Saturday, October 31, 2009

Letting go....

While Rosemary and I were enjoying our wonderful dinner last night, I bemoaned the loss of my old dining room (really kitchen) table and chairs. I've known ever since we remodeled the kitchen and living room that my old one was too dark - really even before then. I bought the old one barely used from a "by marriage" cousin/niece? around 1972 I believe. It had two leaves and 6 chairs. I was thrilled to get it and immediately had a small luncheon to celebrate. Alas - it was not to last - one of the ladies was trying to help and drug the metal part of one of the leaves across the top of the table gouging out a big scratch. So much for new!That table has seen a lot of meals - both with and without the leaves. It was the perfect height and size for my little kitchen and worked very well for me as a work table while preparing meals. Big D bought a big can of furniture stripper and it took the entire can to strip one chair and it was still very dark. It was soft pine so it would never have looked right. He also checked and it would have cost over $600 to strip it alone. I paid the whopping big price of $150.00. I used tons of pretty table cloths and decided to just live with it because it was one of the few round tables I've experience that was very sturdy and stable. I have a friend that has a table and chairs I would love to have but they didn't want to sell it. Then not too long ago, some friends were moving and I bought their table and 4 chairs.We didn't need the leaves and the table is much bigger than mine and much lower. None of my tableclothes fit it! It already had a few scratches so no worry about it being kept new! The next door neighbor's Dad saw our old table on the porch and we gave it to him. I wonder if he still has it? I wonder if he enjoys it? I know - LET THE OLD TABLE GO. When I sent pictures of the new one in a text message, Little D sent back he was grieving for the old one - my sweet sentimental baby boy!

Out of clutter, find simplicity...Albert Einstein

Recently I posted a similar quote from Einstein and then found it along with this picture on another site. It is ME!After seeing it for the second time today - I HAD to put it here. Maybe if I notice it, it will make me get up from this computer and get busy DE-CLUTTERING this tiny little house I live in. I have to have the most patient hubby in the world - of course, he does complain about the pillows I have scattered about and doesn't seem to notice his own back porch! I keep asking myself - Why are you holding on to all those books, tapes, CD's, workbooks that teach Spanish? I can't even make out what people are saying in English - how can I learn Spanish? I'm not as bad as several of my sisters but I need to take control right now and get rid of......STUFF. We had the whole house painted several years ago and we had to climb over piles of furniture and "stuff" in every room. I asked him if it was like this in every house he painted and he said - "normally the houses I paint are over 2 to 3 thousand square feet (mine isn't quite one thousand) and it has about half the stuff in it yours does"! :-( Those poor people - all that room and they don't have half the stuff? That is sad. NOT!!!! I guess I have lived long enough that the little things I have accumulated all mean something to me -- I have never had closet or storage space and have run out of walls and drawers. Ijust joined Flylady - a site that is supposed to help you learn to not only de-clutter but keep it that way. We'll see.

Notice - updated post with pictures and video...

For those of you who like to see the pictures - I have uploaded some to some older posts. I certainly don't expect you to meander back through all of them but there is one I would hope you would go back and see. It is from July - I think it says - Fifth Day. It is from our vacation this past summer and I uploaded a video that I love listening to. Enjoy

The circle of life.....

I just had to share what some of "my girls" did for me awhile back. I finally found some pictures and feel a need to acknowledge a wonderful act of kindness by some of my favorite people. I had my surgery on March 17th and my recovery took a little longer than I anticipated. As it turns out, there was more to the surgery than I anticipated also. On March 26th, two of my spiritual daughters and another young sister I have come to love dearly after working with her every day for over a year decided to come over and cook breakfast for me. Before you knew it, I was surrounded by three darling little boys, two gorgeous baby girls and three beautiful young women taking over my kitchen with wonderful smells filling the house.Of course the food, association and delicious babies were wonderful. Big D "happened" to show up about the time everyone got through eating and sat down to feast on the delicious food himself.Then we sat around chatting and holding baby girls and yelling at wild banshee boys and it brought back so many memories of the times my girlfriends and I would take our babies over to GG's, nurse them, lay them on blankets on the floor and sit around drinking coffee till our insides shook talking about husbands, children and life until it was time to nurse them again.
Later Ann wrote on her Blog about that day and how much it meant to her to know she had joined a group of women who chose to be stay at home Moms. Women need other women - especially busy young Moms and sadly a lot of them don't realize that and it's a shame because they miss out on so many wonderful things including understanding and strong support. Uh Oh - I feel a song coming on - I can't help myself......It's the Circle of Life, And it moves us all, Through despair and hope, Through faith and love, Till we find our place, On the path unwinding, In the Circle, The Circle of Life. Thank you for the wonderful memory LR, JT and HS.

