooo-Deeeeee!"

We ate things like tuna noodle casserole, corned beef casserole, hamburgers, fried spam, salmon patties, always with either rice or potatoes. Always, a vegetable. I have a memory of sitting in front of a bowl of canned plums while my mom insisted that I eat them. I remember she called it 'dessert'. To this day, you could not pay me to eat a canned plum. In some sense, I am STILL sitting in front of that bowl. Bleeeck!

On a hot evening, my dad would take the newspaper out to the front porch and read it until a Tiger game came on the radio. Some nights you could hear the game, as if in stereo, on several of the other seven houses that made up our short little street. Sometimes, Cindy's brother Mike played his harmonica on their front porch. He was GOOD. And, older and extremely cute.

Occasionally, on really hot summer nights, the whole family would pile into the car, in our pajamas, no less. Actually, I was probably the only one of us in pajamas. I remember they were blue - and I didn't know it at the time, but they looked like scrubs. Most likely, this is when my love of Blue Moon ice cream developed. My mom is very practical, and would like the eventual stains to at least somewhat match the fabric.

Alone in the dark, I would listen to the night-time sounds. Soft voices on porches. Mike's harmonica. Ernie Harwell announcing the Tiger game. A car back-firing. The occasional fire cracker. My dad and mom laughing along with the monologue on the Tonight Show.

And then I'd wake up, and do it all over again.

My Monday

I got up early this morning so I could say goodbye to THGGM. He is on the road this week. Since the middle of May, he has lost 36 pounds.

Baby Boy came a little later in the morning. He had a bad tummy ache, and cried until he fell asleep. He insisted that I hold him. So, I got a morning nap too!


Tonight, Baby Boy and his family went to a White Caps game. Charley came to stay with me, so I wouldn't be lonely. He also insisted that I hold him. So, I did.

That was my day.

Random Book

I picked up a book Thursday while thrift shopping. It cost me a dollar. I was first attracted to the cover, because I am shallow like that. And, I liked the title. "The Happy Room".

I found this book disturbing, but in a good way. I would not recommend it as literature, although the author has many many books to her name. I'd never heard of her, but then she writes 'christian' romance novels, and I do not read those.

But for the subject matter, this book is a long time coming.

"The Happy Room" tells the story of three missionary children (now adults) who were left months at a time at a boarding school in Africa for all of their school years. Their struggles with issues of abandonment is the main theme. But mostly, it's a book about family communication and doesn't take lightly how difficult that can be.

Although it didn't touch on the topic of sexual abuse at all, I have never gotten over my shock at hearing stories from the mouths of missionary children who attended boarding schools overseas and the awful abuse they suffered at the hands of those thought to be protecting them. And they had NO ONE to tell. They tried, but no one listened. More care was given to protecting the supposed integrity of the institution than protecting the child.

The saddest story I heard was from a woman who shared with a group that she had been sexually abused repeatedly by a houseparent in her overseas boarding school. Another member of the group asked her, "Why didn't you tell your mother?" Her response was, "I hardly knew my mother". These things should not be.

Since hearing those stories shared, I've often hoped to come across a book that would bring this problem to light.

Now, back to the book...I am no author, nor critic, but I do know that I am not a fan of books that rely mainly on dialog. This books does that. It works in some spots, but in others, not so much.

What it it excels at is bringing out in the open a painful subject for many people I know well. What to do when 'God told me to' or 'It is God's will' is the answer to everything the adults say or do.

This traps the child, and leaves them in a neverland of feeling that their needs are less important than the unknown masses of people 'out there'. That other people need your parents more than you do.

I know from experience so little about this subject, but it interests me immensely due to many painfilled conversations on the subject.

Even THGGM, whose mother is no missionary, knows that when she said "I'm so glad I have the Lord!" that what it really meant was "Shut the dam up!"

The author is Catherine Palmer. Look it up if this subject is of interest to you.

Youngest Son and Baby Boy

Youngest Son is my baby. Baby Boy is Daughter's baby.

The two of them have a very special relationship.

They both like to play ball!

The Cat in My Life

Yes, that would be Barb. He is supposed to be gray and white. Not dark gray and light gray.
But, recently he has turned into a filthy dirty old man.

Today he tried to climb onto my lap. I am wearing khaki and light green. I wouldn't allow him to.

He seemed hurt. Gave me a dirty look, even.

Although 'dirty' is the only look he has lately.







Notice the pride with which he shows off his
dirty neck!
















So, I threatened him. "Barb," I said, "I am going
to post pictures of you on my blog!" A wee speck
of pink tongue appeared out of his mouth.

