Daily Expressions..

Fields of sunflowers...

2009-08-25T07:49:00.004-04:00

Walking through a field of sun flowers up by Traverse City....the skys were so blue and the flowers where so majestic! Made me feel smal....my favorite flower of all. The sunflower! Hugs TJ

More upper Michigan Photos...breath taking!!!

Oh lucky me here we go again...

2009-08-07T14:25:00.003-04:00

Emily 7/2009

I am being punished again! Aaron has pulled his children from me until I see the errors of my ways!
I have finally after 10 long years put my foot down.

Son or not! He is fired!
Took off another month with no notice or phone call...left us all hanging!

I have put the challenge out there for him, we pay you $15.00 an hour working or not! Find some one else who will put up with your shit! I am done.
I have cried for days but it had to be done.

He needs to grow his azz up! 33 years old Get your own life!
Sad I am....but somewhere it had to stop! Spoiled brat!!

Come see me when you have respect! Nuff said~ I will dearly miss my babies! Dearly..but he was the one who made the decision not me...
Hugs TJ

Hope all is great for you!

2009-07-14T11:55:00.004-04:00

Enjoying my summer! I look differently at so many things now as I walk again down the nature of the beast's corridors. I believe Karey has a chance for years ahead, Jim I fear will never make it. Brain cancer is a terrible in such a way that you deal with great loss in the normal mental works of each and everyday...I cherish summers bounties!
with love, TJ

My Journal vacation...

2009-06-02T22:10:00.002-04:00

To all my wonderful friends.... I have ben so busy. Loving each and everyday! Time waits for no one...this I have learned from dying friends.
I admit I am a bit of a stranger but I am so more aware of the moments that pass so quickly! I have to be on my PC for work...and I am trying to do just what little I have to do and then off I go! I am sure my time will roll around when I walk back into my journal and talk as if I could never stop...but for now I just need to breath. No moments for reflection...just breath and walk forward. Love to all....TJ

She's moody and graceful

2009-04-29T09:35:00.003-04:00

Funny how the change in seasons make such a huge impact on my well being. I love changes in weather.
Not to much else really changes in my life which is a wonderful thing since I have spent so many years trying to get to this place. Maybe this is why weather changes make such a diiference.

Spring is NOT One of my favorites, it's 4th as a matter of fact. I do however appreciated all that happens with the arrival of Spring.

Spring has a voice all of her own.
She is much like a wake up call after a long sleep or perhaps a green light at an intersection. She says go...start, move!

She's moody and graceful.
She gives and she takes.
She is the earth housekeeper, cleasing and renewing after the other seasons.

Yup, Spring is ok but ya can never trust her.
Laughing...
I am off to get some work done.
I can not expect to draw my pitful little paycheck for nothing...must at least look as if I am interested.
Work is over rated!

Singing...

2009-04-24T17:05:00.004-04:00

All I can say is WOW!

It is so beautiful today!

You know it was hard winter when I walk out back see one dead pine tree, the carcass of a deer and alot of fallen old branches!

Frogs singing, birds chasing each other for those Spring like reasons that birds do ..and I am dragging deck furinture out!
We never put the grill up, we cook out all seasons.

We even had a "DRIVE BY BARKING" ya know when someone drives by your house and the dog hanging out the window barks...yup it is summer!

Wishing everyone the best of eva!
TJ

Jim Sabo of Pine Hollow Estates, Grand Blanc Mi. screws local service people over and over again!

2009-04-22T13:25:00.009-04:00

How do you like that!
When win the judgement in court but will not receive payment due to that fact that this fancy developer is "UNCOLLECTABLE"!

Now we can not do a damn thing from here but I will do this...
I will link this blog entry to his web page.

JIM SABO, Grand Blanc Michigan, developer of Pine Hollow Estates built his 3 corps on the backs of others and feels no remorse not to pay should he decide not to.
He may pay you for years and gain your confidence but once that happens and you let him run a talley of invoices due ...YOU ARE FUCKED!

There I said and I feel much better for doing so...now to link this baby up!
More Links to lock up with
I am not one to let my toes be stomped and not scream!
I am writing White House on line...{{{ again}}} damn laws that protect the rich!

Honoring tax day!

2009-04-16T22:19:00.001-04:00

We need a lution
pu pah pa da pah
[ arms extended towards floor sway from left to right]
The man with solution
pu pah pa da pah
[ arms extended towards floor sway from left to right]
Our booties are poor
cain't take no mor...
pu pah pa da pah
Tax day today
we say "Hey Hoe -Noooooooo Way!"
pu pah pa da pah
[pulling cap down around ears with both hands]

whoopsie I am just rappin!
about all dis taxin!

Okay I admit it is a slow day at work and I have to much time on my hands...{{ laughing}} wha? Ya don't think I make stage!

OMG!

2009-04-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

Blind as a bat....I NEED glasses!

Love is...

2009-04-15T09:06:00.000-04:00

Feelings in color
blues, yellows and reds
qualia as an evening sky.

From raging and tender
from the past to present
intense sometimes ineffable.

Love is an experience
a passion or flirt
from which we grow.

TJ

My crutch - the mother

2009-04-14T09:17:00.003-04:00

Going to Petosky for the weekend! Odawa to be exact...

Me and mom, mother and I...how ever I say it , it still says fun.

Oh but we have a twist, no pun intended.
She goes bearing her weight on a single crutch. Yup, an ol' knee injury. Hands and knees scrubbing floors I assume. I am sure that will be the story...back in the day before Swiffer, women went down on her hands and knees to scrub the floors. Scrubbing and shinning until you can eat of them. In all seriousness she will be having surgery soon and she wants to get those last miles out of her knee before she is laid up.

I told ya so...
Listening to the morning news -a pilots dies once he lands the plane.
The phone has rang three times to enlighten me.
My fear of flying is real...but I do it, sucking it up and under the influence of a major drug. Xanax [2] to be exact and trust me I could fly the plane with such chemical confidence under my belt.

Not alot else going on...quiet on the home front.
Sitting patiently waiting for hell to cut loose with spring start ups and of course the hubster sits 24/7 in his boat waiting...I think he plans to make a break for Ohio this Sunday with his buddies.
He has all his lures, colors, beads and bobbles in line.
The granddaughters thought he was making bracelet's...
Beer cooler fixed from last season...and his over nightie packed.

Mean while I am humming...

Easter Weekend...

2009-04-10T11:39:00.002-04:00

Nick, Emily and Lauren have come to visit.
Keeping them entertained isn't to hard...
The park, hot tub- bath tub all the same to grama, movies and games.

The energy they have is so wasted, they could pass some it along to ME!

How much does your best friend trust you?

2009-04-07T15:54:00.009-04:00

How much do you trust your best friend?

My friend, Kathy who lives next door is in Texas for a month.
Before she left she asked if I would help her with some remodeling...sure I love this-right up my alley.

Before she left we went to look so she could show me her likes and dislikes.
I have had an open checkbook, a very nice budget and this is what I have done...
tomorrow I pick her up at the airport!
I am dying to see her face!!

Wished the refrig and stove was here today but promised tomorrow.
All old appliances are going to the women's shelter for battered women.
They will be picked up tomorrow...

The smell of the new cabinets and floors are to die for...her kitchen and down stairs laundry/bathroom have not been touched since 1972.

I have had a ball!! She is broke...for that project anyways.

I think the contract guys did a GREAT job! But truthfully I have seen enough ASS CRACK to last me a while...

Catch a ride...

2009-04-06T13:41:00.003-04:00

When your creator calls…

Posture tall
Gather your strength
Turn your face
Forward into the winds.

Breathe deeply
Filling your lungs
Find courage
Hidden in fear.

Spread your wings
Scream a silent cry
Eyes wide open
Fall into a glide.

Pass over gray clouds
You are free to go
In your last moment
Catch a ride on a rainbow.

[writing in bed watching tv last night]

My mind is filled with emotions.
I am sure it is because of the life's events that dominates at this time.

I am waiting for sunshine, I know it will pick me up.

Celebrating ...Hope!

2009-04-04T23:21:00.006-04:00

Celebrating... for Sunday Scribbling

Hope

Hope for our retirees that live from hand to mouth...
Hope for our sick that their is a cure with stem cell research...
Hope that they will beat the aggressive cells of cancer...
Hope that all children and elders can have health care...
Hope that we can live in a democracy....
Hope that we stop leaning towards socialism...
Hope that we stop killing our yard to be green and perfect...
Hope we can build the cars we drive...
Hope that we can stop wasting household energy...
Hope we can all eat organic...
Hope that we can get drugs under control...
Hope that we can get guns out of the hands of criminals...
Hope that we can find homes for OUR unwanted children...
Hope to create jobs for our youth...
Hope to get greed under control in our economy....

I hope we can celebrate the next years with our new government.
I am hopeful....

Why Write?

2009-04-03T22:47:00.008-04:00

Talking with my mom today....she comments on so much of all that I do is self taught, I think of it as experience of interest.

I have been writing all my life. Since I was young I left notes for expressing my perceptions. It was not only a way for me to reach out to be understood but also a measure in words for me to understand more about myself.

I was that girl who curled up on the end of her bed writing poems....
That teenager who wrote during history class about everything BUT history...
That young women who wrote letters to friends and family while far from home...
The mother who wrote to her sons and put it under their pillows and in their lunch...
and now I blog.

Words fill voids, words are independent expressions.
I named this blog Expressions for that reason.
Writing has deeper roots for me then promise.

Weekend Warriors..Fashion Wars

2009-04-03T21:31:00.002-04:00

Tammy, we all know her as The Daily Warrior and I have been on the phone just chatting and playing facebook games together.
I am so happy to be in her back pocket...Thanks kiddo!!
What fun!

You make me feel like shit...oh well.

2009-04-03T09:00:00.007-04:00

Every year we go through what has become a ritual, he calls and asks us to carry his bills for the month of April until we are all back to work.
Their bills are small in comparison but that really isn't the point.

This year I said "NO, I just can not do it son."
I tried to explain more how it makes me feel to be put in such a position more so then the why I can not float them a loan.

It makes me feel terrible.
His last words to me was "well I guess I will have to sell my ass on a street corner."
My last words were "Fine, just stay the hell off my corner!"

It isn't always so easy...oh well I hope I am doing him a favor but I am sure it wouldn't appear that way to him right now.
He can not spend his entire life in the hole...he has a family to think of.

They are both able to work...I will just have to keep reminding myself.
34 years and still not weaned from my breast and now with a family.
Sometimes I feel like an ol' hamster!

My spotlight on Writer's Corner..thank you for the Inspiration

2009-04-01T08:20:00.003-04:00

What a wonderful compliment, thank you.
You can see it here.
Writer's corner.

Inspiration
Just when you need a push something or someone always seems to come along giving you a small push of support to help you along your way.

Wishing everyone green lights and blue skys.

The conflicker worm?

2009-03-31T08:22:00.004-04:00

I get it! I totally understand the messages that have been clubbing me over the head for these past two months. I get it so much that I wake each morning knowing and saying quietly to myself as I walk downstairs for the first cup of coffee.

