Maeves Madness (Inch Beach, Ireland)

Eagle On Headstone

2011-07-28T19:50:00.000-04:00

My friend sent this to me and I was so moved by the photo I thought I would share. WITH WHO!! hehehehe I think two people read my blog! LOL Anyway, it is a very moving photo!!

One of the most emotion-evoking photos I've ever seen. Taken at the
National Cemetery in Minneapolis on a June morning as it appeared in the Minneapolis Star/Tribune.

Talk about a picture being worth a thousand words!!! It says everything without a single word. This should become an official Memorial Day, 4th of July and/or Veterans Day remembrance photo; Our symbol standing guard.

Hot Days

2011-07-23T11:02:00.001-04:00

It has been so HOT in upstate New York that even the Ice Cream trucks are having problems!!

In Memory of Jodi

2011-07-22T10:24:00.002-04:00

On this Angel Anniversary, I seek the spirit of Jodi who lives so deep within my heart to help me through this day~

~ If I had a single flower for every time I think about you Jodi I could walk forever in my garden.

~ We miss you so much

Just Stuff

2011-07-21T12:12:00.000-04:00

My son-in-law was at the launching of Atlantis a few weeks back and toke this clip! When I worked for IBM I had the opportunity to attend one of these launches as their guest, but could not afford the expensive at the time! It must be an awesome thing to actually be there!

A friend of mine posted this little vese on Facebook and thought it was excellent!

I have been to a lot of places, but I've never been in Cahoots. Apparently you can't go alone. You have to be in Cahoots with someone. I've also never been in Cognito, either. I hear no one recognizes you there. I have, however, been in Sane. They don't have an airport, you have to be driven there. I have made several trips thanks to my friends and family! ;-)

My daughter is in Iceland and sent me this fantastic photo!!

Got a new point and shoot and was trying it out and caught this picture of my cat Seamus (Shay-mus) ... he is my little red haired Irish boy!! I think he is eyeing the bird up in the tree!!

AND who is into "testing"?? Well they have some new codes for seniors - have you seen them?

Since more and more Seniors are texting and tweeting, there appears to be a need for an STC (Senior Texting Code). I know that none of us qualifies as a "Senior" so just pass this along to your "older" friends.

ATD: At The Doctor's
BTW: Bring The Wheelchair
BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth
CBM: Covered By Medicare
CUATSC: See You At The Senior Center
DWI: Driving While Incontinent
FWB: Friend With Beta Blockers
FWIW: Forgot Where I Was
FYI: Found Your Insulin
GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low!
GHA: Got Heartburn Again
HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement
IMHO: Is My Hearing-Aid On?
LMDO: Laughing My Dentures Out
LOL: Living On Lipitor
LWO: Lawrence Welk's On
OMMR: On My Massage Recliner
OMSG: Oh My! Sorry, Gas
ROFL... CGU: Rolling On The Floor Laughing... And Can't Get Up
SGGP: Sorry, Gotta Go Poop
TTYL: Talk To You Louder
WAITT: Who Am I Talking To?
WTFA: Wet The Furniture Again
WTP: Where's The Prunes?
WWNO: Walker Wheels Need Oil
GLKI (Gotta Go, Laxative Kicking In)

HAPPY THURSDAY!!

A HobNob!!

2011-07-11T14:31:00.000-04:00

Today I had thoughts of HobNobs!! What is a HobNob you ask!! It is cookie/biscuit that began in the UK. Here is a little description.
If you’re an oat-aholic, then McVitie's HobNobs are your biscuits. First launched in the UK in 1985, they were later followed by the Milk Chocolate alternative in 1987.

While in Ireland and Scotland I got hooked on these things, I could eat a whole sleeve of biscuits myself every day!! Non-sweet, great tasting cookie. Send your taste buds soaring with the mouth watering oat and wheat HobNob biscuits. The initial crunch followed by the gentle melt leaves you wanting more. I must say they are most addictive, these knobbly golden delights will leave you with just one difficult problem - to share or not to share? NOT!!!

While in NYC babysitting my grandson in early June I stopped in one of the markets and low and behold there they were on the supermarket shelf, I was like an old junkie, I started to shake, and place every last one into my cart ... price, did I check to see what it was, NO, it was HobNobs, I had not had them in years!! I have to say once I got to the checkout though I was not prepared for the total ... those little morsels were almost as much as gold ... well not quite, but almost!! BUT it is also a market in NYC, on Broadway, so I expect some price increase but $4.99 a small box! WHOA!! Well I bit the bullet (and the cookie) and purchased my HobNobs and was in full glory walking back to my daughters place as I munched on HobNobs and dreamed of being back in the UK!!! Guess where I am going the next time I visit my daughter!!! YUP .... back to the market!!!

NYC Pool

2011-07-10T16:58:00.000-04:00

My daughter who lives in NYC posted this, I think it is a fantastic idea!!

Check out these three very inventive young men and their amazing idea.

+Pool from GYLo on Vimeo.

Here is the website: http://pluspool.org/

OH, and congrats to the US Woman's Soccer team for their advancement to the World Cup Semi Finals!! Way to go!!

Happy Birthday America!!

2011-07-04T10:05:00.005-04:00

July 4, 1776, a celebrated in the United States to commemorate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Independance from England!! Don't get me wrong, I love England!! In fact there are days when I wish I was back there, but I love the USA!

I found this story this morning on Yahoo and thought I would share it!

There are a lot of stories surrounding the Declaration of Independence. One of the most famous concerns John Hancock and his comically large signature. According to legend, the founding father signed his name bigger than everyone else's because he wanted to make sure "fat old King George" could read it without his spectacles.

It's a neat story about American brashness, but it isn't very accurate. The truth is a tad less dramatic. Snopes.com explains that Hancock, president of the Continental Congress, gave a super-sized signature not because he was itching for a fight with the king, but because, among other things, he happened to be the first person to sign the document.

Because Hancock was the first to sign, he did the sensible thing and put his name front and center. He was the leader of the Congress, after all. He didn't know his fellow patriots would sign their names on a smaller scale.

So, why are some of the other signatures high and to the left while others are down and to the right? The National Archives explains, "In accordance with prevailing custom, the other delegates began to sign at the right below the text, their signatures arranged according to the geographic location of the states they represented. New Hampshire, the northernmost state, began the list, and Georgia, the southernmost, ended it."

And it's worth remembering that signing one's name to the Declaration of Independence was no small thing. Those who signed the document were sure to be hanged for treason should they be caught.

Another popular story says that the members of Congress were inspired to lend their own names to the document after seeing Hancock's epic autograph and the bravery it signified. Neat, but not true. Not only was Hancock the first to sign the Declaration, he did it weeks before anybody else. The National Archives explains, "One of the most widely held misconceptions about the Declaration is that it was signed on July 4, 1776, by all the delegates in attendance."

In reality, Hancock signed it in the presence of just one man, Charles Thomson, the secretary of Congress. National Geographic explains, "no one actually signed the Declaration of Independence at any time during July 1776. Signing began on August 2, with John Hancock's famously bold scribble, and wasn't completed until late November."

That famous painting of all the founding fathers gathered around, signing the document was a case of artistic license!!

This flag was flown over the United States Capitol in Washington, DC on Jan. 15, 2000 and then sent to me. I only bring it out on very few occasions.

ALL said ... Happy Birthday America!!

Camera Ramblings

2011-07-02T21:43:00.001-04:00

WOW twice in the same week!! Can you believe it!!!

Went out today searching for a new "point and shoot" camera! Sadly my trusty old point and shoot Cannon has captured it's last likeness of anything. This camera toke some AMAZING photos for me and I am deeply sadden that she will not be accompany me on anymore ventures. Here are a few snaps she had saved for me .... I think you can click on the picture to see them larger, at least you use to be able to, so many things have changed since I have been away!! *smile* Enjoy the pics!

seagulls on Long Island ... they were looking for food!

This was taken at sunrise in North Wildwood, New Jersey, a lone fisherman.

Some very busy bees hard at work, taken in Gettysburg, PA

This is one of my favorite entertainers and fiddle players, Ms. Eileen Ivers. I try to catch at least one of her shows at least once a year, she is amazing!!

This is my rescue boy Darby, named after my great-great grandfather in Ireland.

AND this is my red haired Irish boy named Seamus, he too is a rescue, his mom died when he was only three days old, so he thinks humans are his mom! He is a very sweet boy!

This was taken in the spring at Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, NY, my great-great- grandparents are buried there as well as my great grandparents and other aunts and uncles.

This was also taken at Green Wood Cemetery, I liked the color contrast.

Another butterfly shot, this was taken at Robert Frost summer home in the mountains of
New Hampshire (a female monarch)

One of my many whale shots, not bad for a point and shoot huh!! This was taken off the coast of New England. We saw so many whales that day. This was a Humpback Whale.

Also a Humpback Whale. The way they "ID" the whales is by the underside of their tail. Each whale has a distinct imprint, just as a human has fingerprints.

This is a little blurry, the horse was trotting along, but look at the little boy looking out the window at me! This was taken in Intercourse, PA. (no wise cracks)

Taken in Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire

This was taken in Dingle, Ireland

OK, the same morning I was walking the beach at sunrise in North Wildwood I came across this girl taking pictures of a pumpkin on the beach. OF COURSE I had to ask her why!!! She was taking a photography class and the teacher told them they had to find a pumpkin (it was late Sept.) and take it someplace unusual and photograph it. I though she was pretty clever. Love the seagulls hanging around ready to attack the pumpkin!

You can actually see her furry back, this is a female Monarch, taken in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

This was taken in Vancouver, British Columbia, loved the rocks, water and snow covered mountains in the distance.

WELL now all I have to do is find myself a new point and shoot, I have spent hours reading reveiws and I am undecided between two cameras. I have only been at the store half dozen times, check each one out, get confused and leave again!! Maybe tomorrow!!

PEACE!

Stoned Kitty

2011-06-29T12:26:00.000-04:00

Stoned kitty after almost losing his tail, and 2.5 hours in the Kitty hospital!!

Missing My Blog

2011-06-29T11:56:00.000-04:00

I miss you my BLOG ...............

I have been away for to long, and so much has happened while I was away! Well not really but isn't that what you are expected to say!! Actually my life has been rather BLAH ..... no travel, no big parties, a broken camera so no good photo's, just living upstate life!!

