The poinsettias on the road to Kona are a riot of reds , whites, and pinks, spilling over the rock faces in a profusion. The tourists are in big numbers, up from last year they say. Perhaps more are coming as Hawaii is safer than world traveling, closer, English speaking. We like them, they are mostly all so thrilled and they help us to pay our bills.
Through my wounded soul I watched the spinner dolphins acting nutty and leaping about. Turtles just everywhere, even right in Kona town they come up to shore.
I have read some comments here about some of you having joy in the start of these holidays, and it is so good to hear. I hope and pray for more of that and for me too.I strive for it in this time of utter turmoil. My darling is sad and fading, and I try to be the best wife and advocate I can be.
Hang on to hope, try not to be too sad, sift the deeper meanings and I think, there is something meaningful, somewhere, it is there.
You're in a tough, transitional place Coco. Not one of the easier bends in the road. I'm getting a wreath on the door and maybe some lights around the porch today. Also, it's my 51st birthday, so I'm having dinner at my mom's and daughter Olivia is making a cake with pink icing, which is way more than I deserve since I am the worst ever at doing stuff for people's birthdays.
Meanwhile, Jeff seems to be in a very declined, but peaceful, place these days. You could ask for worse.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY emily!! Have a great dinner at Mom's house.
thanks for every hug Vickie, I see them all.
You know when people say, "It's all good" not my favorite. SO now, kind of like emily's it could be worse, I say, "It's not all bad" Each morning I now wake up and think of something good, there is so much, then move in to the challenges, even if only a little renewed.
Coco, I will have a mental picture of those poinsettias blooming as we go into December. When we were there 30 years we stayed in Kona for a week and drove around the Island and up to the volcano. I guess the poinsettias were not blooning in the summer but it was a beautiful drive. A good memory to keep in my mind as we go through this trying time.
Hugs all around... Coco...you are the best wife and advocate...hugs ♥ Happy Birthday Emily...51. gosh still so young and going through this...big hugs!
poinsettias here too...it's first day of summer 31 celcius and it's getting warmer by the day.
I was going to delete Christmas, but I changed my mind..no point in everyone here being miserable. .DD is coming to spend Christmas with me, I'll bring DH home for the day.
Lets pray next year will be kinder to us...not sure how, but...
MIMI I remember those winter floods and storms when I lived in the north bay area. Just stay safe and off the road as much as you possibly can.
CoCo, the poinsettas are showing their faces and beauty to cheer you up!! I know that life is not the way we would have planned it, but we have to see the beauty and peace in the small things. poinsettas, christmas lights, childrens faces giddy with excitment over the much anticipated arrival of santa............ We mourn but live goes on and the earth still turns on it's axis and the special holidays come and go. I pray that you find peace in some of the beauty around you, you deserve it and DaDo would want you to fully enjoy it. Arms around you and everyone else on this board.
Emily, Happy Birthday...looks like you share it with midwestmn and marilyinmd. Like MaryinPA, we're having mild weather today and tomorrow (much welcomed I might add). Heres hoping December is kind to all of us this year...it can be such a difficult time of year with all the holidays and special memories they bring. I don't decorate much anymore but we still do put up a tree. Finally caved in to having an artificial tree instead of a live one because it's easier.
Wolf-WOW, that's a beautiful winter scene-glad it's out your window and not mine!
Wolf, what a beautiful back yard! And, by the way, I liked that photo of you a couple of photos back. I had no idea you were so good-looking. I've wanted to say so before but couldn't find a way to do it without sounding like I was on the make. Same with ol Don. Lucky that I'm too old to run fast, and so you are both safe. Wolf I had pictured as a grizzly old character and ol don as maybe skinny. Now I see that Wolf looks like lots of fun and ol don a mellow fellow.
((Coco)) I too upon waking always shift my immediate thoughts to those of something I am grateful for. It has helped me a great deal and I hope it helps you too.
This holiday season for me is all about making Lynn happy and trying to help others. Is amazing how much it has helped me in the process
click on the person's name at the head of their comments. This will take you to their profile, where some have a picture. I haven't yet figured out how to put one in my profile.
Marsh, you're kind of cute, too. (I saw your photo in a news story some time back.) Wolf's handsome one was 2 photos back from his present photo of the winter scene, and unless he posts it again - and he probably won't because he's afraid of the wild stampede to Ontario that will happen if he does - there's no way that I know of that it can be retrieved. As for ol don, his was in an e-mail to me when I asked about his half of the dog that I wanted to feature in a play for Creative Writing at UBC. In the photo, behind his half of the dog, is this cool dude you'd love to visit if you had the chance. Sorry, unless ol don cares to post it in his profile, you'll have to take my word for it.
