Culling....

Since I'm still at home feeling yucky, I decided to "steal" some time to cull my blog list - those blogs I keep on my own blog page and try to follow. “cull: pick out from others; select; gather; collect”. This doesn't mean I have deleted all of the ones I took off my page - I have them saved in another folder on my desktop to review later. Since I'm not doing such a great job of culling my house - I thought I would start small. :-) I can't believe we are having the warmest day in a long time and I'm stuck inside. It seems appropriate on such a lovely sunny day to post two of my favorite flowers- daffodils and peonies. There aren't any flowers I can think of that don't evoke a deep feeling of appreciation from me but these two are special - right up there with many others that don't last long. Maybe that is it? Nope - can't be that because I love daisies and roses too and they last a good while. Ahhh - Gail just called to check on me because I wasn't at the talent show or the meeting this morning. It does make you feel good to know you are missed doesn't it? Especially for sweet Gail who already has way too much on her plate but that is who she is - a wonderful, caring friend. I also culled my desktop - got rid of the tons of icons by moving them to appropriate folders and files. I'm sure it will not be long before it is cluttered again but for now - it looks good. So I will close with a favorite picture I've used as a letterhead picture on letters.Yep - the lacy dragonfly. See Roseanne - that is why we love them.

Afterthoughts.....

I was actually feeling a little better tonight but not for long. Not sure what "it" is but hopefully, I will be able to sleep better tonight. Sadly - I am not sleepy right now - just totally exhausted.I snatched this picture of Rie's new cat - Smokey - from FB earlier. She also had a wonderful picture of her youngest son laying on the floor with his arm around Smokey - this will be a good friend for him - nothing like a sweet cat to help you wind down. Princess Miya has been laying on me almost all day - it is almost like she knows I feel bad and she is making me feel better. Or it could just be that I'm being still and I'm nice and soft. Nah - I'll stick with my first idea. :-)Then I got a phone call followed by a text message with picture from Leah telling me Page got her report card and it had all A's and one B! Whoo Hoo! We are all very excited about how well Page is doing with her school work this year. It looks like all her and her Mom's hard work is still paying off. Kimmie called to say there were a lot of meatballs left over and that everyone had really stepped up and sent a lot of food. She wanted to know if I wanted the leftover meatballs but we told her to just give them to anyone who wanted them. Guess my tummy isn't all that okay after all.So I will close with some pictures of one of my favorite insects - the dragonfly. "Dragonflies are valuable predators that eat mosquitoes, and other small insects like flies, bees, and ants."Can Spring be too far away?

5th Saturday of 1st Month of 2011....

