
Coffee on the deck season is back and I couldn’t be happier! Well . . . I’d like less pine pollen, if I’m being completely honest. But still, coffee on the deck. Hurrah!
And hurrah for the weekend, too, friends. Cheers to a good one!
By Carole
Coffee on the deck season is back and I couldn’t be happier! Well . . . I’d like less pine pollen, if I’m being completely honest. But still, coffee on the deck. Hurrah!
And hurrah for the weekend, too, friends. Cheers to a good one!
By Carole
May is Mental Health Awareness Month and today I’m sharing 3 things that are on my mind about mental health.
I’m not a doctor and my experiences as described here are all first hand and anecdotal. I hope you will consider what I have shared and use it to enhance how you deal with mental health . . . either your own or someone else’s.
Please share your link below if you wrote a post for today. Thanks.
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter
By Carole
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I showed you the photo of my flowering crabapple tree? And I mentioned that it looked good from the angle I showed you? Here’s the photo in case you forgot:
Well, some of you, <cough>Kym<cough>Bonny<cough> asked what I meant. Today, I’m coming clean. I showed you the view of the tree from my deck. This is the view from the other side:
And this is a side view, showing the gorgeous flowering part on the left and the . . . errrr . . . rather flat side on the right.
We planted this tree over 20 years ago, it was a Mother’s Day gift from the kids and Dale. Obviously we did not choose a great place to put it; it’s overshadowed by a huge black walnut tree on the right and as such it has grown slowly and lopsided.
Live and learn, right? Or . . . laugh it off!
By Carole
If you’re reading that title you’re probably confused because who would I be sharing prom photos of these days? I’ll tell you who in a moment but I will say this . . . if you’re a long time reader of this blog . . . you might want to sit down before you scroll further. You see, this little baby, just went to the prom.
Gulp.
She has grown into a beautiful, smart, and extremely talented young woman. Here, let me show you.
That dress, right? And the wind blowing her hair? And the back drop. It’s a stunning combination, but mostly I just can’t take my eyes off of her.
With her amazing mom. I couldn’t even begin to tell you the things that Heather does for Ambrynn. She blows me away.
And her dad. I don’t think Dale will mind me telling you that he got pretty verklempt over this photo.
I consider Ambrynn my granddaughter and she calls me Nana but we aren’t actually related by blood. And yet, this smile that’s almost a smirk? So.much.like.me. It’s all in the attitude and we both know it.
Dale and I miss Brant, Heather, and Ambrynn so much and we are so grateful for the wonderful visit we had with them last summer. Thanks for indulging me as I shared these photos.
By Carole
A new exhibit has been installed at the Museum of Me and it couldn’t be more . . . perfect . . . for me because it’s about my favorite book as a kid. Let’s take a trip back to 10 year old Carole. The future librarian. Her favorite book was actually a series of books written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and called, affectionately, The Little House Books.
I’m not sure exactly how old I was when I read Little House in the Big Woods for the first time. The suggested age level is 8-12, but I was a pretty advanced reader and I’m fairly certain I read this in 2nd grade. And once I read that one, I couldn’t wait to read all of the others. Of course, as Laura matured, so did the nature of the books and I know my mother held me back some before she’d let me read the later ones, but I do know that by the time I finished elementary school I had read them all. Multiple times.
I loved that Laura was so real. I loved that Ma and Pa had a loving relationship (and we shan’t discuss the fantasy that probably was.) I loved that the books were historical and set during a time I wish I could have experienced myself. I loved that they traveled by covered wagon and grew their own food and struggled and persisted and triumphed. I loved the illustrations by Garth Williams and the romance that blossomed between Laura and Almanzo when she was a young lady. I loved that Laura became a teacher and then a wife with a husband and child and home of her own. I think my favorite, of all of the books, was Little Town On the Prairie, but it’s very hard to actually choose.
You know what I did not love? That they turned my favorite books into a television series. And, in doing so, they completely abandoned the real things that happened for sensationalized stories and 60 minute plots. Now, that’s not to say that I didn’t watch it, because I did. And I wanted Michael Landon to be my father in the worst way. But this was also my first (and certainly not last) realization that the book is always, always better than the television show or movie.
Thanks for joining us in the library . . . I mean exhibit hall . . . this month. Check back in on the 3rd Monday of June for a exhibit in the Museum of Me. And shout out to Kym for this really fun monthly blog prompt!