Candy Cane Christmas

I don't know why, but I can tell it is going to be a Candy Cane Christmas! They are so simple and yet festive - almost whimsical. They make wonderful decorations for the tree and packages, and I find myself munching on them with great regularity.  They taste so good!

While the peppermint flavor of candy canes is not a popular one with small kids, I've always had a fondness for them. My sister Rosa's birthday is December 26th, and somewhere along the way Mom would make Rosa a white cake with fluffy, white frosting and chopped up pieces of candy cane on it. It set her special day apart from Christmas and the fruit cakes, applesauce cake and other traditional holiday treats.

Dolly Parton wrote a song called "Hard Candy Christmas" a number of years ago. Some people might not have known what she was referring to, but I sure did.  Most years my Mom would have enough sugar to prepare luscious confections - seafoam candy, chocolate and peanut butter fudge, and peanut butter pinwheels that we called Martha Washington for some reason. When money was scarce, though, so were confections. The free Christmas stockings we received in our town had Brach's hard candies in them - crimp ribbons, raspberry drops, orange or peppermint disks - some filled and some not. A six-year-old's sweet tooth must be satisfied, and the hard candies in our stockings, along with an orange, apple, Cracker Jack and some toys, went a long way in doing so.

So while you're out and about this holiday season, pop that candy cane you got when donating or standing in line for Santa, in your mouth and let your tongue experience just a little bit of Christmas Cheer. Then smile as the memories flood back in from more simple (and perhaps festive) Christmases past.

Do-Overs

Have you ever felt like you had the opportunity for a do-over, a chance to change your direction and start over?  Thinking back, there have been several of those in my life.

Yesterday my friend John Adams was singing John Denver's song, "I'm Sorry". Every time I hear that song, I'm jettisoned back 37 years to a phone booth in the hallway of my barracks in Shu Lin Kou, Taiwan. Talking to my fiance` in Indiana, I pointed out to him that it was as if the song had been written for us, that the words in the song where what he should be saying to me, even down to the line, "...I'm sorry for the way things are in China..." He didn't get the symbolism or the fact that he needed to apologize for anything, and right then and there - that microcosm of a moment - I broke up with him. Had we married, had I continued along that path, my life would have been far different. I got a do-over that day and never regretted it.

This morning as I sipped my Earl Grey, snuggled with the doggies and looked out over the very beginnings of daybreak, it struck me that I have, once again, received a do-over.  For I can't remember when I've ever been happier. Since retiring, my days are filled with love and laughter, and there are so many fun opportunities around every corner. Every day on the calendar holds the promise of time with Doug and the boys, visits with friends and family, even time alone (but never lonely). Maybe a do-over is that path along life where you've strayed ever so slightly and the Lord gently (ok, not always so gently) nudges you back in line with His Good Grace. Thank you, Lord, for your nudges in my life.

Thanksgiving 2011

Ah...it has come and gone...my favorite holiday of the year. Another wonderful Thanksgiving with family, enjoying the beautiful fall day, the food, and of course the Macy's Parade. The list of what I'm thankful for is as long as my life.

• Being born into my loving family
• Being in the military and traveling the world for a time
• Finding Doug and being given the gift of our two wonderful sons
• Being guided by God's Grace my whole life

Facebook friends have posted daily what they are thankful for, and that is a very giving gesture for an otherwise "all about me" social network. (Blogging is also "all about me" ) It's good for people to think about how their lives are better because of another person or situation.  And even though you may not always feel you make a difference, someone out there is thankful for you or for something you have done. For we are not alone on this planet, we are interconnected. What a great thought to carry forth into the holiday season. May God bless you today and always.

Virtual Visits

Have you ever had a dream so vivid that when you awoke, you could have sworn you had been with that person, visited that place or done that thing? I had such a visit one early morning last week, when I dreamt that I was about to embark on a train ride with my husband and sisters. We were taking the California Zephyr from Denver to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It is an amazingly beautiful 5-hour train ride through the mountains, especially nice during the winter months - Not only because it has beautiful scenery but because you don't have to fight the traffic or mountain weather taking I-70 west.  I awoke just as the train was pulling out of the station, so unfortunately our virtual visit ended much sooner than I would have liked. But it warmed my heart to spend even a little time with my far-away sisters.

I enjoyed another such visit once with my Grandma Phillips. She was in a nursing facility at the time and wasn't doing well, but in my dream we were in her bedroom at her house and I think I was helping her make the bed. (She always had such beautiful bedspreads!) We laughed and chatted for a short while, in a way we never had as grandma/grandchild. I don't remember if it was weeks or months later that she passed away, but I do remember that last precious "visit". I always like to think that she had that memory too.

Sometimes dreams can fall into the category of nightmares and no matter how hard you try to wake up or to not fall into the dream at all, it can creep up on you. Those are ones I don't speak of, for fear they might return. Suffice it to say, I'll never watch the movie "Rosemary's Baby" again...

Dreams can be quite entertaining. Enjoy them like old Super 8 film and write them down so you can keep that "footage" forever.

Happy Sunday Morning!

We've had some fabulous late-autumn days this week, and yesterday's wind seemed to breathe new life into the city. Leaves still clinging to branches after our recent snow storms were unceremoniously dislodged in swirling billows of color and crunch.  The green grass may be fading, but it has been replaced with a gold auburn carpet of leaves.

November is progressing nicely. In another week, we'll slide into Thanksgiving and from there the roller coaster ride through the holidays.  It's almost time to think about Christmas cards and letters; to consider gift-giving without guilt; and to enjoy the Spirit of the Season in the midst of commercial overload.  Not an easy task!