Leah sent me this picture of Page with her new hot pink sheets to match the new ladybug duvet on her comforter. So sweet looking. Kurt had a very rough week at work last week and it has been on all our minds ever since. I got real sleepy early last night and surprise, surprise - was in bed asleep by 10pm. That's the good news - the bad news is I woke at 2am and could NOT go back to sleep. Tried reading, just meditating and finally got up to watch a little TV and do some computer work. I got sleepy around 8am and dozed off and slept "fitfully" until 10am. HATE having a night like that - makes you feel yucky the rest of the day. I have had my first cup of coffee and been snuggled by Miya. Oops - woke her up - she can be very demanding at times - ergo - "Princess"! I'm afraid that is what I have made her or maybe just allowed her to become but I do love her. Since I like independent women, how can I be mad at my beautiful Miya for being independent? I finished one of the little books I had bought awhile back for Page when she gets older. I'm glad I read the first one before I just handed them over to her. To be honest, I think she needs to be much older before I would feel comfortable with them. Nothing "bad" but the kids have way too much freedom in these books and make some decisions that result in hurt feelings for others. The first story ended pretty well but will read the others before I decide.
I stopped writing for awhile - not sure what is going on. At first I thought it was just because I had a rough night but am beginning to think it is something else - maybe a stomach virus? Oh well. Roseanne called and we are going to try really hard to have our Family Study together from now on. BigD and I had a nice long chat with Page1 last night - she can make me laugh so hard when she gets to really talking about some things. Our congregation is having a talent show tonight at the Mill but I'm not up to going. I'm supposed to make a recipe of meatballs so I called Martha to see what sauce she was going to use so mine will be like hers. She is so sweet - she was on her way to pick up a disposable pan to cook hers in and brought me one too. I need to call Luz to see if she can take my meatballs to the gathering - if not, I'm going to have to get them over to Kimmies by 5:30 so she can take them early. My biggest disappointment is missing Gerl who is coming. Color me sad. We are watching one of my favorite movies with two of my favorite actors in it. Wow - this movie came out in 1973 - right after Page was born at the end of 1972 - so I was only 25 years old and I still cry when I hear that song. I think one of the reasons it has always touched me is the movie started around the time my oldest sister was born and then moved forward to around the time I was born and growing up. I love the clothes and of course no one can sing a song like Barbra but I hate the bitter ending. I'm always drawn to stories and movies that tell us more about our history. Moving on - this is one of the favorite things I ever purchased from Cedar Creek Gallery. Hand Blown Glass Irises and stems inside a piece of pottery I had purchased earlier with Irises on the front. I used sand and put blue marbles in the top and loved having it in my window where the light would make it shine. So what happened? Yep - Princess Miya Chula Yum-Yum at her worst. After she knocked it over this time and most of the petals broke off - I moved what was left somewhere she can't get to. That part of the window sill is all hers now. I saved some of the glass petals and may try to repair some of them if possible. Nice project for a rainy day. Will look on-line to see what would work best. BAD KITTIE!

4th Friday of January 2011.....

Let's see - Friday- and a recap of another week. Nothing special to say just to stay caught up better than I have been. Had a great week service -wise and was so hoping I would be able to drag my old body out of bed for another day and I DID! After meeting with the group we went way out in the country - nice to be in driving territory for the morning because it was still gray, wet and cold. Had everyone I enjoy in my car group so it was a good morning.This long country road has a "driveway" that has tons of mailboxes at the main road so we headed to the end to work our way back and of course the last house we worked had the little surprise I was looking for - YARD ART!The second picture shows how tall the tree was that it was hung in. The "main house" at the beginning of this long dirt driveway had evidently burned recently but you get the "feeling" that this was once the main house and the beautiful homes further back are owned by children and grandchildren of the owners. The ground is still very wet from all the rain so I was careful to not go into some of the significant puddles that looked like they could swallow my old Ava. (name for my 1996 Avalon that has over 205,500 miles on her). After taking some friends back to the KH, Ami and I went on my new BS and it went very well. After eating lunch, we went back to the KH to meet so Ami could get with Luz who had a study. I broke away and ran some errands at Costco - nice to not be rushed for a change. This time I bought some gorgeous flowers at Costco and believe me - they are much nicer than the ones I got at FL last week. As a rule their flowers last a long time and I have very seldom been disappointed. I also picked up some Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake - I know - BAD GIRL! After filling my little wine tote bag with 6 bottles of Cupcake Chardonnay (at a very good price) I was so ready to go. BigD had already bought some wonderful sirloin steaks so I was ready to be home with him. I saw a gorgeous black and white dress that might have fit Page2 but decided to wait until I talked with Leah. She is finally growing (taller if not wider) and I don't want to buy the wrong size. We finally decided on steaks, BigD's great fries - double fried - and wine - what could be better? Of course I had to have some cheesecake - I know - what is wrong with me? I have absolutely no control when it comes to cheesecake - or any other sweets for that matter. Starting to feel sleepy so will sign off for now.

HAIL!!!!!

