Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

If you are a ‘fall fan’ (and autumn is, by far, the favorite season of most Americans ) truer words were never spoken…about the anticipation of fall. However, in order to enjoy the season for as long as we can, we need to also enjoy the ‘waiting for autumn’ period too…and that is exactly where we are today.

Labor Day is the popular ending to summer and welcoming to fall…though the fall equinox won’t ‘officially‘ begin until (I should have seen this God Wink coming)…Saturday, September 22…Jakie’s birthday party!

So the way I see it…right now we are all kind of in a ‘hoping and wishing‘ time zone…hoping we get through fall without a tropical storm or hurricane and wishing cooler weather would just magically appear.

Since ‘hot dog season’ officially ended on Labor Day (at least for beach front hot dog vendors) it is time for pumpkins to dominate the fall season  like hot dogs did in summer. Already I am starting to see Starbucks, breweries, bakeries, and stores begin pulling out the pumpkin beers, bread, muffins, lattes, pies, scones… etc. Like these:

Believe me before fall is over there will be more creative pumpkin dishes and drinks that you can shake a feather at….

For me…the weather is the most important element needed for me to  know fall has arrived. Marketing can produce every kind of pumpkin creation imaginable…but if it is still 90 degrees outside I am just not feeling it…well actually I am feeling it…hot and grumpy… while wanting cool and happy.

These days I have to laugh at the human race and our fickleness with the weather. (I am one of the worst ones) We were fortunate to have lots of rain during August… to the point that I got really spoiled not having to water the yard or garden. For the past two weeks there have been little to naught rainfall and I have had to fight off mosquitoes, no see’ ums, heat and humidity to keep the garden going.

Now instead of praying and hoping for the rain to stop…I am praying and hoping for it to start up again. Poor God…having to put up with his unappreciative “children.” So that is why we all need to take a deep breath and appreciate the moments in “waiting for fall.”

Perhaps Mark Twain said it best: “Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.”

I could learn a valuable lesson from my lantana…they always have two seasons in the summer…they first appear in late spring…bright and fresh-looking, then halfway through the summer they turn dark and dingy-looking (quite unappealing)….only to rest and re-bloom in late summer and fall …in their most beautiful attire! Yes…like the lantana… the best is yet to come! Sometimes we just have to pause and give nature its time to bring in the next season’s beauties.

*Last night while watering the garden….a cool breeze suddenly swept across me and I found myself thanking God for the sweet, refreshing reminder that nothing stays the same; the summer season will change, and then soon summer 2018 will just be a fondly remembered  memory.

So until tomorrow…

Pictures of summer evenings….

*A big shout-out and even bigger ‘Thank You’ to Mary Fennemore of Wyoming, Delaware. She is one of my most loyal supporters of the blog and Race for the Cure. We have sent surcies occasionally back and forth between us…yet she really caught me off-guard this time.

Mary sent a Clemson candle! I love, love, love it Mary and will light it during each game this season! How very special and thoughtful! It made me so happy yesterday when it arrived!

Dear Reader:

After Tommy and I walked the Race for the Cure together in 2009…the rest of the family mentioned they would be interested in participating too….including Doodle, Lassie, and Carrie. So the picture above is the very first team photo taken. That year our team name was the Dingle Dilly Dallies because we waited until the last moment to register and make the race.

Tommy and I spent the night in Walsh’s apartment on Daniel Island…he and Mollie (who he was dating at the time) were in a friend’s wedding out of town….When we got there…Mollie and Walsh had decorated the kitchen and had pink balloons and a delicious apple pie waiting for us. The next morning we met Doodle and Lassie for the Survivor’s Ceremony and then John, Mandy, Carrie and eight month old Eva Cate joined the team for our first official walk.

Little did we know then that this little gathering would grow and grow and we would continue walking it together for eight more years. Love does grow exponentially.

This year Legally Pink will not be participating as a family/friends team. Two obstacles arose that made me stop and wonder if these were the signs that last year’s great ‘over the top’ fundraiser and tent winner status was perhaps the best way to go out.

This year, instead of the race being held around the middle of October  (Breast Cancer Month) it is being held later this month…Saturday, September 22. The venue has changed to North Charleston instead of Daniel Island. (We had Daniel Island covered as to meeting times, places,  everyone knew where and when to meet before the race.

