Honor

TO HONOR YOU

To honor you, I get up every day and take a breath
And start another day without you in it.

To honor you, I laugh and love with those who knew your smile
And the way your eyes twinkled with mischief and secret knowledge.

To honor you I listen to music you would have liked, 
And sing at the top of my lungs, with the windows rolled down.

To  honor you, I take chances, say what I feel, hold nothing back,
Risk making a fool of myself, dance every dance.

You were my light, my heart, my gift of love, from the very highest source.

So every day, I vow to make a difference, share a smile, live, laugh and love.
Now I live for both, so all I do, I do to honor you.

 

I came across this in a Compassionate Friends newsletter.  At a time when I am still intensely struggling with grief,  it helped.

Swimming With The Fishes

Not literally, of course. We now have a 55 gallon fish tank in our living room. Emily saved her money for many months and purchased the tank and stand herself. After a few snafus that involved emptying the tank(apparently our tap water is crap) and bringing home 55 gallons of water from the fish store we are in business. We did manage to kill the first 16 feeder fish that were put in the tank to start to cycle the water. We are still not sure what happened, the water tested fine, and the new set of 24 feeders are doing great. Who knows, perhaps they were not happy with their new digs. No worries though, I added a swim up bar to the tank and the fish can order a scotch anytime they need it.

 

Kramer's new mission in life is to eat the new fish. I should discourage it, but then it would be less entertaining around here and we can't have that now, can we? 

The question now becomes what do we do with the surviving gold fish once the water has cycled and we are ready to stock the tank with the fish Emily wants. The store will buy them back, but they will become food for the bigger fish. I have a feeling that we will be choosing fish that can cohabitate peacefully with the goldfish. Maybe I can put some Xanax in the water so everyone can get along.

Cousins

This past weekend we piled into my mom's car and made the 8 hour journey to Missouri to attend my niece's first birthday party. it was so nice to see my brother and his wife. I only wish we could have stayed longer.

Lessons

Getting in was easy, it's getting out that can be tricky. Don't worry, I only left her there for a few hours.

Fresh

So, my chickens, or at least of few of them, decided that they would lay a few eggs. I had purchased some at the store because previous to the egg laying spurt we have not had eggs for a few months. People often ask me if fresh eggs are different than their store bought counterparts. The eggs(4) on the left are fresh from our cluckers, the two on the right are organic, cage free, vegetarian fed, store bought eggs. The color and consistency are completely different. Makes me never want to eat an egg from the store again. 

Fridays with Kevin

Bargain Hunter

After Ava received more trains and track for Christmas, her train set up had outgrown our coffee table. I was browsing Craigslist hoping to find an inexpensive train table. I found this gem for a steal. This morning, Ava ran downstairs and exclaimed, "It's beautiful!"