Life Is Good...

Lackadaisical

2009-05-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

It seems I have been remiss lately about writing for the blog. I don't really have as much leisure time as I'd like, but today have found myself with a WHOLE DAY of solitude. After having breakfast with my friend and going to Curves, I was able to come home and do whatever I want to do. I chose to paint, since I haven't been going to the library to do so. I did the beach picture and the kooky abstract today and the clematis one evening while Terry was watching a NASCAR race.

So today I completed two paintings, and now I am watching the painting shows I recorded from KET that are not really interesting to Terry. He will watch one or two once in a while, but there are six on each week, so they stay on the DVR until I have a chance to catch up on them. That Bob Ross is amazing. He turns out a gorgeous painting in a 30-minute show. He makes it look so simple, but I'm sure talent helps! I did learn my technique of making trees and shrubs from him, though.

I also put on a pot of spaghetti sauce and made some brownies. How domestic of me. I usually have to come up with a quick meal, but this is going to be a good one for a change.

Sounds like a productive day, doesn't it? I know there are a lot of chores I could (and should) have done, but instead I have played all day. What fun! It was some relaxation I was sorely needing. Life is good....

Something Different

2009-05-07T14:11:00.001-07:00

While we were in Florida, I wanted to purchase a new summer wreath for our house. It was time for a change, and I looked in a few places for a wreath made with seashells. What I found were wreaths that were expensive and not too pretty. I kept looking, and when Kellie and Doug came down and we were shopping, Kellie mentioned that I could probably make a wreath myself with a plain grapevine wreath and some shells. With that suggestion in mind, I bought a big bag of various seashells and came home ready to create. I had to wait awhile to get to Hobby Lobby to get the wreath, but I finally made it, and here are the results. The big wreath I bought for less than $5, and the little one had been hanging around at Doug and Kellie's with nothing to do. So with $5 invested in wreaths and $10 invested in shells and a glue gun, I have creations that would have cost $15 and $30 apiece in Florida. Pretty good idea that Kellie had, wasn't it?

Life is good...

The Latest Collection

2009-04-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted any paintings in a while, so I thought I'd just put all the latest work up all at once. Do you see a theme here? Two of the paintings were of the view out our condo window in Navarre, one on a stormy day. Two are of shells we found on the beach, and one is from a photo taking in a state park. I took about 700 pictures during our month in Florida, and I could have taken even more. I'll take them when I go back in the fall. I have enough inspiration now for a lot of paintings. Now all I need is the time to paint! It will probably have to wait a while, though, due to other pressing duties. At least I know I'll have plenty of things ready when I can get back to it.:) Life is good...

A Different Sort of Easter

2009-04-11T20:16:00.000-07:00

Every year since I was old enough to remember, my dad made special egg dye and put it in tiny little bottles. The Saturday night before Easter, the family would gather around the table and color HOT hard-boiled eggs with the vibrant (except for the purple, which never turned out right) colors daubed on with Q-tips. As the family grew, so did the number of eggs colored each year. In recent years, the number was seven dozen so all the kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids could color to their hearts' content. We had some very unusual and pretty eggs (and fingers!), as you can see in these older pictures. Even after my mom died, this tradition continued, with everyone gathering in Dad's kitchen while he supervised the egg-boiling. He never did color the eggs after we grew up, but he always wanted to continue is job. Some of the eggs would go home with us at the end of the evening, and the rest would stay with him to put in some baskets for us and for him to eat, as hard-boiled eggs are a particular favorite of his.

The next day, Easter, we all gathered for supper at Dad's. He bought the ham and the snack stuff, and the rest of us provided the sides and dessert. Easter baskets that had been hidden were found, and a good time was had by all.

This year, things are different, and I have found myself floundering around, not quite knowing what to do. Dad has had a difficult six months, and he is presently in a rehab facility to rebuild strength enough to function at home. At first we thought he might make it home by Easter, but this week it became apparent that he would not. I had not made contingency plans, and now I am caught. I wanted to get some eggs and make the dye myself and do the eggs with our kids and grandkids at home, but Terry did not want to bother with what he terms "the mess." You may be able to tell the ritual was never as important to him as it was to me. So even though the grandkids were all here today, there was no egg coloring. We did hide Easter baskets for them, and then we went to the rehab center to visit Dad. They had a big egg hunt there, so the little ones participated in that. This evening, Alissa and the boys went home. I think Chip and Shira have plans with her family tomorrow, and I believe Doug and Kellie will come here after visiting Dad. It's all so very different, and it doesn't feel right, but that's the way it is, and we just have to adjust. We can be grateful that Dad is slowly recuperating and that he enjoyed the visit from his great-grandkids today, and we can pray that he continues to recover. And we have to remember that, always, life is good...

I hope everyone has a happy and blessed Easter!

I'm Back!

2009-04-06T20:27:00.001-07:00

We have (regretfully) returned from our extended stay in Navarre Beach, Florida. We have never gone anywhere for more than two weeks before, and that was 30 years ago. Most of our trips in later years have been less than a week in length. It seemed we were coming home way too soon to suit me, but Terry was always ready to be home. He is more of a homebody than I am. I was born to travel. For this reason, I was curious to see how Terry would take this extended stay. Much to my amazement, he loved it! Neither of us was really ready to return to reality, even though we knew we had to, for a variety of reasons. He liked it so much that we have already booked the same lovely condo for a month in October. We think it may make a nice tradition-a month in the spring and one in the fall each year. Although I am not traveling all over the place as I might like, I am content to do this.

During our stay, we explored much of the surrounding area. I got to swim (even though the pool was cold) and go to the beach as I liked. I painted several pieces and read 10 novels. We were relaxed and happy and rarely had even a disagreement. It was lovely. Our two sons and families spent long weekends with us, too, which was fun. Most of the time, the weather was beautifully sunny, although windy. There were only 5 days of rain.

Unfortunately, life's realities intruded on our idyll, and it became time to leave. My dad, who I thought was recovering nicely from his many ailments when we left, had a serious setback and was hospitalized yet again. I did worry about him and called him daily to monitor his progress, but I knew my sister was bearing a heavy burden by herself. Projects that Terry had lined up with the two boys were going to need getting done, especially since a new grandchild is on the way this fall (yay!). We haven't seen Drew and Nick since Christmas, which is too long. So we came home to pick up the threads of everyday life. But that's okay. It's less than five months until we can go back! Life is indeed good...

Goodbye..

2009-02-28T18:00:00.001-08:00

...for now. As of this time, we'll be leaving for Navarre Beach, FL, at about 6:00 A.M. We are planning to stay a whole month. Of course, Terry saw a weather report on television that said there might be up to 5 inches of snow in Birmingham tomorrow morning, and he is not eager to drive in snow, so he has said we may delay our departure until afternoon to give the snow a chance to melt. Personally, I feel he is being just a little overcautious (read panicky), but since I'm not the one driving, I will be going along for the ride whenever we leave. The worst of the weather is supposed to be between the TN-AL border and just south of Birmingham, so we'll see. He wants to check again later and see how things are going. Just our luck--a southern snowstorm on the first day of March! And when we get to Florida, the temperature isn't supposed to get out of the 50's for several days. I guess that's better than the 30's we are supposed to have here, but I am hoping the weather warms up sooner rather than later. If it doesn't, though, I have about a dozen paperback books and all my painting supplies to take along, so I won't mind!

Speaking of painting, these are last Monday's projects, both of which I finished in about a little more than an hour. The top is a watercolor interpretation of one of Alissa's photos. The bottom is an abstract sunset, just done for the fun of it.

I am taking my computer with me to Florida, but if there is no Internet connection, I will be off-line until April. We'll see. If that's the case, see you then. Meanwhile, life is good....

The Sandwich Generation...

2009-02-22T17:12:00.001-08:00

...is something I have often read about but not experienced--until now. While I am not exactly in the middle of an older and younger generation, I seem to be in the middle of an older and same generation, both needing me right now.

My dad has always been very independent and has continued to live an active life in the twelve years since my mother died. She was sick off and on for several years before she died, and he took care of her, so unlike many men of his generation, he was accustomed to caring for himself and generally living his life on his own terms. However, due to a series of health setbacks over the last several months, he now finds himself depending on his kids to help him. My brother spent a month with him during rehab from knee surgery last fall, and my sister and I have been taking turns spending days with him since early December. We are all glad to be able to help out when we are needed. He very much wants to get to where he is able to walk without a walker and take care of his own meals and drive to his own appointments. The problem is that every time he thinks things are getting better, something else happens. Right now he is in the hospital because of some swelling and a high clotting time. It was supposed to be for 2 or 3 days, but it's been 6 so far. He will have to regain the little strength he had all over again.

I have enjoyed spending time with Dad and making sure he has his meals three days a week, while my sister covers the other four. But in December, Terry and I made plans to go to Florida for a month next week, our first real vacation since I retired almost 5 years ago. When we made the reservation and non-refundable deposit, we thought Dad would be fine before we left. He's not, and now I will be leaving my sister with the whole responsibility while I'm gone, leaving me feeling somewhat guilty. It's not feasible to postpone, and I'm really ready for a trip and warm weather at the beach. Not only that, Terry would NOT be happy if I wanted to postpone. He already is getting tired and resentful of the time I am away from home each week. He was patient for longer than I actually expected, but now he thinks it is time to either pressure Dad to do more for himself or hire someone to be there to help him. He bases his feelings on the way his mom behaved and how she enjoyed being dependent on people. She always rather expected that people would take care of her, and when you gave her sympathy, she became even more pitiful. So Terry rarely gave her any, and then she did act better. However, I don't think Dad is anything like Terry's mother. It makes him uncomfortable to be dependent like this. His father was somewhat of a burden to him and my mom, and that's the last thing he wants to be. I believe Dad will be more than happy to take over his own care as soon as possible, but he has to regain his strength first, and if things don't quit happening to slow him down, that may be awhile.

I don't know how all this will play out. I hope by the time we get home April 1 that Dad is living independently again, for everyone's sake, but we will have to see. Meanwhile, I am going to the beach next week, and for me, anyway, life is good...

Idyllic

2009-02-10T20:01:00.001-08:00

Isn't this an idyllic setting? It looks so peaceful and calm in the summer sun. Of course, at some point in the near future, this scene would become alive with harvesters and threshers (I think, anyway. I'm no farmer, after all.) The wheat would be cut and separated from the chaff and leave this beautiful field shorn and ugly with stubble. The picture would become something different altogether. I'm glad that Alissa captured this scene in its perfection and that I was able to paint it. Now it will always look like this in our minds.

Of course, after another season, the field would likely look pretty much like this again, and the cycle would repeat itself. I guess that's the way life is. Sometimes it's pretty, and sometimes it's not. However, I guess the ugliness serves a purpose. If you didn't harvest the wheat, it would grow ugly anyway, and you wouldn't have the grain for use in so many products. In life, the bad times tend to make the good times seem even better. So I guess there's a reason for everything, and God knows what the reason and purpose are. We may not always be able to figure it out, but we don't have to. We have God to help us with that. Life is good...

Ice Storm

2009-01-29T19:27:00.001-08:00

January is the worst winter month around here, and this week was the worst of this month. The ice storm we had would be minor to many, but it has been crippling around here. It started with snow on Monday night to be followed by freezing rain all day Tuesday that was followed by snow again Wednesday morning. Many trees and branches all over the state have been downed by accumulated ice, and so many people (actually about 500,000) have lost power, including my dad, my daughter, my son, and us, all for varying times. My dad and my son are still without power two days after losing it, but we got it back after 24 hours. Dad's house is not habitable without electricity, so he is staying with my sister, who only lost power for a matter of hours. Doug and Kellie and we were fortunate enough to have gas burners to help warm our space, so we got to stay put. We were in the dark, listening to a battery-powered radio, all of last evening, but our gas fireplace kept us toasty and warm. I must say I am glad to have lights and television and a computer available tonight!

Because we live in a new house, our trees are too small to have lost branches, so that's good. Also, our developer plowed our streets and driveways. However, as you can see, my baby weeping crabapple is now sobbing, bent clear to the ground. Everything in the yard has a thick coat of ice on it, and the weather is still very cold, so it's not melting. They are saying it may melt by the weekend, only to be followed possibly by a heavy accumulation of snow on Monday and Tuesday. Anyone would think it was winter around here, and as anybody who knows me knows-- I HATE WINTER! However, if I can hang in there through February, I will have a whole month on the beach in Florida, where I sincerely hope it will be warm. Life is good...

P.S. When checking this out, I noticed that the last picture is upside down, but it doesn't change the fact that the rain chain is coated with ice...

Out of My Comfort Zone, All Right!

2009-01-24T18:09:00.000-08:00

Talk about being out of your comfort zone! This painting, which uncharacteristically took me three sittings to complete, is definitely not like anything I have ever tackled or even wanted to, for that matter. However, I have joined an artists' group, the Visual Artists of Bullitt County. This is a group of professional and amateur artists that meets monthly, and each month we create a picture to take in and share with the others. The paintings are voted on by all the members, and first, second, and third place winners are chosen each month and published in the local paper. The first month, my sunrise picture won third place, and I was very happy about it, especially with the competition I saw there. The second month I didn't place, but that was fine. We didn't meet in December, but this coming week we have a meeting. The group voted to have certain themes every other month for the paintings. Alternate months will be free choice. This month's theme was Tuscan or wine-related paintings. There is a local winery that will hang some of these paintings in their place and offer them for sale. I am not too good at still life, so I decided a scene would be better. However, I had a hard time locating a scene that I could draw inspiration from. I am not a wine drinker, and I have no particular affinity for Tuscany. Finally, I found a picture of a small house with this table and wine out front. I took that picture, which I think was actually a Mexican hacienda, and added some tall shrubs and flower boxes and other touches, and this is what I ended up with.

This picture represents firsts for me in many categories. For one, I usually copy a complete scene when I paint, but I had to mix things up for this one. I usually don't draw the picture before painting, just block it out generally. This one I drew on the canvas first. Also, I usually finish a painting in one sitting, maybe two. This one took three, and for the first time, I went back after I thought it was finished and made changes to improve it. And, as I said, the subject matter is a first for me.

I must say that I found this project to be somewhat of a chore, and I am not particularly pleased with the final product. After it was completed, I can see where the shrubs were not placed the same on both sides. The house roof was too tall, so I covered it with a tree branch that wasn't in the original drawing. The whole picture looks very amateur to me. However, I am glad that I tried this. It's a good idea to get outside the comfort zone once in a while to see just what you can do. While I doubt I will be doing any more pictures like this one, I learned alot about my strengths and what I need to work on to improve. Our next theme will be in March, when I am in Florida, but I will have a southwest picture ready anyway. I can do those! And in May, it's sunsets--my favorite! So I'll keep on painting. Life is good...

Interview

2009-01-10T19:33:00.001-08:00

I commented on Alissa's blog that she could interview me, as she had been interviewed by one of her blog friends. These are the questions she sent, along with my responses.

1. Excluding your spouse, children, or any other immediate family members, who is your favorite person? Why? You don't have to include names...

My favorite person, outside of my family, is my friend Rose. I have many friends whom I like a lot and have a lot of fun with. However, with Rose, the connection between us was almost instantaneous when we met 15 years ago on my first day of teaching at Maryville Elementary School. We discovered that we had a great deal in common, not only in our teaching styles and desires, but also personally. I never feel that I must explain myself or my actions to Rose. She understands me and my life, as I understand her. She is a naturally kind and compassionate person. I hope it means that I am, too, since we have so much in common!

2.Are you a dog or a cat person? Why? Actually, I would say I am neither, since I am not big on pets. I didn't grow up having a pet, so I don't miss one if I don't have one. I like both dogs and cats okay, but if I have to choose one, it would be cats. They are independent and clean, but they can form a bond with you. You can have them around for company, but you don't have to lavish attention on them for them to be content.

3.If you could have only one talent, and you could be awesome at it, what would it be? Why? If you mean by talent, something you can do, I guess I would choose painting. I can do it, but I am not awesome at it. I love to do it, though, and I have a great appreciation for art. If by talent, you could include personal traits, I would choose to be awesome at helping other people succeed. Why? Because it feels good to help others.

4. Someone offers to tell you the exact time and date that you are going to die. You know they will be telling the absolute truth. Do you take them up on it? Why? Absolutely NOT! I already try to live each day as if it were my last and enjoy my life I would not want to be counting down the days until I die, worrying each day that I won't accomplish all I want to do before my time is up. I already know that life is short.

5. Laundry--as needed or once a week? Usually I do laundry once a week, which is plenty often enough for two people. I could go longer, but it gets to be an unwieldy job that way.

Okay, that's my interview. If you read this and want to be interviewed, leave a comment that says, "interview me." I will send 5 questions, not necessarily these, but questions of my choosing. You can publish the interview in your blog. Then you can interview others, if you wish.

Happy New Year-Redux

2008-12-31T19:03:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year, 2009! The couple above represents how we celebrate the holiday in our house. Actually, we are usually awake at midnight, but we may not be awake immediately before or after the hour of midnight. We long ago gave up partying on New Year's Eve because we choose to steer clear of holiday revelers who have had too much to drink. I used to be a little disappointed to be staying in, but now I like the quiet way we celebrate. Well, I do wish we could still rent some movies like we used to, but then I guess we'd have to get a new DVD player.

Like any year, 2008 had its ups and downs, but probably both were magnified a little more than usual, making it definitely a year to remember. Of course, there was a financial crisis that has affected life in the U. S. for many. Gas prices hiked to an outrageous high this past summer, taking about $300 a month more out of our pockets than should have been. There was a very long presidential campaign before the November election of a new president. The biggest crisis of the year was my dad's failing health. He started with a MRSA infection in February and continued to have a series of crises throughout the year. He is currently on 3 antibiotics for several different conditions, but we believe and pray that he is finally on the mend and that 2009 will be a better year for him. Doug and Kellie have been a casualty of the housing crisis, continuing to make payments on a house in which they do not live while waiting for it to sell in a slow market.

On the plus side, we are thankful that both of us seem to be quite healthy, aside from the usual aches and pains that accompany aging. After Terry's bad year in 2007, 2008 was quite a relief. Also on the plus side, we bought and furnished a lovely new house and then moved into it! And while our portfolio suffered some losses this year, we still have sufficient income from our investments , and we both have pensions. The financial crisis that is direly affecting many has not caused us great hardship. All of our kids and grandkids are doing well. Doug and Kellie moved to the farm and started on extensive renovations Chip got a better job and a substantial raise, allowing him to quit his second job. Alissa held on to her job in spite of cuts by Murray State. Nobody in our family has to depend on the taxpayers to support them. We are surrounded by a loving family and friends. Overall, we have been blessed, and life is good....Happy New Year, 2009!

The Return of Mr. Christmas

2008-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time, there lived a man who loved Christmas and all the decorations that make a place look festive. Mr. Christmas loved decorating his house for Christmas every year, and he couldn't go to a store in the fall without perusing the Christmas section to see if he could find something new for his collection of seasonal items. He started with simple things but soon progressed to animated displays. It got to the point where it seemed that Clark Griswold lived in the Christmas house. There wasn't a surface or wall that wasn't adorned with shiny tinsel or lights and figures. Mrs. Christmas loved decorations as much as the next person, so she just smiled and enjoyed his hobby along with him. He was retired from his job, and she still worked, so much of the decorating was done without her help, except for the tree, of course. Every day she would come home to something else to look at. Eventually, the Christmases had over 30 storage containers of decorations. It was a good thing they had a large storage building for all the stuff! Of course, neither Mr. or Mrs. Christmas loved taking the decorations down as much as they enjoyed putting them up, so they often hired one or more of their adult children to put them away.

Mr. Christmas was always very cheerful and happy about his decorations until one day about five years ago. All that changed a few weeks before that Christmas when Mr. Christmas had a slight stroke. While he had no physical damage from the stroke, he had damage that wasn't so easily seen. The worst was to his emotions. He felt unsure of himself and lost all interest in his surroundings and what was going on around him. He wanted nothing to do with Christmas, and he only tolerated the decorations that Mrs. Christmas chose to put out. It was not much better the next few years. He would grouse about decorating and going to all that trouble when nobody but him and his wife was there to enjoy it. The Christmases would only use a fraction of their vast collection of stuff. Then two years ago, Mr. Christmas had a hip replacement which was followed by serious complications. That year he had absolutely NO interest in Christmas and refused even to have a tree. Mrs. Christmas finally convinced him to allow her to put up the small artificial tree so there would be someplace for the presents to be displayed. That was the worst Christmas season the couple had had in their entire marriage.

It took Mr. Christmas almost a year to recover from that experience, but by last Christmas he was beginning to come to. The Christmases were going to move to a new home, and so they chose a few new decorations and picked the ones they liked best from their huge collection. They gave a few treasured pieces to their kids, too.

This year when the Christmases went to get the decorations they had set aside for the new house, Mr. Christmas just looked at it all and said it would never all fit in the new place. Well, once he got started, he couldn't stop. He was having such a good time, they went back and got more stuff from storage. They bought new things, especially for outside, and now the house and yard are very festive, probably the most elaborate in their neighborhood. Mr. Christmas is back! And Mrs. Christmas is glad to see him having so much fun. Life is good!

Pitiful!

