Nippy Nippy

It is Monday, November 30, 2009, and it is nippy cold with rain outside today. This is documentation in case some other far away life form is trying to contact earth. Just kidding.

My to do list is about 12 things long and I don't even want to get out of my housecoat. One thing is off my list and all I could do was leave a message for the person to call me back. So much for urgent business stuff.

Since I really do no want to be a grump, I think I'll just post this and maybe do a part two later today, may be not.

Any whoooo....here is a picture....they say they are worth a thousand words. Any picture would save a bunch of key strokes on a blog.


It's a picture of an old light fixture from the underside. It's also a wish for a bright happy day even when it's nippy cold with rain outside.

Big Blue Chair

November, as posted earlier, was a difficult month. Several major things happened in our lives, including the oldest son being hospitalized because a blood clot had passed through his heart, broke into two pieces and lodged in his lung. He survived.

A sweet family in their church prepared Thanksgiving dinner for them and brought it to their house. The Son asked us to drive up and share it with them. Yes, we will come. It was a very nice dinner and even nicer because it was stress free.

While there, I was able to rock the GRAND baby in the big blue chair in his nursery. It is a very pretty chair and very comfortable.

There is a plan to rocking the GRAND baby to sleep. You must let him think he is in control and not going to sleep. Of course, Grammi wins and he sleeps. This time, instead of laying him down in a cold bed, I rocked him the entire nap. It was wonderfully peaceful as I thought about how life could have been so very different for all of us, including him, if the Son had not survived. I rocked and cried and rocked some more until the GRAND baby was rested and woke up.

So, I sat counting my blessings. They are many, as many as the number of rocks we took this Thanksgiving day in the big blue chair.

Wide Awake Started Dreaming

Last night I was so wired. Everyone went to bed around 8 PM CST. I was wide awake but went to bed to keep from making too much noise. I laid in bed, eyes opened, dreaming.

Does Santa have good, clean used RVs at the North Pole? I thought it would be great to sell just about everything we own, store my little Honda, some other stuff, hook up the Toyota and hit the road. The Hubbie and I could be retired hippies. We could visit long time friends, spread peace and love but no dope, ever. Only dopes do dope.

I would love to start in Florida to see Paul, a young man fighting for his life against cancer, scoot by and hug Trish and Bob's neck because they were there for us when we needed someone. Then head north to South Carolina to visit the daughter and Sil. He has some land near the Peach water tower in the upper part of the state and I think he would have an electrical outlet we could plug into for a few days.

Then, on to North Carolina where we have lots of friends in the Charlotte area, Raleigh and around other parts. I miss them all. We lived in that state for sixteen years and never made it to DC. DC would be our next stop then head to New York to visit a couple that gave us a home when we had no home. I would love to see them both.

All of this would only be phase one of the dream, it would be a huge loop to Kansas, Texas and back with the GRAND baby's area being home base. Our trip might look more like a daisy than a circle. We would have to see him regularly, of course.

See how far you can travel in a few minutes, via the dream world with your eyes still opened? zzzzzzzzzzzz
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Day After

Thanksgiving has come and gone. It went by in a flash, didn't it? Now on to Christmas. This is the most behindest (yes, spellcheck got it) I have ever been in my entire life since becoming a mother.

For years, I kept out $10 per week from my household monies and was always finished way early but these last two years all I can say is ha ha ha ha. What is not got it together for 100 dollars, Alec?

Things not done include, zero decorations, zero clean windows, zero clean curtains, zero presents wrapped and only a few purchased.

Maybe I should just go into the woods, pick up a dead branch and label it ba hum bug. Naaahh, I won't do that this year. After all, it's the GRAND baby's first one.

So what if things are yet to be done. What will be done will be done. What isn't done, can be done later, maybe.

It's time for a tree, lights, shopping and fun!!!

Ready? Set? Go!
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Full Cup

Today my posting on Facebook was: My cup is spilling over...into the saucer...on to the table. It is a reference to a Bible verse that says my cup runneth over.

I woke up this morning with feelings of more than a full cup of blessings. I was realizing not only was my cup full but it was full into the saucer which was full on to the table, all examples of how my blessings are overflowing.

The oldest son survived a near death experience. We are thankful. The youngest son is struggling but better. We are thankful. The Hubbie and I are working on our 43 years of being married. We are thankful. The GRAND baby is, well, he's just GRAND. We are thankful. Our daughter is well. We are thankful. Our family has grown by a DIL and SIL in the last few years. We are thankful. America is the greatest country. We are thankful.

