Good things in life

I have a new nephew!!! Hoyt Ross Vaughan was born on Wednesday, October 16, 2013. Weighing in at a hefty 9 lbs 3 oz, he is happy, hale, and hearty. And OH! so sweet. He is coming home this afternoon. Can't wait to snuggle his tiny little self! Really, there is nothing better than babies. There just isn't. I love 'em.

Compared to a new nephew, all the rest of these boring and unimportant, but still, there were several good things this week.

1. Leaves. This year has been awesome for leaves. Some years the maples are lack luster, due to weather or stress, but this year, they are gorgeous. Some of the trees seem to be neon--so rich a color that it seems to take on an intensity of light even without the sun shining on them. Of course, my pictures are horrible. It was much prettier than this.

2. Garrison Keillor's Daddy's Girl CD. Love this! Very upbeat, bouncy songs from a Daddy to his girl. Silly, sweet nonsense. The kids love listening to this and bounce around energetically every time it comes on. We got this at a library book sale and we popped the CD in to see if it works, and it does. The kids also just got a copy of John Denver's Country Roads with a beautifully illustrated book of the lyrics from my aunt in West Virginia (what an appropriate gift! I love gifts that just fit.) and these two CDs have been circling around each other pretty continuously. 

3. Yesterday, Orianna and I were in Stewarts getting milk when I heard her shout "Grandpa!" And there was grandpa, getting milk too. We talked briefly, and then we went to check out at separate registers. And as Dad walked out the store, he gave Orianna a bag with a half gallon of ice cream in it. Peppermint stick. Which has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid and we used to buy it from the Schwans man when it came out in the late fall. I just love everything about this. Being able to run into family while running errands, Orianna being so excited to see him, and Dad being such a great Dad that he buys his daughter (mostly for his grandkids, but still!) her favorite kind of ice cream. And I love the peppermint stick ice cream. 

4. I have been careful about spending money this month, but I stopped in at a lawn sale on the way home from town and got suckered in to buying this chair and the baskets. By suckered, I mean I happily agreed to pay the very reduced price they offered me. I mean, no I shouldn't have, but they need money to fix their little tractor that they drive up to the sawmill past mom and dads a couple times a week to get slab wood for heat. I mean who could resist that kind of story? Not me. And I love this chair! And the baskets....! I think I will take up knitting so I have something to put in it. Ha! Just think of all the money I will save by knitting up huge quantities of wool into completely unrecognizable messes. And we can learn how to do wicker weaving to fix the chair! Win-win.

5. And now, I need to hurry off and get ready for a busy weekend! Hooray! Hope you all have lovely weekend plans!

Great things of the week

1. I went to two (good) library book sales in the past seven days. Yeah, I am that lucky.

2. Sunshine. This week has been absurdly beautiful.

3. I had a night out last night. All by myself. It is a delicious thing to be all by yourself for a few hours, knowing all the while, that you have a sweet family to go home to.

4. Justin had to delay a job for a week, due to things not lining up right with help, so I have been able to go on long morning walks each morning, not pushing a double jogger.

5. Apples.  Oh I love them. I had three for breakfast. Woah!

Frosty mornings

There was a frost yesterday morning. The first hard frost we have had, with a one or two light ones in September. I spent an hour after getting the kids on the bus fussing about plants. Eek! Mustn't let them die! My kitchen was filled with geraniums and begonias. I generally keep some of my geraniums over winter, but I have never done begonias. We will see how it goes. As much as I love plants, I tend to kill them. Bringing plants in is always done in the best of faith and enthusiasm. "I will tend to them so carefully and they will fill the house with flowers this winter!" Wonderfully symbiotic relationship, that is doomed to failure, due to my laissez-faire approach to plant care. Sometime around Thanksgiving, they start to look a little shaky. Most give up the ghost in the new year. However short their indoor career may be, it seems too heartless to leave them to die in the frost. So we will let them die of benign neglect rather than cold. Much nicer!

Dahlia's I brought in for vases (they are still sitting in this bowl)

Do you dig my plywood floor?

Morning walks have been gorgeous. October skies can be such a startling blue against all that color. 

Morning sun

I liked the semi parked by the Amish buggy. 

This is a political post

I know, political posts do not win friends. But this is my blog, so I do what I like here.

Because of this government shutdown, people have either been blaming the Republicans or dissing congress, saying how ridiculous they are, what a terrible job they are doing, how they should all be fired, we need term limits, yada, yada, yada. And I nod in agreement. Yeah! Congress is ridiculous!

And yet.... I read this article the other day about who to blame the shutdown on. (Blaming again, surprise, surprise.) But it made some interesting points. Apparently, the House of Representatives creates the bills dictating how funds should be spent. This is simply the way this country was constructed in the constitution. So the House of Representatives (Republican controlled) voted funds for government operation, paying debts, interest, etc, but denied funding for Obamacare. Republicans say "A large portion of Americans hate this law, it is tangling everything up, jeopardizing the recovery, it needs to be pushed back or gotten rid of entirely. Stupid, illogical Democrats." The Senate (Democrat controlled) didn't like it, so they voted it down. Democrats say "Obamacare is the law of the land! It has to be funded. Republicans are trying to strong arm this already voted in, judiciary approved law off the books. Nasty, poor-hating Republicans."

And we Americans, watch all this, see the government grinding to a halt and say "Our congress has failed us! They are screwing up our country! We hate them!" The reality of it is, however, that this is congress, working as it should--as the founding fathers stipulated. They wanted the government to be de-centralized, so no one person, party, or branch would have absolute control. Having the House deny funds is a way to maintain balance in Washington. Of course, the founding fathers were hoping decisions could be made without resorting to these measures, but they understood that Congress would not always (or ever) be perfect.

