The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong in the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

BITTERSWEET APRIL

4/29/2017

1 Comment

 


TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON, AND A TIME TO EVERY PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN.
                                                                        Ecclesiastes
​

Here is it almost the end of April. Spring is racing along, Folks. I have been busy planning a little graduation party for our Cate, which will be next month. Soon she will be out of high school and on to college. Wow.

​April is also the month three lovely ladies were born, Niece Tina, Great-niece Kalina, and my mother.
Tina celebrated quietly with her family, (she had just gotten back from a fab Las Vegas vaycay). And Kalina, oh, my, our Kalina CELEBRATED! That's fine, because she turned the big 21. Her family and friends made sure she'll never forget that milestone. What a fun girl!

​Our dear mother, who passed away thirteen years ago from complications of dementia among other health issues, had a birthday on April 25th. She slipped away with very little complaint (goodness knows, she never ​wanted to a bother to anyone). She left us at age 76 and would have turned 89.

​A few days ago I found a round cardboard box (kinda  a smallish hatbox size) filled with some of Mom's sewing needles, thimbles, buttons, etc., that had been among her things. The box was pink with a cord handle. It still held bits and pieces of some craft projects that she had been working on. What a sweet treasure. Happy Birthday, Mom!

​And . . . today (29th) is the third anniversary of our dad's passing. Remember "Geriatric McGyver"? It was three years ago on April 16th that he had his last adventure. His creative escape from "The Club" as we called the nursing home, was quite a shock for us all. Any 88-year old man who could figure out that he could cut the alarm bracelet off his ankle by sawing it into with his house key, mingle with a group of visitors who were exiting the building all at the same time, walk to a convenience store, and hail a cab to go on a twenty-mile ride out to his farm . . . well, he was pretty darn clever! Then, less than two weeks later, he was gone.

Yes, April is definitely a bittersweet month.

​Today, Jenna, Alec, Alec's cousin Annie, and I went to an art show. Jenna had submitted Alec's self-portrait that he did last year in school. Tonight, I was watching the local evening news and saw that
Channel 2  had covered the art event. And sure enough, they showed his picture on television. It seems like the family is getting a lot of televised coverage lately.

​NOTE: The white bands across the picture are reflection from the ceiling lights.  sigh


Each of us had to have our picture taken with the artist.  Proud of you, young man!
​
Picture
Picture
Picture


​                                                            GOD BLESS YOU ALL
1 Comment

HAPPY EASTER! HAPPY MOWING!

4/17/2017

0 Comments

 
I ALWAYS THOUGHT A YARD WAS THREE FEET . . . THEN I STARTED MOWING THE LAWN.
                                                                      Lettie Cowman

​I hope everyone had a lovely Easter. I went to church and then came home and cooked for the family. Dan and Tammy couldn't make it from Minnesota, but the rest of the gang was here. It was great.

​                                                                          . . . . .

​I am going to discuss something that is near and dear to my heart. Mowing. Yup, I grew up as a child "professional mower".  Our yard was so massive, that I spent many an hour on a John Deere lawnmower, keeping things looking nice. It must run in the family, because both Jenna and Dan are the same way . . .  mow, mow, mow.  Hubby, on the other hand, would just as well cover our yard with rock or artificial turf. Every summer, he says I spend more time with my "boyfriend" (the Toro) than with him. LOL

​Well, sad to say, the Toro is on his last legs. He is seventeen years old, and it has gotten to the point where Hubby has to spend a lot of maintenance time on the poor, old guy.  Gulp! It's time, wouldn't you say?

Soooooo . . .

​
​



​
Picture
​YES . . .  IT HAD TO BE SAID!
Picture
YIPES! IT LOOKS LIKE A JUNGLE OUT THERE!
Picture
HOLEY MOLEY!!!! I'M GONNA BE A "JOHN DEERE" GAL AGAIN!!!!! I HAD BETTER GET OUT THE SWEATSHIRT THAT WAS DAD'S AND PUT IT ON.
Picture

​
​Hey, I have something really important to report. This past Saturday, Samantha Myers and her photographer, Mike, from Channel 9 - KCRG  TV station did an interview with Jenna, where she got to  explain what we are planning on doing with our Woodbridge Haven project. She did a great job, and it was sweet that they photographed Alec sitting next to her. (I DIDN'T want to be on camera). We have gotten a lot of response from that shoot. Things are beginning to get exciting.

​Also, this is Autism Awareness Month. A young man on Facebook asked for people to take pictures of their bare feet and post them on his site, to emphasize the sensitivity of some autistic people's skin. Alec's sensory problem is wearing a shirt, and most of the time, wearing shoes. These are some of the major issues that a lot of people don't realize  these folks have. When Alec was a baby, we could not get him to put his feet on grass or sand. He outgrew some of that as he got older.

 Anyhoo, Cate, Abby, Alec, Jenna, and me  stood in a circle in the yard and took a photo of our bare tootsies for his Facebook page. He is delighted by the attention he has gotten for his "Autism Sensitivity Challenge".

​                                                                  GOD BLESS YOU ALL
0 Comments

MY WEEK IN PICTURES

4/2/2017

0 Comments

 

​DO NOT LET WHAT YOU CANNOT DO INTERFERE WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO.
​                                                                                        John Wooden

​This is what I did this week.
​
​First, I went to the dentist to have my teeth cleaned.
Picture
​Next, I got instructions from the hygienist.​
Picture
Last, I followed the instructions, like a good girl.
Picture
I found this battery-operated toothbrush that I had bought for granddaughter Abby, and she never had to use it.  Hmmmm . . .  I kinda like ​it!
The "teeth" deal was Friday. Then, on Saturday, Jenna, Alec, and I went to the Cedar Rapids Library, where there was an Autism Expo being held. We got to meet and talk to tons of people with info about autism, and got to spread the word a bit about our Woodbridge Haven project. Here's a few items that I picked up at the Expo.  NOTE:  Remember, today is Autism Awareness Day.
Picture
Then, on Sunday, Hubby was busy moving old steel beams off the building site that we are planning on using for Woodbridge Haven. Jenna took some great pictures that are on my Facebook page. Since I don't know how to move them from there to ​here, ​I'll just show you a few plain shots I took the other day on my camera.
Picture
Picture








​And next is the picture of that old tree that I wanted to put a doorknob on, and place some kind of magical sign over the arched "doorway".  BUT, I found out that this tree is too massive. Literally, the arch is probably eleven feet tall. So, the whole thing is just going to be knocked over and cut up. It's too dangerous to go up high and  cut the top off. There's nothing in the photo to show you the scale of the size of this thing, but it is huge! Oh, well.

Picture
OH! OH! I also wanted to show off my little "Dough Boy". He's old and a tad rusty, but I really love him. This truck squirts through traffic, gives good mileage, and has a wonderful heater. What more could you want? Yup, this little baby is my ticket into the "White Conspiracy" Club. All of you that drive white vehicles know what I'm talking about. Everybody else . . . not so much.  hehe
Picture
                   

                                                                God Bless You All
0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Janene...

    ... was diagnosed with breast cancer on November 11, 2013. This is a place for all of the people who love and care about her to get the information about her treatment and her personal experience of kicking cancer's ass, (sometimes from her daughter's perspective). It's hard to stand by and not be able to do anything to help. Writing gives my mom an outlet and allows both of us to share information during this time. Therefore, we blog :) 

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.