I finally went Christmas shopping!  I enjoyed it, too! 

I have been putting it off.  I didn’t want to go by myself because
it is no fun.  You need to share it with someone.  My husband
doesn’ t  shop and my son is busy with the girlfriend and the
band.  Mom is unable to go for more than an hour. My sister has
always hated shopping.  (She’s not normal.)

So, when my sister-in-law had car problems, I saw my chance to get a
shopping buddy.  We get along very well and always have fun. 
Even though she is also my next door neighbor, we don’t get together as
often as we should. 

Anyway, we took off for Canton last evening.  I had a gift card
from Target I wanted to use so we went to the very hub of Christmas
shopping excitement in our little part of the world- the Belden Village
area.  I expected bad traffic and crowds.  I was pleasantly
surprised.  There were a lot of people out there, but on the
whole, they were well-behaved and even happy!!!

After Target, we went to Kohl’s and all I can say is “Wow!” on the
sales they have there.  That store was so much fun.  After
buying a few things there, we headed for the mall.  Parking was
sparce, but available.  People were still being nice. 

We went to Wet Seal and I realized how much I am missing not having a
teenage daughter.  I was also inspired to pick up my crochet
needle and try my hand at making a scarf for my SIL. It won’t be a
Christmas present, per se, because I had her pick out the yarn at
Walmart.  tlck2000 has a very good outlook on gifts vs. presents
at: http://www.xanga.com/item.aspx?user=tlck2000&tab=weblogs&uid=164811519

While you’re at it, check out her current project, “12 Days of Random
Kindness”.  It tends to put more meaning into the season for me. http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=tlck2000

The photo challenge for this week is “Christmas/Seasonal – close-up.” I
inadvertently took a pic for this on Wednesday when I snapped a pic of
my new ebay purchase lit up on my tree.  It is an angel that is
exactly like the one I mentioned  in my “O Christmas Tree” blog
entry below. When I wrote that entry, I remembered that my own angel
had fallen apart last year and had to be retired.  So I went in
search of her on ebay.  I also picked up some of those bird cage
ornaments on ebay.  Then found some new bubble lights on sale at
Pamida. So my Christmas tree this year is beautiful.  At least in
my eyes.

Today is going to be busy for me.  I am going to Mom and Dad’s and
take Mom shopping, at Dad’s request.  He thinks she needs to get
out of the house.  Isn’t he sweet?  I hope she can tell me
what to get him for Christmas.  I want to get him a “gift”. 

If I can swing it I would also like to visit Granny.  Maybe that
will have to wait til Wednesday, too.  I’m buying a new outfit for
her doll.  She loves her doll like a baby.  I have very mixed
feelings about Alzheimer’s. It is sad that she is forgetting family
members, but comforting to know she can find peace with a doll.  I
remember my dolls were a great solace to me as a child. I think hers is
the same for her now.  It is “someone” she can have with her all
the time and that is good.

Hope to be back soon, but if not, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas.

This week’s photo challenge is Place of Rest as hosted by boydcreek.
I haven’t been inspired to get out there and snap any new pics this
week (due to work and a small injury), but I looked in my Iphoto
library and came up with quite a few places of rest.



A Nice warm sunbeam

When I contemplate my favorite Christmas tree, I remember the one my family had when I was 14.
Because of our large family, we often ended up with “orphan
trees”.  These were trees that may have fallen off of fast moving
vehicles, been dumped by the roadside, or were malformed in some way
that negated their sale.  We normally put our tree up the week of
Christmas. 
This particular year, I believe it was 1973, our tree was one that had
a double trunk.   It was huge!  It filled the corner of our
living room.  Dad had to shave the trunk(s) down in order for it
to fit in the tree stand.
It was decorated with all these old fashioned ornaments as well as
family keepsakes.  (construction paper with macaroni, canning jar
lids with glitter and our pics, etc.) The lights were verrrry old
(1940′s) bubble lights, 1970′s twinkle lights and the regular lights of
the 1960′s.  Added to this was a string of ornament type lights
that had little scenes inside.  Topping the tree was an angel that
my mom got in the 1950′s.  She was beautiful.  She was
plastic with silver stars painted on her gown and she had a wand in her
had that was a bubbler.  She lit up and had long white blond hair
that was “real”.  One set of ornaments were these little plastic
things that looked like bird cages.  You hung them above the
lights and the heat from the lights would make theses little windmills
inside turn.  It gave movement to the tree.  Adding to that
movement were the shimmering silver icicles.  Every time the
furnace kicked on they swayed in the soft breeze, catching the lights
like fairy lights. 
I loved staying up late (past ten o’clock- hey! we were farmers) and
turning off all the lights but the Christmas tree and just listening to
Christmas Carols on my record player and enjoying the solitude with my
cat, Snowball.