Who Do Fondue?????

We do Fondue. Thank you Roseanne for such a lovely evening and I truly, truly needed it. I think I also needed some alone time with just me and you - it has been too long. Going to a movie just wasn't getting it since we don't talk during movies and both have such busy schedules. The meal was delicioso as was the wondeful wine, great server, and exceptional conversation! I also enjoyed our long, meandering walk to World Market (even though I protested a tiny bit) and needed that walk and I think felt better for it. I can't wait to wear our new earrings. Thanks for helping me find my new winter "service hat". I love hats but can NOT wear one for long periods of time - never have been able to.I just realized as I got my bag to take these pictures - I have YOUR earrings too! I'm so sorry - I remembered to remind you not to forget your flowers - you might want to lose that card - and then forgot to give you your earrings. Oh well - we are going to the movie again soon so just remind me to bring them. Oh - and we need to look at our books along with Katarina and decide what we are going to make from our Julia Cookbooks - BonJour - Bon Appetit- Love you bunches dear friend.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Caught Up........

OKAY - I am finally caught up with my time! Let me hear it out there - Woo Hoo!The really good news is I enjoyed every single minute of it and am looking so forward to a wonderful year.I couldn't have done it without all the support we get from the Durham East's pioneers and ultra-regular mid-week publishers! Thank you all so much! It has been so cloudy the last two days and today it was a little cool. Tomorrow they are calling for near 80 degrees. Welcome to the South! I am really looking forward to a nice dinner with Roseanne tonight at The Melting Pot.The last time I had fondue it was dinner at Roseanne's oldest son's house on our way home from a CA in Salisbury. What a lovely meal that was. We didn't go to the movies this past Wednesday and she felt yucky last night so I'm happy she is feeling better. I'm going to celebrate getting caught up and we are going to celebrate her dear hubby finding a good job, her oldest son being on the mend, her baby girl is married, her new granddaughter is doing well and her youngest son and beautiful Katarina are thriving along with the two darling grands. We have a lot to celebrate! Big D's fishing trip ended early - between being cold, windy and rainy and his motor messing up - they called it a day and came back tody so he is going to drive me to the restaurant and Roseanne is bringing me home. Since I'm not going to be driving - I may just have to have a glass of wine! Yum

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Dragonflies and Mushrooms......

Big D knows how much I love dragonflies so he got my camera awhile back and got some picture of a big one that was on the antenna in his boat.I'm not sure when my love affair with them came about but I find them beautiful. I also love big mushrooms of various shades - maybe I should have been a fairy if they were real....just kidding. I do love the little movie about Tinkerbell though - imagination - where would we be without imagination. What a dull and boring world. I took these pictures of the mushrooms in Elizabethton, TN last year when we worked in seldom worked territory up there. They were near the Kingdom Hall.I think I passed my love for mushrooms onto my children. I remember as a child kicking a mushroom and black powder came out of it. My Gma King said it was the Devil's snuff - now talk about imagination. :-) Hmmm - Guess what? I just Googled Devils Snuff and look what came up.
Devil's Snuff Box poisoning: Devil's Snuff Box is a type of mushroom which has an extremely ugly appearance. These mushrooms are very poisonous and can cause death if eaten
. So I guess she was a whole lot smarter than I gave her credit for after all wasn't she. I wonder how many other "sayings" of our elderly were right on target? Probably a lot more than we could imagine.

Love is in the air.....

