Knowles et. al

100 Years of a Life Well Lived

2012-01-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

I attended a funeral yesterday for a woman who used to volunteer at Prince George’s Hospital Center. Her name was Marie Mudd Summers and she was 100. When she was able, she would come to the hospital 5 days a week for work for 5 hours/day in various departments throughout the hospital. Everyone who worked there knew who Mrs. Summers was and if you were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to get to know her, she had wonderful stories to share. Two notable things about her – she was the granddaughter of Dr. Samuel Mudd and she worked as a secretary for J. Edgar Hoover. She raised 5 children, including one with special needs, and despite the fact that her husband died in 1972, she raised her family, worked, and eventually began her volunteer career. She amassed more than 22,000 of volunteer services to the hospital. I was talking with someone who remembers her telling him that her doctor told her she needed to volunteer 5 days a week so she wouldn’t die. I think she heeded that doctor’s advice!

Mrs. Summers faithfully drove to the hospital five days a week, and when she wasn’t able to drive anymore, she took the bus from her home to the hospital to make sure she was where she was supposed to be. Every Wednesday, her son with special needs used to come to the hospital and meet his mother for lunch. Unfortunately, she had to stop her volunteer service a couple of years ago due to her health issues.

I remember conversations with her about how her family worked so hard to clear her grandfather’s name – as she would say, “he was a doctor who treated patients when they showed up at his house”. How was Dr. Mudd supposed to know who John Wilkes Booth was? There were no phones back then, no radio and TV stations broadcasting “breaking news”. As she said, he was a doctor caring for his patients.

She was always willing to help out wherever she was needed, and she didn’t mind sharing her opinion about something if she felt the need. I remember her coming to the Executive Office every morning to get her cup of coffee.

Back to the funeral – it was well attended and there were so many photographs of her and her family, as well as the many volunteer awards on display that she received over the years from the many places she volunteered. One of her sons and one of his daughters spoke at the service and shared some things about her I didn’t know before.

One thing that disturbs me is that despite more than 22,000 hours of volunteering for the hospital, there were only three people at the funeral who had any association with the hospital (including one person who had retired from the hospital a couple of years ago, one current employee, and myself and I work at a sister facility). Where were the others to pay tribute to her for all of her years of valiant service? I find it unfathomable that no one else could carve time out of their busy schedules to pay their respects to this faithful volunteer.

Goodbye Mrs. Summers. You had an amazing life, and family and friends who will always remember you. What a legacy you left for each and every one of us.

Sometimes Life is Full of Deceptions

2011-12-04T20:09:00.000-08:00

For the past eight years our county has been “led” by a county executive named Jack Johnson. Before he was elected as county executive, he was the State’s Attorney for a period of time. So, as you can see, he earned his Juris Doctorate many years ago and spent time in the legitimate legal world. However, I had a lower opinion of him than most people. For some reason, I disliked his politics and didn’t trust him. I couldn’t believe when he was elected to a 2nd two year term by the citizens in our county. All through his tenure there were rumors of his involvement in suspicious activities.

Flash forward to 2010, November to be exact. As I was walking into work one morning, there were “breaking news” alerts on the TV. Mr. Johnson had been arrested following an investigation into his activities by the FBI. His house had been raided and, in one of the more comical aspects of this case, he was on the phone with his wife (who had recently be elected to serve on our local county council) telling her to stuff close to $80,000 in cash into her underwear as the FBI agents were knocking at her front door (this exchange was reported as the result of Mr. Johnson’s wiretapped phone). His wife was also taken into custody.

In the spring of 2011, their trials were taking place and both were found guilty, with sentencing to be scheduled in the early fall. In the theater of the absurd, his wife continued to do her work on the county council until July when she finally stepped down from office. Fall 2011 came and their sentencing was postponed until December.

The week of Thanksgiving there were some newspaper articles referencing to the sentencing memorandum for Mr. Johnson. Since this debacle had captured my attention for the better part of the last year, I was curious to see what was in this memorandum and searched through court documents and eventually was able to locate said document. What I read has made me furious and disgusted with the healthcare system where I work. It appears that Mr. Johnson (who prior to being arrested was limited by term limits to 2 terms in office) had worked out a plan for our healthcare system to hire someone he had appointed as chairman to a special hospital authority commission which had been created to try to find a buyer for our hospital system. This person would become the president and chief executive officer for our organization. The former chairman of our corporate board of directors was, in essence, forced to arrange the hiring of this appointee in order secure a $20,000,000 grant to be released to our system to keep our organization afloat. The next part of this scheme assured that once Mr. Johnson had left office, he would obtain a $10,000 - $15,000 per month consulting fee from the hospital system so that he would make a six figure salary without having to work. In his own words, “I don’t want no job.” All of this was worked out many months before this commission had ended its term.

In my seventeen years at this healthcare system, I don’t think I have ever felt so betrayed, disgusted, and disappointed. The morale at our organization was already at an all-time low (prior to the release of this sentencing document). As more employees read this document, the morale has dropped to a level I have never experienced. Mind you, the current CEO is not named in the document, as this is still under investigation, with more indictments to follow. Many conversations and meetings were wiretapped and make no mistake, the “hospital official” named in this document is our current CEO.

To make matters worse, this CEO has appointed a significant number of people to positions within the organization for which they have no skill set. In turn, these people, feeling they have the complete support of this CEO, have played havoc with employee’s livelihoods – forcing people to transfer from one job to another (these people didn’t want to transfer – they were forced to transfer). Several people have been “fired” (long term employees – 20 and 11 years respectively) just because the vice president they reported to had issues with them (i.e., disliked them). I think these people could file hostile work environment cases against this vice president. It remains to be seen if they will do that.

My plan was to work for another four years before retiring, but now I’m trying to decide if I want to work for an organization that is so corrupt at the top. My hope is that our board of directors will take a stand and put an end to this madness.

How sad that our healthcare system has become so deeply involved with the political ramifications of the downfall of this county executive. What a shame that our employees have to work with leaders who only seem to care about themselves and can’t see the harm they are doing to our system. We have struggled financially for years, providing uncompensated care to patients in our area. We have been on the brink of closing on several occasions. Now we have to endure a potential scandal of unbelievable proportions, all because of the greed of a few people. To be caught up in something like this is something most of us would never imagine

Let the Holidays Begin.

2011-11-20T20:37:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful choir practice today after church. While our choir is normally on the smaller size, today we had more than 20 people show up for choir rehearsal. What a difference a crowd makes. We only have a short time to learn the songs for Christmas but with the range of voices and talents we had in that room today, I'm sure we will know the music in no time at all.

One of the songs our choir director selected is one of my favorites - Were You There on That Christmas Night by Natalie Sleeth. The words are moving and the music is simplistic but so lovely. The choir sounded so good today and I'm excited to sing this piece with them.

I have an affinity toward Natalie Sleeth's music. Several years ago, as some of you may remember, I was a member of a large choir - the Washington Family Singers - and our wonderful choir director Sheena Joyce loved Natalie Sleeth and we performed many of the songs she wrote. But I think this piece is my favorite of all the ones we learned. Too bad my blog doesn't include sound, but I think you'll be able to get the spirit of the words as you read them:

Were you there? Were you there?
On that Christmas night.
When the world was filled with a holy light.
Were you there to behold as the wonder foretold came to earth?

Did you see? Did you see?
How they hailed him King?
With their gifts so rare that they choose to bring?
Did you see how they bowed as they praised Him aloud at his birth?

Did you hear how the choirs of angels sang at the glory of the sight?
Did you hear how the bells of Heaven rang, all through the night?

Did you know, did you know it was God's own son?
The salvation of the world begun?
Did you know it was love that was sent from above to the earth?
Did you know it was love that was sent from above to the earth?

If you have never heard this song before, Google the title and listen to some of the videos on line.

As if choir rehearsal wasn't enough, tonight I went to a fireside at our stake center to hear Senator Orrin Hatch speak (or should I say Brother Hatch). He is always a dynamic speaker and tells some wonderful stores regarding his faith and the people he comes in contact with. It was disappointing that so many people missed the opportunity to hear this stalwart member of our church speak up close and personal.

Even though it's not quite Thanksgiving, I give thanks for the start of this holiday week as it leads into the Christmas season. It's days like today that makes us remember what the season is truly about.

Observations on Life

2011-10-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've written anything and since I've been at two conferences in the past two weeks and I'm more tired than usual, I've been noticing a lot of things which has led to this post. Maybe I'm getting grouchy as I get older, but here goes:

I can't understand why people are not more observant. I've been on several shopping excursions lately (grocery store, Costco, small specialty stores - you get the picture). Why is it that when someone is shopping with a grocery cart, they think it's okay to leave the cart in the middle of the aisle instead of moving it to the side so that other shoppers don't have to fight their way down the shopping aisle?

Once a person enters a grocery store, they suddenly lose their common sense and mathematical acuity when getting in the 15 or less express check out line and piling all of their 15+ items on the belt without a care in the world. Pity the poor soul who is behind them trying to purchase 3-4 items in the express line. And why doesn't the cashier say something to the line invaders? Then these invaders get to the register and after the cashier tells they what they owe, at that point they begin to rifle through their purse/wallet to find their cash/check/credit card and their frequent buyer card. Is it right then that it occurs to them that they have to pay for their purchases? I forgot to mention that these people are generally on their cell phones at this moment as well.

In the past few days while driving the car, I have observed the rudeness of drivers in the Washington, DC area (but I think this happens all over the country). You are stopped at a stop light and the second the light turns green, the person behind you honks the horn to get you to move faster. There hasn't been a nano second since the light changed, but the driver behind you thinks you've taken too long to put your foot on the accelerator. This same person is normally on their cell phone as well.

