I'm Still Alive and Well and Volunteering

Here's a shot of the "Reflecting Absence" Pool and waterfalls at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. 
It's remarkable, it's amazing, it's holy ground.  It took my breath away.  It's the first time I've been there since 2001 and really didn't know how I was going to react. I found my friends' names on the wall and hung out with them for a bit...... it was healing and peaceful.

They did  a remarkable job there.  Hundreds of trees around the two pools make it so serene.  And even though there were hundreds of people at the site, it had a silent and respectful atmosphere.
I'm glad I did it.

I decided to volunteer at the site a few times a month.  I greet and lead the visitors into the site.  It's nice to give back a little since so many lives were given to get this.

Peace

Bless Them All

She Went To Dance......

My Mom's dementia caused me to lose the person she was 12 years ago. The person she became was a child, who I cared for and loved. She didn't remember having children, but she liked me anyway, She sang and she laughed. She was one of the lucky ones if you can even use the word lucky along with dementia. Her body was strong but her mind as we knew it, disappeared.

Mom died in her sleep on Thursday. Peacefully.

She went to dance with my Dad!

Peace

Thank You.

Thank you U.S. Troops......God Bless America. (Maybe now they can rest in peace).

Hello and Stuff

I'm still waiting to plant my flowers and veggies!! The weather still sucks here. Damn.

I've been keeping busy doing stuff, like going to see a taping of "America's Got Talent"...lol. I actually met Howie Mandel in a restaurant after the show. Pretty cool, huh?

Peace

Joke Day

Peace

A Whole Lot of Nothing

Even tho we had a one day tease of warm weather, I gathered my patio furniture and cleaned it off and set it out. I straightened up the backyard and am waiting. lol. I'm like a caged animal.

I know it's still March, but it's been a really long, long, cold, cold, snowy, snowy winter!

I watched the movie "127 Hours" last night!...O.M.G.! Have you seen it? It was a well done movie, but I had to hide my eyes...(even tho I peeked) through some of it. Now I see why it was nominated for an Academy Award.

My twin great nehpew and neice are coming to visit Friday.....can't wait. I bought them the cutest little outfits Saturday and can't wait to give them to em.

I'm A Bad, Bad Mother :-(

Now, it's not like I'm stressed out from work...or have lots on my mind...I am retired and live a pretty stress free life.

It was a cold, rainy day today (yeah, yeah, Happy Spring)...pffft! The only thing on the agenda was a visit to my accountant. I let the dogs out in the yard (thru my new back door). Just before I left, got the dogs in and went on my merry way.

Two hours later I come home and am greeted by two dogs....hmmm. One. Two. (I have three). ut oh....where's the Snot dog? Poor baby. I left him out in the yard.....lol. Luckily I do have an overhang and he was protected from the rain. I gave him lots of hugs to warm him up and some extra treats.....

My friend Twinhead says from now on I have to count...1...2...3.....when the dogs come in to insure all my babies are in. LOL.

How was your day?

Peace

I can't wait for Spring!

I want warm weather, I want to plant my flowers and tomatoes, I want to sit out in my yard, I want to go to the beach, I want the sun, I want the salt water, I want the sand, seashells and waves. Not to mention iced tea, lemonade, hot dogs and hamburgers on the grill.

Am I asking for too much???

Peace

Kiss Me, I'm Irish

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Peace

I Forgot I Blog

Oops I think I forgot I had a blog. LOL. I've been very busy doing "stuff" that I actually didn't think about posting. Mom's in the hospital with pneumonia. She turned 90 in January. I just can't believe it. She's doing fairly well still too... Bless her little heart. I've been going to the hospital every day. She still doesn't know who I am, but she likes me anyway. Cute.

Peace

Tank Comes Peeking

Can't I ever get any peace? :-)

Peace

Smile Day!

There is a factory in Northern Minnesota which makes the Tickle Me Elmo toys. The toy laughs when you tickle it under the arms.

Well, Lena is hired at The Tickle Me Elmo factory and she reports for her first day promptly at 8:00 am.

The next day at 8:45 am there is a knock at the personnel manager's door.. The foreman throws open the door and begins to rant about the new employee..
He complains that she is incredibly slow and the whole line is backing up, putting the entire production line behind schedule.

The personnel manager decides to see this for himself, so the 2 men march down to the factory floor. When they get there the line is so backed up that there are Tickle Me Elmo's all over the factory floor and they're really beginning to pile up. At the end of the line stands Lena surrounded by mountains of Tickle Me Elmo's.
She has a roll of plush red fabric and a huge bag of small marbles.

