something to celebrate

mevlana aka rumi, the 13th century persian poet, is buried in turkey. he focused on connecting the powerful love of God with us on earth. he said, "i looked for God in all the temples, mosques and churches, and found him in my heart. the epitaph on his tomb reads, " when we are dead, seek not our tomb in the earth, but find it in the hearts of men."

in turkey among the ephesian ruins near the ancient library, the third largest in the world nearly 2000 years ago, is a large theatre which could hold 25,000 people. there are 4 statues of women representing knowledge, friendship, understanding and wisdom, keeping watch at the gate. it was in this theatre that paul planned to give his talk, instructing the ephesians to stop worshipping manmade gods and turn to the good news of Jesus Christ. i like the symbolism that four women would stand guard to the most powerful message on earth.

i am surrounded by powerful, loving, tender, determined, kind, adventurous, wise, smart and faithful women. they too stand guard. protecting loved ones and spreading good cheer. they seek God and find him in the heart. how lucky i am to be among them. happy mother's day, happy womanhood day!

the game of life

it was a rival game between western oregon and central washington ladies fast pitch softball teams. a graduating senior from western oregon, who had never hit a home run in her career, was up to bat. the score 0 - 0. the small 5'2" senior connected with the ball, hit her first home run and enthusiastically ran towards first base. on the way she stumbled and fell in pain from the result of a torn acl. the umpire let her know that her home run would not count unless she was able to touch each base, without the help of her own team. there was no way she would be able to crawl to each base much less walk or run. disappointment set in, until two members of the opposing team, a four-year starter star player and the shortstop left their positions and ran to the aid of the fallen competitor. gently lifting her in a fireman's chair style they carried her to first, then second, then third, then home, pausing to let the injured players toe gently touch each base. accompanied by a standing ovation the girls giggled as they made their way home. western oregon won the game, central washington won the hearts of all.

my sisters have been gently carrying another sister, who is unable to "run the bases" on her own right now. there are giggles and tears and prayers and gratitude. if i follow these examples perhaps someday, with the help of others, i will successfully make my way home.

hallelujah

ok back to this day in history - april 13, 2008. what a day - sidney poitier won the oscar for lilies of the field, tiger woods won his first masters - at just 21, apollo 13 was forced to return to earth after an oxygen tank explosion - that made a great movie, the first elephant arrived in the united states in 1796 from bengal and the metropolitan museum of art was founded. but perhaps my favorite event 1742 - george frideric handel's oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in dublin, ireland.

april is my favorite month of the year! i truly believe it to be a holy month. it is the month Christ was born and the month of resurrection. christopher columbus signed a contract with spain, affording him the opportunity to search for westward passage to asia and thus discovered the new world. paul revere made his legendary ride and the "shot heard round the world" set the american revolution in motion. the start and end of the civil war and the abolition of slavery in the united states occurred this month. earth day was established! the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored and in 1864 the us congress authorized the use of the words "in God we trust" on u. s. coins. may we ever remember and live by those words.

i don't care how poor a man is; if he has family, he's rich *

this is the house that gram built. (early 1950's) located in shelley, idaho on elm street. it had 2 bedrooms, a small bath, a front room and the kitchen in the back. there was an unfinished basement piled high with laundry and a drain full of discarded brussel sprouts. the home housed 9 people and one incredible dog.

these are gram and auntie mae, mid to late 1920's


gram is the little one in the arms of her dad. she'll tell you that she was a daddy's girl, mainly due to the fact that she would rather clean the chicken coop than wash the dishes.


parrish spud harvest 1930's

grandma lizzie and the blackfoot grange kitchen band. i believe we should start a farmington grange kitchen band and cori should be our leader!
i like this one of grandma lizzie holding onto the hands of our very own gram.

and of course ~ the red gingham dress!

* quote by Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, "Identity Crisis," M*A*S*H

where's stacy london when you need her!

help. this message is a plea to anyone who might read this boring blog page and who has way more fashion sense than me. (that would be about 99% of the population.) my dilemma? i recently purchased new black pumps. in fact, i bought two different styles and am trying to decide which pair to keep. i proudly tried them on while my 16 year old "niece" was visiting. she told me that pointy toed shoes are ugly and make me look like a witch. ok, so maybe it wasn't just the shoes that made her feel that way, anyway, i was devastated. i like pointed toe witchy shoes. am i really that out of touch? now i really do like the square toed shoe as well and if i get no response from the fashion gurus out there, i just might need to keep both!

