The following quote is very true:
“Your Mother is always with you. She’s the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she’s the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she’s the cool hand on your brow when you’re not well.
Your mother lives inside your laughter and she’s crystallized in every tear drop. She’s the place you came from, your first home; and she’s the map you follow with every step you take. She’s your first love and your first heartbreak and nothing on earth can separate you…..not time, not space, not even death!”
My mother passed away 20 years ago this month. My brother and I think about her most every day and though she has been gone all these many years, we still miss her smile, deep black eyes and wonderful outlook on life.
Our trip to Myrtle Beach two weeks ago was a welcomed vacation from our everyday routine. Our friends, Don & Louise , went with us and we enjoyed their company. They visit MB often and served as our guide. We attended several shows, walked the beach and the girls did some shopping. Our motel, unknown to us, did not have Wi-Fi (internet connection) and rendered our laptops practically useless. I basically used mine to upload photos and make entries in my daily diary. Fun was had by all. Louise carries the label of “tour director”. She planned our trip and makes the necessary arrangements. It is nice to have “take charge” people in your life.
I am currently working on a hose reel that rewinds the hose by using water pressure when I am finished. I purchased it about 5 years ago and it has worked to perfection up until this spring. So, being the adventurous sort, I started removing the screws that hold it together (30 or more) and tried to diagnose the problem. So far, I have gone thru this process twice without success. It’s almost impossible to replace the rubber parts because of the odd shapes. It’s probably time to pull out the book that came with it and see if I can order the necessary parts. Odds are this thing is headed for the city dump. A negative attitude never helps.
Jerilyn and I attended our church’s sunrise service yesterday. How wonderful it was to get up early and celebrate this wonderful tradition. As our minister talked about Christ’s return from death, the sun arose on the horizon and all was well for us on that special day. We attended an Easter show on Saturday evening that included our next door neighbor (Mary Beth) in the choir. As our luck would have it, the choir director stood directly in our line of sight and it was difficult to see her while she sang. I was, however, able to pick out her voice. She sings so well.
I plan on going over to NC this week and visit my brother Jerry. Mary has decided to go with me and that makes the trip more meaningful. It gives me an opportunity to spend time with my adopted sister, as well as with my brother and his wife Patty. We will make a day of it, stopping to eat on the way home, and enjoying good conversation on the way over and back. I fear spending time with her will come to a rapid close as the youth baseball season starts. Over the past 40+ years, she and KD were impossible to get in touch with from April to August and without KD she will be a mighty busy woman. I know how much she enjoys it and I wish her well.
For the past few weeks I have been busy trying to broadcast my wireless internet signal to my next door neighbor so he can stop using his 56k phone modem. Well, the signal repeater finally arrived and, with a little fiddlin’ here and there, my efforts were rewarded with success. His access is not quite as fast as mine, but many times faster than what he was using. It makes me feel good when I can help make someone’s life a little more pleasant.
Well, spring has officially arrived! I mowed my grass for the first time this year and it will continue until late October. The temperatures are starting to go higher and flowers are blooming everywhere. A lot of trees are showing buds and the birds seem to be very happy that spring is apparently here. I am glad that winter is over and I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time outside. I always feel renewed when spring arrives. We have a trip planned to PA in a couple of weeks and are looking forward to it. We are also planning on visiting my folks back home on the way back. It’s always a pleasure to go back to Buchanan County, VA and see what’s going on at Garden Creek (my hometown). There are so many people there that I love.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
3-05-2008
I received an e-mail from my grandchildrens mother the other day and she told me this about my youngest granddaughter Chelsea:”Speaking of Chelsea, she is doing very well in high school so far. Good grades and her teachers seem to respect and like her. She was baptized on Superbowl Sunday! I was so proud. I thought of her Great Grandma Dolly (my mother) on that day and of how proud she would be that all 3 of her great grand daughters know the Lord and have been "dunked". I have to say, I feel relieved myself. I can't explain it, but I feel as though now that they have all been baptized, I know the Lord will always be with them, and they will follow me to heaven some day. It's a comforting feeling. And does a mother's heart good.”
