ending 2009...

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and we had fun doing it

p-jammers and goose down

i have slept most of the nights of the last 30 years nekid. bare nekid. buck naked. quite frankly i found sliding into clean sheets one of the neatest feelings in the world. i could just stretch out and shake off all the day's ick and slide right into la-la land.

but i have to tell ya...i found the ultimate way to sleep the other night as i slid into bed, wearing my new p-jammers, under my new goose down featherbed. ahhhhhhh. air fluffed all around me. i do believe i began to purrrrrr. my feet were warm, my legs were warm, my body was warm, my arms were warm, and my face was enjoying the wash of fresh rain air from the window. an air muffler. yeah. that was nice. real nice. i wasn't hot. i wasn't sweaty. i was mmm mmm mmmm warrrrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmm. snuggly.

i had forgotten long ago featherbeds. i can not believe i have been deprived of such luxury for so very long. it probably explains why people are so darned cranky all the time. can't sleep? get a featherbed. feel like you got up on the wrong side of the bed? get a featherbed. i am telling you........ if you don't have one, get one!

tonight...george foreman is taking me to dinner.

the new year is coming.......

and now for .......

the bulletins are finished and posted with care,
the arm tendons are warming for the ringing at 11,
the skies are so blue you cant but help believe He is up there in heaven.

kids are coming at 3
pork is in the oven
cole slaw and tater salad await
you'd think it was summer.

presents they will be bearing,
well some anyway....
but its the gift in their hearts
that mean more than they can say.

thank you dear Jesus for coming
to earth
today we remember our dear savior's birth.

for God so loved the world.....that much

something to say

so today i went to the thought dock for a while and then hopped over to b's page because i do know her.....between the two and the attached comments...it just got my wheels turnin'. now i am debating whether i should just let it go and make my way to the bedroom for a nap or write. well, here i am. so i guess you are in for it..

i havent finished my christmas shopping. thats making me a little nervous. which really it shouldn't because i have spent plenty of money,,,,,okay how about it shouldn't because i gave each of the gifts a lot of thought,,,,,no, wait, i can do better. it really shouldn't because i am giving from the heart. i have made purchases for those near and dear to me,,,but not everyone because my wallet won't stretch that far. c'mon now, we are facing reality here! does the thought "i would get so-and-so this, if i had the money." count? i know. don't spend the money,,,make the present! don't spend the money....its the thought that counts. so for all of you that don't get a present from me this year, just think how much i think (thought) of you. i know...you buy yourself a present and put a tag on it from me... :)

two things have upset me this season. one is hearing that some stores are selling BLACK christmas trees made from plastic. they are being sold with with silver ornaments. now there IS something wrong with that. its like that is the ultimate commercialization of christmas. makes me wonder if they are making them to hang upside down....which brings me to the 2nd thing....hanging your christmas tree upside down. for those of you that have done this...too bad...i am about to offend you. there is something sacriligious about hanging a christmas tree upside-down. i know trees are not really even related to christmas(see my prior blog), it's not like the baby jesus was laid in one when he was born or that mary and joseph even actually had one....but it is just wrong. it would be better not to have a tree than to make a mockery of such a delightful element of the holiday season.

the weather...are you caught in that snow storm? i am sorry if you are, however, find a way to enjoy the quietness of the falling snow. sometimes it is just good to sit and hear ,,,,Nothing.
we had rain this past week. probably more than we have had in the last three years. except for the fog that it brings in the early morning hours, the rain is wonderful and we do need it awfully bad. prayers for more, please. today it is sun-shiny. but cold. really cold. and it makes my feet cold. which in turn makes my body cold. i can usually solve this dilema by crawling under the covers. :)) maybe later, lol, i have christmas presents to shop for....and groceries.

The Special Tree

The tree is up. Thank you, W. I must say, it is about the prettiest Christmas tree I have seen in a long, long time. Especially at my house. Seems these past few years I was devoid of ........ money. I chose to use one of those "beautiful" optic lights trees to put our packages under. Yikes. What was I thinking? I didn't realize it until now what I was missing. The smell. The lights. The ornaments. The memories. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and there is also a reason for a real Christmas tree. The Christmas tree. Encroaching winter, with its growing cold and darkness, provides the seasonal context for Advent, at least in the northern hemisphere. The "dead of winter" as we say, invokes images of fallow fields, barren trees, hard ground, absent birds and lowering skies. From as far back as we have record, people in northern Europe decorated their dwellings at midwinter with evergreens such as holly, ivy, laurel and yew. "The strange survival of summer greens in the snows had always been a sacrament of the hope for new life through the winter," Explains Hill. In fact, Gregory the Great instructed missionaries to tolerate such customs and dedicate them to Christ. So, for example, holly can remind us of Christ with its prickly leaves (crown of thorns) and red berries (blood).

The decorated Christmas tree derives from this ancient tradition. The custom flourished in Germany as far back as the fifteen hundreds (Martin Luther is said to have decorated a tree indoors), although it did not spread widely in Europe until the nineteenth century. Interestingly, Christmas trees may have reached Revolutionary America by way of German settlers even before they appeared in England! But not until the early twentieth century did Christmas trees become more widely popular in the United States.

The Christmas tree, then, with its dark green branches and forest fragrance, its garlands and lights and bright adornments, comes into our homes in the dead of winter as a symbol of life and a sign of hope.

I think i am going to go turn off the lights and watch the sparkle for a while....

geo

Beat It.

2009 .....won out. I am at 103 now. two so far over 2008. and no we are not talking about weight...the numbers would have had to have been reversed....but lets not go there.

so what's for dinner???? wait i don't want to talk about food either. the popcorn i am choking on is satisfying for the moment.

okay. where have you been lately? hmmmm. i have been right here. never often outside of my 10-mi radius. boring. whatever happened to those days when we just packed up the kids and took off. oh wait. that what when i was the kid. those were fun road trips. they always started with someone in the back seat yelling, "Are we there yet?????" to which the grown ups always answered, "no, lay down and take a nap, we'll be there when you wake up." Can't say that always worked, but more often than not sleeping did make the trip go faster. I guess it was the company.

how about carpet beating? anyone ever heard of that? back in "those days" when brother D was really young.....ummmm that would be the big brother cause all my brothers were D's....so was my Dad a D...get it...haha....when we lived in germany the first little place we set up house in was built into the side of a hill. the only window it had in it was a sky light. up top...it was just a green grassy hill with a clothesline. the woman that owned the place would take her carpets up there, hang them on the line and whack the crap out of them (literally) with a carpet beater. it looked like a big really stiff wicker fly swatter. she's whack those carpets till there wasn't an ounce of dust left in them. quite an art, actually. since i don't have a "real" vacuum cleaner, you know one that actually SUCKS it own weight, i think i am going to rig a carpet whacking station. i have area rugs..and probably add more as time progresses.....something to think about. if you have one, share you design!

there was a cat that lived in that same house. not ours...it belonged to the carpet-whacking land-lady. she made her cats stay out side. but this ol' cat took a likin' to my mom and every morning he/she/it would deliver a huge dead rat to the doorstep of our house, thanking mom for the food she would put out. yuck. that was rather nasty. but it is the thought that counts.

im thinkin' its time to get a dog. i just haven't made up my mind...or mr. p's. i wonder if there is some kind of rental agency where you can rent the dog durin the day,,,,,maybe provide food, maybe the deal would be that it comes with it's own food, but you can spend the day pretending like its your dog but not have any responsibility for it,,,,just to love it and/or brag about it. you know bragging right is half the fun of dog ownership. just think, you could try out a variety of dogs and find the one that is just for you. and it would give some relationship opportunities to the dogs....maybe a bunch of pound puppies...rotated though various homes. think about that one for a while

dang. it is almost 930. my eyelids are shutting down for the evening. i guess i better call it a night. besides its getting cold in here and i don't want to turn on the heater.

g'nite. sleep tight.

g

Advent

The Christ-child approaches. Pretty cool concept, especially when you know the rest of the story. It's actually something to be thankful for. A good way to end the Thanksgiving Day weekend.

What a doozie it was. Good food. Great friends. Entertaining family. We are a good lot of funny people. And our blessings do abound.

How was your turkey? Oh man. Mine was so good [I am sure I can attribute that to A the Baster]. It was even better than,,,,,um,,,,,mom's. YES it was!!! And the stuffing. I have to tell you about this new food product you need to check into. YOu can find them at Costco. They are chicken meatballs that have cranberry and jalapeno pepper in them. They are really, really good. They taste like sausage! [That's kind of funny when you think about it.] Chop them up and add them to your stuffing mix, add onion, celery, chicken broth, and orange juice. And you don't even have to stuff it...just bake it in a dish and man-o-man that is some good eatin'. I don't even like stuffing!

