I love the movie Dr. Zhivago. My mother's family was from Russia. My grandmother's parents came from Russia. My mom's Russian heritage was very important to her. She loved to read about Russian history.
I love Dr. Zhivago because, well, the scenery is breathtaking...Russia in the winter. Mostly I love Dr. Zhivago because it reminds me of my mom...
Lara's Theme. One of the most beautiful songs. Ever...
In my youtube research, I discovered that there was another, newer Dr. Zhivago movie. How did I not know this? Do I want to see it? Who could replace the original cast?
And this concludes the A - Z Challenge. Wow! It went by quickly. I'm a little relieved, but I will miss it. Most importantly...I discovered some wonderful blogs (and new friends) that I will continue to follow! ☺
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Y-ellow truck
When my son was just a little guy, his world revolved around trucks, tractors, backhoes...but most of all the well driller and it's friend - Yellow Truck.
Jon was quiet when you took him out of his comfort zone (home). And he was very shy. We thought it was important that he attend pre-school, otherwise we were very afraid that kindergarten would be an absolutely heart-breaking scene (for Jon and his mom ☺).
So, Jon went to pre-school for the two years before kindergarten. A very lovely co-op pre-school where the parents took turns working, which I loved. It would be a gradual separation process.
For the entire first year, when Jon was three years old, he never spoke at school. I'm serious. At the end of the year, the parents were presenting a book to the very wonderful teacher. They were collecting quotes from each student. The quote that I submitted from Jon looked like this:
Jon loved that yellow truck!
 |
| I could not find a picture of the original Yellow Truck so here's it successor - Mostly Yellow Truck. (sorry for the repeat pic posting...) |
So, Jon went to pre-school for the two years before kindergarten. A very lovely co-op pre-school where the parents took turns working, which I loved. It would be a gradual separation process.
For the entire first year, when Jon was three years old, he never spoke at school. I'm serious. At the end of the year, the parents were presenting a book to the very wonderful teacher. They were collecting quotes from each student. The quote that I submitted from Jon looked like this:
" "
empty quotes
His teacher totally got it! She was a saint.
We were really hoping that he would come out of his shell a little bit during the second year. And he did.
A little bit, he would talk. And he made friends. And he kinda liked pre-school. He was quiet, still, but he said what needed to be said.
Toward the end of the year, the teacher was testing each student to gauge their readiness for kindergarten. Now, we knew Jon was ready. He was a smart kid (still is), but how would he do while he was testing one on one with the teacher?
I found out a couple of days later, when his teacher had a question for me.
She was testing his knowledge of colors. When she got to this color:
Jon was right on the money. He answered, "Yellow truck."
She just had to ask me where that came from though!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
X-anthophyll
When you ask for for an X word, what is the first one that comes to my mind? Xanthophyll.
Definition of XANTHOPHYLL (from Merriam-Webster.com):
any of several yellow to orange carotenoid pigments that are oxygen derivatives of carotenes; especially : lutein
Do you know what book (and the chapter) this word is featured in? For some of you this will be very easy.
Hint #1: If you know me, either personally or through this blog, it shouldn't be that hard to be able to narrow down the author of the book. ;-)
Hint #2: The definition has nothing to do with it. Just thought I should add it. It's always good to learn a new word, right?
What's in it for you? If you can tell me, in the comments below, the author, book, and chapter this word is found in, I will put your name in for a drawing. I will send the winner a copy of the book with color illustrations. If you're familiar with this author's books, you know that this book is available with color illustrations. I'm not talking about those dumb photograph covers, but the original illustrations in color.
*I'm trusting that you don't look at the other comments! ☺
You have until May 5th and you MUST be a public follower of my blog. One comment, one chance! Good Luck!!
Definition of XANTHOPHYLL (from Merriam-Webster.com):
any of several yellow to orange carotenoid pigments that are oxygen derivatives of carotenes; especially : lutein
Hint #1: If you know me, either personally or through this blog, it shouldn't be that hard to be able to narrow down the author of the book. ;-)
Hint #2: The definition has nothing to do with it. Just thought I should add it. It's always good to learn a new word, right?
What's in it for you? If you can tell me, in the comments below, the author, book, and chapter this word is found in, I will put your name in for a drawing. I will send the winner a copy of the book with color illustrations. If you're familiar with this author's books, you know that this book is available with color illustrations. I'm not talking about those dumb photograph covers, but the original illustrations in color.
*I'm trusting that you don't look at the other comments! ☺
You have until May 5th and you MUST be a public follower of my blog. One comment, one chance! Good Luck!!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
W-ater
Water is very important in our life. We are second generation water well drillers so, not only do we firmly believe that water is the most valuable resource, but it's also what sustains us!
