The Laurel Leaf

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Friday's Feast!

I'm using an older Feast today:

Appetizer

What does the color dark green make you think of?  Beautiful, shady pine forests, with pine needles on the ground, birds singing everywhere, and maybe a stream chattering in the background.

Soup

How many cousins do you have?  I have a bunch, but we are not close.  My mom was the baby of her family, my dad was the baby of his family, so my cousins are at least ten years older than me.  I felt like I had a ton of aunts and uncles and grandparents when I was growing up, but my aunts and uncles are all gone, and the cousins haven't kept in touch.

Salad

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how honest are you?  9.9.  I am annoyingly honest.  Even when I'm trying to keep a secret, I can't lie.  I try to find a true statement to make.  I'm a geek that way.  I haven't always been that way, but it has snuck up on me as I matured.  And I am certainly mature now, at least in years if not in actions! 

Main Course

Name something that is truly free.  My husband's smiles and hugs, my son's sense of humor, my bonus daughter's laughter, my daughter's loving, sweet spirit, my bonus son's silly grin, my bonus daughter's gentle spirit, hearing my grandchildren's voices, my dog's loyalty and love, my granddog's exuberant greeting, the birds singing in the morning, God's grace and mercy.

Dessert

Using the letters in the word SPRING, write a sentence. OK, I've been trying to do this, and can't do it, my heart is not in it so much, so I've decided just not to do it!

Have a wonderful weekend, if you're in beautiful West Michigan, enjoy the sun during the day today, because I believe our weekend is supposed to be cloudy and damp.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer

What was your favorite cartoon when you were a child?  I am of the Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound era.  Loved those shows!

Soup

Pretend you are about to get a new pet.  Which animal would you pick, and what would you name it? A dog, a dog, a dog!  If I could get any dog (which I can't because my husband, who does not like animals at all, has requested our next dog be a smaller dog than Maggie, my Golden Retriever) I would get a Great Dane, Harlequin (black and white patches) and name her Gisele.  In reality, I am going back and forth between another Maltese, a Havanese, a Pomeranian or a long-haired Chihuahua.  I'm kind of leaning towards another Maltese.  I had one before Maggie who was a sweetheart.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you enjoy getting all dressed up for a special occasion?  Negative 1000!  I hate getting dressed up.  I feel so uncomfortable.  Perhaps if I was thinner, it would be more fun, but somehow I think it's just my make-up that hates dressing up.  Forever in blue jeans for me!

Main Course

What kind of music do you listen to while you drive?  Lately, I have just been enjoying quietness when I drive by myself.  When I am in the car with my husband, he usually turns on classical music for me.

Dessert

When was the last time you bought a clock?  And in which room did you put it?  I think the last clock I bought was my alarm clock, which is unexciting and beside my bed.  Before that, we got a great deal on a Sligh wall clock that is in our living room above the piano.  Love that clock!

Have a wonderful weekend.  Enjoy the spring weather (rain and all, unless you are flooding and then I pray you get a big break) and do some Klompen dancing in honor of Holland, Michigan's Tulip Time!

Our high school usually has over 100 dancers who participate in Tulip Time Klompen dancing.  And I love it that we now have African American, Asian and Latino Klompen Dancers.  Oh, and boys!  Which is quite a big advancement for Holland.  Tradtionally, it was only girls who could dance, and half would dress up as girls and half as boys.  I believe it was because of the strict religious rules of the churches in the area that the girls could not dance with the boys.  And speaking of costumes, these kids (and parents!) spend around $200 for a costume.  They are all made by local seamstresses, and picking out the materials used is a big deal.  There is a certain section in the fabric store that have "approved" designs.  They are researched, authentic Dutch folk costumes and the Tulip Time committee inspects them right down to the kind of clip you have in your hair.  Very strict, but it does make for a beautiful sight to see hundreds and hundreds of dancers around the park all dancing to the tinny music at the same time.  And yes, they all wear real wooden shoes, and yes, sometimes they go flying, and sometimes they split right in half while they are dancing!

Friday! Hoo hoo!

The week of work after an extended period of time off is rough.  It feels like an 8 day week containing 12 hour days!  But we've made it, it's Friday and the weather, though it has clouded up some, is wonderful!  Windows are open, heat is off, grass is green, trees are budding and daffodils are popping!  I have gotten my youngest daughter's (now married and mommy to this beautiful girl ) room emptied and painted to become a guest room/craft room!  I've painted it a pale lilac with grey (see white) trim and I found the prettiest pewter colored switch plates.  Because my husband's office (formerly our other daughter's bedroom) had beautiful hard wood floors under the rug, I thought that because the closet in this room had hard wood floors, my floor would too, but NO!  Just an underlayment.  But son-in-law to the rescue and I have on hold a pale grey short nap rug that will be laid sometime next week.  It's handy to have a son-in-law who is a builder!  I cannot WAIT to get that rug in there and officially move into the room.  I can move the yarn cabinet in, and my desk made out of a door and sawhorses, and bookcases!  It's a corner room, so I have windows on both walls where the cats will sleep in the open windows and Maggie will have a bed in there.  Can you tell I anticipate spending a lot of time there?  Anyway, here's Friday's Feast!

