Someone squished my days

In the end, it's all about love...

I cannot believe it is Thursday of this week already. My feet hurt. I'm not sure why.

#1 son and I went on a holiday this past weekend. We visited my niece and nephew in Eustis for a baseball weekend. You may have never heard of Eustis, but there was hardly a hotel to be found because the weekend there was packed full of activity. A festival, a bike race for some kind of bikes, something else I think, and baseball!

(My mother calls the place "Huestis". I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe because Huestis sounds more like a place than Eustis? I don't know. It's a long list of things grandma calls things, that aren't really the things they are called, for the reasons we just don't know about.

When I finally did, gently, correct my mother regarding the correct pronunciation, after my niece had lived there about 4 years,
She said, "Really? It's not Huestis?"
"No. It's pronounced like You tis."
"Really? You tis? Are you sure?"
Okay, never mind.
Hey, who am I to correct grandma. I won't do it again. Hearing Grandma say Huestis is more fun anyway.)

Two of my great nephews (who knew I would be old enough one day for Great Nephews?) are playing their first year of baseball. Oh my gosh, it was just so much fun, I can hardly tell you to really explain it.

Kenny is seven, and Dakoda is nine. I almost said they were 5 and 7, because, geesh, they keep growing up! They looked so serious in their baseball uniforms (I almost said 'outfits' yikes!)

Kenny, as far as I'm concerned, was responsible for his team winning the game. He not only got a hit, he got two men out! (Men? Did I say "Men"?) He tagged them using his special "Eye On You" method. He catches the ball, runs after the runner, all the while eyeing them directly in the eyes, which probably paralyzes them with fear and then he tags them out! It was fantastic to watch. Brilliant. Just really top of the line pro-league stuff. Move over famous baseball people.

Dakoda looks like a shy player. But underneath that dimpled smiling exterior lies the heart of a bobcat..... Just waiting for the ball to come his way. He was always ready, glove up and into the game. He played third base his first game, and right at the beginning of the game, he showed what he was worth on the field! He caught a pop fly!

It looked like it was not going to stay in his glove. He had to stretch to get it. It was right there at the tip, but he held on! And Then! He threw the ball to second for a double play!!
Okay, well, they said the ball should have gone to first, and somehow it did end up on first, I can't remember now, how it did, but Kody saved the game with a double play.

He really did save the game because they won by one run!!

It was fantastical!!

But more fantastic than any baseball game I have ever watched, was watching my niece and her husband - The Mom and The Dad - just jumping up and down all excited at their boys out there on the field. It felt so good to see family love in action. It really did bring tears to my eyes.

I mean, I have seen my beautiful niece grow up into this really terrific person. I have such a great time with she and my nephew and her boys. She is seven weeks older than my #1 son, and who would have ever thought she would one day be one of my best friends? I get overwhelmed with emotion sometimes thinking about it.

What it is about life is, ya' gotta wait it out. People give up to quickly. The good stuff comes after the hard work and labor. People get tired of hard work and labor, oh that is gruelling, so many people don't stay for the good stuff at the end.

When Jesus stayed late at the wedding of Cana and they ran out of wine. His mother, one of the first to have faith in what he could do, advised him of the situation, and told the servants to do whatever he told them.
They did.
Next thing, people are praising the host for serving the best wine last. Of course, we all know that Jesus turned the water into wine (and apparently it was some mighty fine wine) The people who had stayed around were impressed! The good stuff was there to be savored at the end. They had been blessed.

That's what I'm doing at this time in my life. I'm living now in the good stuff now. And don't I just love it`I reveille in thinking about it! The wine is mighty fine and takes many forms, sometimes resembling shots of tequila in little glasses. But, fine, mighty fine, good chuckling way to pass the time at the end of the banquet when you think all the good stuff is gone. :)

Tell me who admires and loves you, And I will tell you who you are.
~~Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuvee


Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.
~~Denis Waitley

The Beatles did say it -- All You Need is Love, Love, Love is all ya' need--

Spread the word --
All ya need is love, dot dot-dot da-dah --
All ya' need is love, love,
Love is all ya' need

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah ....