Life is fragile!

I am back to work and have a huge load of information that has to be transferred into another program we are using this year. Time consuming and extremely boring but
has to be done...
Being self-employed requires a major amount of focus for keeping your eye on the prize, not to mention self discipline.

So what is new!
The Conficker worm is a computer worm that can infect your computer and spread itself to other computers across a network automatically, without human interaction.
Protect yourself from the Conficker computer worm
Get updated...
Back to work,
G'Day

New additions...changes

2009-03-29T08:58:00.004-04:00

Last year just about the end of summer we cleared some more of the woods out back to claim more space for our backyard.
We spent time adding sprinkler heads, mounds and lots of mulch to some new additions.

I choose 7 new rhododendrons, hostas, coral bells, wild grass and some daiseys.

Now I wait with baited breathe to see if they have made it through these harsh winter months.
Crossing fingers...I was attached to them the moment they went in the ground.

I am leaving just for overnight with my parents. Earl is having his nose reconstructed after his skin cancer has been totally removed with plastic surgery. They will use the cartlige from his ear and skin from his neck.

Mom is on crutches so I figure it is best they have an extra two hands...I am taking my camera.
Ya' just never know...
until tomorrow

Love without ....

2009-03-27T21:55:00.008-04:00

I had breathable armor that looks and feels like normal..
but now my heart breaks...
I feel like a fake, talking dribble that really doen't matter.

This brain cancer that is kicking both our friends ass hurt!
It was a tuff day...

I am a loving friend. I can not do anything but listen...
High-grade gliomas are undifferentiated or anaplastic; these are malignant and carry a worse prognosis.

I am going to loose the two of our best friends and I can only speak words of admiration......

I find myself making my bed everyday. A correction to personal flaws...
What shit really matters?
I am thinking......
I'll paint you a rainbow that reaches so wide,
Your sights and your sorrows will vanish inside,
And deep in the center of each different hue,
A memory fashioned especially for you.
So lift up your eyes, for suspended above,
A rainbow designed by the fingers of love...
I love you so very much.

One step at a time....

A date with the grandkidz

2009-03-26T22:57:00.003-04:00

A date with the grandkidz...
What fun they are...independent thinkers, not a bit shy, slightly indulged and a whole bunch of laughs.
Life is great and I am thankful.

Obama Live Link to White House-Open for Questions

2009-03-26T08:01:00.010-04:00

Your Questions on the Economy

A place to be heard and vote.Here!

So I said......

The White House is open for questions. It is their web site.

We invite you to participate in our community-moderated online town hall. Submit your own question about the economy and vote on submissions from others. We also encourage you to include a link to a video of yourself asking your question (ideally 30 seconds or less), but text submissions are all you need. Come back on Thursday to watch the President answer some of the most popular submissions live at WhiteHouse.gov.

UPDATE: The online town hall will be at 11:30 AM Eastern, the voting will close at 9:30 AM.

They say your first time is the worst....

2009-03-25T22:25:00.008-04:00

"Sure I will go...if you say it is fun well that is what I am all about."
says the Bingo Virgin.

Once out of my Taho along side my friend I couldn't help but noticing the aboundance of McDonalds bags along with totes filled with colorful things.

I stood in the line for the cards only to find out that they come in packages and $20.00 is not an option if you want to play for the entire session.
No, it's more like $38.00 for the beginners bundle.
Oh and you must also have a Dabber for the price of $1.50. I choose a bright purple.
Before the night was over I had purple and other assorted dabs up and down my arm, on my face and even in my hair.

I met two very nice women that sat behind me.
It seems they noticed I had played the orange sheet that had not been called yet.
Everyone else was playing BINGO BALLS,I could not have noticed as I was face planted in my huge orange paper sheet! And just what is the Bingo Balls game?

They loaned me a bright green dabber to play over top of my purple dabberdamned orange sheet.
The balls were coming up on the screen and back to my face plant I went only with the borrowed green dabber.
I went for it again!
Wrong!
The girls loaned me a red dabber and told me not to touch a thing until they gave me instruction to do so...so I waited now with my multi colored dabberdamn sheet and I will admit to a few beads of sweat on my forehead.

I was as tensed up and nervous as a virgin after midnight at all male frat house party.

While I waited I looked around closely for the first time since I sat down.
I was amazed that I was in the pro section filled with mojo lucky charms and as well as a complete fast food buffet.

A cute little sales girl along with what I assumed was one of the pros approached me with the sales of scratch off's for the Bingo Balls. Kindly the elder women gave me a tissue to wipe my face of multi smudged colors of dab while she was laughing.
I knew then that this wasn't any Moose Lodge Bingo, this was the real deal!

Then it started and it was time for my orange already sopping wet from dabs paper sheet of cards.

I made it through the entire evening, never won a dime and felt a touch of shame for the continous shhhhhhhhhhh I did to my friend when she wanted to chatter while the games where going on. We was a table apart, she plays with enough of game sheets to fill an entire table...damn you say? I kid not!

They say your first time is the worst...

I love the Dance of the Daisy

2009-03-25T09:29:00.004-04:00

I love the Dance of a Daisey

as she comes to life gesturing on a

breeze.

Carelessly is her teasing and

withdrawal, moving rhythmically

as if to music.

It is a seasonal ceremony and celebration

of natural openness and optimism.

Photo from my gardens 2007
Poem by Me written for Write Words Writing Club

Repost

Dream Moods

2009-03-24T08:46:00.007-04:00

Together they lay in their lovers nest to tired to touch anything but the remote control and wanting only to watch senseless dribble and share in some conversation.

The week had been long, demands from all directions making for long hours to be filled by both.
Finally the weekend and there was that unspoken promise that no plans were to be made shared by both.

The weather had been exceptionally cooperative through out the workweek and now a gentle rain could be heard through the half cracked window.
The smell of mother earth was a reminder of springs promise for crocus and daffodils.
The night’s sky was dark and fast moving clouds rolled across the quarter moon.
They agreed it to be a perfect night for their peaceful retreat.

Joel watched as Jennifer painted her fingernails, the color polish bottle balanced in between her knees.
Teasing he asked if he was to be next.
Jennifer warned him not to move around and to be still as the balancing act of this task was hard enough.

In his stillness Joel feel asleep even as Jennifer was talking about events that she wanted to share with him.
Jennifer looks over and sees that Joel is sleeping with a small snore and wonders if he had heard much of anything of her conversation.

She stares at his muscular shoulders then down to his thighs, loving his nakedness.
Remembering that tomorrow is the first day of April, April fools day she smiles.

Climbing slowly out of her side of the bed she gently crawls on her hands and knees to the bottom of the bed.
She laughs quietly to herself as she starts to paint each of his toenails the bright glossy burgundy color she just finished applying to her nails.

In the morning when Joel pulled himself from the bed with a long stretch he heads to the bathroom.

At last the scream comes that Jennifer had imagined just before she fell asleep.
Happy April Fools Day Babe she whispers to herself.

Written for The Story Teller Week 3

[photo: My bedroom window, morning light]

Sleeping with the boss...

2009-03-23T17:45:00.017-04:00

Been sleeping...
Thirty Four...34 more days and we are back to work.
To be retired and have this small business is a blessing.
We started our business of service and repair of lawn sprinklers 12 years ago this year.
I worked as a stylist and for the first two years to help carry the financial weight getting this little dream off the ground.
I really never thought I would actually be involved, that is how naive I was...I thought the husband and son was doing great.
Then reality hit, they have customers and was growing.
There wasn't any one to answer the phones, schedule the work in a organized way and keep the books.
I joined them...a huge cut in pay I might add although the benefits were great.
I can work in my slack clothes, save money in gas and lunch and I can be very creative in my work schedule and I am sleeping with the boss!
( I have quit twice!) not that you really can.
I have fired the son twice...not that you really can. I have even given the husband time off with no pay...[laughing]
Managing women is a whole lot easier...

I am proud of the business my husband and son have generated, I have grown attached to most our customers.

The thoughts of a total retirement when we reach that golden age of 62years sometimes give me anxiety.
We are not the brightess stars in the sky but GM was crashing 12 years ago for us and other community members and we had to move on something, anything! It was a scramble for GM employees in our area, they closed our engineering facility where my husband worked along with major manufacturing shops employing 10's of thousands people, Completely Gone! We was forced out on a early retirement which left us 10 years short of our goals.

People,the majority who have landscape sprinklers would die before they give up the ease ability of keeping a great yard and flowers beds, how lucky for us.
We now have a little over 500 customers and a few commerical accounts.

We cut our prices last year even though insurances and gas was up.
It was tuff to loose the income but I really feel in my heart it was the right thing to do...we are all in this boat together.
I am feeling grateful.....very!
I have come to a conclusion from my hard earned wisdom that thoughts determine our life.

I came from

2009-03-20T19:36:00.011-04:00

I am the unanswered question
Spawn of life
Coming from disciplines un-harnessed.

From animated matter
a normal miracle of conception,
under perfect physical and chemical conditions.

I was the infant unknown
A child to be,
a woman someday in time.

I am the emergence of biological complexity.
I am the first born child, I came from young love.

For Sunday Scribblings...I came from.

[photo credit:www.inter-disciplinary.net]

I hope there isn't a penis in that picture- I couldn't tell!

{{{ laughing}}}
Write Words Writers Club entry Haiku

about CAAT...

2009-03-20T08:00:00.009-04:00

The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Healthy cell support.
I found what I was looking for at the library. The recent discovery of our two closest friends and their brain cancer sent me on this search for dietary support supplements.

Amino acids are the chemical units or "building blocks," as they are popularly called, that make up protein.
Proteins are a necessary part of every living cell in the body. Next to water, protein makes up the greatest portion of our body weight. In the human body, protein substances make up the muscles, ligaments, tendons, organs, glands, nails, hair, and many vital body fluids, and are essential for the growth, repair and healing of bones, tissues and cells. more..

I bought Grape Seed extract..everything I read couldn't say enough great things about this antioxidant.
L-Glutamine-proven for known positive immune response and lots of Vitamin C.
I will add these daily to help support my Centrum Silver vitamin.
Oh yea, the hubster is too.
He frowned but I have made it easy for him with a Monday through Sunday pill handler
that says "Eat Me" [had to catch his eye]

I realize this is a panic attack, but I really believe it can't hurt so why not?

I have had cancer once, it wasn't anything compared to malignant glioma in your brain. I can't find any support for any kind of hope anywhere, my heart breaks.

I loved this movie...

2009-03-19T09:16:00.007-04:00

I am always slow at getting to new releases.
I LOVED THIS ONE!
The Other Boleyn Girl
The family, mainly the grown children were ripped apart in attempt to obtain wealth and status. The uncle and father whored the sisters at any cost to get with the king for an heir.
The king was way to wrapped up in his inability to produce a legitimate male heir, ironically his daughter Elizabeth served her country well for forty-five years. The wardrobe was fabulous!

