Ok, this is really none of my business.......

....but it is bugging the crap out of me!!

There's a house that I go by everyday on the way to and from work. During Christmas they decorated with red bows. After Christmas there were two bows they left up on the porch. One was on the porch light fixture and the other one was over the door.

Up until February, I figured they'd just somehow kept forgetting to take them down. Not my business anyway, who cares??

Through Easter, the bows stayed. By the end of April, there was a "For Rent" sign up and I noticed they'd packed up and moved but..you guessed it! The bows stayed. Now I kept thinking ah ha! The house owner will take those things down. Wrong. They stayed.


Last week I noticed the "For Rent" sign down and moving trucks there. This week, it looks like the new family is all moved in. They've mowed the lawn, cut the shrubs, everything looks lived in already, and ......the red bows are still there! If I'd rented the house, the first thing I would have done is to remove the red bows!

I've tried to figure this out. Ok, so let's just say the first family really liked the way the bows looked. It's their house, so what? But how much of a chance would it be that the new family liked the way Red Christmas bows look in June? Maybe they are put up in a way that nobody can get them down. Highly unlikely. Maybe these new people are planning to have a "Christmas in July" celebration and decided to leave them up for now. Who knows, maybe Christmas lights and a tree are coming next. I don't know but it is driving me crazy!

Perhaps they've decided to leave them up for just one reason, to drive people like me nuts! And if that is the case, they've succeeded.

"Merry Christmas neighbors, welcome to the neighborhood." (Maybe I should take them a fruitcake or something.)

The Pine Tree

Greeting me this morn,

Sending to me sunshine sparks

Through its wet needles.

by: Robbin

A lesson on Stars

Little Robbin: Aunt Robbin, if you wish on a star, will your wish really come true?

ME: Well, if you really, really, really, believe it just might!

Little Robbin: Well, I DO! I really, really, really believe!

ME: The best stars to wish on are falling stars, but you have to be fast!

Little Robbin: Some people call those shooting stars.

ME: Yes, you are right, shooting stars.

Little Robbin: But you can call them falling stars, Aunt Robbin, that will be ok.

ME: Well, thank you Robbin, I appreciate that.

Love my New Glasses!

I had a good day at work today. It's always a good day when a certain combination of things come together and that's exactly how today went.

First all the associates, myself included, have to feel good and be in a pleasant frame of mind.

Next the Optometrist has to be BUSY so that he doesn't have too much time on his hands.

The customers have to be pleasant and really nice. (Smiles are contagious, so this happens almost 100% if the associates are smiling and pleasant.) And every single one who picks up their glasses can see and loves their frames.

And then the last ingredient is that we have lots of these happy customers that actually have money and are prepared to pay for the glasses they want.

We pretty much had all those elements today.

It's True....

...I'm still waiting.

Stowe Away

Today my granddaughter and her mother are getting in their car and taking a little road trip. A 3000 mile road trip. I worry. But I'm a mother, that's my job. Although I am glad to get to see my granddaughter, they'll visit a lot of family and friends and I won't get to see her for that long. It's not like me going there and having her all to myself. (Ok, I'm selfish, I admit it.)

But in a wild dream I think of packing a bag and running away back to Washington with them. And never looking back, leaving Georgia in a trail of dust.

It Was a Hot and Steamy Day....

..and much like this year, the farmer's crops were burning up in the ground. I was twenty years old, barely. I was also expecting my first child. The due date was a few weeks away. The night before I'd started having a few twinges in my lower side but I was pretty sure I wasn't in labor. My husband however was nervous and insisted on taking me to my Mama's house where we spent the night.

I didn't sleep much that night but the twinges never got too much worse. Finally about noon the next day we called the Dr.'s office and went in to see him. He sent me to the hospital and in a little over three hours at 3:10 in the afternoon of a day where you could see steam coming from the highway, I held a beautiful little baby.

My labor was mild, the birth easy, and he quietly came into the world. That was the last quite thing that child ever did in his life.