Of course you can not get through this weekend without shopping. Our store of choice.....Lowe's. Yes and we got some mighty good buys. But I can not share them with you because they are Christmas presents. Well some of them were.

And now a run to grocery store for milk. Then to finish off the weekend with free movies from AT&T. What more can you ask for?????

Social Hours

The event of the season. It happened last night. I felt like I was in an old-time movie, you know, family, friends, the holidays. I am surprised ol' George himself, wasn't there, to tell you the truth. And it all came down to being at.......WALMART. Yes, yes. The new super-walmart in town seems to have become the social gathering for all of the who's who in the town. First off, just going into the parking lot is quite an endeavor. The parking lot is about twice the size of the store and as you enter you survey every scrapping turn out for the closest spot. FInally when you give in to going out to the north forty you spot that one bea-u-ti-ful spot. You hammer the gas to beat the chick coming down the parking aisle from the other direction and smile as you slip in. The rewards of owning an Yaris. You can park it just about anywhere. Walmart only has two doors. Its built to look like and in only and out only situation, but you can actually use both for in and out. Nice touch. The store really is huge. And with huge, comes people. Last night I ran into four people I have not seen in a year. It was extra nice to see them and to catch up with old times. Seems as if the last dept. really is running without me. The new system they implemented a month ago has certainly played into business operations and of course individual personalities, wants and needs. Truly I have to just shake my head hearing it all....I don't miss it. I don't. And then the mother of A's friends...well you know she is a new granma. That's exciting.

The reason I was in Walmart was to invest in a stock pot for my turkey. I am going to brine my turkey this year. I vaguely remember my mom doing this years ago, when I was small. Of course I will have to make a trip to the Thought Dock to verify this, but I do believe it to be so. This recipe comes from Emeril Lagasse. I grew up with him. In the Bronx. NOT. lol sorry, i could not help but go there.... The stinking stock pots are 40 bucks. 40. Okay some were 29, but they were too small. I needed a big one for my mammer jammer of a turkey that is weighing in at 23 lbs. After two hours of looking (mind you this was only the 2nd time I have been in this store, and it IS a SUPER Walmart) I finally settled on a dish pan and turkey roasting bags. I hope this works.

Going to do my bird after work....brine him/her through night....and be ready to pop it in the oven in the am. (Heck, I washed and dried bed sheets this ams, cleaned my celery, peeled carrots, and diced onions already this morning. I am on a roll today!) W and I have to be to church this evening for Thanksgiving Day services. Members married 25 years or more are being celebrated and me and he,,,,we are gonna get celebrated. woohoo.

Last weekend I got a hankering for Tuscan soup like they have at the Olive Garden. So I made some. Well I made my own recipe after reviewing theirs online. OOOOOlala. It is pretty good. I didn't have spinach or kale so I subbed in brussel sprouts???? Yes I did. And they were good. I cut the butt ends off them so the leaves would break out on their own and dance through the potato stock. Not bad for making it up.

And,,,,,and....two weekends ago I made chocolate chip cookies. FINALLY. I made them with a sugar substitute IDEAL. If you have reason not to use the real stuff, you should try this. It works better than Splenda, I think. Except for the fact that my chips were about 3 years old (kept in the freezer...don't go there) the cookies were pretty good. I bought fresh chips for the next time around, hopefully in less than 3 years. I LOVE love love my new cookie sheets.

I am tellin ya, I got the kitchen bug and it is scaring me.

Tonight pumpkin pies and pumpkin cheesecake, clean and prep the veggies, and of course, clean the bathrooms. This year they are coming to my house! Well, not really, we are all going over to A's place. Somehow I am still doing the dinner. Now that I think about it, there is something wrong with this picture.

over and out..

Bamboozled

Seems as if it has been forever since I have been here. I am not sure exactly where I have been over the last month or what I have been doing…wandering mostly. Sometimes even wondering. Wondering what would serve as notes of interest on this blog. Nothing pops into my mind. Not then. Not really even now. Let’s see what I can get out of these fingertips. Guess, actually, I need to go deeper in to the recess of my mind to remember…….

We have new flooring in the dining and living rooms! We bought this bamboo quite a while back and finally it is installed. A warm carmel color. Thank God for brother in laws with skills, know-how, and a willingness to help. After a few days of backbreaking hard work we have quite the specimen of fine flooring. It goes very well with our “pumpkin” walls. I do believe we have gone well beyond “Tuscan” and have landed in the land of pumpkin. Several observers have noted, “wow! It is like rooms in the magazines!” Not that it is that way by design, but apparently our colors are good. We like them. Next some moulding to finish and on to the kitchen with tile. This is what happens when you “retire”. Suddenly there is time to do all those things you have put off for so very long.

Thanksgiving is two days away. We have much to be thankful for. Once again provisions have been made for us. More often than not, we have far more than what we have ever anticipated. A year has passed since starting this job. This year is far different. As we approach our Thanksgiving services and this coming weekend BOTH sets of bulletins are DONE! No crush. No rush. Makes it nice. Really nice. The push to Christmas, believe it or not is well underway. Even the Advent wreath with all the correct candles is in their places, is sitting on the front desk reminding those we serve of the soon-to-be here celebration of the birth of our Lord. My resolve ~ no T will be left out of Christmas! As a matter of fact, the cover of the midnite service bulletin says, “unTo us a chid is born” The “t” is a cross. Fancy, eh?

And my buddy L is back in the office. She’s been vacationing after surgery for the last couple of weeks. I know she doesn’t really want to be back to work, but I am glad she is. Without her my social life is very limited around here. And who in their right mind can work a straight-eight without a friendly face?

Speaking of work...i gotta get back to it.

Happy Thanksgiving ~ count your blessings!

Psalm 100
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

g

NOW It's GREEN ~ ARMY green!

the pumpkin pie was BODACIOUS. it was so good,,,,very good. yum. can't say steaming your pumpkins is the most efficient way to make pumpkin pies, can't even say they were so much better than the canned. but it was fun to do. i have enough left over to do two more. and Pie ala' Christy made her day.....a slice of heaven.

tonight...it's PEA SOUP. mmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmm it is already good and it isn't even finished! but it will be for lunch tomorrow. yeah. just perfect for a autumn day to celebrate veteran's day.

Whatever Possesses You....

So a couple of weeks ago we had this potluck at church. I think I may have told you this already, but if I did, I am sure you have been waiting with baited breath to hear the final out come.

Here is the made up dish..... add to 1lb of rigatoni (cooked of course) broiled tequila-lime marinated turkey breast (cut into bite size pieces) asparagus (make it fresh) baby portabella mushroom (sliced) onion garlic butter parmesean cheese. (saute' all the veggies together before adding) bake in oven if you "need" to and cover it while hot with mozarella if you really need to. i did have to bake it...but i extended it to 1 hour. that was WRONG and my rigatoni looked so screwed up and turned brown and i really needed to cover it with something.

so a buddy of mine at church politely asked me, 'what do you call your dish, geo?' i answered back, 'A mess!' he kind of chuckled. i know he ate it. i didn't eat it, i didn't have to.

then the following monday, another lady at church offered up all the left over pumpkins from our halloween night. i took 4...she needed to get rid of them...saying, i don't know what i'll do with them....she told me how her mom (who recently passed away) used to make pumpkin pie from fresh pumpkin. so what do i do???? i promised her pie. geez luis....so i got them done tonight. the house smells good. i hope that is a good indication of the resulting pies. they are kind of funny looking, but from what i understand they are supposed to look different than pies made from canned pumpkin. and dont tell anyone but i used "stevia" the new sugar substitute. so i can eat it too, of course!

please pray that these pies pass the taste test. i have ruined more food in the last three months than i have in 30 years. and the cookies are yet to be made.

All time first

This is Halloween.

A new Walmart, no, a SUPER-Walmart, just opened about two days ago. This comes on the heals of the opening of SUPER-Target about ten days ago. Well Mr. P. insists we go. Last week we shopped at Target. Nice store. Closer than the Target Greatland that opened a few years ago. Just as pricey as the stores in the better neighborhood. But today, today we did Walmart. At 4:00 pm. It is HUGE. And, as advertised, they have wider aisles. And guess who's in them.......eeeeyup. 42 at a time and they do NOT move. i think there were about 50 other white people in there....most without teeth. Oh yeah. But I have to say their prices were better than Target. I am sure the neighborhood has to do with it. But they were better. And it has a FULL grocery, Target not so full. I doubt I will go back, they are finishing one on my side of the freeway.