2008-12-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

We are sitting here watching Jay Leno, and he is hosting the "Battle of the Jaywalk All-Stars." While watching it makes me laugh, I can't help but being appalled and dismayed at the pure ignorance of these young people that he puts on. If they had a lick of sense, they would and should be horribly embarrassed at their lack of basic knowledge of geography, history, and science. Things that everyone should know, like who was Thomas Jefferson or Abraham Lincoln, are way beyond these kids. They think that Alaska is an island and that it's all the same as Canada. They don't know the three states in which water exists. And they just laugh when their ignorance is pointed out to them. I have seen others, including older adults, exhibit such ignorance on the show in the past, too.

It all makes me, a retired teacher, wonder what is actually being taught in school these days, but I actually know. The questions asked were basic elementary facts. I taught them myself many times, although I figured they would have to be taught more than once before it sank in. When I was a child in elementary school, we learned the multiplication tables by third grade as a matter of course. By fourth grade, I could identify all the states and their capitals. By fifth, I could identify at least half of the U.S. presidents. This was all memorized information that took a lot of practice before being imprinted on my memory. However, once I knew them, they were mine for life. I tried to emphasize this to my own kids and to my students, but it was like pulling teeth to get them to learn anything that they had to memorize. You had to make a game of it, and they still might not learn. Why learn multiplication facts when there are calculators? Why learn geography or history facts if you can look them up on the internet? Well, one reason why is so that you don't end up on Jay Leno looking like a complete idiot! Maybe this stuff is considered trivial to learn these days and of not much use in everyday life, but old person that I am, I still think there is value in learning to memorize certain facts. If you have kids, please don't give up when they don't want to put forth the effort to memorize facts. Keep at them if you can. After all, they may end up on "The Tonight Show" one of these days! Life, in spite my rant, is good...

Happy Thanksgiving! 2

2008-11-25T17:19:00.000-08:00

For a change, we are having Thanksgiving at home this year. We are usually in Florida visiting Dad, but since he is recovering from surgery and already surrounded by people, we are staying home, where it's colder than normal and nasty. While we are in the unusual situation of being able to have all the kids, their spouses, and their kids here for the holiday, I must admit I miss the Florida trip. Usually, I prepare a Thanksgiving feast the weekend before the holiday, so I am used to cooking a turkey dinner, so that's nothing new. This year we were going to do it the Saturday after the holiday, but both boys work in retail and must work from 10 to 10 that day. And Andy must work, too So we moved it to the actual holiday.

Of course, the move still had its problems. As with most families, the boys must find a way to celebrate with both their families and their in-laws. They will be having two Thanksgiving feasts. Alissa won't be able to see her in-laws, who live in Arizona, but since Andy must work both Wednesday night and Friday morning, she and her family will be coming up and returning home on the same day. It will be a long day for all of them.

However, I appreciate all of the kids making an effort to get together for Thanksgiving. It will make it a special day for me, and at least for that day, I won't be missing Florida! :) Life is good...

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

And He Cooks, Too!

2008-11-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

Since his retirement, Terry has taken up doing several household chores. Now that we are in our new house, he sweeps the floors almost daily, and he does the dishes every night after supper. Of course, he does the dishes because he hates the noise the dishwasher makes, and I won't wash dishes by hand. Therefore, he has taken on that task, which is fine with me.

Most of the time, I do the cooking, although he sometimes pitches in, especially when he feels I'm not doing something correctly. Since he has been retired, he has watched a LOT of cooking shows, and now he knows all there is to know about the proper preparation of food. My almost 39 years of experience don't seem to count for much. Seems I've not been cooking meat correctly all this time. Mind you, everyone ate what I fixed without complaining, but now I find out that I have been either turning it to mush or drying it out. Of course, it's probably true, because I like my meat cooked all the way through, but tender, so I do a lot of braising. I like the way I cook, even if it is wrong.

Okay, I'm off track here. I do appreciate all of Terry's help, even in the kitchen. And if I don't feel like making dessert, and he wants some, he will get up and make it. Hence the picture. The other night at about 8:30, he decided he wanted some muffins, so he headed to the kitchen. He couldn't decide which Martha White kind to make, so he made three varieties--strawberry, blackberry, and lemon poppyseed. These are quick and simple to make, and they are light, so it made a good treat. He used cupcake cups in the muffin tins, and the muffins stuck to the paper of the cups, though, and he was disappointed. It didn't matter. The hot muffins tasted delicious, and I didn't have to make them. That was the best part of all! Life is good...

Happy Marine Corps Birthday!

2008-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

You can see we have added a few temporary items to our outside decor. Today is the Marine Corps Birthday, as most Marines and their families know, and nobody else probably does. I don't know how old the Marine Corps is, but I know it's well over 200 years. Terry served proudly in the Marines from 1964-1968 during the Vietnam War. While he didn't spend time in Vietnam, he was still a vital part of the war effort, although fortunately he came home safely and wasn't reviled as many servicemen were. Terry's descriptions of what he went through in boot camp make me shudder, but he is very proud of having survived that and feels it made him a better man. Some of the things he describes would in no way be acceptable today, and I wouldn't have considered them acceptable then, but he took them in stride. He said that the tactics were necessary to turn the men into team players who responded to orders unfailingly and enthusiastically, as would be necessary in battle. To this day, he will attest to the value of his service in the Marine Corps, and he remains loyal to it. We have a corner in the den devoted to memorabilia, and for years he has almost considered the Marine Corps birthday more important to remember than his own. I used to think this was silly, but since it has remained important to him, even after 40 years, I have tried each year to remember the day and bake a cake and sometimes even give him a small commemorative present. The kids call and wish him a happy birthday, too. I must admit I don't know what the Marine Corps did to inspire such fierce loyalty in its former members, but it certainly was effective. I guess that's one of the reasons the Marines are the go-to guys in times of crisis. They get the job done.

Of course, the Marine Corps birthday is the day before Veterans' Day, when we honor all military veterans. How appropriate that both holidays should be so close together. Happy Veterans' Day to one and all, and Happy Marine Corps Birthday to all those present and former Marines. And many thanks for all your service and protection. Because of you, life is good...

Happy Halloween...

2008-10-31T18:09:00.001-07:00

...now that the holiday is almost over! I must admit that I am a big kid at heart when it comes to holidays, and I like this one a lot. Of course, Halloween has changed a lot over the years. When I was a kid, Halloween was mainly for kids, but it was a big deal for kids. My mother always made us original costumes-no cheesy store bought ones for us! We three kids would go out on our own from the age of six or so and visit our whole neighborhood of around 100 houses. We carried large brown grocery bags that we filled, brought home and dumped out, and went back and filled them again. We had huge amounts of treats, including apples, cookies, popcorn balls, and other things besides candy. We always had a ball!

When our kids were little, I decorated the house with cardboard cutouts and homemade decorations as well as jack-o-lanterns. Like my mom before me, I considered it a point of honor to make original costumes for our kids. We lived on a farm where in 29 years we had only about 3 trick-or-treaters stop by, so my sister and her kids would come out, and we would go to downtown LJ and trick-or-treat there. Of course, by that time, it was necessary for parents to accompany their kids, but we stayed in the background as much as possible. The kids still got some homemade treats, but this was about the time that people were finding pins and razor blades and poison, so they could only eat unwrapped food if they knew the source personally.

As the kids got older, we accumulated a variety of decorations, as Halloween decorations were becoming more popular and sophisticated. I now have a large collection of stuffed pumpkins, and cobwebs and spiders, as well as some witches and other decorations. Of course, the kids grew up, but I continued to decorate and to add to my collection. The kids may have grown up, but I guess I didn't! However, I notice that there are a lot more decorations in yards these days, and adults dress up like the kids do. So maybe I am not so out of sync.

This year we moved to a patio home, which fronts a subdivision of homes with families. I got out my decorations, and I only put out the pumpkins and a few witches, thinking that in this new house that we didn't need as much. However, when I was done, Terry asked me where the skeletons and the cobwebs and witch hats were. I had thought he would think I was silly for decorating, but he wanted the whole kit and kaboodle! So here are two old people with a house full of Halloween decorations and nobody but us to enjoy them. Drew was impressed when he was here, but I believe he's the only company we've had. I looked forward to tonight when we might finally get trick-or treaters. I bought three bags of fun-sized candy bars, but only one family came around. They said that there were very few trick-or-treaters out, in spite of some gorgeous weather and Halloween being on Friday. I guess with all the businesses and churches having trick-or-treat night or parties, the kids don't get around to the neighborhoods much anymore. I guess this is safer for the kids and easier for the parents, but this is a tradition that I am very sorry to see die. I loved going out when I was little, and many of today's kids are missing out on a lot of fun. I'm glad that Alissa and the boys went out. Oh, well, at least I bought candy that I like to eat, and I have enjoyed my festive decorations. Life is good....

Isn't This a Peaceful Scene?

2008-10-26T17:48:00.001-07:00

I believe that Alissa took the picture from which this painting comes early in the morning, when she takes a lot of her pictures. I am sure glad that she gets up and takes these beautiful dawn scenes because I am not an early riser and would probably never see dawn if it weren't for her. I used to have a Garfield poster in my classroom that said, "I don't do mornings!" That sums me up perfectly. Unfortunately, my body clock is off with the rest of the world. School started too early to suit me, but I had to adapt for the majority of my life. Retirement is a blessing to me because I can now stay up later and sleep later than I ever did. I still set my alarm during the week to get up, just not until 9:30. I would probably easily sleep another hour or so if I didn't set the alarm. I have established a habit of staying up until about 1:00 A.M. with Terry and then going to bed to read for a half-hour or so before he comes to bed. So you see, I don't really sleep any more than is recommended. My schedule is just a little skewed. Most people look at me as if I am lazy when I say that I sleep that late in the morning, but I like it and I'm glad that I have reached a point in life where I can get away with it. Terry, who always was a morning person, adapted to a later schedule when he retired ten years ago. He can still wake up fresh and alert early in the morning when he needs to, but there is not a need to at the moment. When we bought our new house, we had shades made, and the one in the bedroom is a blackout one. The room stays dark even on the sunniest mornings! :) They say when you get older, you tend to wake up earlier, but that hasn't happened for me, and I don't care if it never does. Keep taking pictures, Alissa--I'll enjoy morning through you. Life is good, and so is sleep!

The Difference Between Grandparents..

2008-10-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Our grandson Drew, who is seven, came to visit for a few days during his fall break last week. He was ready for his "me time" with Grandma and Grandpa, since his brother had had his turn last summer. In the pictures above, you see the difference between Grandma's idea of a good way to entertain a grandson and Grandpa's idea of the same. Bet you have no trouble guessing which is which picture!

Drew came armed with big plans to go to a play, eat in a restaurant, make Halloween decorations, drive the golf cart, and go to16 museums. We did fit in all those activities except the 16 museums. Grandpa doesn't do plays and museums, and he feels left out when I take Drew away for the day for stuff like that. So we kind of compromised. I took Drew to a play, but museums will wait for another visit. We spent more time around the house where I entertained Drew by playing games and making decorations, and Grandpa entertained him by putting him to work helping with some outside work and taking him to Lowe's, Grandpa's favorite place besides the farm. While I think Drew generally enjoyed himself, I think he was kind of bored by the time he went home on Sunday. There are no kids around here that we know to play with him, and there isn't a lot of outside space to explore like there is at the farm. And Grandpa watches news instead of cartoons in the afternoon.

I would have liked to have made his time more exciting, but I hope he had a good time anyway. I certainly did enjoy his visit and the chance to interact with him all by himself for a change. The kids grow up so fast, and time gets away from us all. Before we know it, he will be too big to enjoy a visit with us old people. So I will enjoy the time when I can get it.. Life is good!

I Guess..

2008-10-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

...I'm now a professional painter. Monday I took 6 small paintings to the Salt River Gallery and Gift Shop, and they accepted all six on consignment. Because of the small town venue, I priced them at a level where I hope people will be interested in them. Even so, I doubt that anything has been sold, and it may never sell, but the pictures are on display with price tags on them, so I guess that makes me professional. My daughter-in-law is making me some business cards, too. So if ever you happen to be on I-65 going through Shepherdsville, KY(Exit 117), stop in at Paroquet Springs Convention Center and visit the gallery. You will see lots of local artwork besides mine, and pretty soon you will be seeing some of Alissa's photos as well.

Hopefully, I will earn enough to pay for my supplies, which can be costly. Paint and canvases are not cheap, but even more expensive are the frames. Some of my canvases can be displayed without framing, but many need a frame, and even the simplest ones are costly. I must admit, though, that I will continue to paint, even if I don't sell a thing. It's just too much fun. And now that I have convinced my recently retired friend to join me at the library on Mondays, it's even better!

I have been working on preparing the gourds that Alissa gave me last year. Then I'll paint them, too. I have stocked up and have at least a half dozen canvases and a new watercolor tablet and paints. And Alissa wants me to paint some cabinet doors for her. I have enough projects to last quite some time. Hooray! Life is good.. and so it art!

Politics

2008-10-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

First, here are the last two paintings. I'm still not satisfied with the first one, with the big white blob that looks so pretty in the photo but doesn't translate to canvas very well. The second is a small picture of a couple of apples done from a picture someone lent me. Now on to the subject matter of the day...

Well, the campaign season is in full swing, and the oratory fists are flying, each side trying to land knockout blows to the other candidate. However, by now when things should just be getting interesting, I am feeling campaign exhaustion. I think our election system has gotten way out of control over the last several elections, with people starting to run for office almost as soon as the inauguration is over. After a few years of bitter debate within their own parties, candidates for the major parties emerge to run against each other for another several months . During that time, things that were said about them during the primaries by people of their own parties are brought against them now by the opposition.

And let's not forget the mudslinging. This is another deplorable habit that has gotten increasingly worse over the last several elections. Each election cycle, the candidates promise that they will take the high road, but then someone somewhere says something that hurts someone's feelings, and they're off to the races. Things are beginning to get personal and nasty about now, and it makes me think less of both candidates. These candidates, who may have high ideals about politicking and governing, are coerced by their campaign managers to get in the first blow.

Now we add in all the entertainers who somehow believe that what they think is important, and they add to the propaganda being put out. I have been appalled over the last several years by the amount of public figures who feel free to not only criticize the president, which is their right, but they have gone beyond criticism to outright ridicule of the elected leader of the United States. Now their ridicule has been extended to Gov. Sarah Palin, whom they don't really even know. I believe our elected officials deserve our respect, if only because of their position. You don't have to like them, but it's so disrespectful to call them buffoons and idiots. Apparently, civil discourse has lost its place in America, and it disappoints me.

I guess you can tell that I am pretty much disgusted with politics in the United States and the direction the election process has taken. I admit that I do not think that either candidate would be a particularly good president. However, none of this will keep me from making a choice and voting in November. It is my right and my responsibility, and I as a U.S. citizen, I take that responsibility seriously.

Wow! The debate is over, and so is this post. Life is good....

No Picture This Week

2008-10-01T18:59:00.000-07:00

As usual, I went to the library on Monday to paint, and I did so, copying one of Alissa's photos. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the light effect I wanted, and I ended up layering so much white on the picture in an effort to cover the blue underneath that it became too thick and blotchy. I have decided, on the advice of a painting friend, to try lightly sanding the area and repainting it. I haven't done this before, so we'll see how it works.

Meanwhile, the local gallery has accepted my paintings for display and sale. Yay! However, I have to make out some sort of detailed invoice, and I have no idea how to do that. My computer doesn't have a program for generating invoices, so I will have to figure this out. I am excited, though, to have a chance to put my pictures on public display. Alissa's photos were also accepted, so both of us will have the opportunity to sell something. Of course, now I have to decide which paintings I am willing to part with. I have no trouble giving my paintings to family and friends, but selling to strangers where I won't see them again? I didn't think I would be emotionally attached to my work, but I guess to some extent, I am, after all. At any rate, I will have to part with some, as I am running out of room at home to display and store them, and I have given so many to family and friends that they don't have room for them, either! I guess this is just another of sign that life is good!

Hopefully, I will be able to fix the painting and post it next week....

Look! Another Award

2008-09-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Judy for the award! She has given me two, and I am pleased to have both. Of course, I must tag Alissa at Life's Little Adventures and Susie at Susie's Space, both of whom publish regularly and are fascinating to read. Both of them take great pictures, too! I will also tag my sister, Peggy at Count It all Joy. She has an interesting blog, too, but she doesn't write so often.

Nothing else is going on right now, but we are all eagerly looking forward to Peg's weenie roast tomorrow night. It's her eighth annual event, and the weather is supposed to be just about perfect for it. More on that later...Meanwhile, life is good........

More Detail...

2008-09-18T18:16:00.000-07:00

When I took my paintings (and Alissa's photos) to be juried last week, they were judged to be "acceptable" by Bullitt County Arts Council standards. While this beats "below BCAS standards," it's not as good as "excellent," which is, by the way, how Alissa's photos were judged (Hooray for her!!:) While the jurist said that I have potential and should keep painting, (s)he said that my paintings lacked detail and that the frames took away from the look of the paintings. I don't know, but I do know that watercolors do need frames. For the record, I took my last sunset, my thistle, and my Hawaiian beach acrylics, and my flamingo and a sunset silhouette in watercolors. I think they've all been posted at one time or another on the blog. The last won first place in two local contests. The jurist suggested that I take a painting class or two. I couldn't argue with the critique or the recommendation to take some classes, but I probably won't add much detail or take classes because I am happy with the style of my painting, which I consider to be impressionist. I have noticed that my painting has gradually improved since I have been doing it on a more regular basis. I pick up techniques from other painters and some programs on television. At any rate, the evaluation said that it was "possible" that my paintings were good enough to sell in the local gallery. The jurist would definitely accept Alissa's photos, though. We are supposed to get letters, so we'll see the formal results then.

Okay, on to the painting. You can see it is from one of Alissa's photos, and I thought it would be an easy one to add detail to my work. As you can tell, it's okay, but it isn't one of my strongest works, in my opinion. From a distance, it looks great, but close up you can see that I don't have a really steady hand for details. I think I am best at sunsets and silhouettes, so I probably should just stick to what I know. However, I can't get better if I don't try. They are organizing a "guild" of local two-dimension artists, and we are going to meet monthly and try different things. The object is to have a project to paint and then bring it in for critiquing by the rest of the group. I think it will be interesting to see how the same object looks different when painted by different people since everyone has his/her own style. There will also be guest artists who can give us pointers. I am excited about this "guild" and am looking forward to the first meeting in late October. Meanwhile, I'll keep on keeping on at what I'm doing. I'm having fun at it, and life is good!

Move Over, Drew and Nick!

2008-09-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

Talk about your battle scars! This is the grandpa of battle scars. Drew and Nick have nothing on their grandpa. Apparently not wanting to be outdone, Grandpa stepped into a hole on Sunday and scraped his leg up big time. He and Chip were out looking at some dumpsters when he stepped off what appeared to be a curb and actually was a step into a big hole, and down he went. Of course, one might worry about damage he could have done to his new hip, but that was unhurt, thank goodness. This is bad enough and has attracted attention wherever he goes. It is really just a series of bad scrapes, but it looks bad enough that the doctor we saw today for a routine checkup insisted on giving him an antibiotic to prevent infection.
You can see that while the large sore stings and pulls, he is managing okay. He doesn't seem to be suffering any lingering stiffness in his joints, which is good. All I can say is that he is definitely not growing old gracefully. He's doing that sliding in feet first stuff. I know not to talk, though, because I am naturally even less graceful than this, and it's only a matter of time before I embarrass myself in this manner. Meanwhile, I will commiserate with him and remind him that life is good!

Another Addition

2008-09-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I have had a chance to post or anything to write about, in spite of the continuing busyness of our life. However, as you can see, we finally have finished our little patio that we added outside the sunroom. It is tiny, as you can see, but since I am usually the only one who uses it, it's plenty big. Terry sits out there occasionally, but I will sit out there for hours on a nice day. It's a perfect place to settle with a good book. Lately, the days have been pretty hot and humid, but the evenings have been nice, so it's getting plenty of use. Next to the patio, Terry mulched the area, and we put our potted lilac that we brought from the farm. It blocks the view of the air conditioner. If you look at the front of the house, you can see our potted crape myrtle. It was sold as a patio plant, and it has a lovely ivy sharing and hiding its pot. We have just about finished our landscaping, but I still want to add a few trees. I think a nice Japanese maple in the side yard that I can see from the patio would be nice, and in the front yard, I'd like a flowering tree. I love a weeping cherry, but I would also take a redbud or a dogwood. We'll see. We are just getting to the time of year to plant trees, so I'm hoping we get them in within the month.

It seems as if we always have a breeze at this house. During the day, it is often blowing across the front of the house, but as evening comes, it seems to change direction and come around the back. That makes a great breeze in my face when I am on the patio. We may not like the wind come winter, but right now it's quite welcome.

Each day we are in the new house, I am finding more to like about it. It is so easy to keep clean, it's beautiful, and there's plenty of room for the two of us. I know Terry misses his farm, but I don't miss it like I thought I might. I love it here and am very grateful to have this brand-new and already up-to-date house. Life is good!

Notes from the State Fair...

2008-08-21T19:27:00.001-07:00

...and some art.