I can't believe he is 30 today. I can't believe I can still remember the day so vividly. And just as I did 30 years ago I wish for his life to be a good one. He's still working on it and I'm still hoping it.

This first son of mine has taught me many lessons in this life. And as he searches for some peace within himself and happiness, I'll always be right there with him, no matter how hard it gets or exhausting. He is my firstborn and I'll never give up on him. He is handsome, artistic, sensitive, and strong. He fights battles that most of us don't have to within himself. But I have faith that this new decade will bring him some relief. It's my birthday wish for him.

Happy Birthday, my son. I love you with all my heart.

I bet...

...I could have peaceful dreams here. Knock if you need me. I think I'll stay the night.

The Race

My calmness from a few days ago seems to have gone away. This morning my mind is jumping from one place to another and I can't seem to concentrate on anything long enough to have a complete thought.

Even though today is my day off, I woke up very early and couldn't go back to sleep my mind racing with thoughts. So I got up and made coffee and popped some toast in the toaster oven and got interested for a little while in the recommended "Summer Reads" on the NPR website. I read a few excerpts from a few books they are highlighting but nothing I read seemed to really register. I scanned them mostly, wanting to read them faster than I actually could, which is sort of the way my mind is going this morning. My mind is racing way ahead of my body.

I have no way of controlling this mind of mine. It roams and wanders looking for a place to settle that makes some sense but like a hummingbird it never lands anyplace. And when I'm like this, I never quite know what to do with myself. If I had to work, my mind would take on "work" thoughts and I'd be ok. But when I'm like this on my day off, it is strange.

So, there is plenty of "work" to do around here and that is what I will do. Just mindless chores, scrubbing the sink, sweeping, dusting. Anything that requires more concentration than that I'm afraid will not happen today.

To the Dentist I Go

I've known for quite some time that I have to spend a great deal of time this summer in the dentist's chair. Also a great deal of my paycheck will go to the upkeep of that chair. Not sure which hurts the most, the tooth or my pocketbook.
Even with Dental insurance, which I do have, the out of pocket expense is great. And because my teeth have decided to betray me yet once again,(even though I've done nothing bad to them) I have no choice but to take care of this. So, today I start. There's a root canal, a number of fillings, a tooth pulled, and a crown involved. Today just a consultation to plan when the dentist and my pocketbook can work together. And that's gonna cost me 100 bucks!
So.....I'm depressed. I hope my teeth are happy!

Why oh Why?

Today is my Stepfather's birthday and so I had dinner with him and my mother. My mother cooked all his favorite foods and now I am so full, why oh why did I eat so much?

The Menu
Grilled Ribs
Squash Casserole
Corn on the Cob
Cole Slaw

And the cake? A Butter Bundt Cake with cherries and whipped cream.
He had a good birthday. And thanks to him and my mother's good cooking, I ate like a pig!

Very light meals for me for the next week or so! Maybe only Daisies!

Strange Phenomenon

For two days now I've been strangely calm inside. Ever since starting this move into my "rite of passage" I've most of the time felt like a cat on a hot tin roof. Life during this time is quite interesting, as I've expressed here before. It's like a roller coaster ride with moods changing as often as the weather. You never know how you'll feel emotionally from one minute to the next. But this calmness, this inner peacefulness is NEW to me.

There has been nothing to bring this change on in the way that anything has changed in my life. I didn't fully recognize the feeling until late afternoon when several aggravating things happened at work that normally would have sent me to the moon and hot sweats. I even managed to laugh at the calamity of things that had gone wrong. Ummmm.

I was quite surprised to wake up with the same feelings this morning. It's quite pleasant. I hope it stays a while. I like it here, it's a good place.

My Dinner Companion for tonight

Good Morning

We're participating today in a Women's Heath Fair. Steph and I will have a table set up and we'll do free eye screenings. I'm a little excited about it because it will be something a little different than our regular work day and that's a good thing.