update: thanks ladies for the expert advice. i've decided to keep them both and when i feel witchy i shall don my very classy, pretty, pointed shoes. besides i've decided that an almost half centurion should take the fashion opinion of a 16 year old with a large grain of salt!

now and then there's a fool such as i

April 1. This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. ~Mark Twain

do you ever look at those "this day in history" sites? i suppose the history buff in me encourages a view. today's is just a bit depressing. things like ayatollah khomeini declaring himself the leader of iran, marvin gaye being shot to death by his own father, and major league baseball going on its first strike ever, are or were the newmakers. on the other hand a bit of good news, nunavut became the third independent territory in canada; it is the homeland of canada's inuit! i wonder if manu still speaks inuit?

a natural woman

carole king was a guest on jimmy kimmel live. she started the night making fun of her own songs and singing them as though they were commercial material. my favorite...you make me feel like a ... macsausage! ah carol king! ah endless summer nights spent in ucon, idaho with long walks up the highway to tuckers house for 2 am brownies. we wore hip hugger bell bottom jeans with leather patches, baby doll tops, sandals and long straight hair. i envied my sister cori's long blond strands with no bangs and natural highlights. she was gorgeous and didn't know it. her hair would sway with the wind and she was cool. cousin jane was cool too and i was lucky enough to be the tag along. i believe it was carole king and maybe helen reddy that inspired me to, at age 13, want to burn my size 28aa bra. scandalous! but i was a natural woman and was ready to accept the call. yes at thirteen i was still a tall, extremely skinny, flat chested, forlorn looking woman-child longing to be anything other than what i was. and carole king made me feel good. her throaty voice touched deep into my inner soul. i knew all the words and could sing along and pretend that i too was cool. i suppose a bit of that young girl still lives in me because my cell phone ringtone is none other than ms. king's... you just call out my name. boot cut and bell bottom jeans seem to be back in fashion along with babydoll tops, (although i refuse to even try one of those on) and i still have the same sandals worn in high school. my flat chested 28aa has grown significantly but mainly due to middle age body fat. i no longer wish to be anything other than who or what i am. i am content, i am happy, and i love listening to carole king.

speaking of dreams

one day i am going to quit this profession and indeed embark on a journey into a 4th career. i will open a rib shack in jackson hole or maybe even farmington (right down by smith's). it will not open until 3 pm and stay opened very late for those of us who don't eat until around 10. there will be a flickering red neon sign welcoming patrons. (maybe i'll steal the one from dave's pop shop) i will serve only deliciously sweet and tender baby back pork ribs, wonderbread and perhaps some very hot number 1 idaho spud fries. coke will be on tap with plenty of good ice. (sorry pepsi lovers, but coke is it and red is best!) i will wear flip flops, 501's, and stained white t-shirts.

the name of this fine and wildly popular eating establishment ... libs ribs! (thus the reason for my blogspot name. we never want our dreams to get too far out of our sight!)

welcome to the world

elizabeth lauren hansen finally decided to join the rest of us. she gave her momma a pretty hard time and i believe i overheard that she will be grounded for the next three years!

born just before 5 pm, she weighed 9 lb 1 oz and was about 21 inches long.

our little libby lu is cute as can be. round chubby cheeks just like her grand auntie. (am i grand or great? hmmm i like the sound of both. maybe i'll be her great grand aunt!) she does have her momma lyndie's dimpled chin and i believe already has her poppa nate wrapped around her little finger!
i am overwhelmed with the prospects and deeply moved by the honor of a name sake. we share a good name. some seven generations of elizabeth. i loved knowing that i came from good stock. little libby's grandpa and i share the names of gram's parents, a fact i have always cherished. may this little one remember that she is loved and watched over both by those who have passed and those still present. big hugs and kisses, always.

the auntie

it was my nieces, who several years ago after watching Little Women, discovered what i really was. no ifs, ands, or buts about it - i was a spinsters! and if that wasn't enough, i was in fact "decrepit and old"! now at the time this name did not particularly bother me. and in fact the spinster part still holds no lasting affect. however, as we just finished celebrating my sister's 50th birthday, the reality that my own half century mark is swift approaching, makes the decrepit and old part seem, oh i don't know just a bit troubling

no respect!

i just read on msn.com this evening that my profession is among the least, if not the least, respected profession. ugh - i'm devastated. i had an idea that this may be the case but i thought surely there were a few other professions out there that ranked worse than myself! my nephew was highly insulted when he heard me say that "accountants" were not far behind me! shock and disbelief. considering the current news event i thought politicians might be a bit worse off than me. alas no! oh well. too old now to change my career - especially considering this is my third career change. at least i can fall no further.