End of 2012



As you end one year and begin another, keep in mind that some things are not changing for our service men and women yet.    There is a plan to bring them home, let us hope they all come back safe and sound.   



Here is my friend Angie with her son Jason and two of his classmates who graduated from high school last year and all went into the service together.   The Marine Corps wants the very best, well, they got them.    Proud young folks right out of boot camp and ready for their next assignment.  



It is the truth, the more a book lover has the more books he or she wants.    I have three filled book cases now, guess the best thing is to really look them over and find out which ones I want to get rid of to make room for new ones.    I have some very old ones by favorite authors I intend to read one day, but that day is never going to come as once read I don't get back for a second  go round....there is always a new one on the horizon and needs attention more.    



You know I think Maxine is right.   Speaking of coffee I am going to go set my pot on so I can have some and wake up.

So today, the end of a year....2012....which has been a bad, sad, and tough year for so many folks.  I think each and every one of us has been touched by the events that left us heart sore and weary.    We face a new year . . . 2013;   and we have to remember to make our year a good one we have to start within our own bailiwick.    You have seconds to use or lose;   you have to pay attention to what is going on in your world and make up your mind to choose wisely.  Your number one priority should be your health for a healthy body and a healthy mind is what makes your world go around.  Make up your mind to try some new and different things this year, from a helping hand that can make a difference, to changing bad habits which can make you helpless or hopeless;   to a change in attitude that can make you come alive and enjoy your seconds as you live them one day at a time.     If you are out celebrating, be wise, be careful and still have a barrel of fun....maybe doing  a polka or two.  Some of you have reached the waltzing stage; others have reached for the rocking chair, so whatever it happens to be, make it a good year, all year. . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!     Hugs to all.



Ho Hum!



Maxine . . . just has a way about her;  here she says, "mind works like lightening, one brilliant flash then it's gone. "  How true it is once you start into the octogenarian years and as they pass so does a lot of the mental  prowess.    First is it is a delayed word buzzing around the brain, lost but recaptured, and then it is a blank session in the  middle of a conversation....senility at its best.    But the brain is a muscle and it has to be exercised which means you have to use your words constantly, do puzzles and both jigsaw and crossword, read, read, read and stretch that mind every day. 



There are two thousand pieces of jig saw puzzle on my dining room table and they have been there for weeks.   It is slow going when you do not have room to put out all the pieces.   Jo has been a God send and has put in several hours and has found hundreds of pieces.     We work similarly but different in that I am one who lays the pieces out in order and in color combinations while she swoops them up in her hand and tries one piece at a time until she gets them in.   I put mine back where I pick them up from and she piles them in a spot to call their own, yet both work and the puzzle is coming to its end.  . . sad to say not before Jo leaves for home tomorrow.   I told her she couldn't go until the puzzle was finished and she told me I could talk to her boss about more time.   I hate to lose her as she has been special company and so nice to have around.



I wish Erin had been home sooner so she could have shown me more about pictures and blogs.   I couldn't pull some pictures up and thought it was because they were from a different type of camera but it turns out I had been adding a word or name to the pictures and the jpg was missing and if that is missing then no picture reproduction.   Live and Learn.    This was one of the pictures Bob and Andrea sent from Prescott, Arizona where they will be living come next summer.   They visited the town and saw all of the Christmas lights.   They were beautiful and Prescott had the true spirit of Christmas.    

So today, a day of rest, relax and enjoy the day . . . Sunday . . . it always has such a nice ring to it.   Pat and I go grocery shopping early to avoid the crowds and I am not sure what I want to put in the grocery wagon for this week.   I don't know about you but I feel like I've been stuffed and could be mounted to a wall . . . John is the chef of today and is taking us out to O"Hallerans for ribs tonight, a farewell dinner . . . soon I will be back to my empty nest.    It is both good and bad....so good to have the children home and share time, love and hugs, but they have to get back to their lives and I have to get back to my quiet times.    I have a few days of instructions coming up on the new flat screen TV and the player...two remotes to master with a sieve for a mind.    I want to know how to play the music...I have a new album by Matt Munroe, one of my favorite singers....and a new Andy Williams which will keep his voice alive.   Hopefully all this is taking place in your abode and you are counting your blessings and saying goodbye to those you love for a short time.  They will be back again as soon as they can, or maybe you can go and visit them when Spring comes and the sunshine with it.     Make today a sunshine day and smile with your eyes;  don't forget the hugs.     Hugs to all.



New Ideas

I wouldn't mind having a couple of these , think of the storage you would save.    Makes me wonder if they leak though.  It seems pushing them in and out like that would make the seams weak, but it is a good idea.  I haven't seen any in the stores and would be tempted to buy one just to see how it does work.