After work I'm spending the evening with one of my most favorite persons in my world. The conversation will be lively and intelligent. We have lots to catch up on as we've not gotten to spend anytime together in a long time. She was recently in a dog show with her beloved little beagle and I must hear all about that, plus since school is out I'll hear all her plans for the summer. She's my little six year old name's sake. Her parents are going out to eat for their anniversary and she and I will have a fun evening that I'm looking forward to. Nothing like spending time with a six year old to get a whole new outlook on life.

Hope ya'll have a good weekend!

Movie Night, What I'm Watching

Very timely too since my theme today seems to have been "Dreams". I didn't plan it that way.

So Different are We

I guess posting my previous posts this morning about my dreams got me to thinking of my mother and how so different the two of us are. It's been a mystery to me for a long time and a subject I've spent a lot of time thinking about.

I guess probably it all stems from the fact that I'm a dreamer and she's a realist.
Which isn't to say she doesn't have dreams. Her dreams and mine are just quite different. She calls her dreams goals. And she would tell you that she has accomplished many of her goals. And that is true,but I wonder, did she ever accomplish any of her DREAMS?

IT is true, I dream a lot of things that cost money but all of her "goals" seem to be materialistic. She has worked really hard in her lifetime to obtain the things she has wanted and for that she has the right to be proud. Her "materialistic" dreams were always "realistic" and there lies the difference in us.

I dream of far away places, she dreams of the new travel home to get to not so far away places.

I dream of riding a Hippo, she dreams of a driving a brand new car.

I dream of a little cabin in the woods, she dreams of a new carport for her new car.

I dream of going rock hounding and finding a tiny rare gemstone, she dreams of a bigger diamond ring.

I dream of writing words that have never been written before, so profound and simple that readers will shake their heads in awe, she dreams of buying the next novel by her favorite author.

I dream of world peace, fair wages, living "green", she dreams of finding ground chuck on sale, good produce,& not having to wait in line at the grocery store.

I believe in magic, she believes in U.S. savings bonds.

Get the picture here? Everyone of her dreams are obtainable. Mine, well.....not so much. And that's ok, she is who she is and I am who I am. We both have our priorties and everyone knows I'm a little "different" anyway.

Dreaming is enough for me. It brings me pleasure. Dreaming alone is not enough for her. She has to achieve! SO, her dreams have to be realistic you see. But to me that would be like putting a harness around my thoughts. I have never been able to do that, nor will I ever do that. Who knows, if you dream something really out there, it might just come true. (I speak from experience here.)

Like I've said, my mother has worked so hard her whole life and deserves every single thing she has and more. But you know what? It was my mother who told me when I was six years old you could sprinkle salt on a birds tail and catch him. It was also my mother who told me you could wish upon a star. It was my mother who encouraged me to read every book I could get my hands on to learn all I could about these places I now dream of.

Somewhere along the way she stopped believing all that and her dreams became "things" and my dreams, well let's just say I still wish upon stars.

I've accepted long ago that she and I are so very different. And long, long, ago I stopped sharing my dreams with her. But every time she gets something new, every time one of her goals are achieved I'm right there to admire whatever it is. But I hope in her heart of hearts there lies a real DREAM. A dream she doesn't think would even be possible and I hope before her life is over that dream comes true and that it won't cost money because you see, a real dream can't be bought with any amount of currency. It is quite priceless.

Just Dreamin' This Morning of.....

Riding a Hippo!

Owning at least one expensive pair of earrings.

Buying my own little corner of the earth.

Eating Greek Yogurt.....in Greece.

....And, taking a year off to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Sometimes you just can't figure out why people act the way they do.

Native American Wisdom

Cherokee Prayer

Oh Great spirit,
grant that I may never find fault
with my neighbor until I have walked
the trail of life in his moccasins.

The Heat is ON!

Today is the first day of summer but here in Georgia it's been summer for a month or so. Today's high should be around 98 degrees. Funny to me when I was a little girl we survived without AC but today I think we'd die!

Today is also my best friend Steph and her husband's anniversary. I still remember that day eight years ago. I think it was 98 degrees then too. But it was a nice day and I treasure the picture I have of us that day.

