Hello Old Friends...It's Been Awhile

Hello!  Gosh it's been awhile.  How have you been?  I wish I could tell you that my absence from the blogosphere was because I had something very exciting going on in my life, like a trip to an exotic (and warm) destination, but sadly, I've been here all along, waiting out the winter with a gigantic stash of comfort foods. Yup, the only thing that has gone south is my derriere, bogged down with bread pudding, mashed potatoes with butter and gravy, oatmeal-butterscotch cookies, homemade cinnamon rolls...you get the picture. 

Along with my butt, life in general has been on the south end for a while, as well.  After three months filled with funerals (a young community member, a cousin, my father-in-law, and a family friend, plus a few not as close acquaintances), a few family issues I can't publicly discuss other than to say I was definitely blindsided by them, a health scare for my husband (thankfully, a mass discovered was benign), my own ongoing health issues (migraines, back & neck problems, and now treatment for a rotator cuff issue), a couple extra unemployed adults to feed and house (there are possible job offers pending--TG), and decreased income from job losses/cuts with increased debt from medical bills and major house malfunctions, is it any wonder that depression reared its ugly head in my life?  I am now getting that under control and hopefully life will get back on a smooth road once again.  The sun is peeking out....whew!!

I guess my resolve to be more consistent in my blogging didn't work out so well, either.  Often times, writing is a stress buster for me.  Believe me, there were more than a few times that I thought I had an idea worth writing about, only to fizzle out by the time I had a chance.  Sometimes I felt the need to write, but much of the need would have been to get negativity off my chest, but who wants to read that?  In a similar fashion to not saying anything if you have nothing nice to say, I felt if I had nothing good to write, I wouldn't write anything at all.  I am truly wanting to go to blogging and thinking in a positive mind frame, dealing with the negative as it comes, but searching for the good in life.

Bright spots are coming through these days.  I can tell spring is around the corner by the increased level of chirping in the trees outside my house.  Rather than running to do their business and quickly scampering inside, my dogs have been lingering outside, noses to the ground, as if they can actually smell life under the waist high snow piles and still ice-covered walking paths.  This old house (101 years) has been creaking more lately; I imagine it too is starting to thaw from this brutal winter.  Believe me, with March knocking on the door, spring could not come soon enough for me.  It would be nice if the melting doesn't happen too fast, though, so the flooding is minimized.  I worry for all of those who live in areas that may once again be struggling with flooding issues.  With my basement actually being inhabited by humans instead of spiders and the occasional mouse, I would hope to not have water problems there, either!

I have been drawn in by the Winter Olympics this year.  I love to watch ice dancing and speed skating.  The women's and men's half pipes competitions were also spectacular.  I imagine the skiing is nerve racking--I wouldn't want to drive in a car as fast as some of those skiers are flying; I can't imagine being on a mountainside racing that fast!  I think of all the bumps and falls and how these athletes carry on day after day, compared to my aging body, which can't seem to handle even the smallest falls or bumps.  Quite the stamina these athletes have!  I have been especially interested in hockey this year, particularly men's hockey.  David Backes, a member of the USA men's team (and member of the NHL's St. Louis Blues team) is the son of my husband's cousin.  It has been great to see someone from humble roots work tenaciously to achieve personal goals.  He is truly an example of a blue collar working class family's hard work and sacrifices to reach for the gold!  I was bummed when the first few games were not broadcast on network television (I don't have cable), but was able to catch the games Wednesday and Friday (what an amazing game on Friday).  I look forward to Sunday's rematch with Canada.  Go team USA!

Time to get up and at 'em.  Once again, the weekend will be filled with a myriad of activities, sandwiched between the need to declutter and continue organizing.  It's not the North wind you'll be hearing this weekend folks, it's the whirr of my engines as I race to complete the tasks on my never-ending list.  It's been said that an idle mind is the devil's playground, so I imagine idle hands must be forced to shovel coals.  Happily, I am nowhere near heat, so perhaps this winter is a sign of true paradise.  It has been angelically white, if I must say so myself, and my hands would rather be flapping out snow angels than shoveling coals any day!

Have a beautiful weekend and look out for signs of spring--it shouldn't be long now!