11/11/11

It's going to be a great day! All those Elevens lined up in a row!

Thoughts and memories go out to all veterans, living and passed, who have done service to their country. Service takes many forms and feelings.  Some are part of the Armed Forces, others have volunteered and worked with health and humanitarian agencies. Whatever you do, make it count! It is written: "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."

A reflection on my five years in the Air Force. Military service helped me grow in so many ways. I went in naive and filled with patriotism, and maybe I didn't appreciate my path each day, but the service certainly taught me a multitude of lessons. I hope, in some small way, it contributed to the strength and diversity of this great nation. Don't ever let today's political atmosphere or the bureaucracy make you feel shame for the USA. It is not brainwashing or diatribe to think that we are the greatest nation on earth. We have freedoms of which others can not even conceive, let alone wish for. If there was ever a time we needed to ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE, this is such a day for that. So many have lost their lives protecting the freedoms we enjoy. Whether we believe in this-or any-war, whether we wanted the bail-outs or not, whether we exercise our right to vote, we have the freedom to express ourselves. Don't take that for granted!

A couple pics from a past life...

At Shu Lin Kou Air Base in Taiwan

Desk Sgt duty with my trusted .38

(Those ammo pouches would have made great cell phone holders...)




The Sky is a Miracle

Have you ever seen anything as awesome as the sky? It is like a constant video running above us, with moon and stars and sunshine and clouds. From bright blue skies to dark olive green clouds boiling up a hailstorm, the sky expresses itself over and over. This morning as the sun started to touch over the horizon, bright crimson streaks of cloud stretched all the way across the sky! Those like me who wake early got quite a show. WOW!

Last night I gazed at the full moon from the hot tub. When it's so bright and so big, I imagine it to be the eye of God gazing down upon us. Russell Crowe wrote a song (yes, the same Russell Crowe) about God's Flashlight. He was referring to the sun coming up in the morning catching someone who maybe had not been on his best behavior during the night. Great text - check it out. (The song is called Mickey).

The picture above is from a summer's afternoon storm passing over. That one snapshot depicts the storm, the rainbow giving the promise of bright skies ahead and even a glimpse of those bright skies. The whole Book of Genesis in one split second! WOW!

Have an awesome day and look up at the sky a few times. You'll not be disappointed!

Google is a Verb!

And a postscript to "Words..." below - The Scrabble dictionary does not recognize "google" as a word. How 20th century is that? It is one of the most active transitive verbs in use today. Everyone googles. I googled twice just to write that last post. We're always googling. The online Mirriam Webster is all over it - even offers a pronunciation. I can give concession to my 1994 Webster for not being up with the times, but the online Scrabble dictionary needs to freshen up it's database. I wonder if it recognizes "blog". Since this is one, I'd say it's a word.  My mom's rule was always - "If you can use it in a sentence, then you can play it on the Scrabble board." Made for some fun and interesting games. Thanks, Momma, for introducing Scrabble to your daughters long, long ago.

Fascinating Words!

Aren't words wonderful? What starts off as a very dry read in the dictionary can become a descriptive sea of thoughts and ideas. One can read of a brown dog walking down the street, but can envision that "...[the liver-colored bird dog] was advancing at a snail's pace, but he was not playing or sniffing at foliage: he seemed dedicated to one course and motivated by an invisible force that was inching him toward us. We could see him shiver like a horse shedding flies; his jaw opened and shut; he was alist, but he was being pulled gradually toward us." (Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird) Your mind is just swimming with mental images, isn't it? (And as a side note, To Kill a Mockingbird is filled with them!)

I was reading a Kathy Reichs novel recently and ran across "beaucoup". It stopped me in my tracks. Hmmm... is this the same as the "boo-koo" I'd heard people say all my life - "that cost boo-koo bucks" or "there are boo-koo leaves to pick up"? So off to the dictionary I went to find out that, sure enough, it is the correct spelling of the word, but the pronunciation is actually the French \ˈbō-(ˌ)kü\. Interesting.

Which brings me to the Scrabble Dictionary. How many of us have been defeated by this little monster while playing what we thought was an honest game of online Scrabble? Where do those words COME from? Now I'll admit I have used a few of the suggestions my iPhone Scrabble teacher offers, but then I have to reach for Webster and find out what I just played. One such word, "elision" ended up giving me 70+ points. And had I not stumbled upon it, I would never have known that was what happened to "beaucoup", as an elision is the "omission, assimilation or slurring over of a vowel, syllable, etc., in pronunciation". Who knew?

HAPPY NOVEMBER!!

Welcome to November! This might be my favorite month, although (with the exception of October) I can find many reasons to like every other month of the year. November is when we get a clean slate to vote in who and what we think will make the country great. It has Veteran's Day to honor those who've protected our liberties. Thanksgiving is for giving thanks (thus the name...) for all we have in our country. Many of us (always me!) get the Friday after Thanksgiving off as an extra perk. And much to my husband's chagrin - November ushers in the

HOLIDAY SEASON!!

Today is also 11-1-11. Isn't that awesome? 11 is my favorite number. I don't know why, it just is. Some binary code throwback I guess.

My name in binary: 

01010010 01101001 01110100 01100001

R          i            t             a

When we learned that Phillip would be born early due to my being toxemic, I was counting on 11-11-86 as his birthdate. I'd been in and out of the hospital through the month of October (there's that October thing again...), and in early November there I was, back in again. Things were looking good for the 11th, until Phil decided to make his own entrance...as any who know him can attest he does so well. So he will now and forever have the birthday of 11-10. Still binary!

So with that, I bid you a happy November. Make this month your best ever!