advent calendar #2

a beautiful classic:

Advent calendar #1

(not my photograph)

In celebration of the season of Advent, I am going to avail myself (and you, dear Reader,) of the many Advent calendars that are available in this treasure trove we call The Web.

Ironically, first up we have a secular calendar. (If, indeed, one can call the very Heavens "secular"...) Enjoy, check the site for daily updates, and be sure to read the captions for extra enjoyment.

P.S. this is my 100th post!

an Advent opportunity

It is an interesting thing to balance, this time between now and the end of the year. On one hand, there's Christmas. Joyful red and green celebrations, twinkling lights, peppermint and jingle bells; elegant, raucous, beautiful, silly music; pine boughs, wet streets and secretive errands to bustling stores ~ I love it all. On the other hand, there is Advent. Candlelight, reverence and preparation for the Child who was born to die for us all; solemn hymns, passionate purple, the spirit of discovery, wonder and unworthiness of it all ~ this, I also love.

In recent years, I have been so very concerned with keeping Advent, that I lost Christmas. I became such an Advent pharisee that the season became lost. A short excerpt from last December's blog:

I count myself among a small minority who prefers to honor Advent - in church, at least - by not rushing Christmas before it's time for that baby to be born. ...without Advent, how can one enjoy Christmas? I don't know. I just feel as if, by insisting on putting Advent first before Christmas in my personal celebration, in these past few years I've missed both and end up somewhat empty-handed and empty-hearted when Christmas comes around.

I'm not one to get caught up in the hype - in fact, I will run in the other direction if I see hype creeping in - so gross consumerism is not the issue here. A change of heart is in order, and shan't be too difficult. After all, I've been a Christmas Keeper from way back. I love this stuff, and I'm going to let myself have it!

Tonight I read a wonderful sermon by a Unitarian minister who goes by the name of Peace Bang in the blogosphere. She makes excellent points about what she calls the confusion of the season, and recommends we treat Advent/Christmas like the thanksgiving feast: "I think that if you want a juicy holiday season, you must rest like the turkey. A half an hour every day." A daily dose of Advent-Sabbath, if you will. So that is what I am going to do.

Starting tomorrow, December first, I am going to do one thing each day to celebrate and prepare for Christmas. It might be something big, it will probably be something small - but it will be my own personal Advent task: to find joy in this balance of preparation and celebration.

gratitude, day 12

God gave you a gift
of 86,400 seconds today.
Have you used one to say

"thank you"?

~William A. Ward

gratitude, day 11

for a quiet dinner with a friend, and for the privilege of sitting with him through the mourning process, I am truly thankful.

gratitude, day 10

The spirit of God has made me,
and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

- Job 33:4

For sunshine
crisp air
green veg chili*
wine-poached pears
creativity
and a surprisingly easy day

I am truly grateful.

*it turned out really, really good!

gratitude, day 9

Gratuitous photo to take up space in the blog
and make it appear more appealing (if not more interesting to read.)
Look at how weathered those prayer flags look!
And the tree! How golden!
This photo has nothing at all to do with the contents of this blog post.

Today was more of an adventure (in a small way) than I bargained for. Remember that day when n-o-t-h-i-n-g was scheduled or required? Ha. Ha ha ha.

After quite a long and joyful evening last night, I stayed up (again) way too late for no good reason other than I wasn't sleepy. (Blog post on day 8 will be up soon, I hope.) Six hours later, my alarm went off and I was up. Fixed a mocha, sat and checked out Post Secret and a few other things, and then got dressed for church.

Arrived an hour early, and I wasn't sure if there would be enough time to take care of what I needed to do: arrange the flowers (sunflowers, orange dahlias, muddy red-green hydrangea, and this weird stuff with red blossoms - it looked autumnal) for Andy's birthday, take off the apron and "finish" my outfit, do a mic check and read through today's readings for the lectionary all before 10:00. Well, either I am getting faster, or time was moving really slowly, because I got those flowers done by 9:25! I had plenty of time... phew!

