Now It Can Be Told!!

OOOhhhh ... keeping it a secret! I've wanted to share a pic here or there, but just KNEW it would spoil the birthday surprise! So I've quietly knitted these past few weeks a special little gift for a special friend...my ya-ya...N. It's a prayer shawl and it was a totally fun creation! The challenge was making it something special...and trying to encompass ideas and figure out how I was going to 'do something' to it as I went along...it truly was a work in progress! I wanted to incorporate a cross into it...some beads, perhaps...like a talisman. Yesterday, I went to a bead store and found the perfect cross! It's not meant to be a cross, per say... a strand of mother-of-pearl beads shaped like little tiny crosses...not by intent, but by design. My eye saw them as the perfect answer to what I was imagining! So last night I finished the 'fun fur' fringe and added a strand of matching-colored beads surrounding this pretty little pearl 'cross'... The colors are true N... Monet's Water Lillies... and as she wrapped it around her sholders at lunch today, she looked absolutely beautiful in it... I hope it brings her as much joy as it did me... Happy, happy Birth Day, N !!
......love, your 'beef'

Maya Knows...

I received an email from my friend, J, yesterday. She wanted me to have this poem that had been passed on to her. She said that she read it, and thought of me. It was written by Maya Angelou. I remembered reading this once, but for some reason, the words traveled on. But yesterday, the words set down their traveling bags and settled in. Maybe passed time had invited them to stay... You might find a place for them to settle in, too.

A woman should have...

enough money wihtin her control to move out

and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to...

A woman should have...

something perfect to wear if the employer or date of her dreams

wants to see her in an hour...

A woman should have...

a youth she's content to leave behind....

A woman should have...

a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to

retelling it in her old age...

A woman should have...

a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill and

a black lace bra....

A woman should have...

one friend who always makes her laugh...

and one who let's her cry...

A woman should have...

a good piece of furniture not previously own by

anyone else in her family...

A woman should have...

eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems and

a recipe for a meal that will make her guests feel honored...

A woman should have...

a feeling of control over her destiny...

A woman should know...

how to fall in love without losing herself...

Every woman should know...

how to quit a job,

break up with a lover,

and confront a friend without ruining the friendship...

Every woman should know...

when to try harder...

and when to walk away...

Every woman should know...

that she can't change the length of her calves,

the width of her hips,

or the nature of her parents...

Every woman should know...

that her childhood may not have been perfect,

but it's over...

Every woman should know...

what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...

Every woman should know...

whom she can trust,

whom she can't,

and why she shouldn't take it personally...

Every woman should know...

where to go...

be it to her best friends' kitchen table,

or a charming inn in the woods,

when her soul needs soothing...

Every woman should know...

what she can and can't accomplish in a day,

a month,

and a year...

Cures What Ails Ya...

ahhhh....

the beauty of chocolate....

but not just any chocolate...

a new-found indulgence...

I was watching a cooking show last Saturday and they did a taste test on chocolate...the dark kind... which happens to be my favorite...

keep your milk chocolate... too mamby-pamby for me... I love dark chocolate!

So they did this test and this chocolate rated as one of the best - full of a rich, woodsy, earthy, robust flavor... so I bought myself a bit of indulgence to test for myself.

The first bite took a bit to acquire, as this chocolate is low in sugar (all right!!)... as the label says, it's mostly pure dark cocoa! But it really is good... if you truly like chocolate, you should pick up a little box and try it... even more inviting with a glass of red wine... a double-whamy of anti-oxidants! Woohoo!!

May I just say... I choose joy!

Ruthie's Jug

I love this jug - Ruthie's Jug!

One night the ya-ya's came over and Ruthie had this jug, full of cranberry vodka that she had made. I was inspired by both the contents AND the container. What made this jug even more desirable... it was only $2.38 at Wal-Mart! I had to have this jug!

Well, searching did me no good. Couldn't find it. They never had it.

Bummer...

Ding-dong!! This morning, ya-ya Norma shows up bearing Ruthie's Jug! Jumps for joy and gratitude filled my heart!! She had found what I could not! I immediately filled it with Ruthie's concoction of cranberry vodka (I had been 'brewing' my own in a mason jar)! Actually, the vodka is a bit strong... it's the beautiful jewel color that so attracts me.... and the wonderful, happy memories that it brings!

...a bit of a side note.....

I was straining my concoction through a filter over a bowl and wouldn't you know... my cat, Gambit, was caught having a shot if it! M turned around in the kitchen and sitting by the bowl was Gambit, with a tell-tale drop of red on his chin.... good lordy... that's ALL I need!

to new beginnings...

a new year...

do you make resolutions?

I don't... gave those up a long time ago...

but I think it is wise and healthy to always reflect on where one is in their life's journey, where they want to go and what they want to do along the way....

you don't need a special day to do that... it should be done along the year's way.. I think.

some random thoughts that pass through my mind....

• Betty Ford was grace personafied today at her husband's funeral...bless her
• nothing beats Trader Joe's Milk and Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with a glass of Two Buck Chuck Shiraz... cures what ails ya
• this new year scares me... just does....
• I would LOVE to go to south Africa to where Oprah has built her new school for girls and spend my summer teaching there.... oh my gosh... I'm so very tempted to write her and ask her for the chance to do that....
• so Saddam got taunted for two minutes before he was hung... cry me a river, why don't ya...
• nothing says 'you're getting older' like taking your 'baby' to get her driver's permit and then letting her drive over to her boyfriend's house for dinner with his family... that was a pensive drive home afterwards...
• I need to read more

So call me curious, but what random thoughts have been swirling around in tu cabeza?