Waiting for Santa......

MERRY CHRISTMAS, MERRY CHRISTMAS...

T'was the month before Christmas*

*When all through our land,*

*Not a Christian was praying*

*Nor taking a stand.*

*See the PC Police had taken away,*

*The reason for Christmas - no one could say.*

*The children were told by their schools not to sing,*

*About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.*

*It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say*

* December 25th is just a ' Holiday '?*

*Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit*

*Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!*

*CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod*

*Something was changing, something quite odd! *

*Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa*

*In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.*

*As Target's were hanging their trees upside down*

* At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.*

*At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears*

*You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.*

*Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-is-ty*

*Are words that were used to intimidate me.*

*Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen*

*On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton !*

*At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter*

*To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.*

*And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith*

* Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace*

*The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded*

*The reason for the season, stopped before it started.*

*So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'*

*Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.*

*Choose your words carefully, choose what you say*

*Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,

NOT Happy Holiday!*

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet during the

holidays A MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Jesus is The Reason for the Christmas Season!

pEACE

Flash Fiction

This is an oldie but a goodie...from my days of writing Flash Fiction (telling a story in 55 words).

"WHO'S OUT THERE?"

I was asleep when it happened.....
I awoke suddenly...sitting straight up in my bed!

The noise came from the living room.

My heart pounding,
grabbed the baseball bat kept by the bed.
Looked down the hall.
The noise getting louder!
Lifting the bat, getting ready........
Slowly peaking around the doorway..

Santa was eating cookies!!!!

Peace

Vestal virgins :-)

Santorini from the cable car

The isle of Eugenia, home of pistachio trees.

A woman making rugs in Turkey..

What I loved about being in Greece and on the sea was the peacefulness and beauty of it all. Seeing the whitewashed houses tucked in on the hills of the isles we visited just invited one to romanticize about living there, eating cheese and olives and taking a swim in the Mediteranean Sea every morning. Ok, I just woke up from that dream. Oh well.

Seeing the ancient ruins like the Parthenon, built in 432 BC! Just touching the marbled stones gave me a chill to think I was standing where ancient Greeks orated and fought and honored their gods and goddesses.

One of my favorite places was Santorini, a small island in the Aegean Sea which was formed by a volcano. Its village sits on top of the small mountain. As we pulled into port and debarked, we learned that the only way to the village was by cable car of donkey! I chose the cable car because I felt bad for the lil donkeys...but that's their job and I suppose they do it well.

All in all, it's a beautiful country....the food is good...the people are nice....what more could one ask for?

Peace

Have a great Turkey Day!!! Gobble, gobble!

In spite of what life has handed me these past months, I have plenty to be thankful for and for that I am grateful, and especially to all my blog buddies!
Thank you.

PEACE

The Flu.....Be Careful!!!!

2007 - Chinese year of the Chicken- Bird Flu Pandemic devastates parts of Asia !

2008 - Chinese year of the Horse- Equine Influenza decimates Australian racing !

2009 - Chinese year of the Pig- Swine Flu Pandemic kills hundreds of pigs/humans around the globe.!

Next year......

2010 - Chinese year of the Cock - what can possibly go wrong?

Peace

I'm Backkkkkkkkkkkk.....

Santorini, where you had to take a cable car or a donkey ride up into the city on the hill.

Santorini .

The Aquamarine.

Greece was absolutely beautiful. We arrived in Greece, via London, on November 7th and after a few minor set backs (one of my bags stayed in London, but caught up with me on the next flight), we boarded the Aquamarine for 5 days of sunny sailing to Mykonos, Santorini, Turkey.
We stayed four extra days in Athens and did day trips on the one day little ships to every other island...Poros, Hydra, and Eugina.....and of course we walked the entire city of Athens and did a little (ok a lot) of shopping.

The weather was nice (in the 70's and 60's). What I loved the most was the food! The Greek salads are to die for as well as their Mousakka. Everything is soooo fresh!

(See ya in a few days.....)

Peace

I will post some more pics later and tell you more detail when I catch up with some sleep and get adjusted to the time change.

Vacation Land.............................

Off to Greece....see ya!!!

Peace

Boooooooooooo....

Be careful out there :-)


Peace

Random Things....

