searching and pondering

2012 Hope List

2012-01-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

As I browse through the Internet stopping at various blogs I'm in the habit of reading, I note that most have set a list of their 2012 goals, pay attention here, goals, not resolutions. Are resolutions so resolute that they strike fear in our hearts and we replace them with goals? Are goals so much more flexible that we are able to live with the notion that we might not fulfill them? These are things I ponder upon. More on that later, on to my 2012 hopes. Yes. You heard me. I have hopes, not goals, not resolutions, HOPES! And here are some.

I hope to sit at my computer in the morning and not have to clear away the potato chip crumbs from the night before. Yes, you read that right. I really hope for that.

I hope to use the Curves membership I recently acquired and I mean go there, get on the circuit and do it physically not just use it as a motivating tool to do other things around the house that I would never do unless I wanted to avoid doing something else. And yes! that's how my Curves membership is being used currently. It's like, well I would call the dentist and make that appointment but I really and truly need to scrub the shower tile with this toothbrush. When I finish, I will call. So see? Instead of call the dentist, insert go to Curves and you've got it. The house is really really getting clean but - sigh - I hope I will truly walk in the door at Curves and move.

I hope to play golf. Used to. Stopped. Have to do it again because I really love it. My hesitation is due to not having someone to play with. That doesn't stop a man. He will just go and wait to be sent out with anyone and this year, if the hubster is still suffering with aching this or that, I am going. I hope.

I have more and will detail them from time to time but for now....oh, wait ... there's one more thing. I hope to lose some weight and feel better. Please note that this hope ties in very directly with that first hope listed.
I would write more but I have some shower tile to scrub. Later Gater.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T13:53:00.002-05:00

Just came back from breakfast with friends at a local eatery and then to the beach for the New Year's Day splash. We watched because as mild as the weather is right now, the water?, she is mighty chilly. Now to watch the mighty Patriots turn around this mess of a game and win......we hope. Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas to All

2011-12-25T20:43:00.003-05:00

I think I posted this before but it's so beautiful...I must repeat myself. Merry Christmas everyone. Happy Birthday Jesus.

A Nativity Scene was erected in a church yard.

During the night the folks came across this scene. An abandoned dog

was looking for a comfortable, protected place to sleep. He chose

baby Jesus as his comfort. No one had the heart to send him away so

he was there all night.

We should all have the good sense of this dog and curl up in Jesus's lap from time to time.

This is too sweet not to share.

Please note that the dog is a "shepherd!"

Update and Hello Winter

2011-12-18T09:55:00.000-05:00

Well, the tree is done and candles are in the windows (most of them), a wreath is on the door. Here's the final version of the tree. I put it on facebook and got a lot of comments...not all nice. Those people will get coal in their stockings and I hope they're wearing them when it happens. Well, not really. Here it is - TADA the tree

Not too much different than the last version but -- the gold bead garland and the ribbons have been added. Now if only the presents were under there we'd be cookin'.

Here's our view this morning.

Winter has finally said hello. Not a screaming hello thank goodness, just a little wave of "Hi, I'm here and maybe will stop back later with more of these flake things." Hope he forgets about that and just tosses those flake things around in ski country where they belong. Well, once I scrape off the windshield, I'll be off and running to finish the presents for the out of state crowd so they can be shipped out tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Out with the Turkey - In with the Tree

2011-12-08T08:25:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is a thing of the past. Load up the turkey things, the pilgrim things, the orange and yellow leaves and the harvest cornucopia and put them away. Re-load the holly things and the wreath things and the red candles and the pointsettias and the Santa things. Tis the season after all. Asked the husband where the best spot for the tree would be and his response? "In the garage", he replied grinchily.

No - not the garage. The past several years there has been no room around here for a tree. The house is teensy and the nieces, nephews and offspring of same keep getting bigger and bigger. Now we all know that means more food but it also means more elbow room at the table and finally I had to move the table from it's normal spot to the living room and added a card table to it so that 16 could be seated. All that to say, no room for a tree too.