The holiday is frightful.

CHeck out my grandchildren's costumes. The wiemerrooster wins this year.

gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood even-niiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnng.

muuuuuuuhahahahahahahahahahah

Ahhhh, the Great Pumpkin Returns

I miss the days of Peanuts. Charlie Brown, Lucy, Sally, and of course Linus. And what a dog they had! Snoopy! So suave, sophisticated. I remember watching this show 40 years ago (or more)and believing the Great Pumpkin would come. LOL Lucy's green witch face really supports her complaining. And poor Charlie Brown, getting nothing but rocks. So funny. And now Snoopy is conquering the Red Barron. Bleeeeeaaaaaaaak ratatattat ratatatta.....dog house riddled with bullets, smokin' like crazy...he's going down, wait, no....he is safe on the ground. Curses, Red Barron!!! He'll go back in before it's all over.
The best in TV.

The weather has turned cool...no cold. 43* this am. Definitely sweater weather. It's wonderful! Had potato soup over at A's house last night. Good stuff,,,and she made it.

well is bedtime. im going to go to bed and dream of b's snow. LOL

g'nite

Easy Street

muuuuhahahahaha
actually dragged his behind to the new super-target in town, home depot (found the floor molding), and even went to costco.
one bathroom cleaned,,,,thoroughly,,,, the other, well....tomorrow afternoon will have to be okay. j's comin to town!
and cookies have not been put on the list for tonight's entertainment. however, i do have NEW cookie pans!!! and a new turkey roasting pan!!!!

i am linin' up for the holidays.

Crack of Dawn

It was dark this morning when I rolled out. I was liking the summer light and I think there is a time change coming soon. But it's not the same. I am in the mood to drink coffee and eat cake. I think I can do the coffee, there is no cake here.

Bathrooms to clean. And today I am going to bake some cookies. Yeah, I know, that's hard to believe. But I am going to try using Sun Crystals instead of sugar. Hopefully I will have better luck with them than when I used Splenda.

We are closing in on the wall painting. The colors ~ daring. Consider them Tuscan or....Pumpkin. LOL I can stand in one spot looking from my kitchen to the long wall in my living room and pick out 5 shades of color just because of the lighting in this house. Altogether we are running gammit of golden orange to butterscotch and carmel. Interesting. Sure makes my red fireplace "pop". Next...the floors. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it.

Its time to get it cranked up.....have a stupendous weekend

g

flying high

i fly southwest almost exclusively. and i have been out three times in the last three years. but this trip i observed an entirely new process...IN....the airplane.

beeeeeeng bong. red light to top left of the pilot's door lights up. a MALE stewardess stands up and gets on the phone. while HE is talking, let me explain something to you. notice it is a MALE, a HE, stewardESS. I know, don't be jumpin on me...it IS an oxy-moron. be aware, stewARDS are men on ships, not airplanes. stewardESSES fly on airplanes. so, the dude IS a stewarDESS. and we had two of them on this particular flight. oh...he has hung up the phone. he speaks briefly to to stwdess #2, who steps into the aisle passage between the passengers and the flight deck. he stands at attention and then at ease. legs spread, arms behind his back, folded with elbows out as far as they can go. out comes the pilot (the red light that came on was above the door to the left hence my deduction is that he is in the captain, the red light on the right obviously belongs to the co-pilot) what happens next, was VERY intriguing. check this out. the pilot turns sharply to his right, opens the bathroom door and slides in, pulling the door behind him. precisely at the time the bathroom door closes, stewardess # 1 quickly opens the cockpit door and slides into the cockpit and just as quickly pulls the door closed behind him. then after what seemed like a very long time, the pilot comes out of the bathroom and picks up the phone. stewardess #2 is still standing, blocking the aisle passage way. shortly after the pilot hangs up the phone, stewardess #1 comes from inside the cockpit, smiling, and allows the pilot to enter the cockpit. both stewardesses then return to their positions on either side of the aisle of the flight deck.

beeeeeeeng bong. the process above is repeated, only this time, it is the co-pilot that comes out. (and yes, the red light is on the right side above the door.) AND! it was repeated several times during the 4-hour flight!

i want to know....what was the stewardess doing in that cockpit? he did not take in any coca colas or other refreshments. was he flying the plane? why did he come out smiling....every time? he was very young....more the age of a cabin boy,,,,but again, cabin boys are on ships, not planes! perhaps he was getting flight lessons? is this a new security measure? and if so, why didn't the females, who truly are stewardesses, participate? only the boys did this. i find this process to be very curious....what do you think?

and now...it is time to take off.....returning to my post.....at work. Yahoody!!!

Grits is Grits.....and So Much More

My most recent life has been so full of Grace. His Grace. Formatted into the body of a child, Gracie, and embodied in an aging elder, Aunt Grace. He is good. They are truly fair and full of grace. I spent the last week with Aunt Grace, her husband, Edward and their brood. These are all relatives by marriage so really I was returning to the home of some really cool people....friends. We laughed for hours, shared stories, ran into the house to get out of the thunderstorms , played dominoes into the wee hours of the night and fell asleep to the pattering rain.

and of course the food was nothing to shake your head at. mmmmmm mmmmmm mmmmmmm
go to georgia, you will be offered grits. cardboard meal i call it. grits. they stink to high heaven but they have no taste of their own. put some ketchup in there and they turn red. try cheese. syrup? how about some milk. now mind ya, you need to be sayin' all this with the deepest suthern accent as possible to get the full effect of the taste. grits taste like whatever you put in or on them. waste of calories if you ask me. just ax me. (lol)

edward is a 20 year vet. oldtimer. purple heart out of korea. i think i cherish mostly the ties back to my time when i was an army brat. even though our tours were different and he was an army dad. sitting at their old army table brought me home. time long ago.......a dream world even.

next time, ed, we are going to do okeefenokie and some fishin'. i'm holdin' ya to it.


its good to be back home.

From Georgia in Georgia

we made it!

left sj on tuesday 7:10 am. raining cats and dogs. i do not believe i have seen rain like that in 15 years...maybe even more. it was pretty good but left quickly behind as we flew up and over it in a few minutes.

down to phoenix. 1 hour lay over. not bad. there were more people in that airport than expected...and most of them got on our plane. southwest has come a ways in the last two years since i have flown with them. they have "lines" posted now and you have to get in them depending on what group of "a" or "be" you are in. i was left holding the bags...hand bags that is....while all the bags decided to make a mad dash to the restroom just about the time they called for boarding. so we had to make our way up and over some people to get to our spot, no pushing, no shoving, just excuse me, excuse me. then mr. and mrs. who-die-doo literally pushed their way to the front of me, never once an excuse me. so my sil says, 'hey, wait a minute' to which the mrs. says, 'yeah, can you believe what we just did???' like my sil was stupid. mr. hands his boarding pass to the sw guy, and as he started down the ramp he was called back to where his wife was waiting...seems as if they should have been at the back of the "b" line. they were not allowed to board. LOL and!!! the lady says, 'well, it was worth the try' somewhere between phoenix and tampa, they decided to go to the bathroom. on her way back the biddy kicked my aunt's foot, tripped, looked at her like she kicked her...and the war was on. my aunt managed to get her toe just in the right position and voila she trips....LOL i know it sounds awful, but it was not really that bad,,,my aunt kindly ended it with 'excuse you'.

yes, we went to tampa....gotta watch when booking on southwest...the small print actually means something. and 39 minutes later we were in jacksonville.

have not had any real time to tag up with your posts...and will get back to this when i get home.

rainy nights in georgia are far more enjoyable than humid days.

lovin it....missin you

geo

Do You Know

the way to San Jose? That's where i am for the next 12 hours or so. What a trip it has been so far. left home sunday at 3, went to fresno, was served dinner by the 2nd best cooker in the world, the mommasita, herself. laid my head down to a quick nite's rest and started up again today. we left at noon-thirty. and arrived here at the biltmore, yes the biltmore, have had dinner, even got a hair cut and now a short minute to blog.

we are four women all over the age of ....um....50. some of us are way over 50....all of us talk about unannounced bowel movements, smell, noise, etc, etc....somewhat a similar to the conversations that i had last week with my brothers.

getting old is not for sissies...this is true. you got to have humor.

the weather has turned stormy it is actually cold out there. i should become a weather person....seems that is all i am fascinated by nowdays.

the couple sitting at the other computer is speaking a language i can even take a guess as to what it is. i wonder if they are here for the mary kay convention that is going on. i feel pink.

well, i guess i better hop off....gotta get some towels for the 4th person in our room, and some coffee for in the morning. we fly at 7:10 am. prayers for travel mercies would be appreciated.

hasta la vista, baby.