"Happy Anniversary Steph and Chris!"

I'm off to work! WORK, WORK, WORK! Seems that's all I ever do. Wish I were instead off to the airport to Seattle. Now that would be nice.
Have a good day!

Those EYES!

I'm Back.....

Well, I was a very good girl and got my work done.

I had to write about my supper. When it gets hot, it is a real challenge to come up with something to eat. So I was proud that I came up with something different tonight.

I had a can of 3 Bean Salad in the cabinet and I wanted something light, and not hot, so here's what aspired. I mixed avocado, spring onions, and Italian dressing with the can of beans. Put it on a bed of mixed salad greens, put sliced tomatoes and cukes around the plate and it was good to me! Very satisfying.

Now I'm watching The American Film Institute's 100 best movies of all time on T.V. And can I just say young Marlin Brando, WOW!!! I always forget how good looking he was. And Katherine Hepburn, what an actress! Cary Grant, Al Pacino, they were so great. This is making me want to rent some old movies. Off to Netflix to update my Queue.

I'm playing when there is work to do!

Ok, today is my day off. I have loads of household chores to do, and I'm sitting here playing on the computer. (OK, that's nothing new, I'll admit.) Anyway my newest thing seems to be RSS feeds. I first became familiar with this through my interest with Squidoo, which I've mentioned before here. But anyway, RSS feeds are live feeds you can get on your blog or websites from other sites. They are updated automatically and you can find them on just about anything. This morning I'm experimenting and if you scroll down you'll see a few I've added. There's one on NPR news, (I love NPR). I've got one on the best deals on the web, one on cool tools, and one on quotes. So, that's what I'm doing when I'm suppose to be doing other things, so I'm off now, I promise. You will not see me until I've accomplished something worthwhile! I promise!

The Blueberry Pie

I don't think I actually blogged about making the blueberry pie. I did make it Saturday night, or I should say Sunday morning about 2 A.M. (see Linda, I have my nights too).

I had an idea to make two of them, one for me and one for my step-father for Father's Day. But the thing is I didn't buy enough berries but for one pie. I still wanted to give it to my step father but I hated to give it to him without tasting it, it was a new recipe I'd never made before. So.....I did the only thing I knew to do. I sliced it and had a piece. It was very good.

SO on Father's day, on my way to work, I delivered it to him (less one piece) with a can of whipped cream. He's a big joker and he says, "I get a used pie, huh?" I explained to him I couldn't give it to him without tasting it first and he goes, "Yea, uh huh. Sure."

Anyway, last night he called me and said,

"I guess I have to wait until next Father's Day to get another one of these pies."
I say, "So you liked it huh?"
"Yep" he says, "it was good."
"Well, good, maybe you won't have to wait a year to get another one." I tell him.
"Next time," he says, "Maybe I won't get a used one!"

Silly man! And the funny thing is, he doesn't even know it was a pretty healthy blueberry pie.

The other day someone visited my blog from Mustang, Wyoming. Now that sounds like a place I'd like to live! But the funny thing is, when I searched for it, it doesn't seem to exist. Maybe I dreamed it.

Sometimes the Soul Needs Washing

There are times when you are smoothly sailing through life but deep in your self conscious, you've buried something and you make an effort not to think of it often and not to show the pain to the world. You try to pretend that it doesn't really bother you but it does in fact stay with you no matter what else is going right.

And then one day, just like that, for whatever reason, you start thinking about it. It's usually when you are alone. For me it's usually when I am driving home from work. Sometimes it's just because I'm tired and I let my thoughts wander. Maybe I just need a good cry. And it is worthy of tears, this nagging thing that bothers you, no matter how much you try to pretend it doesn't.

After the tears come and washes out your soul, you tuck it back in your mind and in your heart because this isn't the sort of thing you can really change. It usually isn't something you really want to share with anyone, in fact it may be too hard to put into words even if you did want to share it. And that's just as it should be because most of us do carry a private pain that belongs to us alone. And that's ok. It's part of being alive and being able to "feel". It's part of being human.

