Behold, mine house is a house of order.......

... OK so it looks much more like the image but I think my New Year's resolution will be to tackle that phenomenal task of ridding myself of all the "treasures" that we have collected in 29 yrs. of marriage. How did we manage it while we were moving around on various PCS's while in the USCG? We are right now in the midst of remodeling our master bedroom & bath so things are a little of out of place but my excuses for not setting our house in order will soon come to an end and I will have to get organized. I don't want to recommended for the TV Show "Hoarders" though Mark would be an excellent candidate since his favorite word is, if there is such a word, mandovillans (sp?), bits and pieces that may or may not someday become useful again. 'Cause you never know when or if you'll need that burnt out light bulb or rusty nail or screw again. He evens hangs on to the spark plugs that he replaces. Why? Will they become new again sitting around on the workbench until next time they need replacing?
In all fairness I have my share of junk lying around with hopes of starting or finishing a project. We all have a junk drawer, but we have two and they are not small. Mark says I like to collect pens, pencils etc. Then when he needs one they don't work or are sharpened. Go figure. Anyway here's to all New Year's Day resolutions and may they come to light. :0

DINKS

For 5 yrs. our daughter and her husband had been telling themselves and family that they were waiting to have kids because after having kids, you can't travel anymore and our education came first. Mark & I traveled thousands of miles with 2 kids in tow, but back then we never even gave it any thought as to how kids were going to slow us down. We went to many different places and saw and visited some beautiful country courtesy of the U.S. gov't between station changes. We did not let the inconvenience of kids keep us from enjoying the time, love and joy of having them. I truly enjoyed the time I spent with them, whether it was going to the commissary or just running errands. Fair to say that the good times outweighed the bad by far. Strife is just a fact of life and it is what we make of it. Our lil' peanut Summer has brought them (and us) so much love and happiness in her short 8 months well... as John Lennon wrote: " Life is what happens, while you're busy making plans". So profound. And from Jurassic Park, Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) said: Yeah, but your scientists (we) were so preoccupied with whether or not (we) they could, they (we) didn't stop to think if they (we) should. For all college educated couples, for once stop thinking with your heads, and think with your heart.

Patience is a Virtue. . . . .

Well, it's been one month since my dad passed away and so many things have transpired. The most important is what my mom is going through. She just had a cat scan and it was discovered that she has had 3 minor strokes since the new year. My dad had said something to Mark that Mom was not "right" in her head, and now we know why. She has been put on a patch to help her offset the symptoms of demetia. Gratefully and we are Thankful that the chest x-rays and cat scan has not revealed any forms of cancer. We are all dealing with the change with her. Looks like a long hard road ahead for us and I know it can't be easy for my mom either. At times like this we have to remember the following:


The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

In the Summertime.......

It's so Hot here, I bet you Could fry an egg on the sidewalk. Got into my car the other day and the thermometer read 112F inside the car. Yikes!!! It's been over the 100F mark for several days. When it's hi 90's around 10pm then it's hot. Our upstairs AC unit motor went out on us and that's where we sleep. Fortunately, we have a window shaker to keep up cool during the night. Mark will doing some demolition and tearing everything down to studs. Looks like we're renovating sooner than later.

My Daddy: In loving memory

March 16,1922-June 30,2009

Fruits of our Labor

Well here is the latest of our garden, we have harvested about 3 cucumbers and 1 tomato. Not bad I guess for the past 2 weeks weather of being in the 100's. We were a cool 96 today and we had a good thunderstorm this morning. I can hear thunder in the distance and we may get some more much needed rain. On a sad note, my dad went into the hospital on Sunday with a case of Pneumonia. He may get released tomorrow (Wed). My mom has been staying with us in the meantime and talk about a big adjustment there. I cut the apron strings years ago, but I may dig them up and make a hangman's noose for either me or her. :0P

Yummy for my tummy....

So with this HOT weather (103F) we've been eating alot of watermelon. mmmmmmmmmm. Recollections of my childhood past. I get my watermelons from the street vendor(s) parked alongside off Cape Rd. A friendly sort of chap. I made it a point Tues. just to stop and tell him that the last one I bought from him was "delish". It was super sweet. He got them from the good ole USA down in Floresvilles south of San Antonio. My nephew Avery is a chow hound for watermelons. I watched him Tues. and when my sis-in-law picked him up I noticed she had a watermelon for him. :0) So if you're craving something cool & sweet, go out and buy a watermelon! 4th of July is coming up!, and check out http://www.watermelon.org/ for cool recipes and carving instructions for special occasions. BTW this weekend in Luling, TX is the Watermelon Thump, can't wait. mmmmmmm watermelon. ssssssssslurp! :0P