WTH Happened to U?

The letter 'U' has been upstaged. Though it cannot be ignored by the letters, 'T' and 'V' as it is forever sandwiched between the two, it was certainly snubbed. Given the cold shoulder.

How in the world one can pass by such a useful letter, I have no idea.

Without our friend, 'U', we would:

• live in the Nited States of America
• never be able to undo anything
• never know unrequited love (we would miss out on some great poetry but we would lose some pretty good murder mystery movies/books)
• not be able to go/move/look up, only down. Not cool.
• have ants instead of aunts and no uncles
• only know conditional love

Hmmm...

People would live in Tah instead of Utah. There would be no more mysterious underground anything. We wouldn't laugh like idiots every time someone said, "Ranus" as opposed to, 'Uranus.' 

And, NO UNICORNS! What?! Then people wouldn't be able those ridiculous cookies shaped like unicorns that poop colorful stars. 

No. Forgetting the letter 'U' was not nice but, it happened.

I just hope it wasn't an unforgivable act.

This is Day 21 of the A-Z Challenge!

Traveling Vacations

Wait. That sounds like the vacations are traveling. I had to get the letters, 'T' and 'V' in one post so...

Traveling to vacations? Traveling to go on vacation? Vacations worth the travel time and money?

I'm pretty sure I'm either giving too much thought to this post or, not enough. Or I'm reaching. Or out of ideas. Or unmotivated. Dang. The challenge is quite difficult this time around.

All that to say, I'm not a traveler or a vacationer. We vacationed all the time when I was growing up but, when I was raising my daughters, we did not go on vacation and our only traveling was to the beach. Which is only 3.1 miles from our house so...

Living that close to the beach, one really doesn't need to go on vacation. Why spend all that money to go to another beach and still have to do all the chores when you can stay home and do the very same thing. Ha!

Seriously, I took my now grown up daughters and their significant others on vacation for the very first time just this past December. We went to the mountains. It was glorious.

But it wasn't enough to put the travel or vacation bug in me. I'm still more of a home-body. And I'm ok with that. I can always go visit the daughters who don't live close if I want to get away.

I'm interested in seeing Maine and Montana and Alaska. And that's about it. I have met some amazing, wonderful friends via blogging that I would love to visit in Europe. But I'd be just as happy if they came over to this side of the pond and visited here. And that's all the traveling or vacationing I care to do.

With ONE exception.

I'd go here in a skinny minute:

That's right. I'd go to Finland, stay in one of those igloos and appreciate the hell out of the northern lights.

Now, THAT'S a vacation worth the travel time.

This is Day 20 (and 22) of the A-Z Challenge!

Sisters

I don't have any. I have three brothers. But I have four daughters and they are great sisters.

That's me and three little devils..I mean my brothers. This was taken eons ago.

When my girls were growing up, they fought like...well, sisters. Not like I fought with my brothers. With brothers, you can just punch them without all the arguing. Of course, you have to be careful in case they decide to punch you back. But then you can run and tell and they end up getting in trouble so...

Anyway, while the girls were growing up, I used to be concerned that they would not be close when they were all grown up.

I've heard the stories about the sisters who were so angry after a falling out that they never spoke to each other again. It's true! They went to their graves without having made amends. This has always been so disturbing to me. I never wanted anything like that to happen to these sweeties.

I must say that my worries were (as most worries are) unfounded. My girls have grown up and they are all close. They will do anything for each other. Anything. I've seen them drop what they're doing on the spot and go help another one out. I've seen them come to each other's defense without asking a single question. They have each other's backs. I like that.

I like knowing that, should anything happen to me, I don't have to worry about my sweet girls. They have each other. They are wonderful sisters.

Even if they are a bit loony. 

This is Day 19 of the A-Z Challenge!

Repartee

I'm a day late with this one but, here it is anyway:

Are you good at witty replies? I am quite good at them. About three days later. You know, after my brain has time to process and weed through all the possibilities before I finally have just the right one. Of course, the moment has passed. I always tell myself that, next time, I'll be ready. But I rarely am.

I've certainly had my moments, few though they are. I'm so proud of myself when a clever quip is accessible in a flash. I feel so dang smart. Intelligent. Mensa qualified.

There are times when my daughters and I have healthy, hilarious banters. Though quite often I find myself laughing hysterically at their repartee filled conversations, as a bystander. A wannabe. It's the same with my closest friend. He is almost always one up on me.

Where is the witty part of my brain when I need it?

Again, when I have access to my witty abilities, I am queen of the world.The most intelligent woman ever born. Pitty it's such a short-lived rarity.

I'm quite envious of those who have instant access to this ability. I am in awe of how clever they are. I'm not talking about being mean. Just clever. Anyone can be mean. It takes smarts to be clever. The latter is the sort I enjoy and appreciate. And found lacking.

I never give up, however. Because, even though I often come up short, I do so relish the times when I'm on my game.

How are y'all at repartee?

This is Day 18 of the A-Z Challenge!

Quilts

I love quilts. I've posted on Empty Nest about my love of these wonderful creations a couple of times. I love the history behind them and the stories they tell. I enjoy looking at the designs and I greatly appreciate the art and effort behind the making of quilts.