Here's another driving situation I've noticed. We all know there are laws that protect pedestrians in marked walk ways. But since these laws went into effect, it seems as if this has given the pedestrians the freedom to walk across the street at any given moment, not caring whether or not they are crossing with the light (and have the right-of-way). I have seen so many near collisions between people and cars as the pedestrians walk right into the middle of the oncoming traffic and then the driver has to slam on their brakes in order to avoid hitting the pedestrian.

As I mentioned before, I've been at two large conferences over the past two weeks. Apparently good manners leave one's persona at a convention. People will walk right in front of you, in some cases, bumping into you and then they keep on walking. Miss Manners would be astounded - not a word of apology (pardon me, excuse me, I'm sorry) - they are in too much of a hurry to get to where they are supposed to go to take a moment to acknowledge their behavior.

Enough of my venting - I'll end this with something in a more positive vein. As some of you know I'm involved with a large group of people throughout the country who make afghans for wounded soldiers. These people knit or crochet 6"x9" rectangles and 49 of these rectangles eventually become individual afghans which are sent to military hospitals throughout the country as well as Germany and Afghanistan. I don't knit or crochet very well, but I am a collector of these rectangles.

Right now I have over 3,400 rectangles in boxes in one of our spare bedrooms. Next month I'll have the rectangles separated by color to take to a put together event, where the rectangles are designed into afghans. I love collecting the rectangles - I get some of the most wonderful notes from people who send me their rectangles. I love to open a box and see all the different stitches that are used. I get a kick out of opening a box to see how much care the sender puts into the shipping process. Some people wrap the rectangles in tissue paper, or enclose them in plastic baggies, and most times these wonderful craft people will write me a nice note, thanking me for collecting the rectangles. There are too many people to acknowledge on a personal basis, but I appreciate the time they take to let me know how much they appreciate what I do, while I am the one who appreciates their talents with knitting or crocheting. This project makes me proud to help with this project and turns my mood around after a hard day at work (or dealing with the types of people I mentioned in the first four paragraphs).

Now I think I'll go start to crochet some of those rectangles together to make another afghan (I'm working on my fourth one right now). Next time I'll post about our trip to Lancaster, PA and the wonderful bed and breakfast we stayed in last month.

Earthquakes, Hurricanes, Tropical Storms - Just Another Summer in DC

2011-09-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

We have really had several interesting happenings in our neck of the words over the past several weeks. On August 24 just before 2:00 p.m., a 5.8 magnitude earthquake jolted our area (actually, it was pretty widespread - from the middle of Virginia all the way up in the northeast. As luck would have it, part of our chimney came down. My DH was driving home from a dentist appointment and came down the hill to witness the neighbors throwing bricks from the street onto our yard. He got out of the car and asked what they were doing and they pointed to the chimney. The bricks flew off the chimney, hit the roof on the side porch and bounced into the street. There was several holes in the roof (the bricks were solid, from the early 1930s - not like the bricks they make today). When I got home from work, we were picking the bricks off the yard and I couldn't believe how heavy they were. Of course we called the insurance company, only to learn that we didn't have any earthquake coverage (why would we -when is the last time we had a 5.8 earthquake in our area?). We began the process of getting some estimates since this repair would be on our dime. After contacting a few companies, we choose one who was reasonably priced and the chimney was repaired.

On August 27th, Hurricane Irene paid a visit to our area. There was a lot of rain, but the winds seemed to be what I noticed more. And the thunderstorms (thunder and lightning for hours on end). After all was over by Sunday afternoon (they called off church on Friday as the storm approached), our next door neighbor lost a huge tree, as did the neighbors who live in back of us. Fortunately for us, we have no trees on our property except a lovely crepe mrytle, who was spared (unlike when we had all the snow during the last 2 years). Lots of yard debris to clean up but we escaped relatively unscathed.

Then, on September 5th, Tropical Storm Lee came to pay a visit, and boy did he overstay his welcome. We had torrential downpours for 5 days - estimates of 10-15 inches of rain descended on the area. Again, we were lucky. We live in the middle of a very large hill (our section of the city is called Hyattsville Hills) and despite all the rain, we didn't experience any flooding (thank goodness the sump pump we installed in 1988 worked overtime and kept the water out of the basement). Schools were closed, and so many roads were flooded for days. Many people were less fortunate and suffered flooded basements; mobile home parks were totally destroyed; roads washed away; and people lost electricity for up to 10 days (again we were sparred the power outages). How could any of us predict we would have had three major geological and weather events in such a short span?

What did we learn from these events? If you feel the earth moving, it probably did. Listen to your inner voice and make sure you are prepared in case another significant event occurs (stock up on your food supply, especially food that doesn't need to be refrigerated, keep plenty of water on hand, maybe purchase a generator), and don't be alarmed if nature's wrath comes calling again. Methinks we might see more strange occurrences going forward.

April's Passing Milestones

2011-05-23T19:53:00.000-07:00

April is an interesting month. It is the month in which both of my parents died. My father died on April 13, 1961, when I was 11 years old. We all expect our parents to die at some point, but to have that happen at so young an age is not the norm. However, I vividly remember several other elementary school friends who lost parents in 1961 and 1962 so maybe it was the norm back then.

If I am thankful for one memory of my dad - it was the memory I have of him the night before he died. We had the best time that night. He left for work early in the morning at 4:30 a.m. six days a week (before we awoke for the day so we didn’t get to see him until he returned in the early evening). He and his brother owned a poultry business on Maine Avenue in Washington, DC. Occasionally we would take a “field trip” to visit him at the warehouse. It was so cold there (and I guess he was used to that temperature because he would sleep in one of the bedrooms with an air conditioner set to around 50 degrees). I remember lots of chickens and turkeys (on occasion) strutting around the warehouse. It never really occurred to me what happened to the chickens after we left – but I remember eating lots of chicken while I was growing up.

On Sundays, he would drop my sister and I off at church (back then I was a Methodist) and after church he would pick us up and take us to visit his mother, our dear grandmother. She lived in an apartment about 20 minutes from our house, with her spinster sister as my grandfather had died several years before. On the way to grandmother’s house, my dad would sing songs to us, and he didn’t have the gift of music that I was fortunate enough to have inherited. He sang off key on the entire ride to her house. It was always a fun time for me.

My grandmother always had a bowl of vanilla ice cream with Nabisco Brown Edged Wafers for us when we visited. She was a very gentile Virginia woman and I loved our weekly visits with her. I used to feed the squirrels outside of her apartment each week. They would come right up to me to get the peanuts my grandmother would buy for the squirrels.

Anyway, the evening before he died was so much fun. We laughed and joked around all evening. I remember something about one of the Marlboro Man commercials on TV that we laughed about. We had such a great night and when I woke up the next morning, my aunt was at the house. I thought that was strange and she said that my mom had taken my dad to the hospital in the middle of the night because he wasn’t feeling well.

A short time later, my mother came in the door and asked my sister and I to come with her to her bedroom. There she told us that our dad had died. She said he had a “small heart attack” at home and the ambulance came and took him to the hospital. It was at the hospital that he had a second massive heart attack which killed him. I remember thinking what a great night we had just 12 hours earlier and how everything had changed in the morning.

The next several days were busy with funeral preparations, relatives, friends and neighbors visiting the house and bringing food, and lots of phone calls. I also remember discussing the funeral arrangements with my mother and making the decision not to attend the funeral. Fifty years later, I have never regretted that decision. I have such wonderful memories of my dad from the evening before and that is how I will always remember him.

My grandmother died about eleven years later and I did go to the funeral – she was 97 years old and although she looked like she was sleeping, I still remember her in the casket. Her poor body gave out, but she was an amazing person with wonderful memories to share with everyone, even up to the end of her life. She was alive for the first Wright Brothers plane flight and the first walk on the moon - what a time period she lived through.

Fast forward to April 26, 1986 – the day, twenty five years ago, my mother died. My mom had been sick for awhile and was in need of a heart transplant, however, with her medical complications and her age, that wasn’t an option. I spoke to her the night before she died. Our local neighborhood group was participating in our city parade the next morning. Each family in our group represented a different decade, beginning with the Gay 90s through the turbulent 60s. We had great costumes and even won a monetary award from the city. When I got home, there was a message on the answering machine – my cousin said to call him. I knew when I heard that message that my mom was dead and sure enough, when he answered the phone, he didn’t have to say anything – I said, “I know, she’s dead.” My sister had stopped by to see her and found her dead in her condo. Once again, going from a “natural high” from the parade to a “natural low” from the news of her death.

I was 36 when she died. My children were 12, 10 and 6. I indicated that I didn’t want an open casket at the funeral home. Instead we had lots of photos of my mother throughout the room. I remember how many comments we received that evening about all the photos – people thought it was a great idea and they were able to remember my mom as she was – with a smile on her face, throughout many decades with clothing to reflect those decades. We had a graveside service for her as she joined my dad in the cemetery (with my grandparents) in the same area. Since then my aunt and uncle were buried near them so it’s kind of like a family reunion to visit the cemetery.

When I look at the calendar, I marvel that their death dates were within two weeks of each other, in the same month, although 25 years apart. And now it’s been 25 years since my mom died and 50 years since my dad died. I’m so grateful that my children have had a totally different experience with their parents and hope we will be around for many more years to come. For some reason, those numbers really struck me this year.

