Good morning Sunday Letter friends!
Did you remember to spring forward? Yay for MacBooks and iPhones and iPads that automatically adjust. Remember not that very long ago when that wasn’t the case? I don’t know about you, but before the cell phone became an extension of the hand, we had clocks all over the house. And we had to manually adjust each one either before we went to bed or throughout the next day.
What a process. The clock on the VCR was the trickiest!
When I was a sleep-deprived single mother of two working full-time at the bank, losing a whole hour was the most exhausting, humorless, pointless thing I could imagine. I didn’t buy off on the whole idea that its purpose was to conserve energy. Saving daylight had the opposite effect on me.
A very simple solution to this problem has always existed. Why not delay springing forward a few measly hours until 4:00 p.m. on Monday? If 4:00 suddenly became 5:00, employees would be giddy. The lost hour would be recouped in no time with increased productivity.
Anyway, on to a new week, one that moves us closer to spring.
Proud Mom Moment
Last weekend I had the pleasure of spending time in Denver with my son, Tate, and his girlfriend, Laura. As a parent, what more can we ask for than healthy, happy, settled, kind, contributing children? It was a wonderful visit that included several proud mom moments.
One of my proudest was hearing Tate explain to Laura why he saves bacon grease and the many ways he uses it.
You never know what kids will take away and can only hope the good things, like bacon grease, stick.
Mother of the Bride Shopping
I’m not much on shopping.
Let me qualify this… Plant and book shopping—YES! Clothes shopping—not so much.
Let me further qualify… Jeans and tennis shoes shopping—it’s not so bad if I’m in the right mood. But dress shopping? Ugh.
BUT. With my daughter getting married this fall, the whole MOB dress thing has been swimming in the back of my mind. Northwest Arkansas is super limited on places to find said dress. And my preconceived idea of it can be summarized with one word. Matronly.
SO. I went shopping in Denver. After all, the frigid weather limited our outdoor activities, and Denver has a Nordstroms. I rationalized that I would leave with a good idea of the style and fit I like.
Instead, I actually found a dress. I bought a dress! Now I can move on to my other MOB duties:) No, this isn’t the dress I bought, just one of the many I tried on.
Dogwood Sprout!
Do you remember the red twig dogwood stems I tried to propagate in February? I included it in my February 10 Sunday Letter HERE.
Well looky, looky. One of the four twigs has sprouts! I took this picture on February 26.
Yay.
The others look eager to sprout but so far they just smile up at me, sproutless.
I’m optimistic. One out of four feels like a success to me.
Lenten Yoga
Lent started on Ash Wednesday and continues until Easter. Rather than give something up, this year I’ve decided to take something on.
Yoga.
When we lived in Dallas, I often attended yoga classes at a sweet little studio near our home. But we moved, and I fell out of practice. Then I literally fell and broke my wrist and couldn’t do downward facing dog if I tried. Well, I’m back.
Yes, it’s been a while since I visited with my yoga mat, but I re-committed myself to the practice of yoga last week.
Yoga is the best way I know to center myself, to concentrate and meditate, to do something good for my mind and body. My body that eats bacon and will need to wear that Mother of the Bride dress soon. ?
Things Momma Says
Momma: Well, anyway, back to the marijuana story…
Me (clueless): HUH???
(It’s a long story.)
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Thanks for reading this week’s Sunday Letter. And don’t forget to change the clock in your vehicle.
Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.
P.S. For my gardening friends in Northwest Arkansas, Erica Glasener, host of HGTV’s A Gardener’s Diary from 1994-2006, will present two programs at the March 16 meeting of The Flower, Garden & Nature Society of Northwest Arkansas—A Passion for the Gardening Life at 10:00 a.m. and Magnificent Trees for Every Garden and Landscape at 11:30 a.m.
Location is in the student center of Northwest Technical Institute at 709 S. Old Missouri Road in Springdale. There is no cost for FGNS members. Non-members will pay $15 for the day’s two programs.
Join me? For more information click HERE.
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Musical Pairing:
YES what a great idea ???
Right?
Start referring to yourself as MOB; it’s simpler. I wonder what happened to that notebook I created as a MOB years ago? I had thought of creating a guidebook. Hmmm. My best advice is to let yourself enjoy the process. Take deep breaths on occasion. Be ready with advice but only when asked. And din’t give too much. Look beautiful but don’t outshine the bride. It’s okay to outshine the MOG though. Yep. There’s a guidebook in me yet, ya’ think? Love and blessings for special moments and memories❤️
Yes, I’ve been saying MOB but thought I should spell it out here. No way I would ever outshine our bride or even try. LOL.
Oh I remember MOB dress shopping. Mine was fraught with anxiety. The rest of wedding planning went smoothly. Enjoy.
Oh. And proofread before you publish? And a big YES to bacon grease! It’s the new health food❤️❌⭕️
Haha always a good thing.
Good morning Talya. Your upbeat, positive letter is great but I have to say that musical pairing just about did me in! It’s been a LONG TIME AGO but I still can’t believe I made my MOB dress and all four bridesmaid dresses. I don’t even sew on buttons these days. Have a great week!
My MOB experience was a sad one. I found the dress without a problem. I had been having surgery and procedure after procedure with a new dentist following our dentist’s retirement. At my first visit, they found that my 20 year old dental bridgework had a crack and needed to be replaced. After all of those procedures and changes that the new guy made we came to the final event. I went in to the office in such a great mood. He picked up the new bridge and did a dry fit. It felt good, but he said that it was wrong. He picked up his drill and began whizzing and buzzing and it suddenly collapsed in his hands. I burst into tears and told him that I simply could not attend my daughter’s wedding on Saturday looking like a toothless hag. I was SO angry that all I could do was cry….so I went out and bought myself a big old hat and I hid under my hat. One whole side of my smile was gone and I just tried to get my photos from the side that had upper teeth. I heard some of the grooms family talking, but I really tried not to ruin the beautiful wedding with the talk about that dreadful man’s screwups. Needless to say that since I had already paid for the whole years worth of procedures, I went back the next week and got the final bridge. That awful man’s implant that he did has never healed completely and I feel sure that I will have to have it redone. Luckily I have dental insurance to help pay for it. So, tomorrow I will get up and put on my big girl panties and go for my dental checkup. So much for the bad experience. I truly admire that you rooted the dogwood. I am so impressed.
Oh my gosh that’s horrible! I’m so sorry.
I am sure you will be beautiful in your MOB dress and that the bride will be gorgeous. As to Daylight Saving Time, I hate losing that hour of sleep. Your suggestion for making it less painful and so simple sounds great. I gave up wine for Lent.
Oh. Wine…