Serendipity

November 29, 2011...taken at 8 a.m. (59°F.) November is usually a month where we, in the Northeastern part of the U.S., see a cooling down of temperatures and would have seen some snowfall by now...even if it didn't stay. However, this year, it's been a lot warmer than usual  and we haven't seen more than a dusting of snow...twice. (I will not complain!) From our 1st snow...barely more than a dusting Our first snow came down fast and hard...then tapered off, leaving a slight coating on the grass as pictured above. By dark, it had all melted. The beginning of our next snow storm 11/17 The next storm dumped a little more snow on us...probably about half an inch that lasted until the next day. Though it's not unusual for it to melt back off...we have in the past seen more than this for snow totals. A white out...you can barely see the traffic on the highway I looked like we were really going to get some snow...it came down hard, literally blow...

screen shot of unsuspecting Santa & elf Improv Everywhere has struck again...this time at a mall in New Jersey. A man walks towards Santa and his elf, and starts singing about wanting to sit on Santa's lap.  Watch the unsuspecting shoppers faces as the troop begins their show! Enjoy!

Elm tree I read an interesting blog today that asked the question: "If you were a tree, what kind would you be?"  Oak tree When faced with an issue that  you may not agree with, do you stand tall and proud, and not willing to give an inch, like the Oak tree...or are you willing to bend, give a little and perhaps work on a compromise, like the Elm tree?   To answer that question for me, I am both of them.  When I know that maybe I should give a little, I do or try to, without comprising myself too much...like the Elm. I believe that we can compromise on some things...it just depends on who we are and what the issue is at hand. If I know that I am right, then I am definitely like the Oak tree and won't budge because it's extremely likely that it's something that is important to me NOT to compromise on. And there are at least a hand-full of things that I will not compromise on what-so-ever. But in this world, I think we all have to b...

Thanksgiving has always been about being together as a family and as we approach Thanksgiving day tomorrow, I can't help thinking about how things have changed over the years of my life. While memories can give us solace at times, it also gives me a sense of sadness too. As a child growing up, the holiday season...Thanksgiving and Christmas meant family get-togethers with a huge variety of foods...enough to last for days afterwards. Turkey, ham, stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, cranberry sauce, breads of all kinds and of course the pies.  Lots of pies. Pumpkin, blueberry, mincemeat, apple, cherry, pudding pies...yummy! In those days, the house was full of laughter and good conversations between my parents, aunts and uncles, and my cousins and I. Good times. As I went into adulthood with my own children in tow, I tried to keep that family tradition alive during the holidays, with the large varieties of foods and the large selection of pies for our desert later; tried to...

When I was a child, there weren't many tales of my father's youth that were passed down to me but the single one that I do remember was about "Moonbeamers". Although the story isn't long...it is amusing...! Dad had 5 siblings. A brother and 4 sisters. They grew up on the same farm that I did and I am sure enjoyed all the normal childhood antics that any family goes through. One time while at my grandparent's, in a dusty and crowded back room, where all kinds of miscellaneous stuff was stored, I came across an old, moth eaten bear skin.  Yes--a real 'bear' skin!  Being a curious child, of course, I asked Dad about it. I never learned how the bear skin was acquired, but I did learn what it was used for...every chance Dad and his brother could catch their sisters unaware. It's funny...yet cruel... When it was dark as dark can be, either Dad or my uncle would don the bear skin and sneak up on their sisters...pretending to be some deep woods...

I had a swing like this when I was a small child Today I saw a photo of a swing on Facebook and it reminded me of the one I had when I was a little girl of about 5 or 6.  With it came a flood of timeless days swinging and swinging and swinging my days away.  And it also reminded me of a incident which would forever more change how I viewed and swung on that swing. My dad made the swing for me, from a limb of a huge old tree...the tree which was for the most part the center of a row of trees that lined a steep bank that was several feet above a ditch. I can remember swinging out over that ditch...and out over the edge of the road...just a little...feeling like I was flying. Being the only child at the time, it was up to me to amuse myself. The tree swing was my most favorite thing...I can remember getting up early in the morning, still in my pajamas and going out to swing until my mom called me back inside. From my perch there on the swing, I had a wonderful view...

While reading a news site a few nights ago, I came across an article that falls right into line with my "Spare the rod, spoil the child" blogs (my first blog and Case 1 ) and ...and I couldn't help but to be more disturbed about what is happening: children dying from being beaten...in the name of religion. 20/20 published a report : "Child's Death Sheds Light on Biblical Disciplinary Teachings" this past week (11/8) that lightly detailed a handful of child deaths that resulted from punishment from followers of a ministry belonging to Michael Pearl: No Greater Joy (NGJ) Ministries . He preaches his believers TO not only spank the child but how to do it!  And all, of course, in the name of God. Anderson Cooper did a segment on Pearl: Because of his teaching...these children have died (recently and in the last few years) as a result: ** Hana--age 11...from the state of Washington. She and her brother were Ethiopian children adopted ...

Wooden spoon for spanking? Last week a YouTube video went viral on the internet, showing a Texas judge using a belt on his disabled teen daughter, which then caught media attention. If you haven't seen the video, this is it:  (Warning...very disturbing footage.) When I first watched this video, I could only stomach the first 30 or 40 seconds of it and then had to stop it. This is beyond appalling, and this by a judge who decides the fate of others in his courtroom?  Unbelievable! This is a beating in its truest form...the judge didn't care where he hit his teenage daughter, man-handled her like she wasn't even his child, and wasn't satisfied with one or two or even three strikes...he just kept going on and on.  The child's mom then joins in and gets her whack in...for what purpose, it's unclear, but you can hear the mother say to the teen something to the effect of 'turn over and take it like a woman'!  (I wonder if mom could have t...

Sunrise, Nov. 3, 2011 Over the years, I have been aware that as time went on, I was loosing more and more of my 'self'...and for a long time I really thought it had everything to do with my depression (PTSD) and breakdown (in 2001). But then again...although they were a part of it, there were also other factors that had a direct bearing on what was happening to my loss of self.  I have been spent most of my life caring for others, beyond the capacity of just being a mother and wife. For a couple of years, after the death of my mom when I was 16, I became responsible for running our household, doing all the things my mom did, which included taking care of my brother and sister, and being a student myself.  Into adulthood, I became a mom at the age of 18, and a wife just before my 19th birthday. When I had my second and third child, I was in my second marriage...and was a full time step-mom to three children as well.  Marriage three...wasn't so draining, as ther...