Celebrations

I never used to enjoy saying Merry Christmas or Happy New Year. I mean, really, did you have any clue if it was going to be Merry or Happy.  Why ask for trouble?  In fact, I can remember one New Years Eve going to a party, back when I was skinny.  I chose that day to start my diet.  Hellooooo, was I nuts?    My logic, pathetic as it was, was that if I couldn't eat reasonably then, I couldn't on a regular day.  So by all means do not take pleasure in the festivities, because it wasn't safe to be festive.  I kid you not, I used to be that person.

That was years ago, and I'm not that person anymore. hfewwwwww!!!!   Maybe we all have times like that in our life, where we are simply afraid to live.  Perhaps we are a seed and our time to blossom has not arrived.

But, thankfully it happens. And it is cause to celebrate.  Life is really too short not to. Celebrate it all, the good and the bad.  Each has a life force to mold us into a better me and you.  If I had to do it again...I'd surf that buffet of party food like it was my last meal.  Surely I passed up some potato chips that night, egads what was I thinking!!  Maybe there was chocolate with my name on it, and yet, I said no, no chocolate for me.  There were toast's to good times and I held back.  

So here is the lesson....don't hold back.....   Embrace, savor and taste the goodness.  Plain and simple, celebrate.

  

Surviving

I will be the first to say I never would have made it as a pioneer. Face it, I've been a city girl all my life.  Or rather I was a city girl, now I'm a country girl, sorta.  Until this week it's been an easy adjustment.  

This week we had our first major snow...okay a full blown blizzard. Once I got home I didn't want to leave.  Once Reno got home (and it took him forever) I didn't want him to leave.  It was a safe at home, snowy but safe.  Someone should have pulled me aside discussed this with me.  Or given me a "how to survive winter weather in the country" class for a housewarming present. 

In one storm I've learned which roads to stay off of, that a front end loader is a godsend, that you can get stuck on flat ground, that a towing chain is a good investment.  I learned when the drifts are really high the dogs can walk right over the top of the fence.  I am learning that a few good neighbors in the country can mean more than a whole block of neighbors in the city.  And I've learned it is humbling to be the one who knows nothing...and even more humbling to have a neighbor repeatedly come to your assistance. What a blessing that they are so gracious and willing.  It's what neighbors do, I am told. It's a lesson I am learning anew. 

I admit today was a weepy day, frankly I wanted to go home. I'll let you figure out which home I wanted to go to.  For the life of me I couldn't find my big girl panties.  Had I been a pioneer, my husband would have tossed me out of the covered wagon not far out of town.  For the good the wagon train, I'm sure. It may have been a wise decision.

But luckily, there was no wagon train involved.  I survived, we survived with a little help from our friends.  Life is like that, a learning process.  If you are lucky like we are, help is there for the asking.  It's how we survive and thrive.

Tables, Feasts and Guests

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It's Thanksgiving.  At least once a year we ponder and give thanks.  If we live our lives right every day is a Thanksgiving.   And we feast (okay, luckily this happens more than once a year).  This year we were both host and guest. We served one dinner to my kids and we were guests at another.  We traveled hours away one day, and another day we enjoyed the blessings right at home.

There were guests in other forms.  My Great Grandmother was there, well, her china was.  My Mom was there.  At least her good silver was.  Aunt Barbara was there too.  Her vases graced our table.  There was a whole lot of history with us at the table.  I hope as time goes on my kids will cherish these treasures.  Old recipes, new recipes, new babies, new family and old friends. Hands across the generations united.

If tables could speak ours would have groaned in joy.  Perhaps you heard it. We experienced that joy ourselves.  Perhaps in the quiet of our hearts. Being with family, those you chose or those you are born into is indeed a gift.

This year we added the new tradition of a beer tasting and bon fire to our celebration.  Sometimes traditions are created as you go along in life.  It's a good thing.  Celebrations are meant to evolve and to honor.  This year we embraced them all.  