I know that losing my dad at such a young age taught me a lot of things and made me grow up faster than if he had died when most parents die – in his seventies or eighties. I have a painting in my house that my mom had commissioned from a photo of my dad and he has a small grin on his face in the painting. I can totally remember him looking like that when I was a little child. I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if my dad hadn’t died, but then I remember we all are given situations we have to learn to live with and that, in the end, makes us who we are. I am just so grateful for the childhood memories of that wonderful night before he died. I think he would have been proud of the woman, wife and parent I became.

Helping Those Who Serve

2011-02-20T19:16:00.000-08:00

A few years ago I was reading the newspaper and saw an article that caught my attention. It was an article about a woman who started a project called Homemade Aghan Project or HAP for short. With the help of some of her friends, they began knitting or crocheting 6" x 9" rectangles. Once 49 rectangles were completed, other volunteers would crochet the rectangles together and complete the afghan. The completed afghans were then shipped to military hospitals in this country and overseas and given to wounded soldiers.

The article indicated they needed donations to help with the cost of mailing and so I sent some money in. When I first saw the article, the group had completed over 2,000 aghans. There are over 1,500 volunteers who help out - some make the rectangles, some collect rectangles, some design afghans at the quarterly Put Together Events (PTE) that are held in Maryland, some put the rectangles together to complete a blanket, some wash the finished afghans and some help with deliveries or mailings.

Fast forward to 2010. The project organizer put out a call for additional help. Since I don't knit or crochet I was wondering what more I could do to help out with this project. Since there was only two collectors in Maryland I thought I could help out and volunteered to be a collector. Another person also volunteered and so there are now four people collecting rectangles and finished aghans. Several times a week envelopes and boxes arrive at the house. This is where the fun begins. Picture a dining room table filled with rectangles 12" deep, assorted by color. Imagine a dining room filled with bags of assorted rectangles - in zip lock bags bigger than I could ever imagine. Imagine going to a PTE with all those bags and putting them with other bags in a large room. Tables are put up and people begin designing afghans with the rectangles. At the last PTE, over 300 afghans were designed. Volunteers contact another HAP member who sends design kits to be put together. These completed afghans are then sent to the collectors who get them to the project organizer who washes the blankets, photographs them to put on the website, puts them in plastic bags and attaches a note of thanks to them. She then mails these handmade afghans to military hospitals throughout this country and overseas.

Since I first became aware of this group two years ago, they have now completed more than 5,200 afghans. Can you imagine this - more than 3,000 in two years! The project needs each and every person who has volunteered in order to make this work. There are volunteers from all 50 states, Canada, and Mexico.

I love to get the boxes and open them and see the beautiful handmade rectangles that arrive. There are many different crochet patterns that are sent. Sometimes I get 7 rectangles and sometimes I get 174 in a box. I love to get the completed afghans to see how these rectangles have been designed and the uniqueness of each and every afghan. Each rectangle with made with love and made for our soldiers who have sacrificed so much to make our country free.

The term "it takes a village" really speaks to what this project is all about. I'm so glad I'm a part of this project and hope that those who receive these afghans know how much their sacrifices are appreciated by all the volunteers in this project. Now if I could just teach myself how to crochet...

The Hills Aren't Alive with the Sound of Music, or are they?

2010-12-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

It's Christmas time and the sounds of holiday music fill the air. Our choir is practicing Christmas hymns for our church celebration in a few weeks. There is a tradition in our stake at this time of year. It's called The Festival of Choirs - each of the wards in our stake perform 1-2 songs at the stake center on the first Sunday evening in December and immediately following the end of this performance, the First Presidency Christmas Devotional is shown on satellite TV at the stake center. We starting practicing for this several weeks ago.

I can carry a tune and have an adequate voice to hold my own in a choir setting. We recently had our stake conference and were able to share two hymns with the congregation. It was then that I started thinking about how important music is in my life. Several years ago I was fortunate enough to be a member of the Washington Family Singers (WFS). This group was formed from people from most of the wards in our stake who had a love of music. We had a very talented director, Sheena Joyce, and three amazing pianists - her husband Peter, their daughter Petra Collins, and Tim Willis. It was such a joy to sing with this group. We were able to perform at our temple visitor's center quarterly, and the concerts we performed during the Christmas season were almost always standing room only. We had such a personal investment to the choir, and the director and pianists. It was an extended family and something I looked forward to each week. Sheena always told us that is wasn't necessary to be musically perfect - the most important thing was that we sing with the spirit of the music and the meaning of the words we were sharing and hopefully that would touch the hearts of those who saw us perform. Sometimes during a performance, I would look at Sheena and could tell she felt the spirit so strongly that tears would well up in her eyes. All of us would have to turn our eyes away from her, or we would have teared up as well.

We were together as a choir for three years and then Peter and Sheena were called to the mission field in UT and departed from the choir. Their daughter Carole Santizo and Katie Curtis shared director duties, and Petra and Tim continued to play for us. Then Petra and her family moved to UT, followed shortly by Carole and her family. Katie tried her best to keep us together, and we had another wonderful pianist, Kurt Creel to help us out, but the decision was made to disband the choir. It has now been a couple of years since that happened. How I miss that choir and the wonderful experiences we had together. Sadly, Kurt died this past spring, far too young to have left this earthly world.

Flash forward to 2010 - Katie (who is our stake music director) selected a couple of pieces for us to perform at our stake conference. Katie completed her Masters music degree last year and is a talented soprano. But since she graduated, she had a different countenance about her and her directing is so fun to watch - she is so enthusiastic about leading our stake choir. As I previously mentioned, we have been preparing Christmas music for our Festival of Choirs - once again, Katie is our director and I love watching her as she leads us during practice. She has a love of music and shares her joy with those of us in the choir. So, the sound of music is ringing again with our stake choir and I am so grateful for this experience again.

One of the things that Sheena did for us was to record an Easter concert we did at the temple visitor's center, and gave every member of the choir a copy of the concert on CD. The hymns and anthems we sang for that concert were so moving and spiritual. One in particular, Scenes from Gethesemane, continues to haunt me everytime I hear it. The words are so moving and the music still gives me goosebumps, even after singing this for the better part of the past 12 years. Our stake center is about 30 minutes away from my house, and as I drive to rehearsal, I will sing along with the CD as a warm up. The CD isn't performance quality (and my youngest daughter Kim can be heard coughing throughout the CD during several of the songs). But it's a tangible reminder of the WFS and our love of singing.

Hopefully we will continue to perform songs as a stake choir on a more regular basis. And hopefully, Katie continues to serve as in her role as stake music director. I'm so glad music is back in my life again.

Politics, Politics, Politics

2010-10-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

May I just say that I can't wait for the mid-term elections to be over. When November 2nd comes, I'll be celebrating. I am so sick and tired of all the campaign ads (negative as usual). Living in the DC area, you have to listen very carefully to what is being said in order to try to figure out the message. Details on the former governor of MD about what happened during the time he's been away from office (of course, the details don't tell you everything so one could assume all the negative items being thrown at him are true). The former governor doesn't respond to the accusations but has his own negative ads for the current governor (although not nearly as negative as his opponent). During the morning, between 7:00-8:00 a.m., you can see a constant barrage of ads on TV from both candidates. Then we see the ads from other areas of the country - just as bad and negative as you would suspect. Wouldn't it be nice to see a campaign that emphasizes the positive things a candidate has done and let the public decide for themselves?

And I will get political myself - as President Obama flies across the country to campaign for fellow Democrats who are in danger of losing their seats in the Congress, it seems that his message is that only Democrats are concerned about the nation in general. I'm quite sure that there are fellow Republicans and Independents who are concerned about the nation as well. These democratic candidates wouldn't need to be so concerned for their jobs if they had listened to their constituents and voted differently on certain key pieces of legislation. It seems to be that the country as a whole is sick and tired of what's happening and has decided to be more vocal about it. Although not an official political party - the Tea Party is making an impact across the land (and I don't believe this is a group of radical citizens who are voicing their opinions - it seems to me that they are average Americans who want their voices heard and are willing to congregate together to make those voices heard).

So, we only have 10 more days to listen to the negativism of the campaigns. I will take advantage of the opportunity to vote early (as we have that option in our state now). And I will look forward to November 3rd and the sounds of holiday music for the upcoming Christmas season (I'm sure the decorations are already in place at the malls and the music is already playing).

Change is Constant

2010-10-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

For the past several weeks, at the end of Sacrament meeting, a letter has been read a letter from the Stake Presidency referencing a four ward Sacrament meeting to be held on September 26th at the Stake Center (note to those who are not members of the LDS church - each congregation is called a ward, and many wards make up a Stake, which is similar to a diocese in the Catholic church). Our Stake has seven units (wards and branches) in it. So the fact that we weren't meeting as an entire stake led to lots of speculation on what was to occur.

The announcement also indicated that there would be a special choir performance and asked that anyone who would like to sing with the choir meet at 8:00 a.m. for a quick rehearsal before the meeting at 9:00 a.m. The hymn was "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" - a favorite of mine (but a different version than the one in the hymn book) and a hymn our own choir had sung several weeks before in our ward Sacrament meeting.

On Sunday, I drove to the Stake Center, which is about 25 minutes from my home. The day before we held a community health fair at work and after a very intense 12 hour day, I could barely walk that evening so I was amazed I was able to get up and out of bed early on Sunday morning. When I arrived at the Stake Center, I was so excited to see the number of people who showed up for the rehearsal. The choir was so large. We had a 40 minute practice and were asked to sit in the choir loft until after we sang, and they we were to sit in the congregation.

Although four wards don't have as many people as a normal stake conference would, the building was filled with Saints from different wards, and there were chairs set up in the overflow section to accommodate the number of people who came.

