HAPPY EASTER!

THE DAY BEFORE APRIL

The day before April

Alone, alone,

I walked in the woods

And sat on a stone.

I sat on a broad stone

And sang to the birds.

The tune was God's making

But I made the words.

Mary Carolyn Davies

The boys get home tonight and BratB and her family get into town as well. Yay! School also starts tomorrow. Boo! Hope you have a wonderful Easter surrounded by friends, family, and loved ones... Love, RED

GOT SOMETHING TO SAY?

Tim has told me that he is having a hard time leaving a comment (yes, when he is not watching goats or chewing sticks he actually has alot to say!)... You too? I know...you just need to create a Google account, then sign in first; after that it's pretty simple (even a border collie can do it!). I'm not sure why this has to be so hard, but it seems to be! It was for me too. I am a computer idiot! :)

Step by Step : (Get a pen and so you can write down your password and put your hands on it again when you need to)

1...Go to "comments" at the bottom of any blog post.

2...Scroll down and choose "No Google Account sign up here"

3...Type & retype your email addy. This will remain confidential unless you check a block (later, and don't..) to make it otherwise; No, I will not even know who you are unless you choose to give that away yourself; that info stays with Google.

4...make up a good password with ten or so characters and with numbers and letters... something weird and wacky ... and WRITE IT DOWN EXACTLY before you proceed.

5...Type & retype password.

6...Make up a name you want to show when you comment (*random friend* *hunny bunny* etc.)

7...Type in weird letter code (you will have to do this everytime; it will always be different, but if you mis-type it will give you another chance)

8... Check "accept terms of service" box

That should be a done deal. Now go back to my blog. In the upper right hand corner, hit "sign in".

Put your EMAIL ADDRESS (still confidential) and your password (which you wrote down) and check the box that says "remember me on this computer".

From now on, when you visit the blog, first thing just go to that same upper right hand corner and hit "sign in".

It should recognize you. Every month, when my computer takes its "bath", I have to re-type the info, so write it down and put it somewhere that you can find it. Remember, your "username" is your EMAIL ADDRESS (not the cute name you made up). Re-check the "remember me" box, and you should be golden. Once you are signed in, if you go to the comment page it should say "You are posting as *hunnybunny* "or whoever you chose to be and all you will have to do is type the weird letter code. I hope this helps. I just did it step by step myself and made it thru... if I can , so can you! Love, RED

PS) I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR YOUR WACKY COMMENTS!!!! (No excuses MarnieSan!)

IT'S SUMMER!!!

Break out those swimsuits! Just kidding! Of course it's not summer yet (you still have time to work on that beach bod :), but it is just around the bend for South Texas; it will be here before we know it! Truly, today I'm not writing about summer, so much as an attitude of summer, which makes me think of my dear friend GirlTracy and the summer we spent so much time together. It was one of the most relaxing, fun, carefree summers I've enjoyed as an adult!

The two of us had volunteered as chairpersons for the decoration committee for our kids' preschool's annual fundraiser, The Dinner Dance. This is no folksy clambake; it is a out and out shinDIG complete with sit down buffet, fancy linens and flowers, BEAUTIFUL decorations (if I do say so myself!), live auction and a dance on the huge back lawn of the fanciest mansion for miles around! I like to describe it as a wedding party with no wedding. That's how much planning goes into i! There is always a theme, and at the end, when it all comes together; all of the contributions of each committee - it is simply amazing! It is the small preschool's only fundraiser, and year after year it pulls in enough to operate the school for the following year while keeping tuition affordable to most.

ANYhoo... we started planning and scrambling for donations of supplies in January. We started hitting up our committee (actually, that was more GT's job; she's an awesome task-master!) and planning work days on the weekends. They were always at her house because she had a big shop and a huge fenced yard with tons of toys for all the kiddos; we could actually get work done and store our large half-finished projects there as well. We talked to each other on the phone several times a day and did alot of running around together too. In short, we became good friends. She appreciated my artsy nature, my sparkling wit, and our kids got along like peas and carrots :) I appreciated her shoot-from-the-hip ability to make people step up, her droll, tell-it-like-it-is sense of humor, and her all-around competence in any task. We pulled it all together - our "Night in Rome"- and several people told me the decorations were as good as they had ever seen! How rewarding!! What a team we made!

