HELLO

 I am as surprised both my blog and myself is still here.  I am going to have to learn how to publish work here again.   One aim is to see if I can find a way to print my past posts or have this actually published as an album for myself.  The quest will begin.  I am sure there are many ways others have learned to profit from the printing of blogs into book form. 

With all of the excitement now going on I thought I would add a little of my own.  This is Ozzy, he is 8 years old and a dachshund. He joined me on Dec. 2, 2019.  After losing Jane Doe in October to cancer I didn't think I would get another dog for a while.  Anna, through a friend, found Ozzy and as you can see my respite between babies did not last long. 

I need to unpack.

I am back home and resting in my own bed.  Visiting my friend was nice, indeed, but I am always glad to be back in my own home.
 I pack too much when I travel and end up bringing home more than I arrived with.   There is a pile of bags, suitcases and filled storage baskets parked in my hall waiting to be put away. All for a two week visit to where I already have clothes and necessities. Go figure....I swear  to travel light next time. 

Saw one of these today!

What a nice suprise it was to spot a Pileated woodpecker today.  He was pecking away clinging rather low on the side of a dead tree.  I tried to get close enough to take a clear picture but I wasn't able to.   I was kicking myself in the butt for not having my camera or my binoculars with me.  So far, since I've been here, I've seen a red tail hawk, on the ground (!), a great blue heron, white ibis and sitting, pretty as you please, on a cedar fence post, a puffed up female Eastern blue bird.  I am not a fan of the eastern part of North or South Carolina, the Low Country as it is called here, but I do like the chance to see the different forms of life, plant and animal. 

Visiting Walterboro, SC

I am in Walterboro, S.C., visiting a friend, Mel.  She will drive from Walterboro to Winston Salem, N.C., to pick me up and haul me back to her place.  I'd say that is a real show of friendship.  It is about a 4 1/2 hour drive, one way!  I don't think I'm worth it but she seems to think otherwise.  I usually stay about 2 weeks at a time.  That's just long enough for me to get pretty homesick.  She allows Jane Doe to come and to stay with me, which is a real sacrifice for her.  Her 3 dogs are outside dogs and very rarely step inside.  Jane stays in the bedroom with me and ventures around the house when I do.  Mostly we lie around just like we do at home.  Mel still works so we have the run of the place most of the day.  When Mel comes home in the evenings she takes me out to dinner and to run whatever errands need to be taken care of. 

I don't have an up to date picture of us..I'll have to get one to blog so you can see how well we've aged!  This one is, gosh, about 10 years old.  We've been friends since we met in 6th grade'  We lost touch after high school.  By chance, we worked in the same hospital laboratory for a while when we were in our late 20's.  Then life got busy and we moved to different cities.  We didn't keep in touch for some years while our families were growing, but then we picked back up and it was like we had never been apart.  It is nice to have a friend you share a long history with and can really be yourself around.  

Birthday Wishes for My First Born......

 Born February 9, 1969                                                           

   

 My first born baby will be celebrating his, gulp, 48th birthday in February. His daughter will be making him a grandfather in May.  ( I know he will love being a grandfather and he will make a good one. )   How surreal this all seems to me.  When the kids were little and time was filled with the responsibilities of wife and mother it seemed time was dragging by and that there certainly was an unlimited amount of it stretched out before me.  I thought the old folks that said,  " Enjoy your kids now because they grow up fast. " were nuts, pure and simple. I could not imagine something I had never felt or seen.  I had not lived long enough to look back on the majority of my life nor had I seen enough of life to start contemplating my end.  I am at that point now though.  My children stopped physically needing me long ago and have long since become emotionally independent.  They became, in spite of me, and I hope somewhat because of me,  strong, good, loving and productive people.  I know the vast majority of their goodness and success is because of their own mental, emotional and spiritual strength though. It is a true blessing when your children grow to be better and stronger than you are.  

                                                    Happy Birthday, Son! I love you. 
                                               You are a fine man.  I am proud of you. 

