The City Mouse and the Counrty Mouse and a birthday boy.




Driving into Chicago from the western (on the Eisenhower) suburbs takes you directly under the U.S. Post Office.  Our father would point it out and I would be amazed and thrilled to drive UNDER such a big building.  Last Saturday Katie took this picture as I drove under the post office.  It is not a post office any more.  Emma says they are trying to figure out what to do with the building.
When you go under the bridge, you are almost to Michigan Ave.  Beside the novelty of driving under a building, you have the excitement of being almost there.  You are almost to the Art Institute. You are almost to Aunt Dorothy's or Grandma's apartment.
When we go see Emma nowadays we don't from from the western suburbs.  We come from the NW.
Katie will remember the Rosemont water tower.  (It's a giant rose.)
I will remember the traffic, I'm afraid.
But I will also remember the thrill of the big jets coming into O'Hare.

But that post office was pretty special.
I was going under that post office before the John Hancock and Sears towers were even built.
The Prudential building.  That was the biggie.

That's old.

And you know what else is old.

Our son Patrick!!!

He turns 30 years old today.
How can that be since I am only 31 myself???




Patrick was born at Prentiss Woman's Hospital in downtown Chicago on May 31, 1982.
We drove under the post office to get to the hospital.
It was a cool, sunny day.
It was one of the happiest days of my life.
Our precious first child. A boy.  A boy with red hair.

Now he lives far away in California.
He is still our precious boy with red hair.
And we love him dearly.
Always.

Happy Birthday Patrick!
We love you.

(Matthew, Melinda, Asher and Patrick's girlfriend Shelby get to celebrate with Patrick today.  I wonder what they will do?  I wish I could bake him his favorite cake!!)




These are in my neighbors garden.



Are they chives?  They are so pretty.


Have a lovely last day of May!!!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Fun with Katie and Ginny.





Look at Ginny run.  Look at Katie ride.

Go Ginny.

Go Katie.

Katie plays with Ginny.
Ginny plays with Katie.
Katie and Ginny have fun.




Look at Ginny.
Ginny is tired.

Katie is happy.
Mother is happy.


~Donna


p.s. I spelled all the words right today.

kathyb requested a picture of my cut and color.



I put this on Instagram....so in my mind I had shared it.
So here it is.
It will never look like this again.




Once I was done with my antibiotics, I felt much better and decided last minute to go to Chicago for my niece Lindsay's wedding shower.  Here is Lindsay with one of her sisters, Ashley.  Ashley was the surprise for the day!  She flew in from Arizona!  Aren't they darling?  They are very lovely girls.
So happy to spent some time with all of my nieces and such wonderful extended family.  My sister's Nancy's in laws were a huge part of our family after our parents died.  They have a very special place in my heart.  I'm very thankful for all of the Scotts!





I drove into the city to gather Emma and bring her home.
We drank caffeinated drinks, ate brats, went to Men in Black 3.
Emma walked and ran with Ginny.
Ginny loves her lots.

Fun Fact:  I cried at the end of MIB3.  And not just silent tears.
Shoulder shaking silent sob.
It was so embarrassing.







We found the ONLY pool open in the Madison area.  New Glarus.
It was over 90 degrees.
Patrick and I even went swimming.
The girls had fun on the diving board.
I tried to explain a jack knife dive to Emma.  She tried it. Twice. The second time she did a fine....
belly flop.
She did however do a fine flip.

Katie is less adventurous.
She is a canon ball girl.




Emma's one and only expensive pair of sunglasses were stolen at the pool.
Oakleys that she got for her birthday about four years ago.
So we looked for new glasses at Target.

She chose neon green aviators which she is free to lose.
(Code for cheap.)



Emma took a picture of us. We both look so very serene.

Katie very cleverly got in the shot...without us knowing.
GREAT photo bomb Katie Gracie!!!


Now Emma is gone. She will serve her last month with Just Embrace.  She will continue to be present in the community and participate in many Just Embrace activities, but she will just not live in the same house.   Katie is at school for the rest of the week and then summer vacation is HERE!

Woo!

Lots going on.

Matthew and Melinda went to visit Patrick in California.
Asher is sick with blisters.  Please pray for him to feel better.
This is their one big trip and gosh!....it's really terrible that Asher is sick.
Thanks.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Good Morning....














Emma and I were talking about women and how they are portrayed in the media.  It's tragic, really.
It made me think about where we find out worth...our value.

