WHEW!!

I am glad that the ABC's of Christmas is over. The ABC part was not as difficult as the Song of the Day part. I tried to suggest songs by artist that were new to everyone and it was very difficult. The picture is of my granddaughter and how she spent her Christmas gift card.

Z IS FOR ZOO

While a local zoo does not have roots in the traditional Christmas tradition, our zoo has the "Lights Before Christmas". They start up Thanksgiving weekend and end New Years. There are well over a million lights up and the last few years they have computerized the lights with music for a great show. Most of the animals are not out since it is night and to put them on display would upset their schedule but it is a very enjoyable way to spend an hour or two with family and friends and get out in the cold, crisp December air.

Y IS FOR YULETIDE

Yuletide was originally celebrated from late December to early January (sounds like Epiphany) by early Germanic people as a pagan religious winter ceremony. It has been mentioned as early as the 4th century. When the Christian calendar was adopted the date of the celebration became December 25th. The Yule log is a large wooden log burned as part of the Yule or Christmas celebration. It also refers to a log shaped Christmas cake also called Buche de Noel.

X IS FOR ?????

X! I looked through several sources to try and find something with an x that was associated with Christmas. So I finally decided on Xmas. I know that some of you are thinking WOW that is not a good word for Christmas but I think that it demonstrates what happens when you remove Christ from Christmas. You have an abbreviated form of something. It is hard to truly celebrate Christmas without having Christ in it. Most of the traditions stem from early sacred celebrations of the birth of Christ. All of the things mentioned in the earlier letters have roots in the Christmas celebration even though they have transformed themselves and separated themselves from the sacred portions. Xmas is a lazy way to write and a lazy way to celebrate.

I have recommended over 30 songs this season and to be honest have run out of favorites.

W IS FOR WASSAIL

Wassailing is an old English tradition which includes singing and drinking to the health of a good crop of cider apples. The wassail is a hot mulled punch associated with Christmas. The traditional was is made with cider, sugar, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and topped with slices of toast. Obviously it has been changed in modern times.

Song of the day: "Here We Come A Wassailing"

V IS FOR VIRGIN MARY

Mary is the mother of Jesus. She and Joseph were on their way to record the census when she gave birth to Jesus in that manager in Bethlehem. In the bible she appears throughout Jesus' life.

Song of the day: "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" by Natalie Cole

U IS FOR UNTO US A CHILD IS BORN

There are several letters that are extremely difficult to find a Christmas reference. U is a prime example. I am running a bit behind on the timeliness of my postings and it is Christmas morning as I write this. I had decided for "U" to use the verse from Isiah 9:6. It is truly a fitting quote for Christmas day. This is from the King James Version. "For unto us a child is born, for unto us a child is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace".

Song of the day: "Unto Us A Child is Born" from the "Messiah"

T IS FOR TREE

Many of the Christmas traditions that I have been blogging about have a tendency to overlap. The tree is sort of an example. The use of a tree has been "traced" to several possible reasons. It could have its root in the Tree of Knowledge especially since early ornaments were apples. Evergreens were thought to have been used since they represented a promise of life after a cold winter. As I have previously stated many of the traditions have been traced back to Germany. Martin Luther is reported to be the first person to add lights to the Christmas Tree. The song of the day should be "O Tannebaum" but that is not necessarily a favorite of mine.

Song of the day: "O Come All Ye Faithful" by Josh Groban

S IS FOR SHEPHERD

Luke 2:8 mentions the shepherds in the fields tending their flocks. The shepherds are an integral part of the Christmas story. To me it means that Jesus was born for all mankind, the poor as represented by the shepherds and the manger and the wealthy as represented by the three Wise Men.

Song(s) of the day: "Angels We Have Heard On High" by Cast of Glee and "The First Nowell". There are several versions of this last one. Josh Groban sings a wonderful one with Faith Hill and the version from Christmas Toledo and sung by Masterworks Chorale.

R IS FOR REINDEER

Even though most of the Christmas alphabet has to do with the sacred side of Christmas, I would be remiss if I did not include Santa and the reindeer. One of my mother-in-laws favorite songs was "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer" and we all learned the words and would sing it when the family got together to celebrate Christmas - no matter when that would be. Since she is gone, I do not know if we will be singing it this year. So on Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid Donder and Blitzen. These names were derived from the 1823 poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas" written by Clement Clark Moore. Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is from a story written in 1939 for the Montgomery Ward department Stores.

Song of the Day: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives". Also a reading of "A Visit From St. Nicholas" by Jamie Farr.

Q IS FOR QUIET

To be honest there are not many words regarding Christmas that begin with Q. I chose quiet for a few reasons. When a good snow falls the world seems to become quiet. The snow absorbs sounds and lends itself to being peaceful and quiet outside. Of course if you are on the roads and there is a lot of snow it is everything but quiet and peaceful. I am really talking about back yards. That is sort of the feel on Christmas Eve. Granted those making Christmas Eve suppers are anything but quiet but there is a gentle peacefulness when everything is done, bought, wrapped, baked and mailed. The song of the day is "Silent Night, Holy Night". I had always thought that it was written by a German and first performed in a Lutheran Church on Christmas Eve. The lyrics were were by an Austrian priests Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by Franz Xavel Gruber to be played on the guitar. It was first played Christmas Eve 1818.

Song of the Day: "Silent Night, Holy Night" by Toby Keith

P IS FOR PEACE

Peace. Such a lovely sounding word. It is difficult some days to find peace. It could be alone time for yourself, it could be a day with no sibling fighting or it could mean a cessation of hostilities in the world (not very likely to happen). The earliest forms of peace symbols were the olive branch and the dove. The United States seal contains 13 olives branches symbolizing peace. The Native Americans smoked a calumet or peace pipe to settle disputes and firm up treaties. The baby boomer generation can't forget the peace sign, although I am not at all sure that the actions of those sporting the peace sign were all that peaceful. Read John 14:27 - Peace I leave to you, peace I give to you. In many Christian churches, the sign of peace is offered. It involves either a handshake or hug followed by "Peace be with you.

Song of the Day: "O Holy Night" by Faith Hill

O IS FOR ORNAMENT

The tradition of ornaments can be traced back to Germany. The first ornaments were apples followed by other fruits and nuts and then paper streamers and small bits of metal foil. German families also were one of the first to bake gingerbread and hard cookies in shapes of fruits, stars, angles and bells. Americans strung cranberries and popcorn. In the latter part of the 19th century ornaments became mass produced in Germany. The American company F.W. Woolworth between 1880 and 1890 imported German ornaments and is was reported that they sold $25 million worth of ornaments. Remember this was a five and dime store. There is a German tradition of an ornament shaped like a pickle. This was considered a reward for the child who was the most observant and they received an extra present on Christmas Day. We have a pickle ornament and when I am organized I do have presents for those to find the ornament first. This year was not one of my organized years.

