Remember how worried I was at the beginning of the year about Katie and her forgotten school work?

Well. I am super dooper happy to report that she got her second report card yesterday and she is doing fantastic.

Last semester she had three '2's'. A two is like a B-. At least that's how I looked at it.
Yesterday her report card showed that she brought all of those two's to ones.

Hip Hip. Hooray!


I can't say she go all ones. She had one two in Technology. We think the teacher is tough. She thinks you have to be uber outstanding to get an A/1, and that's okay by me.

I am just so happy that Katie has gotten into the habit of writing her assignments down, getting her assignments initialed by her teachers and even remembering to bring the correct books home.

Our little scheme worked. She is learning to be more organized and this is leading to better grades.
Thank you so much for your support and advise!!!


****




I've got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. ~Larry Bird


The difference between try and triumph is a little umph. ~Author Unknown


If a man is called a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and Earth will pause to say, Here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.


Have a wonderful weekend!

We are sure to have an extra fun one. Emma is coming home and we have a basketball game tomorrow.
AND I get to visit with Lynn.
Super fun!



Encourage one another,
Donna

Katie stayed home from school yesterday, with a cold.

I bored her to tears and then made her come outside for a few snaps.

It was 8 degrees.

But the sun was shining and I was being called.




She is delighted to return to school today.


Today I am thankful for....

Seat-warmers and a working thermostat. It was -7 on the way to school.
The Sun. It is shining.
My Diet Dr. Pepper. It is so yummy.
My husband. He works so hard and provides so well.
You all. You keep me company when I am lonely and are a cheerful, lovely bunch.



How's about a Friday Five. Full of thanks?

That sounds like a nice way to end the week!

See you in the comments.



Encourage one another,
Donna


Oh yeah.

Katie told me I looked just like Einstein yesterday.















Why. Thank you sweetie.


E=mc².......don't cha know?

Have you read this book? Pink and Yellow by William Steig.

Pink and Yellow are wooden puppets and they wonder how they got here.






Are we an accident?








Or were we created?


In this story, a puppet maker comes by and picks up his puppets, which happen to be drying in the sun, and walks back to his
house.


We must each choose which story to believe.
I think it takes just as much faith to believe in pure chance as it does to believe in a creator.

I put my faith in the Creator version.

But. That's just me.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.

Psalm 19

The spectacular universe and our magnificent bodies are too complex and fantastic for me to ever believe otherwise.






Encourage one another,
Donna

Mittens.

Not sure I am lovin' the fit....may not make the second one.
Ah well. It gave me something to do with my hands and something to take a picture of.

I am short on time this morning as I am headed to the Book/Bible study in a few minutes.
I've got some things on my mind and will come back and talk about them later this afternoon.
K?





Talk amongst yourselves.
Sweetly, of course.

Donna

Next up on the needles....

This hip hat!

This is my blog-sistah Wendy. She is amazing.

Not only does she look fabulous in her slouchy hat, she designed it and knit it!
(and her talented husband took the photo!)





Find the pattern here:

the hunch by wendy

Not only is Wendy a fantastic designer she is also a great writer.

Knit and Tonic



Now. I need some aviators....and I will be all set.


Any suggestions for a color?

Something that would complement my pale Danish sun deprived skin?

I have never known what colors look good on me.

What color really works for you and what doesn't?




Encourage one another,
Donna

We have dry cement. Alert the media.
This weekend we had enough thaw to expose some teeny spots with grass and dry pieces of pavement.

It's a wonderful thing.

It would be nice to practice dribbling and shooting . Really. nice.
Really, really nice.

This weeks score. 28-6.

Katie is the season high scorer so far with four points.

I am not saying this to brag. It's just a sad little fact.

One of Katie's shots when straight up in the air and landed in her own arms.
And then there was the time she pressed on the throw in and how about the three
times there were six girls on the floor.

Oh my. So, so much to learn.

But of course,

She loves it....and she has super cute shoes.


***


As I mentioned last week, there were a few very thought provoking quotes I wanted to share from Eat, Pray, Love.

Here is one of them:


"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."
E. Gilbert



I know it is not for everyone. One ought to examine their soul before entering in.... It is permanent and more life changing than even a tattoo....


But, for me, parenthood, it's the most complicated, self-less, selfish, difficult, wonderful, fulfilling thing I have ever loved.
Miz Booshay


****


We watched 500 Days of Summer Saturday night.

