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MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE!

12/25/2014

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU LOOK AT THAT MATTERS,   IT'S WHAT YOU SEE.

                                                                                                Henry David Thoreau

Hope all of you have or are experiencing a wonderful holiday. We had the kids and their families over last evening and had a very good time. We got a chance to look at some old pictures that we had discovered at Little Ma's house, and there were some that I had never even seen.

I had Abby do most of the making of the peanut clusters, and Cate made a batch of homemade chicken and noodles all by her self. It's nice when your grandkids get old enough so you can have them assisting in the cooking.

I was looking at the December 25, 2013 post, and realized how much has happened this year. Wowsa! I think I was pretty much in despair a year ago, and now I am just perfectly fine, thank you. I'm not sure what the outlook is for 2015. There is definitely no way to even guess what all might happen, but we will all just roll with it and see what happens. I am still dragging my heels, getting things done. I did not get my Christmas cards sent yet, but will try to get some messages out. The neighbors across the lane brought us a big tray of cookies and a jar of homemade jam. I will try to reciprocate by sending some goodies back to them.

My friend, Sandy R., from Georgia, is coming tomorrow to visit. Hope she doesn't mind the house being alittle untidy, by there has been a nice houseful for the last few days.

Abby and I worked on that little "project" that I mentioned a while back. I am trying to figure out how to get the darn pictures on this post. Why do I have such a hard time doing that??? Anyway, when we started the "project" she got laughing so hard, she was afraid she might . . . well . . . wet herself. It really was fun doing it. I'll keep working on it and perhaps figure out how to post the pics. Since Weebly Website 'IMPROVED" their website, there has been nothing but trouble.   GRRRRR.

I had mentioned to Lon that I needed a pair of silver-colored earrings to wear, since I always wear my breast cancer ribbon necklace, and it has a silver chain. I have a nice pair of diamond earrings that he gave me years ago, but they have gold posts. I thought a nice pair of silver costume jewelry earrings would be nice to wear occasionally. Well, he got me another pair of diamond earrings but with silver posts. I am a lucky lady!!Amongst other things, both kids got me new Willow Tree pieces. My collection is growing again. WhooWhoo!

Heard from sister Karen, sister Sandy, and bro Ken on Christmas Eve, wishing a great holiday. Sounds like theirs was going very good, too.

Well, have a good evening. I'll get back to ya.

                                                      GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

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THE TALE OF A SERIAL CHEMO FARTER

12/17/2014

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GIVE YOURSELF SOMETHING TO WORK TOWARD - - - CONSTANTLY.
                                                                                   Mary Kay Ash

Jenna originally set up this blog for us to discuss the breast cancer situation, but since I am healthy and just fine and dandy now, I have found myself rambling about any number of different subjects. Therefore, I am bringing today's post back into the cancer subject realm. However, I want to lighten the mood by printing my little ditty that I sent to Writer's Digest magazine for their writing challenge (which did me no good to submit, but who cares?) Anyhoo, the challenge was to write a short story or article using the line "I KNEW IT WAS A MISTAKE THE MOMENT IT WAS OVER".  This is what weird thing I came up with. Remember, it is 99 per cent fiction. Yeah . . . yeah . . . that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

                                               PLEASE, PLEASE PARDON ME!



I knew it was a mistake the moment it was over. Let’s just say I had a gut feeling (in more ways than one) that trouble was abrewing. As I regretfully patted my too-full stomach, I shuddered at the thought of what the following hours would bring.

Every third Wednesday morning, I enter an oncology clinic for my chemo infusion. This morning I dutifully showed up for my scheduled appointment, and sat patiently for four hours while my special concoction drip-drip-dripped through an IV line plugged into my Power Port. This part of breast cancer is not difficult. It’s the darn symptoms that occur after treatment that make life miserable. Simply put, chemo makes me gassy.

Oh, I could call it something else – you know, a rose by any other name and all that. There are other words we can use; breaking wind, passing gas, puttering, bombing. Or we can just cut to the chase and call a spade a spade, or in this case, a fart. Yes, I said fart. That’s what I do now. I am a serial farter.

Seriously, this is a huge inconvenience. Anything I eat turns to wicked manure-smelling putters. I’m not talking about a little squeaky tooting or a small explosion that a carefully timed cough or clearing of the throat disguises. I mean the down-home, countrified, ripping sound that roars behind you with every step you take and every move you make. And the odor is to die for, or rather to die from. Whew!