Note from postmaster -- look for photos to come soon.

What punctuation mark are you?

I was visiting my best friend's blog (Tim's Mom), and clicked on this Puntuation Mark test.

I am a Question Mark? Okay ... I would have guessed I was a semi-colon because I get along so well with Leslie!

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Leap Year 2008

I have to make a leap year post! Here's a leap year quiz I found on line --

1. Who first proclaimed the last day of February to be a leap year day?
A. Pharaoh Ramses II of Egypt
B. Julius Caesar
C. Pope Gregory XIII
D. King Richard II of England

2. U.S. presidential elections occur every four years, but two presidents -- Thomas Jefferson and William McKinley -- won election in years that were not Leap Years. Why?

3. Which of these nations once had a Feb. 30 on its calendar?
A) France
B) Sweden
C) Russia
D) Iceland

4. What historical figure once used a celestial event on Leap Year Day to great advantage?

5. European countries gradually switched to the Gregorian calendar, which standardized our current Leap Year system. Because different calendars existed at one time, two famous authors have the same date of death, but didn't die on the same day. Who were they?

6. Leap Year Day plays a crucial role in which of the following stage plays?
A. "Richard III" by Shakespeare
B. "A Marriage Proposal" by Anton Chekhov
C. "The Pirates of Penzance" by Gilbert and Sullivan
D. "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller

7. A tradition once held that women may propose marriage only on Leap Year Day, but such proposals from women have grown more common regardless of the date. What well-known male athlete from the Cincinnati area famously accepted a marriage proposal from a female celebrity?

8. On Leap Year Day 1972, Don and Nancy Brazelton of Greenhills became first-time parents when Mrs. Brazelton gave birth to their son, Christopher, in a Volkswagen Beetle on the way to a Cincinnati hospital. To commemorate the blessed event, Volkswagen of America gave them what?
A. A free 1973 Volkswagen Beetle
B. A free set of tires
C. A $50 savings bond
D. Nothing

9: What's the name for someone born on Leap Year Day?


_____________________________________
ANSWERS
1. B.

2. The last year of a century isn't a Leap Year unless it's evenly divisible by 400. Jefferson was elected in 1800; McKinley in 1900.

3. B. In 1712, Sweden added two Leap Year Days to its calendar during the transition to the Gregorian calendar.

4. Using an almanac, Christopher Columbus successfully "predicted" a lunar eclipse on Feb. 29, 1504, convincing natives in what's now Jamaica to cooperate with him.

5. William Shakespeare and Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, on April 23, 1616. Shakespeare's death on the Gregorian calendar used in England today would have been May 3, 1616.

6. C. The character Frederic is apprenticed to pirates until his 21st birthday, but he's only had five birthdays because he was born on Feb. 29.

7. Baseball star David Justice, a graduate of Covington Latin High School, accepted a marriage proposal from actress Halle Berry in 1993. They divorced three years later. Other women who proposed to their husbands include Ruth (from the Biblical Book of Ruth), Queen Victoria and Patti LaBelle.

8. C. An urban myth held that Volkswagen gave free cars to parents of children born in VW's.

9. A leapling.


Hope you enjoy the Leap Year!!

I do know someone who has a birthday today. My #1 son's grandpa is 92 years young! And I mean, young. Whatever it is one needed to figure out about how to make the best of great genes -- this man did. He is as witty and sharp as he's always been. Now the body, well, that's not such an easy thing, but still - he takes care of everything on his own. A really great guy, father of 8, husband to a saint, I've lost track of how many grandchildren and greats, but I'll find out.

It's a chilly day here in Sunny Florida, and I will be making a trip with #1 son, and my mom to Eutis! Two of my little nephews are playing their first competition baseball games this weekend!

It's actually cold here

A. In Sunny Florida it is 67 today. Tomorrow it is supposed to be colder. Ready for this -- 45 lovely degrees! It will go up to 65, though, so no worries.

And what a beautiful sky tonight. All coral pink and brilliant, looks like lovely pink sand. When I figure out the picture thing, I'll post one of the sky tonight. Which hopefully will turn out better than my dot of an eclipse.