Songs of the Day: "Jingle Bells"
"Ding Dong Merrily On High" by St. Davids Cathedral Choir

N IS FOR NATIVITY

Nativity can actually refer to several things. There is the nativity story. This is the story of the birth of Jesus as found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. It could refer to nativity scenes. These can be the live or life size displays found outside churches and homes or the miniature displays found in our homes. They can be made up of multi figures which would include angels, wise men, shepherds, animals and of course Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus or they can be simple like mine - just Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus. I tried to take a picture of a nativity ornament that we bought in Aruba but unfortunately it was fuzzy. I just could stay still enough.

Song of the day: "What Child Is This" by Natalie Cole and the St. Davids Cathedral Choir

M IS FOR MISTLETOE

Mistletoe is actually a poisonous plant causing nausea and abdominal issues. However it is used as a Christmas decoration generally in America and the English speaking countries of Europe. The story is that it must not touch the ground between cutting and removal as the last of the Christmas greens. Tradition holds that any two people meeting under the mistletoe must kiss and then pluck a berry from the branch. Once all the berries are gone the privilege of kissing someone ends. I could not find a good rendition of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" (the original was by Jimmy Boyd). so I picked another song of the day. It has no bearing on the topic.

Song of the day: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" by the Glee cast

L IS FOR LIGHTS

Lights in December help illuminate the night. It serves as a wonderful transition from the daylight hours as seen in the fall to the early dark nights of winter. Lights on Christmas trees began in the middle of the 17th century when small candles were used in Christmas trees. In 1882 in New York City, the first indoor Christmas tree was lit with electric lights. Edward Johnson (an inventor who worked for Thomas Edison) is credited with this achievement. There were some early instances where lights were used outdoors but the credit is given to the town of McAdenville North Carolina in 1956. Nowadays there are lights everywhere. The Toledo Zoo has a wonderful light display. You can access their website at www.toledozoo.org.

Song of the day: "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby

K IS FOR KINGS

The Gospel of Matthew is the only one of the four Gospels that mentions the Kings or Wise Men. There were thought to be three because there were three gifts brought. They are thought to be Melchoir, Caspar and Balthasar and they brought gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Song of the day: "We Three Kings" by Toby Keith

J IS FOR JESUS

The saying is "Jesus is the reason for the season". There is a lot of political correctness going on about this. The truth of the matter is that this season has evolved around Christmas. If the celebration of the birth of Christ is removed or not allowed there would not be a reason to give gifts, have parties and decorate homes. I know that is the secular side of this. December 25th is the official day to celebrate and if the nay sayers have their way, we would be working that day. I feel that our religious freedoms are being infringed on and I am not comfortable with that feeling.

Song of the day: "Go Tell It On The Mountain" by Toby Keith

I IS FOR INN

Luke 2:7 tells how Mary and Joseph were housed in the stable because there was no room in the inn. I interpret the meaning of this to be that while Jesus is the "king of kings", he was born among regular folk. He was not born with the proverbial silver spoon. When I was a child there were not the overabundant number of motels on the road as there are now. There was many a vacation when we went from inn to inn only to find that there were no vacancies. I do believe that we always found somewhere to sleep although buried in my memory is the possibility that once we had to sleep in the car somewhere in Maine.

Song of the day: "Away In The Manger" by Faith Hill

H IS FOR HOLLY

During this season we decorate the home. I know that in January when the decorations come down the house seems so cold and bland, sort of like the months of January and February in the Midwest. I know that we leave the decorations up through Epiphany. Christmas really begins on December 25 and lasts for 12 days. So on or around January 5th the decorations are put away. In the family room however, I decorate with snowmen (and snowwomen) and these stay out until the middle of February.

Song of the day: "Deck The Rooftop" by Glee

G IS FOR GIFTS

We have a tendency to put gifts at the head of the "To Do List" for the Christmas holiday. There is a firm tradition of gift giving from the wise men with their gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh to Saint Nicholas giving the poor and helpless gifts. I know that personally, I love giving gifts. I enjoy getting gifts but the fun for me is picking out a gift and wrapping it and watching someone opening it. In our family I have tried the last few years to wrap each person's gift with the same wrapping paper. That way when we distribute them I know that the blue and silver paper is my son's and the red and gold is my daughter-in-law's, etc. You get my gist.

Song of the day: "The Little Drummer Boy" by Josh Groban

F IS FOR FOOD AND FUN

In the previous post I mentioned perfect cookies and tradiional food. While this does bring on stress at times, it fun to have those items that are not generally made during the rest of the year. Many peoples have their special sugar cookie cut-out recipes that they they decorate and everyone enjoys. There are many ethnic foods that are also made (for the most part) only at this time. My daughter-in-law (along with her mother and grandmother) make baklava. Their recipe is more Macadonian in origin and can therefore vary from other recipes. There are Hungarian cookies, German lebkuchen and well you get my drift. The season is also filled with fun. Children usually have up to 2 weeks vacation from school and that can be a fun time filled with relatives visiting, sledding (in the colder states) and playing with new toys/gifts. There are many special events that also are held during the Christmas season. There is the Nutkracker Suite preformed every year, ice shows, lights at the zoo, special shows on TV and much more. All in all a great time of the year.

Suggested song: You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch by the cast of Glee;
The Christmas Song by Natialie Cole

E IS FOR EXPECTATIONS

We all have certain expectations for holidays. The fall holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas) seem to revolve around family and traditions. With many family members scattered around the country (if not the world), some years it is almost impossible to have everyone together. We also want the perfect holiday. We want the perfect cookies, the same foods served every year (the horror of it all if someone does not bring the green bean casserole or wilted salad) and gifts brightly wrapped and enthusiastically welcomed. That might stem from remembrances of innocent childhood experiences or an expectation of perfect family relationships. Many times these expectations bring on stress. For many years our traditions were that there were no traditions. The year we were stranded on the turnpike and had the Christmas Eve traditional dinner of Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup when we finally arrived home or the Christmas Eve dinner at McDonalds after leaving the hospital in the late evening are a few examples. We also split the holiday with the two families and in addition alternated homes visited and it usually involved 2 cities on one side of the family and at least three on the other side. We never had the same Christmas Eve or Christmas Day for the longest time. For my part I felt that this was ok.

Suggested song: I'll Be Home For Christmas by Toby Keith

D IS FOR DAY (ST. NICHOLAS DAY)

St. Nicholas was born in 271 AD in the town of Myra in Turkey. He was reported to give away what he had to the poor and helpless. He did become a Bishop in the area. His "day" is December 6th. Many of our current traditions can be possibly traced back to St. Nicholas. Some of these are the stockings hung by the fireplace, orange in the toes of stockings, candy canes, gift giving in secret during the night and concern for the needy. Nicholas gave his gifts anonymously and usually during the darkness. The candy canes represent the shepherd's crook. The crook is a symbol of being cared or tended for.

