Work Route

This morning, at about the same time i USED to leave the house to drive to work, i filled my coffee mug and took my binoculars and camera, told my cat, "I'll be right back," and off i went! i followed the same road i took for many years going back and forth to the hospital where i worked--and from where i retired 11 months ago to the day!

my intent was to see the farm field that this time of year was always SOLID WHITE with THOUSANDS of snow geese--no exaggeration! i used to pull over and roll down the windows, brave the cold air, just so i could listen to the cacophony of that many "voices" all trying to outdo each other. one morning in fact, one of the young docs was actually concerned when he saw me sitting on the side of the road, window down; he thought i was stuck and needed assistance. i thanked him for his thoughtfulness and explained that i was just enjoying the snow geese, even if it meant i'd be late for work that morning. he later thanked ME, cause he said he drove right by it every morning and never even SAW them!

well, my timing this morning was not good, as i saw not one snow goose, turned around and drove back home. but as my daughter pointed out, it felt good to go that same route with the exception of the liberty of turning around and going back home! yes! that DID feel real good!

i experienced a lot of different feelings though, on that round trip. so much had changed, yet so much was the same. two different sections of new homes have not only been built but also inhabited in 11 short months. a new traffic light had been put up; the pot holes on the roads, which i knew perfectly how to avoid, were gone and the roads all repaved smooth. the huge pumpkin patch was now a cornfield, but the field of "baby trees" as i called them, were still there. and the speeders were still there! (too bad they repaved the road--just makes it easier to use it as a racetrack. the guy behind me velcro-ed himself to my rear bumper for a while this morning, pushing me to 5 then 10 miles over the speed limit, until i realized it and then slowed back to the legal 50, but then, on a SOLID line, with traffic coming, he zipped around me...only to have to stop at the same traffic light ahead as each of us anyway.)

driving the speed limit on the way to work was always a challenge, i have to admit; especially on that back road through the farmland areas that i always traveled to work. i purposely avoided the main highway because there were COMPLETE maniacs on THAT road! at least the traffic was lighter and the maniacs fewer on the road i took. but i'm thankful that i no longer have to be part of that misnomer: rush-hour. oh, truth be told: i am SO THANKFUL for MANY things, as i look back over the past 11 months. God is SO good! His blessings are MANY!

oh! and, although i missed taking my photographs this morning of snow geese, i came home, poured a hot cup of pumpkin spice coffee, put a slice of cinnamon bread in the toaster, looked in the morning paper for my daily crossword puzzle--and there it was! a photo of the field FILLED WITH SNOW GEESE on the same farm! JOY!

En-JOY

It dawned on me last week that one of the things that bring me great JOY is that i once again feel--really feel--the Christmas Spirit, now that i am no longer employed. way-back-when...i was a stay at home mom (called housewife in those days), i used to LOVE the preparations leading up to Christmas day! there was trips up and down the attic stairs getting all the boxes and bags, the decorating, the shopping, the baking, the wrapping, the church programs, writing out cards, the mailbox filled with envelopes that didn't contain bills---ALL of it---kit 'n'kaboodle (whatever that means)!

then i started working part time outside our home. at first i noticed no difference, since i worked for (the same) elementary school that my children attended. it continued to be a festive and meaningful season of celebration. (schools in those days could still celebrate Christmas and not be forced into secular snowmen and rudolphs only. we actually had Christmas trees and NOT "holiday trees," and no one was offended by the greeting: Merry Christmas.)

when my children were grown and i started working full time in an office, i usually only had Christmas day off; not the day before, on Christmas Eve, and mostly not the day after, either. it really made my festive mood take a plunge. i still reflected on the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and the significance of His life, death and RESURRECTION, to bring us to God. but it only became a DAY, no longer a SEASON. it was shortened, and my JOY shortened as well. the preparations were no longer fun because it was a chore to get all the decorations up, shopping after a long tiring day at work; wrapping lost all creativity--and all baking was given up. what i DID bake, burnt and went to the dog (instead of buying those charcoal bones in the pet store.) i'd rush home, plug in the lights on the tree, but after dinner and dishes, there was little time leftover to sit and gaze and relax and enjoy. everything was rush, rush, rush; get-it-done-now and quickly move on to the next chore.