I have said it before and I will say again.
I would not have cared to live in any era that came before the inventions of a washer/dryer and dishwasher.
I am off to the library...I need to get informed about amino acids.
I have read so many great things on line...now to dig deeper.

Now that is just...

2009-03-17T20:08:00.006-04:00

I will be the first to acknowledge that times do change...but when I got a invitation today from three of my girlfriends to go with them and get my belly button pierced well let's just say I got a damn good laugh.
As a matter of fact I am still laughing and I haven't called any of them as of yet with that curled up eyebrow and smirked out smile to ask "So how is it?"
I would need a diamond the size of a 50cent coin to add any glamour to that button of mine! and then still...

Friends gotta love 'em.
Just as much fun now as they ever was.

My entry for I Heart Faces a St Patty's day face capture....

Where is that pot of gold?

2009-03-17T08:33:00.004-04:00

For every minute you are angry you lose sixty seconds of happiness.
-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

So today is St. Patty's? Remember John Lennon's song Luck of the Irish
Hubster chants as he walks out the door to meet with his buddies. I suspect green beer is in their plans...after they take Jim for his radiation and chemo.
Laddies and Lassies: May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow and may trouble avoid you wherever you go. Oh yeah everyday is a holiday when your retired for that bunch. Go play..have fun! I love these guys....

Me...now I would be happy to find a pot of gold.
Still waiting for my millions to arrive from their Nigerian contact, lotto or rich uncle.

Until then I will proceed forward as planned.

It seems I waste most of my luck on finding good parking spots at the mall.

I am Off to make my day..off to find my pot of gold.
Best wishes for good luck to all.

My super-hero!

2009-03-16T08:33:00.004-04:00

Messy face, uncombed hair
Hotwheel cars, everywhere.
Works of art on grama's wall
Little artist, not so tall.
Wears a bath towel, for his cape
Super Hero, we think you're great!

Butterfly kisses -Grama

I know it's only natural..

2009-03-15T20:22:00.008-04:00

Love's gift cannot be given,
it waits openly to be accepted.

I am so fortunate that both "Sets" of my parents are alive and well in health..I often get show them how much I love and value the times we spend together.

Like any realtionship there has been those times. I now know those times where the moments we both had growing to do. Either they were unrealistic with their reality of expectations for our relationship or I was and tempers flared.

I have always been allowed to express myself in my child like role and as a adult.
There was never any question in my mind what to expect in their expressions of any given situation.

I find myself thinking about what will I do when it is my turn up to the plate and they are no longer in sitting in my bleechers.....

They have brought these thoughts into play.
Both sets are having these little conversations with me "about when?"

Giving me information they feel I will need, showing me locations I haven't seen, handing me combinations and small treasures.

I stand beside, walk behind nodding my head up and down pretending to be attentive when in my mind I am screaming " God give me strength! I do not want to know this stuff!"

I want more time..I want you to always stay and be the grown -ups.

Then BHAM it hits me...It's only natural.

Thank you for the wonderful day mom.

I will cherish your treasures and keep dad's combinations in my safe.

Sunday Scribbles - Dear Past me - Present Me

2009-03-14T19:58:00.010-04:00

Dearest past me,

I feel the greatest need to give voice to what I personally know as your years ahead.

At this time in your life you believe that so much matters.

You spend so much energy wasted in the pursuit of your future by spreading yourself so thin.
Most all that you work so hard for now you will not have in tens years.

Keep your spirit of love, the memories will yield life’s greatest tender.

Live, Dance and Love.

Examine all opportunities; a life with open doors is something you will never regret.
You will regret the things that you haven’t done more then the things you have done.

Try to stop being the peacemaker for the troublemakers; it is easier to avoid most of these situations,

Grow some thicker skin, or understand that words can’t hurt you.
Go to extraordinary lengths to be an ordinary, it is ok.

I know at times you have wondered why you have made the choices you have made. You made choices based on what you thought you knew, in the grandiose picture you will find that this is where wisdom is born.

Look to the stars and Believe.

There is a boy name Bill Gates [Invest in Microsoft]

Peace..
Your loving friend-Hindsight

Dearest Future Me,

Save me a place to Live, Dance and Love.

Find us a place for comfort in our surroundings.

At the end of our path there will be a handful of people who will really care.

Let your words be kind and generous.

Keep your spirit of love; the memories are life’s greatest tender.

Look to the stars and Fear nothing.

Believe in everything.

Peace...

Your loving friend-Insight

written for Sunday Scribblings... Thank you for the prompt.

I am at it again...

2009-03-13T23:17:00.010-04:00

It is a strong characteristic of mine. I change with the weather.
My home is a perfect example of my swings.
Nothing can be permanent yet everything stays, just never in the same place.

I am continuously reinventing floral, photos, and damn throw rugs
[ a sickness of mine]!
I bought myself a digital photo frame to eliminate all the pictures I had on the walls trying my hardest to streamline our home.
I keep thinking simple is better since I would rather eat mud then to dust as often as things scream for.

So here I stand today looking around my house after seeing a photo of Judi's living room, going whatheheck? Thinking I want to redecorate. Now that is trouble...

Oh and I have change my blogs once again.
Thank you to CUTE BLOGS FREE TEMPLATES
Check it out...and it is so easy.
No changing the HTML's.
It is as easy as adding their code to our new gadget buttons!
Have a great weekend!

Tired of being badgered?

2009-03-12T19:01:00.009-04:00

This is one you have to see...if you have bought a new car, thinking about buying a new car or just plain curious!Tired of being Badgered?

I had the most WONDERFUL chat with everybody's friend Tammy!
I am thankful Tammy for your friendship.
Your ALS hasn't touched your personality and your committment to strength stands tall even if it something you can no longer physically do.
Love
TJ

For the love of a great face !! Photo that is...

2009-03-11T12:13:00.006-04:00

I LOVE FACES!!

Friends check it out!
Join and have some fun, a wonderful site!
Hugs,
TJ

Mouth sounds like it is falling down the stairs...Excuses!

2009-03-08T08:13:00.008-04:00

Finally figured out FaceBook...a neat sort of site.
{{{ Tammy I have been shopping }}}
I have a baby shower to go to today...a couples thing.
And it is for two couples I barely know....
I never dig that deep for invites to anything I have ever had for someone.
You either are involved or not as far as I am concerned.
Ever notice that the people who have the great guest book list are the ones that throw such events the most often?
[I do!]
Oh well go and be done with it!
SSSSSSShhhhhuuuuuuttttt Me UP!
I do like baby things...but I will buy gift cards.

We have decided to walk the paths together, that was yesterday.
This morning I have the time change/32 degree whine ...can we wait until it is a bit warmer and closer to noon?
[Master of excuses]
I can spit them out so fast it sounds much like my mouth is falling down the stairs!
Best get off and bundle up..excuses won't dissolve [ thinking lbs.] a damn thing except the committment of my walking partner.

I cannot afford to lose the money...

2009-03-07T07:18:00.006-05:00

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
In your cell phone directory enter a emergency contact number under the name of I.C.E.
This locates your contact person easily for any emergency for the police etc.
I have a I.C.E 1 for my home
and a I.C.E. 2 for my husbands cell

My agenda for helping my home in these troubled times...

Want a easily access to the best grocery deals weekly in your neighborhood?
Join MY GROCERY DEALS.COM
It even has coupons...
I am started taking the money I have saved and put into a savings account.
Remember Goldilocks? Don't try to do too much. Don't try to do too little. Do it just right. I am sure it will add up slowly for some cash on hand later...

Home Taxes higher then your State Equalized Value?
I am fighting mine...if they have dropped the value of my home I feel the taxes should not keep going up.
I will keep the insurance the same after all the prices to rebuild have not gone down.
Wish me luck?

I am also considering the difference in car insurance on our second car.
I will add up that difference and maybe pay myself into an account in case of a accident and drop it to just personal liability coverage.

We have a new Natural Gas carrier available in our area.
I am doing the math there to see what saving we can get if any?
Busting the monopoly on our consumers would be something I would love to see...our present consumers has a flat minimal rate IF YOU USE IT OR NOT which makes it a higher bill then I care to pay no matter what. I think anyone should be rewarded with a lesser bill for lesser usage.
Example: We paid $20.00 more for the month we was home in a very cold Feb. the for the month we was gone in a very cold January.
That is not right!

There's my work cut out for me this up and coming week.
Anything I can do to help my money stay in my pocket is worth the time...

NEW PHOTOS

Boys Lie!

2009-03-06T10:35:00.008-05:00

We could be traveling down the same path but never agree on the journey and that's okay.
The devil is in his details..
In my house...private joke
-Boys lie!-
[You didn't hear that from me but I have considered a bumper sticker]

It will reach a high of 60 and I am outta here camera in hand.
I am sooo sick of the cold so this will be a huge treat!
Let any man who finds the bathroom dirty...Feel the Liberation of Spring!
OR
CLEAN IT YOURSELF!
[Laughing]
Wishing everyone a great weekend.

I showed him...

2009-03-05T07:13:00.010-05:00

Hey littlest Miss Bloggest!
What do you spend so much time blogging about?
Aren't you worried about privacy?

So I showed him.
I have my one blog which is also my signature for my emails. Mostly photos of the grandkidz and family.
My Photo Blog << created to spare my friends a million emails full of photos...now you can peek wheneva. Love TJ~

Next is my Photo Expressions Blog. Here is where I share photos with others who also post photos in group activities. There is alot excitement to be had while learning and sharing my growth in photography.

The Write Words Writing Club is a blog that belongs to many. This writing club is open to all who have a thirst for writing that can not be quenched. Poetry, Haiku poems, Short story, Fiction and Non-Fiction what ever your style may be.

Then this one. This is where I journal my daily thoughts, a sort of time-line for what would be my " expression " for the day. My closest friends have this link. Much like a daily email they can keep close touch easily at their leisure with this blog. Often they read and respond with a note through email.

His comment was " Nice. Don't write about me..."
Oh no...TOO LATE!

I often think my interest in keeping a blog comes from the many years of standing behind people as a stylist and sharing on a daily basis.
I would have NEVER discussed so much of myself with any client as I do in the blog. I was more a listener but the interaction is basically the same.
It's about people sharing.

Do you know where your panties are?

2009-03-04T13:11:00.009-05:00

One of those days...
[Abbey in morning nap]
I like to think of days such as this as a day of conserving energy.
Lazy would be most like it but the other sounds better.

Wha??
"Stop, stop for a minute..."
"Why?"
"Not sure hold still"
He bends down and pulls at the bottom of my pants...as I turn my head to look down it was much to my surprise that he had my panties from yesterday in his hands.
He is laughing...
" Same jeans as yesterday ?"
Ya....and now I am laughing this isn't a first for me!
I usually can catch this before I leave the house..

Against the hard winds...

2009-03-02T07:53:00.006-05:00

These past few years I have given a new look at my life.
I have worked my way through some painful experiences.
I now believe those times to be somewhat delightful as well as dramatic.

