Only two days left of the year 2013 ---- 2014 --- here we come.......

Wow, these past two years have either drug by or flown by - depending on my mood.  Today, it feels like they have flown by.  So many things have happened and yet, here I am - still sitting in this poor old rocking chair that I have almost worn out. It has been cold, windy and raining the past few days but the sky has brightened up and you can almost see some blue in it.  I didn't sleep well at all last night but woke up this morning in time to listen in to the meeting.  I am so happy our meeting time is changing to 1:00pm starting next Sunday. Katarina told me their meeting time is going to 1:00pm for them too starting next Sunday.  That should help me tremendously.  I thoroughly enjoyed being at the meeting this past Thursday night.  There are still quite a few faces I don't recognize but hopefully I will get to know them this coming year.  Matt was the chairman this morning and said the opening prayer. It was such a good prayer.   Jessie called a little bit ago.  She wanted to let me know she is driving down to Florence, SC.  Her Mom has been admitted to the hospital.  It sounds like it is something to do with the stomach and or colon.  Marlan, Briana, KennaKat, Delani and Avery came to visit with me Saturday. The girls drug the big pink bag from the back room into the living room and each one of them picked a little toy to take home with them.  I really need to add some things to the bag since so many things have been picked over.  I also need to clean the junky stuff out of there. 

Marlan has had all of her children with her this weekend.  Here she is with her youngest granddaughter and youngest grandson.  Aren't they too cute?  I could squeeze them both to pieces.  Since none of our children came to town this last month of the year like they usually do, it has been very quiet.  Between Douglas having to work, Jessie having a cold and Kelly needing a break from so much traveling, it just wasn't possible.  At least we got to be together for a short while the end of last month.  We really appreciated that Wally and Carmen brought Page to visit on their way to Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Florence.  They were planning to stop by on their way back home and we were hoping that maybe they might even be able to spend the night.  That brings me back to Carmen - I'll be worried until I hear from Jessie and that will be later.  I may break down and call Wally before Jessie gets there........I'm sure prayers will be welcomed.

WOW - Two days in a row!!! Unheard of....

Okay- don't get excited. No big news about anything - just one of those meandering ideas I just had that fell flat, flat, flat.  I thought I would share it so everyone else can have a good laugh too.  I was looking at a Belk's sales flyer that came with the paper this morning. They are having some pretty good sales right now. Then my eyes fell upon them - a pair of 1/2 carat diamond earring studs. Wow - something I have wanted for such a long time. SO - I said to Mr. Dwight - "hey, you know how you were asking what to get for the 48th anniversary and I  said why not another chair? and he said - yeah? I said, they have some 1/2 carat diamond earring studs on sale for the same thing the chair would cost - even a tiny bit cheaper - what do you think? and he told me what he thinks and it wasn't good."  Oh well, a girl can only try.  Now if we get a chair, I will think about those ding dang diamonds every time I look at it. Ding Dang it!!!! LOL  Just kidding. No way I ever expected him to buy anything that expensive for me that wasn't "worth it" and "useful". 

Patsy shared this picture of her MaT that was taken many years ago one Halloween. She is dressed like one of her favorite characters from an old TV show called Hee Haw!  She and PaT lived right beside Patsy when she was growing up so she was very close to them.

Can I say again how excited I am that Patsy is living her dream in this lovely home near the sea? I mean - how many people get to have their biggest dream come true? I know she is grateful every single day for it and I am grateful for it too. 

This is what the road up Terry Mountain to Lora and Elbert's looks like when it snows a little. I used to fly up that road in my little blue VW many, many years ago. They are still living up there and both seem to be doing pretty good.  They will be celebrating their 65th Anniversary next Saturday.

And this is a picture looking out of the little trailer they have up at their place on Hyco Lake. It looks so pretty and green doesn't it?  They have had this place for many, many years and I have very fond memories of some really good times up there when I was much younger.

I will close with this picture of a pillow with a lovely dragonfly on it. As everyone already knows, I love dragonflies but this pillow was so expensive it made me laugh out loud to see what they were asking for it. Plain white cotton on small rectangle of foam with this lovely picture.  I love it but I'm not going to spend that kind of money on something that will get dirty real quick - even though it would look good on my bed. NO!! Stop it!! I'm not going to buy it!!! Will sign off now on this cold and rainy Saturday afternoon.  I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

13th Day, 12th Month of Year 2013 and still counting..

