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PUMPKINS AND . . . CONSPIRACY

6/26/2017

LIFE IS NOT ABOUT WARMING YOURSELF BY THE FIRE, LIFE IS ABOUT BUILDING THE FIRE.
AND GENEROSITY IS THE MATCH . . . . IF YOU WANT HAPPINESS FOR AN HOUR, TAKE A NAP, BUT IF YOU WANT HAPPINESS FOR A LIFETIME, HELP SOMEBODY.

Larry Lucchino

Bless her little heart! Little J is already out planting my pumpkin seeds. I think she is also going to make room to put in a few sunflowers for accent, since we ALL love sunflowers, don't we?

Actually, that is what I am heading out to do in a little while. It rained a bit last night, so I am giving the ground a chance to dry out. I really planned on doing it yesterday, on the 25th, because my grandmother always planted stuff by the moon cycle and I saw on the internet that the last best day to plant pumpkins was on the 25th, but I didn't have time. Sooooo . . . we will see if the 26th works as well. Actually, the plot that Hubby disked up for me is right where the electric company's trucks will be driving over to move the light poles for our Woodbridge Haven project. (I think I already mentioned that), so I am going to use just a portion of the original plot and kinda experiment with having a pumpkin patch this year. It will be cool even if we just get enough to decorate the yard for fall. It may be too late in the season for starting this project, but we'll see.

Speaking of my grandmother, (who I have told you was the egg-and-chicken lady of our local rich people), she also raised tons of pumpkins to sell to the big produce stand in town (Dale's Fruit Market). She just planted seeds all around the edge of Grandpa's corn fields and let 'em grow. When they were ready, she would have her boys pull a wagon around the fields and load them up to sell.

Saturday we had a marathon Woodbridge meeting which lasted 6 hours. We took some of the wonderful people who are helping us plan this, down to the site to see the layout.

The odd part about everyone coming to my house for the meeting was when we all went outside to walk to the building site. OMG! That's when I noticed that the "White Conspiracy" is alive and well.

Okay . . . I count one, two, three white vehicles parked outside. Let's look the other direction.

And . . . by golly, there are three more white vehicles.

My house is surrounded! This is just a little too "odd" for me. Then, my granddaughter drove up in her "old-man-tan" colored car, and one of our other board members came in a silver car. Whew! And it helps that my neighbor guy has a blue truck (see picture). Maybe the entire country is not driving white vehicles. Although, I just learned that sister Karen just got a new car.  And her daughter, Susan, got a new car. And both cars are. . . you got it . . WHITE.

Maybe it's not a conspiracy. Right?   RIGHT????

                                                            GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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YUP . . . I'M READY TO PULL MY FREAKIN' HAIR OUT OF MY FREAKIN' HEAD!!!!!

6/15/2017

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TAKE ACTION. EVERY STORY YOU'VE EVER CONNECTED WITH, EVERY LEADER YOU'VE EVER ADMIRED, EVERY PUNY LITTLE THING THAT YOU'VE EVER ACCOMPLISHED, IS THE RESULT OF TAKING ACTION. YOU HAVE A CHOICE. YOU CAN EITHER BE A PASSIVE VICTIM OF CIRCUMSTANCE OR YOU CAN BE THE ACTIVE HERO OF YOUR OWN LIFE.

Bradley Withford

Alrighty . . . it sounds like Janene is in a perfect snit today, right? RIGHT!

WARNING: SOME POLITICAL DISCUSSION FOLLOWS. IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET MAD ABOUT IT, DON'T BOTHER READING ANY FURTHER. Thank you

I cannot believe all the drama, controversy, and problems occurring each and every single day. I am almost afraid to talk about anything political because, unfortunately, that has become a sore subject with a lot of people. But I AM going to express some of my own thoughts.

In the last 24 hours, some political figures and others have been shot down by a crazy person who despises how our government is being run. Mr. Trump is officially under investigation for attempting to obstruct justice. Some of our congressmen and women are hiding out in some backroom preparing a "dead in the water" health plan which will help no one but billionaires, who will receive huge tax cuts and leave the majority of our country without a definitive plan for affordable healthcare. A wonderful young man is returned to his family from North Korea, in a coma. Evidently, he was tortured or mistreated in such a horrendous fashion that he has been in this state for approximately 15 months! What kind of animal would do such a thing to another human being? I just don't get it.

Then there is the terrible fire in that 24-story apartment building in London. When I read that people were dropping their babies out windows in the hope that someone would catch them, and that they would survive, is heartbreaking. The world has become a madhouse. Everywhere we look, there is sadness and danger and fear. When did the world get so incredibly sucky?

I know I have no answers. But I know this. I want normal back. I want our government to get busy and actually start running again. I want our political leaders to quit fighting each other and actually accomplish something other than creating chaos. Nothing is getting done. And now, congress is getting ready for their summer shut-down. Wha . . .? I can't imagine what a lot of these people will do when they return home to meet with their constituents. Will they refuse to answer their phones, or avoid home-town meetings to talk with their voters. Will they hide in the bushes, or stand on roof tops, looking down at angry mobs who disagree with so much that is going on in our government? THEY WORK FOR US! Where is it written that they will decide to do things that the majority of the country disagrees with? Come on! This is not a dictatorship. We pay these guys handsomely, and they are doing so much to bring our country down. What are they afraid of? Or WHO are they afraid of? We have slipped way down on the "most-powerful,-respected-country" food chain list. It is going to take years to earn back the respect that America had a few months ago.