Gotta Go Now

Just back from an unplanned visit and now I gottta run to catch the plane for a planned one.

Yes I am going again to Georgia. I can not believe twice in a life time! I wonder, "WHY?" Oh please Lord don't let it be miserably humid. I guess this will be a good test of my thyroid performance. Yeah, Yeah, I AM normal!!

LOL

Be back in a couple of weeks. Hang tight wi/ out me.

Carry on.

geo

briefly and only for a moment

what is a life but a whisper of His very own breath?
it comes
its quiet, its loud, its angry, its peaceful.
full, sometimes, unfulfilled.
a process of connections. joints of the head, the heart, and the soul.
disjointed, too.
quickly it leaves even while we linger.
quietly, the door closes behind us.

soon, oh danny boy.

Afforded Opportunity

Sometime ago, well really, an unbelievable amount of time ago, we invested in some bamboo flooring. And we have researched and studied the process for laying hardwood floor and each time we looked at the flooring stored in our spare room our intentions were good to get 'er done, as they say. only it just never happened. housework, yardwork, hot weather, cold weather, vacationing, tv watching, church even, you name it, we have always had something get in the way of not just finishing the job, but actually starting it. then somewhere along the line someone in the family got this brainiac idea to strip the living room and dining room of the carpet that was just about done for. well now "we" have time and he is hard at it, doing the prep work to get 'er done. target...thanksgiving. then everyone will get an invitation to come to my house of shiny floor for feasting and festivities. so yes, he is working and yes we are being paid for it because we will be reaping the reward of the efforts. Paint first. starts tomorrow. i can smell it already and i am delighted. then finish the floor prep and voila' instant presto new space!

so yes there is opportunity is what comes our way.

g

one down....some to go

today ... 1 year later.
it went fast.
i had fun.
i learned lots.
i worked hard.
i paid off some bills.
i enjoyed.


He is good.

second verse...same as the first

well almost.

i headed to costco to get some dogs for lunch after church. going to any store in this town after church on a sunday is like....crazy. i don't know why i do it. i hate it all the while i am out. and nothing is that important that it has to be bought on a sunday afternoon. its the aisle mongers that drive me nutz. standing there. all 45 of them, mother, father, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors...all of them on a sunday afternoon outing. and yes they have found out that costco has the widest aisles of all...can get up to 90 in there w/ no problem makes it all the harder to squeeze by and! there is free food to boot. but i digress.
im haulin my bod across the parking lot and i see this young man and woman...say maybe, early 30's. they have five, count 'em five little ones. the youngest was in a car seat lodged into the seat of the basket and behind them followed two little boys and two little girls. the little boys were holding their sister's hands. all dressed up in their sunday school digs. ack! get out of my way, you guys...i hope your momma and dad know what causes such a brood i thought.
after i got my dogs and onions, i headed home thinkin about that family. and then i realized that those five little kids, the blonde mama and dark skinned daddy could have been us...my siblings all five of us when we were that little. i dont think the oldest boy was eight. i didnt follow that family into the store, cause all i was getting was the dogs, but i know they didn't stand in the aisle. we wouldn't have either. and we were never snot-nosed or otherwise dirty. and we were always well taken care of and fed. i dont think my momma and daddy gave it a second thought about the number of kids they had. and you know...im glad to say i come from a family of six kids. and sometime way back then we did take care of each other. we may not be as close now days, we certainly are separated by distance. but to those of you that read this blog...i love you....you remain in my prayers...

vaya con dios.

g

from the sidelines

driving down the street, i see an ad to call "jon". interesting, i think. jon. john. my mind begins to think of other ways to spell john. sean, shaun. my brain goes further. hmmmmm. how else can i spell john. i know, i could spell it j..u.. a.. n...kind of like shaun ,,,, i could pronounce it JU-awn.... WAIT!!! then i hear a voice of intelligence cry out.....that's JUAN, you fool!!!! you know,like john in spanish. amazing. sometimes i surprise myself.

its time for a nap.

78* predicted for wednesday......

Oh! You're So Full of ....

Keep the beans and bull.

I look back sometimes and laugh at what I was full of. I thought it was so...serious....back then. But I have found that it is exactly as He says, when you fill yourself with His ways, you fill yourself with His Joy. It's kind of nice to walk out of the house in the morning and just feel....GOOD. It's kind of nice not to get blown out by someone's snarly words or irritating disposition. It's kind of nice to put some elbow grease to it and know you can accomplish something just by not caving in to deadlines and pressures.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:12-14)

Make someone's day today....wipe the silly grin off your face and give them a smile.

geo

It Rained

September 14, 2009, for the first time in the history of B-town, that is KC country, it rained. there was no rain recorded for that date in 180 years. yes in fact that was the local headline news for the date. and to think we are in a city of over 300,000 people who thrives on those headlines. ugh. give me a break. give me cooler weather. can you believe we actually dropped to 75*'s and now we are on our way back up to triple digits for the weekend. sheeesh...call me when the headlines read, B-town hit by blizzard. :-)

what else.

started a new bible study, "Jesus, the One and Only". Beth Moore. She gives more. only on week two and totally immersed. Just where I'm supposed to be. did you know the rite of redemption was done to redeem or to "buy back" the firstborn son after having sacrificed them to the Lord. Through His blood we are also "bought back", redeemed. Read Exodus 13:15. we (I) take so much for granted. mary and joseph presented jesus...THE MESSIAH himself....in the temple in the rite of redemption according to jewish law, only for THE MESSIAH to fulfill God's promises by giving His blood for OUR redemption.

what an amazing story.

love ya.
g

And The Ants Have It!!!!

I am sick and tired of the heat. And so are the ants. So guess who has taken up residence INSIDE my house. Yep. The ANTS!
Now it comes down to Home Defense. Guess who is going to WIN. Yep. ME. I hope.

Little Ashley went grocery shopping with me tonite. For dinner. Its a form of bribery....alright manipulation....i allow her. we made it back a hundred and fifty lighter....no not lbs, dollars. and now we have filled all the family faces with shrimp. fried shrimp. florida gold. not bad. i think we are up fifty...lbs....not dollars. the world is unfair.

what do you eat with fried shrimp? all i can think of is more fried shrimp. that seems so very wrong....unbalanced eating. but who wants to tie up their time with lettuce when there is shrimp to be eaten?

i am doing pretty good fixin' dinner. but i am running out of ideas and fear returning to hamburger, chicken, chops rotation coming back. help me if you can. ideas short of mac n cheez w/ other things in it are welcome. you know what i mean...and....you know who i am talkin' to.

auf wiedersehn.

Just Like Havin' a Baby

It has been a good weekend, having an extra day off, to celebrate our labors.

yesterday i was setting up tables and chairs for our Sunday School class. About half way into it, I was joined by another guy, who helped especially with the tables. As I declared the job done, I stated, "There, that's good enough for government work!" To which he added, "Nope, we have to "t" this all up." As he finished he said, "There, that's better. Always work as you are working unto the Lord." Oh the lessons we learn!

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism. Colossians 4:22 - 25

Enjoy!

It Really Is Too Cool

i am really blessed.....to work at the church. i believe with my heart of hearts He lifted me from a hell-hole and put where i am today, not necessarily because i deserve it, but that there is, in fact, something there for me "to do". and right now, i am just soaking up His peace and living in His zone, and i love it. and i think i have learned to be able to take that with me to whereever i go,,,,work, play, where ever. because it is very much worth it. i am so JOYFUL to know that He loves me that much....
yes, there are some ugly moments @ work....we are are people, dealing with people. but it is different because we are (and we know we are) forgiven and most everyone there forgives. some better than others, some, no most of us, are still learning....growing....stretching.
oh well, you say, you are "in church" 24/7. no i am not. i work 8 hours a day at a church. i participate in church, in a variety of ministries. and i reap the fellowship church provides. and i grow some more.
what is cool is that i have learned that "being in His presence" is where i want to be. whether it is at work...in church...or somewhere else. but no matter where, i want to be in His presence. i don't need anything more than Him.
Now writing about it, well even thinking about it, seems kind of simple, because He just welcomes me in with such wide open arms. you can fit in here too!
but sometimes the reality of the world flares up and we struggle a little more than we have to. mostly because of our own choices. i am going to share a video our youth group did a couple of weeks ago about "getting there". watch it, absorb it, enjoy it

Happy

I stole this idea from another "blog of note" and thought it was a wonderful idea. it even made me crank up my brain a bit to move beyond the mundane......

