Cheers to YOU...

it was a rough year

wasn't it

it was wrought with

painful

moments

and

unbearable

loss.

but, in the midst

of it all

there was much

joy

there was

peace

and

understanding

there was

strength

from above

and there

were

wonderful

generous

friendships

made that will

carry me

through

the

New Year.

Thank you my

friends.

May

2011

be kind to you

and

fill your

hearts and lives

with

many

Blessings.

Happy New Year

The MacKenzie Brothers...

son-in-law, son, and hubs on Christmas Eve

...am I the only one who remembers the Mackenzie brothers from SCTV?  I swear that is the first thing that came to mind when I saw this picture...

There really isn't much going on here after all the hustle and bustle of last week.  We still have all our decorations up and will until Epiphany on January 6th.  We had Christmas eve at our house this year, as is the tradition I always had with my family.  It's so nice to carry that memory forward with my own family and now theirs.  We were also joined by my daughters' in-laws this year, a very interesting and thoughtful couple.

Of course there were lots of goodies to be had, both present wise and food wise, and we are indeed blessed to be in this place at this time with the people we love so much. 

On Friday I begin my "low-iodine-pre-radiation-diet" and I could not be more excited (sarcasm).  The diet is very limited, and I mean very.  There is absolutely no dairy allowed which for me, a child of the 50's, is unheard of!  Nothing with salt is allowed either which means no processed foods period.  Not that I eat a lot of processed foods but the amount of foods that have salt in them is staggering and none of them are allowed. I will be going to Starbucks tomorrow for a giant coffee/mocha WITH whip, and I will be eating the last of the Christmas cookies!  Cranky.  It's my word for January!

I've been strolling through blog land the last few day and noticed that many people are choosing a word for the year.  It is my understanding that the word is in place of resolutions and all the other broken promises of a new year.  This is a word to live by, to improve ones self, a positive.  I've been thinking of a word that I would like to use and have two that keep coming to mind.  I will let you know, on New Years Day just what I have chosen.  This year I tried to live my life with 'intent,' not realizing that I had chosen a 'word.'  Oh my!

Are you a resolution type person, an intentional word, all or nothing?  And do you have New Year's Eve plans?

With tidings of comfort and joy...

cookie decorating

son and dil

May your

hearts

and lives

be

filled with

joy

and

love

that can only

come

from the

babe

born on

Christmas Day.

Blessings to you and yours

with

gratitude and love.

xojj

The Santa Claus...

...I was three when we left Brooklyn and all of our extended families and moved across the country.  We had a car, our clothes and a small (tiny) u-haul trailer with our meager possessions.  In my arms was a girls best friend, her teddy bear, and in a box...Santa.

Poor Teddy was lost or left-behind in a hotel in El Paso, Que the quirky country song.  Something that broke my little three year old heart.  But, Santa survived.  He survived another eleven moves, and when my parents were still alive, he was the only thing us four children wanted in the will.  He has since spent the last ten years traveling from each of our houses to the next and spending the holidays with all of us.

 By the third Christmas that my parents had spent together, they were living in a new house with a brand new baby boy, born seven weeks premature.  There were mortgages to pay, hospitals to pay, and Christmas on it's way.  So my dad worked two part-time temporary jobs in addition to his regular job. 

 One of those jobs was at Milton-Bradley and, I was always sad when I heard that story because I thought if we had not moved from NY, I could have had every game and toy that they had ever made! 

The other job was at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel.  He would set up and break down banquet rooms for company Christmas parties.  At one such party they had these Santa's as the table centerpiece.  After the party was over and the tables broken down to be readied for the next party my dad found this last and lonely Santa.  All the others had been taken home by party guests.   My dad's boss, knowing he had a baby at home, offered it to him.  At first pop refused but as he walked out to the car he had second thoughts and went back for him.  He has been a treasured part of our family ever since.

He's aged a little over the years but is really no worse for wear.  I'm afraid now that if I tried to clean his beard that it would just fall out, or shrink, so I just let it be.  He is carefully unpacked every year for a short few weeks and then lovingly repacked until the next year, or the next move.  He carries with him all the wonderful memories of our Christmas past and as we move forward to our Christmas future I know he will always be safe and carry our special childhood secrets.

Long ago and oh so far away...

Every picture tells a story...

...we lost power Tuesday night so I lit the candles and took some pics

of the kitchen shelf

all ready for the big day...

happy, happy..;j

The paper chase...

...*sigh* do you all know just how much I love it when I can incorporate a song or movie into my post title!   I remember asking awhile back if anyone knew what my posts have in common and that is the answer...song and movie titles.   But, I digress...


...we have skylights in our kitchen and, depending on my mood the time of day and time of season, I enjoy the extra light and warmth.  So do plants.  (I swear I could grow tomatoes from seed in there!)
My paper whites love it too...

This is the first year that I've tried forcing bulbs in the house.  I think they should be blooming by Christmas.  Have you tried this before?

Sunday serenity...

...Next fall when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying in their familiar "V" formation, you might be interested in knowing why they fly that way. Science has learned that, as each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately behind it. By flying in a "V" formation, the flock together gains over 70% more flying range than if each bird flew on its own.
Like the geese, people who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
Whenever one goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone. It will quickly try to get back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the birds in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing, and another goose takes over the point position. It pays to take turns doing hard jobs!

