40 Years Ago Today

40 years ago today – I was one and a half.  I was probably walking around on the orange carpet in our living room – gazing at my very pregnant mom.  Maybe I was pulling around my Fisher Price telephone – maybe munching on a graham cracker.  Little did I know that that day would change my life forever.

That day, my little sister was born.  From the start she was curious and loving and sweet.  We shared a room for the first eight or so years.  We had this amazing bunk bed that my mom built – primary colors – equipped with it’s own big green slide.  We had these HUGE metal bookshelves, full of games and books and matching dolls who’s hair grew longer when you pulled it out of her head.  We also had a magical chinese checkers game – some of the marbles turned into gumballs – no joke.

We had lots of matching dresses and outfits (like the one above).  Some had cats, some Raggedy Ann and Andy and more.  Matching sleeping bags and ponchos and all kinds of things.  We were built in buddies.  Mom did everything she could to make sure us girls were happy, well adjusted sisters.

I don’t even want to think about where I’d be without her all these years.  She’s been my best friend, my confidant,  my co-conspirator, my cheer leader, my inspiration. We’ve shared so much – especially our faith in a loving God and Savior.  Where would we be without HIM?

The only thing we don’t share is a STATE.  We live way too far apart.  But today – I’m at her home helping her celebrate her birthday.  Thanks Uncle Brad for flying me out to be with her today.  Thanks sis for choosing to have me come.  I love you with all of my heart.

Julie loves Scrabble.  So. . . at her birthday party we secretly had friends spell out on a board – things they loved about Julie. . . some of the results are above.

we interrupt the blog silence…

…to mourn the passing of a genius — albeit a flawed one — who provided the soundtrack to our childhood, adolescence, and coming-of-age. Dramatic? Yeah. But really, no other musician evokes such vivid memories of growing up with my siblings.

I don’t think that anyone who didn’t grow up in the 70s can quite understand this. I’m not one to ordinarily mourn the passing of complete strangers. But as I tried to explain to my daughters last night, the music of Michael Jackson is so intertwined in my memories — there is not one album in which one or two or four songs don’t evoke vivid recollection of the events and experiences of my young life. From playing Looking Through the Windows on our old record player in my sister’s bedroom…to watching her dance solo to Michael on stage at a talent show in the Clifford School  gymnasium…to gathering around the TV to watch the world premiere of the Thriller video…to playing Man in the Mirror at the house of a guy I was sooo secretly crushing on when I was 18…to riding with my brother in his VW Scirocco, amazed that he knew every word, beat and “oooo!” in every song.

Yeah, he got really odd. But honestly…who wouldn’t, with the whole world watching him from when he was so small? I know, I know…some wouldn’t. What a sad reality that his temperament + massive fame = wacky train wreck. What a shame.

But I don’t want to dwell on that…the media is doing it for me. 😉 I’m just gonna get back to my all-day MJ dance party and celebrate the music, thankful that he was able to share his gifts with the world.

Pink Formica Dinette Table

Pink Formica Table

This isn’t the best pic – I’ll find a better one later – but I had to put something up as we’ve been quiet way too long.  I found this table on Craigslist for $50 – and it includes TWO LEAVES!  It’s a gorgeous gorgeous find and goes perfect in my jadeite green kitchen.  Now if only Kitchenaid would let me exchange my white mixer for a PINK one.

Primitive Antique Ring Holder FIND

There is a local Flea Market (indoor antique mall) on the way to my kids’ school.  I had about 20 minutes to kill yesterday, so I wandered in and around the 100 plus booths in this place.  I was nearly tearing myself away from the kitch when I saw this treasure.  Being a jadeite collector, my eye is always drawn to shades of green – and this little guy drew me in.  It is a wooden coffee pot ring holder.  On it reads:

“Let me hold your rings for you while dishes or washing you do”

It’s clearly been used.  The paint is chipping and there are water spots on it – scars from many years of living on the counter next to the kitchen sink.

When I took it to the checker, I said, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”  Upon closer examination, she said SHE had never seen anything like it either.  I thought that was extraordinary for an antique purveyor to also not have seen an item like this before.   So, I came home, eager to jump on ebay and do some research on my new little treasure.  I have searched and googled and searched again – and found nothing else like this, nothing with the quote on it, NOTHING!  Can you believe it?  Well – I should say that I spent $6.50 for this ring holder and will most likely actually use it because we don’t have a dishwasher (as I’m sure it’s original owner didn’t either).  If YOU have any information on my little treasure, please leave a comment here.  I’d love to learn more about these.

Dancing

If you go to Matt Harding’s Site you can read about how this video (and several others) came to be.  He’s NOT photoshopped into these places. . . It gives me warm fuzzies all over. . .  2:38 is my fave.

Happy 4th of July!

We sisters adore 4th of July!  In past years – Jodi has always had a bbq – and recently could watch fireworks in our front yard – as they were set off at the park across the street.  Last year they moved the show to a park northeast of our home – so we’re not sure about our view yet – we’re going to check it out tonight from our roof!

So the 4th is my favorite because all kinds of people GATHER together – for fun and to celebrate our great country (which always involves great food, flags and fun.)

Here’s some Fireworks for You!!!

ooh, so crafty and clever

This makes me want to head to the Goodwill! Awesome!

Vote for Jason Castro

I’ve never voted for anyone on American Idol – but I will tonight. . .

This is a great song by Brandon Heath – I’m not who I was – so chill – great to hear in the car.

I made this.

Seriously. That’s Danish pastry, made from scratch, following the lovely, painstaking instructions found in Baking with Julia. In light of my recent culinary failures, it seemed a little foolish to take on a project of this magnitude, but I forged ahead. Made the dough, chilled it for several days, rolled it out and folded it up and re-rolled it 46587689 times, then chilled it some more.

I made a great little batch of berry goo with a bag of mixed berries I found in the freezer. They must be very old, but it didn’t make a difference — the berry goo ROCKS. The only problem I had was with the confectioner’s cream — there weren’t regular stovetop instructions, only microwave ones. Which are trouble in my house because A. the microwave is for heating things up, not for cooking; and B. our microwave is freakishly powerful, so following instructions for other people’s normal microwaves doesn’t usually end well. So I ruined one batch before getting it right…but it was oh, so right. Mmmmmm.

They were a ton of work, but they’re flaky, berry-gooey, creamy yummy perfection. And my picky four-year-old doesn’t like them. You know what that means….more for me.

(Just kidding, really, I only had one this morning! And I did Pilates right away to assuage the guilt.)

Merry Christmas!

Our wee one’s favorite gift…

Thanks, Aunt Jodi! 😀