Laughter IS The Best Medicine

There are, of course times when we get crabby. However, it is next to impossible to REMAIN crabby when listening to Veggie Tales, Veggie Tunes. We'd sing with Larry Boy to The Hairbrush Song. We'd croon along with Cheeseburger. We'd try to keep up with the Song of the Cebu. One night when Dad was still working at Quad Graphics, we stayed up until about 2 a.m. singing entire Veggie Tales soundtracks!!! Laughing the night away.

When the temps get to 80 deg. and the humidity levels are high, I tend to get cranky too. It's at times like these, knowing myself well enough, that I declare a swim day. We'd often pack up and go to Green Lake for some swimming and for me to cool off. You would get a bit quiet and nervous, knowing the "Momma is crabby", but you knew that the minute I got into the car, rolled down the windows and cranked out the Veggie Tunes that all would be better. Once I, literally, cooled down, we could all be happy and laugh once again.

If you didn't get enough sleep at night, you'd be cranky in the morning. Sometimes you'd get sent back to bed for more sleep. Othertimes you were forced to take a "Quiet Time" in the afternoon. During our "Quiet Time" you could read or sleep, but you had to be quiet and you had to be in your room. Sometimes we'd do Quiet Time in the backyard. Other times we'd do Quiet Time in the living room watching a movie with the volume down really low. I'd turn the answering machine on and lock the doors. I'd pull the blinds and let the soft light of the late afternoon gently filter through. Sometimes there would be a soft gentle breeze, moving the blinds gently against the window sills. The final 'rule' was that no one got to disturb the rest of the family until the timer went off. I used this time regularly to regain my sanity, catch-up on my reading or writing. When Quiet Time was over, my boys were happy and joyful once again. You were ready, willing and able to laugh with me once more.

There were many times when our lives weren't constantly happy, but we were full of joy, we were together and eventually the sadness moved on. But through it all, we'd laugh and we were glad to be together.

~ Love you! Momma~

Hiking ~ 2006 to present

We first started taking you hiking in 2006. We went to Door County and hiked down the cliffside to the water below. We even took along our Golden Retriever, Jazzy. She loved it as much as the rest of us! When we arrived at the water's edge, we found a huge teepee made out of drift wood logs. The teepee was approximately 15' tall and at least 15' at the base. It was awesome! We all sat inside of it. We've tried to find it since, but no such luck.

Today, we went hiking at Devil's Lake, Wisconsin. We hiked the East Bluff Trail. This time we took our Golden Retriever, Sophie. Jazzy wasn't far from our thoughts, however. We knew that she wouldn't have been able to make the hike. We used up all of Jazzy's Fun Energy since 2006 and had to put her down. However, today we thought of her and knew that, had she been younger, she would have had fun hiking with us. But, to the present, Sophie did a wonderful job. Many people, I'd say 98% of the people that came across us hiking, would stop to say hello to Sophie. They'd ask if she had enough water. They'd give her a pet, call her a good girl or say, "Hey buddy, you're up here too?" She did well with the other dogs - actually, I think all of the dogs were so worn out that they didn't have enough energy to even sniff butts!! One little cutie white fluffy poodle type was being carried. I said to Sophie, "Don't get any ideas, I'm not carrying you." The other owner just laughed and laughed. Sophie wanted to go first and picked the trail for us most of the way. There was one time where we were on a switch-back and she thought she could just jump down and get to me. In doing so, she almost slipped off of a huge boulder.

The trail we took today was absolutely beautiful. There happened to be lots of people hiking today, but it wasn't annonyingly crowded on the trails. We even saw a blind man and his family making their way on the trail. I imagine most of the people were on the beaches and in the picnic areas. Being a holiday weekend - Memorial Day combined with great weather, it's no wonder that Wisconsin most popular State Park was jam-packed full today!

Going up to Door County last week, we bought an annual State Park sticker so we could hike at Penninsula State Park both last week and again in October when we go on vacation. We decided to use our State Park sticker every weekend that we can this year, to get our money's worth. However, I think we will be using it mostly at Devil's Lake and then Penninsula the most. We'd like to get you to Governor Dodge this year. That's a favorite because it also has waterfalls. There is one more state park that I know of, with waterfalls, but it's waaay up near Superior - an 8 hour drive; we'd need to spend the night somewhere to get in some hiking.

Both of you are so funny! You've both asked for ibuprofen since we've gotten home. Sophie's feet were so hot!! We got out her little pool and let her cool off - it was funny when she sat and cooled off her pooky - could almost hear her body go. psssssssssshooo as she cooled down. But Dad and I are good, once we got some cold iced drinks at the Kwik Trip in Baraboo, we were good to go.

We all had a really good time. Hiking is one of the things that we all like to do. Whether we are in Wisconsin, Montana or California, hiking has always been our favorite activity. Thank you boys for the wonderful day! Remember to thank Dad for driving!

Last weekend we went to Door County to find our autumn cottage. We hiked at Penninsula State Park. That was alot of fun too. We went on the Eagle Trail. Sophie did really good there. I really like that trail because of the rocky climb and the cool temperature. Also, it goes down to the water! Since Rick just got his Temps the day before, we had him do all the driving in the Park. He did a great job and got some good practice in!

Bangles and Memories ~ 1974-1975

I love my bangle bracelets that jingle and ting-ting along with my movements. I love the look of several jangly bracelets on other women too. Women from India can pull off the look of 15+ bangles on one wrist. I have a friend that has the most beautiful wrists and forearms. She wears several slender bangles, thin bangles and the really thick ones that you have to put on sideways.

A young lady friend of mine makes jewelry. When she told me, I was extremely excited because now, I could actually get bracelets that fit over my wide hands. Typically, off the rack bangles don't fit over my hands. This is probably why I like the look of them on other women so much -- because I rarely find any that fit me. So when my young-jewelry-making friend told me about her business, I placed an order for three. Then, I went to a craft store and found some baubles and trinkets and gems that I wanted to have made in jingly bracelets. I placed another order. Then another...

I'm happy with the jingly ting-ting sounds that my bracelets make. My Lola Mom used to wear gold bangles on her wrists and a slender chain anklet with a tiny charm on her ankle. She would jingle and ting away while she cooked. We could hear her bangles while she puttered around the house. My favorite sound was when she was in the garden.... it was the sounds of the neighborhood, the birds, her laughter and her bangles. Tiny clink-clink and ting-ting, jingling quietly in the thick Pacific heat, under the shade of her exotic trees, plants and flowers.

Two of my Aunties also wore bangly bracelets. They usually were gold or silver. Not the fake stuff, but the real silver and gold. I clearly remember them sitting there in the Pacific heat, drinking wine out of a slender glass and their bangles clinking when they lifted the glass to their lips. The contrast of the silver and gold metal against their Pacific tanned skin was beautiful. In the background Otis Reding was probably singing: ".... sitting' in the evening sun...."

When I hear the quiet jingle of my bracelets, I sometimes think of Lola Mom and my Aunties. When I hear my bangles clink against my desk while I'm at work, I notice that sometimes little girls will look towards the sound and tell me that my bracelets are pretty. I remember being that small; looking at my Lola Mom's bracelets and telling her the same thing... and it brings me peace. I hope it does for you too!

Introduction

One of the things I'd like is for my boys to know my childhood. For them to know things about the little girl that I used to be. For them to know the time in history that I grew up in.

I want them to know me.

If you happen to stumble across this love blog, sit back and enjoy!

In order to do that, however, I've got to get the stories written down for them. This is the purpose of this blog. I want it to be a love journal of sorts for my children.