Well, with the Dinner Dance done and gone, and shortly thereafter school out for summer, we continued our friendship; maintaining our daily phone conversations, we began walking together and getting together on weekends as well. My then-hubby was overseas for six months, and her then-hubby was always working, so we would just hang out and let the kids live it up. For being such a natural-born manager, I haven't met many people who know how to relax and let go like GT does! I would say, "Gosh, I should probably get the kids home..."

"Why? IT"S SUMMER!"

"Well, I guess you're right... what's the hurry. Should we bathe them? They're filthy.."

"Why? They'll just want to come back outside and get dirty again. You know they won't stay inside! Besides, IT"S SUMMER!"

Or I'd be at home some evening, all involved in my same ol' routine and she'd call. "Come over! I'll make your favorite noodle salad!" (Girl, you know how I love your noodle salad!)

"Oh, I don't know; I have laundry going and was going to clean the bathrooms..."

"Oh PLEASE, Girl!! Get your butt over here! IT"S SUMMER!!!"

I miss her and those days. What a wonderful summer that was! And although I do like to putter around my house doing this or that, and don't ALWAYS want to be swept away, sometimes I do get a bit too focused on the day-to-day tasks and resist getting out and doing something out of the ordinary. Sometimes I might can even be a bit... er...well... STUBBORN (gasp!) and can use a little push or pull!!

I've had a pretty relaxing spring break week; accomplished a bit, worked a bit, done nothing a bit more! Hey - IT"S SPRING BREAK!!! TG, I love ya Girl!!!! Maybe you can visit soon... maybe this summer (?) I know you have lots on your plate and everything... But hey!! I know what you'd say! Love, RED

INTERVAL FOR LAZINESS

This will be better than all of the climbing -

Let the road wind wherever it will;

There is a time when nothing is better

Than listening, looking, just sitting still.

Here is a log, as a cushion for thinking,

Here are green trees as a shadow for rest;

There is a time when going on further

Takes too much effort, and stopping is best.

I can remember the turn of the roadway,

Where tang of the mint and tang of the pine

Met in the wind - and to think of that meeting

The rest of the way I can gladly resign.

Perhaps I have found it! - the secret the old know,

That nothing ahead is so pleasant to find

As just sitting down, in the shade or sunshine,

Rocking and dreaming of what is behind.

By Helen Frazee-Bower

SUBSTANTIALICIOUS!

Our culture has vastly overvalued the lives of the rich and famous. Our children no longer hunger to be good citizens, but merely well-known ones. In our misguided quest for heroes, we've made fame the most coveted virtue. But when our heroes cease to do heroic things, and we still venerate them, where does that leave our culture? It is time to restore balance. Let's boycott celebrity and celebrate instead all the unnamed warriors trying to make a positive impact on our daily lives.

Lynn Nottage, playwright

from the Oprah Magazine

April 2008

I got the new Oprah mag in the mail today. It's a treat; I usually really enjoy it, but today, I was irritated twenty pages in. Why are the models for wrinkle creams twenty-two years old? What could that possibly mean to me? An Ikea ad for a new kitchen setup boasts of the same woodsy walnut cabinetry and deep tones that every 70's kitchen had, but in most cases, has long since went the way of the dodo! It's time to go back to that? Walnut and avocado green? Turn a few more pages and it's a new Kohler shower with "multiple shimmering tiles - digitally controlled - that give you water, sound, light, and steam." Is that what what I've been missing in my life? My shower ain't got multiple shimmering tiles! The insert-mini-mag shown above looked promising - "reimagine you" -"simply revolutionary". On closer inspection, it's just one big ad for a bunch of crap I need so I can "reimagine myself as a suburban legend". All I need is all new garden tools, new cool clothes in the hottest spring shades, new spring shades, a new grill, bedroom set (with life's hectic pace, don't I deserve a sanctuary?), kitchen appliances, videocamera, GIANT mower ("reimagine yourself as the alpha neighbor" it actually says! ), new patio set, margarita machine, 80 qt. stainless steel portable cooler with bottle opener with convenient cap tray ! (because it's SO flippin hard to deal with finding a trash can!), solar patio lights, etc., on and on, ad nauseam.