First the fair. Chip and Shira were kind enough to let me tag along on their day at the state fair on Tuesday. I usually go with Doug and Kellie, but they are kind of busy with school, work, and moving, so I went with Chip and Shira and had a really nice day. The weather was gorgeous, but we spent most of our time in the air conditioned South Wing, so it wouldn't have mattered. We did have a lunch from the food tent out front, Mike Linnig's fish (and chicken for me, the fish non-liker) that was as good as usual, but much more expensive than in their locally famous restaurant. I was interested mainly in the fine arts and crafts, of course, and saw that neither my entries or Alissa's won any ribbons. I wasn't disappointed and discovered that there were some really great artists entered. My stuff was neither the best or the worst, which is fine with me. It was exciting to see my paintings displayed in such a large setting. Of course, I was dismayed to see no less than six portraits, all the same pose, of Barack Obama, and three of them won honorable mention ribbons. Even though they were in different media, they essentially all looked alike, like the cover of Time magazine. I don't know how they picked just 3 for ribbons. As for Alissa's photos, there were so many good ones I don't think I would have wanted to be the judge in that contest. Alissa's were just as good or better than the winners, in my opinion. Guess that's why nobody would ask me to be a judge!

We went from the fine arts displays to the commercial booths and the community service booths and collected some stuff. After several hours of walking, I was done in. It seems I don't have the stamina that I used to, and it was getting to where I had to rest every 10 minutes or so. I think that Chip and Shira were ready to go, too, and didn't seem to care that we didn't hit the midway or see the animals. They had brought their daughter over the weekend and saw animals then. So the last thing we did was get cotton candy for Aiva and Shira and a funnel cake to share (but I ended up eating most of it-yum!)and a pork chop sandwich to take home to Dad. All in all, I had a great time!

Second, the art. You can see I tried something different this week. I tried abstract. The first one you see is swirls using leftover paint from the main painting I did. On the second, I started with pure ultramarine blue, and kept adding white to change the value of the color. The whole painting was done with just those two colors and one brush. I used wavy strokes, and when it was done, it kind of reminded me of being in a plane and looking down at the clouds. Now I need a title for it. This is a great departure for me, and I probably won't do it too often, but I will try it again from time to time. I had fun with it, and it only took me about 40 minutes to complete. Life is good...

The Birthday Finale (and Other Stuff)

2008-08-18T19:52:00.001-07:00

Here you see the last two birthday children of the family with their children and their grandfather. It looks as if they were having a good time, and I believe they did. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the party, too. The whole family- except for Andy, who never seems to be able to make the family parties because of his hectic work schedule-attended. As much as I love birthday season, I must admit I'm glad we are at the end of it. Between the chips and homemade dip and the birthday cakes and ice cream, the season is very fattening. The meals themselves are usually pretty healthy, but the pre-dinner snacks and the desserts are not. Now we won't have such an elaborate celebration until Christmas time, and we'll be ready again for it. It also seems as if we have always been on the go, especially with all the stuff we've been doing around the new house and the old one. I am ready for things to slow down all the way around.

In other news, we had a small patio installed outside our sunporch. It's just big enough for a few chairs and a table, but it's great! Much as I love the sunporch, in the summer the windows remain closed to keep the hot air out and the cool air in. It will be great in the other three seasons, but for summer I love the outdoors. The little patio gets the morning sun, but by 2:00 in the afternoon, it is shaded, and there is always a pretty strong breeze. After last week's busy schedule and the party weekend, I spent almost 4 hours sitting out there yesterday afternoon reading a book (with a little bit of eyelid-checking). It was wonderful! It was peaceful and quiet, and the temperature was perfect. It was a much needed respite, and I started this week refreshed instead of stressed. I was out there again this evening for about an hour. It was definitely a worthwhile investment. Hopefully, after we get a little more landscaping done, I will remember to post a picture.

Tomorrow I am off to the fair with Chip and Shira to check out Alissa's and my pictures on display. I don't imagine I won anything, but it will be fun to find the pictures amid all the other entries and compare them in my own mind. I love going to the state fair, exhausting as it can be. Life is good!

Wow!

2008-08-09T12:16:00.001-07:00

Look! I received an award! AND I figured out all by myself how to put it on my site. Who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I am to pass it on to 5 people, but I don't have 5 commenters, so I will gove it to my commenters--Alissa at Life's Little Adventures, Susie at Susie's Space, and Kate at Shambles Manor. I would also give it to Judy at Living on the Other Side of the Hill, but she already has it. Thanks!

Olympic Fever

2008-08-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, watching the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games. We used to really watch a lot of the Olympics when they were on every four years, and coverage was just in the evenings. However, like everything else these days, the Olympics have grown bigger and more extravagant every year, as well as being on every two years, alternating winter and summer games. Terry always likes to watch the pageantry of the opening ceremonies, but at the moment he is watching them through his eyelids, and I am only watching them with one jaded eye. While it's visually fantastic, it's in a language I can't understand, and the sheer amount of people involved boggles the mind. The cost of such pageantry must be staggering, and yet so many of the Chinese people are poor and politically repressed. While I don't usually spend a lot of time worrying about such things, the juxtaposition of this humongous and decadent performance with the pictures you see of poor people toiling away in the fields is incongruous, at best. It makes you wonder if the money for these ever more extravagant opening ceremonies could not be better spent on pollution control (in this case) and better lifestyles for more of the people who live in the country hosting the event. I think the opening ceremonies would be more interesting and impressive if they just did the parade of the teams and the presentation of the Olympic torch. Instead, each time there is an Olympics, the host country tries to outspend and outperform the countries who preceded it. Very wasteful...

Now for the next sixteen days, we will have endless coverage of events large and small on the several networks owned by NBC. And not only will we see the sport performances, we will be "treated" to heartwarming and heartrending backstories of the athletes and more about China than you may ever want to know. I root for the American athletes, but I must admit that all the hoopla becomes tiresome in short order. There are lots of other things to watch on television. For example, I am missing new episodes of two of my favorite shows, "Monk" and "psych," tonight. However, the old guy in this house likes the Olympics (even through his eyelids!), so I am glad we have DVR on our cable. I can watch my favorite programs at our convenience. Life is good...

Oh, and the picture above has nothing to do with the title, as you can tell, but I painted it this week, and it's rapidly becoming one of my favorite paintings.

Running in Place

2008-07-31T18:39:00.000-07:00

It seems that I have been very busy lately, but when I look back at what I have accomplished, it seems to be very little. Our days have been spent going, but mainly to the mundane places like Curves, the grocery store,the farm, and Lowe's (Terry's favorite place to shop.) I did manage to get to Michael's to pick up some more canvases, since I am down to small sizes, and frames for my pictures that are going to the state fair. I did get to paint these two pictures. The first is a small acrylic of Lake Cumberland and the newspaper photo that inspired it. Of course my colors seem brighter than the real thing. The second is a watercolor of a mesa in Arizona. The colors in the photo were this vivid.

We also did some more birthday shopping, as we are deep into birthday season here. Between my sister's family and mine, including Dad, we have 15 birthdays between June 4 and August 15. We hosted a party for Kellie, our daughter-in-law, on Tuesday, the day after her birthday. Our nephew Matt has a birthday on Sunday, my dad will be 85 next Wednesday, Chip and baby Grant share August 9 as their day, and Alissa has hers on Aug. 15. We have already had 10 family birthdays this summer, and each was the occasion for a party. We are people who love to eat and celebrate! I hardly make a cake all the rest of the year because we have it so often in the summer. We do have 4 renegade family members who dare to have birthdays in October, January, February, and May. I don't know how this happened! Actually, they joined the family through marriage. :) Our family will probably continue to grow. I wonder if we'll spread out the birthday season then..

Meanwhile, life here goes on, and of course, it's good!

Monday Muse-ings

2008-07-21T17:37:00.000-07:00

I have been fortunate enough to be able to go and paint at the library for the last several weeks. This watercolor is last week's effort, and the first watercolor I have done in some time. I tried very hard to make my watercolor look like one instead of having it look as if it were painted with acrylics as my watercolors are wont to do. I do like the way this one turned out. Unlike most of my acrylics, this painting actually looks better in real life than it comes across on the computer. At any rate, I am pleased with it. I do get pleasure from painting. It's very relaxing. Of course, I am amassing a large collection of paintings that are unframed and that I have nothing to do with. However, there is a meeting of the local arts council this week, and they are going to discuss ways to get the work of local artists on display. There is a gallery in our small convention center, but it is rarely open, and works are not rotated in and out much. They have promised to find a way to keep it open more often. I suspect that it will be a co-op effort with the artists that display taking turns manning the gallery. I wouldn't mind taking a day every few weeks and doing that, at least until I see if people actually will buy the art. I guess it will depend on how many people are willing to participate. I think one day every two weeks is often enough to work, and once a month is even better, but we'll see. They may just keep the gallery open on the days that people are willing to work. Of course, I imagine my better half won't be too happy to see me go off and do this, as he seems to like having me around ALL the time. You'd think he'd want to get rid of me once in a while, but this is not the case. It's nice to be loved, isn't it? Life is good..

Our Newest Addition

2008-07-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

In our last house, we had no less than three flagpoles with American and/or Marine Corps flags on them. You can tell it is very important for Terry to display his colors. However, we lived here a whole month before we had a flag, and it was attached to the house on one of those poles you often see decorative flags attached to. We had that up in time for Independence Day, but Terry had been mulling for months on how to put up a flag pole that would be sturdy and clear the house and be in a spot that was unobtrusive, yet noticeable. We bought PVC pipe so that he could construct his own pole as he had done in LJ, but after much consideration, he decided that would not work out well. We rode around to several neighborhoods to see how others displayed their flags. Finally, after several weeks, we found a flagpole kit at Lowe's that he thought would work. (I had pointed that same kit out a few weeks before, but he didn't remember it.) It was costly, but something that seemed doable. Then we waited for the boys to be available to help, but they are very busy. At last, Terry took the bull by the horns and dug the hole all by himself. Together, he and I mixed concrete and he put it in the hole and set the bottom section of the post. He was very careful to make sure it was level because, after all, he is a perfectionist and getting to be more so all the time. A day later we assembled the pole and erected it. Then the flag went up. It was a very long and laborious project, but it is finished and looks very good. However, it sways a little bit in the strong breezes we get around here. I contend that it is designed to do that, but my perfectionist worries about it, so he has designed in his head a bracket to hold it to the house and stabilize it. I hope he gets the materials and gets it done soon so that he can quit fretting about it. Meanwhile, here it is with its proud owner. Doesn't it look nice? Life is good...

This and That

2008-07-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Isn't this a lovely plant? It is a night-blooming jasmine, aka stephanotis, that Kellie and Doug gave me for Mother's Day. It is a prolific grower and bloomer. It had grown to the ceiling on our sunporch and was taking off across the ceiling when Terry decided it was ungainly and gave it a haircut. I would have liked to let it grow and see how tall it would get, but he likes everything tidy, so the scissors came out when I wasn't looking. I was afraid it would hurt the plant, but it has not. It is just loaded with these waxy, fragrant blooms. I love to sit out on the porch in the morning and just admire it and smell the sweet smell.

When Kellie brought the plant to me, I told her this was the flower that was in my mother's wedding bouquet, but after further thought, I remembered that they were the kind of flowers in MY wedding bouquet. Mom's were mock orange. I guess that shows I'm getting old when I don't even remember what kind of flowers were in my own wedding bouquet 38 years ago.. It was made mostly of these stephanotis flowers in a cross shape with detachable orchid corsage in the middle. That was the style then. I detached the corsage and wore it on my "going-away" outfit, which was a beige linen dress with a matching coat. I haven't come across it in the move, but I did save the bouquet in a box somewhere. It is probably lost. I do still have my wedding dress and the cake topper, though. I don't know why I saved the dress. I certainly can't fit in it anymore, and Alissa wasn't able to wear it in her wedding, either, even if she had wanted to. I don't have any other daughters to save it for, and it has stains that didn't come out when I had it cleaned several years ago. But I won't get rid of it, or the cake topper, which is taking up valuable storage space in a box in the garage. Some things you just keep, whether you use them or not, especially if you are sentimental, as I am wont to be sometimes.

Well, this rambled all over place, didn't it? Oh, well, life is good...

Welcome to My Dreams

2008-07-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

Doesn't this look like a lovely spot for a picnic? There's a picnic table right under one of the palm trees there on that little spot of beach. This is a scene from Oahu, a place that I'm highly unlikely to ever see in person. Doug swears he and Kellie will take me one day, but since Terry has no desire to go, and I don't see me leaving him home, I will just have to keep dreaming. It's hard enough to get away to the library to paint or out to lunch with a friend without him, let alone go all the way to Hawaii! Not that I don't love spending time with him or anything, but once in a while, it's nice to have a few hours on my own.

It took me two sessions at the library to complete this painting because it's bigger and more detailed than most of my pictures. However, I really like the way it turned out, and so does Terry. This looks like my Kentucky State Fair entry. My Dad's painting can remain on his wall, after all. He had said I could enter it if I didn't finish another one that I liked as well as his, but now I have. So along with this one, I will enter a miniature of palm trees at sunset and a watercolor of a flamingo and its reflection, which I have posted before, I believe. That's my three categories. I have no expectation of winning anything because there are many professional artists who enter, but that's okay. I will enjoy having my work on display in a large setting like the fair. And, who's to say? Alissa won a blue ribbon with her very first entry.

I guess this means I could take a few weeks off from painting, but after almost 2 months without going, I am really enjoying my sessions, even though today I was the only one there for most of the session, and lately usually only one other lady comes. I guess everyone else has a busier and more interesting summer going on. I hope they are off traveling somewhere and not having problems. Meanwhile, I am happy to hold down the fort...Life is good!

Mundane

2008-07-01T18:41:00.000-07:00

Here I am again with nothing much to talk about. In spite of the fact that I seem to be busy much of the time, it seems to be with all mundane activities. Right now that's a good thing. Sooner or later I will get bored with it, but for the time being I am enjoying the slow pace of life. I manage to get in some form of exercise every day, three times a week at Curves and the rest of the time at home riding stationary bike pedals or walking in my neighborhood when the weather is nice. I am finally having time to read and paint. Of course, there is a large table in the garage full of things I have brought home from the farm that I could and should be sorting through and labeling to store, but I figure it's not going anywhere. I'll get it done this week or next, but there is no rush to do so. Once I have accomplished this, I will be the most organized I have ever been in my life. :) We have lived in this house a little over a month, and so far I have managed to put everything away that I get out. The house has stayed neat, and either Terry or I sweep the floor and dust the furniture frequently. Despite the dust from a new house, this place is amazingly easy to maintain and keep looking nice. Hooray! Maybe now we can find time to travel ( I wish!) Life is indeed good...

Finally...

2008-06-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Monday I finally returned to the library to paint, only to find that just one other lady had come. That was okay. We kept each other company, and she worked on her picture of an Indian village, and I painted this picture of cactus at dusk. It is from a photo that my friend had found and felt sure that I would enjoy painting. The coloring is a little different and more subdued than I usually do, but it is pretty faithful to the photo. I had some trouble with the clouds, which is par for the course. Overall, I am satisfied with job I did, but not necessarily with the picture itself. I don't think I would have chosen it myself because I like more vibrant sunsets. This won't be for the state fair. I'll try again next week...

Meanwhile, here are the pictures I won with in the county fair. Both of those stickers say first place, as you can see. However, the ribbons tell a different story. Terry has made a gallery wall for me in the den where we are displaying some of my winning paintings. The paintings will rotate if I win anything else. Hopefully, it will rotate often! :) My gallery wall is opposite his Marine Corps wall. Something for both!

I guess it's on to the State Fair! Life is good...

Long Time, No Post

2008-06-21T20:29:00.000-07:00

I seem to be suffering from the proverbial writer's block, or I have had nothing profound to share, one or the other, but here goes. I think after all the moving out and in, followed closely by a few birthdays, I have just been worn out. Like Alissa with her vacation, one day I just thought to myself, "I am done with this moving." It seemed I just couldn't summon up one more grain of energy or desire to do what needed to be done. For the last few weeks, we have only been to the farm about once a week, and I have been working in a desultory manner inside while Terry cuts grass outside. I have accomplished something each time I've gone out there, but it seems the more I do, the more I find that needs to be done. Finally last night, Doug and Kellie took the bull by the horns and went out to the house and gathered all the stuff that was left and piled it in the living room for Terry and me( MOSTLY me) to go through and decide whether to keep it, give it to the Goodwill, or toss it. I hope to finish that up this coming week sometime, but there is still the stuff in the garage and the stuff in the storage building that will have to be dealt with at some point this summer. Whew! Will it ever end?

On a more positive note, I picked up the pictures I entered in the county fair tonight. Both of them were marked with a blue #1 on the tag. However, when I got the prize envelope, it said one of them was a first place, and the other was a third place, which is still pretty good. When I questioned which was right, I was told the third place was right because it was "in the book," whatever that means. It seems to me that the handwritten book can be just as wrong as the stickers placed on the tags attached to the painting, but it wasn't worth arguing about. Since I didn't attend the fair to see them when they were on display, I can't say anything about which is which. On to the state fair, I guess! I did take pictures of the paintings to post, but I can't seem to upload pictures from my newer Kodak camera to the web. The Kodak software doesn't seem to interface with the picture program already on my computer, and the pictures must remain separate. Not only that, I can't figure out how to get the pictures from the Kodak software to the blog. Bummer! Maybe one day I will figure out how to merge files, but I'm not holding my breath. I'm just not that good. Meanwhile, I will look for my Sony camera and try to take the photos again tomorrow. If this is all I can find to complain about, I know life is good!

Catching Up, part 2

2008-06-11T18:09:00.000-07:00

The house tour, continued... another view of the bedroom. We bought the furniture at a store where Alissa's friend works. Isn't it pretty? The room is a very peaceful and cool blue..
This is the second bedroom. Here it is ready for Alissa and the boys to camp out. It worked out perfectly, I do believe, and Nick enjoyed staying there by himself when his mom and brother went home. He chose to sleep on the floor rather than the futon or the air bed. How funny! His mom and uncles used to do that, too, in their case because they didn't want to have to make their beds...
Our enclosed sun porch. It is a lovely place to sit and eat breakfast in the morning. See the beautiful jasmine (stephanotis) plant that I received for Mother's Day? The hydrangea that I got is right about where Alissa is standing.
The hall bathroom. This is the bathroom Terry uses most of the time, and the "art" on the wall is an original piece we got in PCB, too, and he loves it. That is a whirlpool tub, and the boys loved using it..I haven't tried it out yet. I'm afraid I won't be able to get back up and out once I sit there, but I'm going to brave it one of these days, as I love the whirlpool.
Master, or in this case, Mistress bath. Terry doesn't use this one much, which is fine with me. It has a shower stall with a seat. Behind the door is a large walk-in closet, with my clothes lining the sides, and Terry's on the back rack. He just doesn't understand why I need so much room for clothes, or so many clothes, for that matter...

Well, that's the tour. It took a long time, but I finally got it up here. We are very comfortable here. I particularly love that it is new and bright and sparkling. I have the best intentions of keeping it that way, but we'll see. After all, I am a slob! Life is good...

Catching Up...

2008-06-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, courtesy of Alissa, some pictures of our new house. I will use two posts in order to give a full view of the house, which is finally practically all decorated. Here are the kids posing in front.
This is the view that you see when you walk in the front door. To the right of the matching recliners is a corner fireplace. Above the doorway to the kitchen is my favorite painting, one of the beach that we picked up at a restaurant in Panama City Beach, Florida.
Here Alissa is standing in front of the fireplace looking into the kitchen. There's my painting again..
Our bedroom. All new furniture in here except for the chair in the corner that you can't see..

This room is designated as a dining room, but we aren't formal diners, so it is a den and showplace for Terry's Marine memorabilia. There is a small table and two chairs against the left wall. The door you see leads to a sun porch...

Home at Last!

2008-05-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we spent our first night in the new house we had owned for a month. By the time we actually stayed here, most everything we needed was here and put away, which is a good thing. I admit that I was losing my usually exceptional patience with the constant driving back and forth and ending up at the old house each night, but overall I am very glad that I didn't push the old guy into moving in before he was ready. Now he can never say that I rushed him into doing something he was not ready to do. I think that he got ready a lot faster after the cable was turned off on Thursday. After 3 evenings of watching old movies on video, he was ready for his cable television again, I'm sure. Tomorrow they will come and install our new custom window shades, and that will make us both more comfortable here. The drapes we have at the front windows are filmy, and they don't afford much privacy.

Of course, this is not to say that we are done with the old house-not by a long shot. There are still boxes sitting in the middle of the floor waiting to be transported here for storage. There are places where years of accumulated dust needs to be cleaned up. There are leftover odds and ends that must be disposed of, either in the garbage or the Goodwill bags. So we still go back and forth--we just end up here! :) I must say after a particularly grueling day today on which the old guy rode his tractor around the field cutting grass, and I packed boxes, cleaned out closets, filled garbage cans, and packed up the truck, only to have to take it all out and unpack it when I got here, I am whipped. I know it wasn't easy bouncing around on the tractor for 3 hours in the heat, but I still believe I had the worst of the work, especially since I unloaded the truck and unpacked the boxes by myself after we got here while the old guy hung a picture and fiddled with a cabinet bracket. I can honestly say that I have had enough of this and just want it all to be DONE! I am hopeful that by this weekend, it will be. Then we can get back to a normal routine with home-cooked and nutritious meals and time to pursue leisure time activities. Life is good now, but it will be better then!

When all the rooms are unpacked and arranged, I will post a photo tour. Just waiting for the last piece of furniture in the last room...

