Window Charm and Charming Kids!

  It has been over four years since I have seen my grandkids so you can imagine just how elated I was when they arrived for the Thanksgiving holidays.  My oldest son, daughter-in-law and their kids came to spend five days with us which did, indeed, bring about the true meaning of the holiday spirit.  I only wish they could return for Christmas but I suppose that is too much to ask so I shall be happy about this visit!

  My handsome grandson is the typical little boy who would much rather be playing baseball, going fishing or playing some sort of video game than be bound by planned activities.  His MawMaw is only good at that fishing thing so most of his time was spent with PawPaw or his uncles.  They were more than happy to oblige his whims.  Most of my time with him was spent with early morning "snuggles" and his stories before the others got out of bed. That was a highlight since I got to know him as a seven year old and not a toddler.  He is full of ideas both serious and whimsical.  I am truly impressed with him and loved my "special" time.  My lovely granddaughter and I spent most of our time either cooking or crafting!  She has a love of creating which is right up my alley!  I turned her loose in the craftroom and told her that she could use any or all of the craft items found therein.  We spent hours happily among the beads, charms, canvases, paints and other supplies.

  I was truly amazed at some of her creations.  MawMaw kept her input to a minimum simply to watch her talents grow.  My assistance only came in the form of using the glue gun or other "not-kid-friendly" glues.  She did the rest.  After doing a painting, creating paper angel ornaments and a wearable headband, her thoughts went to the "jewels" she found in one box.  The box held everything from large rhinestones to light prisms.  Another box held broken jewelry that people donate to me.  She scavenged through the boxes and started putting pieces together until she created the loveliest "window charm".  Once she was finished, she presented the ornament to me as a gift.  My heart did a Grinch thing and grew three times its normal size!  

  This MawMaw cannot wait until the next visit.  I am sure the Grand Princess and I shall delve into more crafty things and even the Grand Prince asked to be taught a few things.  How cool is that?  Until then, I will hang onto memories and plan for the future.  Good times at the Little Bayou House...at least, for me.

Plants Have A Lot To Say

   Currently, the Small Gardens are overgrown, weedy and seemingly happy.  Each morning brings a new surprise in the way of blooms, fruit or vegetables.  It just goes to show that once we stop dumping chemicals, do not overcut and simply let plants do their own thing, they provide.  Plants are resilient...too bad we are not the same.  

  This morning found some lovely phlox in bloom.  These plants came from two different people.  Pop gave me the first start and I have managed to keep them at least surviving for some 35 years.  Yep, the plants keep coming back year after year from the rootstock.  The newer phlox came from my sweet Grand Princess, Mary Ruth when she was just a tot.  Actually, she brought them to "Uncle Michael" (also known as Son on the blog).  She just "had" to bring him some purple flowers!  He loves them merely for that fact. 

  In a way, the phlox are the perfect gift.  Phlox are said to represent "united hearts and souls".  I was very close to Pop and miss him terribly.  He was the one who taught me the love of gardening and plants, in general.  I am also quite certain Son and Mary Ruth will always maintain a special relationship even though they are so very far apart.  The phlox are fitting and so lovely to find as one wanders through the yard.  That is part of the Magic of the Small Gardens!

Who Remembers Who?

   The last time that the Grand Princess, Mary Ruth, visited the Bayou, she named two of the pelicans, "Gus and Cinderella".  The names stuck and the two have always been called by those names.  Since her current visit began, Mary Ruth has been asking to see her pelican friends but the rains prevented long visits to the pier.  Finally, as if on cue, a lone pelican flew to the pier and paddled around in the water.  It came close to where Mary Ruth was standing and put on quite the show before taking flight to the other side of the Bayou.  Now I am not saying that this was definitely one of the pair but it sure seems mighty odd that the pelican seemed intent on getting the little girl's attention.  Perhaps it is actually one of "her" birds and it recalls the handouts she so generously gave.  Perhaps not.  Still, it seems like a happy thought and it tickled the little tot to no end.

  It is funny how we do not give critters credit for having feelings.  After spending a good deal of time merely watching the critters of the Bayou, it seems to me that they have the ability to feel and care.  There have been too many instances to prove the fact that they do recall certain faces.  The pelican may (or may not) have remembered the sweet, little girl but the happy squeal that resulted from the bird's visit is evidence that Mary Ruth remembered and has fond memories of the bird and Bayou.

My Little Photographer

  Photographing the Bayou and the wildlife found there is a passion of mine.  With the area quickly changing due to "progress" (which is questionable), I want to preserve as much as this way of life even if it only in pictures.  I do not have fancy or even new equipment.  My camera is a twelve year old camera that has seen better days, still, given the opportunity, it works.  The only problem that is starting to stand in the way of decent photographs is age...mine.  The hands are getting shaky, eyesight is getting blurry and the old legs find it difficult to get to some areas.  Oh, to be young again.

  This afternoon, my sweet granddaughter asked if she could use my old camera to take a photograph.  Well, that is all it took.  She and I started a hike!  Armed with the camera and a pocketful of batteries I was determined to take her to the back part of the property where earlier I had seen a bright red mushroom.  I figured that would be a good place to start looking for subjects.  Once she saw the mushroom, she was eager to find other "natures" to shoot.  We walked for almost an hour and she took over one hundred photographs before the sun started setting.  Back inside, I was impressed with how well she had done.  This tiny tot is only five years old and was able to grasp just how to use a lot of the camera's features.  She listened well when I would give her pointers and soon was taking photos from different angles to get the best picture. A lesson in lighting will be in the followup hike tomorrow if the rains hold off for a bit.