What a wonderful message to receive and I especially liked “……and they will follow me to heaven someday”.
I have always strived to be good enough to get into heaven, but I never actually assumed I would go to heaven. I guess I always thought I would be assessed upon arrival at the Pearly Gates. If you live according to His will, why shouldn’t you assume you will go to heaven? Maybe I need to be more positive about my salvation! Thanks JoAnn for such a wonderful message.
Jerilyn has recovered from her fight with a cold. As a matter of fact, we are making preparations for our trip to Myrtle Beach next week. She just had me print out the weather for the next 10 days down there. We certainly are looking forward to it. We haven’t been out of town since last August due to her mother’s increasingly bad health. For now, everything is go for liftoff. No, Gladys does not know about it yet. We have to wait and spring it on her about 2 days before we leave, otherwise, she gets real sick real fast. I think we all hate deceit don’t you?
My cousin Jesse is still fighting his cancer. He received some bad news from his doctor the other day. The chemo he was taking is not working and his cancer has increased in size in several locations. They plan on a giving him an experimental type of chemo starting in a couple of weeks. He is a wonderful person with a lot of faith in God and he has placed his fate in His hands. I pray for him daily and if you have room for him on your prayer list please place him on it. Our family will be so grateful.
My next door neighbor (John) and I have been trying to set up his laptop so he can logon to my wireless network to get on the internet. After several attempts we decided the signal was just too weak, so we ordered a signal expander to increase the signal strength. It should arrive in a few days. I will keep you advised on our progress. I was out in the driveway yesterday, with the hood of our car up, trying to diagnose a squeal coming from the serpentine belt that travels all over the engine. John walks over, studies the situation a few minutes and says “squirt some WD-40 right there”, pointing to a pully located at the top of the engine. I walk into the garage and come back with a spray can filled with silicone. Two minutes later the squeal was gone. “John”, says I, “anytime I open the hood on one of my vehicles I need to get you over here!” Says he, “Well, my father used to say any dumb hog will find an acorn sometime”. Humility is a wonderful thing don’t ya think?
I have been working on my weedeater the last few days. I finally discovered the location of the gas leak. It is about 14 years old and, I guess, the tank just got tired and sprung a leak. I tried several remedys and then my friend John suggested I get some of this clay like stuff you knead together and then it hardens. Off I go to Advance Auto and come back with the stuff he suggested. It appears to be working. It has been in place for 2 days and as of yet I have not detected a leak. I sure hope John doesn’t plan on moving away anytime soon.
Jerilyn and I attended Chris’ birthday dinner Sunday evening at a chinese resturant that cooks the food on a grill in front of you. The chef did a lot of clever things to entertain us and we left with a full stomach and the warm feeling that goes with spending time with family. Chris appears to be anxious to start his life as an adult. He has less than 60 days left before graduation from high school. I’m sure he will do well as an adult.
I went to a retirement breakfast yesterday morning with my friend Skip in Williamsburg (30 minutes away). I think the only requirement is that you have to be a Newport News Shipbuilding retiree and with 43 years service I certainly qualified (and so did Skip with 42.5 years). I was surprised at the number of people that attended, possibly 75 or more. I doubt that I have ever seen so many old people in one room before. An old friend of mine, whom I had not seen in many years, sat across the table from me and asked me several times what my name was. Another guy, who probably fought in the Civil War, spent several minutes telling me about his adventures in the shipyard. I guess I have a pretty good idea of what lies in store for me down the road.
Reminds me of a joke I heard recently: This old fella (Bill), in his late 80’s, loved to play golf but his eyesight was bad and he couldn’t see where his golf ball landed after hitting it. One day he came upon a solution: His next door neighbor (Ed), who was in his 90’s had perfect eyes, so he asked Ed to go with him and he agreed. Bill gets to the first tee and knocks the ball down the fairway. “Ed”, says Bill, “did you see where my golf ball went?” “Yes”, says Ed and as they walk down the fairway, Bill says, “ok Ed, where is it?” “I dunno” says Ed, “ I forgot”.