After church, I took Mom home and we discussed the menu for Thursday. I am cooking a lot: sweet potatoes, a zucchini appetizer, and spinach salad. (The distribution of labor in a pot luck with only 5 people, two of whom are my kids, and another my father leaves not-so-much distribution after all.) I'm looking forward to it, actually. I'm really enjoying cooking these days.

I planned to take a nap, then didn't. Got busy on the computer and listening to a new CD (Yo Yo Ma & Friends Songs of Joy & Peace - wonderful! FIVE renditions of Dona Nobis Pacem!) forgot to have lunch, and once refueled, returned to the kitchen to make that green veggie chili. It turned out quite nicely, I think - will give it a day or so to mellow out. So much slicing and chopping and dicing! Onions, garlic, three kinds of peppers....

Okay, the peppers. There was a yellow bell, and two others. I forgot that I bought not two, but just one anaheim pepper, and the other was a poblano. They both looked the same. Well, they weren't the same, and I realized this just after I tasted a bit of that poblano. HOT. And then, of course, I also realized my mistake: no gloves when I chopped that sucker up. I shrugged it off - nothing hurt - and commenced with the chopping: zucchini, eggplant, green onion, cilantro. Figured (after I tasted that pepper) that (since nothing hurt) I'd clean off the cutting board after everything was chopped up. Mistake numero dos.

By the time the rest of the stuff was in the pot, my fingers were kind of burning just a bit. And then, suddenly, they were burning quite a lot. Okay, so wash the hands. Which made it worse. Well, I was a girl scout, I knew what to do. I poured a small glass of milk and put my fingers in it. (Lactose acid kills capsicum, supposedly.) Well, it still burned, and I was not expecting that. So I got on line again, one hand still in the milk, to ask facebook for help and to read about home remedies: rubbing alcohol (topical), vodka (internal?), baking soda, vegetable oil, bleach, you-name-it. I tried the baking soda (no difference, but I just dissolved it in milk), oil (maybe this helped?) and then just went back to milk. Three hours later, the chili was cooked and my hand was feeling less so.

My, this is turning into a long (and quite parenthetically heavy) post. With no pictorial evidence.

Another gratuitous photo to take up space in the blog
and make it appear more appealing (if not more interesting to read.)
No ladybugs were harmed in the writing of this post.
All rights reserved, except in places where they aren't reserved, your offer may vary.

Suffice to say: I've been fed - physically, musically, spiritually and socially - and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.

And for that, I am truly grateful.

gratitude, day 8 (ish)

Saturday(the true day 8) was so full that I did not have time to pause and write about how very thankful I am for all that occurred. Let's see...

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, my church has a big celebration. It is, for me, one of the best days on the church calendar, and my favorite non-worship event. This has evolved over the years, from being an all-out dinner cooked in the church from soup to nuts (well, from jello salad - with questionable mayonnaise topping, as I recall - to pumpkin pie.) The ladies of the church - and it was always the ladies, of course - got pretty tired, and then they retired, and no one stepped up to take their place in such a monumental endeavor. We didn't want to end the tradition, though, so we adapted (hello, Mr. Darwin!) and now it's a pot luck. The volunteer cooks (and one head chef - hello, Anne!) prepare the turkey, dressing and cranberries. The rest of the meal - mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies and salads - we bring to the dinner. And oh, what culinary delights! Some folks (moi) bring the same thing every year, and we all look forward to our favorites (hello, Berta's heart-attack-potatoes!)

This year Mom & Dad actually made it home from their annual fall road trip in time to join me at the dinner. I haven't been able to really sit with them to hear stories about their travels, but there were non-family members at the table, so I got to hear about some of their trip. Dad's off-hand comment about "what we'd really like to do next year" nearly made me choke on my turkey. The trip is strenuous, and Dad's health has not been great, I didn't really think they'd go this year! I guess it's good to have something to look forward to... Lord, have mercy!