Just haven't felt like blogging for quite some time now.  I was going to try to write on here several days ago on our 48th Anniversary (Dec 10th). I told Kelly we had talked about getting rid of the really old dark green recliner and replacing it with another Lazy-Boy rocker recliner like the one Dwight bought right before I came home from he hospital.  I have almost worn it out since I'm in it all the time now. The latest little "adventure" I've been having is a bad tooth that at times hurts so bad, I literally try to loosen and pull it with my fingers.  Long story short, abscess under the tooth with suspected root fracture. The first antibiotic they put me on did nothing so I am now on a mega antibiotic guaranteed to upset my stomach but should take care of the infection.  I've been referred to an Endodontic Specialist on December 24th to see if something can be done to save the tooth. We had a nice time at the coast the end of last month.  It was nice being with Tony, Jen and the kids.

Tony and Dwight shucked these steamed oysters for a long time and I don't think there were any left over. We hated that Douglas couldn't come down (work) but Jessie and Samantha seemed to enjoy it. We were so happy that Kelly flew up and we all rode down together this time. Even though she had to get to the airport early and then sit on the runway for an hour before even getting in the air, it took her almost as long as it would to have driven it but I still felt better about her flying - especially that weekend.  As busy as it was to fly -it was still better than her being on the highway during one of the most traveled weekends of the year. Marlan picked me up and we went to the movies early today.  We saw - The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It was excellent except for the ending - there was NO ending. Just like the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, it is to be continued - NEXT year! Arghhh!

 Richard Armitage played the part of Thorin, the Dwarf King and he was gorgeous!!!! It is funny that he plays a dwarf given that he is 6'2" tall.  I was happy to see that Orlando Bloom returned in his role as Legolas, one of the Elves even though he looked so different I kept questioning if it was really him. As Marlan pointed out, he was very young in the last one and has filled out (nicely I might add) now that he is older.  It is always nice to go with Marlan to the movies - but especially these since she has read all the books and can explain a lot about the characters to me. I told her to let me borrow them so I can get caught up. The special effects are really good in this movie. The pictures of the lovely countryside make me want to go back for another visit. Oh well - to be rich - right?  Dwight, JT, Steve and Boyd are having a fish-fry over at Boyd's tonight for supper. Dwight told me today the five of them went in together and purchased lottery tickets to the $400 millions plus lottery. I can only hope we don't win since it would probably destroy our lives. I just don't believe things like that improve people's lives - not to mention it is gambling which I don't believe in either.  So if my kids read this, don't get excited and I'm not happy about it. LOLOLOL When Marlan brought me home, I stood her in front of my refrigerator that is covered with pictures and pointed out to her that 99% of them are of my family and her family with a few odd ones of some of my friend's children. She smiled.  Yeah - we are family - have been for many, many years now.

I had to snap this picture of Miya and Dwight taking a nap. Look at her little arm laying up on his chest, neck and pillow. She really does love her Daddy. He would kill me if he knew I put this picture on here so Mum's the word guys.  That means Douglas too if he reads it.  Maybe next time I write on here, I will have something interesting to write about. Until then - later..

Forget October, November is almost half-way over.....

Not sure why but once we reached October, it has felt like the year is racing down toward the end of December very fast!  Is it only me or do others notice that?  I have a few pictures I thought I would share with the few people who read this - so here goes.  Weekend before this past one, we went down to Manteo with Deborah to see Pam, Leif and GG. That is where my ear started hurting real bad which kind of freaked me out since it felt just like it did two years ago. I will share more about that at a later date.  Everything is fine. I got very few good pictures myself so I snatched this one of Pam with sweet Hobie and Deborah from some of Pam's pictures.



Hobie truly is one of the sweetest dogs ever. He is friendly to everyone but adores Pam. I love when she sits in a chair and Hobie goes up to her and puts his paws on her shoulders and they have talks face to face. So sweet.  Look at a his happy face. Don't Deborah and Pam look a lot alike?

This is a sweet picture of Leif with his first and only grandchild - and a Boy!!! That is his oldest daughter with them - Erin.  She is an art teacher and a very good artist. His grandson comes from his middle child - Randi. I am still waiting to meet this sweet little one. 

This is not a very good picture but it is a painting that Erin did. The colors are wonderful. Pam has it hung up very high in her kitchen. So much talent all of these girls have.

I have to add the picture Dwight took of his dinner that Saturday night.  He took some of the fish he had caught down with us and cooked up a big batch of them with his home made fries, coleslaw, hush puppies and his original homemade tartar sauce.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it. He fried some of the flounders and broiled the others.

