Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady

Thought for the day: In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. [Albert Schweitzer]

Hi-ya. How the heck are ya? Me? I am fan-freaking-tastic!

It's no secret that my inner fire took a bit of a hit when Mike died. Y'all know exactly what I'm talking about, because you've probably experienced similar low spots in your lives. Bottom line, I thought my life was over, too.

I was wrong.

Man, was I ever wrong. 

Enter Larry... that person who rekindled my inner spirit. 

I'm a lot of things, but I'm no fool. On 2/22/22... at 2:22... I married this fantabulous man under a big ol' oak tree in our back yard.

It is no exaggeration to say our joy is even bigger than that tree.

Some of you have asked how we met. Well, we actually met more than 20 years ago, when he, Mike and I all belonged to the same amateur radio club. We all got along famously and shared lots of laughs and conversations together back then, but the real story begins when he sent me a private message via Facebook last May 3. He'd been widowed for nine years and had recently moved back into the area and wanted to see if I'd like to chat on the radio sometime. 

After exchanging a few messages, I agreed to talk on the phone the next day. Oh, we did. We talked... and laughed... for more than two hours. Then we went out to lunch on the 5th... the first time we'd seen each other face-to-face since 2003 or so. From the time I opened the front door and we stood there grinning mirror image grins at each other through the screen door, I was a goner. 

Can you say... instant connection?

 It is inexplicable how much alike we are. I swear, he's a male ME. (Or since he's older, maybe I'm a female HIM.) No matter. We can... and DO... talk about anything and everything. We can... and DO... share the same kind of sense of humor that keeps us on our toes and laughing. Somehow, this wizard of a man sees what's in my heart and knows what I want without me breathing a word about it... sometimes, before I even realize I want it. Then he moves heaven and earth to make whatever I want a reality. It's unbelievable! We spoil each other rotten, have boatloads of fun every day... and every day, we thank our lucky stars that we found each other. That we rescued each other and fanned each other's inner flames and turned them into a conflagration, (A slight exaggeration... our indigestion isn't all that bad...)

Yes. I am lucky. Very very lucky. And I know it.

So is he. (Hey! What am I... chopped liver? HA)

So anyhow, our wedding was low-key, stress-free., and joyous. In other words... perfect. My wonderful son-in-law even wore his kilt for me! WooHOO. And the weather? Perfect. The day was perfect in every way.

As you can see, I wore purple. One of my friends asked me if I was gonna wear white, and I told her no. As Mae West said, I used to be Snow White, but I drifted. So purple seemed more fitting. My mother's favorite poem was When I am Old, I Will Wear Purple. I'm old. We both like purple. So there ya go! 

Too bad you couldn't be there. Gee, if only there were a way to make it feel like you'd been there to share it with us, ya know? What could that be... what could that be? Hmmm, how about an unedited video? Think that'd do the trick? Enjoy. Or not. No skin off my nose either way. HA

The healthiest response to life is joy. [Deepak Chopra]

Man, am I HEALTHY!!! [me]

I believe laughter is a language of God and that we can all live happily ever laughter. [Yakov Smirnoff]

So far, so good! [me] Life is good.

                               Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

 

A New Year and a New Life

 Thought for the day: It is utterly false and cruelly arbitrary to put all the play and learning into childhood, all the work into middle age, and all the regrets into old age. [Margaret Mead]

Hi, guys. Remember me? I sure remember you.

Mea culpa.

I know. I've been the world's absolute worst at keeping in touch, but in my defense, Margaret Mead was absolutely right...

I may be o-l-d, but there is zero room in my life for regret, because I'm too darned busy squeezing every drop of joy from each day, and that means lots and lots of playing and learning.

And it's been A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I'm pretty sure I even smile in my sleep.

But alas ...writing is one of those things that, at least for now, has fallen by the wayside.And that includes blogging. But I haven't forgotten you guys, and I hope you haven't forgotten me yet.

image courtesy of Bored Panda

So here I am... just peeking in to ask you

HOW THE HECK ARE YOU DOING??? 