Recommended song: Jolly Old St. Nick

C IS FOR CAROLS

An integral part of Christmas is the music. Usually a local radio station starts playing the carols just before Thanksgiving. Music is piped through-out stores giving a festive air to holiday shopping. There are so many carols both sacred and secular that it is difficult to pick favorites. The word carol is derived from the French word caroller which means dancing around in a circle. Christmas carols became popular in the Victorian Era. The song of the day that I picked is usually sung during the weeks of Advent.

Song of the day "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".

B IS FOR BELLS

Bells have long been used for celebrating. This is especially true at Christmas. Church bells ring to herald the birth of Jesus and in the secular celebration, Santa's reindeer wear collars with bells. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1863 had news that his son had been injured in the Battle of New Hope Church (in Virginia). This was during the American Civil War. He wrote the poem "Christmas Bells". You will recognize the first verse as the carol "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" Here is a segment of the poem:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men......

And in despair I bowed my head;
'There is no peace on earth,' I said
'For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.'

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep;
'God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men.'

Many artists have sung this song. On a CD called 123 Favorite Christmas songs you can hear this one as well as Carol of The Bells.

A IS FOR ADVENT

This is the season leading up to Christmas. It means coming or arrival and represents expectation, anticipation and preparation. This is demonstrated both in secular and sacred traditions. Many households have advent wreaths with four candles for each Sunday before Christmas. Traditionally the colors are purple and pink but the Church of Swedan (Lutheran) began the tradition of using blue instead of purple. The red and green colors are secular (non-church) colors and emerged from old European practices that the colors represent life and hope.

Song for the day Winter Wonderland by The Andrew Sisters

ALMOST DECEMBER

Tomorrow is the first of December. I still have a ton of things to do. We are partially decorated, no cards addressed yet, no cookies baked and only a modicum of presents purchased. So today I spent the day redoing the centerpieces for the Winter Dance and getting a Christmas song playlist together for my ABC's of Christmas. So far I have 26 or 27 songs and not all of them are on there yet. I think that even though there are 26 letters in the alphabet, there will be 31 songs, one for each day of the month. I even found a recording of Jamie Farr reading the "Night Before Christmas" on a local Christmas CD that somehow we bought.

2010 26 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS

This year instead of telling stories about our bears, I am going to do an ABC of Christmas. The first letter is A and will be represented with Advent. However this is not going to be strictly sacred. Christmas to me is a blending of the secular and the sacred. I plan on showcasing all aspects of the holiday season as well as each day let everyone know one of my favorite songs of the season. Again, these will be both secular and sacred. There are so many great songs and great artists singing them that I will have plenty of choices.

POST THANKSGIVING

Well, Thanksgiving has past and it was wonderful yet busy. The kids came in time to eat and then we sort of relaxed in the afternoon. There were multiple games of pool with our grandson. He is pretty good but he rushes his shots and therefore misses often. It is amazing what shots he does make. JR, our son and daughter-in-law did the Black Friday thing. They did not go out at 4 but rather 5am. My son was shocked by how many people were out and how long the lines were at Target. He said never again. They felt that the deals were not that great. My daughter-in-law and I went shopping later in the morning and met the guys with the kids at noon. We took the kids since the guys were meeting friends for lunch. We then went to lunch and then saw "Tangled" It was a funny movie and very enjoyable if not expensive. We had dinner at home and watched some TV (the Wizard of Oz was on) and then crashed. Today I had to run some errands to pick up a few things to finish their advent calendars and the we all watched the OSU - Michigan game. GO BUCKS!! Everyone left around 4 and then a friend and I had tickets to see Jim Brickman with the symphony. It was a great show and a fun way to kick off the holiday season. Tomorrow we begin decorating. FUN!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I hope that everyone is having a great Thanksgiving. The kids are coming up today and that will be fun. We have the usual meal, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, cranberry something (this varies year to year) and of course pumpkin pie. I read JR's blog this morning and he was talking about some family traditions while growing up. There were just 3 of us for the holidays (mom, dad and myself). My maternal grandparents lived on a farm with no running water and the winter months were not fun. The trip to the outhouse alone was a journey. Therefore visiting them during the winter was not an option my parents chose. My paternal grandparents were deceased and my paternal great-grandmother died in my teen years at the age of 96 so she was not very active while I was growing up. Thus the traditional food and single options (there was no need for multiple side dishes since we could not eat them all). When our son was born we did usually have Thanksgiving with my parents. We either drove there or later they would come here. That brought the total number to 5 for Thanksgiving. It is no wonder that after the kids leave here I am tired. It is already more people for the holdiay than I am used to.

MID NOVEMBER

I noticed that it has been over a week since my last posting. It actually was a busy week and the first week that I felt fairly good since acquiring the viral junk from the "carriers". I am back at Tax Season training. The first day was registering with the IRS so that they could give me my PTIN number (a number that they gave me over 10 years ago but now I was to pay $64+ for the privilege of keeping the number). I had two days of training this week. I was supposed to go on Friday but that was the day of the TSL Purse Auction and Style show. As usual I did not win any of the purses but at least the clothes that were shown had a bit more style than in past years. I also had several meetings and I actually tried to clean the house. Thanksgiving is in a week and I am trying to make out a menu for at least three days. While on the way to renew my drivers license a deer crossed the road while walking down the train tracks. As I drew abreast of it, she stopped and looked back at me. I realized that I need to begin to carry my camera again so that I can capture these moments. This next week again is busy with class Monday and Tuesday morning, Thanksgiving on Thursday and Black Friday the next day. The family wants to go out early so I will be staying at home with the grandkids and in bed sleeping (at least until they get up). I realize that last year I wrote the Christmas Bears story. I would like to do something else again but I have no idea what!

VEGAS

Last week we were fortunate to go on a preplanned trip to Las Vegas. The weather was perfect - low 80's. We played golf on Wednesday, relaxed on Thursday and drove out to the Hoover Dam and the new bridge on Friday. Nights were spent with friends we have met on previous trips out there. Two nights we had dinner with these friends and Thursday night we saw the Cirque d'soleil performance of Ka. It was very cool with a set that was unbelievable. The pictures above were taken from the new bridge looking at the dam and from the dam looking at the new bridge. You can actually walk out on the bridge.

UNTITLED

I do not even know how to title this any more. Since my mother-in-law passed away we have learned of four more passings. A grandmother of my niece's husband, two parents of friends and the sister of a close friend. The one woman was born the same year as my mother-in-law, one day before and died this year one day before. They lived the same number of days. How odd! Since Labor Day we have heard of 7 deaths, mostly of parents etc although one was a contemporary. I know that the fall and the winter holidays are times when people pass on but I hope that this stops. Beginning tomorrow, I will post some pictures of the Hoover Dam in Nevada. More tomorrow.

God our Father, walk through my house and take away all my worries and illnesses and please watch over and heal my family in Jesus name.