DON'T MOCK ME! We’ve all been there at one time or another.                                                                                                                                              Symptoms from the first few sessions were not too bothersome, simply because I didn’t eat very much. Fact is, all foods began to taste crappy. Bread was a floury-pasty experience on the tastebuds, and chocolate (my wonderful, darling chocolate) tasted like bitter unsweetened cocoa powder. Cookies had a very earthy flavor, which in cancer lingo, meant that their flavor resembled dirt.

I had to resort to yucky foods that I had avoided over the years like vegetables, salads, clear broths, and fruits. However, the nice part of the change in diet became apparent when I dropped two butt sizes. The sad part is that a smaller butt does not excuse you for polluting the air around you.

Sigh. I’ll share a little example of what I am destined to experience for the next several months.

After my last chemo, I stopped at a convenience store for a few purchases. A young couple was ahead of me in line. The man was holding a baby, gently rocking it back and forth. Behind me stood a woman with a toddler by her side. Suddenly, pressure began to build up inside me, and I knew trouble was indeed abrewing. At that point I felt trapped as I looked casually over my shoulder and realized that the line of customers had grown. God help me, I didn’t have a path of escape. As the pressure continued to build, I prayed that my – well – fart, would slip out seamlessly and silently and not arrive with a sharp bark or growl. I was concerned about the toddler, who was standing at Ground Zero. If hit by a foul air-bomb, he was likely to express his displeasure by yelping something like “Heeeeyy – what stinks?”

The countdown continued. Five, four, three, two, one . . . detonation completed. I did luck out when the fart escaped with just a whisper of a sound.

Now, I went into my “Academy Award winning” acting mode, looking off into the distance as though my mind was miles away and I didn’t have a care in the world. My first indication that (let’s all say it together) “trouble was abrewing” was when the poor tot who was standing at butt level, began coughing and crying while burying his nose in his mother’s pant-leg. My second indication occurred when the young man in front of me lifted his child up and smelled the kid’s behind, thinking that Baby had dropped a klunker in his Pamper. He raised an eyebrow and carried the little darling out to the car.

   Chemo treatments will eventually be done, but for right now this is the beginning of another “smells bad” day. Darn that big meal. I knew it was a mistake the moment it was over!

                                                            GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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WE WILL SURVIVE

12/15/2014

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HEARTACHES BY THE NUMBER - - - TROUBLES BY THE SCORE.

                                                                       Ray Price (song lyrics)

Well, my friends, we made it.   The viewing went so well, and the funeral was exceptionally beautiful. The granddaughters did a perfect job of the picture boards, and everyone collected momentos to display on tables. The flowers were so lovely, and the number of people who attended was amazing. Tina came up with the idea of the "Noodle Table". Hazel was known for her great chicken and noodles and had taught several women in the family how to make them. We set up a small table, put Hazel's kitchen table cloth on it and proceeded to lay out all of her noodle making instruments - - - bowl, mixing spoon, flour canister and an open bag of flour, pastry cutter, flour scoop, rolling pin, etc. Niece Holly ran to town and pick up dried noodles and we put them in the bowl and some on the table, with flour sprinkled over them. It looked like Hazel had just walked away from preparing them. Very touching. Tina even had the original recipe card that Grandma had written out for her, and she had it displayed in a small shadowbox. Good job, girls.

Jenna asked Alec (who was staying at his Dad's for the night) if he would like to come to the viewing and he said yes. She had explained what was going on and he seemed interested in going so his Dad brought him for a short period of time.   Jenna took his hand and walked down the aisle to the front of the church and stood in front of the open casket. He stayed there for several minutes looking solemnly at his Grandma Hazel, and then said he wanted to leave. Jenna told him to say "Good bye" and he said "Bye. Bye. Good bye, Grandma Hazel", gave her a wave, took his mother's hand again, turned and walked quietly out of the church. We're never quite sure how Alec is going to react in different circumstances, and he continually amazes us. He may not be able to tell us all what he is feeling, but something very serious was going through his mind.

Niece Sara had written a beautiful poem expressing her feelings for Hazel, and read that. There was more than a few tears shed during that, let me tell you.

