Joan a party – a 40th Birthday Party – and just before Christmas – how has that worked out all these years – my sister-in-law had her birthday the day after Christmas and so she legally changed it to Valentines Day - a sure fired protection from worry if you will or not receive a Valentine remembrance,
Babi is your Buttermilk Pie like a Chess pie – the kind without pecans – I love Chess pie but have never had a Buttermilk Pie – please, when you find the recipe would you share it with us.
Ha ha Steph didn’t little girls in school who could pull off the fair, frail, flirtatious get all the attention - of course being that constrained with a mandate to be fickle your only weapon is poisonous - I used to joke with myself play-acting in my head with complete wonder and astonishment as I would observe the broad smiles and giggles if they were friendly or really alligators that would eat me up in a nanosecond.
Life is funny - of late I have noticed when I’m picking up groceries so many of my neighbors who were into that sorority sister competition when we were in our 30s and 40s and Austin was about a quarter of the size it is now so that it mattered - well now with age their presence is diminished and I find I am assisting them helping them find their keys, cars, husbands or the ketchup –
I realize how lucky I am - sure there is a lot in my life that could be blanketed if I would only not get such a headache when drinking too much - but there it is and so being fairly healthy, staying busy, often annoyed that folks think you are your age, I follow my mother's footsteps - laugh - see the humor in everything - and so Ginny I am really only writing as my head speaks to me - I guess we could be literary here and call it a stream of consciousness - said with a puffed up aplomb.
Ah a bare Christmas trees - I did that one year - purchased three small trees - around 3 to 4 foot - they were all a tad different in height - no lights - no ornaments except a lovely sliver star on top of the tallest tree - placed close together near the patio door - and then a few days before Christmas I picked up the flats of pansies and pinks that I used to put out before the deer became so prolific - Among the flats of flowers [on cookie sheets hidden by the moss I collected on one of my walks] I placed the little statues from the old nativity set minus the stable. I smiled that year - loved it - the following year and every year since decided to do away with a tree – Whole Foods always has lovely full large fir wreaths - I tie one with red ribbons to the bottom of the Chandelier in the dining area off the kitchen. Using various lengths of narrow red ribbon I hang the oldest of the ornaments - some from my mother's tree and some from my childhood tree - I gave most of the ornaments that we accumulated when the children were young to them for their tree.
Ginny we can only imagine your surprise and delight receiving the jelly – a surprise small gift like that becomes a gentle smile in our thoughts for the day doesn't it. In fact I am really thinking that is what life is all about - creating and reliving in our heads memories - because really, the jar of jelly was a nice thought but more it was the memory of those who sent it and the way they spend the day on the farm that fills out the small gift –
hmmm except Christmas gift giving seems to be a full blown hurrah – however, wouldn't it be nice to have a quiet gifting where we could recapture the memory tied by the gift. For that matter it does not even have to be an exciting or special day memory - just evoking a memory in our past by someone makes us feel we matter.
Hmmm maybe that is the benefit of random acts of kindness – the kindness either becomes a memory or evokes a past memory. I am back to - maybe that is all life is – memories. Come to think isn’t there a book something about we are the composite of civilization's stored memory…
This would not be a daily missive without the weather report - it looks like any minute it will rain - I want to blow all the acorns and the Redbud leaves off the patio – better hustle it is easier if they are not wet.
Oh yes, I became so caught up in reacting to your all's posts that I nearly forgot - surprise of a different nature - the Frig was delivered and after they left opened the door - no door trays - tried to flag them as they were pulling out - so I quick called the delivery service who phoned them - no, there was nothing they missed - called Best Buy and 'David' [he remembered me because we enjoyed how his mom will not allow him to replace her 35 year old frig that of course I suggested was Avocado Green - he grinned and we were pals for life] well he had to go look and call me back - so on the computer I go to make sure of the number of door shelves and I also realized the plastic window for the butter area was missing - the upshot - the same refrigerator was on sale this week - David calls - asks if I can come by he will take them off another in the store and I should get the reduction since I purchased only last Friday –
Tra la - including tax refund I saved $54.38 all because the shelves were missing - I would never have known about the sale otherwise.
