The Run Down

Sarah has gone home. She stayed three nights and didn't want to go home but I have to work tomorrow. Becca's Dad came in on Saturday and we did not tell Sarah. When I took her home tonight I told her someone was at her house. She tried to guess but had no clue. I told her it was a surprise. When we got upstairs she shivered and giggled in excitement just before we entered.

I wish you could have seen her face when she walked into her apartment. She was dazed and her little hands flew to her cheeks and she gasped. She stared for several minutes as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Then she ran over and reached out and touched his cheek and rubbed it and rubbed his arm and then hugged him. She simply stared with a funny little smile and then she giggled. She kept rubbing his cheek. She got down, moved to stand about three feet away and just stared at him with that little smile and after a few minutes she would look at the rest of us and giggle. then she'd rush over and pat his cheek and hug him again. She never spoke during the whole thing. It was so funny and so sweet. And I felt the knife twist because I knew if it had been Jerry waiting she would have reacted in exactly that way. And he would have grabbed her and never let go.

I turned and saw my dinning table with the cloth spread nicely on it, and the ladder back chairs around it. It looked very nice the way Becca has it set up. I reached out and touch the back of the chair, clasping the post and rubbing it and the past rose up and slapped me in the face. I saw myself standing just that way a thousand times watching my little boys sitting at that table laughing and Jerry at the end, eating my cooking and laughing with them. And I turned and ran out of the apartment and down the stairs and drove home.

They were not there.

Up and At ....um.... Maybe not....

Moving slow this morning, probably due to the weather is my guess.Whatever, rolling out of the bed was the easy part.

Sarah is still asleep but I'm about to go beard the little bear in her den. She has been grumpy in the morning all weekend. So, I may get a black eye. Still has to be done. She goes home today and I will probably take her before lunch so I can do a few things before going back to work.

It has been a long weekend without much relaxing time but it is always good to have her with me. It is like a little sunshine in your pocket.

My gas log was worked on last week. I got it going and now it isn't working again. I am just going to have to find another one for that room. It has to be a ventless heater and they are hard to find. But it gets so cold in there you can't stand it. And I have to have something on a thermostat so I don't end up having to lite it all the time. They cost several hundred dollars. Which I don't have.

I'm going to dress now and see if I can coax Sarah to dress and go look for one. She is up now. I stopped long enough to get her up and get out breakfast. She's watching a video at the moment, Hermie, a Christian children's video.

I have to go back to work tomorrow. Bummer.

A Sarah Saturday

Sarah is at my house today. She spent the night with me and we are not trying to decide what to do. She informed me that there was nothing to do at my house. Probably true since all the toys I buy go to her house. We have books and a doll house but she gets bored with those after a time. She watches about 20 minutes of a movie and she's done. So, not sure what we will be doing.

Mike called earlier to see if I was coming to get him to hook up the den heater but Dave has my car. He is going to Kentucky to pick up Becca's parents. They want to move back here. Anyway, when I was talking to Mike, Sarah said, "He's ruining our date."

I can't pick him up until later. I will be glad when I get my heater hooked up. I like that room and would use it more all year if it were warm. In the summer I use it more, or used to.

I'm using the spare room a lot since I put my wireless printer in here and the trestle desk. It is such a warm cozy room. I often get on the bed with my heated throw and watch movies or listen to audio books. I've been crocheting there while I listen to books but this week I was so exhausted when I got in that I simply read blogs and watched t.v. shows. I couldn't relax and by the time I went to bed I was so sleepy. It was always midnight. That kind of tired makes it impossible to wind down properly.

Today I do not know what is on the schedule but then that is what Sarah Saturdays are usually like. There are a lot of things to do but none really appeal. I may actually try and hook the heater up myself. At one time I could have done. Not sure now.

Sarah took a hot shower and she is ready to roll. I cleaned my half bath... basically this is where I do my hair and everything was just everywhere. I straightened it up, washed it down, and organized all the hair paraphernalia. It will be fine for a while.

I am feeling my lack of sleep now. It is about 1 p.m. and I didn't sleep well last night. Sarah woke me up once to tell me I was making noise so I guess I was snoring. I do some times. I hate sleeping on my back and it is the only way I can sleep. So, I snore more. My throat and mouth are nearly raw in the mornings so I usually know when it is happening.