this Christmas is my FIRST as a retiree! or---i should say: re-LIFE-ee. and i felt all the JOY of the SEASON gush back in last week! it's a marvelous feeling! i plug in the tree lights now, before it is even dusk, and can thoroughly enjoy the beauty! i go outdoors and look at our home all lit up and feel all Christmas-sy. i enjoy planning my shopping trips and it's not crowded when i go. and today? today--i did something enjoyable that i have not had time to do in many years: i actually wrote out notes in Christmas cards and have them all ready to mail! JOY to the world! the Christmas music has been playing all day every day, and i sing loudly, if not wonderfully, and flit around like a child.

It's CHRISTMAS!! i wish you and your's JOY throughout.

Seasons

Is it me, or does it seem like ages ago that we celebrated Thanksgiving? i had a busy morning today, with another transition of seasons. i cleaned out my flower garden, even tho some of the heartier chrysanthemums are still showing color. i rubbed off all the dried marigold seeds right into the soil for their winter's rest. i collected more zinnia seeds from the dried flower pods, and am amazed to see that my dianthus is still very green and putting forth buds! we should rename our dianthus; diehard! after taking out all the dried marigold stems, i added them to my compost pile. i plan on doubling the size of my veggie garden for next year. so, that was one transition, as i officially closed out the growing season.

i then opened the next season, and strung outdoor Christmas lights on our 3 arborvitae out front. And, back indoors now, our home is filled with the welcoming aroma of homemade turkey soup simmering on my stove. it's hard to beat the smell of simmering soup! so now i will think about decorating the inside of our home for Christmas. and so...season to season...holiday to holiday...the times between spent JOY-fully transitioning.

oh! and last night's new recipe was yummy: meatball stroganoff. i used lowfat milk and light sour cream, so it was healthier than the richness of typical stroganoffs. tonight, to go with the soup, i will make homemade drop biscuits--mainly because i hated the thoughts of paying almost $4 for a loaf of fresh bread! someday i will try my hand at baking my own bread. but--- not today.

Shoes

Walk a mile in another man's shoes.....you know the saying. well, this afternoon my mantra was: walk 3 minutes in a pair of my own shoes and if they hurt my feet before 3 minutes is up, GIVE THEM AWAY or throw them away! (some didn't last even 1 minute!)

i am completely embarrassed and ashamed to admit the total number of shoes that were in the bottom of my closet (so i won't)! no one person should EVER own that many shoes!

to my credit (maybe, maybe not) some of them i've had for the past 25 years. others looked as though they've never been worn. i threw away 6 badly worn out pair and have 27 pair in very good/excellent condition to give to the group that collects in our neighborhood. even that still leaves me with an assortment of comfortable flats and heels in varying colors to see me through any and all future activities.

now that i'm no longer in the business world, i see no reason to EVER buy another pair of shoes, and the good news is that (1) there's a lot more room in my closet; and (2) it's good that i can share with someone who sadly, may not own even ONE pair.

Recipes & Chirps

New recipe last night was a success, and while it looked like enough for "an army" while i was making it, just 2 of us did a pretty good job on it, with just enough for me to finish for lunch today! I couldn't make up my mind if it was more Mexican or more Italian; nevertheless, it was quite tasty, and very easy to make--my favorite combination! it was zucchini kielbasa, and like all recipes i make, i did change it a little, but i basically followed the book.

the seafood bisque from the other night turned out good too, but even tho i know bisques are typically thicker than chowders, i thought it was a little too thick. so when i heated the little bit leftover, i added more milk and thought it was much better. so, the two new recipes this week were both winners!

