Your guess is as good as mine . . .

Not really.
What do you think this is?

Thanksgiving Thoughts

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."
- Melody Beattie -

Darla Isakson writes: ". . . expressing thanks for all that makes my life pleasant or comfortable, or for what I appreciate more because others have less, is living only the preparatory law of gratitude." To live the "higher law" would be to "thank the Lord in all things." D & C 59:7.

foil-relief

This will be my 9th year of eigth grade counting the one I did 43 years ago. Every year, I feel certain it will be my last. It's a good job. I'm just a little worn out. I work in supported ed. We have about 17 mainstreamed kids on our team. They are all awesome. This year I have chorus first period. I love starting the day with music. Third period is art. I get to do the projects right along with the kids. We are doing a "foil-relief" and I have filled mine with Indian symbols for "peace," "happy," "bear," and "summer." I ran one tear drop from the center down a meandering path off the gold foil. I am not artistic but I can write poetry which is just a way of painting pictures with words. The house is empty 'cept for the two of us. It's so very quiet. Three in college, one in law school and one saving his little family from a soggy house suffering from a water leak. Some days are a lonely celebration of a joyous journey.

On a lighter note

Today is my birthday and it has been lovely all day from salmon with friends for lunch, Oprah's Faulkner books, bars of Swiss chocolate hidden under my pillow and in my purse, an exquisite fairy from my sister, calls from well wishers and a new toaster. And, near midnight, the arrival of our oldest son, his wife and our perfect and only granddaughter who turns two next week. A delightful celebration on an evening that blesses us with open windows and a cool summer breeze.

Being deaf

My parents are here. Dad is 85. Mom is 76. That's four hearing aids. Three weeks ago, I got water in my left ear and still cannot hear. We have become a symphony of "what?" Grocery shopping, neighbors dropping by, wedding receptions and people are a jumble of sound. I suspect that I am also deaf to loneliness, dependency, aching bones, pricked diabetic fingers, slow walking, and a desire to be thought about and loved and reassured. It must feel disappointing when the thunderstorm fails to wake you in the middle of the night. It is certainly a small grief yet a reluctant march toward greater loss.

Phoenix Botanical Gardens 

Phoenix Botanical Gardens 

stardust

I learned today that we are made of stardust . . . then, God created us out of stardust . . . what a neat idea.

Spring at the Prairie Preserve.

Ducks at the Prairie Preserve.

This is my first picture. It's of the praire path.