I'm going off now. Not sure I'll be back today. I've been pretty scarce lately because of work. I still have to go back on Tuesday and try to get finished with it.

Paedophilia 'culturally accepted in south Afghanistan' - Telegraph

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Does this sound yucky to anyone but me? And what am I to actually learn from this? Am I supposed to say, "Golly gee! When in Rome. . ."

Oppressive to women. Practicing pedophiles. What will they think of next!

Sorry, it is not going to ever be acceptable to me. I don't care what planet you come form.

Animal death mystery: 8k turtle doves fall dead in Italy with blue stain on beaks | Mail Online

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I don't have to say anything, do I?

Still Alive NaNoWriMo

A friend and local nano'er, Lulu, put the link for this video on her blog. I had not seen it before but it is just so cute I have to post it. I didn't win but....

I'm Sure It Is Just Coincidence

There can't be any connection to these events, I'm sure of it.....

Mass Animal Deaths

Mystery 500 Dead Penguins

Mass Pilot Whale Beaching

Something in the Air

Link "Why are the animals dying? Birds, fish wiped out in mysterious deaths"

I've been watching the stories of these mass animal deaths with interest. Revelations speaks of mass death in water and on land in the last days.

I also watched Flash Forward this past summer and the back story contained a scene of hundreds of black birds... get this... dropping to the ground, dead. The story contained several events over a period of years when this had happened and it had been kept secret. So, seeing it in real life this past week or so has been a bit disconcerting since in the television show it was a scientific experiment that caused serious problems.

Don't get me wrong. I know the Flash Forward is a fictional television show. I know some of you believe the Bible is a fable. I respect your opinions of both. I just don't necessarily agree with you on all of it. You see, I remember when wrist watches were two-way radios with video screens that existed only in the Dick Tracy comic... in the 50's and 60's. Hello?

So, my suspicions, along with the conspiracy freaks, is that this is something we are not being told. Birds do not drop out of the sky in the hundreds in a single area and fish in the same area do not wash ashore for no good reason. . . all within the same week while one state away the same thing was happening.

Mass extinction? It is the same species. Why didn't sparrows fall out of the sky? I can remember in 2003 traveling home through Arkansas from Little Rock and seeing thousands of these black birds. It was in December. We must have ridden for 50 miles and witnessed flock after flock of blackbirds flying west. I'd never seen anything like it. We were amazed at how many there were and wondered why they were there. So, when I heard of this story I was thrown back to that point in time.

When I read of the Horizon explosion and saw the photos and then saw the horrendous results of that I told my pastor, "I believe we just saw Wormwood." For the uninitiated to all this mumbo jumbo, read Revelations 8. Even he laughed at me. But I'm still not convinced it isn't true. A flaming star falling into the ocean causes contamination of the sea and death to the sea life. In the Bible version of Wormwood, it also actually sinks ships. There is concern in certain scientific sectors that some of these oil companies will puncture a methane vein. There are believed to be copious amounts beneath the oceans of the world. If that happens, Revelations 8 will come to pass and we won't be able to stop it. Read the science if you don't read the Bible. It is said it will be global death of every living thing.

Whatever your beliefs or disbeliefs, we better take such events seriously. To say hundreds of birds dropping dead from the skies and over 100,000 fish washing ashore dead is nothing to worry about is about the most ludicrous statement I've ever heard. And why would we not be concerned? When you start seeing aquatic life affected in the manner we are seeing, something in our system is seriously out of balance. It is a matter of time before it moves ashore. Sea life, all aquatic life in fact, is very sensitive to environmental changes. When birds fall from heaven in the hundreds, we might begin to wonder if it has now moved ashore. Does anyone really believe this is "nothing to worry about"?

What astounds me is that the "experts" expect us to accept it without question! And we do. Because they are paid to know. We believe if they have a PHD they must be right. Where I'm from we don't have much respect for PHD's. It means Post Hole Digger. So I tend to be more skeptical. I question everything. I do not believe in experts. I believe in educated guesses, hunches, and my gut. They've proven far more valuable to me. My gut says this is not good.

When wildlife begins to show signs of something wrong in the environment, something is seriously wrong. Miners long ago took canaries into the mines. Why? Because if there was a gas leak, the canary would die before it was strong enough to kill the miners. It must have been amazingly comforting in that deep dark hole to hear that little bird cheerily singing. Imagine the terror if it stopped. That would not be a good sign. You can bet that every miner in the mine would know in minutes to get out. Death was in the mine.