I have fought cancer.
Taken control of run away chrones.
I have struggled with a man-child, barely breathing through years of drug and alcohol addictions wondering if he would ever find his way.
Walked away from my job to help keep my husband’s business adventure afloat.
I have buried friends that have fallen to disease.

Not one single thing that I experienced which often brought me to my bed to tired to dream was unique.
To often I felt I was never in the right place at that just right moment in time.
I built a pity pot to big for even me to crawl up on and it remains in a safe place so I can visit when I want.

My true friends watched me as I as I walk through the rough times artificially.
I am sure they questioned my foundation I walked on.

Then I had an epiphany.
Walking against the hard winds of time is living life.
There are those who put on a badge of courage and other who mark their chest with a scarlet letter for their efforts in the walk against the hard winds of time.

I now realize the truth is we all end up on the other side of time.
Not always is it the same moment or the same walk but we all get there.
There is nothing unique about the journey except our attitudes.
I am working on mine...

We laughed, we dance and sucked down the juice of the gods......

2009-02-28T10:56:00.009-05:00

My mom and I doing what we do best...having fun!
When I asked...mom just what advise do you have for me so I can be 75 years old and just like you?
( she will be 76 this July)

She holds her glass of Vino high, looks me straight in the eyes and says...
ALWAYS PLUCK YOUR NOSE HAIRS!!!
Love you mom, your the best.
Let's dance!

TJ
[more photos here]

Wait...nope not yet

2009-02-27T09:40:00.014-05:00

Morning Haiku

Rain clouds blocking sun
the prediction for today
Spring not yet begun.

Nope not yet...but
Feeling a bit inspired.
Dinner date tonight with the hottie husband and friends.

Did accomplish a few things while working through my anger but I think what helped my attitude the most was the bottle of Zen I cracked about 3:00 and soon relaxed within my skin.

No more spinning heads, spewing ugly words, acceptance is on the table.
It is what it is, it is cancer, it is our friendships and love.

We have all made a promise to each other- all calls on cell phones will be placed on speaker phone and held far from the head.
Not saying that a fact has been announced but they do have suspicions on the energy ommited.

And Tammy is right, it is all to hard to figure out.

With that being said I will now drop the subject.
Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend... I will catch up with you.

New Posts:
Write Words Writing Club
[Photo is Mine]

Our friend Nancy made a heart touching slide. It was really good and I know how much work it must have been. Check it out...
Another reminder:
Rebecca has a U TUBE you have to watch.
The best 7 minutes of my day!!
I love Jesus but...Go and watch.
IF THESE AREN'T ANYTHING THAT CATCHES YOUR EYE YOU CAN ALWAYS PLAY TRY TO CATCH TJ'S ROLLING LINKS IN MY SIDEBAR...laughing.
I am out of here!!

I here..working my way back from a place called Anger

2009-02-26T08:29:00.009-05:00

I plan on just staying busy!
That seems to be the only way I can work through the stress brought on with the hardships of dealing so closely with such grave news of our friend's journey with Cancer.
What is the odds that we both would have such close friends BOTH fighting brain cancer at the same time?

It may take a day or two but I can work off the hostility I feel and maybe get back to a place that isn't quite so ugly and angry. A clean house will lift me up, getting into all those cracks and cubbies. I have very little positive things to share...from a personal stand point. Karey is doing well, loosing her hair and told she has chemo for a full year. No news on the tumors reactions to the chemo and radiation until the first week in March. Jim's surgery is today.

Addition to todays post....
Rebecca has a U TUBE you have to watch. The best 7 minutes of my day!!
I love Jesus but...Go and watch.
Thank you Rebecca. Glad I found you again.

Pass It On....Hillary Clinton "ON LIFE "

2009-02-24T21:26:00.007-05:00

“Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. When you stumble, keep faith. When you’re knocked down, get right back up. And NEVER listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.”
- Hillary Clinton -

At times even in our own country women have to face public humilations.
Here is a women who stands tall.
I may not agree with ALL her politics but damn do I love her strength!!

NEW PHOTOS

I am afraid of the darks in life.

2009-02-23T07:16:00.005-05:00

Something we all fear, something we all have been touched by in one way or another...CANCER.

In January this year my husband and I traveled to New Mexico so I could give a dear friend a hug after her call to tell us that she had brain cancer.

This last Saturday morning the phone rings again with the news that my husband's best friend is in the hospital and the tests confirm that he too has brain cancer.
Last we heard from him was Friday night and he was fine, going to see the Pistons play.

In one second everything changes.
Nothing stays the same.
This planet and all it encompass is constantly under change, often without us giving it much thought.
Last night , laying awake I tried to make sense of these events that are unfolding.
I only know this for sure...
I am afraid of the darks in life.

Bring it on...I will get with it!

2009-02-21T08:54:00.007-05:00

Today...8" of snow or more

damn you say...

Windy...

oh com'on...

Maybe I can make a better day out of today then I first thought.
Photos...I will go for a great capture.
Bundle up and brave the weather.

I have to start pushing myself to get more involved with my own life...inspite of the weather. All my life I have been such a fair weather person.
Crippled by storms..

Whew! Braveheart Breakdown for a moment...
I will try...{{{{laughing}}}}

NEW PHOTOS HERE

Nicole B Photo Challenge

2009-02-18T21:16:00.009-05:00

Nichole B....a Challenger Hunt
I have done so many..Halloween, Harley...
but a {{photo challenge}}
I am excited about this! I have a new camera..
The hunt starts today and ends March 15Th

Here’s your list (it’s a bit focused on the “local” theme):

1) local currency
2) local flag
3) local food
4) something rusty

5) local wildlife
6) local nature
7) local stamp
8) part of your neighborhood (it can be a very small part )

9) traditional house
10) a local person
11) local weather
12) local transportation
13) traditional local clothing
14) night sky
15) sunrise
16) local product non food
17) something furry
18) something feathery

19) a sign of the season
20) a part of you
21) your main hobby
22) a local shop
23) a local restaurant
24) a street sign
25) a local mail box

There's a challenge... for my new camera!

My Post for Single Impression.....here

A new photo has been posted...

A change of outlook...

2009-02-18T10:43:00.005-05:00

I want to recant the blog entry title I had posted earlier this morning.
When I walked away I felt the word ordinary and it bothered me that I used it for a title.

It feels good, these last months.
Last year was such a struggle with events that created their own stresses.
We had more then the natural consequence of couples that have been together for so many years.

I no longer feel the like night moths that never cease to stop trying to fly into the lights on our back deck.
I would watch them, fluttering with aim all around the globes of light for hours...
thinking the whole time that I wasn't much different.

I was stuck on trying to do what I do best, love one single man without doubts, regrets or reservations. Get back on my feet health wise...

It was a long trying year last year...and I don't want to look back.

I want to enjoy all the simple things and there isn't any day better then today, then maybe tomorrow.
I still long..I am not sure for what.
I am just a restless soul and a grateful women.

It's a great Tuesday!

Ordinary Tuesdays...

2009-02-18T09:48:00.003-05:00

We went out to the the the youngest son and his family yesterday.
Here is Allison, their youngest of four children.
It is amazing when I see just how happy these little ones are...four children to me would seem a huge handful.

Soon the start of March will be upon us and we will all be thinking about this last month before we go back to work for the season.
It comes faster every year.
Being partially retired is nice...

Today is a domestic day, catching up on all those daily things that build up.
Why can't I be more like my mother?
She is an incredible women. Always has been and always will be a role model I envy.
Her closets never get like mine..
how does she do it?

I guess somethings just are a daily task.
I know damn well she doesn't spend the time I do on the PC.
Question answered.

What's in your box?

2009-02-16T08:52:00.010-05:00

MONDAY MONDAY
They are bad enough without the cold, cloudy. gloom I am seeing outside.

Mr. Dynamic is walking at the mall 7:00 sharp with his brother every morning.
Every morning I hear "Ah com'on, you can do it!"
Of course I can do it but I swear I think it is a great time for he and his brother to bond.
All their conversations about FISH, Fishing and such is enough to make me want to show up with a lure hanging from my lips to be noticed.
Trust me I know I am not really missed.

Funny how the years pass and you learn your comfy spots.
Young love means dragging each other along regardless and you wonder later wonder why you have feelings of resentments that tend to build.

Anyways, it is Monday.
I will start my morning by walking around the show room floor at Skaff's furniture Store. ( See I do walk )
Oh NO, not looking at furniture. ( a fun thing to do )
I will be dialing and redialing the oldest son's cell phone that has fallen into one of the cushions and gone missing.
They bought a new living room set yesterday and that was the last he seen of his cell. {{{laughing....}}}

The dynamic dual was heading to the Bay to see what condition the ice is after their walk. Much like two sick children looking outside from a window at what fun they could be having, they will stand with hands in their pockets and stare. Minds empty of any thoughts that they should be doing anything different with their time.

You know men have that empty box in their brain that allows them to stand in voids like that.

Not we women, our boxes in our mind overlap one other which makes such a task difficult...unless we set up an atmosphere for a deliberate meditation. Even when we give ourselves permission it is difficult not to carry out mental tasks.
That's a fact..brother Dr. shared this with me.

New photos in Photo Expressions
Enjoy the day, it's yours to own.

Just a Sunday quickie

2009-02-15T14:02:00.006-05:00

The grandkidz came for a night and a day.
We talked about sledding but the snow is slowly leaving us...
[sigh]
Not a moment to soon but I know there will be more.
I woke Meg up early and we took off for ride to take pictures.
I will be posting some daily in my photo blog.
Back to Wii, I hear my name being called.
I must be up...we are bowling.

A message.... a thought

2009-02-12T08:17:00.010-05:00

photo 1976 New Years Eve

A Thought:
For Valentine's Day would you prefer a Experience or a Possession?

Let's be honest...both would be perfect!
( laughing)

One year on Valentines Day Eve, the hubster had a few to many cocktails and fell asleep just about in the middle of a discussion. I decided that with the "Love Day Celebration" just hours away I must give him an EXPERIENCE.
I did...I painted every toenail a BRIGHT GLOSSY RED. The next morning while he was in the bathroom I heard the scream I had hoped for....
Happy Valentines Day Husband.

Happy Valentine's Day Photo and Message

Jour de Valentines heureux

You know you are from Michigan when....

2009-02-11T12:41:00.004-05:00

It's been rainning ALL DAY!
Unseasonably warm!
laughing-check my ego self out>>>>>>>
The snow has all melted and now we have flooding.
Temps will be dropping and the rain turns back to snow.

