NOW I UNDERSTAND.

Visiting my grandmother I would always ask how she was feeling. She in turn ALWAYS said she felt wonderful. She would then smile and ask about me.

My mother would visit her mother later. Grandmother then had all kinds of problems and aches and pains. As mother shared grandmother's woes with me, I would say, "I was just there and we had a lovely visit and she said she was just fine." It really bugged me that my grandmother would not tell me how she was feeling and let me help her in some way. Why did she save this for my mother?

Yesterday our grandson called from college. He told us all about how much he is enjoying his new friends and his classes. We were happy and excited for him. After hanging up the phone I said to Ron, "Oh, I didn't tell Ryan about your medical report!" and suddenly it dawned on me. Grandparents wear a completely different face for grandchildren than they do for children.

This certainly explains why all of my grandparents are missed so muchl I was blessed to have four in my life until I was well into adulthood and allowed to forever be their protected grandchild never needing to hear "adult" concerns.

We are constantly learning.

OH, and I guess I understand this now too. Everyone tells me that since our AC was fixed, I keep the house too cool. Perhaps that is what Slim is trying to tell me also:)

TWO LITTLE WORDS

"No malignancy".

We got those great results yesterday from Ron's tests on August 12th.

Still a journey back from the effects of the chemo and radiation but at least we see bright light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you each and every one for your wishes, thoughts, and prayers for Ron and for me.

WHAT CHURCH DOES HE GO TO?

I am a Christian but you don't have to be to be my friend. You do, however, need to be kind, considerate, sincere, helpful, loving, giving, tolerant, wise and willing to say that I don't have to be of your religion to be your friend either.

The first question my dad used to ask me when I found a new boyfriend was, "What church does he go to?" I later learned that question did not mean is he a Methodist like us. That question meant is this boy hopefully being raised in a home that is helping him develop a conscience.

I do not, and never will, like a politician who campaigns using his specific religion as a sign of who he or she is. I want a politician to campaign on examples of past acts to earn my vote. Don't wear a fish or a cross on you lapel and expect me to believe that you have a good heart. Instead wear a pin of your lifetime of outstretched arms telling me you are willing to embrace our entire country and not just those who share your religion.

Haven't we all learned by now that a person's religion is certainly not a window into their soul? We cannot define a person's heart by their religion but only by their example of living. Simply by saying that I am a Christian causes some people to immediately determine a lot of things about me that are totally off base.

Needless to say I strongly believe in separation of church and state but not separation of morals-ethics and state. Let's stop re-electing politicians who say they are religious but have committed a multitude of crimes and harmful and selfish indiscretions that simply lead us away from our country's agenda of being the greatest nation of freedom in the world.

Yikes! Give me a hand stepping down from this soap box will you? Thanks.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 8-22-11

How do you feel about putting bumper stickers or other decals/emblems on your car to express your politics, religion or sense of humor?

(The only items we stick on our vehicles are permit items like a military base permit, triple A sticker and pikepass, Oh and we have one front plate that reads US Navy and one that reads Senior Chief.)

EASY RECIPE FOR BANANA NUT BREAD

This is a quick and easy recipe for delicious banana bread. Never throw out an over ripe banana again. If you can't make the bread right away, put the bananas in the freezer until you have a moment to whip up a couple of loaves of this bread. Even people who normally don't like banana bread like this yummy treat.

1 box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
3 to 5 ripe mashed bananas
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Mash 3 -5 ripe bananas in large mixing bowl.
Add 1 box yellow cake mix, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3 large eggs (or 4 small eggs), 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts. Blend well and pour into two greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Pop bread out of pans onto cooling rack and let sit for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve with a little butter or whipped topping.

I have made this bread twice this week so I thought of sharing the recipe with you. Don't ask why, it just seemed the thing to do. Enjoy:)

OKAY HERE'S THE DEAL

How might I learn to venture outside the realm of my comfort zone? My life was burdened by 32 years in banking, plus volunteer organizations, boards of directors, neighborhood associations. The safety of our rural life, my spouse, our family is my panic room. Yet friendly interaction with new people tends to call me out.

It is a fifteen minute drive to my monthly meeting of the LAVFW (Ladies Auxiliary for the Veterans of Foreign Wars). The first thing I think about is that it needs to be changed to the SAVFW (Spouses Auxiliary) which you see pegs me as a boat rocker. (I keep my mouth shut because I want to belong).

