Life in the 10th grade.

We have had another pretty day. Gotta love this spring-like weather. I ventured out and ate at a Mexican restaurant that I had never been to before. I'm never sure what to order in those places since I don't know what most of the stuff is. I do know what tacos and burritos are so I try to keep it safe and stick with them. I ordered a large chicken burrito. When they say large, they mean large! No way I could eat all of that thing. I ate about 1/3 of it and brought the rest home. It was sooooo good. It was smothered in some kind of yummy cheesy sauce and had lettuce, shredded cheese and sour cream on the side. I should have taken a picture but I didn't think of it, so you'll have to use your imagination!

The VA nurse came out today to see my hubby. She tried to draw some blood but stuck him twice and didn't try again. She said she'd wait and get it the next time. He doesn't mind being poked with the needle. He says it doesn't hurt at all. They usually get it out of the top of his hand in one of those veins which are easier to see. But she had no luck there either. He had some lab work done before and she brought the results today. His cholesterol was 132! Woohoo, that is great! All of his blood work was good except his B12 is low, so he will have to start taking some medication for that.

That reminded me of when I was in high school, 10th grade. I was skinny as a rail back then. We lived about 15 miles from town and I rode the bus. I would get sick every morning and throw up. I threw up so much on the bus that the driver, Big Bill, told me to please let him know if I was sick and he would stop the bus and let me get off. I had him stop many times to let me off. Usually when that cold morning air would hit me the feeling would ease off. One morning we were unloading at the school and I was almost up to Big Bill and it just came out right there in the aisle and I puked my guts out. Big Bill said, "Rachel, couldn't you have waited just a little bit longer?"

It was awful to be sick every morning. I tried eating and not eating. Didn't matter. I'd still get sick. I got up earlier and rode the horse before I went to school thinking that if I did something first it might help. It didn't. Then my monthly cycle quit coming (sorry folks to talk about such a personal thing). There was one teacher that most of the kids didn't like, the Algebra teacher. I liked her though. I got sick in her class and she took me to the sick room and she came back to check on me. I thought she was really nice to do that. They called my Dad to come and get me and he came about 3 times and picked me up. The next time they called he said, "Little girl, I am getting tired of having to come to school to pick you up all the time. You are going to the doctor."

The doctor checked me over and he could put both hands around my waist and make them touch, so you know how skinny I was. He said, "You don't have enough blood to keep a chicken alive." I had to go every week for 4 weeks and get a B12 shot, first in one hip and then the other. I also took iron pills. I got to feeling so good. I can't tell you how good it felt to get up and not be sick! I felt like a new person. Soon then the monthly cycle came back and all resumed to normal.

I know, morning sickness and no monthly cycle, some of you probably thought of pregnancy. At that time in my life that was not even a remote possibility! I still thought boys were creepy!

Springy Backy Things

These past 3 days have been just lovely with warm temperatures, just like spring. Days like this get me motivated to get outside.

I have found a really great place to walk not very far from here. It's only about 2 miles from my home. It's at a campground, which is closed for the season, so it makes the perfect place to walk. I had never been back in there before and it goes way back farther than I would have ever thought. It's all paved and very well kept. The lake is on one side and a steep high hill with cliffs is on the other. Naturally Pup went with me and here he is on a picnic table at one of the camping sites. You see what a nice view they have as they are right there by the lake. Pup was tired and glad to rest for a photo!
















This sign is in a forked tree by one of the sites. It is Romans 5:8 which says, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

























Here is a crocus bloom I took today in the flower garden! So pretty and yellow and just shouting "Spring!"

As I'm sitting here writing this post my back has started itching. You know how that is when you can't quite reach the right spot to scratch. It's sure handy to have someone around to scratch your back at these times. I tried a pencil but that doesn't work. My husband used to scratch his back on the corners of the door facings and on the wall corners. He even rubbed the paint off on one spot from scratching so much. He said he was doing it like the cows do, just find something to rub against! I have even seen him use a fork! (Yes it did get washed afterwards in case you were wondering). Now he is not able to scratch my back and I'm going to end this and go grab my wooden back scratcher.................

Bored?? Try this...

