Happy Leaping Leap Year!

Leap Year is here only once in four years! Imagine having your birthday on February 29th. My dear late Aunt Eleanor was a Leap Day baby, born on that day in 1904. I calculated how old she would be in "leap birthdays" and she would be a mere 27 years old.

I was frightened of my Dad's older sister and for no good reason other than she was a tall large strict woman. As I grew older and far long after her death I learned so much about this kind woman that if she were alive we would have been close. Or...at least as close as possible for a woman born to German immigrants on a Midwest farm where "children were seen and not heard."  As the oldest daughter with a lot of responsibility, she put up with no nonsense and expressed herself with a booming voice that made one stop to give pause. She never stopped being my Dad's big sister and in their quiet remote ways I know they loved each other as only brothers and sisters can do.

She was a peacemaker, a great cook, compassionate, generous and loved to play pinochle.  She had a great capacity to love behind a facade that was in keeping with her old ways.

I celebrate her birth 108 years ago. I wonder...would she have celebrated March 1st or February 28?

Whew! What a Week...

This week I started a new 'day job' at a wonderful university in our city. It has been an exhausting week and I have a feeling that this weekend I will vegg out with a good book or Downton Abby marathon. I am not whining but it is tough getting into the routine.

My husband gets home from work before I do and he has had dinner ready every time I have walked in the door this week. Last night the aroma of tender baked chicken greeted my senses when I opened the door. Little things mean a lot to me and those little things show so much love.

 I received the following blog post from Tracie Miles in my email box earlier this week. Take a peek and see if you can identify with her in any part of this post. I know for myself, it struck a chord.  Happy Thursday!

Happy Valentines Day

I have fond memories of making my valentines mailbox in school.  It was most often made from a shoe box but once we decorated oatmeal boxes. Decorating that cylinder was challenging yet fun. I had dreams of the perfect mailbox made from that canister. I am sure the finished result was a masterpiece to my young little girl's enchanted eyes. Today there will be a lot of excitement for children celebrating this day of love with pink cookies and cupcakes. Conversation hearts will be read as each child accepts that personal message from a boy or girl and takes the message to heart. 

I wish you all a wonderful day this Valentines Day, a day of love and memories.

Remembering Whitney Houston

Tonight I remember Whitney Houston, a woman with a golden voice. I remember her singing The Greatest Love, a song I learned at a time I needed those words the most. I first heard this song sung by another woman but embraced it again when Whitney recorded it. You see, my children were in school by then and these words resonated for them. It became a popular song for the choirs to sing at school performances. The kids eagerly waiting for  us to hear them sing a cool song , one that was so popular, so hip with the times. As I look back I remember the times I heard her sing. I loved the movie The Bodyguard and hoped that in the end she would marry Kevin Costner's character and live happily ever after. I loved her singing One Moment in Time and of course, the Star Spangled Banner. Not many people can sing that wonderful song to my picky ears and linger on as a good singer in my book. She did. As I remember her tonight, I remember her as a beautiful, talented woman whom I hope will rest in peace. Her voice lingers on through technology and when we hear it again on the radio it will take us back to times we remember because of her, singing a song...like this!

A Penny Saved....

Benjamin Franklin said a "Penny saved is a penny earned"....the same thing doesn't apply to pounds...too bad they are harder to "spend" than pennies!