And then, after dinner, the best part! We have an annual talent show! This, too, has evolved over the years, depending on who is in the congregation. We've had 10-year olds with clarinet solos (hello Ed!), Dana Carvey's "church lady" impressions (hi Geoff!), readings of "Gunga Din", youth club skits, classical music, songwriter's presentations... oh, how I could go on. It's always such a delight, and (current era) always so darned impressive that we have so very many talented people in our congregation!

This year we evolved yet again, and combined the evening with our monthly Open Mic night. We had two guest acts, as well as the slew of Bethany performers, and oh, boy it was so fun. One of the couples did an hilarious rendition of a scene from Oklahoma! and ended up smooching. (In church! the scandal!) I did my annual reading of this delightful writing by Ian Frasier. (It's now in book form, too!) There was a song about hellfire - with a really tight band - and all of the music was just amazing. I came home with a glow, and that didn't wear off for ... oh, hours and hours.

And for these things, I am truly grateful.

gratitude, day 7

(no, not these. these were for Laura Grace, three weeks ago.)
photo courtesy of the Henry family

I am really looking forward to this weekend. With a terrific my favorite event at church (pot luck thanksgiving dinner and open mic talent show!) tomorrow, and

a b s o l u t e l y . n o t h i n g .

scheduled for Sunday, it sounds pretty much perfect. Before all that starts, though, there is grocery shopping, gas-filling (oh, that must be first on the agenda), flowers to buy and arrange (happy birthday, Andy!) and a sweet potato - cranberry dish to fix. Oh, yeah, and at some point I'll be making that veggie green chili.

Whew, I should go to bed.

And for that, I am truly thankful.

gratitude, day 6

Today I got my stitches out. It looks... well, not quite ready yet. One of the steri-strips has already fallen off, so it will be interesting to see what happens. After that, I went to the farmer's market and got some veggies for a recipe that's coming together in my head: a vegetarian green chili. It remains to be seen if that actually gets cooked, but I think I can mostly just throw all the ingredients in the crock pot and let it cook itself. I'd hate to kill all those beautiful veggies.

I came home and wrote for a couple of hours (something I started in May for the blog, but it never came out. Today it came out, but it's not exactly seasonal... so it's still under wraps. Then I got to talk to some friends on line, and then a friend on the phone. It was so lovely to just be home, with the beautiful autumn sunshine streaming in.

Once the sun was down, I took some leftovers (mmm, ricotta and spinach-stuffed shells - but I'd already had them five or six times this week) to Mom and Dad. I visited with Mom for a while. She had been working in the back yard all day long, and looked tired, but not done in. Dad was on his way to go to the pool for his water therapy, so we didn't visit much. I'm glad that they are home, and looking so good.

Dinnertime: It is no secret that I am a fan of Trader Joe's. A lot of their stuff is cheaper, better, more awesome or more original than your typical grocery. Oh, and deeeelicious.

Not every night is gourmet city around here, but I do enjoy a nice meal. Tonight I had one of my favorites: TJ's orange chicken over (TJ's) fresh spinach. While I was heating the sauce in the microwave, I sliced up some red bell peppers and green onions, and threw that in the bowl. When the chicken came out (20 minutes at 400º) it went into the bowl too. A quick toss, and poured it over that big bowl of spinach. It is was so yummy, and - well - not too unhealthy! Yum, yum and yum.

(please note that I am not known for my food photography! eek!)

And for all of these things, I am truly thankful!

gratitude, day 4

(from Google images - isn't it gorgeous?!)

ah, gratitude: it must take practice; this is harder than I thought. I am committed, I think, to seeing this through and to be more consciously thankful on a regular basis. (did someone say "discipline"? whazzat?)

daily blogging is harder than I thought, too. there was to be a larger post today, something a little deeper, but it is late now and that will have to wait for another day. didn't actually make it by midnight, but here goes...

my parents have made it safely home again from their insanely brave, 9-week road trip.

tonight in a church meeting, I openly disagreed with a friend on an issue. all seemed well, but in the parking lot I expressed concern to her ~ there's not usually much dissent in these meetings. she was fine! welcomes the honesty, and returns it!