I get really frustrated with myself trying to learn these things!

B. Mr. B's job - His first day of on the job training. And his instructor said, 'if you do things the way they showed you in class, you will never get done.' Is that always the way? Is life like that? Is there a manual somewhere and then you read it, and say, 'oh yes, this is the manual, we took the test, but none of this will work in a practical sense?' Makes things tough to sort your way through.

And that is all we are doing. We are sorting our way through.

C. I have a house project going. Since I live in a small house, I have really needed to assess where does one actually need to keep things? What are our habits? How do we really live?

An example: Mr. B always put a handful of clothes to wear again - somewhere. His hand goes out - and the clothes go 'somewhere.' Since he has 'no where', he puts them on a my dresser. So, I need to create a 'where' of a place to accommodate that habit. And I will.

I am going to work on doing something brilliant in our closet. I don't know what exactly, and I'm hoping I can do it without a lot of money -- but that's my plan right now.

I have a lot of blankets in that closet. Blankets and comforters that we used to use all the time. But gone are the days when my house was daily a place for tents and forts, and children wrapped up in comfies to hear a story I was reading aloud ("wahhh, I so miss that!!" she says smiling through the tears).

So, I have been washing them and refolding them (so I can store them properly), and I've found for them another place other than my closet to be. And I have freed up a lot of space! Okay, great. I don't know what the next step is, but I'll get there.

I realize my goal for the closet might be a little out of my ability to achieve it on my own, but if I don't do it that way, I think I would stall in mid air.

The incompetency train...

...runs straight through the DMV.

I misplaced my drivers license. I am so angry with myself. My son needs some information for his college application that concerns my drivers license number and, so, I took it out of my purse to get the info and from there it went into the abyss.

So, today, my son calls and says he needs the date I first got my drivers license in the state of Florida. Drat. Who knows that when they are older than Jackson Browne? I got my license to drive in the state of Texas in 1962. And then I moved back to Florida and got a license ...but who knows the date?

So, to get the date, I needed my license.

So, I had to go get another one! Drat. $15.25! And, I didn't know they would be taking a picture today and I looked like Methuselah's Crazy Mad Sister in Law! It rained! Not a stitch of make-up. My hair was frizzy. I'm just getting over a cold -- but nope, you had to have a new picture taken! And it's 4:27 PM and they close at 4:30. No time for primping.

Grrrrr.

So, I get this horrible thing done and then ask, "Okay, I need the date of when I first got my license"
and they say, "Sure" and so they click, click, click and say, "2003 -- October 19, 2003.

"What?"
That is not even remotely close!! Not even a tad, teeny bit in the right era!!

Okay, so, they say, "Well, this is what we have (insinuating, *I*, am wrong...) so, what you need to do is go to the Clerk of Courts office, They have 'everything' there. 'Everything' about your license."

So, I high tail it over to the clerk of courts office (alright, it's right next door, but still ....)--So, I go in and "blah, blah, blah" says I "story, story, detail, detail" all nice and everything,and the nice lady says, "Sure, I can find that information for you. Just give me $2.25 and I'll give you this report." (I'm thinking, how many nice plants I could buy with this money I've spent!!)

She prints out the report, hands it to me ...
AND
The report says ---
October 19, 2003!!!

What?
No.
That's not even remedially correct. As a matter of fact: That is catastrophically wrong! (My gosh, no wonder you people can't catch any criminals!!)

I don't know what happened on October 19, 2003, but I'm sure it didn't happen to me in the DMV!

Good Grief.

So, in conclusion, I can only conclude that, once again, there has been proven out the old adage, you can't tell which way the train is going by looking at the tracks. Especially if they run through the DMV!

Happy Birthday to my Darling Daughter

My only daughter turned 18 today.

To say I was overwhelmed by the event is one of those statements that one finds under things. Truly. I have been overcome by emotion for the greater part of the day. Reading cards in the Hallmark store had me weeping. I choose a card with what I thought were befitting words, and then ended up writing a brief novella inside the flap.