 

I will share these two that were taken of Douglas and Page at their Circuit Assembly in Salisbury. I love the color of Doug's suit and his cute bow-tie.

This is just one of the cute shirts Page wore this past weekend while she was here.  Kelly flew in Wednesday night for work and she and Dwight brought home some of her favorite Chinese food. I'm happy to report that I drank a cup of their wonderful hot and sour soup (broth only) and it was good. She worked on Thursday and spent that night with her work friend - Barb.  They had a great time - went to a really good restaurant and got caught up with each other.  She also got to see one of her old bosses who works out of the office here. We enjoyed having her home for a long weekend even though it was more of a "girls" weekend she had planned. She and Jen went shopping on Friday, . Jessie and Page drove down Friday night and stopped out at Jen's on their way here. They all got in late Friday night and slept late on Saturday.  Then they went back out to Jen's for the day and evening.  Jessie and Page had to go home Sunday but Kelly didn't leave until Monday.  Dwight drove her to work and then went back and picked her up (taking her packed suit case with him) and dropped her off at the airport later that afternoon.  All in all, a very busy but fun long weekend for all of them.

I snatched this sweet picture of Eric with his sweet Bug from Facebook. She is such a pretty little thing.  Her Mom and Dad work tirelessly to make sure she is happy. She suffers from Epilepsy and at times it becomes overwhelming for all of them.

 This is Jessi with her pretty little Lyla - I also follow her on Facebook and have watched this little one since she was born.  Jessi is a wonderful Mom and we all appreciate her sharing this little bundle with us. Her Daddy is a fireman and her brother is a sweet Pit Bull named Piglet. 

 And this is a picture of many of the kids from the East Congregation. Jamie had a party at her house and from the pictures she shared on Facebook - they all had a wonderful time.  She had all kinds of activities planned for them including art projects.

I will close this post with a picture of The Great Wall of China I snagged from Matt's Instagram pictures. He had a wonderful time there and in Japan when he attended the International Convention.  He came over today and helped me learn a little more about my iPad.  I've been having a few problems and every so often, I really need him to explain things to me - like how to download magazines and other publications.  After he left, Dwight was talking about what a fine young man he is and of course, I had to agree.  He is also a good friend.  

Where did October go??????

Well that was fast - I blink my eyes and the whole month has passed by.  I have had several people point out to me that I haven't written anything in my blog for awhile.  They made me feel good to think they might even be interested in anything I might have to say...especially since my life has narrowed down quite a bit over the past two years. 

I decided to start with a picture I snatched of Fina's little girl, Harmoni. Don't you just want to squeeze that pretty little face? I love that smile. I can not believe how grown up she looks. I would love to see some recent pictures of her two beautiful boys.



 These two pictures show the pictures of Page I put into the two-sided pendant Jess got me this past summer at the coast.  These were taken a year apart and are both very good pictures of her. I enjoy wearing it and having people ask to see the pictures.

Jeanne brought me the two bracelets I ordered from her.  This is a smaller version of the one I ordered for me and this one is for Page.  I really enjoyed my visit with her today and getting to know her a little better.  I gave her one of my favorite watches that needs a battery to see if she could change the battery.  She said her hubby will be able to change the battery.  I told her if the watch doesn't work after the battery has been changed, I would like for her to replace the watch face with some similar pieces of metal to make it into a bracelet.

I think this was taken at Brandon's latest competition. According to his Mom, he pretty much won every thing he competed in. Her biggest pride in him is how he really doesn't care that much if he wins or not.  He just goes out and gives it his all.  She said he is so relaxed about the whole thing and when he doesn't win, he is the first to congratulate and say good job to the winner. We are all so very proud of this beautiful young man.

  Another picture I snatched from Facebook. This is the lovely couple who took such good care of me and Marlan while we were in the Forest of Dean in England near the border of Wales.  They recently experienced some bad weather along with some flooding in their area but I think things have settled down now - at least I hope they have. We both have such wonderful memories of our time spent with them both there and when they came to the States and we met them in NYC. 

I don't know where I pulled this picture of Mom with two of her grandchildren from. More than likely it was taken at one of the reunions we went to.  That is Melanie on the right but I'm not sure if the other one is Ted or Sid----oh well.  What matters most is just how much I still miss her every day.  Jeanne and I also talked about how much we all still miss Ike and Ennis. 

