31 December 2009

Happy Anniversary, Baby!







Betcha By Golly Wow!




There's a spark of magic in your eyes


Candyland appears each time you smile


Never thought that fairy tales came true


But they come true when I'm near you


You're a genie in disguise


Full of wonder and surprise






And betcha by golly, wow


You're the one that I've been waiting for forever


And ever will my love for you keep growin' strong


Keep growin' strong






If I could I'd catch a falling star


To shine on you so I'll know where you are


Order rainbows in your favorite shade


To show I love you, thinking of you


Write your name across the sky


Anything you ask I'll try, `cause






Betcha by golly, wow


You're the one that I've been waiting for forever


And ever will my love for you keep growin' strong


Keep growin' strong






Betcha by golly, wow


You're the one that I've been waiting for forever


And ever will my love for you keep growin' strong


Keep growin' strong






Betcha by golly, wow


You're the one that I've been waiting for forever


And ever will my love for you

(Thom Bell and Linda Creed)
 
Actually,
our anniversary is January 1st....
but I plan to be busy tomorrow,
so this is my opportunity to
let you know how
fortunate I find myself.
 
As some of you know...
my sweetie and I are
"re-treads"
meaning...
we have tried this marriage thing
a time or two...
and well....finally God intervened
and we found each other.
It has been five years.
Doesn't sound like a lot...
but in 50-something years, it is a lifetime.
 
I have never been happier,
and find myself
excited when ever he comes home from being away...
giddy even..
blessed (I know)...
smiles.
 
 
 

30 December 2009

I am ready to take it all down...after one more look....


The stockings are tired....


They are just a bit droopy...


The gifts have all been delivered...


And I have only one more
holiday event to host...
tonight.

My book club ladies are coming.
Coffee, regular and decaf...
Christmas cookies..
Fruitcake...smiles.
and
celery and carrots....
(bigger smiles)

I dont' know about you but I am so
sick of the "sugar highs" that
permeate the holidays.
My head can't take it anymore.

And as much as I love me some coffee...
I might just have decaf...
well..
not really...
but I thought about it.
smiles.

24 December 2009

God Bless Us.....Everyone....


Isn't it odd...
that no matter
 how hard we try
 to have lower expectations
 of the holidays...

There is so much room for
hurt...
dispair...
disappointment...
fear....
sadness...
judgement...
separation...
loneliness....
sorrow...

Sometimes...
even when you prepare yourself
for what you think might be the most
unexpected occurance....
you are caught off guard.

Even when you
resign yourself to the disappointment...
more comes your way.

Personally,
I am blessed.
My family and friends are
near, dear and wonderfully,
present.

However,
someone who I am very emotionally
attached to..... is sad.
Lack of common courtesy...
lack of respect...
lack of love..

How do we deal with lack of
love?

God blesses us...
sometimes we don't see our
blessings,
until it is too late and they are
taken away from us....

God,
please allow me to be
present.

Thank you to all of you who
visit my blog.
You have helped me this year more than you can
possibly know.
Please continue to let me know how,
and who you are...
thank you from deep inside....
smiles.

18 December 2009

Home is where....


anywhere I find those....
whom I love...
who love me...
who desire my presence..
who enjoy the event as much as I do...
who will eat my food...
who will stay to watch bowl games...
who realize the value of family...
who are willing to share...
who understand that we all have weaknesses....
who desire a better world...
who are willing to work for it...
those who see the glass nearly full...
the many who accept me as I am...
who find that life really is
a bowl of cherries...
and that we are all a barrel of monkeys...
who will laugh at my jokes..
and not make me the butt of one...

Family can come in so many disguises....
it can be the lonely neighbor..
the couple that has no children and
actually enjoy the chaos that accompanies
young adults...
the single guy who has family very far away...
the single girl who has lost her dad this year...
the couple with a toddler, who need a break...
the also, young couple with two beautiful girls that light up the room...
the middle aged man who is beginning to learn to care for himself...
the new grandmother who is learning to set boundaries..
the couple who is so relived that he has a new job...
the man and wife who have lost everything this year and still smile....
the retiree that longs for the company of her children..
the independent woman, who has put everything into her work and her dogs...

All of these people
are my family..
and yet,
I am actually related by blood
to none of them...

I am so grateful to see the miracles that are happening all around me.
My wish is that everyone sees a miracle before year's end...
Go out and look for it...
It is there, I promise...
Really...
smiles.


BA love...



Funny.
I can't remember what I did yesterday,
but I remember a time when I wore
two of these uniforms...
the striped one...
and the beautiful one after it...
I loved every minute.
smiles.