Someone has wayyyy to much time on their hands but still it was fun to play!


http://www.quailhuntingschool.com/flash.php

Bits and Pieces

I got this basket some time back at the Goodwill store for 50 cents. I thought it was the cutest thing. Someone went to a lot of work to make this. All around the sides are clumps of pine needles that are wired together. That alone took plenty of effort. Then they wired pine cones to the bottom edge and then touched them up with a little gold paint. I saw it sitting there in the store and it caught my eye and said, "Take me home!" I haven't regretted it at all. I still think it's the cutest thing.

My hubby wanted ice cream and cake this afternoon, so I made a devil's food cake with 3 layers. I put butter creme icing between each layer and on top. He had his with ice cream and I had a generous slice without ice cream. Either way....delicious!


We have had some rain today. Just light rain and now it's foggy. Strolling around the yard I noticed that the crocus is just about ready to bloom and so are the daffodils. Spring is just around the corner. Spring gets me excited!! I love seeing the flowers and the leaves. It's a renewing of life.

Speaking of which, that reminds me I saw an obituary in the paper where a 36 year old man had died. I wondered what happened to him. I found out he had hung himself. Married, 4 kids, wife had left him a few months ago, his weekend to get the kids, he called them and they didn't want to come over. He hung himself and his poor mother found him. How sad is that? Things like that just break my heart to hear.

Another Memory

One time I recall spending the night with my cousins. I’m not sure how old I was but I think I was around 18 or so. They are both younger than I am. It’s kind of a long story, and I won’t go into it here, but at that stage of their life they were pretty much living alone. They have a brother who is around my age but he was not there that night, but he did live there.

It was during the winter and their only source of heat was a heating stove which was in the living room. The bedroom was very cold. We all slept in a regular bed and they had an electric blanket. They had a big electric fan on the dresser which they turned on. I said, “Good grief, what are you doing turning the fan on and it zero outside?” Susan said, “Well, if someone is going to break in and kill us we just as soon not hear’em coming.” I told them I did, so I could maybe get to heck out of their way and under the bed and maybe while he was trying to kill one of us that the other two might get away or at least try to beat the crap out of him. But they wanted the fan left on. That was the way they were used to sleeping. They liked to sleep late and the mailman came along around 9 a.m. and he usually ‘scratched off and threw gravel’ when he took off from their mailbox and woke them up. As long as that fan was going they didn’t hear him or anything else that might disturb them.

I didn’t sleep very good that night. I kept listening for the murderer to come! Funny how those suggestions make you worry. Back then we didn’t lock doors like we do now. They lived way out in the country and the closest house was about a half mile away. I slept in the middle and being crowded between two people and not being able to turn on my side and draw my legs up, like I like to sleep, and basically having to lay flat on my back, under an electric blanket keeping you toasty warm from the neck down while the fan blew on you, in an already cold room, and your head froze off. I sure was glad when that night was over!

Memories...

It's a little chilly today but not too bad. Tonight it's supposed to go into the teens. I know for folks who live in the colder areas that is probably like a heat wave! We had some snow earlier but not enough to cover the grass good.

I was trying to think of what to blog about. I decided I would share this picture of me when I was a kid. Now I'm not sure what my age was here. If you look close you can see that I had a space between my two front teeth. My brother used to call me "Railroad Spike" and make fun of that space. Yeah, he was a meanie back then. Thankfully he grew out of it!



I have 3 brothers but this one is 4 years older than I am. He used to pick on me quite a bit. When I was a kid I was terrified of bugs. Any bugs. Even moths. Of course we always called them "millers." I don't know how that came to be but that's what we called them. I was pretty old before I knew they were actually moths! Then there was those brown beetle looking bugs that always come around in the summer if you leave the porch light on. He used to catch them and throw them on me. They would always cling to your clothes. I would have a hissy fit of screaming and crying and flapping at the bug trying to get it off. He would just die laughing.

My Dad always told me that if he bothered me for no reason that I could pick up a land seed and kill him with it. Now a land seed is a rock. At least that's what my Dad was referring to. Of course I knew he didn't really want me to 'kill' him, but just defend myself.