I loved the editing and quirkiness of the style.
The movie has many emotional layers and was very nice.

This short dance comes out of the blue....

and I loved it.






Happy Monday.



Encourage one another,
Donna

"If you work really hard, and are kind, amazing things will happen."

Conan O'Brien 1/22/10






Grab a hankie.

Sincere gratitude always makes me weep.



****


I finished reading Eat, Pray and Love the other night.

The Eat portion of the book rates a 10. I loved everything about it.
The Pray portion of the book rates a 1. I was bored and uninterested.
The Love portion of the book rates a 7, I guess. I found some of the chapters extremely interesting and funny.


Elizabeth writes in a similar style to Anne Lamotte but just not as well or funny or soulful.

I have a few quotes I would like to share from Gilbert's book. But I will save it for another day.

For sure, borrow the book and read the first portion.


****


I hope the sun shines in your town this weekend...and if it doesn't shine on the outside may
it shine brightly on the inside.

There is just so much love in this world, it's a beautiful, heart warming thing.

Ree's friend Pastor Ryan ends his posts with the words, Love Wins.

I have a mind to steal it. I think they are just the best two words around.


Hey. I could get it on my license plates. Wouldn't that be cool?


Luvwins. :o) I think we get seven letters in Wisconsin.

By the way, I have never had a Vanity plate.

Have YOU?

Now there's a question I have never asked!

Tell us all about your vanity plates!

Real or imaginary!



Encourage one another,
Donna

Alice. Bonnie's Mom


I have this fantasy.

Are you ready?

Here goes.

My fantasy is to take Alice out to lunch.

I have no doubt that we would be fast, fast friends. I love her so much.
I want her to adopt me.

I think when she hears that my middle name is Elsie she will say yes.
She said people teased her and called her Elise.

See. We are twins.

She is the mother of seven.
I am one of seven.

She is from Chicago.
I am too.

She loves her family more than anything else. (besides God)

Me, too.

She's a little nutty.
Same here.

See! We would get along great!
In fact, I think my mom would be just like Alice.
And of course, I would love to be with someone like my mom.
Maybe that's it. She reminds me of my mom.
My wise, motherly, nutty mom.

I think she would go with me. Don't you?



Yesterday on the show, Bonnie shared a saying that her mom repeated many times,

"Choose companions with care; you become who they are."

I agree whole heartily.

What a good saying.

It's no wonder that 'her children rise up and call her blessed.'

paraphrase Proverbs 31:28



So some day, show how, I have a feeling...

Alice and I will go to lunch.

My treat!






Bonnie can come along, too.
She's pretty okay herself :o)



Encourage one another,
Donna

Old film camera vs. new digital camera.

My experience.

Well. It was dire.

My film camera is totally manual.
Focus. Metering. Advancing.

I remember putting it aside in 1982. But I forgot the main reason.
I thought the main reason I put my Minolta on a shelf was because I could not keep up with my little
baby Patrick with the manual focus.

But as I pick up my camera and shoot a roll, I remember that the light meter is broken, too.

If the light meter is broken, then you can not expose your pictures.

So I shot a roll of film starting last spring and I finally took it in to be developed.

I took it to Walmart. Back in the day, I was happy with Walmart film processing.
And actually they did not mess it up.

It was I that did all the messing up.

You see, I didn't know if every picture would turn out totally white or totally black or half and half.
I did not know what was going to happen so I went the el cheapo route and used Walmart.

It was an experiment.

And now I know. The pictures stink, stank, stunk.

I got the exposure correct on a few pictures (I used my digital camera as a light meter)
But the rest are really a big fat mess.




I don't think I will bother with trying to repair the camera. I thought I might like to do that.

But gosh. I would rather get images like this...















I think I love my Nikon.



If you would like to go and see what inspired me to try my film camera again.

Check out:

Jose Villa Jose Villa

Jessica Claire Jessica shoots film for a change




Jessica has been dabbling in film. What until you see her astonishingly gorgeous images!


They know how to use their FILM camera!!!! Very well!!!

Enjoy the beauty. So inspiring!



Encourage one another,
Donna

The Girls who went home last night.

"Mommy, what do you mean by guilty pleasure?" wonders Katie.

Yes. I have way too many, I'm afraid.

The Bachelor and the Housewives.

All of the Housewives.

Don't be Tardy for the Party...Whoa-O-O, Whoa-O-O.

But last night was The Bachelor. Jake. The pilot.
(The pilot who has a smile like Tom Cruise, if you ask me.)