I (broke down and) had some delicious hot fudge tonight after the meeting.

and for these things, I am truly thankful.

gratitude, day 3

I received a little card in the mail today:

your biopsy showed: No tumor left!

for this, I am truly thankful.

gratitude, day two

Today I am thankful for cinnamon, for the fun of cooking with a friend, and for NPR

a time of thanksgiving

I am going to attempt a discipline in the coming days... to post, as often as possible (I'd like to say "daily", but I am a realist and don't need the pressure) a statement or reflection or muse on gratitude for the rest of the month.

Gratitude - thanksgiving to the One who gives us life - is essential for happiness, isn't it? Certainly, for those of us who believe in the One.

Today, I am grateful for ...

crisp fuji apples
the gathering 'round my friends Andy and Melinda's kitchen table last night...
the hope of an interesting afternoon...
the fact that I currently receive a regular paycheck...
the change in weather and the cool, crisp days...
remembrance day... (here and here, for starters) even if it is a few days late

Okay, more tomorrow - if all goes according to plan...

Veteran's Day

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly.
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~ World War I Colonel John McCrae, a surgeon with Canada's First Brigade Artillery

cheater!

I've been itchin' to cook lately. Usually I think I want to cook, buy the groceries, and then lose the initiative before I actually get to make the dish(es) I have in mind. Food wasted, produce dies... it's not pretty.

So (another sign of a healthier me) imagine my delight when I managed to put together TWO recipes on Saturday! Well... one of them was chocolate chip cookies, so maybe that doesn't count; except that I never bake just for me, so (again, and caloric content aside) yay me! The other dish was a variation of this one, and oh boy was it tasty! (Thank you, Smitten Kitchen!) Lots of leftovers... at least three day's worth of meals.

Tonight: well, I wasn't really in the mood for cooking at all, but then I read this on Pioneer Woman, and I suddenly really, really needed chicken enchiladas. So... I cheated. And it was really, really good.

Cheater's Chicken Enchiladas
Heat oven to 400º. Place about a dozen frozen, ready to heat chicken taquitos in a shallow baking dish. Cover with canned green enchilada sauce (save the rest for another time - it freezes well in ziplock sandwich bags!) Sprinkle with shredded jack cheese - as much or as little as you like. Bake, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes until bubbly and a toasty brown on top. Serve with a little sour cream, chopped green onion, and a nice green salad.

Easy peasy cheater's dinner!

I have a cheater's jambalaya, too, but one culinary delight at a time... ;o)

random musings whilst waiting for the oven to finish

I decided to bake up some pumpkin bread for open mic night tonight... it's in the oven with about 10 minutes left; I should be there in 15 minutes; it will take 30 minutes for the loaves to cool enough to slice. You do the math. ;o)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wonder why people think President Obama hasn't done enough in his first months in office. I think the changes that have transpired are amazing. In the time it takes for a human to go from embryo to newborn, he has begun to reverse the effects of 8 previous years of disaster including:

• the standing of the US in the international community
• two wars
• averting a depression, making the way up out of a recession
• turned the national debate to health care reform
• stayed cool throughout attacks on his character, racial slurs and other ignorant obscenities - from his fellow Americans
  

Keep on going, Mr. President, and may God protect you and your family.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, and about that "healthcare debate"? I wish to God that the discussion would differentiate between health care and health insurance. Seems it all gets lumped into one thing, and that seems to confuse many a good point. I also want to research health insurance company profits in the last decade. I'm certain that they eclipse any profits made by physicians or hospitals by billions of dollars. People in the medical community do NOT go into the field to become rich anymore, I guarantee you!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I've had a birthday since my last post recently. I am now in my extremely late forties..... ;o)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh, it's time to change clothes and get going. Thanks for reading!

