parkas pile up near the door

January
by John Updike

The days are short,
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.
Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor,
And parkas pile up
Near the door.
The river is
A frozen place
Held still beneath
The trees' black lace.
The sky is low.
The wind is gray.
The radiator
Purrs all day

My favorite line is 

"and parkas pile up 

near the door."

Which is your favorite line?

Donna

Mother of the Year 2010

I ran across this post the other day and thought I'd share.
Flash back Friday on Quiet Life :o)








This is a reenactment. 




 

Mom! 

 
MOM! STOP! 

 


Mom!!! Come back!!! 


 


"dang it" 




**** 


 

See. She really is over it! Happy girl. 




Encourage one another, 
Donna

Golden Globes Red Carpet 2019

Oh how I love a red carpet!  

The show was fine.  Most of my favorites did not win. But I have a nice long list of movies I'm excited to see!  I learned about Downton Abbey by watching the Golden Globes so I am grateful to them for that!!!

The big talk was about A Star is Born.

I saw it but when you have loved a movie since your teens, it's impossible to love another more.

I can't tell you how many times I watched the movie and listened to the album.

That being said, Lady Gaga was endearing and spectacular last night!!

Gorgeous Valentino gown.  And that Tiffany necklace! Holy Cow!

Maya Rudolph was on the worst list....but I loved her dress.  

Julia Roberts was amazing.  I love this.  She looks gorgeous and happy and stands out in this unusual outfit.

Constance Wu wore a lovely Vera Wang dress.  That see thru corset was worn by about five ladies.

I do not like it and wish it was solid and not see thru.  It's just not attractive to me BUT

the color of the dress and bow and the shape and fabric made me love it despite that top.

Constance! You forgot your shirt!

The two tone ensemble was popular and apparently I liked it :o)

This dress is perfect and he jewelry is gorge!

I like delicate shoes.

Well....I picked this because I loved it love on the carpet...but this picture makes the skirt look way too long and strange.  I do love the blue, black and white.  Still choose it...and love pockets.

This was my favorite red dress of the night.  I love the interesting texture.

Dakota Fanning wears Armani Prive.  Those bows on the back are just the kind of detail that makes me squeal with glee! She looks glorious from the front; that necklace, that perfectly fitting bodice, that icy blue color.  Her makeup is elegant and perfect too.

But with all of that....it look the turn to show off those delicate bows to seal the deal....

best dressed.

The Red Carpet Season is here....

Hooray!

Which dresses did you like best?

Thanks for stopping by,

Donna 

slightly obsessed

As I have gotten older, I have stopped wanting/ collecting things.

I use to love to wander around Marshall Fields and Neiman Marcus to see all the pretty things.

Things I wanted to populate my house.

Hummels.

Waterford.

Muffys

Pillows, blankets, furniture, Christmas decorations....

magazines and antique stores full of cute stuff....

And in the last ten years or so,

I just want to have less.

I am not judging at all.  I'm just full up.

I want less clutter.  Clutter is messy and hard to clean and we all know

cleaning is not my thing.

But in the last few months, I have been obsessed with Cornishware.

I do not know exactly why, 

it's familiar cheery stripes....spotted in movies made in England...

So for Christmas Patrick gave me a butter dish. 

(I ordered it from Amazon, from Patrick)

And all I want to do is sell or give away all my china and dansk and plastic plates and buy all Cornishware.

On my box it said 'made in China'.  I was pretty disturbed by this because I follow a woman on Instagram and see her decorating/painting the plates every day.  I did a little detective work and found that a new owner is working on bringing all the products back to the UK, but for now she is only painting the plates and bowls in England.

She also places the names on the adorable mugs.

Her Instagram is Cornishware_artist

follow her....you will like her

Below is a link about the woman who is reviving Cornishware.

What should I put on my mug?  

Does everyone want a mug for Christmas next year? 

They make pink!

I'll start saving now.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/interiors/home/meet-woman-reviving-cornishware-one-striped-mug-time/

I want red too.

And that hutch and sink.

But it has to fit in my other obsession.....

I want to plop this down in my backyard.

With my little stripe-y dishes.

It would all be so much easier if I lived in England.

But perhaps I need to bring England closer to my family.

It has wheels!!!!!!

HERE I COME KIDS!

Chip, Chip, Charlie, by jove, good show.

Cheerio,

Donna 

Always Get Up

Hello,
I'm sorry I haven't written since November.  We are well.
Nothing out of the ordinary going on.

Thanksgiving was small. No children were able to come home.
Christmas was quiet.  Emma and James came to visit.

Shelby and Dottie went to Omaha after Christmas so Katie and I jumped in the car and drove over there to see Matthew, Melinda and their boys and to see Shelby and Dottie.

We saved on shipping.  :o)

I couldn't decide on a picture for my Christmas card so I didn't send one.
I made six or seven samples and could not make a decision.

I have been working with an elderly woman weekly.
She is very sweet.  Her husband goes to meet friends for lunch and I keep her company.
She misses her husband terribly and I try to make the time go by quickly for her.
I like this "job" a lot, it is difficult but I love being able to help.

I really do like being helpful.

I worked a special ed job for a week and loved it.
Anything I can do to help....I love.

I am not taking many outside recess jobs.... Only very short stints...at schools with 'law and order'.

I saw this little video on Will Smith's Instagram and I could relate.

Somebody asked me the other day How did I define Love? I didn’t have a good answer. I thought about it a little... Here’s my first attempt. :-)  

Here are some new pictures of the grandbabies

This reminds me of a 1950's baby photo.  I think there is a picture of my hubby that looks like this....same pose that's for sure.

She is perfection

Smiling at mommy.

Good shot of her teeth. 

I've honestly never seen little boys love a baby as much as these guys!

They were tender and adoring.  

Dottie, 7 mo old.

Katie and I visited Emma and James and Lorelei in Columbia in November.

Pretty kneelers in a old church in Fulton Mo.

Happy Lorelei

Part of the family at part of the Berlin Wall.

Winston Churchill museum.

Some thoughts for the new year.....

I will try to post more often.

Thank you for reading and asking how we are!

Love you. Mean it.

Donna Elsie

How it's done.

So much good in this apology.
Grace, humor, respect.

May it last longer than four minutes.

Four kisses when you wake....

Four candles on your cake....

Today is Zeek's birthday.  I watched the boys while Melinda was at the hospital.  That was the fall Emma was diagnosed with epilepsy.  I was thankful to be with Emma most of October, be there for Matthew and Melinda and then scoot back to Chicago....

It was one of those times in life....

when the delight of new birth and joy was mixed right in with fear and illness.

It happens this way a lot doesn't it?

Love you one and all as you navigate your lovely,  

bewildering, frightening, beautiful, life.

Hope is right around the corner.

Love

Donna

A helmet helps.