Jake seems sincere. He actually said last night that he has friends who didn't kiss until they were serious/married.
(We know people who share this conviction. Just didn't think a Bachelor would.)

So last night he let the tease (the beautiful blue eyed flirt) and the basket case go home.

If he was interested in good TV, he would have kept them on. And actually that is what Ellen told him on her show yesterday afternoon. But Jake has already chosen/not chosen a girl so Ellen's after the fact ideas can't really come into play.

But, what I thought was interesting was....

On Ellen and Regis and Kelly, Jake acts like he has not chosen anyone. I have seen two interviews and he is either a very good secret keeper or he is the worst.

I am reading this like it did not go well.

But that's what is so fun. Those dramatic rose ceremonies.

More dramatic than the last. The most dramatic ever in the history of the world.


But before the rose ceremony, about eight of the girls went on a group date with Jake.
They went to a comedy club. Then they were told they had to get up and tell jokes.
Then they were told they had to do it in front of a real crowd.

I think that was just cruel.
Being a stand up comedian has to be one of the hardest things to do.

I literally had to skip over watching that part. Watching people fail and squirm...makes me squirm.

I would much rather jump off a bridge than tell jokes on stage.


What about you?


Which would you prefer?

Stand up comedy in front of a crowd or bungee jumping?


*****



Katie found my old 1980's Ray Bans.

Lenses big enough?



Encourage one another,
Donna

The Golden Globes







This is Sofia Vergara in Carolina Herrera .
I simply thought she was beautiful.













That bodice is my very favorite style. Soft, ruffly and beautiful.







This structured, architectural dress was all the rage last night.

Kate's was the very best. She looks radiant and oh so perfect.

I love that it is bright white.




I LOVE the 50's. But this did not work.
Katie said, "She looks like Mary Poppins."





Beautiful face and makeup.
Goofy stiff dress.

Make that dress out of organza or chiffon and I would have been all over it!



Hair and makeup.







I liked January Jones' black ribbon in her hair. I don't know why. Just look very cool to me.
(I'm not fond of the dress at all.)

She and Meryl had the same very fair skin and red lip stick goin'.

And Meryl.

She has never looked so beautiful. I think she got her hair and makeup done perfectly.
She had pictures in Vanity Fair recently and I thought they were stunning and well....

either she has had a little somethin' somethin' done......
or I want to buy what ever cosmetics she is using!

Today. I will go out and buy them.












Listen to this lovely speech.
It was the highlight of the night for me.




I didn't oh and ah too much at the dresses last night.
It was still fun to watch!

I sure do love an award show!


Encourage one another,
Donna

Katie walked out of school with a white envelope and a big, big smile yesterday!
She made it.

She is thrilled to perform her little piece for the Blessed Variety Show.

She wasn't able to try out for the children's theater in our town this year due to many scheduling conflicts so
this will be her chance to expand her very small acting chops :o)






I know Ree doesn't need to hear it...

But I am awed and feel like this can't go without saying.

Ree and Ladd will be donating nearly $10,000 to three charities in Haiti.
Ree ran a post on her blog (www.thepioneerwoman.com) saying she would donate a dime for every comment.
And then she tripled the donation.

(She also ran the same contest at her recipe sharing website www.tastykitchen.com)



Seriously. Who does that? Ree does, and her precious husband.

I am so thankful for you.



Matthew 25: 34-40

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’




Encourage one another,
Donna

Katie's audition went well.
She had a little mess up on one line, but she recovered well.

We don't know what to expect as we have never been to this variety show.
This was all about learning a piece and performing in front of judges.

She said she did not feel nervous until she stepped up on stage.

That's understandable. The lights, the microphone the judges.

(The very friendly, lovely judges, I have to say. All teachers she knows and loves from school.)

But none the less, most of us don't want to speak in public so I am proud of Katie for
getting up there!









When we left the audition the sun was lowering in the sky.





I'm glad I had my camera with me. The light was very glowy.
Her face is a little greyish to me but when I boost and change this picture too much,
Katie's hair turns bright orange. And that's not what I was going for.



****


The whole Leno, Conan, NBC debacle has certainly stirred Conan's creative juices....


He put the Tonight Show on Craigslist yesterday!







4 SALE: BARELY-USED LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW - MAKE ME AN OFFER!!! (Universal Studios)

Date: 2010-01-13, 3:48PM PST

This is a chance of a lifetime to own your very own late night talk show—guaranteed to last for up to seven months!! Really must see to appreciate.