In the early morning hours yesterday, my mother-in-law passed away. She had been in the care of Hospice and even though the last few days were specks in the whole of her life it was a difficult time. Her husband, daughter, son (my JR) and myself sat at her vigil. She was a 4th grade teacher and after retiring from teaching became an advocate for children in the juvenile court system. She welcomed me into the family and made me feel loved. She often introduced me as "my other daughter". She loved family and enjoyed the stories of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren immensely, always saying "I did not raise any dumb children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren. R.I.P. Betty, you have deserved it.

TOUGH WEEK

It is going to be a hard week. My mother-in-law is failing. She is under the care of hospice and not expected to last long. Plans have been set so now we just take care of her and make sure to say our goodbyes. Luckily I do not have much going this week that I would have to cancel. Next week is a different story but we will see. I ran across a photo CD from last year and there are many fall pictures on it. I thought that even though what I am writing about is not upbeat, I would post a couple of the pictures and show that there is still some beauty in this world. Enjoy!

MISCELLANEOUS

It was a rather calm week. Not a lot going on. I threw out some clothes. Some were 20 years old. I had worn most of them recently but it was time to let go of them. On the weekends I have been reading two sections of the Wall Street Journal. The Review and the Off Duty sections. I have enjoyed them. Several articles were of interest this week. "What the Tea Partiers Really Want" was one such article. It basically said that instead of the "We just want to be free. Free to lead our lives as we please, so long as we do not infringe on the same freedom of others" that is usually thought of as their manifesto it is in reality something different. It is not liberty but karma. As quoted from the WSJ "Karma is not an exclusively Hindu idea. It combines the universal human desire that moral accounts should be balanced with a belief that, somehow or other, they will be balanced." I was trying to find one sentence that summed it up and it is in the second to last sentence of the article. "Above all, they want to live in a country in which hard work and personal responsibility pay off and laziness, cheating and irresponsibility bring people to ruin." I think that sums it up quite nicely. The author Alexander McCall Smith had a great article on overuse of adjectives and adverbs in writing. It was really interesting but I won't quote it here. The next week is bringing a few activities but I hope to continue cleaning the closet and for that matter the rest of the house.

HOT HOT HOT

It was a great weekend. The temperatures were in the low 80's. A bit warm for an October day but nevertheless great to have. Here are two pics from our back yard shot in the early morning hours featuring a tree across the lake. There is no wind and you can see the refection in the water. I played golf with friends on Saturday. Saturday night I went to a "Pops" concert featuring Doc Severinsen. It was much better than I thought. He is part of a group called San Miguel 5. It is based in Mexico (where he lives) and has both Mexican and Cuban band members. The musicians were great and Doc was still Doc. His jackets no longer had the wild lining in them that was his trademark. However, the first half of the show he wore bright lime green leather pants and the second half he wore bright pink leather pants, a matching jacket with black decoration and a black tee shirt. He is 83 and was amazing. Sunday we did not play golf. We were having great friends over for supper and I cleaned and grocery shopped. I usually try to have people over fairly regular so that I do clean. Otherwise I would do anything else. Cleaning is not now nor has it ever been my passion.

DREAMS

From time to time I am known to have wild dreams. Last night was a doozy. It began with an accident of a large steel pole falling away from my car. In the dream I told John (while we were shopping) about it. Instead of going by the scene like I wanted him to he went a different way. We stopped for something and the trunk lid came up. A couple stopped behind us and instead of closing the lid they began looting our purchases (the man only got a new suit that John purchased for $475.00 although he said that he did not really pay that much for it). We chased the man off but took the female to the Bowling Green police. They knew the couple's history and released her but told us to watch out for him. He began stalking us and the middle part of the dream is fuzzy but in the end he and his gang (they flew on large metal birds) kidnapped me. I then woke up. I am already tired and it is only 7:30am. Granted I have paid bills, did two loads of laundry and answered e-mails. I have to wonder what triggered such a dream. I did not have alcohol the night before so that was not a contributing factor. There were some unsettling things that had gone on so maybe that was weighing on my mind. Oh well. I thought you would all have a kick out of my convoluted mind.

MARS VS VENUS

No, I have not read the book. Yesterday was the Pig Outing. In years past it was a men's tournament followed by a pig roast. The format was those gentlemen over 80 or so versus the younger guys (primarily those 45 and older). The numbers are dwindling in the older group so the format was tweaked and it was guys vs gals. Each foursome had 2 men and 2 women. We did not really play against the men we were paired with but rather the field. My partner and I did well and were 4 under. It helped that we had a bet with the men that loser buys drinks. We were the only gal's team to beat our cart mates. Yeah!! The pig roast was great. It was a lot of fun and definitely on the calendar for next year. We may change the format a bit since to be honest the gals lost by a large margin. The day was a nice fall day. It got a bit chilly in the late afternoon. The rest of this week looks awesome.

It was an interesting week. Last Sunday we learned that a dear man had passed away. He was 89 and had led a remarkable life but nevertheless it is sad when a friend passes away regardless of the age and circumstances. His funeral and life celebration were Thursday. I took a meal over to his son and daughter-in-law. They are very good friends of ours and there was not much I could do but that. I know that when my mother passed away, I was very suprised to find out how truly wonderful a meal delivered by friends is. Friday night was happy hour at the club and there were alot of people there and it was great to see such a good turn out. We had dinner with friends and overall a great night. Saturday we drove down to see our granddaughter play bumblebee soccer and our grandson play 4th grade football. The soccer game was in decent weather but as you can see by the pictures below, the weather for the football game took a turn for the worst. It is best summed up by JR's expression. I told our grandson that I would send him our pictures and when he looked at them he would know exactly how much we loved him because I would not have sat out in that rain for anyone other than the grandkids. Saturday night was topped off by a party at a friend's house. It was going to be a bonfire but the weather did not cooperate and instead we were inside. It was a great party, a fabulous house, terrific food and fun friends. Today is chilly outside and it is a great day to stay inside watch part of the Ryder Cup and football.

LAZY WEEKENDS

This has been a nice quiet weekend. Happy hour on Friday, an Open House on Saturday (late afternoon)and I actually sang the prelude and benediction hymns with my old choir on Sunday. It felt really good to sing. I do miss it but do not want the week night commitment as well as the drive on the expressways in the dark. It was great to see everyone and it always makes me feel good to be received with such a warm welcome. I did sing with the choir for over 20 years but it has been almost 4 since I have sung with them on a regular basis. No golf for me this weekend. It felt cold and I wore a sweatshirt the whole weekend when in the house. I was able to get some reading in so I am content. The only negative was a few doors down from us there was a gathering and it was still going strong at 3AM last night. There was a big bonfire and lots of noise. I did shut the window and put cotton balls in my ears and luckily went back to sleep. There is not a lot going on this week but it is the start of the new television season and so my favorite shows are back on. I admit it, I love television. The DVR will be busy this week. It is amazing how some nights are filled with shows (for example Tuesday) and others have nothing that I like (Wednesday).