The spillings could go on and on but I'll end here and wish everyone in the blog world, Happy Thanksgiving and wishes for a full cup, saucer, and even on the table.
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I Do

Forty two years ago today, November 25, 1967, Hubbie and I said, I do. We did and it took.

He was 20, I was 19. We lived in Texas at the time. Because of state laws, his mother had to go to City Hall with us and sign permission for him to marry. I, being a grown woman of 19, was considered an adult at 18. He was not legal until he was 21. So, it was the Hubbie, his Mom, and me, riding on the elevator up to sign the papers for the license, not very romantic but I remember it like it was yesterday.

We have had a good life, not a perfect life, but a good one. There are regrets, things we wish we had not done, put up with, suffered, but there are things that are wonderfully wonderful, too.

We were discussing what to get for gifts. We decided we needed a new digital camera with video for the GRAND baby because that is now a must in our lives. He makes us so happy even on sad days. I went to the big W yesterday and bought a red Kodak camera. I was going to buy another Samsung, more expensive, but decided to go for the Kodak. I will put it in a pretty bag, give it to him, he will open, act surprised, put it back into the bag, give it to me, I will act surprised. It will be fun. We have all we need and only a few wants left in life. God is good.

So, today, I am sweetly reminiscing. Love is deaf, dumb, and blind but also lasting.

We think we're going to make it.
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Nasty November

Yep, November, month #11, has been pretty nasty at our house.

The young son has been home from the University twice, sick. He has had strep, been to the family doctor three times and six RXs from the local drugstore. He is on the mend finally.

The first born, older son has been in the hospital with two blood clots in his lung. It has been an amazingly scary time for all of us. He has survived to be with his wife and 10 month old baby son. We are thankful.

Finally, I have been sick, sore throat, throwing up, fever. I wasn't able to go to the hospital to see the oldest son. It was difficult. I am improving and about back to normal.

The original plan for month #11 was to clean the house from top to bottom, one day and one project per day would do it. The month has come and gone with nothing done on the plan. The problem with house cleaning plans is they can always be done another day, much like Scarlett in Gone with the Wind.

A month full of ups and downs, one that is gone in a blink, can put the focus of the important things back in focus. Family is the important thing. Housecleaning can be done a bit over time.

So, the wish is, bye, bye November!

Sick

I am sick.

Blog later.

U. S. Navy Brat and the Bainbridge

I'm sitting here watching TV while the young son is sleeping in the recliner. He is home from the University, sick, again or still.

It is telling the story of the pirates that captured the ship last year, the hero captain, crew and how they were rescued by the U. S. Navy ship Bainbridge. It is giving me chills. It makes me proud that I have a connection to the U. S. Navy.

My Dad was a lifer. He spent 19 years, 20 something days, X number of hours serving his Country. He had it down to the minute but I don't remember it. It was trivial back then. I was a teenager and thought it was pretty silly. Now, it gives me a sense of pride in his service.

I never have had a normal life. I was born into the Navy and my first move was at 6 weeks old. I moved all my growing up years. It has good and bad points, of course, as does all of life. You know you only have so many years to be at a place so you get in, make friends, make do, bond with others in the same boat. You make the most of it. The hard part is the moving, leaving the life you have made, only to do it all over again at the next port of call.

True, there were bonds over the years but they have all been lost. There are no life long friends that we still talk or write. However, because of that experience, I know that if and when our paths would ever cross, we would still be friends. Friends not in touch. It's okay. I had a good life, although at the time I could only see the negatives. My family is my life now and I love it.

Being attached to the service is like everything else. It has pros and cons. I know of people that have never been out of the state they were born in until they were adults. It seems strange to me.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say I am thankful for my life connection to the Navy. It is a sense of pride for me. To the crew of this great Navy vessel, you are amazing. I would give you all a medal.

To my Dad, I say, Thanks, Dad, you did good.
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Lead Me in a Plain Path

Years ago we were in a situation that we did not know which way to go. The Scripture came to us in a time that we needed it. We are there again.

I am so confused that I don't have a clue what to do. There are only two options and both have their drawbacks. Me, sitting here thinks, suck it up and go on. What if that is the wrong decision?

This is a picture of 3 geese walking down the beach in Florida. There are two males and one female. Their prints were in the sand but do not show up well in this picture. They walked directly down the white sand without straying right or left.

I need to be led in a plain, clear, direct path. Help!
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