Gotta' Brag

                 Maggie........being a Grandma is wonderful no matter how old the grandchildren are.
                                                 
                                           

I tell you what, folks, I've started using Twitter and Instagram. I wanted to see what all the fuss over Trump's Tweeting was about.  I actually like the variety of info. and opinions you find on Twitter.  I've been led to some pretty interesting and some scary sites.  Since my attention span is about as long as that of a  hungry toddler I imagine I'll be out of this phase soon.  As for Instagram, I'll probably stick with it a little longer as my family posts pics of grandkids there and, of course, I love seeing those.  Some of my ' children' take pretty nice photographs during their travels too.   I never think to go to FaceBook though I've had an account with them for awhile.

This is my youngest daughter with her new daughter.   Maggie, ( Margaret Emily ), has been here since September so she is not all that " new " but new enough.....I'm still pretty excited about her!

 And, to beat all, I'll become a Great Grandmother this May!  The world keeps a turnin'.

Jane is going to the doctor this morning to have her ears checked,  I believe she has an ear infection.  Because of her allergies, she has a lot of medical issues.  Between her skin rashes, itching skin, inflammation and her yeast infections she is pretty miserable the majority of the time or, at least would be, if it were not for her daily medications.  She takes two prescription medications on a daily basis and one twice a week when she is doing well and extra meds when she is ill.  I spend more on her than I ever did my kids or myself. I know it is not the rational thing to do, especially with my limited income but she is my companion and friend. Never while I was younger would I have invested my money, time and emotion in an animal like I have her.  I  have, in fact, become a person I  used to say I could not understand.  After all, an animal is just an animal, not a person.  Wrong!  She fills my days with pleasure and love.  Her devotion is beyond measure and her companionship priceless. The older I get the more wrapped up in her I become.

Jane Doe shares every waking and sleeping moment with me.  I think everything she does is cute and wonderful.  My adult kids think kinder of me than I did of people like me when I was their age.  ( I thought old people that doted on their pets were nuts. )  They tolerate my stinky, yes, stinky dog and her irritating bark when we are together.  She is not yappy but can be vocal when she wants something, " Its time to go home,  NOW "  or, when I ask her something, " Are you hungry? "  " Do you need your itchy pill? "   She is a dachshund beagle mix and has the vocal capabilities of both breeds.  I try not to rile her up.  When the doorbell rings all hell breaks loose. She keeps me safe. No one will enter the house with a mad dog in it.    

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Campfire Stew

I made a pot of campfire stew for dinner.  It is one of my favorite quick recipes.  My mother used to make this over the campfire when we went camping and at home when she wanted a fast, one-pot meal.  It is;  LEAN ground beef, browned, with a couple of cans of Campbell's vegetable soup mixed into the cooked beef.  Add just enough water to dilute the dish a little.  You do not want soup, you want a thicker mixture to have over Texas toast.  I season my beef with garlic,  a tiny dash of salt and pepper.  Simmer a little while to blend flavors.   One lb. of beef is plenty for adding too two regular, or one large size can of soup.  Yum.

This is a picture I found on the web

This wisteria is cheerful and pleasant to view.  This vine grows, freestanding, in a field in front of my apartment complex.   I took this picture a year or so ago.

I am ready for some warm weather.  I believe we need some hard freezes in winter but its time to warm up a tad now.

It is almost 5 pm and I'm still wallowing around in my bed.  This is not unusual for me.  Yet, the day has not been a total waste. A few minutes ago I was able to work up enough energy to walk into the kitchen and bake a buttermilk pound cake.  I've taken the last few cakes I've made to family gatherings or given them to neighbors.  This one I'm going to eat....well, I'll share some of it but I am going to eat a lot of it. Yum.  I love the flavor of this old recipe but it is tricky as sometimes it comes out very dry.  Today I've experimented a bit with the amounts of liquid, adding a tad more water and buttermilk.  I believe the brand of flour and bake time is going to be the trick though.  We'll see. 
These pictures are not today's cake, it is still in the oven and starting to smell divine, this is last weeks cake, it didn't stay home like today's is.