The Neverending Story...

2008-05-12T20:41:00.001-07:00

No pictures tonight. We are still in the moving process, and it's really beginning to wear on both of us. EVERY day since we closed on the house over 2 weeks ago, we have gone 25 miles to the new house with a backseat full of stuff. We spend a few hours there putting the stuff away and then return here, where our bed is still in residence, and our cable is operative. We have had a few furniture deliveries, measurements for shades and area rugs, and a trip to Alissa's to pick up furniture that we bought down there, including a new bed. The bed was assembled by our intrepid son and daughter-in-law the very evening we brought it home, and it sits in splendor in the bedroom sans mattresses. It will be at least a week before our sons can get together and move the rest of the furniture out of our old house, including the mattresses. So today we decided to get new mattresses, which will be delivered Thursday. One problem solved, but we still can't stay there without cable. Terry is television-dependent, and without the cable, we can only pick up one channel, the one we watch least. He'd never be able to survive.

I had been hesitant to call about the cable before we were going to be staying there because that's an expensive bill to pay for two houses. So I called about the cable last Monday, thinking they could get it done in a week, and I was told that because this home is a new construction that they would have to send someone out just to see if cable was available to us. I assured the man on the phone that it was, as I felt the builder would not have put several cable outlets in if it weren't, and there is a box in the yard that says "television" on it. He said that nonetheless someone would have to check it out, and they couldn't possibly do that before May 14, still 2 days hence. After he has checked it out, I'm to call the cable company again and make an appointment for installation. The man wouldn't go ahead and schedule it while we were on the phone. He did assure me that it would only be another day or two, but we'll see. I am hoping we get to be living in the house by this time next week, but I'm not holding my breath.

Of course, once we are staying there, we will still have to come back to the old house to finish getting odds and ends and cleaning up so that our son and daughter-in-law can start moving their things in. It just seems that no matter how much I do or accomplish, more and more needs to be done. Both Terry and I are wearing down and have sore spots in parts of our bodies that we weren't aware existed. Both of us fall exhausted into bed each night and get up tired in the morning just to start all over again. One of these days it will all be done, and we will be able to relax and just enjoy our beautiful new home. It can't come soon enough for me. Surely, this neverending story will have a happy ending sooner or later--sooner, I hope! :)

A Short Hiatus

2008-04-29T21:01:00.000-07:00

We closed on our new patio home last Friday, and for the next few weeks I doubt seriously whether I will have time to stop and prepare a nice blog post. I am skipping my painting sessions, so there is no artwork to display.

We are moving some things each day, and we are trying to put things away as we take them to the house. We also spend time there waiting for various tradesmen and deliveries. Therefore, we are not at this old home much during the day, and by the time I get home at night, it's all I can do to read the paper and get the next day's things boxed up. I do try to read e-mail every few days and check on the blogs and comment, but I am not much inclined to find pictures to post and write something myself. So if you don't see a fresh post from this site for a few weeks, at least I have explained to you why not. When we get all moved in and settled, I will post a pictorial tour. Meanwhile, life is good...

Back in the Saddle Again! 2

2008-04-21T19:57:00.001-07:00

Last week it was the baby lawn tractor. This week it was the daddy tractor. Terry spent about 8 hours spread out over three days cutting the pasture on his big (for us) tractor. This was the first time he'd been on it in three years, and he loved it, although he could only take so much bouncing over ruts at a time. Every day in the last week we have visited the new house. Several of those days he came home and cut grass in the pasture while I tried to pack away some things in the house.

We found out today that we will close on the new house on Friday. Terry wants to take his time moving, so we won't be out of this house for almost a month, by his reckoning. He would like to take something to the house every day and put it where it belongs. He thinks it will be easier and keep us more organized. He may be right, but I feel impatient. I would like to get moved sooner rather than later. However, our bed is in a store near Alissa's house, and it will be a few weeks before we can down there to get it. And we have no window coverings, and we will need to get those before we live there, too. We are ordering them and we have to wait to have the windows measured until we have easy access. So it will be at least two weeks until we can be staying there.

At any rate, things are gearing up around here, and I am becoming a little overwhelmed by the enormity of the task which is facing us. I am ready, though, to jump in and get it done. By the time July rolls around, we should be well settled in the house and enjoying our new neighborhood. I guess I am just going to have to grit my teeth and get down to brass tacks! Life is good now, but it will be better in a few weeks...

Idaho?

2008-04-17T20:20:00.001-07:00

Here you see my latest effort at painting. It is a picture of a lake in Idaho. I have never been to Idaho, although I would certainly like to go sometime. You might be wondering why I chose to paint a picture of a lake and mountains in Idaho on a misty day when I normally paint sunny tropical scenes and/or sunsets. I am drawn to the tropics, but sometimes I like to branch out--not enough to try entirely new subject matter, mind you. I still mainly do landscapes because that seems to be what I do best. This one is a little different from my usual choices in that it is all in tones of blue, and that is the main reason I chose it. It has the colors of blue that go in my new bedroom and bathroom, so I thought it would be a good addition to the decor.

You might also be wondering where I got a picture of a lake in Idaho to paint. A few years ago, Doug brought me some travel catalogues that he had gathered when preparing for a Caribbean cruise. I loved the pictures and collected several of them that I saved to paint, and I actually painted several of them. That led me to send to other states for their travel guides, and soon I was inundated with colorful publications. Terry immediately suspected I was planning a vacation, but I gave up on that long ago. I paged through them all and marked pictures that I thought I may paint someday. Then I stored them in the closet. Last week when I was cleaning out the closet in anticipation of moving, I found all the books. I sat down and found all the marked pages and tore them out to keep in a folder to save space. This was on one of the pages, and it caught my eye for the aforementioned reason.

I must admit that I looked at all these guides quite wistfully, imagining that I would someday get to visit those states. Not likely, I imagine, for most of them, but at least I can enjoy painting the picturesque scenes from faraway places. Life is good...

Back in the Saddle Again!

2008-04-07T19:07:00.000-07:00

Spring has finally made an appearance around here. The temperature today was in the 70's, and the sun was shining, for a change. And see what that brought out. All the rain we have been having has made the grass grow like crazy. So today the old guy climbed back into the seat of his trusty zero-turn mower and cut the grass. You might say there's nothing unusual about the first grass-cutting of the season, and you would be right. The unusual thing about this picture is that the old guy is at the helm of the lawnmower for the first time in at least three years. He has been unable to mow the lawn due to various ailments and aches. Doug had to come out every week during mowing season to cut the grass. Now Terry is finally feeling well enough to get back in the saddle. Ironically, in about 3 weeks, we will be closing on a new home that has just a patch of lawn, and that patch will be mown by others. We will have very little outdoor responsibility in our new home, which is what we were trying to accomplish because neither one of us was really up to the task of yard maintenance. And now he feels like cutting grass! Go figure..

The next machine he wants to tackle is his beloved tractor and bush hog. He has decided to reserve a patch of our farm property for wildflowers and tree growth for me, so he will cut it himself, he says. I don't really know why I need a patch of wildflowers and trees since I will not be living here to enjoy them, but he is having more than just a bit of anxiety about leaving this farm, which he loves. He professes to be eager about the new house, and indeed, we visit it every day to check on its progress. I think he knows it is for the best for us to move into a home that we can get old in comfortably and not have to worry about maintaining. However, he is having a hard time letting go of the land. He doesn't much care about the house, but he is adamant that he wants to keep the land. He is perfectly willing for Doug and Kellie to use it as they wish, but he keeps reminding everyone that he still owns it, and it is ours. I feel sure that in a year or two he will find other things to occupy his time and attention, but meanwhile poor Doug and Kellie may have to have him around a little more often. He says he will cut the grass for them. We'll see how long that lasts. While it might be helpful to have a grass-cutting "elf," he might be a pest. This sounds like a good time to interest him in the travel that he promised me when I retired three years ago.

At any rate, our new house is coming along nicely, Terry feels well enough to get out and cut the grass, and it seems that spring is finally here. Alissa and Andy and the boys are enjoying a great Arizona vacation, and I had time to actually sit in the sunshine and read a book today. Life is good...

Where There's a Will...

2008-03-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

...there's a way. Imagine my surprise this morning when I looked out my window and saw this scene. We don't have many squirrels around our house because the cat usually keeps them at bay. However, I looked out to check on my birds when the squirrel hanging upside down caught my eye. I did a double take, at first thinking it might be dead, having gotten caught on the suet cage. Then he just curled himself up and grabbed some seed, only to hang again to eat it, very unconcerned about the birds or me watching him. Knocking on the window did not dislodge him. Eventually, I went outside to see what he would do if I approached. I was curious to see how he would get down from this precarious position, as the pole is pretty thin. He did, indeed, scamper down the pole and make his getaway.

This brings to mind a story about my mom and squirrels. She, too, fed the birds, and she had a lovely flower garden. However, the squirrels would get in the garden and eat all the flower bulbs. They also bothered the birds. She would get so frustrated with those squirrels. It was almost comic how it bothered her. One time, she got serious. My dad got a catch-'em-alive cage, and they caught a squirrel. My parents put the cage in the back of their van and headed to the park to set it free in a more appropriate location. My parents lived about 10 minutes away from the park, so they were confident they were doing a good thing for the squirrel as well as for Mom. The caged animal squawked and squeaked away on the way over to the park. Shortly before they got there, the noise from the back of the van stopped abruptly. My dad looked around and saw the poor dead squirrel hanging from the side of the cage, where it had strangled itself in its fury. My mother was horrified by what had happened, as they never expected this outcome to her humane plan. She decided from that time on to live and let live and quit planting bulbs in her garden to feed the squirrels.

Meanwhile, I'll not bother our squirrel. I don't imagine he'll hang around long as soon as he sees our cat. If he does, he will end up on our back porch, but not the way we'd like to see him. I hope he makes his escape before Spot catches him. So far, for him (and me) life is good...

The Pressure Is On...

2008-03-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

Before I start, here is the new painting I made for my new living room..I copied it from a picture I saw in this year's Avon calendar, seen above it because I still haven't figured out how to place my pictures in the blog the way I want them. Every time I think I have it figured out, I get it wrong. Oh, well, I never claimed to be a technological genius.

Now for the pressure part. Our new house is progressing very well. Seems that the cabinets will be installed Monday, and then things will really move along from there. This is very exciting, of course, but it means that we will be closing on the house in a month or less, and then it will be time to move out of this house so that Doug and Kellie can start getting it ready for themselves. I was getting a pretty good start at cleaning out closets and sorting stuff, and then my Dad got sick. I started going to the hospital every day as well as the frequent trips to the new house and to places where we needed to choose fixtures for it. Packing was ignored. Then I woke up at the crack of dawn the other morning and realized that I have an awful lot to do in the next month or so. I started making a list--shades of Alissa. I got the list done okay, but I have only done one thing on it so far. I'm hoping to really get busy on packing, but it seems that we go to the new house most every day, and when I get home, I don't feel like digging into stuff. Guess I am going to have to just buckle down and do it. After all, there is 29 years' worth of stuff stored in this house and garage, and we need to either pack what we're going to take or store stuff or get rid of stuff that we're not going to take. I don't seem to be getting much help from the old guy, either, who told me the other day that he just can't get motivated to do much of anything. Most of what's in the garage and outbuildings are his tools and stuff like that, so I'm going to leave it to him, or Doug will have to deal with it. However, the stuff in the house is mostly my responsibility, so tomorrow I will wash and pack my crystal (I hope!). Me and Scarlett O'Hara...

Is It Live or Is It Memorex?

2008-03-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

Neither one! It's actually a photo and a painting, obviously, and it's pretty easy to see which one is which, I imagine. However, I did try to reproduce the photo, which is a beautiful one taken by my mother many years ago, as faithfully as possible. I matched the colors pretty well, but I never can get the shapes exactly the same. I guess that's why my work is called impressionist.

I really admire those paintings that are so detailed that they look like they could be photos, but I can't do them. I seem to have a broader stroke, so my paintings are less detailed, and the whole picture looks more accurate when seen at a slight distance. That's why art is so universal, yet so personal. And the beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. That's also why I think everyone is an artist, even though (s)he may not think so. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush and paint, and someone will love his/her work. I am living proof that you don't need special training or talent to produce art. Everyone has his/her own style, and it's all beautiful in its own way. That's why I don't understand it when people tell me that they couldn't do what I do. Believe me, they can. Their finished interpretation of something will look different from mine, but it will still be art and still be appreciated by someone. I think people say that because they haven't tried it and either have no confidence or no desire to do it. And desire to do it is very important. So if you ever thought you might just like to pick up a paintbrush and try to paint, please do. If you are having a good time, you're an artist! Life is good....

Like Grandpa, Like Grandson

2008-03-12T20:23:00.001-07:00

If you read Alissa's post today, you saw that she was a LITTLE upset to discover that Nick has pneumonia. His grandpa gets pneumonia a lot. I used to panic over it, but now most of the time we take it in stride. Like today, for example. Terry has been coughing for several weeks, but he said it was not bad enough to go to the doctor. However, things took a turn for the worse on Monday, and he started feeling really bad and unable to sleep or lie down for the coughing. No fever, mind you, just coughing and chest discomfort. I suggested that maybe he had pneumonia like Nick does, but I was told to leave him alone. I suggested going to the doctor, but I was told to leave him alone. Today, I left him alone all morning and much of the afternoon while I took Doug to the doctor for a checkup on his new ACL, went to visit my dad in the hospital, had my monthly bloodwork done, and went to lunch before returning home to have him say, "Maybe I should go to the doctor." Well, DUH. We went to the doctor to find out that he did indeed have pneumonia, and not just a touch of it, either. We came home with lots of medicine, and amazingly enough, he is beginning to show signs of life. The pneumonia is not nearly as bad as some lung infections he has had, so he now thinks he might live. Life is good! :)

Calgon, Take Me Away...

2008-03-07T19:33:00.001-08:00

to the place in this painting--Panama City Beach, of course!It sure would be preferable to the now-snowy place I am at the moment. Here it is March 7, and we are getting the largest snowfall of the season. There were three inches earlier in the day, and more is falling now. We are supposed to have about 8-10 inches by the time it is over. I am not a winter person, and it seemed as if we were going to escape the worst this year, but I guess not. The snow is pretty to look at, but it makes getting around a little bit of a challenge for me because I don't like driving in the stuff. I hope it melts off pretty quickly, and it probably will, since it is March, after all. I guess we are paying now for the warm January and early February that we had. Of course, weather like this is typical for the Ohio Valley, and we have had many March snowfalls, some larger than this. We have had snow on Easter before, and I know it could be worse. It could still be December or January with spring far away! I suppose that in a few months it will be hot and humid, and I can hardly wait. Meanwhile, I will try to enjoy the season we are in now. Life is good, after all!

Progress

2008-02-26T18:10:00.000-08:00

Now that all the holidays are over and spring is approaching (I think, although it's snowing right now), it's time to get busy on the new house. The shell of the house has been complete since last fall, but since we weren't ready to move yet, it has sat there waiting for us. Now the ball is rolling, and work has started on the inside. We stopped by today and noticed that the rough plumbing, the electric, the insulation, and the furnace are installed. Wallboard is ready to go up as soon as the plumbing is inspected and passes. We have chosen our floor coverings, cabinets, vanities and countertops. Of course, we upgraded on almost everything we chose, which was a great deal of fun. The first time we bought a new house, 36 years ago, we had to stick to the basics because it was all we could afford. The same thing was true when we bought our present home 29 years ago. It was a very old house in need of major renovations, and we did the renovations on the cheap, again because it was all we could afford. Now we are buying the last new house we plan to own, and we can afford to have pretty much what we want. Mind you, we don't want a great deal. We watch HGTV, and some of the things they do on there seem ridiculously expensive and unnecessary. Upgrade to us means higher quality laminate flooring and countertops, and a few extras in the cabinets.

We still need to choose our paint colors and light fixtures, and we still have a little bit of furniture to buy, but we have gotten a start on that, too. We have a new bed and nightstands, a new futon, and a new coffee table and end table already purchased and waiting. We still need a couch and recliner and some counter stools, as well as a television and table for it, and a refrigerator.

All of this shopping is such fun. I am having a ball choosing all these new things! Of course, it will be necessary to choose window treatments and new bedding, too. I just keep thinking of things to buy. Hope the kids aren't looking for too big an inheritance, because we are having such a good time spending it! :)

And, by the way, my Dad has had good news on his aneurysm and had his toe operated on to clean out his staph infection and is doing quite well, after the scare he gave us on Valentine's Day. This is only Tuesday, but so far this week is going great! We can only hope it keeps going the same way. Life is good...

38 and Counting...

2008-02-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Today Terry and I have been married 38 years. That seems like such a long time when you say it out loud, and in fact, it is, but from day to day it doesn't seem that long. Of course, when I take time to think about all that has happened in the world and in our lives in the last 38 years, I realize how much time has passed. However, if I don't look in the mirror, I still feel pretty much like the same person I was then. And I still seem to see Terry as he looked then, too. I can see how everyone else ages, but it seems that we do not. :) Then again, my joints let me know how old I am!

In 38 years of marriage, we have lived in three different houses in two communities, and we are about to make it four. We have raised 3 children and seen them get married and establish their own households. We now have three grandchildren. Terry worked 30 years producing electric power and has been retired 10 years this summer. I taught or worked in schools for 22 years, spent about 8 years as a full-time wife and mom, and now I've been retired almost 3 years. We have traveled to many places (but not enough, in my opinion!). We have lived through a few life-threatening illnesses (his) and a debilitating one (mine). In spite of the fact that he is a pessimist and I am an optimist, he is a type-A while I am a type-B, and he worries while I take things as they come, our marriage is a solid one.

In the 38 years since we married, there have been many government changes and crises. We have been through 3 wars, an attack on our soil, lots of natural disasters (none of which affected us, fortunately), and a real culture change. Things that scandalized people in 1970 are not even blinked at now. When I look at some reality television, I cringe at what I see.

There have been many technological advances, too. Cable television, cell phones, personal computers, video games, microwave ovens, CD's and DVD's, iPods...the list goes on and on. I never thought we had life particularly hard, but I'll bet our kids would think we did!

Of course, some things don't change that much. Kids are still kids and will get away with what they can. Cars are fancier, but they aren't too much different in the way they run. Television and radio, while updated, aren't vastly different. We still cook on an electric stove, albeit a glass-topped one, and keep our food cold in the refrigerator. I still drink diet soft drinks, and Terry still loves iced tea.

I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. I wonder what will have changed in the next 38 years. I hope I am alive to see it. I'll only be 97, after all! Happy Anniversary to us and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Life is good...

What Is Kentucky's State Bird?

2008-02-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

Three out of these four pictures feature Kentucky's state bird, no less than six pair of which visit our bird feeders every day. The cardinal is a striking bird, even more so against the backdrop of the first measurable snow we've had around here in a few years. The last picture is a mourning dove, a recent and very occasional visitor. However, it is so pretty I included it's picture along with the more showy birds.

The bird feeder still continues to fascinate us, even after a year of having it outside our window. We have added a few feeders and some suet cakes, too, as well as a thistle sock for our friends, the goldfinches. I think to date we have counted about 20 kinds of birds that have been to visit. The finches, cardinals, chickadees, and slate-colored juncos are the most frequent winter visitors, and they are here much of the time. I have taken to buying my birdseed in the twenty-five pound bags and my suet cakes by the dozen. The feeders need to be filled every 2-3 days, so it's obvious that the birds feel welcome here, in spite of a cat in residence. The cat doesn't seem to bother the birds much, probably because he gets enough of other things to eat and has lots of field space to roam around and catch rodents.

However, while the cat isn't much of a problem, the old guy saw an amazing sight out of the window a few weeks ago. The cardinals and friends were busy feeding, both from the feeder and off the ground, when a large hawk came swooping out of the sky and landed on the ground next to a cardinal, which apparently didn't notice him. Too bad because suddenly the hawk grabbed the cardinal and flew off with the poor bird in his talons. You would have thought that this would deter the birds, but it hasn't. Even though we have one less male cardinal, there seem to be plenty left out here to take his place. They are thriving, just like the U of L basketball team, which is named after them. I wonder if the birds will follow us to our new house--of course not. However, the feeders are going with us, so we will get a whole new crop of birds, maybe even some new kinds. Meanwhile, life is good....

I Did It!

2008-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

It took a while, but I finally figured out how to get the Kodak picture moved to a file that could be uploaded. Here's Doug lounging in all his glory when he got home from the hospital today. I'm sure by the time I see him tomorrow, he will be livelier. :)

He Survived!

2008-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

Our son, Doug, had arthroscopic surgery today on his knee to reconstruct his ACL(anterior cruciate ligament) and have a microfracture surgery to attempt to regrow cartilage that had to be removed because it was torn. I took a picture of him with my new camera, but I cannot seem to upload pictures that are saved with the Kodak camera. So you don't get to see him looking groggy and out of it as he was when he got home. By now, several hours later, he sounds and feels more alert, but he was pretty out of it at noon. Of course, he had only come out of surgery at about 9:30, so he was doing amazingly well.

