Blessings Abound!

 I am so blessed to have a family who cares for me.... lovingly, emotionally, physically. I get a phone call from one of them just about every day. The daughter that lives near me (Shirley) is a constant 'checker-upper'. 

The other day I went to get some lab work done. Out of courtesy I turned my phone ringer off and like I always do, I forget to turn it back on after I'd had my blood drawn.

Hours later, I finally pick up my phone and see that Shirley and Susan had both been trying to call me. I call Shirley and right in the midst of my explaning why I hadn't responded to their calls, a neighbor knocks on my door. Seems as if they had my neighbors out looking for me! A bit embarrassing but sort of sweet, too.

Monday Shirley and John came down to remove my balcony rug. It had been out there about 9 years, in all sorts of weather, and it was in bad shape. They brought me a lovely bouquet of zinnias. 

All through the summer, everytime John buys a watermelon, he cuts it up and I get a large ziplock bag of melon. That man knows his Mother-in-law loves watermelon. 

Another thing I love is chicken and dressing. On Thursdays a restaurant here in town has that dish as their special. Shirley drove down (it's 35 miles to her house) and took me to Holland's so we could have chicken and dressing. This is her plate... I was toooo busy eating mine to be taking pictures of it. 

The restaurant doesn't serve cranberry sauce with this dish so Shirley just brought along a plastic container of it for us to have with our meal. 

Life just doesn't get much better than this....

How To Become An Author!

                              Some of you didn't know I'd written a book... 

Hey, that's ok.  It's not a new book and it certainly DID NOT make the best seller list. hehe

I started writing a bit in high school and then I got married, had kids and well, you know how that goes! No time for Mommy, right?

After we moved from Alabama to Virginia, kids all grown. Heck, we had grown grandkids by then. Elbert had Alzheimers (mid- stages at that point) and I decided that maybe we needed to take a trip back to Bama to see family and friends, before we couldn't! I knew that time wasn't far off.

Oldest daughter Marie offered to go along and so we set out driving south.

Our overnight stop was in South Carolina. Everyone got settled in bed, the other two started softly snoring and there I lay.... wide awake!

A book started forming in my head. That book kept me awake just about all night. Come morning, the other two were ready to hit the road but I told them just to sit down... and wait... and they did....

           I wrote down notes on everything I had been thinking about all night. 

              And, that's how 'Springtime in Magnolia' got it's beginning. 

Here are some photos from that trip... I am always disappointed when blogs do not have pictures! So, here's something for you to look at. 

Elbert and Marie at a Cracker Barrel

Visiting my Sister

That book was a detour that was both a blessing and a 'pain in the ...'

 So proud that I did it. I have half of the sequel written. Wonder if I will ever finish it. 

Women have it hard!

 The weather has been so nice. You almost could believe it was Fall but alas, it's warming back up again. Summer's not through with us. 

I have to tell you about a book I just finished. My first audio book. It was a BIG BOOK so I am glad I listened rather than read it. 

Kristin Hannah did it again! That author is an expert story-teller, she draws you in, makes you feel like you are right there on the page with the story line. And, this one was a horrible, gorey tale of a nurse in Vietnam and the struggles she had 'over there' and back home. 

I could not put it down... or turn it off (in the case of an audio book). 

Women have never had an easy time of making their way in this world. I could go into detail here but I think you know what I mean. They are the unsung heroes, the saviors of situations, people, causes. This book will take your breath away, break your heart, give you hope, believe in a happy ending. I highly recommend it.                                                                                          

After that emotional read, I decided to re-read the book I wrote and had published back in 2014. I never feel like I do a great job at anything, sufficient but not outstanding and I struggled with this book. It took a lot out of me. I am no Kristin Hannah, that's for sure!!

Every night I pick up my book "Springtime In Magnolia" and read a chapter before falling asleep. Since I hadn't even opened the cover in years, I am being pleasantly surprised that I am enjoying it. I must get back to writing! 

I continue to take pictures of practically everything I own so I can document them for my children. Just one of those things you don't want to leave to their imagination. 

 

Here's another thing or two I want to share with you. 

I was 17 when I left with my brand-new husband for our life clear across the country. I had never been away from my Mom and missed her. 

I'd been in Calif. for about 4 months when we found out that Elbert's ship was leaving for Korea. Back home I'd go... he wasn't about to leave his young wife alone so far from family.

I passed this little shop, went inside and saw this necklace. It was painted enamel with a circle of rhinestone around the painted center. I bought it and carried it back to Alabama as a gift for my Mother. The year - 1951

I love having things like this to remind me of the life I have lived! 

It's been quite a ride! 

A Box Full of Memories

 It all started with the search of a recipe! 

I knew I had stored it away somewhere since I didn't use it. Well, let's just say I thought I knew! 

So, I put a pillow on the floor, eased my titanium knees down on that pillow, bent over and pulled out three plastic storage boxes I had once shoved under my bed.

                        That recipe had to be in there!!

Getting up from the floor was a struggle but I made it. 

Two whole days later, my bed covered in a mess, I am finally convinced that I no longer have that recipe! 