The geese from behind honk constantly, as you've no doubt heard whenever a flock passes overhead. They do this to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. An encouraging word goes a long way.
Finally, when a goose gets sick or is wounded by a gun shot and falls out of the formation, two geese follow it down to stay with it and protect it. They stay until it is either able to fly again, or dies. They then launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with the group. If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other.



~ Author Unknown

When just enough is too much...

     google images

...when I was in college and taking courses to become a Health Unit Coordinator (loving called HUC's)one of the classes I took was Medical Transcription.  Talk about a foreign language!  The first reports that I had to transcribe were pathology and autopsy reports.  It was truly an eye opening experience.  We didn't spend enough time on that subject that I could get a job as a transcriptionist but I did learn just enough...just enough to be dangerous, just enough to be able to read a pathology report, just enough to know when to worry.

My pathology report has returned.

In an effort to keep my friends informed but not enough to invite contradiction, I will try to keep this brief.

My thyroid was removed approx. four weeks ago for suspicion of cancer.  It was revealed, upon biopsy and frozen section, that there were five cysts/nodules/areas of concern.  These were 100% papillary cancer and it is believed that it was all removed during the surgery.  BUT, and there always is one, this type of cancer has a tendency to spread and while it is not the most serious of cancers it is cancer none the less.

After the holidays, and hopefully before my sweet grand girl arrives,

I will be having high dose radiation treatments.  This involves a strict no iodine diet for two weeks, three days of radiation and eight days of isolation.  After several scans I will know whether or not any of those little cells have escaped and traveled on a little vacation some where in my body.  If so, they will be zapped and gone for ever or at lease twenty years whichever comes first for me.

Truthfully, I am not really looking forward to any of this and would rather not go through with the radiation.  There are many side effects and there is a chance that the radiation itself can cause cancer in my neck, jaw or mouth.  I have been struggling with whether or not to continue but I have come this far.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes (as a child) I was told I would not live to see 30...I am now happily 20+ years older,

that I would never be able to have children..I've had three.

that I would never see my grandchildren come into the world.  I have been fighting the odds for a long time and I refuse to turn back now.  So forward we go, with open eyes and an open heart. 

Favorite things Thursday...

...because it's almost the end of another year. Because everyone I meet seems to be cranky (myself included). Because I haven't done my shopping.  Because it's dark at 4pm.  Because my decorating and/or baking has not yet begun.  Because I spent three hours at the doctors office today. Because, because, because, because, because...  I think it's a good time to remember some of my favorite holiday things.

your turn...

Strawberries and cream...

...I decided, this morning, that I should really get busy and do some holiday decorating.  After all it's less than three weeks away and at the rate I am going I will have to pack it up as soon as it's unpacked.

So with this in mind I went to work on the mantel.  This is the first house we've lived in that had a true mantel and is something I really enjoy decorating for the holidays.  Out came the boxes marked 'mantel,' out came the box of candles and candle holders, in came the cedar garland that we bought yesterday...all was well in my world.

I worked joyfully decorated as I listened to Christmas music and dodged the dog, who must, at all times, be in the middle of all things.  We tried this and that and then moved things around just so. Lit all the candles, got out the camera and took at least 394,326 photos. (You know, you have to take hundreds and hope that at least one comes out good.)

There must have been a low-lighting problem or I need new batteries but not one, not.one, of the photos could be saved much less shown to anyone!  Gah, so tomorrow I will load the camera with new batteries, turn on a few more lamps, light the candles and give it another try...

I did get a few pics of my new Poinsettia plant.  I just love going to the nursery and seeing the rows and rows of these pretties.  It's like a Poinsettia parade.  I particularly like the ones that are not red, gravitating more towards the whites or variegated varieties.  This was new to me this year...called Strawberries and Cream.  And although your could not pay me to eat Strawberries and Cream I do think this one is my current favorite.

Still no tree up, nor lights, no baking done...what about you?

All that glitters...

...is not gold, but sometimes is a shiny silvery thing. 

Over the last few weeks I have been trying my best to stick around home and not wander the streets of our little town looking for something to occupy my time, as in thrifting, coffee drinking, book reading, holiday shopping etc.  I have failed miserably.

The reason being that I am still recovering from surgery and am trying not to be around crowded stores with throngs of sick people.  Again, fail.   Lucky for me cough cough the pharmacy is right across the parking lot from the GW.  You simply can not go to one without checking into the other...right?

The GW was full of Christmas/Hanukkah decorations and trinkets today and I was able to find a few things to add to my decor, even though I haven't done one iota of decorating yet...

a Holly topiary, five small snow-globe ornaments, shiny silver ornaments, vintage red and silver ornaments and a small wreath...all for about $5.   Most of the items were in "grab bags" which I find completely intriguing.  You just never know what may be hiding in there...

today, my sweet surprise, in the bottom of the bag of ornaments, is the letters J-O-Y, with a small Dove attached.  I think I will find a place for that to hang year round, along with the H-O-P-E letters I found earlier.  In my mind it was meant to be.

Now, if I want to see my kitchen counter tops again, I really need to get my mantel and tree decorated.  Then, maybe, I'll share some pics...maybe. 

did you know that "thrifting" is not a word, according to spell check!