I've said my good-byes over at I Was Thinking... .
Call me strange, but at midnight on the 31st, I'm going over to watch the final seconds tick by...
I have some life changing memories from there that will always stay with me!
~Thanks For Stopping By~
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Meme, Meme, Meme....
Okay, just one for right now. A short one.
Name the seven place you go most frequently each week and list the distances from your door.
1. My most frequent client- 15.1 miles one way. 7 days a week.
2. Second-most frequent client- .9 miles one way. 3 days a week.
3. Post Office-1.2 miles one way. 5-6 times a week.
4. Glen's Market-the local grocery store-.8 miles one way. Once or twice a week.
5. Houghton Lake-for the major bi-weekly shopping- 20-26 miles one way(depending on what stores I hit).
6. St Vincent DePaul, the thrift store- .7 miles one way. 1-2 times a week.
7. The State Park at the lake-8.7 miles one way. Not so much now, but 4-5 times a week in the summer. The bonus is that it's between here and #1.
Yeah, I do alot of driving, so I'm very happy to see that gas prices are finally down to $2.99 today. The state average is at $2.81, and the national average is lower than that, but I can't remember what it was, right now.
The kittens are getting rambunctious. Chasing each other, growling over the food dishes, and following me to the car, when I leave the house. They're scared of the noise my car makes, so they go running back to the porch as soon as I start it. Tonight 2 of them came running out to greet me when I got home from work. How sweet. ::sigh::
I'm in the mood for soups, and chili. I made some corn chowder over the weekend that turned out really good. That got me thinking about what adaptations I could make, corn and peas with bacon chowder, winter vegetables(broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts) with smoked sausage chowder, all with potatoes, onions and mushrooms. And potatoes are on sale this week-15lbs. of russets for $3.99! I need a bigger freezer. Or guests!
Well, I'm on battery and it's about out of power, so I'll say good night and...
~Thanks For Stopping By~
Name the seven place you go most frequently each week and list the distances from your door.
1. My most frequent client- 15.1 miles one way. 7 days a week.
2. Second-most frequent client- .9 miles one way. 3 days a week.
3. Post Office-1.2 miles one way. 5-6 times a week.
4. Glen's Market-the local grocery store-.8 miles one way. Once or twice a week.
5. Houghton Lake-for the major bi-weekly shopping- 20-26 miles one way(depending on what stores I hit).
6. St Vincent DePaul, the thrift store- .7 miles one way. 1-2 times a week.
7. The State Park at the lake-8.7 miles one way. Not so much now, but 4-5 times a week in the summer. The bonus is that it's between here and #1.
Yeah, I do alot of driving, so I'm very happy to see that gas prices are finally down to $2.99 today. The state average is at $2.81, and the national average is lower than that, but I can't remember what it was, right now.
The kittens are getting rambunctious. Chasing each other, growling over the food dishes, and following me to the car, when I leave the house. They're scared of the noise my car makes, so they go running back to the porch as soon as I start it. Tonight 2 of them came running out to greet me when I got home from work. How sweet. ::sigh::
I'm in the mood for soups, and chili. I made some corn chowder over the weekend that turned out really good. That got me thinking about what adaptations I could make, corn and peas with bacon chowder, winter vegetables(broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts) with smoked sausage chowder, all with potatoes, onions and mushrooms. And potatoes are on sale this week-15lbs. of russets for $3.99! I need a bigger freezer. Or guests!
Well, I'm on battery and it's about out of power, so I'll say good night and...
~Thanks For Stopping By~
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Where else?
Where else but here? Whether it's our new home, or back in the old digs, where else can you find such diversity brought together. (Dannelle, I got this idea after reading your entry, hope you don't mind)
What does this mean to me? It means that I can say, "Well, you know, I have a friend in (fill in the blank) that had 110 degrees today." Or think to myself, I've met so many people that have broadened my horizons, inspired me to write, improve my vocabulary, THINK about things from more than just the perspective of the confines of my insular, small town life. I've come to realize that there are so many things in life that I know so little about. It ignites the fire-the desire- to learn, study, dream.