Aha! I knew that trolling would work...nine months later. Anyways. Mary thank you so much for having such terrible eyesight! I put that picture in because I was laughing and someone had sent it to me a couple of months ago now. It was at their cottage when I was in my 40's so it's not recent. I was laughing though and I have almost no digital pictures of myself because I was always behind the camera. That led me to that clown picture laughing which I gather was giving some nightmares.
I've been called handsome before but it was by someone far away and I can't be sure that's what they were yelling. Grizzled is new for me though. Sort of like that sidekick on the beachcombers? Besides I can't put it up because it was a while ago and I'm in my bathing suit. I'm sure some can tell I'm the type that loves to kibbitz around. I was going to string this out sounding like Kristen Wiig that actress on Saturday Night Live.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-fdYD3QOcg
Instead I'll tell a little story to all you lovely women and I ask you to judge whether we did a good thing or a bad thing. It's a little bit risque so be warned please. One night my wife and I were driving back home from Ottawa on a lonely stretch of the Trans Canada Highway. It's a wooded area on the laurentian shield all rock and wild. As we crept up to a transport truck I noticed he was weaving a bit. My father drove transports for a while and he told me that it was tough sometimes to stay awake no matter what you did when you were always on long hauls. I was pretty sure that was the case here.
So as we started coming up beside him I told my wife to flash him. We had never done this before and my wife looked at me and saw that I was serious. "He's falling asleep." I explained. She considered it and I could tell she was game. I explained she had to be quite obvious about it so she flipped her window down and with the wind whistling through the car I hit my horn right beside him. My wife practically leaned out of the car and drew attention to the fact she was female. I stayed beside him for a few seconds and then took off. He hit his air horn repeatedly and we both flashed our lights at each other and I left him while my wife flipped the window back up both of us laughing.
She was always up for some fun. I can see my dad giving me the thumbs up for helping keep our truck drivers safe. And I guarantee you that driver was now awake. Did I do a bad thing? History can discuss it at it's leisure. What I know is that perception is always reality and reality without life is furniture. It isn't what we are. It's what we do. That's the test, isn't it.
I am really losing the Christmas spirit. And was thinking about not sending out my Christmas cards, what is the point. Then the thought hit me, what if who ever I am sending them to is having a hard day. And the card is the bright spot of the day. Then I started to think, I am not sending them out for me, I don't care. I will send them out for the recipients, it may be what they need.
Ah, giving. Where I need my heart to be. Thanks for letting me think out loud :)
Giving, just like Wolf said. Only keeping my top on while doing it!
blue, Thanks for the reason for sending the Christmas Cards. I haven't had any Christmas spirit at ALL.
Today I got some candles in the front windows and DH followed me around and kept asking what I was doing. I tried putting up the artificial tree but need help, I asked him to help lift it and he kept leaving it on its side. So its in a heap on the living room floor where it will stay until DD has a day off on Thursday. I don't know how muck of the Holiday knick nacks I will bother with but I WILL DO THE CARDS!
Thank you,blue for reminding me the real reason to send cards.Our oldest GD came today and decorated and put up the tree,I just didn't have the energy to tackle it. While she was here I took the car to the garage for some work,sat there peacefully for 2 hrs.,not having to listen to DH grumbling that it was taking too long. When I paid for the repairs, I noticed there was no charge for labor,the man said it was on them,I guess they remembered DH from our last visit. What a nice surprise.
More fun in the snow for this alz wife.... Today I loaded our snow thrower onto our wet and snowy trailer. It doesn't work so had to drag it up ramp and kept slipping and falling down. Finally I got a huge piece of cardboard and covered the ramp and trailer and pulled it up that praying that it wouldn't slip and land me on my keester. I had it fastened with tie-downs but it was snowing so hard I was afraid the wetness would make the cardboard fall apart before I could drag the machine back up. Success! Left it with Lawnmower small/engine man to fix. Then I guess the real fun will begin. Last year we only had lotsa snow in Feb and Mar. But the two years before that we were buried all winter long. I would never have moved out in this house if I knew who would be doing all the driveway clearing and lawn work. Oh wah. The snow is pretty on our spruce trees.
Very warm in Mid Tenn supposed to be near 70 tomorrow! Santa won't have any snow here. Wait! there is a cold front coming possible flurries the weather guy said by next week. Such is the weather here in the south.
You're way up there and on the wrong side of the coastals to get that ocean moderation like Washington state and Vancouver. I'm on the same latitude as Eureka, California also without the ocean views. And thank you Bob and Doug McKenzie for making 'eh' famous. That's actually english from the London area. The east coasters brought it over and it's still in the dialect of some Newfoundlanders (who are still evenly split about joining Canada in 1949).