Changing locations would definitely be more difficult for everyone and not as conveniently located in the Charleston area.  But the main thing is…that particular Saturday is, also, Jakie’s birthday/ celebration party day and his family/friends will be there for his birthday. (That means us!)

I thought about it for a long time…and as much as I have loved participating in this event…(mainly because it is the one time, annually, our family gathers to help others who need our help) there comes a moment when one just knows that it is time to change paths. The family has given of their time, their finances, and their willingness to get up early with little ones, dressed in pink, costumes, and come to the event for their Boo Boo. I appreciate and cherish all of you, dear family, for it. *And I don’t know what Doodle and I would have done without Lassie driving early each Saturday Race Day morning….really early!!! We owe you a lot Lassie!

Quite honestly…the fund-raising always made me feel a little uncomfortable…I don’t mind giving…just asking people to give. And goodness gracious…you blog readers have given and given and given. And I can’t thank you enough for your amazing generosity! It has brought tears to my eyes each and every year.

As you are reading this today…I have already talked or written to the family in groups/individuals over the past few weeks and explained the situation to them…everyone certainly understands- it was a  tough decision. Now it is others’ turns…I want to be available to participate in events my children, or other members of the family might be interested in…or perhaps helping a friend with another health crisis fund-raiser.

With all that said, however, I will have to admit that when I went back to collect photos from 2010 to 2017 I was having a hard time swallowing…looking at the different team formations with each grandchild entering year after year. Little Eloise will be the only one not to stroll with Boo Boo on race day…so we will have to make her an honorary participant. She would have… if we had.

2010: Team: The Dingle Dallies

Inside the baby carriage was an excited, eight-month-old, cute Eva Cate…little did she know she would do this eight more times with her Boo Boo.

The original team members were Doodle, Lassie, Carrie, John, Mandy, Tommy, Eva Cate and myself.

2011: Team: Chapel of Hope Stories

*This was the year Mollie held a gathering at her place on James Island for the after race celebration…so much fun!

2012: Chapel of Hope Stories

2013: Team: Boo Boo Owie  (The year we put band aids all over us with the pink ribbon on them)

Baby Rutledge  joined us for the first time…he was about six months old and Kaitlyn came into our lives also (who loved to keep Rutledge)….now two grandchildren were involved in the Race for the Cure and a future wife for Tommy! It was a good year. Rutledge was already sharing secrets with Eva Cate…I think he was saying “Psst! Don’t tell anyone but Tommy loves Kaitlyn.” (Babies are very wise in that way!)

2014: Team: Legally Pink

(This is the year we finally settled on our team name-for the next four years…celebrating Tommy and Kaitlyn’s ‘Passing of the Bar!‘ Two lawyers were on the team now! Also my nephew Lee came to join in the fun!

Back home little Jakie, mom, and dad were waiting for the racers to return…Jakie was three weeks old. And Mollie’s birthday!

2015: Team: Legally Pink

This was the year Anne and Brookie joined us….it added so much fun to the festivities! Jakie  joined us for his first official ‘stroller for the cure’ ride- asleep but accounted for!’  Lachlan made his debut chewing on his pink bow tie!

Brooke and Anne discovered that the hardest part was getting up so early for the race..but coffee helps!

Another Birthday for Mollie following the Race for the Cure!

2016: Team: Legally Pink

Even though we were only 13 strong…with just all the family…we placed twelfth that year in the fund-raising…all due to you loyal readers. We were moving up in the ranks…competing against companies and larger organizations…but getting the job done! I now had eight beads!

Doodle and Lassie showed the early morning crowd just how to hoola-hoop! Way to go girls!

We had lost Rudy (Kaitlyn’s oldest dog) to cancer so Tommy wore his collar around his sleeve and a special t-shirt underneath.

This was also the year for superheroes! The whole family!

Brenda, Harriett, and I even made the newspaper cover in 2016!

2017: Team: Legally Pink

Last year it happened! Legally Pink placed fourth overall in fund-raising making us eligible for our own private tent. What a thrill and it was all due to you loyal blog readers and your generous hearts of giving…we did the best we had ever done!

Looking back on it…I am not surprised that Mike, Honey, and their daughter, Tarshie, were there to participate in our last family/friend team Race for the Cure! A perfect ending with the most giving couple I know. Atticus and Pip made their debut last year also.

