just so you know -

if you go to bed at 2, wake up at 4, eat powdered sugar donuts at 5 . . . you will end up tired and with a tummy ache at 9!

thinking ahead

been thinking about my funeral lately. not in a morbid or doomsday sense. nor am i having any premonitions. just thinking. and that thinking leads to problems. i'm not one for sermons at funerals. i know they are nice and have their place and well...are to give comfort and most times do, yaddah yaddah, i just don't want one at my funeral. i want music. lots and lots of music and maybe a few poems. that creates a bit of a problem, how do i decide which music.

i want "goin home" written by william fisher based on dvorak's new world symphony 9. (i've already made arrangements with carolyn stevens to play, along with her sister and brother on the violins. if they can't do it maybe we can arrange for andre rieu.)

zach george promised to play his pipes, but he'll have to do that from the other side. i'm sure i'll hear it and the rest of you will just have to listen really hard, but i'm sure they will be playing.

i want cori to sing - lots of her songs and i can't narrow them down so it might be a long service. among them i think "sisters" would be nice. maybe "out of the blue", "auld lang syne" "memoria". ( david must add his voice too and even if it is in july i hope you won't mind singing "joseph and mary".) and of course, what has become her own "give me jesus" is a must have. (the boys will need to join her on that one.)

i need john to sing and play - "danny boy", "amazing grace", "i'll fly away", "ol' 55", "i shall be released", etc. etc. etc. . (harmonies by jenny and emmy please)

george will do a nice job on "weary hobo". if he and cindy could also work up a duet guitar and flute number, that would be lovely. and because ann marie wants "the garden" well ... i do too! and because cori wants "homeward bound", so do i!

i of course need the nieces and nephews (there is no distinction if you are an "in-law" all are required to participate) to sing and play. no one is allowed to say "no" or "i can't" (this means you annie and bryan). there are many songs to choose from. maybe they could even work up an arrangement of "be still my soul" and "how great thou art". kate - pie jesu, please! and who wouldn't want to hear the grandkids sing "in the highways", "when he comes again" or even "grand old flag"!

wouldn't it be nice if sue and sherry would dance! sue could use joseph as partner for a nice waltz or swing and i can just picture sherry doing a beautiful "aloha 'oe".

cinny will just have to think of something if she doesn't want to sing. maybe she can be in charge of the potted flowers.

i think mom would be willing to recite a few favorite poems. anyone she would choose would be just fine. and don't you think a nice "god be with you" would be a good ending.

now in order to get this all in we will probably need at least a three day wake. so when i die, come on over. i'll be laid out on the dining room table and if i begin to "stink" too much just put me in the ground and keep on playing and listening.


post script: i'm sure i will have many "oh yeah, i want that too" moments so i reserve the right to add to the above. there will also be a need for lots of food. am - you are in charge. and i haven't listed everyone by name. this is not because you are not all expected to take part, you are! named or unnamed. all must participate and i give everyone permission to add whatever talent they want. given that - michael bring your drums and steve - practice up on "happy birthday"!

true confessions

so . . . how bad is it to end up going shoe shopping on "no shoes day"? i found two pair that i really loved. does it count if i didn't buy them?

shoes

it seems like everybody wants their own day to promote their own cause. today is another one of those days - and it's a day i can support. april 8 - a day without shoes. the organization hopes to bring awareness to the plight of so many people who do not have shoes and suffer because of it. cori once wrote a children's pioneer day primary song about shoes. in it she talks about a young girl hearing her father praying for their souls and knowing that it means much more than just the need or want for souls on shoes.

myself, well i have a love, hate relationship with shoes. i love them and the way they look. i like hiking boots and fashion boots, pointed toe heels and flat ballet slippers. i like flip flops and sandals and clogs. i have many shoes. however my feet hate shoes. they feel tight and claustrophobic in them. my toes and heels like being free - heck socks even bother me! but because i go barefoot so often, my feet are dry and dirty and have deep cracks in them that bleed and hurt. my toes are ugly and bent the wrong way from stubbing them so often while they are left unprotected by shoes. yet no matter how much my feet don't like being confined they really don't like walking on the hot sticky asphalt or across prickly dried earth and weeds. nor do they appreciate going out in the cold, ice and snow without something on. so - i shove them into one of the many pair of shoes or sandals that i adore the looks of and am grateful for them.

