Children...MARVELS!

I was an early childhood teacher for over 30 years.  Teaching and education have long been my passions, and I miss it even after almost 13 years of retiring from it.  I sometimes wish I hadn’t retired, but I’m not sure I could teach in this day and time.  So many standards, so much testing, so much cramming it down the kids’ throats in order to be ready for the Test…and less arts, music, and time on the playground…that’s just not my style.  I always tried my best to teach the WHOLE CHILD…not just the text books.  Things have just changed so much, and when I think about it my heart really does ache.

I was recently looking through some of the things I have kept all these years and came across what I want to share today.  I hope it’s OK for me to reprint it here.  The words are not my own; they were penned by Pablo Casals, a cellist, composer, and conductor from Spain.  I know nothing more about him, but he sure knew what he was talking about when he wrote this.  These words are for all the teachers, parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers of children of all ages out there.  Certainly words to ponder over:

Each second we live is a new and unique moment that never was before and never will be again.  And what do we teach our children?  We teach them that 2 plus 2 makes 4 and Paris is the capital of France.

When will we also teach them what they are?  We should say to each of them:  Do you know what you are?  You are a marvel.  You are unique.  In all the world there is no other child exactly like you.  In the millions of years that have passed there has never been a child like you.

www.theweddingcommunityblog.com

Look at your body---what a wonder it is!  Your legs and arms, your cunning fingers, the way you move.  You may become a Shakespeare, a Michelangelo, a Beethoven.  You have the capacity for anything.  Yes, you are a marvel.

And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is like you, a marvel?  You must cherish one another.  You must work---we must work---to make this world worthy of its children.

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I have always believed that each and every child is unique…a marvel.  We need to help our children to see themselves this way, and then we need to teach them to see it in others.  When they learn these things, the world will become a much better place.

                                                  http://www.dayclickerphototours.com/blog/

May God bless all His/our beautiful children…and may we teach them right.

*The pictures are from various sources I found on the internet and pinned to my Pinterest board:  ALL GOD’S BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN.

It Was a Very HAPPY EASTER!

 

I hope everyone had a lovely Easter.  We had an absolutely beautiful day here in the South….just the perfect temperature with a beautiful blue sky overhead.  I spent most of Saturday cooking for my sweet family, then put on the finishing touches before heading off to church this morning.  As usual, our pastor had a wonderful sermon and the music was lovely and inspiring.

 

After church we came home for our Easter spread; the menu included:

 *Poppy Seed Chicken Casserole

*Sweet Potato Casserole with Crunchy Topping (my mother’s recipe)

*Pink Eye Peas

*Deviled Eggs

*Pineapple Cheddar Salad

*tea & rolls

*and for dessert LEMON CHEESE CAKE (my husband’s and granddaughter’s favorites)…but I have to admit I bought it our our local bakery!

Of course, we had to make family pictures….

My son, daughter-in-law, & the two kiddos that make all our worlds go round

                                                     

    My other half and me with our two wonderful grands

 and we watched the two grands dig into their Easter gifts from Cheri & Papa. 

And for a special surprise I planned a special kind of egg hunt for the kids!  This was the first year my granddaughter was not able to hunt eggs at our church’s annual hunt.  She is no longer in the children’s dept. but moved up to Youth, so she helped hide the eggs instead of hunt for them.  That made me a little sad knowing that now both my grandchildren are growing up way too fast.  I figured my 15-year old grandson would balk at hunting for Easter eggs, but I outsmarted him😊  Inside each egg was a slip of paper with an amount of money on it.  At the end of the hunt, they were to add up their findings and I would give them their share of the money!  And….there were two golden eggs (one for each) with a larger amount.  Let me tell you….MONEY TALKS!  My grandson (who can be very competitive, especially with his sister) was hunting eggs like there was no tomorrow!!!!  And (almost unbelievably) they ended up with almost the exact same amount of money….it sure is nice when things work out that way!

