LUCKY

Yes, every morning I wake up and tell myself how lucky I am! I  can name on both hands the people who are "oh, ever so much more...Oh, ever so much more, muchly much-much more unlucky than me.!" and things in the future don't look any brighter for them......all you can do is reach out and try to help. I was thinking how often the word 'UP' is used, this two-letter word in English has more meanings than any other two-letter  word, and that word is "UP". It is listed in the dictionary as and adverb, preposition, adjective, noun or verb.
It is easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?  Why do we speak UP, and why are officers UP for election, if there is a tie, it is a toss UP......and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?  We call UP our friends, brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.  We lock UP the house and fix UP the old car.  Stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think  UP excuses.  A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.  We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.  When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.  When the sun comes out, we say it is clearing UP.  When it does not rain for awhile things dry UP.  Well, my time is UP on this subject for now, but you get the idea!  Makes you think....doesn't it?  One more day and December will be here, oh how fast life slips by.  Another beautiful, sunny day. Bought a new garbage disposal!!!

FOUR YEARS FROM NOW????

I so hoped I could add these two pictures to my blog and it was done and gone, I must delete somethings and these pictures are just tooooo good to not look back on as a good laugh.  This will happen four years from now, one way or another......If I live that long! And life goes on with the "Obamas"....and Biden.
Rich tried to unstick my garbage disposal.......again...but it sound like it is falling apart inside, probably means a new one and this one is only two years old.
Also off to a bridge luncheon at Nancy's, so good things happen too. Beautiful 60 degree weather the end of November.

HAKUNA MATATA...NO WORRIES

Today I spent three and a half hours with two of my best friends!  Patty and Ruth we found a table in the corner of the "CORNER CAFE BAKERY " and absolutely had a good therapy session.  After hearing both of their problems, I'll take mine....all I can think of is my garbage disposal won't work!!!! I tried to fix it with the little red button and the broom stick, but guess I'll be calling my son-in-law with
" HELP"......Both these ladies have husbands who are on deaths door, mine walked out 26 years ago so I can cross that worry off the list.  They have grown children in all sorts of complicated situations and they are having health problems themselves......plus Patty has a 98 year old mother who can't hear a thing she has to run out and tend every day! My three children and their families are doing OK and my health is as good as an 80 years old can be......  NOPE, NOPE, NOPE....I'm not complaining.  But bottom line there is absolutely nothing like a really good friend who is always there for you through good days and bad.  I would do anything for these two ladies! Yeah, we even discuss good bras now and then!....there is very little that gets by us.  Have a good day and just hope your not on our list!

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

The newspapers, the TV programs.....every day nothing but bad news.  I love this picture which is entitled "love one another", when we are young we do love one another and so why does it have to change through the years?  They all look different, but here they are just happy sharing each others company. Eventually the cat will eat the mouse.  The dog will grow up to chase the cat and the rabbit.
There are some good rules in life......Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.  How many of us look back and say if I had that to do again I would change it? We cannot dwell on what others think of us, in our younger years it seems very important, but as we grow older we know we can't make everyone happy, so why try.  I have found  you  need to stop thinking too much, you can' know all the answers, and those you need to know will come when you least expect.  NO ONE IS IN CHARGE OF YOUR HAPPINESS EXCEPT YOU!  So reach out and love your life and each other.  Today is the start of my Christmas Decorating so I can play the rest of the week.......

THANKSGIVING WEEKEND.....

Added another fun Holiday to my many years....I went up to Island Park with Pam, Rob, Tiff and Scott.....and oh yes, Charles and Captain (4 legged great-grandchildren).  Had a great Turkey dinner and lots of good food and snacks all weekend.  Did some knitting, playing cards, making cards and watching fun movies.  It was cold but no snow till Saturday night, making it a pretty ride home.  Ran up to West Yellow stone one day, been a long time since I was in Montana.  Scott and Tiff hooked up the hot tub and counted the degrees until they could enjoy it.  Pam, Rob, Tiff and I put up the pretty Christmas lights on the Barn as you can see in the photo......Tiff did all the work as we  all stood around with our good advice????   TIFF IS THE GREATEST!  Always good to get back to your own bed and see Gigi. Leslie called and is coming up for the night on Thursday and Sherrie might be in tomorrow.  They enjoyed their Thanksgiving in the Bahamas.  So looks like this week is shaping up to another busy one with Christmas one month away...............