If there had been a place like this 35 years ago, that I could have been a part of, I may have had the inspiration to be more than, or at least something different than what I am today. Who knows?
I do know that I seem to be in a place in my life where I want to learn more. I know that the knowledge is just for my thirst for learning, more than anything else. Just for me.
Bro gave me a birthday card-the message outside-Have a "cat" kind of birthday. The message inside-Do anything you damn well please. His message-You do anyway! Well, he's right, I do.
I'm 53, have memory retention problems, can read something and forget it by the next day. But I keep reading, keep trying to learn. I think small portions of it stay with me, and if I keep at it, eventually I'll remember most all of it. And I'm doing it all to please "me".
And where else but here, can I read small town news, global problems, thoughts on politics, all about the grandkids, anniversaries, weather from east to west, north to south, all from the personal views of the writers here.
For what could be termed a small community-we certainly are global.
Where else?
Just some thoughts floating through my mind while I'm sitting here waiting for the potatoes to cook, for the corn chowder and corn bread/muffins dinner tonight.
~Thanks For Stopping by~
What does this mean to me? It means that I can say, "Well, you know, I have a friend in (fill in the blank) that had 110 degrees today." Or think to myself, I've met so many people that have broadened my horizons, inspired me to write, improve my vocabulary, THINK about things from more than just the perspective of the confines of my insular, small town life. I've come to realize that there are so many things in life that I know so little about. It ignites the fire-the desire- to learn, study, dream.
If there had been a place like this 35 years ago, that I could have been a part of, I may have had the inspiration to be more than, or at least something different than what I am today. Who knows?
I do know that I seem to be in a place in my life where I want to learn more. I know that the knowledge is just for my thirst for learning, more than anything else. Just for me.
Bro gave me a birthday card-the message outside-Have a "cat" kind of birthday. The message inside-Do anything you damn well please. His message-You do anyway! Well, he's right, I do.
I'm 53, have memory retention problems, can read something and forget it by the next day. But I keep reading, keep trying to learn. I think small portions of it stay with me, and if I keep at it, eventually I'll remember most all of it. And I'm doing it all to please "me".
And where else but here, can I read small town news, global problems, thoughts on politics, all about the grandkids, anniversaries, weather from east to west, north to south, all from the personal views of the writers here.
For what could be termed a small community-we certainly are global.
Where else?
Just some thoughts floating through my mind while I'm sitting here waiting for the potatoes to cook, for the corn chowder and corn bread/muffins dinner tonight.
~Thanks For Stopping by~
Friday, October 17, 2008
As I venture into the future~
As birthdays go, today was kinda quiet. But it was a good day.
I had 2 short shifts: 10-12 and 4-7.
I came home to a birthday dinner of Baked Rainbow Trout, hash browns, and biscuits. Courtesy of Bro. For his birthday a couple weeks ago, I made a roast and brownies for him.
The backyard neighbor joined us. She's been behaving lately.
Dessert was homemade popcorn with real butter and salt, which I made, cuz I make it better than Bro. Yum. I've been talking about making popcorn for about a week!
They're watching movies, and I'm here, and now it's tomorrow!
I talked to Son last night(well, Wed. night), he had classes all day today(yesterday) and wanted to wish me Happy Birthday and apologize for my gift being late-today(Friday) maybe.
And that's about it for the celebrating.
On birthdays, don't we all reflect on the last year, envision everything we want to do and accomplish for ourselves over the next? Well, I'm no exception.
I just have a good feeling about my life for the next year. I don't doubt that there will be some struggles and hard times, but I believe that I'll weather them just fine.
I expect it will be a long winter, but I'm ready. I think this is the year of enlightenment for me. I'm going to take the time to do some things for "me". Come spring, I'll be ready to have some adventures, camp, kayak, go places and spend time at the beach(of course).
Whether it's your birthday or just Friday, think about it. What do you want for yourself in the next year?
