What's On My Mind?

I've seen this done before on other blogs so thought I'd do it today since I don't have much to blog about.

Outside My Window

It's a quiet Sunday morning.

The air is cool and fresh coming in through the open window

in front of me. It smells fresh and clean.

The sky is soft blue with fluffy white clouds.

It promises to be a pleasant cool day.

I hear traffic in the distance, reminding me that I'm not alone.

I also hear one of my neighbours playing the piano,

it sounds so mystical in the distance.

I Am Wearing

Blue jeans and t-shirt and bare feet

I Am Remembering

This day 15 years ago, in the wee hours of the morning

after many hours of labor

I became a grandmother and my

oldest daughter became a mother.

I was in the delivery room with her and her husband

while four other daughters waited in the waiting room.

I will never, ever forget the feelings I had at that time -

the fear that Jenny might not be able to push that big baby out -

the weariness of a long labor,

and the intense joy of finally holding my first grandson and

hearing his name for the first time -

Jonah MacKenzie Quist.

Tears come easily as I remember that morning.

And, too, I am remembering how his fifth birthday

was marred by the terrorist events unfolding

in New York and elsewhere and how we watched

television for hours in horror and grief.

I Am Reading

I've been catching up on the Eve Dallas murder

mysteries by J. D. Robb (Norah Roberts).

I finished reading Immortal in Death yesterday

and will start another one today.

Before that I read The Help.

I always have a book to read.  I've loved reading

forever, following the example set by my Dad.

I Am Hoping

That the rest of September brings cool pleasant

days - a respite from the heat of the past week, and

breathing space before the cold and snow of our long winter.

On My Mind

My mother.  I've just booked a flight to Winnipeg for

the last week in September.  I'll be staying with my sister there and visiting

Mum in the care facility she now lives in. 

She is 90 years old, with a healthy body and a mind

destroyed by Alzheimer's. It's been well over a

year since she's known me - even longer since she's

forgotten Dad.  I can't imagine a life with no memories.

It's so sad.  Four other of Mum's siblings have had this

horrible disease.  We think, we hope, it has environmental

roots for them, not genetic. 

Her parents lived to their mid 90s with no diminished mental capacity.

From the Kitchen

When I go downstairs for breakfast I'm going to have

two pieces of toast with fresh peach jam

that my daughter, Amy, made.  It's delicious.

I bought a bunch of beets yesterday that I'll cook up and

eat with butter for my supper, along with

a piece of salmon and corn on the cob.

I don't fuss with meals and baking when Lloyd's not

home, but I wanted to have something tasty and

fresh today.

Around the House

My scrapbook room is in a bit of disarray since working

in it the other day.  No, I'm not going to organize it today.

I'm going to spend several hours working on layouts

using pictures from our family reunion in August.

I suppose I could spend some time in this office too,

filing the stack of papers currently sitting on top of the filing

cabinet, and loading programs onto the new computer that replaces

the one that died.

Plans For The Week

I really don't have any.

Lloyd will be coming home on Tuesday,  that's always

good.  He's a fun guy to hang out with.

I also have to pot my outdoor geraniums and

bring them inside before the frost gets them.  I'm

a terrible gardener but I don't like to deliberately let

plants die.

One Of My Favorite Things

Blogging.  It's therapeutic. It expands my horizons.

It allows me to meet and share with and learn from many people from around

the world that I would never have the opportunity to do otherwise.

It provides me a forum to share my life and ideas. 

It gives my children a window into my life now that they're

grown up and not as involved in my daily comings and goings.

I'm not a particularly good writer, but I like the practice

blogging gives me.

I'm quiet, shy, and not good at small talk, but I like the way

blogging allows me to come out of myself and share

in a non-threatening environment.

And I learn from reading of the experiences of

my bloggy friends.

Thank you for that.

Pat