The Best Family In the World

Silver Valley Girl, Mom, and Raymond Pert on his birthday in Kellogg a couple of weeks ago.

I have the best family a girl could ever want. The structure of this family has changed much throughout my adult years. Three spouses are not part of the family anymore. Three spouses have now become a part of the family. Babies and grown children have joined the group as grandchildren, nieces, step-children, and step great-grandchildren. Dogs and cats have left the family and new ones have been introduced.  We have said sad farewells to grandmothers, uncles, aunts, and Dad. I think the passing of my dad, as sad as it was, has brought our family closer together. We came together and have stayed together.

We supported Mom the best we could through her breast cancer, back injury, and hip replacement. We went wig shopping, practiced using a walker for her, and tried to find anything that would taste good during chemo.  We did what we could from afar when Raymond Pert suffered months of illness last year. At two writing retreats I observed him gently pull amazing writing from participants with ease and humor.   Each time Silver Valley Girl by herself or with family members performs, directs, writes the script, does concessions, sells tickets, does PR, and/or manages lights at the Sixth Street Theater in Wallace, Idaho the family is there to laugh when we are supposed to laugh, boo and hiss when in the audience for the melodrama, or walk up on the stage as brother RP did a few summers ago as part of Kelly's Alley.

Even though our homes stretch from Kettle Falls to Kellogg to Eugene we have a common bond that brings us together. Our sibling assignments on our blogs and sibling outings around the inland empire are two of those bonding activities.  Holidays (like RP's birthday above) are another.  Mom's deck for a BBQ in the summer often brings us all together. It may also be our country church at Garden Valley, a movie at the Valley Mall, or a road trip to the Oregon Coast.

We have all had challenges, heartbreaks, ups, downs, good jobs, bad jobs, works published, pictures in the press, victories, defeats, the best of times and the worst of times, but we have hung together.I do have the best family in the world. Thank you SVG, RP, and Mom.

The Best Flower in Winter: Amaryllis

As thick fog surrounded the view outside the window and slush and worn out snow filled my boots, it was nice to be greeted at the end of the day by an amaryllis bloom. After bringing one home from a shopping trip in the fall the routines for growing this holiday plant are followed step by step.  Soak the peat moss, stick the huge bulb in the pot, find a good growing spot, remember to water, then begin the waiting game. I never know if I will have blooms on New Year's Day, Mom's birthday, or Valentine's Day. The boxes have long been burned in the woodstove, so the color and texture is always a surprise. This is the earliest bloom I remember.

A second bloom has opened this evening as I sat writing this. There are two more buds on this plant about ready to open. Another amaryllis sitting next to this beauty shows signs of a deep red color. There is more to look forward to on this gray, slushy Tuesday at the beginning of January. I will have my camera ready.

Best Poem About Applesauce

 I don't know if I have ever read any other poem about applesauce, but thanks to the carefully chosen words and vivid images Ted Kooser created, this is the best for me.


Applesauce

I liked how the starry blue lid
of that sauce pan lifted and puffed,
then settled back on a thin
hotpad of steam, and the way
her kitchen filled with the warm
wet breath of apples, as if all
the apples were talking at once,
as if they'd come cold and sour
from chores in the orchard,
and were trying to shoulder in
close to the fire. She was too busy
to put in her two cent's worth
talking to apples. Squeezing
her dentures with wrinkly lips,
she had to jingle and stack
the bright brass coins of the lids
and thoughtfully count out
the red rubber rings, then hold
each jar, to see if it was clean,
to a window that looked out
through her back yard into Iowa.
And with every third or fourth jar
she wiped steam from her glasses,
using the hem of her apron,
printed with tiny red sailboats
that dipped along with leaf-green
banners snapping, under puffs
of pale applesauce clouds
scented with cinnamon and cloves,
the only boats under sail
for at least two thousand miles
 

~ Ted Kooser

The Best Verse in the Bible

French Rock boat launch, Lake Roosevelt

I don't think it is possible to choose the best verse in the Bible, but today our pastor opened the sermon with a scripture that I have highlighted in my Bible and revisit often. The best verse in the Bible is all about timing. It is how the words reach a person at that moment. Today these words spoke to my heart and for today it is the best verse in the Bible.

" Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. " - Philippians 4:6-9

I have spent many days of my life dealing with anxiety. It continues to get better. Rereading this always helps.

The Best Things In Life Are Free

Remember that old saying "the best things in life are free"? Here is my list for today:

Shelby snuggling against me while I nap one more time, sunshine and warmer weather today, Isabelle showing me how to relax , Annie reminding me she needs attention by putting her paw on my knee, being on vacation time, the gift of wood that keeps our house warm, kind words, laughs, McDuff getting his appetite back,reconnecting with friends,having time to reflect, and a decluttering project that will declutter my life!

(above is Isabelle on a beautiful afghan my Grandma West created for me)

Sibling Assignment #114: The Gift of Time

Raymond Pert gave us the last sibling assignment for 2009. "Find a photograph you snapped in the last year that epitomizes 2009 for you and explain." I will link my siblings' posts when they are done.This was a challenging sibling assignment because I snapped hundreds of pictures in 2009. I reviewed picture folders today and chose this one:

This is a photo of our gazebo which sits in the northwest part of our yard. JEJ not only designed and built the gazebo from mostly recylced materials, but he built the chairs and did the rock work around the fireplace. This place represents a gift from JEJ and a refuge for me. When it is just warm enough in the spring to go outside we can built a fire and watch the dogs, cats, and birds enjoy the new season. In the summer it is a lovely place to end the day as the gloaming sheds light on the gardens.

I love it the most in the fall. When the air cools in the evening and I want a place to take my mind off teaching, writing, National Boards, and other struggles in the world I can grab a beverage, choose the view, and warm myself by the fire in the gazebo. This gazebo is not new in 2009, but I chose this picture because it represents a goal I set for myself before school started in the late summer. That goal was to prioritize my time and identify what was important during the school year as I challenged myself to work toward  National Board Certification for Teaching. I felt I am reaching that goal as I am part way through the year. One way I have been able to stay focused on my studies is to give myself treats of time. One treat was to be able to sit in the gazebo. On a Saturday as I sat at my desk gazing out the window, the gazebo was what I could see. That was motivation for me to use my time effectively so I could go there and sit.

When focusing on time management things have to take a back seat. Unfortunately I have not had as much time to comment on posts by my blogger friends. Please know I am still visiting and hope to find time soon to comment again.  We have stayed home more on week-ends this school year, but that has ended up being okay. It has been easier to say no to requests at school that weren't really necessary for reaching my goals. JEJ has volunteered to do more trips to town for shopping. All of this gave me that gift of time. As I begin 2010 I look forward to continuing to hold dear the precious gift of time. I put this quote on my Facebook page this week.

" We all get 24 hours a day. It's the only fair thing; it's the only thing that's equal. It's up to us as to what we do with those 24 hours."  Sam Huff

How do you spend your 24 hours each day?