Autumn commences

(Ah, it's been too long again. My life and mind has been in just get through it mode. Again. Overhwelming... and astoundingly mundane at the same time, how is that possible?)

please click for larger picture

Meantime, the season has turned again. It is Autumn. My favorite time of year, really, and I wish it was longer... or perhaps I wish that we could languish in the season for a longer period. Here in paradise, we have only about 3 weeks between Indian Summer and Let's Get Ready For The Holidays. I sometimes wish we celebrated Christmas in February, at the real* mid of Winter. Heresy, I know. But to relish the crunch of the leaves, firesmoke, thick sweaters and picnic blankets for a little longer before the holly jolly pushes in and breaks the delicious, amber-lit, pumpkin-and-spice season would be heaven. Ah, well. I will enjoy it while I can!

please click for larger picture

I am going exploring today, with my camera. Maybe I'll find some quiet - jackhammers are my background noise just now, while the pool is being refurbished. 'Tis time for reflection, a walk, a change in scenery.

Will try to be back, soonest.

Much love, KQ

*Autumn's end, for those who do not keep track of the solstices and equinoxes, is December 20. Winter then commences and stays until March 19.

just for fun

I'm having a little fun finding widgety things for the sidebar. Those fish... click in the pond, see what happens. :)
It might end up being too much, but I'm keeping it for now. Gotta have fun where you can, right?

circle of life

I made this basket of flowers for a family a couple of Sundays ago. They requested all white flowers, and I do love the effect. Turns out, it was the family's way to announce the pregnancy of a young couple in our congregation. Much celebrating was made, and rightfully so. A bright light will be joining us soon.

This morning, a good man I know, terminally ill and filled with love and determination, took his own life. He was Father to my dear friend. I grieve his loss ~ and their loss. A bright light has left us.

Rest in peace, dear Deris. Thank you for everything.

roller coasters and morning glories

Yesterday my facebook status read, "stop this rollercoaster, I want to get off". I recieved a couple of responses - from one, who thought I was upset by the economy, perhaps: "Life, like any roller coaster, has its ups and downs. I agree we're all in a 'down' period, but don't get off the ride just yet. We'll be heading up soon." Well... that's nice, but not really applicable to what I meant in my post. Another, more encouraging (and to the point) comment: "There's an end to every ride, this one, too. Hang in there."

By the time I heard from that second friend, things had already (and again) begun to change. I am on a medication rollercoaster - since last week and ending next week, perhaps on a too-high dose at the start, and the taper is finally taking effect. I am feeling more like myself, thank God.

In fact, maybe a little better than myself just now ~ which I find lovely and refreshing. I've had a bunch of ideas about things to post here, and if I can stop long enough to compose them while they still make sense you'll see them here soon.

Meanwhile, out in the garden ~

I have morning glories!
Tangled amidst the nasturtiums!

I cannot tell you how amazing this seems to me. Extraordinary. Sure, they are magenta, not the blue ones, but I don't really mind about that.

Yay me!

Georgia Ruth Biddall Quickert

... was born this day, 1906. My paternal grandmother, she was ferociously stubborn, ferociously proud and loved us all ... ferociously.
Here she is in 1979, with her first three great-grandchildren (there would be somewhere between 24-27 in all eventually - depending on how you count) at Dad's 50th birthday party. Jenny, on the left, was just 4 weeks old. Jennifer W., in the middle, was maybe 6 months old, and Aaron (standing) was 22 months old.

Yes, my cousin and I both named our daughters Jennifer. I can claim a lack of imagination, but deny vehemently any imitation.

I love, love, love the joyful, proud look on her face in this picture.
Happy birthday, Grandma!
love, Nancy.
I mean Kathie.
I mean KATHY.
xoxo

glimpse of a summer garden

geez, that title sounds way more romantic than the reality. Ah, well. My garden is a humble space, but it is also a source of some delight. Come, see:
This is the view out the back door, from my kitchen and over the desk... the leafy greenness of everything beckons on these beautiful days.
a gorgeous pelargonium (geranium), which grows right outside the sliding door. It has become HUGE, and is blooming like crazy. Alas, it also is full of whiteflies... which I won't spray because I am not interested in killing my ladybugs. A green gardening trade off.