Thank you, everyone, for your expressions of sympathy and concern for the family, but we will survive. We all know that we are allotted only so many days each, on this earth, and it was Hazel's time to go. That doesn't mean that we won't miss her terribly, but she had a long, good life and the people she left behind still love her dearly and she will not be forgotten.

I am still trying to get the gumption to put up my Christmas tree and put out some decorations. Jenna even offered to help me get everything out, but there just hasn't been any time lately. I guess I have a lot of time now, right?

                                                                     GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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December 15th, 2014

12/15/2014

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89 YEARS AND 363 DAYS

12/9/2014

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Our Little Ma passed away around 9:15 PM on Tuesday evening from liver cancer. She was surrounded by many loved ones when she slipped away gracefully and with dignity.

This year has been filled with sublime highs and the lowest of lows. This is one of the most sublime highs for her, because she made it home. She always walked the walk and talked the talk and is shining in heaven right now.  But for us left behind, it is one of the lowest of lows. We will miss her so much.

                    GOD BLESS YOU ALL - - - AND ESPECIALLY HAZEL MARIE SINKEY OLIPHANT

                                                                   1924 - 2014

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GOTTA GET "CHRISTMASY"

12/5/2014

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I'M A'GONNA WRAP MYSELF IN PAPER, I'M GONNA DAUB MYSELF WITH GLUE.
STICK SOME STAMPS ON TOP OF MY HEAD - - - I'M GONNA MAIL MYSELF TO YOU.

Woody Guthrie

Those lyrics shown above are from the Shutterfly photo company Christmas commercial Love it!

By the way, I have officially received my first Christmas card. As usual, it is from my super-dooper, wonderful, "brat daughter" friend, Trisha E. She is always the first one out of the gate in getting her cards out. She also enclosed a neat picture of herself with her husband and daughter sitting on the dunes of a beautiful beach. (speaking of the beach, some years back, when I was vacationing in Florida in February, I called Trisha from the beach. She was at work and Iowa was having icy, freezing weather at the time. I held up the phone and I made her listen to the ocean waves crashing on the white sandy shoreline while I told her about the nice 80 degree weather. Uh . . . maybe I am her "BRAT MOM"!!??) A few years ago I realized that I really didn't enjoy sending out cards anymore. So I quit. I am thinking about maybe starting up again this year, just to give a shout-out to the great people who have stood by our family through more than one thing, this year. We'll see.

Jenna commented to me that lately, I have been "last one on the shelf" lucky lately. Let me explain. I was looking for a certain music CD for a special someone for Christmas. I looked at Wal-Mart, Target, Barnes and Noble and a few more places. Couldn't find it, or else they were out. Rats! Anyhoo, when I was at Barnes and Noble, I was looking for two books for another special someone. The clerk led me over to the right area, and behold, there was exactly one copy each of those books left on the shelf. Lucky!! Just the other day, I went back into Wal-Mart and thought I would just glance in the music department again. There is was - - - one single copy of the CD that I wanted. It was not in the correct area of where it should have been. Instead it was on the top- level shelf, all alone, just waiting for me to pick it up. Lucky!! Tuesday night when I was taking Alec to speech therapy, Lon called and asked that I please stop and get some canned turkey gravy - and hurry! Little Ma has not been eating much of anything, because nothing sounds tasty. She had asked for toast with turkey gravy!! I raced over to Fareway, ran into the store, asked a clerk quickly where the gravy was. She took me to the exact spot and guess what? They had beef gravy, pork gravy, chicken gravy, old fashioned brown gravy, but no turkey gravy. Remember, just 5 days earlier had been Thanksgiving, so they had not restocked it yet after the holiday. Well, by golly, I was going to find me some turkey gravy or else! I got down on my hands and knees, and stuck my head into the empty space of the bottom shelf where the jars were at. Literally, my upper torso was completely shoved back into the space. I reached and felt around. And I found one single jar of turkey gravy. Lucky!!

She really enjoyed it.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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December 03rd, 2014

12/3/2014

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DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!

12/3/2014

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EVERY DAY BRINGS NEW CHOICES.
Martha Beck

Don't even think about picking on one of my kids!