House Warming Gifts

The older I get....  Wait, this sounds like a recurring theme.  I could finish that sentence in a thousand ways.  Cause the older I get the more appreciation, understanding, intuition, wisdom, humor, serendipity, insanity I have.  But I digress.

The older I get, the more I appreciate little celebrations.  No offense to the big celebrations of the world.  They are important too.  We've received two house warming gifts and a card.  They touch our hearts.  A card is "just" a piece of paper in an envelope. However, the envelope holds a shit ton of good wishes and happy thoughts.  Someone cared enough to honor us with love.  Gotta love that.

One of the gifts we received is a load of fire wood.  Literally, a house "warming" present.  Can't wait to use some of that. Nothing warms our hearts like a fireplace, and the gift of comfort from it.  Last but not least, we received an awesome gift box of wine, cheese, fruit and snacks.  Lordy, after moving we needed the extra sustenance.  Beautifully packaged, carefully selected all manner of yummiliscious.

Any way you look at it we've been blessed.  A warm house with gifts of love.  We'll share, you know. C'mon out.  Just look for the little white house on the prairie.  It's special, we're special and we have special gifts to enjoy.   

Room With A View

We recently moved  from the city to the country.  The house was surrounded by cornfields.  I admit to being a bit afraid of how I would feel about the landscape after the corn was harvested.  Corn makes a pretty good privacy fence.  

It made me think of the walls we all have, that keep other things out.  We usually suspect removing them will be a bad thing. Indeed a scary thing.  In the case of the corn, it's a dusty thing. Noisy, but fascinating.  We are such country living newbys.  We share our lane with the farmer so he has access to his fields.  We didn't have to, but seeing as there was a tradition in place we chose to honor that. 

Such a surprise to see a combine, tractors and semi's in the back yard area while they harvest.  Instead of city lights and noises we are seeing farmers at work late into the night.  It's a different world and we are thrilled to have a better understanding of it.  

As to the view, I find I love it either way.  Before we were in a cocoon of corn, now we have wide open vistas.  Fairly flat vista's because this is central Nebraska. Makes us appreciate the rolling hills we do have.  The wall came down and it's all good.  

New Digs

We took a leap of faith and bought a new house.  Now the task begins to make it a new home.  It will be the first house that is ours.  Not mine/ours.  Just ours.  It represents many firsts.  First house in our new locale.  First house in the country.  First house that doesn't have neighbors, unless you count the wild life.  Nice change from the wild neighbors from other neighborhoods.

About a year ago we pulled up all our roots and moved.  Just about a year later we are moving to put down new roots.  Basically, it's a leap of faith. 
Faith in real estate, in our jobs, in new adventures. 

Already one of the dogs tested the boundaries and made a run for it.  Luckily she came back when I notice a white blur on the wrong side of the fence.  I called she came.  Good girl.

No doubt this move will test our boundaries.  Those of patience, endurance, adventure.  And, I have to believe, it will give us new gratitude for house, for home, for roots.

Security Questions

Can one human actually remember all the passwords and security questions needed to manage their accounts?  I guess, some do it without issue.  Not this blonde.

I thought, at one time, that an easy security question for me to answer would be my favorite hobby.  Thus far I have tried the following answers to no avail. Sewing, beading, quilting, gardening, writing, reading and cooking.  Hmmmm....still haven't come upon the right hobby to give me access.  What else could I have chosen? Perhaps I should try the following - shopping, eating, drinking, dogs, Pinterest, Ebay or Facebook.  

Thank God each time I fail at the first two attempts I'm prompted by another question, father or mother's middle name.   Those I haven't forgotten yet.   Seems like if I consistently fail at the first question (as in 100% of the time) they should be intuitive enough to say "hey, blondie, would you like to pick another first security question?"  Would that be too much to ask?

I'm secure in the knowledge I don't know what my favorite hobby is, they could be secure enough to ask me to play again.