Totally unrelated, i'm still (im-)patiently waiting to hear the wonderful chirps of my new parakeet, whitey. he had a lot to "say" in the pet store when i bought him 2 weeks ago so that cloudy would have company after sunny died. but whitey is still adjusting and has been very quiet. well, TWICE this morning, i was VERY delighted to hear short trills and chirps. The first time i heard it however, i realized that it wasn't whitey OR cloudy--it was the 8 a.m. song sparrow sound on my bird clock, singing on the hour. then, just as i was typing this post, i jumped up to see if it was cloudy or whitey this time (for SURE) chirping away. when i saw them both preening feathers instead, i glanced over my shoulder and sure enough!! it was the bird clock chirping the hour with sounds from the belted kingfisher! okay, okay, i fell for it twice! i fully expect that when the tufted titmouse announces ten o'clock, i will have learned my lesson and not go rushing toward the parakeet cage!

JOY today is looking out my window and seeing TEN different kinds of birds feeding in our yard! And glowing between the large snow flakes are all the beautiful red cardinals! i'm SO thankful God made birds!

Memory Lane

It would seem that yet another sheer pleasure and JOY of my relatively new "re-LIFE-ment" is having the time to stroll ever so slowly down "memory lane!" this afternoon, that stroll brought a couple tears, but more so, much laughter--and left me in complete awe of just how speedily the years, and decades even, just vanish!

a recent conversation with my kids (now grown of course) reminded me of a book i kept when they were both very young. the days of "journaling" and "blank books" had not yet become popular, so my book is one of those old fashioned black & white marbelized "Compositions" that we always referred to as Copybooks. On the cover i wrote: "Memos to Remember - Conversations with J & J." The pages are now quite yellowed as my first entry was made in 1970. (WOW!)

when my children were very young i would have bedtime prayers with them, and after our "Now i lay me down to sleep...." and "God Bless... (the whole family and all our pets)" i always asked them if they had a special prayer, which they said in their own words. in addition to recording some of their classics, i also wrote some precious conversations that we had when they were 3, 4, 5 years old, and more. i truly, truly thank God that i had the wherewithal to record these incredible, heart warming, loving vignettes. The slices of life on those pages AMAZINGLY brought memories back so vividly that it was as if someone had just turned on the slide projector!

surprisingly it only took me about 20 minutes to find my book (and was also delighted that along with it were their "baby books" and old report cards from elementary school). they were in the second box i looked in...which reminds me: i need to put all the things BACK in the box, cause i have no room on the floor to walk until i do! but as quickly as it took to find my copybook, i then spent several hours sitting on the edge of the bed reading through everything. what FUN! what JOY!

(shhhh, don't tell my kids, but...) i think one of the nicest, most meaningful gifts i could ever give them, is to some day, give them each a copy of all these entries, which span from 1970 to 1978. one of the sheer classics (the one that encouraged me to find this book today) is a special prayer offered by my little guy regarding his 2 year old sister. he prayed quite ernestly, as only a 4 year old can: "Dear God, Help J to stop spitting at me and play nice. Amen." And as that same young man pointed out yesterday, God answered his prayer!

indeed, God still does. JOY

IN-door Transition

Hmmm; it's been two weeks since I posted on my blog. a combination i guess of my mom's death, my favorite parakeet's death, not feeling like i had any profound thoughts to record, and trying to jump-start my transition from outdoor activities to indoor activities, now that the warm weather is gone. No more planting, watering the garden, weeding, relaxing with a book on my swing, photographing flowers and insects, or planning a lazy day at the beach. Now all the things that were put on hold, while i enjoyed doing those just mentioned, are staring me in the face each day: sorting papers and filing, shredding old papers, dusting knick-knacks, washing windows, cleaning out closets.

one thing that the colder months do prompt me on is trying new recipes. i miss having my fresh garden veggies to pick, but i "pick" instead through my many cookbooks, for interesting and yummy-sounding recipes. they're not all winners, but most of them we really enjoy. matter of fact, tonight i will be making a seafood bisque. last week i made a tortellini vegetable soup that was especially tasty. i like to make one soup a week, plus one other new recipe--two new dinners a week make eating more exciting. next week i will make a new england clam chowder, and then i want to make a cheesy potato soup that sounds good.

