The Best Gifts...

 Let's face it.
You reach a Certain Age and all the gee-gaws and tchotchke's that you ever wanted, you've pretty much received in one way or another, or you have grown up and the necessity of the obtainment of that particular item just isn't what it used to be.

Okay.  I'll admit to still wanting a good deal of gees but the gaws have gotten under control.


Certainly, the quality, not the quantity of the gifts are weighed in a much different paradigm.
Even though my family does not exchange gifts, I truly don't know what I would request if they ventured to ask.  My level of contentment these days seems to have tabled out from the outstanding amount of greed that I embraced in my early years.


This year, with the crazy distraction of  the overdue delivery of Baby Girl's Baby Girl, I am hard pressed to even keep my thoughts straight, never mind trying to focus on gifts or gifting.


Then last week, I received a most precious gift.
It was with a scheduled visit from Spiderman, (you know I cannot reveal his identity) and when arriving to pick him up (you don't expect Spiderman to drive around out in the open do you??) I found him at his door, holding a crayoned greeting, which he was sure to point out before I gave him any praise or thanks, that his sister (yes, Spiderman has family) was the one that was gifting me with a most lovely drawing and note.

 I hope you can read this because I would tear up if I tried to repeat it to you.
It touched my heart to the very core.
This little girl that has been my friend since her baby days and still counts me as a special person in her life even with an abundance of grammys, nanas and mamaws in her life.  We have shared semi monthly visits for most of her life and watching her grow into a kind of little girl that would relate this kind of intentional greeting to a non related Older Lady, overwhelms and lightens my full heart.  I can picture her setting out to create a kind of picture that she would know that I would love.  After all, we have shared many an art session together.  Then to see her set out with pencil to largely lined printing paper and to express herself so sweetly (with accurate spelling!) well, the whole picture fills my Little Emotional Tank to way past Full.

And just to punctuate the whole lovely gift, Spiderman came home with me and shared more of love that apparently he inherited osmosisly from his older sister.


How possibly can one woman be so blessed, I tell you.


Love my little friends....
Many, many Merry Christmases to you, my loves.....

Lily Love

For the last 7+ Years, I've had the pleasure of having the sweetest relationship with the most wonderful child.  I've spoken of her before in this place, but as she ages and new aspects of her personality blossom, I find new things to report.

The visit on Tuesday, was another Growth Ring in our relationship tree.  I have gone from changing her diaper and making toast points and eggies for her breakfast once a week, to beginning to teach her how to crochet and sew.

My little heart soared when she mentioned in my sewing room this week that she wants to learn to sew and that she thought that I should teach her.

And I agree.

When Lily comes over, she knows what she wants to do.  When she was younger, we had specific things that had to be covered: Tea Party, Play her song, (Jars of Clay, Sunny Day), play the drums, color, and go through the vintage jewelry in my china cabinet.  Now, she kinda free lances it; going from one event to the other as they happen.  I go on to my events and she hers.  We interact and share our projects but basically she just wants to utilize my crazy house and all it's distractions.  Whether she's playing office, shop or house, she is content to share square footage with me and play with my things.

This week, her other good buddy, Youngest Son, who used to co-babysit with me, was off work and invited us Ladies out to lunch.  He thought that a different park would be nice for a change and we Ladies agreed.  He thought that a trip to the Local Jiffy Treet might be more memorable than just going to McDs for a Blizzard.  It certainly was for me; Chocolate Dipped Cones are not that easy to come by in our small community. Yum.

And so our day went, as all Lily Days do; pleasant, entertaining, conversational and instructive. 

Lily started her time with me by drawing.  She allowed me to choose between a floral interpretation and an ocean scene.  Telling her that I am a flower aficionado, I choose the trio of posies.  She delivered to YS's abode, the Ocean drawing.

Lily has also discovered photography.  She loved sitting on my porch limestone seating, taking a myriad of photos of cars, golf carts and pedestrian's passing by.  And she caught me in a serious embroidery moment, as Adoring Dixie looks on.

One good turn deserves another, so I snapped her as she sewed two pieces of fabric for the first time.  It was exciting for both of us.

Little Brother Grant came with Lily's Mama along with other brother Maddox.  LBG has not come solo to Lily's Debbie's house yet.  But he is nearly ready.  He too, along with his siblings, is intrigued with the house as well as the Owner Occupier.  A mystical woman, not related nor near by or  family involved.  Just this generic grandmotherly sort, too old to be an aunt or parental friend.  Just a kind of unclassified enigma that seems to be a part of their family. LBG climbed up on my porch swing next to me,  reporting the important things to nearly four year olds: Like the time his dog got hurt and had to go to the dog hospital to get better. Pictured here, he found a headband that I was working on and immediately placed it on his Tshirt, and proclaimed that he looked like his daddy, the math teacher. Because I just happened to have safety pins on my porch, (doesn't everyone?), I lickety split affixed it to his little shirt and I know that he felt like a big grown up man with a tie.  Ah, the magic of dress up clothes...Being a thirdsie helps a lot too.....