There's not enough that can be said about a mother's love anyway, not it's depth, it's height, it's volume, it's boldness, nor it's purity. A mother's love encompasses in the boundaries of those things that only God knows about and can explain.

And God explains things with rainbows and clouds and stars and moons and suns and flowers and singing birds. No Hallmark card can top that.

I am barely able to contain the joy of having a daughter such as this. God has blessed me. Her character is strong and resolved. She is introspective, reflective, and charming. I find her wit brilliantly entertaining to me. She and William Shakespeare would have shared a great laugh over tea and scones.

I love her truly, madly, deeply.
Thank you, God, for a gift such as she.
Her beauty surrounds her and runs through her like a river.
May she always be yours, this gift of mine.

Lunar left overs

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.~Charles Darwin~

Last night was an eclipse of the moon. It was truly lovely. Madam B and I watched it from the front yard. I tried to take a photo. All I got was this teeny tiny little dot in a black space. I held the camera as far away from me as I could, Madam B began laughing, 'oh yes, mom, that extra foot will definitely make the difference." It didn't.

I have a new computer, and I'm not sure how to post photos on it. I have a new camera, too, and I don't know how to load the memory card on here. I'll put that down on my list for another thing for do. I only have 5000 things, so far, so now 5001.

My mom is ill. Things are not right when your mom is ill. We've all had this crude flu thing that the world is sharing, and mom started coughing on Monday. I could tell by the sound of it, ummm, not good. She went to the doctor today, for blood work actually, and my dad insisted that she speak to the doctor about this condition she's in, and the doctor didn't like it at all (the condition, not that my father spoke). So, she's being treated for pneumonia, she feels awful and she's laid up in bed (lain up? laying up? laid up? oh, she's in bed very ill). I don't like that picture. Me poor mum, so tiny in the bed. Nope. Don't like that picture.

Mr. B is still out of town doing his training. He misses me terribly but our friend Pam is an excellent cook and cooks a fine dinner every night. Which I hadn't been doing lately, so he's made out on this bargain.

He went by the house we lived in when we first got married. He says it looks so small! Well, it was small. It was only a two bedroom! Funny, how time makes things look differently to some people.

I'm still on the down low from the flu bug. I'm tired. I wanted to get a few things done while Mr. B was out of town, but I ended up being exhausted every night. Oh well.

I have done a lot of shredding. The shredder is actully fun. When Jacob comes over, as he did this morning at 9 AM, in his pajamas with a big smile on his face, he loves to do some shredding. Four year olds think things like paper shredders are really cool, something akin to large bulldozer equipment in their living room. I forget what he calls it, I'll have to ask him again, but I save up the papers for him, and we sit there together, and he puts them one at a time in the shredder and each time we are constantly amazed at the results. Jacob shouts, "Wow!" a lot.

He's learning the paper can't be to thick, can't be to thin, can't be to wrinkled, either. It's funny to watch him try to unwrinkle a paper. He once asked me to iron it, but I told him, nahh, it'll be fine. I let him mess up, too, now and again, when he doesn't follow my instructions. Of course, I don't ever put the machine in too much danger, and Jake in no danger, but now and again, he jambs up the machine, and we have to take time away from our fun to go unclog it. So far no damage has been done and a lot of paper has been successfully shredded.

I'm still working on my decluttering. I've begun to realize that one must surely not need as many pieces of paper as I keep. I must have some kind of fear of something. What kind of fear could a person have that doesn't let them throw away a copy of a bill that they paid right away? Maybe if I just start throwing everything out, I'll discover what it is when it happens to me! Okay, that will be my new rule - Unless it's tax related, shred it.

Oh my gosh! The cat just crashed into the sink!!

Life is always at some turning point.
~Irwin Edman~

Not Last Week of Training

They said it was 8 days of training. Now, it's 10 days of training. Which only proves one more time the old adage; you can never tell which way the train went by looking at the tracks.

My flu has turned itself into the common cold. I don't know if I should stand up and cheer. Never mind. I'll get to dizzy.

Here's a cute story - A friend of mine took her three year old son to a Chinese restaurant. At the end of the meal, his mom handed him the fortune cookie which he carefully opened. As the little white piece of paper with his fortune popped up out of the cookie, he excitedly exclaimed, "Look Mommy! I got mail!".