Hmmmmm I am still dwelling deep in the ghosts of my past. I did put together a pretty outstanding poster board of my English roots. I saw the idea on line, yes folks, I lifted the idea from another Englishman! However it was a TON of work to put it together!! I am very pleased with the outcome, I am not sure it can be viewed here since it is a file and not a jpg. Maybe I can try to capture it on my big camera, which may I add is also acting up!!

I really need to paint my bedroom and I kick myself daily in the ass for not being more aggressive about it. First I need to sort through clothes, get rid of what I know I will never wear again and then start moving stuff!! I have decided on a color, so that is one good thing! I am thinking a sage green/grayish color with bright white molding. My canopy bed is pine and I think that would work. It would also give me a chance to get some beautiful botanical prints that my daughter drew hung on the walls!!

I miss my grandson everyday! He is the joy of my life, how one little person can fill so many voids in your life and make you smile is truly unreal! He is a game player too and is learning to be quiet crafty in many ways, and they are not all artsy! LOL!! I love him to pieces.

Oh we did have a kitty incident, I accidentally slammed my poor Kitty's tail in the door. I have three indoor cats, all whom try to escape each time I come in or out. While bringing in groceries a few weeks back one escaped behind me that I did not see, hence the tail in the door!!!! We spent LOTS of money and 2.5 hours in the kitty hospital. I am happy to say the tail was saved, thank gosh! What is a Puss N Boots without a tail! Here is a picture after we brought him home, he is a little stoned from all the meds!!! LOL

For some reason I can not upload shots today????

Oh well .... tomorrow perhaps!

2011-06-29T11:55:00.000-04:00

Another Change in My Life

2011-03-08T21:53:00.005-05:00

OK first off I am confused how my blog got changed around! That will teach me never to tinker when you mind is not fully charged. I hate they way it looks but do not want to mess with the layout just yet!! AND the colors....YUCK!!!

This weekend marked my 20th year marching with a great group of folks, The BC Celtic Kazoo Band! I have led this band now for 10 years and it has been both a labor of love and a royal pain in the ass at times!! AND sometimes a part time job...of which there is no pay, except the grattification that comes on parade day when all run smooth! AND it did just that this past Saturday.

Thursday night at last practice we had well over 100 people show up. They surprised me with an appriciation award and a few very nice trinkets!!!

It was a great parade day! Here is a little clip taken on Saturday. I will post more pictures soon

Past Parades

2011-03-04T10:27:00.005-05:00

Well I wanted to write some magnificent words of wisdom here, but alas they all escape me...so in prep for tomorrows local parade here are a few clips from previous years of our band!! YES, a KAZOO BAND!!!

This is a few of our drummers warming up ...

A rainy past parade day...

A SNOWY parade day ...

AND yes those are jello shots on the table!!!

The crowds love us ... not sure who toke this someone on the side lines, I found it on You Tube!! LOL

These are the Kazoo Band friends...the Philly Pipe band rocking with some Kazooers on parade day!! You gotta LOVE these guys!!! This clip makes me smile!!!!

HAPPY PARADE DAY Binghamton, New York!!!!

I will try to post some pictures next week of the festivities!!

New York Tourists!!

2011-03-03T10:23:00.004-05:00

Not from being from NYC proper but I have walked the city often enough to also be annoyed by the people stopping to "look up" or take photos and thought these two clips were hysterical

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess!!

2011-03-02T21:39:00.005-05:00

If you want to pronounce the name the way his family did, say Zoice,not Soose. Seuss is a Bavarian name, and was his mother’s maiden name: Henrietta Seuss’s parents emigrated from Bavaria (part of modern-day Germany) in the nineteenth century. Seuss was also his middle name.

Theodor Seuss Geisel — known as “Ted” to family and friends — liked to say that he adopted the name “Dr. Seuss” because he was saving his real name for the Great American Novel he would one day write. But that’s probably not true. When talking to the media, Geisel was more interested in telling a good story than he was in telling a true story.

He wrote an illustrated 44 books!

I don't know if you agree but I think he looks like Mr. Rogers in this picture!!

Thanks for some GREAT books, and Happy Birthday Theodor Seuss Geisel !!

Getting Ready For the High Holy Month!

2011-02-27T21:57:00.003-05:00

Well, I admit it, I have been lame about posting. I use to so look forward to the pearls of wisdom that would flow through my veins and onto the blog....hehehe. I have been lame about so many things in my life and I should really get my ass in gear, but alas no one has poked me with a cattle prod recently!!

I am however looking forward to the "High Holy Month (HHM)" as we so fondly call it in the kazoo band. When kazoo practice starts, we know soon so will the "HHM." To those who do not know what the HHM is, let me explain. Once the holidays are over and cabin fever starts setting in, we start thinking about kazoo practice. YES, I know that sounds like an oxymoron!! KAZOO/PRACTICE!! I know the kazoo is not a REAL instrument, but never tell that to a devoted kazooist!!

The winters are long and cold upstate New York so we try to entertain ourselves any way possible, yup, kazoo practice brings us all together once a week. We start in January and culminate on St. Patrick's Parade Day weekend in Binghamton, which always falls on the first Saturday of the HHM. Yes, March!

Most novice revelers only come out usually on the actual high holy day itself, St. Patrick's Day, March 17th, but being the dedicated Irish group we are, we celebrate the whole month, hence the term the "High Holy Month."

So as I said, we have been practicing for six weeks, this being our last week before we march in the parade. We are just hoping the snow and sleet hold off and that St. Patrick himself blesses us with a sunny day!

So to start off the HHM I found this neat clip. I KNOW, it is not every ones taste in music but give it a listen!!

More HHM postings to follow!!!

Happy President's Day!

2011-02-21T08:47:00.004-05:00

Alright, here's a list of cool presidential fun facts and worthless presidential trivia that you are sure to impress your friends with at the big annual Presidents Day Party. These are all from the first 25 presidents.
•When he was inaugurated, George Washington was down to his last real tooth.
•John Adams last words were, "Thomas Jefferson still survives!" Unbeknowest to Adams, Jefferson had died hours earlier.
•Thomas Jefferson was the first president to shake hands instead of bowing to people. He died deeply in debt, and Monticello was sold off. It went unoccupied for almost 100 years, falling into a sad state of disrepair before it was made into a monument in the 1920s.
•James Madison was 5'4" tall, and weighed 98 pounds.
•In the election of 1820, the immensely popular James Monroe received every electoral vote but one, and ran for president unopposed. The one elector voted against him so that Washington would be the only president elected unanimously.
•John Quincy Adams had a pet alligator, and had a pool table installed at the White House.
•Andrew Jackson was a chronic drooler, and suffered from the hives. He was orphaned at age 13. Early in life he had smallpox and dysentery. Later in life he had tuberculosis and dropsy. His wife had a nervous breakdown.He was shot in a duel (he killed the guy who shot him), and since the bullet wasn't able to be removed, he had an infection for the rest of his life.
•William Henry Harrison's inaugural address was two hours long, despite the fact that it took place in a freezing downpour. He refused to shorten his speech or even put on a coat. He quickly developed a cold, which then became pneumonia, and was dead within a month. His is still the longest inauguration and shortest presidency.
•Martin van Buren's autobiography doesn't mention his wife once.
•20 years after being elected president, John Tyler was elected to the Confederate House of Representatives. He had 15 children by two wives. His first child was born in 1816. The last Tyler child died in 1947.
•Zachary Taylor didn't vote in the election in which he ran for President. His death is still a mystery. His body was exhumed in 1991 to rule out death by poisoning, but no one is still sure how he died, since the doctors botched the autopsy. The best guess is heatstroke.
•Millard Fillmore's last words were, "The nourishment is palatable."
•Franklin Pierce was classmates with Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow at Bowdoin College. After numerous family tragedies, Pierce drank himself to death.
•Robert Todd Lincoln declined his parent's invitation to attend Our American Cousin the night Lincoln was killed. He was at the train station in New York where Garfield was killed and witnessed it happen. He was at the Pan Am Exposition in Buffalo when William McKinley was killed.
•Andrew Johnson was illiterate until his wife taught him how to read in his young 20s.
•Ulysses S. Grant's real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. He changed it because he didn't want to enter West Point with the initials H.U.G.
•Rutherford B. Hayes won the 1876 election by one electoral vote.
•James Garfield could simultaneously write in Latin with one hand and Greek with the other. He was killed not by the bullet shot by Charles Guitaeu, but by the incompetence of his attending physicians. They continually probed the bullet hole with unwashed fingers and instruments, causing the infection that ultimately killed him.
•Grover Cleveland was sheriff of Erie County, NY. One of his duties was executioner, and he tied the noose and pulled the trapdoor on two convicted murderers.
•Electricity was installed in the White House when Benjamin Harrison became president. He and his wife were horrified at the prospect of being electrocuted, so they never touched the light switches. The lights remained on at the White House during the entire Harrison presidency.
•William McKinley was on the front of the now discontinued $500 bill.

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T00:33:00.002-05:00

Happy Valentines Day!!

CHD Week Comes to an end

2011-02-12T12:08:00.005-05:00

CHD Week is coming to a close. There is not a day that goes by that I do not think of my daughter....

While at the beach thinking of you, writting your name in the sand, watching the waves and smelling the clean salt air, I dropped a tear in the ocean. The day you find it is the day I will stop missing you. ~

CHD Awareness Week

2011-02-07T17:53:00.002-05:00

CHD Awareness Week is an annual awareness effort to help educate the public about Congenital Heart Defects. Participants include individuals, local support groups, national and local organizations and congenital cardiology centers throughout the world!

Congenital Heart Disease is considered to be the most common birth defect, and is a leading cause of birth-defect related deaths worldwide.
Despite the fact that CHD affects approximately 1.8 millions families in the U.S., a relatively small amount of funding is currently available for parent/patient educational services, research, and support.

By sharing our experiences and providing information, we hope to raise public awareness about conditions that affect approximately 40,000 babies each year in the United States alone.

It is our sincere hope that efforts to educate the public will result in improved early diagnosis, additional funding for support and educational services, scientific research, and access to quality of care for our children and adults.

Irony

2011-01-30T12:39:00.015-05:00

National Kazoo Day!