White cosmos - growing about 3' high, and quite happy, despite the small container they are living in. They're so cheery, and make me think of Jenny (cosmos are her favorite flower).
I've planted deep red sweet william in a couple of places... here, it's a nice contrast to the yellow primrose that has stuck around since late winter!
Here, they accompany the orange zinnia "profusion"
More orange! These are "million bells", a.k.a. calibrachoa. These are kind of like petunias, but really small: each flower is about the diameter of a quarter. I've got three colors growing on one shelf. The shelves are rusty and old, so I don't want to show you that...
...but here's a nice close up of the red and purple ones. Teeny-tiny spider costs extra!
A bit of my newly-replanted hanging basket: this is the dahlberg "golden fleece" daisy, some dark blue lobelia and white sweet alyssum...
... and rising above all those billowing, spilling-over flowers, a handful of (orange! again!) pansies. In the very center - a delphinium which ... did not do well. We shall speak of this no more.
Finally, one of my favorite flowers in the world, in one of its most beautiful varieties: a white california poppy! These grew from seed - I sowed a LOT of seeds, but have just the one plant, hiding in the far corner and leaning way over the balcony. I was very happy to get a shot of the shy bloom one sunny day not too long ago!

That's it - thanks for visiting my garden! As it continues to change and grow - so long as no disasterous wind, drought or pestilence comes - I'll post again!

ok, here's something

Hey, I went to a couple of Giants games this month. The first one was July 3, fireworks night, as you can see above. The game was fun; went with a group from my church. The fireworks would have been spectacular, but, well, there was a light shining just above our heads causing some glare, and the light stands and scoreboard obscured some of the view, as you can see.

The next game was with Aaron, and that's always fun. He was a little late getting there, so I had time to take a few pictures while I waited.

I love this group. You've got some real loyal fans here. You've your old school (Clark jersey - from '89 or so). You've got your oldsters, waving their orange pom-pons. And they're all bundled up against our San Francisco summer weather. Humm baby!

This is why I hate peanuts in the shell at the ball park. People eat the nuts, throw the shells and skins on the ground, and the wind picks them up and blows all that gunk in my face. I really hate that; it's one of the few things that sullies a good game for me. (The other two things would be loud fans spouting off disinformation at the top of their voices to anyone who will - or won't - listen, and the stranger who once fell asleep on my shoulder when I was in the box seats by the home bull pen a few years ago.)

Ah, just in time to pull me out of my rant: my date arrives. He's not going to miss a play, even while walking to his seat, loyal fan that he is.

It was a cheap-seat night, and lots of folks came out to enjoy the good deal. Such a colorful crowd. But hey, take a look at those clouds over the bay. You don't see formations like that every day 'round these parts.

That's because it doesn't rain too often round these parts. Yep, it RAINED on us. Just enough to dampen the pavement, not our spirits, no sir.
Oh, yeah, that's rain out there over the bay. But then a really cool thing happened:
A rainbow came out. Usually, you know, rainbows come out for a minute or two and then they fade, right? Well, this one had been out for ten minutes before I finally decided to take a picture of it. It was HUGE.
And it stayed. Here it is, about 15 minutes later. It's getting brighter with the setting sun, and you can see a faint double 'bow off to the left.

Now it's half an hour since it first appeared ~ half an hour!


It didn't disappear until the sun was all the way down; just got brighter and more golden and beautiful.

Oh, and the Giants? They won. Of course!

blah, blah, blog

(A little bit of my garden)

Maybe it's inertia. Maybe I'm in a rut. Maybe it's that my camera has mostly been sitting by itself, inactive. Whatever the reason, there hasn't been much blog here lately.
Or, maybe I'm intimidated by all the blog-reading I've been doing in the past couple of months since updating to DSL. (It's so much easier to load up those photo-rich blogs!) I've followed some links from old favorite sites and been delighted in the great finds. I'm not selfish: here's a list of a few lovely, creative sites which I've been enjoying of late:

• Anna Maria (this one makes me especially happy)
  
• Angry Chicken
  
• Heather
  
• Posie Gets Cozy (a long-time favorite)
• Pioneer Woman (another long-time favorite)
• Soule Mama
  
• Turkey Feathers
  

Not only are these photo and color-rich, creative sites - listing them here, I note that they are also (mostly) mommy blogs. (I don't know how that happened; maybe my affinity for babies...?) I have no idea how these women raise small children, produce such lovely things from their hands, kitchens and sewing machines AND write about it; but I love reading about it! Enjoy...