not only have i been pouring over my cookbooks for new recipes, i've also been reading a lot, all non-fiction, my favorite. i started to keep a spreadsheet several months ago listing the books i'd read. i expect to finish a book this afternoon, which will make #23 on my list, since january. that's a little better than 2 books a month--definitely one of the blessings of re-LIFE-ment! i got a new book in the mail yesterday (God Speaks to Women in the Bible), expect another today (Gov. Huckabee's new release), and have 2 more on order (both on the Hebrew language).

so my cold-weather afternoons should be relaxing and informative! a good book, an afghan (with a warm, purring cat on top), soft music and a cup of tea make for THEE PERFECT afternoon! Not to mention: it is the proverbial "carrot on the stick in front of me" to encourage my doing those closet cleanings, dusting knick-knacks, sorting, shredding, filing things all morning, so as to have my afternoons free for the REALLY fun things! so, off i go!

Different but Same

I just took some scraps to my compost pile and started to come back into the house when a bright spot out the corner of my eye caught my attention. i went over and picked the most beautiful late-blooming yellow rose you can imagine! i can hardly stop smelling it--inhaling its sweet, sweet aroma! the outside of some of the lower petals are tinged with a pink blush.

it came from one of my unusual rose bushes; each flower is different. Really! the buds are usually a dark red-orange color, but then each and every flower opens to its own unique splashes of mixed yellows, oranges, apricots and corals. Some of the petals are just tipped in color, others are blushed evenly, but every one different...much like us.

it reminded me of a poem i once wrote and framed; i gave it to my Mother for Mother's Day, probably close to 20 years ago. it described one of my childhood memories of how my mother used to walk my brother and i to a neighborhood church where she taught Bible school. we were raised to never see people as black or white; we were taught no matter how different we look on the outside, God made us all the same on the inside. (Mom illustrated this to that little Bible class more than 60 years ago, but my memory of the game she had us play is still fresh. After repeating all the colors of the clothes we had on that day, Mom told us to stick out our tongue. Well! We felt very naughty because that was something that we were never given permission to do. Mom made her point of how we were all unique and yet, the same inside.)

the rose I just picked reminds me that a yellow rose signifies PEACE. i need an extra dose of PEACE these days, since Mom's very recent death stirs my emotions at unexpected times and for unexpected reasons. it also reminds me to pray for PEACE for our country, having just emerged from an historical election process. like my rose bush, this election has produced a president-elect different than all others, yet God made him the same on the inside and has laid on his heart a purpose and desire to lead our country. SHALOM!

Sadness

....I just buried my beautiful little yellow parakeet named Sunny. I'm feeling very sad and weepy right now.

yesterday it was only 2 weeks since we buried my dear, beautiful, special, loving, wonderful Mother. i have wanted to write about mom's death, which followed 12 long years of alzheimer's, but found that i haven't been able to write about her yet since i'm still absorbing it all...that even tho mom has mentally been "gone" for so long, now she's really gone from my life. even tho she has not known for a long, long time who i was, i still knew who she was and could stroke her hair and kiss her and try to make her smile, and tell her i love her.

in the interim, one of my parakeets has been ailing. just late yesterday he seemed to stop eating and became weaker. my husband lovingly set sunny on the bottom of the cage last evening so he wouldn't have to struggle to climb to a perch.

this morning sunny was still breathing, but laid his little head down. then while we were up the road voting, sunny died.

i know what i say next might sound really foolish, stupid and childish, but the way i figure it: God LOVES birds! He put them in the garden of eden. the Bible says in Matthew that "His eye is on the sparrow..." and it says in Jeremiah that God causes the birds to know when to migrate.

