Category Archives: family

Babies don’t care a whit…

 

…about your politics or theology. They don’t know if you are fat or having a bad hair day or if your clothes don’t match. You can talk nonsense and they won’t get bored or irritated. Little Liam is a proper baby and is fun to be with — no social stress. He doesn’t think I’m weird — come to think of it, he doesn’t think about me at all in the way we adults do, though he is taking me in.


A Triple-A baseball game was the place where Liam and I had a good time on Sunday. We Glads drove to Sacramento for an evening River Cats game — they were playing the Reno Aces — and sat with Soldier and Joy and the boy on a fairly steep grassy slope overlooking the outfield. It was green all around, and very warm. Baseball feels right when the air is summery.


Compared to San Francisco Giants ball games — the ones I’ve been to most often — it was quiet and laid-back and uncrowded (and the opposite of foggy-by-the-bay). So relaxing. Liam didn’t care that our team lost. He was busy checking out the grass under the quilt his mama had spread out, and doing crawling experiments: how to maneuver uphill or down without doing sudden somersaults or rolls.

Eventually he had a snack of mango, using his father for a backrest. And after that my youngest grandson had become used to me again and didn’t mind a bit when I pulled him on to my lap for a session of clapping and finger games. Soon we were laughing and shrieking and talking plenty of nonsense together. It did this gramma good.

 

I pose my nest among flowers.

When the latest birthday package came in the mail I was alone in the house. I unwrapped the tissue paper knowing already that the gift inside had been handmade by my daughter-in-law Joy. It appeared to be something very small and lightweight….and then out came a knitted nest of eggs! The beauty of them and the love that had been expressed by the patient labor…my hands actually began to shake — lucky these eggs are soft and comfortable and not brittle.

I began to pose my new toys around the house, and then went outdoors to find a natural setting too. Every day it seems there is a new flower somewhere, so I had lots of choices of where to plant my nest.

I don’t remember what these tall spiky flowers are; they grow from bulbs I planted a few years ago. They are striking for a couple of weeks, but then the flowers get too heavy and the stalks lie down on the sidewalk by the front door.

So we should enjoy them right now at their peak, before they get annoying. If you enlarge the photo above you might see Mr. Glad’s bent back, beyond the rosemary bush at the top.

And a glimpse of Johnny Jump-Ups and various other little blooms behind this close-up.

A happy discovery was that the helianthemum I have been nursing along for almost two years has finally bloomed! I know it does still look a bit scraggly but I am greatly encouraged. I think it is named Henfield Brilliant.

Eventually I took a picture of my birthday eggs nestled among the simple alyssum flowers. Then I brought them back indoors to be the near-perfect springtime table decoration. They would be completely perfect if they didn’t make me miss the dear gift-giver herself. Thank you, Joy!

Valentine and Grenadine

Meet my darling Miss Grenadine. She was a birthday present from Mr. Glad, and here she sits on the chair next to my computer table, keeping me company. She is small and squishable and even machine-washable, so that I could take her places in my purse and let toddler grand-girls play with her.

She came from Corolle dolls equipped with that cute name, so I don’t have to think up a new one. Any of you grandmas or mamas who like her should know that she’s even safe for newborns. She’s a doll of a doll!

I had to spend much of my birthday on an airplane, which is not the worst thing that could happen — I’ve had birthdays I liked much less. Anyway, there wasn’t much actual celebrating on the exact date. But before and since, I have been remembered and greeted and gifted in many ways.

Books, music, flowers, a Japanese lunch date…Kate brought me exotic blood-orange-infused olive oil on the train from D.C. to Philadelphia. All nourishing things that make one glad to have been born.

Pearl sent me this funny card. She is the family’s most accomplished baker and if she had been here she’d have given me proper carbs. As it is, she gave me inspiration to bake myself a cake after Pascha.

And she sent along a belated Valentine from Maggie. If you can’t see it clearly enough it’s worth clicking on the photo to enlarge to reading size:

That girl cracks me up!

Her cousin Annie on the other side of the country — this side — is selling coffee, cocoa mix and biscotti for American Heritage Girls. I didn’t have to hesitate a minute before checking off a few items on the order form; they can come right out of the grocery budget. I’ll get to see that dear girl and pick up my goodies at the end of May.

More rain is forecast for tomorrow – yay! But the sun is shining this afternoon. I can see from here calla lilies blooming out beyond the manzanita bush; they are asking to come inside and help brighten up the house. I’ll go now and bring some in.

Edith Schaeffer

Edith Schaeffer died today!

I only heard by just now reading this blog post, from a friend of mine whose mother and I are friends and fellow home-lovers. Edith Schaeffer through two of her books, What is a Family and The Hidden Art of Homemaking, helped me in many ways to develop my own style and philosophy of homemaking.

Several particular principles and practices, from the importance of caring for the sick to table decorating, became part of my being and contributed to the joy of being the woman of my home. She was the first decidedly Christian person I read who understood the importance of beauty in the home, and she gave many (I remember I thought almost too many!) examples of how one might create a home environment that was rich in all the important things, even if worldly riches were lacking.

I am very thankful for this sister in Christ. May she rest in peace, and may her memory be eternal.