Carter & Ammon's Marvelous me: September 19, 2011

Well, folks, what do you think of Carter and Ammon’s first
school project? I think the title of the unit the children are working on is “Marvelous
Me”. Ammon and Carter told Sean and me where to put the pictures and stickers.
As you can tell, the pictures represent things Carter and Ammon like to do,
things they like to eat, and things such as cartoons that they like. I hope
everyone has a Terrific Tuesday!

Since last the summer of 2010, Nana has wanted to treat Carter and Ammon to a day at the Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Lakeview, Georgia. We all got to go Saturday (9-17-2011). I am not going to write much about the park itself, but Sean’s mother (Nana) and father (Papaw Brown) use to take Sean there quite frequently while he was growing up. It is quite a nostalgic experience for both Nana and Sean. The Park itself has been there since approximately 1916. We all had a great time, and Ammon and Carter were exhausted when they left. Thank you, Nana, for a wonderful day.

Carter, Nana, & Ammon

Carter & Ammon

Sean & Ammon

Carter & Haven

Carter and Ammon had their first, complete school week for
the 2011-2012 school year. Their teacher is Mrs. Paula, and they seem to like
her. The class is comprised of 7 children and it is a “spiraled” classroom…not
the shape (LOL), but older 2 year olds like Ammon and Carter are “spiraled”
with younger 3 year olds.  Otherpreschools would still have Ammon and Carter with brand new 2 year olds while they are almost 3….big developmental differences both mentally and physically between the two ages.

I guess the best thing is that when I pick them up, they are
tired, and don’t want to talk. I know they have had a busy time both physically
and mentally ;o) However, little by little during the day after school, we
discuss a few things that went on the in the classroom. We ask that you all keep
Carter and Ammon in your prayers for a safe, happy, and learning-filled year.

I’ve never seen a Screech Owl up close, but I have heard them a
lot during my life. Our Screech Owl has been “screeching” its tune off and on
for about 2 weeks now. I love the contrast sound to our Great Horned Owl’s
(Hoot Owl) “hoot” that I wrote about back in July. The 3 second trill of the
Screech Owl, to me, has a “cold” sound to it. It wasn’t cold the first night I
heard it some days ago, but the memory is of chilly October/November, star-lit
nights either listening to them at Nanny Caylor’s house or listening to them
with Katie and Josh the Black and Tan Coonhounds several years ago on a frozen,
moon-lit night up on the ridges of Varnell, Georgia. Either way, I associate
the screech with colder temperatures ;o) You know, since I heard it’s call the
other night, I have tried and tried to remember when I’ve heard both the Hoot
Owl and the Screech Owl on the same night. I cannot. I wonder why that is?
Happy Thursday!

I got to hear a song on Tuesday called Early Autumn. I had never heard it before. It was a hit in 1949 with Woody Herman. How did I hear it? Well, I’ll let you all in on a tiny
secret…On very rare occasions I listen to the XM Satellite Radio’s channel 4,
the 1940s station! Woo hoo! With it, I make a connection to my Nanny Caylor who, of
course, grew up listening to the radio for entertainment until the 1950s with
its introduction of the television. When I was in high school I use to take home the Time/Life books called This Fabulous Century (the 20^thcentury of course) from my school library, and Nanny and I would read over the 1930s and 1940s editions. She and I would discuss the arts, entertainment, important news, music, and fashions of those decades. It was awesome! When I listen to the 1940s channel, I always imagine Nanny standing in her kitchen making dinners to the music, sitting down with a cold glass of
lemonade and the radio during the long, hot summer days of the 1940s, or simply keeping up with the latest news of such events as World War II, the Berlin Blockade, or the
creation of the Israel state.

The other part I enjoyed was the title of the song itself, Early Autumn. Since our flood from Tropical Storm Lee last week, we have been blessed with cooler weather and
lower humidity. We even have a few trees which have started losing their green
and giving way to their autumn colors. As we jog in the evening, there is such
a nice, refreshing breeze and a fresh smell in the air telling us that summer is
losing its muggy grasp. Hearing the song Tuesday was a treat that combined the
love of my grandmother and autumn all in one. It would be so cool to call her
up, and say, “Hi, ya, Nanny! Do you remember the song from 1949, Early Autumn?” ;o)

….I’m such a “fair-weathered friend”. LOL

Such a good friend! (Especially Septembers 6 & 7, 2011)

My friend, Pam Patty Townsend, will really find it amusing that my best
friend for last Tuesday and Wednesday was our gas grill. She is the friend who
told me it sounded like I was “in love” with my Kitchen Aide coffee pot! LOL

Sean and I were so surprised that our electricity did not
come back on during the night/early morning hours of last Tuesday after the
power went out late Monday evening. On Tuesday morning Carter, Ammon, and I went out for biscuits, but somehow by then, I wasn’t in a coffee mood. Up in the afternoon of Tuesday, I got a craving for coffee, and I went outside to the gas grill to check it
out. I had only imagined the North Georgia/Southeast Tennessee Blizzard of 1993
when my gas grill in Varnell worked, but took so long to just simply boil a
saucepan of water. I was dreading waiting for 30 minutes for a cup of coffee,
but I was willing to do so! We’ve had the grill for three years, and it has two
side panels as shelves. Folks, I had forgotten that the left shelf had a burner
under it. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee haaaaaaaaa! There was my coffee burner! I clicked my
heels, ran in the house, got our glass saucepan, and made me two cups of
coffee. Boy, it was nice. The real treat was making coffee at 6:30 A.M. on
Wednesday morning before Carter and Ammon got up! I thought I was 13 years old
again and camping on Lake Lanier on one of our many fishing trips! Oh, the
memories, and oh that blessed caffeine! ;o)

Unfortunately, my children really love television. However,
they love to read as well, but they do spend loads of time more watching T. V.
than reading. When Carter wakes up in the morning, the first thing he wants to
do is “Turn on the T. V.” After 24 hours without power last Tuesday, both
Carter and Ammon had it archived in their minds that we had no power so that meant no T. V. On Wednesday morning, we had enough sunshine to get up to see things normally in the house. After breakfast, we decided that we wanted to read. It was the most we
had read at one time in probably a year. We read Marvin K. Mooney will you Please Go Now! two times (once for Carter and once for Ammon). We then read several other books as well.

After reading, we went outside to play, and I guess we
played for about 30 minutes. We wanted to play more, but we had to get ready
for Kindermusik. That play time was so fulfilling. Running, kicking soccer
balls, playing hop-scotch, and running while playing “you can’t catch me” were
all amplified and more enjoyable because we weren’t trapped by the indoors and
its magnetic-hypnotic appeal. I do hate having to do without electricity, but I
do enjoy that closeness we share when we depend on each other for entertainment.