Anyone check the canary lately? Something is in the air.....and it's killing the birds.

Sunshine Across the Desk

The only bright spot in the day is in the middle of my desk calendar. I'm buried under work and it won't get better. I'm not going to begin a litany of all that is wrong but lets just say I've been summoned to the corp. office this week to "assist" in some work there.... Yes, I have. By the Interim Executive Director, a very nice lady who admits she knows nothing.

When I called to ask for details on exactly what I'm expected to do she didn't seem to know. The accounting guy needs to go over some records. I and another person were chosen. In my mind I wonder why but don't ask.

I go to my supervisor. He was not consulted about who is to go. He was told to send me and T. While I was there, the E.D. called me back to say I wasn't in trouble or anything (nice to know) but that we were the only two people who seemed to know what was going on in the department. !!!! There are 14 of us here. I can assure you most know exactly what they are doing.

If you know me very well at all, you know that flattery is absolutely wasted on me. I just don't buy into it. You can't flatter me. If I tell you you are wonderful, I mean it. If someone else tells me I'm wonderful, I suspect they want something. I can't help it. It is just the way I'm wired. I've always been that way. I've been called beautiful by people I don't know very well. Hogwash. They're either blind or the village idiot or they want something. If they told me I'm very smart... I might agree but not because I'm flattered. I'd be glad they have enough intelligence to recognize it. Or, in the case cited above... I'd suspect you want me to do someone else's job. Either way, not good.

So, on Friday I go to corporate.

My boss said, "I think the accounting guy likes you."

I said, "He doesn't know me."

My boss said, "I hate him so I can't go."

"You know that I have no problem bearding the lions at Court Street."

He looked at me and then T and said, "Maybe you should let T do the talking. Sometimes you're delivery is lacking."

I looked at him. "It is what it is."

T. said, "She can do the talking."

Understanding The Technology

My youngest son was about 3 years old when the military began using desktop computers. My husband brought this home one day from work. Someone gave it to him. I have no idea who drew it or thought up the concept. I doubt it was Bill Gates.

I've kept it for years but since I'm cleaning out, I'm tossing it away too. I have scanned it and will have a disk copy. However, I'm sending it out to the world via Multiply. As far as I am aware it is not protected. When I was in college. I gave it to one of my professors. Before I knew it I was seeing it all over the campus on bulletin boards. For some reason, people find it amusing. I hope it helps you understand your computer better.

Forward Motion

Sarah is napping on my sofa. Dave and Becca came in and he is napping on my bed. Becca had to be there this morning to finish her registration and get her books. We have a ham in the oven that was intended for New Year's day but things sort of didn't work out that way. Dave has school tonight.

I am not doing much of anything. I've spent the morning dealing with HRH and once she went down, I was a bit at loose ends. Now, I don't know what I want to do. The ham sounds good with potatoes and broccoli with cheese sauce.

I'm at a bit of a loss. I feel as if I'm waiting for something. It is very frustrating. I'm not actually waiting for anything, as far as I know. But it feels as if I'm on that platform checking my watch.

I hate waiting.

Finally, A Monday that Doesn't Stink

Idnit amazin?A Monday that looks good on the outside and in which I don't feel like I've been pounded with a hammer. I do hope this is a portent of the next 51 Mondays.

I'm up a bit earlier than I've been getting up. I have to go back to work tomorrow and I need to finish loose ends here. I still have papers here and there to sort through but most of the damage is done for now. I have one fully cleaned, painted, and organized closet. I have a second that is a bit more organized. I have one on the way and two more that I have to just empty and do the same.

I'm raising the bars in them as well. Most are just head height on my but I need them a bit higher. The storage up top is not very useful anyway and simply makes me stick things back. So, will eliminate it and put storage at the bottom that is a bit more practical. I'll lose about a foot but that's ok since I won't be keeping as much excess baggage. In my hall closet I put my blankets, first putting them in plastic garbage bags so they stay cleaner. The ends are open to allow them to breath but they won't collect as much dust as they would just lying on the shelf. I had them stored in a huge plastic tub that just got in the way in the closet. I gave it to Becca.

