ANOTHER WEEK

It appears as though I am going to be posting on Sundays. There is simply not enough content in my week to warrant multiple postings. I was reading an article in the weekend Wall Street Journal about the division among Americans. My take on the article was that it is not economic nor conservative/liberal issues that are dividing us but cultural. As marriage and religious commitments diminish so does the cultural bond among Americans. It seems as though the socialist aspect of our society is greatly creating to the demise of America and the increasing split among our people. It was a sad article in many ways and one with no positive spin.

On a lighter note, I was able to play bridge again this week and I really do enjoy it and everyone that I play with. I also saw the movie "War Horse" on Saturday. I enjoyed it very much and since I am such a sap about everything, I had tears in my eyes often. I had heard that it might be graphically violent but most of the violence of war was implied and not visually on the screen. The horses were remarkable and while I know they say that horses are dumb, these horses were great. Saturday night we played pool with friends. This was something started about 3 or 4 years ago and we only do it in the winter. There are about 20 in the group and we go to various houses and play. We get together about every three to four weeks. We do not have a basement conducive to having all those people over so I provided the main course foods. I bought a vegetable lasagna from Gordons Food Service and made a blush penne pasta dish and added some chicken breasts. It was great fun. Today I am relaxing. I will do laundry, light cleaning, watched DVR'd TV shows and read. Basically relax. Next week starts the build up to our "peak" and that lasts two weeks. I work about 55 hours those weeks. So if there is a gap between this posting and future ones hopefully you will understand.

JAN 15

It is hard to come up with innovative titles. My office manager wants all of us to read the book "The Energy Bus" by Jon Gordon. No one wanted to be the first so of course I took it. It is obviously a self help book. After all she would not be recommending the entire office to read a murder mystery!! It was written in a very clever manner. A man (George) had a flat tire one morning and his wife was too busy with kids and doctor appointments to take him to work. He was forced to take the bus. The part for his car was going to take awhile to arrive and so he was on the bus for at least two weeks. In essence there are 10 rules: 1. You're the driver of your bus. 2. Desire, vision, and focus move your bus in the right direction. 3. Fuel your ride with positive energy. 4. Invite people on your bus and share your vision for the road ahead. 5. Don't waste your energy on those who don't get on your bus. 6. Post a sign that says NO ENERGY VAMPIRES ALLOWED on your bus. 7. Enthusiasm attracts more passengers and energizes them during the ride. 8. Love your passengers. 9. Drive with purpose. and 10. Have fun and enjoy the ride. One example of positive energy is one we who golf use a lot. A round of golf usually has good and bad shots. Golfers are known to say at least once a round "That's the shot that will bring me back next week". We tend to try to erase the bad shots from our mind and keep the good shot (shot singular in my case). Whether or not I will be able to find the bus much less drive is up for grabs but I will try.

BACK TO WORK

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver."
- Barbara De Angelis, Ph.D.

Well this was my first week back to work. It is not really busy so a nice gradual ease back into a tight routine. I like to have an organized early am so that I can leave the house and get to work on time or early. One of the best ways that works for me is to "lay" out my clothes the night before. Even though in my mind I know what I am going to wear, if I have to hunt down a particular piece of clothing in the morning it throws my schedule off.

It was a busy week with working Tuesday through Friday with only Wednesday afternoon off. Wednesday night we ate Mexican with friends. Friday night we went to a friends' house and had dinner and then played gin. The stew was delicious - a great taste to it. One of the couples is soon heading to the southwest for the winter so it was great to see them (they were also at Mexican on Wednesday). By 8:30 Saturday morning we were in the car headed down to our grandson's b-ball game. I just love those guys. I so enjoy being with them. We drove back the same day (we had lunch with them) and then went to a friend's house for pizza and a movie. We saw the first episode of the HBO series "Rome" and then the movie "Midnight in Paris" Not a JR film but to his credit he did stay awake. Today is Sunday and we are going to the art museum. It is the last day of the Egyptian exhibit and we would like to see it before it closes. I have laundry, cleaning and probably some grocery shopping to do also. Next week it begins all over again.

THOUGHTS

The Work of Christmas
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoners,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among people,
To make music in the heart.
by Dr. Howard Thurman


I read this poem in my church newsletter and thought it made a case for lofty goals for life. I did not make any new years resolutions this year. I am going to try to change some things but nothing specific or time oriented or goal oriented. I am starting a small journal that I will write in at night. "Just the facts" as they would say on Dragnet. I include date, weather and a recount of activities. I am going to leave emotions etc out of it. I start back to work today and while once working I enjoy it I miss my "other" life. The one that I can spend time with friends. I always want to do it all and hate when friends are going to do something fun and I am working. Oh well, it is a choice.

MEMORIES #12

I am still going to write about a few lingering memories. I am including a few pictures of Brent as a little guy. These were taken in 1974 and the other one is Brent playing bumper pool in my parents basement in 1980. I have always loved the picture of him pointing at the top of the tree. Yesterday I remembered a Christmas several years after my dad died. My mother drove up for the holiday on December 23 late afternoon. She found that to her chagrin that she had left her garment bag with all her clothes at home. Soooooo! the only thing we could do was go shopping on the 24th and buy her clothes. We went to Lady C's and found some great sweaters and slacks. I ran across one of the sweaters the other day. It is red with a large nutcracker portrayed on the back and a smaller version on the front. We laughed about our emergency shopping trip for years.