It seems like there's been one after another after another Covid outbreak... maybe in your country, your state, your city... and it makes me think about you guys and worry about your welfare. Australia, in particular, has been sweltering under unbearably high temperatures, and I can't help but wonder how the lovelies Sue and Elsie are doing. So I'm here to check on you. And to fill you in on what's happening with me.

image courtesy of Bored Panda

Me?

I'm cooooool.

Ridiculously laid-back.

Unbelievably happy.

See? Don't I look happy? (And hey! Short hair now!)

That's 'cause I AM happy.

Last summer, Larry took me to visit some of the important people in my life. This is my niece/goddaughter, who lives in Maryland. We also spent a few days with my cousin at her beach house in Delaware. Wow, if THAT wasn't something! She and I went swimming at the very same place we used to swim as kids. (I must confess: I ACTED like a kid, too. Got swamped in the waves so many times, the lifeguards kept me under special surveillance, I'm sure.) It was SOOOOO much fun! 

Check out these pics of my cousin and me:

 

This was taken in about 1953 or so.

 

the summer of '65

last summer

 

This is the same cousin who was gonna travel to Italy with me. Alas, Covid said otherwise. Not sure if or when we'll get to take that trip, but it was beyond awesome to spend time together at the beach again. We may be old, but we haven't changed in the ways that matter. It was as though no time had passed...

We've already been to AL several times to visit my older son and his family and to FL to visit Larry's daughter and my younger son and his crew.  We've also visited with my brother and his sister. Wherever I wanta go, whatever I wanta do... somehow, Larry makes it happen. Even the things I don't say out loud. It's as though he sees inside my heart. As my cousin told me, "Everybody needs a Larry." And I thank my lucky stars I've got mine.

When we're home, we spend a few hours every day enjoying this...

Yes, the felt IS blue!

We even learned how to play a (smaller-sized) version of snooker, which is a lot of fun, albeit a tad annoying at the beginning of each rack, when you have to play with finesse and strategy. (I just wanta make balls! HA)  Right now, we're hooked on shooting straight pool. 

We've also been playing every kind of game imaginable. Even have a tabletop ice hockey game, which is a whole lot more fun that I expected. 

We've been learning a lot of stuff, too. But you don't wanta hear all that. Besides, there's something ELSE I want to tell you. 

Something reeeeeeally cool. And unbelievable.

Ohmigod, I'm getting married!!!

Really! This sassy old broad, who thought my world ended when my husband died, is so happy, it's a wonder my heart doesn't explode and send a shower of sheer sparkling joy all over the world. The youthful bloom of first love is fabulous, but I abso-doggone-lutely guarantee that love at my age is even better. I promise you.

Get this... we're gonna take the plunge on 2/22/22... at 2:22, of course. How cool is THAT? Oh yeah... that date happens to fall on a TWOS-day. HA! Dontcha love it? As my daughter Sunshine said, "That's TWO-bular!" Hmmm, the jury's out as to whether or  not I should wear a tutu... 

image courtesy of Bored Panda

No promises, but I'm gonna try not to be such a stinker about keeping in touch. To those of you who've contacted me in one way or another over the past six months, I thank you. Even though I was a major butthead about responding, your efforts were truly appreciated. 

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: 

You guys rock!

 

 

 

 

                                Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

   

                                                                

image courtesy of Bored Panda

That last picture has absolutely nothing to do with this post whatsoever. I just thought it was funny. Gives a whole new meaning to "bubble butt."

Understanding Veterans

Thought for the day:  The willingness with which our young people serve our country shall be directly proportional to the way they perceive our nation and how it treats our veterans. [George Washington]

Today is Veterans Day, a day devoted to honoring the men and women who have served in the military. These dedicated  people put their civilian lives on hold, and if need be, put their lives on the line to defend our way of life. They selflessly personify the meaning of words like honor, duty, and sacrifice.

Today, there'll be a smattering of small-scale parades throughout the country in their honor, and some restaurants will be offering them free meals. Then tomorrow, it'll be back to business as usual. For civilians. Not so much for many veterans. Shutting off the experiences of military duty, especially for those who experience combat, is much more difficult than most civilians realize.

The following was originally posted for Veterans Day in 2011 as We Owe Them. With some editing, here it is again. Hopefully, it will help promote better empathy for our veterans.

To all of you veterans....Thank you.