2011-01-28T10:52:00.006-05:00

HAPPY NATIONAL KAZOO DAY!!!! Celebrating 161 years of kazoo playing in America!!! Of course, kazoo players are not known to be perfectly precise, so feel free to celebrate National Kazoo Day on January 26, 27, or 29th if you so desire. In fact, most people will agree that we should consider January 24-30, 2011, National Kazoo WEEK! So celebrate all week long.

AND Happy Anniversary to the BC Celtic Kazoo Band for celebrating 20 years in the Binghamton St. Patrick's Day Parade!!!!!

Are There Birthdays in Heaven?

2011-01-15T22:42:00.005-05:00

In memory of my daughter

Jodi

Happy Birthday

on what ever plane you roam

The card that I wrote you...

has no address.
A present to give...

but you are not here to receive it.
A cake with candles...

but you can not blow them out.
Although inside my heart aches...

I will blow the candles out for you,

and dream of what I wish were true,
To share this living life with you.

I miss you so much, and will always love you .... xoxoxox

mom

Winter Solstice

2010-12-21T19:21:00.003-05:00

The longest day of the year ... just because the earth is cold doesn't mean there's nothing going on down there in the soil. Think about what lies dormant in your own life right now, and consider what may bloom a few months from now.

Cold and dark, this time of year,
the earth lies dormant, awaiting the return
of the sun, and with it, life.
Far beneath the frozen surface,
a heartbeat waits,
until the moment is right,
to spring.

Lunar Eclipse

2010-12-20T20:47:00.004-05:00

Get your warm jammers on and get ready to look skywards tonight as the full molten moon will be cast with a long shadow during the total Lunar Eclipse! NASA says this can be viewed from our own backyard! Get those fire pits ready!! I am hoping to set my alarm and get a chance to spy this celestial show!! This is due to start 1:15 eastern time, and the moon is expected to take 3 hours and 28 minutes to pass. So if you hit that snooze button you still have a chance when you get up to pee!!

Also today I was drawn into updating some photo's and for some reason I kept on going back to one photo of my great great grandfather, so I jumped/toggled over to my genealogy software and looked up gg-grandpa's name, and specifics ... I guess he was sending me vibes from "afar" to wish him a happy birthday!! Happy Birthday great great grandpa, even though I never met you I still think of you!!!

Some Holiday Fun Sing A-Longs!!!

2010-12-16T22:31:00.002-05:00

Here are a few clips that have been sent to me this week, they made me SMILE!!!! Enjoy!!

LOVE this one, Sting and my girl Eileen Ivers on fiddle!!!

Hope you have a great weekend!!!

Today is National Children's Memorial Day

2010-12-12T15:40:00.009-05:00

Families around the world light candles at 7 p.m. in their corresponding time zones. As candles burn down in one time zone, they are lighted in the next, creating a 24-hour wave of light that encircles the globe. This remembrance ceremony provides the world with lit candles for an entire 24 hour period in order to honor the children we have lost, the children who lived and died, and who, even in death, continue to matter.

I Light This Candle

I light this candle in memory of you,
My life, my child, my heart,
May it shine bright and true,
As you did from the start.

In it's flickering flame I see,
The life we shared together,
The love and wonderful memories,
That I'll carry with me forever.

I light this candle in memory of you,
I look up to the Heavens where you are,
I see the lights of Heaven shining bright too,
But your candle shines brighter than the brightest star.

My child you are still so much a part of me,
Even though you are no longer here,
You live on in my heart where you will always be,
No matter what, I will always keep you there.

On this special night I light this candle for you,
And I hope every one who sees it will know,
How very special you are, how much you are loved and missed too,
And will remember you with me when they see it's golden glow.........

This song was written for my husband and myself byt a dear friend who since writing it also lost a dear child. I wish you could hear him sing this. Here are the words:

Once Upon a Dream
Author: Donal O'Shaughnessy
Copyright: 1998

Once upon a dream I looked out among the stars
and watched a scene of angels playing their guitars
it's you for me and anyone who needs to know
there is a Heaven a better place not far away

and I wonder, as I wander If you hear my prayers for you
and with each passing day I hope you know that I still love you Once upon this life You ran away, a passing glance
My toil, my strife Is eased a bit to know you dance
it's you for me and anyone who needs to know
there is a Heaven a gift for you that has been given

And I wonder, as I wander even though you live above
with each passing day I hope you know I feel your love

Once upon this night I'll light a candle, though it's far
to pass through the nightTo meet the light that is your star
and you and I can meet again among the clouds
until we meet in Heaven a dwelling place eternally

And I wonder, as I wander if your purpose in this life
was to light my way to guarantee we'll meet in Heaven ...

guarantee we'll meet in Heaven

Nation Children's Memorial Day

2010-12-03T21:01:00.001-05:00

The 12 PAINS of Christmas!!

2010-12-03T08:51:00.002-05:00

I had never heard this song until this morning and thought .... what a perfect little song for this time of year!!!

The Lyrics are below the song in case you did not understand the words!!

The first thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me, is finding a Christmas tree.

The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Rigging up the lights.
And finding a Christmas tree.

The third thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Hangovers.
Rigging up the lights
And finding a Christmas tree.

The fourth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Sending Christmas cards.
Hangovers.
Rigging up the lights
And finding a Christmas tree.

The fifth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Five months of bills.
Sending Christmas cards.
Hangovers.
Rigging up the lights
And finding a Christmas tree.

The sixth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Facing my in-laws.
Five months of bills.
Oh, I hate those Christmas cards.
Hangovers.
Rigging up the lights.
And finding a Christmas tree.

The seventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
The Salvation Army.
Facing my in-laws.
Five months of bills.
Sending Christmas cards.
Oh geez!
I'm trying to rig up these lights!
And finding a Christmas tree.

The eighth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
I want a Transformer for Christmas!
Charities! And what do you mean, your in-laws?
Five months of bills.
Ah! Making out these cards.
Edith, get me a beer, huh?
What, we have no extension cords?
And finding a Christmas tree.

The ninth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Finding parking spaces.
Daddy, I want some candy!
Donations.
Facing my in-laws.
Five months of bills.
Writing up those Christmas cards.
Hangovers.
Now why the hell are they blinking?
And finding a Christmas tree.

The tenth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Batteries not included.
No parking spaces.
Buy me something!
Get a job, ya bum!
Facing the in-laws.
Five months of bills.
Yo ho, sending Christmas cards.
Ah geez, look at this.
One light goes out, they all go out!
And finding a Christmas tree.

The eleventh thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Stale TV specials.
Batteries not included.
No parking spaces.
Mommy, I gotta go to the bathroom!
Charities.
She's a witch, I hate her!
Five months of bills.
Oh! I don't even know half these people.
Who's got the toilet paper, huh?
Get a flashlight, I blew a fuse!
And finding a Christmas tree.

The twelfth thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:
Singing Christmas carols.
Stale TV specials.
Batteries not included.
No parking?!?
(sound of an annoying crying child)
Charities!
Gotta make 'em dinner!
Five months of bills.
I'm not sending them this year. That's it!
Shut up, youse!
Fine, you're so smart; you rig up the lights!!!
And finding a Christmas tree.

World Aids Day

2010-12-01T13:04:00.002-05:00

December 1 each year, is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection.

Started on 1st December 1988, World AIDS Day is about raising money, increasing awareness, fighting prejudice and improving education. The World AIDS Day theme for 2010 is 'Universal Access and Human Rights'. World AIDS Day is important for reminding people that HIV has not gone away, and that there are many things still to be done.

According to UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.3 million people living with HIV, including 2.5 million children. During 2009 some 2.6 million people became newly infected with the virus and an estimated 1.8 million people died from AIDS.1

The vast majority of people with HIV and AIDS live in lower- and middle-income countries. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and children on all continents around the world.

Scores of cities and communities all over the world will dim the lights this December 1st to mark World AIDS Day as part of the Light for Rights campaign which focuses on human rights, HIV and AIDS.

Remember to dim you lights tonight ... and I thought this song would be appropriate.

What Did the Pilgrims Really Eat!

2010-11-25T08:29:00.002-05:00

The first Pilgrims did brings hens with them on the Mayflower. However, the record does not say how many, and if they survived the first great winter or not. We can safely assume, some of the Pilgrims most likely ate eggs.

We know, from Winslow's writings, that the Pilgrims did not eat fresh beef, enjoy milk or fresh cheese, butter and cream, until 1624. This is when Winslow mentions he made a voyage back to England that year, and returned from England with cattle.

The following is a list, which most likely was the fare of the first Thanksgiving, here we see some changes for the good. These items were mentioned in Edward Winslow's diaries, and were readily available, because of the help the Pilgrims received from the Native American Indians.

From the Ocean:

Cod fish, lobster, clams, seals and eels

From the Land:

Wild turkey, duck, rabbit, deer, partridge, goose and even eagles. Plums, pumpkins (which the colonists would stew or fry) and wild grapes and pumpkin. Beans, onions, lettuce, carrotts, and leeks, round out the vegetables available at that time. The Pilgrims had olive oil, wheat flour and Indian corn. They enjoyed walnuts, acorns, dried currents, and chestnuts.

Of interest, is the Native American Indians taught the colonists to make a certain dish, out of beans and corn. With just a slight variation on the recipe, this dish is still known today as "succotash."

Winslow's writings further tell us the Pilgrims ate "stewed or fried pumpkin", not pumpkin pie. No mention of cranberries and all the trimmings which come with the celebrating of Thanksgiving today. However, their diet was far better during the first harvest and improved each year as they learned from Native American Indians further skills in planting and harvesting.

There is no indication of a 2nd harvest celebration. The celebration of Thanksgiving, becoming a United States national holdiay officially, did not take place until approximately 280 years later through an act of United States Congress. We can only know for sure, that the Pilgrims were brave and courageous, and learned to endure from their many hardships, coming to a new unknown land and colonizing it. Indeed, they must have been truly thankful....expect maybe, for those hard biscuits!

Today in History

2010-11-16T11:18:00.005-05:00

I every so often read about "today in history" to see if there is anything I should not miss! There often is a lot I SHOULD miss. I do not care when the first Harry Potter movie opened or when the Sound of Music hit Broadway, but I do get a kick out of ture American history.

Today I read about a woman in the American Revolution, she is to beleived the first woman in the Conntinetal Army and she was injured this date back in 1776. I guess I never really thought about woman as soldiers back then.

