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For Ever and Ever ...Amen

                                                       1975

                                                       2011
Tomorrow marks our thirty eighth wedding anniversary.   If  I had one wish it would be to have at least another thirty eight years together.  The moments,  hours, days and years speed by and leave us wondering where and how they could have gone so fast.  No matter how hard we try to hold on to them they slip through our hands like fine grains of sand.  Each and every one a tiny piece of the tapestry of our lives.  If  we could spread it out and see and hear and touch each one, it would be a lovely tapestry to behold.  A few small snags here and there but hardly noticeable among the overall beauty.  It is difficult to convey how one person has changed and enhanced my life beyond any and all dreams and expectations.  We were so young; I doubt either of us thought much about how our lives together would unfold over the years.  I have no doubt though that we both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that our love was strong enough to see us through every trial and triuimph; every sorrow and joy.  Thirty eight years later I am so thankful that the joys have far outweighed the sorrows.  The poem I wrote for Tony so many years ago still holds true today.  "You are my memories of yesterday, my hope for today and my dreams for tomorrow".   I look forward to sharing many more memories and hopes and dreams.   He's still the ONE and we're still having fun. 
 Happy Anniversary to US!  

We'll Always Remember

On September 11th, the one that changed it all; I was in Manhattan with Gayle Curtis on business. We had gone to see a play the evening before and enjoyed strolling down Broadway taking in the sights and sounds. We stopped in a souvenir shop where I bought a TShirt for my daughter and a postcard....with the twin towers on the front.   

             

                            

                 

         

September 10th PM -

 from our hotel window

Manhattan - early morning on September 11th

 

The morning of September 11th we had a fairly early flight.  It was a beautiful, sunshine filled morning.  The city was bustling and life proceeded with business as usual.  As we made our way downstairs to check out, I stopped along the way to take pictures from different windows.  We couldn't quite see the Towers from our hotel but we commented that morning that we wished we'd had enough time to visit them.  

 

As we were checking out; it was about that time that the plane hit the first tower.  We were unaware of what had happened and headed out in the taxi toward the airport.  As we looked to our right we could see a huge back plume of smoke.  Our driver was foreign so we couldn't communicate well and the radio was not on, so we were still clueless.  As we proceeded, fire truck after fire truck began to scream past us going in the opposite direction toward downtown.  We knew it was a major fire but could have never dreamed of the reality of a terriorist attack.  I was so enthralled by the black smoke and the frantic sirens it never occurred to me to pull my camera out of my purse and snap a picture.  Those of you who know me best know that I always have a camera close at had to shoot any and everything.  For some reason; not that day though.  

                        

                                   What we saw driving toward the airport

As we approached the airport and pulled up to the curb we noticed that the airport grounds were barren.  The usual airport crowds were no where to be seen.  It was an eerie feeling.  A security guy came over and told us we had to move on.  We told him we had a flight to catch.  He said there were no flights in or out.   My pulse skyrocketed ... at that point I knew something unimaginable was happening.  We asked if he could tell us what was going on and he told us that a plane had hit one of the towers.  We asked where we could go and he told us there was a hotel across the highway.   

As we got to the hotel, many people who had just checked out and had heard of the attack; were going back inside and frantically trying to get a room back.   It was like an ant hill.  No one knew exactly what was going on.  We secured a room but was told that it would be afternoon before we could get into it.  In the meantime, we joined the throngs of people gathered around the televison in the lobby.  We watched in utter confusion and disbelief as the second  plane flew into the second tower.  

 

                                   From the hotel lobby                                       

                          

 

Then when the third plane hit the Pentagon, I had the most dire feeling of dread I have ever felt.  And utter helplessness.  I wanted to be home with my husband and daughter.  I knew they would be frantic with worry but I could not communicate with them.   Those of us in that room bonded together and tried to help each other make sense of what looked and felt like doomsday.  It was so surreal to watch the towers come crashing down ... knowing that just a few miles away from us what the scene must be like.  People trying to save others,  people dying.  What we now call Ground Zero.  