This is a picture of Mike with Diane, Jazz and Jackie.  It looks like it was taken at a Kingdom Hall.  I love and miss all of them but especially have fond memories of working with Jackie for many years. 

I love this picture of Moni with Pookie.  I know no other animal will ever be able to replace her beloved Dorothy for any of us but thankfully Pookie is starting to do better with people other than Moni and Tom.  She is such a pretty dog but has obviously been abused at some point in her life.  We can only hope that with her getting Moni's full attention now, she will mellow out  even more.

Miya finally started using her "uber" expensive cat hammock.  When she first gets in it, her blue eyes pick up the blues in the flowers on the hammock itself.  She definitely does things "her" way.

So I will end this entry with one of my favorite scenes of the beach.  I am finally so sleepy I can't hold my eyes open.  Guess I need to put my mask and and try to get some rest.  

Almost feels like October but not quite....

Here we are at the end of the first week of October and it is 84 degrees outside.  We have had some "nippy" mornings but so far, our Autumn has been quite mild. Mike brought Zandra up to see a few of her relatives in Wilmington early last weekend and then brought her here to stay with me for a week while he played in a golf tournament in Pinehurst.  Dwight took advantage of having someone here with me and went fishing down at Outer Banks with a few of his friends.  He was happy he was able to stay at one of our favorite places there - Fin & Feather.  They had wonderful weather and seemed to have a great time.  Zandra took very good care of me this past week, got me to all my medical appointments and to my meeting on Thursday night. We also had time to really get caught up with each other.  Of course, her life has been a little more interesting and active than mine these past two years.

 Miya claimed her as her own while she was here.  Thank goodness Zandra loves cats too since Miya was determined to be held by her.  She doesn't take to everyone like this so Zandra should feel special. I asked Zandra to help me start scanning some of the pictures Jessica brought me to scan.  We spent close to an hour scanning and took a break.  I found out a little later that she really didn't want to help me scan pictures while she was here. J I assured her that it was okay.  Dwight came home Friday afternoon and said he had  really good trip. Saturday was a very special evening and one I will never forget.  We had a special meeting in Cary and my neighbors were so kind to provide me transportation since they were going also. I had gotten prior approval to take my chair and who was the first person I saw but my spiritual Mom's son, Rick!!!! We embraced over and over and were so happy to be at this special meeting together.  It turns out he was the coordinator for this site and was responsible for making sure everything went according to plan - which it did. 

He is pretty famous in the world of Financial Planning with his own daily radio show and a best selling book on the subject.  He gave me some wonderful news last night - he is moving his Mom to Cary in three months which is much closer to me also.  She will be in a very nice Assisted Living facility and he will make sure she gets everything she needs.  That means my Dwight will be able to take me over to visit her from time to time and I can't wait.  The meeting last night was so special - we also received a very special gift at the meeting.  We were asked not to discuss it since this meeting is being held in other locations and at different times so we don't want to spoil the surprise for them.

They put my chair beside a wonderful young brother from my congregation and he took very good care of me.  They had told us to prepare for the meeting lasting at least three and a half hours and it did but I didn't care.  I was not going to miss a single minute of it.  Dwight called when we were on our way home and told me to tell Patsy and Alton he was cooking fish with all the "fixings" and there was plenty for them to take some home with them.  Patsy started fixing her plate and ate a whole piece of fish before she could finish getting her plate ready. She loved the fish so I'm sure Dwight will remember her from now own when he wants to share with someone.  I HAD to get undressed and back in my chair as soon as I could.   Douglas just called from the car and said - we can talk about it now!!!! So they just had their special meeting and received their surprise!  They were excited like we all were.  I hope to share the information with Kelly soon.  All I can think to say is  WOW!!!

I was so happy to see that Mike had gotten back home safe and sound from Pinehurst.  I had let him borrow my old GPS to get there and he said it worked perfectly....took him right to the front door. He  said he enjoyed his Golf Tournament and shared a few stories with us.  I was sad to see Zandra leave this morning but I know she is anxious to get home to her Bailey Bug. I just sent her a text message to see if they are home yet but haven't heard back yet. 