On this day in 1776, Hessian Lieutenant General Wilhelm von Knyphausen and a force of 3,000 Hessian mercenaries and 5,000 Redcoats lay siege to Fort Washington at the northern end and highest point of Manhattan Island.

Throughout the morning, Knyphausen met stiff resistance from the Patriot riflemen inside the fort, but by afternoon, the Patriots were overwhelmed, and the garrison commander, Colonel Robert Magaw, surrendered. Nearly 3,000 Patriots were taken prisoner, and valuable ammunition and supplies were lost to the Hessians. The prisoners faced a particularly grim fate: Many later died from deprivation and disease aboard British prison ships anchored in New York Harbor.

Among the 53 dead and 96 wounded Patriots were John and Margaret Corbin of Virginia. When John died in action, his wife Margaret took over his cannon, cleaning, loading and firing the gun until she too was severely wounded. The first woman known to have fought for the Continental Army, Margaret survived, but lost the use of her left arm.

But her battle does not end here. Horribly wounded and disfigured by grapeshot and musket balls, Margaret is taken prisoner, paroled, and transported to a Pennsylvanian hospital. When the Continental Congress formed the Invalid Regiment in June 20, 1777, Margaret Corbin was enrolled as one of the disabled soldiers and moved with it to West Point.

In June 28, 1779, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania awarded Mrs. Corbin $30 and suggested she receive a pension. She became the first woman in the United States to receive a pension from Congress. A year later, Mrs. Corbin was given this pension (one-half soldier’s pay) and a set of clothes.

Imagine the societal battles Mrs. Corbin had to face during that time. Her left arm was unusable, her face disfigured, and she was a war widow. Accounts state that the Philadelphia Society for Women had planned to erect a memorial in her honor; until they met her and saw face-to-face the reality of what impoverishment does to soldiers and their widows. She still lived a soldier’s life style – she drank and smoked and lacked a genteel way of speech. Despite this, Margaret remarried in 1782.

But her battle does not end there. The Invalid Regiment was disbanded and her second husband, also a disabled veteran, died within the year. She was moved from West Point to Buttermilk Falls and placed in the care of a Mrs. Randall.

Again Margaret Corbin seems to fade from history’s gaze until her death at age 48, in 1800. But her battle does not end there. In 1926, the Daughters of the American Revolution, in an effort to recognize Margaret Cochran Corbin’s pivotal role in US History, exhumed her body and had it re-interred behind the Old Cadet Chapel at West Point with full military honors.

Just Random Thoughts

2010-11-13T13:25:00.011-05:00

I have not been a good Blogger since I found Facebook. AND I miss you Blogger!

It has been a rough summer with two hospital visits lasting a total of 17 days. Hey when I go to the hospital I do not mess around, I go for the long haul! UGH! Lately these guys have been my friends way to often (see picture) If you have never experienced the "joy" of potassium through your veins, I warn you ... eat foods high in P and take your vitamins! The pain is horrid. As my veins heal form the burns of the last round I have experienced muscle cramping. WHERE the hell is my Tylenol!! SO I am hoping this mess is over with and I can move on!

SO let me tell you about my AMAZING daughter Regina!! Early last year she decided to do a Triathlon. So she went into "over-drive" training very hard and ran her first NY Tri! YEA!! We were all so amazed at her task to do this. Moving forward she competed in yet several more Tri's only to get meaner and leaner!! Her next quest was the Mooseman Ironman Tri which was held this June in New Hampshire! It was really what they call a 1/2 Iron, 70.3 miles ~ swim 1.2, bike 56, and run 13.1. After 7 hours she did it! AN AMAZING JOB! Here she is soooo happy to cross the finish line! Weeks after her Ironman she was back at the NYC Tri, which also means the swim is in the Hudson River, I think that in itself is the bravest thing in the world to do, who the hell swims in the Hudson in NYC!! Anyway, she beat her time of last year and did I say looked lean and man! LOL (Photos from NYC Tri)
The swim! The Ride! Happy It is over! After that there were a few more Tri's and YET ANOTHER IRONMAN in NJ!! I'm not sure where she gets this energy from!!! She is an amazing woman, raising a son, working and training so hard. She has druing this quest raised a lot of money for cancer reseach. The world is a lucky place to have her in it!

OK so now I have been bragging about my daughter Regina .... now can I brag about my daughter Danielle??? Another amazing young woman!! She is my world traveler and dare devil! Yes, she may look like a California LA LA blond, but don't let her fool you!! She will be the first one in line to dive out of a plane or into the dark ocean at night! Actually she has dove at night, sharks and all!! She has motor biked through Vietnam, dove in the Australia reef, skydived, Bungy jumped in New Zealand 500 feet into a cavern, gone caving, etc. The list is just to long!! Here is her most recent adventure climbing Mt. Kinabalu in Borneo, a two day climb!

Climbing Mount Kinabalu from The Rogue Unit on Vimeo.

This is from her trip too!

Sipadan from The Rogue Unit on Vimeo.

What awesome woman I have in my life!!!!
Have a great day~

A Pittance of Time - Terry Kelly

2010-11-12T11:22:00.000-05:00

Thanks to K over at Vancouver Voyeur for telling me about this clip! It is a day late but still so worth the Pittance of Time to watch this clip.

Veterans Tribute

2010-11-11T10:22:00.000-05:00

A few Veterans Day Songs

Freedom Never Cries

Green Fields of France (Wille McBride)

Thank You Soldiers

Duty Called - Vietnam Veterans

Freedom Isn't Free

Halloween Song

2010-10-29T10:58:00.000-04:00

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

2010-10-26T14:30:00.002-04:00

Today my mom and dad would have been married 68 years!! Happy Anniversary mom and dad what ever plane you roam on .... miss you xoxo

October 1942

June 1977

Dancing at the Movies - Music Video

2010-10-22T14:04:00.000-04:00

A Fall Drive

2010-10-15T14:24:00.027-04:00

I promise this will be my last fall pictures of the season!! Me and the hubb-muffin went for a drive up to Cooperstown, NY. Yes, the Baseball Hall of Fame is there, and there were multiple tour buses all over, so we stayed clear and did some of the other sites! Hope you enjoy the pics, and remember you can click to enlarge them! I swear next week it is on to more interesting things!

Lake Otsego, and the beginning of the Susquahanna River

Farmers Museum

Loved the angles of the building ...

A little harvest decoration!

John Fenemore Cooper House

A Canopy of gold,it was so neat to walk through, leaves crunchies under foot

OK the name of this place caught my eye!!

Stopped for a cold beer and glass of wine, this place was buit in 1865 and use to be a hotel.

A Nice Fall Walk

2010-10-12T18:43:00.018-04:00

OK am I boring you yet with fall pictures?? I took a long walk today up near the golf course, and up and down the hills! I need to get past the 30lb loss freeze I have been on for two months!! SOOO seeing that I had my trusty point and shoot in my pocket, I captured these shots. I made it back up the hill only stopping once, to avoid heart failure!! Hope you enjoy! OH and the spider in the picture at end showed up when I was cutting back the summer flowers - after the walk. I had way to much energy today! (click on Pictures to enlarge)

This is the old IBM Country Club or The Homstead as they called it, now it is called Traditions at The Glen. Nice to see them keep this place up!

Heading down over the hill to the bottom of the golf course

I just LOVE how the sky came out in this picture, the the sun was in and out with all the clouds moving, it was really a nice day! I loved the look of this lone red tree in the distance...so on my walk back I hot some closer pictures.

Looking up a tree!

arachnophobia anyoone?

A Ride In The Country Today!

2010-10-10T21:57:00.017-04:00

There is nothing like a beautiful fall day when you can wear jeans and still be able to wear your flip-flops!! Today we road the back country roads not far from home and sampled apples, saw beautiful trees ablaze in color, explored old cemeteries, ran into a crew of turkey vultures, ate dounuts and drank cider, and picked out a pumpkin. All things you love to do on a sunny warm fall day!! (click on photos to enlarge)

one tree already naked, and two dressed

Every season has its special beauty and autumn is no exception. Watching the trees turn from a uniform green to all varieties of gold, yellow and red is a spectacular experience. One can almost be blinded by the fiery brilliance. How can it be that all this beauty is sign of death and decay? With all this beauty there is a certain sadness in knowing that the changing colors foreshadow the arrival of a long cold winter.

A turkey vulture flying around us ... hmmm maybe he thinks we are food!

A ride down the country road ...

A little apple picking too!

A visit with some ducks!

AND the cutest ugly duckling below

A patch of pumpkins awaits new homes

A visit to an old cemetery, oddly also the lady died on halloween, 'tis the season!

OK time for a snack, home made dounuts and cider!

Can you say YUM!!

AND before you know it all the little gouls and gobblins will be knocking at our doors!

HAPPY FALL!!!

Foto Friday Fall

2010-10-08T09:18:00.004-04:00

The Hills are alive with majestic colors!!!

Wishing I was In WW for Celtic Weekend!!!!

2010-09-24T13:59:00.012-04:00

I am so totally depressed .... this is the huge Irish Festival in North Wildwood, today I normally would be sitting on the beach, then this afternoon listening to music and have a couple of beers. Tommorrow is the Pipe Compitition and big Philly pipe party and then Sunday the parade!! Everyone say ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh poor Marilyn. Wait I can't HEAR YOU!!!! hehehe Some pics from previous adventures in WW!

Wildwood sunrise!

Wildwood is waking up~

The birds are up too! Now when do the Irish fetivities begin?

Here comes the beer!!!!!!!!!!

Here is a drink to all my friends sitting on the beach right now or in one of the many Irish pubs~ SLANTE!!!

2010-09-23T19:09:00.019-04:00

OK Here are a fews Ads I do not think we will ever see again! I got a chuckle reading some of these! (click on picture to enlarge)

Peace Day Sept 21, 2010

2010-09-21T12:29:00.000-04:00

HeartMath Peace Day 2010

Foto Friday

2010-09-17T09:58:00.005-04:00

WOW I have been gone over a month!!!!!!! Well I guess I will start off slow then with just a few funnies for Friday!! The grown-up kind!

FOTO Friday

2010-07-23T12:20:00.010-04:00

Since this is Foto Friday I want to post just a few pics I took at last years GAIF! This weekend once again is the GAIF-Great American Irish Festival held in Utica, N.Y. It is a great weekend filled with Irish music from Celtic Rock, bagpipes and dancers, to tradition Irish tunes. Here are a few pics of some of my friend who perform.

