A Trip to the Beach...

"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach."
~ Anne Spencer

"To myself I am only a child playing on the beach, while vast oceans of truth lie undiscovered before me." ~ Isaac Newton

"Words today are like the shells and rope of seaweed which a child brings home glistening from the beach and which in an hour have lost their luster."

~ Cyril Connolly

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Dave started it!!.. he asked me if I would like to sneak away with him... I wanted to know where before I decided.. I mean who would want to sneak away to work or to the pie factory.. you know what I mean.. Finally he decide that for this sneak he would choose the beach..

~ I was just about to say YES!.. when Cooper asked from behind the door.."where y'all sneaking off too?" as soon as he heard the word beach he put in that him and Mary and of course maybe his friend Erin.. would all join us in our sneak.. they were quick to add that they wouldn't be really hanging with us or nothing..

~ Emily opened the door about then with a... "when ain't you hanging with them and up the butt or whatever you said.." at which point Cooper informed Emily that we were all going to the beach.. needless to say we weren't going without her and Luke and Kirsten.. I think about then is when Dave decided to call David and Jennifer.. I was getting ready to say I didn't like the ocean...or had a previous appointment..

~ but Dave pulled no punches when he gave me that sad puppy dog... wet eyed look and said.. " Ahh come on Baby.. It will be like old times.. we use to have so much fun with all the kids at the beach!"..and I was suckered...

~ I don't know for sure how old I was when I first saw the ocean.. I remember being around four or five.. running and squealing from the waves to dry my eyes on Mama's long dark hair.. maybe we didn't go before then but I think we did..

~I have always loved the beach.. I love the hot sand and the salty air... I love the waves and the crabs and the tide pools.. but most of all I love the people watching... I love what they wear or in some cases what they don't wear.. I love the wild hair styles.. I even love the wild children that run and squeal.. back and forth between the ankle wetting waves and the parent in dark shades.. laying greasy in the sun.. my own children never did that.. they were too busy making us the biggest and best castle on the whole wide world of beaches.. and finding a perfect shell and of course we couldn't leave without drawing some pictures for the next people to enjoy.. But this trip all our kids were grown.. I was worried.. what if they didn't like sandwiches and chips and cheap drinks any more.. I hadn't planned a fancy picnic.. what if they really were bored with me and Dave?

~ I worried for nothing at all.. the people there were dressed just as wildly as ever before.. there were screaming kids in all shapes and sizes running back and forth waving plastic shovels and sucking on juice boxes.. the sand was hotter than I ever remember it being and there was no shortage of greasy bodies stretched out in the sun.. The children all piled their shoes in a pile and off they went to wet their feet and ride skim boards..

~ Dave and I set out to find this particular sand dune as part of my newest hobby.. and as soon as we returned everyone flopped down on the sand and and decided to eat.. I had my usual beach lunch menu of.. "make your own" sandwiches and soda or water with chips and pickles and cookies for desert..

After some more swimming.... skimming.... and walks along the beach we headed for the lighthouse.. Emily and I stayed on the ground today..( both of us having had recent asthma attacks).. Kirstin made her very first climb up the tower.. showing no fear at the top as she pranced out onto the balcony.. David says it was his first climb too though I thought he had been up there before.. he did go out onto the balcony but was not thrilled about it.. he told me when he came down that he had discovered that he is definitely afraid of heights.. Finally we finished the day by visiting the nature center where we were able to see this loggerhead up close as Cooper

held her..

As we strolled out onto the pier where we used to buy ice cream before the long trip home.. Jennifer reminded us of the past years and the pictures we would make there.. every trip the same set.. Dave and his Kids.. me and my kids.. and just the kids..So... On the pier.. way out over the water.. wind in our hair.. and so for old time sakes we made the same pictures that we always did.. and a few new ones too..

I have to say that the day was great! The sun was hot and the air was salty and as usual the people were worth watching.. My children were funny and Cooper even attracted his own audience as he fed a sea gull Cheetos's from his hand..

~ Hmmmm.. it has been a long time since I was in the mountains.. in fact I wonder if mine or Dave's children have ever been to the mountains??.. Maybe Dave would like for me and him to sneak off again soon?.. Thanks for stopping by My World!! Have a great Night!!

Patsy

Sky Watch Friday!

“The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand.”

