Good By Old Year!

I sat down here intending to welcome the new year. It dawned on me that we seldom really say farewell to the old one.

I can write that this past year was filled with so much that was unexpected. I can say that some unfortunate things happened, unexplained, sad things. Generally I can talk about the good things that jumped out of nowhere and took my breath away. The joy that snuck in under the radar to suddenly dissipate the cloud of depression I was so totally engulfed in. But to do all of this only scratches the surface that 2005 was.

My personal person, my self, went through so many ups and downs in '05. To list any of them is only self serving and I shan't do it here. I will say that 2005 is ending on a moderately high note for me...no one is more surprised than I am. I do believe that a good bit of it is because I have made the decision to be happy. To find pleasure in the moment, to approve of myself and others. To create joy. To remember how fleeting life is and live true to myself. I've perfected none of this, but feel practice is often what gives me the most peace and pleasure.

I shall continue to practice the joy of life in 2006 and I pray everyone else will find the path they need to practice in order to end 2006 on a moderately high note for all.

Love, Jn

The day after Christmas

Yesterday was beautiful! Clear blue skys and rather manageable
temperatures. As in the days of yore, I was up at the crack of dawn, but there were no little children, no gifts. I was thankful for Shirley, Goodness and Mercy who seem to think that every day is Christmas if I get up!

It was a lazy day. Stayed in pj's until 2pm...read a book, made a sausage and onion quiche and drank a pot of coffee. Bud call early and we talked quite a while and later Mother called. Anna called in the afternoon and we talked for an hour. Did laundry and changed the bed (red sheets!).

At 5:30 I went out to Martha Jean's house to tend to her dog, Rosie. She's an old (14) border collie who's a little blind, a little deaf and a little lame. I stayed with her for a little over an hour and came home.

It was all in all a very nice Christmas. I felf a little weepy a few times (you know, things that might have been, etc.) but held it together until a dumb Folger's coffee commercial came on tv...then I just lost it...cried like a baby. Glad I got that out of the way.

We're working today...sorta wish we weren't...so I've gotta dash.

It's been an amazing week!

This week has almost been one of sensory overload! I really began my job in Ernest on Monday. It's as if it were custom made for me. Busy almost all of the time and that makes the time fly, really nice people and PLANTS! What more could I ask for...and the funny thing is I never even filled out an application. However, up front, I did tell them about having had three jobs this past year...they just shrugged, said they must not have been right for me. Wow! They gave me a total of 8lbs of shelled pecans...4 lbs on Friday and another 4 today.

For lunch today one of the boys grilled bacon wrapped quail, venison and smoked sausage. Talk about absolutely wonderful! And one of the boys brought in white chocolate covered cherrys that his mother made for us...I brought 4 home!

When I got home from work Tuesday my carport was piled high with fire wood! Split oak and a bucket of split lighter knot!

Martha Jean gave me two quarts of fresh cane syrup and a dozen satsumas. Mother and Bert came over Monday night and brought a dozen of the biggest, juiciest, tastiest pears I've ever had.

Tonight Caroline and George brought a smoked Boston butt (still hot!) over and said that they were planning on having fire wood brought over every week through winter (26 degrees this morning).

And, I got a gift certificate from Aunt Betty and Uncle Buddy for the Outback and a gift certificate from my sister for Winn Dixie today in the mail.

Do you see a theme here? Isn't it wonderful?

Plus, today was payday...and we are off tomorrow!

Merry Christmas! The only thing that could make it better would be if Bud could come.

It's been a week and a half this week!

Went in to the new job on Monday for training. I was to be trained 2 hrs. a day this week and next. Well, the husband of the girl I'm replacing opened a little sandwich shop here in town on Thursday and on Wednesday she quit. So, Thursday I started full time and still have the 2 part time jobs I've been working...went in to the part times on Mon, Tues and Wednesday...just couldn't Thurs and Fri. I'll have to sort that out and go in after work at least two afternoons. I know it'll work out, just gotta figure out how to do it.