We became an independent country in 1867 by asking the Queen nicely. When you guys dumped that tea into Boston harbour (you spelt it that way then), you got King George who became madder than a hatter and had his hands full in europe being at war as boys are want to do. I like history.
Some of the ladies said they wouldn't mind seeing what more of the gentlemen look like. In that spirit I put up a picture someone took of me at my suprise 60th birthday two years ago.
And that spirit is a true sorority. Like the sisterhood of the travelling pajamas. It's a true sorority because the entry fee has a very high price, and the purpose of the sorority is to help each other get out of it. Sorority is also brotherhood which isn't as popular because men are so good at emoting their feelings.
Well here I am in Wisconsin. 900 miles away from Tom. I have been here a week & I am staying another week. I planned this trip to see my relatives and to take a break from caregiving (even though Tom is now in the Veterans Home). I am having a wonderful time with my siblings & cousins. We used to visit here every year, but we didn't come last summer because I didn't think Tom was up to the drive & to be truthful I wasn't up to the task of being a caregiver while on “vacation.” It's strange being here without him, & I miss him, but I know he is being taken care of. On Saturday my church choir went to the Veterans Home to sing Christmas Carols & our son & daughters & their families went & took him to lunch in the cafeteria while they sang. My daughter said it was so cute, Tom was just getting ready to take a bite of his meal when the singing began, so he put his fork down & sang along with them. Wish I would have been there, but thankful that our kids go & see him.
Our anniversary is the 23rd, and for the past couple of weeks, every time DH sees an ad on TV about jewelry, he wants to go buy me something. I've been putting him off until today. Of course, he won't remember anything, but we headed to the small Mall here this morning when they opened at 9 a.m. Got him a wheelchair; asked him what he wanted to buy me for our anniversary or Christmas and he said he didn't know. So we headed to the jewelry store. I picked out a birthstone ring and some earrings and showed them to him, asked if that's what he wanted to get me and he said he'd rather have a diamond! I have more jewelry than I'll ever wear in a lifetime - but did end up buying the birthstone and earrings. I also bought him a couple of things. Got home, he turned on the TV - first commercial was about jewelry - of course,he wanted to go buy me some jewelry! NOT!
My DH has also been wanting to buy me jewelry for Christmas. I have diamond pieces that he bought the last two Chrisrmases and birthdays. I don't go anywhere to wear any of it anymore so why spend money on it. Finally today I took him to a local department store and picked out an inexpensive piece of costume "jewelry". He thought that was fine and is happy that he bought me something. Tomorrow he probably won"t remember it.
We woke to snow this morning - some still around by evening. Fernley is at 4200 ft east of Reno but the average rainfall is only 3-4 inches. It all drops in the Sierra Nevadas and doesn't make it here. It is getting in the teens at night and upper 40s/low 50 during the day.
Boss is having a Christmas potluck for employees and one guest which in all cases will be a spouse. I have decided to not go. If it were here at the park, I probably would since Art could walk home when he had enough of the noise and commotion. But it is about 3 miles away at her sister's house. I could go alone, but I am not ready to be 'single' in a crowd of couples with my spouse sitting home alone. We could go, just eat then leave but don't feel good doing that. We always went together, never had a lot of friends. If there were company parties we went together or not at all. I am debating whether to email her or wait until Monday (she will be in the office all week) to tell her.
Charlotte, could you mention that you'd like to go but you'd have to leave right after dinner because of your husband's condition. I understand not feeling good about that, but isn't that the truth? And wouldn't they have some understanding and willingness to that?
I would ask if they understand how things are right now. They might be quite supportive and welcome that you're joining them for dinner. If not, they're neanderthals.
I just took my husband to a holiday party with 20 of his old friends. I had a lot of concerns, as he is now in stage 6, has started sundowning, and gets anxious at too much activity. I didn't know what to expect from him. Well, it went a lot better than I'd hoped. He was anxious before we went and during the drive, but had a great time with his friends. We stayed 2 hours and when we got home (7:30pm), he went right to bed. It has exhausted him, but we both had a good time. I haven't ventured out much socially with him lately, cause it is so much effort and filled with uncertainty. but I felt 'normal' for that 2 hours and it felt pretty darn good - for both of us.
Such a sad week. I am just so down. I can not get over the loss of the school children and the teachers. And to ad to it, DH is getting worse. Last night I was talking to DD and it was around 11 and DH came in the den fully dressed and saying good morning. He had only been sleeping two hours and we had not gone to bed yet. And the other night. I noticed his skin looked ashen. He was fine by morning. I feel like he is ready to take a turn for the worse. Just is not as good as he was a few months ago.