~Thanks For Stopping By~
I had 2 short shifts: 10-12 and 4-7.
I came home to a birthday dinner of Baked Rainbow Trout, hash browns, and biscuits. Courtesy of Bro. For his birthday a couple weeks ago, I made a roast and brownies for him.
The backyard neighbor joined us. She's been behaving lately.
Dessert was homemade popcorn with real butter and salt, which I made, cuz I make it better than Bro. Yum. I've been talking about making popcorn for about a week!
They're watching movies, and I'm here, and now it's tomorrow!
I talked to Son last night(well, Wed. night), he had classes all day today(yesterday) and wanted to wish me Happy Birthday and apologize for my gift being late-today(Friday) maybe.
And that's about it for the celebrating.
On birthdays, don't we all reflect on the last year, envision everything we want to do and accomplish for ourselves over the next? Well, I'm no exception.
I just have a good feeling about my life for the next year. I don't doubt that there will be some struggles and hard times, but I believe that I'll weather them just fine.
I expect it will be a long winter, but I'm ready. I think this is the year of enlightenment for me. I'm going to take the time to do some things for "me". Come spring, I'll be ready to have some adventures, camp, kayak, go places and spend time at the beach(of course).
Whether it's your birthday or just Friday, think about it. What do you want for yourself in the next year?
~Thanks For Stopping By~
How about a quickie
Okay, not like that.....
Just a quick note that Magic Smoke is Here!
http://jlandhub.blogspot.com/
Stop by there and pass the word on.
Thanks!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!
Just a quick note that Magic Smoke is Here!
http://jlandhub.blogspot.com/
Stop by there and pass the word on.
Thanks!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled programming!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Reflections
It was October 16th, 1955, 1:05am. In the community hospital, in a small northern Michigan town, life has just changed for one young woman. And a new life has just begun. A connection has been created, a bond that reaches past the depths of time.
For the young mother, the time with her brand new daughter will be short. Only 12 years. It will, however be enough to teach the fundamentals of life. Compassion, kindness, love, respect and honesty. She'll share things, teach her daughter how to craft a scarf out of a ball of yarn, sew on a button, how to make crispy pickles, blueberry jam, and how to put love in everything she does.
The ravages of cancer and the treatments they tried, to cure it, will end the physical bond. But the love, the eternal bond between mother and daughter will reach past the boundaries of time and place.
The daughter will grow up, stumble and fall, pick herself back up, make mistakes, and move on with her life, live by the standards taught to her in that short time. Or try her best to.
Every year, on this date, the bond feels the strongest. The memories, the image, the essense of that mother-daughter relationship lives on. The basic foundation of the lessons taught so long ago, still lives deep within her heart.
Every year on this date, the daughter remembers the dignity, inner strength, the will to live a good life, the love. The shining example of how to be.... And every year she misses her mother so much.
On this date-October 16th, 2008, I wish to honor the memory of the woman who in those 12 short years, built a foundation that remained steady and strong beneath my feet, in my heart. Honor the woman who was not perfect by any means, yet through the mists of long ago memory, left an indelible impression. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
I may not have had her guidance through some of the hardest years of my life, but I had that foundation she built, a foundation that saved my life, my sanity, my heart, gave me hope.
The least I can do is live a life that shows the compassion, integrity and love that she taught. To be the kind of woman she would be proud of.
Today, Mom, I send you love. I dedicate this entry to you. Thank you for all you were.
There is no stone to mark your passing,
To show the world you were here.
There is only the legacy of love,
carved deep in our hearts.
The memories of years.
And that is enough.
For Barbara Jean
For the young mother, the time with her brand new daughter will be short. Only 12 years. It will, however be enough to teach the fundamentals of life. Compassion, kindness, love, respect and honesty. She'll share things, teach her daughter how to craft a scarf out of a ball of yarn, sew on a button, how to make crispy pickles, blueberry jam, and how to put love in everything she does.