You know you are from Michigan when:

* You own only three spices - salt, pepper and ketchup
* You design your Halloween costumes to fit over a snowsuit
* You have more miles on your snow blower than your car
* You have 10 favorite recipes for venison
* Home Depot on any Saturday is busier than the toy stores at Christmas
* You've taken your kids trick-or-treating in a blizzard
* Driving is better in the winter because the potholes get filled with snow
* You think everyone from the city has an accent
* You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and a flannel nightie with only 8 buttons
* You owe more money on your snowmobile than your car
* The local paper covers national and international headlines on l/4 page, but requires 6 pages for sports
* Your snow blower gets stuck on the roof
* You think the start of deer hunting season is a national holiday
* Summer takes place the second week of July (and it still rains!!)
* You know which leaves make good toilet paper
* You find -20F a little chilly
* The trunk of your car doubles as a deep freezer
* You attended a formal event in your best clothes, your finest jewelry and your snowmobile boots
* Shoveling the driveway constitutes a great upper body workout
* You know the 4 seasons: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction.
* The municipality buys a zamboni before a bus
* You drink "Vernors" and play "Euchre"
* You actually 'get' these jokes, and forward them to all your Michigan friends

Kids absorb and parrot what they see, and hear.Grandmother's have a responsibility also.

2009-02-09T08:09:00.009-05:00

In response to Lazy Grama's email.

I believe with all my being that being a grandmother is a "second generation" mother.

I can not see any reason why grandmothers would feel they have a "right" to be lazy when it comes to the time spent with her grandchildren.

I feel quite the opposite.

Most grandmothers spend small increments of time interacting with the grandchildren compared to mom.
Being a mother first, a grandmother second I know I have quality's and faults in children's developmental psychology. Meaning I have made my mistakes and now I would like to think I have learned a few things along the way.

I do not let my grandchildren believe for one second that I would ever consider keeping a secret from their parents.
I do not bargain with my grandchildren or let they pull me into arguments because it is easier then the confrontations.

I try to spend quality time with our grandchildren which indeed takes energy.
I don't compete with other grandparents when the kids try to compare me to the others in order to bargain.

Of course I want their love but more then that I want their respect.
I want them to know me and what I am about.
I want to contribute so they know that I stand beside and behind their parents and that we are ALL family.

I hope to always do my part so I don't think BRATS for grandchildren when they come to visit our home. I hate to think their parents have to fight to straighten them out when they go home because I have been lazy.

I have been told I am the greatest in the world to the far extreme of the meanest ever for a grama.
Not so much different then I was raising the boys.

I have learned and try never to forget: If you aren't careful with the "giving in" and "giving up" with your children and your grandchildren they will see you as weak and before you know it, not only will they think they are your equals they will soon think you are "idiots" that can be manipulated just as your children would. Kids absorb and parrot what they see, and hear at home and with grandparents.

I will and always make time for the cuddles, the games, the arts and the listening to all you have to say. I love to help and share with new new things and adventures.
I will love you with my last breathe...

Whats you opinion?

Mending the Hurt Feelings...

2009-02-08T12:56:00.005-05:00

What a weekend!!

The four of us headed out....North to Soaring Eagle Casino.
That was after I spent time busting into my piggy bank!
I had dreams of filling it up to the very brim but that wasn't going to happen.

That should go on the list of things I have yet to do...FILL UP A PIGGY BANK.

Had a great time, drank lots off beer and laughed for hours with mom.

I felt so bad, it seems that mom went into a depression when we left for the month in Texas.
Earl said she sobbed.

We have extended a invite for them to join us next winter for any length of time they need and they plan to find a place for themselves.

I had NO IDEA she would be so sad...
I love you mom and I am sorry if I hurt you.
TJ

Penny Poker with grama

2009-02-06T12:20:00.007-05:00

Okay, I was desperate for a new indoor game so I introduced penny poker.
Even the biggest kid ( grandpa) showed interest.
That didn't last long, they soon moved on to building cards houses.

Home and Baby it's cold outside

2009-02-04T14:24:00.006-05:00

I am back.
5,700 miles later and yet I am still restless.
If I had to guess it could be the fact that I am feeling much like being trapped in a freezer.

Had a beautiful trip, great weather most the way to Texas and New Mexico and then back again.

My dear sweet friend Karey is holding up well after her diagnose of brain cancer.
Her surgery went well, yet 5% or more remains in her occipital lobe. Her future seems uncertain even with chemo and radiation. That act of giving her a hug was more for me then her I am sure...but the smile on her face when I walked in was worth more then words could ever express.

We bought a little winter escape just north of Corpus.
A fishing park and everyone seem so nice.

A real shame we had to come back for court. The judge suggested that we now get Sabos account manager into court. Damn..it would be so easy if he would just pay.
The plus is I am leaning law 101 about how the wealthy hide their money.
I have his tax returns for the last 5 years and his insurance policys.
Seems he is worth millions dead as these policys were taken out last year.
He still has to explain how he afford those quaterly payments if he hasn't any income to pay us...where is the justice?

Looking forward to catching up on everyone...love TJ

Snow days

2008-12-09T16:14:00.008-05:00

Listening to Johhny Mathis- Give me your love for Christmas

Yup...7 inches of snow so far and I have been locked up with the virus.
Talking with the oldest son today...remembering when I wished for snow days so they could miss school and spend it with me building snowmen and going to Frankenmuth to the hills for sledding with a thermos of hot chocolate.

I will love the memories to the end of time.

I wish my kids could experience more with their kids....time requires so much work.

Friday night Meg and Ethan are coming. Mom and dad have a Christmas party about 1 and 1/2 hours away. Lots of driving for the work party and I only hope the roads are good.

Mean while we will be constructing a Gingerbread house together and watching the video Gold Diggers- Secret of Bear Mountain. Loved it! Meg is 10 years old, she will really like it.

I could not help but notice my blog is messed up but that is okay....i will work on it all later.
God only knows what I did.

Love to you and yours always,
TJ
a piece from my book....

We was greeted at the front of the lodge by a man who simply said “Mr. Buckle” with his arms crossed over his chest, a strange man I am thinking.
He stood like a giant on the driver’s side of our car as Carl got out and introduced himself and then my mom, Sue Zims and then last but not least me, Jack Zims.
Mr. Buckle had a skinny, gray ponytail hanging out the back of his faded University of Michigan baseball cap. He had on some crazy red high top tennis shoes with a few holes, some dinger white calf socks and worn sweatpants that were about 4 sizes to small topped off with a flannel shirt that had the sleeves ripped off. He talked a lot and different using a lot of “Da’s and dis” and shared with us all the aspects of life in da great U.P.
He helped carry our bags to our room and told mom and Carl all about dealing with 356 inches of snowfall and sub-zero tempuratures to that one wonderful month of summer and bloodsucking mosquitos large enough to carry off a Ferrell cat. The last thing he said as he starred straight at me with a huge teethy grin was that there are a lot of swamps around here and it is easy to get swallowed up.

winter wonderland, the first of the year

2008-12-01T07:29:00.004-05:00

Wow! Winter wonder land out there and the best part is that it is snow that makes great snowballs...MEANING fabulous Snowmen!
85 schools closed in our area....bet we see the kids hit the great outdoors and oh what fun!

Last evening I called both my sons homes and told the grandkidz to get their bottoms outside, wearing their pajama bottoms inside out under their snow pants and start the dance of "We want a snow day off from school tomorrow "
Me, I was doing the dance in my heart, running to the window about every 1/2 hour doing a visual inch check of freshly falling snow and flashing back into the past.
The boys made snowboys and I did the snowgirls.

Hubster carried up the Xmas tree from the storage declaring he had done his part. For a moment my heart sank...I had always thought we would do the decorating together after the boys had grown and gone. NOT!
No damn romance in plopping the tree down and walking away and he never gave it another thought.
I will have to let it pass or bring it out in the open and get it over with I guess.

Today i will do more...hopefully with loving help.

It's Deer Season

2008-11-14T07:01:00.002-05:00

Today starts the weekend of Open Day for Deer Season.
Hubster has his fun meter cranked to high!

This for me means a weekend with mom!
Today we will leave for our annual Soaring Eagle trip, then Sat. night we will spend the night together wrapping Christmas gifts and planning the holidays.
Treasured moments....

Haven't wrote much in my journal lately.
Just not alot I care to share at this time. My camera was my bridge for interest and with it's absence I feel lame.
Until later

Ancestry...finally finished! A huguenot huh?

2008-11-11T08:51:00.004-05:00

Millais' painting, A Huguenot and his Catholic lover on the eve of St. Bartholomew's day.

I am a direct descendent of the French Huguenot's that came to America as wine making and drinking pilgrams.
My dad has finally completed his years of research of our family tree and I am the last to add our immediate information.

My family survived the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
of 24 August – 17 September 1572, Catholics killed thousands of Huguenots in Paris. Similar massacres took place in other towns in the weeks following, with death toll estimates again ranging wildly, from thousands to as high as 10,000.[citation needed] An amnesty granted in 1573 pardoned the perpetrators.

Here are a few others..
Eight American Presidents (George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Harry Truman, Gerald Ford and Lyndon Johnson) had significant proven Huguenot ancestry, as did founding fathers Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and Paul Revere. Twelve other U.S. Presidents had credible but unproven claims to Huguenot ancestors. [19]
Davy Crockett, celebrated 19th-century American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier and politician was of Huguenot stock. The Crockett's were the descendants of Huguenots who fled France in the 17th Century and migrated to Ireland. Crockett is an Anglicized version of the name "de Crocketagne".
Francis Marion, American Revolutionary War guerilla fighter, was of predominantly Huguenot heritage.
In 1924 a commemorative half dollar, known as the Huguenot-Walloon Half Dollar[20], was coined in the United States to celebrate the 300th anniversary of their initial settlement in what is now the United States. One Huguenot colonist was a silversmith named Apollos Rivoire, who would later anglicize his name to Paul Revere. He would, still later, give his name and his profession to his son, Paul Revere, the famous United States revolutionary.

I am ...

2008-11-06T07:33:00.002-05:00

I AM AMERICA
by Julie Redstone

I am America.

I am blueberry muffins and eggs-over-easy in silverfoil diners

with blue neon signs and newspapers out front,

where the regulars come to fill up on warmth and

the everpresent feeling of family,

I am picnic baskets made of straw, and tall grass with milkweed,

worn blankets to sit on, and the smell of new mown hay

drifting past from a farm nearby,

I am playgrounds with rusty swings and ancient maple trees,

and water fountains with bubbly spouts

that little children gleefully reach toward

as they try to catch the moving water with their tongues,

I am fourth-of-July parades, and lawn chairs, and iced tea on the front porch,

and the smell of chicken roasting in the oven,

and friends coming over for coffee and fresh-baked pie and a little talk,

I am polka festivals and Saturday-night dancing

with Hank Tomarr and the Harmonics,

and clean white shirts at Sunday church,

and innocence, not arrogance,

I am rolling hills, and dirty streets, and windswept plains,

and airless apartments in cities that are always lit,

whose elegance lies in ancient fire escapes

that are havens in the summer heat,

I am chlorine-blue city pools, and laughter of children,

and washrooms that smell of disinfectant,

and young mothers with the eyes of eagles watching their young,

I am the suffering of the lonely, of the hungry, of the dreamless

who live without hope, and who hope only to escape

from the dreamlessness,

I am the icons of the fast-food world – hamburgers and cokes,

pizza and buffalo wings, french fries and happy meals,

I am speed of life wanting more and more speed,

striving for more and more doing,

no time to sit, no time to listen, no time,

And I am lazy days of going nowhere, of wondering what it all means,

of waking up, for a moment, beyond the things I do,

into a wondering of who I am.

