November

It's been awhile since I've stopped by.  I reread a draft of an earlier post.  The tone of it made me laugh.  It was so me...at least the 'me' that is prone to irritability:

Dear Lady in the Green Clogs Sitting Next to Me in the Bookstore,

I am trying to study.  Others are attempting to read.  I am confident that none of us want to listen to the sitcom streaming loudly on your computer.  I would give you my earphones if I hadn't left them at home on the sofa.  You do have the option of exercising your volume button.

Sincerely, ~S.

Instead, I am going to channel my thoughts elsewhere (since I am hostage to this background noise).  Ugh.  Oh well, I suppose.

That mood has passed thank goodness, at least for now.  I have skipped studying these past two evenings and it has been an indulgence of great proportions.  Tomorrow I will begin a weekend of preparing a lengthy paper, but tonight?  Tonight, I am here.  My dear friend sent some kind words my way and motivated me to write. “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” ~Mother Teresa  Thank you, Nat.

And alas, it is already Sunday and I have not yet begun my paper.  I attempted to reread excerpts from Harvard Business Review's 10 Must Reads on Leadership.  It was a bit difficult as my youngest child was over my shoulder, excitedly pointing out words that she is learning in kindergarten.  How precious is that?  She has been feeling a bit under the weather and it has been nice to feel her close and wanting her mom.  Now she is off with her sister, helping her to clean her room...and there is silence.  I am not sure if that is a good thing.  For sure, it is rarity.  *sigh*  Silence is more musical than any song. ~Christina Rossetti

Things that made me smile recently~

Three beautiful daughters.  I am blessed.

Lane, dressed for her teacher's wedding

Ally, top right, at her final soccer game of the season

McKenzie being silly, hating to pose (as always)

My little one playing 'mannequin' for nearly 30 minutes while her sisters shopped... I enjoyed watching the passersby look and laugh.

Beautiful scenery on my drive home across the river:

Gorgeous sunsets...

 

 

And a chill to my November days.  I love this time of year!

"How silently they tumble down
And come to rest upon the ground
To lay a carpet, rich and rare,
Beneath the trees without a care,
Content to sleep, their work well done,
Colors gleaming in the sun.

At other times, they wildly fly
Until they nearly reach the sky.
Twisting, turning through the air
Till all the trees stand stark and bare.
Exhausted, drop to earth below
To wait, like children, for the snow." 

-   Elsie N. Brady, Leaves

Fall

It is a rainy October day, the thought-provocative kind that piques the senses.  Finally, finally a chill has kissed the air and I am happily settling into the season.  Today I drove across ribbons of an old highway, high into the hills and along the bluffs, following the river.  Lovely.   How beautifully leaves grow old.  How full of light and color are their last days.  ~John Burroughs  These are the vistas that find their way into books.  The scenery itself has a story to tell...

I am now sitting with a mug and a laptop, making an attempt to study.  My focus, though, is not on academia at the moment.  (Instead, I am thinking back over my happy day.)  I am at the bookstore [*sigh*] and my determination to stay seated and remain far from the stacks is waning.  I confess:  I am a bibliophile.  I love the feel of books, the smell of books, the sight of them on my shelves...  Most of all, I love the words.  Fill your paper with the breathings of your heart.  ~William Wordsworth  With that, I must go for now.  A book (or two or three) is calling my name.  The polite response, as always, is to answer.  

Part Two:  

I perused a few books but refrained from making a purchase.  Self control is not my forte but this afternoon I managed to conjure a wee bit.  Later, I enjoyed some Chinese food with my daughter.  My fortune cookie summarized my life story:  "Be prepared to modify the plan."  The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  ~William Arthur Ward

A storm is brewing and I'm off  to relax with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and listen to the rain.  I'm also going to make plans for this:

October.  Nice.  ~S.

Source: cookinupnorth.blogspot.com via Jessica on Pinterest

 

Aweigh

Source: etsy.com via Sarah-Keel on Pinterest

   

 Love, love, love...

And I love this too...a print that reminds me of my childhood, just a decade or two (or more) ago: 

Source: etsy.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

 I cherish my childish loves--the memory of that warm little nest where my affections were fledged.

George Eliot, Theophrastus Such

Source: plainchicken.com via Audrey on Pinterest

Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pulls

(Crack Bread) 

1 unsliced loaf of (round is preferable) sourdough bread

8-12 oz cheddar cheese, thinly sliced

3 oz bag Oscar Mayer Real Bacon bits

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tbsp Ranch dressing mix

Using a sharp bread knife cut the bread going both directions. Do not cut through the bottom crust. Place slices of cheese in between cuts. Sprinkle bacon bits on bread, making sure to get in between cuts. Mix together butter and Ranch dressing mix. Pour over bread. Wrap in foil the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Unwrap. Bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted. 

This weekend, this  recipe!  From morning till night, sounds drift from the kitchen, most of them familiar and comforting....On days when warmth is the most important need of the human heart, the kitchen is the place you can find it...  ~E.B.White (1899-1985)

The weekend is here and I am so, so happy.  This time, I have three whole days to catch up on laundry and chores, followed by time to read and write, and read and write some more.  Leadership Theory and Practice, Leadership Theory  and Practice Application, and Professional Seminar One...I am feeling the weight of so much coursework and yet I find it invigorating.  Somewhere in the midst of all this excitement, I am determined to enjoyed the crisp Autumn air and the laughter of my children. 