I don't mean to sound harsh here, but is this the meaning of life? Keep replacing our stuff (which we already have too much of) with newer stuff, half of which was already "in style" (whatever that REALLY means) then "out of style", but is now back "in style"??? According to whom? It bugs me because it doesn't seem real. And it isn't real. If we know what we like, then why can't we just get that stuff and keep it (!) actually stick with something? If we didn't jump to redo-refurbish-redecorate-re-wardrobe every time "they" say it's time for a "brand new" (as if!) look, maybe we really could reinvent ourselves. But for the better; in a meaningful, purposeful way. Maybe we would find the time on our hands to do something real. Like start a garden. Or write a letter to a government representative. Volunteer at a community center, food bank, soup kitchen, or the humane society... Learn to play the piano or the tuba - whatever! Doing and redoing and redoing just for the sake of it is not progress in my opinion. It's busy work; it's killing time; it's anesthetizing oneself to what is really happening in our world!! Which we can never change if we don't first NOTICE.

Anyway, the reason I chose the piece above is that I think all the celebrity lifestyle splashed everywhere has many of us buying into the bigger, fancier, more-is-more philosophy. But so many of the rich and famous are so unhappy; just read the rags at the checkout counter! It's a sad thing when many of society's heroes are hollow. Not real, not substantial. BratB called this morning and interrupted my thoughts to tell me that our new word is "SUBSTANTIALICIOUS" (so what if she found it on a Snickers bar wrapper ? :) Suddenly it all clicked! That's what I want to be!! I want to be the real deal; if I'm gonna reimagine myself I'm gonna do it right! I'm gonna be SUBSTANTIALICIOUS!

OK! I know I've been ranting and I'm probably on your last nerve anyway so let me just get it all out! I don't want to further irritate you, BUT, the kitchens so in style now with their dark cabinetry, recessed lighting and sleek stainless appliances will be going "out of style", and it won't be too long, either. I'm sorry, I'm just telling it like it is. Once a look gets affordable and mainstream, "they" have to come up with a "new" look to keep us coveting, craving, and spending! Probably an informal, spacious, bright white kitchen! Then, it'll be time to rip out the dark stone floors and re-do those cabinets again :) OR WILL IT??? You, and only you (and Donald Trump) can decide! Peace and Love, RED

THE ULTIMATE REALITY SHOW!!

IT'S SOYRIZO!!!!

So! Last night I had the house to myself since my kiddos are visiting their Dad this week. I wanted to watch a movie, just not enough to get off my toucas and go rent one, so I turned to the television (it's ok, last night NOT technically a schoolnight, spring break and all :). Wow - is there anything on television but reality shows anymore? Do you not just love the above video? (it has taken me two weeks to figure out how to get a video on my blog so please watch it! It's funny! I promise not to inundate you with them!) I watched about ten minutes of ABC's The Bachelor - why oh why would a woman put herself through that? I am embarrassed for all of them! Some of them are accomplished young women; what are they thinking? Oh, well! I finally settled on the last half of a LMN movie with Shannen Dougherty (again, why?).

When that was over I went rifling through the icebox to find some dinner; again, I could have gone out and picked up something nice; maybe some shrimp noodles, had I the inclination to venture out. But no, I settled on soyrizo. If you are from South Texas you know that taquitos (breakfast tacos, not the weird crunchy frozen things from Costco) are practically their own food group, and of that food group chorizo (spiced Mexican sausage) and egg taquitos are the KING! (my opinion, anyway!) No, they're probably not good for you but they sure are GOOD! A couple of weeks ago I found "Melissa's SOYrizo" in the produce section. "Meatless soy chorizo/ vegan/ 60% less fat than chorizo/ no cholesterol/ looks like chorizo/ tastes like chorizo/ You won't believe it's not chorizo!" The first time I fixed it I think I undercooked it a bit and I did not add any seasonings. The boys ate it and said it was good, but asked what was different. Last night, I sauteed it until it was nice and browned; seems like it takes a little longer than the real thing. I added salt, pepper, eight eggs and three small taqueria hot sauces. This time it was really good! I went ahead and made it all up into taquitos then wrapped them so they'd be ready to pop in the microwave this week. Maybe eating taquitos all week is a little excessive, but - Hey! It's SOYRIZO! I highly recommend it to anyone out there who loves chorizo (and would like to just eat it every day, all day, like me :)