Information for potential buyers:

- Measures 100' x 100' x 32' — plenty of room for a futon!

- Designed for 11:35 but can be easily moved

- Band can be sold separately

- Buyer must honor Barry Manilow booking next Thursday

MAKE ME YOUR BEST OFFER!!!!!! (Also willing to trade for Coldplay tickets.)



***


So funny!


Do you have an opinion on this situation?

I'd love to hear it!


(btw, I don't stay up for either show. but I still have an opinion :o)

Encourage one another,
Donna

call yourself a cool cat
looking like a fool
walking down town
with your
pants on the ground

Yes.

American Idol is back.

Nuttier than ever!


***

Is anyone still watching Ugly Betty? I like that show very much and it has been moved around and messed with this season and I hear the numbers are not the best.

I am rooting for it. And I want Gio to come back.

I don't suppose anyone cares.



***

And Grey's Anatomy has been gone so long I can't even remember what is going on.
Do you watch Private Practice? I don't.



****


Golden Globes are this weekend. So fun. This is my favorite award show because television and movies are
honored at the same show. Come back for the fashion show on Monday.



****

Has anyone seen Up in the Air? My sister Cindy saw it and loved it...so did Regis and Kelly.

I think it is the late in the day hot movie of the season.

Regis usually knows these things.



****




Here's my 365 from yesterday.
I tried many times to take a picture of a pillow in Katie's room and hunted down the cat for a picture...but
nothing was really jumping out at me.

And then I took this picture of myself in the bathroom.

ISO1600
Eye Candy Action: Pretty Gritty.


It's not every day my hair looks this nice. I have to take advantage of these fleeting moments.



***

Happy Thursday!

Katie is trying out for a Variety show at school. She is doing 'The Queen' Monologue from "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown."

I sure hope it goes well.



Encourage one another,
Donna

"The shortest day has passed, and whatever nastiness of weather we may look forward to in January and February,
at least we notice that the days are getting longer. Minute by minute they lengthen out. It takes some weeks before
we become aware of the change. It is imperceptible even as the growth of a child, as you watch it day by day,
until the moment comes when with a start of delighted surprise we realize that we can stay out of doors in a
twilight lasting for another quarter of a precious hour."
- Vita Sackville-West

This was yesterday. I thought this exact thing as I took this picture at 3 in the afternoon...and then when I picked Katie up from Destination Imagination at 4:30 I was awed by the pink stripey clouds at sunset.

It helped that the sun shone. The days....weeks without the sun can be...difficult.

But oh! When the sun shines! My spirits lift...and I even leave the house to take pictures.

This year I have signed up to do a 365 on Flickr. Every day I must take a picture and post it to the group.
Now, I actually, already take a picture every day. But this exercise is stretching my creativity.

Finally on day twelve, I went for a drive. I was looking for a row of trees. Within ten minutes I had found my
row of trees, gotten snow down my boots and had accomplished my task.

Quickdraw MaGraw.

When it is cloudy, our world in Wisconsin is black and white and grey.

But when the sun shines. We have beautiful blue. Beautiful, cool, spectacular blue.


I think I will make potato soup today.

Winter is a time for soup.


Here is the recipe.

Donna's Potato Soup


Encourage one another,
Donna

She doesn't even really want a pair of my hand knit socks.
They feel weird, she says.

But I will continue to knit.

My grandma just knit a long scarf-like object. It wasn't for anyone.
I don't remember her making gifts.

She knit to knit.

I like that I am like my sweet grandma.
Her name was Julia.


I like to do things with my hands.

I like to: cross stitch, needlepoint, quilt, knit and play Tetris on my Gameboy.

When I am watching television, which is often, I am always doing something with my hands.


But guess what I just realized. You can't knit or play Tetris when you are watching a foreign film.
I have so many foreign films in my Netflix queue...what's a girl to do?


I have taken all of your great advice about getting your children to drink water to heart!
Thank you!

Katie now is told to drink water before she drinks a Capri Sun and
She is carrying a Chapstick in her pocket and taking it to school.

I bought her some bottled water that I will put in containers we have around the house for now.

It's a step in the right direction and I appreciate your wonderful ideas!





“She has a wonderful vitality and a natural optimism. That’s the best medicine anyone could have.”
The Bells of St. Marys


This morning on the way to school Katie and I talked about having a positive attitude.
A positude, I told her.

