Monday, September 24, 2007

Celebrate good times

Our new kitty, Rover (otherwise known as "Nugget"--the name my 3 year-old gave him)

My daughter with a sunflower head that's bigger than her head! Actually, that was one of the smaller heads.


My son enjoys fresh sunflower seeds.

I have so much to be thankful for in this life, although sometimes I get caught up in moments of (self-created) stress and depression and forget to count my blessings.

We have a new addition to our family--a cute little kitten named Rover (or Nugget). He came with a distended belly, gas and diarrhea, which cleared up immediately on a diet of raw meat. We considered worming him, but his rapid improvement indicates that giving him a species-appropriate diet was all that was required. He is a frisky, happy, cuddly little guy and very tolerant of being "loved" by our three year-old. Unfortunately, our other cat has not accepted him yet, and is spending 24 hours outside to avoid poor little Rover. Hopefully, Bart will come around and learn to tolerate his new housemate soon.

This weekend, we had a fabulous children's class in the community garden. Thirteen children, ages 3-10, came and used their 5 senses. They sniffed basil, mint, and dill. They collected flowers and seeds and leaves. They felt furry lambs-ear leaves. We caught and examined grasshoppers. The kids dug and played in the dirt for quite some time. They pulled carrots and harvested summer squash. Some didn't even know that carrots came from the ground, or what squash was. They each got to help cut a huge sunflower head and got their photo taken with it. They sampled local apples, garden tomatoes, sweet peppers, the carrot they pulled, and the squash they picked. A few tried sunflower seeds. It was great fun for all! Honestly, it made every time I felt overwhelmed or frustrated with this garden project fade into the background. It was ALL worth it to enjoy this with these kids.

So I am for this moment, grateful and happy. I wish you all well.


7 comments:

Connie said...

Marjorie, I loved this blog and your pictures. I am glad you are feeling chipper again. Being a working mom to three little ones can be very stressful. Thank the Goddess for the times like your gardening day to remind us that it is indeed worth it all! Don't worry, your two furry children will soon be best friends, rolling around playing like two little lion cubs!

Here's to Happy Days!
Connie

Anonymous said...

Marjorie!

So glad the sun shining in your little area of the world right now! I know how dark things can seem at times.

Nugget is so darned cute! :)

RVM

Anonymous said...

Your kids are too cute!

Who sponsored the class you and the kids attended, if you don't mind me asking? Was it a community class? The local extension? The only reason I ask is that I am almost done with my masters, and I am job hunting, and that is what I would like to do--teach "hands on" (well, nutrition education) for kids!

Hope you are enjoying YOUR new job!

Courtney

greenmama! said...

Hi all,

Thanks for your encouragement.

Courtney,

I know how excited you must be about graduating soon!

This community garden gig, including the class, is all volunteer. So far, I haven't figured out how to make any of my passions pay. LOL!

Good luck in your job hunt.

Marjorie

p.s. Your local extension DOES have community education jobs, but they aren't well-paid for a person with your education level. And Extension, promotes a pretty standard line when it comes to their nutrition education--the food pyramid, drink your milk, etc. So you might be looking for something different.

Sarah said...

Oh my word. This is the biggest, freakingest sunflower I've ever seen in my entire life!!! I'm glad you're doing well and feeling better.

Noel Yang said...

Hi Greenmama,

I am an artist living in Taiwan and was surfing on web to find picture of fresh sunflower seeds randomly when I came across your lovely pictures of kids eating seeds right from the flower. They are beautiful.

I just had a conversation tonight with my 70 year old Mom who lived once in Manchuria during the WWII. She related to me one of the most beautiful memories she had of that time was eating sunflower seeds right from the flower. That's why I was looking for some sort of images since I have never had the chance to eat fresh sunflower myself.

This memory of eating sunflower seeds was very very important to my Mother, because very soon after that little short window of peaceful time, her family were torn apart by war and she was separated from her father forever and has to hide her identity running for her life in China ...

I want to thank you for creating a garden for kids and for posting the incredible pics on the web. It resonate deeply with me since through your pics I could capture the image of my mother as a little girl eating the seeds happily so long long ago, when she still had a safe home and loving father... That lovely memory has given her strength to live on even when life's storm was so fierce and shattering later on...

Keep your garden growing and may God bless you and your family!
Noel from Taipei Taiwan

greenmama! said...

Thanks so much for visiting and for sharing your fanily's story with me Noel. It means so much!

Marjorie