All of Doug's knee troubles started during basketball camp before his senior year in high school, about 10 1/2 years ago. He had a twisting fall which tore some cartilage and stretched the ACL. About six months later, it was still bothering him, so he had arthroscopic surgery to clean up the cartilage. He recovered quickly and didn't require any therapy. He went back to school 3 days after the surgery. Over the years, he would get an occasional twinge, and the knee would pop out of joint once in a while, but he managed to do whatever he wanted to do, and last year, he was able to do some rigorous training to try out for the fire department. He made it all the way to the last step before being eliminated for the training class. So he decided to try again this fall, and he had started the training sessions once again. However, in October, he jumped off a counter at work and landed wrong on the leg, and the knee joint finally cried out and said, "Enough already! I can't take any more of your abuse. Fix me once and for all, or I won't let you be a firefighter at all!" What could he do but go and see about getting it repaired? He decided to wait until after the holidays, and set it up for today.

As the time passed, he became more and more apprehensive, wondering what he was letting himself in for and whether he would ever be able to use the knee correctly, but today the waiting was over, and we went to the hospital very early this morning for the procedure. He was first on the list for the surgery, and it took just about as long as the doctor said it would. Now the fun begins. He will have several weeks of physical therapy and workouts at home on the continuous movement machine. He will be off work for a few months, during which he will catch up with his movie watching, I imagine. After all this work, however, the doctor assured us that his knee will be almost as good as new, and he will be able to do most anything, so he can go back to try for the next firefighter classin the fall . He'll make it yet! :)

Meanwhile, the the wait and the surgery are over, and now he can get down to the business of recovering. Life is good....

The Good and the Bad...

2008-01-29T12:25:00.000-08:00

The good is that I have had a chance, after a month off, to go back and do some painting. The last two weeks I did watercolor instead of acrylic, which lends itself to softer colors. These pictures are the result. The flamingo was taken from a photo I found in the newspaper, and the winter scene was copied from a plate. I must admit that in the case of the winter scene, my colors are still brighter than the original picture. Seems that subtle is not a characteristic of my work...

The bad is completely unconnected to the good. The bad is a lament about the lack of civility I have been witnessing over the last several years. I know I am no spring chicken, but I think that decent and respectful behavior should be practiced by every generation. I guess the recent political campaigns have just reinforced my belief that people are just less polite than they used to be. I imagine there is always rhetoric in campaigns, but in other instances, civility is crumbling, too. Letters to the editor of the newspapers and celebrities on television who blatantly call the President of the United States and idiot or a clown just astound me. Even if you don't like the President or his policies, it is possible to discuss this without such disrespectful name-calling.

Another instance of this disrespect comes from people who are stopped by the police for doing something they shouldn't be doing and then blame the officers for their problems. I recently read a newspaper article about a police department where the "investigative reporter" had an ax to grind. The article was bad enough, but the comments that were left online by about one-third of the readers were truly appalling. They called the officers names and stated baldly that the officers sped just so they could get home or to the next drug deal to get their fix. You also see it on television on the many "Cops" shows where the people are belligerent and abusive toward the arresting officers. I can't imagine such horrible behavior. If I ever got pulled over for something, I would be too terrified to do anything but say "Yes, sir" or "No, sir" when questioned.

There is also disrespect for public spaces. Just witness the litter everywhere. This morning I was waiting in a hospital waiting room for my son to get some bloodwork done. They called a woman's name, and she got up, knocking some books and papers to the floor, and walked off, just leaving them lying there. Several people walked over them before someone finally stopped and picked them up. Many times I have stopped people I have seen in stores and told them they dropped something when they intentionally threw a wrapper on the ground. I have not done so lately because my husband says I might get shot, and he's right.

Last summer, in a parking lot of a popular suburban grocery store (in a nice neighborhood), two vehicles failed to yield to each other, and words ensued. Pretty soon guns were drawn, and one of the men, the slowest shot, I guess, ended up critically wounded. He now has the brain of a three-year-old, and it seems that is the best he will get. Was it worth gunplay to end up a virtual baby forever? Over who goes first from the stop sign?? The man who got the shots off (8 of them) was a retired police officer who I'm told is trained to shoot to kill when he sees a weapon, but I wonder if he could have just as easily backed up quickly and cleared the scene. Perhaps that would have given the other guy reason to put his gun down. We'll never know. I'm told he reacted as he was trained to do. However, a little civility from both men could have kept this from escalating to a deadly situation.

Of course, this is an extreme example of the lack of civility we see today, but it shows how fast disrespect for others can escalate out of control. And it's starting younger all the time. The way some elementary students talk to their teachers or strike them, and they do, is horrible. When you call in the parents to discuss it, you see really quickly where the kids get it. Here's hoping that people begin to realize how far down the wrong road society has traveled and turn around and take the high road. I'm afraid that's just wishful thinking, though..Life is good, but only for some, I guess...

Just Checking In..

2008-01-20T18:18:00.000-08:00

..since I have nothing important to write about. However, I am just letting the world know I'm still alive. January is like that, at least around here. After all the whirlwind of activities from October through December, things slow down to a crawl. I am glad for this month of January, cold weather notwithstanding. While I absolutely abhor cold temperatures and my mantra is, "I hate winter!," I must admit that I do enjoy hibernating when I can. I like days when I can curl up under my faux mink throw and watch episodes of very old television shows and movies, or lose myself in a good book. It's peaceful and relaxing.

Now, though, we have gotten a call from our realtor telling us they are ready to start working on the interior of our new patio home. We will be choosing the interior appointments and probably going by the home site most every day to check on progress. It's time to pick out some new furniture and start cleaning out stuff around this old house in earnest. We have done some desultory clearing of drawers and cabinets, but now I think we will be picking up the pace. I imagine things will be very busy for the rest of the year from about February 1 on.

However, it is still January, and I'm still being lazy. I'll be busy soon enough! :) Isn't life good?

...Indeed!

2008-01-11T17:07:00.001-08:00

Here is a happy picture of my dad, taken as we were heading home from Panama City Beach after Thanksgiving. It's a favorite of mine because he looks so happy and healthy. However, since he came home at Christmas time, we have been pretty worried about Dad because it seems the aortic aneurysm that he found out he had in September had grown and had now become a serious condition. Surgery was recommended by Dad's cardiologist, but he warned us all that it would not be an easy fix. So the doctor made an appointment for Dad with a cardiothoracic surgeon, and Dad gave up the idea of returning to Florida for the rest of the winter and resigned himself to undergoing and recovering from this difficult surgery. By listening to the cardiologist, we had the feeling that if something wasn't done sooner rather than later, the aneurysm would rupture and end Dad's life. Even though he is 84 and has had a good life, none of us, least of all Dad, were ready for this, so the surgery seemed the only solution.

So it was with trepidation that my dad, my sister, and I headed downtown early yesterday morning to see the surgeon. Much to our surprise, the surgeon painted a less dire picture, and said that at this time there was about equal risks in the surgery and in waiting a few months for another CT scan. He wants to wait 3 months and do another scan at a different facility, where the picture may be clearer. Don't get me wrong. An ascending aortic aneurysm is a serious condition, and Dad's is large. However, the surgeon said there was less cause for worry because large people like Dad often have larger hearts and vessels anyway. He said that he will re-evaluate the situation in the spring, and then we could decide if the risk of rupture had grown larger than the risk of surgery. After I opened my big mouth and said something in the office about Dad going back to Florida for the rest of the winter, the surgeon chimed in and told him by all means to go and have a good time. The risk of rupture is only 3-5% over the next three months, not imminent, as we had thought. Dad was still not sure, but you could tell he wanted to go. He just didn't think he should in case the aneurysm ruptured while he was away from home. He said it would be more trouble for us to get him home that way, to which I replied that at that point we would have more to feel bad about than getting him home! I don't want to force Dad to go back to Florida if he will feel better here, but I truly feel he will be happier there. He loves the pool, the warm weather and sunshine, and his network of friends who have been burning up the telephone wires calling him to see how he is. He sees people every day there, and at home, he sees us, his family, a few times a week at best, and he sees friends seldom. At this writing, I believe he has decided to go ahead and go back on Sunday. We'll miss him, but I, for one, am glad he will be where he is happy. It may be his best opportunity to go. While he has plans to go back next fall, he will probably have surgery and recuperation and rehab before that time and may not feel like going then.

After the visit to the surgeon, we could all let out the breath we'd been holding and relax a little. We were so giddy that we celebrated with a breakfast out. I am so glad that Dad has gotten this reprieve and will probably take the opportunity to do what he likes where he loves being. I'm sure everyone's prayers have helped him, and we are all grateful for them. Like I said, life is good-indeed!

Imagine That!

2008-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

My first public exhibit! Of course, it is on an art wall in the county public library's main branch, so it's not exactly the big time. However, it does give you a thrill to see a collection of your work on display for everyone who chooses to look at it. I tried to choose a variety of subject matter, but my work tends to lean heavily toward tropical scenes or silhouettes. Most of my paintings are pretty small in scale, so I had to have a lot to cover the space. It will hang on the art wall until the end of January. If you get to Shepherdsville, KY, drop in and see my exhibit--it may be your only chance ever to see a large selection of my work in public! Life is good...

Happy Birthday!

2008-01-06T18:05:00.001-08:00

The old guy turns old enough to collect social security tomorrow, January 7. He will be 62 years old, and he is glad to have reached this milestone after all he's been through the last several years. He wishes to celebrate his birthday by not celebrating, so we will pretty much honor his wishes.

While I grew up in a family that made a big deal of birthdays, Terry did not. His mother might bake him a cake, and his present from his parents, I believe the only one he received, was new t-shirts and jockey shorts EVERY year. Birthdays were "celebrated" on days when it was convenient, not the actual day. It's no wonder his birthday is not a big deal for him. Many times I have tried to have family gatherings in honor of his day like the rest of us do, but he really didn't enjoy them, and he is not comfortable receiving gifts and attention, so we kind of let it drop. The kids and I still get him gifts, and I usually bake a cake, but that's about it. Of course, it doesn't help much that his father died on Terry's birthday six years ago. It has virtually ruined his birthday for him, even now.

Most of our family members don't really understand his reticence to celebrate, but we respect it. He has told me he wants lots of doughnuts for his birthday tomorrow (he's going on a diet Tuesday), and Doug and Kellie are having us over for sloppy joes. We will celebrate when we finally get that social security that he has earned. I believe we have been told the first check will be deposited in the bank March 12. Meanwhile, we remember that life is good....

Happy New Year! 2

2008-01-01T12:09:00.000-08:00

Here we are at another new year. 2007 is in the record books, as they say, and I can't say I'm sorry to see it go. After Terry's numerous health problems that took up over half the year, the rest of it was pretty good, especially Chip and Shira's marriage, but now I'm ready to move forward into 2008.

This year promises to be a year of changes for our family. Dad is not going back to Florida for the remainder of the winter as he usually does, due to an unexpected health problem and looming heart surgery. I'm sorry he won't have the opportunity to go back and enjoy what has turned out to be a really mild winter there and the opportunity to swim every day, but I'm sure he has his reservations already for next year, so he can look forward to that. Doug also is facing surgery-his to replace his ACL in the knee. Once he gets it repaired and rehabbed, I know he will go back to pursuing his ambition to be a firefighter.

It seems that Terry's health problems are behind him for the time being, so we can focus on preparing for our big move from our home for the last 29 years. This is a huge deal for us, and one I hadn't anticipated for a few more years. Terry loves his farm and his tractors and all that. However, after last year, he decided he was ready for a simpler lifestyle. Our small farm entails a lot of work, and the house could use some serious updating. We have decided to leave that to Doug and Kellie, who seem eager to get started on a life in the country, and we are going to move to a patio home in the spring. It's a little closer to town, but still in a rural area. We are excited at the prospect of choosing all the interior appointments for our new home, and we are also looking to get some new furniture. However, before we move, we face the daunting task of going through 38 years of accumulated stuff and deciding what to keep and what to toss or give away. This is not going to be easy, but I feel it will be easier now than if we stayed here another 10 or 20 years and then had to do it. We are excited to be moving this spring and beginning a new phase of our lives in a brand new house.

I know that 2008 will hold other changes and events, too, but those haven't yet been revealed to us. We will just have to enjoy life and hope the coming surprises of the year are good ones. Meanwhile, today,life is good...

And a Good Time Was Had by All...

2007-12-27T18:05:00.001-08:00

...especially me. Christmas is over, after a marathon weekend of activities. Alissa and the boys arrived Saturday, and the festivities began. We looked at Christmas lights and had a nice dinner out that night. Sunday, all the other kids joined us for the immediate family Christmas gift exchange. All three of the little ones were really wound up, and it was hard keeping them occupied, but we baked cookies and read stories until it was time to open the mountain of gifts that were under the tree. It was a camera and watch Christmas for me. I got an EasyShare camera and printer, a video camera, and a camera that was built into binoculars. Unfortunately that one didn't work. We also received wonderful gifts from all the kids--a hand arranged picture of all three families, a digital photo frame, and a new set of silverware to have in our new house. All the gifts were very special. After that, we had a nice supper of slumgullion and visited until evening.

Monday- Christmas Eve- Chip, Shira, Doug, and Kellie had to work during the day, so Alissa and I took the boys to see "Alvin and the Chipmunks," which they seemed to enjoy. I know I did, but I sure had culture shock when I saw what it costs to go to the movies these days. I seldom have the chance to actually go to the theater to see a movie, and when I do, I usually only pay for my own ticket and refreshments. We went to a matinee, and 4 tickets cost $25! Seems kids don't get a discount on matinees. Then I bought 2 small popcorns, a soft drink, a bottle of water, and a small bag of candy, and it cost$20. I can afford it all right, but I don't see how families go to see movies very often at those prices. Guess I am out of touch with current costs, huh?

After a supper of frozen pizza (cooked, of course), I went to church, and everyone else headed tp Grandpa H.'s house for the extended family celebration. Gifts were exchanged, and snacks were shared. Then Alissa and the boys headed for home (a 2 1/2 hour drive) so they could be at home on Christmas morning. Imagine their excitement when they spotted Santa's sleigh (a UPS plane) in the sky on their way home. Terry and I scouted out some Christmas lights on our way home.

Around noon on Christmas day, Chip, Shira, Aiva, Doug, and Kellie arrived to see what Santa had brought them at our house. I sure am glad they are old enough to sleep in and then had to drive here. We got to sleep in, too. Later in the evening we went to Grandpa's again for Christmas supper. He fixed ham and lasagna, and we had several homemade desserts as well as the requisite chips and dip. I think we got home that night at around 11, again having scouted out Christmas lights to admire.

Yesterday, it was back to Curves for me. I needed to get back to the exercise routine that I had been neglecting since last Friday. Then we actually braved the crowds and went to K-Mart to stock up on storage boxes and a few other things, like paper and printer ink for my new printer. When we got home, I was wiped out. I sat and tried to read, but it seemed I was reading the inside of my eyelids more than the magazine in front of me. It seemed that someone had pulled the plug, and all the energy I'd had for days drained out. I guess my body was telling me to rest, so I did. Today I slept in, and now I feel much better. We didn't go anywhere today, and I watched an old movie and just rested.

I love Christmas and all its excitement. The little kids make it wondrous again, and I love choosing and giving gifts that I hope people will love and appreciate--and they seem to. It's nice to receive gifts, but it's even better to give them. The house looks so festive and beautiful, and people are full of good wishes. Now the gifts are unwrapped and taken home, and the decorations will soon go back into storage, too. Life will return to normal, and that is fine. After all, old people can only stand so much excitement, right? Life is good...

Whew!

2007-12-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

This has been a busy week on top of several other busy weeks. We were ready for Christmas several days before for a change, and I looked forward to a few days to just relax and veg out, but that hasn't been the case. Of course, there are always errands to run throughout the week, but I think they probably could be consolidated into fewer forays into stores than they have this week. It seems that even when there was no compelling reason to be out, my newly energized spouse had someplace he wanted to go or something he wanted us to do. After many months of being home all the time, now we seem to be gone most of the time-at least during the late mornings and afternoons. I never thought that I would be longing for a day to just stay home and do household tasks like dusting, sweeping and cleaning the bathrooms. Even the most rudimentary chores aren't getting done as they should be since I am squeezing them in at odd times or ignoring them altogether. And read a book or watch a video? Forget it! The only time I have to read anything but the newspaper is when I go to bed at night, and I usually fall asleep after about 20 pages. Perhaps you can tell that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed. However, I know I am fortunate that we are able to get out and go and that we can afford to do the things we are doing. I figure that after the first of the year, things will slow down for a month or so before the new house construction gears up. I can rest and recharge and prepare for the busy spring we are bound to have. Meanwhile, the kids are coming, and Christmas is coming, and it will be fun and festive! Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas as we plan to. Life is good!

Let the Holidays Begin!

2007-12-17T18:06:00.000-08:00

Last night we had 2/3 of our kids and families out to help us put up our Christmas tree. For a simple supper of chicken and dumplings and Little Debbie snack cakes, we had plenty of help decorating the tree. Chip and Kellie were in charge of putting on the lights, and Doug, Shira, Kellie, Aiva, and I put on the ornaments. When we were done, Terry, Kellie, and Shira put on the tacky icicles that lots of people don't use anymore. We do, because I don't consider my tree complete without them. Fortunately, I had already done all my wrapping, so there were lots of presents to put underneath the tree. Isn't it festive?

Earlier in the weekend, we finished up the rest of the decorating. We have a "department store window" display in the family room with the tree that has all the kids' ornaments on it. It comes complete with a plate of goodies for Santa. Terry has gotten quite creative with his decorating this year, and our house looks nicer than it has in years.

We are looking forward to a cheerful and exciting holiday this year. It's about time--we were due for one! Life is good...

Scrooge Has Left the Building...

2007-12-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

For most of our married life, we have enjoyed decorating our house for Christmas. Every year we would get out our collections of angels, snowmen, Santas, and other miscellaneous decorations and cover many surfaces with displays like you see here from this year's display. We always had at least two trees, one real one with all the traditional lights and ornaments, and the artificial one with mini-lights and ornaments that were made by the kids. Later we added more trees, a fiberoptic one, a ceramic one, and a few other little artificial trees. Mid-December until after Terry's January birthday found our house festively decked out for the holidays.

Then about 9 years ago, Terry retired from his job and became the Clark Griswold of LJ. I was still working, so he and the boys spent several days decorating, and we had lights, inflatables, and tinsel everywhere. Our house was beyond festive, and it seemed we bought more stuff every year. We had several animated figures as well as huge displays of holiday-themed stuffed animals. Tapestry throws and stockings covered the walls. Terry was very proud of all his handiwork, and since the kids took most of it down, which is the drudge work, he loved the holiday decorating.

All of that changed five years ago when he had a stroke two weeks before Christmas. While it was a mild stroke, and he had no physical damage, it did a number on his emotions and his cognitive abilities, making him very self-conscious. The holiday spirit left him in a rush, changing him from Clark Griswold to Ebenezer Scrooge almost overnight. He was, understandably, not in the mood to celebrate that year, and only minimal decorations were put up by me. In the ensuing years, Terry did not manage to recover his Christmas spirit, and we cut our decorating by about 3/4, but we still had our three main trees and our snowmen, angels, and some Santas. This was a manageable amount of decorating for me, as he still did not want to bother with much. The kids would come out and help with the real tree, but I did most of the rest myself.

I thought things were doing pretty well until last year, when Terry had all his health problems. If I thought he was Scrooge before, he seemed to be Scrooge on steroids now. He was NOT in the mood to celebrate and decreed that, for the first time in 37 years, we would not decorate, not even a tree. I finally talked him into letting me put up the kids' artificial tree so there would be something to put the presents under and so it looked like Christmas when the grandkids came. It broke my heart not to have our traditional real tree, but Terry seemed oblivious to anyone's feelings but his own. I understand that someone who is so sick tends to be self-absorbed, so I didn't make a big deal of my disappointment, hoping for things to get better the next year.

Well, I got my wish. Jacob Marley must have visited Terry in his dreams because he has suddenly become his pre-stroke self. His sense of humor and enthusiasm have returned. He doesn't even remember what things were like last year, and he doesn't remember not having a tree. The whole time has been blocked out of his memory. Now he laughs and tells his bad jokes all the time. While not wanting to be Clark Griswold anymore, he is ready for the holidays. He has helped with the shopping, the cards, the decorating, even the wrapping, and we are having the kids out to decorate the tree this weekend. We have even bought a few new decorations this year, the first time we have done that in a long time. He is eager to go and see Drew's Christmas program and even suggested we spend the night instead of rushing home afterward.

It looks like the grandchildren are finally going to get to know the grandpa that Terry was meant to be and that they probably can't remember. I'm so glad that they get the chance to do so. He has always loved kids and been able to entertain them, but that's all been buried deep inside the last several years. I am really looking forward to the holidays, and I think he is, too. Life is good!

Family Ties

2007-11-30T17:18:00.000-08:00

I come from a close family, in feelings if not in distance. That's why it was so special at Thanksgiving for us all to be together for a change. We were all thankful to have time to spend together because it doesn't happen often. My dad lives in Kentucky half the year and in northwest Florida half the year. My brother lives in southeast Florida, and my sister and I live fairly close to each other in Kentucky. However, we all get caught up in our own nuclear families and don't see each other as often as we could. We loved our family time at the holiday, especially Dad. At 84, he is becoming more and more aware of his mortality, and his family is very important to him. We laughed and enjoyed our memories. It was great!