I hope you all had a fun time welcoming in the New Year and that you have a blessed and happy year this year coming.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 These are a few pictures of my ' new ' home.  I left the safety of Margaret's house the October before last.  The simple fact being I wanted to live on my own for a little while before I die.   As you can surmise, I have managed to stick around for a little while longer than I thought I would.

 The apartment has changed a bit since I took these pictures.  I will take more recent shots soon so you can see how I have cluttered the place up.

 My sons and daughters moved the few things I had from my home and bought me everything else I would need to be on my own.  Anna purchased this wonderful, high end down sofa along with new stainless steel pots and pans and a ton of cleaning supplies at an auction.  She bought the kitchen gadgets and groceries from the store new!

                                              

My place is a hodgepodge of things I like. I've had the bedroom set for many years.  I've always loved blond bedroom furniture because it reminds me of a favorite aunt that had some in the early 50's.
I still have my little treasures from nature on every flat surface I can find and in my treasure cabinets.  The larger small curio in the corner beside the sofa ( in third photo down  ) belongs to Sophia and Cohen, my grandchildren, and will go back to them soon.  They have a new home and room for it now.  I have posted about our treasures before.  You might want to check out previous posts to see better pictures and get a little history of our treasure hunting adventures and serendipitous finds. 

You know, I really like President Trump and I am very pleased he is Our President. For me, the only downside to his being elected is I now worry about him a lot. I worry about his administration and his family too.  He is doing what no other president or politician has ever done before.  He is cleaning house.  Many, many people are scrambling to hide themselves and their dirty deeds but there simply are not enough rocks for them to hide under.  In consequence of this, they are picking up the stones they cannot squeeze under and hurling them at their pursuers. I do believe the Clinton's or the Democratic Party would murder Our President and any member of his team and family if they could.  I pray the Obama-Clinton machine or some liberal fanatic does not decide to " save the world ".  The Clinton's murderous greed and rage have born nothing but the destruction of lives in every sense.  Those they do not physically kill they try to murder with words.     
Please pray daily for President Trump, his workers, our righteous politicians, the members of the truth affirming press, our military, and their families.  It is only through the strength of grace and the real protection of the angels of God and his saints that our nation can be saved and prosper.  The way of courage and strength is through acts of righteous men doing God's will.   

 

Google has informed me that my blog will be removed if I do not use it before the new year.  It seems I have once again neglected it for too long..I,m not even going to say I will not be so lax again for  I have not been true to my previous promise not to neglect my blog..I am greedy enough not to want to loose this site so I will post today with good intentions to do so again very soon.  There has been plenty of news to relay I've just neglected to do so. .

For the first time in many years all of the Thomas siblings were together again.   It was a wonderful experience.  The above picture was taken in Sept., 2016 in Paris, Texas.  The picture below was made while we lived on Great Lakes Naval Base in Ill. in the late 1950's, probably 1957 or '58.  (I copied the picture from an album page, hence, the star and background page pattern.) 

I'm Back !

I would say I am speechless but, obviously not.  I am almost mute with excitement though.  My brother, Leo, has given me a laptop which I am using at this very moment!  I can now blog and share my life with you all and, of course, with " Big Brother " again.  As soon as I am able to figure out how to transfer photos from my camera I will do so.  I am sure my daughter, Anna, will be most willing to try to educate me on the workings of this wonderful machine.  I will be back very soon. 

Hello Again!

I have moved and there have been many changes and challenges since my last post.  I am still vertical, most of the time, so that is a good thing.  The news is not all rosey though. Since my move was into a senior housing community I was forced to re-home two of my pets.   It has been a grievous process, to say the least. I had to find a new family for Cyrus and was able to do so under very serendipitous conditions through Jane Doe  and  Cyrus'  veterinarian.
Since I haven't access to the Internet at this time my posts are very limited. I do not want this blog to die so I am going to post as I am able until I can bring it back to life and share my life with you all.  I will try to work something out so we can catch up soon. Until then know you are not forgotten.

A beautiful girl with flowers in her hair...

A relaxed interlude rocking on the porch..

The crab apple tree is in bloom again, alive with the sweet scent of her blossoms and loud with the buzz of honey bees in flight.  

Climbing trees

SPRING HAS ARRIVED.