My father-in-law started this water well drilling business in 1940, before he went off to serve his country in World War II. When he came back, he picked up where he left off and went on to build a successful small business. It was a family affair. My mother-in-law worked hard to help him make the business the success that it is. There was a lot of hard work and many sacrifices along the way. Pa's (my father-in-law) reputation was all the advertising that was needed. Everyone in the area knew what a good, honest, fair, and hard-working man he was. He was greatly respected and greatly mourned when he died suddenly almost seven years ago, leaving a vast hole, not only in the family, but in the business as well. You see, although he had mostly retired from the business and he and my mother-in-law built a new house to retire in, he was still here every day. Sometimes he did his own thing like wood-turning and chainsaw carving and sometimes he went out on the job with my husband. He helped Jim the very day before he passed away peacefully in his sleep. We still miss him...
He left some big shoes to fill and no one could fill them better than my husband. Although Jim went to school to learn another trade, he could not or maybe did not want to escape the pull of "the business". He probably started working for Pa as soon as he was old enough and it's been full-time since he graduated from high school over 30 years ago. About the time Jim and I met, he was in the process of buying the business from his parents. I knew from the get-go that if Jim and I had a future together, the business would be a huge part of our lives. And it has been. It's been almost twenty years since we bought the house that my husband grew up in that sits on the same property that has housed the business for over 50 years. Obviously that means that we are always "at work". The business is our life and our life is the business. We have learned that time away is precious and we cherish any escapes that we have been able to steal away. We pride ourselves in keeping up the good reputation that Jim's parents worked so hard to build. We have worked hard and stand behind every job. When our business completes a job, we have put our all into it. Hard work and dedication: those are the two most important building blocks in a successful business. We may never be rich, but we are proud to be known as honest, hard-working, and generous.
And we would consider our role as parents to be successful if we have passed those traits on to our children. I think that we have. Both of our kids have worked in the business at some point in their lives. I think it encouraged our daughter to stay in college! ☺ Our son has chosen a different career, but we know he could jump back in if he decided to come back. I sure have gone out on my share of jobs with Jim, but my main job is to tackle all of the office work.
Business is slower in the last couple of years. Jim mostly works by himself these days...I'm here to lend a hand when he needs me. We hope that, as the economy improves, things will pick up. I have grown to love this business. We have some of the most wonderful customers. We have met some awesome well drillers whom we consider great friends.
Water is life. Well Water is naturally better!
 |
| My husband, my father-in-law, and my son |
He left some big shoes to fill and no one could fill them better than my husband. Although Jim went to school to learn another trade, he could not or maybe did not want to escape the pull of "the business". He probably started working for Pa as soon as he was old enough and it's been full-time since he graduated from high school over 30 years ago. About the time Jim and I met, he was in the process of buying the business from his parents. I knew from the get-go that if Jim and I had a future together, the business would be a huge part of our lives. And it has been. It's been almost twenty years since we bought the house that my husband grew up in that sits on the same property that has housed the business for over 50 years. Obviously that means that we are always "at work". The business is our life and our life is the business. We have learned that time away is precious and we cherish any escapes that we have been able to steal away. We pride ourselves in keeping up the good reputation that Jim's parents worked so hard to build. We have worked hard and stand behind every job. When our business completes a job, we have put our all into it. Hard work and dedication: those are the two most important building blocks in a successful business. We may never be rich, but we are proud to be known as honest, hard-working, and generous.
|
| Jim and I by the drilling rig and our kids by the water truck. Yes, it is indeed...a family photo with our work trucks! |
And we would consider our role as parents to be successful if we have passed those traits on to our children. I think that we have. Both of our kids have worked in the business at some point in their lives. I think it encouraged our daughter to stay in college! ☺ Our son has chosen a different career, but we know he could jump back in if he decided to come back. I sure have gone out on my share of jobs with Jim, but my main job is to tackle all of the office work.
 |
| Jim - setting up the rig. |
Water is life. Well Water is naturally better!
Stones for my Father winner
Mama Hen - you won a copy of Stones for my Father! Please message me with your address so I can get it out to you.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Stones for my Father Blog Tour
I'm really honored to have been chosen to take part as one of the hosts for Trilby Kent's Stones for my Father book blog tour. Thank you to Tundra Books and Sylvia Chan for giving me this opportunity!
Stones for My Father
Written by Trilby KentHardcover | Ages 11+ | 176 pages
ISBN 978-1-77049-252-3
eBook 978-1-77049-260-8
Corlie Roux’s farm life in South Africa is not easy: the Transvaal is beautiful, but it is also a harsh place where the heat can be so intense that the very raindrops sizzle. When her beloved father dies, she is left with a mother who is as devoted to her sons as she is cruel to her daughter. Despite this, Corlie finds solace in her friend, Sipho, and in Africa itself and in the stories she conjures for her brothers.
