• Priscilla Nason Shartle

hearthealthyboomer

~ Living healthy after age seventy.

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Tag Archives: grandchildren

Happy New Year

02 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Uncategorized

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Chickamauga Chase, contemplative prayer, creative, Fr. Richard Rohr, grandchildren, healthy food, Noom, prayers, weight loss

A few years ago I picked a WORD for the year that I wanted to see reflected in my daily life. It was RADIANT – a wise and amazing choice that gave me joy. Another year I chose JOY which lifted me up and cheered me on as I ventured in another year of aging.

I try not to over-think the next year’s word. I spend a little of each day as the end of the year approaches meditating on what word might best fit the new year. For some reason I did not pick a word for 2019, and found that I really missed seeing the little things that a word might show me. Because of this I went back through my photos and realized that my word should have been CREATIVE due to the amazing number of ways I was creative.

2919 Christmas Ball OrnamentIt began when I started making quilted ornaments from styrofoam ball. I used a YouTube video to teach myself how to do it. That lead a year-long effort making over 40 ornaments which I gave away to friends, family, teachers, or donated to raise money for my P.E.O. chapter or the Chattanooga Autism Center. My first ball was one of my favorites.

mushroom kale soupThe next thing I knew, I started a weight loss journey with Noom and discovered hundreds of wonderful healthy fulfilling recipes like this mushroom and kale soup with orzo pasta and within four months I lost 15 pounds and dropped two sizes.

 

handmade cardsThe next creative thing I discovered was handmade cards. I found fabric with pretty or cute patterns, cut them out and ironed on adhesive then trimmed them, peeled off the adhesive and ironed the pattern onto a card.

The next thing I did was paint the shutters on my house and then the front door. It’s kind of fun being known as the only house in our neighborhood with the yellow front door!new paint

Chickamauga Race

And if that wasn’t enough, I started walking on the treadmill at the gym and participated in the Chickamauga Chase walking two miles beeting my treadmill time by five minutes! Doesn’t sound too agressive, but before I started training, I could barely walk down the street to my granddaughter’s house without getted winded.

Dream Catcher

In April, I created a dream catcher for my granddaughter who has Autism.  By the time summer arrived, our backyard garden started to produce and I was able to create some delicious breakfasts with zucchini, cherry tomatoes and boiled eggs.

 

Lexi's dress

Sometime before school started I decided to make a dress for Emery Kate and then Lexi.  It has been over thirty years since I made a dress with my sewing machine.  It was such fun and so rewarding that they liked their dresses. EK's dress

 

 

I participated in my church’s first Trunk or Treat.  I rained so we brought it indoors to the Parish Hall.  Halloween Healthy TreatsOver 100 children visited with about 15 families hosting a table in lieu of a trunk.  I created mummy boxes of raisins, pumpkin cookies, and jack-o-lantern tangerines. They were all a big hit!

 

Finally, the last creative thing I did in 2019 was to finish Emery Kate’s afghan. I started crocheting it last year. She loves it! EK's afghan

 

Part of staying healthy at my age is staying mentally healthy as well as physically healthy. My morning routine of prayers, meditations and reading devotionals is key to my success. I discovered a little book by Catholic monk, Fr. Richard Rohr entitled Just This, a book of contemplative prayer. And although I am about finished with the book, it has occurred to me that I really like the idea of a contemplative mind.  According to Fr. Rohr, “The contemplative mind does not tell us what to see, ut teaches us how to see what we behold.”

That’s what I want! My sweet cousin, Patsy, says I’m the only person she know who doesn’t take things at face value. I question; I did deep; then deeper until I feel I have the answer. Contemplative prayer exemplifies this technique: read, study, read again, write, and of course pray. Maybe I’m a little OCD, who knows? If so, too bad I didn’t have this desire while in school or I would have made better grades! But one is never too old to learn new things.

And so this year I plan to stop my habitual thinking and work to broaden my horizons by usig my imagination. I begin by posting yesterdays message today. I kept telling myself to post, yesterday, but I was focused on cooking the blackeyed peas and my mother-in-law’s coleslaw recipe to which I added my father’s cheese grits recipe and fried ham bringing all the luck and prosperity I could muster up on one meal.