My present day Christmas tree came in a box with the lights on
it.  It is small, 4 ft. It stands upon a table. Underneath, I
usually arrange a nativity set that I purchased when I first got
married.  It is a Precious Moments one. I like to put it on a dark
red satin table cloth/tree skirt.  Then we arrange the presents
around all this.  We decorate the tree with ornaments that are
keepsakes.  There is a lit star (it has tinsel and twinkle lites)
on the top.  I still have the angel from my childhood, but she is
too fragile to use.  She sits on the mantle with the huge angel my
husband bought for me on our first date.  One of my favorite
decorations I have put out annually is the snowman my friend Jackie
made for me.  He is roasting a marshmallow over a fire in a
can.  Too cute!  I also have a Santa Claus collection that
shares the mantle.

I just had a mini-vacation but did not get the housecleaning done that
I wanted to do before decorating.  I figure I’ll do it soon and
then put up the decorations.  I am getting more and more in the
spirit.

I would like to thank ilsurvive for inspiring this entry.  Why not go visit her, too?

(The following is the assignment for this week’s Kween of the Queens  http://www.xanga.com/groups/group.aspx?id=1690703 blog.  Please do not think this is my swan song.  I am
projecting into the future here.
So please enjoy.)

Dear Life,
          I thought I
would write and let you know how much you have meant to me.  
I know I will miss you when I am gone, but in a wistful way, not
mournful.  I am hoping I won’t be mourned too much either.  I
have lived a very good time and am not sorry for any of it, good or bad.
         For the most part, you
have been very kind to me.  We started out a little rocky, what
with the winner of a father I had to begin with, but you and Mom saw to
it that  my brothers and myself had a very caring
stepfather.  I learned early that I could not be very selfish, in
spite of my self- centered ways.  When a person has three “natural
“ brothers as well as two stepbrothers, a stepsister and a half sister
there really isn’t much chance for selfishness. I am thankful that I
have such a large family, it has been a blessing over the years. 
There is always at least one friend in the bunch to agree with you,
right or wrong.  I wasn’t blessed with a lot of other relatives,
so having that many siblings is great.
          One of the worst
experiences I had with you was probably that time I almost lost
you.  I still am not sure what caused all that bleeding when I was
21, but there were several very scared firemen and medical personel
that were concerned we were going to part prematurely.  The reason
it was one of my worst experiences was not because I was in pain,
because there was very little,  if any.  Nor was it because I
was afraid of death.  The afterlife sent some very important
people to me to ease me into that stage.  That helped me to not
look at death as an end but as a transition.  The reason  for
my trepidation was leaving my loved ones behind.  I did not, and
still do not , want to be the cause of sorrow.  I am of a more
advanced age now and my passing should not be seen as a time of sadness
but one of happiness, that I am passing from the suffering that
accompanies old age. 
        I am so happy that I was
able to hold onto you then because in the ensuing years I fell in love
with two other people.  Roger, my son, has been my reason for
living.  I had that weight loss surgery so that I could live to
see him become a man.  He was too young to be motherless at that
time.  Mike, my husband, is my rock.  He has always been my
one true love.  He has taken such good care of me over the
years.  If there is one thing I am the least bit sorry about it
may be that I can never repay him for all that he has done for
me.  I do  think, however, that we are not to regret being
loved but to rejoice in it.  And I do!
       I am so glad I got the chance to
enjoy you.  Along with you, I have seen nature’s beauty and fury.
I have met many different kinds of people and for the most part, they
have been wonderful too.  I have known love and very little
hate.  I have been safe and secure my whole existence and I thank
you.  I love you.

Today I would like to pay tribute to two of my favorite people – my
niece, Carolyn, and my Dad.  They both have milestone birthdays
today.

Carolyn is 18 today.
 

She will soon be graduating and going off to college.  I know a
lot of people down here in the “gully” will miss her.  Like all of
us.  Carolyn was probably close to two when I met her.  She
was an adorable little girl.

