Sorry about Maggie

Maggie kept Di on her toes.

From the growling under the bed to the fierce Hissing!
Any time Diane went upstairs she was in for an adventure.








Maggie. You is bad.




Ginny was good.

Except for the time....she ran away in front of all the visitors.


It's a nutty zoo around here sometimes.
Miz Boo

A tale of two cities.

Hello Every-body.

I'm back.  What a week.
It was a week with the best things and the very worst things.
Our hearts and our brains and our souls have great capacity to manage it all don't they?

On Saturday the 19th my daughter-in-law's mother (Carol Sue) had a car accident.  She broke her foot badly.
She was in a lot of pain but was talking and recovering.

Monday Diane Wheeler, our blog friend, came to town.
Monday Carol Sue started having breathing issues.

Tuesday I drove Di up to Baraboo to meet Stephanie and they would go on to a very special retreat.



Stephanie came driving toward us beeping her horn.  Di could not help it.  She ran.
This was the first time they have met after being internet and email friends for years.

We had a great lunch together at our favorite Mexican place.  Di and Steph headed north and I came home...already knowing in my heart that I needed to go to Omaha to help Matthew and Melinda with the boys.
The texts had been coming in thru the night and morning that reporting that Carol Sue was not doing well.
(She had too much CO2 in her lungs.)



Praying for Carol Sue has been constant.



My husband and I decided that I would go help and Katie decided that she was coming along.  She felt it in her gut that she had to help...just like I did.  Katie was a great help to me.  Couldn't do it alone.







I see you!



This little guy gets into everything!  Even my barricades :o)





Sums it up.


It was very good to be there.  Matthew was able to be with Melinda at the hospital, go to work a few days and get a few things done.  Melinda is the medical contact for her mother so she has been by her mom's side consistently (As is her brother)  and it seems every time she has come home to try to sleep she gets called at 3:00 am to come back in.  It's been very hard to see their mom so sick and declining and not able to do anything about it.
Everyone is praying a lot.  They are playing music for Carol Sue and there are cute pictures of the boys on the walls so she can see her darling grandsons when she wakes up.

Carol Sue has such a sweet soul.  When she wakes in pain she is polite and gentle.  It's remarkable.
She is filled with a dear heart....and we want her to get better.

We come home Saturday night so Katie could do homework on Sunday and so that we could have our little Quiet Life Comment Section gathering for Di.
Di arrived Sunday a little after ten with her wonderful sister-in-law, with whom she got to spend a few days with in Wausau.

At 1:00 the fun began.

pictured: me, mary ziegler from illinois, diane wheeler from california, anita klumpers from wi and karen finnessy fro wi.


We had such a nice time.  I think you would like to hear how Anita described the visit;

"It was a sweet time.
The Dutch have a word—‘Gezellig’
It means cozy, warming, tender-friendly."

It was my birthday and the girls made me feel special and brought me presents!  How about that.
It was a party for Di and I got the presents!  :op





On the way to the airport yesterday afternoon we stopped by Oscar Meyer to see the Weinermobile up close!  San Fransisco has the bridge.  We have the Weinermobile.  Boom!

Yesterday was an especially bad day for Carol so I watched my phone for updates all day...and prayed.


Omaha.  Madison.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

~A Tale of Two Cities
Dickens

I am very thankful that Di was able to come to Wisconsin. She had a great time! :o)
I had a great time too!

I am very thankful for the hundreds of people praying earnestly for Carol Sue and  for her family that loves her so much.


I am praying and hoping for a miraculous turn around for Carol Sue.
Join me if you feel called to do so.

With love and a full heart,
Donna Elsie

Help

Hi friends,

Katie and are are in Omaha lending a hand.
Carol Sue is having a very tough time. If you follow Melinda in
Melinda is not finding time to sleep.
Matthew has been home with the boys the last few days.

My prayer at this point is "Dear Lord, help. Please."

O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: 

Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Carol 

the help of your power, that her sickness may be turned into 

health, and our sorrow into joy; through Jesus Christ our 

Lord.  Amen.