Since I'm just rambling on today, I thought I'd update you on all my previous posts that have left you hanging (I 'm sure you've been lying awake nights :) I'll go from most recent back and I'll make it quick:

HOUSE PAINTING PROJECT: (from post: It's Official!) Well...stalled. The weather has been off and on rainy-windy-rainy-windy for the last two weeks; not the best painting weather. Yesterday the wind gusts were up to 60 mph! Is that really necessary? How did CHICAGO get the "Windy City" title? Anyone?? Also my friend MissD has informed me that my color choice is U-G-L-Y (it ain't got no alibi) so now I'm filled with self-doubt and angst. What the heck is wrong with the color of shrimp, anyway?

FOUNTAIN FISH: (post: Just What I Needed) They are alive and well. "Deep red" looks a little worse for the wear, but it has a couple of small new leaves. Because of my desire to get "different" goldfish, I chose whitish/calico ; not knowing that unlike their vividly (though common) gold colored cousins, they would be practically invisible in the pond. I have to catch the cascading water in a pitcher to stop the ripples while using a flashlight to locate them! So that's been really rewarding...

LOLLY: (post: Le Amour!) Lolly has settled in well. She still gets overly excited when we come or go and barks too much but she's coming around. Not only does she chew sticks like Tim, she collects them, leaving two or three clustered together in random piles around the yard (between the random tunnels that Schatze the doxie-mix has dug). She's completely recovered from being spayed and she's had all her shots. We really get a kick out of her; the boys mostly refer to her as "Spaz".

LENT: (Givin' it Up) As you know Lent is almost over with Easter's arrival this Sunday. I have done very well with both my sacrifices; schoolnight tv (uh, except last night) and a grudge. (almost gone, that's all I can say about that :)

LONE STAR COUNTRY STORE: ( I Can't Wait!) Hmmm. They opened Saturday and I went to see it on Saturday. While I'm sure it will be alot of peoples' favorite store, I wasn't thrilled. Sorry LSCS! But I thought the prices were a little high on feed; which would be the main reason I would go. But it is bright, clean, and spacious with freshly-scrubbed young employees in western wear, so it will still do well without my business. And yes, I was just a little disappointed.. *sigh*.. can you say "prom syndrome"?

LIL' BABY GOAT: ( If Three is a Crowd, What's Five?) He has settled in as well. He and Esteban are BFF's and hang out together all day. They call each other if they get too far apart, and butt heads, climb trees, and do other fun stuff while the fuddy-duddy lady goats lay around and chew their cuds. I'll have to get some pics of them in the trees; it's so cool to see them up there!

And now we are all caught up. If you haven't read some of the past posts you may be saying whaa...? but that's allright too! It's all there somewhere if you want to know what the heck I'm talking about :) Have a wonderful, wonderful day... Love, RED

HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY!!

AN IRISH BLESSING

May you always have work for your hands to do;


May your pockets hold always a coin or two.


May the sun shine bright on your windowpane;


May the rainbow be certain to follow the rain.


May the hand of a friendship always be near you,


And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you!





I'm not sure who these strange looking leprechauns are, but I am sure they would want to wish you a Happy St. Patricks Day !! *pinch* Love, RED

A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR

Bays, greys, chestnuts and roans;

The colors of most of the horses I've known.

Perlinos, cremellos, claybanks and duns;

Palominos who shimmer like gold in the sun.

Piebalds and skewbalds, appaloosas too;

Sorrels, browns and grullas (who are blue).

Socks, snips and blazes, dapples and stripes;

And for bad guys and good guys, classic blacks or whites!

The horse in the picture is Sombra when she was four years old. If you are a horse person you already know the grey horse's story; born black or bay but each year more and more white hairs come in. By four most greys will be a deep shade of gunmetal grey; by six or seven, dapple grey with a bluish cast. By the time a grey reaches twenty to twenty five, they will be mostly white (see next post). I love that about having a grey; your horse changes from year to year!

