A Nod to One of my Favorite Poets

                                                                  WINTER
                                                  by Sarah Teasdale

I watch the great clear twilight
Veiling the ice-bowed trees;
Their branches tinkle faintly
With crystal melodies.

The larches bend their silver
Over the hush of snow;
One star is lighted in the west,
Two in the zenith glow.

For a moment I have forgotten
Wars and women who mourn -
I think of the mother who bore me
And thank her that I was born.

In Defense of Winter

In all of the places I've been this new year,
And all of the persons I've encountered there,
I hear, over and over wherever I go,
"I hate this winter. I hate this snow!"
But, wait just a minute, is it really a bummer?
I'm doing pretty much what I do all summer.
I stay inside with climate control,
And Don drives me to the door wherever I go.

The sun has shone brightly all of today.
I squint my eyes and pretend it is May.
My blankets and bed keep me comfy and warm,
I sleep like Mama Bear in hibernating form.

I love my chenille robe , my flannel gown
And my bootie slippers filled with down.
There is a bottomless cookie jar, a bottomless cup,
And a cake holder that fills magically up.

I'm thankful for the furnace we purchased last Spring,
That 24/7 keeps doing its thing.
I'm thankful for cable, game shows, HGTV,
And Kindle books, most of them free

I am thankful for the garage that protects freezer and car.
Both have kept working perfectly so far.
So, really, I just can't complain,
Even though Winter should be a real pain.
At least I'm not sweating or swatting mosquitoes,
Or worrying that rainstorms might turn into tornadoes.

Blue Journal for January 22 - How to Brighten a Dismal Day

Again today, it has been VERY cold, snowy, and blowy.  So, of course, this afternoon we got into the car and went out to run around and do some errands.  Crazy, maybe, but we made it back home in one piece.
And we are no longer stir crazy.
We went to the license branch for a handicapped placard that will never expire.  Then we went to Hoosier Park so that I could claim my 2014 calendar full of bonus coupons. After my  bonus free cash of $10.00 turned into $25.00, we took our profit and ran!  However it was a little bit too early to get the supper sandwich that we had planned on.  So Don dropped me off at Goodwill.  It was senior citizen discount day, so I planned to spend some of my winnings.  Don went to Walmart, his preferred place to plunder.
I'll have to give you a little background information so you can understand how I spent my money at Goodwill.
Back a few years ago when Don's mother lived with us,  we ate many of our meals at home,  And, so she would come from her room and eat with us, we ate most of those meals at our dining table.  She was so cute and happy, and she would always tell me how  pretty the table looked!
So, just for her and just for fun, I started changing the table colors and decor to suit the month - whatever holiday or season it was.  For variety I would go to Goodwill and find a two or three dollar flower arrangement, then find place mats or table cover to match.  Sometimes I even bought 4 new plates or maybe some cloth napkins.
Well, it has become so much fun that I have never stopped, even though we no longer have the joy of having Mother with us.
So, today, I decided to get a foot up on February and looked for something colorful for our February table.
I know lime green isn't exactly winter or valentine, but I just like the color.  And it is the color of our kitchen walls.  Then I found a table runner with pinks and greens.  Perfect!  The silk flowers all left a bit, rather a lot to be desired.  So I bought the above pictured candleabra that had a soft green and pink candle ring entwined.  Total spent was $5.57.
This evening I enjoyed spending TV time cutting out pink and green hearts, and you can see I customized the centerpiece.
We may not eat at the table all that many times this coming month, but we walk by the table hundreds of times in a month.  So we shall enjoy the new colors!

Blue Journal - Jan. 19 - A Happy Football Day!

Just like everyone else in the Western World, I watched football today.......two games.  Well to be really truthful I watched one and one half, or almost all of one and one half games.
I was very happy that Peyton Manning and the Broncos won, and that they will be in the Super Bowl.
Like most every Colts fan, I still love Peyton.  And they played an almost perfect game, and beat the
hated Patriots.  Now what could be better than that!
I tried to be interested in the Seattle/49ers game.  I was a little bit for San Fran because of coach Jim Harbaugh.  And I thought the Seattle team looked like the evil villains in their dark, skin tight evil villain uniforms.  But, I am happy for daughter-in-law, Debra, that her Seattle team won.......I guess.
Actually, I had to slip away from that game so that I could go to the other TV and watch Downton Abbey.
It was very good tonight.  It is amazing how the authors can introduce so many story lines into one hour!
And I tried to watch Sherlock season two.  But, I must confess, I fell sound asleep after about fifteen minutes.  So I am guessing that it is not as spellbinding as a mystery should be.
Either that, or I am suffering from too much football.
Last word:  ironic that two teams from beautiful, scenic cities in the Western half of the United States, will be playing in the Super Bowl at an outdoor field house in New Jersey in frigid February.  What is wrong with this picture?

A Perfect Snow Day: Tea, Talk, and Knitting

Today I enjoyed a lovely surprise visit from niece, Liz.  Liz came with all her knitting!  So we had a good chat while her needles clicked away!  As you can see Frank like the knitting better than yesterday's bears.
He had fun playing with the yarn and climbing into her sacks!  What a great way to spend a winter afternoon:
tea, talk, knitting, and watching a cat play!
I think I will talk Liz into teaching me how to knit so we can enjoy other such afternoons.  This one was cut short because the snow started falling at an alarming speed.  Liz decided she must hurry home while it was still safe.
And, oh yes, I am now the PROUD owner of one of Liz's beautiful knitted blankets.

Aren't the colors just perfect?  Thank you, Elizabeth, I shall treasure it always.

Blue Journal # 17 - It Was a Beary Cold Day

I spent most of the day Friday hand sewing all the features on Love Bears.  It was a terrific way to
spend a very cold day.  I had a good time, but Frank the Cat resented sharing my lap with all those bears.

He was, however, very interested in trying to climb into the sack full of bears.  What is it with cats and their fascination with sacks?
Frank and I hope that our sack full of Love Bears help ease the stress of children during their visits to the
Emergency Room .

Blue Journal Entry #16 - To Cursive or Not to Cursive

This is a copy of a little "Newsletter"  that our sister-in-law, Janie, received from a friend.  She gets one of these each month from a friend named Rosemary Browne Beck.  I believe that this friend is an accomplished artist and lives in Indianapolis or Carmel.
By sending these letters to her friends she is able to express her opinion on many and various topics that she finds currently of interest.  Hers is a kind of blog in the old non-electronic kind of way.
I just thought that her idea about cursive writing being an art from, and ,as such, should be taught as an art class was quite interesting.
Being a teacher who used to teach cursive writing, I still feel that it is an important skill that has a place in our educational process.
I remember  during my 5th and 6th grade years, that our school principal, Mary E. Spice, came into our classroom and taught our cursive writing lessons.  Miss Spice had the most beautiful cursive writing I have ever seen.  I have been searching for an old report card of mine, but so far haven't found any examples of her writing.