When we finally got into our room we were exhausted but neither of us could rest.  We couldn't bear to watch any more of the ghastly scenes on television and yet we could not stop watching.   At some point we were able to get a call out to our spouses.  At that point we were not sure how or when we would be able to get home.   Our husbands were preparing to come get us by car.  A long trip no matter how you look at it.  There were no flights and I was not keen to fly again even if there had been.  We had heard that all of the rental cars in the area had already been rented.

The next morning, against all odds, we found an available rental car  but there was a catch.  It was across the highway, close to the airport and no cars were allowed in.  We were told that if we could get to them, they had a car for us.   We got the hotel shuttle to take us as far as the gate and we walked the rest of the way in.  I am forever thankful to whoever invented the rolling suitcase.  

 

Rolling our luggage into Avis car rental

We rented the car and set off to try and make our way out of the city. 

Gayle drove and even though it took us a little while to find a way out, she kept her cool. 

Gayle

 

Since we had only come prepared for two days, we had run out of clean clothes.  A little ways out, we were so glad to see the Walmart sign.   We stopped to buy a few necessities  and since it was the end of the summer season most of the warm weather clothes were gone.  I settled for a pair of 2X shorts and an oversized Tigger tshirt.  I was so glad to have them too!   I called them my Erkle pants since I had to roll them up and we shared a badly needed laugh to decrease the tension of the last two days.

 

 

We spent the night at a motel and the next day we picked up an acquaintance of Gayle's, who lived in Jackson but was in Maryland on September the 11th .   We drove until dark and stopped again to sleep. 

 

                                        Second night we still couldn't stop watching

 

Friday morning we headed south and home.  I snapped pictures all along our way to document the trip and when we finally saw the "Welcome to Mississippi" sign I could have cried with joy!   

 

 

Our husbands met us in Jackson, and it was so wonderful to see their smiling faces and to be back on our home ground.

                                Soooo happy to see his smiling face!

 

 

                                   "Two Oaks"  Home at last!

 

When I got home, there was a yellow ribbon tied around the live oak tree in our front yard and a huge American flag hung.  I was so thankful to be able to be home ... safe and sound with those I love best.   And who love me.  

 

I am so thankful for the wonderful friends and family that prayed for our safe return home.   

 

It would be days before the enormity of the damage and loss would start to sink in.  Almost too much to bear.   But we did - as a nation -  under God.   

 

I will never take for granted the blessings in my life.   It could all change in an instant.   And did for so many on that day.  I guess

it changed all of us in many ways.  It took away our sense of security as a nation.  It took away our naïveté that nothing or no one could ever hurt us.  One thing it did not take away is our spirit and our belief that we can and will endure and persevere. I pray that we will never experience that kind of vunerabilty and despair again.    

 

On Sunday, September 11, 2011, I will remember that day and say a prayer for all those that lost loved ones.  It is a day we will remember

... always. 

 