Things that made me happy this week:

1. celebrating 30 years of marriage. oooooof! WE did it. and yes, you may applaud.

2. successfully fixing dinner a couple of evenings when i really didn't want to.

3. cooper came to visit for the day.

4. got 5 days of work done in 3 and only found two mistakes in the bulletin on Sunday. : o

5. went to church AND sunday school. it has been a long summer.

6. went on a bike ride with mr. wonderful and got (had) to buy new tires. good timing...it could have happened farther away from home.....

7. bikes made in france.

8. the promise of cooler days to come.

okay....so what made YOU happy this week?

Up 30

I guess we have been having fun, because it sure has flown by.

The hair is a little grayer, the bellies are a little bigger, the voices are a little softer.  30 years and two grown kids later here we are celebrating our wedding anniversary.

Went up to the Monterrey Peninsula and hung out at the beach, The Aquarium, Cannery Row, and of course, Fisherman's Wharf.  Breathed clean, cool air, watched sea lions and harbor seals, and pelicans, and cormorants.  And hermit crabs.  A long drive through Big Sur took us there and a fast drive down 101 brought us home.  20 Q's kept us entertained.  

30 more to come.....

i dont believe this

so i am signing out of my post and up pops this ad:  

http://www.baconsalt.com/

LOL

goofed

back in the olden days when we lived on the right coast people used to serve up chicken livers wrapped in bacon as a celebratory kind of dish.  i remember them mostly served at weddings.  i think they did that cause it was relatively cheap and people didn't eat it much so you didn't have to make huge platters of it.  i tasted them a couple of times, but could never figure out why someone would want to put it in their mouths.  its pretty nasty.

then we move out here to the left coast and i find this stuff actually has a name.  RUMAKI.  i think it is armenian.  whatever it is i am sure it is the foreign word for "this tastes like crap".  

anyway i have been trying recently to be the "mother that lisa is" (yeah i know it's kind of late as my kids are grown).  but i am taking "making dinner" to new heights.  and wednesday night, i hit the apex of culinary tastes.  now you have to understand i didn't get this round by having a less-than-very-close relationship with food.  i can and i have eaten just about everything.  

well wednesday night, i got this idea to wrap chicken in bacon in bake it. sounds good.  looked it up on the internet, found some recipes, and decided to make it simple.  chicken, green onion, tomato, sprinkled with garlic, leave off the salt because of the bacon, and bacon.   oh my gawd.  and i am only saying that for sound effects here...but it was AWFUL.  horking awful.  it was so bad  I did not eat it AND i did not even try to explain to my husband why he should get over himself and eat it.  it tasted like RUMAKI ,,,,,, with green onion.

1.  do not BAKE this recipe.....the bacon never gets...um....done (?)  i am sure it is done, but it never looks like it has been cooked.

2.  do not BAKWE green onions...it must change the chemical compound of the plant.  im tellin you that is some nasty stuff....and it permeates whatever it is being cooked with.

3.  and it doesn't get better if you let it sit for a couple of days.

have a good day  ;)  

Spoons

I have a girlfriend from many years ago that had a habit of calling extreme people freaking (if you will) spoons.  its a term of endearment that i have found ,,,,, endearing.  think about it.  extreme stupidity (for which i have extremely low tolerance) Spoon.  an out of control speeder on the road or a driver that is heavy into conversation with their passenger.  Spoons.  someone that thinks they got the answer...and revels in their knowledge [eyeroll] Spoon.  they are all SPOONS in my book.

but here's the deal.  I have this odd assortment of silverware that i "inherited" from my mother (just stainless steel), many pieces  which i "grew up" with.  one in particular is a serving spoon, the kind with a long handle, and slots to drain liquid off what ever it is that you are serving.  when i came across this spoon many moons ago, it brought such sharp memories of my mom, that i have kept it in a kitchen drawer and have never used it.  probably never will.  i have thought seriously of weaving it into some wall-art to hang in the kitchen somewhere.   and then there is her meat fork.  you know, the one that she forked pot roasts with to turn over after browning them off to be cooked all day.  now the fork, i use all the time.  its a good meat fork. ah...the watermelon knife.  that's her's too.  this year, it has cut up some good watermelon. .  

i s'pose there could be a chance if i used these items my cooking would improve.  on the otherhand, you are probably thinking i am a spoon.

not

g'nite

my turn

my apologies to the avid fans...umm...supportive fans....friends and family.....for my long-time-no-post period.  and i am again apoligizing for today's post, but i, like others, have a need to address postings by the world famous writer, a. nony mous.  so hear me out, if you will, agree, disagree, i don't really care....but i am making a move to block your posts on my blog.  i have (kindly) addressed this on other's blogs and i don't feel i can or should continue to do so there, so i am doing it here.  like it or not,,,,here goes.

i didn't start blogging to be criticized and/or questioned.  the opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone, if you don't like them, take a hike.  i do not even want to or care to hear your drivel. you want to drivel?  get your own blog.  stay off mine.  and don't link to mine...and don't ask me to link to yours.  it ain't goin' to happen.

although some of the comments have been half-way intelligent, and i am sure they are being written by people i know that would think i would never tell them face to face to take a hike, well,,,,,, um,,,, you probably don't know me that well, and i can assure you i can and will tell you to take a hike whenever i deem it appropriate.  and if i find out who you are and know you face to face, rest assured, that i WILL tell you.

so buzz off, little people.  go find some other place to make fun of people or ask stupid questions.  ,,,,and if you are going to stick around,,,,identify yourself.

thank you.

over and out.  don't cry.

The Reality of the Game

48 hours.  

The challenges laid out before our 12 teams took us from our home town, out to the coast, over the mountains and back home again.  And the position of the teams changed constantly as they made their was over the course of 600 miles.  As in "real life" there were winning moments and disappointments, events that were skated though with little or no effort and others that took not only physical ability but mental skill and aptitude ~ all made to push them out of their comfort zones, to grown and stretch them. 

²⁴However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.  Acts 20:24

The course provided fun and games along with some community service tasks.

It was a good run.  At a winery in Paso Robles after hoeing a garden and picking for 20 minutes close to 800 lbs of vegetables were picked and packed for the local food bank.  The chocolate covered crickets, grub worms, and scorpions were quite tasty and to our surprise were gobbled down with little hesitance.  You would think after the baby food challenge they would not be so keen on eating things.  

All along the way we were asked "what are you doing?" Many times people thought we were doing the actual tv show.  But every time they inquired of us it was an opportunity to talk about His  Amazin'Grace.

48 hours.  

Clueless in So. Cal.

AmazinGrace II - 2009. ( look here )  started yesterday at 5:00 in the evening and they bedded down around 10:00.  this year is a bit different for me...im working the inside.  from signs, to baby food, clues, and boat rides, to newly discovered ways to "get there"   a 2.5 day adventure for our church youth.  so far, so good.  went off without a hitch, really.  timing became an issue when all the contestants (12 teams of 4) showed up at the bus stop late and had to wait an hour for the next bus.  one city bus, 48 youngsters, plus a small handful of regular riders.  what a sight to see when they pulled into the city terminal ~ windows fogged because they were wet from a tubing event about a half hour earlier.  they all seemed to enjoy the baby food taste test (yuck).  so taday we are up and running at 8:00 am.  yes, it is going to be a long day.  but fun!

Birthday Celebrations

Well, we were all going to go to 'Poo Lake' yesterday to celebrate J's birthday, but it just didn't happen.

Saturday was spent spending money and stocking up for a special Sunday picnic.  We took the easy road and loaded up with sandwich makin's, ham, turkey, roast beef, sandwich rolls, tomatoes, lettuce, mustard, mayo, pickles, chips, dips, and drinks.  And don't forget Mom's famous Tater salad and deviled eggs (otherwise known to some of us as doubled eggs ~ go figure).

That was after a morning of yard and house work and then topped off by an hour of worship and praise in the evening.

Sunday morning, 4 am.  Coffee, a quick breakfast, watering the yard, and loading the boat.  Then the big, job.....lets see if this baby will start up.  Long story short, no it did not.  Dead battery.  AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Unload the boat, notify the invitees, wash the boat, take the boat back to the shop where it was serviced less than a month ago,,,,,,

Hmmmm...entertainment value....the card i bought J.....i thought it was a bit odd that the card division was named  "mohogany" but didn't "get it" til i looked closer at the picture.  back to the store for a new card AND a new cake pan.  with a lid even.  back home, cake baked, frosted, all in the nick of time to welcome the guest of honor, the 25 yearold J.  and you think she's old .......LOL....her daddy is ancient.

so we picnicked in the house, watched the dogs give chase in the living room and just enjoyed each other's company.