I believe we are valuable because God created us.  He has a purpose for us and He loves us.

There is one safe and happy place, and that is in the will of God.
~David Livingstone

I will place no value on anything I have or may possess except in relation to the kingdom of Christ.
~David Livingstone



Encourage one another,
Donna

Flash Back Friday.






Its always sunny and windy and hot for the Hometown parade here in town.

It's so interesting to me how different each child in the family is.
Katie and Matthew get big welts from mosquitoes.
Patrick runs a high fever and gets sick if he stays up all night.
Emma has tons of energy and rarely complains.


How I adore this picture of Katie.  Her lips, her hair, her chubby little hands.
Gosh.  I have loved being a mom.

So thankful.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Congratulations Phillip Phillips.
So glad you won.






I have a hair appointment today.  So excited to be all blond and gussied up.
I am terrible about taking care of my hair and really just love to put it up in a pony tail.
If I was Queen I would be very happy to have someone do my hair every day.

I also need new glasses.  These are crooked and I have a new prescription...just finding what I like and then finding the money to buy them.

Our water heater is leaking and we need a new one.
The leak is small so I may be getting glasses first.
I'll show you if I do.

Source: warbyparker.com via Donna on Pinterest

I wanted to try this company but they do not make progressives.  Only $100.00.
Super cool. AND they give a pair away.


*****




My favorite blurry picture of the week.


“Sometimes awful things have their own kind of beauty.”
~Single Man




"I'm thinking that sometimes you just have to make the decision to be happy.  Just realize that things aren't ever what you hoped they'd be.  Not ever.  For anybody.  The only thing that separates one kind of person from another is that there are some who stay angry about it and there are some who accept what comes their way."
~Away From Her




“If you listen real close, you can hear them whisper their legacy to you. Go on, lean in. Listen, you hear it?  Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.”
~Dead Poets Society




Encourage one another.
There is so much beauty and magic in the ordinary days, it cheers me on.
A cheerful heart is really the best medicine.


Donna

Good Morning Everybody.

Well.  Last night was a thrilling night of television watching!

The finale of Dancing with the Stars was on and our wonderful Green Bay Packer, Donald Driver won the whole thing!  Up until Monday night, Donald was not really who I thought would win, but then he danced a fabulous freestyle dance and he really entertained!  You just couldn't help but love it.

Congrats Donald and Peta!


Then we had the finale of American Idol.
I felt Phillip's first two songs were boring-ish.
Jessica's were dynamic.  She really can sing.
But then.  Each contestant sings a song that Idol has written for them.
It is the song that will be released when they win.
Well.
Jessica's was not my cuppa.
BUT Phillip's song was amazing.
How often do you hear a song for the first time...and you love it.
This song alone will make Phillip the winner tonight.
That's my guess.
Like Donald's one dance.  Phillip's song "Home" will win it for him and it will be a huge hit.




It could be the homeschoolers anthem.
haha.

Any way.  I loved it.  Katie and Matthew and I all thought it sounded like Mumford and Sons and then Randy said just that.  Randy also said it sounded a bit like Fleet Foxes and I can hear that too.
No wonder I loved it.

****

I wrote a post on Instagram for The Pioneer Woman.  If you would like to pick up a few editing tips, hop on over the P-Dubs website.

Instagram 101


****

Here are a few pictures I took last night in the beautiful seven o'clock light.







****
Dr. appointment update.

I got a call this morning at 7:45 from Urologist office.  I have an appointment on Friday morning.
Woo!   I am very happy about this.

I'm in like flynn? flint?

What the heck does that mean anyway?


Have a wonderful day!

Add to the beauty,
Donna

Hullo.
I'm Ginny.
I love you.
My ears are hot.
Itch. Scratch. Rub.
Mommy took me in the car.
We went inside the wonderful building.
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff.
I weigh 57 lbs.
The man with the treats cleaned my ears and put something in them.
Ohhhhhhhhhh!  Gurgle. Snort.
I love you man.

My ears feel better now.

Slurp.

No much to say today.
Ginny and I are chillaxin' in the family room.
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and prayers.


I watched Amelie twice over the weekend.
I am a bit intoxicated by it.
The cinematography was exquisite and the story was delightful.

I did a little googling and it happens that the creator of Pushing Daisies unabashedly copied from Amelie.
I thought as much.