The second thing that stirs my rebellious brain is why does this meeting take two hours? Every meeting begins with our President (who has served three terms) attempting to follow the orders of procedures out of a book. How many terms does it take to finally learn the procedures? The lengthy interruptions during this meeting usually deal with aside comments about the failures of some member who is not in attendance to defend herself. (I keep my mouth shut because I want to belong).

This last meeting our post president was very unkind regarding the organization's new State President. It seems this State Pres. is a successful career person with computer knowledge and skills and wants to get every branch of the LAVFW to become savvy enough with computers to allow reports to be sent on CDs to the various posts. A great idea...yes? no? I seem to be the only computer literate person in the room as the remainder of the gals cluck their tongues at such nonsense. I am a total duck out of the frickin water. I don't keep my mouth shut this time and have regrets as I am greeted by stares. "Mars, I'm from the planet Mars" I want to say.

Yet, these women are hardworking volunteers who give of their time to veterans and to serve the local communities. They sacrifice to make, gather and deliver necessary items to our veterans in hospitals and nursing homes. They promote scholarship opportunities for children in our local schools. They make donations to families of veterans who are in need. They give support and encouragement to veterans like Ron who have medical concerns.

Our small group has around 40 members with only about 15 average participants. I cannot help but feel that many who do not participate may stand back because they don't blend with the ideas and opinions of the small active group that seems to control the meetings and the direction of the group. (Ever heard the term "click"?) Rather than try to change the group for wider acceptance, they opted to not attend or participate. I am close to making the same decision.

It is important to me for some reason to have some activity outside the confines of my protective bubble. Yet it is also stressful. Any ideas on why I am doing this to myself? Any ideas on why I can't simply relax and enjoy the differences and accept the others as I want them to accept me?

(I don't have to worry about my fellow members of the auxiliary reading this because none of them have computers.)

CHANGE OF STYLE TO FARM EXECUTIVE

DON'T LET THAT SWEET FACE FOOL YOU.

TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THOSE HORNS.

Yesterday I was sharing a little food treat with the goats to try and keep them in the back field. They get excited about their sweet feed and got a little pushy. Tandy Kid, once a cute cuddly baby, is now a selfish old billy goat and got a little demanding for his share and more. He butted me and I threw the bucket and when I did, I broke off a fingernail... to the quick. OMG!

Why would a C.F.G.H. (chicken farmer goat herder) try to have nice long polished fingernails on the farm? Today they all go (the fingernails, not the goats). So far, far away from the days of corporate dress, polished nails, panty hose and fancy hair-dos.

Referring to yesterday's post, I definitely took the road less traveled in 2000 when I gave up banking for rural life. And would I trade this life now? Not a chance:)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 8-15-11

When you come to a fork in the road, do you take the "road less traveled" or the high traffic road?
(And has such a choice made a monumental difference in your life?)

I shall be telling this with a sigh,
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that as made all the difference.'

from Robert Frost's THE ROAD NOT TAKEN

PAINTED WITH A WIDE BRUSH

We have been painted all our lives with labels. Wide life-labels that cover large groups of people. We start out lumped in with children then students then adults. I took on other labels such as wife, mother, banker, divorcee, grandparent, wife , unemployed, chicken farmer and since my last birthday, Senior Citizen.

This seems to be the final one. I shall now and forevermore simply be lumped with all those over 65 as a Senior, an elderly person, conjuring images to a younger stranger that I am now a member of the tottering, feeble and infirmed with no history or information worth sharing.

This label easily confuses my brain that still sees me as an inquisitive child, a poet a writer, an artist full of love and laughter. Very simply a forward thinking human being still discovering each new day with a mixture of distress and delight.

Looks like Dora's got it right. Let's just paint all ages with a wide brush as "Explorers".

Dora The Explorer

NEED I SAY MORE?

Oh yes, THANKS!

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 08-08-11

If you HAD to watch the same movie once a week for the rest of your life what movie would you pick?