30 minutes after they left....the snores set in and we were out like lights.

Doubt we'll get the boat in the water this summer.....the rest of the weekends are booked up tight.  Where did the summer go?  School starts in two weeks.  

life in the fast lane....thats all i can say.

It's Good to be Back

What a weekend that was.  My pony-tail must have been too tight.

and today...it was 69* @ 5:00 am.  that means we are out of the 100's for a whole week.  i might even get back on my bike to work campaign.  

see'ings from the THOUGHT DOCK.

since my last visit to D's dock, things in my world seems to be......  um ...... changing.

new ideas.

new eyes.

thank you for the enlightenment.

100+ years between us

just sitting here ready to close out the day.  

it was a long one.  only two of us at work today.  was pretty busy, but we got 'er done.

yep, yep, happy 25, my baby bajoobee.  

quarter of a century for you,  frightening to think both of my kids have now passed the 1st milestone.  

its been fun.   i am sure with more to come......

love ya,

yo' momma

perplexities

i don't cook much.  actually i don't cook often.  if i can, i will finagle my way out of committing to producing breakfast, lunch, dinner, and anything in between.  tonight i "ran" to costco to get dinner ~ this time i was going to serve up some enchiladas.  i really thought i had a good thing going until i got home and read the instructions.  OVEN 325* (4) 40 - 50 minutes. this was not a good thing, but i was kind of committed so i went through with it.  its a good thing our heat wave #3 actually broke today as it only reached 99* but still, the ac does have to work harder when you run the oven.  yes, i know i could have nuked it, saving time and energy but i didn't really want to look "that" lazy.  so into the oven went the enchiladas.  

I ask you....have any of you ever served up costo enchiladas?  if yes, maybe you can answer me this.  if not, go buy some and tell me what you think.  they taste mmmmmmmmmmmm decent, not nummy, but they do fill the spot and again, you're not really having to cook them.  but here's the deal.  i heated them up as directions said.  and we ate them.  they are even going to be lunch for some of us (gee, i wonder who gets a lunch everyday?).  and then, it was time to put the left overs into the fridge.  i took off the aluminum foil i covered the dish with and attempted to put the lid back onto it BUT it did not fit.  thats right.  when purchased, enchiladas were in a plastic serving dish with a plastic lid ala costco.  you take the lid off, cover with foil and pop into the oven for 40 - 50 minutes.  the lid fit just fine when i bought them, but after going into the oven, the dish no longer fit the lid.  the dish shrunk but at least 1/2 inch.  i know, you are thinking, "impossible!"  but i am telling you the truth.

so if any one can 'splain this to me, please do.  and do not attempt to tell me i should not be putting plastics in the oven and/or microwave to cook in.  i will however, consider that line of thought, because that shrinking plastic had to have gone somewhere.

and while youre at it,,,if you know how to get ride of this stupid underline and blue ink,,, let me know that too.

Weather or Not

did you ever notice that when one doesn't have a whole lot to say, the conversation turns to weather?  Tonight's topic; weather.

it's hot.  not as hot but still hot.  over 100 today, the start of our third heat wave for 2009.  they are saying that by the weekend we will be back in the high 80's.  now that would be novel.  

but the other thing that i learned about weather is that last friday was the zenith for the high temperatures in this part of the country.  we are now on the down side of hot and slowly it will get cooler now.  

they have more things bundled up in rugs of statistics than you can shake a finger at!  although it was nice to know that statistically thinking, the hot weather is on its way out, but really,,,,you know as well as i we are going to linger in the 100's for the next two months.  and that doesn't even get us past the proverbial indian summers that spend their days with us come october.

i do not know how i made it through my pre-nuke summers.  

hope you got it cool

geo

After All That

 ¹Keep on loving each other as brothers. ²Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. ³Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.  Hebrews 13:1-3

I found this an interesting message this Sunday morning following a month of non-sense in blog land.

The persons and personalities we meet and share here on the internet belong to real people.  This is a mighty, powerful tool and used inappropriately it can and does cause harm.  

Good night.

I'm shredding

for years the summer sun's dreaded burn has been avoided in our household by slathering ourselves and our children, and demanding they follow suit when they arrived at the age of conscience.  you would think that i would be 1. smart enough to know better and 2. risen above such rebellious attitudes that have plagued me since my younger years. 

but i am sad to say (confess) my rebellious attitude continues to cause me to struggle.  sometimes it wins and but it does not make me smarter, as a matter of fact it hinders the application of my aptitude and hence i do have a sun burn.  through the week i refused to complain about the pain, you know it is my burn and i will be the one to pay the price, don't nag me attitude.  and for the most part, except for the hugs that i had to turn away, i dealt with it fairly well.  until today.  aiiiieeeee carumba!!!!!  i itch.  and if i rub, the little blisters break.  and after they break they peel.  and its ugly!  like old lady skin peeling is very very unattractive!!!  maybe i should just go drag myself on the lawn and get it over with.  at this rate i will be peeling for a month of sundays.

dont burn yourselves....use sunscreen....if for no other reason you don't end up with peeling old lady skin someday.

It Was Never Promised to Be Easy

"Lutherans deciding on new role allowing gay ordained clergy" http://churchexecutive.com/article.asp?IndexID=1252

This is an article written by a Mr. Robert Keener, based upon an interview he did with Walt Kallestad, Pastor of Community Church of Joy in Glendale, AZ.  If you have the time take a look at the article.  Pastor Kallestad says some mighty truths that should be considered by each and every one of us, every Christian, regardless of denomination.

Tolerance, intolerance.  (see comments to my last post)  Obedience, disobedience.

It's pretty clearly stated here in this article.  Although this article addresses homosexuality, the issue extends way beyond it.  Just thought I'd share.

painful alienation

you know that question that is included on oh so many personality quizzes that goes, "when you walk into a room you a.) meet and greet everyone you see, b.) shrink to the back of the room and wait for "them" to come to you?  well for the most  part, i am a shrinker.  i am only a meeter/greeter now days because i know there are oh so many others like me that are shrinkers and i guess i am trying to alleviate their pain.  i know that pain and how disabling it can be.

i remember literally hanging on to my mother's skirt tale, squeezing behind her as tight as i could in order not to be seen by the person(s) she was talking to.  and Lord forbid if that person would lean around her to pursue a conversation with me, whether it was because they thought i was cute or just plain felt sorry for me because i was a dork.  oh and if you thought i was bad, oh, oh, oh, my middle brother was 10 times worse.

shyness.  how many years did it plague me?  you?  are you shy?  have you grown out of it?  just thinking about the ailment gives me a queasy feeling in my gut.  but the reason i am thinking about it is that i have been watching the kids go into to the meeting hall each morning ~ they are sooooo excited to be there.  they just run in and hook up with their new buds and whiz through the rest of  the day.  i do not recall my kids hiding behind my skirt-tail.  nor do i see kids 'today' hanging on their mom's.  could it be this "self esteem training" that we have been indoctrinated with the last 30 years has changed our approach?  could it be we, as a social group, have in fact changed and actually do a better job of accepting others, others feel more accepted?  hard to believe that but i think it just might be the case.  a change for the good, i might add.

just another point to ponder.  have a good day.

g

VBS and wonders

Ahhhhhh   VBS.  Day 1 was quite interesting to say the least.  In the end we had 317 childrens in class.  Thats a lot of kids.  And come noon, when I finally got away from the registration tables, I informed them all ~ i don't believe i really "like" kids.  not even my own.  LOL.  they are all wiggle worms, full of life and energy, and questions.  and they get lost when you're not looking.  but...i got a new tee-shirt out of the deal.  which laid lightly upon my sunburned shoulders and neck.  "Where did you get a sun burn?" you ask.  we went to the beach Sunday after the No Piru verdict.  it was a lovely day to be at the beach.  sat there and told stories of wave jumping and body surfing when we were kids.  ocean water is just plain yucky tasting.  

so there was a little boy in the kindergarten or first grade class yesterday.  he was new, but very much involved in all the activities,,,,,coloring, crafting, bible-story, the whole thing.  at the end when they were getting revved up singing in between songs, he yells, "Hey, who IS Jesus???"