Yesterday Alec and I went to the Goodwill, as we do once a week. He is looking for the movie Open Season on DVD, for his collection, and we haven't found it yet. Anyway, I was about fifteen feet away from him, looking at something when I heard his familiar noise that he makes when he is distressed. I looked over at him and called out to him, asking him if he was okay. He had his back to me and had put his hands over his ears like he does when upset, and wouldn't pay any attention to me calling for him. Just then a young woman ran up to me and said she had been trying to figure out who was with Alec. She knew Jenna, but realized that she was not in the store and then was trying to find who WAS with our guy. When she heard me call out to Alec, she came right over and told me to watch a grown man and his two kids standing by Alec. Alec had toppled over a few DVDs on the shelf, and the man poked him with his cane and said some snotty things to him. The young lady, whose name is Molly, said she went right over to him and told him to leave Alec alone, explained that he has autism, and he wasn't doing anything wrong. The man told her she should be staying right "with her kid", if that was the case. She told him she was one of his teachers from his school, and she didn't appreciate the man picking on someone's kid and poking him with a cane. She and I just stood there watching the man, until he noticed what we were doing. Alec kept on looking at the DVDs, but would edge away from the guy and his kids. He wasn't quite sure what just went on and what exactly he was supposed to do. Shortly after that the man and his kids left. I do think he wasn't aware of the autism situation, but being a snot to any kid is unacceptable. I also think that maybe Alec taught him a lesson and made him aware that not every kid is "mainstream". Anyway, the guy DID look a little ashamed.

Everyone at Alec's school is so supportive and protective. Jenna told me that one time she was walking down the hallway with him when he had just started at this school and two kids about 12 or 13, who were right behind them, began to snicker and make under-their-breath remarks. She turned and asked them "What's so FUNNY? Is there something that is FUNNY?" The kids backed down right away, but I am sure that they were stunned to have a beautiful, six-foot tall tigress mama take them to task about their behavior. So far, we haven't heard of any problems at school since.

It's just part of life, I guess

GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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I'M TOO CRITICAL

12/2/2014

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IF YOU'RE NOT MAKING MISTAKES, THEN YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING. I'M POSITIVE THAT A DOER MAKES MISTAKES.
                                                                 John Wooden

I am discovering something rotten about myself. I am definitely too critical. You have seen my snarky remarks about TV commercials. Well, my latest observations is for Build-A-Bear. When a little girl and boy are standing with their parents, and they are each holding a Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer plush toy that they have dressed up, I could just reach through the television screen and snap that little boy in two like a dry twig, when he says, "THANKS, Mom" in that nasally, goody-two-shoes voice. What in the world is wrong with me?  Here is a cute little kid who is trying to get into show business by doing a first class advertisement for a reputable company, and I despise him. Wait, it's not his fault - it's not my fault - it's the guy or gal who wrote the commercial. Way to go, Janene, dump it off on some schmuck trying to make a living by frantically coming up with a new concept to sell expensive stuffed toys and their clothing that costs more than an outfit for a real child.  Wait, it's the advertising company that is forcing their workers to make up ridiculous, irritating ads . . . uh . . . I'd better stop trying to blame someone else. I think I'm getting a headache.

Another thing that I just realized was that I am not very observant. Sunday night, Nina and I went out for a little bit to get away from everything that has been going on. When she dropped me off, my house was completely dark. I crept around quietly getting ready for bed. Just as I laid down, I heard a little tapping at my front door. Like a dummy, instead of waking Lon, I went to the door in my pj's, thinking maybe I had left something in Nina's truck and she was returning it. When I opened the door, IT WAS MY HUSBAND!!! He had stayed late at his mother's until Nina arrived to stay with her.   I had thought he was asleep in the bed and it scared the heck out of me when I saw him at the door.

No much else happening. Little Ma told the doctor that visited her at home, that on a pain scale of 1 to 10, she was at 7.

BUT SHE NEVER COMPLAINS! I think 7 is a pretty respectable high level of discomfort and pain to tolerate. She will tell us when her back hurts or something is bothering her, but no whining or crying like anyone else would do. When Lon was carrying her to bed last night, Nina said when she sees him do that, it always reminds her of that kids' storybook I LOVE YOU FOREVER (or something like that). It's about a young mother who carries her son around when he is young, and when she is old and sick, it's he who carries her. It's kinda a hokey story, but everyone who reads it, cries. It's very touching.

                                                             GOD BLESS YOU ALL

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