Appetizer

Name a color you find soothing. I love browns, greys, creams, colors with grayish casts.  I have a little glass bowl on my desk at work with several flat, smooth stones, a piece of white coral and a tiny beautifully shaped piece of driftwood that I have picked up on the beaches of the Oregon coast and the Florida coast.  Even though the Oregon coast things are the browns and greys like Portland weather, and the Florida ones are white and honey brown (more like Florida), they go together so well and they make me think of our daughters and their families and the good times we've had with them.

Soup

Using 20 or less words, describe your first driving experience. Yikes, that was a long time ago.  It wasn't the first experience, but on the way home from getting milk shakes for my parents and me (remember "I'll go run the errand!") I started to turn a corner and the milk shakes, even though in one of those holder things on the floor, started to tip.  So, smooth driver that I was, I kept turning, reached down and rescued the shakes, and knocked over a garbage can on the curb, much to the amusement of the homeowner who was standing right there watching the whole thing!

Salad

What material is your favorite item of clothing made out of?  It's a knitted (bought, not by me) cotton sweater.  So soft!

Main Course

Who is a great singer or musician who, if they were to come to your town for a concert, you would spend the night outside waiting for tickets to see?  I LOVE all kinds of music and listen on CD's, iPod, and radio alot, but I am not a big fan of concerts in huge venues.  I prefer more intimate settings.  Even if the musician was in that setting, though, I don't think I would wait outside all night for anyone.  Just not my thing.

Dessert  (This was kind of a nonsensical question, so I've opted not to answer it!)

Luddite? I could be talked into it!

This is the definition of a Luddite or a neo-Luddite:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Luddism

Now, I am one who enjoys my technology when it's appropriate.  Everything in moderation, I say.  But I just read this article:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23802779/

and I agree with them wholeheartedly.  For those that may read this after this link is no longer valid, it's an article about unplugging from Blackberry and e-mail.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when people respond like Pavlov's dog to a beep from their cell phone/Blackberry.  They could be in the midst of a serious conversation, a date, or even a movie or church!  Yes, some people have their phone on vibrate, but it's not so much the beep that annoys as the immediate hand to the device and checking who called.  People, we lived without phones for hundreds of years!  Letters took months to get from one place to another.  Even once phones were invented, they stayed in your home and if you weren't there, the people called back later!  I'm even OK with answering machines, since you can monitor those when you want.  If you agree with me, let's begin a crusade.  In a polite fashion, let's ask those who cannot go 5 minutes without checking on the beep to please keep their attention focused on the task at hand and politely engage with the person in front of them.  If you think you might BE one of those people, come out of the zone and look at your habits; see if you can do better.  And if our crusade begins to work, let's talk about letter writing as oppposed to e-mails and book reading as opposed to movie watching!  Let's say it all together:  "I am a neo-Luddite and I'm proud!" 

Still sloggin' along

Sloggin' on Kaleb's afghan and winter-like weather is also sloggin' along!  See proof:

This is what it looked like Satuday morning when I let Maggie out for the first time.  But by the end of the day, the roads were slushy not snowy, and the sun shone a lot, so it wasn't too hard to take.  We just have to keep telling ourselves "This is Michigan, it's only March; this is Michigan, it's only March."  We had a nice Easter with some of the family, including my new granddog, Daisy.  She's a sweet little Yorkie puppy who goes between bouncing around and sleeping!  Here's a perspective picture so you can see how little she is compared to Maggie's head:

I'm getting very near to the end of Kaleb's afghan.  I know I keep saying that, but it really is true.  I can taste it!  He's being a very patient little guy, isn't he?  And my poor daughter.  Her sweater has taken a back seat to this afghan, so she's REALLY being patient about that.  After I'm done with her sweater, perhaps I'll make something for myself!  Then again, perhaps by then, I'll have another grandchild on the way who needs an warm knitterly gift.  (After all, I do have to keep up with my friend, Jody, who just found out she's expecting her 4th grandbaby!  Love ya, Jody!)

Friday's Feast!

I am taking after Miz Booshay and using last week's Feast that I didn't do because I don't care for this week's!

Appetizer

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how much do you like your own handwriting?  I think my handwriting is average, so I would give it a 5.  I have noticed that since I use the computer a lot more than I do actual hand writing, it's gotten much messier.  I think it's because I get too impatient with the speed of my hand!

Soup

Do you prefer baths or showers?  Love, love, love showers.  When I was a kid we didn't have a shower, and I would think it such a treat when we stayed in a motel that did.  I thank God most mornings for hot running water in my home and large water heaters!

Salad

What was the last bad movie you watched?  I can't remember seeing a bad one lately.  And I usually let my husband watch the sophmoric ones by himself (think Dumb and Dumber or Tommy Boy).  I have never watched one of the new style horror movies - why?  So much real life horror goes on, why watch it by choice??