What a wonderful message to receive and I especially liked “……and they will follow me to heaven someday”.
I have always strived to be good enough to get into heaven, but I never actually assumed I would go to heaven. I guess I always thought I would be assessed upon arrival at the Pearly Gates. If you live according to His will, why shouldn’t you assume you will go to heaven? Maybe I need to be more positive about my salvation! Thanks JoAnn for such a wonderful message.
Jerilyn has recovered from her fight with a cold. As a matter of fact, we are making preparations for our trip to Myrtle Beach next week. She just had me print out the weather for the next 10 days down there. We certainly are looking forward to it. We haven’t been out of town since last August due to her mother’s increasingly bad health. For now, everything is go for liftoff. No, Gladys does not know about it yet. We have to wait and spring it on her about 2 days before we leave, otherwise, she gets real sick real fast. I think we all hate deceit don’t you?
My cousin Jesse is still fighting his cancer. He received some bad news from his doctor the other day. The chemo he was taking is not working and his cancer has increased in size in several locations. They plan on a giving him an experimental type of chemo starting in a couple of weeks. He is a wonderful person with a lot of faith in God and he has placed his fate in His hands. I pray for him daily and if you have room for him on your prayer list please place him on it. Our family will be so grateful.
My next door neighbor (John) and I have been trying to set up his laptop so he can logon to my wireless network to get on the internet. After several attempts we decided the signal was just too weak, so we ordered a signal expander to increase the signal strength. It should arrive in a few days. I will keep you advised on our progress. I was out in the driveway yesterday, with the hood of our car up, trying to diagnose a squeal coming from the serpentine belt that travels all over the engine. John walks over, studies the situation a few minutes and says “squirt some WD-40 right there”, pointing to a pully located at the top of the engine. I walk into the garage and come back with a spray can filled with silicone. Two minutes later the squeal was gone. “John”, says I, “anytime I open the hood on one of my vehicles I need to get you over here!” Says he, “Well, my father used to say any dumb hog will find an acorn sometime”. Humility is a wonderful thing don’t ya think?
I have been working on my weedeater the last few days. I finally discovered the location of the gas leak. It is about 14 years old and, I guess, the tank just got tired and sprung a leak. I tried several remedys and then my friend John suggested I get some of this clay like stuff you knead together and then it hardens. Off I go to Advance Auto and come back with the stuff he suggested. It appears to be working. It has been in place for 2 days and as of yet I have not detected a leak. I sure hope John doesn’t plan on moving away anytime soon.
Jerilyn and I attended Chris’ birthday dinner Sunday evening at a chinese resturant that cooks the food on a grill in front of you. The chef did a lot of clever things to entertain us and we left with a full stomach and the warm feeling that goes with spending time with family. Chris appears to be anxious to start his life as an adult. He has less than 60 days left before graduation from high school. I’m sure he will do well as an adult.
I went to a retirement breakfast yesterday morning with my friend Skip in Williamsburg (30 minutes away). I think the only requirement is that you have to be a Newport News Shipbuilding retiree and with 43 years service I certainly qualified (and so did Skip with 42.5 years). I was surprised at the number of people that attended, possibly 75 or more. I doubt that I have ever seen so many old people in one room before. An old friend of mine, whom I had not seen in many years, sat across the table from me and asked me several times what my name was. Another guy, who probably fought in the Civil War, spent several minutes telling me about his adventures in the shipyard. I guess I have a pretty good idea of what lies in store for me down the road.
Reminds me of a joke I heard recently: This old fella (Bill), in his late 80’s, loved to play golf but his eyesight was bad and he couldn’t see where his golf ball landed after hitting it. One day he came upon a solution: His next door neighbor (Ed), who was in his 90’s had perfect eyes, so he asked Ed to go with him and he agreed. Bill gets to the first tee and knocks the ball down the fairway. “Ed”, says Bill, “did you see where my golf ball went?” “Yes”, says Ed and as they walk down the fairway, Bill says, “ok Ed, where is it?” “I dunno” says Ed, “ I forgot”.
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