After the opening prayer, we stood up to sing. There was a special spirit present at that moment, and once we began singing, you could feel that spirit so strongly - I had goosebumps while I was singing. It was such a spiritual experience and when the hymn was finished, the stake president turned around, with a big smile on his face, and gave us a "thumbs up" sign. For the rest of the meeting, I noticed the hymns we sang all had a purpose for this kind of meeting. Once again, the Spirit was guiding the person who selected those hymns.

The anticipated announcement was made - one of the wards was being dissolved, and the majority of those members would be going to our ward (historical note - 19 years ago, the dissolved ward was created from our ward). Our ward boundaries were changed slightly, and several of our members would be attending one of two other wards. When the counselor asked for a vote - everyhand went up. A friend and I looked at the stake president and he looked like he was going to cry but he also had a look of relief on his face as well. The vote was unanimous.

Because of these boundary changes, there were changes in the Bishoprics as well. Our bishop was released after five years, but keeping it in the family, his father-in-law was called as the bishop for our ward (he previously was the bishop in the ward that was dissolved). Our bishop was asked to speak as was his mother-in-law. His dear mother-in-law has attended two Sacrament meetings for the last five years - she was in our ward helping her daughter with their four children, and then she stayed for Sacrament in the ward her husband was bishop in. I commented to her after the meeting that she would now have some free time as she wouldn't have to spend 7 hours in our building each Sunday. Our outgoing bishop gave an emotional talk, yet it hardly seems possible it was five years since he was called as our bishop. Another note - when he was called, he didn't attend our ward - he was in the ward that was just dissolved. As he was called to be our bishop, very few of us knew him, but we came to love him for all he did for us. How fun is it that now we are combined as one ward and will still be able to see him and his family each week?

We got a little treat that day - we only had a two hour Sacrament meeting and then church meetings were over for the day. We had a chance to speak with the friends from the dissolved ward to say "Welcome Back" - although we lost some very strong members who were saddened by the thought they will be going to another ward. I know we will keep in touch with them as they are part of our ward family, wherever they may be.

So, a lot of changes occurred but in the end, the church is still the church, the mission of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father continues and we will love getting to know our former ward members who now are home with us again. I'm sure there will be many leadership changes over the next few weeks and it will be interesting to see what joys that brings going forward. Don't you just love change?

Nine Years Later - An Event We Will Never Forget

2010-09-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

September 11, 2001 - I remember how absolutely beautiful the sky was in the Washington, DC area - not a cloud in the sky, and the most vividly blue color I have ever seen. It was a beautiful September morning. At work, things were normal and our hospital administrators were gathered together in their weekly meeting. My husband called to tell me to turn on the TV. I raced into the board room at work and turned the TV on to see the horror unfolding right before our eyes. It was only a few minutes later, as we were watching in shocked awe, that the plane hit the second tower. My boss and I gasped and commented on how many people might lose their lives in that inferno - we knew there were upwards of 25,000 potential victims in those two buildings. Fortunately, the death toll was much lower.

Then we heard about the Pentagon. We went into disaster mode, calling a meeting of all senior and middle level staff. We were aware that we might get some victims from the Pentagon, but in the end, that was not to be. These victims were burn victims and were transported to hospitals equipped to handle those kinds of injuries. We gathered the managers together several times throughout the day to update them on what had been happening in the DC area.

For the next several weeks, things were oddly strange in the DC area. Several days after the attack, I decided to cross the bridge to VA to see for myself (a good friend who worked in DC walked from his office to the Pentagon to "bear witness" to the events of the day). There was an Army tank stationed at one of the exit ramps leading toward the Pentagon. That tank was there for months following the attack. For many weeks fighter jets would circle around the DC area several times a day. I could see them from my office window. That was a very strange sight to behold. I bought a radio for work that had TV audio capability so I could listen throughout the days that followed for immediate updates.

As the skies across the nation were empty because of the ban on airline flights, I recall one of our vice presidents who was in Las Vegas on 9/11. Knowing he had to get back, he and his wife rented a car to make the trek back home. The patient representative was also on the West Coast and ended up using trains as her mode of transportation back to Maryland.

We saw the best of human kind and the worst of human kind during the weeks following this tragedy. Our emergency rooms were full of patients who had serious psychological issues to deal with following the events of 9/11. We saw unbelievable compassion from the hospital family during that time. We also saw how selfish and rude people could be under intense stress. But I choose to remember our caring staff who, despite their own personal situations, went out of their way to provide great patient care. One of our vice presidents was in the Army Reserves and had to work a full day at the hospital and then report to Bethesda Naval Hospital for another 8 hours for several months.

I remember at the time thinking that this was an event that would we would never forgot, and we would always remember where we were when it happened, much like when President Kennedy was assasinated, or with the space shuttle Challenger exploded.

On this day of rememberance, I thank God for the service men and women who work to protect us twenty-four hours a day and thank them for their service to our country. I pray that, as the years go by, the families of those who lost loved ones will find more peace in their lives. We certainly live in more dangerous times with many new threats to keep us vigilant (and I grew up during the Cold War with bomb shelters in our neighborhood-that doesn't seem as scary to me now). Time seems more unpredictable in this day and age.

Who says 60 is old?

2010-08-25T05:32:00.000-07:00

I'm really going to try to make an effort to blog more, so I'm sitting in the computer room waiting for the satellite to come on (not sure why it's off this morning) and thought I would post a little something about our recent vacation.

We just returned from a 7-day cruise to the Western Carribbean - Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Costa Maya and Roatan in Honduras. We didn't have to adjust to the tropical weather as we had experienced that same weather through much of the summer at home this year. We were in 4 ports in 4 days and planned excursions for most of those ports. We decided to try snuba, which seems to be a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving - you are using a breathing hose, but can go under water to a depth of about 25 feet. We had to fill out a massive waiver form, which asked all sorts of questions, one of them being "have you had any recent surgery". Being raised to tell the truth, I noted that I had knee surgery in April (4 months ago). After consultation with 3 of the representatives from the tour company, they decided I couldn't participate because of the surgery - according to them they were concerned about the possibility of air bubbles in my leg and the development of a possible blood clot. Even though I work in a hospital, I'm not a medical person so what do I know?

The company was going to issue a credit for the tours and we needed to decide on something else to do that day. We were talking to one of the cruise staff who suggested we try another tour - a visit to an island with some reference to twister. We decided we would try that and off we went.

We boarded a speed boat with about 20 other people. The crew explained we would be traveling about 25 minutes to an island to spend several hours basking in the sun, enjoying the warm and very clear water of the Carribean and just relaxing. As were headed to the island, music was blaring and fortunately the songs were ones I was familiar with and even liked! Part of the tour included a buffet lunch and drinks (as if we needed more food since we were crusing). The crew explained that when we were getting close to the island, the captain would execute a move where the boat came to a halt and spin around 360 degrees and we would end up getting soaked from the water. Note - we were harnessed up very securely with a contraption that went over our shoulders, and then buckled down to the seat (and we had life preservers to contend with as well). They assured us that no one on the boat would escape the water.

Well, they were right. The first time the twister movement was made, we all got soaked. We were like little children - laughing and shouting for joy. They made this twister movement about 6 times before going to the island. What a riot - by the time we were finished, we were dripping wet and coulding stop laughing. One of the crew even lost his hat in the ocean on the way to the island.

Did I mention we were definitely the oldest participants on the tour? There were two cruise staff on board (one of them who suggested we take the tour) and they were having a great time. Several other people had heard the drama of our first tour being cancelled and they kept asking if we were okay and having a good time, which, of course, we were. We spent several hours on the island and then headed back to the ship. We got to enjoy the twister movement several more times before arriving at the dock. It was such a great tour and we really enjoyed ourselves. The cruise staff asked us if we liked the the tour and we told them it was fantastic. The other participants asked us if we liked it and we said it was a lots of fun. So, the 60+ couple and all the 20 and 30 somethings on a tour together, laughing and having a wonderful time - who knew?

When we got back on board the ship, I read the description of the excursion and, of course, there was a warning - people with back problems shouldn't participate. Well, guess what? I have those back problems and didn't notice any issues with my back after the experience. Good thing I didn't read about it before we left or it might have stopped me from signing up.

Lessons learned - don't be afraid to try new things no matter how old you are. We had a blast and would do it again in a heart beat.

I'll upload some pictures with some more cruise stories in my next post.

Lights, Camera, Action

2010-08-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

Just realizing how long it's been since I last posted. A couple of Saturdays ago I had a very unique experience. I work at a freestanding emergency department and ambulatory surgery center. A local producer contacted me to inquire about the possibility of using the surgery center for an independent film he is producing. I have worked with this producer before on a couple of projects celebrating the 25th and 30th anniversary of our center. I gave him permission to film on a Saturday and I asked the department manager of the surgery center to help out on the day of the shoot. Boy am I glad I did that. She was able to find things quickly that they asked for - I would never have known what some of the supplies were that they needed.

It was an interesting experience - I never realized how much stop and go there is to filmmaking. At some point the director asked my friend (who was dressed in her scrubs) to walk in the background while he was taping a shot. Next thing I knew, our security guard was walking in the background like he was doing his rounds. Finally, the producer asked me to sit at the front desk and greet the patient as she arrived for her procedure. Then he asked my friend to play the part of an anesthesiologist. Here we are - the nurse manager, security guard and myself all of a sudden being included in the filming. Of course, the professional actors were the ones used mainly, but we got a kick out of the whole process. It took all day to film (and from what I could tell there was additional filming in other parts of the city as well).