  So, I hope you enjoy the sampling of photographic works of my Grand Princess, Mary Ruth.   I see great promise not only in her photography skills but, also, in her love of nature.  

Dancing with Rainbows!

  I have always been fascinated by light and shadows.  Throw in a heaping amount of rainbows and I am downright ecstatic!  In the living room of the Little Bayou House, there is a handmade stand that houses a dozen or so crystals that keep me plumb happy.  The collection began with a single Austrian crystal that my sweet uncle gave to me.  Uncle Alfred and Aunt Marie had the large round crystal hanging in their large picture window for years and when it came time for him to move, he presented the thing to me.  I guess this was a result of my habit of always complimenting the thing and the colors that bounced around the whole room.  Now, I  have collected a good many through gifts and thrift stores.  

  To be totally honest, I had forgotten about the collection as it had become covered by the curtains that I hang to keep the winter chill from entering.  My sweet daughter-in-law, Joanna, mentioned it on the night before they headed back to Georgia.  Oh, my goodness!  I could not let the grand princess go home without experiencing the beauty of the rainbows!  That night, I prayed that the sun would shine at least a little bit the next morning.  Before dawn, I found a screwdriver and moved the stand to a new window where I knew it would get optimal sunshine at an early hour.  

  After she finished her breakfast, I brought her out to the living room and pointed at a few of the rainbows on the ceiling.  Having seen these before, she was happy but did not display the emotion that I had dreamed she would.  Then, I pointed to the prisms and let her hold the tiny chain that connects the crystals to the stand.  As she wiggled the prism, the lights went crazy!  They danced about the room and the tiny girl dropped the chain to join in the happy jig.  Immediately, she had to corral the entire household and explain how the prisms made the rainbows and that her wiggling the chain made them dance.  Everybody oohed and ahhed over the beautiful rainbows and her talent in making the dance.  

  Children are wonderful.  Their innocence, their imaginations and their ability to find elation in simple things is something we should all strive to revert to ourselves.   What a beautiful world it would be if we could only see it through a child's eyes.  Yep....MawMaw needs to find more crystals so the grand princess can have a few at her house!  At some point in life, everyone needs to dance with rainbows.

THAT is Snow on the Bayou!!

  For the past week while the grandlittles were visiting, the Grand Princess, Mary Ruth would make coffee for everyone.  She especially seemed to like making it for Uncle Michael.  Son never complained about doing any thing the little girl requested so she soon attached herself to him.  He was her best buddy while she was here.  She would climb the stairs each morning to knock on his door.  "Wake up, Uncle Michael!" was followed immediately by "Do you want to play with me?"  This routine was then followed by the two of them coming down the stairs hand in hand.  She would happily go about "making" his coffee.  Once a cup of coffee was placed on the table, she would sweeten it and add cream.  Try as she might, the tiny hands of a (not quite) three year old could never grasp the containers well.  This morning, I was busy helping with the packing for their long trip back home when I heard an excited squeal.  Mary Ruth had taken it upon herself to add the sugar and creamer to Son's coffee.

  The startling squeal was followed by "It snowed at MawMaw's house!  It snowed at MawMaw's house!  Come play in the snow with me, Uncle Michael!"  Oh, the pure innocence of tiny tots!  I had the giggles by this time and did not have the heart to clean up the mess.  Let the little one enjoy her "snow"!  I did, however, explain numerous times that this was only allowed to happen AT MawMaw's house and no where else!  I can only imagine the chaos that the two grandlittles could create if they ever got ahold to an entire bag of sugar or flour!  "Snow" would be everywhere and most adults would not look to fondly upon the grand mess.  Me?  Nah, doesn't bother me.  It was only sugar and that is not difficult to clean up after the playtime was over.

  Now the Little Bayou House is too quiet.  The playroom sits empty...devoid of any happiness. There are no squeals of delight, no scampering of little feet and no cries from a baby for his mama.  I miss all  of these sounds.  I miss the hugs, the giggles and even the runny noses!  I miss my grandlittles!

Best Buddies

  Son has never had much dealings with toddlers nor babies.  Kids adore him but there has just never been an opportunity arise that called for his participation with them...until now.  My sweet Grand Princess has fully dominated his life.  She has the man wrapped around her little finger and no matter what she desires, he simply complies.  There are no ifs, ands or buts about it...he just does what she asks.  She has even gone so far as to knock on his door early in the morning to request that he "come downstairs to play with me"...he did.  He has sat on the floor while she cooked imaginary food for him.  He has carried her "babies" around the house for her.  He has taken her out to the greenhouse to pick "vegetables" (her word and request).   

  Today was quite the busy day for her as she not only helped gather "firesticks" for the woodstove but also found time to bake her baby brother a birthday cake.  With each new job, she always wanted her uncle's attention.  He dutifully tasted cupcakes that tiny hands prepared and talked on play phones with her. It has been good for both of them to get acquainted and spend time together.   His little niece has captured his heart and in a big way.  It is good to sit back and watch the interaction between the two.  

**Thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law for capturing a perfect memory with the above photograph.  Joanna, you are the best!