But Corlie’s world is about to vanish: the British are invading and driving Boer families like hers from their farms. Some escape into the bush to fight the enemy. The unlucky ones are rounded up and sent to internment camps.
Will Corlie’s resilience and devotion to her country sustain her through the suffering and squalor she finds in the camp at Kroonstad? That may depend on a soldier from faraway Canada and on inner resources Corlie never dreamed she had….
What did I think?
~I've always enjoyed historical fiction and was not disappointed with Stones for my Father. I was drawn in from the first pages and held till the last. As I don't know much about The Boer Wars, reading Stones for my Father was actually a learning experience too. Ms. Trilby writes her characters very well. It did not take me long to feel compassion for Corlie as she is so cruelly treated by her mother, which is about how long it takes for me to want to rescue Corlie. I spent the rest of the book wishing someone would save Corlie, not only from the soldiers, but from her mother.
I also think that Ms. Trilby wrote the backdrop, the landscape, the emotions, and feelings so well. You could see the beauty of the landscape, but also feel the baking sun even though I have never been to South Africa, I felt as if I had been there. She made it so familiar. I felt such compassion for the children in the internment camp because the situation was portrayed with such feeling.
I also think that Ms. Trilby wrote the backdrop, the landscape, the emotions, and feelings so well. You could see the beauty of the landscape, but also feel the baking sun even though I have never been to South Africa, I felt as if I had been there. She made it so familiar. I felt such compassion for the children in the internment camp because the situation was portrayed with such feeling.
As I have included the summary above, I won't go into too much more. I don't want to give anything away! I will say that you will want to keep reading and there is a slight twist. Worth the read and an excellent book for a young person who is already interested in or to get them interested in a part of world history that they might otherwise not learn enough about.
TRILBY KENT was born in Toronto, Ontario, but grew up in cities on both sides of the Atlantic. After completing degrees at Oxford University and the London School of Economics, she worked for a time in the rare books department at Bonhams before turning to journalism and writing novels for children and adults. Her first book, Medina Hill, is also available from Tundra Books. Trilby Kent lives in London, England.
Would you like to win a copy of Stones for my Father by Trilby Kent? Just leave a comment below and you will be entered. You only have until midnight tonight and you must be a public follower of my blog! You can also click on the link in my sidebar to enter to win one of five copies being given away through Goodreads! Good Luck!
V-iolets
This last week of A to Z...it's a challenge.
Once again, I will fall back on my good friend -
Once again, I will fall back on my good friend -
Laura was running straight toward the south. Grass whipped soft against her bare feet. Butterflies fluttered over the flowers. There wasn't a bush nor a weed that Grace could be hidden behind. There was nothing, nothing but grass and flowers swaying in the sunshine.
If she were little and playing all by herself, Laura thought, she wouldn't go into the dark Big Slough, she wouldn't go into the mud and the tall grass. Oh, Grace, why didn't I watch you? she thought. Sweet pretty little helpless sister - "Grace! Grace!" she screamed. Her breath caught and hurt in her side.
She ran on and on. Grace must have gone this way. Maybe she chased a butterfly. She didn't go into Big Slough! She didn't climb the hill, she wasn't there. Oh, baby sister, I couldn't see you anywhere east or south on this hateful prairie, "Grace!"
The horrible, sunny prairie was so large. No lost baby could ever be found on it. Ma's calling and Pa's shouts came from Big Slough. They were thin cries, lost in wind, lost on the enormous bigness of the prairie.
Laura's breathing hurt her sides under the ribs. Her chest was smothering and her eyes were dizzy. She ran up a low slope. Nothing, nothing, not a spot of shadow was anywhere on the level prairie all around her. She ran on, and suddenly the ground dropped before her. She almost fell down a steep bank.
There was Grace. There, in a great pool of blue, sat Grace. The sun shone on her golden hair blowing in the wind. She looked up at Laura with big eyes as blue as violets. Her hands were full of violets. She held them up to Laura and said, "Sweet! Sweet!"
Laura sank down and took Grace in her arms. She held Grace carefully and panted for breath. Grace leaned over her arm to reach for more violets. They were surrounded by masses of violets blossoming above low-spreading leaves. Violets covered the flat bottom of a large, round hollow. All around this lake of violets, grassy banks rose almost straight up to the prairie-level. There in the round, low place the wind hardly disturbed the fragrance of the violets. The sun was warm there, the sky was overhead, the green walls of grass curved all around, and butterflies fluttered over the crowding violet-faces.
By The Shores of Sliver Lake, Chapter 30: Where Violets Grow
by: Laura Ingalls Wilder
I love the rest of this chapter, but just had to share this part...the Violets.
