Wednesday, November 30, 2005
More Preparations For December!
Yep the carpet cleaners were here today and worked magic on our carpet in the living/dining room. The area in front of the bay window is cleared for the setting up of the new tree. No decorations up inside or out yet but I still have plenty of time.
Yesterday Jay got the wedges on the bodies of our lawn projects after I painted them. Today it was two trips to the basement to paint both sides of items to be attached to the bodies. Maybe a complete can be marked on the project tomorrow evening because the morning will be devoted to a trip to the Dr.Hukill’s office then on to Waterford to pick up Jay’s glasses.
Friday morning it is off to the ear doctor’s office for appointments for both of us. Friday evening we are invited to the Senior’s Christmas dinner at the Township Hall. It is an annual event put on by the Lions in our area with handcrafted decorations and a bit of entertainment.
Saturday afternoon it is down to Wes’ house to help dress the Tranquillity III clowns for the Lake Orion Lighted Christmas Parade that evening. I can no longer walk in the parade myself so it is wonderful to see the group I started still participating. All the costumes went down to Wes’ on Thanksgiving.
I have been trying to develop a Christmas card for this year but no idea has grabbed me by the neck to work on. Might just have to buy them and I don’t feel that is personal enough.
My sweet hubby ordered me some new slippers from Uggs-N-Rugs in Western Australia and they arrived a few days ago. Just in time to keep these old size 10 1/2s warm.
So until the next time take care, stay warm, and keep laughing!
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Almost December!
Sweet thing and David were up Saturday to take the mower deck off the tractor and put the snow plow on. A rousing pinochle game with the woman losing developed and a pork loin dinner was consumed. Jay loves having the family up so he can cook something special for them.
A moment during the visit that sticks in my mind was when my daughter requested that I hug her tight and she whispered in my ear that the Mommy smell was what she sensed sometimes. She said she thought to herself “Gee I smell just like my mommy”! What a warm and comforting thing to say. What an inner smile develops each time I think of it.
All the thoughts of Christmas have started floating through my head. I have someone coming tomorrow to clean the sad old carpeting in the living/dining room area so I can set up the new tree. The snow has disappeared and it is a good time to string those outside lights before it returns. Getting ready to decorate involves several blue plastic boxes filled with goodies that must be hauled up from the basement and be sorted through. I love this time of year because the house take on a warm and welcoming glow that shine into all the corners, out of the windows, and beckons all to come a sit a spell!
There are still the lawn decorations to finish, cards to address and send out, and I think I’ll make cookies this year. I need to knit myself a new pair of gloves and buy some boots. Buck and Doe are waiting in the basement to start their second adventure on the lawn of the dome. Of course Doe needs to be reassembled but Buck and the sled where were stored without losing a leg or a runner! What an exciting three weeks are ahead.
As is tradition all the children will be here on Christmas Eve with their children in tow. Being together, eating a great meal, laughing, and recalling past Christmas together will be top priority.
This last year has been what the farmers call a rough row to hoe but hopefully things will get better as the new year progresses. But whatever happens we at least have each other to lean and make it through!
Monday, November 28, 2005
Trying To Make You Smile!
HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay them.
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down. (keep this in mind if you are one of those grouches)
3. Keep learning: Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain get idle.
“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” And the devil’s name is Alzheimer’s!
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath. And if you have a friend who makes you laugh, spend lots and Lots of time with HIM/HER.
6. The tears happen: Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourself. LIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love: Whether it’s family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever.
Your home is your refuge.
8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9. Don’t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county, to a foreign country, but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.
And if you don’t send this to at least four people - who cares? But do share this with someone. Darlene did with me. Now I am with you --Hope it made you smile!
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Subject: Senior Humor
Some oldies but goodies. Thanks for sharing Skyline.
---
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s
permission to join a fitness club and start exercising. I decided to take
an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and
down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the
class was over.
---
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman: “And what do you think is the
best thing about being 104?” the reporter asked. She simply replied, “No
peer pressure.”
---
The nice thing about being senile is you can hide your own Easter eggs.
---
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very
elderly widow and asked, “How old was your husband ?” “98,” she replied.
“Two years older than me.” “So you’re 96,” the undertaker commented. She
responded, “Hardly worth going home, is it?
---
I’ve sure gotten old.! I’ve had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
new knees. Fought prostate cancer and diabetes. I’m half blind, can’t hear
anything quieter than a jet engine, take 40 different medications that make
me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia. Have
poor circulation; hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can’t remember if
I’m 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my
driver’s license.
---
A 97-year-old man goes into his doctor’s office and says, “Doc, I want my
sex dr ive lowered.” “Sir,” replied the doctor, “you’re 97 Don’t you think
your sex drive is all in your head?” “You’re darned right it is!” replied
the old man. “That’s why I want it lowered!”
---
An elderly woman decided to prepare her will and told her preacher she had
two final requests. First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she
wanted her ashes scattered over Wal-Mart. “Wal-Mart?” the preacher
exclaimed. “Why Wal-Mart?” “Then I’ll be sure my daughters visit me twice a
week.”
---
My memory’s not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory’s not as sharp
as it used to be.
---
It’s scary when you start making the same noises as your coffeemaker.
---
These days about half the stuff in my shopping cart says, “For fast
relief.”
---
I’ve tried to find a suitable exercise video for women my age, but they
haven’t made one called “Buns of Putty.”
