...deep in the ♥ of Texas

The stars at night,

Are big and bright,

Deep in the heart of Texas,

The prairie sky

Is wide and high,

Deep in the heart of Texas.

The sage in bloom

Is like perfume,

Deep in the heart of Texas,

Reminds me of,

The one I love,

Deep in the heart of Texas.

I got a call yesterday from my Mom. She told me that her sister (my Auntie Marie) is in the hospital and her health is failing. Although the call came to me as a shock, a part of me knew that someday soon this call would come. You see, my aunt has lived a full life; a VERY full life; and now in her mid-90's her time is only that much more brief.
 
My Auntie Marie was married, yet never had children of her own. Her "children" were us nephew and nieces. She was married to my Uncle Otto.
Back in the mid-1980's, she and Uncle Otto packed up there things and moved from their home Chicago and headed down to Texas...to a warmer-retired life.
They settled in the small charming German town of New Braunfels and modestly they lived in a modular home community.
They became heavily involved in their Catholic church. They had many friends that were near-and-dear.
Uncle Otto died in the mid-90's, yet my aunts strong faith continued.
A child of the depression-era, she was a "saver". Nothing went to waste; everything could be re-used, at least one or two more times.
What I remember most about my Auntie Marie is her unwavering faith. She had many adversities in her life, yet she was always a pillar of strength. She was always healthy and always happy. Right until the last time I saw her, which was last summer, her zest for life was still the same.
 
In these last few days, although I am not able to be with her in person, I will re-live those dear and happy memories that I share with her. I will always have etched in my mind her special laugh, the unique smell of her home, and the time she showed me (when I was a little girl) how to make  proper pancakes. As my Godmother, she showed me a love of cooking, life and God.
 
 She was such a giving and caring individual: and  I will give that back to those around me I encounter...always!
 
I ♥ you, Auntie Marie...



 
 

the Iditarod...

The Iditarod. I know this won't come as any great interest to many of you. But, for some reason it does for me, as well as my family.

 Known as "the last great race", the Iditarod 2012 began in Willow, Alaska last Saturday, March 3rd. Over 60 mushers with their dog teams set out; hoping to finish to the end.
 The race's history is an interesting one, at best. Each year, in early March, mushers and their dogs embark on an 1,049 mile journey, through excruciating conditions, from Anchorage Alaska all the way to Nome.

The race can go on for almost 2 weeks! Along the way the mushers make sure that the dogs are well taken care of. Those dogs just LOVE to run...

I have always had a great fascination with all-things Alaska,the Iditarod being no exception.

When me and the family had the awesome pleasure of visiting Alaska last summer, (see here and here) we stopped in Wasilla (yes, Sarah Palins home-turf.) Wasilla is home to the Iditarod Trial Race Headquarters.

Inside, it contains ALL things Iditarod. It was a fascinating place to visit.

[Joe Redington Sr. - Father of the Iditarod]





[our less than 1 minute dog sled ride...those dogs were FAST!]

                                                         [paw mits from previous sled dogs]               

Later on our trip, at our stop in Denali we learned even more about the power and necessity of these hard working dogs. Our tour guide, Jamie, explained all about how necessary these dogs actually are in the Denali National Park, as well as surrounding areas. No vehicles of any kind are allowed in the park in the winter; yet there are park rangers, field guides and other naturalists that still work and live there over the winter. The only way for supplies/food/ and other items to be delivered into the park and the several miles to where they need to be is with the help of the sled dogs. Without the hard work of these dogs there would be no way to get this job done.

You may or may not have heard the name Balto before? Well, he was the dog that became famous for traveling hundreds of miles to deliver a serum that would help stop the deadly diphtheria epidemic in Alaska. His heroic efforts are still near-and-dear to many people, even to this day.

                                          

A great book: The Great Serum Race by Debbie S. Miller.

                                                                                  

                                                                  

me and my shadow...

I still hear you humming, Mama. The color of your song calls me home.

The color of your words saying, "Let her be.

She got a right to be different.

She gonna stumble on herself one of these days.

 Just let the child be."

 And I be, Mama.

~Sonia Sanchez

I had the great joy of spending the entire afternoon, yesterday, with just my oldest daughter.