Does that not define the very essence of VBS?  Mom's all over town dropping their kids off at every VBS through the summer ~ kind of free babysitting ~  but see, He works ~ He is always working!!!!!  I am sure this little boy is going to find the best friend he has ever had by the end of this week.  how cool is that!!!!

and so it goes

ya know.....i hate walmart.  well i dont hate it, okay, but i go there on very very rare occasions.  and since we dont have super-walmarts here i cant go there even to buy steak.  however, we are to get two superop-walmarts in the near future and each of them about 2.5 miles from my house.  one to the east, one to west.  i am hoping all those who stand in the aisle stay in the east and i have heard of people  actually petitioning to make sure they dont show up in the west.  anyways costco moved into my neighborhood about two years ago.  it is literally down the street and around the corner.  i can even walk there if i want but you know that aint gonna happen.  so i drive to costco to buy milk.  i can get two gallons of milk for about 3 bucks and that is about a buck cheaper than in the real stores.  remember i dont do albertsons either.  although their new add claims they have lowered of 20,000 prices.  yeah right.  even if the lowered them 50% they would still be robbin' ya blind.  i didnt really want to or need to do real grocery shopping today.  it is very hot outside.  but we needed milk.  so i got took a bath, let my hair stay wet, put on some clean clothes and hopped into my automotive convection oven and drove over a couple of blocks for milk.  then i spotted the blueberries.  i love blueberries and costco has them for about 1/2 of what they cost in the real stores.  two pound containers mind you.....  oh yes and add to the basket the rainier cherries.  ooooolala they are sooooo good.  expensive but sooooo good.  better than bings by far.  i head over to the checkout area and spot the self-checkouts which are pretty empty and fall in behind a guy that was just finishing up.  two or three people get in line behind me befor they notice that the register next to us is open.  everybody insists i go to that register, but because it i was in no hurry to get out of the store i let them go first and i stayed in my line.  although it is not as cool in the stores as it used to be it was a heck of a lot cooler than going back out into the heat.  the guy ahead of me gets done and i walk up to the scanner, scan my card, scan my bananas, scan my cherries, walk to the back of my cart and pick up my blueberries.  when i did, i guess i squeezed the container in the wrong place and as i ran it across the scanner and onto the belt, the container blew open and the blueberries blew out.  probably 500 little blueberries skipping down the conveyor belt.  it was an 'oh crap' moment added to an 'is anybody looking?' moment.  the guy with the four kids that went over to the other register came over to help me.  he was scooping them little berries faster than they could move only he didnt have anything to put them in.  when i finally got the clerk's attention, he had a huge handful of berries i think he would have shoved into his pockets to get rid of if we hadnt arrived with a box when we did.  i am still laughing over it all.  and then he even wished me a good day.  wasnt that nice?  would never have happened at walmart.  they would wiped them onto the floor to be smashed into oblivion by the little feet doing cultural dances in the aisle.  the clerk even tried to send the guy's son back to get me a new box of blueberries until i told her the kid wasn't mine.  she called him a little gentleman for being so nice to help.  

although it didnt make it any cooler outside, it did make my day that much nicer.

now it is nap time.

Incidentals

incidentals.  what does that mean to you?   to me, it means things like undies.  things you can't do without, but not necessarily big-ticket items.  does it still mean the same thing?  then there are accidentals.  thats a musical term for a flat, sharp, or natural played in the middle of what ever key you are currently in....which boggles my mind, why don't they just mark it all one way and then no one will have any accident(al)s.  i really should have been born 2 thousand years ago and i could have given this idea to many of the composers as they rose to fame.   but, i wasn't so i will go on analyzing the absurdities of life.  like....splain this one to me.  is it really really necessary to stand in the middle of the store aisles with all your families and friends and give a blank look of confusion when someone pushes your cart and says, 'excuse me' a million times to get by?  that, i believe is a cultural thing, i truly am curious as to its origins.  or how about the kid who, when released from his mother's arms, walks up to the kid ahead of them in line, and BITES him in the chest.  where do they get off doing things like that?  only to have mom say "no, no."  what is up with that?  don't they have animal training for that?   what was that red-furred character on sesame street, not the one that laughs..uh elmo....not elmo...the one that kind of growls and makes noise.  Animal!!! yes yes of course that was his name.  reminds me of this kid.  gaaaaaraaarghhhhh.   lol

okay i gotta go.  i need more time to ponder.

It's a Hummer

fill in the blanks

my ______ tis of thee

sweet land of _____

of thee i sing

land where my _____ died

land of the pilgrims _______

______ every mountainside

let f______ ring.

there...now it will be in your head all day

   

the wanderers return

all the ducks are back in a row.  life has return to some kind of normal.  trips recapped and spins spun.

and while they were away....it got hot ~ real hot.  stinkin hot.  

can only ride at 4 am now.  thats a style crimper.  no more oven dishes -- have to move outside to the bbq -- after dark.  seems like a good time to eat out.

boat is on a tune-up venture.  gotta find that perfect weekend.  im thinkin' piru. havent been there for a 100 years +.  guess i should research it.  have you tried bing.com?  

stinkin hot i say!

Just When You Have Given Up....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o

It's Heatin' Up

back to the 90's.....after a 17 day respite.  was nice.  hopefully it will come around again.  i likes it.  makes for cleaner air if nothing else.

What R U Doing?

we have gone from "wassup?????" to "What R U Doing?"  I thought i was on track pretty much until i started doing some research about Twitter.  no, i don't want to Twitter.  in their  "demo" tour they say twittering is to let each other know what you are doing between blogs, emails, ,,,other computer time.  like "i am off to work now" or "i just saw lu-lu in study hall"....  sorry guys, i just don't do much more than my daily routine, and i really don't think you would be at all interested.  like:   "uh yeah, i just went to the grocery store....prices continue to soar."  or how about  "okay im on my way to work....on time even - unlike U"   "wow, did you see im a celebrity?"  [eyeroll]  i am beginning to fear electronics.  i am glad i don't have kids that age and have to deal with this stuff. "give me email, or give me blog!"  that is as far as i am going.  and don't txt msg me either....that stuff costs way 2 much $$.

GoT  2 RuN Now  buh-bye   

[hork]

O.W. ~ Whacked?

I have watched Oprah over the years off and on and always felt she had some pretty good guests and discussions.  I haven't always agreed with all she has said or done, but if nothing else watched her show for the entertainment value.  Some of her "do-good" attempts are really fantastic, however, sometimes the motivation behind them is questionable.  

But last year, I lost my grip on her when she began espousing The Secret ~ which basically is a religious point of view, deeply rooted in one's "self" and the power that lies therein.  Ugh.  Millions and Millions of Oprah watchers tuned into it, on her show, on the web.  Really dangerous stuff she is touting.  And now she is the cover story in the current edition of Newsweek for just that reason.  The reason that I bring this up, is, if you haven't seen the cover, take a good look at her.  It is ugly.  And I think (personal opinion here) it reflects her resulting condition as she moves "to the other side".  I am not saying she is demon-possessed but I do believe she has lost her link to her only saving grace ~ Jesus Christ.  Please pray for her.  

The other reason I am writing this is because the tie to my last blog.  Curious, definitely NOT funny.  And please if you are a thyroid sufferer, do not follow Oprah ~ go see a bona fide md for treatment!

Excepted from Newsweek  06/01/09 pgs....idont know:  pay attention to words in green  because this is just NOT true.....and I am living proof of it, don't ya think.  I have never had a problem with not being able to speak my mind.  duh.

Oprah turned to Northrup (Dr. Christiane Northrup, a physician and one of Oprah’s regular experts) for advice in 2007, when, as she put it, she “blew out” her thyroid after a stressful season of work and travel.  She felt sick and drained and she gained weight.  She asked the doctor to come  on the show to explain what was going on.  “When I called her to talk about this whole thyroid issue,” Oprah told the audience, “she always connects the mind, the body and the spirit.”
Thyroid dysfunction, which affects millions of Americans (mostly women), occurs when the thyroid gland located in the neck produces too much or too little thyroid hormone.  Too much (hyperthyroidism) and the metabolism races, sometimes causing anxiety and weight loss.  Too little (hypothryroidism) and it slows, which, if severe, can lead to depression and weight gain.  Many things can trigger the disease, especially autoimmune disorders.
But Northrup believes thyroid problems can also be the result of something else.  As she explains in her book, “in many women thyroid dysfunction develops because of an energy blockage in the throat region, the result of a lifetime of ‘swallowing‘ words one is aching to say.”  
On the show, she told Oprah that “your body give you signals; ‘Hey you’ve been putting too much stuff under the carpet...’”
OPRAH:  So your body ... Is only manifesting what’s really going on with your spirit?
NORTHRUP:  But your intellect doesn’t know it.  This is the important part.  It’s not – you’re not causing this deliberately...It’s your soul bringing it to your attention.
OPRAH:  Right.  Its your soul trying to speak to you.
An interesting theory – but is there anyone who believes that what Oprah suffers from is an inability to express herself?  She didn’t make it clear on the show what form of the disease she had, or what her doctors believed brought it on.  She shared with her audience that she took thyroid medication and spent a month relaxing in Hawaii, where she ate fresh foods and drank soy milk.  Northrup advises that in addition to the conventional thryoid medication women should consider taking iodine supplements.
That is just what they shouldn’t do, says Dr. David Cooper, a professor of endocrinology at John Hopkins medical school who specializes in thyroid disease.  “She is mixing truth with fantasy here,” he says.  First, “thryoid disease has nothing to do with women being downtrodden.  She makes it sound like these women brought it on themselves.”  Cooper agrees that thryoid paitients should seek thryoid homone treatement to bring the symptoms under control.  But, he says Oprah should have stayed clear of soy mil.  “If you’re hypothyroid and youre taking thyroid medication, you do not want to be taking soy.  It will block your body’s ability to absorb the medication.”
Iodine, he says can even be riskier “[Northrop} says iodine deficiency is more common in women, when in reality it’s not very common in women at all.  This is a myth.”  The thyroid gland, he says is extremely sensitive to iodine.  If you have mild hypothyroidsm, taking iodine will make it worse.”   

