Susiej

We hear there’s snow up at the lake, so we’re off for the big toboggan run. I can hardly contain myself — I’m so eager to see if any of our friendly critters neighbors made it into our house, looking for a warm place to eating holes in the blankets rest. Rest. Let’s all rest.

I might pop in and out, but you just never know. So, I leave you with some great, interesting reads:
Brush up on your photography skills here. I hope you’ve signed up and are ready to go. If you don’t have a blog, that’s OK — you can still do this. The Angry Chicken is completely amazing. Every time I stop by, my jaw hangs open. And here’s a long tail to ponder. Scribbit, as always, is just on top of EVERYTHING. And here is a nicely done Gingerbread House. And congratulations to you, and thanks for the laughs! And I think her sock monkeys turned out very cool.

And yes, I believe we all want the same things, and rituals helps us get there, and maybe some of us just don’t have time to follow-through all year long. But we eventually arrive in the same place, with different paths.

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, boy, the lake house by SusieJ - 6 Comments →

The note was so unexpected, and so flattering, that I carried it around in the back pocket of my jeans wherever I went. One day, during a school field trip, it poured down enough rain to stain my legs blue from my jeans. I remembered the note, and soon found the ink on the note bleeding down the card. The once crisp note of appreciation was now a soggy mess.

I still have the note — I can make out most of the words, even though it is now also yellowed with age. A casual phone call or e-mail of thanks is nice, but not a treasure. A personal handwritten note is so significant, and so rare today; it will likely be kept and stored in a desk drawer for years to come. Handwriting and mailing a thank you note will take you more time than hitting the send button for an email. However, it’s a small investment when you think of the time the giver spent selecting, choosing and purchasing your gift. Now that the gifts are unwrapped, here’s a little primer on writing thank you notes. Which, really is, a gift within itself.

First, here are some thank you notes, reprinted from the Saturday Evening Post; 1/14/1956, Vol. 228 Issue 29, p38-38, 1p.

1. Start with a supply of fun colorful stationery that you like. This will definitely make the task more pleasant, and something you might actually look forward to using. Yes, it is nice to have some made with your initials, but don’t let that stop you. Just get some cards! Avoid the swirl “thank you” – pick something plain and generic, as there will be some notes that you’ll want to send that will look silly with that big thank you on them. Use small cards – you note will be brief, and you don’t need all of that pressure of a blank page – it could give you writer’s block!! Post cards are perfectly acceptable too. Keep your stationery supply, and stamps, well stocked.
2. Handwrite your note – it doesn’t matter how poor your handwriting is. The written word is so rare today; your note will be a rare sight of beauty.
3. You say you can’t write? Any note that simply says thank you is better than no note at all. It’s just a matter of courtesy to let the giver know you received and appreciate the gift.
4. Check the spelling of the giver’s name before you start to write.
5. Make your note come alive by using present perfect tense. This means write the note as if it is happening right now. “I think of your kindness whenever I put those gloves on when I scrape the ice off the car windows in the morning.”
6. Name the gift in the note. State what the gift is, how much you like the gift, and how you will use the gift.
7. When the gift is cash, refer to the gift as a “generous gift,” “your kindness” or “your generosity.” Always mention how you will spend the gift. If you are saving it for a special purchase, just say, this is going into my college fund, or down payment for the house. Never mention the amount, or use the word cash or check, or moola.
8. As with all good writing, use the word “you” more than “I”. Consider this famous quote: The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words: You did a good job. The four most important words: What is YOUR opinion? The three most important words: If you please. The two most important words: Thank You. The one most important word: We. The least important word: I.”
9. Mention the occasion for the gift, and then allude to the future. “It was so great to see you at Christmas, and I look forward to seeing you at the reunion this summer.”
10. Restate your thanks again at the closing of the letter.
11. Two gifts the same? Keep it a secret. Planning on returning the gift or exchanging it? Keep it to yourself. If you don’t like the gift, praise the giver for thinking of something so original, and for the time she spent. Also, make sure to let the person know how much you appreciate spending time with them.
12. If you have quite a few thank you notes to write, create a log with the name of the gift received, the date, and a place for when the thank you note was written and sent. This keeps you from feeling overwhelmed, and lets you work on just a few thank you notes at a time.
13. Thank you notes should be sent within two weeks of receiving the gift. Establish a rule in your home; we don’t use the gift until the thank you note is written. Make it a family policy that no toy will be played with until the thank you note is written. It’s true, that sending thank you notes is becoming a lost art. Thank you notes are a great way to creating a sense of consideration for other people.