This year we are finished with renovations, we have a bigger area for table and expansions and the living room is free for, well, living and that includes room for a tree. While we had no tree I placed a large red bow on a floor lamp and put the presents under it. I christened it the Christmas Lamp. One of my nieces, the sister of Elf, has stomped her princess foot and declared, "No more Christmas Lamp, this year we want a tree." So - banished to the garage for all those years, the Tree has returned....here it is halfway done

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T17:26:00.001-05:00

17 Stages To Cooking a Turkey

1.Go buy a turkey

2.Take a drink of whisky

3.Put turkey in the oven

4.Take another 2 drinks of whisky

5.Set the degree at 375 ovens

6.Take 3 more whiskys of drink

7.Turk the bastey

8.Whisky another bottle of get

9.Ponder the meat thermometer

10.Glass yourself a pour of whisky

11.Bake the whisky for 4 hours

12.Take the oven out of the turkey

13.Floor the turkey up off of the pick

14.Turk the carvey

15.Get yourself another scottle of botch

16.Tet the sable and pour yourself a glass of turkey

17.Bless the dinner and pass out

The Turkey Hunt

2011-11-20T18:44:00.001-05:00

I have been looking and looking for Thanksgiving things. First we were going out to eat, my nephew, my husband and me. Then we are staying home and hosting 10 for dinner. That is not bad since usually the fam is in the almost 20 range. I love holidays and think the most fun is the stupid stuff that you set the table with, at Christmas you have the chocolate Santas and such so natch, I am looking for the chocolate turkeys we always had in years gone by. It has been a search and a half people! There is nothing out there that sings Happy Thanksgiving. Happy Harvest is the closest I have come. Are Pilgrims offensive? Do Turkeys offend as well? When did this happen?

Any how....I have been on a mission and I must report that today........TA DA we have met the challenge and surpassed my expectations. The Turkey hunt has been successful -- extremely expensive but ....when success is the only option... who gives a rat. I give to you the turkey hunt. Gobble Gobble!

Quite a flock. No? Happy Turkey Day.

Tips for Seniors

2011-10-11T16:18:00.002-04:00

Lovemaking Tips For Seniors

1. Wear your glasses to be sure your partner is actually in the bed.

2. Set timer for three minutes in case you doze off in the middle.

3. Set the mood with lighting (turn them ALL off).

4. Make sure you put 911 on your speed dial before you begin.

5. Write partners name on your hand in case you can't remember.

6. Use extra polygrip so your teeth don't wind up under the bed.

7. Have Tylenol ready in case you complete the act.

8. Make all the noise you want. The neighbors are deaf too.

9. If it works, call everyone you know with the good news.

10. Don't even think about doing it twice!!

Fear for the Future

2011-10-08T11:50:00.001-04:00

I'm reading a book for a book club I have joined. I've never been in a book club and my first meeting is on Tuesday morning at the local library. The book we are reading is The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom with John and Elizabeth Sherrill. It is Corrie's true story about WWII in Holland and how her family helped numbers of Jewish people escape the Nazi occupation. It is really a fascinating picture of everyday life in a small part of Holland and how ordinary people are placed in extraordinary circumstances. Here is a bit I just read and it is haunting me with it's description of then and how closely it resembles today.

"That was another thing it was hard to adjust to---newspapers that no longer carried news. Long glowing reports of the successes of the German army on its various fronts. Eulogies of German leaders, denunciations of traitors and saboteurs, appeals for the unity of the "Nordic peoples." But not news that we could trust."

I know, it's not the same today but close enough. The papers have an agenda and really no longer carry any news. They just laud the administration and decry any criticism as outrageous and insane or RACIST! There are scandals galore circling this current crowd of insiders but we are shuffled along quickly and told there is nothing to see. I am constantly catastrophizing about this left wing community agitator planning a coup where he appoints himself President for Life and we begin to resemble Venezuela or Zimbabwe. Our economy is right on target thanks to the efforts of those in charge and there are rumbles of suspending the 2012 election. The more I read of Corrie Ten Boom's world back in the 30's the more I fear for our future. I wonder what the other book club members will discuss.

Sorry to be so anxious but I fear, I truly do. The election in Wisconsin had barely settled in when the unions and Democrats were doing everything in their power to overturn the results. I think it was just a dry run for what they have planned for the country when the results of the 2012 election come in and those two groups...unions and dems -- have lost even more power. What they lose in power they make up for in shouting and tantrums and total disruption of everyday life and the main stream media is pounding the drum right along with them. They think the riots and sit ins of the 60's really worked to get them what they wanted and they haven't moved out of their original playbook.

God help us all - and He will.

Awesome

2011-09-28T17:26:00.000-04:00

This just takes my breath away

Amazing or what?

The First Senior Moment

2011-09-22T16:26:00.002-04:00

The First Senior Moment

And that's what happened to the Dinosaurs!

Just Funny

2011-09-20T21:15:00.001-04:00

Tell me this isn't funny

Kinda Funny

2011-09-14T14:31:00.001-04:00

Ever have days like this?

Which one did you have today? The hearts and diamonds or the club and spade?

