August 17, 2010

too many thoughts

today my mother would have been 72.  i don't know really how she would have reacted to being that age, except for being grateful to have reached it.  she would have loved a party with the family, hugs from her grandchildren and being surrounded by people that love her.  and my mother, for all of her follibles, was well loved by most that knew her.  and i miss her.  i miss her a bunch.  and i feel like every time i say that in this place, that i need to acknowledge all of you that are missing someone.  so i stop and say a short prayer for them too.  but as the saying goes, life really is too short to live with regrets.  so today i celebrate all that she was.  she was an elvis loving, margarita drinking, silver-haired, laughing, historical romance reading, hug-dispensing, pepsi (not-coke) loving, creative woman.  so - happy birthday mom - hope you celebrate with all that you love that are with you. 

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for some reason, a collaborative book of some sort between my blogging buddies.  for some reason today it just popped in my head.  maybe i've been reading too many cookbooks by patricia yearwood or blogs or something but...it is just nagging me.  i'm not talking about one of those fancy blurb books that costs so much money - unless you all felt that way.  but i'm thinking like everyone take a couple of pages - type recipes, tips, add photographs, drawings, jokes, quotes, whatever...a hodgepodge of advice.  and then let's put it all together in a giant sandwich of something.  we can share it via a pdf or something.  my brain hasn't gotten that far.

also...for those of you that participated in lens.us.together.  we have come to the end of our year together - do we want to continue...let it go into that good place or what?  if you are interested, have suggestions or what.  let us know.  or maybe that's where our pages can go....onto that blog.  just a thought about it anyway.

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today on my ipod - harvest moon (neil young), i shall be released (bob dylan), bring it on home to me (sam cook), good (better than ezra), anna begins (counting crows), send it up (vertical horizon), slow dancing in a burning room (john mayer), where are you going (dave matthews band), i fall to pieces (patsy cline), sugar magnolia (grateful dead)

36 comments:

  1. YOur Mom is smiling down on you....listening to Elvis (and maybe even hanging out with him) and drinking her Pepsi. xoxo

    I would love to be part of your big sandwich book thingy ;)

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  2. Before I forget..I love that lens.us.together thing you were doing idea, does that make sense?
    If you continue, may I take part?
    Also like the idea of the book thing...when your mind gets there, let me know.
    Thanks for visiting me blog.
    Law, it's cool to have so many nice friends..
    blessings,
    glenda

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  3. Happy...Happy Birthday to your Mama...who as Caroline said is for sure smiling from ear to ear.
    a prayer for you...as you get through this day...these days are special because they make you think,wonder,ponder and imagine...

    Love L.U.T and I know I have been awful at participating weekly...but really enjoyed the comunnity!
    So...I would love to continue...and or blog pages as a group...
    The book blog sounds great too.
    Im in if you'll have me:-)
    HUGS sweet Char.
    Char.x.

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  4. lots of thoughts today....and good ones at that !
    happy birthday to your mom....i'll send some balloons her way. i know she'll love them :)

    and the book thing....you don't have to ask me twice about that :) i'm in !

    personally, i think lens us together was a great adventure, but i'm okay to see it rest now, knowing that it brought many of us together....

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  5. Everything about your mom sounds wonderful....she might have been a little off center in her love of Pepsi over Coke though....just sayin....

    I absolutely love your idea of the collaborative book idea. I love the idea of having it as a pdf as well. Maybe post it on the lens.us.together site as well. I like the idea of the site becoming some type of on-going collaborative place where the focus can change when the muse strikes.

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  6. Sending a Margerita Toast to your mom, it sounded like she spent her time here well.

    Like that book idea, it would be a feat to put that together but it has to start somewhere! I am in if you will let me.

    Sorry to hear Lens Us Together has come to an end I was rather new to it and enjoyed all the incredible artists that visited.

    Sending good thought your way, have a great day Char :)

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  7. Ps...just wrote you back about the implant over on my blog.

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  8. Your Mom is still with you as you are with her...she is within you, smiling through, living through...on and on.

    LUT I think has run its course...participation seems to have drifted...It needs to be left for what it was and is.
    I love the idea of a hodgepodge. =)

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  9. Char - here's to celebrating your mother with joy.

    I've been thinking the same thing - some sort of collaboration with my blog friends but that's as far as I got. We are all blessed with many talents; it could be a fantastic book!

    xo Erin

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  10. p.s. - Anna Begins is one of my favorite songs. My, that song gets me Every time.

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  11. Thinking of you and your margarita-drinking, pepsi-loving mom today, Char. Your post is a beautiful tribute to her. xo

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  12. such a lovely post.
    I love the idea of the book. :)

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  13. i am sending you lots of love today. i understand, char, i do. our parents leave a hole in our hearts when they move on ~ one that never quite fills back up. but with that -- they also leave who they were (the life you celebrate today) and that is the cherished gift. lots of love....

    your books sounds lovely.