with this in mind i have determined i will go barefoot as much as possible in honor of the day. but since it is still quite cold outside and because i must go to the store and they will not allow me to come in barefoot i will still wear some of my most comfy shoes and be very grateful i have them. i shall also take a bag of shoes to the di and donate them. hopefully they will go to good use.

relatives

when i was young my family moved from the safety of living among extended family in idaho to the green lush hills of pennsylvania. while it was beautiful and wonderful to set out on this new adventure and we met new friends who became very close to us - there were no cousins, aunts and uncles nearby nor sisters or brother for my mom to see on a daily basis. as an immediate family unit it was good for us because we became closer. we had to rely on each other to be friend as well as sibling. but each summer i looked forward to the time we would load up the station wagon and head west. i could hardly wait to get to idaho, even though the trip along the way was a cherished adventure unto itself. at the end of the road were the open arms of my sister sherry, who stayed behind to attend college, as well as loving aunts and uncles and lots and lots of cousins. cori describes these adventures best and our journeys are immortalized in her song pontiac rocket. (here's a link to her blog.)

as a young girl one of my favorite spots to stay was in ucon, idaho. this was home to the miskin's. aunt becky, uncle richard, deann, gail, jane, mary lou, michelle, mark, david, gina, ruby, phoebe, etc., and to that our clan and well, there was a houseful. When i grew up i dreamed of being just like aunt becky and welcome, with open arms, anyone who would come to visit. several years ago, auntie becky found a book and gave it to us. the "relatives came", (written by cynthia ryland and illustrated by stephen gammell) pretty much describes our family.

early this morning as i sat in the quiet of my family room, i could hear the sleeping sounds of many people. it was a glorious sound. this past weekend both connors and our house were full with family and friends. we planned on 40 some for Easter dinner, and that did not include everyone who should have been here. sunday was noisy and chaotic and absolutely wonderful. how lucky i am to have loved ones come and gather. my dream has come true. thank you!

because i don't want to be on the bottom of haley's list anymore ...

i've been told that since i have neglected to blog that i am now on the bottom of the list of bloggers. hmmm better fix that. maybe it's because i have just been so enthralled in reading cori's lent blog (if you haven't been visiting you really should. what an amazing writer.) anyway.... i have been enthralled in reading her blog and so well fed in the world of blogging that i just didn't have anything to blog about. but since it is april 1st i no longer wanted to fool around with my blog...so here i am.

and speaking of being well fed. last night around midnight i was walking through the kitchen and swore i smelled brownies cooking. "ummm" i said a loud, "brownies, can you smell them? i need some brownies!". unfortunately there were no brownies cooking. a few hours later i came back into the kitchen area and could swear i smelled brownies cooking. "ummmm. i smell brownies. can anybody else smell them?". alas, there were no brownies and no one else smelled them cooking either. my sister did offer to make me some however, but since it was now going on 2 am i bravely said, "no. but thank you anyway. i don't need brownies." when i came back downstairs this morning, about 5:30, (i knew the time because linda, my next door neighbor and friend was just leaving to play her morning tennis game- i think she's nuts, but love her anyway)., what do you think i thought i smelled.... yup ... brownies. but, alas, once again, no brownies on the counter awaiting me like a present left from santa or the easter bunny. i even started imagining brownies in the shape of easter bunnies and easter eggs, like sugar cookies, only brownies with lots of crispy edges.

it was just after 8 am, i was resigned to no brownies and was sitting on the couch checking emails. the house was quiet and suddenly a very loud beeping alarm interrupted my thoughts. oh no....the smoke alarms must need new batteries and they are going off. dang, i thought, they are going to wake everybody up. (i have a household of company) the beeping stopped before i could narrow down which alarm needed my attention. i stood in the middle of the house and waited for the next blast. it came but this time the beeping came from the kitchen. i went in and checked the microwave. nope that wasn't it. then i walked by the ovens. they were warm to the touch, as if something had been baking. hmmmmm. let's see. oh yeah, i had turned the ovens on earlier last night and baked some egg rolls for dinner. darnit. i forgot to turn the oven off. it was on all night. i had been smelling the warm oven and was just imagining that it was baking brownies for me. apparently when i leave my ovens on all night they will sound an alarm and then finally, after about 12 hours, turn themselves off. 10-12 hours of an oven on at 450. now that's how to save energy! oh well. at least i had sweet dreams!