TOMORROW TURKEY DAY......

Well tomorrow is Thanksgiving.....and every picture I pulled up concerning Thanksgiving was a table laden with food........I wonder why?  Is Thanksgiving only about eating?   Are we only thankful we have enough to eat?  Not that we are free and not being bombed or on food stamps.......yet?  Poor Israel, Greece, Egypt etc.  I bet there will be few turkey dinners in those areas  Thank goodness I believe that happiness is mine today and tomorrow. At my age I will do great things and great things will happen.  At every stage, I will have more blessings to count. I will eventually have great-grand children and my grandchildren will all get happily married.Life has so much to offer, we can't soak it all up at one time.  In the morning at six I will be picked up and swooped off to Island Park in Idaho for a big turkey dinner with the Panniers at their new "Barn"....I presume we will eat constantly till we pack up to come home Sunday.  Karrie is tending Gigi and I hope the weather stays good.  Richie came over and racked the leaves in my backyard......next year he will be on a mission in Mexico at Thanksgiving!  My Elder Christenson is in Brazil and they don't celebrate Thanksgiving he said!!!! Sherrie is in the Bahamas! I talked to Leslie tonight, she is going to Korina's for dinner, for some reason, I am very lonesome for my family and the growing up days tonight! HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

YOLO.....YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!

This is a picture every child should have in their minds as they grow up.....A NICE OLD, ROUND GRAMMIE WHO MADE GOOD PIES for holiday dinners with all the family.  Yes, I remember my Grandma Goff looking almost like this and making wonderful bread, pies and cookies.  My mother......not so much......this grandma even less!  Of course, "in the olden days", they didn't have a COSTCO close by. We are all looking forward to Turkey Day!
At this time of year you tend to think back over the years and the many Thanksgivings that have come and gone in your lifetime.  As a child we always went up the street to Grandma's house and all mother's brothers and their families came to dinner.  My first year at college I went home to Hinckley Utah with one of my roommates, she had a cute brother.  When I worked in Denver and lived with my aunt and uncle my folks drove up for the weekend.  The first year I was married, we lived with Vadal, Don's father on I street and I was nominated to cook the turkey.  Well the sister-in-laws tried to help, but when we got ready to carve it we found the gibblets still in their paper bag still inside......took a long time to live that down!  Though my 30 years of marriage I never got to go home for Thanksgiving, the Petersons never  included Pam and I who were left alone the first 11 years while Don was off flying,......so someone else could be home with their families. We did have Thanksgiving with friends in Denver the year the twins turn one. Back in Salt Lake the next 12 years were the kids and I sometimes going out if we could find a place open.  After Pam got married she always went to St. George with Panniers. After the twins got married and I have been divorced I have had many fun days with one of their families.  This year I am off to Idaho with the Panniers.

I KNOW YOU ARE THERE GOD......

With Christmas around the corner we are ever more aware of the help we need from above, but God is being pushed out of many areas of our lives.  NOT ME! Each day I sort through the beautiful clutter of life to find that ONE GOOD THING to write about on my blog.......Today it is my freedom......
Today I am free to drive out of my garage, in my own car.  I can turn left or I can turn right at Highland Drive.  I can go shopping, meet a friend, go to a movie or go anyplace I want to eat.  I am single, independent, have a little money, have many interests and friends and family and good neighbors close by.  I am healthy as most 80 year olds can be and still mentally alert???? Well, that is my opinion, maybe my family would disagree!
I do dread the time when this all comes to an end.  My freedom all these years have allowed me to learn, listen and see so much. Marriage, raising a family, traveling around the world, taking classes, learning to use the new devices and inventions that pop up every day have all become so much a part of me.  Who decides when this will end?. My family? A friend or neighbor? God?
This Sunday morning is a cold, cloudy and rather dreary day, but it is one of God's days and I thank him for it........