AND I KNOW GOD LOVED MY MOTHER! AND I KNOW MY MOTHER LOVED GOD and is now in His loving arms in Heaven! my mom also LOVED birds, as i do. the same night that mom died was the night i thought sunny-bird wouldn't live through the night. he bounced back, did well, but then the past 4 days has looked poorly. if God loves birds so much i'm just figuring that they will also be in Heaven. so in my mind, little sunny is sitting on my mom's finger, just chortling and chirping away, bringing her all the JOY that he brought me for the past five years.

... i sure miss my mom.

California

SUCH JOY! Wonderful, spectacular days in California with family! we visited a couple lighthouses (Point Reyes and Pigeon Point); took a ferry to Alcatraz (lighthouse & prison audio tour)with our grandson; chapel service at ABSW; 9-holes of golf on the most beautiful golf course i've ever seen; saw many sights, many animals & marine life; had many yummy dinners, lunches and breakfasts with family--and now, missing west coast family all the more, but happy to have briefly shared in "their world."

the weather out there was perfect every day! I took a gazillion photos, including several shots of things not very many people think worthy of photographing, but i found very interesting: close-ups of the colors and textures of rocks & grasses, floor patterns of different tiles in old dining room of alcatraz, looking through old dirty window in warden's office, and the ocean as seen through old lighthouse window, for example. I have one shot that looks exactly like a Wyeth watercolor: an old dirty window, with an old dirty raincoat hanging on a nail hook next to the window. perhaps i will make my own painting of this shot.

the colors of the landscape and pacific ocean and rocks were just magnificent! i told my daughter as we rode along the coastline that i felt like i was living inside a calendar: each turn in the road exposed a new view, even more outstanding than the previous, as if someone had turned the page of a scenic calendar. it was definitely a MOST en-JOY-able vacation for us!

California

We are SO EXCITED!! tomorrow morning we leave for California to visit daughter dear, her wonderful hubby and their marvelous son--our first-born grandson! Crazy flights these days mean that non-stop flights are hard to come by, so the majority of our day will be spent traveling. The good news is tho, that by heading west, we at least gain time and will get there earlier than it seems possible. I often tell my daughter how fortunate they are to be living "out there" where they are blessed with "27 hours a day" instead of our east coast measly 24 hr days! {:^D

i am all packed and ready to go. i suggested to my hubby that we leave NOW and spend the night in the airport, but he wasn't so sure that was a good idea. this will be very exciting too, since i usually have gone to California solo, and this time we will be going together. we have a lot planned for the short time we'll be there, but we are excited nonetheless.

i LOVE flying!!! i was 54 when i took my first flight, but i've been hooked ever since. i usually arrive at my destination with a stiff neck, which comes from staring out the window for hours at a time. i LOVE to look down on the fascinating cloud formations and the layout of the land far, far below. The colors and patterns are always interesting. It's as if i am viewing God's very own palette and i find it SO very interesting. i never tire of seeing it from such a different and glorious angle.

i take lots of activities to keep me busy on the long flights, but usually my book, crossword puzzle, my Bible, my crocheting are each barely started, because the majority of time i am staring at the wonders out my little window. it is a true JOY to be enJOYing a vacation with my loving husband and wonderful "left coast" family! happy travels!

African Safari

Okay, i admit it: i have an addiction. i spent yesterday GLUED to my computer screen watching a live web-cam set up in Botswana, Africa, panning back and forth over a large pond area, filming all the wild animals and birds who happened by for a cool drink or snack. such a thrill, i cannot even describe! this morning i TOLD myself i wouldn't even open the link (if you want it, email me and i'll share it) but then i thought, what's the HARM if i just watch it while i have my toast and coffee?

honestly now, have you EVER enjoyed cinnamon toast while watching a small herd of elephants play in a pond on the other side of the world? i mean, c'mon! i got excited last week over praying mantis egg cases, but this is INCREDIBLY BIGGER! the elephants in this group (only 7 of them this morning, whereas yesterday a herd of 23 came by!) all sizes, from nursing (yes!) baby up to bull, and every size between. splashing, spraying, drinking (ewww..muddy water?!), and rolling! i was laughing out loud! what fun to watch; how AMAZING to watch! what a PRIVILEGE to see!