It appears that love is still in the air - we have several more weddings scheduled in the near future and I wouldn't be surprised to hear of another one soon after those. When I think of JH - I remember her as that dark-headed little girl that was so close to Lauren growing up. Her Mom is so blonde and light but that was not to be for this pretty young woman.I've been following several of her adventures - one of which she is realizing right now - serving where the need is great for 3 months in the Dominican Republic. It appears another adventure was developing along with this one - and that is her "close" friendship with Mr. Brown from Cleveland. I was able to see some of his pictures on FB but it was hard to find one where they weren't goofing off and making funny faces. I finally met him at the CA in Salisbury and again at Lauren's wedding.All reports are he is a really nice young man with a wonderful family so we shall see what we shall see. Love is in the air everywhere I look around; Love is in the air every sight and every sound....Ahhhh to be young and falling in love. Don't really want to go back but do enjoy remembering those days. Mama used to talk about when her and Daddy were courting. Always gave me a warm feeling in my heart to hear how her voice would change when she talked about how when they went swimming, she couldn't swim so she would have to hold on around Daddy's neck. Mama and Daddy had been married 47 years when he died - Big D and I are coming on our 44th year December 10th - and my sister Rose and hubby Wayne over 51 years now. Where did the time go. I still get a nice feeling when I have my memories too.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Meanderings.......

I love that word - how I like to spend the little bit of free time I get from time to time these days. Glad the sun came out today - need it for my memories of Mama - wanted it to be as pretty as that last week was for her with the sky blue and clear, the trees brilliant with their Fall colors and the air clear and comfortable. It was so dark and cold when Daddy died - when Mama called me to come up there to help, there was still some snow on the ground. Every time I try to upload a picture of Mama and Daddy - it will not allow it. Maybe I'll take a picture of a picture with my camera and that will work. Speaking of family, I had to upload this picture of Kris and Katarina.Could they resemble more if they were actually related? Roseanne and I laughed - they look like sisters and they married brothers. They are both tall, slim, artistic, unique, loving, warm, kind and beautiful inside and out. Speaking of meandering - our lovely Court (great niece on hubby's side) has the best job ever. She takes 6 month long assignments all over the country where her apartments are provided and she and her lovely doggie just jump in the car and move! I love this picture from her last assignment in the Northwest.She is back now and her next assigment is closer to home in Virginia. I got to see all the girls this past Friday when hubby's nephew came up from Florida to see everyone. It is hard to believe he is 60 and looks great as usual. I know - how do we have a 60 year old nephew - hubby's sister is quite a bit older than we are - her daughter and I grew up and we went to school together. She is a little younger than I am and loves to tell people I am her Auntie - cute. Speaking of sweet people - I love this picture of Bry and his lovely daughter at the pumpkin patch.He sure does love his little girl. He is my hero - turns out he loves to clean cars and I love to get mine cleaned so we have worked out a nice little arrangment when our schedules allow it - I pay him to do what he loves. It also allows me time to visit with my beloved Mae. How great is that? One more meandering and then I have to get up from here. I didn't go out today because I was up most of the night and decided it was time to take a day off. Since Big D is going fishing, I'll make it up on Saturday. Now that all my sisters and I are officially senior citizens at least in Kroger's eyes, I thought I would update our pictures. LOL. What do you think? I fell in love with it when I saw it - at least we are all smiling.

Whew --- I'm getting there...

Ordered more of Page 2's pictures for us and boy are they pricey but gorgeous. Page is getting excited about her upcoming trip with the girls. They are going to a Florida beach this year. These are from one of their previous trips to the Georgia Coastline.Hope they have good weather and enjoy themselves. Had another full day in service today ending with two studies - Shen and Eileen. I have only 5 hours to go to be caught up with my time(from working the first two weeks of the service year) and hopefully will get ahead a little as I'm wanting to go to the beach a few days early next month. Today was a cloudy and rainy day but we needed it and everything was good. My beautiful niece sent me this picture that I love.It is called Ladies at My Door - you will notice two women outside the screen door downstairs. It was painted by an artist who would be interrupted by "us" every Wednesday while he was painting so he painted them into the picture. Great artist with a great sense of humor. You have to love it. Worked with one of my favorite young sisters today and her little boy and girl.Such well behaved babies. I'm also happy to say we got Big D's bills done and I'm working on Sales Taxes so he is ready to go to the beach Thursday. It is so very late but I couldn't sleep so I added some pictures to old posts. Going to see Fame with Roseanne tomorrow night - looking forward to it. Supposed to be sunny and upper 70's tomorrow so should be a gorgeous day for service. Nite