What a day! Got up late to a very cloudy, dreary, wet day; packed up my computer and printer and grabbed a cup of coffee to take with me. Ami and her two little ones were already at the KH with Rie for our morning of service together. We started out with a few phone calls and decided to just suck it up and make a few calls. Little T fell asleep so we were doing pretty good. Not long after T woke up, we decided to take a potty break at Rie's house. By the time we got there it was time for T to eat again and everyone needed to "go". Rie gave Poppy two boxes that held games that her boys had outgrown and she was so thrilled that she insisted on carrying them to the car herself. SO off we go out the door with Poppy leading the way carrying the boxes that were almost as big as she was with me holding on to her as she counted each step. Right about the time we were all off the porch it started HAILING and RAINING at the same time.What a shock - it took us all a few seconds as we were running toward the car to realize exactly what it was - they weren't big but it was really coming down. Rie picked up Poppy who was still holding tight to the boxes, Ami was holding tight to T and we were trying to get in the car. Rie couldn't get the door opened at first so I was yelling - Open the Door right about the time I flipped the hood to my coat over my head and it was FULL of little hail pellets and rain! Whew - we were finally in the car and everyone one of us looked like drowned rats! We all started laughing because everyone's hair was plastered to their heads and we were chilled to the bone. Poor little Poppy wasn't quite sure what was going on and poor Ami didn't even have a coat on. No one can say we don't experience adventures while in we are in service! So we headed back to the KH and sat in the car to visit with Ami while she fed T some baby food and promised her it would be better the next time she came to work with us. I hung my coat in the KH to dry a little and visited with two friends from RTP while Rie ate her bowl of soup. We all split up and I was with Rie again for her three studies. By now, we were drained. It turned out the first study couldn't have her study so we made a call and headed to the second one which went very well even though I had to borrow reading glasses from the householder. Then we went to the third and it was chaos and frustration because her fiancee had just gotten laid off so we just tried to encourage and give a listening ear with sympathy. By the time we pulled back into the KH parking lot, I think we were both done, done, done but still felt good we had gotten as much done as we did.When I got home, I got a text message and picture from Leah showing Page throwing a snowball! Wow - they have gotten quite a bit of snow today and the best news is Page was feeling so much better and could play in it. I hate when she is sick - even if it only lasts a day or two. I also got a text message from Eileen saying not only is her dear hubby suffering horribly from shingles but she has the three D's - D-fever, D-puking and d-diarrhea! Poor guys - hope they both feel better soon too. Then I got a phone call later tonight from Ruth who was feeling real blue. I hate she is 10 hours away from me - it makes me feel so helpless when she is hurting so bad. I hope she realizes she can call me anytime - day or night.

nothing much...

Really don't have "nothing much" to say right now but had an urge to write something. Leah text messaged me to let us know Page is feeling a little better today. She came down with the stomach thing that has been going around yesterday and threw up in the hallway at school. Poor baby - I know that was so embarrassing for her. Leah let her sleep really late today and it seemed to help. Seems the two Pages are alike in more ways than one.....they both "need" their sleep. Got a message from Page1 yesterday saying Bentley had his first interview for insurance and wanted some phone numbers of people we know who have done it for years for him to chat with to get pointers. Funny thing is - this is one of the guys on his wedding day. He saw my number on his phone and called me this morning to say he would be more than happy to help Page's friend. Such a sweet guy - they live over 3 hours away now and we seldom see them but think of them fondly when remembering good times. Hope it helps - so proud of him for attempting to make such a big change in his life. The process will serve him well no matter the outcome. BigD and I had Italian Pizzeria Pizza tonight - it was yummy as usual. The wine made it even better. I bought some of GG's favorite - ran into her at Food Lion a few days ago and told her it was on sale so we both bought
some. Glad I did! Had two good days in service and this morning with two of my favorite people. We worked out in the country and even though it was gray, gray, gray -
we found things to laugh about. I always enjoy seeing the guineas when we go out there. I also finally "ran into" someone from my past I've been hoping to see again. It is always nice to run into someone you knew who impacted you as a young girl who is doing well. The beautiful woman who lived across the road from us when I was growing up always took an interest in me and her daughter-in-law who was very, very pregnant with twins did too. I knew she lived on this particular road but she had remarried and today I finally got to see her after all these many years. Luz went with me on Shen's study this afternoon and it went very well - my most earnest prayer is that Shen will make the right decision and make her life better every day for it. I have come to love her very much but as always - we have free will and make our own way. Eileen sent me a text also letting me know they were home from EI safe and sound but that her dear hubby was very, very sick with SHINGLES! It made me realize I need to call Stu and get him to re-write my prescription for a shot for that because I waited too long and it had expired - procrastination - my middle name. I dropped by Jeri's house this afternoon and had a very, very nice visit with her and two of her boys and her wonderful grandson. Got home and had another email from my "new" neighbor - we are getting caught up (via emails) after not really communicating for many, many years. Always fun to catch up with old friends. My hope for him is that he will have wonderful years ahead of him -he has earned them. So goodnight dear ones who follow my blog. May tomorrow bring you sunshine and if not that - happiness in ways you can not imagine. May "all" (and you know who you are) my children be healthy and strong to face whatever may come their way. May we all make good decisions that will come back to us in a positive way. May we all imitate the Grand Creator in showing LOVE to one another above all else. LOVING YOU WITH ALL MY HEART.