Our friends The Stoutmen ...

My friends Brain Hyland and Donal O'Shaughnessy

My friend Pat Kane

AND the FANTASTIC Queen of the fiddle Eileen Ivers!!

Let the music begin!!

In Memory of My Daughter Jodi

2010-07-22T00:05:00.011-04:00

July 22, shortly past midnight,

one of the worst days of my life.

I miss you so much Jodi.

Gone To Soon

Like a comet,
Blazing 'cross the evening sky
Gone too soon

Like a rainbow,
Fading in the twinkling of an eye
Gone too soon

Shiny and sparkly,
Splendidly bright
Here one day
Gone one night

Like the loss of sunlight,
On a cloudy afternoon
Gone too soon

Like a castle,
Built upon a sandy beach
Gone too soon

Like a perfect flower,
That is just beyond your reach
Gone too soon

Born to amuse, to inspire, to delight
Here one day
Gone one night

Like a sunset
Dying with the rising of the moon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon
Gone too soon

And think of her as living in the hearts of those she touched...for nothing loved is ever lost and she was loved so much.

love xo mom and dad

For You Jodi .....

Jellyfish

2010-07-21T17:15:00.005-04:00

As a kid growing up on Long Island (New York), and my father having a boat, I saw vast amounts of jellyfish in both the ocean and the Long Island Sound while sailing. The largest ones were perhaps the size of a Frisbee, but at the time when I saw the larger variety, I was not in the water!!

I have been in the water with smaller variety of jellyfish-about the same size as your favorite Dunkin Donut-but I was never stung luckily enough!
Here are the kind I swam with or use to see on the boat.

However my girlfriend was not as lucky as me! Chris and her hubby Kenny were out sailing on the LI Sound one day and she dove into the water to cool off. Little did she know that right below the surface was a jellyfish out for his "daily food run" and he was not happy about sharing his space with her. So doing what jellyfish sometimes do, he stung her very badly on her torso and leg. When she swam back to the boat and climbed out of the water she thought the pain would ease, but she said, just the opposite happened, the pain intensified. After several minutes of extreme pain and a little trouble breathing, and not being near shore, she asked her husband to help ease the sting .... and .... pee on her!! YES folks, the acid in urine helps release the venom that was injected into the skin through the sting!! (OK any visuals yet????). So being the good husband he was, he obliged. Luckily he had a fair amount of beer that day!! We laughed so hard when they told us the story!! SOOOO the reason for this Blog you ask ....

Today in New Hampshire (Rye Beach) over 100 people were stung by what they think was ONE jellyfish! The lifeguards saw what they thought was a log in the water and went out to retrieve it. "IT" (the log) turned out to be a HUGE jellyfish! I am just happy I never ran into one this big during my swimming days!

If they didn't get ride of the darn thing they could have sold it to the local seafood restaurant which could have made jellyfish strips in soy sauce, sesame oil and chili sauce!!

Foto Friday!

2010-07-16T12:51:00.005-04:00

Past photos ... I think you can guess where I was!

This is AMAZING!

2010-07-15T14:21:00.012-04:00

18th-Century Ship Found at Trade Center Site

In the middle of tomorrow, a great ribbed ghost has emerged from a distant yesterday.

On Tuesday morning, workers excavating the site of the underground vehicle security center for the future World Trade Center hit a row of sturdy, upright wood timbers, regularly spaced, sticking out of a briny gray muck flecked with oyster shells.

Obviously, these were more than just remnants of the wooden cribbing used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries to extend the shoreline of Manhattan Island ever farther into the Hudson River. (Lower Manhattan real estate was a precious commodity even then.)

“They were so perfectly contoured that they were clearly part of a ship,” said A. Michael Pappalardo, an archaeologist with the firm AKRF, which is working for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to document historical material uncovered during construction.

By Wednesday, the outlines made it plain: a 30-foot length of a wood-hulled vessel had been discovered about 20 to 30 feet below street level on the World Trade Center site, the first such large-scale archaeological find along the Manhattan waterfront since 1982, when an 18th-century cargo ship came to light at 175 Water Street.

The area under excavation, between Liberty and Cedar Streets, had not been dug out for the original trade center. The vessel, presumably dating from the mid- to late 1700s, was evidently undisturbed more than 200 years.

News of the find spread quickly. Archaeologists and officials hurried to the site, not only because of the magnitude of the discovery but because construction work could not be interrupted and because the timber, no longer safe in its cocoon of ooze, began deteriorating as soon as it was exposed to air.

For that reason, Doug Mackey, the chief regional archaeologist for the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, was grateful for the rainfall. “If the sun had been out,” he said, “the wood would already have started to fall apart.”

As other archaeologists scrambled with tape measures over what appeared to be the floor planks of the ship’s lowermost deck, Mr. Mackey said, “We’re trying to record it as quickly as possible and do the analysis later.” All around the skeletal hull, excavation for the security center proceeded, changing the muddy terrain every few minutes.

Romantics may conjure the picture of an elegant schooner passing in sight of the spire of Trinity Church. Professional archaeologists are much more reserved.

They were even careful not to say for certain whether they were looking at the prow or the stern of the vessel, though the fanlike array of beams seemed to suggest that the aft (rear) portion of the ship was exposed. Mr. Pappalardo said the whole vessel may have been two or three times longer than the portion found.

Perhaps the most puzzling and intriguing find was a semicircular metal collar, several feet across, apparently supported on a brick base, built into the hull. Perhaps it was some sort of an oven or steam contraption.

About the farthest Mr. Mackey and Mr. Pappalardo would go in conjecture was to say that the sawed-off beams seemed to indicate that the hull had deliberately been truncated, most likely to be used as landfill material.

A 1797 map shows that the excavation site is close to where Lindsey’s Wharf and Lake’s Wharf once projected into the Hudson. So, no matter how many mysteries now surround the vessel, it may turn out that the ghost even has a name.

Happy 4th of July!!

2010-07-03T18:21:00.006-04:00

Fourth of July weekend, beaches, picnics, bar-b-q's, and fireworks, oh, and let us not forget an extra day off from work! These are the thoughts that conjure up in our mind when we think of the 4th of July.

A Memory:

When I think back on my 4th of July memories the first memory that comes to mind was growing up in Hicksville, in the all to familiar Levitt house, the first suburban neighborhoods. On the 4th of July the parents would all get together at one of the houses on the block. More often then not, it was usually dad heading the party along with Herb. I seem to remember lots of beer, and laughter, and hot-dogs. The parents were all good about handing us change to "go play in the traffic" as kids were kindly told! We use to run up to the local deli, pool our money and buy "soap-free" Brillo rolls. We "cleaned" out the store every year (no pun intended)! We would rush home to raid the closets in the house and find the best wire hangers. Then we would unwind the neck of the hanger so it became one long wire. Then very carefully you unrolled one of the Brillo rolls and carefully wove it onto the end of the wire, making a hook at the end so it would not slip off. NEXT YOU LIT IT!! Yes, we also played with matches! You would then spin that wire as fast as you could in a circular motion, flecks of hot steel wool falling and burning your arms, and neck, and hair, but you just kept on spinning, if you were able to hit the ground - just a little you got an extra ground display! All the time the parents would be cheering us on for the best fire circle! I have to sit back and laugh now when I think about it. I just met up with some friends I grew up with and one of the conversations was the 4th and the Brillo rolls! Even as adults we laugh about it still. I think I need to try this and take a picture this year!!

On to an Oddity:

A strange oddity for the 4th of July ...three of the first five American presidents –John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Monroe – all died on Independence Day (Jul. 4). Even stranger: Adams and Jefferson died on the same exact day – July 4, 1826 – precisely 50 years to the date after they both signed the Declaration Of Independence. Also the fourth president, Zachary Taylor, got sick and died from Cholera just five days after attending July 4, 1850, festivities under the hot sun in Washington, D.C. It seems three of our presidents celebrated the 4th by dying on it and celebrating it killed a fourth during the first 60 years of our nation. Hey I think its a great trivia question!!

A Flag:
The flag in this picture was flown over the United States Capital in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 15, 2000, at the request of Honorable Charles Schumer, United States Senator. This flag was flown in honor of my daughter Jodi who passed away in 1997. It was then sent to me. I think Jodi would happy to have her flag hung outside this week-end outside the home that she grew up in.

The Declaration Of Independence:

And Finally The Declaration Of Independence, this is a great little clip ... and I have a question, have you ever read it??? Well listen to this and you can at least say you have heard it!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

Foto Friday

2010-07-02T14:26:00.005-04:00

OK another Foto Friday and another week without blogging ... MY BAD!!! I love to blog, however silly facebook pulls me away day after day ... I need to close the farm down, bury the shovel used for treasure hunting, and mind my business about who is doing what!! OH MY!!! Now what picture should I use!!

I know ... this is my god-daughter who got married on a Yacht two weeks ago that sailed around the harbor in New York City. Look at picture below, she is already dragging her hubby behind her (you can not see him). The handsome looking woman over her shoulder with the blond hair wearing the foster grants (sunglasses) is my best friend for 54 years!!! It was a wonderful day!!

Foto Friday

2010-06-25T11:42:00.003-04:00

I have a funny quirk ... I hate sharing food off my plate (not unless it's with my grandson!) ... my husband has known me for almost 43 years and to this day he still thinks we should share when we go out to dinner. I do not even like getting a BIG sub and cutting it in half ... my half always seems to get the left overs from his half that I do not like (hot peppers, ovlives, etc.) Why can't he understand that I do not want to get the steak and him get the fish and we will split them or share!! My plate is mine ... do not touch! (I am always good about leaving you left-overs though, you may have them)... PHEW glad I got that off my chest! hehehehe .... which leads me to this picture for foto-friday ... I saw this and my first thought was my husband! LOL LOL ... ahhhh JJN I love you but I just had to say it!!

PLEASE birdies I do not want to share ......

Summer Solstice

2010-06-22T10:57:00.004-04:00

Well the summer solstice was yesterday, the first official day of summer and what better place to be then at the beach!!! It was a beautiful sunny day, cool ocean breezes, gentle waves, and sharing some wine (well I'm drinking seltzer water!) with old girl friends I grew up with on Long Island .... YEA!!

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-20T12:38:00.003-04:00

Happy Fathers Day dad ... I miss you!

