"The Name's Elin - E. Elin"

My parents named me Elizabeth Elin (pronounced Ellen, but spelled E-L-I-N) because....well, it's a long story.

When my parents were first married, they had a very specific plan for their family. They were going to have 1 boy followed by 1 girl. And they did it, too! They had my brother J.R. followed by my sister H.C.. Sadly, she left this earth almost as soon as she'd arrived.

So Mom and Dad decided that they needed another little girl to complete their family. And so they had my brothers: J.D., J.R., J.C., J.C. & J.L. before they finally got around to me.

Mother believed that you should name a child after the person who would love them the most in this world and in her heart, she knew that would be her. Her name was Elinor. So she proposed lopping off the o & r and calling me Elin.



Daddy objected to this, as he said that, "All Christian girls are named Mary, Martha or Elizabeth." (Some of you good Christian women who are NOT may take exception to this blanket statement, but I can't help it. I'm just quoting Dad!) Given his choice of the 3, he chose Elizabeth. Mother agreed because - linked with Elin, it meant "heavenly light" (something for me to strive to live up to all of my life.)

But they called me Elin! This created some problems for me, as stated in #4 of " 6 Weird Things about Me". I've always liked Elin (but only spelled MY way). However, I did pull Elizabeth out when it suited me. When I played "Royalty" with my best friend Peggy, I was always Queen Elizabeth and she was stuck being Princess Margaret.



When I was about to start kindergarten, I wanted to become Elizabeth. Somehow, it seemed so much more mature and elegant than Elin. Momma wanted me to be Elin, but she played it cool.

I remember sitting on top of the washing machine in our kitchen, while she taught me how to print my name; so that I would be ready for "school". It was hard, too!

I mastered the E. I got the l down. I learned to print a lovely little i. Then Mom pulled out her trump card. "Now if you decided to be Elin in school, all you have left to learn is the n. But if you want to be Elizabeth, you have to print z, a, b, e, t, AND h. What do you want to do?"

Even as a child, I was no glutton for punishment. I could recognize 2 times the work when I saw it. I chose to be Elin (because I was lazy) and I've been Elin ever since. And now I can see that Mom was right.


I am Elin . Short and sweet. Ordinary - but with a little flair!

Works for Me Wednesday

I have mentioned before that I am really into organization. Here's the system I've developed for my freezer.



I keep only meat and bread in my deep freeze. Vegetables, fruits, ice cream, butter, etc go in my fridge freezer. This way, I always know where to look for which items.

The contents of my freezer are organized into baskets. Each basket has a laminated label card, attached with plastic cable ties. Although the baskets take up a bit of room, I can always tell at a glance what I am running low on and everything is rotated regularly so that I never lose meat to freezer burn. As soon as I come home from the grocery store with meat, I pull out the appropriate basket and turn it upside down on the counter. I put the fresh meat into ziplocks in the bottom of the basket and put the older meat back in on top.

On the door I keep, bacon, sausages, hot dogs, bagels, english muffins and bread. The bacon I load at the back and pull from the front. Everything else is fed from the right and taken out from the left, so we are sure to use things in the order in which they were purchased.

It took about 20 minutes to print the cards, laminate them, attach them to the baskets and organize them in the freezer. And we've been using it like this for almost 4 years.

It works for me!

P.S. I'm All About the Bling

Some time ago, when I was having a bad week Papa bought me some jewelry in an effort to cheer me up and make me laugh. Have a look.





I never really felt the need to wear it before, but I'm beginning to think that now might the right time to put it to good use. Just think of all the time it would save. When I get dressed in the morning, I can just pin it on - with the thumb in the appropriate position and aleviate the need to discuss how my symptoms were in the night. Papa and I could then use our precious "getting ready in the morning moments" to discuss things that are really important. Like - the grandkids, our relationship, what to thaw out for supper, how we're gong to spend our precious weekend days, who's going to feed the dog... You know, the things that normal people talk about.

Yes, I think that this may turn out to be the most important piece in my jewelry box.

Bloom Where You're Planted - part 2

One of my favorite things about this part of Texas is the incredible wild flower display each spring. Great banks of flowers appear in the fields and along the highways, streams and bayous. I am in love with the bluebonnets (our state flower), the cheerful daisies, the sunshiny buttercups and especially the primroses. They are so delicate and graceful, with their pale pink petals that dance with the slightest breeze.