The ravages of cancer and the treatments they tried, to cure it, will end the physical bond. But the love, the eternal bond between mother and daughter will reach past the boundaries of time and place.
The daughter will grow up, stumble and fall, pick herself back up, make mistakes, and move on with her life, live by the standards taught to her in that short time. Or try her best to.
Every year, on this date, the bond feels the strongest. The memories, the image, the essense of that mother-daughter relationship lives on. The basic foundation of the lessons taught so long ago, still lives deep within her heart.
Every year on this date, the daughter remembers the dignity, inner strength, the will to live a good life, the love. The shining example of how to be.... And every year she misses her mother so much.
On this date-October 16th, 2008, I wish to honor the memory of the woman who in those 12 short years, built a foundation that remained steady and strong beneath my feet, in my heart. Honor the woman who was not perfect by any means, yet through the mists of long ago memory, left an indelible impression. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
I may not have had her guidance through some of the hardest years of my life, but I had that foundation she built, a foundation that saved my life, my sanity, my heart, gave me hope.
The least I can do is live a life that shows the compassion, integrity and love that she taught. To be the kind of woman she would be proud of.
Today, Mom, I send you love. I dedicate this entry to you. Thank you for all you were.
There is no stone to mark your passing,
To show the world you were here.
There is only the legacy of love,
carved deep in our hearts.
The memories of years.
And that is enough.
For Barbara Jean
So far, so good.
This entry is one of those that fall in the 'day to day' category.
Monday felt kind of wasted to me, I couldn't seem to focus on much of anything for any length of time. It was just a "day". I hate that.
The highlight was watching a little of the Monday Night Football game between the Giants and the Browns. I've been a football fan since I was a little girl, watching the Lions with my daddy. When I moved to Ohio, I became a Browns fan as well as a Lions fan. Can you be a true fan of more than one team? I'd like to think so. I try to be, and can carry it off until they face each other. Then, I'm just torn, I want both my teams to win, and well, that's just crazy! Thankfully, they don't play against each other very often. I don't get to watch as much football as I'd like, but I try to keep up. But then again, this year(and several of the past), the Lions just plain SUCK! I'm hoping for better seasons in the near future.
Yesterday was a good day. It was beautifully sunny, with an autumn chill in the air. I had a client from 10-12, then headed out for the licenses and shopping, finishing up my outing with my 4-7 shift.
I do have one question. Why? Oh Why, do driver's license photos "have " to look so bad? I vowed this year would be different, this year I'd look more like a person who isn't posing for a police lineup. I signed the forms, passed the eye test, stepped behind the tape line on the floor and composed my face into a pleasant little smile. The clerk told me to look at the little flower picture taped just below the camera lens, and then began to fiddle with something, taking forever to snap the picture. I began to go a little cross-eyed, felt my brows begin to slide down into a squint and then all of a sudden she says "smile". My concentration was broken, I looked up and started to open my mouth and the flash went off. OH NO! Not another 4 years of "the worst picture of me, ever". I'm not looking forward to getting the result in the mail in 2 weeks. ::sigh::
I stopped at a dollar store, and found a nice little daily planner(actually, I bought 2) that will let me write in larger than microscopic scrawls. The plan is to start writing down my efforts to get organized, and this had a page a day format, is small enough to fit in my bag. I've carried one of those that display a week over 2 pages, and there was never enough room to fit what I needed to in those little spaces. It's undated, so I started it with yesterday's date, and will work on filling in the rest today. I Will use it every day, and take Katie's suggestion to place it by the coffeemaker, so it's one of the first things I see in the morning. I just have to remember to carry it with me when I leave the house. :) Thanks Katie!
I finished the shopping, picking up a few items for Bro and my afternoon client, had a "bad for you, but yummy" lunch, and went to my afternoon client. They gave me a sweet little birthday card(it's Thursday) and we spent more time chatting than working. That is an integral part of my job. Many of my clients don't see anyone but me for days at a time. And I do so enjoy it. There's just something about hearing about other peoples lives, their memories, that intrigues me. If I'd had my sh#& together when I graduated high school, I'd be an anthropologist now.
