To Walk or Not to Walk...That is the question!

So I'm sitting here, watching the snow gently fall following a January thaw, and playing on my computer...but I sense that I am being watched...the air is thick with a sense of urgency! I realize that I am trying not to move...not to turn my head, or appear distracted in any way from this task at hand, otherwise the inevitable will occur....and it does! Unfortunately nature calls and I must stand and brave the oncoming barrage of jumps and yelps, and the scratching of claws on the "scratch resistant" laminate. Whatever the reason for my movement it means only one thing to my 2 little canines....WE"RE GOING FOR A WA L K ! But I really don't want to and as I scurry to the bathroom and quickly close the door I pray that by the time the loo is flushed and the doorknob turned the will have settled into the realization that walking was not my goal...only my means of transportation to an otherwise mundane destination. But alas...they are not convinced, and as I return to settle down in my still warm couch spot they stare fixedly at me, with obvious disappointment in their soulful eyes. I AM GUILTY! I don't think I can stand much more of it...I will only say that I myself am still shell shocked from our 2 hour foray into nature, during which Dudley thought he was in heaven (terrier) and Ollie scooted under a tree and sat down to hide (chihuahua with sweater) I myself began to totally lose hope of ever finding our way out and began to imagine the "Mural" headlines (It's a village of 1000...so I might make the headlines)...and listened desperately for the very thing that I had originally planned to avoid in choosing this trail (i use the term loosely)...A SNOWMOBILE....DEAR GOD PLEASE SEND ME A SNOWMOBILE...( I have been rescued by snowmobile rs in the past when I mistakenly drove my Malibu up a snowmobile trail assuming incorrectly that it was a road...it was not!...But they were very impressed at how far I had driven in prior to becoming stuck!!!) Anyway back to original story...God didn't send me a snowmobile....but God did send me a barn!!! In front of the barn was a road!!!!!All in all this little adventure took almost 3 hours from start to finish, and the pain lasted considerably longer!! But I'm a dog owner and duty calls...if I never post on this blog again u'll know that this trip was even less successful than the last!
God Bless

The Joy of a little Haitian Boy...so sweet

Please watch this video ... it is the hope that people need to keep knowing that God is with us.
A small boy...survivining for 7 days with no food or water... in the darkness and pulled from the miry pit with a smile that is bigger than himself! Arms raised...he welcomes the light, the freedom, and the cheers of onlookers and rescuers!!!!
He didn't complain...or say "why me"...he didn't ask "what took you so long?"
He smiled a smile that said more than anyone could verbalize.
It's sad that only when you have sooooo little....you appreciate much.
But maybe, he is more blessed than those of us who have too much? You think?
Maybe this small waif of a child can teach us how to approach life in this world of disparity....somesoooo rich it defies imagination and logic...others so poor it is embarassing to know that they exisit in this world ...with us...and so little compassion.
#/video/world/2010/01/21/moos.mile.wide.smile.cnn?hpt=C2

And the DISASTERS keep coming

Iran started me blogging, and Haiti has brought me back. I have been very ill (again) and although my New Years resolution was to blog daily, amesseduplaptop.... diabled keyboard, and exhaustion combined with gastrointestinal combustion rendered me useless and finally in the Hospital...but I'm in prime health compared to the millions of poor souls in Haiti. We can go to the moon, but we don't seem to be able to provide swift and effective rescue operations for those on our own planet. I simply don't understand it. The emergency donations are flowing in,which is great, but lets go a step further and sponsor the 300,00 children who are living or dying in Haiti, and keep sponsoring them until Haiti is the best place in the world for them to live.

The ressurection of the nearly dead!

Well I've been away for awhile....swimming in the darkness and dancing on the edge of death! I knew that I was slipping into the darkness, but thought that maybe it was just circumstantial. My eldest son Paul got married in Hilton Head Island South Carolina, a beautiful place with years of wonderful memories for all of us. I don't think that I had ever achieved spiritual and physical peace anywhere, other than there. Walking by the ocean, breathing in the sweet salty air, feeling the soft silky sand between my toes. Heaven....at least that would be my sense of heaven. The closer it got to September 22nd, the sadder I became because we couldn't go. At first it was just little outbursts of tears....sometimes sobbing uncontrollably. Then it became more difficult to go out, because I didn't want to draw attention to myself. Then I was crying more than breathing, it was more than missing the wedding...it was about missing life... I knew I needed to reach out to get help. I had had some bloodwork done and by this time the results had revealed that my TSH was 3 times higher than it should be, and my mood meds I had reduced after increasing them without permission ( I was getting a bit high) but had then reduced them again. This whole whack of medical issues. and medicines, which can cause side effects, and the multiple diagnoses that cause symptoms get very confusing, and very difficult to discern whats actually happening! Lots of fun...So I crashed with my fibro...I crashed with my bipolar, and it was a mess! BUT I"M BACK! Forgive my absence from the blog/cyber world!

Remember the Tractor?!

This takes me back!!!! This is the backyard at Mountainside...our first apartment for the 3 of us! Actually you couldn't really call it a backyard....as it was the size of a postage stamp!
Still, we managed to have lots of fun there...planted a garden even though everyone said nothing would grow, and built a sandbox which the boys loved to play in, and every summer we had an overflow of sand into the apartment. I couldn't afford to buy "play sand" so I would drive to Hamilton beach and fill up buckets full of sand, using a flour sifter to remove any glass or other debris!! I wonder if you guys (Paul & Andrew) remember it?

Where did the time go?

This past weekend my family had the joy of gathering together to celebrate the upcoming marriage of my eldest son Paul, to his wonderful bride Jacquie. Of course having a wedding requires a certain amount of harassment and humiliation which, we as parents, have already prepared well in advance!!! I hope you'll enjoy sharing some of these pictures....bare with me!! mean BEAR!!!! Stay tuned!!

Father and Son

"Edward M. Kennedy Jr. shares a ride on a sled with his father at the family's McLean, Va., home in December 1973. The boy (Ted Jr.) was diagnosed with cancer that year and had to have a leg amputated. "

Yesterday, Senator Edward Kennedy, the last of the Kennedy "boys" was laid to rest alongside his brothers in Arlington Cemetary.
The funeral and it's procession were somewhat delayed by the overwhelming outpouring of support from mourners along the roadways. The family, in appreciation for their support, waved out of their windows...the crowds applauded...an unusual event during such an occaision...but totally fitting for this man.
The sun was fast fading when the hearse finally turned the corner into Arlington Cemetary.
By the time the mourners were arranged, the sun had set.
The family ended up standing in the dark. The grandchildren struggled to read what they had prepared to say, but could not see, and had difficulty speaking.
No matter...they continued on, a large group of shadows, with faces dimly lit by the eternal flame.
Whatever anyone wants to say about Teddy Kennedy, he fought a good fight...he had faith...he had flaws ...he had remorse, and repentance to the end. I don't know how it was possible for him to be so close to so many...an amazing feat. Please listen to his son's eulogy on you tube posted on my page opposite. It is deeply moving, and inspiring.