A couple of weeks later I received an email from the producer. He needed to return to do a couple of audio shots. Lo and behold he invites us all to his house for the premier of his film and it appears we didn't end up on the cutting room floor. It should be fun to see the final project and I hope it's successful for him. He has won a couple of Emmys from some of his other independent films but I can't wait to see how this film turns out.

I never thought I'd be in this situation and I have much more respect for all the actors and actresses out there (Kage among them) for their profession and what they have to do in order to make a living. Most of the cast were very down to earth, however there were a couple of people who really thought highly of themselves. It takes all kinds I guess. I wonder what my next adventure will be.....

Death and Brownies

2010-06-12T16:32:00.000-07:00

I recently attended the funeral of a kind and gentle man from our ward. He always had a smile on his face. His dear wife died about four years ago, and following her death and because of his declining health, he began living at the Veteran’s Housing Facility in DC. Practically every week, he was visited by members of our ward and given the Sacrament during these visits. Occasionally one of his children would bring him to our Sacrament service. He always came the Sunday before Memorial Day, as he was a WWII veteran and a very proud patriot. He was probably the most patriotic person I ever knew. He always wore an American flag pin on his lapel.

This year, one week before Memorial Day Sunday, a number of ward members were all thinking the same thing – that we would see Walter Johnson, Sr. the following week at church. Very late that evening, I was on Facebook and I saw a post from our bishop, indicating that Walter had died earlier that evening. He died on the anniversary of his dear wife’s birthday. How fitting that they would reunite on such a special day.

His children decided that it would be appropriate to hold his funeral service as close to Memorial Day as possible. Two days following Memorial Day his service was held. The service was a fitting tribute to this wonderful man. So many wonderful things were said about him and his family during the service.

Following the service, there was a reception in the Cultural Hall. The family provided food for the attendees, of which there was close to 100. Here’s where the brownies come in. I really don’t like brownies, but there was this particular dessert which looked like a brownie with a Hershey’s kiss on top. I tried one and was amazed at the taste. Remember, I don’t like brownies. I had to have another one. I asked one of Walter’s daughter-in-laws if she had made the dessert. She indicated she hadn’t, but pointed me in the direction of her sister-in-law who did make them. I told her how much I enjoyed the treats and she told me how to make them. One of Walter’s four sons, married to the woman who made this delicious treats, agreed with me about how great they tasted. He also said Walter really enjoyed them.

In honor of Walter and these delicious brownies, I’m sharing the recipe – hope you enjoy these.

Brownie Bites

1 – Duncan Hines Family Style Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix
3 eggs
¼ cup water
½ cup vegetable oil

Dark Chocolate Hershey Kisses (you only need one bag)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease miniature cupcake pans with non stick cooking spray. Combine brownie mix, eggs, water and oil. Mix until well blended. Spoon mix into prepared pan (1/2 full). Bake for 10 minutes. Immediately upon removing from oven, place 1 Hershey’s Kiss on top of mini-cupcake. Remove cupcakes from pan and place on a wire rack until completely cooled.

Reunion and Remembering a Dear Friend

2010-06-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

In 1997 a dear friend of mine died after a valiant 16 year fight against breast and ovarian cancer. Several months following her death, I was giving a talk in Relief Society entitled “Be of Good Cheer”. In preparation for the talk, I began to write down some of the adventures my girlfriends and I shared with Marcia. When I finished writing, I knew I had written the talk I would share on Sunday. Marcia must have been looking over my shoulder because so many memories came flooding back. I had lots of pictures to accompany the stories as well. We played lots of practical jokes on all the friends in our group – always in good fun, but always with the thought that one day, we’d be arrested for some of our antics (deeds we did in the middle of the night, fondly called “night raids”).

Fast forward to 2010 – I recently reconnected with one of Marcia’s daughters. She is the youngest of three girls – her older sisters are married and have children. She is single and still finding her way in this world. Many things have led to our reconnection and Facebook played a big part in our reunion. Although it took a few months, we recently met for dinner with another one of her mom’s close friends. After dinner we came back to my house, and I gave her a copy of the book I had created in memory of her mother. We sat together and laughed at the stories of the adventures we had in the past. I have made several copies of this book and plan to send her sisters their own copies. I’ve even made copies for the girlfriends who are part of these stories as well. I hope my friends will do something similar or add onto the book that’s already been created. I know her daughters love to hear about their mom’s adventures.

We always talk about keeping journals and sometimes that is hard for some of us. This book was a journal of our combined experiences. It really wasn’t that hard to do and it brought back so many great memories, and it certainly helped me pass the time while I was recuperating from my recent knee surgery.

So, if you’ve got some stories to tell, take the time to write them down. It’s easier to do this right after they happened instead of years later, when the memories begin to fade. What a great ride down memory lane.

I Love a Parade

2010-04-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the annual City of Hyattsville Parade. It's the 124th anniverary of the founding of our city. You never know what the weather will be and today the rain began the spit a little about the time the parade started. It's an election year and a lot of the politicians who are running for office in our county are in the parade, shaking hands with the city residents and passing out their flyers.

What is the coolest thing about this parade? It comes down the street, right in front of our house! Politicians, local city officials (the mayor and members of the city council), county officials (House of Delegate representatives, Maryland General Assembly members and Registrar of Wills [that's an interesting job]), civic groups and matching bands, just to name a few.

In honor of my children who were not able to attend this parade this year, I took quite a few pictures so they could get the flavor of the parade. In past years as they were growing up, some of them were in the parade at various times.

Mounted Police and the flags

Here's the Greenbelt Dog Training group who are regulars in the parade.

Waiting for the parade to start up again.

Check out the big dog on the roof of the car

Northwestern High School Marching Band - this band has grown into a very successful high school marching band (more polished than when my children were in high school and they are always fun to watch.

Here come the drummers!

Of course, we have our fire trucks and ambulances, police cars and garbage trucks represented. Our police force even has police personnel in the parade on their Segways! We always have a military presence and the Junior ROTC represented. McGruff the Dog is also a participant.

As you can see, we have a large group of classic cars every year. This year, some of the residents wanted to have a Prius car entry, but they apparently couldn't get their act together to get enough vehicles to participate - maybe next year.

This is our Mayor, Bill Gardiner.

A local Harley Davidson Motorcyle Group - this crew was really noisy.

Here's the Hyattsville Mount Rainier and Brentwood Boys and Girls Club.

This year there is a 3 day festival with a carnival at Magruder Park. Normally, I would walk down to the park and get my favorite funnel cake as a treat. Alas, that is not happening this year (but I will say there has been one benefit to the knee surgery - I've lost 8 lbs- so much for the funnel cake).

Of course, it is one week past my knee surgery so I was sitting on my front porch, not at the end of the walk where I normally sit (which means I didn't get any of the candy that is thrown out as the politicians walk by). But I was impressed that a number of them actually walked up to me on the stoop, shook hands and gave me their campaign materials - I guess the crutches had an effect on them.

Isn't it great to live in a small town?

Now That I Have Some Free Time, I Guess I'll Post Something.....

2010-04-17T18:05:00.000-07:00

I recently turned 60 and things have gone downhill since that day. Just kidding - we had a birthday celebration with lots of close friends and it was catered by The Omelette Man who created made-to-order omelettes for the guests, and served up crepes for dessert. Everyone had a great time, and it was so nice not to have to worry about food preparation. It did this for my 50th birthday also. Now, I'm not promising the same thing for the big 70.

Yesterday (April 16) I celebrated the day after filing our 2009 tax return (of which we paid Uncle Sam a pretty penny) by having knee surgery. Alas, there appears to be more damage than we previously thought and that may necessitate further surgery down the road (but as far as I'm concerned it will be way down the road). Anyway, I'll discuss that with the doctor on my visit with him Thursday. I'll be home for a month and have plans to catch up on some projects - cleaning, jigsaw puzzles, sewing, reading, just to name a few. All in good time - I need to spend some time recovering and I plan on taking it easy before I tackle those lofty goals.

I had another goal, which I'm not sure I'll attempt right now, but maybe in the near future. I have two collections - penguins and cookbooks. I have over 125 cookbooks and find I'm always interested in perusing new ones at they are published. I recently bought The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook and Worldwide Ward Cookbook. And then I looked in my pantry, which is full of various food stuffs (cans, boxes, bottles, etc). Then I had this epihany. Using the vast number of cookbooks I have, I should be able to create some glorious recipes from the things already in my pantry. So, at some point, I'll be putting the cookbooks to the test. I'm not making promises on when this will happen, but just the idea of it is quite intriguing to me. We have far too much food in the pantry for a family of two. Maybe I can start in a few weeks when Kim and her family arrive from England for a visit. Kim, if you are reading this, make sure you let me know if there is something you don't like to eat (although you have always been the best eater of my three daughters - willing to try most things put in front of you.

Hope this post makes sense -these pain pills haven't helped me on my usually perfect spelling. So, forgive me readers if you catch a misspelling. Only one more day of heavy pain meds and then I'll be back to normal.

On Turning 60

2010-03-20T22:57:00.000-07:00

When I was a child I used to categorize decades by how the number of the decade sounded. Back then I thought 60 sounded terribly old for some reason, but 70, 80, and 90 didn't sound old to me. Well, I hit the big 60 on St. Patrick's Day and guess what? Sixty isn't old sounding anymore. Despite a few medical issues I deal with (sore knee and back), I feel pretty good, still have a lot of energy (confirmed by the fact that I am writing this at 1:10 a.m.), and still am excited about life in general. So, for those of you who may be approaching this decade, it really isn't so bad.