I'm getting excited....look at my countdown over there...8 more days until my VACATION!!!!!!! I'm also getting sad because I have to leave lil old Snotdog and his Bro, Tank the Terror, home. I'm not worried about anything else cept for that....

I just can't wait. It's been a long time since I traveled outside the country. I'm not sure if I'll blog from there. I'm not bringing my laptop to Greece but I understand there are lots of Internet Cafe's there.

I'm only bringing one suitcase. Do you know how hard that is? I'm going to do it!!

So it's a week before my vacation and I get an abscessed tooth. The dentist tried to save it but I had to get it pulled yesterday. ( I don't want any teeth problems overseas. ) Oh, last night I made escarole and beans and as I was eating the phone rang. Now with my tooth being pulled and my mouth a little numb I said I just sat down to eat my escarole and beans and the person on the other end of the phone thought I said "eskimo" and beans....lmao.

Peace

What Can I Say, I'm a Kid at Heart.....

Halloween Toys & MySpace Layouts at pYzam.com

Just saying.....

Peace

Laugh Day

One year, a husband decided to buy his mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...
The next year, he didn't buy her a gift.
When she asked him why, he replied! ,
"Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"
And that's how the fight started...

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I asked my wife,
'Where do you want to go for our anniversary?'
It warmed my heart to see her face melt in sweet appreciation.
'Somewhere I haven't been in a long time!'
she said.
So I suggested,
'How about the kitchen?'
And that's when the fight started...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife and I are watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire while we were in bed.
I turned to her and said,
'Do you want to have sex?'
'No,'
she answered.
I then said,
'Is that your final answer?'
She didn't even look at me this time, simply saying
'Yes.'
So I said,
'Then I'd like to phone a friend.'
And that's when the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I took my wife to a restaurant.
The waiter, for some reason, took my order first…
'I'll have the strip steak, medium rare, please.'
He said,
'Aren't you worried about the mad cow?'
'Nah, she can order for herself.'
And that's when the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife sat down on the couch next to me as I was flipping the channels.
She asked,
'What's on TV?'
I said,
'Dust.'
And then the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife was hinting about what she wanted for our upcoming anniversary.
She said,
'I want something shiny that goes from 0 to 200 in about 3 seconds.'
I bought her a scale..
And then the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My wife and I were sitting at a table at her high school reunion, and she kept staring at a drunken man swigging his drink as he sat alone at a nearby table.
I asked her,
'Do you know him?'
'Yes,'
she sighed,
‘He’s my old boyfriend... I understand he took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear he hasn't been sober since.'
'My God!'
I said,
'Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?'
And then the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I rear-ended a car this morning.... So, there we were alongside the road and slowly the other driver got out of his car.
You know how sometimes you just get soooo stressed and little things just seem funny?
Yeah, well I couldn't believe it... he was a DWARF!!!
He stormed over to my car, looked up at me, and shouted,
'I AM NOT HAPPY!'
So, I looked down at him and said,
'Well, then which one are you?'
And then the fight started...


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER:
When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed.
But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first, the truck, the car, playing golf… Always something more important to me.
Finally she thought of a clever way to make her point.
When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors… I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush.
I said,
'When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway.'
The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.
Peace

Have a Great Day!

Peace

Goodbye Warm..........

I was still wearing flipflops last weekend, had the A/C on. I just heard on the news that we're expecting a Nor'easter over the weekend with a possible chance of snow!!! Geeze, Louise!

That's all folks.....


Peace

I Am Here......

I've walked through a new land called Grief.......

I've been here for a while now.....
When I got here the darkness was totally consuming....
Scary, as if I'd never be able to breath again or get out of this place.
But I kept on walking and
a little light began to shine through, and some air.

I took some breaths and walked slowly, resting at some places.
Not a good rest, but a paralyzing rest.
I had to be rescued or I would have stayed there.
This was a new land and I didn't have a map.

But others did.

And they guided me. And supported me. And held my hand.

The road was bumpy but it lead me in the right direction.
Towards bright tomorrows. They were a long time coming.
I got here! I'm going to be alright.
Changed by the experience, but alright.

There is no end to this, no completion, just acceptance.


Peace

Random thoughts from people our age…

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can
think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell
my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves
me.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're
going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to
be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the
direction from which you came, you have to first do something like
check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to
yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're
crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to
finish a text.

- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and
said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring
would probably just be completely invisible.

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

--The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw
they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words,
someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think
about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people
eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by
myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard
before dinner.


Peace

Ha Ha...

Happy Dance

Since I've retired, every day is Happy Dance Friday....enjoy!





Peace

My New Front Door.....

So? How do you like it? I happen to love it, but then again, I have very strange tastes. This is my new front door! It's going to be great on Halloween, when I open the little hatch with my skeleton mask on.......Boooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Peace

New Exercise Program

New Exercise program

The older we get, the more important it is to incorporate exercise into our daily routine. This is necessary to maintain cardiovascular health and maintain muscle mass.

If you're over 40, you might want to take it easy at first, then do more repetitions as you become more proficient and build stamina. Warning: It may be too strenuous for some.

Always consult your doctor before starting any exercise program!



SCROLL DOWN.......


































NOW SCROLL UP..

That's enough for the first day. Great job.

Have a glass of wine.


Peace

Sometime this year, we taxpayers will again receive an Economic Stimulus payment. This is a very exciting program. I'll explain it using the Q and A format: Q. What is an Economic Stimulus payment? A. It is money that the federal government will send to taxpayers. Q. Where will the government get this money? A. From taxpayers. Q. So the government is giving me back my own money? A. Only a smidgen. Q. What is the purpose of this payment? A. The plan is for you to use the money to purchase a high-definition TV set, thus stimulating the economy. Q. But isn't that stimulating the economy of China ? A. Shut up. Below is some helpful advice on how to best help the US economy by spending your stimulus check wisely: If you spend the stimulus money at Wal-Mart, the money will go to China. If you spend it on gasoline, your money will go to the Arabs. If you purchase a computer, it will go to India. If you purchase fruit and vegetables, it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If you buy a car, it will go to Japan or Korea. If you purchase useless stuff, it will go to Taiwan. If you pay your credit cards off, or buy stock, it will go to management bonuses and they will hide it offshore. Instead, keep the money in America by: 1 Spending it at yard sales, or 2 going to ball games, or 3 spending it on prostitutes, or 4 beer or, 5 tattoos. (These are the only American businesses still operating in the US..) Conclusion: Go to a ball game with a tattooed prostitute that you met at a yard sale and drink beer all day. Peace

Spaghetti

Spaghetti

For several years, a man was having an affair with an Italian woman.

One night, she confided in him that she was pregnant.

Not wanting to ruin his reputation or his marriage, he paid her a large
sum of money if she would go to Italy to secretly have the child.

Also if she stayed in Italy to raise the child, he would also provide
child support until the child turned 18.

She agreed, but asked how he would know when the baby was born.

To keep it discrete, he told her to simply mail him a post card, and
write 'Spaghetti' on the back.

He would then arrange for the Child Support Payments to begin.

One day, about 9 months later, he came home to his confused wife.

'Honey, 'she said, 'You received a very strange post card today.'

'Oh, just give it to me and I'll explain it later,' he said.

The wife obeyed and watched as her husband read the card, turned white, and fainted.

On the card was written:

Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Three with meatballs, two without...

Send extra sauce!
Peace

Happy Fall

Happy Fall to Y'all...(even though it's not officially Fall, it feels like it here)....I love this season!
I'm the happiest at this time of year (cept for my alleVrgies :-( (Oh, just for you info. I just heard on the news that it's also "Wife Appreciation Day", just saying.....).

I've been cleaning up my garden and getting ready to batten down the hatches for winter...since I planted a load of perennials this summer and want them to survive. I decided to trim my hedge that runs along one side of my house....and.................a few days later find my arms itching and welting up......POISON effing IVY!!!! I knew it was there but yet forgot it was there when I was cutting up the hedge (is that like cutting up a rug?) I was really into zip zip zipping with the hedge trimmer and completely forgot about it. Damn.....it's real ugly too and itchy as all hell. Oh well.

On a lighter note, I am making reservations to take a cruise in the Greek Islands in October!
I feel it's time to get away. Up until now, I just didn't have the travel urge. I just wanted to stay home. But with time and good friends it feels like a darkness has lifted and I'm ready to come back into the light!!! SHINE ON!

Peace

Bless Them...

God Bless Them All......We miss you....

Ain't I Cute???