Sounds of the Native American Flute...

...fills my soul with calmness. Maybe it reminds me of another life.

It's Early Tuesday Morning..

...and that means conference call for me. I've got a perfect cup of coffee, I've read the morning news and now I get to listen to the sound of my boss's voice. I had a good night's sleep and feel revived. Yesterday was one of those days for me. If it could be dropped, I dropped it. If it could be said wrong, I said it. If if could be broken, I broke it. Customers were hard and associates moved too slow for me. So, today has to be better. I hope.

Hangin' My Hat Up.....

...and calling it a day. I'm tired and turning in early tonight. See ya'll tomorrow.

Crystal Clear

Along with a good week at work, on a personal level I've had a good week too. I've been able to see a few things clearly in my journey to get where I want to be to find the happiness I seek. There's three things I know for sure and though it doesn't seem like much, it is progress.

These things I know for sure:

1. I have to live near my son and his family. I dont' really care where we are. I want to not miss anymore of my granddaughter's life than I have to. And I have to be closer to my son in miles. Once a year is not doing it.

2. I want to stay with my same company. After 13 years I don't want to leave the company that has been good to me and that I am comfortable with. With as many stores as we have now, that doesn't mean I can't move.

3. I want to be able to sell my jewelry. It would be a good suppliment to my income which I need. I don't know how I will do this, but I want to design my own stuff and actually sell it to people that will appreciate the materials and the art of it.

So there you have it. That's what I see in my future. And that's what I'm going to move towards.

Teamwork at work

Let's see, this week has flown by and we are now done with our big sale at work and for the first time ever in history our little store finished 2nd in a contest our District Manager ran. I'm very excited about that. Usually we always were 4th or 5th but this year my team worked together and they went after it and we did it. So, we won $100 for the store, my assistant manager and I won a day off with pay, she also won $50 dollars for being the coordinator of the event, and she did a super job. So, we're shooting for # 1 when this goes on again in November. Success feels good, especially when you see your team working so hard for it.

I am especially pleased because it is so important to me to be a good manager and part of that is to get people to want to accomplish goals and to work together as a team to do it. My associates did that this time and I'm like a proud coach whose team just won an important game, or at least won 2nd place.

There's a quote I like by Coach Bear Bryant. Here's what it is:

"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then YOU did it."

My son says every lesson you need to know in life you can learn in football, so there you go, this time we did good, next time, my team will be number one! GO TEAM!!!!!

Fathers

I've not had much luck in my lifetime with Fathers. Not my own, and not the one who fathered my children.

I don't know why that is exactly. The luck of the draw, something I did, I'm not sure. My own father never abused me, nor did he leave us, he just wasn't all that into me. He was obsessed with my mother. I was just something he decided my mother needed to try and keep her happy and tied to him. It didn't work, she divorced him anyway. I guess he loved me in his own way, he had his own issues, but not like I knew a father's love was suppose to be.

By the time they divorced I was a teenager and though I still tried to have a relationship with him, any contact he had with me was only an attempt to get close to my mother.

Not until a few years later, when he was dying was he really interested in wanting to see me and meeting the children that were his grandchildren. To me that was too little too late and I chose to remain estranged from him. By then he had hurt me so many times with his disinterest in my life, I just couldn't seem to pretend that he was not just my father in name only. After he died, when mine and my children's hearts were safe from any pain he could have caused us, I went to his grave and made peace with him. Maybe too late for him but not for me.

The man I married had no role model himself as a father. Living with an abusive and alcoholic father, he never really understood what his own role was when we had children. He could play with them, but if I needed to depend on him to help me make decisions about them, if I needed him to discipline them, if I just needed him to pick them up from school or to take them to ball practice, forget it! When our marriage broke up, he divorced his sons too.

I've often wondered what it must feel like to have been raised with a father who cared or to have the father of your children actually take an active part in the kid's lives. I know there are fathers like that out there in the world.
And I've witnessed first hand how not having a father in your life can hurt.