THUMP! Again, that is me jumping down from my soapbox. Enough said for now.

But I still feel like pulling my hair out!

Uh . . . not exactly the look Little J was going for. hmmmmm

One happy note: I found 48 cents in the dryer when doing the laundry.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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A TALE OF THE TWINS

6/3/2017

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PERHAPS THEY ARE NOT STARS IN THE SKY BUT RATHER OPENINGS WHERE OUR LOVED ONES SHINE DOWN TO LET US KNOW THEY ARE HAPPY.

Charlie Brown in 'PEANUTS"

Things have been going rather well lately. Everything's quiet. No drama. I don't have to post about chemo treatments or baldness anymore. That was quite a long time ago. Thank goodness. Yes, it's good that things are now simple and uncomplicated. BUT, that means that I have very little to write about. So, I will tell you a story about the twins.

I heard a certain song today and it reminded me of something.

To begin with, I was cleaning house this morning. Hubby had left to go fishing, so I had oldie moldy goldie music playing as I worked. One oldie from 1958 began to play. And I smiled. It was "Lollipop" by the Chordelles.

Approximately 29 years ago I was driving my kids somewhere. Along for the ride was one of Jenna's friends, Kendra, and two of Dan's friends, Aaron and Ryan. These are the twins I mentioned. And, boy, were they twins! Identical twins. (One time when they were at our house, I noticed that one of the boys was wearing glasses. When I commented that maybe NOW I would be able to tell them apart, they laughed and said they both wore glasses. . . but one of the twins was getting his repaired and didn't have them with him at that time. LOL).

Anyway, I happened to have a cassette (!) of oldies in the car and I popped it in. "Lollipop" began to play, and all the kids began to sing along to it . . . at the top of their lungs. It sounded wonderful. I played it a few times over, so they could belt it out again. It was a cool moment. Every time I hear that song, I think of those wonderful kids , riding along and singing.

When the three boys were fourteen, Dan asked them to come for a sleep-over. Aaron and Ryan had already been invited to another friend's house, which was fine. They would come another time. The other friend's house was just a few miles from our house.

Later that evening, Hubby's beeper went off. He was a volunteer fireman for our area and was being notified that help was needed. When the message came over the beeper, it was announced that there was a man down in a field after some kind of four-wheeler accident. Since Hubby wasn't trained as an EMT, he usually just went to the fire calls, not the medicals. It was a good thing. Dan was interested in the fire department, and when Hubby got calls and Dan was home, he would ride along with his dad to see what was going on. Thank God they didn't go.

The twins and their friend had been riding four-wheelers in a field after dark. They began to play chicken, and turned off their headlights to sneak around the field. Unfortunately, both twins popped over a small hill and crashed head-on with each other. One brother was knocked unconscious. One brother suffered a broken neck. The medical call was for two wonderful, loving kids. One lived. One died.

A few years later, I was riding to a volley ball game with their mom, Karen. Her daughter Kristie and Jenna both played and it was an away game, so we rode together. Karen shared some of the events of that horrible night with me.

Karen was performing in a play at our local city theater. She was backstage, waiting to go on. Then, suddenly, she had a tremendous pain in her chest. It felt like a heart attack . . . or perhaps her heart breaking. She went on to finish the show, and then left for her farm several miles away. When she walked into the house, the phone was ringing and ringing. Remember, this was before car phones or cell phones, so her husband were trying to reach her at home. She answered and got the news to get back to the city. The boys had been in an accident.

Karen said that when she arrived at the hospital, she immediately went to Ryan's side. She had been told that Aaron was going to be okay, so she knew that it was Ryan who needed her. He was already gone when she took his hand. Now her heart was really breaking. She figured out the timing of the accident, and realized that the pain in her chest coincided with the time of the accident. It's amazing how a mom and her kids can be connected, right?

I know a lot of you reading this never knew Ryan. It is a very sad thing that happened, but I realize that his death does not affect your lives. I just think about what a great kid he was and how wonderful it would have been if he could have grown up with sisters Kim and Kristie, and his brother Aaron. Maybe he could have gone on to marry a lovely young woman and have kids like his brother.

Anyway, I'm happy that I heard good old "Lollipop" today. As it said . . . it made me smile.

On a lighter note, I have a few pictures of Cate's graduation last week. What a gal! So proud of her!

Dan and his little girl laughing like crazy. (No, she's NOT crying)

Little sister and big sister.

Austin (a really good guy) and his sweetie.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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PUMPKINS AND . . . CONSPIRACY

YUP . . . I'M READY TO PULL MY FREAKIN' HAIR OUT OF MY FREAKIN' HEAD!!!!!

A TALE OF THE TWINS

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