Never Forget

2011-09-11T09:54:00.001-04:00

****Times of impact: 8:46 a.m. and 9:02 a.m. Time the burning towers stood: 56 minutes and 102 minutes. Time they took to fall: 12 seconds. 2819 dead from 115 different nations. 343 Fireman/paramedics, 23 NYPD, 37 Port Authority officers. **** WE WILL NEVER FORGET 09-11-01

God Bless All Familes affected....God Bless our Military for protecting our Freedom ...... and God bless America!!!

Labor Day Already? You're Kidding Right?

2011-09-02T10:36:00.000-04:00

Yikes it's September!!! What in tarnation is happening with the clock? The time she is a flying. We survived Irene. Lost power for a bit and some tree limbs arrived in our yard uninvited but we were very blessed . Some of our neighbors were without power for the week and Our neighbors to the north have had a very tough time. Vermont of all places.....floods and terrible aftermath of that nasty lady. A blizzard I can understand but hurricane? That shouldn't be.

Here's a picture of the ocean in the middle of the big blow. We had to stay in the car to take the picture since the wind was wild and the sand was blasting. I'm surprised the car still has paint.

This is normally a very serene scene. The water rarely gets more than a slappy little wave or two.

So that's the news around here. We are getting back to normal and now? Summer's almost at an end. The farmers' markets will go on and on though. We have been appreciating the bounty of our local farmers. Tomatoes are coming out of our ears but sooooo good. We also had some mighty good home baked goods. Here's a look at our recent haul.

Those things that look like garlic bulbs are actually some kind of French roll. They were delish. Some friends of ours visited and brought some bounty from their local farm. The biggest squash I have ever had in the house.

Left the wine glas to show the size of those suckers. Big and awfully delicious. My husband stuffed that zucchini while I drank that wine. Here is the before picture of the zucchini.

Tasted even better than it looked. It could have fed a small army. We had some fine tasting left-overs. Well that's it for now. Back after the Labor Day Doings and maybe more pictures. Enjoy the weekend.

Kinda Funny Email but Truth is Funnier than Fiction

2011-08-18T20:58:00.000-04:00

Ruger is coming out with a new pistol in honor of Senators and Representatives.

It will be named the �Congressman�.

It doesn't work and you can't fire it.

Maybe it should be named the President....he never seems to be at work. Happy Another Vacation BO.

Some Penguin Trivia

2011-08-09T12:58:00.000-04:00

Just one more from the email hee haw group....I have such a strong support system:

Just when you think you know everything...you read about this! Wow!!!

I never knew this about Penguins.

Did you ever wonder why there are no dead penguins on the ice in Antarctica. Where do they go?

Wonder no more ! ! !

It is a known fact that the penguin is a very ritualistic bird which lives an extremely ordered and complex life.

The penguin is very committed to its family and will mate for life, as well as maintaining a form of compassionate contact with its offspring throughout its life.

If a penguin is found dead on the ice surface, other members of the family and social circle have been known to dig holes in the ice, using their vestigial wings and beaks, until the hole is deep enough for the dead bird to be rolled into and buried. The male penguins then gather in a circle around the fresh grave and sing:

"Freeze a jolly good fellow"

"Freeze a jolly good fellow."

Then they kick him into the ice hole....

You really didn't believe that I know anything about penguins, did you? It's so easy to fool OLD people. I am sorry, but I fell for it too.

Help Me Rhonda

2011-08-01T12:39:00.000-04:00

Oh Lord! Here I am in the not too distant future.

BEST EVER SENIOR CITIZEN JOKE

A little silver-haired lady calls her neighbor and says, "Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started."

Her neighbor asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"

The little silver haired lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster."

Her neighbor decides to go over and help with the puzzle.

She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.

He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says,

"First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster."

He takes her hand and says, "Secondly, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then," he said with a deep

sigh ............

"Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."

Good Morning

2011-07-22T06:59:00.000-04:00

You might as well start the day as I did, don't blame me - blame my email:

I caught a stray parrot on my porch this morning.

All he says is, "Good morning, you old fart."

...Is it yours ??

Another Great Email

2011-07-12T13:46:00.001-04:00

From today's email arrivals:

This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed. It is reported to have been listed in the Cornish Guardian.

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me.. Call 01272-6420 and ask for Annie, I'll be waiting.....

Over 150 men found themselves talking to the Truro RSPCA

Ain't this the truth?

2011-07-02T07:55:00.000-04:00

Wife's Diary:

Tonight, I thought my husband was acting weird. We had made plans to meetat a nice restaurant for dinner. I was shopping with my friends all day long, so I thought he was upset atthe fact that I was a bit late, but he made no comment on it.