As I've told you before, I was born horse crazy. I could never satisfy my intense desire to know everything about them; the names and traits of each breed, the colors and markings, and the care and training of them. I checked out every horse book from the library at least ten times, commited every page of it to memory, and when we would visit other people's homes I would check out their encyclopedias for information, and most of all, photographs! (what Google Image search would have meant to me back then!!) I learned to draw horses by copying photo after photo after photo... I have drawn thousands of horses in my lifetime, no kidding! Every breed, every color, every pose! I used to make up these elaborate tests on the colors of horses, with drawings of horses of every hue, and make my sister take them (nevermind that she had no real interest in horses, much less the various colors they come in, but, Hey! that's what little sisters are for, right Kiks?) Those were the days of loooong lazy summers and no all-day kids television programming, back-to-back summer camps or video games! I'll have to try the horse color test on my boys; although somehow I predict it might not be such a hit! (Thanks, Kiks, you were always a great sport... quick! what's a yellow-gold horse with a black mane and tail? That's right! See? Betcha wouldn't know that if it weren't for me!)

When I inherited Tango, his previous owner and I mused over his color. He's registered as a bay (reddish-brown with black mane, tail, and legs), but that's not correct. His dorsal stripe and mealy muzzle prove that he's actually a bay dun with the pangare factor. WHAT?? I know, that's more than most people would ever want to know if they asked, "What color is your horse?" :) But now you know anyway! I have always been drawn to the more rare colors in anything, not just horses. If I see a field of Holstein cows, which are usually black and white spotted, my eye will be drawn to the one brown and white. But in the horse world brown and white paints are more common, so it would be the black and white that would grab my attention! And who can deny the beauty of the Weimaraner, with its singular silver coat? Or the one albino parakeet in a cage with the yellows, blues, and ubiquitous greens? So if you've read the interests on my profile, and thought "What the heck?..", now you know. I'm not some weirdo with a thing for albinos (please, no offense to anyone who may be an albino, I AM fond of albinos!). On second thought, maybe I AM a weirdo! This whole post definitely has a "weirdo vibe" about it, doesn't it? OK, next time we'll talk about something more normal :) Cubby and Chico, off to the beach today, say " Go Spring Break 08!!" Love, RED

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOMBRA!

The old white horse is the end of all misfortune. Irish proverb

Today is Sombra's eighteenth birthday! (only eighteen, girl! I certainly was not refering to YOU as an old white horse!) She was MY birthday gift about fourteen years ago; she was four, and I was... Oh, nevermind! She was my first horse and I was BORN wanting a horse!

I have a sketchy memory a being three or four years old. I was watching Colonel Christopher (my favorite tv show) and there was a knock at the door. I opened it to find a man with an adorably decked-out paint pony standing on our sidewalk. I remember thinking (isn't it obvious?) that the pony must be for me! Alas, he was only offering western photo portraits for children, complete with hat, chaps, vest, AND pony, selling his wares door-to-door. Of course I had my picture made (adorable!) , but then the man (and pony!) had to move on... much to my dismay!

When I was a little older, I would go to the grocery store with my Mom and sit on the "quarter" horse the whole time she shopped. If another child came along and wanted to ride, I would reluctantly get off and give them a turn; but stand by jealously waiting to reclaim my steed! He was black - with a black saddle, black bridle, four white socks, and a blaze. And Blaze was his name. I was genuinely attatched to him and would very much look forward to going to the store to see him. When it was time to go, I would slide off his back (obediently, right Ma?) and give him a big kiss on the nose!

Then there was CoCo, a a shaggy bay pony we somehow inherited, but he was pretty wild and we really didn't have a place to keep him. I don't remember the details, ( probably repressed them :) but after a short time, my parents ended up having to find him another home.

So back to Sombra, my first real horse. She's very gentle, well-mannered, and a real sweetheart. She's also a big chicken, nervous under saddle, and accident prone. I don't ride her very often because Tango is so much better of a riding horse, but she's still my baby! Happy Birthday Sombra, with many happy returns! What's that? A bag of carrots? You got it! Love, RED

JUST WHAT I NEEDED

Today I went to Home Depot to choose (again!) and purchase paint for our big painting project. It went well, I think. If not perfect, the color is at least an improvement on the last color! A step in the right direction! I had to run to the garden department because I haven't bought morning glory seeds yet this year. They're my favorite and I have to have them! There's no time to waste; they should have already planted...

