Happy Birthday, Brother

Six Reasons to Pick Up a Pen and Paper

I wrote a letter yesterday.

I found my favorite pen with a nice fine point

and a piece of paper. 

I spent an hour formulating my thoughts

and putting them on paper.

I put it in an envelope with a stamp.

I mailed it today.

I know it will take 2 or 3 days to be delivered, 

but I found myself wondering all day

if she read it yet.

I've become so accustomed to corresponding online

that it's hard to change gears.  While there's no question that emails are faster, are they better?

There are so many reasons to forego technology.  Here are six:

1.  "Sending a handwritten letter is the next best thing to showing up at someone's door.

Ink from your pen touches the paper, your fingers touch the paper, and you seal the envelope. Something tangible from your world travels through the real world until it reaches the recipient's mailbox. They touch the paper that you handled and they see your familiar handwriting, reflecting your unique style and personality. 

Pretty cool when you think about it!

2.  Receiving handwritten letters feels like a gift.

     Who doesn't like getting a package in the mail?  Receiving a 

     handwritten letter from someone special is even better!  

3.  Handwritten letters don't demand an immediate response.

   

     When an email or test message is sent,  the sender usually expects

     you to answer right away.  Letting it sit for even a day frustrates the

     sender and can even cause bad feelings.  Since handwritten letters

     take time to write and mail,  waiting for a response is expected.  

     There is plenty of time to digest what you read before writing back.

4.  Handwritten letters are more thought-full.

     When writing with a pen and paper,  you really need to plan what

     you want to say and organize your thoughts ahead of time.  There 

     is no "delete" button or "cut and paste" option.  To avoid rewriting

     a page,  you tend to slow down and put more thought into your 

     words and ideas.

5.  There is no spell-check.

      While this may seem like a drawback,  I'd like to show you a letter

      written by my father to my mother before they were married.

   I know my mom must have recognized the misspelled word, but most

   likely found it endearing (or funny) and didn't have the heart to let him

   know.

6.  Handwritten letters are usually saved.

I have a big bundle of letters that my father wrote to my mother in the early years of their relationship when he lived an hour or two away from her.  This one from 1951 was written 3 months before their wedding to his "sweatheart".  I can't help but notice how beautiful my father's handwriting was back then.  I wouldn't have recognized it! 

The cost of a first-class postage stamp in 1951 was 3 cents.  He paid

and extra 15 cents for special delivery.  How much faster was that?

Notice, too, that the letter lacks a zip code.  Zip codes were not

introduced until 1963 and not mandatory for another 4 years after that.

Vance and I have bundles of letters that we wrote to each other in the 

years before our wedding in the early 1980s.  We would either mail

them to each other or leave them on each other's desks at work. Someday, our children will read them and learn more about us, 

just as I did of my parents.  These discolored pages were in the hands

of my mom and dad and proved their love for each other.

How many couples today will leave the same gift to their children?

   

Sidewalk Flowers

I came across a book last week.  A picture book.  The little girl in the red jacket is walking with her father in the city.  With the eyes of a child, she looks for the beauty in the world around her.  She has a strong sense of wonder.

Her father is very distracted. He talks on the phone.  His mind is elsewhere.

I was profoundly struck by the power of these simple illustrations.

As a young mother with little children,  it was easy to see the world through their eyes.  They were always finding little treasures - things of beauty - wherever we went. 

They pointed out things I didn't notice.

I don't have young children anymore.  

 I have my camera.

This past week I've done something I've never done before.

I set my alarm to wake up 1/2 hour before sunrise 

and went out with my camera to photograph

the beauty in my world.

As I drove aimlessly in search of beauty,  I felt like the little girl in the red jacket.

Full of awe and wonder, I saw my world as I've never seen it before.

All I had to do was drive around and notice.  See.  

Fuzzy cows, checking me out, made me smile.

A graceful horse wondered what I was doing.

Another made me laugh.

These birds were kind enough to  fly overhead just at the right moment to help make my favorite photo of all.

"Photographs have given us visual proof that the world is grander that we imagined - that there is beauty, often overlooked, in nearly everything."

~ Annie Griffiths, National Geographic photographer

I've never really been interested in landscape photography in the past - until now.  I don't think I understood what it was all about. 