Happy Mothers' Day to Me

This past Sunday was Mothers' Day.  I had been looking forward to a leisurely day, for the most part, enjoying the company of my sweetie, daughter and son-in-law and my own Mom.  I got up around 8 AM ready to have a light breakfast, take a quick shower and head out on the 35 minute journey to get Bernie (my Mom) while my Sweetie cooked the seafood chowder I had been anticipating all week.  My daughter called and reported that she had a fever so I told her to stay away as not to potentially expose anyone to anything. Before I made it downstairs, I turned around and found Tony leaning against the door frame of our bedroom.  I could tell right away that he was in the throws of a back spasm - something I am more than a little acquainted with on a very personal level.  Get back in bed, I told him.  I gave him a muscle relaxer and admonished him not to dare get out of bed while I was gone.  I got all the ingredients lined up and the veggies chopped. By then it was 10:30 AM so I decided to reluctantly forego the shower and shampoo I desperately wanted and more importantly - needed!  So I took a quick "spit bath" (not literally in case you are wondering).  Most of you know exactly  what I mean.  I pulled on some clothes and wrangled with my hair until I gave up and accepted that I was going to look like a fraggle no matter what.  Those of you with grown children of a certain age (and I'm not saying what age!) will certainly remember the kids' show "Fraggle Rock).  I finally made it out the door only to reach the car and remember that I left my cell phone upstairs. I started up the stairs and yelled to Tony that I had forgotten my keys as not to alarm him. He's suppose to be in bed under my direct orders. Right? Wrong!  I got to the top of the stairs to find him leaning in our bedroom doorway Again - with a sheepish look on his face.  Where do you think you're going I said.  I'm feeling better so I thought I'd go down and do some things to help you with lunch.  No way.  Get your Bhind back in the bed I say and STAY THERE! Do not aggravate me by being stubborn I tell him.  I'll be back as soon as I can.  Off I go at long last.  We had both failed to remember to get a stock pot in which to cook the chowder so I swung into Target with the intention of grabbing a stock pot, and the few other food items I needed and be on my way. Little did I know that there IS no more plain old stock pots.  Everywhere I looked there was a line of Food Network Queens' cookware lines.  Paula Dean, Giada, etc; then there was cephalon, tefalon and on and on.  By then I was totally confused and frustrated. I just wanted a PLAIN OLD STOCK POT!  Not a $60 investment.  I finally found one on the last isle that seemed to be sufficient without breaking the bank. Then I headed to the frozen section and  prayed that I could find the heavy cream and raspberries I needed for the white chocolate bread pudding but held little hope that I really would. I found both to my amazement. YES, now we're in business.  I got to the nursing home at 11:15 and helped Bernie change into the new clothes I'd bought her and managed to get back on the road by about 11:40.  I called Tony to say we were on the way and was informed that he had made tea and a done a couple of other things but had to rest every 15 minutes or so. I didn't even bother to fuss.  Bad patient!  We arrived back home about 12:15. By the time I got Bernie in and settled, it was past her lunch time so I gave her a snack before I began to put the chowder together.  Every few minutes my Mom would ask me if she could help.  Noooo... I tell her, just sit there and keep me company.  All I needed was for her to take a fall and break something - like a hip!  About 1:30 we finally sat down to eat a very late lunch.  The chowder was delicious if I do say so myself.  I realized why it tasted so good and so rich.  I had accidently put heavy cream in it instead of half and half.  Ummmm.  After a leisurely meal I suggested that Bernie take a nap while I cleaned the kitchen and made the bread pudding.  My beds are all high off the floor.  Bernie was 4'11" at her tallest and now at 81 she may be 4'  8" at most.  She could not get up on the bed by herself, I could not get her up there and I forbade Tony to even try.  Go get the step stool out of the garage I told him - knowing all the while that he would not be able to find it.  Sure enough he came back empty handed.  Just stay right here and DO NOT let her fall I told him.  I realized my tone oozed the irritability that I was beginning to feel.  I searched every corner of the garage and failed to find the stool also. I was also beginning to think Iwas going to have to tell her to just forget about the nap since neither Tony or I could get her up on the bed.  I suddenly remembered that I had stored the exercise step under the bed.  The one I have been meaning to use for the past two years.  I dragged it out and sure enough she thought that it was just the cat's meow.  I got her tucked in and started putting the bread pudding together at 3:15 pm.  At four I woke sleeping beauty up and served hot bread pudding with white chocolate sauce and raspberry compote.  My first attempt and a smashing sucess.  At 5 pm we were back in the car and speeding back toward Columbia, MS.   By the time we got there and I got her settled in it was 6 pm. I pulled into our carport at 6:45 pm, exhausted and eagerly looking forward to a long over due hot shower and BED! The day didn't turn out exactly the way I had anticipated but all in all it was a great day.  It brings to mind that we can't always count on things turning out the way they think they will and it is important to make  the most of every moment of every day. 
HAPPY MOTHER"S DAY TO ME !