(Give this some thought before you answer. It is about more than your favorite movie, it is about what movie you could tolerate that much and never grow tired of. I believe my pick would be THE COWBOYS with John Wayne)

HONORING

....and all of our gallant military men and women serving around the world.

click for article

BRITISH SELF ESTEEM

Is it possible that the British have greater self esteem than those of us in the United States? I watch movies made in the UK and see very normal people as actors. They have skin blemishes and muffin tops and don't have their breasts hanging out all over the place. They do not look like they all just popped out of Barbie and Ken molds and they can actually act. I much prefer their shows these days to our own. Why can't we use regular people in our movies and television and give our children a chance to realize they look normal instead of giving them inferiority complexes and the desire for tons of plastic surgery and enhancements?

CAPTAIN HOOK

Here is a picture of our beautiful granddaughter Hope and beautiful daughter Chelle. They were getting ready to leave after another difficult weekend of helping me organize our home. Chelle's new nickname is "Captain Hook" because she has managed to install more hooks in hidden places to contain robes, towels, hats, brooms, etc. You name it and there is a hook for it and I am definitely in hook-heaven with hard to locate items now at my finger tips.

LIPSTICK SISTERS

"Happy Birthday Elenore, July 31, 2011"

I seemed to delight my sister with her birthday present this year. The above sketch has a great deal of meaning for both of us. First it was sketched from the last picture we took in one of those photo booths a few years ago. (Is there anything more fun that posing for those five shots?) Second, my sister is a lipstick fanatic. Stepping outside your front door without lipstick is a sin in her eyes. Thus the sketch title, Lipstick Sisters. ''

Love you Elenore and am so happy you liked this:)



Hope you got to comment on Monday's QUESTION OF THE WEEK about coincidences?

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 8-01-11

Is there such a thing as coincidence?

What coincidence or series of strange coincidences have occurred in your life recently? Numerous things have miraculously fallen into place for us these past few months and it is difficult to define any one of them as mere coincidence.

A CUT ABOVE OTHER REDNECKS

I stand above, or at least right with, other rednecks. The above photograph is a bit of remodeling I needed to do yesterday and rather than use duct tape (my usual repair tool) I had to fall back on electrician's tape. My son-in-law has been amazed for years over the innovative work that has been completed by me with just a little tape and/or glue. The first time my daughter brought him to our home he got to view my vacuum cleaner totally held together by duct tape. It amazed him. That was all, of course, BR (Before Ron). Since Ron has been ill, I am pretty much left to my own devices. Anyone care to venture a guess on what I was attempting to accomplish here?

Poor Ron is not able to keep me from running amok and just had to shake his head and crawl back in bed yesterday when he saw that the fire I started (with my sister's help) in our incinerator. It had gotten out of control and spread rapidly. Thankfully the carpenter was here and helped my put out the fire. He sprayed it with water and then, when the well ran dry, we beat the fire out with shovels. I was proud that I was able to restart the well pump but when I tried to explain all then events to Ron, he wasn't very impressed. And yes, we are in a drought and under a state wide burn ban but I forgot. After all we have been without AC and my brain is a little more fried than usual. Penalty is a hefty fine or JAIL. OMG!!!



My son called and was not surprised to learn the events of my day, including my moving our porch refrigerator and getting pinned between the washing machine and the refrigerator for a time when only the strength of Samson finally came upon me. He ask me if he was going to have to move in with us to keep me from doing crazy things. I would just about guess some phone conferencing is going on among our children discussing what to do about mom:)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK 7-25-11

Should a woman keep her maiden name when she marries?


(See if this one question doesn't open a whole can of worms. Should the man take her name? Should the parents and children have a hyphenated name? Should the child always be given the man's last name? And what about same sex unions? Should everyone reaching the age of majority have the option to register their own chosen name at no charge? Should there be a law about uniform naming? Etc.,etc., etc.)

Personally, if I were a young person marrying for the first time, I would keep my maiden name and give the children the father's last name.

ANOTHER DREAM

I often dream that Ron and I have a child together. Last night we had a wee tiny little girl and we named her Hiawatha Joy. We wrote to a friend of Ron's to ask him to do a sculpture of our new baby girl and copied the letter to my daughter Chelle. She came to a family event and gave a power point presentation on why she should do the sculpture instead of Ron's friend. While we were at the family gathering to introduce our new child, we were entertained by singing from this tiny new daughter. She could belt out a song about things she had seen and it was amazing to hear this coming out of the mouth of a tiny infant wrapped in a blanket. At some point I dropped our small baby and Slim grabbed her up. I managed to retrieve Hiawatha from the dog's mouth but she had been stretched like a Gumby toy. Meanwhile we felt badly about daughter Terri in San Diego not getting to see the new sister so we called her to see if they wanted to pick a better middle name for Hiawatha than Joy. Maybe tonight I will learn the new middle name.