Monday, October 26, 2009

The newlyweds are home!!!!

Got an email from Roseanne saying the newlyweds got home on Sunday, had a wonderful week and everything went well. They were having Joel's parents over for dinner tonight because they wanted to be there to watch them open their wedding gifts. Our lovely Katarina put this picture from the wedding on FB and I loved it so much I thought I would add it to my journal.You can definitely see where Lauren gets some of her beauty. Roseanne and I went to see Where the Wild Things Are this past Saturday afternoon after my BS. I have never read the book but Roseanne said it really wasn't like the book. We were both a little disappointed and I would never take a child to see it. Little too dark and unhappy for me. Special effects, unique shape of the fort and the scenery was great but too much sadness and anger. We are planning to go see Fame this coming Wednesday night. Makes me miss Lauren - I would meet them at Willowdaile when she worked there and we would bring our cups and containers and get free drinks and popcorn and watch the movie free! You can't beat that for a deal. Wow - now little Lauren is a married woman - when did that happen? I wonder how long it will be before she realizes just how much she is missed down here in North Carolina?

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Summer fading........

Well, it is that time of year again when Summer fades into Autumn. As much as I love the re-birth of Spring time - something about this time of year calls to me more. Maybe it is the coolness that creeps into the air even when the sun is warm after a hot and humid Southern Summer. I took some pictures of the last of my flowers.Leah planted all my flowers for my deck this year. She picked a lot of my favorites and I've truly enjoyed them. Of course, just like I do with cut flowers, I will not discard any of these as long as there even one bloom of color.There is something so special about the various colors, shapes, and smells of flowering plants. The different shapes and shades of green of the leaves are amazing. As with so many other things - I love gardens, flowers, plants, shrubs and especially trees but have no leanings toward digging in the dirt. Maybe because of my poor deformed knees - just the thought of it makes me wince in pain.Even though I had mostly larger pots and long planters this year (to cut down on how much watering was required) I still love this little yellow watering can. These flowers have done better since it has turned cooler at night.Then you have the different colors moving in on the colors of Spring and Summer in the form of fallen leaves.This time of year is a time of reflection for me for another reason. In three days, it will be the 15th year anniversary of Mama's death. So hard to believe it has been that long. Mama died at home in her own bed as she wanted and she had a view of the most beautiful tree. I don't think I remember another year that tree was that pretty - it was on fire - mostly yellow with tinges of red and orange. It was huge and full and she would look out the window during quiet times. I remember the morning the doctor drove to the house to talk to her about how the treatments weren't working. I can still see him walking toward me on the porch with that tree behind him that bright sun filled morning with a crisp bite to it. She was very calm that day - Ruth and I were with her and after my other sister left we had a brief but calm conversation about what he said. Afterward, she said something I'll never forget - "some things are left better unsaid". So I never brought it up again. The trees in my yard aren't pretty anymore because they are all GONE! Yep, the crazy highway people chopped away like crazy but if you look closely, you can still see some pretty colors here and there.This is just one little branch but I love these colors. We used to have a leaning tree in the back of our property and there would be mushrooms growing up the side up it like a stairway for fairies. They were the most beautiful color you could imagine - gold, orange, yellow, red all together. This is looking into my neighbor's yard and you can see there is still more to come as far as colors. We should be hitting our peak over the next week I think. I hate they are calling for rain during the week after the gorgeous weather we had last week but it should be pretty by the weekend. If I get everything done I'm planning to do, hopefully I'll be able to get out to the farm by next weekend. I miss you Mama.