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  14. thinking of you on this your mom's birthday. It must be extra hard on this day. It sounds like she was a lovely lady to have around.
    I was missing LensUsTogether - started to wonder if it had ended but just thought that it might be the busy summers every one was having. I really did enjoy it but maybe it's true that it ran it's course. I like your book idea. I look forward to seeing where that leads.

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  15. Awesome music list (as ever) and I like the Hodge Podge chronicles. I'd do that~

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  16. oh.

    how i loved that description of your mom...
    xo.

    and i am going to check into some of your music list
    right.
    now.

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  17. i have tried to comment a couple times but get teary eyed ... it is a tender bond we have with our mothers who are gone.. yours is a very special tribute..i am so grateful to know you char..

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  18. Char you really are a wonderful woman, this is a beautiful tribute to her, and to think that you think of others on this day, well you have a great big heart.....Your book thingy is interesting, I think that would be fun. Thanks for your friendship in the last year with Lens Us Together. I thoroughly enjoyed it...I am sending you a big hug today across the miles. be well.

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  19. She would be so proud of the woman that you are. She must have been one hell of a woman to have created you.
    Brenda

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  20. I raise a virtual margarita to your mom and you. I'm sure she's smiling. Lovely post.

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  21. But they are good thoughts. I say, continue. Patsy Cline will help you along the way.

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  22. It was a sweet, touching moment when you said you paused in prayer for all the losses. Thank you. Your mom sounds like a lot of fun.

    There are inexpensive programs out there for cookbooks, my husband just did one for his clan. Seems like it was one of the magazines, like Good Housekeeping. But he just googled "make a cookbook" or something and found it. Sorry, he isn't up to ask.

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  23. Maybe somewhere your mom reads your blog <3

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  24. i love your tribute to your Mom... it's great to remember then exactly how they were, the memories are what makes us chuckle when we're missing them.

    I'm all about contributing to a book.. what a fantastic idea... how clever of you!!!!

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  25. Hello my dear work-a-holic! The way you described your mom, I really feel her and know that she is dispensing a big hug to you and everyone here reading.
    --and heck yes, I'd love to be part of a collective book you're doing...btw you never weighed in on my camera question--what do you use, recommend etc. I used to be way into photography (pre-digital) and am just now getting into it again. I'm thinkin possibly a medium format camera I can scan negs into the photoshop. Or maybe the easy way out and just a really good high res point and shoot. Please tell me your thoughts when you have a moment, would love to hear!

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  26. your mom is still with you...i lost my mom too in the summer of 2006 of pancreatic cancer...

    i know how you feel.....
    i feel the same way.

    kary

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  27. i am so sorry you are missing your mom. she sure sounds like a wonderful woman!!! hugs to you, and celebrate your mom, her life, and her influence on you and others as much as you can!

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  28. i love the description of your mum xo
    and i like the idea of a bloggers-book! i would love to read it once finished! (and, i think if you made it in pdf format, for those wanted it printed from somewhere like blurb, they only need upload all the pdfs?)
    x

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  29. your mom sounds like she was a fun woman, i love how you described her. i have lost my mom as well, sometimes it's just a big ache, isn't it?...
    love the songs in your ipod...especially harvest moon...
    xo

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  30. another member of the missing mom club (just passed the five year mark)...sending you thoughts of comfort and good memories today. its a hard day to be sure and no one quite understands unless they miss their mom too! it was so sweet to read your tribute.

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  31. Your mom and I would have gotten along real well I do believe...as long as I didn't have to partake in the Pepsi:)

    I just happened to listen to a podcast on grieving today and one of the speaker's advise was to be kind to yourself...grieving takes a long time and comes and goes in waves...she also spoke of how helpful sharing her grief through blogging was...

    I seem to have drifted away from LUS...just too busy lately...and I notice that many others have drifted away too...It was fun tho and I met many new and wonderful people:)...If it continues I will try to get back into it...Love your idea of a collaboration too...

    Catching up here was just what I needed...:)

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  32. lighting a birthday candle and sending lots of positive vibes your way.

    one love.

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  33. Very sweet words about your mom. It reminds me to appreciate that my mom is still here and that I need to cherish every moment of that.

    I always wanted to know more about lens.us.together. Can you share any details the project?

    And a collaborative book would be so fun. If you think I could add something worthwhile I would love to contribute.

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  34. I wish your Mom could have heard herself described that way, with just that affection. Of course, I bet she already knew you felt just that way. Your sweet post makes me hope to be such a wonderful mom to my own daughter.

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  35. Char, I'm going to have a margarita today to toast your mother...and my mother too...here's to mothers both present and absent!

    I enjoyed participating in LUT and am so grateful that you put the energy into the creation of this community. I'm not sure if I would go another round on the photography aspect but wonder if the creation of the book...a compilation of photography, recipies, short "essay's" might not be the next evolution of the group. I think it's SUCH a great idea...(can you tell I'm a book making junkie?). Anyway, count me in.

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  36. Such sweet words about your mom.
    Hugs to you xoxo

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i feel as if each comment was between us as we sat and sipped something warm....i love to hear what you're thinking.