With all that said,one can understand how very proud of my son I am. His parenting skills amaze me. He is the father that he deserved as a child and he is the father I'd have loved to have had. My granddaughter's childhood will be so much richer because of his presence in it. And she'll know what it feels like to be "Daddy's girl".

"Happy Father's Day", Son. I know you are just doing what comes naturally to you, what a father does out of love, and I know it's not anything you feel you should be rewarded for. It's the way it is suppose to be. But I want you to know Father's Day is for Dads like you. I'm proud to be your mother.

What I'm thinking about tonight

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost

What I'm eating tonight

Ok, I know you think I'm kidding but where I live, you can't get good stuff like Pita bread. Oh you can buy a brand here but it's bad, it tough, and not good. So I have a friend that travels and he send me goodies. This week I got Pita Bread and this is yummy! So, I'm having mashed avocado and tomatoes inside toasted pita. Thank you my friend.

What I'm Watching Tonight

...our Big Sale at work that is and I'm glad! All of us are so tired but we had big success and that makes us happy. We set records! But we did work hard this time promoting it and it paid off. We don't have to worry about it again until November, when we'll do it all over again.

Unless you're a Vegan and are opposed to using honey, rush right out and get some of this! It's WONDERFUL. It feels so good. It's a sugar scrub. It's called Sugared Honey. It's made by
The Savannah Bee Company.

Bath and Body Works is selling a line of products from this company that just happens to be based from right here in my state. Every product has a little red tag that gives you a bee fact.

My bee fact is "An average worker Bee makes 1/12 of a teaspoon of Honey in her life."

Another Busy Day

Ok, two days down and one to go of our Big Contact Lens Event. We had fun today, even if at times we were a little stressed.

When you work retail and you have a busy day, you are so drained mentally when you finally get off that you feel as if you've been hit by a Mac Truck. Which reminds me, in last night's post I was trying to find a picture of a Mac Truck head-on for my blog to describe that I felt like I'd been hit by one but I couldn't find it. This morning on my way to work what should I see when I looked in my rear view mirror? Yep! A Big Mac Truck. I had to laugh.

So tonight I think a nice bubble bath is what I need. I had spinach dip and saffron peppered crackers for dinner, not a well balanced meal but good to me and what I wanted. So, I'll take my bath with scented candles and a travel magazine that my friend sent me and dream of far away places. I'll drift off to sleep and hopefully dream sweet dreams and then I'll start all over again tomorrow.

She's really a Sweetie!

But she takes her Tae Kwon Do very seriously!

Too Pooped To Care!

That is the name of this painting by Donna Walsh and it's also just how I feel.

It's the Day..

Today is our big sale at work. All those contact lens preorders have now got to be entered into our system and ordered. That will pretty much take all day. I have other people to work the floor and take care of the customers. The actual sale will last through the weekend and we should be busy and pick up lots more orders. We'll all be decked out in our Acuvue T shirts and jeans. So we'll see how all that goes.
I dreamed last night that I had to take care of a sick nun. A SICK NUN? Not sure about that, have to look that one up on the dream site, don't have time this morning.
But from the looks of my sheets, I had a hard time with that nun!
A special person to me will be traveling today in the friendly skies and I wish I were going where he's going..with him! But oh well, my life is here and today it is all about contact lens. How exciting!

If you don't know already....Whales amaze me. SO this story below amazes me. And makes me wish these massive mammals could talk. They probably hold all the secrets to the world.








Bowhead Whale Reveals Unlikely Treasure: 100-Year-Old Weapon
By Mitch Marconi
Jun 13, 2007

A Bowhead Whale that was harvested in a traditional 'subsistence hunt' conducted by an Alaskan Eskimo tribe, has revealed a great treasure.
A piece of a weapon used by commercial whalers in the late 1800s was found in the massive bowhead whale, which was caught off Alaska last month by the Inupiat.

The find dates not only the weapon, but the great beast as more than a century old.
The London Times Online reports that the tip of a bomb lance (thought to have been manufactured in the 1880s) shows that the 49ft whale, which weighed about 50 tons, might be nearly 130 years old.