I noticed Mike and Zandra were drinking out of these cool cups with the straw built into the lid. It is a very good size and fits in cup holders in the car.  I laid claim to this one and used it for my iced tea.  She said she bought it at a grocery store but we don't have those particular stores in North Carolina.  Yeah - I'm shameless - I pretty much begged her to let me keep this one.  I offered to pay for it so she could replace it but she very sweetly insisted I keep it.  I just got a message back from her saying they are just now getting into Florida. She said it will be about another two hours before they get home.  I know they are going to be tired when they get home since it is such a long trip.  I slept very hard last night.  Woke up to take my meds one time in the middle of the night and then slept until Zandra kissed me good-bye this morning.  It was time for my meds so I took them and went right back to sleep until time for my next meds at 1pm.  The next time I woke up, I got really sick. I feel a little better now. 

I decided to share a few of the pictures I've scanned so far.  This is one that was taken in May or June of 2000 which means it was taken early in Jessica's pregnancy with Page. 

 I love these two of Page helping get the clothes out of the dryer.  Isn't she the cutest little bit you have ever seen?  So hard to believe she is 13 years old now. 

And the last one is of sweet Max.  The love of so many people's lives including ours.  Such a special boy he was.  We all still miss him but not as much as Doug and Jess do I'm sure.

September is winding down.....

Wow - that was fast. I'll have to say that for the most part, September has been a pretty good month, especially this past week. I was so happy I was able to go over to Marlan's for the "Meet and Greet Party" for Phineas a few weeks back. It was my first time seeing Marlan since she broke her leg plus I got to be with her entire family.

 Little Em just gets prettier every day. She can't get much sweeter - look at that smile! Marlan has a beautiful family including her precious grandchildren.

 Dwight and Judy got to get caught up. We were excited to hear all about their 50th Anniversary plans.

And of course, the little man of the hour. His Mom handed him to me as soon as I got there and left him with me for quite awhile. I truly didn't mind since I could have held him even longer.

I can't forget Bain - he just gets cuter every day.  It makes me sad I have never seen him.  Hoping the next time the family is here she will be able to bring him over for a visit. 

I ran across this picture of Moni and Tadashi - I love it. We were so happy to see him really enjoying himself that long weekend.  It was so good seeing all of them at the first Belma's Pearls Family Reunion a little over a week ago. 

I really liked this one of Stephanie, Douglas and Ted.  Stephanie rented the beautiful club house that is in the Park where she lives.  Several of the kids played tennis and of course Steph beat them. 

Of course I love this one of Moni (my first girl) and Kelly. I'm thirteen years older than Moni and she is 12 years older than Kelly.  I get to keep up with Moni on Facebook as well as her handsome brother Sid. Her sweetie - Tom - came by for a nice visit.  We enjoyed him very much.

Someone took quite a few of us all sitting together and this was the first one taken. I decided since we were all already smiling so big, it should be the one I showed - the natural one.

I'm not sure what Sid is telling me here but it must have been a good one. And yes Moni - before you say it, I definitely see Mama here.  Uh Oh. 

Here is Faye calling everyone to eat.  Not really, she was talking to everyone and I think someone asked her a question.

Of course Kelly is always aware of the more important needs of the moment and rose to the occasion with a much needed fan of sorts. Faye only got a little emotional when talking about Barbara but for the most part she did really well.  She then asked about the Belma's Pearls poem so I pulled it up on my iPad (it is on my blog) and I read it.

This is one of many that were taken. It isn't that great of me but I think it is the best of everyone else. Overall - we decided it was a big success and we are planning to do it on the same weekend every year. I can't tell you how happy we were to see Tadashi, Paul, Lori and Brandon.  The trip was totally exhausting but they got there and we enjoyed them. 

So I will end the reunion pictures with three of my favorite family members - Big Al, Moni and "Little Sid".  We were sad that Big Sid wasn't there but totally understood. Someone gave him tickets to the Duke Football game and we all know how much he loves Duke.  They were excellent seats but sadly Duke lost by 4 lousy points.  Made us all feel sad but we know Sid really enjoyed it.

I have to brag since Jessie and Doug's Chili won 2nd place in the Annual Chili Festival.  Their Chili won the last two years so they figure losing by just 1 point wasn't too bad.

Isn't this the cutest thing? It is a picture of Hiro in his brand spanking new blankie.  I know, we are nuts aren't we?  But we do love our babies.

 I'll close with these pictures of GG and Leif. I'm so jealous because Dwight is going down there fishing this week and will get to see all of them.  Hopefully I'll be able to go next time. He deserves a trip away and thankfully, Zandra will be here with me all week.  She and Mike came in tonight and feasted on Dwight's BBQ Ribs  and potato salad. Mike leaves Monday for a Golf Tournament.