TRUST......

TRUST.....so important in life and one of the first things you are taught as a child and teach your children.  I remember when I found out the husband I thought I could trust broke the glass ball of our marriage in his adultery....I never trusted him again.  Today I am struggling with the promises of a President of the US that he broke and fear four more years of the same. Obama seems to be living on the SOMEDAYS and I have news for him SOMEDAY is not a day of the week!
It seems I am constantly searching for some sign of security in the world today and have been strengthened by the quotes of great people that seem to understand things better than I do.
"Your success as a family, our success as a society, depends not on what happens in the White House, but what happens inside your house." (James E. Faust)  This I believe and will strive for.
"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." (George S. Patton)  Minutes can add up to days, days to weeks, and weeks to months and years......so I will hold on another minute!
"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing.  Knowing is not enough....being willing is not enough, we must do."  (Leonardo da Vinci)  Every day I wonder....what more can I do to make things better for my family, my country?
Is the answer.....we can only trust ourselves????

THROUGH THE YEARS.....

"Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world.  For indeed, that  is all who ever have." ....Margaret Mead
Spent the afternoon, having lunch with and "tending" my son-in-law who just had his rotary cuff operated on yesterday.  He just wanted to sleep!I wish him a speedy recovery.
This picture tells the story of a "Happily Ever After" life.  To bad it is just a picture and somewhere in there does not continue.  Happy childhood, get acquainted with boys, find the one that is special, getting married and grow old together, she dies, he mourns, together side by side again they end the story of Happily Ever After! A picture is worth a million words.......and that is how God meant it to be, but 2 out of 3 persons lives now days do not follow this. Mine did not....after my divorce I KNEW I could not quit and give up.  I had to carry on AND LIVE; not only for my three girls, 2 granddaughters and son-in-law but my family.  I had not been raised to lay down and feel sorry for myself,  I was all my family had left after their father walked out and I was determined to Live Happily Ever After......and I have!  It has been 26 years this month since the divorce and has been a great 26 years since "GREAT WHITE FATHER" took off, and we are all living Happily Ever After."
"He who is not every day conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life......"    Waldo Emerson

OBAMA'S INHERITANCE......

Every news station is talking about all the bad things President Obama has inherited....HELLO......who was the President who left it to him???? He refuses to take any blame for anything bad out there...maybe the next four years are going to be very long. But, I refuse to settle in and let him ruin my last days on earth. Today I learned a new world! "PARAPROSDOKIANS".....I love, strange looking words...it is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorously! Examples;
1.  Where there is a will, I want to be in it.....
2.  The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it is still on my list.
3.  If I agreed with you, we would both be wrong.......
4. War does not determine who is right, only who is left.
5.  To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism.  To steal from many is research.
6.  I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
7.  In filling out an application where it says, 'In case of emergency notify' I always write Doctor.
8.  Your never to old to learn something stupid!
9.  Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
10.  I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it is getting harder and harder to find one anymore.
11.  Some cause happiness whenever they come.....others whenever they go.
12.  I used to be indecisive, Now I am not sure?????  Now you all know a new word.
The Christensons are off to the Bahamas tonight for Thanksgiving.   They leave at 11;00 PM  and get to New York at 5;00 AM. Spend an hour and off to the Bahamas arriving at 10:00  I use to do things like that, but I am not sure how bad I want a vacation now days putting in those hours.
Karrie came over this morning and cleaned up after I had bridge last night, really appreciated the help! Up early and have my yearly doctor appointment in the morning.