In another sense we had come full circle…the first year (2010) Tommy and I had spent the night at Walsh’s condo on Daniel Island…it was decorated with pink balloons, streamers and an apple pie. Last year Doodle, Lassie and I spent the night there…it was vacant but enough furniture to make it work. And Walsh had left pink roses  and some muffins. It had started and ended in Walsh’s condo.

I honestly don’t know where new beginnings will lead any or all of us…to participate in other events perhaps or as individual participants but not necessarily fund-raisers…the path is unclear but wherever it leads us…nothing can ever take the memories away of the Dingle Dilly Dallies, or Chapel of Hope Stories or Boo Boo Owies or Legally Pink. No matter the name the importance was in the family/friends gathering together for a good cause.

A special shout-out to Captain Tommy Dingle who “captained” our team year after year… explaining computer glitches (concerning the fund-raising) for me year after year. (Thanks for your patience, time, and support Tommy!)

*Another shout-out to John and Mandy who graciously played host to the after race/Mollie’s birthday dual celebration each year for many years! It made the event so much more special with a chance to gather, eat, laugh, and remember the cause.

A quick flash-back over all the years’ teams….thanks Kaitlyn for making this collage as a memoir for everyone. Race for the Cure

So until tomorrow…I am more blessed than any woman deserves to be and it is all because of you…my family and friends. What a sacrifice you made for eight years to support me in my journey, along with my fellow “little c” colleagues. You gave me a memory I will never forget. I love you.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Shocker! I am not one of these models. (especially the second one) But we do have one thing in common…I love my white jeans and last week I found myself wearing them almost every day since I felt the presence of the death bell tolling the official ending of wearing white after Labor Day.

So I decided to check into this well-known cultural custom that has passed down from generation to generation and find out the truth of the origin of this practice While doing so  (Resource: Reader’s Digest) I discovered some other fun, interesting facts about Labor Day that I didn’t know. Hope you enjoy them too.

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*First of all no one really knows who started the idea of this holiday…some sources can narrow it down to about two people…perhaps…but even these sources are sketchy.

*Oregon was the first state to celebrate Labor Day in 1887. Go Oregon!

*President Grover Cleveland made it a national holiday but it was more about playing politics (trying to pacify railroad workers’ strikes concerning low wages than actually something good for all.)

*Canada came up with the idea before us….way to go Canada! They had the first Labor Day holiday.

*These days most schools start before Labor Day… with the exception of Virginia…no public or county school is allowed to start until after Labor Day…the reason? (You’ll be surprised)

*Many school districts around the country start classes before Labor Day, but in at least one state, such anti-delinquency is illegal. In 1986, Virginia passed the Kings Dominion Law, an actual on-the-books statute that prohibits city and county schools from starting before Labor Day weekend so families have one last chance to hit up popular theme parks like Busch Gardens and, yes, Kings Dominion. To answer your next question: Yes, there is an amusement park lobby, and yes, they may or may not have helped keep this law on the books by  donating 324 free park tickets to lawmakers between 2001 and 2013. So enjoy a roller coaster, Virginians. It’s the law.  

*Labor Day marks the official end of hot dog season which lasts from Memorial Day to Labor Day. During “hot dog season” in our country 818 hot dogs are consumed every second-approximately 7 billion for the entire season. (It is the pumpkin spice lattes that monopolize the consumer market in the fall)

*Having this three-day weekend could help you live longer…if you could have it every week. Health officials say people who work more than 55 hours per week have a 33% increased risk of strokes. (Working less than 40 hour weeks…people sleep better, pick fewer fights, and are more productive at work.)

*And now for the no white clothing after Labor Day…the real story of how that fashion statement began…

Ever wonder why you’re not supposed to wear white after Labor Day? The custom goes back to the end of the Civil War, when society was ruled by the wealthy wives of old-money elites. As more new-money millionaires entered society, the jealous old regime invented a whole suite of arbitrary fashion rules that only those in the in-crowd would know. Anyone who showed up to an autumn dinner party in a white dress, for example, would be instantly outed as a “nouveau riche” newbie and dismissed from the established ‘of the rich society.’