Monday, April 25, 2011
U-nderwear
Maybe since I've been sick I've lost my alphabet mojo...I don't know. U is a hard letter though. So many words have gone through my mind, trying to come up with just the right one. Umbrella, unload, ubiquitous, uvula...big words, little words, simple words and difficult words.
But it always came back to this.
Are you familiar with this song by the Barenaked Ladies? My daughter and I always got a kick out of how they made us say Underwear! Lame. I know. But we are easily amused.
And that is why my U-word is Underwear!
P.S. I couldn't remember the name of this song when I went on my youtube search. FYI...It's best to know the name of the song first. Typing "Barenaked Ladies"...well it brought up some interesting results that I quickly skipped over!
Have a wonderful day!!
But it always came back to this.
Are you familiar with this song by the Barenaked Ladies? My daughter and I always got a kick out of how they made us say Underwear! Lame. I know. But we are easily amused.
And that is why my U-word is Underwear!
P.S. I couldn't remember the name of this song when I went on my youtube search. FYI...It's best to know the name of the song first. Typing "Barenaked Ladies"...well it brought up some interesting results that I quickly skipped over!
Have a wonderful day!!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
T-hank you!
While I was not feeling well, I received an award! I wanted to post about it right away, but really needed to wait until my mind was less fuzzy so that I could properly post the award itself. :-)
So...a Big Thank You to Jenny at The Pearson Report for this Classy Blogger Award! I love it!
I met Jenny through the A - Z Challenge. I've started following several new blogs that have been happily discovered through this challenge. The Pearson Report is waaaay up there on the list! I love the friends I have made along the way, on this blogger journey! I ♥ YOU!
So...a Big Thank You to Jenny at The Pearson Report for this Classy Blogger Award! I love it!
I met Jenny through the A - Z Challenge. I've started following several new blogs that have been happily discovered through this challenge. The Pearson Report is waaaay up there on the list! I love the friends I have made along the way, on this blogger journey! I ♥ YOU!
Friday, April 22, 2011
S-orry
Thought I wouldn't get to this today!
Lots of apologies all around...
I've been shirking my alphabet duty. This bronchitis, which I'm fairly certain did progress into pneumonia, really took its toll on me. I would start feeling a little better then the fever would creep back in and the whole thing would start over. Wednesday was the worst. My fever crept back up and I felt terrible. I would have gone to the hospital at that point. But after a few hours it started dropping. And I slowly started feeling a tad better. I still felt so out of it though and...just not right. This morning I was feeling very strange and anxious and a little panicky. I knew it had to be the antibiotics. This is the same stuff they gave me when I had pneumonia, but I was so sick anyhow that the side effects didn't make as much of a difference. I asked Jim to call the doctor and see if they could get changed. It took quite a few phone calls and a lot of waiting, but they finally sent a new prescription to the pharmacy. I don't know how long it'll take to get this stuff out of my system, but I hope never to take it again.
So sorry for leaving lame alphabet posts on this here blog. And sorry to my husband for worrying him/being mean to him/causing many phone calls to be made to a confusing doctor's office phone system. I will be letting my doctor know. And sorry to my daughter...I hope you're not catching it.
Just sorry all the way around.
Lots of apologies all around...
I've been shirking my alphabet duty. This bronchitis, which I'm fairly certain did progress into pneumonia, really took its toll on me. I would start feeling a little better then the fever would creep back in and the whole thing would start over. Wednesday was the worst. My fever crept back up and I felt terrible. I would have gone to the hospital at that point. But after a few hours it started dropping. And I slowly started feeling a tad better. I still felt so out of it though and...just not right. This morning I was feeling very strange and anxious and a little panicky. I knew it had to be the antibiotics. This is the same stuff they gave me when I had pneumonia, but I was so sick anyhow that the side effects didn't make as much of a difference. I asked Jim to call the doctor and see if they could get changed. It took quite a few phone calls and a lot of waiting, but they finally sent a new prescription to the pharmacy. I don't know how long it'll take to get this stuff out of my system, but I hope never to take it again.
So sorry for leaving lame alphabet posts on this here blog. And sorry to my husband for worrying him/being mean to him/causing many phone calls to be made to a confusing doctor's office phone system. I will be letting my doctor know. And sorry to my daughter...I hope you're not catching it.
Just sorry all the way around.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
R-esting and R-eading
I really wanted to do a post about my love for reading to go along with by B post for books, but I'm still not quite up to it.
After going to the doctor and thinking that starting the antibiotics would cure it all, I actually started feeling worse. After going back and forth, feeling better and worse for five days (three on antibiotics), I had my absolute low point yesterday. I think I would have gone to the hospital for a while there. Then slowly my fever started going down and I started feeling better. So, here I am, still not 100%, but much better.