World Cup

2010-06-12T11:46:00.003-04:00

The much-anticipated showdown of the soccer world cup game will be played today when England faces off against the USA!!! I think I know where my daughter will be today, right in front of the TV set - or if she does not have the channel, the best seat at the local sports pub!!

GO USA!!!!

Fhoto Friday!

2010-06-11T11:36:00.001-04:00

I better get out of here before my owner gets back!!!!

Ny First Moose Encounter!

2010-06-10T00:06:00.002-04:00

This was my first Moose encounter ... a young bull moose, and yes he was that close to the car!!!!

Memorial Day

2010-05-29T16:42:00.004-04:00

SORRY .... been out of comission lately, was a very sick lady in the hospital for 12 days ... on the mend and will be back soon!!

In honor of Memorial Day I would like to post a picture of the only two men in our family that served in the Armed Forces.

My Dad

AND My Grandfather in 1918 (the sailor)

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

2010-05-07T00:53:00.001-04:00

I thought this was sooooooooo dam funny!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Friday!!!!!!!!!!

Thought for the Day

2010-05-06T16:07:00.004-04:00

Thought for the day:

Women are Angels,

and when someone breaks our wings,

we simply continue to fly...

....on a broomstick...

woman are flexiable like that!!

I have one broken wing,

the other has managed to stay pretty much intact,

so my husband Joe must tread carefully when he speaks!!

*giggle*

Cinco de Mayo

2010-05-05T13:02:00.001-04:00

A little bit of Cinco de Mayo History!

Blessed Beltane to You and Yours

2010-05-03T08:03:00.003-04:00

Blessed Beltane to You and Yours!! Yes, I know I am late! May 1st was Saturaday and I missed posting this so thought I would do so this morning. However we did celebrate Belatane on Saturaday slong with the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby! But back to Beltane...

Beltane (also known as Bealtaine or Bealltainn), is an ancient Gaelic holiday celebrated around May 1st. The word Beltane means “Fire in the sky.” Beltane, and its counterpart Samhain, divides the year into its two primary seasons: winter (Dark Part) and summer (Light Part). As Samhain is about honoring Death, Beltane, its counterpart, is about honoring Life. It is the time when the sun is fully released from his bondage of winter and able to rule over summer and life once again.

Beltane, like Samhain (which is at Holloween), is a time of “no time” when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest; when the two worlds intermingle and unite and the magic abounds! It is the time when the Faeries return from their winter respite, carefree and full of faery mischief and faery delight. On the night before Beltane, folks would place rowan branches at their windows and doors for protection; as many otherworldly occurrences could transpire during this time of “no time.” Traditionally, the youngest member of the family would be sent out to gather primroses on the eve before Beltane and throw the flowers at the door of the home for protection.

Somewhat less mythical, Beltane marks the midpoint in the Sun’s progress between the vernal equinox and summer solstice, which is traditionally considered to be May 1st. Traditionally, Beltane festivities marked the beginning of the pastoral summer season when the herds of livestock were driven out to summer pastures and mountain grazing lands. These festivities began days before May 1st, or “May Day,” when villagers traveled into the woods to gather the nine sacred woods needed to build the Beltane bonfires. The tradition of “May Boughing” or “May Birching” involved young men fastening garlands of greens and flowers on the windows and doors of their prospective ladyloves before the fires are lit Beltane night.

So there you have a bit of Pagan history passed over from the Celtic regions of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.

P.S. I did pick two winning horses for the Derby, but bet them as "show" and not "win" ... my total winnings about $25 bucks! Should I have put #4 as a win ... as my gutt told me the $ would have been a hint sweeter! There is always next year!

Foto Friday ~ My Girls

2010-04-30T13:33:00.004-04:00

I thought I would do a little post this Foto Friday to three of the best things that ever happened in my life, my three daughters!!!

Love you ladies!!! XOXOXOXO

A Couple of Funnies

2010-04-28T16:39:00.006-04:00

A HUGE SQUIREELS were seen in our area, luckly it was spotted and shot.

Foto Friday - Baseball

2010-04-23T08:10:00.005-04:00

With baseball season just underway I thought I would post a picture of my dad who was a baseball player. He was a "south paw first baseman," played on the Brooklyn Dodgers farm team in the late 1930's early 40's and played on the ARMY baseball team during WWII. Here is a picture of him I am guessing about 1935-37.

Foto Friday

2010-04-09T11:50:00.005-04:00

Gone but not forgotten ...

This is a picture of my great-great-grandparents headstones

Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

John

Abigail

Catering

2010-04-08T10:14:00.005-04:00

Well the "high Holy season" or should I say seasons are now over. That would be St. Patrick's Day Month and Easter. Now I need to focus, focus, focus on my next venture! I am catering an event this Saturday night for over 100 people. OH NO!!! What am I nuts!!!

Well I have done very large graduations parties, three in fact, and they have all seemed to go well. This however is a true catering job with all the big old heated chaffing dishes (which I am renting), five hot entrees, two salads, rolls, you know the catering kind of thing!! Today I am thinking, why did I offer to do this .... then I remember, it is for that funny green stuff that you can use to pay bills!

So I have spent hours researching my menu and what items to serve. Hot or cold, vegetarian, chicken,and meat dishes, desert (??) .... NAH, this is a drinking crowd no desert. I have compiled a shopping list (WOW) and I am on my way to the bulk food store! I wonder if they sell aprons too!!??

OK so here is my plan, trying to think of everyone tastes!! A Mexican entree and salad ~Chili with a Black bean, Corn, Orzo salad with lime dressing vinaigrette, (next to that a crock pot of hot dogs for those who want to have fun and make a chili dog later in the night) ... Then a large pan of sausage, peppers and onions, roasted in a combination of beer and apple juice with a side Pasta salad ... Also to go with the Pasta Salad with be a pan of Baked Zita with meatballs. The for my chicken dish I am making California chicken with apricots, 1/4 pcs of chicken roasted in a concentrate of OJ, apricot syrup, chicken bullion, soy sauce, and scallions. For my Potato Dish I am going simple with a Hash brown and cheddar cheese roasted casserole. DAM I hope this works!!

I will take pics ... Keep you fingers crossed for me, I will be in the kitchen the next two days!! hmmmm should I put a sign out that says catering by Maeve's Madness!! hehehehe

Posted after the party!
It was huge success!!! Everyone loved the food!!

Happy Easter Weekend!!

2010-04-02T08:29:00.002-04:00

April Fools Day!!

2010-04-01T08:40:00.006-04:00

A Little April Fools Day History

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day is a day celebrated in various countries on April 1. The day is marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication on friends, family members, enemies, and neighbors, or sending them on a fool's errand, the aim of which is to embarrass the gullible. Traditionally, in some countries, such as the UK, Australia, and South Africa the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool".[1] Elsewhere, such as in France, Ireland, Italy, South Korea, Japan, Russia, The Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, and the U.S., the jokes last all day. The earliest recorded association between April 1 and foolishness can be found in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1392). Many writers suggest that the restoration of January 1 as New Year's Day in the 16th century was responsible for the creation of the holiday, but this theory does not explain earlier references.

Foolish Questions

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares,
why is there a song about him?

If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made
from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?

If the professor on Gilligan's Island can make a radio
out of coconut, why can't he fix a hole in a boat?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say,
"I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here,
and drink whatever comes out"?

Why is it that when someone tells you that there are
over a billion stars in the universe, you believe them,
but if they tell you there is wet paint somewhere,
you have to touch it to make sure?

If a turtle doesn't have a shell,
is he homeless or naked?

Why do they lock gas station restrooms?
Are they afraid someone will clean them?

If man evolved from monkeys and apes,
why do we still have monkeys and apes?

How much deeper would oceans be
if sponges didn't live there?

Weird Stuff!

2010-03-31T18:33:00.011-04:00

I was out cruzzin' the net today and came accross some odd stories and photos!

Over 5,000 participants taking part in the nude installation by New York based artist Spencer Tunick titled 'Mardi Gras:The Base' pose on the front steps of the Sydney Opera House.

A police car is pictured in Germany in 2009. A woman in Germany phoned police after hearing "suspicious noises" in her flat, but much to her embarrassment officers found the source was a vibrator, authorities said Friday.

DENVER - A woman who won $42.9 million off a penny slot machine saw her jackpot disappear when the casino said the payout message was an error.

NYPD patrol car in Manhattan. Instead of resting in peace, the body of a recently deceased man ended up in New York's equivalent of Purgatory: the city tow pound for illegally parked cars

How long do you think they could hold this pose?

Where else would you pick up things for dead people? I really enjoy how they made the word “people” more plural by putting and “s” at the end.

Who needs a bell when you have a 5 foot horn sticking out your ass to tell everyone your here!

Does anyone want to guess who is the bride, the groom and the best man? The second question – Is the person in the white dress a guy or girl?

and lastly ........ some easter bunnies???????????
*CORRECTS SPECIES TO HARES * Hares fight on a field near Frankfurt, central Germany, on a warm and sunny Thursday, March 25, 2010.

Enough Said

2010-03-28T23:53:00.000-04:00

NCAA Syracuse and Cornell

2010-03-25T17:37:00.011-04:00

Two big games tonight for us "Upstate, New Yorkers"

First at 7:07 (hmmm why the crazy time??) is the Syracuse University/Butler game. Syracuse is one of my favorite towns upstate and one that I visit often!! From the great Irish Pubs and festivals, to the State Fair you can't help but love Syracuse! It is also the only place in America where the street light is upside down (Tipperary Hill.) (see pic below)

Then at 9:57 is the Big Red game of

Cornell University/Kentucky!!

Cornell is located at the base of Cayuga Lake in the town of Ithaca, which is another favorite town of mine. Ithaca is know for its gorges, waterfalls, and old Victorian homes, a beautiful lake, and an upbeat town. It is also the first town on any good wine quest tour, no matter if you go up the east or west side of the lake you will find some interesting places to stop and sample some great wines!!

Go Syracuse and Cornell!!!

I will be keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed for you tonight!!!
GO TEAMS!!!!

In Memory of Mom

2010-03-19T10:34:00.004-04:00

If roses grow in Heaven Lord
Please pick a bunch for me.
Place them in my Mother's arms
and tell her they're from me.
Tell her I love her and miss her,
and when she turns to smile,
Place a kiss upon her cheek
and hold her for a while.
Because remembering her is easy,
I do it everyday,
But there is an ache within my heart
That will never go away.

mom and dad ...