Isle sur la Sorgue....

I was cleaning off the kitchen table (wonder how long that will last) and ran across a post card I received from a lovely couple who were vacationing in France. At first I was shocked to see a post card from France since I knew my poor sister Ruth had not been able to go on her long awaited trip due to the flu. I was so pleasantly surprised to see who it was from.When I look at this picture it reminds me of their lovely wedding in Winston-Salem. What a coincidence it was dated 9/17/09 - the date my sister was supposed to fly to France! I met this beautiful young woman back in 1983 when I went to work for her Mom. She was the oldest of three children and I've always loved keeping up with what she is doing. This is a family that loves to travel and it has always made me happy to hear about their many adventures!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Weddings and good friends......

What a really nice weekend! Was so hoping the weather would hold warm and sunny for this weekend but it is not to be. Got to wear my new black sweater for cold weather a lot sooner than I anticipated! The trip up was good even though I was hoping to get away a little earlier. Then I got there and decided to pop into the great Goodwill close to Little D's house! Got a few things and got to their house after dark in the rain safely - praying all the way! Wasn't too bad as the after work traffic had thinned out. Keith got there a little later and we could all breath a nice sigh that we all made it safely. Leah made a pot of Stew and it was yummy. So much fun catching up with everyone. The next morning was fun with Little D fixing me a yummy omelet(ignore the woman with the knife - he has that affect on some people). Keith wrote to his BS and Fran got a foot massage from her lovely daughterand of course the kids did what they do best these days - they competed on their little video thingamajigs. Can you tell how hi-tech I am?Everyone got ready for the wedding and got there right at 4pm - still cold and little rainy and we were following the GPS. Roseanne was waiting in the lobby to tell us they were holding the wedding up for us!!!! Then we were seated on the front way (behind the bridesmaids) with Roseanne and her family. What a honor! Everyone was beautiful but I'll have to say Roseanne's shoes outdid everybody's there! She was as beautiful as the bride who was radiant.I know her eyes are closed in this one but I just love this picture for some reason. The wedding talk was one of the best I have ever heard and believe me - I have heard a lot of wedding talks. Maybe it was because it was because of who was getting married. That could have something to do with it. The reception was in a local hotel and the grooms family decorated everything beautifully. It was so funny because we all headed for the hot coffee as soon as we arrived. Wish I had room for all the pictures - will put up a few of my favorites including this one of Little D with Roseanne's oldest son who is recovering from his accident a little bit each day.Of course his beautiful bride makes every room light up with her lovely smile. When I think of Roseanne's daughter-in-laws - I can't imagine she could have gotten better ones if she had hand picked them herself. Of course I feel the same way about my beautiful daughter-in-law Leah.She was also beautiful and I love this picture of Little D and Katy but hate it cut Page's head off. The music was good for dancing and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I hope the bride and groom have good memories of their special day forever. We had a nice turnout from the friends in Durham who were all happy to celebrate this special occasion also. I was surprised I could get in line to have my picture made with dear Keithsince he is such a hot commodity these days. He has always been sought after by so many friends but now that he has enjoyed the privilege of attending MTS - all the women really want to have their pictures taken with him (he's going to kill me for that). It was so nice that Roseanne's brother came from California - it made me very happy for her.I told him how happy I was he was able to change things around and be able to come. He really wanted to be with her for this and to show his support to her for all she and her family have been going through but now the sun is shining again and everything is feeling more right with the world. I wish I could put all the pictures here but I'm sure if anyone is reading this, they have already cut the computer off by now! The ride home on Sunday was really nice - warm sun, cool air - my time of year! Came the back way all the way and it was beautiful. One day I'm going to travel the way Keith went but it has to be a very pretty day for that.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Busy, busy, busy.....

