Tuesday's tids...

...yeah, I know it's Friday, I just don't know where the week went. Is anyone else having the same trouble?

• even though it was 92degrees here today I can "feel" fall in the air. And although it is my most favorite season, I am not ready for the shortened summer to be over.
• I have "lost" two followers. Where did they go? I can see why sometimes that someone would like to leave but, I didn't know you could un-follow.
• it bothers me that I don't use correct punctuation.
• I've decided to keep my Mama Pajama moniker. I think it suits me and so well describes my wardrobe of late. I also like being a Mama.
• we went to a street fair/yard sale at a neighboring town last weekend. I re-discovered, re-kindled, re-newed, my love for vintage linens.
• I am attempting my first DIY project this weekend and may even show you what I've been up to.

So what do you have planned this weekend? Remember, enjoy and be safe. And always be kind to yourself.

in her pajamas,
mama pajama

Listen to your Heart...

Six years ago today I survived a Heart Attack.

When I look at that statement I am still surprised at the mix of emotions I feel. Anger, frustration, guilt, gratitude. Six years ago today I survived a Heart Attack. When I finally got someone to listen to me after being sent home twice from the emergency room, the damage was done. An artery in my heart completely blocked, 100% blocked, damage to my heart, scar tissue forever, and a fear that I have never known in my life...a fear that walks with me every single day. Because no one would take me seriously. I didn't have the 'normal' symptoms. I wasn't sick enough. 100% blocked. Medicine and machinery has given me six years and I hope many, many more. Medicine and machinery should have found the problem before the damage was done.

Listen to your Heart. You know your body. You know when something is not 'right.' You know...don't take the chance...LISTEN.

with eternal gratitude,
mama pajama

It's a small world after all...

...you will be cussin' me all day for that one!

When I started this blog I had no idea where it would lead me. My world, at that time, had become very small. Disability will do that to a person. Once you wear the badge of 'disability' you might as well become invisible. Suddenly family and friends fall by the wayside and your world consists of the few that remain and all the 'new' doctor friends that you now have. So delving into the bloggy world was my way of seeking out contact with the world. I never dreamed it would lead to this.

My blog didn't start out with a specific purpose except to be a place where I could vent, and occasionally I do. But even that does not feel 'right' to me, I was taught to not complain and to do so even in an anonymous way feels wrong. So I started searching and I found that there are so many blogs out there with one thing in mind. Here's a little of what I've found:

Gardening blogs are fantastic. As a wanna-be vegetable/English garden grower I have come across so many helpful hints. Did you know that you can plant tomatoes in cages, upside down, or my personal favorite, dig a hole and fill it with fish heads and then plant the seedling. You can grow corn on good days and bad days. You can plant by the light of the moon or the depth of the tides. Flower gardens look best when planted in all one color...especially white. Sunflowers move their faces with the sun...I guess that's where they get their names. Maybe I should have a gardening blog.

Cooking blogs oh my, my. I have found some of the best recipes and the most wonderful photography. (don't even get me started on photography blogs!) I have learned to slow-cook and quick grill. How to take all those freshly grown vegetables and herbs and make healthy, fragrant dishes with them. How to bake the most fabulous cupcakes and roll out fondant into little decorations. Maybe I should have a cooking/cake decorating blog.

DIY blogs are my latest obsession. I love the thrill of the thrift store find and the agony of sandpapering. I have learned that you can paint ANYTHING. And did you know there are 4,593 shades of white? Do you know what fat quarters are? I just love saying that: fat quarters, fat quarters, fat quarters...but I digress.

Blogs have saved me, made me feel alive again, make me less invisible for awhile. And for all the fun they can be they are serious business too. I have met so many wonderful people who deal with illness and imperfection every single day. And they do it with Grace and their indomitable spirit. Despite a deck that is stacked against them that is both cruel and unfair. We find support and comfort in each other. We may not all suffer from the same diseases but we all have a common thread.

There is a thread that connects all of us bloggers, a thread of hope, of laughter, of friendship. I don't know where this blog is headed but I can't wait for the journey to begin...

Oh the places you will go....

have a good week,
mama pajama

heartfelt Friday...

worth repeating:

"when you have no choice,
mobilize the spirit of courage."

old Jewish proverb


I promise there is a 'real' post coming soon!
have a good weekend!
mama pajama

Running in place...

...I ran across this quote recently and found it interesting...