things that make us smile....

Do we ever stop and think about the little things that make us smile? Most of the time we take those times for granted - at least I know at times I do. Tiny, brief spurts of not laughter but sweet smiles that last and last even after the moment has passed. I just had one of those moments.It started with a phone call from my beautiful spiritual Mom. She is also Rose's spiritual Mom and we both love her to the moon and back. The last time we spoke, I wasn't smiling when I hung up as she didn't sound very good. Tonight was a totally different story. She stopped taking a medication the doctor put her on and feels much better. She sounds just like she did 44 plus years ago when she first entered my life to stay. So many things have happened since this picture was taken of me, Cat and Rose almost 7 years ago but the one constant is that smile on her face when she is able to do what she loves best and that is the ministry. She has two excellent BS's right now and is on top of the world! She lives to teach others and is very good at it. She was also wanting to know how BigD and I are doing, how Rose is doing, how Jeri is doing, how Page is doing, how Kurt is doing, how Mae is doing - you get the idea - she always wants to know how others are doing. One of the most selfless women I have ever known and I love her. You can tell her anything you are feeling or thinking with complete confidence that not only will she not judge you, she will love and respect you - including keeping your confidence. Years of being an Elder/CO's wife probably helped in that area. The funny thing is I had just looked at her granddaughter's lovely blog. She is an interior designer and so talented - I love when she puts something new on her blog.BigD decided we were going to try a new place tonight - a place his friend has talked about for awhile. We were not disappointed - the food was excellent and he even picked me up a bottle of "nice" wine to go with it. He also bought GG something and took it to her. She stopped by for a little while earlier. We are both trying to remember to call her on a more regular basis - we know she gets lonely. I have been following a blog called walkingman2011 and snatched a picture from FB of his completing his walk across the USA.He started his walk in Southern California and ended it in Emerald Isle today. This shows just how much snow they had gotten by this afternoon. His blog is very interesting and even more so since he lives one town away from Kurt and Leah. I got my shower before BigD got back with the food, had my wine so now will study my WT for tomorrow and hopefully get to bed a little earlier than last night (3:30am). Sweet smiles everyone.

mine, mine, mine, mine, mine

I love that scene from the movie Finding Nemo when the seagulls see something they want and all together start saying mine, mine, mine, mine.....Leah sent this telephone picture of Hiro (Miya's brother) and Page fighting over a straw with the heading - "Hiro is very passionate about stealing our straws"! BigD sent Leah a message back saying mine, mine, mine. Page was making a face like his and both of them were holding on tight. BigD had just had me call Leah to see how her Bleu Cheese dressing turned out and she said it was evidently delicious because they started eating it as a dip with chips until they realized they really wanted it for their salads. The sun is nice and bright outside today but it cold. GG stopped by awhile ago and BigD told her he was going to pick up our dinner from Bonefish Grill in Cary. His friend keeps talking about it so we decided to give it a try. As I was reading the menu to them, they both couldn't decide what they wanted most. I've decided what I'm getting so will let you know how it turns out.

more this and that....