THE SIGNS OF FALL

Today was a great day to be outside. I played golf this morning and even though the greens had been aerefied and were barely playable the temperature was great and the fairways dry (great roll with your ball). Yesterday I was trying to find some fall pictures of the golf course and naturally could not. I did run across many pictures and it renewed my resolve to "try" to scan favorite pictures into the computer and then onto discs. I ran across this picture. It is the St. John's HS 1990 version of Kenny Chesney's song "The Boys Of Fall" If you like football, then you should listen to this song. The video is actually better and can be found on cmt.com (channel 63) or gactv.com (channel 102).

SEPTEMBER IS HERE

I realize that the title of this blog is lame but appropriate. With the coming of September the weekly calendar begins to fill up. Last week and the beginning of this week were and are exceptionally busy. We had our last major 2 day golf tournament of the year last week. It is a tournament that traditionally I do not excel in. The format is a point system rather than just strokes. I was middle of the pack the first day and finished 6th after the 2 day total. I was satisfied with my game and more importantly my attitude. Friday was cleaning day, Saturday I had an all day tax class and yesterday I played in a charity golf scramble 1 1/2 hours north of here. I played with a friend who is taking chemo to get her leukemia in remission. She played very well. Today I will be sitting with her while she gets some of her monthly chemo. She goes once a month for 4 days. Tonight I have my yearly turn at hosting the bridge club. Tomorrow is another free day and then Wednesday is golf and Thursday a luncheon. After that things settle down for awhile. I do not like the thought of fall approaching but do enjoy getting back to some structure.

AMERICANA

For those who are wondering if America still exists then go to a county fair, especially the livestock area. Yesterday was the Grand Champion live auction for the Jr. Livestock class. It began with the National Anthem (which was sung as well if not better than any professional singer), followed by the Pledge of Alligiance, the 4-H pledge and the FFA motto. Very, very patriotic and American. The auction began with introduction of local dignitaries and then began with the Grand Champion steer. That animal sold for $6000 - roughly about $4.70/pound. The Reserve Grand Champion steer was very restless during the bidding and when they tried to put a blanket on it's back and take pictures he bolted. My grandson was sitting in his first place chair holding one of his prize rabbits and almost was trampled by the steer. My son was trying to figure which way he was going to have to yank the chair, child and rabbit (all at once) to get them out of harms way. Luckily the steer veered away from them and all was well. Just a nice shot of adrenaline to keep us going. The pigs, lambs and goats were next and then came the meat pen rabbits. Our grandson was up first. His sister carried the banner, the girls next door and behind him carried the other two rabbits. Well these rabbits sold for $750.00. That is about $75.00 per pound. We were amazed!! We were delighted that we made the choice to go down and support him. We enjoyed the experience and it was a great way to spend Labor Day.

BLUE RIBBON GRANDSONS

I know that we all think that our grandchildren are blue ribbon quality. It just goes with the territory. During this summer, our grandson has been breeding and raising rabbits for a 4H project for the purpose of showing the rabbits at the local county fair. They have had 3 litters. The first 3 (there were 4) were too old. The next 3 (there were 6) were just right and the last 1 (there were 12) was too young, too sooty colored and only one. For the rabbits to be entered in the meat pen competition, there needed to be 3. The judging was going to take place between 4pm and 9pm. The temperature yesterday was 93. This was not something I was looking forward to but I actually managed to convince JR to go with me.

SQUIRELS ARE STUPID

As I was having my coffee on the porch yesterday morning, there was a flutter of something in my peripheral vision. I looked up in time to see a hawk swooping down on a squirrel. Now we have since been told that a cooper's hawk will not go after a squirrel preferring small birds instead. I grabbed my camera and moved into the family room to have a better look. The squirrel had a nut in his/her mouth. The hawk sat in the tree watching it. The squirrel actually climbed up into the same tree and was just a branch or two away from the hawk. The squirrel then left the tree and moved over by the house just out of my sight BUT the hawk swooped down from the tree and went after it. lf I were the squirrel, I would have headed for the blue spruce and stayed hidden until the hawk left. I am sure that the weight of the squirrel is too much for a hawk but still..........

We finally are finished with garage sales etc. We still have photos to identify (mainly my mother-in-law, father-in-law, sister-in-law and husband will have that duty. The rest of us do not know anyone from those old photographs. I have scanned some photos into the computer. My mother-in-law danced as a child and young woman. There is a photo album containing alot of the group pictures. They are absolutely priceless and works of art in their own right. I am going to try to upload one to the blog and let you judge for yourself. On another note, JR is playing fairly regular golf and we even played last Sunday. It was nice to play more that once a week. I am always saddened when September comes. It means that summer is winding down and a more structured life style gets set into play. Oh well!

RULES

If any of you watched the PGA Championship this past Sunday then you know that on the 18th hole one of the players ground his club in a bunker (whether or not you considered that patch of dirt a true bunker is a mute point - the course deemed it so) and was assessed a 2 stroke penalty and consequently lost the tournament. This coming week is the JR/SR championship for the group that JR plays with. In his last two blogs, he emphasized that they would be playing by the rules. No mulligans on the first hole, no equitable shot scores, no gimme putts and out-of-bounds and lost ball rules would be in force. This is going to be a wake-up call for some of the guys and the discussion afterwards should be interesting. So far they have 19 guys playing. I love this group of guys and their friendship toward each other. It is a great support group and not as petty as gals can get.

HEAT RELIEF

Finally the heat has subsided. The last few weeks have truely been miserable but yesterday (Monday) and today have been a delight. We have something new on the lake. One of the neighbors has a sunfish sailboat and I took a picture of it the other day. I grew up sailing and it brought back many memories. My parents had a daysailor and I sailed a sailfish. We had our family summer get together this past Sunday. It was great to see our niece, nephew their spouses and children. We had our grandaughter up alone!! for two nights. At five she is very grown up and got along famously. We had fun with her. I missed having our grandson but he was busy with 4H and rabbits. I am sure he will be happy when the fair is over and he will not have to breed those pesky rabbits. I mean really they breed like ....well like rabbits!

THE REST OF THE SUMMER

The posts are becoming few and far between but with JR out of commission it is what it is. His surgery went well last week. He did mind the doctor's orders and kept his leg elevated for the better of 48 hours. The first day after he felt great and only took one pain pill. Wrong decision. He learned though and did start taking them a bit more regular. To be honest he has progressed at a great rate and yesterday at his one week visit he got an all clear for full activity. We (actually I) played nine holes today and he chipped and putted. He is thinking about playing 18 on Thursday but that might just be a bit too soon. So maybe the summer (what is left of it) will get back to something resembling normal. I need to get out and take pictures of something to put on the blog.

