Today, This Made Me...Smile.

One little, two little, three little pumpkins...

Today, This Made Me...Chuckle.

Chicken Feet Prints

Pumpkins, Apples and a Little Internal Analepsis

I have such an amazing life. Why do I ever complain? Just a thought.

So, since I do not have anything new to say today, I thought I would take a look back over the last year. What was going on this week in '08? I looked at last year's posts and did a sad face. This week last year I was harvesting apples, hosting our annual pumpkin patch and using the fruits of our labors to bake, bake, bake! But this year...nada. We had a really wet, cold June and hail decimated the garden several times. After one such attack from Mother Nature it looked like I had taken a salad shooter out in the garden. My little baby greens lay shattered and disfigured among the rows of peas and beans...total carnage. Hail hit twice right as the apple tree was flowering, so no apples this fall. The cold spring did not allow for a large pumpkin crop either, so we will have to skip our usual festivities. I have to be thankful however that this is not how my family earns a living, nor do we depend on the crops in our garden as our only sustenance. I miss it nonetheless.

So THIS little flashback takes us to a time of apples and pumpkins, aprons and woolen socks. And ANOTHER from that week focused on choosing the better part--finding balance and serenity in our lives. Finally some cute pix and a little MUSING over pumpkins and babies, which really have more in common than you might think!

Quote of the Day: "Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden." ~Orson Scott Card author

It's Important To Have a Twinkle In Your Wrinkle

I did something that I never thought I would do. Yep, I did. I bought reading glasses. I remember when my mom did it. I laughed. My friends? Uh huh, laughed then too. And just to add icing to my "you are nearly 40 birthday cake" I found out that my thyroid has worn out (apparently from climbing the hill) and is no longer giving us the juice we need to stay conscious past 2 in the afternoon. Hence, I will now be taking medication for the rest of my life! That combined with the hole in the cartilage in my knee and a B12 deficiency results in a cornucopia of pills to be taken daily. It is said that "Forty is when you finally get your head together and your body starts falling apart." There.

Yes, this is me complaining. On my last birthday I turned 39. I was excited about it. I was looking forward to "roaring" into 40. Woohooo! I was looking good, and feeling good, and knew I had a year to get ready for the big day. I have been thinking about how to celebrate. Invite everyone I love over for cake and open all of those lovely gag gifts? Write letters to all the people who have inspired and taught and encouraged me over the years? Go skydiving? Swimming with sharks? The world is my oyster! Ya, well, that was 6 months ago. Things have changed. No, you are right...not really. I think I am still going to do my best to roar into it. I have another six months. I still look pretty good, and feel almost back to my "old" self thanks to modern medicine. I have an amazing Hunky Hubby who for whatever crazy reasons still likes me after nearly 20 years. My kids are healthy and cute and smart. I have great friends who only smile when I tell them I am building a chicken coop in the back yard. I could go on and on counting my blessings. Yes, truth be told, there are days I would like to have my 20 year old bod back again, but I would not being willing to give up the last 20 years to get it. With age comes wisdom and insight and clarity. People, friendships and compassion. Empathy, tolerance, charity and love. I may not like all of the changes in my body that I know are coming over the next 5 or 6 decades, but I like me. I know that I can go on counting my blessings, showing gratitude for what I have, and marveling at what I can do. I can set goals, learn new things, meet new people, serve God, love my family and savor life. If I do that I can pretty much ensure that all my wrinkles will be laugh lines!

Quote of the Day: "People who grow old well, focus on the growing, not the old."

--Dr. Dale Vicky Atkins