And this parting shot of My Lily will stay with me a long time.....Her pensive concentration.  Her determination to do that which can still stymie adults....The closeness that her interests galvanize to my heart.....

Pretend Grandchildren....Wondrous Gifts....

And It Begins...

It starts on Friday night...
Signs start to proliferate throughout the town and you believe that you might see a record number of sales for the Community Garage Sale Weekend. Traditionally, the weekend before the Festival begins...
Don't panic! You're planning for Lily's first overnight so the weekend will go on without your involvement....
And yet..... Okay Lily! What should we do for the Yard Sale that you can be a part of? Hows about making Apple Cinnamon muffins for those eager first comers that surely must have zoomed out of the house before eating breakfast...And cookies! We should have lots of cookies! Should we actually cook the dough?
Waiting for the rush.....
All that wheeling and dealing has left us hungry! Good thing the 2G's Papa is here to help and makes us a yummy lunch...Lily was to go home earlier, but we all were having just too much fun....Gracie loves Lily (and lunch) so she gets to use her two new teeth!!
So much to sell yet so much sold!! Yippee!!
Is it dangerous to not put a limit to a sale...? I do believe we may keep it going on the whole week! Good time to visit, meet new people and enjoy the great Persimmony weather!

Mitchell Indiana, the third week in September....

Gotta love it!!

Tea Time!

Maddox came to visit today.

He will soon be five years old and has been 'allowed' to come to His Debbies for a few years now. Sister Lily has had a bit of a monopoly on visits until she got out numbered by her two brothers. Since Lily is in first grade now, Maddox has complete visitation rights, solo.

So what do you do with a nearly five year old visitor? They have their own ideas that usually revolve around lunch at McDonalds. I don't think it's their favorite, but once a pattern is established, it's hard to veer off. One time, Lily and I stayed home and I made her tacos. She ate three of them and totally amazed Her Jordan and myself. Impressive little appetite.

After lunch, we head back home to do whatever it is that has been on their minds since their last visit. Maddox plunged into my toy cabinet and brought forth all the antiquated toys from my children's playtime years and beyond. I have a 40 year old Fisher Price train that is still a big hit. Maddox pointed out that each of the cars had pictures of the animals that belong in each car. Forty years and this is the first I've heard of it. Learn something new every day....

When I pulled out a vintage Superman Mobile, I saw that eureka look in Maddox's eyes. When I opened my locked china cabinet and produced a very much played with Superman to drive it, I knew he was set for the day.

That is, until he remembered Tea Party Time.

Lest you think it a bit unusual to indulge in the likes of girly tea party, perhaps I should explain how they go with the Mathew's children.

Sugar.

Lots of it and lots of silly giggling with fake British accents.

We talk about the temperature of the tea (always cold), the type it is, (always orange pekoe) and if Jordan is with us, we can carry on for a long time in our psuedo english accents with our pinkies up, till we're all quite goofy. Certainly this would be explained by the sugar rush that we are all dealing with.

Today, I pointed out to Maddox, that perhaps he actually likes a little tea in his sugar and that maybe we should refer to it as a Sugar Party. That maybe we've had too much sugar when you have to chew after taking a sip.

We drank all the tea in our little teapot and ate nearly all the sugar in our wee little sugar bowl and then we were finished.

Another Tea Party for the Memory Keeper and another dee-lightful time for me with the Mathew's children.

Next year, Maddox goes to kindergarten.

Another one gone to the regimen of the school system. Another Mathew's child out of the Debbie Loop till summer.

Thankfully for me, there is another little Mathew's at home waiting for his turn at His Debbies.

Hang on, Little Thirdsie! Your time's a comin'..........

Catch up

Baby Girl has a friend in Lafayette that owns a wonderful shop called, First Class Clutter. It's an amazing display of everything wonderful from the past. It's a small shop with each nook and cranny filled to the brim. My kind of clutter. Last winter I found a fab piece of fabric in one of the corners of her shop. Beautiful stuff. I waited for just the right opportunity and pattern to make it up, and, of course, Amy Butler provided...The Madison Bag looked wonderful with the fabric. I packaged the purse and shipped it off to Baby Girl's friend. I visited her yesterday and she had many thanks for the bag AND another donation to the cause; MORE fabric for more bags! Lurking in another vintage container, was GRAND buttons! Be still my heart....My thoughts could not turn off last night what with making plans for the new fabric to be made into bags, totes and purses for the First Class Clutter store! One particular fabric calls to me and maybe want to stay with me.... A dangerous habit to get into! After looking at it, you're thinking so too, aren't you??!

Lily came over today as well. More on that later, but suffice to say, WE completed a nifty little shoulder bag for her first day of first grade on Monday! It's incomplete stage is pictured above....

Another order for a hobo bag came in last week and it's makings is the other photo..

Off to work on that one now.....

Yay!