Savy and chic

My very best dream and desire.  If I could change any thing about my persona, it would be savy and chic (S/C).  That means that when you turn sideways, you might fade into the background.
But I know that will never be unless I am deathly ill. so I will settle somewhere in the between.

My friend, TW, is trying to get me to see myself as a potential S/C girl! That means I have to think like I am already there and eat like I am a little bit French.  Savor every morsel of food that enters your mouth, wine also, and count your chews and extract every sensory psyche you can muster up.  When you do that, it is time for the waiter to remove the plate, before you are finished, so you never have the opportunity to clean the plate!!  I have figured out that is how they do it. S/C girls talk fast, walk fast in Stilettos, read romantic novels and shop! TW and I both love Paris.
There is a whole new meaning to savoring life when you are there.  I want that feeling here, with me, on this farm, which is far from citified living.

Dana, the bride from the last post, lived with a family in France when in college.  The mother and the husband of the Matron of Honor came to the wedding.  However, they almost had a problem because of the volcano spew of ashes from Iceland was closing down the airports of France.  They live in the north near Belgium and barely got out.  I knew she was coming and when I saw the bridesmaids, who all wore the same dress as MOH and MTOH, I could pick her out without anyone telling me.  She was sleek, savy and chic., very French....I immediately went into international mode and remembered the secret wish I have and relished being savy and chic (still working on the side view!).

Today is one of those days that you wish you could just cruise. Weather is awesome.  Gator tire has a hole in the side, so gotta go get that fixed, get the suris bred and write to our new friends, the Capps! Loved the visit.
Husband at office while William is getting the colic crap! Now I remember why I had one child!

til next time......

Hava Nagila (Hebrew: הבה נגילה)

 When I was in high school back in the 60's, choral glee clubs were a wonderful form of training,
discipline and performance for young people.  Your choral directors were highly respected, competitive and demanding of your complete attention and focus, or you were out!  Rehearsals were early before and after school , much like the football or basketball teams.  There were competitions that took you to another venue to perform.  We had matching outfits, black dresses.  We were called the ChoraLees (Robert E. Lee High School).

On a side bar, the Jewish kids kinda were kept to themselves and did not go our school.  Knowing of their culture and religious practices were foreign to us. Our choral director thought it important to understand all cultures so we were learning songs particular to Africa, France and the Jewish nation.
As I got older and went to college, my horizon expanded and so did my understanding as I then had a history teacher that was not Baptist!
My choral director, Miss Dudley, taught us Hava Nagila.  I got to sing it for the first time since 1963 last PM at a wedding of the daughter of my husband's office partner.  She married a Jewish boy and the wedding was in that practice.  At the reception, they hoisted the couple up onto two chairs,  we did a Hora dance and sang Hava Nagila (link to words and music below).  I could not believe that I rememberd the words! The folks near me asked me which synagogue I attended.  I just smiled and kept moving.  I am blond and blue, should have been a dead give away, but they included us anyhow! Thank you Miss Dudley for making it possible for me to love, understand and celebrate in this wonderful love feast.
Sherry, my only Jewish girl friend will be very proud when she learns of my singing expression.
Loved the moment. the words to that song by the way can cross any religious or political line .
Rejoice!
Tom, my husband's friend, is now looking for extra work.....such a dad....
Wait til I write about her French friend's family that the bride lived with when she studied in France.

the words savy and chic have a brand new meaning.....

William and his mommy and daddy are doing just fine and dandy, thank you for asking.


Til next time.....

http://www.horaband.com/Hava_Nagila.html

A closed mouth gathers no feet

Have been extrememly busy the last 18 days.  William was born, Heather was adjusting, spring breedings on the farm were in full blast, pollen everywhere, sorting out the shearing harvest and maintaining sanity.

In the midst of of much, when normally my life is quiet, routine and not so full of drama, I caught my foot being in the wrong place many times.
Do not know if inappropriate responses were due to fatigue, fear of turf being threatened, not knowing proper response or just downright being snarky.
I found my self over-reacting to situations where I was not in control. My personal kingdom/business being invaded. Thank you Becky for being there and revealing to me that truth prevails and love endures.
I am here to tell you that once the word is out of your lips, it is gone, gone. Cannot be retrieved.. Now I am not saying you should keep things pent up, for that will cause you to drop your basket! What I am sharing is to be very careful what you think in the first place for that dictates the lip spew!
When I told my daughter that my greatest fears centered on the fact that I did not wish her to cave into, be victim, and/or her kindness being mistaken for an open door.  She is very sensitive right now and opportunists will move in. 
Now that is all I am going to say about that for she and I have for the first time in 34 years discussed various topics and now that we are done with that I have come to this.