The 2 men watch in amazement as she cuts a little piece of fabric, wraps it around two marbles and begins to carefully sew the little package between Elmo's legs.
The personnel manager bursts into laughter. After several minutes of hysterics he pulls himself together and approaches Lena ...
"I'm sorry," he says to her, barely able to keep a straight face, "but I think you misunderstood the instructions I gave you yesterday..."

'Your job is to give Elmo two test tickles..


Peace

Happy Friday!

Happy Dance Friday!

It's supposed to be 60 degrees here today...so that's cause for dancing.....however it will go back down to the 30's tomorrow.....so I gotta dance as much as I can today. I've been fighting a bad cold all week...today I feel a little better so I intend to get out into the world today instead of getting in trouble at home.

Trouble, you ask? Well....I almost electrocuted myself. How, you ask? Well...I'm the type of person who thinks they can fix anything. And I proceeded to splice a cord from one of my lamps that Tank chewed thru when he was a pup. I got all the tools and spliced and taped and such...then.....I go to plug it in. Zappppppppppppp........the plug turned black and melted a little....duh? What I learned, later, is that I was supposed to split the cord and then wind the two separately....and I wound the both of them together........ya live and learn.....thank god I'm still here to learn....lol.

Hope y'all have a great weekend.

Peace

(wow, I managed to get happy dancing and a monkey in one post...)

Peanuts

You Are Linus

I always loved Peanuts....See who you are!!! You are an optimistic and open minded person. You believe that everything will work out in the end. You are very kind and forgiving. You're always willing to give someone another chance. You are highly creative and innovative. People sometimes just don't get what you're doing. You are brainier and smarter than people realize. You are always thinking, plotting, or dreaming.

What Peanuts Character Are You?

Blogthings: A Fine Line Between Insight and Stupidity

Ouch

I woke up today with a sore throat! I never get sore throats...wtf? It hurts to speak! Oh nooo.
Drank some tea with honey and lemon. I haven't been sick in ages! At least since I retired. and I was just saying that to someone the other day too. Damn, I must have jinxed myself. I'm so glad I'm not a singer or I'd really be pissed.

Tank the Terror (the Yorkie) got a hold of one my Christmas tea lite candles (the battery operated ones). I was sitting watching TV the other night when I noticed this blinking light our of the corner of my eye. I looked down and there was "the Terror" holding the candle in his mouth while it was blinking green, red and white. I just laughed so hard at the sight of it....I went to grab my camera but he ran away under the bed. OMG it was funny. (ya had to be there, I guess).

Peace

Happy Valentine's Day????

Hope you have a great day! :-)

Peace

Happy Friday.....

What can I say...I have a sick sense of humor.....:-)))

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

Peace

OMG I Have a Headache

One of my many nice neighbors is on vacation this week and has her brother staying at her house....she's the one that watches my dogs on occasion. Her brother works during the day and she asked me to go over to let her dog out during the day. She has an alarm on her house and she gave me the codes and told me what to press to disarm it. Ok. sounds easy. Right? Wrong! Twice in two days, I've set her alarm off! lol. That ear splitting alarm that can make a dog and a human go deaf! OMG....I was so nervous that the fire department and the police would be coming any minute. Thankfully, she told the alarm company to call her first before they sent the police. so I got a call from her in Florida and she was just laughing. It's nerve wracking to say the least. At least she was understanding and the police didn't come. (But I think her dog is now deaf).


Peace

Movie Time

Have you even been to one of those new movie theaters where they serve you dinner while watching a movie? I have. It was just too cool.

It was a rainy, foggy Saturday so I called my friend, Twinhead, and asked if she was up for going, and off we went.

The seats are overstuffed, very comfortable recliners with a table that slides in front of you. The wait staff comes with a menu and you chose your meal and drink. If you need anything during the movie you just press a button and they come and serve you! And, if you order popcorn, you get a giant bowl with endless refills! The food wasn't bad. I had a cheeseburger and it was rather tasty. You could also order cocktails and they even have a bar in the lobby.
Then they come around with a hot wet towel for you to clean up with. It was wild! and at the end of the movie they come around with a platter of chocolates.

Oh, the movie we saw was James Cameron's "Sanctum", in 3D. Was an interesting movie. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. It was suspenseful and I enjoyed it. (It was about cave diving and exploration).

(Twinhead fell asleep and was amazed that a few people were, uh, missing from the screen when she woke up. Man, she can fall asleep anywhere!)

Peace

Happy Dance Friday!

I used to do a post while I was working called "Happy Dance Fridays"....Now that I'm retired, every day is Happy Dance Friday....and every day feels like Saturday!

It's been a rough couple of years, but I actually do feel like dancing every day....it feels good to feel like my old self again (not that I'm old) lol. So, my advise today is: Keep on dancing!