there was also a momma boar with a young one, drinking and rolling in the mud, a sunning crocodile (alligator??), two large turtles, wildabeast, heron, kingfisher, type of guinea hen, antelope, and a type of gull. the most exciting to me tho, was one of my favorite animals: the elephant. i took almost 80 photos on my safari, since i learned how to take a screen-shot of what the web-cam was showing.

i knew i had an addiction when, just after midnight, after listening to an hour of comments following the pres-debate, i ACTUALLY CONSIDERED tip-toeing downstairs to turn on the computer to see what was going on in Botswana!! they're 6 hours ahead of EST, so i thought the early morning "crowd" might be at the pond for a drink of muddy water to start their day. (Botswana web-cam support group, here i come! HELP! help!!!) fortunately i fell asleep before the temptation developed too strongly. but, ya-GOTTA love the folks who came up with such an idea; it opens the world to me! o what JOY!

Little Things for Free

It's the little things in life that count, and most are free. they're one of the many thrills of my re-lifement (known to some as re-tirement). yesterday's "little thing" that is SO BIG to me: i SAW the praying mantis creating and forming her egg case! i've often been excited to see the finished product-egg case hidden on a branch (usually on our arborvitae bushes), but to actually SEE her foaming and forming this magnificent winter protection around the eggs, utterly AMAZED me.

i often see things that (of course) have been happening all along. but when i was in the "world of cubicles" i missed them; and now just feel SO BLESSED to be seeing them. i usually try to photograph as many as i can. perhaps someday i'll do a little book, "All I [did not] Miss" and include the photos of the early morning dew on the spider webs, the squirrel running across my lawn with a corn cob in its mouth, the swallowtail butterfly hatching from its chrysalis, the sunrise out my window, the hibiscus flower larger than my hand that was only budding the day before. i didn't have to spend a cent to see any of these marvels; i just had to look and see. how great is that!

come spring--usually the first really HOT day--i'll be out staring at that egg case to see the tiny (3/8") baby praying mantises, and am ALWAYS thrilled at the number of them! i follow throughout the summer, amazed at their growth spurts. come late summer, they are huge and that's when they usually watch ME--as i water the garden, invariably one or two usually come out of hiding and keep a close eye on me, sometimes running to a higher leaf to avoid getting wet.

i remember the very first time i saw their egg case. my young son brought a branch home to me, egg case firmly attached and asked what it was. i had no idea, but we looked it up in the encyclopedia (in the days before world wide web and wikipedia)! i've enjoyed these incredible (and beneficial) insects ever since. what JOY!

Book Notes

I was in my "bunker" the other day--which i ought to explain before i say what i intended to say... (years ago when i worked in a school for handicapped young adults, one of the shop teachers made a wooden plaque for me and woodburned into it: [my name]'s Bunker. over the next 20 years it always found a place in whatever office i happened to be working in; now in my relifement, it sits atop one of the 3 bookshelves in my little art/study room.)

...so, as i was in my bunker for Bible study i reached for 2 old books that my dad gave me back in the 80's when i mentioned to him that i really enjoyed the g.campbell morgan commentaries. he had gone upstairs (to 1 of HIS many bookcases---gee, where did we all get our love of books from?) and he brought to me 2 old books that he happened to have in his library, by that same commentator. one book is dated 1944 (ok, i confess. i had to ask B to help me decipher the roman numerals), and the other is dated 1909. that alone, in ADDITION to the fact that these were books from my dad's own library, makes them of value to me. BUT! guess what makes them even MORE valuable? dad has penciled his notes in the margins in one of them!!!