TOUGH DAYS

Several of my friends are having tough days. One is battling leukemia and another is taking on the fight against cancer. Both are having chemotherapy and the latter gentleman is also doing radiation and is beginning a medical trial for a new drug. His personal method of attack is to blog about everything he is going through AND he is writing songs. He has long dabbled in the song writing as a hobby. He is aggressively writing and copyrighting the songs. He is putting some of them on YouTube. If you are interested in hearing them the link is www.YouTube.com/creatherapyproject. As of this moment there is one song that he wrote in the 80's and it is a bluegrass. It is fun to listen to. Just a warning - he is a country writer. No heavy metal or hip-hop. I do marvel at the ability to create, whether it is writing stories, creating songs (both in the lyric and notes), or creating art. Those are people I envy.

AND THE HEAT GOES ON

There is not much new to report, hence the fact that there have not been many blogs. I did play golf both Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday we played mid-day and the heat did get to me. Wednesday we played at 8 am and I was not as affected however at lunch we ate outside under an awning with virtually no circulating air and it did affect several of the women. I was very glad to be home later and begin to cool down. We ate mediterranean last night and will have mexican tomorrow night. Tuesday we drove out to the river and had yellow perch. It was a perfect night with clouds covering the sun and enough breeze to keep you cool but not cold. Next week JR has his knee surgery and I expect that we will be eating at home a bit more and I should probably be nice and do the cooking.

GARAGE SALE

Last week was another 2 day garage at the in-laws home. While the garage sale was going on we all were still pulling things out of cupboards, garage and storage shed. Some finds were fabulous. We did find my mother-law's dolls in the storage shed. After the mouse jumped out of the box (yes you read that correctly) we discovered that the dolls had been part of his buffet and were ruined. We also came across her baby clothes and possibly her mother's baby clothes. There was a very nice muslin dress and a darling hat trimmed in purple with a feather. Both could be framed and saved for posterity. We also ran across pictures of my mother-in-law's grandparents. I took a picture of the pictures and those are posted above. The one of the gentleman was taken in the frame and hence the glare. My father-in-law's army uniforms with all the bells and whistles and a scrapbook of my mother-in-law's dancing days. Once I get those copied, I will post them. They are extraordinary.

GRANDKIDS ARE FUN

I cannot believe that it has been over a week since I last posted. I have been very busy and not feeling very creative. The family was in for the 4th and the parents went home on Monday and the two grandkids stayed until Wednesday. We went to the zoo and saw the baby polar bear, baby giraffe and had a ball watching the gorillas and orangutans. We saw Shrek and How To Train A Dragon at the movies. Their second cousin is an animator for How To Train Your Dragon. We stayed after to watch the credits and catch his name. On Wednesday we took them home without our grandson's Harry Potter book. We simply could not find it. It had disappeared. Naturally I found it Thursday morning tangled up in the guest room bedspread. We mailed it immediately and it arrived on Friday. Friday and Saturday we were down in Fostoria helping with the parents' garage sale. It was stinking hot and we were tired after the two days. During the garage sale we were still pulling stuff out of the shed, garage and for that matter house. The best was the mouse that jumped out of the box in the shed with my mother-in-law's dolls. Needless to say, he had been munching on them for awhile and they were ruined. Next week is also very busy and then it settles down for awhile.

4TH OF JULY

"Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land

God Bless the U.S.A" by Lee Greenwood

The 4th of July is by far my favorite of the three summer holidays. It is not just that the weather is great with warm temperatures and lots of sunshine but rather what the holiday means to me. It is a holiday for us. The "us" is represented in the Constitution of the United States as in "We, the People of the United States,". It is also in the first letter of United States. It is a celebration of our country. We are not perfect but I truly love this country. I love the patriotic songs - America the Beautiful; My Country 'Tis of Thee; The Star Spangled Banner; the different songs representing the branches of the Armed Forces and of course the folksy song God Bless The USA by Lee Greenwood. We were fortunate to attend a picnic followed by fireworks last night. I know that it was not the 4th but I actually celebrate all month. I have attached a few pictures from the fireworks. Enjoy!

INVICTUS

"It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul" by William Ernest Henley

The last two days JR, our son and our nephew as well as my sister-in-law spent time at the garage sale of my in-laws. Not everything in the house was decided on and there is still lots to do with another "sale" in the future. I went down on Saturday and spent the day trying to get some more of the things decided on. Either it was put into the garage sale, thrown out or put aside for a later decision. The idea really is to handle everything only once. A great philosophy but hard to put into action when there are multiple people involved. After a very hot day in a house without air conditioning, I was ready for a relaxing evening with friends. After dinner we went to a friend's house and watched the movie "Invictus". A great movie to see if you have not already watched it. The poem above, I had read before and it was used (obviously) in the movie. It bears including the last stanza. I should note that the reason I did not "garage sale it" on Friday was that I was celebrating birthdays. No not mine but friends who are married and have birthdays the same day. We celebrated hers at lunch and then a surprise birthday party for him. He turned 80 and to be honest is the youngest 80 year old I know. Both are to be admired and aspired to be like.

GREAT SUMMER DAY

"What is one to say about June, the time of perfect young summer, the fulfillment of the promise of the earlier months, and with as yet no sign to remind one that its fresh young beauty will ever fade." Gertrude Jekyll

This has so far been an odd summer. Of course you realize that to me summer starts the first week of June not June 21. I feel as though I have not taken advantage of my favorite season. Yesterday however was a great day. To be honest, I did not do much in the morning. I went to see "Sex In The City 2" in the afternoon. John wanted to go to a concert in the park in the evening and at first I thought no but then realized that summer was slipping away and it was the perfect night. We went to the Music in the Park and it was great. The temperature perfect and a slight wind to keep the mosquitoes away. My only problem was that ants kept crawling up my leg (ugh). We went across the street and picked up cheeseburgers to go, sat in our folding chairs and listened to the music. This is what summer is about. It was the second of the series and so I need to remember to go to a few more. We figured there were about 250-300 people there total although the crowd ebbed and flowed as the evening progressed.

AND THE BEAT GOES ON

"Vistors' footfalls are like medicine; they heal the sick."
Bantu Proverb

And the beat goes on (literally and thankfully). While I do post on the blogs my shared feelings and thoughts, I am normally reticent when it comes to serious things and the unknown and uncontrolled. I found myself in that position when after John tore his meniscus and had an appointment for his arthoscopic surgery, he flunked his pre-op EKG. So last week found us at the hospital while John had a cardioversion. His irregular heartbeat got back on track and now we await a stress test and then a decision on the surgery. You have to understand that he is not the one who should have problems. I reserve that right. I do not like that he is vulnerable to the realities of life. His parents continue to adjust to their independent living surroundings. We all continue to try to clear out their house and distribute their possessions. It is not an easy task and I really have no voice in any of it. I try to help with the logistics and organization part but for the most part have to keep quiet. I am going to be sitting tomorrow with a friend who has leukemia and is receiving her monthly chemo treatment. It is just for 3 hours. On another sad note another friend is facing a long fight against cancer. This is in the form of a brain tumor. Other than prayer and positive thoughts there is not much I can do since they do not live close. I have not really played golf. My game is terrible and I have no heart for it. Yesterday while having my teeth cleaned, my hygienist said that her 90 year old father still shoots 45 for 9 holes. Yikes!! Right now I cannot shoot 45 for 9 holes. I think I need an attitude adjustment. I am just a bit too down. This Father's Day is going to be a bit tough for me. Normally I deal with the loss of my father and Father's Day without any problem. This year however it comes on the same day as the 2nd anniversary as my mother's death. I just feel a little melancholy. It will pass and I think that when I can get past the day my dark attitude will lift.