I recall one time my brother had an old car and he came driving in the lane. I was riding the pony and had not done one thing to my brother. I wasn't even close to him. He stopped the car and got out and started throwing corncobs at us. I think he was probably trying to get the pony to buck or run off with me, or something like that. I got off the pony and picked up a good sized rock. I meant to throw it at the side of the car and maybe make a dent. Instead it hit the rear window (the one over the trunk area) and it shattered into a zillion pieces. I was shocked and he was too. He stood there with his mouth open a few minutes and then he said, "What'd you throw?" I said, "A big rock!" I got back on the pony and rode off.

My Dad didn't get upset with me. He said that my brother started it (which he did) and so I had only done what he had told me to do!!

Last week I stopped and took these pictures. This place is right beside the road and if you step off that rock ...well..... as you see that would be the end of you! I didn't venture too close to the edge. This spot is about 1 1/2 miles from our house. That creek empties into the lake. It's quite a lovely view and the creek bends in both directions there.

In my last post I told about keeping my great niece on Monday since there was no school. On Valentine's Day, around dusky dark, I heard a knock at the door. My great niece was there with a box of candy, a box of cookies, and a single pink rose. She said it was from the family. She started down the sidewalk and she said, "I love you Aunt Rachel!" I told her that I loved her too. Gee, that was the perfect gift. My favorite is the rose of course and the fact that they thought about me and then her saying she loved me. Ah........

Tireless Energy

Yesterday I kept my great niece since there was no school due to the snow. She is 8. Her Mom had to drop her off at 5:15 a.m. Normally I am a late sleeper, so 5:15 was like the middle of the night to me. Her Mom said she would probably lie on the sofa and go back to sleep. Wrong!! She is used to getting up early and was ready to go strong.

If I only had one teaspoon of that child’s energy I could really get some things done. She never stops! She played with our dog. She has him jumping through a hoop over and over and over. Poor guy! She gives him a little bite of a treat when he does it. I taught him to do that and I have him do it sometimes like 5-6 times and then that's it. I put the hoop away and he gets his treat. Not so with her. She makes him work for every bite. He has to jump through the hoop or beg.

She went around and around in circles and then would fall down and rest about half a minute and right back up and at it again.

She played with the cat, "Little Bit." I got her a long piece of string and she tied it to her back belt loop and she ran around the 2 chairs in the living room with the cat chasing the string at full speed. My area rugs got pushed further and further up the side of the wall with each circle. She giggled all the while! They did this for ages. The cat was panting like a dog and finally had to rest!

At noon I took her with me to feed the stray cats, which she loved doing. Then we went to Wendy's and I got us food. She loves their chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce. We drove around through one neighborhood and saw a whole bunch of different snowmen, and we both enjoyed that.

It was far too cold to be outside. I’m so glad I have the dog and cat to entertain her, otherwise I’m sure she’d be bored to death. When her Mom came to pick her up she didn’t want to leave.

Last night myself, the dog, and the cat all slept well! I'm hoping my great niece did too. She should have! I have never seen such tireless energy. I told her Mom that her child should be on the track team for sure!! I do love to hear her giggle. The laughter of a child is such a good sound.

Happy Valentine’s Day to everyone!!

A Little Snow

I am feeling some better with my ear infection but not 100% yet. Thanks for all the well wishes. I appreciate it so much.

We got some snow last night, about an inch maybe. It has snowed all day but it melts when it hits the ground. We have less now than when I took this picture earlier today.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Blah

This is pretty much how I feel today. I went to the doctor this morning. I have an ear infection. So I feel pretty yucky and have for about 3 days.

We got a wee bit of snow last night. It was so pretty falling. The snow reminded me of something my Dad told me about an Uncle of mine. This Uncle is another whole blog as he was a character! My Dad said one time my Uncle wished it would snow so deep that a man would have to climb a tree to use the bathroom (this was when we all still had outhouses). Dad said it snowed so much that night that it broke my Uncle's barn roof in. My Dad told him that's what he got for making old foolish wishes!

Okay a joke to finish this post off for today since a blanket and warm soup are calling my name;

The husband says to his wife, "You always carry my photo in your handbag to the office. Why?" She says, "When there is a problem, no matter how impossible, I look at your picture and the problem disappears."

He smirks and replies, "You see, how miraculous and powerful I am for you?" She calmly replies, "Yes, I see your picture and say to myself, '"What other problem can there be greater than this one?"

