Serendipity

Similar to what Shawn's Lasagna looked like! I know that I may have mentioned this before, but Shawn (Campbell) is my oldest child, and having him in prison for a crime I know he did not commit has tore me to pieces. Being able to spend time with him is truly wonderful, I miss him so much. On Monday, once we got all of the groceries put away, it was lunch time and Shawn fixed us these huge, fully loaded sandwiches. On each was sliced ham, salami, pepperoni, sliced onion, lettuce, mayo and Italian dressing...with a side of chips. For our drinks: Mountain Dew and Pepsi. (I don't do Dew!) That afternoon, he made a cherry cheesecake, that would be our desert for the next two nights.  Since the FRP program doesn't provide everything  we might need to make food with, Shawn made this in a frying pan! It worked!  LOL For supper, we did Taco salad...with all the trimmings. Hamburger, onions, lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sliced green and red bell pe

One of the guard towers that watched over us Last Monday was my sign-in day to have the FRP (Family Reunion Program) visit with my son, but to our surprise, when we got up that morning and watched it turn daylight, this is what we saw: Wet snow icing the trees... Limited visibility  Torture on the green leaves! Heavy snow weighing pine branches down And more snow fell... We received about 3 to 4 inches total by the time the storm passed. However, in watching the traffic pass on the highway (which we can see from my house), traffic was moving right along, which meant that the roads had been kept clear. Good! We loaded the car and off we went on the trip to the prison. Although the roads weren't bad overall...we did encounter a spot or two on the highway that was a bit ify: snow still coming down hard enough that visibility wasn't all that good Here...it was trying to really come down and blow at the same time We made it to the prison

3 units between mobile home and what looks like a house. I thought I would get in a quick blog today before I am off for a visit with my son, Shawn, who is incarcerated at a prison in upstate New York. I will be leaving tomorrow morning for what will be essentially 46 hours (behind prison fences, not including the 2 hour one way travel time) in what is known as the "Family Reunion Program" or FRP visit. Most people have heard of 'conjugal visits', or 'trailer visits' and often don't even want to know any more about it...because the first thing that comes to mind is what would go on between a man and woman (but they HAVE to be married) during those visits. However, these FRP visits are not solely for husbands and wives, but also for their children and even an inmate's parents (and possibly direct siblings) to come to visit them during their incarceration. I have done these visits a few times in the past...and it's not as bad as it might s

physical therapy table Where ever did we get the notion that physical therapy wouldn't be so bad, that the 'good' pain would out-weigh the bad? So okay--that was MY notion...but I have to tell you that the good pain does NOT out-weigh the bad! In fact...it has made it worse! Several months ago, I began experiencing a lot of pain in my shoulder joints as well as in the center of my back between my shoulder blades, and relentless pain in my collarbone area. With this pain, there became increasing soreness and stiffness to the point where it was effecting my range of motion in my arms.  When I went to my doctor and told her about it, she did some simple strength tests to see if I was losing strength in my arms...and I had. Her asking me to resist or push against her hands... acerbated the pain. She asked me then, in November (2011), if I wanted to be referred to a specialist, and at that time, I said 'not yet'. I wasn't ready and I really hoped that it wo

My new friends...3/31/12 It's surprising that growing up on a farm and having lived a good share of my life rurally, that I never had the chance to watch any geese, except those honking-through over head. This year, in the last month, that changed with a pair of geese that decided they liked the field behind my house to feed. Like clockwork, they showed up twice daily, once about 8 a.m. and then again about 5 p.m. They always landed in the middle of the field...so I really had to push my camera to the limit to get photos of them. 3/31/12 3/31/12 3/31/12 3/31/12 It was really hard to catch them both in the same photo...they like to wander apart yet not too far from each other. 3/31/12 3/31/12 3/31/12 I have no idea which is which as far as the gender, but I have pretty much figured out the the one that 'talks' the most is likely the male. (LOL) 4/6/12 4/6/12 Here...one adventured closer to the yard...4/6/12 As you

Little nubs of growth...3/18/12 As I mentioned in my previous blog: Taking the time , I have spending a lot of time getting back to things that I love...watching the world  change  outside my door as Spring settles in. I have not been more thoroughly fascinated in anything for some time as really "seeing" the moods of the skies, the various birds that flit about, and even photographically documenting the growth of a patch of rhubarb that is growing just off the back porch. It may sound like a rather nutty thing to do, but I can only say that all of this...right down to watching the rhubarb change day-to-day/week-to-week has given me a wonderful sense of peace and even gratitude for being able TO see everything around me! What follows are photos of the changes as the rhubarb develops and the leaves unfold. I have never noticed the beauty of these leaves before...and I hope that they will amaze you as well!  Enjoy! In just two days time, the nubs in the top photo