17 December 2009

Out of the fog...


My life is so good...
sometimes, when I am very still...
quiet to the point of hearing my breath...
and feeling my heartbeat...


I simply cannot fathom
the immense goodness found in this world.




I know this is not necessarily a popular point of view...
it seems that pessism is a much more accepted outlook.


But
in my life...
I feel so blessed.




As with most impressions,
details are not particularly important.
But, let's just say that
the last couple of days have bought


a revelation...


a release...


and finally,


a renewal.


My experience has been that sometimes
we don't even know how bogged down we are until
we stick our heads out the window and
check out the scenery.



Once we know that there is a
different, freer, more beautiful option...
well,
taying "mucked up" in the
well.....
muck
is just not an option any longer.



So...
like the feeling you have when
 you are on board an aircraft...
ready for takeoff....

waiting for the fog to lift...


just a bit..


and then it happens...


you are speeding down the runway


faster and faster until


the nose of the aircraft lifts...


and soon you are up...

and momentarily...

you break the cloud layer.




Breaking out of the cloud layer
that's it.
That is what has happened to me.


New challenges..


New outlook...


New purpose...


New freedom...



Blessed...
that's what I am.
smiles.

15 December 2009

Observations....


So many bloggers inspire me...
So....
when the whole weekend turned into "pea-soup"
Fog like we have not seen around here for some time.....
I decided to embrace it.
I took a clue from the week of lovely photos from
Mary's blog In a Soft Light
She has been embracing the fog for sometime...
I suspect.

So...
as much as I tend to be claustrophobic,
and want to pout on foggy days...
I headed out, into the cold,
and shot lots of images.

It is good for the soul.

On another note...
while I was out,
I happened to notice
this...



He or she was taking a nap on the "electrical box"
way out at the back of the property....
Must have been warm..
humming away...
or maybe
it sounded like a
mother's purr.....

smiles.

12 December 2009

I'm in!....or game....or trying......anyway....smiles.


Well,
here's the thing....
I am taking the easy way out today....
I am letting someone else come up with the
"thoughts for the day"

Mandy at Good Cook
came up with the idea,
and I found it
(great name!)
Questions to let you know more than you could possibly want to know
about me.
So here goes;

Here are the instructions:

If you're reading this post, then you must:


(a) leave a comment and answer the below 25 questions that Mandy made up,


(b) write the answers to the questions below in your own blog post, if you have a blog, that is.


or (c) call yourself a scrooge in the comment below and refuse to answer them.


I hope you choose (A) or (B) but if you choose (C) then I'll just let the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future deal with you. If you do decide to write your own blog post about it, please mention Mandy since she is the author of these important questions. (Writers credit and all that jazz - thanks!)


(1) What is your favorite Christmas movie?




I would agree with Nancy on Love Actually....it's sweet.


(2) What is your LEAST favorite Christmas movie?


The Simpsons Christmas specials...


(3) What is your favorite Christmas song?


We Three Kings (traditional)
and
Blue Christmas (R&R)
and
Grandma got runover by a reindeer (because I never grew up)


(4) What Christmas song(s) drives you crazy?


White Christmas (can't get it out of my head)


(5) What is your favorite Christmas drink? (i.e. egg nog, hot chocolate)


Hot Mulled Cider


(6) What is your favorite Christmas memory?


When my son's father dressed up like Santa....and fooled all the kids..




(7) What is the best toy/gift you've received on Christmas?


Barbie, three wigs, carrying case and clothes...a big time!


(8) What is the worst toy/gift you've received on Christmas?


A grill from my son's father.


(9) What do you LOVE about the holidays?


Songs, tree decorating, and food.


(10) What annoys you about the holidays?


The mall.


(11) Do you prefer star or angel on top of a Christmas tree? Or something else?


Star.


(12) What is your family favorite recipe at Christmas?


Dates, stuffed with pecans, rolled in sugar. Simple, and Dad loves them.


(13) Are you a Grinch or a Who at Christmastime?


Cindy lou Who to be precise.....smiles.


(14) Christmas light displays - Love them or Hate them?


When they are on someone elses' home-LOVE THEM!




(15) Santas at the mall - Fun times or Creepy?


I don't mind them, but the children I have taken to the mall...scream in terror...sorry Santa.


(16) Christmas cards - do you send them, yes or no?


Yes, I like to put my favorite photo from the preceding year on them.


(17) What is the best thing about Christmas, in your opinion?


Family.


(18) What is the worst thing about Christmas?


Fear.




(19) When do you put the tree up and take it down?


UP on Friday after Thanksgiving, Down on 26th of Dec., usually.