THE UPSIDE OF GOING DOWNHILL

I would love to live next door to Maxine......she expresses so nicely what a lot of us think, but try not to say.  She would keep you entertained royally!  She might have the answer here. She is old and that is OK.  Someone once said, "Aging begins at birth and continues relentlessly.  The only difference is that some stay at it longer than others.  So, be glad you are getting old; it is a privilege denied to many."
I am 80 and I admit it; I sometimes struggle to maintain a joyous outlook while experiencing the inevitable decline of an aging body..
Each morning I should have an "exercise in gratitude," beginning at the top of my head.  My hair is falling out but I still have enough to fake a decent hairdo.  I wear glasses, but they help me see and enjoy God's beautiful world, My hearing is bad in one ear, but if I don't want to hear what someone says I turn them my deaf side!!!
For everything that is wrong with me, a lot of me is working fine.  I have come to realize that the most significant affect on my "quality of life" is not my physical condition, but my attitude.
We are all aware of the declining physical powers that accompany the aging process.  But far more important is what happens within us as we age.  Will we grow bitter and hate the broken-down cages we live in?  Or will we be able to maintain a sense of humor and preserve an attitude of gratitude despite our failing physical capacities?  HUMOR AND GRATITUDE---theses are the things that will make a happy final chapter in our life stories.
Enjoy a few Senior Moments....Maxine says who needs to remember what happened 10 minutes ago?  Go to the Dollar Store and find a bottle of pills and if the labels says, "Relives dyspepsia, flatulence, hyperacidity, ulcer, cramps, nausea and indigestion", take one every day and find that covers many of your discomforts. My outside is getting old, but I refuse to let my inside think old.  Tonight I am having bridge and it is a good time to compare health notes with the girls.....I usually wouldn't trade places with any of them..........

DEFINITELY MAYBE?????

As I look at pictures this picture I took in my travels and I have many like it...... I was thinking about how many places I have been in this wonderful world......
It was a bit disappointing to figure out I have never been in "Cahoots".  They say you can not go alone.  You have to be in Cahoots with someone.  I have also never been "In-Cognito".  Now that sounds like a place I might really enjoy.  Seems no one recognizes you, which makes it real easy to do whatever you want without being bothered.  I almost hate to admit having been "In-Sane".  They do not have an airport so you have to "be driven there."  But it is an easy place to reach.  I have actually made several trips there thanks to my family, friends, neighbors and work.
There is one place that I really don't want to go.  That is to 'Conclusions."  They say you have to jump there and I am not much on physical activity anymore.
I have been "In-Doubt", however that is a sad place to go, and I try not to visit there too often.  I have also been 'In-Flexible", but only when it was very important to stand firm.  Unfortunately, I often think I am "In-Vincible", but life soon, shows me that I am not!  At times I have found myself 'In-Capable" and, though I don't like it, I seem to go there more often as I am getting older.
I do not mind mentioning that I am looking forward to being "In-Suspense" soon.  It is one of my favorite places.  It really gets the adrenalin flowing and pumps up the old heart.  And at my age I need all the stimulation I can get.
Well, let me know if you want to meet in 'Cahoots" sometime.  Like they say, you cannot go it alone.All at once I realize I still have some traveling to do before I die????
Heard from my cute missionary today, he seems to be doing good and always tells me how much he misses me.  Spent the day cleaning house for bridge tomorrow!

WINTER ARRIVED......

Spent the week end in Island Park, Idaho with the Panniers checking out the new " BARN" not really a barn as you can see, but taken from the blue prints of a barn by the builder.....so dubbed the barn. HOWEVER.....it did not look like this this weekend end.  We left Salt Lake about four in the afternoon in a blinding snow storm that left about two feet of snow in Karrie's back yard.  It snowed on us to the border of Idaho then we had good road until we got almost to the barn.  We woke up the next morning to a winter wonder land out side and bitter cold. The temperature dropped below zero in the night.  That didn't stop us from doing some shopping and sight seeing.  They took me up to some beautiful springs that every turn was a picture post card. Then we ended up at "BOONDOCKS", a quaint little place with the best lunch ever!  Fun friendly people and we will be going back every chance we get. We also took two humungus cinnamon rolls home for breakfast. The lake in back is in walking distance and will be a fun summer treat to fish, boat, swim, water ski etc.  In winter of course snowmobiling etc and West Yellowstone  is a few miles away. It will always be a fun get-a-way for them and their family for many years.
Sent my sweet missionary an email tonight, been gone going on eight months....maybe two years won't seem like forever soon..