Now from the dream to a real nightmare. Our air conditioning is totally out and it reached 98 degrees in the kitchen, living room, guest room area. We are living in den and master bedroom area under two window air conditioners until a repair man comes today (hopefully). Thank goodness son Tandy is here to save us. He doesn't have parts and tools to repair the AC but does have the knowledge to diagnose the problem and could tell the repair guy. We know Tandy feels a bit cramped having to sleep on the den couch. If the repair guy doesn't come today, Tandy will install another window air unit in the upper level to get us through before he has to go back home.

As we count our blessings I cannot help but wonder what in the world people are doing who don't have a good cooling system or the financial resources for alternatives other than suffering in the heat.

Devotional this Sunday reminds me: When I open my eyes to the amazing power of God, I have no fear.

T.M.I.

Unusual Flock -- June, Baby Chick, Mr. Gibson, Jack Bauer

The chickens are feeding us. I manage to collect two eggs a day. The heat is definitely affecting egg production. (I am 65 years old and still have to toss a coin on when to use "affect" or "effect".)

Jack Bauer and Rooster Chicklet seem to have reached some agreement and Jack Bauer splits off in the mornings with his own little flock of girls. He wanders all day with Mr. Gibson (who happens to be Chicklet's sister) and Mr. Gibson's young chick plus June who assisted in setting on the nest where this chick was hatched. This leaves Chicklet with the remaider of the flock and that seems to satisfy both camps.

The goats must be insane because they want out of their cool, shaded pen every day to graze under the hot sun. I guess their affection for the heat must be part of their African heritage. The same for the guinea fowl as they do not seem to be bothered by the heat. My own Sub-Saharan African blood does not help me in the least.

Loving the heat -- Elizabeth, Polly, TK, Tina, Dixie, LV, Dr. Cole

Boomer's kittens born in April have moved back here from the neighbor's. David's one kitten, Vern, was born a few days after Boomer's and is only about one third their size. I'm thinking Vern is a dwarf cat.

Boomer's kitten to the right of the name -- Vern directly below name

Slim is trying to go outside but keeps feeling the pull of air conditioning which keeps her from her designated tasks.

However we are having air conditioning problems once more and I don't know how much longer it will hold up under this heat wave. Only half of the house vents blow cool air and the other half seem to be clogged but no one is willing to crawl under the house and see what has happened. I would do it but know I would get stuck in the crawl space. We have fans strategically placed everywhere in hopes of moving cool air to the warm side.

The old stray dog that has adopted us seems to be pulling our leg because everyone in the area thinks the dog as adopted them too. It seems to be panhandling everywhere but still not bothering any livestock or property. I must say that Slim is not happy to have the visitor here any longer and definitely believes it has overstayed it's welcome. The stray has moved from the shady spot under the tractor to Slim's favorite spot under the front porch. Not a good idea.

Our refrigerator is finally repaired ($300 later) and it is a real treat not to have to go to the den freezer or to the small fridge on the utility porch to get our food.

Our kids have been coming almost every weekend from Tulsa and Oklahoma City to help around the place. Son helping with Ron's outside jobs, property maintenance, etc. Daughter putting her magic to work on organizing the inside of our home. I would be ashamed to tell you the number of bags that have been filled and directed to Goodwill, to my storage or to the incinerator. I know Ron and I both are borderline hoarders and the children fear having to dig us out someday.

Ron is gradually progressing as he gets further away from his chemo and radiation treatments but it looks like we're a long way off from him being his old self. It will still be August before we have a clue on how much the treatments helped.

The past six weeks of my Alli weight loss program have resulted in two steps forward and three steps back. I have managed a net loss of another pound (38 lost) but it is very frustrating after it has gone so easily up until now. I am sticking with the plan however and continuing to journal my food intake and exercising daily.

This is definitely TMI (too much information) but just wanted to catch myself up as much as informing you guys. Thanks for listening.....er, reading.