(20) Out of the 12 days of Christmas, which day and item would you want your true love to give to you?


Twelve Pipers piping.....Love those kilts!


(21) Why do you think that Grandma got run over by a reindeer?


I am so sorry....but I laugh everytime I hear it.....it is so redneck, it makes me cringe and then smile.
(I swear I didn't read ahead...really.)


(22) Who is your favorite reindeer?


Rudy is the best!


(23) Do you believe in Santa Claus?


Yep, know him well....smiles.


(24) What is your favorite smell at Christmastime?


The Tree.


(25) What would make you happy at Christmas this year?


To wake up being me....my life is so good..




Thank you and pass it on!

07 December 2009

Ironic....me thinks....


See how lovely this looks?
How quiet....serene....calm...?
Ironic.

The sweetie and I spent last evening looking quite a bit like the
Keystone Kops....
(not a look I would advocate)

You see...
as I checked on the laundry yesterday afternoon...
I discovered that the load, which had been
tumbling
for
hours.....
was wet.

The dryer passed away from exhaustion.
And
the washer
has been complaining,
for months....
that she is
carrying the load....
(sorry!)

Yes..
the washer, bless her heart,
has been struggling along on one cycle
for over a year.
She's over it.

Well,
after a trip to the local Lowe's,
to make arrangements for a new duo...
we started to think about the
configuration of the laundry room,
and the fact that we had just commited to
a new set,
that was considerably larger
than the funerary couple.

HOLY COW!
when we arrived home and started to
measure (that's what engineers do)
and visualize (that's what photographers do)
we realized that
we were cornered.
Literally.

We had to find a new place for the
refrigerator, left over from our
kitchen redo.
and
that meant
taking off it's doors,
and taking out all the contents...
and moving it down the hall to a
storage closet filled with chairs.

Oh, did I mention that I had
wet laundry sitting around waiting for
it's turn in the tumbler?

After a break
to dry laundry at the parents,
(who served us tuna casserole, how lucky are we!)
we came home...
to still another
storage problem...
what to do with the
eight dining room chairs
that had previously been stored in the
closet where the fridge now hummed contentedly....
and
make the guest room beds that were waiting for the
newly dried sheets....
and
 find a place for the microwave, whose only use is to
pop popcorn during football games....

Yes...
it was like dominoes.
move one..
and
well...
you know.

smiles.

05 December 2009

I simply cannot express....


how blessed I feel....

My sweetie
(and I mean sweet)
brought me roses
today
for no apparent reason.

Now,
 before you roll those eyes
and think....
Yeah, right.....
no apparent reason...
wonder what he is up to....
smirk..

I would think the same thing,
if
I was younger.....
less aware.....
naive...
or
stupid....

You see
me and my sweetie...
well,
we weren't born
yesterday...
in fact
we have driven
 around this block
many times before....

He has been
single....
married....
widowed...
married a bit more
and
divorced...
and 
then
he
was
found....



by
me.

That's it.

And
me...
well
let's just say
my story is not that different
from his.


We
have experienced
a lot of heartache...
caused a bit...
and
are healing.
together.


So you see
these roses
are not
to make up...
ward off anger...
soothe feelings....
or even
divert attention...


Nope,
they are from one old soul
to another.
smiles.


03 December 2009

Fushia Flower Power....


I know...
it's a little out of season...
but I love the color.

Thanksgiving was a blast.
I enjoyed the conversations...
the food...
the colors...
the lights....
the parades...
the football even...

But I need just a breath of spring...
I am full bore...
working all day each day on
Christmas Gifts.
I love to do it.
Most years I simply do not have the time.
This year,
I have much more time than money....
so when I thought of writing today..
all I could think about was

(is that Dobie Gillis?)

So this is the image for me today...
Hmmmm.
I think I'll sing just a bit now...
smiles.

Opps....
I'm sorry...

I didn't mean to leave you out....

"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows,



Everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together,


Brighter than a lucky penny,


When you're near the rain cloud disappears, dear,.....

And I feel so fine just to know that you are mine.

29 November 2009

Safe and protected....


that's how I feel when I look at this shot of the
Live Oaks at Brookgreen gardens.
Their long limbs reaching out to enclose
and enfold...
protective...
nurturing
safe,
familiar,
maternal,
Mother Earth..
good.

27 November 2009

Where did Samantha find the time?


Good Golly Miss Molly....
Do you remember how cool Samantha Stephens was....
Man.....that girl could cook,
clean,
organize,
re-arrange furniture,
garden,
drive,
care for Tabitha,
and handle
that crazy husband of her's, Darin,
all with a twitch of her nose....