"When I was a Boy Scout, we played a game when new Scouts joined the troop. We lined up chairs in a pattern, creating an obstacle course through which the new Scouts, blindfolded, were supposed to maneuver. The Scoutmaster gave them a few moments to study the pattern before our adventure began. But as soon as the victims were blindfolded, the rest of us quietly removed the chairs. I think life is like this game. Perhaps we spend our lives avoiding obstacles we have created for ourselves and in reality exist only in our minds. We're afraid to apply for that job, take violin lessons, learn a foreign language, call an old friend, write our Congressman - whatever it is that we would really like to do but don't because of personal obstacles. Don't avoid any chairs until you run smack into one. And if you do, at least you'll have a place to sit down."
~Pierce Vincent Eckhart~

have you run into any chairs lately?
mama pajama

Tuesday's tids...

no tids today, instead we have this beautiful young woman. Today we celebrate her life, we celebrate the love and joy she brings to our hearts every single time we hear her voice or look upon her beautiful face. She is lovely in every way, inside and out. She owns us and has since the day of her birth...this day we celebrate our daughter Lindsay. She is the sunshine of our lives the apple of our eyes and will forever be our sweet baby girl. Happy Birthday Lindsay!!!

with love,
dad and mama pajama

Monday, Monday...

...busy Monday. crazy Monday. Just another Manic Monday. (there, I got two songs in that one).

As the August Birthday Madness rolls on over here I wanted to let you know that we have a winner in the Surprise Birthday Prize. Congratulations Debbie-Jean!! YAY!! shoot me an e-mail with your address and your surprise/prize will be on it's way.

Have a great Monday...
posting in her pajamas,
mama pajama

Summer breeze...

...has been blowing in here all day bringing with it the boisterous sounds of thunder and the downpour of rain. It passes by only to have the sunshine again leave the crisp clean smell of newly washed laundry.

Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments left on my Birthday. It was so heart-warming and uplifting to read them all. Remember, to be entered for the Birthday Surprise , leave a comment on the original post and we'll throw your name in the 'hat' or 'bowl' for a chance to win.

I had a very nice day. Aside from all your well-wishes I heard many more from my family and friends. Enough to carry me until the next birthday I'm sure! The hubs made a super-packed-to-the-brim-with-fresh-veggies-pizza and it was delish! (this has become his specialty recently, even hand-making the dough). Later we went out for a coffee drink and a little chocolate to celebrate. You can't celebrate without chocolate...you can try, but there would be no fun it it...believe me.

Our families will soon all be getting together for one big ol' August birthday blowout and there will be yet more celebrating and gifts. Celebrating the birth of a new life...isn't that what it is all about?

in a chocolate haze,
mama pajama

They say it's your Birthday...

.time is up...winner will announced on Sunday!

..and it is!! YAY!! Happy Birthday to ME!!

woo-hoo!

lets get this party started!!

In celebration of ME and my SPECIAL day I am having a party and YOU can win a present. From now until Friday 6pm (Pacific), for every comment left on this post, you will be entered to win a surprise prize. Enter as many times as you like but it has to be on this post. All names will be put into a very special bowl and using a very specific but as yet untested scientific method a name will be drawn out. So put your PARTY HATS on and leave me some BIRTHDAY joy.

birthday love, mama pajama

Tuesday's tids...

According to Eastern Medicine, joy is the emotion associated with the heart. It has long been observed that happy-go-lucky people are less likely to develop heart disease, and science confirms this.

One study shows that one in five patients with coronary heart disease comes from the population of the severely depressed.

Take steps to "practice" joy in your daily life, and it will expand naturally. Let joy fill your heart and your heart will gladden your health. Happy Heart, Happy Health...

"Secrets of Longevity"

with a happy heart,
mama pajama

Hangin' with the girls...

The hot steamy weather that blasted it's way through town two weeks ago combined with my recent 'fall' have conspired, or maybe cursed me, to watch late-night television. Seriously late night television. Way past anyone elses bedtime. After several 'Golden Girls' marathons on the Hallmark channel I feel I am ready to join the girls. Although I didn't watch the show when it originally aired I picture myself as a younger, hipper (not hippier) Dorothy. I really like Sophia the best but I'm not, nor ever could I be, in her league. And Rose...too Norwegian (I married one) and Blanche...well enough said. But Dorothy, tall, independent, strong, practical, some of my best qualities. Looking back I can't believe how much sexual innuendo was allowed for the t.v. show and the times! Wow, shocking to think it was my Mother's favorite show.

As I said, I didn't watch the GG when it originally aired. I was too young and it didn't really interest me nor did I find it funny, but give me 'Murphy Brown' or 'Designing Women' and I was there (as much as possible). When I see those shows today I still remember watching them...doing my chart notes in a patient room so I could catch a glimpse of Candace Bergen (I would trade my Dorothy shoes in a second to be Murphy Brown) or 'Thirty Something.' OMG, I loved that show but I was never off work to watch it and if I was off I never could stay up that late. Being a swing-shifter in a hospital did not coincide with my career as a television critic.