"It was probably at least a yearling when it was struck, because the whalemen never took calves," said Craig George, an Alaskan wildlife biologist.

The find lends credence to recent evidence that bowhead whales have life spans that extend well past that of a century.

The bowhead whale, also known as Greenland Right Whales or Arctic Whales, was nearly wiped out by commercial whaling. Over recent times, the population off Alaska has gradually recovered since an international ban was imposed.

Indigenous people from Alaska, Greenland and the Chukotka region of eastern Russia and Greenland are allowed to hunt a fixed number of whales for traditional, non-commercial consumption. Alaskan Eskimos are permitted to harvest about 50 a year.

As the Moods Swing

At this time in my life one of the things that I've noticed and can't seem to control is how fast my mood can change. With no warning, I can go from happy and carefree to tears. Big, fat, wet, tears. It is one reason I suppose that years ago women were sent to mental institutions when actually they were just going through this "age". I can understand though why the people around you, or even you yourself could think you're kinda unstable.
All you can do is go with it and have your cry and go from there. But it leaves you a little drained. And afterwards things don't look quite as wonderful as maybe they did an hour before.
At least nobody else has to put up with me, except my little dog and she's pretty understanding. And it's kind of like the weather, if you don't like it, wait an hour and see how you feel then.
Very interesting, this time of my life.

Can you understand why her name is "Sweetie"?

Let the Sunshine In

I rose with the sun this morning. I admired for a moment the way the sunlight was streaming in my bedroom through the blinds. I let the dog out, put on a pot of coffee, put my dinner in the crock-pot, washed up a few dishes and cleaned off my desk.

The thing is, today is my day off and I could have actually slept in! But you know, when you're done sleeping, you're done. That's the way it goes sometimes and so I just opened up my heart and let the sunshine in! And it feels good!

A Dream in the Cedar Chest

Someday I'd like to take a ride in a rickshaw, see the China Wall, eat real Chinese Food, take a Tai Chi lesson from a master, shop for Jade & visit a Buddhist Temple. I'd like to do this with the person who shares the same dream.

Native American Wisdom

Certain things catch your eye,
But pursue only those
that capture your heart.

old indian saying

Ok, that's it...

...I'm making a blueberry pie. It all started when I got a recipe through an e-mail from a site that sends me "healthy recipes". It's Dr. Weil. Anyhow...it sounded good and he even has a recipe somewhere for a good pie crust that wouldn't be too fattening. And then this morning my blogger friend Aisling talked about planting blueberry bushes yesterday. SO..now I just have to do it. I've never made a blueberry pie before but this weekend I'm gonna!

I'll let you know how it turns out.

Early Morning Conference Call Day

Tuesday morning is always my conference call day. I go in late on Tuesdays and take the call from home. It starts at 7:45 a.m. and it consists of our district manager and 15 of us managers.

Conference calls are interesting because you have some people who hardly ever speak up, you hardly know they are there, and then you have the others who sometimes talk too much. There are times when I think they are just talking to hear themselves talk.

This morning however, I think we were all half asleep and even the "talkers" were pretty quiet. Could be that it's the rainy morning (most of us are not that far from each other and share the same weather). Because this is the week of our big sale, our quietness didn't go over well with our district manager. Especially since sales aren't where she'd like to see them.
Before the call was over we all tried to be a little more enthusiastic but I don't think we were very convincing.

Oh well, it was what it was and I for one am glad it's over.

There has to be water..

...near my cabin and a mountain wouldn't hurt either.

The Art Inside of Him

Ok, I know this may look a little odd at first glance but to me, it is such an example of who my older son is. Since he was a child he has drawn. He put it away until recently. This is a chalk drawing he did while he was here. He was seriously doing fruit and a vase but then all of a sudden out pops the little man. It pretty well explains his life. His artistic ability is pretty amazing but he doesn't know that, he can never get it perfect enough, which is pretty typical of artistic people. I love this drawing, funny looking little man and all.