I like this idea but then the crackers wouldn't stay in the side 'car' as I'd have them crunched up in my soup.  How about you? Are you one who eats your soup with one cracker in hand and dip now and then, or are you one of those who crush them all up and put them in your soup all at once.    Either way . . . yum.



If you could talk to my escape key you would hear words of wisdom about how much it is over used.   If the key board could talk you'd hear words of how abused it is.    My 'z' key refuses to work anymore.  



I'm thinking of giving up bacon, how about you?



One in a million orange that would give up it's center piece in one swoop, but I had to laugh  as it made a good ad for the Viagra drug that seems to be sweeping the country.  You have to admit you could put the pharmaceutical companies out of  business, and make the orange growers multi billionaires.

So today, Saturday, the start of another weekend which should give you rest time after all the Christmas activities.    I put away the Christmas decorations, the little tree is back in its box for another year and the outside tree is now back to normal without any fancy tiny nutcrackers.   They were cute and made of wood and I didn't think that the cold wet weather would destroy them but it did.  Glue is glue until it meets the elements.  Live and learn.  I should have known better and bought some special things for an outside tree.   I don't usually decorate it but this year thought it might be fun to try and even hung tiny candy canes for the children to help themselves but no one did.   When the children were small the tree stayed up until 'little Christmas' which was January 6th, but not anymore . . . now it is down before it is up. . .well, those fake trees just don't have the smell of real true pines.   Enjoy the rest of 2012 and hope that 2013 will be a 'banner year' with a few good surprises . . . wouldn't that be nice?     Think health, hope and happiness and practice the power of positive thinking.   Resolution number one.....' accent the positive, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with Mr. in between....'   an old Bing Crosby tune . . .hum, the words will come.  Go, make today the best one yet.    Hugs to all.



Feathery Creatures


 

 

Hey Judy this one is for you.  You  sent along a picture of your new bench and I had suggested spend some of your time curled up there with a good book.  When we were talking on the telephone you mentioned that you couldn't do that as the birds were in the branches and this is what you must have meant.....ha.ha.....hope you find only snow droppings and not that bird stuff when you look up.    

 
Three little birdies up in a tree what a lovely view as the pogonip frosts the branches and the birds ignore it completely.      Frost and ice what a beautiful sight.

Jennifer sent this picture of her favorite bird sitting in her backyard tree.   A little pogonip on the branches doesn't seem to deter this big fat fellow...look at the size of it . . . almost 'eating' size . . I'm kidding, I'm kidding . . . who would want to eat a fat little bird like that...a robin red breast in winter . . .maybe we are going to have an early Spring . . . well winter just started so don't get your hopes up yet.  We had a bit of sunshine yesterday so went off to the beaches to see if we could spot a whale or two.   It is hard telling sometimes as they love the huge rocks and that is where some of the waves break so you cannot see the spouting they do.    When we do, it is an exciting feeling as you know that this huge sea beast is right there.  I still hope to see a tail or two, but have settled for the sun shining on its huge body and wait for it to breech but so far it is much to busy feeding.   Of course we had to stop at Whaleshead and have a bowl of hot chowder and a few pieces of delectable fish with those big round chips.   Delicious, if you come this way we can go there, I know the way.

Well another Friday morning and the end , almost, of December 2012.    It will be a new weekend with a new holiday right behind and you will all be celebrating the arrival of a brand new year.   I wonder  what it will have in store for each of us.   We will have to keep our eyes and ears open and make sure we put one foot in front of the other and make our way through it with good health, a bit of wealth even though the taxes will go up. . . probably already have as the Obama Care bill will be official as the new year starts. . . well, we can weather the storm, not unusual for us to have to pull in our oars and float awhile.     Attitude is your friend, or your enemy, so choose wisely as to how you want your seconds to pass.    It can make or break your day.  There is nothing that says you cannot smile with your eyes and reach out for a big hug.    Start making a list of resolutions.    Hugs to all.

 

Three Beauties



Daughter Christine with her new yard art.  She is a collector of dragons and she sure made a loud squeal when she opened her big box and saw this one.    She also has a big black bear for her porch telling all to wipe their paws....



Daughter Patricia in her new warm vest. 



Granddaughter Erin was resting up after all the excitement. 

