There've been a few things happening lately that are bringing many thoughts to my mind...i know that nobody likes to just read about somebody's ramblings, but this is weighing on my mind and the whole reason I got this blog was so I would have a place to dump this stuff...so here goes:
When we first meet someone and begin to date, we feel that rush and adrenalin that is associated with infatuation. If that feeling stays and grows, it translates into the realm of romantic love, also called "being in love". Somewhere beyond that, in the mundane repetition of laundry, work, chores, child raising, paying bills, spaghetti instead of steak and Wal-mart instead of Nordstrom(if you live in the NW...otherwise, think Macy's on steriods), is where love grows. It is a deep and binding attachment that holds people together when nothing else will. Sometimes, to be honest, the legal bond is what holds people to each other while the love that they have can be dug out of the hole it's in and is revived a bit. There seems to be, in the minds of many people, the idea that if they aren't feeling that intense physical attraction that comes with infatuation and such, then they aren't "in love" anymore with the person and the relationship is over. Then they divorce and move on into another round of the same game, etc etc etc. What a shame. What they cheat themselves out of! Love, the real thing, requires tears and sweat and sacrifice, hard work to love someone when they are being incredibly unlovable(which we all are at times, be honest), making due with less than you really feel that you need so that someone else can have what they want, putting out 150% because your spouse's best at that time and place is only about 50%...do people know this anymore? It isn't easy! Think about the traditional wedding vows...it covers ill health(think about all that entails...), poverty, wealth(yes, humility is terrible hard work to keep), sadness(think it's easy to continue on in a well way when your heart is ripped to shreds over a wayward child, or full of grieving?), sunshine and rain. They cover fidelity and the need for it(trust, faith, hope). Do people make these vows without thinking? I have to wonder...
I know that in my experience there have been many many times when I would have just chucked it all and booked off if it weren't for those vows and the fact that I don't want to fail at marriage. I try to not take my spouse for granted, although it does happen...how could it not? Also part of a marriage is the work of forgiveness for all of those slights when there is so much work to do that there doesn't seem to be time or energy to acknowledge efforts. But lest anyone use that as an excuse, we do need to make every effort to appreciate each other.
So those are my thoughts at the moment. I wish that more people understood that. Marriage has only recently been about "love". Love is something that grows with time and is bonded through all of those things above. THAT is what love is. That is what marriage creates and gives to us, if we follow the counsel given and work honestly at it.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Check out this cool blog!
Alright, so he's my nephew-in-law(almost said son-in-law 'cause his wife is so dear to me, but let's get the relationship right here!), and I think he's brilliant, but let's be honest...James IS brilliant. Here's a link to his blog, which is NOT about himself, but is a collection of news/commentaries regarding movies and such in the industry. What you will also find, however, is a glimpse into who James is, which is important because I think he's going to be heard of in many areas in his lifetime.
So check it out!
http://oneguysmovieblog.blogspot.com/
Enjoy! And let me know what you think!
So check it out!
http://oneguysmovieblog.blogspot.com/
Enjoy! And let me know what you think!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
TEXAS RANCH HOUSE
I love this series on PBS. Not just Texas Ranch House, but all of the "house" projects. Here's some info from Texas, however. Check it out!
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/
an excerpt:
Robin Gilliam Crawford is the curator of the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas
Read diary excerpts of frontier wife Susan Newcomb
Up to the time of America's Civil War (1861-1865), ranching done by Anglo Texans was more commonly called stock raising. The ranch, a term borrowed from the Spanish "rancho," was then known as a stock farm. In the postwar years, both family businesses and international cattle companies expanded across the West, involving greater numbers of people, including the women. In most cases, the family ranch was worked by the men: father, brothers, uncles, and cousins. Young men from around the area were hired to help out -- if the family could afford to pay wages. Otherwise, the men from neighboring ranches gathered cattle as a group, herding several families' animals to a central location for branding and sorting. But what were the wives and daughters doing? Lots of food preparation, including tending the gardens, picking fruit or vegetables, canning or drying various foods, gathering eggs and plucking the occasional chicken, cooking hearty meals, and baking lots of bread. Then they had to bring in more water from the well; wash all the plates, cups, mixing bowls, baking pans, and utensils; and begin preparing the next meal. If the wife had a better head for numbers than her husband, she might keep the records of stock increases, cattle or horse sales, supplies bought, and so on. She usually made up the orders for bulk goods such as flour, sugar, beans, and coffee to be bought when a couple of cowboys could be spared for a week or so to take a wagon into town. It was a potentially dangerous undertaking, since Indian attacks were still a real possibility into the 1870s. Sometimes this job would fall to the ladies when the ranch hands could not make the trip. Life on a remote ranch was a matter of self-sufficiency, so the ladies usually made their own and the children's clothes and some of the men's things. Thankfully, sewing machines became more common after the Civil War. Only a few women continued to spin and weave cotton or wool as they had during the war. They did the family laundry (though hired cowboys usually had to wash and mend their own things), and all of the required ironing. While few outsiders would ever see them, the ladies tried to maintain a semblance of propriety in the way they dressed, and to keep the house clean and attractive. Women who actually assisted with the cow works were a minority, and one or two frontier Amazons might even ride astride like a man, wearing trousers! This was the extreme, and such women would be "talked about" as socially suspect. More often, ranch wives and daughters rode sidesaddle, and if they had to ride a man's saddle they did it in very full skirts. Divided riding skirts did not appear until the end of the 19th century. Page 1 Page 2