One of the girls from bridge (83 yrs old) called on Friday and asked if I'd take her shopping Saturday morning...of course said yes. She's new to Monticello and doesn't drive much (tends to get lost on a straight road). So I picked her up at 10am in the pouring rain and off we went. We went to Milady's shop which is a super nice dress shop that been here longer than I can remember...I remember going in with Mother when I was a little girl and trying on the hats while she shopped! Then we went to Fred's which is sorta like a poor man's K-Mart, but it's wonderful! Everything from groceries to furniture to videos and potting soil! She got everything she needed and more! Then we went to a new little Mexican restaurant that opened here a couple of months ago. It was SOOOO good! Brought her here to meet Shirley, Goodness and Mercy and see where I live, though I'll bet she can't find it again and back to her house. All this time it was really raining! She gave me a really nice rug for my living room that she didn't have a place for. She's moved from a 4 bedroom 3 bath in Satellite Beach to a 2 bedroom 2 bath town house. Really had to down size lots! Got home around 3pm, tired, damp and cold!

Built a fire and sat with hot tea and the newspaper until around 6pm and Helen called. We talked a couple of hours...Bless her heart she was so down...her lower back's giving her fits, so bad that she took a pain pill which she seldom does. She really is a trooper, still crochets the lap robes for the nursing homes...over 250 this year!

Shirley and I went outside earlier (still raining). When we came in and I took her leash off she went nuts! Ran, full speed, round and round the dining room table while Goodness ran with her round and round on top of the table! I laughed until my tears ran down my cheeks! They probably made 15-20 laps! What a hoot!

Laughing out loud

Saturday, after working in the yard for a couple of hours, I decided to dash to Tallahassee to take Mother and Bert a little gift for Christmas. Now, as I said, I was working in the yard and it was just a whim to go to Tally. I didn't even look in the mirror before I left...no make up...twigs and trash in hair...was just planning to dash over and right back. (Mother did offer me her make up...I declined.)

Well, when I got there my sister was there doing the same thing, delivering Christmas. Mother insisted that I come in and visit and wait for Bert to get back...well, one thing led to another and the four of us ended up going out for a late lunch. We had such fun! Something triggered Mother, Nancy and me and we laughed until we were crying and couldn't stop. Poor Bert was just sitting there in silent amazement. Mother called last night and said Bert asked what was funny and she didn't know, nor did I...but what ever it was, it gave me the best laugh I've had in a very, very long time!

It was dark when I got home.

Played bridge yesterday. I'm really bad!

ETC and her husband have the baby! They are still in China, but are posting to their blog and have posted quite a few wonderful pictures. One they posted is with the hubby holding the baby in a front pouch thing (don't know what those are called) in front of a Chinese MacDonald's! My favorite is the one with ETC holding the baby while she drinks a bottle...the baby is looking up at ETC and she's looking at the baby with such love and joy on her face...beautiful! I printed it out to send to Mother. They are due home a week from today. Then the real pleasure starts when their son and the rest of the extended family start the living process that makes home and family.

We have a freeze this morning. Brrrr!

Chester, Tree Murder and other things...

Bud called last night. Yesterday he had taken a friend to Panama City and left Chester in the house. His landlord accidentally left the door unsecured and Chester got out. He was badly mauled by two Pit Bulls that roam the neighborhood. The end of his penis was bitten off and the muscles in his haunch are messed up pretty badly. Bud said he screams when he tries to move. Poor, poor baby! He doesn't have a mean bone in his body. I hate this happened and pray he'll be okay and soon!

I woke up later than usual this morning (7:30) to the sound of trees screaming. Bulldozers were killing all of the trees in the vacant lot across the street. I looked out the front window and they were just laying there with giant roots up in the air. Shortly after I moved into the house I heard that 3 houses were going in over there, then a few weeks ago the woman who sold the property told me that 6 houses were going in. My property stretches about half way across that land, I can't imagine how they'll squeeze 6 houses in there. Damn! Just hate it!

