Blog "Friendship" Challenge

Someone posted this quote on one of the forums I frequent, and it reminded me again of the layout I did last year for an "Effer Dare."
One of the biggest regrets I've had as an adult is that I didn't keep in touch with all the great friends I've had over the years....sure wish I knew where they all were now!

"A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day, drinking iced tea and
visiting with her Mother.

As they talked about life, about marriage, about the
responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the
mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a
clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

"Don't forget your Sisters," she advised, swirling the tea leaves
to the bottom of her glass.

"They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you
love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may
have, you are still going to need Sisters. Remember to go places
with them now and then; do things with them. "Remember that 'Sisters'
means ALL the women... your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your
other women relatives too. "You'll need other women. Women always
do."

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I
just gotten married? Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and
the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother.
She kept contact with her Sisters and made more women friends each
year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came
to understand that her Mom really knew what she was talking about.

As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a
woman, Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've
learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't always do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........
Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are
between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her
can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have
to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the
valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you,
intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
valley's end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or
come in and carry you out. Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters,
daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers,
aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I.

When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the
incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much
we would need each other.

Every day, we need each other still."

So true - so true!

Chalk one up for the Gap...

You may have heard a giant cracking noise this week coming from my neighborhood.
No, it was not an earthquake, it was merely the sound of the generation gap becoming a huge chasm - growing ever wider and deeper...in fact, I am greying, wrinkling and shrinking as we speak.

Last payday, my check was a teensy bit larger than usual, so I decided to treat myself and go shopping from my wish list at amazon.com. I decided to go ahead and get that first season of "That Girl" on DVD, that has been on my list for about a year now. (Since there isn't much to look forward to on TV anymore!)

It came in the mail on Thursday, and I excitedly unwrapped it and popped the first disk in as I was cleaning the kitchen. My youngest merely rolled her eyes and put on her earphones (she was sitting at the computer, as usual, and just hates it when I interrupt her Japanese music.) My son and his wife came in and saw the box, and asked me what it was - I told them that this was my favorite show when I was in High School.

Brad said "Hey! maybe this is what they were talking about on "The Family Guy" one night - they kept saying "That Guy" and played this music. I started one of the episodes and said "is that the song?" He said "yeah - that's it!" He said "I just hate these cartoons that are written by these "old dudes," because they talk about stuff we've never heard of, and it's not even funny - we just sit there and go - huh?"
Holy cow! Am I really that old? I can't believe my kids have never even heard of this show! Of course, I don't think this one was ever "Nick-at-Nighted." It didn't help when I told them that I had never seen this show in color! (Color TV's came out when I was in Jr. High, but my family never owned one until after I graduated from High School - TV was not a big priority in my house.)
Girls like sweet little "Anne Marie" do seem to be a thing of the past (the kind with morals and stuff)...and her boyfriend "Donald" is actually a gentleman.
So I guess I really am out of date and past my prime....but I don't care - I can watch these with the kids in the room and not die of embarrassment.
So, pass me my ball of yarn and some knitting needles - I'm going to park my behind in my rocking chair right here and contentedly watch them all!
(Please someone tell me you remember this show!)

How I think it's all going to end....

Harry Potter, that is.
I can't believe I'm even posting this, my youngest is a Harry Potter fanatic, and we were discussing this today, I decided to go ahead and post my predictions before the final book comes out, so that when I'm totally wrong I can be publicly humiliated instead of just in the privacy of my own mind. (Besides, I've been on a dry-spell for topics lately!)

So, here goes:

I believe that Dumbledore will return somehow in this final episode - why? Because he gave away how much he totally trusted Snape, and because when the time came for him (Dumbledore) to be done in, he wanted Snape to be the one to do it - not Malfoy. I believe there was some sort of spell involved rather than an actual fatal "whammy." I think that he will be around in some form to coach Harry through the final duel with he-who-must-not-be-named-but-is-all-the-time-anyway-and-nothing-seems-to-come-of-it.

I'm sure there will be some sort of romance in this one, because these kids are teenagers now, and what else are they going to do?

I'm not sure who will die in this one (someone has to - it's inevitable) probably that poor sweet Hagrid - they are always picking on him!

Harry will probably have some sort of struggle between joining the "dark side" and well, not. (A "Luke, I am your father" sort of conflict) then, he will inevitably win the battle, defeat the enemy, and become the new "Defense against the Dark Arts" teacher (either that or principal of Hogwarts.)
Or; the evil dude could live and start a whole other series even darker and more intense.

