When our first child was born in May of 1978, the mother of one of my closest friends created this ornament for him. I loved her like a second mom, and although she passed away several years ago I feel her presence every year when I place this ornament on our tree.
I call this one, “Sweetest Memories.”
Once upon a time I took hours decorating our Christmas tree. I agonized over which ornament looked best in which spot. I longed to achieve a tree that was worthy of gracing a design magazine.
My need for the perfect tree took all the fun out of decorating for my kids and Studly Doright, and soon the task of hanging all of the ornaments landed squarely on my shoulders. Like a big old vacuum I sucked all the fun out of what should have been an enjoyable family activity.
Nowadays, few people other than Studly and me even see our tree, and I’ve finally learned that Christmas trees don’t have to be perfectly decorated to be perfect. So I’m calling this one, “The Perfect Tree.”
Notice Scout in the foreground. She worships our Christmas tree. Seriously.
I am having a love affair with country singer/songwriter, Chris Stapleton. Now Chris isn’t aware of this, but Studly Doright is, so nobody’s feelings are in danger of being hurt.
Every morning Chris serenades me while I shower and dress for work or play. His music keeps me company as I complete chores around the house or sit out on the screened in porch.
I own two copies of his Traveler cd, one for the house and another for my car, and his is the first name up on my Pandora playlist. My favorites off the cd are Tennessee Whiskey and Traveler, but Parachute comes in near the top these days.
I’m especially fond of the chorus:
You only need a roof when it’s raining
You only need a fire when it’s cold
You only need a drink when the whiskey
Is the only thing that you have left to hold
Sun comes up and goes back down
And falling feels like flying till you hit the ground
Say the word and I’ll be there for you
Baby, I will be your parachute
Maybe you should listen:
Peace, people.
I call this one, “Nearly Nekkid Tree.” Notice Scout as she adores her old friend.
Before I began blogging on WordPress occasionally I’d write what I called “Pretending for Grownups” posts on Facebook. My Facebook friends would read them and declare, “Oh! You should write a blog!” Ironically, very few of those who urged me to blog actually read my blog–but I blame (and thank) them for my addiction to blogging.
Today Facebook resurrected one of my “memories” which happened to be an early Pretending for Grownups. I thought I’d share it with you. Ah, the good old days…
Everybody knows
They whisper behind closed doors
Your secret is out
How will you respond
Held head high or bowed in shame
The power is yours
Laugh and make merry
Celebrate indiscretions
Make people wonder
I snapped many photos while Studly Doright and I toured the USS ALABAMA and the USS DRUM in Mobile, Alabama, this past weekend. Here are the ones taken while we snaked our way through the DRUM, a World War II era submarine on display at Battleship Memorial Park.
I can’t imagine being stuck on this vessel for months on end. Claustrophobia would’ve been the death of me.
Peace, people!
A pair of tall black boots hid my socks, so no one was the wiser, still I call this one, “Matching is for Wusses.”
Such powerful words from my friend, Mike Steeden.
Renata preferred apricots, blintzes, caviar, a little vodka at times, over ailing nightmares
she hated avid weevil’s in porridge, harvest after harvest that bore so little food
preferred the Fabergé romance of ‘St Petersburg’ over ho hum ‘Petrograd’
a knight in shining armour kiss above being wrestled to a Bolshevik’s floor
Julian calendar’s October revolt put pay to all that she preferred
the day Red molested White, desire and daydreams died
‘Peace, bread, and land’ the big man’s assurance
Renata never believed that for a single moment
squirreled away diamonds, silver and gold
found ‘Peace, bread, and land’
in a place of opportunity
across an ocean
far away
oh, how even now, Renata so misses her Mother Russia
‘Peace, bread, and land’ the big man’s assurance
‘Peace, bread, and land’ in exchange for quashed dissent
no man, woman or child feasts its soul on such a dirtied dish
through…
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On our way home from New Orleans where we purchased parts for a motorcycle Studly Doright is building (see Tuesday’s post) we stopped to tour the USS ALABAMA, a decommissioned battleship that saw duty from August of 1942 until 1947. Since January of 1965, the ship has been the centerpiece at the USS ALABAMA Battleship Memorial Park east of Mobile.
I highly recommend a visit to the park where, in addition to touring the battleship one can also tour the submarine USS DRUM, and an aircraft exhibit.
Below are just a few of the photos we took during our tour:
The ALABAMA earned nine battle stars, and shot down 22 enemy planes during World War II. She’s a beautifully fearsome ship.
More than ever, peace, people!
Praying for Eyebrowz 