Amazing Zippered Woman

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry !!

I have orders from the big guy to be on the driveway at 1:45pm, packed and ready to leave for Long Beach. I ended up not going to Salt Lake. (long story) So we are meeting the truck in Long Beach. As of this weekend, both of our daughters live in California. Katie and Henry are also meeting us. Patrick must stay in Arizona to care for the doggie sisters. Too bad. We will also be celebrating Kristy and Chris becoming engaged at a brunch on Sunday.

I think this is a wonderful passage to say at the beginning of every day.

Seek truth.

Love beauty.

Wish for good.

Do what is best.

        -Moses Mendelhesson

Just a quick political note:

Dear John McCain,  Even jokes about a war with Iran are in very poor taste -   given the American public’s current outrage regarding Bushie’s stupid, senseless, immoral war in Iraq. Barbara Ann, indeed.

A Call To Arms

For the past three days I’ve been absolutely sickened and extremely saddened by the tragedy that unfolded at Virginia Tech on Monday. I’ve spent hours feeling unimaginable anger and disbelief. I continue to search for answers to the many questions that keep replaying in my mind.

Did the police handle this situation correctly? Could lives have been saved if they had alerted the students after the first shootings? What possible motive caused this kid to randomly kill so many innocent people? What kind of family did he come from? The list of questions goes on and on, but there are no answers.

I’ve listened to most of the interviews with people who knew Cho Seung-Hui. Many discussed his lack of communication, his anger, and his morbid, inappropriate writings. I’ve heard people say that he was weird and scary. Others have said he was dangerous. Teachers expressed concern and recommended that he seek help. Others were so frightened that they involved the police. Even his four suite-mates said that they had very little to do with him.

I DID NOT HEAR ONE  PERSON MENTION HAVING MADE REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO CONNECT WITH THIS YOUNG MAN.

Everyone allowed him to frighten them away. Tom made the comment that it  would have been a different story if a couple guys with “Carry Permits” had been armed. I disagree. I think if a couple of guys had looked in Cho’s eyes and said over and over, and in every way imaginable, ”We really care about you. There isn’t anything we won’t do to help you.” Let’s all use “HUGGING ARMS” when we initiate “A CALL TO ARMS.”       

Just Call Me “Grandma Goddess”

I think the time has come for you to meet my grandchildren. Scott and Meghann have two, and Katie and Henry also have two. Each is a very special gift. Their little personalities are very different, but they are all very loving, absolutely adorable and incredibly brilliant - if I do say so myself.

This is a picture of Eleven Marie Roberts (nicknamed Ellie) and Leonardo Marie Roberts (nicknamed Nardo.) They also both have a Swahili name. Ellie’s Swahili name is Kiddah - which means “she who rips carpet.” Nardo’s Swahili name is Swaggler - meaning “he who hates his mother.” This particular photo was taken on the top of Mount Hood during a family mountain-climbing trip last summer. I just want to mention that the tent was a gift from Grandma. Never let it be said that I don’t spoil my grandchildren. Ellie and Nardo are typical kids. Nardo loves to read, but Ellie struggles with some of the larger words. Most afternoons you can find them playing chess and eating vast quantities of vanilla wafers. They are both looking forward to moving to southern California because they will be closer to both Grandmas - Grandma Goddess and Grandma Sissy.

On the left we have Tess Marie Johnson and on the right we have Darby Marie Johnson. Are you beginning to see a pattern? They all share the middle name “Marie” to honor my mother, Esther Marie Johnson. She loved animals more than any other human being I have ever met. Tess and Darby also have Swahili names. (I’m not sure why both couples chose to do this Swahili thing, Maybe they know something that I don’t.) Tess’s Swa. name is Dahmonk - which translates to “not the brightest bulb on the tree.” Darby’s is RooBoo - meaning “she who whithers.” I think of all my grandchildren, Tess looks the most like me, and Darby really resembles her Grandfather Johnson. Darby wins all the spelling bees at school and loves to wear pretty clothes. Tess has more of an artsy personality. She loves to eat clay and draw with mud. Both girls are very involved in Youth Theater. This picture was taken right before they went on stage for the opening night of “Fiddler On The Woof.” 

