Animal Autobiographies

I am continually fascinated by my daughter's imagination. As much as she and I are the same, that is where we differ. My sister and I used to play school together. She was the teacher and I was a student along with all her stuffed animals. She made up the class roster...there was always Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden. Since I never read any of those books, I'll give her all the credit for creating this world.

My daughter has created a world far greater than my sister's schoolhouse. She's almost like the Doctor Doolittle of stuffed animals. They have names and personalities and voices when she speaks for them. It's all quite amazing and somewhat entertaining.

Today while we were in the car, out of the blue, she said to me, "Mom, you know Decky my panda. Well, he's not a very good drawer because he sleeps all the time. He drew a picture of a horse and dad said it looks like a rhinoceros with a crew cut." Intriguing – right? Then she went on to say, "His motto is shut your yap because he's always sleeping."

As soon as we got home I asked her to see the picture. It was part of a series she did one night while playing in her room. She had her animals write autobiographies which she has taped all over her walls. (Side note: she has a placemat in her room with a map of the U.S. so each animal was from a different state. Decky's from Wyoming.)

Decky's autobiography
(double-click the image to enlarge)

She was a difficult baby and those first couple years with her were rough, but is the type of thing that makes you realize it was all worth it.

Lambs of a Feather...

My husband and I entered our marriage with two matching items. We each had the exact same lamb Christmas ornament that our mom's got us at some Waukesha Service Club craft fair or something.

The other item is our copies of The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. In many of my fits of downsizing and simplifying, I've managed to save both copies...taking neither to Half Price Books or selling them at my annual rummage. I'm not quite sure why, but it was just my instinct.

This morning on the Today Show they were talking about Salinger's passing at the age of 91. Meredith Vieira commented on how so many people have their original copies of his only published novel.

I guess it says something about that novel. Of all the books my husband and I had when we moved in together...it was the only duplicate. I haven't read it in a long time. I must have saved it for some reason...guess it maybe time to give it another read.

In Loving Memory

My mom called me today to tell me that my uncle passed away suddenly. For any of you who knew him, you will feel my loss. For any of you who did not know him, you'll be saddened that you didn't because he was someone worth knowing.

He was a generous person with both his time and talents which he bestowed unselfishly on me in so many ways. My mind is racing with memories and I'm finding it hard to fall asleep. Here are the things that I remember about my Uncle Jim and what made him so special to me...

• He called me Mare-Bear.
• Every year when I was a kid, we'd go to East Troy for the 4th of July parade to watch him march with the band he directed.
• Every Thanksgiving he and my aunt made the most delicious pumpkin and pecan pies.
• It was a running joke between he and I as to who would find the best spot for a Thanksgiving Day nap.
• At the end of every Thanksgiving dinner he would say, "It was good what there was of it."
• When I bought my first house, he and my aunt spent hours and hours helping me clean, strip woodwork, paint, and garden.
• He made my cousin help him re-do my bathroom.
• He had a talent for woodwork and made me a custom "ladder" to hold my decorative papers and a little display shelf.
  
• He taught my husband and I how to make dill pickles.
• He did a reading at my wedding.
• For a wedding gift, he and my aunt gave us one gift each month for the first year we were married.
• Many of those gifts were delivered to me at work by my uncle when I didn't even remember it was my monthly anniversary until he arrived.
• One of the gifts was a grapefruit knife that I use almost every day.
• He made the best dill bread.
• When I had my son, he and my aunt brought us dinner...pork chops and German potato salad.
• I have these, and many of his other recipes in my recipe box.
• He took loving care each year to make his own Christmas cards.
• When we'd go to the cemetery in Kenosha, he and my aunt would bring the Spot burgers.
  
• When he was in town last summer he and my aunt stopped by our house to trim our bushes.
• He had a great laugh and loved to use it.

His passing is truly a loss. I miss him incredibly already.

The Cure for What Ails You

Monday night my husband was complaining of an itchy throat so he went to bed early. When I talked to him on the phone yesterday afternoon he sounded congested. No surprise since my son has been fighting a cold and cough for over a week.

We came home from school yesterday afternoon to find a huge box from Hales Groves in Vero Beach, Fla. sitting on the front porch. My parents sent us some honeybells. Hallelujah! Their sweet nectar is the perfect shot of vitamin C that my ailing family needed...and just in time.

Project with a Purpose

I ventured out again for a walk this morning. A bit colder, but it really felt good. One of the greatest benefits of my morning walk is the opportunity to think things through before my day starts. Today I was wondering why I haven't got the winter blues as bad as I did last year. I really think it's because I have some new projects that I'm working on that give me a creative outlet.

I've just completed something I've been thinking about doing for quite a while. My friend is having a baby this spring and so I made her some really cute burp clothes. When I had my son, we received some that were similar and I just loved them.