Main Course

Name something you are addicted to and describe how it affects your life.  Tostitos.  They make me fat and I bloat up with retained water from the salt.  Have I given them up?  No, but I can if I want to!

Dessert

Which instrument is your favorite to listen to?  I have to choose?  I love piano played by an expert.  I love the violin, played either classically or Cajun style.  And I love the oboe.  And the cello.  Oh, and the French horn.  Oh, heck, just give me a symphony orchestra and I will be quite content, thank you very much!

If you celebrate Easter, have a blessed Easter and may you reflect more on Christ than bunnies and eggs.

The next two weeks are a little frustrating for those of us who are NOT going away for spring break.  The "Are you going away for spring break?" questions begin, the talk of what warm location someone is going to begins, and all I have to say for myself is "I think I'll be a good Dutch housewife and do some spring cleaning."  I am not Dutch but I live in the land of the good Dutch housewife.  Their homes are spotless, the yards have no dandelions, and the children all behave (at least when they are being watched).  If you are buying a house in the area, if you buy one from a good Dutch housewife, you will not be sorry.  I am not a good Dutch housewife.  My house is cluttered, dusty and has animal hair blobs thither and yon.  Best bet for getting a detailed cleaning is if we are having company.  Thing is, I love it when everything is nice and clean and shiny.  It is just not a priority when I work full time and have a family to take care of and not much help from the boys still living at home.  (My husband is a wonderful husband.  He does the laundry every week and helps with shopping, cooking and clean-up, too!)The summer is a little better.  I've been off the last few summers (I work in a school) and cleaning is so much easier to do then.  It probably has something to do with the fact that I am at home much more and have to look at it more, too.  We are also at a point in our lives when we can afford to do more to our house, in a decorating sense, so making it worthier of cleaning.  I always tell myself that I would always keep a home clean, even it were a cardboard box in the swamp, but having things around that are not so pleasant makes it harder to motivate to keep clean.  Please know that my house is healthy, just not so very tidy, and a bit dusty.  Did I mention the hairballs?

Actual action occurred!

I actually did something beyond the basics this weekend!  I made a cake.  Sure it was really simple, using a cake mix and instant pudding, but it involved deciding to do something and actually having energy to carry through with it!  I also got a lot of knitting done on my poor, afghan-less grandson Kaleb's afghan.  It is so pretty, and it will be big enough for him still.  I probably have about 10 inches left to do, with 8 of it being the easy part of the pattern and the ribbing at the bottom.  My other grandchildren, Gage and Gracie have turned 5 and 3 respectively over the past two weeks.  I can't believe how quick they are growing.  Really, wasn't it just the day before yesterday that I held that wet little baby boy in my arms for the first time, and surely only the day after that when he and I went up to see his new born sister for the first time?  Now, Gage is going to kindergarten next year and Gracie got her ears pierced!  Long distance grandparenting is not so very fun.  I just want the whole flock under my wings, close by, so I can drop by with the little things I find, or to see Gracie in her fairy costume, or to read with Gage, or to see Kaleb roll over and feel those little first teeth.  Some days, I say to God, "God, I think you've erred in the way my life has gone!  Don't you remember, all I ever wanted to be was a wife and a mother?  What are you doing putting me to work?  And what's with my grandchildren being so far from me?"  And then I give a little laugh at myself, and realize that THIS is right where God wants me, doing just what I am doing, being just who I am being.  And that I need to enjoy THIS moment, instead of always wishing for those moments in the future when I'll be with the grandkids, or when I'll be able to retire and be at home, or those other future things that may or may not happen.  I'll miss my whole life if I can't appreciate today, because I'll be either regretting the past or looking forward to the future all the time.  OK, God, then if I need to appreciate today, could you give me a little bit more oomph to do things?  Love you, Lord!  Thanks for loving this whiny child of yours!

Spring!

I love the month of March!  It gets such a bad rap - too rainy, too stormy, too muddy, too unpredictable!  But it's such a great month of transition.  Just when we are ready to go nuts with too much winter, March slowly brings spring to us in the most tantalizing way.  One day you walk out, and the smell of balmy weather is in the air.  Another day, the sun shines all day long and dries up the snow thaw.  Then, you hear a robin's song, and a few days later, you see a pair on the lawn.  And even if (actually, when if you live in Michigan!) it snows, it thaws quickly.  By the end of the month, spring has arrived, officially by the calendar and unofficially according to the weather and the spring in everyone's steps.  Do you remember when you were a kid and you had to wear your clunky boots all winter?  Then, one day, your mother says you don't have to wear them, and when you walk outside, your feet feel like your feet float off the ground every time you lift them up, so light and unencumbered.  I did see a robin yesterday, way at the top of one of the tallest trees in the neighborhood, singing his heart out, being answered by another robin somewhere out of sight.  Have a wonderful "spring is coming" weekend!  Get out and go for a walk with your favorite dog, and enjoy the sounds of the birds in the morning!