 

 Roger couldn’t say Carolyn at first, so she became “Kay”. 
They often played together and have been friends since the start. They
love and respect each other despite their different tastes. 
I will always cherish the memories of the concerts we have gone to,
especially the two Dixie Chicks’.  (“Carolyn, remind me I have to get gas when we come out.”)    
(“Carolyn, I think we’re going the wrong way. This train is evidently
going to Shaker heights.”  “I don’t care.  It’s fun.”)

  (“Carolyn, I guess we will have to call a taxi to take us back
to Cleveland, since the  train quit running at midnight.” 
“Cool, that will be fun.  I’ve never done that.”)

Carolyn, I know things haven’t always been easy for you but you have
come through everything with your great attitude intact.  You are
not only a good niece but also a good friend and I hope we are always
friends.  I wish you a very happy 18th birthday.

’80′
Dad is 80 today.

I
have been lucky to know this man for the past 44 years. From the very
first time he came to our house to pick up my mom for a date, I have
loved this man.  I was three at the time, and this handsome man
was standing in our kitchen.  I ran to him with my arms
outstretched and called him “Daddy”.  Not long after, he was my
Daddy!  In addition, we, my three brothers and myself, gained a
new sister and two brothers.  It was tough at times being a
blended family, but Mom and Dad did their best to make it smooth. 
Dad and Mom bought our farm from Granny and Grandpa.  It was their
contention that a family with seven kids needed to have a lot of work
for them in order to keep them out of trouble. 

We all grew and moved on…. or not.  I stayed home on and off
until I was 30.  I loved living at home, but would move out to be
on my own or to live with someone eho needed a roommate to pay the
bills.  I always knew I could move home.  After I graduated
from high school, I attended the university of Akron. I lived on
campus.   On move in day, I was so nervous.  Dad liked
to tease me, and usually I took it pretty well.  This day,
however, was not one of those days.  Dad asked me in the hallway
if i had made sure to clean the cow manure off of my shoes and I got
angry.  I answered him in an angry way.  And he went out to
the car to wait for Mom.  Before they left however, I did go down
and thank him for helping me and he hugged me and I knew “move-in” day
was probably hardest on him. 
A year later, Big Faw, my first father, whom my mother had divorced
when I was a year old, decided he wanted to be back in our lives, after
nearly 18 years.  He went to the neighborhood bar my Dad
frequented, and made Dad’s acquaintance.  Then he started
bad-mouthing my mother and brothers and myself.  Dad got very mad
at him but didn’t stand in our way of seeing him. He never tried to
separate us from Big Faw’s family, they did that themselves.   He
told us all he knew we might be curious.   I wasn’t. I got a
phone call in November that big Faw had passed away.  I didn’t go
to the funeral, he wasn’t my Dad. 
The next month, i got a call that Dad wasn’t feeling well.  When I
went home that weekend, he was laying on the couch and was very
grey.  i told him he needed to get in to see his doctor, because I
thought his heart was causing his problems.  it turned out I was
right.  He had his a bypass at Cleveland Clinic.  That was my
last year of college because my grades weren’t very good and mom and
dad couldn’t afford it.  Dad was off work for half a year. 

I got a  job and lived at home.  I also enrolled in practical
nursing school.  The night I graduated, Dad was so proud of
me.  It was wonderful.

 

When i became pregnant years later, Dad was one of the happiest people
I knew, even though I wasn’t married and didn’t plan to be.  In
fact, He was always walking in the room and before he would sit down he
would come over and pat my stomach and talk to the baby to the pint
where one day, I snapped at him.  He quit for that day.  But
the next he was back at it, telling the baby his mother was a
grouch.  I was living at home at the time.  I was due in July
and had been off work since May.  At three in the morning of the
4th of July, I started cramping.  it got regular and timeable. Dad
woke up at 4 a.m. as he always did.  I told him my contractions
had started and were every 12 minutes.  He sat with me for the
next hour.  When my contractions were 10 minutes apart, he told me
it was time to go to the hospital.  I thought he would wake Mom to
take me, because he was never very interested in that medical
stuff.  I went to the car and he followed!  He drove me up
there, saw me get settled then left to get Mom.  He stayed home
that day.  I delivered by c-section at 8:30 pm.  Dad was one
of the first in to see his new grandson the next day!  He came
before visiting hours but was allowed in because i worked in the 
OB dept. He and Roger have been very close since.