Today I think I will mostly rest and maybe read. I've felt so poorly the past few days that I couldn't concentrate to read or watch movies...makes the resting part of being sick that much worse.
Thank you all for your kind "get well wishes". I could truly feel your good vibes!
I've got something fun planned for one of my letters next week!
After going to the doctor and thinking that starting the antibiotics would cure it all, I actually started feeling worse. After going back and forth, feeling better and worse for five days (three on antibiotics), I had my absolute low point yesterday. I think I would have gone to the hospital for a while there. Then slowly my fever started going down and I started feeling better. So, here I am, still not 100%, but much better.
Today I think I will mostly rest and maybe read. I've felt so poorly the past few days that I couldn't concentrate to read or watch movies...makes the resting part of being sick that much worse.
Thank you all for your kind "get well wishes". I could truly feel your good vibes!
I've got something fun planned for one of my letters next week!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
P-neumonia
This is NOT one of my favorite things!!
P is for Pneumonia.
A year and a half ago, I became ill with what I thought was H1N1. All the media said to wait it out. Don't go to the doctor so that you don't share it with others. It was not fun and I didn't want to share it, even with people that I didn't like very much ☺.
Except that it was not H1N1. After six days and only feeling more and more sick, my daughterurged insisted forced me to go to the Emergency Room. And what did they tell me there (at first)? The flu? You just have to wait it out.
And then the doctor came in, listened to my lungs, and sent me to x-ray. When he came back he told us that I had pneumonia and I believe he said that he was very concerned and that I needed to be admitted. I wasn't happy about that. But then I wasn't happy. I was sick.
After a few days in the hospital and when I started not feeling worse (because, to be honest, I can't say that I was starting to feel better, but I was improving), I convinced the doctor to let me go home. I recovered, but it took a very long time.
Why am I telling this story of a not favorite thing?
Because on Friday, I started feeling like I was coming down with the cold and cough that my husband was just getting over. By Saturday I started feeling like it was more than a cold and by Sunday I was sure of it. The symptoms were familiar and not in a friendly way.
I knew that I would feel foolish going to the doctor and being told that I just needed to give this cold a week or so, but I risked the embarrassment. I'm glad that I did. An x-ray showed that I do not have pneumonia but it is bronchitis which, the doctor informed me, would have progressed into pneumonia within the next day or two. I was given a breathing treatment and sent to pick up my antibiotics. I am on the mend. And I am so ready for spring!!!
There are those who say that once you've had pneumonia, you're more susceptible to it. Both my own doctor and the pulmonologist that I had in the hospital told me that it's not true, that it's a matter of having a compromised immune system. After all, it's been a year and a half since I had my first pneumonia experience with no recurrences. I think I'm just getting old. *sigh*
P is for Pneumonia.
A year and a half ago, I became ill with what I thought was H1N1. All the media said to wait it out. Don't go to the doctor so that you don't share it with others. It was not fun and I didn't want to share it, even with people that I didn't like very much ☺.
Except that it was not H1N1. After six days and only feeling more and more sick, my daughter
And then the doctor came in, listened to my lungs, and sent me to x-ray. When he came back he told us that I had pneumonia and I believe he said that he was very concerned and that I needed to be admitted. I wasn't happy about that. But then I wasn't happy. I was sick.
After a few days in the hospital and when I started not feeling worse (because, to be honest, I can't say that I was starting to feel better, but I was improving), I convinced the doctor to let me go home. I recovered, but it took a very long time.
Why am I telling this story of a not favorite thing?
Because on Friday, I started feeling like I was coming down with the cold and cough that my husband was just getting over. By Saturday I started feeling like it was more than a cold and by Sunday I was sure of it. The symptoms were familiar and not in a friendly way.
I knew that I would feel foolish going to the doctor and being told that I just needed to give this cold a week or so, but I risked the embarrassment. I'm glad that I did. An x-ray showed that I do not have pneumonia but it is bronchitis which, the doctor informed me, would have progressed into pneumonia within the next day or two. I was given a breathing treatment and sent to pick up my antibiotics. I am on the mend. And I am so ready for spring!!!
There are those who say that once you've had pneumonia, you're more susceptible to it. Both my own doctor and the pulmonologist that I had in the hospital told me that it's not true, that it's a matter of having a compromised immune system. After all, it's been a year and a half since I had my first pneumonia experience with no recurrences. I think I'm just getting old. *sigh*
Monday, April 18, 2011
O-range
These are a few of my favorite things:
O is for Oranges.
It seemed that the Woodworths used that room only for eating in.
Eight places were set at the table and on each of the plates was a soup plate full of steaming oyster soup. Ben's place was at the head of the table, Jim's at the foot. Mrs. Woodworth told each of them others where to sit, and said that she would wait on them all.
