Make a bubble when there is trouble. February 22, 2010

“Tomorrow you will need to play in your room all day.  I am going to finish painting the window, and will also get the cork board up on the wall.    Dean that reminds me, I will need some help getting that tacked up so you will have to make some time to come in and help me.”

“Oh I won’t have time tomorrow I will just ask one of the men to come in.  When do you need help?  In the morning or the afternoon?”

“What I need is your help, and not some dirty man to come and try.  I will spend as much time explaining what to do as doing it.  I might as well just do it myself!”

Violet took a deep breath because she could tell that her parents were going to have an arguing dinner.  She sat very still and tried to move as little as possible and make no noise at all as she ate.

“Well then do it yourself!  You know you are not any better then those men that work hard all day long every day, it is their work that makes it possible for you to go shopping and be the lady of the manor.”

“Lady of the manor?!  Violet are you done eating your father and I need to have a conversation, go to your room.”

Violet quickly slid out of her chair and ran up the stairs to her room, quietly closing the door behind her.  She could still hear them downstairs arguing.  She decided to sing a song, to try and not hear.

♫ Magical flowers in the field, and fluffy clouds in the sky ♪

♫ Animals dig, walk and run and they even fly up high  ♪

Just then she heard a loud crash from downstairs, and then another.  She knew it was best to hide in her room and not go look to see what was happening.   Then she remembered something her Aunt Grace had said to do when her parents were angry with each other.

“Make a bubble when there is trouble.  Make a bubble when there is trouble.”  She closed her eyes tight as she said it, and imagined that a big bubble was all around her, just like the kind she would blow from the bottle.  “Fill it with blue just for me, fill it with blue just for me. “  As Violet repeated it, she kept her eyes shut tight.  Suddenly she felt very warm and happy and then she finished “show me… Grey!”

With her eyes closed she could see Grey, in the barn, in his stall.  She could smell the hay, and she could see Max laying not far away.  Violet was so enjoying it all that she did not hear her mother come in the room.  ©

cleaning up January 5, 2010

The girls decided that with such a special guest coming today for tea, it would be best to clean up the play space.  They spent the morning straightening this and straightening that – dusting here and dusting there.  Violet even went to get the broom and sweep up the floor.  When she came back in she asked Beth “Wouldn’t it be fun to get some flowers and put them in a cup on the table?  You know like at fancy grown up parties. “  Beth agreed so out the back of the barn the girls headed to find some flowers.

Soon after they returned with small yellow and white flowers and Violet went to get water for them.  They decided it was best to use the sugar container to hold the flowers, after all the sugar was just pretend anyway and they could pour from the creamer container; as if it was a small tea pot.

Just as they had placed the finishing touches on everything, they could hear voices from the front of the barn.  It was Aunt Grace talking to one of the ranch hands “Yes thank you, I do appreciate that – as you can see I have my hands very full.”  As the girls turned to look they saw Grace and both of them took in a deep breath at how wonderful she looked.

Today Grace was dressed in blue, and her long hair was up in a big loose bun, with a few small silver curls, falling down on to her face.  The pins that held her hair up were beautiful and as the light caught them they seemed to twinkle.  Her hands had big jeweled rings of silver and and blues and greens and in her hands she had a large silver tray.

“Hello Violet, I decided today we would have real tea and not pretend.  I do hope that is ok with you” as she said it her eyes seemed to glisten like the jewels and the smile on her face gave away the fact that she was as excited as Violet and Beth.

“Oh yes! that is wonderful and look we picked pretty flowers for the table, so it is like a real party.”

“Very nice, I like them” Aunt Grace said as she set the tray down on the table and then she asked “is Beth here?”

“Yes, of course she is right there”  as she pointed just behind her Aunt “Beth this is my Aunt Grace isn’t she beautiful? Come over here and sit down.”

“Hello Beth it is very nice to meet you and yes come let us all sit down.  Now let me see what do I have here?”  Grace placed a plate in front of Beth, Violet and herself and handed each of them a cloth napkin to place in their laps.  Then she asked Violet “Could you please place the tea cups and their plates in their places?”

“Now Beth would you prefer the cheese sandwiches or the cucumber ones or some of each?”  but Violet quickly interrupted “Oh Beth doesn’t usually eat very much, she might just want the tea if that is ok.”

“Of course it is, but I will put a sandwich on your plate anyway, just for balance” and she winked at Beth as she set the sandwiches out.  “And now I will pour the tea if that is alright.”   Grace picked up the silver tea pot and poured some of the hot tea into Beth’s cup and then into Violet’s and then into her own.  “Now cream and sugar look fun, but instead I brought some honey from my brother’s farm.  Here let me show you.”

Carefully she took a small spoon dipped it into the honey, gave it a twirl and then placed one in each of the cups.  “You can swirl it around now, it will help to cool the tea and will sweeten it..just so.  And when you are ready to drink the tea, just set the little spoon on the teacup plate.” ©