To those who died, honor and eternal rest; to those still in bondage, remembrance and hope; to those who returned, gratitude and peace. [engraved on the Illinois Vietnam Veterans memorial]

*****************

Thought for the day:  As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.   [John F. Kennedy]

It's  Veterans Day, and although this day was set aside to honor all veterans, I'd like to dedicate this post to our combat veterans, in particular. There's a definite disconnect between those who fight our wars and those of us who remain safely at home. This is nothing new, but it's still troubling. The reality of war is such that when soldiers in Vietnam talked about returning home, they referred to it as going back to the world. And when they did come home, their faces often wore a bone-chilling thousand yard stare. That stony expression didn't go away overnight, either; in many cases, it didn't go away for decades. If at all. I can say from experience that it took twenty years... twenty years... before my husband started resembling the easy-going man he was before he went to Vietnam.

In earlier wars, the lengthy ride home via ship allowed time for decompression. Not a lot, and certainly not enough, but more than our soldiers coming home from Nam got, and more than our soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan get. One day, our soldiers are in a stress-filled war zone, and the next, they're sitting around the family table, shell-shocked, asking someone to please pass the eff-ing potatoes. (Yep, also from experience...)

And yet, many of us treat our soldiers as though they should simply put the war behind them. Get over it. 

It isn't that simple. Psychiatrist Jonathan Shay, author of Odysseus in America, describes what our returning soldiers face as follows:  In combat, you have to shut down those emotions that do not directly serve survival. So sweetness, the gentler forms of humor, grief --- all shut down. And this is profoundly disconcerting to families when a soldier comes back, and he seems to be made out of ice. It's not that he is irrevocably and permanently incapable of feeling anything. It's that this adaptation of shutting down those emotions that don't directly serve survival in combat is persisting. 

Registered nurse Alison L. Crane, a former Captain and mental health observer-trainer for the 7302 Medical Training Support Battalion, is all too familiar with the difficulties veterans face when trying to re-assimilate into civilian life. In 2007, in an attempt to help civilians better understand our returning soldiers. she produced a startling photographic essay, which I'm pleased to share with you now. Our veterans deserve not only our respect and appreciation, but our understanding, as well. Ms. Crane's photographic essay is called

                                                  WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

 When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard to listen to his son whine about being bored.

                              ... to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.

           ... to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.

                        ... to be understanding when a coworker complains about a bad night's sleep.

                                        ... to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.

                           ... to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.

                     ... to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.

   ... to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

                      ... to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.

          ... to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.

             ... to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.

                                      ... to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.

             ... to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.

               ... to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.

                                                The only thing harder than being a soldier

                                                                      is loving one.

And when you meet one of our returning soldiers, please remember what they've been through, and show them compassion and tolerance.  [Pictures and text courtesy of Alison Crane]

A very special thank you to all our veterans out there. For all you non-vets, with an estimated 24.9 million veterans in the country, it should be fairly easy to find one to thank. God knows, they've earned it. How about making it a point to hug a vet today?

Congress should stop treating veterans like they're asking for a handout when it comes to the benefits they were promised, and they should realize that, were it not for these veterans, there would be nothing to hand out.   [ Nick Lampson -former Texas Congressman]

Let's end on a feel-good note, shall we? How about a video of soldiers being welcomed home by their four-legged best friends... HAPPINESS personified.

                                     Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

The Power of One

Thought for the day:  Autumn is a second spring, when every leaf is a flower. [Albert Camus]

It was darned near ninety degrees here yesterday. Not exactly autumn-like weather, but wonderfully cool weather is supposed to be arriving within the next couple of days. We're definitely ready for it. We're ready to smell the musky scents of autumn, and to feel a delicious crispness in the morning air... and would cherish the sight of brilliant leaves upon the trees.

Maybe next year?

With the long hot... and very dry... summer we've had... and which doesn't seem to want to go away... the prevalent colors around here so far this fall are green and brown.

BUT... on Wednesday, while making my usual Old Lady Discount Day trek to the grocery store, I spotted something on the side of the road that filled my heart with joy.

Surrounded by a bunch of grim-looking brown-leafed trees stood one defiant tree, gloriously attired in its very best fall finery. This single fiery-leafed tree refused to follow the crowd, and that one tree made me smile. Made me happy. I dare say, it affected everyone else who saw it the same way.