About 6 weeks ago (when nature's floral art show was at it's peak) I, personally, was at a low spot. Those of you who have been following my blog from the beginning, know that I started coughing before Thanksgiving. What you don't know is that I'm still at it.

Since January I have gone from our family doctor, to an asthma/allergy spcialist, to a gastroenterologist. As the tests have progressed, we have ruled out: upper respiratory infection, whooping cough, TB, asthma and allergies. By mid-April the theory was "acid reflux" and I was on major medications and still coughing. I was tired (from 5 months of being up 4 - 6 times most nights coughing my head off - not to mention during the day) and discouraged (from no end in sight) and was thinking alot about adversity and how I'm handling it.....

When I saw this:






These sweet little flowers reminded me of one of life's most important lessons: "When you find yourself in a hard place, bloom anyway. Thrive anyway. Contribute to the world anyway." So I guess that's what I'll do.

My Mom coughed for over 50 years and handled it with good humor - so I guess I have 49 1/2 years to go before I need to start complaining. We always thought Mom had asthma and that the reason she didn't respond well to the meds. was that her case was just too severe. Now I'm not so sure. I think I was always sympathetic. NOW I am empathetic.

Lest anyone should worry, things are looking up, I think. I am working with a good doctor and we have found some possible causes. With the medicines I'm taking, I am coughing a little less and we are looking at treatment options. In the meantime, when people ask me about my cough, I usually respond, "Well, everyone's got to have a hobby. Apparently this is mine."

But between you and me, I'd rather be quilting!

Bloom Where You're Planted!

Mother's Day has passed, but the flowers linger on. I got these beauties from my sweet husband:




These were brought to me by my home teachers:




But most importantly, this corsage appeared in my refrigerator on Saturday night - just in time to be worn to church on Sunday morning.





When I was a child, the girls in our family (OK there was just my Mom and me) wore a corsage every Mother's Day to honor our mothers. The flower was white if your mother had passed away and pink if she was still living. {I used to always tease that I should wear a RED flower, because my Mother had more life in her than most folks.)

This is one of the many traditions that I've carried over into my own family. We have four darling daughters, so there were flowers galore in our home. For a number of years Nantie Meg made the corsages. But then she went off to college (The nerve of some kids!) and to my surprise and delight, Papa took over. (He buys the corsages instead of making them.) I just wanted to mention that I am so grateful to have a husband who supports my dreams, schemes and even my family's traditions!

On a related note; "manchild" sent an electronic "20 questions" game for Mothers' Day.





It's fun and silly and kind of incredible that a tiny little hand held device could hold sooo much data. Thinking I would stump the computer on this one for sure, the object I thought of was: "husband". The answer it came up with, was: "soul mate". Smart little Goober, eh?

My Fours

4 Jobs I have had:

Candy-striper (volunteer at the hospital, not draw-er of lines at the candy factory) -I sure wish I had a picture of my 16 year old self in that cute little striped jumper.

Retail Sales for Lit Brothers Department Store (Is it a coincidence that they went out of business after I stopped working there? I think not!)

Day home Provider (this is a big shot way of saying that I babysat at home for over 20 years)

Teacher (kindergarten & pre-school)


4 Movies I would watch over and over:

“While You Were Sleeping”
“Return to Me”
“The Princess Bride”
“Ever After”


4 Places I have lived:

New Jersey
Utah
Alberta
Denver…Venezuela…Houston (which ones could I leave out?)


4 TV Shows I love to watch:

“West Wing”
“Gilmore Girls”
“Lost”
“Survivor”


4 Places I have been on vacation:

Disneyland
Aruba
London
Carribean Cruise


4 Places I’d like to go on vacation:

Hawaii
The Jersey Shore
The Canadian Rockies
Any cruise


4 Websites I visit often:

Mapqwest
Screenit
LDS.Org
Many of your blog sites


4 Favorite Foods:

Cheesecake
Pizza
Philly Cheesesteaks
Watermelon


4 Places where I would like to be right now:

Anywhere with Papa
With my kids & grandkids
Behind the covers of a really good book
In a hot bubble bath


People I would tag to do this: Any of you who think it would be fun. I’ve enjoyed reading Gabriela & Bright one’s already.

I found this poem today:

Friends are like quilts.
Their lives pieced together
Stitched with smiles and tears.
Bound with love and memories
Which last for years.