That tradition of not wearing white past summer has since trickled down through fashion magazines and into mainstream culture… even for those of us whose ideal dinner party garb is sweatpants. The good news is, most fashion experts (including the editor of Vogue magazine) agree that there’s no need to follow this elitist rule today.

*Yeah! Those white jeans are going back in the washing machine to get cleaned up for this week! 🙂 It is hard to give up a comfy pair of jeans…no matter what the color.

No more laboring on this post….just some photos to show you some of Mandy’s birthday party and good-bye-to-summer celebration. It was family, more family, and lots of laughs!

It started Saturday night when John and Mandy returned to their favorite restaurant “haunt’ where John proposed to Mandy…a special place. And now fast-forward their “double” blessings…

Yesterday the “gang” arrived and let the good times roll! There was a lot of dancing going on…and girls of summer were inside and outside.

Walsh and Tommy were kept busy throwing children up in the air for their 15 seconds of diver’s fame!

The gals with hats and scarves…  and bows!

Eloise stands her ground…even with a ‘triple threat’ of brothers and boy cousins. You go girl! (And what are you doing standing now…slow down my youngest one…a family should always have a baby around!)

So until tomorrow…I hope everyone has the day off today (it’s good for your health) so use it to make smiles and laughter.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Happy “official” Birthday Mandy! You were a “labor” of love! Love you! Mom

Dear Reader:

How many gifts can you receive that have a star within a moon? To me that is what makes the moon flower blossom so spectacular…no matter how many times I watch this gorgeous bloom unfold…the beauty of the star forming the outline of the moon flower blossom sends chills down my back. A two-for one-present!

After reading several articles on the moon flower botanists explain that this unique flower has evolved over thousands of years to adapt to the night and not the day. One excerpt says:

“These plants have evolved over millions of years to be timed with the night/day cycle to open only in the night. They do this because night-flying insects mostly pollinate them. One such insect is the hawk moth. The flowers are sensitive to small changes in light so that they are open when these insects are out in the evening.”

I discovered that there are all kinds of hawk moths…including the hummingbird moth (dressed in black for his special appearance) who “attacked” my first moon flower bloom just as I was taking its picture…starling me to the point that I almost dropped my iPhone.

It is just nature’s way of pollinating…of keeping the species alive. Every time I learn a small detail about another creation of God I marvel at how any of us can doubt God’s existence. He has worked out, in precise detail, everything every creature or living organism in the universe needs to stay alive.

A few other people experienced the same thing I did (seeing a hawk moth pollinate a moon flower blossom…some to the point that they set up special night cameras to do so…)-some of these flying creatures are quite pretty unlike my black one…pink with varied colors. (Though from the inside my moth might have had prettier designs too…since my camera just caught its back)

Look at how long its tongue is…obviously this part of nature has evolved too for the pollination to be successful….I love this bit of trivia about an important observation Charles Darwin discovered and was later proven correct.

“Hawk moths have the world’s longest tongues of any other moth or butterfly (some up to 14 inches long). Charles Darwin knew of the star orchids  from Madagascar that had nectar spurs over a foot in length. Darwin was ridiculed by other scientists of his day for predicting that these orchids would be pollinated by hawk moths. After his death, hawk moths with tongues long enough to sip of the nectar produced by the star orchids were discovered on the island of Madagascar.”

All of this is why the picture of my moon flower blossom (still in bloom as the sun came up last week)…is probably the most special picture of all. It doesn’t happen often in nature that designed habits change… so when they do…we understand the rarity of such a sighting.

I have one other bud that will bloom soon (but hopefully not tonight) because I will be gone to Mt. Pleasant to keep Eva Cate and Jakie for John to take Mandy out for her birthday. Then Sunday the family is coming over for a get-together and lunch in Mandy’s honor.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful long Labor Day Weekend! Enjoy it to the fullest. One never knows what mystery of life might appear.

So until tomorrow…this blessing for one and all.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

It’s Welcome Back to College Football Time! The first of September…time for whistles to blow and let the games begin.

First off…let me wish everybody a great season and lots of fun! I keep looking down at  my finger nails and wonder how long they will last…probably to the second game before the chewing starts.

Even when the weather doesn’t feel much like fall…there is something about the kick-off of high school and collegiate games that seem to force fall to seriously start reconsidering pushing in a little faster. First games are so much fun because the crowd gets to see all the new players we have heard and read about in action for the first time. (Hopefully with a lot of “ooh’s and “aah’s.”)