Back to the Real World

The bad thing about having a weekend off is Monday morning. But I'm not dreading it too badly. This is a big week at our store as we are having our "Big Contact Lens Event" and it's kind of fun. Hoping for biggest sales ever, so we shall see.
Along with doing exactly what I pleased this weekend I've had to do some thinking. Gears have shifted a little in my way of thinking. For months, years really I've tried to decide whether I wanted to move to be nearer to my son and his family but now, they are talking about moving back here. Perhaps that is why it never felt quite right for me. Who knows! Anyway, it will be interesting to see what unfolds. In a lot of ways I hate to see them give up the opportunities that are there for each one of them, salaries, schools, that sort of thing, but that will be their decision.
Whatever happens with them, I am tired of sitting on this fence of indecision and I am going to finally decide EXACTly what I want and move in that direction.
So, how's that for Monday morning thoughts? I've got to get out of here or I'm going to be late.
Happy Monday!

I Just had to know..

Seeing an elephant in your dream is defined more by the animals attitude and occupation. If the elephant is pleasant and friendly you will have good luck in what you are undertaking to do, and if you are riding on the beast you will have much success. If you see an elephant performing, as in a circus, you will be surrounded by happy, loving people, and if you see the elephant doing a job you will have success above your wildest dreams. Another meaning of the elephant dream has to do with whether or not you are seeking answers, or go to sleep with a particular problem on your mind, in which case the elephant denotes the key to knowledge and truth, and after sight of the elephant you will be told the answer.

(From Dream Central)

OK, I'm waiting...

"Happy Birthday"
Frances Gumm
1922-1969

My VERY productive day

Let's see, what have I accomplished today? Well, I ah, no, didn't get that done. I did....what did I do today? Where did today go anyway?

Ok, I confess. I absolutely accomplished nothing of real value today. I got stuck watching "Anne of Green Gables" on public t.v. which I've probably only seen 6 times before.

I finished my book. I made a frozen banana smoothie that turned out rather interesting. I took a long peaceful nap and dreamed of elephants (not sure what that was about). I made stir fried rice out of leftover rice I had and I can now feed an army if one happened to stop by. Trying to use leftovers I now have created only more leftovers.

So, I guess I accomplished eating, sleeping, and watching t.v. and reading. But oh what a nice peaceful day it was. I guess I accomplished just what I really set out to.

"The man who views the world at fifty,
the same as he did at twenty,
has wasted thirty years of his life."

~ Muhammed Ali ~

Struck not once but twice!

There's a storm brewing outside tonight. I hear the rumbling thunder and if you go outside you can see lightning off in the distance. Of course this time of year in Georgia, things can get pretty noisy and scary looking and not a drop of rain will fall and the next thing you know, it's quiet again. Looks like what may be happening tonight.

Here's an interesting piece of personal trivia. BOTH of my grandfathers were struck by lightning. It didn't kill either of them. They were both young men when it happened. My maternal grandfather was out pumping water from the well. My paternal grandfather was drunk and sitting on the porch when he got struck.

Being the odds ,according to statistics I read, of getting struck by lightning in the USA are 576,000 to one, it always kind of amazed me that both of them were struck.

I usually like to tell this story while I standing near someone outside, watching lightning flash off in the distance. It's amazing how they always move a little further away.

It's not genetic for goodness sakes! Unless you consider how dumb it is to be outside during a lightning storm. Ummmm.

A Weekend Off

Very seldom do I ever get a whole weekend off. I have this one though. After work I headed home to the country and I'm not going back to town until Monday morning. No plans, just a quiet weekend.

I have a movie to watch, jewelry to make, a book to finish, and then of course some chores to do.

There is rain in the forecast and that would be ok with me, I love rainy afternoons. Plus we still need rain badly.

So, if you're looking for me, I'll be right here, with a sweet little dog by my side, doing only exactly what I want to do.
Have a good weekend!

No question is so difficult to answer
as that which the answer is obvious.
George Bernard Shaw