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 2/27/2010 at 8:10 AM | Comments (5) | Permalink

Tags: comfort foods, david backes, depression, funerals, health problems, hockey men, positive thoughts, winter, winter olympics

Randomness X 2

Two years ago today I started this blog. I stumbled upon some other AV blogs that I enjoyed and started reading, then commenting, and pretty soon, Voila!  A blog was born. My favorite part of the blogging experience has been getting to “know” other bloggers, whether our interests intersect or their view is totally different than mine. I enjoy reading as much as writing.

I am not sure I had any set plans or goals for my blog back then. I just knew I enjoyed writing and I figured this was a good place to air some of my thoughts. I wish I had the oomph to write more often, but it seems more often than not, life just gets in the way. While there is plenty going on in my mind, I tend to hold a lot of thoughts in; most of my thoughts will never see the light of day and will certainly not be on public display in my blog.

Although many of my ponderings won’t become blog fodder, I will continue this journey. I do hope the next year will include more initiative to regularly share ideas and perspectives. I doubt I will ever write on a consistent schedule, as it is not in my genetic code to be predictable. While blogs with a theme or certain publishing pattern might draw more readers, I am all about randomness. As my life seems to be random happenings loosely stitched together, a patchwork of big and little moments, I will continue to blog about whatever, whenever. Hopefully some of it will be of interest to you!

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So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness. ~Sidney Poitier

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 2/01/2010 at 9:45 PM | Comments (7) | Permalink

Tags: blog birthday, non predictable, randomness, sidney poitier quote

Running in Circles

Gee whiz! It never stops. Really! Here is a snapshot of my morning from five to eight. My hubby gets up at 5am to get ready to go to work & I tell him I am going to reset my alarm, take 2 aspirin, try to fall back to sleep & hopefully awake when it is light, minus a headache. After all, I didn’t hit the hay until nearly 1 AM. As I lay there, I remember to tell him he should take ‘my’ car today due to our son needing to use ‘his’. I also remind him I cleaned out the science fair projects residing in my refrigerator last night and ask if he would take the results to the curb. By now, I’ve conversed just enough that my mind starts to engage. I lay in bed mentally calculating my list of duties and activities today. Normally I will try to fall back to sleep, but the last few days, knowing how much time I waste in those futile attempts at just a little more shut eye, I just get up.

Let me just say, when a mind tends to wander as much as mine does, there is physical travel to accompany the mental journey.  I believe, if my footprints could be captured throughout my house, it would appear as if a rabid animal had been moving about.  I think I would be a lovely speciman for brain research--I for one would love to know what makes me tick.  There is never a dull moment, that is for sure. In three hours I’ve involved myself in a myriad of projects (at least a dozen, probably more—it tends to be a big blur) in 11 of the 14 rooms of my house, on three floors (I haven’t yet been to the attic), plus two trips to the curb with more stuff for the garbage hauler. When you live with ADD, you tend to touch on projects, without completing many.

I won’t bore you with ALL the details (I am sure you don’t care about the cleaning of my belly button lint—just kidding—I didn’t do that—yet!). In 3 hours I did manage to fold a load of laundry, throw another in the dryer, and start another. I did check my personal & work emails, Facebook, my bank balance, the obituaries (I'm still alive) and read a little news online. I prepared bread crusts for drying to make bread pudding or stuffing. I washed a few dishes. I ate something, twice. The rest of the morning was spent going up and down stairs, to various rooms, to either retrieve something, or put something away, which would lead my mind to other tasks I needed to finish or check on or add to my ever growing list. I have started gathering ingredients three different times for a side dish I want to make for supper tonight, all three times being drawn to another task. The latest task is to look up the recipe again, because I lost the original. Go figure! (It probably ended up in one of the bags I drug to the curb this morning.) This is why I am on the computer, and as you can see, off task…..again! Oops, I'll need to put that off again--now the dogs need to go out, and then I need to get to real work.  With any luck, we will have this side dish for supper tonight!

“One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries.” A.A. Milne

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 1/14/2010 at 8:38 AM | Comments (4) | Permalink

Tags: add, disorganization, mental journey, off task, running in circles

Little Things

Sometimes it's the little things that make my day.  Such was the case yesterday, and I woke this morning, blanketed in warm thoughts.  It started with something as simple as reading one of my favorite blogs, Farside of Fifty's  Forgotten Old Photos. 

As some of my readers may already be aware, I love to immerse myself in family history.  Sometimes it doesn't even have to be my own.  For some people, genealogy is getting the most names in a family tree.  For me, it is about finding the ways in which people are interconnected and learning about their lives.  What are their stories?  When I hit the jackpot, I can be giddy for days.