Now Laura's feet were under the table her hands had something to do, and it was all so bright and gay that she was no longer bashful.
In the very center of the table was a silver castor holding cut-glass bottles of vinegar, mustard and pepper sauce, and tall salt- and pepper-shakers. The plate at each place was of white china with a wreath of tiny, many-colored flowers around the edge. Beside each plate a white napkin stood up, folded in such a way that it partly opened out like a large flower.
Most marvelous of all, in front of each plate was an orange. Not only that; for these oranges, too, had been made into flowers. The orange's peel had been cut down from the top in a little pointed sections, and each section was curled inward and down, like a flower's red-gold petals. Held within these petals, the flesh of the orange curved up, covered with its thin, white skin.
The oyster soup alone was treat enough to make a party, and to go with it Mrs. Woodworth passed a bowl of tiny, round oyster crackers. When the last drop of that delicious soup had been spooned up and swallowed, she took away the soup plates, and she set on the table a platter heaped with potato patties. The small, flat cakes of mashed potatoes were fried a golden brown, She brought then a platter full of hot, creamy, brown, codfish balls, and then a plate of tiny, hot biscuits. She passed butter in a round glass butter dish.
Mrs. Woodworth urged generous helpings, not once, but twice. The she brought cups of coffee, and passed the cream and sugar.
After all this, she cleared the table again, and brought in a white-frosted birthday cake. She set it before Ben and placed a stack of small plates beside it. Ben stood up to cut the cake. He put a slice on each small plate, and Mrs. Woodworth set one at each place. They waited then until Ben had cut his own slice of cake.
Laura was wondering about the orange before her. If those oranges were meant to be eaten, she did not know when nor how. Still she had eaten part of an orange, so she knew how good an orange tastes.
Everyone took a bite of cake, but no one touched an orange. Laura thought that perhaps the oranges were to be taken home. Perhaps she could take home an orange, to divide with Pa and Ma and Carrie and Grace.
Then everyone saw Ben take his orange. He held it carefully over his plate, stripped off the petaled peeling, and broke the orange into its sections. he took a bite from one section, then he took a bite of cake.
Laura took up her orange, and so did everyone else. Carefully they peeled them, divided them into sections and ate them with the slices of cake.
All the peelings were neat on the plates when supper was finished. Laura remembered to wipe her lips daintily with her napkin and to fold it, and so did the other girls.
What a treat that was for Laura. A whole orange! So much so that when she got home she had to tell Ma:
"Oh, Ma, each one of us had a whole orange!" Laura couldn't help saying then, but she saved the rest to tell them all together.
O is for Oranges.
It seemed that the Woodworths used that room only for eating in.
Eight places were set at the table and on each of the plates was a soup plate full of steaming oyster soup. Ben's place was at the head of the table, Jim's at the foot. Mrs. Woodworth told each of them others where to sit, and said that she would wait on them all.
Now Laura's feet were under the table her hands had something to do, and it was all so bright and gay that she was no longer bashful.
In the very center of the table was a silver castor holding cut-glass bottles of vinegar, mustard and pepper sauce, and tall salt- and pepper-shakers. The plate at each place was of white china with a wreath of tiny, many-colored flowers around the edge. Beside each plate a white napkin stood up, folded in such a way that it partly opened out like a large flower.
Most marvelous of all, in front of each plate was an orange. Not only that; for these oranges, too, had been made into flowers. The orange's peel had been cut down from the top in a little pointed sections, and each section was curled inward and down, like a flower's red-gold petals. Held within these petals, the flesh of the orange curved up, covered with its thin, white skin.
The oyster soup alone was treat enough to make a party, and to go with it Mrs. Woodworth passed a bowl of tiny, round oyster crackers. When the last drop of that delicious soup had been spooned up and swallowed, she took away the soup plates, and she set on the table a platter heaped with potato patties. The small, flat cakes of mashed potatoes were fried a golden brown, She brought then a platter full of hot, creamy, brown, codfish balls, and then a plate of tiny, hot biscuits. She passed butter in a round glass butter dish.
Mrs. Woodworth urged generous helpings, not once, but twice. The she brought cups of coffee, and passed the cream and sugar.
After all this, she cleared the table again, and brought in a white-frosted birthday cake. She set it before Ben and placed a stack of small plates beside it. Ben stood up to cut the cake. He put a slice on each small plate, and Mrs. Woodworth set one at each place. They waited then until Ben had cut his own slice of cake.
Laura was wondering about the orange before her. If those oranges were meant to be eaten, she did not know when nor how. Still she had eaten part of an orange, so she knew how good an orange tastes.
Everyone took a bite of cake, but no one touched an orange. Laura thought that perhaps the oranges were to be taken home. Perhaps she could take home an orange, to divide with Pa and Ma and Carrie and Grace.