Obviously the late 80's early 90's had a great effect on me and there are several shows that I wish were still around, OK maybe not. but what we have now is pretty bad. So, what was your favorite show, not childhood or today but 'yesterday???'

still here,
mama pajama

p.s. Happy Birthday to my favorite 'peanut' and Niece #3...MTH

Leonidas...

If you've ever been to New York or London, and you are a certified chocoholic, then you know Leonidas. Leonidas imports fine Belgium chocolates from Brussels for our fine chocolate needs. (I am trying to fit 'chocolate" in here as many times as possible so you may comprehend the fineness of this treat!) They have an online catalog that you can order from but the absolute best way to get it is to go there yourself. In my case, since it is unlikely that I will be traveling to New York, the best way to score some of this amazing (no sugar added, and I'm pretty sure there a no calories either) (no, really..I checked) chocolate is to find yourself an amazing best friend, from New York, who travels there regularly, and makes a special trip to Madison Avenue to bring back for me this lovely goodness. Yeah, friendship does have it's benefits. Thanks Carrie...

They called her T-Tee...

Today is my mothers Birthday. She's been gone so long now that I hardly remember her except for pictures. Her smile and laugh are absent from my memory, her voice when I answered the phone "Hi Hon..," gone.

She was a fiery red-head in every sense of the word and in every sense of that word I am her daughter.

To say I miss her does not do justice to the ache I have in my heart. I think of her every day of my life. I remember her last Birthday and how happy she was to have turned one of those big "0" milestone days....then she was gone, and I have never been the same.

I know, in my heart, that she is dancing in Heaven with my Pop, with my lost son Matthew in her arms, while Frank Sinatra sings "Fly Me to the Moon," and "The Summer Wind." Her children and grand-children are but a thought away, just as she is to us. i lOve YoU mOM.

Gone in 60 seconds...

Remember last week when I was complaining about the 90+ degree temps. here, and how we are not used to such things, and the gardens and flowers and lawns were all dying a slow death?? Well...it's gone, over, out of here, probably never to be seen again. And while I am glad to have some cooler temps I am not ready for 60degree cloudy, dreary days to start again. Our 'summer' seems to be over and I can feel fall in the air...already. I was so hoping to stretch out this summer after being on bed rest for my back all of last summer/fall.

I have been dealing with some major, nasty, phantom pain this week. It's a given, with a prosthesis, that there will be times that you have to deal with fitting problems and phantom problems, and this one has knocked me off my feet. The sensation is that I have a sprained ankle. I did take a fall on Sunday so there is a real possibility that I irritated the nerves in my 'little' leg. Anyway, there is not much you can do for phantom/nerve pain so I will ride it out and be my normal self in a few days. Life with a prosthesis...sounds like blog fodder to me!

Lastly, for today, a Happy Birthday wish to the Best Friend I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Gone way to soon but forever in my heart...Patty.

mama pajama

Tuesday's tids...

not enough for 'tid-bits' but it's at least a try!

*this warm weather has been a cruel step-sister. All my beautiful bedding plants have withered despite our best efforts to move them to a cooler area of the yard and keep them watered daily. There has been a toll to our vegetable garden also, with lettuce, spinach and broccoli bolting. I still have a few peppers and tomatoes that are thriving. We are fortunate that we don't depend on our gardening skills to get us through the winter months as we would surely perish!

*again with the warm weather...we are not used to 90+ degree weather for days on end...and apparently neither are the spiders! I hate spiders, let me be perfectly clear...they scare the &*##@*& out of me. We have seen a plethora of them in the past few weeks and I fear waking up in the morning with my home surrounded in a giant web. They are everywhere, along every walkway, hanging from trees and bushes, webs adorning our windows and doorways...enough already.

*the hubs had an excellent birthday and enjoyed all of your well wishes immensely. He got several unique gifts and I will try and get a pic or two to post. One of them being the 'Topsy-turvy tomato planter." This looks quite interesting but at the same time it looks as if it might be difficult to plant. My daughter has a friend who has given up her vegetable garden and planted everything in the topsy-turvy...she loves it. So, for those of you out there who have used them...what do you think?? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

*that's it for Tuesday..mama pajama
p.s. Happy Birthday to my @1 niece...MTG

Sunday Serenity...

"Peace~~~
is more than just the absence of war.
People everywhere
seek an inner peace
that comes from the human right
to voice their views,
choose their leaders,
feed their families,
and raise healthy children.'

jimmy carter