ANYway... I tried to look neither left nor right en route to the seed display because if I get started in the garden department I can just kiss a couple of hours goodbye as well as my money.. No brakes!! (discipline or common sense!) I almost made it but practically blocking the entry into the store was a display of water plants. Oops. Caught! Don't I need one of these in my fountain? Shouldn't I have one? I stood there reading all the boxes (MeeHa?) as my thoughts simply floated away from my task at hand (paint, remember?) and began considering turning my fountain into a pond . After fifteen minutes I had selected the "deep red" water lily. Oh yeah, AND somehow convinced myself the plant would need goldfish to keep it healthy, happy, and entertained. Of course! Isn't it obvious? That's exactly what I need!

On my way home I darted into Walmart and chose three lucky fish. I floated the bag in the fountain impatiently (as a kid I hardly stand to wait to turn them loose!) and got "deep red" settled in. I forced myself to leave my (new) project be long enough to have some lunch, then hurried back out to release the fish! I was very excited for them to check out their new spacious home! I don't know, maybe it's the difference in size, or lighting, or temperature (tho I did float them) but they didn't seem so much excited as stunned. So now I'm worried about them. That was more than eight hours ago and they are still alive, so I'm taking that as a good sign! I HOPE they will survive and thrive in their new home. Because you know how long I've had this dream of having a "deep red" water lily and fish in a mini-pond fountain on my back porch!! (uh, eight hours?) And now your friend who USUALLY (except when living things are involved!) makes sound, careful and considered decisions will do just that and say Goodnight! Love, RED

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

Stephen Grellet, 1855

THIS MUCH I NEED

This much I need and little more...

A sturdy tree beside my door

To teach me fortitude through all

The winds that rise, the snows that fall;

And then, whatever else man hath,

A lovely rose beside the path

To teach me beauty when the thorns

Of life would make my mind forget.

This much I need, whatever gear

I ask God for... a comrade near

To teach me love, a friend to sit

And talk of books a little bit

And speak of folks with kindly words,

And tell the good things we have heard.

Ah, yes, this also God must send...

The quiet comfort of a friend.

This much I need, though so much more

I crave, I seek, I hunger for.

Whatever else I may desire,

I need a house, I need a fire,

A lovely rose, a sturdy tree,

And someone close to comfort me,

A bit to eat, a book to read...

Though much I ask, this much I need.

Douglas Malloch

THUNDERSTORMS

I like to see a thunderstorm,

A dunder storm,

A blunder storm,

I like to see it,

Black and slow

Come stumbling down the hill.

I like to hear a thunderstorm,

A plunder storm,

A wonder storm,

Roar loudly

At our little house

And shake the window sills.

Elizabeth Coatsworth

Thunderstorm warning, tornado warning, locally heavy downpours with possible hail - that's today's forcast so today's track meet has been cancelled. I've yet to see any big weather, but the radar shows it's been all around, just not in my neck of the woods. I'm disappointed; I love thunderstorms! Or, up to a point, I should say. They can be too close and intense for comfort, rattling the walls and sending Tim (the border collie) diving under the bed. He doesn't like them at all! Plus hail is never, never, ever good; especially if you have outside animals. (not to mention cars, windows, patios, plants, etc!) So it's not all bad that we missed the excitement. We could use the rain though (the Top 2 most stated weather comment in South Texas (except last summer!) right after the Number 1"Dang, it's hot!! (the "dang" is optional; feel free to substitute a more forceful exclamation :)...) Oh well, always too much or not enough. I guess that's why people have been talking about the weather since... well, you know... people have ALWAYS talked about the weather!

I lived in Central California for the better part of fourteen years. We rarely, rarely, had the dramatic weather we have down here. I remember maybe three real thunderstorms during the time I lived there. That was one of the things I really missed about home! When we were planning to move back to South Texas I would talk to the boys about the things that would be different here; things they would have to get used to, things they would miss, and all the things they had to look forward to. I told them all about South Texas' dramatic weather; and the thunderstorms, I told them, they wouldn't believe until they witnessed them! About a month after we got here they experienced their first "doozy" of a storm while at camp. I wasn't there to reassure them; the seventeen year old counselor was terrified, the winds hit 50 mph, there was lightening all around, and the screen door blew off their cabin. Chico (my youngest) said he thought they were probably gonna die! Maybe that was a little TOO dramatic! - they're best when they're scary enough to make you wince or jump but not so much that you fear for your life!

