the eunuch...

has apparently decided to stay on the lane...(this week, anyway;) love and God's blessings,dani xx

always a mom...

(cinnamon toast and sodas/the breakfast of champions;)

being a mom seems to be my calling in life... though i am only mom to katherine, i have always been blessed to have a house-full of kids!!! i really do feel blessed that katherine's friends feel welcomed, comfortable, and safe here on the lane!!!

yesterday afternoon, katherine called me while i was out running errands and asked if she could go to dinner and a movie with friends in evansville (about 15 miles from home). given that we were under a winter weather advisory, i told her she could go to dinner but not to a movie. as it was, there was already a little over an inch of snow on the ground when she returned.

kat: "mom, the roads are bad. hannah and barrett are just going to spend the night."

me: "ok..."

well, katherine, john, and jacob left for lexington this morning (they are going to the uk/vanderbilt basketball game and to spend the night with my parents in georgetown)... leaving me, hannah, and barrett snowed in on the lane.

(we received a total of 5 inches of the white stuff here on the lane, and i am jeepless, ha!)

so, instead of bach'ing it this weekend, i am still playing mom, which is just fine with me:) i got up earlier and made breakfast for hannah and barrett, found a movie for them to watch, and told them to make themselves at home...

i was going back to bed;P

what's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

love and God's blessings,

dani xx

trickle, trickle, trickle...

milton???

was unfortunately incarcerated... AGAIN:/ is there no such thing as an "outside cat" anymore? after writing my last post, i waited a bit to see if he was just out "catting around", but, when he didn't return, i called the pound.

me: "yes, this is dani berrong. i picked up my kitten a couple of days ago, and he's missing again. is he there by any chance?"
pound worker: "huh?"
me: "black kitten, new red collar, rabies tag... has he been surrendered?"
pound worker: "he's here. you comin' to get him?"
me: "yes ma'am, thank you. i will be there in a few minutes."

so, AGAIN, i went to retrieve him.

(milton on the drive home)

(milton as we pulled into the drive)
so far... so good!

~@~@~@~

kegel when your ob tells you to kegel!!! if you didn't when you were told to do so, it's never too late... it works!!! (even 17 years after the fact;)

~@~@~@~

polo or lacoste?

~@~@~@~

katherine has put down her harp indefinitely... her teacher retired:(
however...
she's picked up the violin and is VERY good at it!!!

~@~@~@~

our uk wildcats were ranked #1 for a day-and-a-half:D
they got over that really quickly:/

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

trickle of consciousness II...

currently, i'm wondering where milton is... "milton" is the name we attached to a black kitten who arrived on the lane two days before Christmas. katherine claimed him, and santa bought him: a collar, food, an igloo, and a heating pad to keep him warm in his igloo. since? he has taken off his collar, wondered away from home, been impounded, been neutered, had his shots, gotten a new collar... and, as of noon yesterday, has wondered away again. DAMN CAT!!! ~@~@~@~today, i should be writing a "mosses monday"; i'm behind on my installments. however, before i proceed with the proverbial "rest of the story", i need to give a lot of thought and prayer as to how i will do so.i think you will understand.~@~@~@~ john bought me a new laptop for Christmas. it was a dell; so, i returned it. (my last laptop was a dell, and i was not really impressed.) i wanted to try something different like maybe a macbook... however, i kind of fell in major like with the new sony vaio:), so, i bought it. thus far, it's been great; the picture (hd/blue-ray) and speed are remarkable!!! ~@~@~@~ my Christmas tree is still standing in the den. i DID take all the Christmassy ornaments off and replace them with hearts. now???it's a valentine tree:)i'm such a kid; the lights make me happy:DDD ~@~@~@~i thought i had one payment left on my commander (because i had one payment stub remaining in my payment book) and had decided that i was going to start putting the money with which i usually make the payment in an account for a family trip in the spring. i digress... the bank sent me a new book of payment stubs. the commander will not be "mine" for another year:( ~@~@~@~ that's all for today... how has your 2010 been thus far? love and God's blessings, dani xx
(maggie and her prodigal brother)

thread in time thursday...

(dani 1 year)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

saturday's, snow-slinging snapshots...