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ranchhouse/
an excerpt:
Robin Gilliam Crawford is the curator of the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas
Read diary excerpts of frontier wife Susan Newcomb
Up to the time of America's Civil War (1861-1865), ranching done by Anglo Texans was more commonly called stock raising. The ranch, a term borrowed from the Spanish "rancho," was then known as a stock farm. In the postwar years, both family businesses and international cattle companies expanded across the West, involving greater numbers of people, including the women. In most cases, the family ranch was worked by the men: father, brothers, uncles, and cousins. Young men from around the area were hired to help out -- if the family could afford to pay wages. Otherwise, the men from neighboring ranches gathered cattle as a group, herding several families' animals to a central location for branding and sorting. But what were the wives and daughters doing? Lots of food preparation, including tending the gardens, picking fruit or vegetables, canning or drying various foods, gathering eggs and plucking the occasional chicken, cooking hearty meals, and baking lots of bread. Then they had to bring in more water from the well; wash all the plates, cups, mixing bowls, baking pans, and utensils; and begin preparing the next meal. If the wife had a better head for numbers than her husband, she might keep the records of stock increases, cattle or horse sales, supplies bought, and so on. She usually made up the orders for bulk goods such as flour, sugar, beans, and coffee to be bought when a couple of cowboys could be spared for a week or so to take a wagon into town. It was a potentially dangerous undertaking, since Indian attacks were still a real possibility into the 1870s. Sometimes this job would fall to the ladies when the ranch hands could not make the trip. Life on a remote ranch was a matter of self-sufficiency, so the ladies usually made their own and the children's clothes and some of the men's things. Thankfully, sewing machines became more common after the Civil War. Only a few women continued to spin and weave cotton or wool as they had during the war. They did the family laundry (though hired cowboys usually had to wash and mend their own things), and all of the required ironing. While few outsiders would ever see them, the ladies tried to maintain a semblance of propriety in the way they dressed, and to keep the house clean and attractive. Women who actually assisted with the cow works were a minority, and one or two frontier Amazons might even ride astride like a man, wearing trousers! This was the extreme, and such women would be "talked about" as socially suspect. More often, ranch wives and daughters rode sidesaddle, and if they had to ride a man's saddle they did it in very full skirts. Divided riding skirts did not appear until the end of the 19th century. Page 1 Page 2
hmmm...
So, can you believe it? The one I called COURAGE quit. Crazy stuff. Just shows that you can't ever tell.
I still like critters best.
This is a fabulous show, I wish I could post it and share it with everyone. I enjoy this theatre stuff so much, it's great. We will be moving to Kirkland Performance Center in a few weeks, and that is even better. Backstage is awful, but the rest of the theatre reminds me so much of the old place where I played as a kid while my mom did costuming and stuff.
Anyway, onward.
Inlaws leave soon, next week. My sis is going through big, sad changes right now, Shauna is happy and doing well...it was funny, last weekend Em and I went down to Shauna's place and took her to IKEA to shop and then put together new furniture. I went from being the daughter with the mom visiting, to the mom visiting the daughter. I wonder if it was wierd for Shauna to have her mom sleeping on the couch? Too funny. Life just rolls along and we all get to take our turns at being in different places. Then I took Em school shopping and spent a bit more than I had planned on, but it's done and that's good!
Friends are hurting now also...why does change so often cause pain? Change can be so good for us, some not so great, but why does it have to hurt? Sometimes I get tired of being stretched and molded and just want to be left alone for a bit.
On the other side, Summer is fabulous. I am enjoying the sun and the time off and the opportunity to get caught up on stuff and finish other things up. The plants I put into the new house here are taking root and moving along, the garden in pots is growing and if all goes well we should have tomatoes, peppers, spinach, cukes, squash, cabbage, peas, green beans, and herbs. YUMMY!
Found a great quote at Red Robin over the weekend...
"Gather up as many good experiences as possible, they will help make you an interesting old person."
I still like critters best.
This is a fabulous show, I wish I could post it and share it with everyone. I enjoy this theatre stuff so much, it's great. We will be moving to Kirkland Performance Center in a few weeks, and that is even better. Backstage is awful, but the rest of the theatre reminds me so much of the old place where I played as a kid while my mom did costuming and stuff.
Anyway, onward.
Inlaws leave soon, next week. My sis is going through big, sad changes right now, Shauna is happy and doing well...it was funny, last weekend Em and I went down to Shauna's place and took her to IKEA to shop and then put together new furniture. I went from being the daughter with the mom visiting, to the mom visiting the daughter. I wonder if it was wierd for Shauna to have her mom sleeping on the couch? Too funny. Life just rolls along and we all get to take our turns at being in different places. Then I took Em school shopping and spent a bit more than I had planned on, but it's done and that's good!
Friends are hurting now also...why does change so often cause pain? Change can be so good for us, some not so great, but why does it have to hurt? Sometimes I get tired of being stretched and molded and just want to be left alone for a bit.
On the other side, Summer is fabulous. I am enjoying the sun and the time off and the opportunity to get caught up on stuff and finish other things up. The plants I put into the new house here are taking root and moving along, the garden in pots is growing and if all goes well we should have tomatoes, peppers, spinach, cukes, squash, cabbage, peas, green beans, and herbs. YUMMY!
Found a great quote at Red Robin over the weekend...
"Gather up as many good experiences as possible, they will help make you an interesting old person."
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