Oh well, it set me on another adventure. One box had a bunch of 'keepsakes' in it and I photographed each one, documented them and then stored them back 'under the bed'. My kids aren't going to know where that stuff came from, how much it meant to someone, how it connected to our family.

                             They will know now!! 

I rediscovered some really neat things. Like the V-Mail from World War II that I had received when I was 10 years old from a friend fighting in Italy. 

My husband's barbering tools he used to cut sailors hair to make extra money when we first got married back in the '50s.

A tin car that my little brother played with before his death in 1931 (before I was born). He was 3 years old.

My granddad's shaving brush (he died in 1949)

The tie that I wore with my high school band uniform 1949

And, so much more. There are so many memories tied up in that box. I hope my children enjoy and appreciate my keepsakes as much as I do. It's hard to tell these days how kids view the past. But, I see interest growing in each of them as they get older themselves. It will mean something I am sure. 

My Computer World

Yesterday I opened up the first segment of the classes by Martha Stewart on Masterclass (online) and had a good, fruitful hour. Look forward to the rest of her instructions. 

People either hate Martha or they love her. I am not sure where I fall in that category... maybe in-between. I do know that she works hard, is extremely motivated and successful. Boy, do I give her credit for that. 

I called Susan (she's the one who gave me Masterclass to begin with) and told her she needed to watch Martha's part. And, we got to talking about computers. Martha had said she was always very excited to try out new things and she had a computer by 1982. Computers weren't in general use at that time. 

So,  I told Susan that by 1989 I had walked into Radio Shack at the mall and walked out with a computer in my arms. I had heard about them but I had never even seen one. But, the clerk said it was what I needed to keep my genealogy straight so I was all in. 

I took it home, plugged it into the socket. It came on and I stared at it. I had no idea how to make it do anything!! I called my son, Michael, for tips for making that thing to perform for me. And, I haven't stopped since. 

Computers in those days were run by DOS, long before Windows came along. And, my printer was dot matrix (the paper ran through the machine by being fed on holes at the edges of the paper). Do you know... I still have some of that paper. 

The computer has been a constant companion for me. I wrote my first book, showed my great-grands how to play games, kept my genealogy up to date. I used to write emails to family,  started my hugemongous file of photographs I've taken. That machine provided me something to do while I kept watch on my husband who had Alzheimers. It kept me sane during the Covid epidemic. And, it has given me friends that I never would have even known about, much less learned to love. 

A lot of the people that live here in the apartment complex have never had computers. Now that they are older, they are missing out on having a connection to loved ones, friends, the world beyond. I think it is so sad. 

  In 2007 I got a big new computer desk. Still have it to this day!

Do you remember the first computer you got and how old you were or what year it was? I was 55 years old when I entered the world wide web and discovered how much I could learn and grow through it's opportunities. It's been a joy for sure. 

A Guessing Game

                                                  Guess what I am doing?

hmmm....

            Nope, not that

                            Not that either

                                                You'll never guess. 

I am learning the names of as many countries as I can. 

You see, my grandson, Tighe, knows most of them and he loves to play a game called, what else...                                                                                   Countries. 

We played it in the car when his mom and he were bringing me back to Virginia from my visit with them. I have to admit... I wasn't too shabby! But, of course, he knew more than I did and I knew more than his Mom did. Each person playing takes turns naming a country. If you call one out that has already been used or is not a country. YOU LOSE..

So, I am preparing for the next battle of countries! I am gonna blow his socks off. I hope!

             Do you know how many countries there are in the world?

 There are 195 recognized countries on earth. 

                                                     I had no idea. 

 Guess I have a long way to go to even get a half of them.

How many can you call off, just off the top of your head? No fair cheating, now. Can't look them up. 

You just never know when you might run across someone who loves to play 'Countries' 

Setting Sail at Last

 I'm in a bragging mood this morning. What Mother doesn't love to brag on her kids!!! 

My son's passion is sailing. Back in the '80s he bought a 27' sailboat and spent many happy hours on it. Moved to a new location and the sailboat went, too. 

As the months go on, he's noticing this beautiful 35' sailboat at the pier near his... never been in the water! Months, then years go by... boat still sitting there. 

So, he and the owner start talking and seems the owner doesn't know how to sail. I bet you are asking yourself right now 'what the heck is he doing with a sailboat then?'  Seems he has this dream of sailing down the Tombigee River, around the coast of Florida and over to the Bahamas.... but the boat needs work and he still can't sail. 

Michael has retired by now, so he says he'll help him repair the boat. 

Long story short....

Owner says if Michael will help him repair the boat and take him on his longed for cruise to the Bahamas he'll make it worth his while. 

Eleven months, later the  boat, which had been pulled to my son's yard, was completely overhauled and yesterday it was transported back to the river. 

Now Michael will teach his buddy how to sail and when next seasons hurricanes are out of the way they'll take off on their adventure.

Michael has worked so hard, almost every day, making changes, painting, learning to work with fiberglass, making a new rudder and the work went on and on. They've completely redone that boat and she looks fabulous and Michael couldn't be happier.