---
Don’t think of it as getting hot flashes. Think of it as your inner child
playing with matches.
---
Don’t let aging get you down. It’s too hard to get back up.!
---
Remember: You don’t stop laughing because you grow old, You grow old
because you stop laughing.
---
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people I never liked anyway, the good
fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference.
---
Now, I think you’re supposed to send this to 5 or 6, maybe 10. Oh heck,
send it to a bunch of your friends if you can remember who they are.
I’m Purple!
At least that’s what the quiz says!
|
Your Blog Should Be Purple |
 You’re an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you’re the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say. |
Friday, November 25, 2005
Carrots, Eggs and Coffee…
A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life
and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going
to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and
struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the
first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last
she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil, without
saying a word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and
placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it
in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you
see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots.
She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the
daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell,
she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the
daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its
rich aroma.
The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same
adversity - boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went
in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the
boiling water, it softened and became weak.
The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its
liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside
became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they
were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on
your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee
bean?”
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but
with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my
strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with
the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a
financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and
stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and
tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot
water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water
gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the
bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the
situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you
elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are
you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to
make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to
make you happy.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of
everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The
brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can’t
go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and
heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was
smiling. Live your life so at the end, you’re the one who is smiling
and everyone around you is crying.
It’s easier to build a child than repair an adult .
May we all be COFFEE.
An oldie but a goodie from Pam and Sally Thanks Gals
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
From Sally and Pam. Thanks for sharing!
Twas the night of Thanksgiving, But I just couldn’t sleep
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.
The leftovers beckoned - The dark meat and white
But I fought the temptation With all of my might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation.
So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door
And gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
‘Til all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees....
Happy eating to all - Pass the cranberries, please.
May your stuffing be tasty, May your turkey be plump.
May your potatoes ‘n gravy Have nary a lump,
May your yams be delicious May your pies take the prize,
May your Thanksgiving dinner Stay off of your thighs.
Yum!
I had charged the batteries for the camera and was ready to take lots of pictures. I took one of Wes, Deb, and Jazz in the kitchen and then sat spellbound as the dishes began to appear on the table!
What a great meal!
Jay’s brined and roasted turkey, candied sweet potatoes, and dressing made with onions, apples, and raisins was to die for.
Debra’s asparagus with hollandaise sauce, the pumpkin roll, pumpkin pie, apple pie, the wild mushroom soup, the flaky rolls, the baby red-skin potatoes with butter and parsley, and relish dishes started the mouth watering even before the first bite.
Her beautifully set table with fall flowers and the sparkling fruit juices in wine glasses was a welcoming sight to invite an empty tummy to dine.
But a surprise was in store--the apple pie crust was made by eldest son --Wes. I have never made a good pie crust so I depend on ready made products. But Wes turned out a crust from scratch better than I have ever made. This was only the second time he has made a crust. Then he proceeded to create a gravy from the pan drippings we brought down that completed a delicious meal.
While consuming my plate full I kept thinking yes I want seconds of this and seconds of that knowing full well that I would be too full to wiggle if I finished the first helping. I am here to testify that the turkey was the only thing stuffed this Thanksgiving!
For us it was part of our family and Richard to partake, as they say, of bounties this year. Hope your’s was as great!
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Where Have You Been Child?
Wow since Saturday I have been lock out of my blog world!
I could process e mail but to post was out of the question.
So catch up time has arrived.
Over the weekend Jay’s new glasses had a lens fall out a couple of times. Frustrating moments when they cost over $500 and he just picked them up on the17 th and the office is 88 miles round trip. So it was back to said office to turn them in for repair.
On the way home we decided that this was a good day to go to Bronner’s in Frankenmuth to replace the Christmas tree we threw away last year.
As you can see Bronner’s is Christmas decorations at the max. We had been up to Frankenmuth two years for the Ice Festival but didn’t visit Bronner’s. In fact it has been close to 15 years since we were at the store. On that visit I saw hundreds of things I wanted but at the end of the day I had left with one blue ornament with the Nativity scene on it. That is how overwhelming this store is. This time our purchase was a pre-lighted tree. The old pocket book screamed a little but this tree will outlast me! I’ll show it to you in a couple of weeks when I get it out of the box.
I have spent the last two days helping Jay get the fixings for turkey,dressing, and sweet potatos. This is our part of the Thanksgiving dinner at Wes’ house. Cindy and Dave are going to Dave’s folk’s house and SEB and family are headed to Ann’s folks. Richard (my hubby’s friend from high school) will be with us.
I have finally gotten the yard decorations cut out and primed --ready for painting and assembling. Another few days and that will be a project marked done!
And so dear friends I will take no time to say what I am thankful for except that my family , my friends, and you really fill the bill. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Belated
Two days ago was my brother’s significant other’s birthday. We were invited to a party for her yesterday but as with older people a case of weakness dictated a lie down instead.
But A belated wish is in order.
Happy Birthday Jean and many more!
During our little vacation from the real world Maria had try to post to this entry. I promised that when I could return to posting I would add this comment. So from the Silver Fox --the following:
Happy Birthday to your friend and oh it is so nice to be able to get your blog again. please thank your son. I have to laugh, but something inside of me takes that notification that I am barred, personally. I find myself thinking, did I swear, or tell an off color story. Anyway, glad it is all fixed.