*My computer has been acting strangely while working on this post …sorta stopping in mid-sentence and refusing to finish the line…I thought that kind of thing only happened to the writer.

My computer definitely has pushed some kind of “pause” button that keep kicking in or is playing “Freeze Frame.” (I say this only because if it stops again before the blog is finished and the post ends in mid-sentence…you will know it was the computer (hopefully) and not me keeling over or something! (again, hopefully! 🙂

The Clemson game today is at high noon…like a famous shoot-out in some western movie…I love noon and 3:00 games so I can then relax and enjoy all the other games…dislike waiting until 8 or 8:30 for Clemson to play at night…I am exhausted from watching all the other games before they even throw the first ball.

It is the memories we associate with a place…a high school or college that adds so much nostalgia to the game. I still remember when Walsh, Mandy, and I drove up for the Clemson -Florida State game and had so much fun with Tommy and his friends. One of my favorite memories from Tommy’s tenure there.

 The next time we returned was graduation…wow…those college days passed so quickly.

I think fall, more than any other season, brings back our personal adolescent memories…I have felt more bursts of sheer joy in fall than any other season. I think it has to do with a combination of lengthening shadows and wonderful aromas (leaves burning, bonfires, crackling fires in the fireplace, new shoes for school) luscious tastes of heavy soups and stews, the touch of sweaters and jackets. Fall is just a wonderful season….cool and calm.

The string that was holding my HOPE letters on the deck banister popped during a thunderstorm a few weeks back. I brought the letters in but forgot to do anything with them…until the other night I was putting in a load of clothes, saw them, and threw the cloth letters in at the last minute.

They were pretty wrinkled when they got out…so I ironed (this doesn’t happen much folks-take notice) them because to my way of thinking…HOPE should never be wrinkled…but hang crisp and strong!

So until tomorrow…my HOPE for all of you is that fall is magical, fun…and everything you want it to be.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh (Go Tigers!)

…And can you believe September is here! The first day…so don’t forget to say “rabbit” first thing this morning (help your team out) and get all that good mojo spreading around..

Dear Reader:

I took this photo last fall and came upon it again while searching back through my posts for another picture. The sun’s rays that day formed a rainbow prism falling on a red Japanese Maple growing in among a small forest of trees.

Just remembering the beauty of it makes me want to hurry up fall this year…many others agree as that seems to be the most popular greeting during these last hot, tired dog days of summer.

“Do you think fall will ever get here? or “I am so tired of heat and humidity…where’s fall?” or “I am so ready for a change…a cooler change!”

As I have come across some whimsical pictures/drawings of fall I have found myself wanting to jump into the painting and live out fall from inside out. Just a short stay…until our own fall arrives. Come with me on this fun, imaginary journey.

*We have to do some time travel for this one…but the beautiful simplicity of it is what drew me in…I can almost smell the burning fall leaves and hear the delighted squeals of the children playing in the leaves… while supposedly “helping” gather them in the wagon for the bonfire. I love the old farmhouse architecture and the proximity of the local church…a serene scene…so different from today’s times.

The school teacher in me loves this painting as fall signifies a return to school, learning, and reading…a favorite passion that started back in my own childhood. I love Meg Ryan’s line in the movie “You’ve got Mail”…( She portrays an owner of a small book store in NYC)

“When you read a book as a child, it becomes part of your identity in a way that no other reading in your whole life does.”

In the same movie Tom Hanks utters one of the most popular fall sayings to date as he emails Meg Ryan’s character and confesses:

“Don’t you love New York in the fall? It makes me wanna buy school supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your real name and address. On the other hand, this not knowing has its charms.”

The child in me would love to jump on this slide and come down among the fallen autumn leaves…bet the leaves make it go even faster!

Artist: (Pakse)

This is a Becky Dingle kind of painting… magical whimsy at it’s best! It is mysterious with an orange “fog” background…a lantern (you know I love lanterns) with little fairies flying around the light and silky pumpkins waiting expectantly among the diversity of multi-colored ferns. I would climb up in that tree with a book and spend endless happy hours in my own reality.

