feeling nostalgic

I guess you could call it an addiction because I can't seem to stop.  And then Dan gave me his login information and it's just too easy to buy stuff.  You don't even have to mess with winning auctions anymore, you just 'Buy it Now!'  Amazing.  And Dan, well he is on board, I mean I know he just loves it that his eBay account is now recommending all kinds of vintage Fisher Price toys and sending email notifications that Sesame Street auctions will soon be ending...

I mean look at this stuff...my breath catches in my throat a little.  Yours?




(Insert old man redneck voice) They just don't make them like they used to.  I mean am I right that toys today cannot compare?!  I just can't stand the thought of my kids growing up without this sheep.  So darn cute.  (exit voice)



Here is the new and "improved" version (that I am ashamed to admit we have at our house).  Come on Fisher Price...really?



I guess this nostalgia all kinda started with the thought that funding for PBS/IPTV may not always be there.  And it makes me sad to think about kids growing up without Sesame Street, or a different (most definitely it would be more commercialized) version of the show.  While it has changed over the years (Cookie Monster?  Anyone?) I still enjoy the show thirty years later.  (And while I'm on that subject has anyone else noticed that Gordon hasn't aged a day in 30 years?  What is his secret?)  It was definitely a part of my childhood that I remember dearly.

So the question for me now is - what do I do about all of this?  

a) Go crazy (and broke) buying up all of the toys I used to own.
b) Mourn over and over again that things will never be the same.
c) Consult Mr. Rogers.

I'll go with C.

"Parents are like shuttles on a loom.  They join the threads of the past with the threads of the future and leave their own bright patterns as they go."  Fred Rogers

Yes, I think that's it.  And now, it's time to head back over to eBay for awhile.  In order to preserve the past I'll need a few things...

amy

a father's love

We spent the day Friday at the Omaha Zoo.  It was a first time for all four of us.  The cool weather brought in small amounts of visitors which suited us just perfectly.  This picture highlights one of my favorite parts of the day, when we got to pet and brush and love some baby goats.  It didn't surprise me that Hannah was most into the brushing and AJ was most into barking at them.  I watched smiling as Dan helped them pick the most gentle of the bunch (he was head butted a couple times in the process) and taught them how to pet a goat.  What a beautiful example of a father's love.

my recipe box: hot cranberry cider

Have you noticed the fall tingly leaves are changing breeze is blowing tiny chill in the air feeling is here?  I have.  It's hard not to.  I was out driving with the kids the other day and we were having so much fun playing our fall "game."  It's not really a "game," but they think it is and that is all that matters.  I have just now decided to call it Shout it out across the mountain tops when you see beautiful fall leaves!  You may have guessed, that is what you do.  You see leaves, you shout colors, types, whatever you want!  It's quite silly.  Please try it.  So we were playing Shout it out across the mountain tops when you see beautiful fall leaves! and then we talked about how cool it is that God made trees do that.

Ponder that while you make a pot of Hot Cranberry Cider.  It makes your kitchen smell fantastic.  This is a recipe that I got from my mom, I simply changed the name.  Previously named Hot Cranberry Punch, I renamed it mainly because I don't have a punch bowl.  Nor silver ladle.   Yeah that...and it tastes like cider.

Hot Cranberry Cider 

32 oz. cranberry juice

8 C. water

2 C. sugar

4 whole cinnamon sticks

1 Tbsp whole cloves

1/4 C. lemon juice

1 C. no pulp orange juice

Pour cranberry juice, water, & sugar into a large pot.  Use cheesecloth to tie up cinnamon sticks & cloves and place into pot.  (You can skip this step, I just think it is easier than straining when finished)  Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.  Add lemon and orange juices and heat a few more minutes.  Remove spices.

Wherever it is that you have your cup, be it on the morning commute in your car, or when you finally get a moment to yourself at your desk, while your children are napping, or at the end of a tiring day, I wish you peace.

amy

In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October, when the trees are bare to the mild heavens, and the red leaves bestrew the road, and you can feel the breath of winter, morning and evening - no days so calm, so tenderly solemn, and with such a reverent meekness in the air. ~ Alexander Smith