Rome Wasn't Built In a Day

I have deducted that I am incompatible with dieting.  Lord knows I've tried.  I used to tell myself that I could lose it if I really wanted to.  Well  I REALLY want to.  Pinkie swear. Tony agreed to try the Southbeach diet with me and I was positive that the pounds would melt away. They have...for Tony.  He's down 10-12 pounds and I'm up 2-3.  What's up with that!  I even accused him of booby trappying the scale but my clothes don't lie.  We got to the end of the third week and I just blew it wide open this past weekend.  We had company for the weekend and they brought lots of wonderful food with them.  I didn't want to be a rude host and not partake plus I'd eaten so much salad I was beginning to feel a little green myself.  I appear to be a complete diet failure. If I am honest with you I have to admit that this is not the first time.  Tony loves to tell this story... a few years back my daughter and I decided to go on the latest 3 day beets and cottage cheese craze that promised we'd loose at least five pounds by the end of the three days.  We both detest beets and cottage cheese. It was pure torture for three days but we stuck with it;  keeping the end goal insight....slimmer us (es).  The instructions specified that we should not weigh until the end of the third day.  At the appointed time we gathered  around the bathroom scale and giddy with excitement I stepped on ready to pat myself on the back for a job well done and celebrate the new svelte me.  I stepped off and back on convinced that the needle was stuck.  I looked at Tara and shook my head.  Too distraught to say it out loud.  With a look of dread she stepped on the scale and it immediately became  painfully apparent.  We had both suffered through three days of gags and agony and had not lost one solitary ounce between us!   We looked at one another and said simultaneously "Where's the Papa Johns' coupons? "  Tony had made himself scarce during the weigh since our mood was less than sunny by that time. We didn't have to announce the results because about 30 minutes later the pizza guy arrived.  Tony came in and said he guessed the diet results weren't what we had hoped for.  We just glared at him and kept stuffing our faces. We swore we'd ever eat beets or cottage cheese again and to my knowledge neither one of us has.   We have, on the other hand, eaten more than a few pizzas. Guess that would explain why I'm still voluptous. I'll keep trying though.  After all, you know...Rome wasn't built in a day 

Cats Anonymous

02/07/2011 post - revised                                          
                     
OK...I have a problem.   Cats.  Yep you heard or read right - CATS.  They are taking over my life!  Mind you - I have only actually gone out in search of one of these cats.   Mary George was a baby when we got her from Tony's Aunt.  A couple of years later Tara, our daughter moved in with two more and when she moved back out our cat count tripled.  We now had Mary George, Thunder and Pookie.  For the last eleven years we've all learned to live together in a relatively peaceful household.   About seven months ago Tara found a baby kitten in an abandoned house.  Jason, her husband says she has radar for strays and I tend to agree.  Naturally she rescued him and couldn't find a home for him so in a moment of insanity I agreed to take him since she already has four cats of the her and two dogs.  Enter SkippyJon. For the next five months he made it his life's work to attack me around every corner.  My legs were more scratched and looked worse than when I was a child.  They may never be the same.  Thunder, who is now an old man at almost twelve, found his life to be a living hell too and I found myself spending an inordinately ridiculous amount of time refereeing and herding cats. It seemed that a pattern was emerging...Tara - cats - us .... with more cats... but just as I was about to blame my cat explosion on her, a new development shot down that theory.  Another tuxedo kitten about SkippyJon's age showed up on our window seal one night a couple of months ago.  He was cold and hungry and had no intention of going anywhere ...so what did we do?  Let him in and feed him of course!  Tony said "If you can't find his owner or a new owner, he can stay only if he is an outside cat."  I agreed (ha-ha) knowing that was a silly thing for him to say and for me to agree to.  Who did we think we were fooling.  For the first two nights I fixed him (the cat - not Tony) a nice soft, warm bed complete with heating pad, in the garage.  I told Tony that if the weather got too cold I was going to bring him in and seclude him in the sunroom.  He just sort of grunted.  I knew that he could see right through my thinly veiled intent and he knew I knew.  By the third night he (the cat- not Tony) was IN and had free roam of the house. The other cats all had their panties in a wad and there was a LOT of hissing going on.  I started calling him Milton and he responded readily.  I am convinced that was already his name when he got here. I called all the vet's offices, the animal shelter, put an add in the paper and posters up.  Not one response.  NADA. The second week I took him to my vet, sort of half heartedly hoping that he had a chip and I would call his owner and they would be ecstatic and hurry over to get him and ...... well it was a nice fantasy that didn't happen.  Noooo, I ended up with a vet bill for initial vaccines and Milton ended up with a medical record on my tab.  It's been a little over two months since his arrival and things have settled down remarkably well.  Hissing is down to a minimum and Milton and SkippyJon have now become BFFs and partners in crime.  Their favorite pastime seems to be wrestling in my bathtub and pretending to be great hunters although the backyard squirrels think they are a real joke. Thunder seems relieved to be getting a break though.  A couple of days AFTER  Milton's last vaccines and a little "operation", and I think you know what I mean - I had a message on my answering machine from some lady saying that if I had not found a home for him she'd "take him in".  He has a home thank you.  I erased the message and made the mistake of telling Tony about it.   He has reminded me several times that we could have given her both MIlton and SkippyJon along with a hundred bucks and still come out ahead.  I know he's blowing smoke and he knows I know.  We like to play these little mind games.  My friend Susan, is as soft hearted as I am and never turns a stray away.  At one time she kept saying that she had four inside cats and three strays outside.  One day I told her that she just needed to suck it up and say "My name is Susan and I have seven cats" and just accept the fact. The tables have now turned and she has reminded me of that.  If there was a Cats Anonymous, I would certainly be a prime member.  All in all things could be worse though.  Tony swore we were at our tipping point with four but so far we haven't tipped over with number five.  I hope I am a house cat in my next life and that someone will take me in and love and spoil me rotten. Oh wait a minute ... I AM spoiled rotten.