Whimsical, oddball funny, sweet, beautiful=Amelie


Encourage one another,
Donna

Good morning.

First let's talk about the updated movie list.


Movies I am glad I saw since 2000:

Little Miss Sunshine
Juno
A Beautiful Mind
Finding Nemo
Wall-E
Despicable Me
portions of UP (I can't stand the flying, talking dogs...but I love the people stories)
The Kings Speech
Love Actually

Movies I have loved since 2000:

Crash
In Bruge
She's the One*
30 going on 13
Jane Eyre (with ruth wilson and toby stevens, 2006)*
Persuasion (rupert penry-jones and sally hawkins, 2007)*
Slum Dog Millionaire*
The Help*
Best in Show
Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Cast Away
Chocolat
About a Boy
The Holiday*
Somethings Gotta Give*
Julie and Julia*

The movies with the asterisk are the ones, I really, really love.
With prose like that, Roger Ebert needs to watch out.
I'm a really really good movie reviewer. ha.
Some of these movies are very mature.  Some very violent.


*****

For a year now I have had intermittent pain in my body.
I've felt it when I am under stress and attributed it to dehydration.
About a month ago I googled my symptoms and thought it sounded like kidney stones.
But my pain was very mild compared to what people describe.
Yesterday I had more pain than usual and a fever.

With urging from friends and family I went to the ER last night.
They found a large bladder stone and I have a UTI.
Most likely I will have surgery to have the bladder stone removed.

I'm not too worried about this.
What's another tummy surgery?

I just don't like these medical things to interfere with my social plans.

I will be missing out on the graduation of my good friend Amy's daughter today.


*****



Congratulations Emily!

You are a remarkable girl.  I hope you love learning and growing at Wheaton College!
Everyone is so proud of you.

And AmyJ...you are The Amazing Amy!
Congratulations on guiding and teaching your dear girl!
Well done.  Well done.


Happy weekend dear friends!

Encourage one another,
Donna

Flash Back Friday is one of my first blog posts.

Monday, January 05, 2004

Donna's Most Frequently Viewed Movies


1. The Wizard of Oz
2. Singin in the Rain
3. Gone with the Wind
4. King of Kings
5. Rocky
6. White Christmas
7. Heidi
8. The Jerk
9. Parenthood
10. To Kill a Mockingbird
11. Pride and Prejudice
12. You've Got Mail
13. The Princess Bride
14. It's A Wonderful Life
15. Sleepless in Seattle
16. When Harry Met Sally
17. Greencard
18. Big
19. Uncle Buck
20. The Goodbye Girl


The top six movies on the list I can quote parts verbatim! Many of the movies have risen to the frequently viewed status because they are on television so often...and I can't resist stopping and watching them (Uncle Buck and Greencard are in this category). The Wizard of Oz, Heidi, Wonderful Life and Kings of Kings have been favorites since I was young. Pride and Prejudice is climbing the list quickly.
I haven't seen The Goodbye Girl in 20 years! But I can remember some of the lines and some of the dance steps...so that reminds me that I really loved that movie at one time. I am going to rent it this week.

They are not all squeaky clean :o) So check www.screenit.com before you rent any of them...if you are worried about the content.

Funny story....Many years ago, I recommended my sister and husband rent Parenthood. I raved about how funny it was! So my sister rented the movie. A few days later I asked her how she and her husband like it.

"Well, we really thought it was a weird movie."

"Weird? How was it weird?"

"The parents were cannibals."

"Cannibals!!!"

"Oh, Sis, You were watching Parents not Parenthood!"

" I kept telling my husband...Donna says this is a really funny movie!?!?"

Yikes! Get the titles right :o)

*******************


The Ten Commandments in Verse


Above all else love God alone;
Bow down to neither wood or stone.
God's name refuse to take in vain;
The Sabbath rest with care maintain.
Respect your parents all your days;
Hold sacred human life always.
Be loyal to your chosen mate;
Steal nothing neither small nor great.
Report, with truth, your neighbor's deed;
And rid your mind of selfish greed."

from the MuGuffey Reader

I think I will commit that to memory. It's sweet.