We miss you mom!!

Happy St.Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T00:14:00.005-04:00

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

Happy Saint Patrick's Day to all who wander upon this blog!! I give thanks to my Irish ancestors for enduring the hardships they went through so I may walk this planet! If you look to the right and see the picture of the door, it is the door my great grandmother walked through for 16 years, until she left her homeland to come to America. It is the same door my Great-Great grandmother walked through each day after seeing five of her children leave and come to America, never to see them again. How sad, I can only imagine the times she must of spent weeping for them. Today and each day I think of how lucky I must be to have had such strong Irish woman and men in my life, and can only read about what they endured. So today on this "High Holy Day" I will say a quiet prayer and say thanks ...

Great-Grandmother's two room humble home in County Tipperary, Ireland

The window she looked out upon with the dreams of a young woman, and the same window my GG-Grandmother looked out upon and wondered about her children in America

Hills as green as emeralds
Cover the countryside
Lakes as blue as sapphires-
And Ireland’s special pride
And rivers that shine like silver
Make Ireland look so fair-
But the friendliness of her people
Is the richest treasure there.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig

Happy Birthday to My Grandson!!

2010-03-16T00:06:00.015-04:00

Well tomorrow is the HIGH HOLY DAY! March 17th, St. Patricks's Day ... but today March 16th I have much to celebrate!!!! Four years ago today my first and only grandchild was born, mind you only hours away from the 17th (mom could just not hold out any longer) - lol !!

What an amazing feeling to have a grandchild, you can not explain it until it happens to you! AND to know one of my "babies" gave this gift to me is even more of a blessing!! Thank you Regina for the most wonderful gift you could ever give me!!!

Happy Birthday BABY TOOTS (ok this is our nickname) today you are 4 YEARS OLD!!! GRANDMA LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IN THE BEGINNING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY TOOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Grandma LOVES YOU XOXO!!!

Foto Friday

2010-03-12T21:23:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the Syracuse Parade, marching for the 5th year ...
NOTE: THE TRAFFIC LIGHT!!
It is the only light in America that has the GREEN on the TOP!!
Tipperary Hill, Syracuse!!

Mother Of A Miners Child

2010-03-11T13:39:00.001-05:00

As a follow-on to my blog yesterday on "The Breaker Boys" I came accross this song that Gordon Lightfoot wrote, here are the words and a link to YOU TUBE to hear it sung.

Mother Of A Miners Child
by Gordon Lightfoot

She is my flower
And she blooms for the one who loves her best
The miners stop to watch as she walks
They know her love is not for sale
She will never fail me cause I know
I watch her grow
And the mother of a miners child
Waits for me beside the kitchen door
She is my light
In this place where the darkness never ends
Shell guide me where the tunnels twist and bend
She's the only one who listens when I tell her
I got less than I can spend
She knows the pace
Oh mother of a miners child
Was away the coal dust from my face

When the night shifts done
Shell be waiting by the table when I come
Searchin for another dream to chase
Oh mother of a miners child
I know that you still think about the day
When well be movin on
Remember dear old daddy and
The promise that I made to carry on

Sometimes I smile
In the cage where the cables softly hum
Id curse that old straw boss to the bone
But the mother of a miners child
Is waiting for her paycheck to come home
Come Saturday
And he is just a miners boy
I hope that he will find a better way

She is my flower
And she blooms for the one who loves her best
The miners stop to watch as she walks
They know her love is not for sale
She will never fail me cause I know
I watch her grow
And the mother of a miners child
Waits for me beside the kitchen door

The Breaker Boys

2010-03-10T13:53:00.006-05:00

The Breaker Boys

Last evening I watched a show called "The Irish: Two Nations-One Heart", this unique documentary includes interviews and cinematography shot on-location in the Donegal and Mayo counties of Ireland, as well as several counties in northeastern Pennsylvania. It presents the full story of Pennsylvania's Irish and the emotionally compelling testimony of an extraordinary journey that continues to this day. The second part focused on the coal mines that are well known in NE Pennsylvania, and about "The Breaker Boys." I was so very touched by the story that I spent a good part of this morning reading about them and thought I would share a little of their story.

Smaller lumps of coal in the mines had to have the impurities removed and this was done by hand, usually by boys between the ages of eight and 12 years old known as breaker boys. The use of breaker boys began in the U.S. around 1866. The breaker boys would sit on wooden seats, perched over chutes and conveyor belts, picking slate and other impurities out of the coal.

Breaker boys worked 10 hours a day for six days a week. The work was hazardous. Breaker boys were forced to work without gloves so that they could handle the slick coal better. The slate, however, was sharp, and boys would leave work with their fingers cut and bleeding. Many breaker boys lost fingers to the rapidly moving conveyor belts, while others, moving about the plant, had their feet, hands, arms, and legs amputated when they moved among the machinery and accidentally slipped under the belts or into the gears. Many died when they fell into the gears of the machinery, their bodies only retrieved at the end of the working day. Others were caught in the rush of coal, and crushed to death or smothered. The "dry" coal kicked up so much dust that the breaker boys sometimes wore lamps on their heads to see, and asthma and black lung disease were common.

Public outrage against the use of breaker boys was so widespread that in 1885 Pennsylvania enacted a law forbidding the employment of anyone under the age of 12 from working in a coal breaker, but the law was poorly enforced, and many employers and families forged birth certificates or other documents so children could work. Estimates of the number of breaker boys at work in the anthracite coal fields of Pennsylvania vary widely, and official statistics are generally considered by historians to undercount the numbers significantly. Estimates include 20,000 breaker boys working in the state in 1880, 18,000 working in 1900, 13,133 working in 1902, and 24,000 working in 1907. Technological innovations in the 1890s and 1900s such as mechanical and water separators designed to remove impurities from coal significantly reduced the need for breaker boys, but adoption of the new technology was slow. By the 1910s, the use of breaker boys was finally dropping because of improvements in technology, stricter child labor laws, and compulsory schooling laws. The practice of employing children in coal breakers largely ended by 1920 because of the efforts of the National Child Labor Committee, sociologist and photographer Lewis Hine, and the National Consumers League, who educated the public about the practice and succeeded in passing child labor laws.

Here is an interesting clip also from YOUTUBE...

and this ...

Today is International Women's Day

2010-03-08T13:38:00.007-05:00

Why have I never heard of this before ... do I live that far out in the sticks that I am not aware of this???

Today is International Women's Day (IWD) is marked on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

Started as a Socialist political event, the holiday blended in the culture of many countries, primarily Eastern Europe, Russia, and the former Soviet block. In many regions, the day lost its political flavour, and became simply an occasion for men to express their love for women in a way somewhat similar to a mixture of Mother's Day and St Valentine's Day. In other regions, however, the original political and human rights theme designated by the United Nations runs strong, and political and social awareness of the struggles of women worldwide are brought out and examined in a hopeful manner.

The IWD is also celebrated as the first spring holiday in the Northern Hemisphere as the first day of March is considered the first day of the spring season.

On occasion of 2010 International Women's Day the International Committee of the Red Cross is drawing attention to the hardship displaced women endure. The displacement of populations is one of the gravest consequences of today's armed conflicts. It affects women in a host of ways.[3]

Women displaced by armed conflict – often living alone with their children – are frequently exposed to sexual violence, discrimination and intimidation. Many face poverty and social exclusion as well. International humanitarian law therefore includes specific provisions protecting women, for example when they are pregnant or as mothers of young children.

"..And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me..."

-- from "She's Always A Woman" by Billy Joel

I honor and congratulate women from all over the world, from the past to the present -- and yes, even to the women of the future, of the accomplishments they have made, are making and will make. Ladies, this is your day.

Today we celebrate International Women's Day -- officially. But to me, and to most people surrounded by wonderful women, Everyday is Women's Day!

Right Foot!!

2010-02-26T06:52:00.004-05:00

HOW SMART IS YOUR RIGHT FOOT?

You have to try this please, it takes
2 seconds. I could not believe this!
It is from an orthopedic surgeon.

This will boggle your mind and you will
keep trying over and over again to see
if you can outsmart your foot,
but, you can’t.

It’s pre-programmed in your brain!

1. Without anyone watching you
(they will think you are GOOFY….)
and while sitting at your desk in
front of your computer, lift your
right foot off the floor and make
clockwise circles.

2. Now, while doing this, draw the
number ‘6′ in the air with your right
hand. Your foot will change direction.

I told you so!!! And there’s nothing you
can do about it! You and I both know how
stupid it is, but before the day is done
you are going to try it again, if you’ve
not already done so.

Good Morning!

2010-02-21T10:27:00.002-05:00

Humpty

2010-02-20T11:11:00.003-05:00

Where in the nursery rhyme does it say humpty dumpty is an egg?

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again....does not tell us at all that Humpty was an egg. However it's etymology has a number of variations, and it was in Lewis Carroll's 1871 book "Through the Looking Glass" (that used this rhyme), where the book's illustrator John Tenniel first drew Humpty as an egg, sitting on a wall.

An 1810 version of the rhyme also does not explicitly state that the subject is an egg because it was originally posed as the riddle as such:

Humpty Dumpty sate on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
Threescore men and threescore more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before.

Furthermore, "humpty dumpty" was an eighteenth-century reduplicative (linguistic root) slang for a short and clumsy person.

Soo what are your thoughts!!!???

Foto Friday

2010-02-19T13:36:00.002-05:00

Seamus is catching up on his Facebook feeds ...

Paczki Day today, Feb. 16, 2010

2010-02-16T13:10:00.003-05:00

Since I am marriage to a Pole and mind you he is from the Old Country I thought it only fitting to celebrate today!! It is Paczki Day today, Feb. 16, 2010 - also known as Fastnacht Day and Fat Tuesday.

Paczki Day is a Polish tradition in which people use up lard, sugar and eggs in preparation for Lent, which begins the day after.

Paczki (pronounced POONCH-key), or pączek, is described by Dictionary.com as follows: "A round Polish pastry similar to a doughnut, usually filled with fruit and topped with sugar or icing."

Paczki Day is particularly popular in American cities with large Polish populations such as Chicago, Buffalo, and Detroit.

yummmmmmmmmmm

Death

2010-02-15T11:25:00.003-05:00

Death recently has just taken me way down ... losing a very dear friend only weeks ago opened up old wounds that just seem to take too long to heal again. Now that I am in the "fall" of my life, death scares me even more.