Autumn... the year's last loveliest smile. [William Cullen Bryant]

Seeing the beauty of that one tree was like getting an uplifting smile from Mother Nature.

Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting, and autumn a mosaic of them all. [Stanley Horowitz]

I think there's a lesson in that one tree. I think each one of us can make a positive difference, too. No matter how discouraging things may seem to be, we each have the power to defy the grim faces around us, and to put on our very best finery... a smile.

Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important. [Janet Lane]

                                             One tree can start a forest;
                                             One smile can begin a friendship;
                                             One hand can lift a soul;
                                             One word can frame the goal;
                                             One candle can wipe out darkness;
                                             One laugh can conquer gloom;
                                             One hope can raise your spirits;
                                             One touch can show you care;
                                             One life can make the difference;
                                             Be that one today.   [B.J Gallagher]

 

Be the reason someone smiles today. Making someone smile may not change the world, but it may change that person's world. It may be the only sunshine he sees all day.

                        Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

... Clap Your Hands!

Thought for the day:  It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness. [Charles Spurgeon]

[morguefile]

Know what today... March 20... is? International Day of Happiness! How cool is that? Don't feel bad if you didn't know about it, though, because it's fairly new. This is only its third year, since the United Nations General Assembly established it in the summer of 2012. (Following Bhutan's initiative)

Its purpose? To recognize the relevance of happiness, and to promote it as a universal goal and aspiration in the lives of human beings around the world. 

So what better topic to talk about today than (ta DA!) happiness?

[wikipedia]

What's happiness to you? To me, it's more a state of mind than anything. An attitude.

Most people are as happy as they make up their minds to be.  [Abraham Lincoln]

Have you ever known people who hang their personal happiness on some future event... like when I get married... when the kids go to school... when I graduate... get that promotion... publish that book... retire... and on and on. What if those things never happen? Wouldn't it make more sense to work on being happy with right now?

Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling. [Margaret Lee Runbeck]

[seniorark]

Does it require a bunch of money to achieve happiness? Depends on who you ask.

What's the use of happiness? It can't buy you money.  [Henny Youngman]

People who say that money can't buy happiness just don't know where to shop.  [Kathy Lette]

Money doesn't make you happy. I now have fifty million dollars, but I was just as happy when I only had forty-eight.  [Arnold Schwartzenegger]

[morguefile]

Do you need stuff to make you happy? Fancy cars? Jewels, furs, designer clothes, around-the-world trips?

True happiness cannot be found in something or some person, because as everything changes, that level of happiness is bound to be temporary.  [Sharon Salzberg]

[morguefile]

After years of happiness research, one thing in particular has proven to be fundamentally important to achieving a sense of well-being and happiness: connections to other people.

Friends. In-person friends, Internet friends, on the radio friends... doesn't matter. Just a connection to other people. Connections to other people can diminish our sorrows... and multiply our joys

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.  [Buddha]

[morguefile]

I am happy. On just about any given day, I am disgustingly happy. Matter of fact, sometimes it makes me feel guilty: Is it horrid to be happy when so many are so sad? Is it heartless to have peace inside when war's all some have had? (start of one of my poems in Old Broads Waxing Poetic) Is it pathologically nuts to be happy when there are so many problems in the world? I say NO. It'd be much worse not to seize and appreciate each day. (It ain't gonna be here tomorrow!)

Be happy for this moment. This is your life.  [Omar Khayyam]

[morguefile]

I am determined to be cheerful and happy in whatever situation I may find myself. For I have learned that the greater part of our misery or unhappiness is determined not by our circumstances but by our disposition.  [Martha Washington]

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  [Dalai Lama]

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is just beyond your grasp, but which is you sit down quietly, may alight upon you. [Nathaniel Hawthorne]

I'm gonna do something I haven't done in a while. Tell you a story. It's a story I recently read on the blog of the loverly L.D. Masterson, and with a wee bit of alteration, here's my version:

Once upon a time, a woman looked into the mirror and saw she only had three hairs on her head. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'I can braid them.'

And so she did. It was good, and she enjoyed a very happy day.