So today, Thursday after Christmas and before the New Year weekend . . . hang up that new calendar and get ready to
celebrate the New Year in.   It will be interesting to find out what this new year will have in store for us.   We haven't gotten over celebrating Christmas yet as there are left overs to be used up and all the 'goodies' are just spread out and, if the truth be known, I think we all spread out a bit more.    The turkey was juicy and tender;  the side dishes were tasty and devoured.    The gifts were still coming in yesterday and I had a lovely surprise as Bob and Andrea saw to it that I have a new bird house.    Bob made it himself out of wine corks  and it is going to be out on the back porch hanging from the big iron hook Christine gave me for hanging plants.   Hopefully a new bird will find a home and babies will be born in it.    Judy sent me a tiny bird on a long wire to house in my plants and a new tablet for keeping track of my to- do's or wants or needs.   And. . . I have new shoes from my niece who has a SAS shoe store near her and when she heard we had no shoe store and my tuneful cry about my worn out shoes, she just went out and had a pair of walking shoes sent to me...and they fit....and they look so good and I have to admit feel good too.   

If you are surrounded by loving family and friends, be sure you count your blessings and make sure you let them know how much you appreciate their love and kindness . . . I am blessed.   Time to think about a New Year, New Year resolutions you may or may not keep and your health has to be a number one priority.    You cannot be happy if you are not healthy so work on that one day as it comes.    Test your smile in the mirror each morning and make sure that it comes from the heart and shows through the eyes.     Flex those muscles and exercise so you can open them up and let someone or two or a dozen walk into them and get those hugs that make you feel like the world is your oyster.    Practice your list of good thoughts and deeds you are going to master this year and join the candle lighters of the world and make the light shine so we will find our way.  Improve your skills and be proud of them.   And, it doesn't hurt a bit to add a new friend or two.     Go, use your seconds wisely . . .live . . .love and laugh.    Hugs to all.

Morning After



Nope, I didn't get one of these for Christmas, but it is a good idea for next year. I did get a lovely new pale lavender sweater from my granddaughter Erin along with a new puzzle book I can carry in my purse and use if I have to wait anywhere and am bored. John and Jo gave me a new puzzle table top that turns along with three new puzzles that are monsters. They are the new mystery ones which you have to complete to solve the mystery so the picture on the box top is of no use if you are looking for clues. Don't be shy, come visit, I'll let you help. I am sporting a new foot bath and special soap from daughter Patricia along with my Halston which is becoming very hard to find. Erin added some Nantucket Brier which makes the skin feel like satin. Guess what Maggie gave me, yeah another puzzle, a Kincaid which looks like it will keep me busy for a long spell. The lovely scarf is soft and white so will go with anything. I have several new and lovely gifts from daughter Christine . . . a picture with a dandy lion, you know the early start where you sing, he loves me, he loves me not . . . we used to call it the fortune telling flower. The acorn and leaf candle holder is beautiful; the jar of special chocolate sauce is going to come in handy to top some ice cream scoops. The apron is beautiful and I wore it all day to keep my new sweater from getting stained as I was the turkey cook this year.  Son John will be busy putting up that wonderful cast iron stand for the porch so I can hang a basket of flowers out there.   Come see when you get a chance.  Jock sent a package of Harry and David Pears that were the best I have ever eaten. They were huge, and so delicious. Everyone loved their gifts and had a lot of laughs. I was so busy opening my gifts I didn't pay attention to everything every one else got but I can tell you they were all very pleased and happy. Dinner turned out to be a feast and the turkey was moist and tender; the assorted vegie dishes were just perfect and even the gravy had no lumps. We watched George C. Scott play Scrooge and it was, as usual, it was wonderful even though we all had a slight snooze through it.

I hope you find your mind filled with memories that will carry you through a whole year until we get to celebrate Christ's birthday next year. I was so lucky to get a phone call from Bob and Andrea who were back home to celebrate Christmas as they had been on the road traveling to visit their grandchildren and friends. Judy called from Colorado and bragged about her sunshine although she was hoping for snow. Some folks got a lot of it so son, Michael, couldn't get over the Sierras where they got five feet of snow and one hundred an hour mile winds . We missed him. But...we talked with him. Hopefully your Christmas was wonderful. . . just like YOU . . . and the few pounds we gained will disappear once you join me in an early January First Lent. . . yeah, make it early this year and give up stuffing and puffing and start working towards a summer bikini size and shape . . . 'we wish'!

My heartfelt thanks goes to my wonderful children who put so much love and effort into making Christmas sparkle like the lights burning brightly on the Christmas trees. They all made angels of the year, as did friends who sent cards and called and made my Christmas so merry and bright. So I leave you with a hug and a smile and a heart full of love for each and every one of you. Now go . . . get ready for the New Year and let us all work towards making it a good one filled with sharing and caring. Hugs to all.