Grandpa Tom and I are very proud of all our grandchildren. We can’t wait until they are old enough to spend summers with us.

DO YOU THINK MAYBE I NEED REAL GRANDCHILDREN?   

Top Sirloin or Filet Mignon

I was at the grocery store on Wednesday purchasing the necessary ingredients to prepare my famous beef stroganoff. As I stood in front of the butcher’s counter, I mentally debated the pros and cons of both top sirloin and fillet Mignon. I have always used fillet Mignon, but I’ve found it increasingly difficult emotionally to cut fillet Mignon in tiny pieces and then bury it in a heavy cream sauce. It just seems sac-religious or something. I decided to give top sirloin a try. Please believe that this decision wasn’t made strictly because of the price difference. ($16. 99 per pound as opposed to $7.99 per pound) I just began wondering if I was buying fillet because it is actually better or because it was more impressive.

I don’t want to bore you with the details of my secret recipe, because then I’d have to kill you. But I want to tell you, the sirloin stroganoff, tasted much better than the fillet stroganoff. The tiny pieces of meat might have been just a freckle tougher than usual, but the overall result was heavenly. We had guests for dinner and the stroggie got rave reviews. Not one person said, “This would have been so much better if you had only been willing to spend the extra money on fillet Mignon.”

This story contains a life lesson. The old adage - YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR - isn’t always true. The stray dog you buy from the pound is often a better companion than the pedigreed pouch who costs $1000.00. A friend who buys her clothes at Target is often more supportive and kinder than the friend who won’t be caught dead in anything that doesn’t carry a designer label. The tiny diamond that your husband gave you when he proposed, often means more and has greater sentimental value than the two karat rock he gave you on your 25th anniversary.  Spending more money doesn’t always guarantee better results. You can’t always judge a book by it’s price. Isn’t it amazing when you uncover a life lesson buried inside an everyday task like making stroganoff.

Hiatus II

Last week  I was preparing to post a wonderful Blog when the phone rang. A voice that I immediately recognized said, “Is this Shanlee?” It was none other than Al Frankin - calling from Minnesota. He said that he really enjoyed the songs I had written for the DIXIE CHICKS. He then asked if I would have any interest in writing speeches for him. (He is running for Congress.) Needless to say, I dropped everything and jumped on a plane for Dream World, Minnesota. After several days on the campaign trail, I had an epiphany. It dawned on me that my primary creative responsibility is to my dear Blog readers. I carefully explained my situation to Al and he seemed to understand. Sooooo, here I am - very committed to daily (at least more frequent) posting.

While on the road, I stopped in southern California for a weekend to help Meghann look for an apartment.

We found an incredible deal. This apartment has been gutted and everything is totally new - paint, carpet, awnings, appliances, bathroom fixtures and windows. The complex is beautiful and VERY quiet. Noise level (or lack there of) will be very important because Meghann will be working from home. This is the living room - very light and airy.

This is the deck off the living room, and also shows the outside of the dining room. All rooms have windows on two walls. I feel that an upstairs apartment is always safer.

This is the new kitchen. The workmen were finishing the stone floor. There’s great cupboard space.

Here is Meghann and Scott’s front door. We may need to dump the fake flowers. Carol and Stacey, Scott’s mom and sister, joined us on our search  for the perfect apartment. Carol and I both got a very good feeling when we found this place. We agree that it will be a great place for our kids to live.

The landscaping is beautiful and very well maintained. Lush plantings are everywhere you look. WOW.

These are the neighbor kids. There is a narrow lake that runs through the entire property. These kids can be found on or near the lake 24/7. That’s the end of my tour. The big move will happen on April 20th. I will be driving with Meghann from Salt Lake to Irvine. Scott is defending his doctoral dissertation on April 18th. He has accepted a post doctorate at U C Irvine. I will be holding their cat (one of my four-legged grandchildren) on my lap for 13 hours. Say a prayer.