Last night it was cold and I was feeling sorta rotten (sinus) and almost didn't go to the Humane Society meeting. I'm glad I did, even being there I got handed more than I had bargained for...no telling what would have happened had I not been there. I'm now the treasurer and the membership chairman. They also asked me to be the recording secretary, thank goodness I had the gumption to say no to that, but it sure would have been the lesser of three evils!

Went to the bank today to make the HS deposit. The woman who is the office manager at the first job I had here came in while I was waiting. It was the first time I'd seen anyone since I left there. She came over and hugged me and apologized for everything that happened while I was there. That sorta made things better...I was given the short end of the stick.

The power bill came yesterday. I was thrilled! $64! Of course, I'm cold most of the time, but I can live with that. When LJ was here Saturday she told me that last year it cost her $400.00 each time she had her protane tank filled and she had it filled 4 times! No way I can do that.

Tomorrow is the day that ETC and hubby leave for China. I know they must be about to pop with excitement...I am and it's not even me!

We are suddenly having a flea problem again. Don't know what it is about this time of year. Have been using Frontline for all of the animals and the last dose didn't do a thing for them. Don't know what to do now, have tried flea powder, not working either.

I have a fire in the fireplace and a pot of chili cooking. Good smell combo!

Oh! The other night I made a cup of cocoa. Used Hersey's cocoa, half and half, a little sugar, a dash of salt and a good dash of cayenne pepper. Talk about absolutely WONDERFUL! I don't know where I got the idea for the salt and the pepper, I may have read it or heard it or even dreamed it, but it made all of the difference in the world! I think I'll try it again tonight.

It was a dark and stormy day...

Yesterday was very cold, rainy and dark. It started getting cold Friday and by dawn yesterday it was really quite raw. It spat rain and tumbled dark clouds all day.

Friday afternoon late I went to town for the Christmas "Uptown Get Down". The first Friday in every month two of the main streets in town are closed off and there is music and food and vendors set up booths and it's just a jolly good time. It goes on from 5-9. The Humane Society sets up an adoption booth and does some pretty good business. The HS needed some of the t-shirts we're using for fund raising so I bundled them up and took them to the booth at 4:30, not intending to stay. But I saw lots of people I knew and the music was good so I ended up staying until 6:00pm. By then I'd seen everything I wanted to see and had system over-load with folks and had a hot sausage w/onions and peppers in my bag and it was getting cold, so I came home.

The first thing I did when I got home was build a nice little fire in the fireplace and brew a pot of de-caf. Then with Shirley, Goodness and Mercy in my lap I sat in front of the fire and wolfed down the sausage. Yummy!

When I got up yesterday I still had some decent embers in the fireplace so with a little lighter knot and newspaper I had blazes in no time. I stoked the fire and kept it going all day and late into the night last night. Lovely!

It was truly a laid back day. I didn't even dress until almost noon. Flannel jammys and hot coffee, a good book and the fire, I was all set. Then at 9am the phone rang...it was MJ. She and I talked for about an hour and a half. Then I decided it wasn't going to get much warmer, so I jumped in the shower and got dressed in warm sweats (almost as good as pj's). I'd no more dressed than the door bell rang and it was LJ and Max, her little dog. They came in and stayed for about an hour. Shirley and Max were a HOOT! They ran and played, jumping off the back of the sofa and skidding on the wood floors as the cats sat on the dining room table (among the ornaments I'd unpacked and done nothing with) and watched their antics with BIG eyes! What fun.

Well, when LJ and Max left I settled down with my book. Got a couple of hours of reading in and the phone rang. It was Helen. As she said, she just wanted to "yak"...and yak we did for almost 3 hours. And the day was done.

I stayed up and read until 11:30...just 20 pages short of finishing my book, just couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, so I went to bed. Slept straight through till 6 this morning. That's a first for me in a while.

I'm meeting MJ this afternoon at the shelter office. We're going to sort t-shirts and work on making files for the new year. Our annual membership meeting is tomorrow night and I'll be installed on the board as membership chairman. Still have a lot of work to do to get ready for it.

All in all, it's been an interesting weekend and it ain't over yet!