Anyway, I'm staying inside and cozy just in case! Instead of chips and cold sandwiches at the track meet, I think we'll have toasty, bubbly, cheesy sandwiches with a tossed salad. Maybe even a game of Yahtzee for dessert! You stay warm and dry too! Love, RED

IT'S OFFICIAL

SMELLS







Through all the frozen winter
My nose has grown most lonely
For lovely, lovely, colored smells
That come in springtime only.




The purple smell of lilacs,
The yellow smell that blows
Across the air of meadows
Where bright forsythia grows.


The tall pink smell of peach trees,
The low white smell of clover,
And everywhere the great green smell
Of grass the whole world over.

Kathryn Worth


The mesquite have called it; it's spring down here. In just a few days their leaves will go from a wee bit of fringe on each branch to a feast for the eyes in apple green! My friend Brat-B says it would be a lovely color for a dining room full of windows, with a long farm table made from (what else?) mesquite. Maybe for that dream house, girl! I think it's a beautiful idea!

It's the best time of the year for outside projects here, because it will be so miserably hot and humid once summer comes. I have a list of projects I'd like to accomplish, but none more pressing than painting the trim of the house. I started last summer, changed colors, spilled half a gallon on the drive, then the rains set in. For those of you elsewhere, last summer was the rainiest summer on record here for the last one bazillion years! My painting project came grinding to a halt, and now for all these months the trim above the drive has been partially painted, causing no small amount of embarrassment to my the poor children! "Can't we finish painting the house? It looks GROSS!" By WE, of course, they mean ME.

So that's what I'm gonna do; that's my plan anyway. I need to borrow an extension ladder though, so if any of you have one I can use kindly let me know. I hope I won't have to buy one! If that project gets finished, (I'll give that about a 60% chance) I'd like to finish the fence out back I started last spring, also put on hold on account of the rains. (I'll give THAT about a 30% chance). Anyway, it can't hurt to have a couple of goals even if they are a bit lofty! Wishing you a lovely spring day wherever you are... Love, RED



MARCH

Dear March, come in!
How glad I am!
I looked for you before.
Put down your hat -
You must have walked-
How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?
And the rest?
Did you leave Nature well?
Oh, March,
Come right upstairs with me,
I have so much to tell!


Emily Dickinson

SMUGGLER'S BLUES

Just a short story tonight with an unrelated photo.. (what's happening to this blog, anyway?) The weekend before this one past I was on my way up to Houston with the a bunch of the girls from our youth group for a convention at the Toyota Center. We stopped en route for snacks at Prasek's (a famous Czech smokehouse) and I bought a big chunk of smoked swiss cheese and a half a pound of dried sausage. The cheese was for me; the sausage to take back to my boys who go nuts for any kind of meat snack (even that weird beef product that comes in a can like snuff... bizarre!). By the time we arrived at our hotel, checked in, found the rooms, and freshened up it was time to hit the streets; we were only a few blocks walk from the place. A few minutes later we arrived at the venue ( I just have to use that word; I never heard it before a couple of years ago and now it's a very popular word; everybody throws it around!) and the line to get in passed by a table where security was searching everyone's purses. I realized then that my pocket knife was in my purse; it hadn't even crossed my mind to take it out. Anyway, I sidled up and offered my purse for inspection. It wasn't the knife she pulled out, though, it was the sausage! "You can't take this in, Ma'am,"she tells me somewhat apologetically.

"No?" I ask hopefully...

"No. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Well, crap! That's almost seven dollars worth of sausage!

"You can consume it before you enter the building, if you'd like, Ma'am."

"Uh, no; I guess that's okay." (sadly)

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I think I'll pass." :)

Anyway, this struck me as so funny. I mean maybe not seven dollars worth of funny, but still! The good news is she didn't check the zipper pocket, so my knife made it through and it's worth a lot more than seven dollars... like, maybe, twelve dollars or something like that! I got it at the fleamarket and it has a genuine simulated horn handle - very nice! Oh! And she missed my cheese. It was hiding flat under my wallet (not standing alone :) so I was able to enjoy it later before bedtime. I enjoyed it just a little extra as I sliced a bit off with my knife... knowing how close I had come to losing it; though I couldn't help but think of how perfect it would have been with a slice of dried sausage... Love, RED

DESIDERADA

Go placidly amid the noise and haste and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others, even the dull and the ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggresive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for there will always be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble, it is a real possesion in the changing fortunes of time.