This is Tank at 7 months. Snotdog (his brother) has gradually allowed him to live in our house. Let's just say Snotdog(Spud) tolerates him now. Tank is a little terror. Did the word terrier come from terror????? :-) I still love him to pieces though. He really has gotten a little better with time. Let's just hope he calms down when he goes to the vet's next week for a little surgery.....(snip, snip)....sorry lil guy.

Peace

Worth Repeating

It's all good!!!!

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch..

5.. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck..

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.


25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life.. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38.. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come..

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44.. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

---

Monkey Monday Revisited

(Remember "Happy Monkey Mondays"???) When I was working I needed a boost to get me going on Mondays, so every Monday was Happy Monkey Day. Now that I'm retired, every day is Happy Monkey Monday! :-)

Peace

Happy Songs????????????????????????

">

Ok...who voted these in as the 10 top happy songs, huh?????????
I liked one or two.....but all 10??? Come on!
Peace

HeHe Signs

Yeah yeah, I know you've all probably seen these before but I just saw them for the first time and feel like sharing them with you......:-)

Peace

Out with the Old, In with the New (Kitchen)

Here's the old kitchen



New Kitchen....which I'm am soooo happy with.......

It took a while and a little inconvenience, but it's finally finished. I'm am so enjoying it!

Peace

My Lion, Pt. 2

I bought the picture of the lion after hub died and hung it up in my living room because there was something about it that made me think of him. Not that it looks like him at all, but because it touched my heart and I felt him in that lion. The words you used in your comments from the last post, strong, wise, pensive, thoughtful, intense, determined, sad, powerful, doing what he wanted.......all of these words describe my hub. Thank you. And Lois, when you said you said you saw an angel, the hairs on my arms stood straight up and only reinforced my love of this picture. Not only is his essence in the picture, but his spirit as an angel watching over me is there now! Wow.

Peace

My Lion

Tell me what you feel when you look at this picture. (I'll tell you why in my next post).

Peace

Rain N'Shit

Rain, rain go away!

My new kitchen is complete and looks absolutely beautiful! I'm so happy with it I want to sleep in it! I made my first dinner already....hot, hot chili! Was really good! I should really post some pics and I will as soon as I take some.

The weather has been horrible. Rainy and chilly. One day of sun interspersed here and there.
I'm waiting for some days that are hot and sunny so I can start going to the beach and live the retired life as I planned.

I'm working now on my backyard patio.....then I'll have some BBQs...to which y'all are invited!

Hope you're all well and PEACE.

Whadda ya mean I'm not ready???

I took a free golf lesson. The instructor analyzed my technique and thought it best for me to start on the beginner's course!! :-)

Peace

No Cattle Prodding Allowed!!!!

I've never been poked by a cattle prod. Why, do you ask, am I telling you that? I've been threatened by my blog buddy, Buffalodick, that if I don't put up a post he's got one with my name on it!! Is this something I should report to Blogster? Am I being harassed? Just because he cooks great food and puts up pictures of it and makes everyone's mouth's water and want some....doesn't give him the right to cattle prod me! :-) So......rather than having my name branded on my ass or someplace, here's a post for y'all.

My last home project is almost done. I gutted my kitchen and the contractor is putting it in now. When that's done, I'm going to take a break and start living like I'm retired! It seems all I've done is work, work, work...but I'm doing things that I love doing, that's what makes the time fly. I don't post here because I just don't sit down anymore at my computer that much and I apologize to all my buddies out there that I've not gotten around to commenting. I do catch up a lot on my goggle reader so I've not forgotten ya! :-)

I'm still missing hub....I keep his picture in a little frame and carry it around to each room I'm in so he can see what I'm doing in the house. He and I had complete opposite tastes in decor....so i'm sure he's rolling his angel eyes at how I'm decorating and the colors I'm using to paint the house with. :-)

I finally got some flowers planted in the front of the house. I'm trying to start a perennial garden. Hub was the gardener, so I'm hoping the flowers will grow!!!


The new pup (Tank) is getting a little bigger. All he does is bother Snot dog who is getting on in years (like me) and all he wants to do is snooze the day away. But he tolerates Tank and they do look sooo cute when they're both sleeping.

So...maybe someday I'll be back here blogging daily....but not right now. I wish you all peace and love.

Peace