I have not been writing at all. I don't know what has happened. I haven't had any contact with my writing group. They seem to have dropped off the face of the earth. Some of the NaNo'ers have stayed in touch so I'm going to try and arrange to meet with them. It has been hard with the holidays. We'll see.

Sarah just arrived to spend the day. Dave and Becca start school today and since this is the first day I said she could spend it with me. After today, they go on a schedule where Becca goes in the mornings and Dave in the evenings. So one of them will be able to keep her at all times.

I am going to see what we can get into now. I have some things to do but when HRH is here it seems they don't get done a well.

Since I started this we have spent about two hours cuddling in my still warm bed and telling stories. Then we got a "nice shower". That is what Sarah called it. She played with the doll house and a movie in the background. I suppose she is used to background noises where I am not. She can't be in a room without them. She hears every sound and the silence disturbs her. So, movies. And now, she is taking a nap.

I'm going to find food.

First Sunday of the Year

I have been here all day at my desk, cleaning out bins and boxes and paying bills. In fact for the last three days I've been throwing things away all over the house... even discarding books. Becca saw me last night boxing books and she said, "Mom... you're getting rid of books?"

I said, "Yes. I'm getting rid of books." I never get rid of books that are shelved because that means they are special to me. They are all hardbacks except for a few paperbacks I found stacked that I had already read. I suspect in the coming months, I'll be getting rid of more of them. My intention is to be rid of nearly all my books in the next year. I will take it slowly as these are all books I love and feel comfortable with them around me. It isn't a resolution, just an intent. I had a desire once to have room in which all four walls were covered in books. Jerry was going to make one for me. I no longer have the desire. Now, it seems I want all of them gone. I was studying the bookcase in the guest room. I have a shelf of Christian books, a shelf of history books, a shelf of more classical literature, a shelf of children's books, and a shelf of textbooks on Anthropology, photography, geology, psychology, business law, journalism, and political science. I had an eclectic education at university. They all need to go.

It all has to go. I have too much weight. I look around and think of all that would have to be done if I were to die suddenly. I can't bear the thought of my family trying to sort through all that I have clung, too. I have had to deal with all that Jerry left behind. It has taken two years of picking up things and trying to let go. I still have things here that were his that really don't need to be here. I can't do that to other people. Mike would be crippled by the choices if that happened. I have to get rid of everything I can. I can't take them with me. They mean nothing to anyone else.

I gave Becca my solid oak table Saturday. It is one long table, no inserts, that seats six. It still has the original ladder back chairs I bought to go with it. Virtually impossible to tear up ladder back chairs. I bought that thing new and unfinished in 1988. I stained it, finished it and raised my family around it. Twenty-two years of meals, games, school work, and memories. I've no need of it now. I've told her if she decides she no longer wants it it must come home. I don't think it will. If she takes care of it, it will last another 50 years. Oak, when cared for, last forever.

I've filled five trash bags with paper. Paper! Why do I have all that stuff? I started Friday and began making piles. I went over and over them, each time throwing more and more away, wondering why I kept it the first time. Then, wondering why when I made the pile I still hung onto it. I went through some things half a dozen times but each time, more went out. I've tossed a pile of old cassette tapes, maybe 50 of them. I have a player but I threw a bunch away. I kept those I really liked and may actually play. I wish I could get them onto a CD and then I'd toss them for good. I have all the tapes that were my and Jerry's favorites.

Today, it is the business end of things I am working on. I have to prepare for tax time and my desk is buried and has been for months. I'm sorting the remodel items so they are easy to locate and I'm tossing stuff that has been lying around for a year... I don't know why I put it in my bill bin.

I will be sorting the "paid" bin, too. I usually keep paid things a year and then decided if warranties are a factor. If so, they go to a special file. Everything else will be tossed.

It is a tedious task that I hate, more now than before. Probably because I am shedding things I would not normally shed. But then my life is no longer normal. The image that came to mind when I typed that statement was of a train depot. I'm standing on the platform looking at my watch. It is cold and windy and people are milling around while I stand with my suitcase at my feet, waiting.

I'm off now. Still trying to get things sorted out. Mike called to see if I was going to church. I honestly haven't decided. I hate to stop and leave this mess. I've been doing that every night for the last couple of days. I'd kind of like tomorrow to be a day I don't do anything but relax. It will be the only day for ten days that I do if it happens.

I hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start. And I hope it brings all of us better times.

Happy New Year...

