Thursday, October 30, 2008

"The Beckoning of Lovely"....Please Watch...

Every now and then I happen upon small treasures care of the amazing YouTube site. "The Beckoning of Lovely", by one of my favorite authors, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, is one such gem.

It elicits much the same feeling as the marvelous Free Hugs Campaign videos.

I have long loved Amy's writing. She is as close to who I am, as I can imagine...perhaps more so. When I read her work, I find myself thinking..."Yes, of course...she knows...she understands".

This short film is among the very best of her work.
Please, take the time to enjoy the experience Amy has shared with us.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Meeting Madeline Again...or Why I Love the Internet....

Like most of us, I hold a love/hate relationship with the Internet. I hate how it grabs hold of my attention, provides me with far too much reading material, and thought provoking issues....Bill calls it the time machine...and I fear that he is right.

That then is the down side of this technological coupling. Now...why I love the Internet...

A few days ago I found among the comments on this blog a curious post. I was asked if I had attended Our Lady of the Rosary School and graduated long, long ago? Yes, I did. And might I have attended OLR with a girl named Madeline? Yes, I did. In fact there were two Madeline's in my elementary school....might she be one of them?

Yes! Not only was she one of the Madeline's, but she was the one I had hoped she might be!!!!! I remember Madeline as a lovely and kind girl with long dark hair, a pretty smile and two very sweet parents. I also remember her well for one special moment on a fall Sunday morning.

There was a girl in our class, Vicky, who during the height of Beatlemania, had spent a month in England visiting family there. To those of us who lived and breathed the Beatles, this girl was as close as we would ever get to our idols. After all, SHE had been to England!

We attended 9 o'clock Mass every Sunday morning during the school year, and there we lined up in order to sit with our class during Mass. We knew that Vicky would be wearing, on that Sunday, a fall outfit brought from England. We all looked with great anticipation down the hill for that first glance at her Liverpool-like threads.

Before long, up the hill came Vicky, in what must have been the most stylish suit and hat....well, perhaps in England. Think Carnaby Street, think this-is-so-not-Yonkers attire...but we thought she was fab!

Enter Sister Miriam Joseph...the coolest nun in the history of the Blauvelt Dominicans. She was young, pretty, hip....the woman wore Clearasil, chewed gum AND had long nails! She was pretty smooth...

She watched as we gathered around Vicky, saying nothing. And then it happened....Madeline walked down the hill towards our line near the churches side door looking like a dream. She wore a red plaid skirt...it may have been a kilt...a white turtleneck sweater and a smart beret. We all thought she looked great...she always did...but our attention was still on the English fashion maven.

Sister Miriam Joseph stood next to us, complimented Vicky on her outfit, looked over to where Madeline was standing and said: "Yes, Vicky looks very nice. But that (pointing to Madeline) is what you call classy. That is the way to wear classic, sharp clothes".

I have never forgotten her words. Here, the nun I adored for her style and grace, in those few words spoke of the simple difference between a fad and true classic style. She possessed an innate sense of style, and knew that Madeline did too.

I don't know if Madeline ever heard Sister's words. I don't think that she needed to hear them. She already knew about who she was, she knew her own style. I thought she was enormously poised and lovely. That in a seventh grade young woman is quite rare.

So now I have re-found Madeline. I hope we will share both our past and our present. It's wonderful to chat with someone who has shared a part of your history. Living here in Chicago, so many, many years from New York, has meant never running into someone who knew you way back when...

This is a true delight. So happy to have found Madeline once again....

Monday, October 27, 2008

A Nice Monday at CHAMPs.....

CHAMPs is a music and arts homeschool program that Tess has been a part of for a few years now. There, she takes art, flute choir, guitar, orchestra, and the newly created volleyball!

And, I am lucky enough to have taken my first knitting instruction today! I learned to knit from my mother years and years ago, but lost the skill along the way. Now, thanks to a talented CHAMPs Mom, I am relearning a craft that I once dearly loved.

A good day...a very good day. Here, a few photos of our day.....
Flute Choir
Tess Drawing
Tess Drawing Max
Champs Orchestra

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Another 100,000...This Time in Colorado....

He Does It Again

Playing Catch-Up and Clearing Out My Camera.....

I have been a slug this summer. Low energy, low aspirations, low everything. Trying to get back on track.

Here's what is left of the summer photos for my patient children....it's still me....Mom-O...in here somewhere....working on a less slug-like state....
New Photos 007
Newk Photos 003
Nezw Photos 002
New Photos 088
New Puhotos 062
New Photos 020
New Photos 013
New Photos 010
New Photos 008
New Photos 061
Pitcure 010
Library Mailboxes
pl
New Photos 060
Bill at Geimers
Pink Flowers Two
Bill on Fathers Day
Kitchen Reflections

Friday, October 24, 2008

First Ever Campaign Rally for Tess...

We have a fabulous man who is running...and hopefully will win.... a congressional seat on November 4th and today, we attended a rally for him.

Dan Seals Sign

This was the first political campaign for Tess, and a long awaited one for me. I haven't been excited about politics since the likes of Bobby Kennedy and Gene McCarthy ran back in the '60's.

Campaign Table
Tess at Rally

We even had photo ops with Dan Seals our amazing candidate. A man with him asked if we would like him to snap the photos. We said yes, and later discovered that he is our Illinois State Treasurer, AND has been traveling around the county with Barack Obama!!!! How cool is that?
Tess with Dan Seals!

After a great rally, my personal driver, Tess, took us home....
After the Rally
Tess Driving Home
....what a fabulous day....

Monday, October 20, 2008

Sunday, October 19, 2008