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I’m back in front of my computer still typing away…safe and sound. And I am happy to be back…heat, humidity and all. I got enough of an imaginary taste of fall to tide me over for a few more weeks. If it comes too soon…it departs too fast. I’ll wait!

So until tomorrow…

…“That old September feeling… of summer passing, vacation nearly done, obligations gathering, books and football in the air…. Another fall, another turned page: there was something of jubilee in that annual autumnal beginning, as if last year’s mistakes and failures had been wiped clean by summer.” ~Wallace Stegner

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Shout-out: Happy Birthday to my beloved Aunt Eva and my two cousins, Charles and Marilyn. Cousins…*I hope you both have a fantastic birthday today! Thinking of you and loving you.

*If fall had arrived with trees letting go of its prized treasure of colorful leaves…I would send you, cousins, a nice surcie like this…who knows …maybe one day!

Dear Reader:

I was so excited about planting my last two pintas in just the right  spot yesterday morning…that I was up and at’em a little after seven. After I dug and planted the pink pintas (to accompany the Gerber daisy in the middle) I stood back admiring the new additions. It was then that I noticed the lights flickering behind the plants on the brick wall. It looked like the lights were moving.

When I sent the picture to Anne (As an artist I knew she would like the photo for the light factor)..her first response back was “Surely there are angels dancing there.”

It was quite an epiphany….When I went back out again I saw angels dancing in the lights all over the yard, street, garden, and even sneaking inside the Happy Room. With every beautiful shaft of light coming in from the rising sun…the possibility of angels grew in my mind.

It was then I remembered a beautiful line from Mark Twain (even if it was said with ‘tongue and cheek’ humor)….from the Ken Burns documentary of him on PBS Tuesday night. He wrote:

“Sometimes the sun rises and beams down upon us like a benediction. (It’s just too bad that most of us are not normally awake-or in an appreciative state of being for the lovely spectacle.” )

I love that line…the idea of the sun beams falling on us like a benediction…a blessing upon us for the day.  *I confess that the “big” word benediction was one of the first words I learned. Since I was a squirrelly child in church and an inquisitive one…I figured out the word benediction meant church was almost over. I have loved that word ever since…(not for church being over) but for the last blessings bestowed on us for the upcoming week.

The oldest worn-out sign in my garden is also a favorite:

So come follow me through the garden, yard, and street to find those morning angels of light dancing under the sun beams’ benediction.

*Angels can even dance in the streets like Martha and the Vandellas!

Angels can even dance in the house as sun beams float through the windows…

So until tomorrow morning…Look to the morning sun beams for our first benediction…one to last us to the end of the day. And if we see an angel dancing…let’s join in the fun.

*And speaking of fun…Eloise is modeling her latest dress from Dear Georgie.

Sarah Kassouf, a close friend of Mollie and Walsh,  is one amazing young woman….she is a nurse at MUSC, a professional photographer, and just recently began designing children’s clothes… opening an on-line children’s boutique…unbelievable amount of energy…since she is, also, a wonderful wife and mother to two little boys.

Dear  Georgie Boutique

shopdeargeorgie.com

Sarah Kassouf’s ‘ photographs are called SarahLiz Photography …found on Facebook

She is Walsh and Mollie’s favorite photographer…she took pictures of the family after Eloise was born…like this cute one!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday I was in Tuesday Morning getting more wash cloths…I have decided that wash cloths are like socks…they tend to disappear or suddenly turn scrungy (is that a word?…well it is now) overnight.

As I went down one aisle…I saw the birthday bags and cards. I immediately put on the brakes…September is one of those months that definitely put a dent in the old monthly budget with our family. I am sure your family is like ours….we can go two or three months (tops) without a family birthday and then suddenly….boom…there are four or five birthdays all bunched together in one month.

I shouldn’t be the one commenting since I am “guilty” of a September birthday too….in fact Jakie decided to make my birthday his also so we could always share it together. I love it! Makes it even more special!!!

September starts with Mandy’s Labor Day birthday (I won’t even bother you with a mother “labor” day joke) then comes Lassie, me, Jakie…followed up by John on the last day of the month.

Back to school in our family means Back to Birthdays! But we wouldn’t have it any other way….I can’t imagine life without any of the beautiful September birthday people in it. (I am just overjoyed each year to be here to celebrate another birthday…gift enough…gift of life.)