The next day, she only had two hairs left on her head. 'Oh, well,' she thought. 'I can part my hair down the middle.'

And so she did. It was good, and she enjoyed a very happy day.

The next day, there was one lonely hair left on her head. 'Oh well,' she thought. 'I can wear a pony tail.'

And so she did. It was good, and she enjoyed a very happy day.

The next day, she had no hair left at all. She smiled at her reflection, and thought, ' YAY! I don't have to fix my hair today!'

And she enjoyed a very happy day.
*****************

It's all about attitude. Being happy doesn't mean your life is perfect; it means you've learned how  to appreciate all the wonderful things you do have, and how to look beyond the imperfections.

*** Mysteries for Myeloma--- Here's a heads-up on a way you can do some good simply by buying a book. (Or as many books as you'd like!) On March 22, all proceeds from the sales of author Nancy Lynn Jarvis's books will be going directly to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. You can find out more about her books via her Amazon author's page... here. And you can find more background info about this worthwhile fund-raising effort on the lovely Yolanda Renee's blog.

                                                      Happy Happiness Day, y'all!

                                  Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

[courtesy of the blog  of the lovely Pixel Peeper] 

Inspired by Happiness

Thought for the day:  When I was five years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down "happy." They told me I didn't understand the assignment, and I told them they didn't understand life.  [John Lennon}

[wikipedia]

John Lennon certainly couldn't have said the former King of Bhutan didn't understand life. That's the king's quote about Gross National Happiness there to the left. Pretty astounding, isn't it? And in that beautiful Himalayan country, the last Buddhist kingdom in the world, happiness is still the measure of success. Dontcha love it?

I first heard about Bhutan's
 happiness quotient from some amateur radio friends who visited there on a DX-pedition, and then gave numerous presentations about their experiences when they returned to the States. I found the attitude about happiness to be inspirational when they first told us about it, and I still do. How deliciously ironic, then, that a Bhutanese blogger recently gave ME a blogging award... for being inspirational. (He obviously missed some of my posts... HA!) Allow me to introduce you to this fine, obviously discerning (HA!) young man.  Dumcho is a thoughtful, intelligent... and I dare say, happy... physics teacher, and I'll bet he'd love it if y'all would visit his blog and say hello. Again, thank you, Dumcho. I really do appreciate it.

I only have to fulfill a few requirements. Show the award to y'all. (Check!) Notify the person who gave it to me. (Check!) Tell you guys seven things about myself. (Wilco, in just a sec.) And finally, nominate, link, and notify fifteen other bloggers.

Um, I'm gonna stray from the last requirement. I already know how an awful lot of you feel about blogging awards, so I won't put any of you in the position of refusing yet another one. Besides, how in the world could I possibly limit the very inspiring description to only fifteen of you? Impossible! In your own way, each of you inspire me. So let's do it this way. If you're willing to accept this award, and wanta do a post about it, go for it! If you'd rather not, I understand, but waaaait a second: you don't get off that easily. How about telling me at least one new thing about yourself in the comments? Please? (It'd make me happy...)

                                        Almost as happy as this awesomely  happy Bhutan video

Okay, stop tapping your toes now. It's time to learn seven fun facts about me. Ready?

[morguefile]

1.  The poor widdle wasp was helplessly trapped in a mud puddle, alive, but just barely; and his movements, feeble and ineffective. So I did what seemed like a great idea to my 8-year-old mind. Scooped him out of the water, cradled him in the palm of my hand, and gently blew on him to dry his fragile wings. Worked, too. Before he flew away, I'd like to say he thanked me somehow. I'd like to say he did an intricate little butt-wiggling wasp dance just for me, but he actually did exactly what wasps are wont to do. The little ingrate stung me. It didn't make me regret helping him, but it did teach me a valuable lesson: Do whatever good you can in life, but be prepared to receive the occasional sting.