I don't think I ever realized how close our family was until I grew up and saw other families that didn't have nearly the loving relationship that we shared. We have always tried to stick together for family birthday celebrations and holidays, but with Bob and his wife Janet in Florida, they miss out on a lot of this. Terry's family didn't have this close relationship, and I have met many other people that don't quite understand the bond that we share and how important it is to us that we maintain these ties. It's getting harder to get together as the family grows and the kids have other family obligations, but we keep trying, and we treasure every opportunity we get.

I hope that we three of Dad's "kids" have managed to pass this family closeness on to our own children. It seems we have, and I know I am grateful to have three kids of our own to carry on our family traditions. It's only now as they've grown up that I have come to realize how they have treasured certain memories from their childhoods and how they have carried on some of the things we did while forming new traditions of their own. Life is good...

P.S. On another note--in looking at the picture, it strikes me that my brother and sister and I don't resemble each other much at all. I can see in the picture that I look like my dad, but I sure don't look like Bob and Peg, and they don't look like each other. My own kids can't say that about themselves!

The Beach Gene

2007-11-28T09:32:00.000-08:00

We have just returned from one of my favorite places on earth, the beach. Now I love any beach, but this particular one was Panama City Beach, Florida. The beach in that area is particularly beautiful, with brilliant white sand and sparkling aqua water. I love being at the beach because the water is endlessly fascinating to me. Sitting where I can see the waves roll in is just about the only place where I can leave my book unread in my lap while I watch the undulating water and listen to the waves lapping at the shore. It is very relaxing and riveting at the same time. And the beach changes constantly.

One day the waves will lap quietly at the shore, and the next the surf will be roaring. Of course, it doesn't roar in the Gulf of Mexico like it does in the Pacific Ocean, or even the Atlantic Ocean, but it does have its active times, as you can see. Some days the water sparkles with sunlight, and other days the skies are dramatic with storm clouds. And sunsets over the water are not to be beat. How can this not capture your imagination?
I don't know what causes this fascination, but it must be inherited because both my parents have had it, and my sister shares it as well. I know I have passed it on to at least one of our children, despite having a husband who doesn't share it and is mainly bewildered by it. As far as he is concerned, he could live forever without going to the beach. If he would want to move to Florida, he would be content to have a home in the center of the state or a house far from the beach. He thinks my dad is crazy for staying at a motel on the beach instead of buying a home a few streets away and that I am being intractable when I say it's not worth going if I can't be where I can look out and see the beach. I cannot explain it. You just have to have the beach gene, I suppose. I guess it is good for him that we live in Kentucky, where the nearest beach is 500 miles away! It's a moot point here.

So I must be content to get my beach fixes when I go on vacation. I'm grateful that I had one this year! It was almost as perfect as vacations can get, and I am so fortunate. Life is good!

Happy Thanksgiving-a little early..

2007-11-16T17:44:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little early for a Thanksgiving post, but if all goes as planned, we will be in Panama City Beach for the holiday, enjoying it with my dad, my sister and niece, and my brother and sister-in-law. It will be the first time all three of us "kids" (63, 59, and 55) have all been together with my dad in several years, since my brother lives in Boynton Beach, FL, and my sister and I both live in Kentucky, as does my dad during the spring and summer. I am really looking forward to the trip, our first real vacation in two years. Before we go, however, we are going to host a pre-Thanksgiving feast here tomorrow for our own children and grandchildren. I love to cook the Thanksgiving dinner-turkey and dressing and all the traditional fixins'. I have gotten to where I take a few shortcuts, but it's still pretty much a big dinner. I doubt very much if we will all sit at the table to eat, since there isn't room, but I have gotten out the good china and silverware, which is only used on the holidays, mostly Thanksgiving. After this year's feast, I will give the silver to Alissa to take home and the china will stay here in the china cabinet for Doug and Kellie to have when they move into this house next year. Hopefully, we will still use it on Thanksgiving, but it's time to pass it on to someone who will maybe get more use out of it than I do.

Meanwhile, Susie at Susie's Space reminded me on her blog that we have much for which to be thankful, so I am going to list a few things I am grateful for. This is by no means a complete or detailed list. I know that I have been blessed in many ways by God, and not because I have done great things to deserve these blessings. However, I do have the good sense to be grateful and at least try to be a good person. :)

Good health and an optomistic outlook
A generally cheerful disposition
Waking up every morning
A loving family heritage-great parents and grandparents and siblings
A long and happy marriage
Three wonderful children and three wonderful children-in-law, and three wonderful grandchildren
A fulfilling career (now over)
Retirement
A lovely home now and soon a brand-new one
Enough financial wealth to be comfortable
Terry's much improved health and attitude
Hobbies that make life fun
Great friends
The ability to take care of myself and others

I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating. Life is good!

Debra's Meme via Alissa--and a picture

2007-11-14T13:37:00.000-08:00

This is a painting of a leaf taken from a picture that I again filched from Alissa, and you can see the original photo on her site. Of course the painting doesn't do the spectacular photo justice, but it was a very eye-catching picture. Sorry that I placed it in the scanner crooked. Just turn your head a little to see the straight version. :)

Here's my version of the meme:
I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments.. what is it?

Produce: Potatoes.

Bakery: donuts

Meat: Laura's Lean hamburger

Frozen Foods: Rocky Road Ice cream

Dry Goods: Spaghetti

Let’s say we’re heading out for a weekend getaway. You’re only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what’s in your bag?
Clean underwear

A clean shirt
Bedroom slippers (my mom never let us walk on hotel floors in our bare feet!)

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 5 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?
Ha! Ha!
Really?
I love you.

Give me a break!

So, what 3 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn’t get to do, you probably wouldn’t be in the best mood?
Reading
Eating

Crossword puzzles

You just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We’re talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?
Painting
Reading
Doing word puzzles

Watching old movies

Shopping

We’re going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it’ll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?
Polar Bears
Seals
Monkeys

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on t.v. of your choice. You can pick between 4, so what are you deciding between?
ER

NCIS

CSI

Two and A Half Men

You’re hungry for ice cream. I’ll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavors can I pile on for ya?

Rocky Road

French Vanilla

Butter Pecan

Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what’s in there?
Wallet
Checkbook
Chapstick
Tide To Go pen
Hairbrush

You are at a job fair, and asked what areas you are interested in pursuing a career in. Let’s pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 career would be fun for you?
Painter-artist
Travel Journalist

Tour director

Flight Attendant

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?
Have more confidence in yourself
Listen to your parents.
After college, give yourself a year on your own before settling down to marriage and a family.
Life is good--enjoy yourself!

OK, consider yourself tagged, and let me know if you answer the questions!

That was easy enough, I guess. At least it gave me something to write about. Maybe I will get a chance to post again about Thanksgiving before heading to Florida next week to visit my dad. If not, have a wonderful Thanksgiving, and remember we have much for which to be thankful. After all, life is good!

No Monday Muse Today

2007-11-05T17:49:00.000-08:00

When I started going to the library to paint on Mondays, I told Terry that I would only go when we had nothing else going on. Today we had a good reason for me to skip the painting session. The old guy went to sign up for his Social Security benefits. Since he retired nine years ago, he has been receiving a stipend from his company that filled in for his social security benefits that he was too young to receive. However, he is one of the first baby boomers, having been born in early January of 1946. I guess he is among the first wave of our generation, the one who is going to bust Social Security. Too bad for the rest of you! The substitute stipend that he has been receiving has not grown since he started getting it, not going up with the cost of living, as Social Security has. He found out today that he will be receiving almost $500 a month more than he is presently getting. We were thinking more like $400, so this was a pleasant surprise. He always told me that when he starts receiving his Social Security, I get to have a new car. I was going to get $200 of the raise to put toward a car payment, but maybe now we can afford a little more. I am hoping to get a new Saturn with a sunroof and OnStar. He would like me to look for a used car, but I got a used car the last time, so this time I want a new one. Of course, as long as it isn't a clunky old pewter Blazer that is 3 years old, I guess I should be grateful, but after all, when he got a truck last year, he got a new one. We won't be looking until after the first of the year, so I'll let you know what I finally end up with. Meanwhile, life is good! :)

Mixed Message

2007-10-29T16:43:00.001-07:00

Here you see a sunset in Kona, Hawaii, a place where I have never been and probably will never go, but it sure looks like somewhere I would want to be. Obviously, it is warm, though, as it's always warm in Hawaii. It's my effort for this week's Monday Muse.

Now for the mixed message part. After a very long and dry summer (it ended last week, in spite of what the calendar says), we had almost enough rain in two days last week to make up for how short we were for the year. Of course, it helped the water table and the lakes and reservoirs, but it came way too late for the crops and flowers. Farmers are still suffering, and I still had to water flowers all summer. I guess it was far worse for them than it was for me! The rain also brought fall along with it for a very delayed entrance. For the first time since early May, there are no 80 degree days in our forecast. Now we are getting daytime highs in the 50's and 60's and had our first frost of the year last night. I think this is late for a first frost. The leaves are finally changing color, but the color is pretty muted because most of the leaves are full of brown spots and holes. Although I am a summer lover, I always like the first few brisk days of fall weather. The drop in temperatures and difference of wardrobe are pleasant changes. Of course, it won't be long before I'm tired of the cooler temperatures, if not the clothes. The cooler it gets, the less I like it. One of my mantras known to everyone who knows me is, "I HATE winter!" Of course, winter is only temporary, and spring will come again--because life is good! :)

This Is Retirement?

2007-10-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the painting of the photo that I pilfered from my sister's blog, Count It All Joy, a few days ago. It shows just where I would like to be right now (and every day, for that matter!).

Instead of lounging around looking at the beach and the Gulf of Mexico, I am in Kentucky keeping very busy. I always thought that when I retired we would have the chance to go and be at the beach whenever we wanted. Unfortunately for me, last year only one of us could go, and this year only one of us wants to go. We will have to see how this pans out.

Meanwhile, we aren't lounging around anywhere at the moment. We have been very busy for the last several weeks, and even when we do have time to relax, one of us thinks of something that needs to be done. We have been seriously looking at a new home and trying to work out how to afford it and still keep this one for Doug and Kellie. I think we have that one figured out. Then we have been trying to get some maintenance done on this house so we leave it in good shape. Next, we were privileged to have Drew here for several days, and he did keep us busy. That's as it should be, and a good time was had by all. This week, it has been a series of routine doctor visits for me, and on Friday there will be one(not routine) for Doug. Sunday will be my season-pass trip to the local dinner theater. All of this ensures that not much grass grows under our feet, and I am beginning to long for a day when all I have to do is get up and sit around with a good book, a paintbrush, or a DVD control in my hand. That's unusual for me, the goer. It is just an indication of how very busy we have been. However, I am very grateful to be able to get up and go like that. Others aren't so lucky. For me, anyway, life is good!

Guest Blogger

2007-10-11T13:19:00.001-07:00

Drew has been staying with us since Monday. His dad brought him and Nick up, but Andy and Nick went home on Tuesday morning, and Drew has had his first big sleepover with us. I must say that Grandpa and I have been very impressed by how well-behaved he has been. This is what we have done in Drew's own words:

" We made Halloween stuff for my house. We went to the Louisville Slugger Museum and the Frazier Arms Museum. We saw shields, armor, swords, guns, and a buffalo. We bought a pen feather, a magnet, and two swords. I climbed on a giant ball glove. I batted balls. We saw them making bats. I got a bat and a ball. We ate pizza downtown. We saw the big river. We came home. I played with my toys and rested. We ate supper at Steak and Shake. I drove the golf cart every day all by myself. Today we went to the store to look for tires. We ate lunch at Ruthie's Lincoln Freeze. I had grilled cheese. We saw the log cabin where Abraham Lincoln was born. Tomorrow I will go home. I've had a good time."

I must say that of all the things that we did this week, driving the golf cart has definitely been Drew's favorite thing to do. I think he would have been happy just to do that all day every day. We have had a great time and look forward to doing it again...Life is good!

Catching Up

2007-10-03T13:17:00.001-07:00

I have managed to make it to my painting group for a few weeks in a row again. These are my last two efforts. Both are cut down because they are too big to fit in the scanner. The first is pretty self-explanatory. The second is, too, I guess. It's a tropical storm coming to the Carolina coast. I did this one first and got two identical comments from people who know what they're doing. They liked the picture, but they said the bird shouldn't be centered in the picture. While I know this is true according to art guidelines, I painted this from a photo in which the bird was exactly in the center of the picture. I chose not to try to paint over it and do it again for fear I would really mess it up. But next time I'll know. The seascape is a better effort, and the focal point is not in the center of the picture. I guess my untrained eye doesn't notice these things very much, but being around people who make money at their art and listening to their comments is helpful to me.

It looks like maybe next month I will have a chance to display my paintings on a wall of the new library where we do our weekly painting. I could have done so this month, but I would have shared the space with another woman, and her paintings are far superior to mine. She paints in a very realistic style, and her pictures are almost like photos. While I paint from photos, my work is rougher and more impressionistic. Her work looks just as good close up as from a distance. Most of my paintings look better from a distance, which is part of what impressionism is all about. At any rate, I didn't think it would be such a good idea to have two such different styles side-by-side, so I will wait for another chance, probably next month. Meanwhile, that means I must frame some of my work, notably the pictures that are on canvas board instead of stretched canvas. With that in mind, I made a trip to Hobby Lobby this morning and bought frames at half price, but they still set me back about $80. Add to that the price of the canvases and paints that I just had to have, and the bill came to almost $140! This is an expensive hobby. When I display my pictures, I have been encouraged to put a price on them as the other ladies do, but I have no idea what to ask. They are asking $200-$300 for their work, but they aren't selling any, either. I don't think my work is worth nearly that, but it would be nice to recoup the cost of materials and frames. Maybe I'll put up prices in the $50 range. Makes more sense to me.

Meanwhile, I have entered two paintings that I did from Alissa's photos in the local festival art contest. The winner gets a ribbon, so it sure isn't for the money. I just like the idea of having something I painted on display somewhere besides my kids' homes, although I'm glad they like them enough to frame them and hang them up!

I have found a hobby that I really enjoy, and I am getting some time to pursue it. Life is good!

Welcome, Neshira and Aiva

2007-09-25T13:14:00.001-07:00

Neshira (Shira to me) and Aiva joined our family officially on Saturday, September 22. They have unofficially been part of us for the last year or so, but now it's official! I don't have very good pictures of the lovely wedding in the meadow of Pigeon Forge, TN, because I was busy just enjoying the event. Both Alissa and my sister Peggy took some lovely ones, though. Mine all seem to have been taken from the side and just of people milling around.

At any rate, it was a simple and beautiful wedding, and now Chip and Shira are enjoying a well-deserved honeymoon in the Smokies. They have a secluded cabin in the mountains, but they have easy access to all the tourist attractions that they can afford in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, TN as well as Cherokee, NC. I'm sure they won't lack for activities in that very busy and scenic area.

We are so pleased to add Shira and Aiva to our family. Shira is a lovely young woman who shares Chip's slightly offbeat interests and way of looking at life. They are both kind of like modern day hippies, and they enjoy simple pleasures. Both of them like poetry and music and have a deeper philosophical side that most of the rest of us Rausch's do not. They are both somewhat shy and self-effacing and are so well-matched. Shira makes our guy happy, and that is a major accomplishment! Chip spent many years waiting for just the right girl to come along, and now she has. He's ready to settle down and take care of his new family. Aiva, who will be three very soon, is just icing on the cake. She is a delightful and loving child, who, in spite of the picture above, usually has a big smile on her face. We love having a new granddaughter! We are so happy to have both of the ladies in our family and look forward to many happy years for the newlyweds and their daughter. Life is good!!

The Many Faces (and Hairstyles) of...

2007-09-18T17:17:00.000-07:00

...me! I know it has been awhile, but I am finally getting around to finding and posting pictures of me and my different hairstyles at various points in my life. You can see I have changed a great deal. Thanks for Peggy for most of the pictures. I took them off my "Happy 50th" poster that she made for my surprise party nine years ago...

As you can see, I've always been blonde, in some shade or another. Even now, not too much gray hair shows up in my darker blonde hair. As a child, my hair was platinum blonde, very fine, very thick, and very straight, although you can't tell it by all the pictures of me. Invariably, the pictures showed me with a fluffy hairdo. This was due to the diligent efforts of my mother, who washed my hair each Saturday night and then sat me on the floor between her knees and proceeded to torture me by twisting my hair into tight pin curls that were secured by bobby pins, many of which had lost the protective rubber tip. This started when I was very small--the first picture you see was taken when I was four, and in the second shot I was about six or seven. Every Sunday my hair was a combination of fluff and frizz, and it got progressively less curly throughout the week. I remember growing hair long enough for a ponytail when I was about eight, but I think my mom thought this was too much trouble to maintain because I went back to short hair after that. About that time, Mom tried home permanents, which left me feeling like a ball of frizz, and I hated them. They were stinky and ugly. I think I continued to get them until I was in junior high, when I took over my own styling. At that time, I swore I would never get another perm--more on that later.

When I started fixing my own hair, I did the brush roller thing. Since my hair was so fine and I didn't want perms, I had to roll my hair every night and sleep on the curlers. Picture number three shows how I looked throughout much of high school, although with different hair lengths. I would get a short haircut at the beginning of each summer and let my hair grow until the next summer, with longer hair in the winter. My hair was odd and hard to style, and keeping it pretty was complicated by the fact that I wouldn't tease my hair or use hairspray because I hated the way it made my hair feel. And I wanted that soft and smooth hair because I was a hair twirler. I had a specific hank of hair that I fooled with much of the time, and it felt good between my fingers. When I was in high school, the look was a flip hairstyle, which you see in picture number four. Usually I couldn't achieve this look, and one side flipped up and the other turned under, but I seem to have managed it in this picture when I was 18.

About that time, hairstyles began to change, and long, straight hair was in. Finally, a low-maintenance look! The next two pictures show that style. The close-up was my senior college picture and the one used in my engagement announcement that ran in the paper.

I kept my long hair throughout college and the first several years of marriage, but in my mid-twenties, I was ready for a change, and I got it. I got a shag haircut with many different lengths, and it lasted several years. From that point on, I kept my short hair as it was easier to care for and keep neat, and with three kids, that was a necessity.

During my 30's, I thought I needed to do something to jazz up my flat hair, so I started getting perms (done by a professional), even though I was leery of the frizzy look I had had as a child. The perms weren't frizzy, but I still felt like a poodle when a perm was new. It began to look good about 2-3 months after I got it. I never did figure out a way to get a perm that didn't leave me too curly in the beginning, so I abandoned the perms a few years ago. I now get my hair cut about every 5-6 weeks and use a curling iron when I wash it. I still don't put much effort into styling it, but my hairdresser has been cutting my hair for over 20 years, and she has got it down to a science. It's very easy to maintain a neat look. I am proud to say that I have never colored my hair, although I do confess to occasionally using a spray that is 50% peroxide and 50% water to keep it from getting too mousy in color.

I have always considered my hair one of my better features because it is naturally blond and very soft and silky to the touch. It's not fancy, but it is my style, which is unadorned and down-to-earth. It fits me to a tee, I guess. Now you know more than you ever really wanted about my hair. I'll try to think of something more interesting next time...

I'm Still Alive...

2007-09-06T18:10:00.000-07:00

It seems to have been a few weeks since I have had a chance to post anything. It has been extremely busy around here. Now that the old guy is feeling well, he goes with me most of the time when I have somewhere to go, and then we end up going somewhere else. Between Curves, doctor appointments, hair appointments, getting my car fixed, and a few social occasions tossed in, it seems we have had something on the docket to do every day from September 4 through September 14 and many other days as well. For various reasons, I will be missing my painting session for three weeks in a row. Of course, one of those Mondays was a holiday, so the library wasn't open anyway. And this coming Monday is Grandparents' Day at Drew's school, and I'd much rather be there!

We have still been looking at travel trailers and patio homes, even though we won't be getting one of either for at least a year. We have found a few patio homes we really like, and I think the old guy is getting ready in his mind to make the move. I expect it will be a few years, but just looking at the new homes makes me eager to move to a new place with not so much maintenance. Of course, that means we need to go through all the things we have accumulated over the years and cull out the things that are most important to us. Better we do this now than wait until we are so old that the task becomes overwhelming instead of just daunting, as it is now.

Because we have been so busy, I have had very little downtime to be at the computer or even to read, and I find myself longing for a quiet afternoon at home as much as I longed for activity early in the year. Guess I'm never satisfied. :)

Reading Alissa's post about hairstyles the other day made me think about the various hairstyles I have had over the years. I found a few pictures. As soon as I have time to scan them, that will make a humorous post, I'm sure. Meanwhile, life is good (and busy!)...

Why I Blog...

2007-08-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

This is in response to Alissa's post. I started blogging because it seemed all the other females in my family were doing it, and I felt left out. So, in spite of the fact that I usually have little to say, I decided to start a blog of my own, figuring I would put my paintings up there for family members to see. Of course, for the last two weeks, I haven't been able to get the last two paintings to upload. Last week's was so-so, but I am proud of this week's, so I will keep trying,

I was one of those people who didn't tell someone that I was doing this. I didn't tell the old guy because he has nothing good to say about computers, e-mail, blogs, or any of that stuff. I believe that if he would get interested in it, he would like it, but he much prefers television, telephone, and face-to-face contact, which isn't always feasible. Now I never lied about it, and he never asked, so the rest of the family and I just didn't mention it. However, a few weeks ago, he did ask about it, so I told him that I did have a blog, mainly to share my paintings. He just "Oh," and that was that. Of course, he hasn't ever asked to look at it, and that's fine with me, as I do mention him occasionally. The blog was especially helpful when he was sick. I could keep several people posted at one time.