Well, there you have it - am I right or am I way off the mark?....only time will tell!

Story Time...

My sister says I need to blog again, and quick! (work is slow where she is, and being familiar with long workless days at a desk, I must do my best to comply!) Having no pressing matters of importance on my plate (for once)...and being awakened from my sleep by a nagging headache, I guess it's time for a story...

Many moons ago, my husband worked for a company (7-11) as an auditor. His day to day work consisted of visiting all of the stores in the region in random order, and basically doing a complete inventory. (Can't imagine the insane boredom of doing inventory every day - but he seemed to enjoy it.) His region being the entire state of Utah, and some of the stores being hours away, this meant that he would be away from home for two full weeks out of each month. I was a young mom at the time, (I'm still a mom, but the "young" has fled...)...and being a shy person with multiple hang-ups and insecurities, this was a very difficult time for me.
I was not accustomed to being alone, and the stress of taking care of a household full of rowdy children was very wearing, plus the fact that we were pretty economically challenged at the time. There were times that the kids and I would litterally have mac & cheese for dinner three nights in a row, while the company paid for hubby's meals, so he would dine on whatever suited his fancy! He would call home each evening before he retired to check up on us. On Mondays those calls would be tender and sweet, but by the end of the week, having no sleep, uncontrollable children, and an unhealthy diet, as you might guess (dainty ladies please skip over this part...) the phone calls pretty much went - "I don't want to hear about your stupid steak dinner, and your evening in the hot tub - just get your pampered butt home - NOW! - these kids are driving me nuts!!!"
(Single mom's - I don't know how you do it!!!)

After dealing with this problem for months on end, I realized that something had to be done - I couldn't do anything to control the cash flow, (or the children) so, I just had to find a way to get some sleep so I could at least cope with life better.
One night, I was crashed on the couch, flipping through channels to take my mind off my day, when I happend across "A Prairie Home Companion" on the Disney channel. There being nothing else of interest on at this time of night, I left it there and started to watch. It was a delightful program, in the format of an old-time radio show, with stories, music, and entertaining skits. I was very pleasantly sucked in.
Anyone out there who is familiar with Garrison Keilor will be aware of that deep rich voice of his, and his sort of "monotone" sing-song manner of storytelling. I found this to be very soothing and comforting. Before long, I was completely relaxed and fell asleep (for the first time in days!) as cozy as a cat on your lap.
As you can well understand, from that time on - I was hooked! Every night I would tune in and be lulled to sleep by this gentle (and often hilarious) performance. This show litterally saved my life (and my sanity) during those years!

Since the show went off the air, I have purchased several tapes of it to have on hand (just in case.) Thankfully, hubby doesn't do that anymore, but I still enjoy hearing those stories from time to time.

One of the tapes in my collection tells the story of a man who had a lovely daughter who had just become homecoming queen. She was off preparing for her ride in the homecoming parade, and as tradition had it (for reasons that escape my memory at the moment - sorry) riding on a tank. (yes, you heard me right - a military tank!)
Meanwhile, the dad was answering a call from his parents to check on a serious problem with their plumbing. It seems their sceptic tank was full to capacity and seeping through the grass on their lawn. So he secured a backhoe, and began to dig up the yard in search of the offending sceptic tank, only to discover that what their sewage had been being stored in all those years, was not a sceptic tank at all, but an old vehicle - which was now full to capacity! So, not having any other way to take care of this problem, he loads the vehicle full of.....stuff....onto the bucket of the backhoe, and proceeds to drive it to a place where it can be disposed of (downwind).
The homecoming festivities in town have caused some of the roads to be closed, and traffic re-routed, so he finds himself wandering the streets in search of a way to get out of town - and in the process finds himself...(yup, you guessed it) on the main street, smack dab in front of the "tank" carrying his daughter, the Homecoming Queen!
As you can see, my storytelling skills are lacking - but I do have a point for mentioning this particular story...this summer, during our small town's annual celebration ("Onion Days" - I'll explain that in a later post...) This was one of the entries in the parade:






...imagine my delight and glee!!! I simply had to have a photo, because this was an actual living illustration of this story!
...I later learned that this particular "Beauty Queen" was escorted on a tank because she is currently serving in the military, and it was a show of mutual pride - but it was a "moment" for me, and one that I wanted to share.

*There Debbie - that should "kill" some time for you - or at least give you an excuse for a nap!!! ...Love ya!

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping for a wonderful 2007 for all!