From the way people talk, one would think us poor little Americans had voted sweet, innocent kittens into office that suddenly turned into anacondas, consuming our young. We are guilty of everything that is happening in Washington today.  Congress is voted in by us. The people. We choose them. We choose how long each congressman's term should be by voting them in there or turning them out to pasture. Congress is a direct reflection of America and Americans today. If we hate it, it is time for some careful self-examination. How many people complaining about needing change and fresh air in Washington have been guilty of voting in the same old buzzard because his or her name fell on the right side of the aisle? (Guilty!) Who has been able to believe so firmly in needing change that they are willing to take a chance on a new person regardless of party?

This country was created as a representative Republic. We aren't a democracy on a national level. In fact, there is hardly any part of the country, even on a local level that is not a representative Republic. This was based on the premise that the average Joe wouldn't know what was best for him, so he would leave the details to a person he trusted (congressman) and let them make the best decision for the nation. That way, we could just get on with living our free, American, life. In these days of modern communication, we all know what is happening in Washington. We now know details of politics in real time, something 19th century Americans would have never been able to know. In a way, we have all become our own politicians. We feel we know enough details to make decisions for our good. We despise congress because we want to be in there making the decisions. We know we would make things better and different.

That optimism is not misplaced. We can make things better. No, Congress is not ever going to directly reflect the will of the people after every little poll. It isn't supposed to. As Americans, we don't have the option of direct democracy. Not having a direct democracy might also be a good thing--a reason we are still a world power, 237 years after we took the first, foolhardy step of declaring our independence from a dictator who gave us no voice in our governance.

There is much to be changed in Washington. Corruption, greed, and apathy are a direct threat to our ability to continue as a nation. And we can change it. Don't take the easy way out by blaming everything on Congress or the other party. Realize it is our fault. We created the current congress by voting the bad apples back in. As Bill Cosby used to say to his kids (or was it his father?) "I brought you into this world, I can take you back out." We can do that to Congress. We have that power.

This is America, people. Our only limitation is the depth of our apathy.

Pig Roast Pictures

I put these pictures in a post ages ago. I seriously thought I had posted them. But apparently I didn't. Curious. Anyway, here they are now. 

Aunt Lindsey and Gilbert

Caleb and Tim kindly consented to swimming with the kids after much begging and begging

Jane chasing a chicken

Brand new puppies

Heading back from a puppy tour

Flipping the pig

Clover trying to google faster that other people. She didn't. 

Elsie found some mud

The pork pulling

All the mess and goodness

Miss P trying out some Moxie

Elsie chilling

Watermelon

Owen and Ashley and baby

Everyone milling around for picture

The everyone picture

Close up

Close up 2

Close up 3

Eating

Gilbert and his corn

The guys and their sawhorse table

Inside people

Elsie eating corn with no hands

Trying to fall asleep in the corn

Watching baseball

Wayne up to bat, with Justin catching

Jordan and Coyote

Evan hittin' it outta da park

Elliott and Grandma

Gorgeous stormy sky

Elsie and Aunt Livie

Standing around waiting to bat

Kids with faces painted by Ashley

Gilbert and Lincoln

Lincoln getting a message from the atmosphere

Justin and left handed hitting

Mariliyn and Dana

Tori

Fields and sky

Switching off

Laura and Elsie

Bronson and Gilbert

Elsie in grass

Tori and Elsie

Couples

Elsie and Penelope were good pals

Curious stare

Pat, pat

Do you have ears too?!

Penelope, the little cutie

Poke

Butterfly Katherine

Rebekah

Laura's cool picnic blanket

Kiss, kiss

Chyenne

Rilla

Half the crowd heading home

Folding up the beautiful picnic blanket

Organizing tackle football. Ooof.

Walking home

Sheena and Great Aunt Jill swinging Penelope

Shawn, playing the little pump organ like it has never been played before, to a rapt audience

Hymnsing on the hill

Owen and Ashley

Amy, Shawn, Matt, Marilyn, Elliott, Livie

Lindsey Sue

Ashley and Elsie

People

Lloyd

Elsie and the fire

Uncle Owen, Coyote, and Elsie

"...as the sparks fly upward."

Elsie was entranced with Uncle Owen for some reason

Little kids, some traumatized by the idea of pictures

Again

Teenage kids

Mader girls watching Elsie

Everyone

Photographers

Side view

Vaughan sisters

Fiddlin' around

Gilbert and his Moxie. He loves the stuff. shudder

Aunt Lindsey and Elsie

Waiting for food

Ladies eating inside

Eating outside

Cousins

Swingin' kids

Owen hogging the whole swing

Ticket to Ride

Penelope trying to burrow into Daddy's side

Tim, Lindsey, Laura

Penelope all tuckered out

Abby and Coyote

Evan and Lincoln

Marilyn warming little blue Elliott up

Talking

Leaves

Rook and TTR

Isn't that a beautiful sight?

Bouquet Ashley made, marigolds, wild grass, and morning glories. And surprisingly, this lasted almost a week, the morning glories looking exceptionally pretty (I would not have pegged them as good cut flowers) and then the marigolds and grass lasted about 2 and a half week. Pretty nifty

Penelope and Elsie were such friends.Love this picture!

Elliott getting his comic reading in for the day

Cousin friends

Gilbert driving the tractor

A bucket full of cousins

With the hay pick on the bucket

Walking up to see the cow putting-in operation

Livie, Tim, Alex, and Cheyenne fiddling with the fence

Grandma, Elsie, and Clover

Kids on tractor. They look like they have lost something valuable. Haha