Conversation wasn't flowing, so I suggested that we go somewhere quiet so we could talk. He agreed, but he didn't say much. I asked him what was wrong; He said, 'Nothing.' I asked him if it was my fault that he was upset. He said he wasn't upset, that it had nothing to do with me, and not to worry about it.

On the way home, I told him that I loved him. He smiled slightly, and kept driving.

I can't explain his behavior I don't know why he didn't say, 'I love you,too.'

When we got home, I felt as if I had lost him completely, as if he wanted nothing to do with me anymore.
He just sat there quietly, and watched TV. He continued to seem distant and absent.

Finally, with silence all around us, I decided to go to bed. About 15 minutes later, he came to bed. But I still felt that he was distracted, and his thoughts were somewhere else. He fell asleep - I cried. I don't know what to do. I'm almost sure that histhoughts are with someone else.

My life is a disaster.

Husband's Diary:

Boat wouldn't start, can't figure it out.

Life in All it's Glory

2011-06-20T08:38:00.000-04:00

Should have been here earlier but, life, you know, it just gets in the way. We had a wedding in the family. A favorite neice (they're all favorites by the way) married a (I almost sounded like a grandmother for a minute since I was about to type - a darling boy) really nice guy. My husband's daughter arrived for the wedding and stayed for too short a time after that. Amazing how much you can miss someone. We wanted to pack as much as possible into her visit so the week after the wedding was a whirl of day trips and sight seeing and such. She had to leave before Father's Day and left me with the job of making sure Dad got his card first thing. I put it on the toilet seat since that is the first place he goes to when he gets up. This is only the second Father's Day they have had together and the card made him cry -- me too when I was with her and she picked it out.

Now we have a future visit from his son to plan, that will be in August. I have another favorite neice who is not related to the other neices except through my marriage. She is my oldest brother's girl and is about 10 years older than the oldest on my husband's side. She really wasn't part of my in-law's life since she was married and involved with her own in-laws and also lives some distance away. She is beginning to feel left out and I am not sure how to handle it. No one is deliberately omitting her but they don't know her. How do we make all the years gone by different? Don't think it can be done. I don't really know her in-laws either and they have many family things that I hear about but am not included in (thankfully). I try to talk about those things so she will recognize that we are connected but have closer inner circles that surround us. Sigh.

Life - see what I mean? There it is again and honestly, it is grand. Here's a picture of the centerpieces from the wedding. I took one home and it is as lovely as when we first saw it.

1919 Advertisement

2011-06-05T14:52:00.000-04:00

If you were around in 1919 and came upon the following poster…...

I mean seriously, wouldn’t you just keep drinking?

The Green Thing

2011-05-12T08:27:00.000-04:00

I was at the grocery store and the woman in front of me had all of her reusable bags. Maybe I was being overly sensitive but I detected an aura of self righteousness oozing off of her and a look from the youngster at the register that I took as an attempt to invoke guilt since I had no such bags. Imagine my delight when I received this in my email later in the day.

In the line at the store, the cashier told the older woman that she should bring her own grocery bag because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. The woman apologized to him and explained, We didn't have the green thing back in my day. The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. The former generation did not care enough to save our environment."

She was right, that generation didn't have the green thing in its day.
Back then, they returned their milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled.

But they didn't have the green thing back in that customer's day.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time they had to go two blocks.

But she was right. They didn't have the green thing in her day.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have the throw-away kind. They dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts, wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers, sisters, cousins or their mom's friends, not always brand-new clothing.

But that old lady is right, they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house – not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn’t have electric machines to do everything for you.

When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, they used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap.

Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. They used a push mower that ran on human power. They exercised by working so they didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right, they didn't have the green thing back then..
They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or aplastic bottle every time they had a drink of water. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But they didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or rode the school bus instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. They had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful the old folks were just because they didn't have the green thing back then?

Link to a Laugh

2011-05-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone had a joyous Mothers Day. We went out with a couple as we do every Mothers Day for a while now. None of us have mothers nor are we mothers so we gather to honor our mothers and mothers everywhere. We call our outing, now don't take offense or be horror struck, the Dead Mothers Day Brunch. Every year since the last of our mothers passed away we have gathered. We toast each of our moms and have a fabulous meal, usually at a new place each year. We alternate the power to choose. Last year it was our turn and this year the other couple's.

Following the meal we depart for our respective abodes and fall on our respective couches and call it a day. This year I ventured onto the computer before my full bellied exhaustion struck and found this. Funniest ever and have to share. Hope you had a good day yesterday and hope you get a good laugh from this...later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGeKSiCQkPw&feature=youtu.be