THANK YOU GOD......

Ben Stein is a wonderful Jewish man who presents a wonderful thought, he started by saying he didn't believe in Christmas trees etc., but he did not object to those who do.  He wasn't unhappy many did not light a menorah.  We are different but the same. But he said "Funny how simple it is for  people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the news papers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send jokes through emails and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through saber space, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and work place. If you don't have time for God, will God have time for you?  Do you just believe everything you read like Benjamin Spock who says spanking your children wrap and damage self-esteem when his own son committed suicide?????
It is cold and snowing here now, but I have electricity, a warm house and plenty of food.  Sorry for the people back East.  Off to the Barn for the weeekend.

HAPPINESS IS A JOURNEY......

Well, we are two days past the re-election and there is no news of any change. There may  be some changes in his cabinet, but who knows when or who.
When you are young and newly married you keep thinking things will change in your life.
Dr. Alfred D. Souza said it best.  "For a long time it seemed to me  life was about to begin, real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles WERE my life.  This perspective has helped me to see  there is no way to happiness.  Happiness IS the way.  So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.  Happiness is a journey, not a destination."
This made me realize I didn't need to get rid of the President we had that I felt was the anti-Christ here to destroy the world.  My happiness was me and happening now, every day I lived.So each day I say thank you God for this beautiful day, help me be a better me.Another week almost gone and a snow storm in the forecast.

BLACK WEDNESDAY.........

 President Re-Elect Obama celebrating his win last night! All the black people, Mexicans and government officials voted for him, he barely won, sort of a  50-50 thing with Romney.  I was devastated.....and got many calls of condolence from family and friends who were afraid I would jump off a bridge like I threatened.  But I woke up this morning determined that skinny black Muslim man would not----could not ruin my life.  I have a choice and my consequence is to enjoy every day of my life I have left on earth.....My poor grandchildren are left with a big bill.

This is the man that could have led us into a new world, but I am sure God has a better and bigger job for him and he deserves better than being a prisoner in the White House.  I watched a very interesting documentation on the White House and past presidents while the voting played out.  Every minute of every day someone has their eyes on the President and knows where he is and what he is doing......and with all the members of his family.....this could get pretty old after four years.  No one ever tells him NO, but they don 't like him.Mitt Romney is a smart man, with many talents and does not deserve being told what to say and do every minute, you really are the winner MITT!  I hope I can live four more years to see them put WHITE back in the WHITE HOUSE.........

TODAY IS THE DAY TO DECIDE.......

YES.....The big day is finally here!  So tired of calls from all over the U.S. with their messages to vote for their people......and the TV commercials are so brutal and tiring.  It will be a full day of hanging out with the TV and not getting much accomplished I am afraid.  Another bad storm is forecast for the poor people back East already hungry and cold, with no place to vote.
Today I think of this story.....which I might already have told you??? Obama just received a plaque from the Indians, his new Indian name is "WALKING EAGLE."
Later asked to the Indians why that name for the president?  Reply, "WALKING EAGLE" is the name given to a bird so full of S---, it can no longer fly!  So if you see this big black eagle walking around Washington you will know who it is!
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery."  Winston Churchill

TIME FOR CHANGE......