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Filed under: Life, Make Something, Thursday 13, try this by SusieJ - 31 Comments →

So, the cousins created their own Nativity. Of course, we didn’t have a baby in the house, so we used a turtle…

Sometimes, it’s best to leave the legos in the bags…

Wordless Wednesday

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Filed under: Laugh, Life, boy, holidays by SusieJ - 16 Comments →

Dear Friends,

I know you’ve been working so hard for the last month getting ready for Christmas Eve. Tonight, it is time to celebrate. Treat yourself, your guests, and your family to a Peppermint Ice Cream Sundae. After you get home from church, set your computer up to check on Santa via Norad, and get the cookies and carrots ready for Santa and his reindeer. Then, make this:

1. Crush candy canes with your rolling pin.
2. Scoop out two balls of ice cream
3. Drizzle with hot fudge
4. Sprinkle crushed candy canes on top.

Enjoy yourself. If you live close to me, stop by around 5:30.
Susiej

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Filed under: Life, eat, holidays, try this by SusieJ - 6 Comments →

It all started with a fire. A fire built well enough to shoot out bright orange flames fairly quickly, from a wet log, after that one initial spark. “I used to have to build a fire that would last us all night,” Grandpa said. “That was our only heat.”

Stressed all morning, I was desperate to find a way to make some kind of holiday connection with this house full of 6 men, spanning ages 4-67 before the looming December 24th deadline. I thought of the days ahead, leading up to Christmas – our house would soon be revolving door of people coming and going – food to prepare – more dishes to wash. I thought of all the Christmas books checked out from the library, many we had yet to read. There is no time for just sitting on the sofa with a pile of books with kids crammed in a line beside me. It was just a matter of time before we all huddled in front of the TV to watch the latest football game, with that chance for a Holiday Memory soon goon, all wrapped tight in NFL.

The boys, pulled in by the flames, gathered around to watch Grandpa artfully create the fire. Maybe what we need is a good “how-to” session to pull us together. I thought of the Daring Book for Girls, the Dangerous Book for Boys, something that would serve as a veil to fill in the void.

Instead of grabbing for the books, I listened as Grandpa kept talking about the one potbelly stove, his six brothers and sisters, and how they sometimes slept by the stove to stay warm. His Dad, the outdoors-man, taught him how to build the fire. Soon, the boys, all of them, ages four to 67, were rolling up balls of newspaper and hurling them into the fire.

The room began to warm, not only with the heat in the hearth, but also with the heat of camaraderie. “You want them tight, so they don’t fall off the grate while they’re burning. But you don’t want them too tight, because you want the heat to get out and dry the wet wood.”

The newspaper balls go on first, then a layer of kindling, which we didn’t have, and then the layers of wood. “That ball’s too big… but it’s turning out all right – it’s staying on.” We ran out of newspaper. The boys, much more interested in making and throwing the balls, were barely listening as Grandpa dropped tidbits about his boyhood.

I found a dime, and we started a game of hide the button, with a dime. That’s one game that somehow, miraculously, in its simplicity, always seems to connect everyone together. Soon, we had covered all the best spots in the room, and there was no place left to hide the dime. So, they started to hide the dime within the ornaments in the tree. That dime, nestled in the tree, was almost impossible to find. But it did bring one extra unexpected reward; It actually forced us to look at, and appreciate those ornaments we have not noticed since we splashed them all over the tree.

Every summer, we buy an ornament on vacation – so each one has a story. Now, standing side-by-side together, facing the tree, how could we help but to talk about each one we inspected for the dime?

One ornament, my Mom made for me when I was small, is a cleverly sewed pair of ice skates. Paperclips serve as the blades. The boys, similar to Grandpa’s boyhood talk, barely listened to my talk about this cleverly designed, “girly-craft.” I didn’t even bother to bring it up again during this playful reflective ornament time.

For this round of hide the button, we had a hint; “think of Mom.” What ornament isn’t connected to me? Finally we found it. Tucked into the boot of the ice skate, there was the dime, in the one ornament my son remembered as “think of Mom.” So maybe they do listen, more than I am aware.

There are so many Holiday Traditions that we do and do, just because we should. We do it with lack of soul, hoping that the repetition alone will somehow create the warmth in our heart we want from traditions. I’m just as guilty of that as the next one.

Instead, maybe you just need to start and fire, and see where it takes you.

Merry Christmas to all of you. Our house will be busy checking Santa throughout the day on Norad. Check out Tracey Clark’s new spot for BSM at Mother May I

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Filed under: Life, holidays, memories by SusieJ - 14 Comments →

Cookies that she made

So much prettier than mine

One night I missed them

I cried and I wrote

I heard a knock at the door

I saw only these.

What’s your Christmas Miracle?

Haiku Friday.

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Filed under: Life by SusieJ - 18 Comments →