I am freedom. I am possibility. I am golden opportunity

knocking at the door at every moment,

And I am also the closed and silent door for the many who strive

to hear the sound of opportunity but cannot,

I am prayer and I am gratitude – to that which watches over freedom

and creates endless possibility – to the Source of life itself.

I am America.

I am strong, I am proud, I am weak, I am vain,

I am childlike, I am brash, I am plainspoken, I am noble,

I am wise, I am foolish, I am young, I am ancient,

I am the flame of endless possibility –

the golden promise of an open-ended Life.

II.

I am America.

I am aging vinyl curtains that frame the voting booths

in tree-lined towns in Mississipi, Missouri, Delaware and New Jersey,

the curtained booths that contain the seeds of democracy

given new life with every pull to close them,

I am ten thousand newspapers with glaring headlines

and pictures of those involved in the latest scandal

that unbridled power creates,

the latest corruption, the latest unthinking act of indifference,

I am the stories of violence heaped on violence, heaped on violence,

the latest murder, the latest tragic loss of life, the latest act of despair,

I am the victims of anger, of forgetfulness, of spiritual eclipse,

and the perpetrators as well,

I am their expression, and I am their healing,

I am America.

I am the flags waving in front yards or hung in trees

beside worn clapboard houses,

Their red, white, and blue proudly displayed,

even when nothing else of the house stands out with pride,

I am tunes on the radio that come in long drinks –

the twang of strings and guitar singing the seasons of the heart,

the soulful landscape of love and loss,

of hope and betrayal, of life and death,

I am the reflection within all of the poignant and tender search

for grace and redemption,

the goal of the promised land, the land of ease, the promise of peace.

I am America.

I am the land of plenty,

I am pancakes in the morning with syrup running across warm plates,

and raspberries in winter,

and oranges and apples shipped from around the world,

and big cars, and closets full of clothing,

and stores bulging with more than anyone has a right to desire,

I am also the land of poverty,

where children go hungry amidst the plenty,

where the silent cry of despair hovers over families

that cannot make ends meet,

who suffer even more to see all that others throw away,

I am one nation but live as two, with part of me invisible to the rest,

obscured by a shroud of denial –

the denial of a heart that fears to lose what it has gained

so that others may have,

I am America.

I am rich, I am poor. I am noble, I am callous.

I am inspired, I am numb. I am generous, I am selfish.

I am, in the end, growing, as a child grows, as a tree grows,

as the world grows, out of what has been into what will be,

Becoming the light and form of my destiny.

That time again already...

2008-10-25T18:00:00.007-04:00

The webs we weave.

Happily we celebrated our last day of work...like a bolt of lightning it then dawned on me...Hey dumbness...NO MON-NO FUN!

I grow more and more understanding of the reality that life is a double edge sword.

Hubster is packing up "das boat" and getting ready to pull out in the morning with his buds to Ohio for Walleye fishing.
He is sporting the most perfect "GARFIELD SMILE" and I can't say that I would expect anything less...

I did manage to get two more perfect gifts for Christmas yesterday.
The PET PAL- Animal Doctor nintendo DS.
Is your Siamese cat out of sorts? Does your hamster have a cough? Better let the Animal Doctor have a look with Pet Pals: Animal Doctor - Nintendo DS from Majesco Entertainment. In this realistic world of veterinary adventure, you are the doctor in charge; your skill and compassion are the difference between an animal's life and death. Enter this exciting field as a fresh-faced rookie, and then work your way up through the ranks to become the top veterinarian in this fun and realistic veterin.

I also ordered a book from Barnes and Noble- So you want to be a vet? for Megan.
AND A GREAT NEW GAME!!! SPORES by Sims
I see many a winter's weekends laughing with this new game!
Meg is fabulous with the Sims.

Now thinking-What ever will I do with my own self?
HUH?

Lots of thoughts on these days ahead but again I am not sure.
Must get a plan going...but first and for most must I have to send him on his way.
laughing...
I have a good idea of what I will be doing.
Soaring like an eagle comes to mind.
until later TJ

Whateva the hell?

2008-10-22T09:05:00.005-04:00

Yeah, a little update to the following!

Judge denies the motion to dismiss and gives us a court date. We DO NOT have to pay for his lawyer. His lawyer seemed shocked but the facts speak for themselves...no lawyers for us just the cold hard facts.

BRING IT ON NOW BABY!!

Sick to death of the abuse in the systems....
Dear God who dreams up all these laws?
Today we go before the judge finally!
We have had to jump through hoops and spit sideways just to get this far.
It started out with a customer owing a tad over a $1,000.00 for a year now.
We took him to small claims.
He, a big shot developer turned it over to his lawyer to remove it from small claims and take it to civil court. ( hoping to scare us off we are sure)
Then the letter of disclosers and more disclosers, we are pro bono.
Now the facts have and always have been the very same...yet today we find out if it is to be thrown out of court and we pay his lawyers fees!!
Did I mention his lawyer called last week and offered us a whomping $200.00??

Broken?

2008-10-18T16:51:00.006-04:00

I can't live without a camera!!

Man this has been our year, ya know that kind of year where everything and all things fall apart.

Now it's the fuel pump in my Tahoe, that 100,000 mile life span was on the money!!

The TV,

the powerwasher,

the compressor,

my camera,

central air,

the wash machine,

ice maker on the refrig.,

and now the Tahoe!

That my friend is a bonified whine!

Yup...

I backed up the puter to a Data Traveler thinking maybe the PC is next....handy little gismo.

Plug in where ever ya go and your own PC is easily available.

2 GB for $15.00.

For people who want to save journal entries...just save each entry to your PC then download the files to the data traveler.

Had kids this weekend..4 grandkidz to be exact! I am here to tell you that even as good as they are CHILDREN ARE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE!

Had one ( the one year old ) in the tiolet as another is screaming in the upstairs bathroom for toilet paper.

One crying, one laughing, one whinning and the other " Grama , Grama,Grama ?? "

"Grama" can be a dirty word!

laughing...I am off to a tubby with a white russian!

Steven has a Canon PowerShot S5 IS Digital Camera, I am pricing and looking seriously at this little gem.

His photos are wonderful....I am sure you will agree.

Here's the stats...

Product Description: Canon PowerShot S5 IS
The ultra-powerful 12x optical zoom on the PowerShot S5 IS means you'll get the shot you want with no compromise, yet that's only the beginning of what makes this camera so exciting. The S5 IS is loaded with many of Canon's latest advanced technologies including the DIGIC III Image Processor, so both still images and movies are rendered with fine detail and luminous...
The ultra-powerful 12x optical zoom on the PowerShot S5 IS means you'll get the shot you want with no compromise, yet that's only the beginning of what makes this camera so exciting. The S5 IS is loaded with many of Canon's latest advanced technologies including the DIGIC III Image Processor, so both still images and movies are rendered with fine detail and luminous clarity. And now ambitious photographers have even greater creative latitude thanks to an included hot shoe adapter that allows you to attach Canon Speedlite EX Series external flashes.
PowerShot S5 IS is compact and portable, with streamlined controls and a sure, steady grip. And you'll want to take it everywhere, because inside is a level of photographic power that's truly impressive. 8.0 megapixels ensure deeply detailed images - giving you complete freedom to enlarge an image or any section of an image and crop to your exact specifications. The 12x optical zoom brings this compact digital camera into the realm of serious photography. It has the power to take you right up onto the stage and into the end zone for the shot you really want. Zooming is fast and silent thanks to the ultrasonic motor drive.

Excuse me!

2008-10-07T08:00:00.008-04:00

Highs and lows of a middle aged women....

when your bounce back is in need of mending.

I didn't get the job...my neck surgery seems to be of grave concern.

Stopping long enough to think it through

it wasn't the best of my ideas.

Shit I say!

Outta my way...

I still have much to do.

After all I am a grandmother to 6 amazing kids...

have hobbies to explore...

have a seasonal business for work...

and alot of life to live.

Icksnay on OJay

2008-10-04T11:51:00.002-04:00

Guilty!

The verdict shocked the world and prompted debates over the racial elements of the case and the suitability of televised trials.

Didn't shock me! and racial..oh com'on!

Enjoy the ride....

2008-10-04T07:37:00.008-04:00

(photo sent to me in a email) Looks like my Abbey.

Had a long wonderful talk with Denise last night.
Today is her 29th birthday.
Gees!
She's made Captain now in the Air Force and plans to retire in 20 years.
Her last words of wisdom for me was that women have babies so they can entertain themeselves during football season. {{{{ laughing.... }}}}
I don't guess she never plans for a little one of her own.
What a shame, they are a nice couple having alot to offer a child.
BUT... raising children is not for everyone.
It's good to know when your responsibility plate is full...

Life these days...ya just never know what to expect.
SOOOOOOOO Enjoy the ride!

Leaving for a weekend with my mom.
I love the time we can spend together.

Wishing all who passes through...a great weekend.

Picking the bones...

2008-10-02T19:29:00.001-04:00

At heart I’m basically a Darwinian economist, and would like to see the sharks and the wolves pick the bones of the crippled companies that let greed fatally weaken their position in the marketplace. But my head tells me that if a substantial number of our banks and some of our biggest manufacturers start collapsing all around us, the fear and panic will create another situation like we had prior to the worldwide Great Depression.

It’s too bad that Wall Street couldn’t have followed the simple business model of Main Street McDonald’s, which is: work hard, provide a good product and good customer service, and above all, make people pay for their hamburgers, not give them the burger and throw in some fries and a free drink for a promise that they’ll pay later, if and when they get the money, and if they haven’t spent it on something else.

Thanks friend, I hear ya!

Initiation ..rumor ro not?

2008-10-01T16:26:00.003-04:00

They are calling it rumors on the news...yet

All night classes have been cancelled in our county,

schools have all been alerted.

hmmmm

The gangs are back at it again or so they think.

Initiation

rumor? Maybe? Who wants to take the chance.

The targets-Females at gas stations...that has been the warning.

The news is reporting a single fatality but no more information available.

Gees ! Get jobs and get real!

Looking for a job

2008-09-29T16:04:00.002-04:00

Unbelievable year...
The state of our Michigan economy is bad.
We are seeing so many companies fold and the rest of us are hanging on by a string.
The cost of operations are up...the cost of service charges HAVE TO be compromised.
Never have we had such a year...

Tomorrow I am off to find a winter job.
I will be finished up working with our company the end of October and free to work elsewhere.

I am starting with JCPenny's portrait studio...might as welll consider getting a few extra bucks doing something I love. Taking pictures of children.

I don't want to go back to hair and be the oldest stylist in the place...
who wants an old lady unless you are a weekly shampoo set kind of gurl?
That was something I never did manage to learn well.
My area of experience is color.
That too I imagine is slow...
Everything is slow.