Have a great weekend.

Peace

Snow, Ice and Tea

More snow today and a an ice storm is expected tomorrow......Gettiing my shovel arms ready...although I have to give credit to my neighbors, who always help me clear my driveway and sidewalk with their snow blowers. My biggest concern is shoveling paths in the back yard for Snotdog, Tank and Tini.....it's the first thing I do. lol. They need to see the dirt or they don't do their duty...it's a riot.

It's been sunny these last few days so I always get my ass out and about each day to just be out....it even went up to 35 degrees Sunday and actually felt warm!

I went to the mall Sunday and bought tea. I'm not a tea drinker but this loose tea from Japan was delish! I also bought a tea infuser cup with a monkey on it! lol. Do you know how many different types of tea there are? Lots! I just may become a tea connoisseur.

Peace

LOL

Happy Saturday!

Don't forget to smile today!


Peace

Babies!!!

I'm a great aunt! (Really). My niece had twins! Naturally. A girl and a boy!

They're three months old now and are the sweetest things ya ever did see. Originally "they" told her that she was having girls. So you can imagine everyone's surprise when she had a boy! A mad rush back to the stores to hustle and exchange some girly things for boy stuff! lol.

At first she was really nervous about it, but now she's handling it like an old pro. I give her (and all mothers) loads of credit for doing it. They are a handful, (actually, two handfuls). Her hub is a sweetie and does his share too.

I manage to see them as much as I can and it's great to see their little personalities forming.

P.S. We had 18 more inches of snow yesterday, so I got my exercise in by lots of shovelling!
So for this winter, we've had 84 inches, the most snow ever!

Peace

Haha.....

Hilarious! Growing up without a cell phone

If you are 36, or older, you might think this is hilarious!

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were. When they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning....Uphill... Barefoot...BOTH ways...yadda, yadda, yadda

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to laya bunch of crap like that on my kids about how hard I had itand how easy they've got it!



But now that I'm over the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it, but you kids today, you don't know how good you've got it!

1) I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have the Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

2) There was no email!! We had to actually write somebody a letter - with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox, and it would take like a week to get there! Stamps were 10 cents!

3) Child Protective Services didn't care if our parents beat us. As a matter of fact, the parents of all my friends also had permission to kick our ass! Nowhere was safe!

4) There were no MP3's or Napsters or iTunes! If you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself!

5) Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio, and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up! There were no CD players! We had tape decks in our car. We'd play our favorite tape and "eject" it when finished, and then the tape would come undone rendering it useless. Cause, hey, that's how we rolled, Baby! Dig?

6) We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called, they got a busy signal, that's it!

7) There weren't any freakin' cell phones either. If you left the house, you just didn't make a damn call or receive one. You actually had to be out of touch with your "friends". OH MY GOSH !!! Think of the horror... not being in touch with someone 24/7!!! And then there's TEXTING. Yeah, right. Please! You kids have no idea how annoying you are.

8) And we didn't have fancy Caller ID either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your parents, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, the collection agent... you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

9) We didn't have any fancy PlayStation or Xbox video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! Wehad the Atari 2600! With games like 'Space Invaders' and 'Asteroids'. Your screen guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen.. Forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and faster and faster until you died! Just like LIFE!

10) You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel!!! NO REMOTES!!! Oh, no, what's the world coming to?!?!

11) There was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying? We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-bastards!

12) And we didn't have microwaves. If we wanted to heat something up, we had to use the stove! Imagine that!




13) And our parents told us to stay outside and play... all day long. Oh, no, no electronics to soothe and comfort. And if you came back inside... you were doing chores!




And car seats - oh, please! Mom threw you in the back seat and you hung on. If you were lucky, you got the "safety arm" across the chest at the last moment if she had to stop suddenly, and if your head hit the dashboard, well that was your fault for calling "shot gun" in the first place!




See! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled rotten! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1970 or any time before!

Regards,
The Over 40 Crowd
(Send this to someone you'd like to make smile)

Let it snow!

It's snowing! Wow...what else is new.....

Today I'm just going to exercise and get myself ready to shovel...(again)!

That's all I got...

Hope it's a little warmer and sunnier where you are.

Peace

A Simple Life

Hub passed away three years ago January 8th. I can't believe that much time has passed. Of course I still miss him terribly, but with the support of good friends and doing the things that were suggested, I managed to move forward and find peace within. I'm grateful for that.

And, we all have within us what it takes to get us through the tough times, if we just keep it simple, and believe that this too shall pass.