It is an old custom to celebrate the arrival of a new year. There are usually fire works and laughing and in some quarters, champagne. Usually you are accompanied by numerous friends or someone special. When the new year arrived at my house I was alone and asleep.

I've had two new year's alone. Like most holidays since that began, it is pretty much another day. But I did have a special treat last night at 5:50 p.m., long before my new year arrived. I got a phone call that made the end of the year much brighter than it began. My friend, Jilly, called me all the way from England. It was 11:50 her time. It was such a wonderful treat and while we were talking, 2011 rolled into England and she opened her windows and we listened together to the fireworks. That was amazing. So, I had my New Year celebration early and it was so much fun. Jilly, you are so very special. Thank you... again. What a privilege to call you friend.

I am tired this morning. I was up by eight... not on purpose but when I wake up these days staying in bed is not usually fun. I have to get up and move to stop the pain escalation that woke me. Takes about an hour to become manageable.

I'm not dressed yet but I've had coffee. I've read blogs. Now, I think I better pay the bills and do the bank statement. Not a fun new year's day at all. I have three days left of vacation and I would like them to be filled with things I enjoy. This is not one of them.

So, I'm off for a hot shower to see if I can wash away some of the stiffness. You know, I'm not really that old. I'm 54. I should not feel this way. I know 70 year olds who feel better than I do. That's just wrong.

And this could so easily degenerate into a pity party. I'll take it somewhere else. I just would have liked to start a new year with a brighter view of it. I'd like to be positive and upbeat and eager to see where it takes me. I'd like to get there without all the pain. I used to be like that. I think. I don't remember.

What's Happening in My World?

Rain, strain, and pain.

Payback for minor accomplishments -- Unable to walk when I got up, severe leg pain, back pain, and hand pain.

Now, I'm headed to the pharmacy to pick up some refills.

The Monday Morning Drag

It is a new dance, I think. You get out of bed and one leg drags along beside you. The right calf muscle refused to cooperate this morning. Yep. Just didn't want to get up. So, I hobbled along and dragged it with me. Felt pretty much like the devil had a fork in it.

No idea.

But it is Monday. And it is a drag. Lights went out at 3 a.m. Yes they did. I turned them out so I know. I was watching old movies all evening. I watched one called Sitting Pretty with Robert Young and Maureen O'Hara. It was a delightful and funny movie. The last one was one I vaguely remembered from my youth - Bunny Lake is Missing. It was a really good movie and I couldn't turn it off. I watched Tobbaco Road and found it both insulting and sad. I'd never seen it before. I wonder if anyone ever realized back then that it was an insulting jab at the south? Wondered if anyone ever wondered it that was real and if so, how it got that way?

It is no wonder that the conception of Southerners is so rude in so many places. I've met people all over the world who looked down their nose at me because I was from "The SOUTH" and said so to my face. When I was young it shocked me and I didn't understand it. But I didn't watch a lot of movies. It wasn't until I was older that I realized where much of the intellect of those idiots had been developed.

Anyway, I went to bed at 3 and got up at about 9. My usual six hours seems to be the norm. I had virtually no back pain and very little leg pain. Only when I got up. My neck, on the other hand, it a pain.

I'm going to get dressed and get some stuff done, I think. I am getting hungry and have to take my meds so maybe some lunch will be nice. I wonder if my favorite restaurant is open? No fun going alone, though. And I don't really feel like treating everyone. But I could do it.... I may.

Ok, gone for now.

The Morning After Christmas

I went to bed late last night, probably around midnight. I was in total pain by then. Lower back, upper back, legs, and hands. I've only had that much pain at one time in the last year around memorial day when the upper back pain started. Let me just say that around 1 a.m. I was beside myself.

I finally got to sleep but I don't know what time it was and I woke at around 8 or 9 a.m. It is now noon. I've done nothing but lie on the sofa and mess with the computer, reading bizarre articles and changing my photo here. Back is hurting but the pain is minimal for me... meaning I'm not cringing and wincing. But I'm not moving very much.

I like those sappy paintings of families having fun in the snow or of warm rooms where you just know people will be entering laughing. Just nostalgia, yearning for something I vaguely remember and long for again. The eternal longing to go home is very nearly overwhelming for me at times. I don't think they tell you this when you are growing up. No one says, "Oh, by the way, there will be a day when you would give your right arm to go home one more time and it will be forever impossible because home will be gone. Just remember that." I'm telling you now just in case no one told you either.

