Thoughtfulness

The College Boy goes to Western Washington University.  He is spending his summer in the Flint Hills of Kansas, working on an internship in computer science.

Tonight he and I were trying to ascertain the name of some giant moth found out in our pasture - not a luna - but some large, geometrically-designed moth.   

The College Boy told me about some man in Washington who is discovering new moth species and naming them for his daughter, his wife, etc.  I remarked that I wouldn't necessarily like to have a moth named after me.  Tricia Moth?  Kind of a No-Go.

He responded:  What if there is a moth which secretes an enzyme which will cure cancer?  Wouldn't it be neat to have it named after you?

Ok.  He's got me there, I suppose.

This is why it's great to have the kids home for the summer.  They make me think, and ponder, and surmise. 

Thanksgiving

I have been counting my blessings today.  For no particular reason, but it just seems like a worthy exercise in mental health to periodically be thankful for whatever it is that is going well in one's life.

Let's see...

I ran this morning.  I can't tell you how far or how fast.  It was in the semi-dark time just before sunrise, around our pasture, (5 times, but that tells us nothing), dodging a giant Bloodhound and a dark-on-dark Bouvier.

I went to a women's Bible study this morning.  It's been a LONG time since I have attended any Bible study, and I think this one is not a match, but nevertheless, I am giving a thumbs-up for having the opportunity to see about it.  And I have told myself I will give it another two weeks...

Back-to-school, back-to-cello!  I took two months off from cello lessons this summer - the first break I have taken in the three years of cello-dom.  I returned to lessons this afternoon, even though I STILL have a gimpy hand (my bow hand) from that ridiculous incident involving the car door and my hand.  But!  It is healing, still.

I have a job.  That's where I should end the Counting, right?  I have a job.  I have had this job for ten years.  It's a home-based business that was bequeathed to me by my scientist husband.  I have never REALLY wanted to have said job, but I work at said job and said job works for us.  What does this mean?  I looked back today at finances and taxes and things I HATE to look at, (and this, after that Spouse o' Mine lamented a few weeks ago:where is that money going?!"), and I see that without my job, our kids probably would not have afforded college without incurring those ridiculous debts one hears about in the news. An investment, I say.

The College Boy came home from his summer job/internship and that is a blessing.  A) My Boy has been home this summer.  B) He has a great job. 

That Spouse o' Mine also came home this afternoon, and promptly jumped on his bike to go enjoy a group ride with other cyclists.  I am happy that he is happy and healthy and has healthy friends.

All-in-all, a good day. 

Oh! One more blessing!  An air conditioner.

For this ridiculously hot, humid, awful weather.

Thanks be to God.

September

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
-   John Updike, September

We've got the apple peels.  And peach peels.  I have a ripe pumpkin in the oven as I write.  Tomatoes still out in the Darwinian Garden, as well as peppers.  The new, "Winter Garden" sprouts are appearing, as well as that irritating horseradish which refuses to go away.  

Thankfully, we don't have the smell of burning brush - that might mean a catastrophe in these drought-ridden parts.  

This foggy morning, on the early morning Bouvier and Bloodhound romp, I stopped to study some giant sunflowers down by the creek.  There was a bumble bee asleep on one of the flowers.  This is the second bumble bee I have caught napping on the job on one of these sunflowers, and I need to find out why.  Anyone know?

Here it is, the first day of September.  On the drive in to church this morning, I thought how nice it will be to have frosty mornings.  I am tired of gardening.  It has been an unpleasant struggle this summer, and one I do not wish to experience again.  I am already in the autumnal spirit, I suppose: I baked brownies this afternoon and also the pumpkin.  Our fourteen New England Pie Pumpkins ripened in July this year, not October, so we have been enjoying pumpkin ice cream instead of pumpkin pie.  But, I might make a pie later this week with this pumpkin. Eleven pumpkins eaten, three to go. (I did plant a new row of New Englanders last month, experimenting with the hot weather.  I don't know if hours of sunlight plays into the ripening as it does with tomatoes...stay tuned...)

And so here we are, the first of September: air conditioner on, the forecast calls ofr triple digits tomorrow in rural Kansas, and I am contemplating pumpkin pie.

That's OK.  In the past, with three kids living in three different places (or coasts), I have made Thanksgiving Dinner in September.  One must just...make do.

Let's Backtrack a Bit

The trouble with using both a PC and a laptop is that one forgets (or: I forget) that I have written this on that, and vice versa.

A fleeting couple of weeks ago, that Spouse o' Mine and I enjoyed a weekend in the mountains with a niece, her spouse, and their diminutive, non-stop toddler.  (NONSTOP!! In a good way, of course.)

We four, and five, shared dinner recipes, baby anecdotes (ours were a generation old, but maybe still ripe for the taking.)  That Spouse o' Mine and the Nephew-in-law cycled up and down various mountain passes...

 

That Spouse o' Mine talked nephew (in-law) Josh into riding down Hoosier Pass. 

Speeds entered 39 mph.

Boo for safety. 

Yay (I suppose) for adventure. 

 And our darling niece Charlotte, the nonstop energy Kid of the Year.

So fun.

So happy.

So precious!

We did this same song and dance exactly a year ago when Baby Charlotte was exactly a wee five weeks old.  And then, successfully again this year.  And my dear niece Lisa and I have decided:  It's a go: an annual event!

I am tickled, 

tickled pink!

All in the Family

Last Tuesday I called brothers, 

sisters-in-law, 

brother-in-law, 

nieces, and nephews: 

Come to a birthday party for Mom/Granny.  

(My mother)  

Bring food.

Less than two days later we descended on my parents' home in Oklahoma.  

What fun!

Granny and Great-grandbaby #3, (of four!), Lilah Grace.

 

 There is no shortage of loving arms 

for any baby in our family...

Lilah and Uncle Mike

 Lilah's mother, Amy

 Lilah's grandfather, Pops

 Lilah's sister Addison, and their Auntie Lisa

 Granny and toddler Charlotte. 

 

 Addison and me!

And how many towers did we two build 

and knock over that evening?!

It was an evening of laughter and good food.

Such a whirlwind of activity!

Happy birthday, Mom.