I am now officially back up to pre-back injury fitness level.  I just ran two miles without any pain.  That's all running, no walking in the middle to relieve the pain or stiffness.  Now I can work on getting down to the post weightloss size.  Size 6 here I come.

Outside my window........the sun is shining, the air is crisp and cool and it is a perfect fall day here at home in central New York.  If I may be so bold as to quote Dorothy, "there's no place like home!" 

I am thinking.......every once in awhile everyone should venture away from their place of comfort and joy in order to be knowing wherein that comfort and joy dwells. 

I am thankful for........my family that I visited for the last ten days.  Much thanks for giving me a place to lay my head at night, plenty of laughs and good times to keep in my heart when the inevitable sorrow comes, lots of good food and hugs and love that is irreplaceable.

I am wearing.........my comfies in tribute to my nieces Catherine and Abby.  No other places to go today girls so here I am in sweats and slippers. 

I am going.......nowhere for the rest of the day.  I have so much catching up to do after being gone so long.  There is a focaccia dough rising and soup simmering on the stove and plenty of schoolwork to correct.  No need for me to leave this house, at least until tomorrow.

I am reading......nothing for now but I have to get back to my reading soon.

I am hoping........to get all caught up on my work so that I can spend my usual Wednesday sewing and maybe meet MK in Mo'ville for the show.

From the schoolroom........Matthew is doing his work like the scholar that he is.

From the kitchen........homemade tomato/basil focaccia and pasta e fagioli for supper.  Haven't cooked but once in the past two weeks.

Around the house........all is neat as a pin and clean.  My men know how to clean up before I arrive home.

One of my favorite things........the dog sleeping by the wood stove and the smell of soup simmering in the pot.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you.........

While I was staying with my older brother Chris we took a hike.  This is me with some of his family.  My nieces Abby and Catherine.  My sister-in-law Sharon, myself and Chris.  My niece Audrey is in the back.  What a beautiful time we had.

Outside my window........it is still dark and cold I'm sure.  Even here in the southland we have been waking up to some chilly mornings.  Yesterday I felt right at home scraping my frosted windshield on the car before I could leave to go visit my dad.

I am thinking........about changes and how they can be good for the heart and soul.  I must learn not to fight them but endeavor to take them as they come along, as natural parts of life.  Alas, I suffer from a bad case of what I call Anne of Green Gables Syndrome, I am very resistant to change.

I am thankful for........this precious time with my dad.  Much good conversation has been going on.  Although he and I have always been able to talk before it seems that there are no holds now on the topics or the depths of revelation between the two of us.   Boy do I love that man.

I am wearing.........jammies still.  I can hear my niece and nephew getting ready for school so I know that it is not my turn in the bathroom as yet.

I am going........to visit with dad again today for a bit then another of my nephews is coming over and I get to spend time with him.  The wonder of family and the individual.

I am reading........not much right now.  I am savoring my time with family and my father in particular.  There is much for contemplation right there I don't need to add more.

I am hoping.......that family conflicts are resolved in the wake of my father's illness and passing.  Let us all see that life is so short and these petty differences are just that, petty in light of eternity.

From the schoolroom.........Matthew is keeping up with his studies while I am away.  I spoke with both Matthew and my husband last night and it sounds like the living is easy without the mother around.

From the kitchen.........I smell coffee brewing.  My sister-in-law is a marvelous cook I wonder what we have in store tonight.  Time will tell.

Around the house..........my nieces and nephew are getting ready for school then Cheryl and I will have a cuppa and a chat before we get our day going.  David will be off to the office to pound salt as he puts it.  There is nothing like family.

One of my favorite things.........connections.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you.........

My brothers and father recently had a "guy weekend" at my brothers mountain home.  This is a picture of all of them together for the first time in a very long time.  Just the sight of this will be warming my heart for a very long time to come.

Outside my window.......I wouldn't know but outside the window of the terminal here in Newark it is bright and the temp is 45.  Today I am flying to Greenville to be with my father before I can no longer be with him.

I am thinking.....that I have some very good friends.  Friends of ours at church gave me the tickets to fly south and some cash to pay for my expenses so that I can be with my dad.  Otherwise I would still be at home and not able to go see him.  Thanks be to God for friends like that.

I am thankful for......good friends who think of others and for family who is waiting for me to get to their house.

I am wearing.....blue jeans and a pink tee shirt that says "Will Trade Husband for Tractor" on it.

I am remembering........a lot of good times growing up and spent with my dad.

I am going.......to be my father's daughter for 10 days.  This is heady business.

I am reading.........Nothing of significance right now.  Now is a time of introspection and reflection.

I am hoping.....that this time with my Dad will last me forever, or at least until I die.

From the schoolroom.......I trust that Matthew is doing the work that I assigned to him before I left the house this morning.

From the kitchen......I left a bounty of good things for my men to sustain them while I am away.  I hope that they don't forget me while I am gone.

Around the house.......all is clean and in order so that they don't have to.

One of my favorite things.......thinking about the good times.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you.......

Saturday Matthew, Brett, Doug, and I went up to Bald Mountain and Nicks Lake so that I would have pictures for dad and more memories to share.

I can remember when I was younger all the uproar about evolution and the fear of us being taught the "theory of evolution" in school.  At a young age I hardly ever gave the whole issue a thought.  I was raised in the Catholic church and I knew that we weren't evolved from the slime of the earth or from monkeys or whatever the current thought is. 