Nowadays, I still like to post my paintings, if I can, but sometimes I just like to write to vent about things or share birthday memoirs and other memories. It's fun to read about others' histories and compare them with my own. And of course, I love reading about the grandkids and seeing Alissa's photos of them and other scenery. I can use her scenic photos as resources and often do. I look at blogging as another means of communicating with the outside world, even though only a handful of people read my blog. Actually, that's quite enough as I would never be able to keep up with lots of other blogs!

I imagine that I will keep this up for awhile because I enjoy it. Unlike Alissa, I don't blog every day, but I try to make it once a week or so. This way, I don't feel much pressure to find something to write about. I just write when the muse strikes. Like now...

Well, I just tried to put the pics up again, and there they are. The first is of Flathead Lake in Montana, and some of it is cut off because it's too big for the scanner. People in my art group told me this one was "Very bright," before I even added the bright green grass. I can assure you the colors were as bright in the newspaper photo. The second on is an Oregon sunset. I did it today, and I really like how the colors came out in it. The pros did, too. Life is good...

In Spite of the Dire Predictions...

2007-08-16T12:56:00.000-07:00

... the old guy's kidneys are back to almost normal function. I had felt that this would be the case, but he and the doctor were concerned, and it made him worry needlessly. However, I guess he wouldn't be happy without something to worry about! :) Meanwhile, after a few rocky weeks, he seems to have recovered his equilibrium, and I have noticed a big change in him. He has started taking an interest in household chores and maintenance that he has been too lethargic to bother with for the last several years. My pantry and kitchen have been reorganized, the carpets have been cleaned, and outdoor maintenance is being done as well. We have been browsing in travel trailers and patio homes, and now he actually seems interested in getting one of each. Of course, I realize that any other adverse event will affect all this, but for now we are enjoying ourselves.

Meanwhile, a few other random thoughts, as Alissa would say. There was supposed to be a painting of Flathead Lake on this post, but after 3 tries at uploading the image and being kicked offline, I decided to wait with it for another time. Such is life, I guess. I wanted some feedback on this one, too, so I will definitely try again when blogger isn't being so temperamental.

School is back in session again, and the neighbors have all parked out in front of our house to wait for the bus. Seems their middle schoolers can't walk a half-mile down the road to get home. We will be "blessed" with several cars parked out front and people out of them chatting for 30 or more minutes each school day until June, I guess. For some reason, this bothers me, and it doesn't bother the old guy. It used to be the other way around, but we seemed to have changed on that front. I just don't like people parking on the grass which is right-of-way, but that we maintain and then settling in and blocking traffic. Guess I'm the old curmudgeon now.

We are having a heat wave and drought right about now, and we have had an average daily high of 98.1 degrees since Aug. 1. And no rain, either. Today it's 105 out there. They keep predicting a break in the weather, but it hasn't happened so far.

Belated happy birthdays to Alissa and Chip. Chip turned 30 on Aug. 9, and Alissa became 33 yesterday. We haven't had a chance to celebrate with either of them yet, so we will be having a joint celebration on Aug. 25, when we can all get together. Chip is now sharing his birthday with his new baby cousin (Welcome to Grant and Congratulations to Matt and Whitney!), so celebrations will probably be combined more often in the future. It seems that as the kids grow older and other family members join us, it is getting harder and harder to find a time when everyone can get together and celebrate. Again, that's life, I guess.

Our grandson started first grade this year and was very proud to do so, but he is having some beginning-of-school adjustment problems. I feel sure things will settle down soon, but I do remember dealing with those kinds of problems, both from a parent's perspective and from the teacher's. All there is to say about that is that I'm glad my kids are grown and that I'm retired. Someone else can fight the good fight now!

Guess that's enough randomness. As always, life is good...

A Day Late and a Dollar Short...

2007-08-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my dad's birthday. He became 84 years young . This is my dad when he was a young boy and this year. He had that steel guitar, but I don't think he became very skilled at playing it. He was an only child and was pampered, but not too much, by his mom. She did stuff like cut crusts off his sandwiches and fix ONLY Franco-American spaghetti, but he did not turn out to be a spoiled brat. He graduated early from high school and married my mom when he was not quite 20 years old. Shortly after that, he joined the Navy during World War II. He served on a radio repair ship in the Pacific. When he came home, he was a father as well as a husband and son, and my family settled into a post-war life. He began working at GE, where he worked until he retired. He always regretted that he didn't get a chance to go to college, but he worked hard and earned himself a professional engineer certification.

During the time I was growing up, Dad was the main breadwinner while Mom took care of the household. However, when he came home from work each evening, he had plenty of time for us. He would do things like lie on the floor and fly us like Superman or get into our little wading pool and cool off with us. Every year he and Mom took us on a neat family vacation, one week to someplace we hadn't visited before and one week to Erie to visit our grandparents. I looked forward to those summer trips, and it's probably where I developed my love of travel that I still have. He was a strict disciplinarian, but a loving one,and we toed the line. No matter where we were playing in the neighborhood, when he came outside and whistled, we came running. It was suppertime or time to go somewhere.

Once all of us grew up and left home, it was just Mom and Dad, and they got along just fine without us. They traveled together, settling finally on winters in Panama City Beach, Florida, in the mid-1980's. Dad still winters in the same spot now. Mom and Dad were each other's support during the health crises they both suffered and during the time following my grandparents' illnesses and deaths. Dad saw how much his father had depended on his mother for everything and how he deteriorated after her death. Without knowing he would later be in the same situation, Dad vowed then not to let the same thing happen to him. And it didn't. During the time of my mom's illness, Dad picked up the slack and did all the household chores and took care of her, in spite of having such painful knees that he could hardly walk himself. He became very adept at caring for her and for his own needs, which would serve him well after she died.

After Mom died, Dad made a conscious decision to go on and try to enjoy life, and he has done well at it. He has had his knees replaced and remains healthy and clear-minded. He does things that will keep his mind active, and he doesn't seem anywhere near his age. People hear that he is 84, and they immediately think of him as nursing home material, but he's not. I just think of him as Dad, the go-to guy he has always been. I don't worry about him driving or going places by himself. He is very capable of taking care of himself, and he is justifiably proud of it. Of course I wish him many more happy years of traveling to Florida and enjoying the company of his friends. Happy Birthday, Dad!

P.S. I forgot to say that I admire and love my dad ever so much. I hope I age as gracefully as he has!

Sunrise, Sunset...

2007-07-31T13:25:00.001-07:00

We go from a sunrise in the Smokies to a sunset in the desert. I guess the theme is scenery. I can't paint pictures of people or animals, but I seem to do okay at scenery. I ended up scanning both pictures directly to a file, so some of the picture is missing because the canvas was bigger than the scanner. In the picture of the Smokies, there is supposed to be a pale yellow sun coming out of the clouds at the right of the picture, so imagine it there, if you will.

Other than that, I don't have much to say. In spite of the lovely summer weather, I have been feeling kind of down, which is unusual for me, cockeyed optimist that I usually am. I guess everyone goes through down periods once in a while, but I sure would like to regain my usual cheerfulness. It make life so much better to look through rose-colored glasses than gray-tinted ones, even if it isn't always realistic. I'm sure this will pass, though, because, as you know, life is good...

Oh, Well...

2007-07-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

You were going to be "treated" to a picture of my latest painting, of a desert sunset, but I couldn't get it to upload. So you will just have to imagine the silhouettes of saguaro cacti against a background of a sky that darkens from a brilliant yellow to a coral pink to deep purple. Maybe I will try to post it next week when I paint another scene. Otherwise, you will just have to visualize it. I chose the Sonoran desert for a subject because I loved visiting it almost as much as I love the beach, and I knew I needed to paint something different. It turned out pretty well, I guess, but you may never know.

On another note, the old guy and I went to visit Alissa, Andy, and the boys last weekend for the big birthday bash. A good time was had by all. This was our first visit there in almost a year, and it was also our first overnight trip in just about as long. I think the old guy viewed the trip with some trepidation, but we were both pleasantly surprised by how well he did. I know it tired him, but we both saw that he can make short trips like this without too much duress. That's a plus! :)

However, just as we thought it was safe to get back into the water (to quote "Jaws")and health issues were improving, we went to the doctor today to get the results of the monthly bloodwork. While my cholesterol was responding pretty well to the Crestor, it seems I will need a larger dose to get the numbers where the doctor wants them. Not a big deal. Unfortunately, the old guy didn't get as good a report. It seems his creatinine number is up, and the doctor is concerned. This has happened before, and reducing the dose of furosemide has brought the number back where it should be. So he has to cut his dose of furosemide in half and check it again in a few weeks. While this isn't great news, it could be worse. However, the old guy being who he is, is very worried. He has been waiting for the other shoe to drop for some time, and now it has. He said, very seriously, as we came home, that by next year at this time, he will probably be on dialysis! I think he is overreacting, but I do understand. He has been through a lot, and he has grown to always expect the worst. I know he is concerned that he will begin retaining water again. It seems it is a very delicate balance. It promises to be a very long two weeks. Hopefully, he will cheer up some and we can have a grandson visit. That would be diverting--at least for me! :) Anyway, we wait and remember that life is good.

Hmmm....

2007-07-18T19:26:00.001-07:00

This seems to be one of those few occasions when I am at a loss for a topic. I like to update the blog around once a week, but my life isn't too exciting these days. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Retirement is far preferable to working, at least the job I had. I always thought I was born to be a teacher (and I do believe you have to be born to it), I loved being a teacher, and I think I was a pretty effective one--when I actually had some say in the way I taught and how my daily routine was organized. Unfortunately, the job of teaching, at least at the school where I worked, is not what it once was. Nowadays, the day is rigidly constructed for you, and all of the lessons must be closely coordinated with the other teachers in your grade. You must all teach the same lessons at the same time each day. Many of the lessons are strictly scripted. There is no room for individual differences in teaching styles or in learning styles and abilities of the students. If they don't get it, too bad. You must be ready to go on to the next lesson when the other classes do. And now, to further complicate things, they are going to try to coordinate throughout the entire district, and students will be tested quarterly on the computer to make sure they are learning the material. There does not seem to be room for the teachable moment or the fun things like art projects or learning centers like we used to employ. It's all business and all about the test scores these days.

Don't get me wrong. I always teamed up with my friend, and we planned our lessons together to teach the same things. However, we didn't necessarily teach the lessons at the same time, and if one of us fell behind a little, the other made changes to fill the extra time. Lesson plans were often revised and carried over if we didn't cover them due to teachable moments, slow learners, or classroom interruptions. We had similar teaching styles, but we weren't clones, and that was fine. Now I feel like a robot could do the job. Of course, I am no longer involved, so maybe it works better than it sounds, and this does seem to be the wave of the future of education. New teachers seem to accept it okay. However, my friends who have been in teaching for awhile don't much like all the new strictures. I guess that's one reason I am glad to be retired. I long for schools to be like the ones I loved as a child, and they are LONG gone. I had thought I would miss my job and the kids when I retired, but oddly enough, I don't. I don't go back to the school to visit, and when school starts next month, I will be glad to be sleeping in!

I'm not saying that I would never be interested in being involved in the schools in some way. I think school is in my blood. I love going into a school and experiencing the familiar sights, sound, and smell that is part and parcel of it. I just want to be there on my own terms--like reading stories to kids or tutoring them in some way--when I feel like it.

Well, it seems I had something to write about, after all. I just had to get rolling! Life is good...

Calgon, Take Me Away...

2007-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

That used to be the advertising slogan for a brand of bath beads many years ago. A woman who had had a stressful day would get into a bathtub full of Calgon Bath Beads, and immediately she would feel as if she were somewhere far away and fun to be, all alone. Funny, it never worked that way for me. I just felt coated with oil when I tried it. I guess I just have to find other ways to get away.

Thus the picture. I went back to my favorite subject this week and did a watercolor. I do believe acrylic is my medium, but I think I need to branch out once in awhile. Just painting this idyllic scene relaxed me.

That doesn't mean, however, that I don't need a vacation. I really, really do. We live in a very small town about halfway between areas where there are shopping and entertainment venues. We have little of that in Lebanon Junction. When I want or need to do these things, the fastest way to get to where I want to be is by I-65, which is a major north-south artery. People from the north are headed to the beaches in the south, and people from the south are headed to the metropolis's in the north. There are ALWAYS vehicles from all kinds of states on the road, and it is even more crowded with travelers this time of year. This makes me very jealous. There is not an occasion when I get on that road in either direction that I would not like to just keep on going. I guess that, unlike Alissa and her dad, I was just born with the wanderlust, which it seems only Doug, the youngest, has inherited. It doesn't appear as if a long vacation is in the near future for me, and I understand why. However, I must admit to getting very restless at this time of year and wishing to go somewhere, anywhere.

Fortunately for me, our grandsons are having their annual birthday bash next week, and their grandfather wants to go. I have made reservations at a motel with a pool for two nights, and I am planning to make the best of them. We probably could get by with only staying one night, but Terry doesn't have all that much stamina yet, and I thought it would be hard for him to make the drive and the party in all one day. And this way, we get to see each of the boys on his very own birthday. This will be my summer vacation.

Not only that, I will get a short trip in the fall, too, as Chip and Shira are planning a destination wedding in Pigeon Forge, TN. This makes another weekend trip, since it is about 5 hours away. And the parents of the groom must be there, after all.

See, I just need to be patient. Even if I am not making the trip from Vancouver, B.C. all the way down the west coast to Ensenada, Mexico, this year, I am not giving up on it just yet. I probably should, but that's the trip I have always wanted to take, and maybe one of these days it will happen. Meanwhile, I will be content with short trips to Hopkinsville, KY and Pigeon Forge, TN and be grateful to the kids who are making this opportunity possible for me! Life is good...

Monday Muse--On Wednesday?!

2007-06-27T12:33:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I'm a little late in getting this posted. After a hiatus of a few months due to Terry's health problems and a few holidays, I returned to the library for the weekly painting sessions a few weeks ago. These are my two latest efforts, both taken from photos by Alissa. I am attempting to branch out from my beach pictures to other scenery and flowers, but I think I am still better at the beach pictures. I guess they are right when they say you should paint what you like, and the beach and the desert are what I really like. Not that I don't like other scenery or flowers, but they are not my strongest talent.

Having said that, I will say that I entered two pictures that were previously posted here (March 31 and April 7) in the Bullitt County Fair just to see what would come of it. I ended up winning a blue ribbon for my watercolor of the mountains and lake and a red ribbon for my picture of Alissa's country road at dawn. I actually liked the red ribbon picture better than the blue ribbon one, but I wasn't the judge. I also won $8, to spend on art supplies, I guess. I was pleased, but I suspect that my two paintings were the only ones entered by an adult. I don't know that for sure, as I didn't go to the fair, but I can't imagine winning both first and second place in a pool of other entries. And none of the artist ladies that go to the library on Mondays entered anything, either. Anyway, I was pleased for the ribbons and for my pictures to hang somewhere for awhile where someone besides my family sees them. I truly think I have painted better pictures than the ones I entered, but most of my best work is in the homes of Alissa and Doug. They like my beach and desert work, too!

I guess next week I will try a watercolor again, as I've done acrylics for the last three weeks. I am not as comfortable with watercolor as acrylic, but I think I need to do one every once in a while just to keep from forgetting how to do them. Of course, many of my watercolor pictures end up looking like acrylic ones anyway, but that's okay. Art is all about what the beholder sees, anyway. I am always striving to make my work look like the photo or the scenery from which I am painting, but a lot of people are a lot more abstract and less detail-oriented when they paint, and their work appeals to many viewers, too. I guess that's what makes it art!

(P.S. I just went back to proof-read this, and I noticed that I scanned the flower picture upside down. I don't think it matters a whole lot, except that the shadowed petals were on the bottom when I painted it. Of course, when Terry looked at it, he said it looked better sideways because what I painted as buds on the side looked like a stem to him! Like I said, it's all in the eye of the beholder!)

Caught!

2007-06-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

When I was at the doctor with Terry last week, I asked the doctor to write me a new prescription for my allergy pills. He said he would, and I should ask the nurse to pull my chart so he could note it. They couldn't find my chart since I hadn't been there for myself in over 3 years. That's when he said that maybe I should come in and have some bloodwork done. Now I have bloodwork done every month at the rheumatologist's office, and he checks everything under the sun--except cholesterol. So my primary care doctor wanted a cholesterol check. Since I haven't had it done in almost 10 years, I readily agreed. I didn't expect a problem, in spite of my generous size. The last time it was checked I was as large as I am now, and it was 200, which was at the high end of normal. Since that time, I have improved my diet and my exercise routine. My cholesterol was bound to go down, right? Not! When the doctor walked in the room with the results, he had this long face and serious manner. He said I was not all right, after all. My cholesterol was 265, and my bad cholesterol was about 65 points higher than it should be. I think my triglycerides were high, too, but the good cholesterol was okay. Go figure. I asked him how this could be when I eat a low-fat, low cholesterol diet and exercise regularly. He said it was probably hereditary. Anyway, he sent me on my way with samples of Crestor to take. He acted as if things were serious, but I noticed that he gave me the pills with the minimum dosage, so I doubt that I am in danger of having my veins clog up tomorrow. He also didn't tell me to change my diet and lose weight. I am to take them for a month and see if they make a difference. Surely they will.

I have managed for many years to escape issues with blood pressure, diabetes, and cholesterol in spite of my weight. I guess I was bound to get caught sooner or later. At least the blood pressure is still good, and the sugar is fine. Overall, my health is very good, in spite of the rheumatoid arthritis, so I'm not worried about a little cholesterol problem. Things could be SO much worse. Life is good...

Happy Father's Day..

2007-06-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

..to all the fathers everywhere who love and care for their kids. I know several who fit that category, starting with my own very wonderful dad, continuing with my kids' equally wonderful dad, and going on from there to the next generation. I think being a father is a very tough job that is sometimes underappreciated by society. While becoming a father has always happened in the same way, the being of a father has changed a great deal, just in my lifetime.

When I was growing up in the 50's, fathers had very defined parameters. They were the "breadwinners" who mainly were responsible for outdoor jobs and home repairs. Many, if not most, fathers were the main disciplinarians for the family. "Wait until your father comes home" was a familiar refrain for mothers, and it was expected that father would deal sternly with misbehavior when he came home from work each day. Most evenings fathers would come home to a home-cooked meal and then relax the rest of the evening. I must say that my dad did not necessarily fit that stereotype. He did do all the outdoor work and repairs, but he also cooked once a week to give my mom a break. He was not above housework and he played with us kids. I remember him lying on the floor many a night and "flying us like Superman." My mom mainly took care of our punishments as the misdeeds occurred, but if Dad was around he took equal part.

Of course, things began to change in the 60's. Many women began exercising their abilities and talents with jobs outside the home. It was expected that dads carry equal parts of the household load, and this was naturally not well received among many males. Change was slow. I think it was hard for the dads to relinquish their "sole breadwinner" status, although it became increasingly necessary to add second incomes to families.

Things progressed slowly in the 70's when Terry became a father. He was a great and involved dad, but since I was a stay-at-home mom, he didn't feel the need to be involved in the daily running of the house and childcare. He played with the kids and taught them lots, but as he told me, "Changing diapers just didn't do much" for him (like it did for me, apparently).

Then during the 80's, I became a working mom, and Terry stepped up and helped with some of the household chores and the childcare, but he was still more interested in his farm than the house. I can't complain because I had absolutely no interest in the farm and more in the house. We balanced out pretty well. The kids helped him outside, and helped me inside. Life wasn't all work, but you certainly couldn't say that we didn't expect the kids to do their part!

Fatherhood in the 90's and up to now has really become a full partnership. A father is no longer the distant authority figure that existed in the early part of the 20th century and before. A good 21st century dad changes diapers, drops off the kids and picks them up from the babysitter, babysits so Mom can get a break, picks up the toys, and cooks meals as well as playing with and disciplining the kids. I think this is a great change, and I admire all those young fathers who want to be and are so involved with their kids.

Of course, we still have the uninvolved and distant fathers. I feel sorry for them and more for their kids. They are missing out on one of life's greatest pleasures. Being a father is a huge responsibility. I am so glad that the men I know take it seriously. Happy Father's Day to them!

I've Been Tagged..

2007-06-10T17:52:00.001-07:00

..and I thought it would be easy, but my computer wouldn't copy the list of questions from Alissa's blog, so I am having to try and retype them. Hope I am fairly accurate. These questions are supposed to have one word answers, I believe, so I'll try, even though I am definitely a more wordy person than that...

1. Where is your cell phone? table
2. Relationship? married
3. Hair? blonde
4. Your sister? younger
5. Work? retired
6. Your favorite thing? peace
7. What was your dream last night? unremembered
8. Your favorite drink? Diet Dr. Pepper
9. Your dream car?convertible
10. What room are you in? family room
11. Shoes? sandals
12. Fears? guns
13. How do you see yourself in 10 years?content
14. Who did you hang out with this weekend? Terry
15. What are you not good at? math
16. Favorite muffin? lemon poppyseed
17. Wish list item?RV
18. Where you grew up? Louisville
19. What is the last thing you did? shower
20. What are you wearing? Pajamas
21. What aren't you wearing? robe
22. Pet? cat
23. Computer? two
24. Life? Good!
25. Mood? pleasant
26. Missing? grandkids
27. What are you thinking now? remembering
28. Car? Blazer
29. Kitchen? messy
30. Summer? favorite
31. Favorite color? yellow
32. When was the last time you laughed? today
33. When was the last time you cried? Wednesday
34. School? career
35. Love? certainly!