In April I had a visit from my dear friend Gabriella and her precious children. To look at the two of us, you would never expect us to be close. She is young. I am old. She is adventurous. I like to play it safe. She is the mother of young children. I am an empty-nesting grandma. She is thin and athletic and stylish and I’m ….. well, NOT. Whenever she comes to visit me, my acquaintances ask if she is my daughter. It’s true that she is closer to their age than to mine. And yet we are good friends. Here is a picture of the two of us sharing one of the many interests we have in common.




I am so thankful for the gift of friendship. That we are able to find people to love and admire, to laugh and to cry with, to share our stories and personalities with, to advise and be guided by, to be helped by and to serve, to share our concerns and interests with, to spend time and make memories with; is a GREAT Blessing!

One of our family mottos is “Home is where we treat our friends like family and our family like friends.” I am so grateful for my FRIENDS – both in and outside of my family. There are so many people who touch my life with love and kindness. I am richer for all of those I have known and loved and shared with.

I am so glad that we are not alone in this adventure we call life!

I'm Baaaacckkk!

Having been
- nudged by Bowersita (who’s nearly my daughter)
“umm Grammy, Are you ever going to post anything ever again?”
- tagged by Nantie Meg (my actual daughter) and Gabriella (my dear friend)
- and inspired by Bright One (my blogger-buddy) I am finally back with :


6 Weird Things About Me


This was a hard post to write, because there are simply so many to choose from. Do you really want to know about my sense of humor (inherited from my Mom), my propensity to talk to inanimate objects, the fact that I turn most household chores into a game, or any of my other odd habits? Probably not! But here goes anyway.

1. I am 52 years old and have my own security blanket. Mind you, it’s not a raggedy old “woobie” or “kiki” that I drag around wherever I go. It’s a perfectly presentable cotton thermal blanket that lives between my top sheet and comforter. What makes it a security blanket is that I just seem to sleep better when I can feel it against my cheek. Weird? Of course, that’s how it made it onto this list.

2. I am 52 years old and I have no compunction at all about sharing my age. In fact I’m kind of proud of it. Remember when we were kids and people would ask us how old we were. It was always 7 & ½ or almost 10. Somehow I just never got over that.

Maybe it’s because I’m still not very mature. Or maybe it’s because I was a sickly child and the doctor told my Mom that if I lived to be 12, I would likely live to grow up. Well, now I’m grown up (or at least old). I’ve arrived at my goal. Or maybe it’s because my Honey gives such great birthday presents.

3. When I snore (which I promise is very rarely) Papa says that I do it backward. Instead of rumbling when I inhale, I whistle when I exhale. This is only hearsay, you understand. I don’t know it firsthand – as I’ve always slept through it.

4. My “actual” name (aside from Grammy) is Elizabeth Elin, but I’ve always gone by Elin. That’s just who I am. I like the name Elizabeth, but it just doesn’t feel like me. It still kills me to fill out dr. forms, etc with my first name. I swear that I was marked absent for 3 ½ years of college classes because I never responded to Elizabeth. And yet, when I do something really stupid or un-coordinated, I always berate myself with a derivation of it. As in, “Smooth Move Lizzie”. Yup, I am always Lizzie when I am dumb!

5. Papa (the love of my life) says that one of the weirdest things about me is the way I take pills. Apparently the majority of the world throws the meds in and washes them down with a quick drink. Who knew? I always fill my mouth with water, tip my head back, drop the pills in and let them sink to the back of the throat before swallowing. Now, that’s wise use of gravity my friends! And I never have to taste the pills, because they are surrounded by water at all times. It just makes sense to me.

6. I LOVE to organize things! It’s fun! I like the way things look when they are filed or stacked away neatly. I love a system that makes my life more efficient. It makes me happy to know that everything has it’s own place and that I can find it when I want it. And labeling things (not people) is an uplifting experience.

3 of my very good friends showed up on my doorstep early in the morning of my
last birthday (Did I mention that I was 52?) with the ultimate label maker. What a great birthday present that was! I labeled the drawers on my sewing organizer, my photo album supply organizers, my scrapbooking and stamping organizers and my quilting patterns. I used up a whole roll of printer tape and had a happy and productive day.

Ok, there you have it in a nutshell.

Am I weird? Probably.
Can I live with that? Yes, very comfortably.

Have a great day! Let yourself be yourself! It’s liberating!