I told her being enthusiastic and positive would get her everywhere.

Being a Debbie Downer would get her no where.


And that's what we talked about on the way to school.


I think about this a lot.

In business and life and love and influence....

Be ye positive.

"The people, who were trying to make this world worse are not taking a day off, how can I ? Light up the darkness.”
I Am Legend


"I think we can't go around measuring our goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, what we resist, and who we exclude. I think we've got to measure goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include.”
Chocolat


“Life is to give, not to take.”
Les Miserables (1935)




Positively Yours,
Donna

"You could do that in a day!"

"I just did!"

I called my sister Cindy to talk me home yesterday afternoon.
I left Chicago at noon and was feeling sleepy around Rockford,
so I called Cindy. Cindy always makes me laugh.


As I pulled into Madison, I told Cindy I was almost home. 2 hours 20 minutes.
Great Time. Great great time from Chicago to our little town near Madison.

And that's when Cindy said....

"You could do that in a day!"

and I said.

"I just did! You could do that twice in a day if you wanted to!!"

But I know what she meant! She lives in Missouri. She can't really do the Chicago trip in a day!
She can do the St. Louis trip and the KC trip. But Chicago is out of her day trip reach.


I love that Emma is in Chicago for school. But my goodness, you should have felt how cold it was there yesterday.
I think I have to remember back to skiing in the UP to recall that kind of cold!

After getting Emma settled in her new dorm/apt. we walked a few blocks to get some Thai food.




(My yummy soupy Chicken Coconut Curry.)

On the way there I put my scarf over my head like a babushka and begged Emma not to make fun of me.
She is young and had cute earmuff things on.

The food was delicious and warm.

Then we walked back and I jumped in the car to come home. I would have stayed longer but wanted to watch the football game at home.



Longtime blog friend Kathyb said I should wave to her when I passed the Old Orchard Exit. But I realized that I don't go past her exit....seems I veer off to the West and miss her altogether.

Silly highways.

I still hope to meet you this year, too, kathy b :o)

***


I'd rather not talk about the game. It steals my quiet and peace of mind.






Let's talk about how you get your kids to drink water!!!

It is lip splitting season again!


Encourage one another,
Donna

Basketball season has started! Katie's team had their first game last night.
They play two twenty minute halves and the clock keeps running. Two refs called the game.
There were a few double dribbles and a few fouls.

Our young team lost 25 to 6.

Katie says, "It was exciting and there was a lot of running!"

Oh yea. Katie made a basket.

I didn't see it.

Don't tell her.



********




Emma will be going back to college tomorrow. I will drive her down early so I can be back for the Packer game at 3:30.

The radio is working. The thermostat is fixed and we have new tires as of yesterday. There is no stopping me now!

Did you ever notice that as soon as your car is paid for, the repairs take over?

Having Emma home has been such a delight this Christmas. She is sweet company and we love being with her.


****

And because this is my blog and because we love our team....




GO PACK GO!!!!



Encourage one another,
Donna

Last night I concluded the 'eat' portion of the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.
If you haven't read the book, Elizabeth visits Italy for the eat portion of the book.
Four months in Italy.

It was wonderful. I liked so much about this chapter.

I love Elizabeth's humorous and delightful descriptions.
She is the kind of writer, I like to read; easy, funny, blunt and revealing.

She described pizza in Naples perfectly. (We have a place here in Madison called
pizza brutta and I tell you....it is exactly like the pizza E. describes in Naples.)

She also describes the town and it's people with great, funny strokes.

I want to go to every place she mentions and I want to meet the people she meets.

I like her openness and her dramatic personality.

She loves Italy and learning Italian and I found this charming.

I wish she would go to Greece and Denmark because I would love to hear her describe those places for me :o)

(Nancy B. You have to read this part of the book. I am getting it for you as a belated b-day present :o/ )


*******




Emma and I watched Food Inc. the other day.

My husband says I should not watch those kinds of shows. He's right. I'm very impressionable.


***

Here are the movies I have watched in the last month that have not made me yell at the screen.

The Blind Side. Really liked it. Loving.
It's Complicated. Funny yet just a bit off. Not brilliant.
Everybody's Fine. Slow and sad yet interesting.
Julie and Julia. A perfect movie
Up. Love the emotion, hated the action at the end.
Have you heard about the Morgans? Liked this very much. Almost better than It's Complicated.
Inglourious Basterds. Fantastic! Ridiculously violent.
Sydney White. Cute. Amanda Bynes.
How to Marry a Millionaire. Must see.
Ice Castles. Good.
Food Inc. Icky. Maddening.