A couple of other observations. We had the adult session of our Stake Conference tonight. It was really uplifting. The talks were wonderful and there was a lovely musical number by a couple from one of the wards in our stake. The closing song was "Because I Have Been Given Much", which is one of my favorite hymns. I love the words to this hymn and how it touches my soul.

Because I have been given much, I too must give;
Because of thy great bounty, Lord, each day I live;
I shall divide my gifts from thee,
With every brother that I see
Who has a need of help from me.

Because I have been sheltered, fed by Thy good care,
I cannot see another lack and I not share.
My glowing fire, my loaf of bread,
My roof's safe shelter overhead,
That he too may be comforted.

Because I have been blessed by thy great love, dear Lord
I'll share thy love again, according to thy word.
I shall give love to those in need;
I'll show that love by word and deed;
Thus shall my thanks be thanks indeed.

These words from Grace Nowell Crowell are so meaningful and a philosophy for one's life. We are all so busy that sometimes we forget to take time to see what's really important. The music to this hymn goes so perfectly with the message. It has always been a favorite of mine.

We have seen much tragedy in the world since the beginning of 2010, with earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. How many of us pondered the devastation in these two countries and thought, "how can I help"? How many of us went about our busy lives and continued to read about the suffering these people were going through? How many of us "divided our gifts from thee" and shared them with those who had "a need of help from me"? How many of us showed our "love by word and deed"? It's been weeks since these earthquakes hit, but the devastation and destruction continue. If you haven't already, contact the American Red Cross and see how what you can do to help.

I'm going to try to be more regular at posting on the blog. As I visit other blogs, I am sometimes amazed at how many times people post something. We are counseled to write a journal, and I'm thinking that blogging is another way to keep a journal. Some of my friends have compiled a book at the end of the year with all of their blog posts. Maybe this is a goal I'll try to attain this year. I'm also going to try to do some things which I enjoy but haven't done for a long time (sewing and quilting). There is such a sense of accomplishment when finishing a sewing project, and I find it very relaxing so I'm going to try to get back into the swing of things and become more creative this year. Now, a challenge to you all (well, those who happen to come across my blog) - try something you'd like to do and set a goal to try to accomplish that this year. Maybe we can report on these goals later in the year. The year of being creative - I think I like that challenge. How about you?

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010 - Part III

2010-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not going to tell you we are getting more snow, although snow is in the forecast for early next week. Today I thought I'd share the aftermath of the historic snowstorms we've just experienced. Road crews have to truck the snow out of our area, especially in Washington, DC. There is just too much snow to plow to the side of the road and let it melt. It takes time for snow "removal", so the road crews have been doing a yeoman's job with plowing and trucking the snow out of town. That being said, picture this - at best there are 1 to 1-1/2 lanes of road to drive on and it is Friday and the federal government announces there will be a two hour delay in opening, but the government workers will report to work. Private industry workers are probably, in all likelihood, just returning to work as well. So, what happens with this combination of factors? MASSIVE RUSH HOURS in the morning and the evening and thousands of commuters who are very unhappy. Reports from commuters of 2-3 hour drives to/from work. If you don't have the normal lanes available to drive in, thousands of people need to merge into one lane. Then, there are those commuters who need to make a LEFT TURN when there is no turning lane. Consequently, morning rush hour lasts until 2:00 p.m. and evening rush hour went until almost 9:00 p.m.

Guess what? Saturday the 13th was no better and because Valentine's Day is February 14th, you know what that means - the malls were jammed with cars, with far fewer parking spaces to contend for because of the mountains of snow in the mall parking lots. So we now have experienced a rare Saturday rush hour. And it's musical as well, with the sounds of horns honking at every stoplight or as driver's try to merge into mall traffic lanes. And don't forget the conductors of this music - I've seen more than my share of a middle finger gesture today than I have in several decades put together. Our news media is calling this "The Big Dig Out."

I know, people from other parts of the country who are used to getting mass quantities of snow are shaking their heads in amusement at how the people in the Mid-Atlantic states are coping (or not coping) with these weather anomalies. They wonder why our schools are shutdown for a week (although with the lack of sidewalk shoveling I've witnessed near our local elementary and middle schools, I wouldn't want my children walking in the streets to try to get to school). Now state school officials must decide what to do - do they extend the school year, add time at the end of the school day to try to make up for the days already lost, eliminate some school holidays already on the calendar, or declare a special dispensation from the 180 school day requirement? I'm glad I don't have to make that decision.

We will carry on to the best of our ability. In a few months we'll continue to relate our snow stories and maybe even get a chuckle out of this situation we find ourselves in, but we will never forget February 2010 and the power the weather has over each and everyone of us. Note: Someone needs to remind me of this post in the middle of the hot and humid summer we will have in a few short months.

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010-Part II

2010-02-11T16:46:00.000-08:00

So early in the evening on February 9th, the snow began again and continued through much of the day on the 10th and then the winds arrived. We were in blizzard conditions and ended up with an additional 12" of snow on top of the 30" we had received five days earlier. This is a picture I took during the storm looking out of our front door.

This is a view of the driveway of my car and Jimmy's car during the storm (taken from of the den window). Note: we did not clear off Jimmy's car after the weekend storm, but we had cleaned off mine, so you can see how much snow we received on Wednesday. My car is on the left side of the picture. Once the snow started, it began sticking immediately and accumulated very quickly.

Thursday we awoke to a glorious sunny day, and I decided to brave the elements (the wind was still blowing a little) and take some pictures. This is our backyard. If you look on the snow slightly to the right of the tree on the right side of the picture, you can see a twig from the rose bush that is now buried in snow.

I went upstairs to get a sweater and noticed the snow accumulation in the alcove outside one of the windows in Kim's old room. Yes, we did get a lot of snow.

This has been an incredible year for snow, and we've heard a rumor that we might be getting more early next week (it's just a clipper, the weathermen are saying; it should only be a couple of inches). That's what they said about yesterday's storm. Schools have been closed all week, and there's a holiday on Monday in honor of Presidents Washington and Lincoln. At the rate we are going, the children may be going to school through most of June. I recall a similar storm in 1979, when I was pregnant with Kim and the kids missed two weeks of school. Keeping our fingers crossed that we've seen the last of winter's calling card for this year. Another note: with the help of a good friend, I was able to place these photos where I wanted them. Hey, this publishing thing isn't too complicated, now is it?

Bearing Witness to the Blizzard of 2010

2010-02-07T13:50:00.001-08:00

We'd been warned about the upcoming storm for almost a week, but living in the DC Metropolitan area, sometimes we get complacent about the snow predictions - not this time. The storm was coming from the south and we DC natives know what that means - we can really get slammed by a storm from the south and guess what? This storm was no different. The snow began to fall on Friday, February 5th about 2:00 p.m in Bowie, Maryland where I work. I finally left work around 6:30 and realized that the road conditions were such that I would have to drive a lot slower than usual (25 mph, if that). My normal 25 minutes drive home took more than an hour, and the only time I had a problem was when I turned onto the side street to get to my garage - a little slipping and sliding before safety arriving in my driveway.

Once inside, Peter and I hunkered down for the duration. The storm was predicted to last through 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 6th, and we were anticipating about 2 feet of snow. Around 10:30, Peter decided to rev up the snowblower for the first of what would be five or six times over the course of the next 24 hours. At this point, it looked as if at least 10" of snow had fallen. We had an earlier snowfall that week, and we got about 6", but the snow was light and easy to plow through. The snow was heavy and taxing on the snowblower. Our next door neighbor was out shoveling his sidewalk as well. Peter told him not to shovel in the morning and that he would use the snowblower on his sidewalk in the morning.

A little after 11:00 p.m. the satelite dish was covered with snow and we lost TV service. It wasn't restored until Sunday morning, February 7th, once the sun was out and melting the snow off the dish. We listened to the radio through the computer as well as the radio in our bedroom, to try to keep abreast of what the weather conditions were and if the forecast was changing. It wasn't, except that through all indications, we might be getting more snow than originally forecast. We ended up with 30" in our area.

Due to the impending snowstorm, we received notice that church was being canceled (the decision was made on Friday). Sunday, February 6th began as a beautiful day, with vivid blue skies, and we ventured out to document the effects of this storm. A beautiful crape myrtle, in the front of our house, was badly damaged by the weight of the snow. A magnolia tree in our back yard was lost as well. We began walking the streets and taking photographs of the snow and its impact on our neighborhood. As you can see, we did get a lot of snow.

I'm not going to jinx myself so I'm only posting 3 photos. Since this is the first time I've posted photos to my blog, I'll have to learn the ins and outs of photo positioning in feature posts. Despite the amount, it was a beautiful snowfall. Now, are we really getting another storm on Tuesday, February 9th?

Friends

2010-01-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I posted something, and I have a lot of things to say, but I'll focus on one topic today. I should be cooking something right now, but before I begin that process, I thought I'd post something about friendship.

I was out of the country for a couple of weeks at the beginning of January. No cell phones, no Internet (as the charge for using it on the ship was ridiculously high), very little news to speak of (this coming from someone who tries to stay on top of all the current events that are available); I was feeling a little out of touch with my world and the world around me. I did get to spend time with one of my daughters, her husband, our 18 month old granddaughter, and my son-in-law's parents. As we don't get to see this daughter very often, it was fun to see her everyday over the 12 days we were away. Getting reaquainted with Anna, our granddaughter, was fun as well. She is quite the little trooper, handling the various tours we were on at the different ports we visited with very little trauma. I was amazed at how well she did (especially since she wasn't on her normal schedule back at home).