Job saga - last week of training

Driving to the training place and back is costing $25.00 a day in gasoline. Friends of ours live about 30 minutes from the place (we live 2 hours), and have offered to let Mr. B stay with them to help with the commute. There is even an offer of one meal a day.

We have decided to accept the offer. This will be the last week of training. Then, we should begin to have an idea of what we are up against. It's really annoying not to know, but trusting God in all things is comfortable.

In my humanness I do have concerns, but they are for tomorrow. And the Good Lord will probably beat me there.

I often find myself constantly adding things up. I do have to remind myself to relax. Ah, but not that often - just now and again. I take a deep sigh and find something to do. There are lessons to learn, and by golly, we are going to learn them.

Take no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. --
Matthew 6:34 KJV

If the flu is in hell...

I don't want to go there.
I felt the beginning on Thursday. Did all those great things to take care of oneself, much positive thinking and gargling. I made it to 5 PM.

Then I was on the couch, unable to move, at all until last night. (I moved to the bed.) I thought if I moved something really bad would happen to me. And I wasn't sure what it was. Just knew it would be bad. I wasn't sure I would survive it. I took no medications. Drank no water. Ate no food. I turned off my cell phone. Sounds felt like power drills through my eyeballs.

This morning I actually walked around. Had some chicken soup (healing soup made special by my mother in law) Then drank some coffee. THAT was a mistake. My body said, "You fool. You absolute fool. Putting coffee into me? You have your nerve! Why do you think people lose weight when they have the flu? Well, guess what, girl?"
It's not over yet.

This is the first moment of very clear thought I have had. How clear this is, I'm not sure.
Conversations seem like a dream.

The dreams I had when I was melded to the couch were like movies, scary movies. I was driving buses with killers on them, along with Nicholas Cage, whom I never think about during any given day ...flying planes into houses accompanied by Dane Cook who was injured in the crash...then there was an air attack by the Asthma Association (yes, only in a dream). I was told by headquarters that they do this on a regular basis.

The dreams went on and got crazier. I have no idea how high the fever got, as I felt as if I'd never slept.

I have no idea how to advise someone how to not get this. I didn't get the flu shot this year. Nothing personal. My doctor's office ran out, and I never got back there.

Even though the coffee has racked my body, I think it gave me a moment of clarity, which seems to be passing by me now. And I'm fading away, the aches and pains in my joints are shouting at everything I'm mad about, and my head is beginning to throb. Probably because I'm doing something strenuous, like typing ...

later,
and may you be safe from all flu germs.

Twists and turns on the journey

Is life a journey? or an assignment? is it your job or career? your family?

Some people never ask themselves these questions. Some people can never escape these questions.

Mr. B began his training for his new job today. And, it sounds terrible - so far. First, they scheduled the new employees to show up in the wrong city. Where they are supposed to be is another 30 minutes away - making the drive a 90 minute commute. Secondly, they said, 'don't expect to have another life outside of this one.' Oh, bad sign if your journey is not 'my career is the journey.'

So, at this time, we are just coasting. Going through the motions of following through what this job might really be like, if indeed it is different than described today, but at the same time, changing our plans. A job like this isn't what we want for our journey together.

So, watch with us as we decide what to do, how to play the cards we drew, and make the hand turn out as we would like it to be.

Oh my! our cat just fell into the open washing machine half full of water and then got out and ran through the house panicked! If one should believe in signs, wonder what that is a sign of?

Good day,

Miss Roxie

Yes, I love flowers...

Last week I moved some hanging plants to where they can be viewed from my dining room window, which is the most visible window ~ and it is just lovely to look out the window and see the flowers displayed there.

In a Woman's Day magazine I read this little clip:

"Take 2 minutes to smell the roses and say so long to the blahs. People who made a point of looking a flowers first thing in the morning reported feeling cheerier and even more energetic throughout the day, according to a recent study."

Now, they don't say what study, but maybe that's not important when you are looking at flowers.