Then he really got into it.

Cleaned himself up, rather nicely, I might add.

And then he went back out side.

Randumb Summer Thoughts

1) - I feel as if I should organize 'neighborhood lawn service times'. I am sick sick sick of every Friday having the deafening sounds of mowing and trimming and whacking. First on one side, then on the other and then across the street. I HATE NOISE! Have I mentioned that? One of the guys across the street (just a bit ago) screamed FIVE times to another guy "DO YOU WANT EAR PLUGS?" "WHAT?" "DO YOU WANT EAR PLUGS" "WHAT?" (you get the idea) I was about to scream "YES! I WANT EAR PLUGS!" but they never would have heard me.

2) - It hasn't been an overwhelmingly hot summer yet. I am thankful for this. Really hot summers make me cranky. This is not good. Avoid me when I am cranky.

3) - I am still soaking in happy memories from my vacation.

4) - I got a magazine in the mail today. In it was an article on back-to-school clothes for 'tweens'. On page 118, a particular 'tween' is wearing a $123 jacket, $87 jeans, $30 shirt and $32 shoes. This 'tween' also has an iPod. I wonder where she works? It reminded me of how I would explain to my kids in terms of how many hours of work it would take to buy something. I still do that. It's why I thrift shop.

5) - I miss my dog.

6) - Somehow I know when it is 3 in the afternoon. For YEARS it was the time I got into the car to pick up my kids from school. I haven't done that in years, yet I still catch myself looking at the clock at 3:00.

7) - I need to pick up a book on cat psychology. My cat has suddenly decided that he LOVES to roll in dirt. And then STAY dirty. This just seems so uncatlike to me. I've even given him a bath, and he LOVED it! How weird is that?

8) - Today, if I had a car, I would go to the library. The neat, orderly, library. Instead, I will go into the messy library nextdoor, where I am the one responsible for organizing. And I will weep.

9) - It should be easy for me to hop back on my eating plan. No more birthday or holiday celebrations for quite some time. Today I resumed drinking lots of water, and I suppose I could call that exercising also. I do need groceries. My food choices today have been limited to mooshy mooshy low-carb bread and an apple with cinnamon.

10) - I'm about to order something that is supposed to give me energy and help control my blood sugar levels, which are horrific. At least to me they are. My doctor likes to say they are 'not too bad' and 'if you would just lose weight'... I tried to schedule an appointment to have a leg removed - you know - preventatively - but they wouldn't hear of it.

11) - I wondered when it would hit me. You know. That I am a GRANDMA. It all washed over me today in the shower. I'm a GRANDMA! It was a very very good feeling.

12) - THGGM has lost 24 pounds in the last two months. I'm happy for him. He makes me sick. I'm happy for him. He makes me angry. I'm happy for him. He can eat whatever he wants all weekend long and STILL lose weight. I'm happy for him. I love him. It just isn't fair.

13) - I love my life!

Friday AM

This morning I am here all alone. It is (somewhat) peaceful and quite. I'm catching up on laundry (i'm out of clothespins in the backyard), picking up after a holiday week, and drinking much coffee.

I also finished my A.N. Wilson book, "C.S. Lewis - A Biography". I did really enjoy reading it. Although, this morning I went web surfing as there were a few things in it that seemed odd. Appartently, I am not the only one who thought so. That was affirming.

Anyway, I would highly recommend it, but only if you have read other books written by those who actually KNEW him.

A.N. Wilson seems to me to be rather full of himself, and it would appear has not read the book most loved by Lewis himself. I find that a bit odd in a biographer. Wilson does have a rather witty and engaging writing style, and it WAS an enjoyable read!

I must go dig up my copy of Lewis' "The Great Divorce", as I can tell, it's time to read it again.

My Peeps

These are a few of my favorite people.

Do you see a pattern?

July 4th Traditions

On July 4th, we have family breakfast at our house.

My mom and dad join us.

We used to go to a parade, but no one seemed excited to do that this year.

Maybe when Baby Boy gets older.
Great Grandpa and Grandma are just crazy about having a little boy to watch.

Baby Boy was extremely happy and entertaining this morning.

And, when they left, he waved 'bye-bye' to them.

First to Great Grandpa, and then he turned to Great Grandma and gave her her own enthusiastic wave.

They LOVED it!!!
For breakfast we had cinnamon rolls (which were gone before i thought to take a picture of them),
Watermelon, musk melon, cherries, strawberries and blue berries,
Ham, broccoli and swiss cheese quiche,

And cheesy hash browns.

It was all very good.