[morguefile]

2. A friend and I broke my parents' bed by jumping on it. She (the chicken!) headed for the back door, and I headed to the basement to find some nails. The monsters I hammered into that bed frame were four inches long or better, and I used a mess of them, too. Fixed that bed but good. At least, that's what I thought. In the middle of the night, a loud KABOOM came from my parents' bedroom. When the cursing started, I didn't exactly wet myself, but I did lay in my bed with eyes wide and heart pounding, saying my we-who-are-to-die prayers. But ...  nothing happened. Even when they discovered those ridiculously over-sized nails, they never ever suspected me. Years later, I finally told them the truth. I was married, had a kid, and figured the statute of limitations should have me in the clear by then. Besides, I was moving seven hundred miles away the next day.

3. For our high school drama class, two friends and I performed You Gotta Get a Gimmick. Once. When we told our teacher what we were planning, he asked us to do our routine for him after school. So our one and only audience was Mr. Adams and a small handful of fellow students. We got an enthusiastic response, but our teacher decided it wasn't appropriate for us to do. Too bad. We were reeeeeally funny. Not familiar with this song? It's from the Broadway musical Gypsy. (I was the gal who "did it with a switch.")

Youtube videos are being difficult, so here's another link:  You Gotta Have a Gimmick...

4. The first time I flew in an airplane was a flight all the way from Baltimore to Chicago to Honolulu. After we left Chicago, the plane got caught in such horrific turbulence, it felt like we were on an airborne roller coaster ride or free-falling elevator. How bad was it? Even one of the stewardesses was barfing. Me? I kept crocheting. Because I had no point of reference, I didn't realize the flight was so awful. Besides, Smarticus had been in Vietnam for nine months at that point, and we were meeting for R&R. Short of the plane falling apart, it was all good to me.

[morguefile]

5.. I used to be an avid bowler, and at one time, bowled on three leagues every week, two handicapped, and one scratch. Best game I ever rolled was a 261, but I blew the game by opening in the tenth frame. Only needed a mediocre score in the third game that night to break my first 600 series, but I didn't do it. Barely managed to break a hundred. That's me ...  Mrs. Consistent. One interesting lesson I gleaned from bowling, though. My average was always higher in the scratch league than it was in the handicapped ones. Perhaps it's human nature to rise to the level of one's competition? Or maybe if we expect more of ourselves, we're more likely to deliver.

6. For my fortieth birthday, a bunch of our fabulous friends pooled their money to treat me to a glamour make-over with Liz Claibourne. Yeah, I know, right? What awesome friends! Anyway, this make-over included a hair cut and style, massage, manicure, facial and make-up, the whole works. Even got a fancy schmancy lunch, complete with a flower and glass of wine. Talk about pampered! When the overhaul was complete, I barely recognized myself. The areas above my eyes and upper lip were blood red and sore as all get-out, thanks to the oh-so-delightful waxing Ms. Claibourne recommended. (Never, never, NEVER again!) Looked like the make-up had been smeared on with a trowel, but hey! It was different! The hairdo was a bit fussier than my usual  run-a-comb-through-it-and-go style, and it was as stiff and hard as a motorcycle helmet. But again, different. Before I left, the people who'd worked so hard on me all day wanted to know where I was going that night to show off my new look. To tell the truth, I'm not sure they believed me, but what can I say? It was bowling night.

[morguefile]

 7.  We went to the horse races once. It was at Timonium, Maryland, and the we was my husband, parents, mother-in-law, aunt, cousin, two sons, and me. Through sheer dumb luck, I won enough cash to cover food and drinks for all of us, with money to spare. I actually picked the first place horses for all three races in the trifecta, too, but didn't know enough to bet them all at once. I made each bet individually. Had I bet them all at the same time, I would've won a ton of money. Because I kept picking winners, my father bet my pick in one of the races. The horse came in dead last.



There ya have it. Not terribly inspiring, I'm afraid, but I hope you enjoyed them, nonetheless. Tell ya what. I'll even throw in a bonus fun fact. (shhhhh) Smarticus had to marry me, because he lost a game of pool with my father. True story. The deal was, the loser had to keep me. (Real flattering, right?)  I can only hope my dear husband, after running the table, intentionally blew his shot on the eight ball...

                                      Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

NOTE: The header picture, which comes from good ol' Morguefile, depicts some prayer flags found in Bhutan.

The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another's, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises. [Leo Buscaglia]

Try to be a rainbow in someone's cloud.  [Maya Angelou]

Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.  [Groucho Marx]

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