I know I find a real pleasure looking at nature. Sunsets and sunrises. The ocean on a windy day. Even beach sand has it's allure for me.

And shells! How beautiful are shells!

You know, I was just thinking it is a genuine responsibility to have a garden. You have brought plants and flowers into captivity and now you are responsible for them! Serious business to be responsible for the life of something.

Invitation to the party

I'm ahead of myself and behind at the same time. I've got my tax things ready for the accountant which I don't normally have done until about August! That's freaky. But, in the rest of my life, I remain, in a way, stagnant.

This, this being part of the unemployment statistics, is very warying. As much as one wishes to be positive, one must still deal with feelings, comments and questions from others, as well as the comments and questions that well up from inside ourselves, causing all kinds of emotions that run a tributary of wild thoughts through our minds.

Emotions must be respected. That is how someone is not made to be crazy.

Lots of people want to deny feelings that are what some might call 'negative' ...but feelings are real things, real messages are being sent and must be received and dealt with least they deposit themselves somewhere in our body or in our actions that could be deemed unhealthy. A person can feel nervous about a situation and find that their body is flushed and think their blood pressure is going to shoot their brain out of their head! Most likely - not.

Just relax and let it pass. Otherwise, you might lead it in the wrong direction. Take deep breathes, drop your shoulders, give them a roll back and relax.

In respecting all our feelings, we can allow them to pass through without damaging ourselves or things around us.

I have found that movement is very important. Positive movement regardless of whether you clean a drawer, weed a flower bed, or go for a walk, or pet the cat. I have cleaned the inside of my cabinets and the cabinet doors. Something that has always been in the back of my mind to do. It's lovely. Even Mr. B noticed! And I've started back on a regular workout routine. (Let's see how long that lasts!)

But, if one should feel the need to be still, than by all means, respect that feeling and be still. Outside is probably best. On the beach is probably better. Sometimes, being still is best.

But, I know regardless of the situation right now, there could always be something worse going on in my life.

The consequence of changing things in the middle of one's life, without preparation, is surprise. Like - **Surprise!!** Only there is no party. Except for the one you might give yourself.

The wandering mind

I'm beginning to wonder where my mind has wandered off too...
as you know your mind is not with you
when you begin to wash clean clothes.

"One day Alice came to a fork in the road and saw a Cheshire cat in a tree. Which road should I take? she asked. Where do you want to go, was his response. I don't know, Alice answered. Then, said the cat, it doesn't matter."
~~Lewis Carroll

It's always a place to be

If you got up today and didn't feel like doing anything, honor that feeling for a moment or two.

Take the moment outside with you. Look up. Expand your chest and breathe. Let yourself feel the air going through you body, circling all the parts of your being. Stretch and breathe deeply.

Sometimes I think when we are overcome by the feeling to not doing anything, that is exactly what we need to do. Nothing.

Don't feel guilty about it. Allow yourself to be recollected. Allow allow all the little particles of thought that went scurrying about all day, all week, all however long, to settle in a nice soft place. Be there quietly for the settling and the reconnection.

Then, quietly, move on.

Status Quo

What do you think would be the status of a bag of opened pistachio nuts that go through the wash cycle? I have first hand knowledge on this.

I also know about wallets, keys, pedometers, candy bars, flip flops, change and regular bills, gum wrappers, tissues, fast food napkins, air filters, old hoses, cable wires (clipped and unclipped), caps that go on cable wires, caps that go on other tools, tops that belong on other things like laundry soap or bottles of water, and other assorted miscellaneous pieces of plastic, ping pong balls, along with other substances that could no longer be identified, not excluding the standard of sticks, rocks, washers and bolts.

"One out of four people in this country are mentally unbalanced. Think of your three closest friends. If they seem okay, than you are the one."
Ann Landers

When I grow up

When I grow up, if I live in this world,
I want to be detached by my poetry.
My poetry will make the walls I need,
and if someone is looking for me,
they can read a poem I have written and find me.
And if it's not me they are looking for,
perhaps they can find themselves
or their friends or loved ones there,
when I grow up.

When I grow up,
I don't want too much stuff.
That's too much dust and space taken up,
by material things,
I want living things around me
When I grow up.

