Tea with Jane and Bill

Anxiety was thick. "Would he come," thought she? "What if he changed his mind?" Pacing between the large entry way and the small sitting room window of her sister's modest home, Jane couldn't rest until she heard the clammering of the horses coming up the drive. Butterflies turned somersaults in her insides as she ran through the possibilities of such an opportunity. Excited, nervous, scared, happy. Laughing at herself, she wondered if he would revel in her beauty, or treat her as a child. "Where are those horses?" she picked up her pacing.

In the back of the carriage, something called a Phaeton, William couldn't stop tapping his thumb on the edge of the seat. Staring out at the vast countryside, he was not accustomed to chaperones and personal attendants. He was a lone man wanting to get this day concluded. How could he have agreed to such a lowering of himself? What had he assigned himself? What was even more absurd than meeting with a woman of her class, was that she thought herself an equal in the written word. How can a supposed educated woman think herself anywhere near the caliber of stature as he?

To be continued......

Foreshadowing apologies

Okay, I'm going to be honest here and let you all know a secret. (okay, all 4 of you are now sworn to secrecy.)

I am going to be mixing and trying something new. It most likely won't turn out, but I'll try anyway. I'm wondering what would happen if Jane Austen and William Shakespeare collaborated. Or if you could Austenize Shakespeare.

Wish me luck.

To do lists

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to not have a hundred things to do? I wonder that every day. Every single blessed day. Usually I have lists of what needs done, bought, followed up on, etc. Sometimes I even make lists of the lists I need to make. That's when I know it's bad.

I also wonder if anyone else completely shuts down when things seem so overwhelming. It's too much. It seems pointless to even try to get things done. Why bother? Well, after watching an episode of Hoarders, let me tell ya, that's motivation all wrapped up in a pretty little "in your face" kind of show without the odors. Forget the lists, I'm going in head first. Trash bags, elbow length rubber gloves, windex and paper towels. Throw in some duct tape and super glue and I'm your girl to get whatever needs done, done.

But wait, I really should make a to do list so I can keep track of where I need to start. Urgh. Here we go again, square one.

Wear Gloves

Simple strategies for a happy life:

*Wear gloves when foofing up the Christmas tree out of the box.

*When you crave chocolate, eat just one piece.

*Enjoy everything you see. No matter what.

*Live everyday as if it's your last. (again, see the previous statement.)

*Smile.

*And look people in the eyes. Directly in the eyes.

Depressed with a cold

Depression is a catch 22. The more down you feel on yourself, the more depressed you feel. The more you pull away from those close to you, the more you think they are pulling away from you. This is my life right now. The more things that pile up for me to complete, the more overrun I feel.
Now, add on top of that a cold. What started as a simple winter cold is really wreaking havoc on my psychie. Just when I was starting to get a feel for getting things under control in our house, a cold has me back to square one.

Well, back to making lists and decongestants and the lovely neti pot.

Mixed up crazy feelings of thankfulness

Waking up on Christmas morning to snow is a dream I have EVERY year. To wake up on Thanksgiving to 2 more inches of snow on top of 3 inches we already had is, well, sort of a scary happy dream. It is lovely dream to see those little specs of angelic love fall from the Heavens. But it's a not so pleasant dream when you have places to go and people to see and have been cooped up in your house for 2-3 straight days. *breathe*
The forecast says snow turning to rain. Well, they can't say they're not accurate when that rain is frozen, right? I'll believe the "rain" when I see the "rain." *sigh*
We decided to stay at home again. AGAIN. Because something in my gut says to stay put. That maternal Midwestern weenie in me says to stay close to home because past experience and fond memories (terrors, emotional scars, whatever you want to call it) remind me that 4-5 inches of frozen snow mixed with rain and borderline freezing temps is a mixture for bad, bad things.
I hope the forecasters are right and that this all melts and is gone instantly. However, the proof is in the pudding. DRAT!! I forgot, I have green bean casserole in the oven and a cherry pie burning.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! May your pie be tasty, your turkey be moist. May the roads be clear and passable. And your arse free from a hoist. *wink wink* (sorry, couldn't come up with something to rhyme with moist.)

Clean and Pristine

I can not even convey my love for snow in a simple blog. The clean, white, bright look of everything that has been draped with frozen specs of love just makes my heart smile. What makes my heart beam is trying to capture it with my camera.

Too many snowflakes to capture, and not enough Gigs to hold it all. The smiles on my children's faces are priceless. One is happy to go in, and the other is happy to stay in it forever.

We're not even thinking about what it will look like in a few days when it's all melted and has that lovely brown muddy tint. But for today, we're going to enjoy every last morsel of it's cool and beautiful charm!