This and That

We got some snow last night. It's all gone now. It was so pretty falling. We don't seem to get snow much anymore. When I was a kid I remember we got some deep snows. I can remember wading through the big drifts! Our neighbor's lane used to really drift bad and she couldn't get out if we had a big snow. I recall once we had gone to the store and she wanted some things. I took that box of food to her and her lane had drifts up to my neck. It was very cold and the box I could just slide along the top of the crusted snow for the most part. That was a lot of fun going through all that snow back then. I don't know that it would be now.

Last Thursday evening I went to see Mark Lowry, who was here in town with his "God is Crazy About You" tour. Myself and some others from my church went. It was very enjoyable. He is a great singer and he's so funny!! Here is one of his jokes;

The pastor asked young Paul what his favorite Bible story was.
"I guess the one about Noah and the Ark, where they floated around on the water for 40 days and 40 nights," replied Paul.
"That was a good story," agreed the pastor. "And, with all that water, I bet they had a good time fishing, don't you think?"
Paul thought for a moment, then replied, "I don't think so... they only had two worms."

He used to be part of the Gaither's Vocal Band and is probably best known for his song, "Mary Did You Know?"

It was a treat to get to go and I got to see a lot of people I hadn't seen in a long time. That was an added bonus!

Each day I put food in the bird feeders. The cat thinks that is a definite plus! She likes to climb up and try to ambush the birds. You can see the one feeder but there is another one out of view on the limb she is standing on. I tell her not to do that but she doesn't listen. As far as I know she hasn't caught any yet. They fly up to the top of the tree and fuss!

The Sickness of Drugs

Today I read Margaret's Blog about a Columbian heroin ring where they used purebred Labrador retrievers to transport heroin to the US. They cut the dogs' bellies open and inserted packets of liquid heroin and then stitched them back up. Most of them were puppies.

I have never understood the drug thing. I have never did any form of drugs. It was not something I particularly remember being taught by my parents. It was just something that I knew you did not do. Back when I was growing up the big thing then was marijuana. I was offered it but I never excepted it. I just grew up knowing that you never smoked, drank, or did drugs. I can understand how easy it is for some people to get talked into doing things by their friends, to be one of the gang, and not have them make fun of you. But once you do these things then often there is no turning back, especially with today's drugs.

Getting back to the story above, it reminded me of when I worked in a large university hospital. I was a unit clerk and we had an ICU on our floor which I had to go into many times during my shifts there. Everyone in that ICU was in critical condition and most never left it alive. I worked the night shift. One night there was a young woman in there, probably in her 20's, and she was absolutely beautiful. I remember she had her nails all done with red nail polish. She had lovely long back hair. She was on a respirator and was brain dead. I asked what had happened to her.

It turns out that she had tried to swallow a packet of heroin or cocaine (I forget) to hide it from the police. When she swallowed it the bag had burst open. That was the first time I had ever heard of anybody doing anything like that. They said that they place it in small plastic bags and swallow it and it's hidden and then they just wait for it to come out and retrieve it. I was amazed and shocked. There she was such a beautiful young woman and then for her life to be taken like that. For what? For drugs. I just thought it was the saddest thing.

So many people ruin their lives and often the lives of their families and others because of drugs. Those people that bring it here and sell it should be dealt with harshly.

Laughs

A man, his wife and mother-in-law went on vacation to the Holy Land. While they were there, the mother-in-law passed away. The undertaker told them, "You can either have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here in the Holy Land for $150.00."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 plus funeral expenses to ship your mother-in-law home, when it would be wonderful to be buried here and spend only $150.00 total?" The man replied, "A man died here 2000 years ago, was buried here, and three days later he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."


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Grandpa and granddaughter were sitting talking when she asked, "Did God make you, Grandpa?"
"Yes, God made me," the grandfather answered.
A few minutes later, the little girl asked him, "Did God make me too?"
"Yes, He did," the old man answered.
For a few minutes, the little girl seemed to be studying her grandpa, as well as her own reflection in the mirror, while her grandfather wondered what was running through her mind. At last she spoke up. "You know, Grandpa," she said, "God's doing a lot better job lately."