All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Most of what I really need
To know about how to live
And what to do and how to be
I learned in kindergarten.
Wisdom was not at the top
Of the graduate school mountain,
But there in the sandpile at Sunday school.

These are the things I learned:

Share everything.
Play fair.
Don't hit people.
Put things back where you found them.
Clean up your own mess.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.
Wash your hands before you eat.
Flush.
Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.
Live a balanced life -
Learn some and think some
And draw and paint and sing and dance
And play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon.
When you go out into the world,
Watch out for traffic,
Hold hands and stick together.
Be aware of wonder.

Peace

P.S. I got my Kindle yesterday!! So far, I'm loving it!

Oh Well, Some Other Time

I ordered a Kindle the other day.....I'm excited!

On Saturday a box came in the mail and I saw it was from Amazon. So as I was bringing into the house, I was singing to the dogs (yeah I do that) "I got my kindle! I got my kindle! la la la la la la."
I opened it and saw it was only the case for the kindle...lol. So the dogs said:" Nananananana! you didn't get your kindle!"

Peace

Have a Great Weekend

Today....Relax.
Let go of a worry.
Relive a happy memory!

(I have this saying hanging in my new "sitting" room.)

Peace

Old and New

Old bathroom, violet and ugly


New Bathroom!! Where I want to live! LOL
I'm very happy with the way it turned out!

Peace

Don't Kill Me for This One :-)

Like I said before, I'm easily amused:

A guy gets shipwrecked. When he wakes up, he's on a beach. The sand is dark red. He can't believe it. The sky is dark red. He walks around a bit and sees that there is dark red grass, dark red birds and dark red fruit on the dark red trees. He's shocked when he finds that his skin is starting to turn dark red too.

"Oh no!!" he says, "I think I've been marooned!!"

:-)

Peace

The "Three" and The "Door"

Tank, Tini, and Snotdog(Spud)

As part of my house renovation, I had a back door installed on my house. I used to have to take the dogs out to the back yard via my side door. I have a very long driveway, so this entailed putting leashes on Tank and Tina (cause they have a habit of running out to the street to say hello (bark) at the neighbors or passing cars, putting on my coat and shoes (or boots, depending on the weather), exiting the side door to enter the yard thru the gate. Now, however, all I have to do is roll out of bed and open the back door to the yard!!! This comes in very handy, especially on a day like today, where we're having a bit of an ice storm.

I know this doesn't sound like much, but I am very exited about it. Anything that makes my life easier is always good!

Peace

I'm Really Sorry....Not!

Where we were:

Some will say that I'm the one responsible for the three feet of snow that fell on New York City over the Christmas weekend. I say Pffft! (I kinda wished that there would be a snow storm while I was away, but I really didn't wish for that much!)

It was always a wish of mine to go to a warm climate during the cold weather, so I did!!

I can't help it if I was laying on a beach in Puerto Rico, enjoying high eighties temps, snorkeling, kayaking, eating great food and such!

Notice the monkey in the tree! (it was fate that I was there! lol)

We snorkeled and kayaked every day, laid on the beach, took a dip in the pool, then mingled in the hot tub, where we met some great people from all over the country!

Had a great time and thanks to my neighbors who shoveled for me so I could get into my house with the suitcases upon returning home. (we were delayed for three extra days due to the snow storm (poor me!). lol.

Peace

It's a Dog's/Cat's Life

Having three dogs today and being a cat owner in the past, I can attest to the following, which I thought was cute......

Pet Diaries

Excerpts from a Dog’s Diary……

8:00 am – Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am – A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am – A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am – Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm – Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm – Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm – Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm – Milk bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm – Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm – Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm – Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat’s Daily Diary....

Day 983 of my captivity…
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects.
They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a ‘good little hunter’ I am. Bastards.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of ‘allergies.’ I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow—but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released – and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now……………

Peace

Ramblings

I dropped in on a few blogs over the holidays to say hello and I was shocked to see that one of my best blog buddies passed away :-(, Buffalo Dick. He was a great cook and published his recipes. I just cooked one of his recipes and went to tell him and I saw the post his son left. I was so saddened to see that because Buff offered me wise words when my hub passed. I'm going to miss him!

On a brighter note....I finished renovating my house!!! It's beautiful and I love it and I love being in it and I love looking at it.......are ya getting that I love it?? (sorry, can't help it).

The Three (dogs) Spud, Martini and Tank, are doing great too...they provide me many hours of entertainment as well (I'm very easily amused).

Peace

Heyyyyyyyy

OMG! I'm back! (if just for now).........

Happy New Year....It's been quite a while since I've been here.....thinking of returning......I'm going to think on that.....Hope all my blogging buddies are well and healthy and happy!!! I miss you guys....Hope to see you soon!