Still stunned

I'd like to not focus on my husband being unemployed, but that's not really working, uh, no pun intended. I am going through my daily stuff, wondering when I should change that stuff. I have a part-time job, and I'm wondering when I should look to seek full time employment.

I went to the grocery store today. I took a list with me, but I didn't bother to look at my list and bought only what we needed for today. I'm wondering now, what do we need? We've never had that much nor have we wanted much, but our basic needs we've always been able to meet and a little extra now and then, so I'm thinking, well, we should be okay for a while, but truthfully, I don't know. I really don't know what to expect.

I know that Mr. B has to go through his cycle of emotions about his situation. He's quiet man. He's a good worker. A hard worker by most standards in this country, let me correct myself here - A hard worker by any standard in any country - he's a person who gives all to the hour for his employer. Come the end of the day, he is always entitled to his paycheck. So, now he feels cheated by something. Some mystery something that writes on the wall, hard word deserves a good reward. What did all his hard work get him, he thinks. But I'm thinking, maybe, rewards are paid in the likes of other things. Maybe reward for hard work is paid somehow, by the universe. Maybe it's paid by the devotion of your family in times of need. Maybe it's paid by the phone call of concern and offer of help from your nephew when he finds out about your situation. I refuse to forget that love conquers all ...

I know Mr. B is in a rationalizing mode, as I realize, as he does also, that the place he was working for was not well managed, and cast a blind eye in his direction for his value as an employee. They focused more on his age. They choose youth, so that they could pay them a lower wage. It's a capitalistic society we live in, after all. Profits are a great concern to the corporation. And while I don't think any one begrudges any one making a profit for a job well done, it's how they come about those profits, how they reach the goals of those profits, that bothers the conscience of a lot of people.

There is not much in the newspaper in the way of decent employment for hard working men.

I am waiting for that light to go on in my head that we are in real trouble. But it's not dawned yet. We are all quietly turning off all extra lights (haha, again no pun intended), but oh gee, we already do that, ummm, so where can we cut back we are discussing.

There are always bumps in all roads of our journeys . Life is not always smooth sailing, now is it? And every cloud has a silver lining. Things always happen for the best. It will all work out - anything sound familiar yet? We all have heard, and even know these little truths to be true. We all know that all will be well. Now comes the challenge - Can we live it?

I'm going to keep track of us and see if we can. Resilience is needed now. Spiritual resilience. But regardless of our situation, I know, things could always be worse.

(And remember, love conquers all.)

Ancora Imparo

The credit for the quote is given to Michelangelo and means "I am still learning", and I find that is me. Each time I scale some mountain that contains new information from experiences, I look over the top and see stuff coming I do not know about. It looks foggy at first, but if I wait long enough, the fog clears, and I walk through a lovely forest of peace and then, out of nowhere, the fog appears again.

So, just when you think you have experienced much, a new curve is thrown and out of the fog comes something different. Mr. B called me yesterday morning to tell me he has no job. Unemployed and so late in life, very interesting, and possibly, worrisome place to be. I have no idea what we will see when the fog clears.

Come to think of it, I might feel more like Alexander Graham Bell when he realized that his instrument of new discovery actually worked - "What has God wrought?"

We shall see.

We are concerned, but not to the point of worry. Actually, I'm not sure I do worry anymore. I try to 'go placidly amid the noise and the haste' and it seems to work for me, as I don't like noise and I don't like haste.

There is also another philosophy that I have learned from and that is the one that talks about viewing the same things from different angles and seeing different things. So, we are not looking at this harshly as of yet, and hopefully, we won't find ourselves 'living in a van down by the river!'
'

Masterpiece Theater and Jane Austen

January begins has a fantastic schedule for Jane Austen fans!

Persuasion - January 13, 2008

Northanger Abbey - January 20, 2008

Mansfield Park - January 27, 2008

Miss Austen Regrets - February 3, 2008

Pride and Prejudice - February 10, 17, + 24, 2008

Emma - March 23, 2008

Sense and Sensibility - March 30 + April 6, 2008