CLOSE CALL

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent"
John Donne

Last Saturday night as everyone knows Northwest Ohio was struck by several F4 tornadoes. To be honest, it was very close to us. At one point the news was stating that there were "rotations" basically on the other side of the lake from us. Now granted, rotations are not funnel clouds, just funnel cloud want-a-bees. Still it was a bit too close for comfort. We heard the tornado sirens at 11:00 or 11:30 pm but never heard the one at 2-ish in the morning. That is a scary thought. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this catastrophe. The outpouring of volunteerism and compassion from the community has been wonderful and inspiring. On a more positive note John's mother is not diagnosed with multiple myeloma and so the week ended with some good news.

GARDENS

"Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are." Bernice Johnson Reagon

It is the first week of June and we are just getting the flowers planted in the garden. It has rained so much plus with other things going on that there has been no time (and I even have help). We are putting Knockout Roses in two beds. One will replace the geraniums we have been planting every year and the other bed had some bedraggled roses that we are transplanting to the front and replacing them with Knockout Roses. Hopefully it will look great. Hopefully I will be able to publish the photos next posting. There has not been much golf since the Mr. has a bum knee and the two days worth of tournament golf was cancelled due to - suprise! - RAIN. It is most likely for the best as my game is still in the tank.

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

I cannot believe that it is raining AGAIN!! The course just dries off enough to maybe interest me in playing and then it rains again. My game is such that wet conditions and I do not go together well and I am not interested enough in golf to play just to play. I like to enjoy the game. There are too many things to do in life. However today I am home without a car for awhile. I am getting my oil changed and some minimum maintenance and JR is out and about with his car so I am home alone. I guess I will try to get off the computer and get some work done. Hopefully next week will bring sunshine and dry conditions.

MIXED BAG

Last week ended strong on a personal level. We were able to visit and socialize with many friends. Wednesday we joined couples at a favorite Mexican restaurant while Thursday found us at the club with other friends. Friday we were at someone's home for a great dinner and Saturday we were at a fund raiser in an airplane hanger of all places. Sunday we played in the opening mixed golf event (in cold, windy and wet conditions). All of that was fun and enjoyable (except for the cold, windy and wet golf). However .........with all good comes the not so good. I found out that a friend has been diagnosed with CLL (chronic lymphatic leukemia). For those few reading this you do not know the person. It is treatable but not curable. Also with JR's mother in the hospital they came across a potential medical problem that does not sound good. So while I enjoyed the week on one level it was very disheartening on another. It just brings to mind how grateful we should feel about many things for there is someone always not feeling as good about their lives.

BIRTHDAY/MOTHER'S DAY

Sunday was both Mother's Day and our grandson's birthday. Last year 2 weddings in 2 cities for relatives from both my son's and daughter-in-law's sides of the family were thrown in. In comparison this year was calm. We stopped in on Saturday afternoon on our way back from South Carolina and so celebrated the birthday both Saturday night and Sunday morning and Mother's Day Sunday morning. We had not seen the grandkids for about a month and a half. It was great to see them. Gifts for 9 year old boys include an NBA game for the Wii and an i-pod shuffle with his name engraved. They grow up so fast. We were going to stop in and see the in-laws but my sister-in-law and husband were there and we got to Findlay right around their mealtime and therefore did not stop in. My mother-in-law had been doing very well and seemed to be enjoying her new life style in assisted living. However a late phone call last night and one at 5:30am this morning somewhat dispelled that since she has been admitted to the hospital to see if she has had a minor stroke. Hopefully it will not turn out to be severe.

FINALLY

For those few that follow this blog, I apologize for not having any postings. After the debacle of the health care bill passing I needed the time off. Then the last two weeks of the tax season hit and I was working monstrous hours and THEN we went on vacation. We are back and so fortunately or unfortunately, I will be blogging more often. I just watched the flash mob dance from the OSU Student Union and it is so cool. The music is from the TV show "Glee". If you have not seen the show check it out. I think that some of the story line is lame and definitely not always subject matter for younger kids, but I love the music and there is even some harmony involved. I love choral singing and so I think it is cool. The show they did with Madonna music was terrific. Also if you have not already done so, check out the youtube video of the OSU thing. It is worth your time.

SATURDAY NIGHT

Now that I have only one half day left to work I can begin to relax and get some things accomplished around the house. I am trying to put some of my winter clothes away but to be honest I get chilled easily and so quite a bit gets left out until it is nicer. Tonight we went out to dinner with some friends from Bowling Green. He recently retired (she had retired about a year ago) and it was really nice to visit with them. We talked for a long time - at least 3 hours. I am sure that the wait staff was hoping we would leave although we did not close the restaurant down. We have known them for about 40 years although we seldom see each other. What was truly amazing is how our tastes are so similar. We like the same vacation spots and foods etc. It was fun. A truly enjoyable evening.

MID APRIL

It is now the middle of April and the tax season per se is done. Our office tax preparers and receptionists were asked to staff the office for the rest of the month. So I worked Saturday 9-1 and will work the next Monday, Friday and Monday. I am sort of sorry that I volunteered but it is a gradual decline of working hours and maybe less of a cessation of the adrenaline that gets me through that last week. There are many things to do in and out of the house but right now it is hard to figure out where to start. I have accomplished a few (very few) tasks but many more await. We watched movies Friday, Saturday and Sunday night. All three were very good, very intense so I feel a bit stressed at the moment. Friday night was a cult movie tying up loose ends of a very short lived sci-fi channel series - Serenity. Saturday night we watched Defiance - a movie based on a true story set in WWII and Sunday night we watched the Hurt Locker. I could do with comedy right about now. At any rate, it is good to be back blogging.

Black Sunday

I will not be posting anything for awhile. I am in shock and saddness over the ineptness of our government. The legislature branch of the United States needs a major overhaul. May God have mercy on our souls.