This weekend I also finished my second scarf which I made for my daughter. My mother-in-law has begun to knit again and she finished her first scarf with this beautiful yarn she got for Christmas. We were both commenting on how much we enjoy knitting while watching television. Several times I have been knitting and my husband has been reading and we have had some really good conversations. Although, it did occur to me that we look like an old married couple...he just needs a pipe, I need an apron, and he would have to start referring to me as "mother".

The only problem with the knitting is that you can only make so many scarves for yourself and family members. A friend of mine made the suggestion that we make the scarves and donate them to a shelter. My sister said schools in low income areas are always in need of scarves as well. So my mother-in-law and I have decided that we will continue to make as many scarves as we like and give them away. There's something very fulfilling about knitting with a purpose.

Sibling Love

Anyone who has a brother or sister knows the ups and downs of the sibling relationship. On previous posts I have mentioned how my brothers would watch All Star Wrestling and then practice their moves on me. I also recounted the game of Sorry in which I was duped by my brother and sister. All the great pranks were practiced on me...shaving cream on the phone receiver, dried dates in the bed to make me think I had a terrible accident, and M&M's fed to me on a long car ride only after they had been shoved up my brother's nose.

But what I failed to mention was the way they have always looked out for me. The way my sister would let me crawl into bed with her at night when I was scared. When I got my first flat tire on my car, my brother came immediately and changed it for me. At nineteen I was laying in the hospital having my broken arm set and my other brother stood at my head, stroking my hair, trying to keep me calm. It's comforting to know that there are three people in my life that I can count on for anything.

I see the same thing with my kids. One minute they're tattling on each other, fighting with each other, and driving each other mad. Then there are moments when they reveal their true feelings. The other morning my son was explaining to me that he knows his sister's ticklish spot is... right underneath her chin. Or when my daughter is the recipient of a treat, she always makes sure to get an extra for her brother.

Today my son told me he's making a picture in art class that he's going to surprise his sister with. It's of a penguin in a top hat with a cane. I know she'll love it. There's something really comforting about sibling love.

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago yesterday, I began this blog with an entry called The Coldest Day in which I talked about the subzero temperatures we would be enduring for several days.

What a difference a year makes. Today's highs are going to be in the upper 30's. I just returned from a walk and I kept thinking to myself how good it felt to be outside again. It's amazing what some fresh air and exercise does for the spirit.

I've got this great route that takes me about 45 minutes and I walk down one of my favorite roads in Wauwatosa, Warren Street. It doesn't get anymore baseball, hot dog, and apple pie than Warren Street. I especially like walking there around the 4th of July. I would love to live there someday. So many of the houses have these big covered porches. I'd get a big porch swing and a laptop and I'd be set. I'd keep a pitcher of lemonade in the fridge in case anyone stopped by to enjoy my porch with me.

And with that happy thought in my mind...I'm going to turn my space heater on, get a cup of tea, and begin my chores for today.

Old School New Year

The thought of going out on New Year's Eve has become less and less appealing to me. This year we managed to put together what I would say was a pretty perfect day.

Let me set the scene. My kids and I really enjoy watching The Amazing Race. This last season our team of choice was the Harlem Globetrotter duo...Flight Time and Big Easy. Milwaukee has had a long-standing tradition of hosting the Globetrotters on New Year's Eve. I can remember them from when I was a kid. Twice my family had tickets to go, and both times I was sick and had to stay home. I knew they'd been coming here since the 70's, but was surprised to find out that the New Year's Eve. tradition dates back even further. My mother-in-law told me she went to see them when she was a kid.

So my husband got the tickets and I made Globetrotter shirts for each of the kids...one that said Flight Time and one that said Big Easy on the back. I wrapped the shirts for Christmas and decided that in order to get them, they would have to compete in their own Amazing Race. I re-created the clues used on the show and came up with different tasks. They were totally on board until the last part of the race in which they had to retrieve their laundry from the basement and fold it. We were warned by our angry racers that the present better be worth it, and better not be a book. When they found out we were going to the Globetrotter game, they were really excited.

Our seats were great. We were right behind the bench. Before the team came out, we saw a man coming onto the court in Globetrotter warm-ups. It ended up being Curly Neal...one of the Globetrotters from when I was a kid. My son took his program and pen over and asked for an autograph. Curly Neal could not have been any kinder as he explained that they have to wait until after the game to give autographs, but that he would make sure to give him one. As my son walked away, he called him back, took a wristband off his arm and gave it to him. It hasn't left my son's arm since.
The game was fun and surprisingly, the Globetrotters won. Afterwards we had an early dinner at China Gourmet and ended the evening by going to a neighbor's house. We all stayed up until midnight and welcomed in 2010.

Happy New Year!