No time to sit and lick wounds..time to find a job.
until later...TJ

Bakugans

2008-09-27T21:50:00.003-04:00

Good God Bakugans!.........Have landed in our home.
Save your selves, if you have 5year-9 year olds.
This game is the most expensive game of marbles I have ever seen.
Tempers flare...gramas have to mediate.
Holy cow...

par?ti?san oh damn par?ti?san

2008-09-27T12:13:00.004-04:00

Ob-la-di, ob-la-da, life goes on, brah!...
Lala how the life goes on. ( Beatles)

Leaves are falling fast this year and the talk is we will see the 30's this week at night.
Placing whole peanuts on the deck daily for the chippy's and getting the bird feeders ready.
Yup, it is fall.

I wish we could do a color tour of the upper pennisula.
Have to take the last of the work for the season....and it's coming in slowly.

Tonight Meg and Ethan comes.
Ice Cream birthday cake and hot tub ready!
Happy Birthday Ethan...youngest grandson takes another leap into 6 years.
He is a stink, has some real issues with behavior on his bus.
A logical explanation, 6 years on this planet and a natural born Huck Finn...grama thinks he is doing pretty damn good.
(Will mention I would hate to be his bus driver in truth.)

Watch the debate last night.
ho-hum!
What does America want?
We want more details

That wasn't a debate as far as I am concerned.
I wonder just how much experience either has in debate?
Ya know the old school debates where both sides directly tell what they know about a topic of interest. Blah ...
It is still so par?ti?san!!

Would someone please pick the ball up and go for it?

It matters....

2008-09-22T15:25:00.005-04:00

Oh gurls...it matters!

1. Lay down and bra goes empty.
2. Bladder sling working nicely! :)
3. About Olay Definity Self Repair Serum
Ignites skin's natural ability to self-repair for diminished discolorations, dullness, brown
spots and wrinkles-----Just NOT seeing it!
4. Matrix professional Hair color #5 working the best ever on the greys.
5. No such thing as a bang for a buck!
6. Viagra doesn't work on drunk sleepy guys.
7. Knees and ankle fat is the hardest to loose.
8. Boys lie!
9.Life is empty without a camera.....
and ten.......
The big TEN....men do have a change of life!

Name that PIG! your turn...

2008-09-19T09:09:00.003-04:00

A friend has asked for help naming a dish....Chris
Pork loin, stuffed and gravy...you can read more at the link above.

I came up with Wall Street Pork loin
STUFFED PIGS DROWNING IN GRAVY....
I like it! laughing......

It does look seriously good.

Friday already....hummmmm.
Hot tub is just about up to the temp he's waiting for.
Swear to God....he has stood at this hot tub with a thermometer waiting far more sincerely then a mother standing over a sick child.
I expect to see his shorts drop today.

He did mention I need to call the Loud Sex neighbors to babysit the tub when we go away.

Our Sony TV, all of three years old has gone into stand by mode.
Yup...Blinking continuously and through research it is a common problem which requires repairs.
AND it is NOT digital ready as promised when we bought it.
Not that it matters, we have satellite but there again another lie to get ya to buy.

Nuff said back to work.
Give Chris a vist...name that PIG!

Hanging..badly

2008-09-17T18:11:00.018-04:00

The guys where here last night....I am hanging like a bag dog today.

Is there anything worse then a WINE HANG OVER?

Damn you would think I would have learned this by now!!

Recovered wisdom I hope...

Fnnnnnnnnnn rip off's

2008-09-17T18:11:00.016-04:00

Fiaono Wine
(750mL ) $7.99 USD
Those basturds...........yup "we will order it for you."

I am paying $11.98 a bottle.
This is a Olive Garden special which we paid $20.00 a bottle.
Now I find I can get it on line for $7.99.

This market has to get in check! It's a bottle of wine for gods sake!
A chap bottle of wine... and look at the mark up!

We have lowered our prices even though the cost of gas has gone up.
Makes no sence, I know.
But if you really care about your business and it's customers you too have to compromise.
Period ......end of ranting!
We are a family business in touch with our customers!

Thoughts of joy and sorrow...

2008-09-17T10:11:00.004-04:00

This morning was a warmer morning much warmer then in the past few weeks.

Last night we stayed at the Soaring Eagle Hotel in a balcony room, which made a wonderful setting for morning coffee as the sun came up. I watched as the water glitter and danced with the days new light around the fountain out back.
The ride up and back was our time to talk...we do our best exchange while traveling.
We burned a few ears, hashed over some up and coming events.
We made plans...talked out strategies.

Christmas was on my mind.
Christmas already?
I miss the days when I shopped the deals all year round for the holidays.
Each grandchild 15 boxes, beautifully wrapped with all the holiday ornate including something new to place on their tree.
That is an expense we no longer can manage.
Now it is one gift, one box for each.
I have to make that one present speak loudly the joy of giving.
Tuff duty...best get my thinking cap on.

Sending a big hug of support for Charlene and her family who will bury her son and mother this week.
Seperate passings, same weekend.

Cards are out, the phone should start ringing and we are offically back to work.
Until later,
TJ

Oh my, that is NOT a cat!

2008-09-14T08:50:00.012-04:00

Four days of rain....steady, quiet rain that soothes your soul, lets your mind wander and dream.

These kind of days bring a balance and peace into our lives or so I thought!

Had the laugh of my life last night....

The neighbors had the LOUDEST SEX I have ever heard....it actually echoed from the woods and back again which even made it funnier!
I tried to "mimic the moment" for my husband but it just wasn't the same.
I am still chuckling...if you can imagine!

Speaking of .....
hubster came home with a small , two seater hot tub for the deck.
Friends won it with a raffle ticket and only wanted $200.00 for it.
He is a big fan of hot tubs.
It's his first question when checking in to a hotel.
Soaring Eagle has a huge spa outside and he never misses the opportunity.
We know it will go from our deck to the oldest son's when we no longer want it.

Talk about a leisure day!
A little this and a little that.
The Canadian Sandhill Cranes have started their migration.
No mistake of what is going on when they fly over....

disparaît ainsi un autre jour,
TJ

Hurricane IKE

2008-09-12T18:22:00.009-04:00

Hurricane IKE
Monster Storm....
If there is any state I would fear the least for as far as management it is the State of Texas.
They are always the first to write the checks to get a job done and this is Not their first rodeo.
I have been told that reserves couldn't land at the airport because of the over flow of help.

Our blog friend in Dallas will get some of this storm.
A smart women and I am sure she is preparing for the high winds, storms and lack of whatever they fall short on.
Hang on Judi!!!
My nephew lives in Galveston, a beautiful island. His home will take a big hit!
Their web cams are already down and the storm hasn't yet hit.
Galveston hit before in 1900 hurricane.
read more here
I am assured he has already hauled ass.
I have had my eyes on CNN all day...thinking of all who fall in the path of this storm.
1000 inmates still there? Mexicans living there without papers?
What a disaster they have unfolding!

Message?

ｎｎｎ專營企業戶 ( 銀行大額貸款、大額民間借款、大額代償代墊 ) ｈｈｈ專營企業戶 ( 銀行大額貸款、大額民

Hmmm your guess is as good as mine!

Here we go again...mother justice show me your hand!

2008-09-11T16:50:00.015-04:00

Self-employed....speaking out.

Oh ney I say.....for 7 years we have worked at Pine Hollow Estates and the developer goes belly up won't pay!
Quote: You will get yours when I get mine!

A tad bit of info on the homes:
Type: Single Family
Year Built: 2004
Sq. Foot: 4,774
Est. Acres: 1
Summer Tax: $10632.43
Winter Tax: $5513.48
Style: 2 Story
HVAC: Central Air, Forced Air, Humidifier
Bedrooms: 7
Full baths: 5
Half baths: 1
Garage Size: 3 Car

He has money coming....I want my money now.
Using the backs of others is one thing but using their money is another....
Did he think adding a lawn sprinkler system would sell it after 4 years of sitting?
I should have done my homework!
I personally would stop building these monsters until the economy picks up.
I should stand in a very long, long line to get paid...put a lien against the home?
He will just go bankrupt and wash his hands of all liens.

Oh nay!
We will take his ass to court.

We tried small claims but he had his lawyer remove it and take it into civil court.

Ok....go!
I pay a lawyer for knowledge of going pro-per....A term derived from the Latin in propria, meaning "for one's self," used in some states to describe a person who handles her own case without a lawyer.

It's your turn big shot lawyer who knows damn well the money has been earned.
( our lawyers talked on the golf course)

Let us just see how the hands of justice works.
We have all our invoices....
He hired our services....

What hole do they have such to escape.
I fear they do....
the point is...again I will have my day in court!!
So be it! WTF! This is nonsense! Total nonsense! He owes me $1400.00
nuff said!

*************
Judi our blog friend.....keeping an eye on hurricane Ike and you.
They say Dallas is going to get 75 mile /hour winds, long lines at the pumps and possibly no electricy!!
Sending a hug!
you have much to do.
My nephew lives in Galviston, he's already hauled ass inland.

Flat on my....

2008-09-11T14:50:00.011-04:00

While trying to do a good deed today I fell, yup right straight down on my ass, ( butt for some). For almost a full minute I sat waiting for what may have followed.

I live! I was a tad surprised.

My surgery and all those adjustments to my spine line held tight!

Hubby said "Get up sissy gurl", I flew him the bird.

My good deed was to power wash my sisters deck ( my deck technically ) but the house is hers while she rents it.

That's two good deeds two days in row. Getting the twelve cords of wood rolling over to Aunties was yesterdays.

I am on a roll.

Why?

I am a true believer is what goes around comes around and both of these people have been very good to me.

It was simply my turn.

My camera situation is grim.

I am camera less....a very disturbing and financially overwhelming predicament!

I have grown in my skills since my Kodak easy share.

I want a push for more experience.

I want a bang for my buck!

I want a real camera.

Meanwhile making a fool of myself yet not feeling foolish at all...I am on the search for a specif bottle of wine. I believe it to be a Sicilia wine, never say I think to wine dealers.
Ahhhhh but you should know if this served your pallet well....Whateva!
I am a wino not a wine conciser.
MandraRossa's Fiano.
Loved it! Can't find it...

Next good deed....getting my moms computer fixed.
Or should I say fixing my mom...laughing!

Remembering 9/11. Peace to all.
A day I know I will never forget.

so goes my story, [et on raconte ainsi mon]
Hugs TJ

Oppositions...blah blah

2008-09-10T17:01:00.003-04:00

So goes the Presidental Election....in our county.

Sad today, my digital camera is on the blink.
I have had it for nearly 9 years....hasn't it just another single photo for me?
I have been on the internet searching for answers...some suggest a new memory card and I have already replaced the batteries.

