Sandra Tayler's Blog, page 145

Visiting Nieces

I knew when I agreed to watch my two nieces that there would be some inconvenience involved. I know that my brother's family has been inconvenienced when I leave my kids with them. This is part of what families are for, to bear personal inconvenience to help each other out.

So Kiki entertained the toddler for an entire morning while we shifted, signed, and stamped 1200 books. Everyone was tired at the end. I've spent days airing out toddler entertainment skills that I've not used in...

Muddle-through day

At the moment I am hiding in my office. In a minute I'll go upstairs, round up five children (three of mine, two borrowed) and take them for a promised jaunt to the pool. Swimming is not what I want today. I want to sit someplace quiet to watch a movie until bedtime. Oh well.

Some days are just muzzy, muddle-through kind of days. I'm pretty sure I got stuff done. I think some of it was important. Hopefully I can acquire a good night's sleep tonight and have a more focused tomorrow.

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Thoughts of Chrissy and Ice Cream Sandwiches

My high school friend Chrissy had orange hair. I suppose some people could have called it "red" or "strawberry blonde", but what it really was, was orange. I thought it was gorgeous and wished my hair were that exact color. It was like sunlight distilled into long, sleek strands. I lost touch with Chrissy a few years after we graduated. That happened a lot in the days before facebook and email. But I still have ice cream dishes she gave me for my wedding and the card she sent me when...

Influx

This is a week of things coming into my house. Later today I will be acquiring Niece1 and Niece2 who will both be staying until Thursday. Niece1 is the same age as Patch and will blend right in with my kids. Niece2 will be reminding me what it is like to be a toddler-mommy. I'm looking forward to it, even though I know it is going to complicate many other things.

From a different source we will be acquiring a parakeet and two rats. The rats will not actually be staying in my house, but...

Ward Activities Chairperson

The member of the bishopric (congregational leaders) came to my house wearing a suit. I'd already changed out of my church clothes for the day, but I welcomed him into our front room, which I'd hurried to pick up in the five minutes since he'd called to ask if he could stop by. Even as I'd scurried to pick up, part of my brain had cried "Incoming!" Every Mormon knows that when a member of the bishopric stops by in this way, they are doing so to issue a calling. In Mormon vernacular a...

The difference between impossible and possible

Last Tuesday my list of chores for the next 30 days looked impossible. One week in particular is over-full with major events. I'll have a three day family reunion in another state shoehorned in between shipping prep and the shipping day. This will be followed by a week of swimming lessons, a writer's retreat, and an important-to-the-kids church party. Surrounding that crazy week, I have to ship loads of merchandise to GenCon, make sure I have all the paperwork done for selling in another ...

The return from family vacation

Six months ago I wrote "family vacation" on the calendar in black ink. I knew that this was the only way it would happen. To reinforce the edict, I paid the money for the hotel in advance. Thus my past self forced my current self to take three days out of a busy week and trek to the wilderness for family time. When I scheduled the vacation it was all by itself in the middle of an empty month. It was my intention to keep that month empty. But deadlines slid around, new activities and...

Choosing my vacation

On the day following a five hour drive through heavy rain and gusting wind, we loaded everyone back into the car to spend five hours driving around staring out the window at scrubby brush and trying to spot wildlife. There were headaches, and squabbles, and the weather was too cold for us to go hiking. We even got to watch the rare June snow flurries before they vanished on the shoulders of the light jackets we had brought just in case. We shivered as we ran from the warm car to the warm v...

Vacation

On vacation. Trying to stay away from the internet because it just makes me stressed.

Mirrored from onecobble.com.

Memories on the walls

I was sitting here in my office, staring at the things around me because my brain felt too tired to work, and I noticed lots of red and green marks on the wall. There is also a large purplish blue smudge. I was staring at this odd array and wondering how it had passed my notice. The wall is white and the marks are very obvious. As I stared, I noticed that the marks define a somewhat rectangular shape of cleanliness. Memory dawned. A whiteboard used to hang on that wall back in the days ...