The title quote today came off a birthday card I got for Mandy since she will start the celebrations this Labor Day weekend. How I do adore Eleanor Roosevelt and her common sense approach to life.

As soon as I saw her name it reminded me that Pam Stewart, a friend from church, sent me the title of a book that she thought, as a history teacher, I might enjoy…My Year with Eleanor.

It is similar (in its basic idea) to the popular book Julie & Julia- the book by blogger Julie Powell based on her idea to try and make each of Julia Child’s recipes over a year’s time. (later made into a 2002 movie by the same name)

This time it is former blogger/ novelist Noelle Hancock who decided to take Eleanor Roosevelt’s advice and do one scary thing a day…to push herself  outside her comfort zone. The book has mixed reviews, not as popular as Julie & Julia, but still I think I would enjoy reading it because the author has done her research and tells personal stories about Eleanor that are not common knowledge. I love the (Paul Harvey-like) story behind the story on historical figures.

One of the criticisms of the book centers around the famous Eleanor Roosevelt quote: “Do one thing every day that scares you.” One critic complained that Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t even say that quote…and attributed it to someone else. Personally I notice that problem all the time.

If I go to find a visual with a quote for a blog title entry….half the time each visual credits a different person for the same quote. There are several websites that do nothing but debunk all the wrong quote ownership errors. Unfortunately a lot of the time they seem to know it is not a certain famous person who is attributed for saying a specific quote…but they also don’t know who did. It is not an exact science.

I have about decided the time has come to stop putting someone’s name beside a quote. Like the old game “Gossip”…over time people begin to misquote it, and/or change it to match a certain theme. By the time the quote reappears after several years of changes…even the true author wouldn’t recognize it as his/her own.

I always feel if someone wants to use something in my blog to help make a point with something they are writing in theirs…go for it… with my permission. I am writing, not for recognition, but to pay it forward with the hope that something that spews out of my neurons some days…will help someone else along the way.

So until tomorrow…“Be what you is, not what you ain’t; ’cause if you ain’t what you is, you is what you ain’t.” -Maybe Luther Price said it??-  *In other words, don’t live a lie…be true to yourself.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Pretty Moments in the Garden Yesterday…

We had  wonderful on and off again showers yesterday which spared me from becoming the main course for my garden mosquitoes’ lunch and/or supper. I was so thankful and so were all my plants…there is nothing like the real thing…rain from heaven!

*A shout-out to Beverly Parkinson (our Mississippi loyal reader) whose creative note cards have been accepted by a store for sales there. Way to go Beverly…your passion is now a public  “present” for others. Congratulations!

The name of her creative endeavor is: Late Blooming Designs by Beverly

moreinkpleaseblog.com.

Dear Reader:

When I came across some adorably funny stories the other day (that took me back to the classroom again) I knew it was time to share some of these… because I had so much fun just giggling by myself…It is time to share the best medicine in the world with everyone…laughter!

Both Rutledge and Eva Cate love elephants! It is their favorite animal. Eva Cate because it starts with an “E”(like her name) and Rutledge because he adopted an elephant named for him (Rutledge) last Christmas from the Kenya Wildlife Preserve.

He still receives notes from Rutledge the Elephant thanking him for his meals. (Of course since our own Rutledge is gearing up again as a Clemson Tiger…Rutledge the Elephant might be afraid of him some today if they ever meet. 🙂

At Eva Cate’s Pre-School graduation (a few years back) her graduation ceremony consisted of a skit and she had the part, of course, of an elephant in their class’s farewell play!

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As you might suspect…all of this is a lead-in to our first joke…a student’s sharp wit and a beleaguered teacher….sound familiar? It sure does to me…but it still makes me smile.

Elephant:

The class teacher asks students to name an animal that begins with an “E”. One boy says, “Elephant.”

Then the teacher asks for an animal that begins with a “T”. The same boy says, “Two elephants.”

The teacher sends the boy out of the class for being a smart aleck. After that she asks for an animal beginning with “M”.

The boy shouts from the other side of the wall: “Maybe an elephant!”

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We don’t want to pick on our good pastors and their families…but this one really got me giggling.

Wrong email address:

A couple was going on vacation but his wife was still on a business trip… so he went to the destination first…  the plan was for his wife to meet him the next day.

When he reached his hotel, he decided to send his wife a quick email.