I had my children here for the last two days and I think it probably was the closest to a normal holiday we've had in a long time. If Mike had not been such an ass it would have been perfect. He has his moments where he is just great and then, boom. His present was to be money. Well, as of Friday, my debit card stopped working. The bank was closed. I offered to write a check and he said he couldn't get it deposited until Monday. I know, I should have done it before the holiday closing but I have to work and couldn't get to the bank before they closed. But he seemed ok with it. I did get him some gifts but not a lot. I think he got a bit upset about it but he was reacting to everything and bickering with Dave and anyone else who crossed his path. A couple of times I had to threaten to kick him out. He just doesn't recognize jokes very well. And he and Dave never get along anymore. That's both their fault but it gets tiresome. Dave gets tired of listening to Mike's idea of amusing comments. They are usually insults they banter back and forth. I hate it. It is juvenile. If Mike could take the rejoinders it would be fine but he can't. Dave's are usually better. Dave tried very hard this weekend not to do that and succeeded pretty well in not letting Mike get to him but Mike has no brakes. He takes every single thing personally and assumes any suggestion of a criticism is directed at him. Even when it isn't. So, anything he could pick at he picked at. I had to stop him a couple of times to tell him everything was not ABOUT him.

I'm at the point now I just tell him he's nuts and he needs to get over it. Sorry, but I've had it. I can't take care of him and he needs to get a grip and just get over it. Life is not kind and neither is most of the world. I'm not going to be here forever and I'm tired of being in the middle. The rule is now, and has been for some time, if you can't keep your mouth shut and say something nice, then do not come to my house. I don't want to hear it.

Ok, that was unexpected...

We had a good dinner and we sat around a bit. Cleaning up the mess was fun.... right. Dave and Becca stayed after everyone else left and we played a couple of games. I was just so tired but I did enjoy the games.

Now, I'm going to get dressed and try to go take Mike and Patricia to lunch and give him his present. That will soothe the troubled waters of Mike's mood. Really, take him to lunch and he is ecstatic. The boy loves buffet better than anything.... except computer games. Which is why he wants money.

I hope your morning after is more normal than mine.

Whew!

A whirl of activity! I got up yesterday at 7:30 and got started. By noon, I'd made a trip to Sam's Club to buy items for the dinner today. Got a carrot cake. I also got four rotisserie chickens for lunch yesterday. One I refrigerated to put in the dressing today. It smells heavenly.

I also made a stop at Office Depot to see about a printer/fax/scanner. They had BARGAINS! HP for $99. They were not wireless so I didn't buy one. However, the one I wanted was wireless and was $200 at Office Depot. The same printer was cheaper at Sam's Club. So, after dropping off the food, I went back to Sam's and bought the $200 printer for.... $139.

Once back I had to run around getting started on the dinner for today. I made the dressing to have it ready to put in the oven this morning. I made brownies, two lemon pies and a banana pudding... in 4 hours.

Around 3 some six foot elves showed up. Let me tell you, it warmed up in my living room. They were bringing Christmas items for Patricia and her daughter. I'll have some photos later. They are having Christmas with our family. She is new here and has no family or home at the moment. Patricia is the woman who's baby was killed this summer. I was wrong about the age of the child. It was six weeks old. Anyway, they are having their holiday with us.

Last night, after opening presents and eating supper we played Clue for a couple of hours. That was fun. Becca won once and I won twice. Usually Mike does really good at it but he was off his game last night. They want to play more games tonight. I do not know how I'll hold out. Last night when I finally got to bed I was in so much pain I couldn't hardly stand it and I was exhausted. I only got about five hours sleep, disrupted by leg and back pain. So, I'm tired today.

Patricia and Becca helped in the kitchen yesterday and they are cooking other items today. Becca at her house and Patricia where she is staying. They will be here probably in a few hours. My dressing smells so good, I may not need anything else by the time they get here.

I was up at 7:30 in terrible pain. I can't get it under control. Can't lie down very long at all. Walking it the only thing that helps. Seems to stop the shooting pain but the lower back still hurts. I have a slight headache but I'm dressed up for the day.... black skirt, white sweater, hair up with a red bow and my faux pearl necklace and real pearl bracelet. LOL, all dressed up and no where to go and no one to impress.