GIRL!
that is what I want to be able to do!
Conjure up a fabulous
house,
dinner,
outfit,
well....
life!
With just a twitch.....

And then I too
would have the time to play
"Solitaire"....

Yeah right!

Nope not me...
if I could do all that...
Darin would have been history...
and the Fab Four,
the Monkees,
AND
the Beach Boys
would be living
at my house.

Who needs a twitch?
All I need is my imagination.
smiles.

26 November 2009

This is what I am so grateful for....


My sweet son...
No.....
 this is not a current photo.
This little boy is now 21 yrs old.
He is visiting a hospital bound uncle today.
So... I do not get the pleasure of feeding him way too much food.
But
I am blessed.
He is a good man.
He is actually one of the most caring
and interesting people I know.
(of course my opinion only matters to me)
I am fortunate to have been
assisted in raising him
by his wonderful dad,
my patient parents,
and
dozens of fabulous teachers
who have over the years
encouraged him
and
me.

While...
his dad and I are not married now,
and haven't been for over 16 years,
we have tried to bring him up
without seeing our disagreements.
(his father is actually better at this than me, my guess)
We have been blessed in return
by having a son that is
better than either of us
deserve or could wish for...

I know that this may sound like
I believe I played a major role.
not true.
I know that
the most I can take credit for is
having made dinner,
cleaned clothes,
had a few parties,
and
basically tried to act like an adult.
(sometimes worked, and others....well)


This is what I am grateful for today.
How about you?
What are you grateful for?
I would love to hear from you...
smiles.
Happy Day.

22 November 2009

Tastes from the past....


enjoyed today....

This morning brought a breakfast flooded with memories..

It all started with a visit.
Several days ago,
a sweet lady named Anne
came to see me...
she had a photographic need..
that I am in the process of filling.
But what she brought for me
is pertinent here.
She brought eggs.
Eggs from her farm,
her chickens,
her effort,
her loving care.

These eggs were purposely saved for Sunday morning.
As they are special.
And
when I took my first bite....

I remembered....

being a child,
waking up to the smell of bacon...
toast,
grits,
fried green tomatoes,
biscuits,
honey,
oh my!

These were REAL eggs.

I had forgotten what a real egg
tastes like.

How sad....
I didn't even know,
really...

that I had fallen into the same trap
 that we all have fallen into,
at one time or another.

The trap of convenience.
The neighborhood chain store,
that brings us everything we need.....


or does it?

Maybe not.
As these eggs reminded me,
Eggs have a taste.
They are not bland.
Not real eggs.

I think I will ask for the photographic bill
to be paid in eggs...
smiles.

20 November 2009

Brilliant.....


Fall colors...
Don't they simply blow your mind?
Maybe they are trying to keep us warm even as the weather
turns cool...
Maybe it's their last "hurah"...
Maybe it is the glow of trees' spirits...
Or
maybe it is just
 the way the light
reflects off the old
 worn out leaves....

I don't think so...
smiles...

Happy Friday!

19 November 2009

I heart me some...


magazines.....
I always have...
ever since my mother,
in an effort to have
 one minute of peace in her life....
handed me a magazine
 and some "kiddie scissors"..
and said I could cut out
 all the pictures I wanted to...
Well....
that way just the beginning.

I have an obsession...
Yes, I think that word is not too strong to describe
the feelings toward periodicals....
I currently receive 4,
maybe 5 different ones each month...
but that is only because I am trying to be
economically responsible,
ecologically sound,
and
less mentally un-balanced....
(smiles)
But you should see my closet....
Here,
let me take you there,
(pretend we are walking to my bedroom)
now in here (closet)
I keep my stash...
Looky here
(shelves)
I have Martha's rag dating back to the 90's...
House Beautiful...ah... she gets her own spot too..
and Architectural Digest, he's such a snob...I put him off on his own to
think about just how important is a "label"...
Now...sadly
there are those that tug at my heart strings...
Met Home, Cottage Living,
and of course,
Domino
(sniff)
well, what can I say?

I actually get an endorphin rush
when my husband (sweetie) comes in from the
mailbox and announces that there are several magazines for me.....
Is that so wrong?

Well, I am trying to
bring a new light to this problem.
Really.
I want to be healthy in my attitudes...
So,
I have been making regular attempts to
give
a legitimate
chance

Here is the thing.
They produce a fabulous display.
great images...
very good info...
current trends....
interesting articles...
all good.

But
in reality...
they just don't
"crinkle"
or
fold back on themselves,
or sit on the floor next to my bed,
or
wait for me on my favorite chair....
or allow me to get out the
"kiddie scissors"....
smiles.