Donna...in snowy, pretty Wisconsin

******

Encourage one another,

Donna...in sunny, springy Wisconsin

A few weeks ago I saw a picture on Pinterest that linked to a page teaching how to make your heels super soft.  My feet get very beat up and calloused because I am always bare foot or in flip flops.It was a simple solution.  Soak your feet in Epsom Salts and then with a toothbrush scrub-a-dub-dub.
My father used to soak his feet in Epsom salt.  This sounds familiar to me.
So I googled to see if Sea Salt and Epsom Salt were the same thing.
They are not.
Emma happened to be home so I asked her to pick up some Epsom salt for me.

A few nights later I decided to give it a try.

Patrick was off at a Brewers game and Katie and I were just watching TV.
Katie very kindly asked if I would like her to do the scrubbing.
Of course.  That's fantastic!
I sent her in the bathroom to get an old toothbrush.
She found one and said, no one uses this one.
I had never even seen this toothbrush before.

Katie scrubbed and scrubbed for about 20 minutes.
I could see some improvement but then realized, this procedure is meant to be done five days in a row.
Ah. That's why one time was not a noticeable success.

When Katie was done, I rinsed the bowl and set the toothbrush with it so it could be used again for my feet.

Patrick didn't get home until about 1:00 am from the game that night.
For once, I was awake before him the following morning.

I was puttering around on the ipad when Patrick called from the bathroom,
"Where is my toothbrush?"

Uh oh.  "Do you use a PINK toothbrush?"

"Yes."

"Oh no!  We used it to scrub my feet last night."



Of all the tooth brushes in all the gin joints in town....
I had to use that one.




Katie and I never laughed so hard.
~Donna

I was looking at Emma's photos on her FB page last night.
Here are two that brought back....memories.



This is the hill Di and I climbed.
We walked to Coit Tower after lunch in China town.

I don't recommend it.
But I do recommend meeting Di.




This was a nice drive.  The scenery was beautiful on the way to Big Sur.
The only thing that bothered me was with all that oceanfront,
you are not allowed to go on the beaches.  And we drove for at least 30 miles.

We just wanted to pull over and walk along the ocean and sit in the sand and put our toes in the water.

Does this not seem odd to you?
I recommend this drive...but do not expect to stop and picnic on a beach.



This has been a public service announcement.

Source: vepca.wordpress.com via Donna on Pinterest

(Matthew and Melinda and Asher are going to San Fran in a few weeks.)


****

Source: chroniclebooks.com via Donna on Pinterest

******












Ginny had a play date with Casey.
They had so much fun.  Ginny is still worn out.



****

Happy Wednesday!


Encourage one another,
Donna

My favorite Instagrams.

This mood.
I love this dreamy mood.



I will tell you my secret.  I wanted Katie's eyes looking off.
I told her to look a few places and they were too far.
Then I told her to look at my ear.

It was good.

Do you think Francesco Scuvullo told his models to look at his ear?

Me neither.



This bike shop is cool.
I bet it is even cooler if you really like bikes.

Did you know old bikes like this sell for $1800?



I will make a book from Blurb at the end of the year.  The book will have 366 pictures in it.  I think it will have four pictures on a page.  I have taken a picture with my camera phone every day so far this year.
In this picture,  it was the end of the day and hadn't taken a picture yet.

Ginny was there.


****

Who do you think will go home tonight on Dancing with the Stars?
Who will win American Idol?
Have you ever worn polarized sun glasses?
Do they bother you or do you love them?
Asher was not talking when we went to their house at Easter.
He is talking a whole lot now.
I can't wait to hear his little voice.


Enjoy your day!
Add to the beauty.

Encourage one another,
Donna

Meet Jenny and Laura. They were my photography students on Saturday!
Laura has come down to Madison once before and she tells me that she went straight home and shared everything I taught her with her sister.

The girls especially like portrait photography and are tip toeing into wedding photography.

They wondered what lens they might get next....
Since all three of us shoot Nikons, I was able to let them try out the 35mm and the 85mm that I have.

I know Laura loved the 85mm. Jenny is quieter but I gathered she liked the 85mm too.  It's kind of a built in personal space buffer...that 85mm.

Last time Laura came she went right out and bought a new camera.  I have a feeling she will be buying an 85mm soon.
Her husband is never going to let her come here again.





Anyway, both girls edit with Lightroom so I opened up Lightroom and show them a trick or two.
And then I edited my pictures for the day with my Sesame Ellis Lightroom Presets.

The color pictures on today's blog were edited with Overcast action and the B & W were edited with the Ilford preset.





Katie modeled for us.  Thanks sweetie.
She was excited to wear her new dress.