 Just me and her - her and me.

 A rather rare treat - by why?

Why don't we do this more often - I thought, as the beautiful-sunny-February afternoon swept us away. We need to!

We are!

You see, my daughter is growing up. Her wings are starting to spread.

The time we spend together is important - vital!

I love her so much.

 ...my beautiful daughter of mine.

the seasons

Ecclesiastes
Chapter 3

1
There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.

2

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.

3

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
4
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.

5

A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
6
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.

7

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.

8

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9

What advantage has the worker from his toil?

10

I have considered the task which God has appointed for men to be busied about.

11
He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without men's ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done.

12

I recognized that there is nothing better than to be glad and to do well during life.

it's not easy being GREEN?

"It's not that easy being green...when green is all there is to be
It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why
Wonder, I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful
And I think it's what I want to be."

Do you remember Kermit the Frog singing this song? I do. It had a different meaning back then, but somehow it could relate to this post, right now.

The world somehow became "green" overnight, didn't it? It came with a big bang. Everything, everywhere, and (it seems) everyone, is jumping on the green bandwagon. Being "green" = being earth friendly. Being conscious of our earth and what we can do to make it a better place to live in.

With Earth Day right around the corner (April 22nd) I thought I would share some of my favorite web sites that have some awesome information on all things green. Enjoy!


greenyour.com
about greening your life
lowimpactliving.com

http://www.laundrylist.org/
set up that clothes line!

www.catalogchoice.org/

stop the "paper" catalogs and browse online instead

goin' back

In 1981 Readers Digest came out with a "how-to" book called Back to Basics. Last summer, in a small town in Wisconsin, rambling through a yard sale, I came across this book. I was instantly drawn to it. I believe I paid $1.oo for it. Just the title alone, back to basics, is a motto that I have currently been trying to live up to. I know I am not alone on this bandwagon. The book is chock full of all sorts of "how-to's." It discusses how to buy country land and build on it, gardening, preserving foods, home crafts (woodworking, soap making, rug making), camping, fishing, survival, etc. Grant it, I am not "currently" doing some to most of these things. It is just fun to read up on them. Who knows! Maybe one day this book might become a constant companion if the world takes a sudden turn.

I was thinking back to the year this book was published, 1981. Hmm. Where was I back then? Well, I was an eleven year old girl, probably without much care in the world. I wasn't old enough to ponder life's greater issues, other than which friends house I was going to, or who wants to ride bikes?! I did an internet search to find out exactly what was what back in 1981. Here are some of the highlights I found:

1981:

-Television series "Dynasty" with Joan Collins premieres on ABC.

-Jimmy Carter submits his final State of the Union message, assessing the nations as "sound, but warning that the problems of unemployment, inflation, the energy shortage, and challenges from Russia were yet to be solved."

-Ronald Reagan takes the oath as the 40th President of the United States.

-Iran frees 52 U.S. hostages after 444 days in captivity.

-Prince Charles's marriage to Lady Diane Spencer in Great Britain.

-Walter Cronkite delivers his final CBS Evening News telecast.

-President Reagan is shot in the chest outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. Press secretary, James Brady, is severely wounded.

-Pope John Paul II wounded by gunman.

-The World Internet is mentioned for the first time and MS-DOS was released by Microsoft.

-The first IBM PC came out.

-Researchers find the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.

-The first frequent flier miles was introduces by American Airlines, AAdvantage.

-Post It Notes launched by 3M.

-MTV (Music Television) was launched in August.

Looking back I think I can recall only a handful of those events. That was one busy year!

For those of you that know me, you know my love of the show Little House on the Prairie! You also know that I love going to Amishland and I love to go saling (garage/rummage/etc). In many ways, these are all things that bring one "back to the basics." Well, in a small sort of way, that is. I have no current plans to buy that country lot and build on it (though I would LOVE to!) I don't raise chickens or own cows. Nor do I spin my own wool or churn butter. I DO admire those that have these skills though.

Technology is zipping by, faster than most of us can even stop to appreciate it. Time seems to be speeding by. Why is that? I have no idea where the world will take us. I do know that I need to become prepared. Who knows when one day we ALL will have to go back to basics!