Unfortunately, when typing her address, he mistyped a letter and his note was re-directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife whose husband had passed away only the day before.

When the grieving widow checked her email, she took one look at the monitor, let out a piercing scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.

At the sound, her family rushed into the room and saw this note on the screen:

Dearest Wife,
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.

P.S. Sure is hot down here.

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Young Entrepreneurs

A police officer found a perfect hiding place watching for speeding motorists.

One day, the officer was amazed when everyone was under the speed limit, so he investigated and found the problem.

A 10-year-old boy was standing on the side of the road with a huge hand painted sign which said “Radar Trap Ahead.”

A little more investigative work led the officer to the boy’s accomplice: The second boy was about 100 yards beyond the radar trap with a sign reading “TIPS” with a bucket at his feet full of change.

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For about three years, Carol Poole and I traveled up and down I-26 so much (doing social studies workshops around the state) that we came to call the Interstate the Dingle-Poole Exchange. So when I saw this joke it made me smile even wider.

Follow the Numbers

There was a car that was driving very slowly down the highway. A state trooper pulled it over.

“What did I do wrong, officer?” the driver asked.

“You were going 26 MPH on a major highway; there is a law against that. You must go at least 50 MPH.”

“But when I got onto the highway, the sign said 26!”

“That is because this is Interstate 26! The 26 isn’t the speed limit!”

The driver leaned back into her car seat and the cop saw another woman sitting beside her looking as pale as a ghost.

“What happened to her?’ the officer asked.

“I don’t know, but she has been that way ever since we got off  Interstate 160.”

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Copy Cat

Teacher: “I hope I didn’t see you looking at Fred’s test paper, Tommy.”
Tommy: “I hope you didn’t see me either, sir.”

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Obviously I could on and on…but I hope you found at least a little chuckle or two to start your day.

So until tomorrow….

If you’re too busy to laugh, you are too busy.

–Proverb

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Isn’t it wonderful that as we age and enter different stages of our lives…the idea of ‘being rich’ redefines itself?

Anne invited me for lunch after church yesterday….she and her neighbors had a Greek festive dinner Saturday and there was lots of food left over. It was delicious!

It was while we were devouring that wonderful Greek meal that Anne mentioned a former students of hers was writing now and had contacted her about this undertaking. (Anne taught middle school English and Creative Writing) She loved that he remembered her and wanted to share this personal/professional endeavor with her… as an adult himself, married, with a precious baby.

She said she thought about her response to a comment he made…that he hoped this endeavor would, one day, make them both rich. Anne said she decided to respond with ….“Thank you but I don’t need anything because I am already rich…. And from the picture you sent me of your family…so are you.”

It made me think about my own situation now in life…and just how rich I am too. I have been given a most valued gift – unexpected time – along with the opportunity to use it with my own personal passion for writing. It doesn’t get any better than this.

Except…perhaps for having the luxury and freedom to read, read, read. I love losing myself in another time period and location…with characters who become my friends for as long as the story unveils. (And I must admit some days or evenings…I do schedule my reading to correspond with the evening news that is upsetting and unsettling…which sadly, these days is most of the time.)

How many of us have cheated, at one time or another, and read the last page of the book to discover who “dunnit” or at least what the ending of the story looks like? (I imagine most of us are nodding our heads)

Some days I wish we could fast-forward the present to the future to see how a particular time period we are living in ends up on the last page of our own stories…the billions of us who are all living together today on this planet.  Other days I think that “ignorance might be bliss” and I would lose the courage to turn to the ending. (My concern is not for me…but for my loved ones who will follow.)

So instead…I pray hard, tend my garden, write my blog, hang out with my friends and family, watch my adorable grandchildren grow, and thank God for the blessings of time.

Over the weekend I came across this visual message of six simple directives that can help us all live life more fully. I made a small cardboard copy of it to keep in my purse.

So until tomorrow…Think about how you would define your “riches.” Since we are all unique ….a one of a kind creation in God’s eyes…our own riches will differ but still shine just as brightly as another.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Riches is also watching your grandson’s face light up when he discovers he is Star Student of the Week. Jakie is so proud and excited! He gets to see his poster up all next week. So proud of you Jakie!

*Look at these beautifully bold, brilliant-colored Mexican sun flowers in Anne’s front yard!