Author: alpacamomdotcom

Daily Reflections From My Window

January 20, 2021 Wednesday Inauguration Day

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“Don’t confuse fame with success. Madonna is one; Helen Keller is the other.”

Erma Bombeck.

We had such a nice day yesterday celebrating the birthday. I love my son.

This was such a sweet picture. Madison was making us all her special coffees. Yup, thumbs up on this girl, buddy! Jack says-she even WALKS differently when she’s making coffee. It’s her element and she’s so good at it.

My chai latte. The puppy-can you see it? Madison just sprinkled the cinnamon and let’s me see what I see. I see a fluffy puppy.

There is so much that goes into making coffee. The beans, the temperature, and so much more. I watch her with amazement! She definitely has a passion for coffee.

We got Red Lobster takeout since when Jack was growing up, that became our tradition. They did a nice job and there was plenty for the six of us. I can’t believe that I didn’t take a picture. A few good friends added to the celebration.

Happy 27 to you! And many many more! Continued success to my favorite son!

It was such a beautiful day yesterday. The sun! Pippa enjoyed it.

Well, today’s the day. We go back to celebrities in the White House. Fancy parties and figuring out what gender we are to put on an application. Yippee!

I love Erma Bombeck and wonder what she would be saying about the world today. I don’t think she held Madonna the singer in very high regards, who will probably get the red carpet rolled out for her at the White House. Go figure. So when will this new group decide to invade and start a war. The future should be interesting. Will you be watching today? I haven’t decided yet.

Remember to wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay home but if you MUST go out, wear a mask and keep the length of a full grown llama (which is bigger than an alpaca) between you and the next person.

Have a blessed day!

Daily Reflections From My Window

January 19, 2021 Tuesday My Favorite Son’s Birthday

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“I want to teach you so much that you must know to find happiness within yourself. Yet I don’t know where to begin or how. I want you to be a square. That’s right, a square! I want you to kiss your grandmother when you walk into the room even if you’re with friends…I want you to lend dignity to the things you believe in and respect for the things you don’t believe in. I want you to be a human begin who needs friends, and in turn deserves them. I want you to be a square who polishes his shoes, buttons the top button of his shirt occasionally, and stands straight and looks people in the eye when they are talking to you. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. I want you to know the difference.”

Erma Bombeck, At Wit’s End.This is my favorite day of the year. Memories come flooding back. It was so cold this day many years ago that the Governor asked everyone to turn their heat down to save energy. It was something like 20 below zero for days and snowing nonstop. Jack was 2 weeks overdue (or was he just not ready to come out in the cold?) and the doctors decided it was time to induce. Do they do that anymore I wonder? After being induced, I laid in the bed, waiting for labor to begin. In those days, I knew nothing of gravity during labor. I trusted my doctors and walking around was never mentioned. Could have helped to speed things up. So as the day wore on, and labor didn’t come, they sent me home and we went back early the next day. Labor began and went on and on. After a while, the dr. decided to do a c-section and I heard him say that he had a plane to catch to a ski vacation. And Jack was born. Maybe this is why he loves the cold weather and snowboarding. Who knows?

One thing I do know. Children are gifts from God and come with their own plan. We merely borrow them. We teach them what we know and hang on for the ride. Here are some of my favorite pictures. Not all, because there are so many but a few that we have hanging on the walls and I look at every day.

God has been so good to us and we are so thankful for this gift. Jack, you make us proud every day and now we love Madison too. He definitely had a plan for you.

Here’s to many many more years with you both! Guess how much I love you?

Erma Bombeck is one of my favorite authors. She had a column in our local paper and I never missed it. I was a kid and loved her humor about families and motherhood. When she started to write books, I bought them. She had a wonderful way of putting everything in a humorous way that was loving, self deprecating and true! If you aren’t familiar with her work, look her up. She’s incredibly funny. So why did I choose such a serious quote? It’s true and you are living up to that. You DO look people in the eye. You ARE present. You have taught me so much that I look forward to learning more from you. Philosophy has always been in your wheelhouse. You ALWAYS asked the hard questions and asked the whys. I’ve learned alongside you. You have been the teacher all these years. You have a huge heart and a discerning mind. I love you Jack.

Remember to wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay home but if you MUST go out, wear a mask and keep the length of a full grown llama (which is bigger than an alpaca) between you and the next person.

Have a blessed day!