I've never attempted to even try to learn the craft of quilting. Mostly because I don't have the time or patience. And then there's the whole thing about me not quite getting the design part. Not that I am not talented. Just not in this area.

I come from a long line of women (not sure about the men) who had quite a gift when it came to a needle and thread. But this ability completely skipped over me. Luckily, it found it's way back in one of my four lovely daughters.

When DD3 headed out to Texas a few years ago for grad school, she taught herself how to quilt. That's right. She taught herself. Amazing.

Her first one was for her cousin's new baby:

Baby quilt when it was in progress. 

Then she made quilted wall hangings for her then boyfriend and one for her younger sister and I can't find those pictures anywhere.

She followed the wall hangings with this one for her oldest sister:

Which was followed by this one for me!

My Christmas quilt!

Here's a close up of the front and back of my Christmas quilt.

This past Christmas, she made one for her other older sister. She took some of her sister's t-shirts from college and made this one: 

Here are two who are also good with needle and thread checking out the handiwork. 

She also just finished one for her now husband of the Mario Brothers...well, one of them, I think it's Mario. But I don't have a picture of that one.

After receiving my Christmas quilt, I mentioned that I would love to have one for each season. She's working on my spring quilt now.

Don't you love it when your kids pick up on hints or things you say as a joke and they know you'd really like it? Ha!

The spring quilt will have some of my grandmother's handkerchiefs in it since Grandmother was a spring person. The squares will be reflective of her love for spring. And, the daughter who makes these glorious quilts? She's named after my grandmother. See how the stories can be woven into the pattern, the fabric, the design...the motivation?

I love quilts. Even if the talent skipped me. It's still in the family, and that's good enough.

This is Day 17 of the A-Z Challenge!

Politics

How I hate them. No matter whether it's people playing politics to determine who makes what team or gets what job or a political election, I am not a fan.

It's not so much the people who are running. I have opinions about them and I make my decisions all by myself. Yep. Imagine that. I don't need to listen to what other people have to say to make a decision about how to cast my vote. For any election.

No- it's the negativity. And not just the mud slinging from the candidates, it's the negativity from friends and family who put their opinions out via social media with an air of, 'If you don't think the way I do, you're a moron.'

I don't like that. I don't want the opinions of others shoved down my throat. I do not appreciate that people think I should not only listen to their opinions but follow their advice. I fear for those who actually do listen to these forced, unsolicited influences because they cannot think for themselves. Or they're too lazy to do so.

If someone wants to share their opinion with others in a mature, interesting discussion of opinions, that's fine. I'll even jump right in. But when the insults start flying, I'm out. This is so unnecessary and it makes me feel like people are trying to force their opinions upon me.

It doesn't work. As a matter of fact, when I do not have a clear idea of how I will cast my vote, I tend to vote for the candidate that these people stand so adamantly against. And I tell them.

Yes, we all have our opinions but to thrust those opinions upon other people is not nice. And so begins my daily 'hiding' of all friends on social media who are 'sharing' their political opinions.

This is also a good time to break yourselves of the television habit. Those ads are already driving me nuts and the media is pushing people to put their judgement out there. I am not a fan of anyone who encourages discord.

Vote for whomever you choose. But don't get offended when I do the same and my candidate is not the one you support. Even if we are in agreement, that does not mean I want to read your thoughts on social media.

Will y'all be keeping friends off your feed or turning off the television?

This is Day 16 of the A-Z Challenge!

Olfactory or Ooooh, That Smell

Summers in the low-country are anything but enjoyable. The oppressive heat keeps me inside most of the time even though the beach is only three miles from our house. But it's not all bad. Every so often, there will be something during the summer that sparks a memory or two about summers during my childhood. And many of those sparks are brought about due to summer smells. 

The smell of suntan lotion and Noxzema cause me to follow my olfactory sense right back to the beach vacations we took every year. My grandmother and my parents would slather Coppertone lotion on us every morning and we would still get sunburns. So, at night, they would slather us with Noxzema to take out the burn. The next day, we would get our slathering of Coppertone and a t-shirt. 

There are honeysuckle bushes along the path where I walk the dog down to the marsh. Honeysuckle has a distinctive smell that rushes me back to my childhood backyard. The honeysuckle was located on the back side of the clothesline and every time I had to go out to bring in the wash, I inhale the smell of that honeysuckle as I ran in and out of the sheets hanging on the line. 

The smell of impending rain also transports me back to my youth. It seemed that an afternoon thunderstorm paid us a visit every single day during the summer. They only lasted about thirty minutes but they were amazing! The feel and smell of the air became cooler and thunder rumbled in the distance. It was glorious. 

And whose summer memories aren't stirred up by a cookout? Anything cooked on the grill smells divine and takes me back to the days of hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill. We have a neighbor behind our house that does something when he's grilling that, as soon as I smell it, my mouth immediately begins watering. One of these days, I'm going to hop that fence when he goes inside and grab some of that deliciousness! 

My list of summer smells could go on and on as some of you who read Empty Nest know. But these posts are supposed to be short and I want to hear what your favorite summer smells are and where they take you.

This is Day 15 of the A-Z Challenge!