Then everyone saw Ben take his orange. He held it carefully over his plate, stripped off the petaled peeling, and broke the orange into its sections. he took a bite from one section, then he took a bite of cake.
Laura took up her orange, and so did everyone else. Carefully they peeled them, divided them into sections and ate them with the slices of cake.
All the peelings were neat on the plates when supper was finished. Laura remembered to wipe her lips daintily with her napkin and to fold it, and so did the other girls.
~Little Town on the Prairie - Chapter 20 - The Birthday Party
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
"Oh, Ma, each one of us had a whole orange!" Laura couldn't help saying then, but she saved the rest to tell them all together.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
An award for me? ☺
Thank you, Jamie over at From My Classroom Window for this lovely award!
So, here are the rules:
So, here are the rules:
- Link back to the person who gave you the award. √
- Tell 10 facts about myself... √
- I have the greatest family. Ever!
- I love Laura Ingalls Wilder...but if you look around here you already know that!
- I recently discovered that I love flea markets and antique stores.
- I'm a dork. I've always been a dork, but for a short time, back in my younger days, I tried to be cool. It didn't work out so well. I embrace my dorkiness.
- I love to write. It's therapeutic for me.
- My favorite color is pink. Soft pink.
- I strive to be the person that I know I should be.
- I like Chinese food and I like pasta. That's not necessarily a good thing.
- I've been my husband's business partner for almost 20 years and I'm looking for an outside the business job for the first time in 22 years.
- I really wanted to give this award to all of my regular followers and commenters. I don't like to hurt feelings...
- Give this award to others. √
- Hen Scratches
- Net on the Net
- The Old Weather Vane
- Debbie's Digest
- "Hold my hand" A social worker's blog
Saturday, April 16, 2011
N-ice
These are a few of my favorite things:
N is for Nice.
Now, I know that nice is not a thing, but it's something that's important to me.
I know that I sometimes fail, but it's important for me to try to be a nice person and for others to consider me that way. Maybe it's because of my constant need for people to like me. I don't know, but if I think that someone doesn't like me, I really take it personally. I don't mean that I have to be friends with everyone, I just want them to think I'm...well, a nice person!
Thank you for your well wishes during this carpal tunnel flare-up. It's much better today, so I hope to be back to my old "typing" self tomorrow! ☺
N is for Nice.
Now, I know that nice is not a thing, but it's something that's important to me.
I know that I sometimes fail, but it's important for me to try to be a nice person and for others to consider me that way. Maybe it's because of my constant need for people to like me. I don't know, but if I think that someone doesn't like me, I really take it personally. I don't mean that I have to be friends with everyone, I just want them to think I'm...well, a nice person!
Thank you for your well wishes during this carpal tunnel flare-up. It's much better today, so I hope to be back to my old "typing" self tomorrow! ☺
Friday, April 15, 2011
M-om
These are a few of my favorite things:
M is for Mom.
Well my hand is getting better, but it still hurts. A whole lot. So, I'm taking it easy with the keyboarding again today.
I'm a mom with some pretty great (adult) kids and I grew up with a wonderful mom who, no matter what, I knew always loved me, and I've been pretty lucky in the mother-in-law department too. I'm going to share a special picture from our wedding 25 years ago...and hopefully I'll be back to typing tomorrow!
In the mom/daughter/daughter-in-law department life has had its ups and downs, but I know that I have truly been blessed.
M is for Mom.
Well my hand is getting better, but it still hurts. A whole lot. So, I'm taking it easy with the keyboarding again today.
I'm a mom with some pretty great (adult) kids and I grew up with a wonderful mom who, no matter what, I knew always loved me, and I've been pretty lucky in the mother-in-law department too. I'm going to share a special picture from our wedding 25 years ago...and hopefully I'll be back to typing tomorrow!
In the mom/daughter/daughter-in-law department life has had its ups and downs, but I know that I have truly been blessed.
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| From left - my father-in-law, mother-in-law, mother, and father. Missing the three that are no longer here... |
Thursday, April 14, 2011
L-aura Ingalls Wilder
These are a few my favorite things:
L is for Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I had planned a long and loving post about my forever friend, Laura Ingalls Wilder, but this dreaded carpal tunnel is making a big time comeback and I am only able to type one handed. Not an easy task! I need to rest the hand...
As she is one of my very favorite subjects, I will come back to her. For now I will refer you to an earlier post. Or...I have written a little about my Laura feelings and experiences at Beyond Little House. :-)
I'll be back...
L is for Laura Ingalls Wilder.
I had planned a long and loving post about my forever friend, Laura Ingalls Wilder, but this dreaded carpal tunnel is making a big time comeback and I am only able to type one handed. Not an easy task! I need to rest the hand...