After a huge meal, Easter surprises, and the egg hunt I treated myself…..to an afternoon nap😊 

Hope your Easter was as lovely and special as mine was!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

                                                           

Although it doesn’t feel like it today here in my neck of the woods (the deep South), spring has sprung!  This has been a really crazy March….cold one day, very warm the next.  And the wind…oh my!  I don’t think I’ve ever seen as much wind as we’ve seen this year.  I’ve picked up tons of sticks & pinecones that continually fall in our yard.

But now it’s time for my spring planting😊  Every year I say I’m not going to plant as many flowers as last year, but somehow I don’t hold myself to that!  Our yard is really not very good for growing flowers and many plants, so I tend to go with container gardening.  I haven’t decided what I’m going to plant yet, but my sweet “gardener” husband and I worked like Trojans in our yard this weekend….weeding, trimming, & completely doing away with a huge gardenia bush that had seen its prime. I’m a person who likes lots of “nooks & crannies” in a yard and so we are trying to come up with some new ideas this year.  I’ve been looking on Pinterest and other sites and thought I’d share some of my favorite finds so far. 

One thing I definitely want this year is a GARDEN SIGN for my little memory garden.  I'd love to take a walk in this person's Crooked Fence Garden.

                                                                  

              http://www.fleamarketgardening.org/2016/02/23/50-flea-market-garden-signs-a-gallery/ 

                                                           

I love a “meandering” (don’t you just love that word!) path.  We have a small one in one area but we are working on another little “nook & cranny” and I definitely want a stone path of some sort.

                                                              

         http://blog.styleestate.com/style-estate-blog/2017/4/1/56-enchanting-garden-paths 

I just love incorporating “the unexpected” into a garden or yard.  This chair is so quaint and inviting.  I have my own version that I will be replanting soon...I'll post a picture later.

                                                           

                                   Photograph by Barbara Vengalli

                http://www.fleamarketgardening.org/2012/10/28/how-to-design-and-paint-a-garden-sign/      

Not every garden would have a purple bench!  I love this one, although I’d more than likely go with white.

                                                                 

                                                   link not available

And look at this old wicker chair!  Most people would just have thrown it out, but look what a beauty a few flowers turned it into.

                                                               

                https://www.shelterness.com/5-ideas-to-transform-old-chairs-into-beautiful-mini- gardens/pictures/16623/        

I would love to have some sort of garden gate but just not sure where we would put one in our yard.  This door is an unusual and fun alternative.

                                                             

                        https://www.thegardenglove.com/diy-up-cycled-garden-gates/   

I love the idea of small painted stones for the garden.  These herb markers could be placed among plants in an herb garden, but you could also use words like LOVE, JOY, PEACE, etc.  That might be a great project for my creative granddaughter who loves to paint.

                                                                  

                      http://augustwren.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/herb-markers.html  

Since writing this post I have visited a local nursery and also made some progress with my spring yard work.  I’ll be back in a couple of days or so to show you the results.  What will you plant in your garden this year?

HAPPY HYGEE

I want to move to Denmark!  Know why??  Because it is considered one of the two happiest countries in the world😊 (The other is Norway.)  Want to know what makes all those Danish people so happy?  Well, at least one of the main things is that they practice HYGGE (pronounced as I’m told as “hoo-ga”).  I have recently read a few articles explaining HYGGE, and I must say I am very intrigued.  British journalist Helen Russell wrote about HYGGE in her 2015 book The Year of Living Danishly.  She defines HYGEE as “taking pleasure in the presence of gentle, soothing things.”  I like the sound of that!  In a publication put out by an insurance company HYGEE was referred to as The Cozy Craze.  Cozy….one of my favorite words!  And one of my favorite ways to spend my time. 

So how does a person practice HYGGE?  Well, here are a few examples:

*grab a blanket, a good book, & a cup of hot chocolate and just chill out😊

                                                                     

                                                           

*have an intimate dinner for two….or enjoy a night out with friends

*go for a leisurely stroll in the woods or the park 

*turn out the lights, light some candles, & cozy up in front of the fireplace

(I read somewhere that Denmark burns more candles per capita than any other country!)

*pack some wine and cheese and go on a picnic….alone or with someone special

                                                                 

 

                                                    

*sit in the porch swing with your child or grandchild and just talk (no cell phones allowed!)