 

Emmy Red Carpet 2015

Well....  I was not crazy about many dresses last night.
I was not crazy about the host.
But some good things happened.

In 67 years of the Emmy awards no black woman has won best actress in a drama.

It's about time.

I read that before Scandal came on TV in 2012 the last time a black woman had a lead role in a drama was 1974.  That is just so crazy and terrible.

And here she is Viola Davis. You may remember her from The Help.  

I love her dress and her hair and her jewelry and her great spirit.

Congratulations!

This is a step out of the box for me but I really did like this dress worn by Ellie Kemper.

It was 100º out there and I was really happy to see sleeveless dresses on the gals.

This dress looked really nice up close too.  The colors around the neck and the interesting design.

Cool.

Naomi Watts in a quirky dress.  Metallic in the front and floral in the back.

I choose you.

Mindy loves color and it loves her back.  She is the coolest chic out there and I thought she looked amazing.

This dress was really neat and looked great on little Sarah Hyland.  

I love Edie Falco in this dress.  I want to wear this kind of dress and in fact it reminds me of my wedding dress.  Her necklace was ruby and diamonds and went so well with the pretty red flowers.  I really think she looked amazing.

My favorite dress of the night was worn by Regina King.  

So pretty.  Katie loved it too!

That's about it for my faves.  Not so many.

But then....I saw this...

Allison Williams got married over the weekend.  You may know her from Peter Pan.  Her dad is Brian Williams.

Gorgeous Oscar de la Renta dress on a lovely bride.  

I just knew you would like to see this!

Did you have any favorites?  Do you like these?

I jumped from the Packers to the Emmys and it was great. I watched the good parts of both programs.

*****

In serious news, Melinda's mom was in a bad car accident on Saturday night. She wrecked her ankle and had to have surgery on it.  She has cuts and bruises and some internal injuries which I'm not completely sure about.  Her recovery will be long and hard.  (I am very thankful she will have a recovery tho...that does not escape me.)  We would love prayers for healing and pain relief.

Her name is Carol Sue.  

Thank you so much friends.

Encourage one another,

Donna

Please do this.

In 1990 my sister Cindy helped my boys make plates.

I absolutely adore having this plate in the house still.






Every time I grab this plate and use it...well...I think of Matthew.
Those flying things are butterflies.  Matthew would never draw spaceships.
He is in the house and that is very sweet.  His tree is so abstract and interesting, isn't it?

Patrick drew the Ninja Turtles.  I am not sure if I gave him his plate of if it dropped and broke in two.
I think it was the later.  (It happened within the last few years but my memory is foggy on it...possibly from the trauma.)

The company that makes the plates is still in business.
Please.  Do this with your children or grandchildren.

You will be so happy you did!!

Link for plate kit on Amazon below:


Makit Plate




Emma is coming on Saturday!  She is going to the Packers vs Seattle game on Sunday with her dad.
Di is coming Monday!  She will be here briefly and then go off with Stephanie for a retreat.
It's going to be in the low 70ºs and I think Di will be di-lighted!


Happy Friday friends!

Lots of love,
Donna

Di is coming to town.

Our smart, funny, warm, loving blog-sistah, Di, is coming to town next week.  She will be with me and with Stephanie and with her sister-in-law.
But the important thing is...she will be with me.

hahaha

In looking at her schedule I think the best day for a get together will be Sunday afternoon, Sept. 27th.
(hey! that's my birthday)
So if you would like to come to Madison and meet Di please email me;

booshay6@charter.net


We will meet somewhere wonderful and drink drinks and eat food and talk and smile and hug.

This is the hill we climbed.
It was a bonding experience.


The City.  Oh so beautiful.


XOXO
Donna

Wish you were here.

"By all these lovely tokens
September days are here,
With summer’s best of weather
And autumn’s best of cheer."