O.K. I changed my clock, now I am ready to change my PRESIDENT! So I was up at 6:30, but my body still thinks it was 7:30, it will take a few days to convince my head what the clock now says.  What will tomorrow bring to our country....counting down the hours till then.  The poor people back east are still cold, hungry and wondering where they can vote.....and the President is out telling everyone how wonderful he is.  He is not cold or hungry!
Good people that work hard deserve to be happy.  Joy isn't something you should have to wait for or wish for.  It  is something you can feel right now!  And all it takes is giving yourself permission to take a break, letting yourself relax---and opening your eyes and your heart.  Look for reasons to smile and you will find so many.  We have what it takes......sure things get in the way of our dreams sometimes.  But, we are tougher than any trouble, smarter than any setback and more determined than any difficulty. There is no challenge you can not meet and no problem you can not beat.  So what are we waiting for? Go for it! I am smiling I got an email from my Missionary in Brazil, he just moved and seems very happy with his life.  Also a great Sunday, my son-in-law fixed my computer and I went over and had a fun dinner and evening with the Cooks. Glad I voted early.

END IS NEAR????

I think we are all counting the hours now, not days when this election will be over, the adds are killing me......however, he could be talking about December 21st, 2012 and the end of the world! WHATEVER.
I say live your life fully while you're here. Experience everything.  Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun and be crazy, be weird, go out and screw up!  You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process.  Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes; Find the cause of your problem and eliminate it.  Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being Human!
Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place.
Forgot to set my clocks back last night, but when you don't have a schedule it doesn't matter anyway.  At my age, rolling out of bed in the morning is easy......Getting up off the floor is another story!

LUCK IN LEFTOVERS.......

"Luck exists in Leftovers".......Japanese proverb
I have a darling niece-in-law who has made this statement and shown many the way. I quote a wonderful piece she wrote that made me stop and think about my life.  I felt when I got married at 24, to what I thought was a nice man, had three beautiful daughters, lots of friends and a good life, it would be "forever", but if there is no "forever".....what is "forever" for? I was 54 and had been married 30 years when I suddenly found myself standing alone with all the leftovers of my life.   "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity....you can make your 'luck out of leftovers' your left with. With preparation the life you have lived, everything you have learned and know, the talents you have been blessed with, a lot of hard work and endurance, and opportunity and the unexpected life you have been handed you can create a happy ever after in your life.  I have created just that life the last 26 years, a warm comfortable home, children educated, raised, married and giving me the gift of 9 wonderful grandchildren.  I got a fun job as a Concierge, took many classes, learned Spanish, traveled completely around the world, volunteered some and have a loving, supportive family and many good friends. It would have been fun to have someone to grow old with as I had originally planned, but I have a life I never imagined for myself, one that I would not originally have chosen if given a chance and one I never saw coming, but thank you God and I have learned in my 80 years....."THING HAPPEN FOR A REASON.....JUST BELIEVE."

FOUR MORE DAYS.....

At the end of the day, you're the only one who can tell yourself..."I CAN."                                      The chant out there today is four more days.....Can you imagine what is going through the Obama's minds .......and the Romney's minds.  Michelle, Oh no, no more fabulous trips around the world....free.  Obama's hair will be white for sure when he finds out the sad new...."HE IS NOT GOD", he just thought he was.  I will take my dull, quiet little life and not complain thank you.  It is still very sad news back east as those poor people try to bail out, clean up and put their lives together again....yep, Mr. President had his photo opt yesterday and now he is off campaigning today, and there are a lot of mad people!  It is a beautiful sunny day here, cool, but that is OK as it is November 2nd.  I am thankful today for a warm house, good health and enough to eat. My heart goes out  to so many less fortunate.

VOTING......

Five more days and many are trying to decide which answer to give the voting machine.......I think how our world will change in five days if Obama gets in for another four years....BUT I have to think of the positive things in my life after that terrible storm hit America and many are without a home, food, gas to get to work or a job to go back to.
I have an ever-growing number of blessings to count.  Love and friendship, better-than-ever health, big and small joys, plus prosperity, adventure and peace of mind----each day will bring me another ripple of opportunities that lead to all goodness that life has to offer......It was a quiet and uneventful Halloween, no one comes back into our gated community. I did enjoy the pictures of my grandchildren, Tiff, Scottie and Ollie all dressed up. Off to daily chores of mailing bills, grocery store and Christmas shopping, starting to count down on Christmas now. Happy November the First..