Dad has been rejoicing in Heaven with our Lord for the past 12 years, but i felt very close to him when i turned the page in one of his old books (The Triumphs of Faith) and read his notations! it brought back such pleasant memories of when dad used to take my brother and i with him to Leary's Bookstore in downtown Philadelphia. leary's is no longer there, but was a tall, very narrow building with many stories, sandwiched between 2 larger buildings, much like a tall book itself perched on the shelf of sidewalk. how we LOVED going in town with dad to leary's! we rode the old elevator up to the floor with all the used books. on special days, he'd have an extra 10 or 25 cents and would buy us a poetry book, some of which i still have. we'd spend hours in there amongst the dusty, yellowed page books, the aroma of which could only be construed if you've ever smelled that wonderful scent. it would be like trying to describe the wonderful smell of a box of crayons--the person would only understand if they too, loved and recalled that pleasing smell and the memories it brought to mind.

dad left his mark in this book, and with much JOY i can truly and thankfully say, that dad left his mark on me as well. what a dad! what a dear dad.

Grape Mates

Trees are just beginning to show their colors! Very exciting to see the reds "sneaking in" a little more each day! One sad change though, now that it's October, is that i soon won't be able to go out in the back yard and pick fresh veggies from my small garden planted way back in the unseasonably hot days of April. i have only a few more grape [to]mat'es to pick and a few sweet peppers. it makes me sad because i have loved going out and filling the up-turned hem of my t-shirt with these delicacies. i always had half of them eaten before they made it into the house. they were sweeter than candy and gave me great pleasure, not only in their taste, but in the fact that they were the results of my months of nurturing.

the few cucumbers and zucchini that i harvested were disappointing and baffling, but i'm hoping that by adding my compost to the soil for next year's garden, it'll make a difference. (imagine! me, born & raised on a small dead-end street in philadelphia, making her own compost pile! somehow that just amazes and thrills me.) i feel good too that it has saved much refuse going to a landfill and will be put to good use.

i might double the plot size next year from 8'x8' to 16'x8' and add a few other things. i also want to either get a soil test kit, or at least have our local co-op test my soil for me. plus, i want to try to save some seeds from the dead flowers in my front garden and see if i can get some of them to grow again (like i do every year with my marigolds).

as much as i'll miss gardening over the next 6 months, i'm glad we have the seasons of change. my focus can change to IN-door fun things now; no more weeding and hours spent watering and fretting over weeks of no rain. change is good. (i'm SURE going to miss pickin' and eatin' those precious, red grape mates tho!)

Ponderings

One of the settings on my google home-page is Things to Ponder. Some of them are pretty funny, like: if a cow laughs does milk come out its nose? In my Daily Prayer book this morning, the reference was Psalm 111. In verse 2 (NLT) it says, "How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in Him should ponder them." Ahhh, now THERE is something WORTH pondering!

Such an amazing deed is our new grandson born just 20 hours ago! I held this "amazing deed of our Lord" last night and marveled just in looking at his beautiful face, feeling his warm little body next to my heart. We placed him back in the arms of his mother, and as my husband and I left, we both repeated aloud, "Thank God, thank God." We pondered, and ponder still: what JOY it is to be blessed with our 4 children and 6 grandchildren! Thank You, Lord!

Old Friends

As my daughter prepares for a visit from her best friend of 23 years, i think of the good fortune i have in several old friends. my twitter response was that old friends are a treasure beyond measure, and i believe it is so true.

Four come to mind: Nancy, Carol, Nita and JoAnne. If I total the number of years that I have been best friends with each of them, it comes to 151, if you can imagine such a thing! I was 13 when i met carol at summer baptist camp unami, so there's 53 years right there! And, nita and i were writing 12 page letters to each other when postage was 5 cents! (now we email) joanne moved to hawaii but when she returned to arizona and called me, we spoke like it had only been a week or so since our last contact. and nancy, well, she sums up everything precious that the word "dear" could possibly mean!