Whew! I did it! Now anyone else who cares to do this can do so with my encouragement.

Birthday Season Is Here!

2007-06-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'll bet most people don't think of birthdays as having a season, but in our family, they seem to. Of the 18 family members that live in Kentucky, 14 of us have birthdays in June, July, and August. Isn't that amazing? Those other 4 must feel like the odd men (or women) out. :) This probably isn't a big deal in most families, but ours goes all out for birthdays, which means an active round of parties every summer.

I guess we need a little history here. When I was just 5 years old, my immediate family (parents, brother, and sister) moved to Kentucky from Pennsylvania. We were apart from all the extended family, so we had small birthday parties. I don't ever remember having a party that was for other kids to come. However, my mom made birthdays a big deal for us kids, all of whom had summer birthdays. We didn't have to do any chores on our birthday, got a supper of our favorite foods, and the cake flavor of our choice, with homemade 7-minute frosting in the color or our choice. Yum! Added to this was a generous portion of presents. In short, our birthdays were special, and I loved being "queen for a day," so to speak.

Even as we grew up, birthdays remained a big deal. We all married, and 2 of the 3 spouses had summer birthdays, too. They were added to the party list, but to be honest, I don't think they understood or appreciated (at least Terry didn't) how special the birthdays were. Terry caught on and had a couple of big surprise parties for me, but he never wanted to do anything special for his.

As we started having kids of our own, my brother Bob and his family moved out of state, and they fell out of the party rotation. However, my 3 kids and my sister Peg's 2 kids all had summer birthdays, some quite close together. Alissa and Chip, for example, are only 6 days apart. At this time, Terry lobbied for us to combine their birthdays into one celebration, but I steadfastly refused. Like my mom before me, I wanted each child to feel special on his or her particular birthday. There were already a lot of parties and birthday gifts, but it was still a manageable amount.

Then the kids started getting married. Of the 5 kids, 4 of their spouses or fiancees have summer birthdays. Now the number was getting unwieldy. Add in 2 in the next generation and one on the way, and it's really out of control. The grown kids couldn't always get to every party due to work, being out of town, or other obligations. It was getting very expensive to buy presents for every birthday, especially for the young people. A few years ago, it was suggested that we do one big celebration for the whole family on one day and draw names for gifts. We did this, and it was a fun event, but it seemed that my sister and I were probably reluctant to let our family tradition die out just like that. We continued to host parties for our own kids, and we invited all to come if they wanted. Just no gifts were exchanged. That us how we have continued. My dad continues to host parties for my sister and me, and we still get to be "queen for a day." People come when they can, but there is no pressure, and we no longer exchange the gifts with extended family, which came as a relief, I'm sure to the younger generation!

At any rate, the birthday season begins today with Neshira, Chip's fiancee. She is 24 today, and she doesn't like big deals for birthdays, I'm told, so there won't be a big party for her. However, we still wish her a happy birthday! On Monday, I will be the next, celebrating year number 59, the last year before I am officially old, I guess. We'll go to Dad's that day. On Wednesday, we will be celebrating Doug's 27th. The party will be here. Then we'll have a break until July, when most of my sister's family and our Kellie will celebrate. In August, we'll have Matt, my nephew, Dad, Alissa, and Chip and the new great nephew. That will wrap up the party season, I guess. It will be a busy summer, and I love it! Life is good...

An Idyllic Spot

2007-05-26T17:33:00.001-07:00

As a response to a request from Sue, here are a few pictures of our pond. You may have to look close to see the water, but it's there. Alissa probably has some much better pictures of it than I do, as she is the much better photographer. However, it's not about the pictures, but about the pond...

The pond is on the right rear quadrant of our 10-acre hobby "farm." Actually, it used to be a working hobby farm, but now it is mostly just a pretty pastoral setting. Our house is located at the left front quadrant of the property, so the pond is about as far from the house as you can be and still be on our property. It is far removed in time, too, I guess. Back at the pond, there are no sounds of television or even much of cars or machinery, despite the fact that it is not far from a small road that runs behind it. It is very quiet and peaceful, and the only sounds you usually hear are birds or frogs. It sits in a wooded copse, and there is a large hill that blocks the view of the house.

Once upon a time, in our first years at the farm, the pond was used by cows and horses for watering. It was a vital source for livestock water, especially in winter when the kids and I would bundle up and drag back there to break the ice with a sledgehammer so the animals could drink. However, the pond, which was never very deep to begin with, dried up in the summer of 1984, when we had a drought around here. The bottom cracked open, and for several years, water would seep out the bottom, and since it is not spring-fed, the pond almost became extinct. That's about the time the pine tree died and fell across and above the surface. We left it there for frogs and turtles to use. Around about 1990, the floor had resealed itself, and now the pond survives as a small reflecting surface and home to frogs, turtles, bugs, and an occasional snake.

It's also a retreat of sorts for me, as it used to be for Alissa and her friend Jennifer when they were kids. Now I like to take my book, my lawn chair, and a Diet Dr. Pepper back there on pleasant afternoons and escape from the noise of life. I take the walkie-talkie with me in case Terry needs to get in touch with me, but mainly I just either read, doze, or just listen to the sounds of nature. It's idyllic, indeed.

When we finally pack up our stuff and leave this house to Doug and Kellie, I will miss having the pond to escape to. But I know that Kellie will enjoy it just like I do, and future grandchildren will explore back there just like our kids did. Meanwhile, life is good...

A Beautiful Spring Day

2007-05-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

Today was just about a perfect day. It was warm, but not hot. It was sunny and absolutely clear--no haze in the air, no clouds in the sky--with a gentle breeze. This is the kind of day that is ideal for a Sunday drive in the country. As I fed and watered my flowers and did some weeding, honorable tasks for sure, I found myself daydreaming about being somewhere else besides home. Of course, last week at this time, I was very glad to be home. It beat the hospital! Now I was dreaming about being somewhere else. Things can sure change in a week.

Generally, things have gone well the past week, and life is slowly returning to normal around here. However, due to the constraints of home health care, Terry is homebound for the time being. I know I could have taken a drive without him, but I didn't want to leave him here all by himself. Besides, I like to ride on our Sunday drives and absorb all the sights. When I'm driving, I have to concentrate on the road. Terry has always been the driver and wouldn't have it any other way. Recently that's changed, however. It seems that since November I have been the driver in the family. He has just not felt like getting behind the wheel. He won't even attempt to get into his beloved truck, which he bought new last May and hasn't been in since November 1, when he drove to the hospital to have his hip replaced. I don't mind being the driver and the errand runner for the most part, but Sunday drives and vacations are the exception.

I miss the short vacation trips we like to take. I really miss the leisurely trips to see Alissa and Andy and the boys. I even miss just rides into Louisville and around town. I know that they will be back eventually, and I count on that. It's just that days like this make me long for them sooner rather than later. I guess I could wish for rain and nasty weather, but I don't want to do that. Right now I will content myself with taking walks and going back to the pond or sitting on the porch with a good book. I'll take advantage of this lull in the activity of our life. It will be busy again soon enough. And I'll remember that life is good....

Happy Mother's Day..

2007-05-13T11:55:00.001-07:00

..to the young mothers and those who want to be this day. I know that I am a mother and that once a mother, always a mother. However, I really don't think of Mother's Day for mothers like me. I have done the majority of my job as a mom and have passed the more active torch to the younger generation. I can now sleep in on most mornings and can eat on a schedule that suits me. I read lots of books and pursue hobbies at my leisure. My house, although it gets dusty, doesn't really get messy most of the time (except maybe the kitchen and my desk!). I am not constantly running errands and ferrying kids around. I no longer have to dread report card day during the school year. I don't even have to keep track of the school year. There ARE benefits to being old and retired..

However, I remember the days when it seemed I would never get enough sleep, and I would just keep repeating, "Calgon, take me away!" The exploits of the grandchildren which so amuse me nowadays used to be frustrating and infuriating when the young kids were my own. I remember going into stores and having the kids hide in the clothing racks, and then when I would find them, they would flinch away from me as if I were going to beat them silly, which was not something I did. I remember trying to get them to take a nap or go to bed and have them pop out continually for one or another reason. I remember wet beds and sleepwalking and sick children whom I couldn't make comfortable. And much of this was during the time I was a stay-at-home mom. I don't know how well I would have been able to handle a job, too!

To be fair, I also remember bouquets of flowers picked from the fields, homemade cards, lots of fun swimming in the pool, and seeing school programs. I remember impish grins and silly jokes. I remember family vacations, birthdays, and holidays that were joyful. I remember many instances where the kids made me proud and happy.

Life as a mother is a mixed bag, but it's always a blessing. I am glad that our children have grown and have taken their places as responsible members of society. I am proud of all three of them and the life mates they have chosen. I am thrilled to be a grandma, a little more indulgent than I was as a mother.

Today's young mothers have more challenges than I had to face when my kids were small. We didn't worry so much about poison in Halloween candy or internet predators or stranger dangers. Our children didn't seem to be tempted by drugs, which were around, but not so prevalent as today. The most offensive music then couldn't hold a candle to what is being played today. Television shows for families abounded, and children were able to remain children longer than they are today. It's so hard to keep kids innocent today, and I think that's important when raising them. They have to have time to develop naturally on their own and not be forced into maturity before they are ready. It's a tough job being a mother and nurturer today, and my hat's off to all of the young mothers I know for taking on the job and doing it so well. Happy Mother's Day to Alissa, Shira, and Kellie (aunt extraordinaire, to this point...)!

Random Reflections on the Hospital

2007-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

We have returned home tonight from 25 days in the hospital. During that time, Terry was in 5 different rooms on 3 different floors and had a ton of tests and x-rays, and he had one surgery. He was visited daily by no less than 5 doctors and as many as 8. Since most of the doctors were from practices with multiple members, he didn't see the same specialist each day. Actually he saw over 20 doctors and added at least 5 new medications to his daily allotment. We have returned home exhausted from the experience. We think Terry is healthier, but he still has issues that aren't resolved and may never be. Seems the origin of his problems is still vague, and he isn't willing to do everything the doctors suggest might help. The big sticking point is the BiPap machine. He is claustrophobic and insists he couldn't get used to it. I tend to agree, and I don't see forcing it. He has managed this long, and he may not live as long as he would if he used the machine, but who's to say? Being fat is also a danger to your health, I'm told, and I'm not dieting! Anyway, I doubt the BiPap machine is going to solve the fluid in the lungs problem or the colitis.

The hospital where we were is a very nice one and well-kept. All the personnel were friendly and eager to make sure we were satisfied. They provided me a bed so I could stay when Terry was in a private room. It was a very uncomfortable roll-away bed, but it was better than sleeping in a chair. The dietary staff bent over backward to try to find something my unhungry and newly picky husband would eat. Since he was sick from the staph infection last winter, food doesn't taste like it used to, and he doesn't like much anymore. They brought him soup, oatmeal, and bananas every day so that he would at least eat something.

The nurses were all very efficient, and most were very friendly. Some were more solicitous than others, but they were all spread pretty thin, as were the aides. Some of them were great, others not so much. However, because they were so busy, sometimes Terry had to wait way too long when he needed help. That's one reason that I stayed when I could.

They do things at weird hours in hospitals. Blood is drawn between 3 and 4 in the morning. Blood pressure and blood sugar are checked at 5 A.M. for the first time of the day. A CT scan was done at 8 in the evening.

Cafeteria food is pretty good, but it is expensive when you must eat it 2-3 meals a day. After the first week, you've seen their whole rotation, and it gets pretty old. It's hard to force yourself to eat healthy meals at all times, especially when they have these neat pudding parfaits on display every day. The hospital where we were didn't have a lot of places nearby to eat that you could walk to easily, so unless I took the kids out somewhere, I usually ate there. I was able to take the food upstairs, though, and eat with Terry, which was nice. I could even do this when he was in the Open Heart Unit. (No, there wasn't a problem with his heart, but his surgeon is a heart, thoracic, and vascular surgeon, and he likes his patients to recover in the OHU.)

I was very appreciative of the fact that I was welcomed and catered to and that nobody seemed to think that I was in the way. It was okay if I helped out, but it wasn't expected of me. All of our questions were patiently answered by anyone.

Doctors don't have answers for everything, but they try. In the past, we have had some problems with the attitudes of some doctors, but this time they tried their best to explain when they could and admitted it when they couldn't. I think they did prescribe more medications than Terry needs, but we can work that out later. They all seem to want us to make a follow-up visit, but we'll probably only see a few of them.

Things seem to accumulate when you spend a lot of time at the hospital. We went in with just a little bit, and when we got home tonight, it took me three trips to haul in all the stuff! The nurse told us to take all the medical supplies that were left in the room, even the scissors and tweezers. She even gave me two rolls of tape that were in her uniform pocket!

The hospital setting is very confining, and I was itching to get outside and experience the lovely spring air, but there was no place to sit outside that was easily accessible, except for the smoking hut. That will be discontinued next month, but you'd be surprised how many sick patients make their way out to that smoking hut to get their many fixes each day.

I guess that's enough reflections..it's all in the past, at least for now. And life is good....

Here We Go Again...

2007-04-17T19:23:00.000-07:00

...back to the hospital. This time, Terry is anemic and short of breath. He has been scanned and Dopplered and x-rayed all up and down his torso. So far it seems he is losing blood somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, but they haven't been able to pin it down yet. Seems a colonoscopy is needed, but his blood count is too low for that at this point, so they must build up his blood.

Meanwhile, it seems one lung has some "effusion," which they haven't gotten a clear picture of yet, to see whether it's fluid inside or outside the lung, or if the lung is collapsed or what. Late this evening he had a CT scan so they can see a better picture.

He is resting comfortably for the moment, but he looks very pitiful when I leave at night and greets me eagerly when I return in the morning. I just sit by him all day, and we don't even talk a lot, but it seems to make him feel better to have me around. I have learned to keep a tablet handy to write down all the names of the different doctors, tests and treatments, and diagnoses. Of course I want to be there with him all day, but I must admit I am ready to come home by 8 o'clock in the evening so I can unwind and clean up and then sleep in my own bed. I try to get up early enough in the morning to go to Curves before the hospital, too, so I don't get out of the habit. I must be crazy exercising at 7 A.M! I would really rather sleep, but I'm trying to be good.

I am optimistic that within a few days one or two of the 10 doctors we've seen will be able to come up with a diagnosis for the lung problem and the anemia. Then we can proceed to fix everything and hope that Terry can finally put this miserable 6 months behind him. He has had a very rough road to travel, and I'. afraid I haven't always felt as sympathetic as I could have when he complained. But he has kind of been like the boy who cried wolf, and with all his complaints, I wasn't sure what were legitimate ones. Of course, due to the anemia, they were probably all legitimate! Glad I bit my tongue and didn't harass him when I wanted to! :) Life is good (I think...).

Lazy

2007-04-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Lazy. That's just how I feel today. After about 10 days of having somewhere to go and something to do, I have finally arranged a day where I can stay home. Usually I like going places and doing things, but once in a while a day at home is nice.

The problem with that is that, when I'm home all day, I feel as if I should be doing something productive, even if it only takes an hour or so. About the only day I don't feel that way is Sunday. When I retired, I was afraid I would fall into a pattern of doing nothing productive all the time, so I told myself that I would spend at least an hour a day when I was at home doing something in the way of cleaning or laundry or something like that. Of course, I actually should spend a lot more time than that, but I am not a big fan of cleaning, so I figure if I can devote at least an hour a day to it, I'm doing well.

Well, I got up late this morning because I just kept turning the snooze on and finally just turned it off. I woke up a half hour later. I just didn't seem to have any energy and didn't feel like doing anything except settling in my chair with a good book. However, I had told myself yesterday that I would clean my kitchen surfaces. I wrestled with this in my head, and I finally decided I must get up and do what I'd said I would. I spent an hour in the kitchen polishing and scrubbing the appliances and countertops. Aren't I virtuous?

So now I feel I can relax and read the rest of the afternoon. I haven't had enough time to read this week, and I am really looking forward to maybe finishing the book, "Nineteen Minutes," by Jodi Picoult. Of course, this will depend on my better half sleeping the afternoon away, or he will talk and talk and I won't finish it after all. We'll see.

Meanwhile, here is a picture of my latest Monday effort. It's taken from one of Alissa's photos.

edited to add: I finished the book by 5 o'clock. Hooray! I'm ready to rejoin the race again...

P.S.

2007-04-06T13:08:00.001-07:00

The furnace is fixed! The house is warm. I worried for nothing...

Wouldn't You Know It!

2007-04-06T09:23:00.000-07:00

After two weeks of absolutely gorgeous weather--unseasonably warm and sunny--we are now suffering through an unseasonable cold snap, and right at Easter, too, when you want pretty weather to show off your finery. We are due to have high temperatures in the 30's and lows in the low 20's , which is 20-30 degrees lower than average for this time of year. I guess you could say we were due for it, but that doesn't make it any more pleasant to bear. After hauling out the lightweight clothes, we now find ourselves in sweaters and winter jackets. That's a bummer, but it's not the worst of it. This is where Murphy's Law comes in...

When it got cold enough for the furnace to kick on Wednesday morning, it didn't. I wasn't home, and Terry called me at Dad's to let me know it wasn't working. I don't know how I was supposed to do anything about it at that point, so he was going to check it out and call for a repair if needed. When I left Dad's an hour or so later, I called him back to find it was running, but making an increasingly loud noise. We had heard this noise before the warm weather came, but we were hoping to make it through the season before doing anything about it. Unfortunately, the furnace only worked on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, at about 6:00, it came on and immediately stopped. Apparently the blower quit functioning. Terry called the repairman, and he came out yesterday afternoon. Yes, the fan was bad, so he relayed the information to his office lady, who called to see about replacing it. She was very prompt to call us back to tell us that we must replace not just the fan, but the whole blower assembly, at a cost of $583 plus labor. What can you do but agree? However, she had to order the part, and she wasn't sure it would be in before today, Friday. If it comes in, the repairman will come back today and install it. Otherwise, you guessed it. We will be without a furnace on the coldest weekend of the spring.

It's fine and warm in our kitchen and family room. We have a gas blower and a space heater that keep the area comfortable. It's not even too bad yet in the nether regions of the house. We slept quite comfortably last night under a few blankets and a bedspread. However, the kids are scheduled to come and stay. I'm afraid it won't be warm enough for them. If they think it's too cold, we can let them stay with Doug and Kellie or maybe get them a motel room, but I hope we can get the furnace fixed before they get here and have to make a decision.

I guess Alissa's bad financial luck was contagious. We were just congratulating ourselves that the insurance company was going to pay $772 of an ambulance bill from when Terry was recuperating, so we were saving money. I guess it burned a hole in our pocket (or our furnace fan), so we now have somewhere to spend it. I am grateful that we have it to spend. Life is good...Happy Easter to everyone!

Paying Bills

2007-03-31T11:29:00.000-07:00

Paying bills. For most of our marriage, those two words struck dread in my heart. It always seemed that there wasn't enough money to cover our expenses, and I was always juggling things just to pay the minimum on our many charge accounts and loans. We made the decision early on that Terry would work, and I would stay home to be the mother and housekeeper, which is just what I wanted to do. However, I guess we didn't curtail our spending to match the reduction in income. I managed the bills, and when Terry wanted to buy something, I didn't argue about it. Whenever I said we couldn't afford something, he would fret and worry and moan about not making enough money to support his family, and it was not something I enjoyed hearing, so I just sucked it up and did the worrying myself. Of course, I was not blameless in all this. I loved buying stuff for the kids, and the store credit cards would build up. Terry remained blissfully unaware of our finances most of the time, but once in a while, he would figure out that we were spending more than we were making, and he would get the brilliant idea to consolidate all our credit card payments and then not use the cards. Great idea! The problem was that we continued to use the cards, and then we had not only credit card payments, but a consolidation payment, too! I spent many a sleepless night worrying about how we were going to pay all of our bills, but I found that somehow, just when we needed it most, we got some unexpected income and things were fine. Finally, I started working when Doug was 4, and things eased up a little. I was only working part time, so we still had lots of bills. And we were remodeling our very old house almost all the time. We did this on the cheap, and now you can tell it, but it still cost money we really didn't have to spend. Things didn't seem to get a whole lot better until the 90's, when I started teaching full-time again. We finally had breathing room, but even then, we had teenagers and their expenses to cover.

Now the kids are grown and gone, and Terry retired over 8 years ago. I worried then, but we seemed to have all the money we needed to pay the bills. I worried again when I retired almost 2 years ago, but again, it seems that we have plenty of income and lots fewer bills. While it's not exactly a pleasure to sit down and pay bills these days, like I just finished doing, it's certainly not the dread-inducing experience it once was. I am grateful that we have retirement savings and income. We can afford to do most anything we want and also help the kids when they need it, just like my parents helped us several times when we were young. I don't know why we have been so blessed, but I am not going to argue about it! Life is good....