Mary George

Thunder

Pookie

SkippyJon

   

           

                              
                             blah blah blah... (go ahead and laugh- I know you want to)

                                                                                       

Going in Circles

Bay St. Louis Bridge

My sweetie and I went to Camp Getaway, our house in Bay St. Louis, this weekend and found the weather too oppresive to do much of anything except stay in the air conditioned house.   Well...I'll speak for myself.  Tony put up the last two storm shutters he built and he and SkippyJon, his new worker cat pal, spent some time downstairs doing guy stuff while Pookie, the Queen Kitty, and I stayed upstairs and did our girl stuff...napping, reading, napping; you get the picture.  Seems the two tuxedo cats have claimed Tony as their person but I'll do in a pinch or at meal time. Since it was too hot to launch the boat, we decided to take a ride down hwy 90 Saturday afternoon and go do a little shopping in Gulfport.  I was shocked to see quite a few people on the beach in spite of the heat.  There were also a lot of workers up and down the beach cleaning up any trash, debris or tar balls seen from the oil spill.  We are all relieved that the well cap seems to be holding, that our Mississippi waters were reopened for fishing on Thursday and that the oil seems to be going away much more quickly than anticipated.  The booms are still out and it will be so wonderful when they are gone and no longer mar the beautiful coast line and waters.

Saturday evening just before six o'clock we discussed what we wanted to do for supper.  That's dinner to some of you.  We decided on Ricky's, a local eatery.   I said I could call in our order and go pick it up but he said no let's just go there to eat.  We got there a little after six and found a line out the door so we decided to ride around a little while and then try back.   We rode around old town Bay St. Louis and admired the great old houses and enjoyed the time together.  Thirty minutes later we dicided to go back to Ricky's and hoped that the crowd had thinned.   No luck.  A longer line.  OK, where from here???   We rode around some more and it seemed everywhere we thought we'd like to eat was packed.  By this time it was almost eight o'clock.  We headed back to Ricky's and got inside and put our names on the waiting list.  To our surprise it was only a short while until we were called.   My initial delight was short lived as we were led to the very back table by the bar and the "smokers".  Neither of us can tolerate smoke so we were put back on the waiting list.  It seemed everyone in the place was either just placing their order or had just recieved their food.   I told Tony that we should just place a to go order and come back and get it.  So we did and for another twenty minutes rode the streets of Bay St. Louis up and down and all around.  We both were getting extremely hungry and  a little irritiable.  At eight fifteen we picked up our order and at eight thirty, two hours after I initially offered to pick up an order, we sat down at our dining table to eat our "to go" order!