As she is one of my very favorite subjects, I will come back to her. For now I will refer you to an earlier post. Or...I have written a little about my Laura feelings and experiences at Beyond Little House. :-)
I'll be back...
 |
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
K-indle
These are a few of my favorite things:
K is for Kindle.
Okay. I've had some rather loooong posts of late, so today will be relatively short. Kind of. We can only hope. ☺
I love books. Always have and always will. Nothing can replace a good book. Or going to a bookstore and buying a book that you've been looking forward to, or one that you just came upon quite by accident. Either way...nothing can compare to cracking open a brand new book. The glory of it all!
That's why I went back and forth about getting a Kindle. I really wanted one, for the ease and convenience, but I didn't want to risk being "one of those" who caused the downfall of real books. But I did really want a Kindle! ☺
I wouldn't spend that money on myself though, and didn't really have it to spend. That's why I was completely and totally surprised when I was opening gifts on my birthday and...
Still...nothing can compare to a book, but it is so much easier to carry a Kindle in my purse (don't like to risk bending up a book by carrying it in my purse). Sometimes my life is hurry and wait and having a book right there waiting and ready when I need it is the absolute best.
Another great thing is that my Kindle was so easy to set up and start using. There was nothing to it! I'll admit that I was a little worried since I'm...a bit technology challenged. This thing? I turned it on and started using it. It really was that easy!
I do have one problem though, if you can call it that. I have a hard time spending money on the Kindle so I've downloaded mostly free and very inexpensive books. Plus, sometimes I can get a real book cheaper than on the Kindle and sometimes I just plain want the book version.
But I really do love my Kindle. And now I'm done.
K is for Kindle.
Okay. I've had some rather loooong posts of late, so today will be relatively short. Kind of. We can only hope. ☺
I love books. Always have and always will. Nothing can replace a good book. Or going to a bookstore and buying a book that you've been looking forward to, or one that you just came upon quite by accident. Either way...nothing can compare to cracking open a brand new book. The glory of it all!
That's why I went back and forth about getting a Kindle. I really wanted one, for the ease and convenience, but I didn't want to risk being "one of those" who caused the downfall of real books. But I did really want a Kindle! ☺
I wouldn't spend that money on myself though, and didn't really have it to spend. That's why I was completely and totally surprised when I was opening gifts on my birthday and...
 |
| I got a Kindle! |
Still...nothing can compare to a book, but it is so much easier to carry a Kindle in my purse (don't like to risk bending up a book by carrying it in my purse). Sometimes my life is hurry and wait and having a book right there waiting and ready when I need it is the absolute best.
Another great thing is that my Kindle was so easy to set up and start using. There was nothing to it! I'll admit that I was a little worried since I'm...a bit technology challenged. This thing? I turned it on and started using it. It really was that easy!
I do have one problem though, if you can call it that. I have a hard time spending money on the Kindle so I've downloaded mostly free and very inexpensive books. Plus, sometimes I can get a real book cheaper than on the Kindle and sometimes I just plain want the book version.
But I really do love my Kindle. And now I'm done.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
J-im, J-amie and J-on
These are a few of my favorite things:
J is for my three favorite people: Jim (my hunk of a husband), Jamie (my beautiful daughter), and Jon (my handsome son).
J was not hard to come up with at all. It was a given with a family of J-names (except for me). We didn't plan it at all either. There was no way we could have, as Jamie came into my life before her dad! ;-)
I've decided to share some of my favorite pictures of my favorite people!
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| In 1980, I gave birth to a beautiful, blonde-fuzzed, blue-eyed baby girl. I named her Jamie. |
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| When Jamie was a year old, I had to make some difficult decisions. Jamie and I moved in with my parents. We adjusted to our new life and were happy, but something was missing. |
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| In the fall of 1982, I met Jim. Life started falling into place. Jamie and I found what was missing. |
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| Over the next few years, Jamie became pretty attached to Jim. |
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| So did I. And we decided to get married. |
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| Not only did we get married, we became a family too. It was 1985. |
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| As soon as it could be done, Jim adopted Jamie. We were already a family, but this made it official. |
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| In 1989, just when we thought it wouldn't be possible, Jon joined our family. |
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| I think Jamie eventually forgave us for not giving her the little sister that she was positive we would name Bambi. |
|
| Jim was always working hard. |
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| And Jamie decided that having a little brother wasn't so bad. |
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| In fact, it could be fun sometimes. |
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| Jamie grew up, went to college and is a teacher. |
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| Jon grew up, won a national competition, and became a CNC Programmer/Machinist. |
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| Jamie moved to Georgia and came back. And we're glad for that! |
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| Jon moved to California and came back. And we're glad for that! |
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| Jim and I have been married 25 years. |
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| And we're still silly in love! |
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