Daily Reflections From My Window

January 18, 2021 Monday, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

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“We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

Martin Luther King Jr.Isn’t that the truth? MLK had a way of seeing things very clearly. God rest his soul and may light perpetual shine upon him. He was only 39 years old and his legacy was carried on by his widow, children, and hopefully all of us. He was a peacemaker and we need to get back to peaceful protests. Stop the violence. It only further divides us.

Yesterday we attended church online. I finally figured out how to watch it on our tv so now the sound is much better than on my computer. Though I am still disappointed that we are not meeting in person yet, Father Jim still gives a wonderful sermon and manages to tie all of the readings together and explain how they relate to both the history of that time and the history of our time and the present. You can see it here and if you only want to hear the sermon, it starts around 16:58. The message? “Fear not.”

We’ve been trying to keep our routine of going to lunch after church and we did yesterday too. It just feels good to get out and see people. I really need that. Then we went for a walk and ran into some old friends. I didn’t recognize them. I’m glad Jay didn’t either. After chatting for a few minutes, it clicked and we joined them for the rest of our walk. It was so nice to walk, talk and laugh. 

I woke up at about 6:20 this AM and am waiting for the sun to come up and then I can take my sunrise picture. We got more snow throughout the day and overnight and though it makes things brighter, it still will be wonderful when the days are warmer and longer. I think I’m over winter already.

Remember to wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay home but if you MUST go out, wear a mask and keep the length of a full grown llama (which is bigger than an alpaca) between you and the next person.

Have a blessed day and be a peacemaker.

Daily Reflections From My Window

January 17, 2021 Sunday

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“Never trust people who smile constantly. They’re either selling something or not very bright.” Laurell K. Hamilton

I didn’t know who Laurell K. Hamilton was so I looked her up because I liked the quote, and discovered that she wrote “Anita Blake:Vampire Hunter” and another series. Neither rung a bell, but I still like the quote.

Lately, I’ve had a serious case of RBF-AKA Resting Bitch Face. I just feel like I’m not smiling much. These masks don’t help either. The other day I had to get something so I stopped at Dollar General because it’s closest and I smiled at people as we passed. They couldn’t tell that I was smiling with the mask on and most just turned away with their eyes down. There was a little girl in one aisle smiling and laughing and so happy that it was refreshing so I smiled at her and her family. I hope they could tell it was a smile!

The rest of the day I tried to smile. That didn’t last long.

We are definitely back to winter. This was at the beginning of the day and the snow picked up the longer I was out there. It does brighten things up and make amazing natural artscape.

If you ever ask me for yarn, more often than not, I’ll have to send pictures of my current selections, which are always changing. My friend Jamie asked out if the blue what I had and of course, through her description of what colors she was interested in, had to make a trip to the BottleWorks because that was where I had left what I thought she was looking for and I was right. I’m so glad that I made the trip. They have amazing things, by so many local artists and I had time to look around and pick up a gift for a special person. I especially loved these lamps made from the blueprints from the Bethlehem Steel Plant. Know anyone involved in the Steel business?

Here’s what Jamie decided on-the worsted multi. It’s alpaca and just a hint of nylon, hand dyed by me.

This is getting long, but I have to circle back to the quote. Last night Jack and Madison invited us for dinner. Their sweet friend Lilly (on the left in the picture) is visiting. She and Madison talk about coffee like wine lovers talk about wine-the nuances of the bean, the process. Madison loves the process and Lilly likes the art of holding the cup as well as the process. They are simpatico in those regards. It was fun to hear. Madison got a new espresso maker and was experimenting with steaming different types of milks. Here Madison made me a chai with steamed macadamia nut milk (or maybe it was cashew?). She’s an artist with the sprinkle of cinnamon. See the face? It tasted wonderful too!

After dinner, Lilly brought “Boggle” for us to play. Sort of like Scrabble, but the cubes are enclosed in a case and the dealer shakes them up, they settle into individual spaces and the dealer lifts the lid. We all have papers and pencils and with the time on the timer, write down as many words that we can find with adjacent letters. They just have to touch in order. It was so much fun and I haven’t laughed like that in ages! We love board games and we need to play them more! So it hit me. I was smiling!

My advice to you? Whenever possible, play a board game with friends. You’ll laugh, you’ll smile, you’ll have fun!

Here’s a look at the weather yesterday afternoon on our way home from our walk in Westmont (yes, we drive to walk!).

Remember to wash your hands, don’t touch your face, stay home but if you MUST go out, wear a mask and keep the length of a full grown llama (which is bigger than an alpaca) between you and the next person.

Have a blessed day!