Anyway, today a church, one of my friends gave a talk about charity and service. It was so well written and presented, and brought a lot of tears to those of us who listened to her heartfelt words. I have known this person since she was a child, and she has grown up into a fabulous young woman (mother of four), and I treasure our friendship. She has a wonderful sense of humor but, at the same time, is a very caring and compassionate person. It's fun to watch her raise her family and even though we don't get to see each other very often, she is a great role model for those around her.

Yesterday I attended a baby shower for a dear friend's daughter. She is expecting her first child in the next several weeks and I don't think I've ever been to a bigger baby shower in my life. She was showered with all sorts of baby gifts and will probably be writing thank you notes for the next six months. Again, I was able to spend time with some very dear friends. Even though we don't get together that often, when we are together, it's like we were just with one another yesterday. We can joke and laugh, be serious and circumspect, all in the same visit. These friends have been in my life for the past 32 years and I couldn't have raised my family without them around. These are truly wonderful relationships and ones I couldn't imagine not having in my life.

My last comment on friends is about a very dear friend at church. She is solid as a rock, willing to help anyone with anything that they need help with. She, too, has a wonderful sense of humor, and her powers of observation are amazing. She gave me a Christmas gift today and it means so much to me. Thirty-one years ago we were pregnant together and our friendship has grown over that time. She is someone I count on to be there, and I know she will be, no matter what happens. She, too, is a treasured friend.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that we shouldn't take our friends for granted, and we shouldn't be afraid to tell them what they mean in our lives. With all the tragedy and sorrow in the world today, these friendships are the ties that bind. It doesn't matter if you see your friends everyday or not; these relationships are what make us strong and capable of facing whatever life's journey might throw at us. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have these special people in my life. I am truly blessed.

What a Great Friday and Saturday!

2009-12-13T07:38:00.001-08:00

Friday I flew down to Raleigh, NC with a friend to visit another friend who is battling cancer (I wrote about her in an earlier post). We flew down in the morning and came back in the early evening. I am so glad we did this. It was great to see our friend - we toured Raleigh, went out to a wonderful restaurant, and went back to our friend's house and just talked. It was a gift to myself - to see my friend as she battles this disease, and how she is doing during the recovery process. I'm sure we will do this again in the near future.

Saturday was a very busy day. I left the house at 9:30 and didn't really return until 8:30 in the evening. I went to two cookie exchange parties. For the past three years, these parties have fallen on the same day - bring six dozen cookies to the party, exchange with everyone else there, and take home six dozen cookies. But, when you do two in one day, you get to bring home twelve dozen cookies! Cookies of all different shapes, sizes, flavors (chocolate, spice, ginger, sugar, etc., etc., etc.). I love this day every year. It's fun to catch up with people you haven't seen in awhile, or to visit with friends you see regularly, but may not have the one-on-one time to visit with them. I love the expertise of these home bakers - some try new recipes every year and some bring tried and true recipes from their childhood (always with interesting stories about the history of the cookies). Both of these parties are very different. The first party is more relaxed, with time to visit with one another; the second party is a noisy event, with lots of other activities taking place, but I always find someone to talk to who I haven't seen for some time, and it's fun to catch up with them.

Following the cookies exchanges, I raced over to pay my respects at a funeral home. A work colleague lost her mother and I had to give her a hug, if only for a brief moment. It's so sad when people die during the holiday season.

I raced home to pick up the desserts I was bringing to our church's annual Christmas party. And, because of my exceptionally busy day, I actually bought the desserts instead of making them. I think that's a first for me. We had a delicious dinner, and I think the program afterward was good, but a good friend and I were trying to enter monthly data into the computer system, and we missed the program! We did get to see Jolly Old Saint Nick arrive to talk with the children and give them a candy cane. The looks on the kid's faces and the excitement in their eyes was so fun to see. I'm looking forward to talking with them about it in our Sunday School class.

Now, for a little bragging. I'm new to the world of blogging, and setting up a blog. As anyone can see, I haven't written too much since I started this many months ago. But, the other day, while visiting someone else's blog, I thought it would be fun to attach a "widget" to my blog. I followed the explanation on this other person's blog, and lo and behold, I was able to attach the widget to my own blog. There's a little video on it, and when I click to play the video, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was singing a song we are practicing for our Christmas program. It was nice to hear how this song is supposed to sound (and fun to see all the women in that choir sing the song - our entire choir is singing, men and women). But the fact that I was able to add this to my blog gives me hope that I'll be able to be more creative with the look of the blog in the future. Maybe I can get Denise to give me some more pointers when she arrives with her family next week to celebrate the holidays with us.

So, now it's Sunday and I'm about to get ready for church. Maybe we'll visit the Temple Visitor's Center tonight to see the Christmas decorations. Maybe by the end of the evening, the tree will be decorated. We did wrap some presents yesterday, so we could get the Mudgett's box in the mail so they get their gifts before Christmas. Only a little more shopping to do. With company coming, I guess I have to get moving and clean up the house. Hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Where did the time go?

2009-12-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

A blink of the eye and it's been almost 3 months since I last posted something. Kim reminded me that the subject of my last post was rather sad (9-11) and that I should write something new.

As the holiday season approaches, I'm facing some inner turmoil now. Trying to shop for Christmas and planning a Mediterranean tour closely following Christmas is not something I would recommend anyone do. I have been organizing two tours in Europe (one in Rome and one in Athens) and I've learned something about myself. In my future life after retirement, I don't think I want to be a travel agent. Trying to appease the likes and dislikes of fellow cruisers who I don't even know is proving to be a little more time consuming than I had anticipated. I'm trying to pace myself with the holiday shopping, and have actually done a fair amount of it online. That's one thing I never thought I would be doing - I love to shop during the holidays.

Another wrinkle in this process has been an injury I sustained in September. I fell at work and reinjured the knee I had surgery on last year, as well as injuring my back. As many of you know, I have dealt with a bad back for more years than I can count, and I was so upset with myself that this back problem has been reaggravated (despite the fact that I slipped on a wet floor at work). Fortunately, workman's compensation is paying my medical bills. I've been going to physical therapy 2-3 times a week, and things are not improving as quickly as I would like. Despite this, my trip to Europe will not be altered because of these injuries. I will take my pain pills with me, and be grateful with the knowledge that between each port, there will be a day at sea to rest!

Just some randon thoughts:

Today, December 1st, is the 35th anniversary of when Peter's sister Ann was killed in a plane crash. Denise was 11 months old. It is hard to believe it's been 35 years. Life isn't always fair, but death is a part of life and one we all must learn to live with.

I learned this week that one of Denise's friends from high school died over the Thanksgiving holiday. It is tragic that someone that young dies. Another of Denise's friends just lost her mom. I always think of how sad it is to lose someone you love during the holiday season.

A dear friend has lost her job at work, through no fault of her own, and there is nothing anyone can do for her. We hope the attorney she has hired will be able to get her a significant severance package while she's out looking for another job.

Turning the tide of this post, I've finished shopping for all my grandchildren, and it's only the beginning of December! This brings my stress level down quite a bit;. just a few more presents to buy and I'll be finished.

I have reconnected with two daughters of a dear friend of mine who died 12 years ago. This Facebook connection is quite interesting and fun to explore while learning about friends and acquaintances you've met throughout your lifetime. I just read there are now over 350,000,000 Facebook users! Wow, and they even have games to play on their site - how I ever got interested in Farmville is beyond me.

December is a busy month - choir performances, holiday lunches/dinners, two cookie exchange parties, our ward Christmas dinner and Relief Society dinner activities, Denise and her family arriving for the holidays, writing the annual Christmas letter (and mailing it), wrapping gifts to mail overseas, a couple of baby showers, a quick trip to see a friend in NC who is battling cancer, and last, but not least, a gift of life blood donation on December 18th. This time of year the Red Cross really needs blood donation - so, if you are so inclined, contact them and see if a blood drive is scheduled in your area. It doesn't cost you anything, and it can do so much good for those who need it.

Well, it's getting late and though I could go on awhile longer, I'll end this post now, and see how many people discover this new addition to my blog. Hope everyone enjoys this holiday season - hopefully I'll be back before too long.

9-11 - Two Views

2009-09-11T20:41:00.000-07:00

I remember the day - the sky was azure blue and not a cloud in the sky was to be seen. I remember thinking how gloriously beautiful it was that morning. I arrived at work and began sorting through a list of what I needed to accomplish that day. About 8:50, Peter called to tell me something horrible had happened, and to turn on the TV. The senior leadership at the hospital was in their weekly management meeting. I knocked on the door and told the hospital president that they should turn on the TV. Everyone was agast and what they were watching. Everyone couldn't take their eyes of the TV. It wasn't too long before the unthinkable happened - another plane had struck the Twin Towers. Minutes later, reports began to flood the airways that the Pentagon had been hit. Not long after that, an open field in Pennsylvania became mired in a piece of history it never wished to be a part of.

I watched as the entire hospital went into disaster mode. Not knowing what to expect from the casualties at the Pentagon, all hospitals in the area went on alert. Several times during the hours that followed the tragedy, senior and middle management met together to discuss contingency plans in the event we received overflow patients from the Virginia hospitals. Supplies were gathered from all over the hospital to send to the Virginia hospitals to help ease their situations. Hours later, it became apparent that those anticipated patients would not be coming over the bridge. The whole day began to seem surreal.

Living on the outskirts of Washington, DC has its privileges and its burdens. Immediately following this tragedy, while at work, I would see fighter jets circling the skies around Washington. This continued for weeks. One of our vice presidents was on vacation in Nevada. Planes were grounded for days. The only way he could come home was to rent a car and drive across the country.