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

let it snow...

about a week and a half before Christmas, i happened to remember that john had asked for new trousers. i usually special order all his jeans and slacks from eddie bauer because the company will hem to fit the individual. (john's inseam is a little shorter that which the mainstream clothiers mass produce.)

anyway, when i arrived on eddie bauer's website, i noticed an advertisement for "the special of the day". being the consummate consumer i am, i couldn't resist; so, i clicked on the tab. the company was actually having a great day sale on all its winter gadgets.

after scrolling past tumblers, heated ice scrapers, packaged smoked sockeye salmon, and the such, something caught my eye. it was a bright red thingy that looked interesting.

when i clicked on the image, i found that it was a snow slinger.

(as an aside, when i googled the above images for this post, the caption for the first read, "perfect for a kid who's too damn lazy to make a snowball with their hands", lmao!:)

my first thought was

SNOWBALL FIGHT ON THE LANE!!!

i counted how many i needed and proceeded to order 17 of them!!!

~@~@~@~

late Christmas eve night, my brother, katherine, jacob, and i packed up the commander and quietly delivered them to all katherine's friends' front porches. the only stipulation upon receiving the package was that the recipient would have to come to the lane for a big snowball fight following the first measurable snow.

well, we are expecting 3-5 inches tonight:D

so...

IT'S ON!!!

(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

a decade...

2000

(katherine and william at 7)

2010

(william and katherine at 17)

how do you mark time?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

seventeen...

seventeen photos comemorating kitty katherine's sweet 17!!!

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

mosses monday XLII...

gleaning through the newspaper, he lounges in his leather recliner...

admiring the lights on the Christmas tree and embracing the warmth coming from the fire in the large brick fireplace, she sits in her spot on the sofa...

the only thing separating the two is an end table, which is really no barrier at all... as the two, more often than not, sit holding hands with their clasped hands resting alongside an old rotary phone on the small etched top table.

here, they never have to be apart from one another.

~@~@~@~@~@~

"mommie, where did mike go?" he asks slightly bending down the top of his paper and peering over at her.

"he went to run some errands for me," she clearly recalls then grins at her doting husband, "he should be returning anytime."

he straightens his paper and continues reading.

a few moments later...

"mommie?"

"yes, george?"

"now, then... can you give me a hint of something you would like for Christmas this year."

she thinks.. but for not long...

"i cannot think of a thing, george. i have all i could ever want!" she glances back at the pine standing in the corner of her den. the Christmas lights, which are perfectly strung from branch to branch, reflect in her glasses, she smiles a beautiful nose-wrinkling smile because she is happy.

here, she clearly remembers everything,
she has more than she could ever have imagined,
and there is no sadness.
(furthermore, here, there is no need for spectacles.
she is just more comfortable wearing them...
than, not.)

~@~@~@~@~@~

he puts his paper aside, rises out of his chair with ease, and makes his way over to the rather large windows that overlook the river. there is steam coming from the water, which is much warmer than the air. he makes a mental note of the barge pushing its way upstream, third one today.

he turns and gingerly walks into the kitchen to mix himself a toddy.

"can i make that for you, george?" she offers.

"golly muggins, no, mommie," he responds as he steadily pours first a shot of vodka followed by enough tomato juice to cover the ice into his highball glass.

here, there are no artificial hips nor knees,
no arthritis, no cataracts nor parkinson's disease.

~@~@~@~@~@~

there is commotion coming from the entry way...

upon being opened, the car-port door makes its own distinct sound as it loses its seal,
the wind coming off the river howls into the foyer and down the hallway,
then, there is the sound of the door being forcefully shut against the wind and locked...

finally, mike, bundled head to toe carrying a couple of grocery sacks, appears in the kitchen.

"i'll take one of those too, old man" with a twinkle in his eye and gleam in his smile he adoringly says to his dad.

"mike, are you back already? that didn't take long at all!" excitedly, she says as she hurries into the kitchen to join her two favorite men.

here, there is no need for worry;
their beloved son always returns safely and soundly.

~@~@~@~@~@~

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

ps. on my side-bar, you will find earlier entries entitled, "our love story"in ascending order.