Seeing beauty in the mundane.

Getting pleasure from the unexpected.

Appreciating God's creation.

Becoming a little girl once again.

I would like to credit this book, Sidewalk Flowers.  It was published March 17th of this year.

I have a copy on order for my grandkids (and me).

Repair or Replace

What makes us repair some things and replace others?

Nothing stays the same forever.  With the passage of time, they wear down or wear out.  They break.  They might not make us happy anymore.  They don't fit.  They lack the attraction they once had.  We change.  We just don't have the energy or desire to repair them.  Sometimes they can't be repaired.

For the past 2 days,  I've put a lot of time and effort into repairing this area rug.  It's 5 years old and I really love the colors and pattern.

But with normal wear and tear,  and a few cats sharpening their claws on it,  it doesn't look like new anymore.

I've been restoring it, little by little.

First I vacuumed the pet hair as much as possible.

With the help of a small crochet hook, I pulled to fibers through the backing of the rug.

Pieces that were too small to pull through had to be cut.

The rug still had a fuzziness to it that I didn't like.

I used a cutting tool to zip the fuzz away.

I'm not done yet, but the portions I've worked on look like new!

Repair or replace?

We are faced with this choice constantly throughout our lives.

In this disposable society that we live in,  it's often easier to replace. Most children are not taught how to mend their clothes or toys - replacements come easily. Technology changes so quickly that it doesn't make sense to keep an older model that lacks the newest features. 

So when faced with a relationship, a job, a task, or even a life that's difficult, people aren't practiced in the art of mending.  They often quit instead.

The hardest part is knowing when something is valuable enough to fix and when it doesn't make sense to hold onto it anymore.

"The only way to make a spoilt machine work again is to break it down, work on it's inner system and fix it again.  Screw out the bolts of your life, examine and work on yourself, fix your life again and get going." 
                          ~Israelmore Ayivor 

Happy National Puppy Day!

In honor of National Puppy Day 2015,  I'd like to share with you a puppy product that my dogs LOVE.  It's the Snoop treat dispensing dog toy by Planet Dog.  In 2013, it won the Gold Award for Best New Product Innovation at the Total Pet Expo, and I can understand why.

The Snoop is a flexible, rubbery, bouncy vessel that you put dog treats inside.

You can open up the neck to load it up or wash it out, but I usually just keep it folded down...

The treats stay in the folded section until the dog rolls/bounces it around just the right way so a treat can fall out.  

When I gave it to Sami,  he could see and smell the treats but kept trying to eat them by sticking his tongue inside.  This is almost impossible.

Sami kept looking at me,  pleading with me to just give him the treat!

Then I let Halle try. 

She, too, attempted to lick them out.

Then she tried using her paw.  The Snoop began rolling around the room.

You could tell she was trying to figure this puzzle out.

I think Sami was sticking close in case Halle was successful and he could grab it before she got to it!

She pushed it with her nose to make it roll.

Maddie was watching the action too.

When a treat would come out,  she became even more enthusiastic about this "game".

Four treats kept  her busy for about 15 minutes!

I highly recommend the Snoop by Planet Dog.

I almost didn't buy it because it cost $18.99, 

but I am now very happy with my purchase.

And so are my puppies. 

Happy 87th Birthday!

On this day in 1928,  a great man was born.  My dad.

Dad passed away 6 years ago.

He would have been 87 years old today.

This morning, I watched the slideshow of his life that was played at his funeral.  It felt good to see him in the pictures and devote time to just remembering.

Remembering how kind his eyes were.

Remembering his laugh.

Remembering his voice.

Remembering how he used to hum while he was making a sandwich, or when he was trying to figure something out.

This picture of him and me was taken at his 70th birthday party.  It's hard to believe that was 17 years ago!  It's one of my favorites because I think we look a lot alike.  And I don't have many pictures of just the two of us.

When I went to bed last night,  I was thinking a lot about him.

I was hoping that maybe he could get in touch with me today - somehow.

I asked him to try.

Even if that doesn't happen,  I feel really close to my dad today.

And I shed tears of love for him and all he means to me.

Those things will never die.

Happy 87th birthday, Daddy.