The family has decided to ralley around my aunt and uncle with help for firewood, enough for the season.
It was a tuff audience to convience as they have been fairly spend thrifty through out their years.
Broke is broke and family should be able to let go of their personal opinions and the passing of judgement when another is in true trouble.....at least that was my push.
So 12 cords of wood at $68.00 a cord should be a welcomed help and sign of family love and support.

Working on getting our winterization cards out....reaching out to 300 possible new customers.
Haven't a clue just what else to do, local advertising is out of $$$ reach.

Ike is looking bad, Corpus is such a beautiful place.
I love the Texas coastals.
I am afriad....we seen first hand what Catrina did.
Houston...gees!
Thank God they have enough notice........
Love TJ

Having great self-esteem happens naturally when you let go of your inner-critic.

2008-09-08T15:56:00.011-04:00

I haven't ever seen anyone have so much fun with missing her two front teeth as Emily!
Whistling, sticking her straw in her hole, tongue talk- you name it!
Having great self-esteem happens naturally when you let go of your inner-critic.

Photo update on Lauren 2 1/2 months after her accident.
Vivant une vie bénie....
HERE!

A Miracle for Sundays Scribbling Entry

2008-09-07T08:10:00.018-04:00

Through out my 54 summers I have countless times heard the "expression" of a miracle that has happen, "Oh my God that is a miracle!"
I have been told story's in reference to a miracle " It was a miracle!"
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I have found that if I pay close enough attention to what appears to be the miracle I find no evidence, just many natural explanations of such occurrence.
**

I will not deny I have in years passed I have a few times prayed for a miracle.

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Once I left my sisters side as she laid on her death bed and went into the hospital chapel and gave it all I had with some twisted form of prayer with desperate tears begging and pleading for her life.

**

I made promises I could never keep at that time.... looking back I feel a personal "shame on me."

I didn't believe in prayer, not really, not truthfully yet I there I was...asking and for myself.

**

She did make it through her "In Gods hands" seven day state of being and I have her now but the fact remains there was never a God's intervention at work, it was a modern medical intervention.

**

I found out later that the coma was Valium induced, which has a slow onset but log duration of action.

**
She had a leaking brain aneurysm and after the surgery the Dr's placed her in the coma to let the brain rest. The risk was that she would die from an overdose or complications from the surgery.
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I myself have to question... have I witnessed a real miracle?

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A true act of God's intervention, something more then mere chance.
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The closest I have come to believing in a miracle is watching with open eyes the birth of new life...a startling event for me.

Then again I find myself thinking "wouldn't that make conception a common event of nature? "
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Yes.

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Yet I have to admit that the whole design of new life rather it be human, animal, plant, a star, a planet or a new galaxy just simply has to be a miracle, after all it does change your life unknowingly forever.
**

The explanation for such designs of new life goes way beyond my bounds of explanations for complete comprehension, therefor a miracle.

Sunday Scribbling

your next....leave me your link

My Round Robin Photo Entry " My Blogspot "

Todays veiw...from where I sit

2008-09-05T10:27:00.012-04:00

humming.....
Walkers pass by
often a pet in tow.
Slowly they pass
where ever they go.

Watched as the electric meter man tried to rip the meter off the neighbors house across the street.
I fell into silence and sadness even though they have been a eye sore since the day they moved in.
Siding hanging off the house, trash cans ( about 8 ) all over the driveway blah-blah-blah
They show little appreciation of the value of their home.
He won a work comp seattlement and it came easy for them.
Bad back they tell us... I beg to differ but who cares what I see?
One day a cane-the next pulling a motor out of some salvage car he drags home.
The truth is we have been harden by all the work-comp cases in our county.
Yet, they are simply as we are JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT.
Times are bad... silently protesting.

Thats my veiw from where I sit...TJ
Entry below is the verdict on our Rental
We had our day in court.....

Beating on chest and crowing..we won!

2008-09-05T08:45:00.005-04:00

These photos are after ...the following was before the clean up.

How the new carpets ended up after one year....dog damages
and a couple of pigs!

The bathroom had to be gutted and everthing replaced.
They even stoled the lights and plumbing fixtures.

This is the large shed out back with all the appliances that was about two years old we furnished.
It was demolished! Everything destroyed!!

We won our case against our last renters.
Full $3,000.00 was awarded which we have opted to take from their income tax returns.
Sadly our loss was much more then that to repair the home back to a normal state but it is done.
God I am so thankful to have my sister tucked in there now. She has everything looking so nice.
I will never rent this home out to another stranger...I obviously can't be a good judge of character.

38 pounds

Our shoreline-Lake Superior-"Gitche Gumee"Sunday Scribbling

2008-09-03T07:32:00.016-04:00

Sunday Scribblings #126 Somewhere
Got your speakers turned up?
Song: Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald by Gordon Lightfoot
Photo: Lake Superior Shoreline and lighthouse- fall shot
Lyrics..
The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called "Gitche Gumee."The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead when the skies of November turn gloomy.With a load of iron ore twenty-six thousand tons morethan the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty,that good ship and true was a bone to be chewed when the "Gales of November" came early.
[On November 10, 1975] The men and ship lay somewhere...crossed over from the cold waters of Lake Superior. I go back often, pulled by emotion.
Telling the story still gives me chills but no-one ever told the story as well as Gordon Lightfoot.
Fall is in the air...our last trip for the season.
Time to get back to work ...hording up the fall breeze before the Gales of November sets in.

Drew Barrymore is in town...and life matters

2008-08-29T21:23:00.011-04:00

Drew Barrymore took our Ken's Diner and turned it into THE OINK JOINT.
It was a diner of the 50's, most commonly used for the old cars cruise, next door to my girlfriend's bar she named Vets.
Quote:
We told you that a movie was being shot in Birch Run Township. It’s a film called “Whip It!” that was using what used to be Kens Diner as a location that had been remade into the “Oink Joint”.Local residents spent the day at the location watching the action and looking for stars. Their wait paid off. Rob Major of Vassar was one of those lucky spectators. He sent NBC25 an email telling us about getting to meet the film’s director Drew Barrymore.

Just how cool is that!

We was told......Even though this part is shot in Mid-Michigan, the movie is about a Texas girl who joins a roller derby league. The movie is based on the young adult novel Derby Girl, written by Shauna Cross. The movie is currently scheduled to be released in 2009.

My question is..just how in the hell did she find Ken's Diner!!!

And how can you make a movie look Texan in MICHIGAN!

I lived in both out west and now Michigan , there is a world of difference......trust me on this one.

Lets just see how this unfolds....

Life matters...

Sarah Palin…now there was a sweet surprise!!

I am a democrat by nature but I have to say that nothing is more appealing to me then a military man in uniform with strong women beside him.

Hurricane Gustav [your link for live updates]

Keeping our eye out.

Watching all the updates

My neice has her Air Force reserves in place for evacts.

Yes you! Made your appointment this year??

2008-08-28T08:15:00.018-04:00

What advice would you give?

Get your mammogram this year!

In memory of Kimberleigh a fallen blog friend and all other women who have died with breast cancer.
I post my rendered photo every year about this time.
For those who have never had a mammogram, the machine does NOT actually have the teeth of jaws.
It's just me, adding a touch of my humor to a not so funny test.

The best gift I can give myself:

A good Attitude

Study: New way to spot breast cancer shows promise

3D..wow I am hooked!

2008-08-26T05:55:00.006-04:00

Up early, to early.
46 degrees.

Yesterday I had Meg and Ethan while my daughter-in-law was up to the hospital with her step father, Grandpa Marty.
Through testing they have discovered a aortic aneurysm, a 7 centimeter one to be totally accurate. At 5 centimeters they do surgery yet they are still in conference to see if he is able.

I felt I needed to take focus off Grandpa Marty being in the hospital and all the questions.
Soooooooo.......
off we went to see Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D.
Wow!
Talk about an experience!
There was moments when we all held hands, all ducked and screamed.
Holding the hand of a tiny 5 year old with big ol' black rimmed glasses was a great way to capture a first 3d date experience.
It was more then funny to watch him, it was a multiple of emotional events I will surely not forget.

I did this combined photo, 3d, 2 layers and embossed in Microsoft pictures.

[A few digital photo renders....I love to play with photo software.]

Saying goodbye...Time takes her gently

2008-08-24T15:38:00.011-04:00

Today I helped a friend....
Sadly she has lost her mother to time at the age of 97 years.
Now she finds herself alone, truly alone.
No sibblings, no parents, grandparents, just three cousins.

We started in one room at a time, going through boxes of precious momentos and oddles of uncollectable keepsakes.
I came across a photo of her mother.
Tall, slender and elegant.
Beautiful with her whole life ahead of her.
We came across old ballet shoes and more family photos, none of which Kathy had ever seen.
All the while I kept thinking to myself I NEED to go through my boxes I have accumulated over time, drawers and closets.

I wouldn't ever want to leave my children with such a job.
Leave them with so much to sort out.
I have left them with sibblings, they will have each other hopefully to go through my treasures and uncollectables.
Now more then ever Iam reminded of the value of a family.

There is no one in my life quite like my mother. I can not bare the thought of losing her, yet I know that time will come.
You can't prepare yet I know there are instances that would allow us to start wrapping our heart around such an idea.

A only child, that can be a lonely legacy of emptiness.

[ picture- a collage of photos I found on the internet made in Microsoft Pictures]

Grown at age 6years..so she thinks!

2008-08-24T15:07:00.005-04:00

The actual photo is HERE.
Miss Emily is quite the Gurl.
She's only 6 years and I fear she knows far more then she really could understand.
She a beautiful gurl but most likely she is going to tear her dad's heart out and eat it for breakfast daily.
I am thankful it is him and not me.
She lives her life each and everyday as Hanna Montanna, that's her rock star pose.
She just finished her song and dance...

Love to search out art....

2008-08-24T08:26:00.010-04:00

Photo Blog Round Robin Challenge HERE

I started to see alot more art in our community once I opened my eyes.
Funny how we drive by so much and never give it that second glance.

Love TJ

Waking up the morning light

2008-08-22T08:47:00.004-04:00

I love sitting out on our deck.
Coffee in hand out I go just before dawn capturing this photo.

Meg's been here for the week...what a joy she is.
Last night I had a few glasses of wine so I was ready for bed.
Our nightly routine is to make up a story.
Hmmm...I am ready for sleep but that story must be told.
I jumped in at just the right moment "Bam I am a webkin."
We both laughed...then she smelled something..( my wine breath)
Picking her webkins up..I sniffed it's butt.
Nope nothing here.
We both laughed again unntil she got her wits back and continued the story.
She see's me fading off and the last thing I heard was her "Bam I am a vacume cleaner."
Such silly stories with so much sweet laughter.
I am sooooooo lucky!

The morning air drips with humidity and the temp is a whopping 72 degrees already.
This is that time of year for Michigan that the temps rise and fall to assorted levels daily.
This is start of fall.

My starting fall list is to:
deadhead flowerbeds,
stock up on bird seed
start putting out daily, all natural peanuts in the shell for the chippies to haul off to get them through winter,

Ahhhhhh yes.
I can feel fall.
My favorite time of year.