Mike
and I knew each other three weeks before we married, but Dad came over
to the house to give his seal of approval and to get to know Mike
before he let me bring Roger home.  It didn’t take Dad long to
realize Mike was a good guy and he said, “You know, it takes a special
man to take a kid into his home and to love him.”  I looked up at
my Dad and said, “Yes, it does, and thank you.”

Dad was a hero o me and possibly to my brothers but he was also a hero
to others.  During WW2, he was in the Navy.  His ship was
involved in the Pacific theater.  The Japanese were firing upon
his ship and as Dad was running for cover he saw his buddy, whom he
called Pancho Villa (Dad was never politically correct).  This man
had been shot and was unable to move but was still alive.  Dad
took this man on his back and got him to safety by jumping in the
water.  They were both rescued. “Pancho” was paralyzed and dad had
been hit by shrapnel.  For many years thereafter, Dad would have
nightmares about the war.  He also did not like the
Japanese. 

That dislike did not stop him from being a hero again.  When i was
in high school,  we took a trip to Niagara Falls.  We were
walking in the parking lot that was right at the top of the falls on
the Canadian side.  A car was backing out of a space heading for
the Falls. It was picking up speed.  The only passenger was a
little boy!  With lightning quick reflexes, my Dad opened the door
and put the car in park, before any of the rest of us knew what was
going on.  The boy’s family, Japanese tourists, arrived at the car
and began pouring gratitude upon my father.  One of them explained
that the little boy had hurried ahead of them and had knocked the car
out of gear.  Everyone was certain the car would have gone over
the side of the falls if Dad hadn’t been there.  Afterwards, Dad
did not speak badly of the Japanese.

This is long, and I have other things to do today, but i just wanted to honor these milestones of my loved ones. 

Happy Birthday!

hehehe! husband is listening to disco.  Shhhhhh! don’t tell
him.  It takes me back to college days when all us girls from
sisler-mcfawn third floor would hop into big al’s truck and go to the
Big Apple in Akron.  Al introduced me to ouzo there.  Al
never danced but he was quite the romancer, making each and every one
of feel special.   Every now and then I think of Big Al and
smile. 
He also took us to the Red Dog Saloon in my hometown of East
Sparta.  There was an old wooden sign at the intersection near the
expressway that had the name wood burned into it and said “thattaway”
that Big Al confiscated for us.  It graced the wall of my first
apartment for years.

Anyway, enough of that.  Although reminiscing is probably better
to read about than my reality today.  I worked midnights Monday
and came home and crashed.  I woke up at 4:15 and realized I was
going to be late for a parent teacher conference at my son’s
school.  It is 45 minutes away and the appointment was for
4:45.  So I called  and told them I would be late.  It
was okay because I was able to just go to each of his teachers
individually.  According to them he is such a nice boy!  So polite!  of course, he is again flunking everything but he is doing it nicely.
His girlfriend is on my side and told him he needs to get to
work.  He said he has decided to start studying.  We’ll see.

Went to the dentist this morning.  He’s replacing a crown that was
at least twenty years old. A chunk fell out about a month ago.  So
far, no pain!  This is a new dentist that took over from the only
dentist I ever trusted.  I trust this one, too. I baked my sugar
free pumpkin pies before I left, then came home and made sugar free
fantasy fudge.  Hope it turns out.  So far it looks like it
is setting up right.

I will make Mike a turkey breast and stuffing tomorrow before I go to
my aunt’s.  Then he will get turkey, too.  Of course, he
could always change his mind and go with me or to his parents’, but
will probably choose to stay home.

Got to work this afternoon then I’m off tomorrow.  Then I work
afternoons Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  Sunday is Dad’s 80th
birthday party and I may go into work a couple hours late. 
That’s all for now.

First off, I am thankful for music.  Music is a large part of my
life.  I walk around singing or humming all day.  I wish I
could say that I was thankful for a beautiful singing voice but… eh..
well, you can’t have everything!

Next, I am thankful for modern day heating.  When I was young, we
had a coal furnace.  It was a pain to keep up with.  First,
you had to go get the coal or have it hauled to your home.  Then
unload it into the basement.  Then every morning before the
household awakened, my Dad would get the fire started.  By the
time we all woke up, the house was nice and toasty.  But it had to
be tended at intervals during the day or it would go out.  “Throw
another log on the fire,” was a frequent refrain.  Speaking of
logs, we could also burn logs in our furnace so there was the cutting,
curing and stacking to get a winters supply.  We also were able to
burn a lot of the household trash. When i was about ten, they drilled
an oil well on our farm, and we were able to heat with free gas! 
It didn’t take Dad long to change over! and the heat was so much
cleaner!  No longer was there a layer of soot on everything.