~ Frederic Lawrence Knowles

“We'd never know how high we are, till we are called to rise; and then, if we are true to plan, our statures touch the sky” ~ Emily Dickinson

“Artists can color the sky red because they know it's blue. Those of us who aren't artists must color things the way they really are or people might think we're stupid.” ~ Jules Feiffer

Skywatch Friday - Season 4 Episode 13

Hunting Island State Park! South Carolina~ USA!
A beautiful sky.... a wonderful day!
Patsy

A Housework Holiday!

Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown~

Our house is clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy. ~Author Unknown~


“Life is denied by lack of attention, whether it be to cleaning windows or trying to write a masterpiece.” ~Nadia Boulanger~

Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing. ~ Phyllis Diller~


Guess what today is? Today is NO HOUSE WORK DAY!!
Finally a day that I will be happy to celebrate. Tickled to death in fact. I don't have to buy a gift or wear a funny hat. I don't have to bring any special food or wear a shirt of any particular color. This is a day to celebrate!One of my favorite days. A holiday from housework.


Years ago when my kids were small I developed a plan for housework. It came right in the middle between I'm busy with a child and I'll finish this later. That's the way it worked for me.I always managed to keep the dishes all washed and the floors clean. Everything else got done when I found a spare moment. If you have small kids you will understand that spare minutes are very rare. If you ever find one an emergency will immediately arrive to gobble it up.

I personally know women who drives themselves nuts trying to keep their house spotlessly clean. They sweep or dust every single day. They carry a cloth and polish of some kind with them every where seeking out and destroying every speck of dust of dirt. Making themselves and their families miserable. Dust happens, dirt happens, even spills happen. Sometimes I want to say to them. " Girl, put your feet up and relax. Take a day off. Give a cobweb a chance to start. It won't destroy your life, It might even enrich it.

I see tips and hints on-line all the time. I read most of them because if I can get a job done faster I'm all for that! I honestly hate most house work. It's not the job itself that I hate. It's the loss of the time it takes.Time that I could spend writing or reading a good book. Time that I could spend With my husband or children or My sweet Grand-children.. I hate to give valuable time to cleaning. I know cleaning is important but it shouldn't always be the most important. I always read over the hints and tips but I have never found a wonderful easy way to clean a house. It takes work and a plan to get that work accomplished. Once you have a plan you execute it in what ever way works for you and your house. Maybe you have time in the afternoon or maybe your time is at midnight. No two of us can follow the same plan. No two of our lives are exact.


When my children were small I did floors on Monday and laundry on Tuesday. Dusting on Wednesday and on Thursday I did a little of everything. I Did what ever I had to on the other days to keep everything in good shape. It was right then when I got a routine established that I decided to get married again and I doubled my household size instantly. Let me assure you that eight people use an awful lot of towels . I needed one whole day each week just to wash bath towels. Then there were sheets and blankets and rugs.. Not to mention clothes for all those people. So for many years every days plan included laundry. Every days plan included washing bath towels!

I now live in the smallest household I have ever in my life lived. Dave and I make very little mess. We do live in an old home on a dirt road so dust will always be an issue here. I really could skip days and days here and there and simply ignore all house keeping and get away with it. No one would notice. The truth is that I don't really need a holiday from housekeeping. I have been taking those holidays with-out permission for years and years. When I missed a day of house cleaning, no one cared. If the children wanted to go fishing or on a picnic at the lake, the floors would still be needing a sweeping when we got back. The dishes would wait to be washed after the bedtime stories were told and retold and the songs sang a thousand times and then once more. I always managed to get it all done.. eventually.

We lived in our house and it reflected that fact. I always cleaned the kitchen every night before I went to bed myself.. I have a thing about dirty dishes. I'm not going to bed with them in my house. Another trick I had was to get up a few minutes early and do laundry before the rest of the house was awake. I could get a load started while my coffee made. Them move on to something else while it washed. I also gave the older kids an extra amount of allowance for any chores they did.. You would be surprised at how much it helps when someone else folds a load of towels or dusts the bookshelves. I always welcomed their help and they always loved the extra money they got for doing chores. When you have eight people in your house, you have no choice but to figure out a way to get it all done. We had a lot of chores but we took days off for relaxing and play. We took whole weeks off for camping trips or trips to the beach. If you have children, remember that housework will wait. Nothing is as important as children. Not the load of dirty clothes, the breakfast dishes, or the cobweb hiding behind the screen porch door. Give your self a NO HOUSEWORK Holiday often. Put down that broom and have a great day!
Patsy.