All things on earth point home in old October: sailors to sea, travelers to walls and fences, hunters to field and hollow and the long voice of the hounds, the lover to the love he has forsaken.  ~Thomas Wolfe  

~S.

Young...at Heart

Children are the hands by which we take hold of Heaven.  ~Henry Ward Beecher   There is something that happens to me each and every weekday now, something that brings a smile to my heart.  My youngest child is a student at "my" school, the one at which I teach.  This means she is never far away, and always, always, she finds me to deliver a hug.  Her classmates then greet me...  "Hi, Lane's Mom," they say.  To them, I am not their potential future teacher.  I am simply "Lane's Mom."  That, most definitely, is good enough for me.  Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself... You may house their bodies but not their souls, for their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams. ~Kahlil Gibran

*     *     *

A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood.  ~Rachel Carson  

Fortunately, for some of us, this is untrue.  Rather,

Youth is a perpetual intoxication; it is a fever of the mind.  ~Francois Duc de La Rochefoucauld  I know this is true.  How?  Two words:  Gerard Butler.  Uh huh.  I was perusing a favorite blogger's site, Lisa Leonard Designs, and here's what I found.  Yep.

Source: lisaleonardonline.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

And finally, this note to self.  

Read.  Repeat.  Believe.  

Believe:

“When I say, 'I love you,' it's not because I want you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell of a woman.” ~Joss Whedon

That's all.  For now.  xo, ~S. 

Mirror, Mirror

Things that have made me recently reflective ~

 
re·flec·tion (rĭ-flĕk'shən) n.  1. The act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.  2. Something, such as light, radiant heat, sound, or an image, that is reflected.  3. Mental concentration; careful consideration.  4. An indirect expression of censure or discredit.  5. A manifestation or result.

The word 'benign' and all it implies.  Thank you, God.

A fading pink sky, a rising mist, a full moon.

Saying hello, reminiscing with old friends, 'church lady food', saying goodbye.

Biscuits and gravy with my daughter, soccer tournaments, the anticipation of a St. Louis visit.

A rose from a student...yellow, of course.

The sounds of a late night train. 

A quote:  "I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me." ~Anne Quindlen 
 
...or two:  "The problems of the world cannot possibly be solved by skeptics or cynics whose horizons are limited by the obvious realities. We need men who can dream of things that never were." ~John F. Kennedy
 
The arrival of fall, when my senses are most keen, the time of year when my sentiments are heightened.  It is in these days that I am an old, old soul.
 
Magic:  "Second star to the right, then straight on 'til morning...That Peter had told Wendy, was the way to Neverland."
 
And with that, I think I'll take flight.  For now.  ~S.

Let's roll.

Source: thestir.cafemom.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children. ~President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001 

These lines from final verse of our national anthem speak to my heart.  I hope they do likewise to yours.

Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

May you and yours be richly blessed.  ~S.

Happenstance

I am in 'a mood' and have decided to whittle away the edge of it with words.  I am typing in a public place and I find the blaring sounds of YouTube on a neighboring laptop to be intrusive.  I wish I'd brought along my earphones.  I could wear them myself or offer them to the party at the adjacent table in exchange for some peace and quiet.  Annoying, too, is the way the young man behind the cafe counter keeps flicking his braid, a tiny thing that hangs behind one ear and down onto his shoulder.  (I don't understand the purpose of this style statement.  It seems bizarre, or maybe my thoughts simply indicate I am growing old.)  He serves me my vanilla cupcake with a smile and a wish for a great day.  Now I feel bad.  I need to rewind and begin again.  I, of all people, should know better than to judge a book by its cover.  Dang it.  What is wrong with me today?

Right now I wish Cape Cod wasn't so far from here...or maybe I am wishing that I was far away on Cape Cod.  My little sis pointed me in this direction and I am 'homesick'...

Source: hollymathisinteriors.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I love the work of Holly Mathis Interiors and think I could make it work here, on Nantucket Island:

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

And this driveway is lovely:

Source: images.search.yahoo.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

A young girl nearby has just asked to use my phone.  She is obviously trying to study but is frustrated with a new-but-dead battery in her own.  There is something about helping someone else that lessens the egocentrism.  My mood is shifting...

Someday, when we both reminisce we'll both say, 'There wasn't too much we missed,' and through the tears we'll smile when we recall we had it all for just a moment. ~St. Elmo's Fire

Sit in reverie and watch the changing color of the waves that break upon the idle seashore of the mind.           ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

To lick your wounds, to smack your lips over grievances long past, to roll over your tongue the prospect of bitter confrontations still to come, to savor to the last toothsome morsel--both the pain you are given and the pain you are giving back--in many ways it is a feast fit for a king. The chief drawback is that what you are wolfing down is yourself. The skeleton at the feast is you. ~Frederick Buechner

 There:  a few final quotes...for me, if not for you.  I think I can study now.  I think.  ~S.