Oh, and gas prices are falling fast. I paid $3.05 a gallon. Yippee. That eases the burden my transportation to work puts on my puny little paycheck.
I sent Son an e-mail about Grandmother, couldn't get him on the phone. I also listened to some music with Bro, who really loves his music, and is very knowledgable. He's frustrated about the layoff happening so early this year, and needed some distraction, so I got the lowdown on Tool. A very productive day-Yay for me!
Today, I'm just spending some time online, catching up with journals, filling out my new little planner, and just taking it kind of easy till work at 4. At least that's the plan! ;)
~Thanks For Stopping By~
Monday felt kind of wasted to me, I couldn't seem to focus on much of anything for any length of time. It was just a "day". I hate that.
The highlight was watching a little of the Monday Night Football game between the Giants and the Browns. I've been a football fan since I was a little girl, watching the Lions with my daddy. When I moved to Ohio, I became a Browns fan as well as a Lions fan. Can you be a true fan of more than one team? I'd like to think so. I try to be, and can carry it off until they face each other. Then, I'm just torn, I want both my teams to win, and well, that's just crazy! Thankfully, they don't play against each other very often. I don't get to watch as much football as I'd like, but I try to keep up. But then again, this year(and several of the past), the Lions just plain SUCK! I'm hoping for better seasons in the near future.
Yesterday was a good day. It was beautifully sunny, with an autumn chill in the air. I had a client from 10-12, then headed out for the licenses and shopping, finishing up my outing with my 4-7 shift.
I do have one question. Why? Oh Why, do driver's license photos "have " to look so bad? I vowed this year would be different, this year I'd look more like a person who isn't posing for a police lineup. I signed the forms, passed the eye test, stepped behind the tape line on the floor and composed my face into a pleasant little smile. The clerk told me to look at the little flower picture taped just below the camera lens, and then began to fiddle with something, taking forever to snap the picture. I began to go a little cross-eyed, felt my brows begin to slide down into a squint and then all of a sudden she says "smile". My concentration was broken, I looked up and started to open my mouth and the flash went off. OH NO! Not another 4 years of "the worst picture of me, ever". I'm not looking forward to getting the result in the mail in 2 weeks. ::sigh::
I stopped at a dollar store, and found a nice little daily planner(actually, I bought 2) that will let me write in larger than microscopic scrawls. The plan is to start writing down my efforts to get organized, and this had a page a day format, is small enough to fit in my bag. I've carried one of those that display a week over 2 pages, and there was never enough room to fit what I needed to in those little spaces. It's undated, so I started it with yesterday's date, and will work on filling in the rest today. I Will use it every day, and take Katie's suggestion to place it by the coffeemaker, so it's one of the first things I see in the morning. I just have to remember to carry it with me when I leave the house. :) Thanks Katie!
I finished the shopping, picking up a few items for Bro and my afternoon client, had a "bad for you, but yummy" lunch, and went to my afternoon client. They gave me a sweet little birthday card(it's Thursday) and we spent more time chatting than working. That is an integral part of my job. Many of my clients don't see anyone but me for days at a time. And I do so enjoy it. There's just something about hearing about other peoples lives, their memories, that intrigues me. If I'd had my sh#& together when I graduated high school, I'd be an anthropologist now.
Oh, and gas prices are falling fast. I paid $3.05 a gallon. Yippee. That eases the burden my transportation to work puts on my puny little paycheck.
I sent Son an e-mail about Grandmother, couldn't get him on the phone. I also listened to some music with Bro, who really loves his music, and is very knowledgable. He's frustrated about the layoff happening so early this year, and needed some distraction, so I got the lowdown on Tool. A very productive day-Yay for me!
Today, I'm just spending some time online, catching up with journals, filling out my new little planner, and just taking it kind of easy till work at 4. At least that's the plan! ;)
~Thanks For Stopping By~
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