In the past death has taken me to the hollows of the pit, as low as one can go, but after many years of grief, I found some comfort and climbed back out of that pit, one baby step at a time.

The older I get, after a death it just seems to take me so dam long to pull myself back out of the "grieving hole." A death close to me opens up so many memories that are so painful and unpleasant, and creates a longing for my daughter. The scabs of the wound on my soul are ripped off once again oozing. You try to wear the "happy face" but inside your heart is aching and you just want to SCREAM, you people have no idea how much I hurt, I lost my child!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe if my beliefs on death were different, I would feel some peace. To me death ends life, your heart stops beating, you stop breathing, it’s over, done. I know through life this is the one true thing we all will go through. But what happens after we are gone??

Perhaps if I had some fairly tale belief that there is another place, another time, a true heaven, another "plane", etc. or is there really a soul, and a God? Is there an after-life, are we in some form? Is there a light ... they say in near death cases there is ... or is it just oxygen deprivation? Maybe even if I had a belief, ever so slim that once again we will see the dearly departed, or know they are "happy," it would ease my troubled heart, but I don't. Death to me .... is death. Done, finished, over! Hence this heavy heart I carry.

I have read, and spoken to, and listened to all sorts of arguments given to me by many a friend, by professionals, by clergy, but how does one change their beliefs that have been instilled in my life for over 50 years? I would not consider myself an atheist, or agnostic, I "think" there is something out there, the existence of a God or maybe multiple Gods, and that thought is much more pleasing to me than the absence of one. If I believe this then perhaps death will ease my troubled mind, but how do I.

Isn’t it the Beatitudes that said, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted" … I so want that comfort.

2010-02-14T08:17:00.002-05:00

Thoughts of affection fill my mind, When Valentine’s Day is near;

I think about my closest friends, and those I hold so dear.
Happy Valentines Day!!!

Two Funnies ...

2010-02-10T13:01:00.004-05:00

The folks in the Mid-Atlantic coast must have done this!!

You know you have had enough when ...

Then I received this message today!!

Foto Friday

2010-02-05T09:59:00.002-05:00

Choose to be a leader. Inspire friends, family and coworkers to wear red and speak up about heart disease — our No. # 1 killer — on National Wear Red Day!

Ground Hog Day!

2010-02-01T12:49:00.003-05:00

Officials in a forest preserve district in DuPage County, Ill., say the tradition of waking groundhogs for Groundhog Day interrupts the animal's hibernation.

DuPage County Forest Preserve District animal ecologist Dan Thompson said while waking groundhogs from their hibernation has become a major tradition on Feb. 2, such efforts can actually put the animals' lives at risk, the Chicago Tribune said Sunday.

"During hibernation, a groundhog's heartbeat, metabolism and respiration slow," Thompson said, "allowing it to live on its body fat. If a groundhog is awakened from hibernation too early, it might not have the energy to find food and survive in cold winter temperatures."

Some Midwest tourist attractions like the St. Louis Zoo also do not indulge in the Groundhog Day tradition, which legend suggests can offer a prediction about the length of winter.

"The fact that we're not having a Groundhog Day celebration is not really a stand we're taking so much as it is that we have a really cranky groundhog who doesn't like to be woken up," St. Louis Zoo public relations director Janet Powell told the Tribune.

SO FOR HEAVENS SAKE LET THE ANIMAL SLEEP AND CHECK YOU FARMERS ALMANAC!!!!

Happy Anniversary!!!

2010-01-29T09:17:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary to the "Old" Couple!!

That would be me and the hubb-muffin!

39 years today .... !!!

Gumby & Pokey

2010-01-18T15:25:00.006-05:00

My friend Steve gave me a Gumby and Pokey for Christmas .... we had some fun a few months back at the expense of G&P and when he saw these he just had to "gift" them to me! hehehe ... They are small enough to stick in your pocket so our quest is to take them on trips and share their adventures! OK, OK, I hear you all groaning out there, but there is not a lot to do in the winter cabin fever months in Upstate New York!!

Now if you did not know it, Gumby's father just recently passed away. The creator Art Clokey passed away Jan 8, 2010. They had asked him in an interview why he shaped Gumby in his present form...Art wanted to have a tall, slender shape, but he didn't want it to become a phallic symbol. "We put a little bump of wisdom on his head to give him the bump of wisdom that the Buddhists have. The only difference is that they have it over the center of their head and Gumby's is over to the side.
Actually, the real inspiration for this bump came from my early childhood."
The size and location of the Gumby bump match up with a picture of Art's father (taken when he was eighteen), who had a huge cowlick on the side of his head that he could not stick down. The picture hung in Art's grandfather's farmhouse in Michigan. "If you superimpose an outline of that portrait over Gumby, you will see that the heads coincide perfectly."

Gumby's head and body have had a number of distinctive styles over the years. "We were refining the shape of Gumby as we went along. At first, in the fifties, his head had a little bump. Then we made the bump longer and taller in the late fifties and early sixties. In the late sixties and seventies his head had kind of a swoop to the side, and then in the eighties we went to a shape that was in between all of them."

And then there is Pokey ... Where Gumby is idealistic, Pokey is skeptical. Where Gumby is trusting, Pokey asks questions. When Gumby takes chances, Pokey often gets dragged along against his will, but ends up appreciating the experience. The two save each other with regularity. In every episode Pokey gives advice, and sometimes, Gumby listens to him.

And if your wondering where Pokey and Gumby met it was the third episode, Gumby went into a western town on the desert. There were two sets of railroad tracks, and Pokey had his hoof caught in the switch mechanism where the tracks shifted over, and you don't dare get your foot caught in that mechanism. To save him, Gumby had to throw the switch, and he did so just before the train went by. Pokey was saved and they became buddies from then on.

Here is my Gumby and Pokey ... after the woman let them out of the box!

Here was their first adventure, it was a cold and stormy night, but they ventured out into the elements, I got a quick picture of them as they passed by ...

OK enough for today kiddies! I told you it has been a LONG cold snowy winter all ready upstate!!!

In Memory Of Jodi Ann Nejman

2010-01-15T12:55:00.003-05:00

In Memory Of Jodi Ann Nejman

In Memory of
Jodi Ann Nejman
On the heavens
in shining stars,
On the earth
in tender flowers,
The one you love
will live forever!
Happy Birthday
baby girl!!

Bright Red Hat

2010-01-09T23:10:00.001-05:00

I got a note today from someone I grew up with, it was sad to hear another friend had passed away, and then she sent me this ... I had not seen it before so thought I would share it with whom ever stops by my Blog.

TUesday Chicken!

2010-01-05T17:23:00.002-05:00

A Decade Reviewed!

2010-01-03T12:31:00.001-05:00

It is hard for me to think that 2000 was so long ago!! Ten years! I remember the hype for years prior worrying about all the computers malfunctioning as we rolled into "00" Y2K!! The hobby's paycheck was ever so good then!

I would call this the decade of tech! I am amazed in ten years how technical life has become, that is if you so choose to be! Imagine a world without the iPod (much less the iPhone), without Facebook, without wireless data, then there is YouTube, Microsoft, Windows, Wii, Notebooks, Books on line, Windows 7, flat panel TV's, etc. .... wow!!

Also the decade of history was made, first with the attack of 9/11, because it certainly altered the international order of things. The decade ended with another historic mark, 2009 with the election of our first black president. Diversity is leading to a different America. Another shift we’ve seen recently is in our attitude on global warming and climate change, it’s something that’s really solidified in the past decade and hopefully will continue into the next.

Also do you realize this decade has had NO NAME! If I said remember the '60's, 70's or 80's it would conjure up images in your mind. In ten years what do they call this decade the "00's" the double zeros, the millennium years???

A decade is in a sense a closure of time, one decade ends a new begins.

Newsweek did an interesting video called The Decade in Seven Minutes ... I thought it was very interesting!!

AMAZING Clip!!!

Lets Hope the next decade finds US ALL happy and healthy!!

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T13:39:00.004-05:00

Two questions are always on everyone’s mind as the new year comes closer and closer. The first one concerns what we shall all do on New Years’ Eve and the other speaks of what changes we plan to make for the oncoming year. The main objective for the first hassle noted is to get through "The Eve" without pulling the bedcovers over my head. If this means counting champagne glasses until the dawn comes peeping through your windowsill, then so be it. Speaking for myself, I won’t travel because I don’t want to be a statistic and I won’t stay home because it’s too depressing. And so, you ask, what do I do? I compromise by going out but only somewhere close to home and at an early time, the ball drop in New York will be seen from the warm snuggly covers of my bed watching it on TV.

I am nor have I ever been one for making resolutions! But why you ask you foolish knave!! Because failure make me feel worse!! AND WHY does it have to be Jan 1st?? Who’s to say when a new year begins anyway? Why does it have to be January the first? For the Chinese it’s named after some animal I’d rather avoid and falls sometime in February. It really could be any day in the year, couldn’t it? It could be the day I rescued my kitten and gave him a new home, or the day I fell flat on my face and made an ass out of myself, see where I am going with this .... a new day, a new beginning!! Hey it could be March 17th...ST Patricks Day, there are still 365 days to follow! hmmmmm

SOOOOO no resolutions, and no promises and maybe a few more green vegetables. I will watch the ball drop in Times Sqaure from my warm comfy bed, sipping champagne,those are my plans for the new millennium, that is unless you know of a good party to go to *snicker snicker*!!

Greetings from the Middle East!!

2009-12-30T01:04:00.003-05:00

Cute Christmas picture of my daughter and her hubby taken at the Dead Sea, Jordan - with a mud body mask!! Too funny!

And then on Dec. 27th they found a Irish Pub in Jordan, and my daughter arrived by camel and took this picture .... she said since they could not be with me on my birthday they would stop at the Irish Pub and have a drink! Sooo funny!!

Happy Birthday Maeve!

2009-12-27T08:09:00.008-05:00

¨*•♫♪♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ Happy Birthday to me♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ Happy Birthday to me ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ♪♫••♫♪ Happy Birthday Dear Maeve ♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!♪♫•*¨*•.¸¸♥ ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪

Bringing me home from the hospital!!!

Looking forward to both of these today!!!!