My top two movies of the year would be Julie and Julia and Inglourious Basterds.

Isn't that weird?


What were your favorite movies this year?
The Golden Globes are coming soon!


Encourage one another,
Donna

Yeah. Katie seems to have claimed her daddy's hat.
She looks awfully pretty in it. I must say.
(Do you remember who used to say "I must say"?)

But I am so proud of that little girl. She is such a good student.
She is doing well with her notebook and assignments and tests.

It is her willingness to work on things that makes me so proud of her.

She does homework for hours every night. Not fighting. No fussing.
It's like it never crossed her mind that she could rebel or be mad about it.

And I'm not going to tell her.

Perhaps it is her age and her peers right now but I have never heard her say, I don't want to do this!

Let me just say, I am very thankful.
Because I don't think it's anything I did.

The longer I have children, the less I think I know anything about raising them.

That great thing they do or did. Maybe not because of me.

That awful thing they do or did. Maybe not because of me either.

I have been humbled.

It's good to be humbled, I think. I am thankful God gave me the four beautiful
children He gave me. I have loved every minute of parenting them
and with His help I can continue to nurture and love them. But I am glad to know
they are in His perfect, everlasting care.





And that's the truth.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Witches are scary.


When I was a little girl I had a reoccurring dream.
It had something to do with a witch and a caldron.

I would wake up terrified.
I remember lying in my bed and trying to call out to my parents,
but my voice didn't work.

mom

mom

mom

I would cry.

But no sound would come out.

That is scarier than my dream, now that I think of it.
The silence of the child. ew.

But this morning when Katie bolted into my room and said, "Can I sleep in here with you?"
I said yes. Mostly because I was already awake and the alarm was going off in ten minutes.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yes. There were two witches...."

"Witches are scary aren't they. They are not real. You just imagined it. You are safe."

"Unhuh"

"I used to dream of witches, too."







"I used to have nightmares that they would put 'He played Ted' on my tombstone."
Keanu Reeves



ha!


Who stars in your nightmares?

Be excellent to each other,
Donna

In which I explain why Julie and Julia makes me cry.


Crying at the movies is not a rare occurrence for me.
It is par for the course.

My girls are becoming movie criers now too.
I think Katie may rival my sister Sue. Sue has a very tender heart and
cries very easily. Katie is already crying at the movies. She is getting an early start.

The three of us, me and Katie and Emma, sniffled out way thru the first 10 minutes of Up.
When we saw Blindside last Saturday. We all cried a little bit too.

But when we watch Julie and Julia, I am the only one to cry.
And according to Emma, I cry at the weirdest times.
But, I can't tell her why I am crying because I get all choked up and can't speak.

Here is the part I cry at.

I think you will understand.

Julia has a friend that she has corresponded with thru the mail for many years.
They are wonderful friends and yet they have never met in person.

When they meet up and share a hug in the train station in Paris, I cry.


I can feel it. I can feel it because of blogging for six years and making friends on TWTM boards.

So many of you are my long-lost, never-met-before friends and I would love to meet you
at a train station in Paris and give you a hug.


You are sisters of my heart, just like Julia and Avis.






The best tears are tears of joy, don't you think?



Hugs,
Donna

I finished my socks. (Julia Vesper self striping yarn)

They are soft and a teeny bit baggy.

I looked around to think of a way to take a picture of them that would be
different the the previous finished sock pictures. I pondered
how I could shoot my feet so my ankle didn't look fat.

So I laid on the couch and did a V sit using the map as a background because it is so pretty and I realized
when I was doing the only form of exercise I have done in months, that the colors in the map went perfectly
with my new socks. And after a few minutes of straining, I called Katie to come and help me.

I ordered. She queried. I strained. She stooped.
We laughed. We failed.
She left.
I tried again alone.



This is what passes for good times around here.



****






Tara Whitney has this print in her office and I spotted it on the wall years ago. I have loved and been inspired by
the saying ever since.

I bought it for myself for Christmas. It encourages me to be positive and grateful and happy.

I should write to Linzie and ask her to make a "What Happens Matters" print.

I would give it to everyone.

Linzie Hunter





Katie starts back at school today.

The radio is fixed and so is the thermostat. (Thank you Patrick!)

It's a happy day.


Oh yeah. And the Packers Rock.


Encourage one another,
Donna