*have a Pajama Day and binge on old movies

*soak awhile in a hot bubble bath with your favorite music playing in the background                                       

                                                                   

 

                     

HYGGE can be thought of as anything that brings you “coziness” and “calm” whether with family, friends, or just yourself.  Doesn’t that sound positively wonderful?  With all the stress many/most of us face these days, I think we should all follow the example of the Danes and HYGGE as much as possible!

I’m off to pour a glass of wine, grab some oldie but goldies, and soak awhile in a nice hot bubble bath!  How about you???  What is your HYGGE?

                                                                  

 

   

I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow!  It's hard to believe that I haven't written my blog for over 3 years!  Where has the time gone?  I really enjoyed writing here....enjoyed it quite a lot....but life just got in the way, plus I think I just got burned out and discouraged.  BUT...now I think I'm going to try again. 

My blog never did really catch on with others in the blogging world, and that bothered me at one time.  However, I've decided I am going to just write this for myself to journal and document life-happenings around here and to write about things that interest me, including decorating & gardening ideas, crafts, recipes, and anything else that catches my fancy.  Of course, there will be many posts about the grandkids and small-town life.  AND...if any readers want to stop in and see what I have to say, then that will just be icing on the cake. 

                                                             

So…feel free to come along with me in this old/new adventure and maybe you'll find some food for thought.

My Bucket List for 2018

I’ve always been a maker of LISTS; it brings joy to my heart when I can check off things & see what all I have accomplished.  Plus it helps me NOT TO FORGET to do things I need to do😊  So here is a list of goals I really hope to accomplish this year:

1.     Write my blog…no particular schedule; just when I want to😊

2.     Start (and stick to) a fauxbonichi journal….if you want to know what that is go here….www. http://fauxbonichiwa.blogspot.com/p/intro-to-hobonichi.html .  There is even a wonderful facebook page you can join here www.facebook.com/groups/FauxbonichiJournalers/ .

3.    Plan out weekly menus and (definitely) try some new recipes!  Hubby has now

retired, will be home more often, & guess that means more cooking for me.

                                                                

4.  Complete some long overdue home & DIY projects…I’ll try to remember to take pictures & share!

5.  Maybe??? try Junk Journaling &/or Pocket Letters again.  (I like being creative.)

     6.  Find more joy, more gratitude, more peace, and more fun!  Life is too short😊

And….for visiting me on CHERI’S CHATTER today how about a gift of two of our favorite dishes for these last few days of cooler spring weather.     So glad you dropped by and hope will come again as often as you can.  Love & hugs!

DUMP  SOUP

Ingredients:

   1-1 ½ lbs. ground beef or venison (we are hunters!) (browned & drained)

   2 cans cream style corn

   1 can condensed tomato soup (undiluted)

   1 can Veg-All (undrained)

   1 can butterbeans (undrained) (I keep leftovers of our fresh beans in the freezer)

   1 can okra (undrained)

   1 or 2 cans petite diced tomatoes (undrained)

   about ¼ cup dry white rice (just to add some body & thickness to the soup)

   a little bit of water if soup gets too thick

   salt & pepper to taste

Brown the meat in large Dutch oven or pan.  Drain.  Then just “dump” everything else in!  Yep, just that easy😊  Cook on simmer about 1 1/2-2 hrs. (make sure rice is cooked).    It’s delicious and will warm up your bones on cold nights.  (You can actually dump in anything of your choice!)

MY  MAMA’S  CHEESE  MUFFINS

*Goes great with any Southern meal or your favorite bowl of hot soup!

*Mix together:

          1 cup self-rising flour                             3/4 grated cheddar cheese (I use mild)

          3/4 cup corn meal                                   1/4 cup sugar

          1/2 cup vegetable oil                              1 egg

          1 cup milk

*Bake in greased muffin tins at 425 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

They melt in your mouth!

And here is my granddaughter cooking the soup for her Papa’s dinner!  (She no longer wears glasses so probably won’t want me sharing this picture😊)  She is wearing her great-great grandmother’s handmade apron.  Love that she loves to cook with me!   You can read more about this day here:

http://cherischatter.blogspot.com/2015/01/soup-memories.html