The past several years when our children (adults) can get together at the same time, we have everyone to bring their pets and we do our family pictures and of course our pet picture. I am suppose to be the pet whisper in the group that gets them all to stay on the porch and lined up. It did take a few tries as each one at some point decides to jump off the porch.
They are all getting old now as you can see and sadly we all agreed that next years picture may look somewhat different. Our Katherine is the one laying down and the one that needs the pet ramp since she cannot get up the steps anymore. Katherine and her brother Frank second from the left have lost their hearing. Rosie, far right (granddog) is almost completely blind and hearing is not good. Riley far left is having hip problems, Bernadette middle black fur and Elizabeth Tan fur middle next to Bernadette are starting to age as well but not as bad as the others.
Despite their age and issues, they all decided to dress up in cheerful clothing for our get together. :) The weeds on the steps are complimentary decorations just for this occasion.
Spring has arrived, and the trees are getting leaves, flowers are starting to pop up and even bloom.
I crave when we can get to the history study which we hope to do this week since April 6th 1917, the united states enters ww1 and this year of 1917 is the year we are studying.
I miss studying history and I truly believe that none of us should ever stop trying to learn new information. I like to make studying history exciting as I do other things including cooking and cleaning our home. Gardening and sewing, knitting and crochet. It is more than learning, it is trying to make it fun and exciting. Charles and I do it this way because it give us much to look forward to. We like to make and try to simulate the history studies. We need this excitement to make life enjoyable and it helps to push through the pain that at least for us, has become painful.
When we learn a new recipe we like to research where it originated from, we want to learn as much as possible with gardening and keep trying even when we have failures. We document many things that we are learning about.
Sometimes we have to make our own sunshine, and life is never boring at our house. When my children were young I would tell them before they left the house to go to school, "be somebody's sunshine today". Sometimes they did not like hearing that but now as adults it is a good memory for them because it reminds them of home growing up and my daughter often tells me she had a fun childhood.
There is always something happening somewhere, "if" we just look for it. When we find it then learn all you can about it. Our first spring apple for this year.
I dress the table for our meals, I like to add candles or an oil lamp because it makes the table inviting. It almost speaks, "come here to sit down for an enjoyable meal or a simple dessert.
It is that extra step that changes something bland to exciting and enjoyable. Sometimes we just need an uplifting atmosphere.
I study whenever I can about herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables.
You might remember the post I did on the corset. I wanted to know what it was like to dress much further back in time and I learned about the corset, the shift, and the dress and apron. I truly enjoyed that study and since then, over a good bit of time, I was able to save up the money to purchase a real corset from Townsends and Son called Ladies' Stays, and it has actually helped my back pain.
I suggest that everyone be on a learning journey and study the things that you find interesting. Do not even consider what others would say, because this is our life and journey. While we are still on this earth we should learn all we can.
The year I hand washed all of our clothing, I learned that I could get the clothes cleaner than in the machine but I had to do this over and over with different methods until I found what worked. Now I know and understand what to do.
Even at my age I am still learning new skills and methods of most anything.
I learned how to make my own beeswax wraps.
Charles and I want what we learn to be helpful and practical.
We studied how to live without running water. I did know a little about this from my growing up years because some of our family still lived without electricity and running water. But living it today is quite different, after doing this for awhile you will find routine and then it seems normal.
I feel like challenging ourselves is a very good thing to do, physically and mentally.
If we continue to live our life completely dependent on the grid then it would be very painful if something happens and there is no grid. If nothing else practice for the what if's.
Charles new reading area.
I am always impressed at how Charles can read and retain what he has read. He loves history books, and right now he is reading about President Woodrow Wilson because that is who the President was during this year we are studying of 1917. Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States.
Charles is very unbiased and has quite a bit of knowledge about history. I admire that about him and I feel that his continued learning about history is very helpful to his health.
Consider to never stop learning and study what you find interesting. Make it enjoyable and expand what you learn about, you might be surprised how exciting your life can be. Experiment with what you have learned and start a learning adventure. If you have children still at home, make it a family thing. It does not matter the size of your family, if you are are two people or you live alone, you can still continue to learn and find much to look forward to.
I hope you find something inspiring in this post, let me know in the forum what you would like to learn about, or what you may be studying or learning.
Grandma Donna
