m.o.M - mother of Michael

God Bless America

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814



Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?



On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!



Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

One Wascally Wabbit!

SHHH - We're hunting wabbits!

It's Getting Serious Now!

Why?

The conversation in the car this afternoon:

Michael: "Daddy, why don't we have school tomorrow?"
Daddy: "Because it's a holiday called Good Friday."
Michael: "Why is it called 'Good' Friday?"
Daddy: "Because that's the day that Jesus died."
Michael: "That's not Good Friday, that's Bad Friday."

C + M + B

My most wonderful neighbor, Margie, is from Munich, Germany. Last year I had the wonderful fortune of traveling with her to Germany and meeting her two sisters who still live there.

This past Christmas, Margie gave my family her nativity. It hadn't been out of it's box since her husband, Stan, passed away 20 years ago. To add to the antiquity of the set, the manger had been hand-made by Herr Dalmyer, the father-in-law of Margie's older sister, Erika. Herr Dalmyer made the manger from wood  and twigs he found in the forests of Bavaria.

The beautiful figurines not only came from Herr Dalmyer, but were also purchased by Margie and Stan in the Kris Kringle Markt in Munich over forty years ago.

Margie did the honors of setting  up the scene and reminiscing over each piece. Later, she brought over the moss for the floor and set it up all over again.

This morning when Margie came home from church, she told me that the incense in the church today made her think of her mother.

On each January 6th, her mother would chalk the letters C M B over the front door of their apartment and light a  small cone of incense in each room. These acts would bless and protect their home for the next year.

C - Casper    M - Melchior    B - Balthazar

Celebrating Kings Day as the day the three kings arrived in Bethlehem was thus in Margie's Bavarian home.

My Favorite Day

New Year's Day is probably my favorite day of the year. Sure, there was one New Year's Day that I hoped I would die before noon, but that was a combination of poor judgment and just too damn much fun the night before.

New Year's Day is kind of quiet, kind of lazy, a little sleepy and full of promise. It feels like that one special day where I can loll about in my sweat pants and do whatever I want to do...guilt free. It would be nice to loll about in a clean house knowing that all the laundry is done instead of piled in the garage, but it's nicer to know that I haven't worried about those things for the past week. I've chosen, instead, to spend time playing with the family and that makes me happy.

Unlike Christmas Day when gift giving makes me happy, New Year's Day makes me happy because I get to give myself a gift; a gift of a whole new year, fresh and full of promise and opportunity. Last year is past and I can't change anything about that now, but I can use what I've learned and accomplished as down payment for an even better new year.

It's only a date on the calender, I know that. Change and opportunity can occur in February, June or even October, but there's just something about January 1. It's the one day in my year when everything feels possible.

Happy New Year!

    Should old friendship be forgot'
    And never remembered ?
    Should old friendship be forgotten,
    And days of long ago.
   
    And surely you will have your tankard !
    And surely I will have mine !
    And we will take a cup of kindness yet,
    For days of long ago'
   
    We two have run about the hills
    And pulled the daisies fine :
    But we have wandered many a weary foot
    Since days of long ago.
   
    We two have waded in the stream
    From dawn till dinner-time :
    But seas between us broad have roared
    Since days of long ago.
   
    And there's a hand my trusty friend !
    And give me a hand of thine !
    And we will take a large draught
    For days of long ago.

Excuse Me, But Aren't We Getting a Little Ahead of Ourselves?

A Good Time Was Had By All

Among the many wonderful things Santa brought was a hand-held GPS system!

I've been wanting to participate in the geocaching craze for almost a year now and was just missing this one essential element...the GPS.

Today was finally the day to head out to hunt some treasure. There are many caches in this area, but one in particular had been recommended. Not only was the weather beautiful, but we were outside, together as a family and having a good time. I think this may become something we will do on a regular basis. Next time though, I'll bring water and lunch!

Our first find! Hurray for us!

I can't wait to go again...I wonder what everyone's doing tomorrow?

Not the Departure it Appears to be

My intent this month has been to blog each day on a holiday related topic and today is no different; it's just a different holiday.

For some, New Year's is a time to reflect, for others it's a time to party-hardy. For me, it's an attempt to get 100% of my laundry done and my house clean before the bell tolls 12 times on December 31st. I erroneously believe that if all my laundry is done by midnight then I'll be able to keep up with it throughout the following year. I know this is wrong because I prove it year after year, but still I persist because maybe, just maybe, this will be the year it will work. Could happen!

This year, I'm adding another layer to this tomfoolery: If I touch it, it must not only be put where it goes and where it goes must be cleaned out too.

So, when Tom Terrific came over to pick up my darling husband for golf this morning, he asked if we had any decongestant. I knew, even from my warm, comfy bed from which I had not yet arisen, that I was doomed. Not only is the cabinet in which all these things are kept an annoyance to me because it's deep instead of wide, but for two years, I've just be stuffing stuff into it. "Crap" was my first word of the day.

Here is the result of one shelf and two ditty bags (sans the most obvious of trash):

Sure, looks like a pile of junk to the naked eye, but to me, it's a trove of memories!

• Makeup that I'm sure expired in the last century.
• Five dollars in quarters from a trip to Manhattan; I've been caught there without quarters before and now don't leave home without them.
• How do I know they are from a trip to Manhattan? The transaction receipt from Citi Bank for the $100 withdrawal from their bank on W 72nd St. dated October 14th 2000.
• A bar of soap in a plastic bag that I carried for 13 days through the Himalayas. I say carried because it was just too cold to apply soap to too many body parts. In fact, there weren't too many body parts exposed on that trip either.
• The soap segues nicely to the Tide-To-Go stick which I also carried for those 13 days. When I mentioned this to the group toward the end of the trip, the laughter was the most spontaneous, genuine and long that I've ever heard! We were so filthy that there wasn't enough Tide-To-Go in the world to help us!
• A key - I wonder what that goes to?
• Kyolic - the garlic oil my husband picked up for me at the health food store last year. Not what I was looking for, but there it is.
• A tiny sample bottle of Chanel #5. My mother's favorite perfume.
• Benedryl spray - I was telling another mom about this a couple of weeks ago because I thought it was the coolest idea. I told her her that I had just heard of it, but had not seen any  yet. Hmmm, here's some in my cabinet. In the very back of my cabinet.
• An assortment of syringes (not the needle kind.) I just don't remember if they were from kid medicine or pet medicine. Does it really matter?