Eileen sent me some pictures a little after noon today from EI. I can't believe it!They are getting snow again! I know they are really enjoying their new fireplace now. What could be better than being at the coast, snow and fireplace all together? Well - how about it is still snowing? She sent this one around 3:45pm and said it is still coming down. When I told BigD - he said - maybe they will get snowed in! I said yeah - so now I am officially jealous! I don't say that too often because as a rule I find jealousy to be one of the worst things in the world but this is a good jealousy. Just wishing I was with her enjoying it with her kind of jealousy.

dinner with new and old friends....

I had a delicious dinner tonight with some new and old friends. I've only met Ami a few times but have chatted on FB with her several times. She has a very sweet hubby (got to talk to him a little more tonight) and two beautiful baby girls. I have enjoyed looking at the pictures she has on FB and her hubby is becoming a really good photographer.This is her smallest little one - always has a big smile on her sweet little face. She seems to have a very laid back personality so far from what I've seen but I know Ami has her hands full with a 3 year old and one under 9 months.This is her oldest and what a sweetie she is. I'm sure their Dad has already realized he is going to have two beautiful teenagers pretty soon. I snatched this picture of Ami's hubby from FB. I'm still trying to get used to my new camera. I loved the camera Roseanne gave me but it was a little heavy for my bad arm and the shutter would get stuck. It was so easy to use but I'm sure Kurt is enjoying it. It was good being with Roseanne and her hubby again. Seems like it has been forever since we have been with each other. Ami made a delicious vegetarian lasagna that rocked!I've had vegetarian lasagna before but can honestly say this was the best I've ever eaten. I honestly don't think even BigD could have told the difference. I took the salad and some of BigD's homemade bleu cheese dressing. It was so yummy. Ami also had some cheesecake to top off the lovely dinner. It was nice getting to know them a little better - hope I wasn't too rough on her sweet hubby. I forget that sometimes I can be a little much but hey - to know me is to love me - eventually.:-) I spoke with Rosemary on the way home and we agree it is about time I had her and some of these young Mom's over for a nice evening of wine, food and relaxation. I need to pick a Friday night and just do it. I can't wait to hear that Lauren's plane has landed and that she has returned from South Africa Sunday. I'm very excited about her trip and can't wait to see her pictures and hear all about her adventures but she's been too far away for too long. Hope it was everything she wanted it to be and more. I also can't wait to see her new apartment.

This and that.....

Eileen sent me pictures of their new fireplace in their precious house at the beach. Color me happy for them. They are thrilled at how well it works in keeping their little home nice and warm. It is a smaller version of a gas fireplace that would work very well in my little cottage too I think. I believe it is only 3 feet tall.They now have their new TV mounted on the wall above the fireplace. She was telling me today the TV is a little higher than she thought they would put it but they are pleased with it. Can't wait to see it. They are slowing moving ahead with their plans to eventually live full time at EI. Now you can color me jealous..... in a good way. I really am happy for them.Leah sent me a picture of the new duvet she bought to cover the comforter in Page's room. I do so love lady bugs and from the pretty smile on Page's face, I think she might also. I love that beautiful face to the moon and back.I had to snatch this picture from FB of Dee's earrings! She finds the most unique earrings in the world - and since I LOVE cats I LOVE these earrings. Hard to believe my Dee is 51 now - but she looks mahvelous dahlink - that's what comes from not having kids plus the good genes she got from both her parents. Had a nice long chat with Page who sent me Bentley's resume to look over. I worked on it awhile tonight after I got home - hope he is okay with the changes I made on it.

A picture that is a little clearer....

Ruth sent me a copy of one of the pictures taken with her camera which is much clearer than the ones taken with mine. I hope I'm not going to be disappointed my new little camera but so far, I'm not impressed.She also sent me a picture of her five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren with in-laws added. I was so happy to get it even though she sent it by mistake. In my defense - I had just gotten out of the shower with wet hair when Rose and Wayne showed up an hour early and never got around to doing anything to my hair (let it dry on it's own)or put on any make-up. Yeah - that's the reason I look so bad. My story and I'm sticking to it.

Sisters and Brother-in-laws......