"She's a Bri-ick House"

Okay I am averaging 3 days a week on my bike for approximately 20 miles a day.  5 of those miles are what I call piddle-fart miles, time spent with a friend pedaling while we talk of the prior day and what the day ahead will require of us.  We do ride at 4:00 am and I am sure we are getting some points for that alone.  I do the piddlefart ride regardless of whether I bike to work or not.  But on the way to and from work, I am pedaling an avg. of 15 miles per hour for 22 to 25 minutes.  Now look, I don't want to be a sad-sack, but my legs are aching and quite frankly, I am feeling beat up for nothing.  I have not lost a pound.  Not one.  And I can not swear to you that I have lost any inches.  I have basically ridden my ass off, withstanding the stares of passers-by, who I am convinced sing, "she's a brick house" as I ride by.  I don't want muscle!!!  Well, I do, but not two tons of it.  I live in fear of looking like The Hulk on a bike.

Somebody, puh-leeeeeez splain to me...........if i don't have any thyroid, i don't have any metabolism.  If I don't have a metabolism, how can I up it to lose weight?  In essence, I have this feeling that EVERYTHING, good, bad, or otherwise, that I eat is retained on my bones, except for what explodes from my body every couple of days or so.  I am not gettin' it.  Help me out.  I have a feeling I am riding for nothing.  I take thyroid meds....so I must have thyroid juice in me.  I get tested, the doc just reduced it 6 weeks ago cause I was running on the high side of normal.  I haven't heard from him so I guess I am "normal.  So if anyone has any appropriately related info,,,lay it on.

As for me, I'll be back at it in the am.

  

".....and I helped!"

ahhhhhhhh, Shake-n-bake.  that was some nasty stuff.  yeah i know, there are some of you out there that like it, and i am sure that it has been vastly improved over the past 40 years, but, you'll have to tell me about it.  make mine fried.  ,,,,,,or kfc,,,,,,or kgc nowdays (which is pretty good.)

i am now the administrative assistant/coordinator to the student ministry team, in addition to my current assignments.  yeah.  i got work to do!  i could easily work until i poop out each day and i still must "make" myself quit for the day and leave on time.  i love working.  and i am thinking i am an idiot for making such a statement, but i do, i do, i do.  last friday it was a push to get out 200 postcards (mass mailing usps standards 200+) before 3pm and today i "made" 70 booklets for the new young women's ministry group.  they did all the work, i just pushed the buttons on the printer and voila' the printer did the rest.  this afternoon, i burned off 120 cd's, same process.  put it in the machine, push the button and voila' "i'm brilliant!"  lol  i only have 380 more to go....

now i am home from work and i get to help again...this time pouring cement.  not so exciting but it will get the job done and the job needs to get done.  beats cooking dinner, too.

i wish someone would come help me clean my kitchen floor......

Circa 1962

so we moved from Connetticutt to Pennsylvania about the time i was hitting the 2nd grade.  Mrs. Ford was a cool teacher.  The school was right across the highway, Street Rd.;  you had to use the crosswalk with an adult crossing guard to get across coming and going.  after mom got over a good case of allergy induced hives we had to move.  seems she was allergic to the landlord who lived next door and didn't want any dogs in her house.  i think she may have been bothered by my father's dark skin, but when we did get the dog she said we couldn't have, we were pretty much forced to move.  kind of a bizarre story, if you ask me, but i'll continue.  we moved into this mansion.  you know like a 'southern mansion' from gone with the wind days.  it was about 100 years old easy, had huge columns on the porch, on property that was covered with huge huge trees, and out back there was a real carriage house, horseshoes and all.  we lived in half the house while the owners were in the process of renovating.  by far it was one of the coolest places i have ever lived and although we were there only a short time it remains a vivid memory of childhood.  anyways...mom and dad took off, probably to the commissary or something and left us kids on our own to entertain ourselves for the day.  so my big brudda decided to herd us to the stream for the day.  we had to go across a huge field and cross a back woods road and down to where the stream was.  we played pretty much of the day away.  when it was time to go we had to make the hike back.  by the time we got to the road the tar was bubbling and oozing because it had gotten so warm under the afternoon sun.  quite interesting, warm tar.  you could pull it up and mold it in your hands; from what i heard from the old people, they even chewed it.  ack.  anyway, what was really neat is you could stick your toes in the bubbles and pop them.  actually if you stood for any length of time in the tar, you could actually get stuck.  and that is just what happened about the time the local police showed up to find out what a bunch of kids were doing in the middle of this country lane.  the littlest of bruddas had stood still a little too long.  luckily my courageous and strong big brudda was able to pull him from the tar and we managed to get out of the street about the time the cops stopped.  tar does not come off easily.  and you certainly do not want to try to wash it out in a washing machine.  you pretty much have to use gasoline.  which is good for removing ticks, too.

so,,,,there you have it....the story of sticky tar and mucky muck.  maybe someday i'll write about pig pooh.

whoa-hooo  lookie there.  i'm back.  what i want to know is, where have i been?  i must be having loads of fun because when i looked at the date on my last post i was amazed at the amount of time that has passed.  

so...first up....the weather.  it has been absolutely gorgeous after a short (2-day) hot streak.  that was a couple of weeks ago.  over the weekend,,,,80.  80 all the way.  you can not beat that.  and today 91.  later this week back to 100 but then,,,back to 80.  what a crazy pattern!  but i likes it.

have managed to ride my bike every morning for about 30 minutes with the other half of the bertha butt sisters.  okay it really is a social hour but we do peddle and it should count for something.  add to that, 3 to 4 days a week to work and back.  about a total of 15 miles round trip.  not too shabby.  and i am up to 15 mph on that little jaunt.  so for those of you that know all about this gym stuff...my heart beat IS up.  okay so guess how much weight i have lost!!!!!  go ahead....guess.  WRONG.  you're all wrong.  i have not dropped one itsy bitsy teeny weenie ounce.  not one.  not sixteen.  flippin not one.  please do not say, "oh but you are building muscle."  if that were the case,  i will be the biggest brick-sh*t-house house you can possibly imagine by the end of the year.  heaven forbid.  but i am not going to stop riding.  nope, i have made up my mind i am going to stick with it and when i go see the doctor in august i'm gonna tell him, "i ain't go no metabolism."  it's gone.  i do not know how to make it work w/o hormones.  five weeks ago i was at the high end of normal...he cut the dose by 7 milligrams of go-juice.  i wouldn't think so, but maybe i am now hypo   or just a hippo.  go figure.

hmmmmmm what else.  a is into her new house.  it really is fantabulous.  and cooper went with her.  i miss him but don't tell anyone.  

j has started her clinicals.  she's birthin' babies and workin' in the er.  sounds pretty exciting.  kind of glad she's not at a local hospital....im not sure i want my daughter prickin' me.  revenge runs deep,,,,,,,  lol   i am sure she is doing a good job....i know she is a great care giver.  just let her practice on somebody else.

so its me and my man now days.  eeeeeyup.  yup.  when you are 20 you never think about the other end of life....but it is certainly worth giving it a thought if you are thinking of getting married.  cause this side of life.....well let's just say it ain't like being 20.

  think about the possibility of having to share dentures over a mc donalds meal just to save money.   ewwwww

wonder whats on the 400 channels we get...its tuesday nite....im sure i can find something.

ciao' y'all.