But then what is New Year’s Day really? For me, it’s about new beginnings and seeing things through a CONTEMPLATIVE mind.

Blessing for 2020

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A New Year and Adventure

20 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Happy New Year

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grandchildren, parents, present day, schools, teachers

This is an open letter to all teachers, para pros, staff and faculty at my grandchildren’s schools:

It is that time of year that students, parents, teachers and faculty begin the new year at their respective schools.

I am very grateful that my grandchildren live and go to schools where they are treated with love, respect, kindness and understanding. And that are receiving a superb education.

My one request would be that no one go back to anything!  By this I mean to resolve to let go of a backward-looking consciousness.  That is, don’t say such things as, “go back to work” or “go back to school.”  These words imply monotony and unhappiness.

Let the new year be a time of reaching forward with eagerness and anticipation. In the days and months ahead live each day as if were the only day of eternity.  For it is true that the most important day is the present day.  There is no point in looking back or wasting time trying to look ahead.

Instead of keeping a calendar counting down the days to the first school break, countdown to upcoming events, celebrations, parties, and fun activities.  Post successes and achievements. Be proud that school is alive and well.

Success is based on the fact the we all have something in common.  We all love our children and grandchildren and we all only want what is best for them.  Knowing that we are one in this effort makes us strong and powerful and lifts us up which makes our schools wonderful.

And so I wish for you a great new year and an adventure for all concerned.  I plan to stay involved in all my grandchildren’s schools and be there for others who would also do so if they could.  For today is the most important year of my life and yours, the midpoint between all that we have been and all that we can and will become.

Happy New Year!

Pris Shartle

Paige, Lexi, Hayden and Emery Kate’s Grandmother and School Volunteer

Crow Like a Rooster

02 Monday Jul 2018

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Chantecler, crowing, devotion to duty, Edmond Rostand, grandchildren, healthy outlook, inner strength, rooster

This morning I got to thinking about why a rooster crows. I had heard it was to find a mate, but research tells me that a rooster will pretty much crow for any reason.  Scientists have determined that they have an inner clock that calls them to crow before the sun rises.

There are two roosters that live on the farm behind my neighborhood, and my house backs up to the road which the main house of the farm sits on.  I’ve never seen them, but I hear them all day.  So much so, I often don’t hear them even when they are crowing.

I became fascinated with “my” rooster when I first heard the story of the rooster Chantecler in the play, so named, written by Edmond Rostand, (the man who wrote Cyrano de Bergerac). The play is notable in that all the characters are farmyard animals including the main character, a chanticleer, or rooster.  Chantecler believes that his crowing causes the sun to rise and refuses to tell the other barnyard animals why his music is so beautiful. The play goes on with plots of deceit and murder, symbolizing the sign of times during Rostand’s life.

Chantecler the rooster

Maude Adams playing Chantecler in the 1911 play

Finally, Chantecler is lured from the barnyard by a beautiful pheasant who wants him to give up his crowing for her.  He denies her request but he ends up protecting all the birds from a hawk. He and the pheasant end up together in the forest when his life is threatened and this time she saves his life.  Both return to the barnyard where the pheasant resigns herself to being second place to Chantecler’s devotion to his duty of crowing every morning.

We can all take a lesson in devotion to duty and what is wrong with crowing about it as well? I’m sixty-eight years old and my duty in this time in my life is to help take care of my grandchildren.  Maybe not every day, but in a supportive role when needed. Whether I’m volunteering at their school, driving them to and from school, being the “mystery reader” in their classroom, or cheering for them at award ceremonies, I am present.  Maybe I cook a meal or two now and then, or take them out for a treat, a movie, or lunch.  Maybe we play a game of cards, Candyland, or I binge watch Fuller House with them on Netflix.

I’m proud to be a grandmother and grateful for my inner strength, healthy outlook, and ambitious attitude that makes me want crow like a chanticleer rooster or the roosters that lives behind my house.

 

group bowling

The Grandchildren – Good Times

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