From the pen of a great poet

...shamelessly copied from the blog of one of my sisters....(Blackberry Blessings)
here are some words for Thanksgiving

Giving Thanks
For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends
by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

We had a peaceful day at my mom and dad's home with Jeff's parents and Aunt Nanette.

A box of love heading to New Mexico

My little blond guy on the left is turning 30 tomorrow.
I baked up a batch of brownies (triple chocolate) with peanut butter chips and sent them out via UPS 2 day to his office a couple of days ago.
We'd already showered him with a little birthday gifting...

I'd also sent him something else along the lines of what moms think of (no, not socks) because I'm a mom, and moms do that.

But I wanted to send him something that would smell a little like home and love.

So a box went out.

I love you, Jonathan. I'm proud of you. Happy Birthday!

I enjoyed baking for you, and thinking of raising you.

We had such interesting experiences- Amtrak trips across the country stopping at all the tall buildings as well as Glacier National Park and Seattle. (Do you think anyone other mother/son team in the U.S. has traveled as far on rails in in the last part of the 20th century?)
Trying to spot the LA Lakers in the airport but seeing the Celtics instead. Creating treasure hunts for your gifts. Going to watch the women's basketball game at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Watching you with the our first Macintosh computer way back in '86 (remember me getting freaked out by the loud noise that the floppy disk made when you shoved it into the slot? "Mom, that's what they are supposed to do") Me taking you to MacWorld Expo in SF back in 1988 and touring the exhibit halls together.
The time we went skiing for the first time on Christmas Eve. Shooting model rockets with Jeff. Sitting in the jacuzzi and watching the stars. Watching our favorite shows (TPIR and Little House on the Prairie). Buying the cello and taking you to concerts. Watching plays with you in them at Poly High. Going to the hill at UCR to eat dinner.
The times that you were so very ill (in the hospital with pneumonia in 6th grade, and with chicken pox in 8th).
We had a mixture of times in our life. Most of the hard times were (and are) much too difficult and personal to post on a blog for the whole world to read about. Wouldn't want to do that.
I love you and are glad that you are my son. I would not trade you for anyone else.
I wish you the very best for the next year.

Hope the brownies arrived in shape and that the love spilled out of the box!

Ode to My Necchi

Purchased for $35 in 1977 at a yard sale from a man whose wife was away for the day, this machine is a marvel. I was expecting my first child, and had thoughts of sitting at home with a child quietly playing at my feet. Said child would, of course, be happily playing for hours on end while I stitched up lovely little baby clothes and decorative items for home. (The second of six kids, how in the world did I have that picture in mind?)

My children have all had their turns sitting on my lap in of the machine (when they were young enough to be sleeping in a sling or old enough to know not to grab the knob or stick precious fingers in the fascinating needle). We’ve made projects together with it. An LA Fakers shirt for Jonathan. Matching dresses for Rachel and friends in elementary school. Costumes for history; sweatbands for mission trips, girl scouts, and the library. A toga for Jacob last year for the homecoming parade. I’ve mended and dreamed with the machine. I am so very glad that the kids did not play at my feet; it was much more rewarding to have them involved in the dreaming and making.

Current project: coverlet for bed using fabric from Cambodian trip.