I'm sure I've posted this picture on here before but just can't remember for sure. Either way, it's my blog and I'll post it twice if I want to. This was our first "sisters" picture taken the summer of 1961 a little before Ann and Tad went to Italy for a year. They had only been married a few months here. I used to try to explain to Ann when we would talk that my sisters and I who live in the same town don't really see each other all that often. As a matter of fact, I think it has been quite a few months since I've seen Ruth. She had a stressfull year last year also - Jon had some serious health issues that seem to be getting better but he is still quite weak. Rose comes by every so often and we talk more than any of the others. I see Sondra whenever I get my hair cut and we talk on the phone from time to time. Mama did such a great job of staying in touch with her family. Like all families though - you start figuring out that if you don't do it - it might not happen. SO - I decided to have my sisters and their husbands over for dinner last night.Sadly, most of my pictures didn't turn out at all. This one is pretty good of my sisters in front. Wayne kept jumping into the picture. So what's the big deal you might say ask. Where do I begin - basically, one of my sisters makes any get together tense. She makes everything hard period. It used to stress me to no end until I finally sat down and thought it through and decided to go back to the basics of Al-Anon - and I thought about it some more and decided NO MORE!I will no longer be an ENABLER. Those terms - co-dependent, enabler - they don't just apply to alcoholic or drug addicts - they apply to any behaviour that is totally unacceptable. I had to take control of what I will and will not listen to anymore. When I put it in that context, I was pretty much free. Like my Mom and her sisters, we all talk over each other at times and everyone wants to say what they want to say before they forget what theywere going to say. Yeah - that's a nice way of putting it. We all have "quick minds" and getting older makes us want to get those words out there quick before they disappear I guess. I work on this quality in myself every day - some days I do better than others but I do work on it. I also have to keep it in mind when I'm with this particular sister or I get caught off guard and can feel my BP rising. We are at an age when we should ALL be able to get together and it be totally pleasant but sad to say - that ain't happening yet. I'm glad I did it though. If nothing else, BigD and I got the kitchen, living room, hallway and bathroom nice and clean. Don't go into my room or the office/laundry room. That's where we put everything. We also cleaned the floors with our new floor steamer. I think we are going to like it. Once we get some of the W/D and refrigerator paid off - I still plan to get me the smaller Dyson Ball. Ruth's hubby digs this old picture out of my bookcase every time he comes over here and goes on and on about how beautiful I "used" to be. This is me and Roseanne back in 1981/82 I think. Look at Roseanne - she looks like a baby. That is a night we will never forget though. Looking back on it now - for the most part - it was fun.Remind me never to buy flowers from Food Lion again. This is the second time I have bought a nice bunch and half of them were dead or dying by the next day. I wanted to show you the cute little gift Ann gave me at the beach this past November. Each little bottle has a cork and you can put different kinds of oil in them for cooking. I knew I would never use them for that but decided they make a unique vase. Since green is one of my favorite colors - you know I like it.BigD wanted me to be sure to get a picture of his apron that was a gift from his friend's girlfriend and he added the decal to it that his niece gave him that stands for FISH WHISPERER. When I was looking at the pictures - fuzzy as they were - it hit me that we are all getting pretty old and some of us have developed some health problems. So even though one of my sisters said as she was getting ready to leave - never again - I know I will do this again. Not anytime in the immediate future - but maybe next year. And I do plan to work harder on seeing my sisters who live right here in town more often. And I plan to spend more time with my children. I'll be going down to visit Page for several weeks soon and then I plan to go up and visit Kurt, Leah and Page2 for awhile. Leah's sweet Dad called me tonight just to tell me he had been thinking of me and wanted me to know he loves me. We chatted or awhile and then he told me to be sure and tell BigD that his call included him too. One of the sweetest men in the world. So here I am signing off - I think I've mentioned in the past that there were originally 6 of Belma's Pearls. Ann was the oldest but not the first to die - that would be Judith Lee who died as a baby at 3 months of age. Ann's clearest memory of that was Daddy holding her hand while standing at Judith's grave at the funeral and Daddy crying. So now there are 4 Pearls left - to remember. I miss Ann's memories.