Excercise caution in your business affairs, for the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;

Many persons strive for high ideals; and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself! Especially do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment it is as perennial

as the grass.

Take kindly the council of years, gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings;

Many fears are born of fatigue and lonliness.

Beyond a healthy discipline, be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe and are no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here, and whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Be at peace with God, whatever you conceive him to be.

And whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy.

Author unknown

You've probably read this before but it never hurts to read it again. It's so simple yet beautiful. I often remind myself to be on good terms with all persons as far as possible. And I love the part about the universe unfolding as it should; repeating this to myself helps me accept the things I wish didn't have to. Marn and I have always loved reminding each other that we are children of the universe, no less than trees or stars (though we may not always feel that way :) It's Sunday night and it's been a BUSY week, a busy weekend, a busy night and we saw a rat up in the dining room closet tonight (!). I'm not sure which line above will work best applied to the rodent situation but I'm gonna read it one more time with that in mind then hit the hay. Tomorrow is a new day... Love, RED

SUPPERTIME!

It is clear to everybody that the ordinary or nonprofessional horse ranks only with the dog as an animal likely to go to heaven. There are horses who never won anything, who never tried to win anything, who are remembered with love many years after their death, simply because they had ingratiating ways, stepped on some great bastard's foot and otherwise showed such decent character that no human could fail to love them.

Henry Mitchell

The Washington Post, June 9, 1989

Like human beings, horses are all individuals with singular personalities, their own virtues and their own faults. We become bound to them for their beauty, their eccentricities, their heart and the love they so often return to us.

Lana Slaton

Horse in History Coloring Album, 1987

Horses can tell time. You can't fool them and they don't like to be put off. Now that the days are getting longer I'm sliding back suppertime and it isn't going over so well! I like to feed about dusk, so that it's the end of the day but I don't have to worry with a flashlight. In the mornings everyone is a little more patient, although I'm not quite sure why. I still like to get out there before the sun gets good and up. Heaven forbid if I were to sleep in; I believe they would storm the house, goats in tow! When I am late, Tango stands in the corner of the corral right off the back porch, his eyes straining to catch any little movement inside. Ah well... I slept in enough in my twenties!

Horse really do have their own personalities. Tango, for instance. He's a grouch. He nips, swats with his tail, (very bad manners!) crowds, (nearly intolerable) and bullies everyone else out there around. I know that's all bad, and that I shouldn't let him get away with it (I know, Karen, I know!) ! But as a riding horse, he's wonderful. He's brave, dependable, and I like to think that he'd never take off without me. At least he didn't the time we were riding with friends up in the Sierras and I fell off the back of him while climbing a steep rise in the trail (the only time I've ever come off him, and not his fault). Very scary! There I was, sitting in the middle of the trail (on the side of a mountain!!) on my toucas and there he was, stopped in his tracks looking back at me quizzically! I was pretty much the "butt" (so to speak) of my friends' jokes for the rest of the day! It's OK, I'm a pretty good sport! (Miss McSill, I can just hear you laughing right now!) My friends didn't SEE me fall, for I was bringing up the rear, but apparently a big THUMP was heard ( I got a new nickname out of that fall!). They all insisted that I had to have done a complete flip to land in such a way behind my horse. I told them I was sure I hadn't...I couldn't remember flipping and Tango wasn't talking! Later on I realized they must have been right because I found my jeans were, well... full of leaves :) I know that amuses you, but the point is not that I had leaves in my jeans, but how loyal my little horse is! Tango was a gift - really - a gift I didn't even know I wanted. I sort of inherited him. I know! Me inherit an animal? Shocking! He may not look like much, but he is a registered Paso Fino with a fairly decent pedigree. Not that that means too much to either of us! We took a little kidding in the beginning, but he gained the respect and adoration of all my California trail riding friends too. Right girls? :) And he's my favorite riding horse ever!

The picture above captures one of my favorite moments of the day. I was born loving horses and caring for Tango and Sombra keeps that very real love a part of my daily life. I am very grateful for and love them both very much! Love, RED (aka Thumper :)