Helen Hunt Jackson

xoxo

Donna

The Accidental Gardener

Every year for as long as I can remember I stick two tomato plants in warm, well lit spot with terrible soil.
Every year the cherry tomato plants do well.  They are sweet and plentiful.
Every year the larger tomatoes do not turn red.  Maybe one.
The others sit on the vine as it starts to cool down and then freeze.
Remaining green.

I am always so sad and disappointed so I go and purchase home grown tomatoes at local farm stands.  There is just nothing better than a home grown tomato.... other than fresh strawberries.

This year I bought my plants at our local grocery store.  I thought I was buying a cherry and a German striped.  Why not?  But as has happened numerous times before...this pop-up garden center at the grocery store got their signs mixed up.  The cherry tomatoes are quite acidy and not sweet at all.  There is no joy in picking one and popping it into my mouth.  Kind of icky.
BUT the German striped tomatoes are not German striped tomatoes.
Who knows what they are...a small regular tomato as far as I can tell.

BUT.  They have been turning red for weeks.  I am getting red tomatoes this year.
Our summer has been very cool yet they are ripening and they are very good.

So I was wondering about it out loud to my husband who does not care about tomatoes.  At all.

"Isn't it strange that this cool summer the tomatoes are ripening?  They never have before."

And Patrick said, "It's because I have been watering them."

'You have?"

"Yes, it's been dry as dust out there."

Patrick, who really has no interest in the pets or the plants apparently
takes a great interest in their hydration.

Way to go Patrick.  I think the water might have made a difference.

I thank you.
My liver sausage sandwich thanks you.

Love,
Your wife.

Check

What is it about checks?

I have been unknowingly pinning checked fabric on my Pinterest for years.  Here is a little tour of my favorite uses of checkered fabric.

It's cheerful and colorful and I love it.
I found a cute red checked pillow on Etsy.  It's in my price range and I just might have to buy it....soon.


Also.  If you want a bit of cheering up go look at my CUTE page on Pinterest.
Things that make you go AW!

Miz Boo's CUTE page on Pinterest


Encourage one another,
Donna

Maltbie says Be Strong

From September 2005.





Be Strong

Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do, and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle-face it; 'tis God's gift.

Be strong!
Say not, "The days are evil. Who's to blame?"
And fold the hands and acquiesce-oh shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name.

Be strong!
It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day how long;
Faint not-fight on! To-morrow come the song.

Maltbie Davenport Babcock

Wouldn't that poem make nice copywork?

After the comforting has been done...I think we can all use a big dose of courage.

Press on.
Be strong.


"We are not here to play, the dream, to drift"
Bummer.

Be strong.


And hey! If your were a man with the name Maltbie you might need this kind of encouragement to make it through grade school! :o)



*****

I am going through my whole blog and writing down posts that I think might be nice in a Quiet Life book.  I have no idea what I am doing but I am doing it anyway.  Just taking a step in that direction.

I spotted this one just this morning.

Maltbie.   Still makes me smile.

Encourage one another,
Donna

So shines a good deed.

I saw this story on the news over the weekend and it made me all teary.

The young boy's name is Mckinley Zoellner. 

He rocks.

“How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”

~Shakespeare

Encourage one another,

Donna

Where the food is.

Benjamin Button seems to be doing fine.  He is almost too big for his small nest.  As you can see the other eggs did not hatch.  We only peek at him once a day and it is wild to see the over night changes.

Day three of school and I have already forgotten to make Katie's lunch.
Learning to accept another's shortcoming begins at home.
You can quote me on that.






Two years ago.

Warm Windy Omaha with my dear ones....

I forgot their lunches too....
Well...except for Emma....
She stayed home.
Where the food was.



Encourage one another,
Donna

Back in the day....

SUPERSTAR!







2007....

September Sweetie.

Schools going great.  Block scheduling is underway. And it's not terrible.
More volleyball tonight.


I received an email with a request to purchase one of my images for J. Jill catalog.
We are talking about price.
I'll let you know if it all pans out.
It's so very exciting.

Someone actually wants to pay for my picture and not just steal it!

Woo!



Encourage one another
Donna