Bar of Soap

The Q Fambly Campout 2009 is but a memory now, and I'll be giving that a bit of a jog by posting a page dedicated to the weekend on my other site - 'twill be up in the next coupla days. (It's about time I get some new content there!) Meantime, I've been ruminatin' as to how we didn't really do much singing around the campfire this year. I suppose we were feeling rather - ah, how shall we say - mortal this year. Deep loving thoughts prevailed.

All the same, those campfire songs... This one is just about my favorite, and tonight the only verses I could remember were "tweety bird" and "fishy". After googling the song, I managed to research and develop (some of the lyrics I saw were rhythmically problematic) a full eight verses! The last three verses are new to me. It also seems to me that there might be a verse about a duck (ducky)? If someone knows it, please share!

(Sung to the same tune as "If You're Happy and You Know It") Here ya go:

O I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
I wish I were a little bar of soap (bar of soap)
I’d slippy and I’d slid-y over everybody’s hidey
O I wish I were a little bar of soap

O I wish I were a little tweety bird (tweety bird)
I wish I were a little tweety bird (tweety bird)
I’d sit up on the steeple and I’d spit on all the people
O I wish I were a little tweety bird

O I wish I were a fishy in a brook (in a brook)
I wish I were a fishy in a brook (in a brook)
I’d swim around so cutie and without my bathing suity
O I wish I were a fishy in a brook

O I wish I were a little mosquito (mosquito)
I wish I were a little mosquito (mosquito)
I’d buzzy and I’d bitey under everybody’s nightie
O I wish I were a little mosquito

O I wish I were a little can of beer (can of beer)
I wish I were a little can of beer (can of beer)
I’d go down with a slurp and I’d come up with a burp
O I wish I were a little can of beer

O I wish I were the root of a tree (of a tree)
I wish I were the root of a tree (of a tree)
I’d stick up on the trail and then flip you on your tail
O I wish I were the root of a tree

O I wish I were a hungry little goat (little goat)
I wish I were a hungry little goat (little goat)
I’d crunchy and I’d munchy right through ev’rybody’s lunchie
O I wish I were a hungry little goat

O I wish I were a little spotted cow (spotted cow)
I wish I were a little spotted cow (spotted cow)
I’d give milk out of my udder and then churn it into butter
O I wish I were a little spotted cow

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a (small) perversion of the song - enjoy!

first fruits

I'm home, not even unpacked (that's what the extra day off is for, right?) The camera hasn't been downloaded, but I do have a couple pictures from the 2009 Q Family campout. My cousin (actually, cousin in law) Russ is the designated photographer for our family when we all get together. I eagerly await the rest of his photos from this past weekend!

This is my Dad's generation. In the yellow is his sister, my Aunt Alice. The others are cousins (seated) and spouses (standing). On the far left is Uncle Robert, the eldest of the family. At 87, he is just as spry and delightful as ever.
Here's my generation. My sister, brother, and my cousins are seated. Standing are some 2nd cousins - the children of my Dad's cousins. Not pictured: 2 of my brothers, 6 other cousins and at least 40 other baby boomer relatives!

Finally, my kids and their generation. These are a few of the multitude... Jenny (mine), Keith and Kevin (Charlie's boys), Aaron (mine), Trevor (cousin Dale's boy), Faith (cousin Barb's daughter), and Ben (my 2nd cousin Reed's son - so maybe that makes him my 3rd cousin?)

All photos courtesy of Russell Hyde