Several days after 9-11, I ventured across the bridge to Virginia to bear witness of the tragedy that had unfolded. There was, on the Virginia side of the 14th Street Bridge, parked on the side of the road, an Army vehicle (a Howitzer, I believe), with military personnel manning the vehicle, the long and cold looking automatic weapons in the arms of these soldiers. Did I say this was in Virginia? How can this be? As I looked around, there were many military vehicles stationed in this general area of the Pentagon. I continued down the road, exiting at the entrance to Washington Boulevard, a road I had traveled numerous times when in Virginia. As I rounded the curve of the exit ramp, I could see the damaged to the Pentagon, and the damage inflicted on our country. It was inconceivable that the Pentagon had been hit by a commercial airliner. It was more inconceivable that our country had been terrorized by vengeful outsiders, who struck at the core of two of our more vibrant cities, and a town in Pennsylvania that never dreamed nor wanted its new found notoriety. It is a day that will never be forgotton. It is a day that never should be forgotton.

It was a very different day two years previously. A dear friend of mine lost her daughter, six weeks shy of her third birthday, from a brain tumor she had battled for more than 18 months. I saw this sweet little angel about five days before she died. She was in her house, in the family room, next to the kitchen, lying on the sofa, pretty much in a coma. My friend's parents and her in-laws were there, as were her husband and eldest daughter. Life goes on, and this family wanted to hold on to as much of her as they could in these last days of her life on earth. I dropped off dinner, talked to my friend for a few minutes, went over and carressed Amy's arm to say my goodbyes.

Each year as 9-11 approaches, my friend writes a letter to her close friends, asking us to stop by the cemetery to visit at Amy's gravesite. Each year when I get this letter, the tears well up in my eyes as I think how different their lives have been since they lost their precious daughter. Each year, I feel the pain of my friend who not only grieves for her daughter, but grieves for the nation as this double tragedy in her life happened on this same fateful day, two years apart. Tragedy has struck my friend again this year when she was diagnosed with a serious cancer, which she is fighting with all her might. She remembers the fight her daughter fought 10 years ago, and knowing she has a guardian angel watching over her, gives her the courage to fight for her own life now.

Let us never forget this day and remember those who were lost eight years ago. Say a little prayer for them, and say a little prayer for my friend.

Tag, You're It!

2009-08-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have been observing a lot of people at work for the past year. I have noticed a lot of these people seem to think they have much more power in their job titles than they actually do. Business etiquette has been pushed aside and lack of civility and basic kindness toward fellow employees has crept in the workplace.

Some people think because of whom they report to, this gives them the power to disregard professionalism and civility. I have worked for vice presidents and presidents in various jobs I have held in my lifetime. Never once would I take it upon myself to insinuate my bosses’ power over others. Never once would I try to humiliate fellow co-workers in front of others. Email etiquette is the latest tool to which has fallen away from professionalism.

My latest observation is that people at a lower level in the organization, who seem to think they have power, feel it necessary to copy numerous people on emails which don’t have anything to do with these other people. In a very kindergarten way, the writers of these emails seem to think that by copying the world about a perceived wrong, they are taking it upon themselves to shout out the perceive wrong to the world, thus trying to embarrass a colleague in front of their fellow employees. I am the latest victim of one particular person and I'm trying my best not to come down to their level and play dirty. I'm fairly certain, in the world of email etiquette, one should ask if it alright to copy or forward a private email to other people. This person has decided she is the judge, and by copying others, they will make up the jury. Again, I wonder, what happened to innocent until proven guilty? We all know what it means to assume anything, and I will not write out the definition of "assume" so as not to offend anyone.

This is not the first time this person has done this. I know of many instances with other employees that this person has tried this same tactic. In all cases, the "victim" has chosen to keep quiet and not make waves. Being the mature person I am, I decided to block this person from my Facebook account. By doing this, I will not be tempted to reply to the negative and rude comments this person continues to make.

The frustrating part of this situation is that this person's boss has been made aware of these emails, and does nothing to stop the assistant. Because the boss appears to allow this behavior to continue, most people do not engage the boss about the assistant, because they know the behavior will be allowed to continue.

The post is my vent. Hopefully by tomorrow, I will have calmed down enough, but I don't think so. I'm not ready to deal with this person (via email, phone or in person) at the moment. You have to pick your battles, and I'm not sure I'm willing to go to war over this one (although it would feel pretty good to continue the skirmish).

Does Anyone Remember Why This Country Was Created?

2009-08-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

There's so much debate over the new healthcare proposals currently making the national circuit. People are for the proposals, people are against the proposals, some people listen quietly at town hall meetings, some people are loudly vocal at town hall meetings in their opposition to what is being discussed. Quite frankly, while I do agree that some reforms need to be developed, I think we are moving too fast with these reforms. I don't think that the members of the House and Senate know exactly what reforms are in the proposals on any given day. I find it most fascinating that at the town hall meetings which are disruptive, those people who are willing to make their voices heard are now criticized by the opposition - they must be influenced by organized protestors, they don't know all the facts, they can't think for themselves. Wait a minute - what happened to freedom of speech? Just because you don't agree with proposed new reforms, when did you lose your right voice your opposition, and, if you do disagree with the new proposals, why can't you form your own opinion about the proposals? It seems the opposition thinks that you can't possibly have formed a valid opinion on your own - you must have been swayed by others. Wasn't this country founded by people who were vocal enough to express their concerns and willing to fight to develop a new country where freedom of speech was essential in the new country's development?

I think we all need to take a step back and have meaningful discourse on these reforms. We need to listen to all viewpoints - isn't it possible that some creative ideas might come forth from these discussions, and maybe we could all support a healthcare reform system that works for everyone - not just the special interest groups that our politicians are trying to appease.

Ramblings from a Busy Person

2009-08-08T08:17:00.000-07:00

Last time I wrote something, I was noting how busy life is, and since that post in July, my observations have proved to be correct. I flew to Detroit for five days to try to help Denise while they are in the process of moving (I did pack a couple of boxes, and got to spend time with Jackson, Luke and Grant), but I wish I could have been more helpful. Then I returned to work and have been dealing with lots of family tragedies with some of our staff - the death of a spouse (not unexpected but the future for the family is full of unknowns) and a family dealing with one income and suddenly, because of some past issues with their car, needing to come up with $1,000+ to get their car out of the impound lot - we were concerned that the staff member was on the verge of a breakdown. A term I really don't care for (because I first heard it from a member of a political party I'm not affiliated with), "It's takes a village", proved true for this staff member. Due to the generosity of fellow staff members, a collection was taken and this, together with a loan from a family member, enabled the family to get their car back. It was interesting to see how quickly life can change in an instant - the finality of death, and the unknown economic future we all face in these trying times.

So, today I decided to try to get some projects done I've been meaning to tackle over the past several months. The door bell rang twice this morning - one visitor brought me bushel of peaches and another visitor brought me a bag of tomatoes. I guess I'll be canning today instead of working on those other projects. It seems as if I'm destined to be busy for awhile longer. And wouldn't you know it - today the outside temperature will go up again and we will, once again, be hot and humid - just in time to heat up the kitchen while I'm canning. And I still have to plan a lesson for my Sunday School class. In the words of an advertising campaign from long ago, "Calgon, take me away"

I Wish I Had Time....

2009-07-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

I wish I had time to do all the things I want to do. If I had the time, what would I do? In no particular order: can fruits and vegetables during the week, travel to Detroit, Phoenix, and Harrogate, England to see my children and grandchildren, organize my house and my office, volunteer in organizations I have an interest in (like I used to do before I went back to work in the mid 90s), take some on-line courses in my professional field to expand my knowledge base, vacation in the Outer Banks, focus more on my personal life than on my professional life, learn to knit and crochet, make another quilt (or sewing projects I'm interested in). I see a common denominator in much of what I want to do - work gets in the way. Oh well, I guess I won't have a lot of time for the next few years until I stop working. I guess I'll try to focus on one thing at a time, and eventually I might find the time to do the things I want to do, and not focus so much of the things I don't want to do.

Independence Day

2009-07-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

Perfect weather - in the low 80s, no humidity, a cool breeze - I don't remember such a nice July 4th as today has been. Morning began with the annual flag raising and breakfast at church, and then the annual Kelley cookout. I was going to can some more strawberry jam today, but after being in the kitchen all day yesterday doing the same thing, I decided to take a break. I'll get back to canning tomorrow before church.

Today is a day to extend our gratitude for all those men and women in the Armed Forces who have/are/or continue to protect our country. The sacrifices they make for all of us so we can live in this free country are too numerous to count. I'm glad to know I live in a place where these people are willing to put their lives on the line to defend our freedoms.

While we all enjoy ourselves today, let us remember those good and decent people and say a prayer for their safe return from harm's way.

This is the Beginning.

2009-07-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

It's been almost 3 months since my dear daughter set this blog up for me. July 3rd is the day I'm beginning this blog. I hope this will keep family and friends up-to-date on what is happening in our lives, particularly since our three daughters, their husbands, and our grandchildren are not currently living near us anymore. As I write this, I'm in the middle of canning strawberry jam, and once that is finished, I'm going to attempt blueberry jam. By the way, I canned strawberry jam last week, but it is too runny, so I'm going to try to reprocess that jam as well. I'm waiting to hear from dear daughter #2, who was driving across the country to AZ by herself, and hopefully she will have arrived there safely after my last phone conversation with her at 1:00 a.m. this morning.

I don't know where this blog will go, or what I will feel an urge to discuss, but I'm going to try to keep up with the new technology of communication via blogging that is so prevalent nowadays. Hopefully those who read this will get something out of it, and I hope I will take away something from this as well.