Such is the case with Della. Rather than relay the whole story, I invite you to check out the progress of events from photo publishing to reunification of photo with a family member.  Farside and I have married our interests a couple times on her Forgotten Old Photos blog.  She brings forth the photos, with as much information as the picture relays, and if there is enough information to do a search, I go digging through ancestry.com records to try to find a history on the subject and his/her family.  We've had some successes in searching and she has made connection with some families(though this will be the first photo to be returned, I believe), which brings us both great excitement!  Additionally, there are other regular visitors to her blog that supply their expertise on clothing styles, photo types, etc. 

Soon, Della's photo will be on its way to her daughter, Virginia, a woman in her late 80s, whom has pretty much lived in the same location all her life, as did her mother.  Della's photo, however, has traveled from Illinois to South Dakota to northern Minnesota. The final trip back to Illinois should be a sweet one!

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 1/07/2010 at 8:25 AM | Comments (3) | Permalink

Tags: della hettinger, family photo reunification, forgotten old photos, genealogy

2009: Out On A Sad Note

Our family didn't really ring in the new year as much as we sent out the old year on a sad note.  In the bitter winds of December 31st, we stood at attention and listened to the song of the distant lone bugler.  The finality of those solemn notes is felt ever more deeply when they are played in honor of one you love.  As Taps hauntingly floated through the air, a volcano of emotions erupted: thankfulness and respect for a life well lived and services rendered to God, country, and family; honor for knowing and being part of that life; sadness in knowing his physical presence is gone, yet happiness in knowing a new life with God, absent of pain and suffering, was his eternal gift.

My father-in-law passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, after a valiant struggle with health issues. We were very fortunate to have a final family holiday celebration on Sunday, in which he was very alert and involved, refusing to rest for a single moment, while his wife, children, and grandchildren surrounded him with love.  He enjoyed his favorite foods, he joked around a bit, and he shared his gratitude for the day.  He rested all day Monday, drifting in and out of sleep, then slowly slipped into God's hands as Tuesday morning broke. We knew his health was failing, but most of us just didn't expect him to pass this week, and didn't quite expect Sunday to be the final goodbye.  His final wish was the Sunday gathering, and with that fulfilled, he was ready to be called to Heaven.  He was a gentle loving man--a wonderful husband, a dedicated father, a super father-in-law, a doting grandpa, and a supportive brother.  We will miss him greatly, but are relieved that he is no longer suffering. 

We offered our final goodbyes yesterday at the church, surrounded by a multitude of extended family members, friends, community members, and the Honor Guard of the Richmond American Legion Post, of which he was a past commander for two years.  He was a Veteran of the Korean War, serving as a MP in the U.S. Army from 1949-1953.  He never talked much of his service time, but his family always knew he was honored to serve.  He loved this country deeply and the flag presented to my mother-in-law at services yesterday is already prominently displayed in their home.

As I finish this entry, I would like to share with you the words I wrote in his memory Wednesday morning.  My father-in-law was an avid gardener, in soil and in life, and thoughts of him came together in this piece.

Richard The Gardener

The gardener’s tools are set aside,
His hands no longer toil,
Winter’s snow has mounded upon
The fertile garden soil.
Perhaps you’ve tasted produce
From his abundant yield,
But his greatest crop ever
Came not from earthen field.
No, t’was the living seeds he planted,
Starting at his birth,
The relationships he nurtured,
As he walked upon this earth.
Life’s garden rows aren’t always neat,
Weeds pop up all over the place,
But Richard, the gardener, tackled pesky weeds
With dignity and grace.
Whether you entered his garden plot,
As family or as friend,
His love for you was rooted there,
Until the very end.
He came here as a plant from God,
The finest of seeds from ’27,
Now his time of growth here is done,
He’s been harvested and back in Heaven.
As you survey plants in your own garden,
Think of Richard and wear a big smile,
For as sure as the sun rises and sets,
He’s with God and they’re here all the while.
In Loving Memory ♥ Richard Nicholas Thomes ♥ 3-27-1927 to 12-29-2009

Posted by: Abra La Mente on 1/01/2010 at 12:50 PM | Comments (7) | Permalink

Tags: death, family, father-in-law, gardening, military funeral, taps