HAWAII CON'T

I know that it has been a week since my posting on the backyard visitors and two weeks since my saga about Hawaii but here I am again. I last posted comments about Kapalua and the Plantation Golf course. We played that course on Monday. Wednesday and Thursday we played the Wailea Gold course and the Makena North course respectively. I have played both before and they were ok. The Makena course had one of those obnoxiously split fairway holes that for this short hitter makes it a postively annoying experience. We were playing girls and guys and of our threesome only one make it over the ravine (on a second try). Myself and one other went in twice and chose to be spectators only for this hole. The real excitement for the trip was twofold. One was watching the humpback whales. In many instances we watch mothers and babies breaching. I will upload some pictures. If you click on the picture it will zoom in and you will be able to see better. The other excitement was our last day. It revolved around the non-tsunami tsunami. The Marriott did an excellent job. We were evacuated out of our rooms and redirected to a safe level. They brought in pallets of water, a buffet lunch, TV's and made multiple updates as to what was going on. We also were able to sit out on the balcony and watch the waves come in (of course they never did). We were supposed to play golf that day and the other two couples did play. We chose not to play for several reasons. We were booked on flights home and to be honest I did not want to be somewhere and not be able to get back to the Marriott and get my luggage. It just seemed easier to stay put. We did remove the luggage from the rooms and place it in the locked storage which was in a safe and dry location. As everyone knows it turned out fine. There was no tsunami and all of our flights were on time and except for limited food service on the flight to the mainland, everything was fine. It turned out to be a great experience. John has now been through two earthquakes, two typhoons and now a very minor tsunami. I told him that I hoped he was done with natural disasters.

MORNING GLORY

Just a quick respite from my Hawaii travels to share a glorious morning. I woke up at about 6:45 am and when I entered the family room I was shocked to see the deer sleeping in the yard. They stayed until about 7:45am. The sun was up and everything. I am sharing some great photos.

Kapalua

On our second day in Hawaii we played the Plantation Golf Club at Kapalua. This is a difficult course and up to now was definitely not on my favorite list. However, I was never able to play #18 either due to rain or darkness. I decided to change my mindset and enjoy the course, the fresh air and the wonderful views. Our tee-time was for 1:20pm (the twilight rate) and we finished!! I also found that it was my favorite course for the whole week. It is truly amazing what a change in your mindset can do. The greens were difficult to putt because they always ran fast toward the ocean even if the putt was uphill and they were very slow away from the ocean even if downhill. I have uploaded some pictures from the course.

Paradise Found Paradise Lost

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since I last posted. The computer crashed, I worked many, many hours and last week we were in Hawaii. Hawaii in many respects truly is paradise. The temperature is constant (it was between 78 and 83 everyday) and the evening temps did not really drop below 70. However I arrived completely exhausted from working and the long trip over and woefully out of shape. Since for the past month or so the longest walk I had was from my desk to the car (roughly about 2 minutes), it was hard to suddenly become immersed in golf and lots of exercise. The first full day was spent on the Road to Hana. It was much better than I had anticipated but I did take my two Bonine (a non-drowzy Dramamine). The Seven Sacred Pools were dried up due to the drought but we did see some great waterfalls along the road and even did a bit of spelunking. I will post a few pictures in regard to the first day and will have future blogs about the other days.

SUPER BOWL GAME

What a terrific game last night. I am more a Colts fan than a Saints fan but since the Saints had never played nor won a Super Bowl game I was rooting for them also. It was a nice clean game with both teams playing well. I do have to wonder what some of these advertising firms are thinking when they dream up these commercials! We have such high expectations about being entertained and then the reality of the quality of the commercial sets in and for the most part we are disappointed. It is back to work this week but with a more realistic set of hours.

CRASH!

No I did not have a crash but rather our computer crashed/died/burned etc. So right now we have a loaner until we can have a new computer built for us. I know that it has been a long time since I blogged. My excuse apart from the computer problem is that I worked 60 hours last week and to be honest pretty much simply got up, ate breakfast, got ready for work, went to work, came home, ate dinner, watched one hour of TV and went to bed. I repeated this for the whole week. Otherwise we are OK and I hope to be able to chat more later.

WINTER

To be honest there is not much to blog about. I am way behind in the Bible readings (what a surprise) but I am going to combine two weeks into one and try to catch up. Therefore, this week's reading will be Genesis 12 - The Call of Abraham and Genesis 22 - the story of Abraham -Isaac. I go to work (this week at 8 everyday but Saturday) and come home after 7 (again except Saturday). John fixes dinner, I eat it, watch about 1 hour of tv and get ready for the next day and then go to bed. Yesterday (Sunday) was a nice do nothing but hang out kind of day. I did 5 loads of laundry, changed the sheets and towels, cleaned the kitchen, watched a bunch of DVR TV shows and finished the third book in the Twilight series - Eclipsed. I did watch most of the Grammy's and finally made it to bed around 11:00. A friend of ours recently had his picture taken with Lady GaGa. Hopefully she had more clothes on then than she had on last night. A blurb on AOL this morning said that some of the female singers apparently were trying to outdo Lady GaGa. I saw Pink's performance and I somewhat agree although I am not really up on the pop scene. As I said, that is all for now. Hope everyone has a good week.

CONCERT

Sunday night John and I went to a Rascal Flatts concert at the new arena in town. Darius Rucker was great. It was fun to watch him. Rascal Flatts were fabulous. However, I have decided that I have "old" ears. They really pumped up the volume. John had earplugs in and I stuffed some tissue in my ears to help filter out the real high piercing notes. Otherwise it was what I expected having seen many of their videos. The encore was both the boys and Darius. Very nice. We had dinner downtown and then walked to the arena. The car was parked nearby already. We were out and home in about 2o minutes. We have been trying to send pictures from John's phone to my e-mail so that I can transfer them to the blog but so far no success. So you just get to read this blog and not see any pictures - sorry! The weather was so warm yesterday that it was great to be out. However I was very tired this morning and dragged to work. I am looking forward to any early bedtime (after "24" of course).

SAYING GOODBYE

On Friday we attended a memorial service for a friend. She was an extremely energetic and organized individual. I realize that those might be two traits that sound odd together but I believe for those individuals with high energy there is a drive for organization and control over one's life. She in fact planned the entire memorial service. The church was filled with family, friends, former co-workers and people with whom she served on various committees and volunteer organizations. All of them offering a testament to her friendship, intellect and love of community. It makes one pause to reflect on our own lives. I think after hearing all of the accolades we (at least temporarily) strive to be a better person. So to Deanna we say goodbye and thank you for being a part of our lives.

MINDLESS?

Once a month on a Monday night I meet with my bridge group. I have been in this group since around 1980. That is quite a long time. We used to do appetizers, snacks and after playing bridge a dessert. We then switched to a light supper and then played bridge. Now it is pretty much a light supper and then just gabbing. Years and years ago I joined a ceramics group. We were all young with young children and joked that we were merely preparing ourselves for the "nursing home" with our ceramics. Well the other night at bridge I think I topped the ceramics era. I have included a picture of the craft that we made. It is a snowflake and actually quite large. Too large to send to the grandkids so that they could put it on their refrigerator to display Grandma's stuff. I am not sure what to do with it. Oh well! It was a nice diversion from the complexities of life.