one of my early childhood memories is when my mother recognized that i had trouble remembering how to spell the word "friend." she said, "always remember that true friends are friends to the end, and you'll find the word end at the end of friend." (that's probably why i have ever since used "association learning" to help me recall things. it has served me well, even tho it sometimes takes 3 steps to put 1 in place; it works for me.) o my; friends to the end--how true and wonderful!

my "new best friend" of 10 years is my husband. we so enjoy each other's company, act silly together and laugh til the tears roll, share our thoughts and appreciate each other. he TELLS me regularly how appreciative he is, of all i do, big or small. he makes the mundane (like grocery shopping), FUN when we do it together. he can decipher in minutes, sometimes seconds, if something is bothering me. and he tells me "Happy Anniversary" on a monthly basis, like today, for instance. Quite special, he is, and I sure do love him! Friends to the end; thank you, Mom!

Tea & Scones

Mmm, I wish you could smell the apple cinnamon scones baking in my oven right now! I have tea ready, c'mon over!

The very first time i ever heard of scones was when my daughter baked homemade scones and brought them over. i had no idea what they were, but enjoyed them immensely. they have become a standard treat any time i've been away for a business conference. my breakfast every morning during those conferences always meant i headed straight for whatever coffee shop the hotel had and bought (at least one) scone and flavored coffee! since i am now "re-lifed" and have no more business conferences on my agenda, i couldn't resist buying a mix on our recent visit to a neat store in cape may called love the cook. i still have the bag that they put my mix in--what IS IT about my saving bags?! Big, little, in-between, paper, plastic, fancy, plain; i show no partiality. ever since buying all the "green" (re-usable) bags from every store i ever frequent (as well as those i don't frequent but went to once!), my supply of bags has decreased exponentially. (i LOVE that word!)

yesterday was the first i got out my teapot and cozy! all summer i've enjoyed using my iced tea maker, but it must be the official sign that the season is changing. i've now made the switch to hot tea, book, quiet music, & afghan with cat-in-the-lap. add a fresh baked scone to the picture and you've painted a picture of a little heaven on earth.

speaking of music, mine was anything BUT quiet this morning. whenever i need a jump or kick-start on cleaning, i just BLAST buddy holly, sing to the top of my lungs and go, GO, GOOO! it even gets the parakeets all stirred up and they chirp away! i love it! the story of buddy holly was the ALL TIME favorite play i ever saw in all my years of sitting in the front row center of the walnut street theatre!

it is time for an apple-cinnamon scone and another cup o' tea. i'll save you one, kay?

Criteria

Hmmm...seems strange to me that the criteria for hospice does not include two of the things that i myself cherish and hang onto as extremely dear: mom's singing and smiling! i mentioned in today's caregiver meeting that one time mom sang with a hymn and the hospice rep quick held her ears and commented that she "didn't hear that." (so i didn't dare tell her that at mom's BD party on saturday, after we had twice sung happy birthday to her, real soft, long afterwards--if i hadn't been right next to her i'd have never heard it--very softly she sang the last line: "happy birthday to you.") when i visit with mom i enjoy MOST that i can say something to make her laugh or smile, but listed on the hospice criteria checklist is "loss of ability to smile." even tho mom's doc told us that mom "may die within 6 months, based on [his] experience" if smiling and singing are reasons to "get kicked out of hospice" then i say, maybe mom's gonna enter Heaven's gates WITH a song and a smile!

That said, something sure made ME smile yesterday! while i was outside doing my pastel painting, just INCHES from my hand, as i held my drawing board, a humming bird came to the zinnia flower!! i could've touched him, he was that close. How exciting and thrilling is THAT!

there's a first for everything

my o my; this is a first for me! my very own blog. i almost always have something to say, just have never really "put it out there." i chose JOY because it's what i feel deep inside, and it's what i see (most) days. after choosing it, it reminded me of my early childhood days in church and sunday school where we were taught that joy stood for: Jesus, Others, You. haven't thought about that acronym for years, but it's a pretty good layout to start my blogging. if you're here, welcome. i'll be in touch.

(o...how cool is this! my very own blog!)