So pretty

Can't wear them, but I can sure admire them.

stop stealin' my sunshine...

How does one stay so negative?

Have you ever been around anyone who can just find a problem with simply everything?

i.e. “Yeah, it’s sunny today, but it’s still too hot”, “thank you the 24k gold nugget, but it’s way too heavy”.

How exhausting it must be to carry around that dark cloud. Stop a moment and pity those people. And please, Lord-don’t let them steal my sunshine.

Football is in the air....

Renderings

On a recent cooking show the host was frying bacon and when it was time to drain the bacon, she saved the grease calling it “renderings”. They were “hickory smoked renderings”, not bacon grease. That sounds sooo much better, but it’s still bacon grease.
Isn’t a rendering a depiction or interpretation? A rendering is something that represents an object. I work with architects and they present renderings to clients to let them know what their buildings will look like. So if it is something that is leftover from something (bacon grease) OR it’s something that is a reflection of an original... Don’t you think we leave renderings of ourselves?

We leave others with renderings: how we made them feel, how our presence affected them. They remember our words, our attitude, how we presented ourselves, and then how we looked.

Our “renderings” of ourselves is most important. It’s what will be remembered after we are gone. Our eulogies will be renderings of our lives. Did we do good work? Did we treat others fairly? What is our legacy? Was I strictly self serving or generous and helpful?
Each day and each decision we make constructs our rendering. Bad decisions cause us to do things we normally would not consider. Bad choices cause unhappiness which results in bad attitudes which result in negative treatment of those around us and negative treatment of ourselves.
So it’s pretty simple. How we are interpreted is up to US. Our choices reflect who we are. Our attitudes and what we say and do reflect the person that is inside. Make good choices and make an effort to correct the wrong ones.
If a rendering sketch was made of you-how would someone interpret it?

My Little Corner..of...

Eight years ago we moved to Midas Road. The house was to be temporary and the ultimate goal was to purchase something with a boat slip. Well, eight years later we are still here. Through the years we have made it "ours". Built a pool, a tiki bar, taken down walls, painted the inside my favorite color of all-salmon.

We are lucky that in our little neighborhood everyone here is retired military. We are seemingly all about the same age-with young adult grown children. It's quiet and it's private. And it's my refuge from the remainder of the world.

It has rained for 3 days now and I have not moved my car since Friday (love weekends like that). On this Sunday morning, I am sitting on my back porch with the radio playing and the rain falling. The temp is is 74 compared to recent high 90's. Other than my usual worry about my grown up children and sweet grandchildren, life is pretty perfect. I would love to be thinner, richer and smarter...but..

We choose our daily thoughts like we choose our clothes. Of course the clouds roll into our heads on their own-but we have the power to clear our brain and insert positives thoughts. Prayer helps. Meditation helps. A moment of silence helps. But it's all up to us how we perceive the world and our surroundings.

I choose life, I choose to be happy. Into every life a little rain must fall. But one thing that is certain-the sun always comes back.

Grandma's Apron

I don't think our kids know what an apron IS....

The principle use of Grandma's apron was to protect [pointing out the obvious, right from the dictionary definition] the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken-coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.

When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.

A boy (my grandson) and his Daddy (my son)in the park. I wish I had a time machine to go back to when my kids were toddling and small.

I would take more time to listen. I wouldn't tell them to "wait" until the dishes are done, I will "watch them turn a cartwheel, etc. in a minute when I get finished."

Before I knew it, both children were pre-teens and busy with sports and friends. Then they were teenagers and were never home. Now they are young adults and we have adult conversations. We talk about how precious time is. About how not to take things so seriously. The dishes can wait. The dirt can wait. Everything can wait except for that walk in the park.