Third, I am thankful for dishwashers.  There were eight of us kids
but only two of us were girls that were old enough to do dishes. 
Now, my parents weren’t sexists, just farmers.  The boys did the
outside chores and the girls helped with the housekeeping.  In
fact, my mother was ahead of her time and insisted the boys know how to
cook.  (It’s a good thing, too.  They have all had long bouts
of bachelorhood.) To get back on the subject, dishes were the bane of
my existence. My oldest sister washed and I always had to dry the darn
things.  I hated the silverware. 
When I married, we did not have a dishwasher for the first couple of
years.  As my weight increased it hurt my back too much to stand
at the sink and do the dishes so my husband bought me a dishwasher and
I fell just that much more in love with the man.

So, there you have it.  my three little thankfuls.  And all three play a huge part in our Thanksgiving celebration.

Another busy week, but it was ALL good.  Work was good, most days
there were two nurses working and we were able to get a lot of things
done. The resident that likes me was weird again, but I chalk that up
to the full moon.  I made sure I was never alone with him. 
Last Saturday, my sister and I went to Wheeling , WV and saw the Oak
Ridge boys for the thirtieth time.  They are always good! 
They even sang “Dig” (a little deeper in the well.)  And they have a new Christmas CD out called Christmas Cookies.
Wednesday I went to the Writers’ Guild meeting with Mom and it was most
enjoyable.  A professor from the local college was there and he
spoke on how to go about getting published.  We thought it would
be a real yawner but he was a great speaker.  His area of
expertise is medieval literature. (I kinda thought this would be
another yawner)  His classes are always full according to one of
his students and she added that the classes are not all girls- in fact,
one has boys outnumbering girls.  He told our group he hopes to be
offering creative writing classes next fall and my mother and I hope to
be in one.
I bought a home theater set up for my husband and we watched movies
Thursday.  It really does add to the viewing pleasure.  Star
Wars is great.
Saturday I took a craft class from one of my long lost friends. 
Long lost because I didn’t have time to keep up with the friendship
once I returned to work after my surgery.  I realize now what a
great loss that was.  I am happy she is forgiving and I can
rectify my mistake.  It is so nice to be able to talk to
her.  I missed you, Jackie!
I came home from her house and watched the Ohio State game in Arena
sound- better than being there, because I was comfortable and could
play on my computer while watching.
Today I went to Mom and Dad’s with Pizza Oven Pizza, It was heavenly.
This week my husband is off on shut-down.  He works as a material
handler at a local factory and they have decided to give some of the
employees a week off for Thanksgiving.  Without pay of
course.  But Mike has 25 years in and has at least 4 weeks
of  paid vacation coming to him.  He’s taking one this week.
Thanksgiving I will spend with my parents at my aunt’s house. 
Mike doesn’t do holidays and Roger will be celebrating with Ali’s
family.  Mom, my aunt and I will go through Granny’s pics and such
and get more material for my craft project.  I will take a pic of
it when I am done, in a couple of weeks.  On Sunday the 27th my
family will gather at Chicken Manor in Strasburg to celebrate Dad’s
80th birthday.  Thank You, Lord.  We are gonna give him gifts
that have 80 pieces.  My sister has come up with 80 pennies, 80
tootsie rolls etc.  So far, all I have thought of is 80
balloons.  Actually, my friend Rose, from work came up with
that.  Any other suggestions?
Take care, and if I don’t get back Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are my weird weather pics. These are from my archives coz weather here in NE Ohio is kinda same ol’ same ol’ this week.

This first pic is of the flood last winter. I took this pic from my parents house.

This pic is from the hill opposite my parents’ house and was just a week earlier than the first.

This pic is of the hill opposite my parents house the morning of an ice storm.

These are snow clouds forming over Carrollton, Ohio before the first storm last November.

This was of my rhododendren last April, the last snow storm of the year.

Yes, this is my profile pic, but I just love it and it goes with the haiku I wrote for my
Creative writing class.

red , gold, green
sweet smell of old leaves
warm fall sun

I am told (by the weatherman) we could have snow here tonight, so Autumn may be leaving after all.
Hope you all have a good day!