Dad

My Dad is so backwards even his eyelashes grow backwards. True story.

Yoda the Kitten

A while back I posted about getting some kittens. Unfortunately they didn't find a lasting home at the cottage. One met an untimely fate involving a car and the other was stolen out of our neighbor's yard by their neighbor. (drama, drama) So this left us with a feline void once again. We now have Yoda. Yoda is four weeks old and so far extremely good tempered and long suffering. James absolutely loves him and is so thrilled to have a little friend. Now I just need to teach him how we treat friends.

Yoda

The reason we call him Yoda

"Momma, It's a Puddy"
"What do you mean he doesn't like this?"

Victoria Hart

I recently found this fresh face in Jazz. She is amazing. I love Jazz but its not often that you find a new artist with the quality of the old standbys. This girl is only 18 and until recently, when she was found in a round about way by George Clooney, was working in a pub (The Naked Turtle) in London. She was raised by her Grandmother and grew up loving 30's-50's Jazz. I can't wait till I can get my hands on a copy of her album.

I Go a Swingin

Tim hung James' swing yesterday so today James thought we should try it out. Being in the shape of an airplane it is way more fun than a plain old swing. :) Here is a sampling of his many faces.

A Simpler Life

James enjoyed his first drive in movie last night. Ratatouille was playing at the Drive In so we decided to go and see it. We hadn't been there since we got married so it was really a treat. It is so relaxing and the culture is great. It is still only $4.00 a ticket and you can get popcorn and a soda for $1.90. You just can't beat that. James had a blast. He played in the car with Daddy till I laid out the blanket and then he rolled around watching the world. He was so interested in what was going on he had no time to look at his Momma for a picture. After the movie started he watched for a while till he was good and worn out then he nursed and I buckled him into his car seat and he went directly to sleep. I decided that this is the way to go to the movies with him. He usually behaves really well at the movies but I always take him out even if he makes the slightest peep as not to disturb others. It was a perfectly stress free evening...that is until I stuck my bare foot in the leftover cheese in the empty nacho bowl on the way home. :) When we got home and crawled into bed Tim leaned over my side of the bed exactly the same time as I sat up. His nose collided with my forehead, we're not sure if he broke it or not. This makes me think that it is probably not broken, but it is sore and a little swollen and not too crooked. ( just kidding it may not be crooked at all :)

We arrived early so it was pretty empty yet.

James' Thoughts on the 4th

Well isn't that the truth?

Etiquette and Manners

"Manners are made up of trivialities of deportment which can be easily learned if one does not happen to know them; manner is personality—the outward manifestation of one’s innate character and attitude toward life.... Etiquette must, if it is to be of more than trifling use, include ethics as well as manners. Certainly what one is, is of far greater importance than what one appears to be." -Emilly Post

I love this woman. It continues to elude me as to why many people today have very little time for practicing or teaching etiquette or good manners. We do our children a great disservice by not teaching them the importance of these things. What was once as common as learning to read has now become an archaic hobby. If for nothing more than fun pick up a 1922 edition of Emily Post, you'll be surprised at what you can learn. Everyone loves a Lady (or gentleman).

Selected Quotations of Emily Post:

"Alas! it is true: “Be polite to bores and so shall you have bores always round about you.”

"There is a big deposit of sympathy in the bank of love, but don’t draw out little sums every hour or so—so that by and by, when perhaps you need it badly, it is all drawn out and you yourself don’t know how or on what it was spent."

"Training a child is exactly like training a puppy; a little heedless inattention and it is out of hand immediately; the great thing is not to let it acquire bad habits that must afterward be broken. Any child can be taught to be beautifully behaved with no effort greater than quiet patience and perseverance, whereas to break bad habits once they are acquired is a Herculean task."

"Children are all more or less little monkeys in that they imitate everything they see. If their mother treats them exactly as she does her visitors they in turn play “visitor” to perfection. Nothing hurts the feelings of children more than not being allowed to behave like grown persons when they think they are able."

"There is no reason why you should be bored when you can be otherwise. But if you find yourself sitting in the hedgerow with nothing but weeds, there is no reason for shutting your eyes and seeing nothing, instead of finding what beauty you may in the weeds. To put it cynically, life is too short to waste it in drawing blanks. Therefore, it is up to you to find as many pictures to put on your blank pages as possible."

"The joy of joys is the person of light but unmalicious humor. If you know any one who is gay, beguiling and amusing, you will, if you are wise, do everything you can to make him prefer your house and your table to any other; for where he is, the successful party is also."

"The most vulgar slang is scarcely worse than the attempted elegance which those unused to good society imagine to be the evidence of cultivation."