At Considerable Cost

My favorite kitchen decorations have been in boxes in the garage and attic since we moved into this house.   A few weeks ago, I finally decided how I wanted to hang them, got out the big ladder, and went to work. I have had most of these red and green handled kitchen tools since I moved into my first apartment after graduating from college.   Mama and I bought some of them on trips to antique malls and some of them she bought for me later.   A few of them are ones I brought from my parents' house after Mama and Daddy  passed away.   I have had vintage tools hanging in every one of my kitchens, from tiny rental kitchens to our first purchased home.   I just couldn't figure out where they would go in this kitchen, though.   In all my other kitchen spaces, there was a long horizontal space, usually above cabinets, where I could stretch them out along the space.   Here, my cabinets are deep, which is great for disp...

In a previous post , I mentioned baking an apple pie for Clare's Kindergarten teacher.   I packaged it in a pretty basket which had a beautiful apple-themed wooden lid.   It turns out the teacher loves baskets and has a red kitchen! For the assistant in Clare's class, I filled a pretty star-shaped candle holder with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses candies.   A note attached that read, "Hugs and Kisses to a Super Star," completed the gift. Summer vacation was the theme of the gifts Emmeline gave her third grade teachers.   I found cute personal-size cooler bags at our local Kroger and got a fantastic deal on insulated cups.   I used the bags as gift bags.   A hand-written note from Emmeline and me, the cup, along with a little tissue paper, and the gifts were done. One last gift was for the dear woman who stands on duty every day in the car-rider line.   She calls the name of your children into the wal...

 It's the second full week of second break and it's been a good start to the season.   The weather has been beautiful.   We even had a few cool mornings and we were able to stay at the pool during the noon-three o'clock hour without even breaking a sweat one day! Soak it up kids!   I made an effort in an attempt to celebrate the Last Day of School.   This is as fun and creative as I'll probably get all summer, so enjoy! Streamers on the door.   The wrong side, really, for effect, but they still liked it:) A basket of summer goodies awaited them, just beyond the streamers. I bought a copy of the Williams-Sonoma cookbook for children.   Worth.Every. Penny.   The recipes are delicious, fresh, and arranged in a simple format that is easy to read.   Emmeline has made three of the recipes and has plans to try her fourth tomorrow for lunch. Easy to follow, attractively arra...

At a time when I am keenly aware of the growth of my children, when I find myself unable to donate baby clothes because I don't want to face the reality that I'm probably not going to have another child, I also find myself looking back at a period of nine months, with its growth, labors, and fruits.   So, here I sit, at nearly midnight on my back porch, as I wait for an apple pie to cool, and I try to put down my thoughts about our first year of public school. Nine months ago, I wrote of my feelings on the first day of school for my daughters.   After attempting to home school for several years, I had to admit defeat and send my children to school.   Even though I was optimistic, I still managed to feel a bit like a failure.   I was a pretty darn good teacher back in my classroom days and we had arranged our lives--even purchased our current home--around home schooling.   I missed them and looked forward to picking them up each af...

Today, my children are home from school, but my husband went off to work like any other normal day.   It is one of countless normal days made possible by those in uniform who had to do things which were anything but normal, in circumstances which had lost all resemblance to the ordinary.   Yesterday, I finished the second book of the Regeneration trilogy, The Eye in the Door , written by Pat Barker.   The books are British novels set during World War I and they focus on the lives of officers receiving care from Dr. Rivers, a respected psychologist.   He helps treat the officers and plays a large role in determining if they are fit to return to the Front or if their new post need be a desk or another hospital bed.   It was a fitting book to read this weekend.   Like any realistic World War I novels, they are described as being anti-war.   And like any good war novels, they do not wrap the story up in a neat little bow...

Amongst my major flaws is my resistance to popular things just because they are popular.   Any endorsement by a large majority is enough to turn me off anything.   New York Times Bestseller's List?  It's going to take some recommendations by people whose literary opinions I trust for me to read a book with that distinction.   Number one at the box office?   Again, it's going to take a trusted actor, director, screenwriter or reviews from trusted sources for me to approach the ticket window.  Everyone's doing it?   Then, I'm definitely NOT. The major drawback when we first toured our current home was that it has a floor plan which is very common in our town.   It was a stumbling block for me.  As an adult, I've learned to consider my strong opinions in light of this flaw.   So, for instance, a common floor plan is not a reason to ignore a home that offers everything we needed at a good price. Over the past ...

This will be my ninth Mother's Day without Mama.   We didn't know at the time of my first Mother's Day that it was to be her last.   She and my dad came for a visit and took us all out to eat.   Mama held Emmeline as much as she could and over that pretty little bonnet-covered head we shared looks of understanding and a new camaraderie.   We were no longer just mother and daughter, but for a short time--nine months--our relationship had a new dimension as we were now both mothers. Mama is memory for me now.   Memory of realities, blurred around the edges, softened with time, details fuzzy or sometimes sharp and focused.   I cry on Mother's Day, usually the night before, after everyone is asleep and I am alone in the quiet.   Just a good cry and then prayer.   Thank you, God, for the time I had with her.   Thank you for the mother you gave me.   Help me to be even half as good as that wo...