I've had numerous calls today. My sister-in-law called and I was glad to hear she has met someone she was excited about. She has virtually no family left. Both parents dead, Jerry gone, their younger brother has nothing to do with any of his family and hasn't for years. She has only her son and daughter. But at this point in our lives, we know that their lives often leave us isolated. She is six months older than I am. Jerry's cousin called. If you remember her mother, Janie died earlier this year. So, I'm glad Sandra feels she can still call me. I forget to call her at times. They left us alone for so long that it doesn't occur to me. But now, they want that contact. Mike calls her here and there and I try to encourage that.

My aunt called to chat and tell me what a good day she had yesterday with her family. I'm glad that she did. I've talked to Becca and Mike several times about respective food issues.

My table looks nice. If I'm blessed with another Christmas, I'd like that darn dinning room painted and carpeted and cleaned out by next year. It looks nice when it is all fixed up. I'll even fix a place for my Christmas village. God willing.

I've been listening to Elvis' Christmas music. Jerry and I were both Elvis fans for years. I still love his gospel and Christmas music. Unfortunately, some of it is very difficult to hear. But I always feel that it isn't Christmas until I play Blue Christmas. Isn't that crazy? I always had to play that first. Jerry laughed about it. Last year I didn't play it at all and this year, I didn't dare until today.

Now, I'm going get up and walk. My back is killing me sitting here. I can't sit for very long before I'm miserable. The snow is melting and when I went for a walk I saw that the blanket on the roof was sliding off in sheets. It was very odd because everyone else's roof still had most of the snow left on their roof. Now theirs is beginning to melt but mine is probably gone. The roads are also clearing fast. The ground was not frozen so the snow won't stay long. It is currently 32*F here.

I hope all of you are having a lovely day. I'll be back again either later or tomorrow. I am hoping there is church tomorrow so I can go.

Woman paralysed 23 years ago 'cured by British spiritual healer' | Mail Online

Link

This is tremendous! I watched all the videos and it just got more and more amazing.

But I do get annoyed by headline writers. Only a non Christian would write that kind of headline. Christians do not believe people heal people. We believe that God heals people and that those who lay hands on a person and pray for their healing are a conduit through which healing power is delivered. God does the work through the hands of people.

Still don't believe. So explain this event to me. Scientifically, medically she was paralyzed. It is not a hoax that the accident occurred, that she was paralyzed from the waist down. Then, twenty-three years in a wheelchair, documented.She had no feeling in her legs, could not feel when she was touched. She's a Christian vocalist who's appeared in public all that time, but paralyzed. By now, her muscles have atrophied. Yet, she suddenly gets up, unsteady to be sure, but in a short time, she is able to lift her legs up and down.

And weeks later, she visit her mother, walking... in some nice 3 inch heels.

Link

Even the news media can't figure it out.

Never mind.. you don't have to explain it to me. I know how.

The Day Dawned

Wednesday dawned sunny.. and a bit earlier. The solstice has come and gone, sending us downhill toward Spring. Or maybe uphill... I suppose it depends on your perspective. I'm hoping it is downhill because that is a faster trip.

It is amazing how a little sunshine can lift your spirits and that even a tiny lift is welcomed. I was on my way to work and wondering what was different about today. Then I said out loud, "THE SUN IS SHINNING! Thank the Lord!" Really, this is the gloomiest place on earth. The cloud cover is just horrible in the winter. In the last two years, I don't look at the weather map so much to see the weather as to determine if I'll get even a sliver of sunlight. I know there is a place to check how many days of sunlight we get but I can't remember where it is. I'll have to Google it and see. I'm betting we're only getting half a year.

I had very little leg pain yesterday and last night. I did get awakened by pain in my calf this morning. I do not know what causes this pain. It is inexplicable. My feelings are that some of my muscle pain is due to taking Lipitor but I know of no way to document that except it occurred after I took it. I had to go off because it caused memory loss, too.

I have a headache. I think some of these are caused by my high blood pressure. I take medicine but I don't think it is working at times. I'm supposed to take my readings every day for a while. I keep forgetting it! I do good for a couple of days and then I forgot again.Must do that habit thing and see if it works. It only takes a few minutes and there is no reason for me not to do it first thing in the morning.

All right, I'm going. I need to do the neck exercise and see it that will help. Then, work... always work.