Oh! for comparison...this is my traditional photoshop edit.



quiet time preset



fresh water preset


why do i love a blurry picture so much....
it's so weird
but i do


Thank you for coming to see me,  Jenny and Laura.
I had so much fun teaching you.
Thanks for encouraging me to open up LR again.

I like it.


Encourage one another,
Donna

Such pretty flowers.

















Square or rectangle?


I'm mentoring sweet sisters this afternoon so I bought some pretty flowers for the table...and for practice.
Don't you love peonies?


I hope some day to meet God, because I want to thank Him for the flowers.  
~Robert Brault

Fabulous Flash Back Friday Photo!





This one stands alone.

Our mom and dad are in the center.
Grandma Glyman is on the left and Aunt Dorothy is on the right.

What can I say about Grandma Glyman?
She loved her children.
She loved to play cards.
She had beautiful hands and hair and big gold sparkly jewerly.

I don't have memories of conversations or opinions.

I have memories of butter cookies and cigarettes.

Oh!  I can remember one thing.

Sue and I went to Aunt Lola's and Uncle Don's house for Thanksgiving one year.
Sue was living in the city and I came up from college to spend the holiday with her.
We picked up Grandma from her apartment on Lake Shore Dr. and drove up to Lake Forest.

The only thing I can remember is this.

After dinner we all got in Sue's car.
It was very cold.

Grandma said, "Does this car have heat?"

It makes me chuckle even now.

Grandma was the Queen Mother.

I have her name.

Elsie.

It always embarrassed me.  But I think it's kind of cute now.  Now that the Borden Milk cow is out of fashion.

If Grandma was the Queen.  Aunt Dorothy was the Greek Princess.
First of all, doesn't Cindy look remarkably like Aunt Dorothy?

Aunt Dorothy was so high class and elegant and fashionable and chic.
Seriously chic.

But she was the warmest, most loving, hospitable, affectionate woman in the world.
And boy could she cook.

I remember many talks and many meals with Aunt Dorothy.
She was a fierce and loyal momma and devoted daughter.

If Nancy and by brother in law Bink had not taken guaridanship over the Glyman girls, Aunt Dorothy would have.   She nonetheless watched over us and watched over her mom.

She was our movie star....who was really just a hard working-girl from Chicago...with tons of style!

I am thankful they were such a big and present part of my life growing up.


******







Pretty pictures taken yesterday at Katie's school.

Don't you just love columbines?



Encourage one another,
Donna

Reading.




I will win no awards for speed reading.  I have been reading Bringing up Bebe for weeks and weeks.
I read before I go to sleep every night.  Sometimes it's three pages, sometimes it's 30.

Bringing up Bebe is very well written.  It is funny and insightful.
I am putting many of the French ways into practice with Katie and Ginny.

Just this morning I commanded Ginny to come and give me the comb.  I gave her the 'big eyes', just like the French mommas do.  She trotted right over and gave it to me.

It was a miracle.

Pamela Druckerman tries many of the French methods.  Some work for her, some don't.
She does not shame.  She observes.

I love the book.


****

Next on tap is Stephen Kings new book called 11/22/63.
From what the jacket says, it is more of a time travel book than a horror book.
Time travel back to the 1960's.

I have only read the first four pages.
I have already cried.
The beginning has a story so touching that I cried and then I read it to Katie,
and then I cried some more and she had to read to me.

This happens to me.

When something touches my heart, I weep.

I think a lot of people don't read Stephen King because of his ghoulish material.
Actually, he is a wonderful storyteller.


****

This morning I spilled my Chai in aisle 5 at Target.
What a mess.  Sheesh.

I bought ingredients to make a Carrot Cake for the Teacher Appreciation party tomorrow at school.

Here is a link to my recipe.  I got it from my college roommate Kathy Hanrahan.

Delicious Carrot Cake with no raisins or nuts :o)

My most favorite recipes are on my recipe blog.
If you didn't know I had one...it's always right there on my right sidebar.


Recipes I have know and loved


****

As I drove home from Target I had the window open and alongside the road a tractor was mowing.
I took a big sniff.  Is there anything better than sunshine and the smell of grass?


***

I am dying to talk about American Idol today.
If you want to leave your opinions on who will go home today, if you agree with the judges, and who you think will win the whole thing....I would LOVE that.


TTFN.

Encourage one another,
Donna