Then about ten years ago I was hired to teach science in a private Catholic high school and the issue came up again, only this time I did have to give it a bit of thought.  Actually more than a bit of thought, I had to think a great deal about evolution.  I had to be prepared to teach my students something concrete about this issue that was not only in line with the teachings of the Catholic church but also something that they could wrap their own intellects around.  Not so much that they could embrace my feelings about evolution but that they had to be able to draw their own conclusions.  I have probably already shocked those of you who are misinformed about the Catholic church or about what evolution really is.  Thinking that here is a self-proclaimed Catholic woman saying that she had an opinion about evolution that was more than "there's no such thing and that's it" which, it has been my experience, those who are misinformed think that all Catholics believe about this issue.

On to what I have concluded about evolution and what I taught my students.  When we came to that chapter in the book I never even had them open the book.  I didn't want the kids minds clouded by scientific terms and theories.  I wanted them to listen to what I had to say before we ever read what the intelligentsia had to say.  I taught them that to believe that we came from some pond scum or from some other species of animal, no matter how much that creature may resemble us physically, is intellectually ridiculous.  That was not what evolution meant nor was it what it was about.  But I do firmly believe in evolution on a greater scale.  I believe in the evolution of life, of society, of the heart, and the character, both of the individual and the collective.  I believe that without some kind of evolution, and for the better I might add, society and individuals slide backward into a lesser state, they devolve.

Individually we evolve all through our lives.  As babies we evolve from selfish, self-centered creatures who are focused entirely on our mouths and stomachs.  This is necessity and nothing to fault us for but still it is true.  It is survival.  We must eat and therefore we seek to fulfill the urges of our stomachs by filling our mouths. 

After that stage we evolve into little animals.  We can feed ourselves and we are ambulatory but we are totally unsocialized (a term that I despise but there it is).  We are incapable of interacting with others successfully on our own.  We still need our parents or others who are more evolved than we are to help us learn the tools necessary to survive in the world of other human beings.

Once we have passed this evolutionary stage we slow down somewhat in our process and perfect our skills.  We, hopefully, move our focus outside of ourselves and onto others.  Near the end of our lives we do seem to devolve back to the early days of our childhood and become totally dependant on those around us.  Our focus again becomes our survival on an even more primative level.

Outside my window.......it is cloudy and a bit chilly but it may shape up to be a nice day yet.  The trees are changing color more and more each day and the fall sights and scents are glorious.  The temptation to go out each morning and just walk and walk and neglect my duties and responsibilities is beyond difficult to resist.  The snap and chill to the air and the smells of wood smoke and falling leaves is a perfume that I wish I could bottle and wear all winter.

I am thinking.......that I should be on the treadmill running off the two birthday celebrations that I consumed this past weekend.  This habit that we have of multiple celebrations for each of our childrens birthdays is going to my hips.

I am thankful for........life, love, the happiness that I have that fills me and surrounds me and that I don't have to pursue but is simply a part of my life.  What a blessing.

I am wearing......sweatpants and a teeshirt.  This outfit is supposed to inspire me to get on the treadmill and work off the cake and pie and applecrisp that I have consumed this past weekend.  Oh, and did I mention the pizza, pulled pork, german potato salad, and on and on.  It's a curse to be a good cook sometimes.

I am remembering.......birthdays past and feeling a certain contentment in the sweet passage of time and the bringing of my children to adulthood.

I am going.......nowhere all day.  I have no obligations until this evening and I plan on taking full advantage of the time at home.  The house is clean and the laundry is well on is way.  School work is planned and supper is leftovers.  I think I shall get some sewing in today and get ahead on lesson plans for both of my religion classes. 

I am reading........The Catholic Verses by Dave Armstrong   A very good read.  Also, unfortunately a great source or more books that I wish to read.  Unfortunately as long as Doug is out of work there is a moratorium on book buying for now. 

I am hoping........many, many things.  But those are for my prayers each day and shouldn't be trivialized by putting them down here.

From the schoolroom.......all is in readiness for a day of scholastic endeavor.  Pretty soon both Matthew and I will be hard at work filling our minds with great knowledge.

From the kitchen........leftovers.  It is Monday and that is the way it is around here.  The house gets cleaned, the laundry gets washed and no food gets cooked. 

Around the house........floors are swept, things are straightened up, dusting is done, kitchen is clean, bathrooms are done.  Just have to mop floors.

One of my favorite things........laughing at Brutus looking at me through the screen door as I sit here at the computer.  I think he wants someone to play with.

Here is a picture thought that I am sharing with you.......

The Adirondack Mountains.  I have a hankering to go to the mountains. Every year about this time I have a yearning to be in the mountains.  Doug would say that it is not confined to the fall and that is true but it is strongest in the fall.  Fortunately my husband is a wonderful understanding man has said that he will take me to the mountains on Saturday so I can drink my fill of them.

Eighteen years ago today you demanded that you be allowed to come into the world.  You weren't expected until November.  I guess you couldn't wait.  Right from the start you knew what you liked and what you didn't like.  When I came home from the hospital but they kept you there, you refused to take a bottle but patiently waited until I got there to nurse you.  None of that formula stuff or that sugar water for you. 

Early on you knew that sleep time was for sleep and awake time was for expending your energy.  And what energy you had, and still do.  From the moment you woke in the morning until you were put into your bed at night you moved and talked nonstop.  Life is for living and for learning is your policy and you haven't changed that to this day.

Thank you God for this blessing that you have bestowed on us.  Gift of God is what your name means and how appropriate that we gave that name to you.  A blessing and a gift you have been from the first moment that we knew that you were coming. 

May all that is the best be yours today and always.  You remain in our prayers each and every day.  Your father and I love you very much.

I am no photographer but this is what I am currently working on.  Finished the blocks yesterday and hope to get them together into a top on Saturday.  It looks better in real life than in the picture and I am sure that the little boy who will be sleeping under it will like it just fine.

Back to the laundry so maybe I can get some sewing done today also.