A Flyover Blog

Happy Independence Day!

'Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."

-George Bernard Shaw

Life Is Good

So how was your holiday weekend? Ours was terrific. I don't think we could have wedged one more thing into the weekend.  Oh, it rained every single day, but that didn't matter. This house is so much fun I didn't miss all the outdoor activities.

I didn't see a single tourist over the weekend either. Not one. Kinda strange. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this was the first holiday I've lived in a "normal" town - as opposed to a tourist mecca- since I was 12. Gotta tell ya, it was heaven. Oh, I'm still battling poison ivy, the yard still needs work and we're still looking for a few things I packed really good, but we're 90% settled in and we love Springfield. David, Sandy, Michael and Whitney came over for a movie marathon/x-Box fest yesterday. What fun! We popped corn, ate pretzels and M&Ms and watched 2 fun and 1 perfectly rotten movie, (cough- 30 Days of Night - cough) but it didn't matter, because we were having a good time. I'm looking forward to holidays in this house; they're gonna be a blast.  Thanks for spending Memorial Day with us, guys!

This Is New

This will be the first holiday since 1971 that I haven't lived in a tourist town. No more going to the store before the wave of out-of-towners hits. No planning alternate routes to get across town because the tourists have the major roads clogged. No dealing with tourists period. This year we live in Springfield - a "normal" town. By that I mean that Springfieldians work in non-tourism related fields, and on their holiday they actually go somewhere. Many of them head to the town I just left.

I have no idea what we'll do this weekend. But I DO know that dodging tourists won't be part of it. 

Photo Courtesy University of Miami Library.

Easter Wishes

 

Easter

"The resurrection gives my life meaning and direction and the opportunity to start over no matter what my circumstances."

-Robert Flatt

Happy Spring!

I catagorized this post under "Holidays" because I am so excited that Winter 2008 is officially over, that this day just has to be a holiday. Yes, according to my calendar, Spring arrives today - and not a moment too soon. We are still recovering from Tuesday's torrential rains; you may have seen Southwest Missouri all over the national news the past couple of days. The damage here is horrific. We experienced a 100 year flood on top of 2 tornado outbreaks and 4 ice storms - all of it since mid-January. Our weather disasters have been spaced about a week apart this year, so we have mess on top of mess. It will take months to clean up. I don't want to see one more snowflake, sleet pellet, or frozen rain drop until sometime late next winter. I'm ready to pack away my boots and mittens and dig out the shorts. I'm ready for crocus, dogwood, daffodils and redbud. Bring it on!

Monday, March 17

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This postcard and more wonderful images from Saint Louis Time Portal.

Happy Valentine's Day

We're finally thawing out here. Woo hoo! We're in that dangerous ice-falling-from-trees phase, so you have to be careful where you walk. We ended up with almost an inch and a half of ice. Springfield, Nixa and points north got hit much harder. There are still more than 10,000 people without power there today, but since the worst is behind us, we're going to dinner. Nothing too fancy - snow boots are still required to stay upright on the parking lots but it will be fun. May you have the best Valentine's Day ever.

Wanna Fun Read?

You know, I absolutely love children's books. So, I wanted to share this little Groundhog Day gem with you. Go To Sleep, Groundhog! was written by kindergarten teacher and author, Judy Cox. This picture book is one of 14 books for kids she has written. Illustrator, Paul Meisel, added bright fun images to her sweet story - gotta love a groundhog in PJs -to make a book that is a delight for children and adults. Mitch saw me reading this book in the kids' section at Barnes & Noble a couple of years ago, and bought it for me. (He does that a lot.) Now I read it every year on February 1st - and many other times throughout the year. You can learn more about Judy Cox here. Let me know if you like it, too.

Welcome 2008!

So, how's your New Year going? Ours has been 3 degrees beyond hectic. Seriously, a while ago when I sat down to write this post I drifted off at the computer. Pathetic. 

On New Year's Day our whole family converged on Mr. Yen's - my favorite oriental restaurant - for lunch. It's been a tradition for Mitch and me. But this year, our whole family (both sides) got together. It was a blast. We were short one nephew (Nick) who had other plans.

I'll try to fill in the blanks in the next few posts. Just know that it's been busy here with work, family, holiday celebrations (we still have 2 more to go!) and progress on my new book. Will I miss 2007? Not one bit. A year ago today we had a funeral for Mitch's dad. An ice storm followed, and two surgeries, a long long recovery, a broken arm and getting Mitch's mom moved and settled.

Here's hoping 2008 is bright, shiny, and full of blessings for all of us!