It has been a busy, non-stop kind of week so far! Three great days in service - even today which was a dark rainy day! Gail came over Monday after service and fixed my dress I'm wearing to the wedding.She also took 3 blouses home to alter - hope they fit better when she is finished. I've come to the conclusion she can fix anyting. I got to work this afternoon with a good old friend. Eileen came to the KH at 2:30pm and we had her study in the car. It was a great study. Got a busy day tomorrow - will be leaving for VA on Friday and wedding on Saturday. Really looking forward to spending some time with family staying downstairs this weekend. Never get to see them and always enjoy being with them so much. So happy to be feeling better!!!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Bridal Luncheon and Good-byes.....

Drove up to Virginia Friday afternoon, unloaded the car including Miya, arranged all the flowers I brought from home and got back in the car with Leah for grocery shopping. We finished at a new WalMart that was HUGE! Little D had fixed me a wonderful omelet when we got back home - yum! The luncheon for Lauren (here with little Rose)went well on Saturday -everyone seemed to like what we had and it was nice just being together. Big D stayed to eat with the "girls" and then took Page 2 with him to visit Leah's brother. After everyone left, we settled in and relaxed. It was nice to see so many of the friends on Sunday. Little D and I drove separately to get there on time and Page2 commented at the WT study twice! After eating lunch, I packed the car, said good-bye to everyone including Miya and headed home. It was a really nice drive - bright sunshine, trees changing colors, cool breeze, radio cranked up and taking my time. Got home, unloaded the car, changed clothes, upped my make-up a little and headed back out to a going away party for a couplewho are moving to Panama to serve where the need is great! They are both wonderful individuals and as a couple - even better. I know they will live a great adventure.It was so nice to be with so many old friends. Even though I was exhausted from the weekend and the long drive home, once they cranked up the music - I had to dance! It was so much fun and brought back memories of dancing for hours with the friends. How can people not move when the music plays?The dancing started with a new "group" or "line" dance I had never done before but got the hang of pretty good. Of course that was followed by the famous Electric Slide which still works for me. I got to dance my old way with a handful of people who know how. Of course I had to get a picture of just a few of my favorite people who were there also.I am looking forward to dancing at the wedding next week now that I know I've still "got it"! Of course I'm not sure if anyone watching me thinks I've "got it" but hey - let me have my delusions. I wish I could put all the pictures up here - so many good ones of loved ones but no more room. I know J and J will love Panama and will have many wonderful experiences to share with us.

Monday, October 5, 2009

Full and Satisfied......

That was the only thing I could think of to say about how I feel about the last 3 days! Pioneer Meeting on Friday and Circuit Assembly Saturday and Sunday. Little D, Leah and Page2 were here when I got home Friday night. We were all happy to see each other and spent awhile getting caught up, got Page2 bathed and in bed, went through the LPN's I was giving Little D to go with the nice system I gave him. Hated to see it all go but I'm getting serious about de-cluttering and the reality is that he will get more use out of it than me. :-( Leah and I got up early (after about 4 hours sleep) and got everything ready for me to get us to the Circuit Assembly. During lunch we got to see one of our new arrivals - little Charli!She is starting to look more like her Mom which is nice since her little boy looks exactly like his Daddy! He even got his Dad's height! Page2 was with us on Saturday and everyone was so excited to see her. She was excited to see her friend too.We sat with the beautiful Katarina, Brand and their two beautiful children and all were very well behaved I might add. It was so nice to see so many old friends and to have Eileen ride with me and Roseanne both days. Keith gave a talk on Saturday and I was bowled over!He did such a good job and I was holding my breath for him for no reason because he nailed it! His gestures, inflection, everything was wonderful. I was so proud I thought I would burst and have to admit I cried a tiny bit! We stopped in High Point on Saturday to see Pat and Kris and they both seem to be doing well which made all of us happy. Pat still has a ways to go with therapy but is definitely making good progress and seems to feel pretty good which made me happy.I LOVE this picture of him and Page - two of my favorite people! Of course once he told Page about their little corn snake, she had to see it. I almost had to drag her away. She was so excited because she watched him feed a baby mouse to the tiny little snake! Boy is she her Mom and Dad's daughter or what? The best part about leaving High Point is we didn't have to drive past Krispy Kreme on the way! I tried not to look at it when we came in and Roseanne said, it's okay, the HOT sign isn't on! Whew - narrow escape!