   1. I am not the boss of her.  She is 37 years old and if she chooses to do things, well,  that is her business.
   2. I am responsible for my business.  If it means building a moat around this farm, then so be it!
   3.  I am responsible for my joy.  My grandson is now so much part of my daily thoughts that I cannot   remember not ever thinking about him! Weird phenomenon.
   4. Whatever resources I have must be managed with finesse and great care to preserve.
   5.  A closed mouth gathers no feet; keeps you from foot in mouth disesase!

May your spring day be gorgeous. Going to a wedding of my husband's dental partner's daughter.  She begins a new life and I think that is just superb!
My mother, William's great-grandmother, just beams when she says his name for that was her loving husband's name who would have celebrated his 99th birthday 11 days before this baby's entrance into the world.
His birthstone is aquamarine or bloodstone.  Will share what I learned about that in another post.

til next time........

M*I*L- the three best and worst words!

M*I*L= Mother in Law. How is it with you? You may not have one yet, or maybe never will, you may not be one yet, but let me assure you kingdoms are won and lost over these three words. 

I do not know what it is about the relationship between in-laws.  Is it fear of loss of power and influence? Is it fear that the other side will invade your space? Invade your wealth? Invade your once private world with the blood relative?

Yes.Yes,yes and yes....
You do not have ownership of any previous station in life when you become an in-law.
Sometimes you wonder what would be the future of this relationship.  Most of the time, you will feel this is great for my child and I can put up with some quirks;  as I am sure the in-law will say of the other side of the family!
It is all about personnel management.  Remember that old term? When you want something done, get it done through people.  Praise them, support them, guide them, give them good in-service education programs, exhibit with your actions how you want the tone to be in your management circle. In-laws are people, they respond to the tactics of good management and will not realize what is actually happening.  This is kinda fun.
I really like my SIL; I am hoping he keeps my daughter as the only center of his life.  They can flourish as a team as long as both M*I*L (and the cadre et al of other family ) let them alone to seek their own level.

Last week while my daughter was in the hospital, I revisited my ole stompin' grounds for I used to work there.  I was appalled at some of the things I saw.  I would never have let this slide, or that go unattended.  When I was there, 900 emloyees, today over 4000.  (side note: I think our HCB sponsors should visit the hospital industry, that is where the costs are out of control.  Not the doctors, but the hospital administrators who are in cahoots with the insurance companies, boy are we dumb sometimes!).Same CON of beds, but more people giving more specialized services, but the food was less than desirable.  We used to be "the" best food place in town! Cannot go there for too long for I now realize that nothing lasts....

Anyhow back to summarize my musings for today:
                  Mind your own business...that is the biggest and best challenge you can take on!

Pray for Michele; she is in surgery today in Orlando, FL. Things will forever be different, but she is loved...
Prince William is just fine and dandy.....

Til next time

Friendly advice

Do you doubt yourself? Do you think you cannot come up with the right answer to your own questions? Do you have to consult someone before you make a decision? Do you not trust your own gut feeling and judgments?

I would encourage you to listen to yourself.
I am amazed at how expert some folks are when it comes to breast-feeding.  I know this is not a usual subject, but a novice at this gets so thoroughly confused as to how to conduct this act that they do not listen to their own bodies. They do not trust their gut instincts until it become a 20/20 hind sight.
So it is with any decision in your midst.  You have to think through what would the Dalai do? Think what would be best for you and your family, your farm et al.

Thinking about your alpaca herd, your business, your children, you have to know what is normal. You have to know when things feel wrong.  Then act when you have that secure feeling that this is the right direction to go. Do not wait for a concensus of opinions unless it is a cadre of veterinarians or doctors or truly successful business firends. There are a lot of ways of getting things right.  Not all things have one answer.  You have to take the experiences of others and make your own choices.  Weaning for example, many thoughts on this across the animal kingdom.
If you are someone's mentor, make sure you consider their needs and feelings.  They trust your judgments and sometimes get off course for they are not you.  I would think it would be good to encourage friends and others to read, study, gather suggestions and stand on their own mind's decision.

Easter season was blessed.
Herd is shorn.
William is here.
Husband cooked the most delicious lamb from Ranchline in New Mexico,
Del III made the cheeerleading squad for his senior year . Now how good is all that?

Til next time.....

Miracle at Easter

Many of you who read these writings are Christians.  Others of you are celebrating the Passover. Shalom.
This is our high time of the year.  This time of the year we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ.  That act alone has set Him apart.
Join our family in celebrating yet another miracle at this time of year. 
March 31, 2010 will be a date that will go down in history!

William Ross McGee entered this world to make it a better place to live.

The Dolly will be there for him to accomplish his goals.
Welcome precious bundle.

Heather is doing fine and Ross is a very proud father.
We are still at Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, GA.  and will go home this weekend sometime.

Praying that all of you have a blessed Easter.

Til next time