by jphilo | Dec 29, 2015 | Top Ten Tuesday
2015 was a wonderful year that included the births of 2 new grandbabies, the release of 2 new books, meeting more people in the special needs ministry community, and the completion of my mystery novel. (No need to mention chance encounters with kitchen knives and the consequences thereof.) I am looking forward to 2016 with as much anticipation as last year. Here are 10 things I’m excited about.
10. Fresh fruits and veggies from our CSA. Fresh strawberries and sugar snap peas in June. Sweet corn and tomatoes from July through September. Melons in August. Are you drooling yet?
9. New seasons of Sherlock, Doc Martin, and Downton Abbey. I’m even putting together a new outfit, all black, to wear during the final episode of DA.
8. Receiving an email from my agent saying my novel, See Jane Run!, has been accepted by a publisher. I believe in positive thinking.
7. Spending a week in Idaho at Shadow Valley family camp next summer. (See photo above.) Hopefully with the Man of Steel this year.
6. Co-presenting a workshop about special needs inclusion with Katie Wetherbee at next spring’s Accessibility Summit in McLean, Virginia.
5. Visiting my sister and her husband in Phoenix from January 16-23. This one’s doubly sweet with 8 inches of snow on the ground.
4. A year’s worth of Wednesdays with Dorothy playing Rummikub, Uno, and waiting for her sense of humor to peek through.
3. Going to Latvia to participate in a special needs family camp. Yes, you read that right. Latvia. At the end of June and beginning of July. More on that later.
2. Watching our kids navigate the world as adults and marveling at how well they do it.
1. Hugging and smooching the grandkids every chance I get. They’re all at that completely kissable age and love to cuddle. This stage doesn’t last forever, but should hold firm for 2016. It’s gonna be great.
What are you looking forward to in 2016? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Jul 26, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Sherlock, the new PBS series set in modern times, has been a major topic of conversation around here lately. Our son and daughter-in-law recommended the show, so we watched the first episode with our daughter and son-in-law a few days ago. We were instantly hooked and watched the other two episodes in Season One together before they left yesterday. With that information, deducing the reason this week’s three thoughts are about the great sleuth should be elementary, my dear Watson.
- Benedict Cumberbatch plays Sherlock to perfection. Could there possibly be a more British name for an English actor? Anyone else waiting impatiently to hear him as the voice of Smaug in The Hobbit movie?
- Martin Freeman is equally well-cast as Sherlock’s sidekick, Dr. Watson. And he has the perfect hobbit nose, so I totally get why he’s been cast as Bilbo Baggins in the previously mentioned movie.
- I think Sheldon Cooper meets the modern Sherlock would make a bang up episode of The Big Bang Theory. What two fictional TV characters would you like to see make a crossover episode?
by jphilo | Jul 23, 2012 | Daily Life
It’s lunchtime, and I just realized there’s no post yet for today. My first inclination was to blame the oversight on my age, which as of Friday will be closer to 60 than to 50. But after looking over last week’s to do list and writing a new one for this week, I decided busyness was the culprit. Take a gander at these to do lists and see what you think.
Items Completed on Last Week’s To Do List
- Buy groceries to feed hungry daughter and son-in-law.
- Water the flowers gasping for moisture because of the drought.
- Squeeze in writing time between cooking and visiting with company.
- Take daughter’s birthday meal, including homemade German Chocolate birthday cake, along with hubby, daughter, and son-in-law, to my brother’s to celebrate birthday with his family and my mom.
- Buy more groceries to feed hungry company.
- Water the flowers again.
- Finish washing the windows with daughter. All done! Yahoo!
- Make pesto from basil growing like crazy because of the heat.
- Buy more groceries.
- Water again.
- Watch 2 episodes of the PBS series Sherlock with husband, daughter, and son-in-law. Waaaay good!
- More groceries.
- More watering.
- Meet with friend (who organized the daughter’s wedding reception) to organize her son’s upcoming wedding reception.
- Finish tweaking of book proposal and send it to agent. Double yahoo!
- Groceries.
- Watering.
Items on this Week’s To Do List
- Get son-in-law to auto repair shop so leak in his car’s gas line could be fixed.
- Buy groceries on way home.
- Water flowers.
- Take son-in-law back to auto repair shop to pick up car.
- Squeeze in writing between cooking and talking about books and movies with daughter and son-in-law.
- Water flowers.
- Take measurements so daughter can make me two bras.
- Watch final episode in series one of Sherlock.
- Try not to cry when daughter and son-in-law leave on Wednesday.
- Water again.
- Prepare for Camp Dorothy by moving Hiram and me to upstairs bedroom.
- Tune the television to The Price is Right, Jeopardy, Judge Judy, Wheel of Fortune, and Antiques Roadshow.
- Pick up Mom on Friday for Camp Dorothy.
- Water some more.
- Celebrate my birthday with Hiram and Mom.
- Put on Vana outfit and settle in for 5 days of Camp Dorothy fun.
- Help at wedding reception on Saturday.
- Water.
What on your to do list makes it easy for you to forget the most routine things? Leave a comment!
