Metcalf Family Mews

I had asked Anthony to take me to New York to watch the ball drop this year, but he quickly vetoed that. So again, just like last year & several years before, we’ll be in bed by 9:00 p.m. Just not up to the late night antics I guess.

I was reviewing all of the news & reviews; the craziness that went on this past year. Pondering what the next one will hold for us. Thinking of those that won’t be with us in this new year. I’m trying not to be sad about any of it, when life altering things happen to me, I feel (good or bad) that its all part of God’s plan for my life.

My sister-in-law posted this little poem on Facebook this morning that summed it up for me.

I thought of you today, but that is nothing new. I thought about you yesterday, and days before that too.
I think of you in silence, I often speak your name. All I have are memories and a picture in a frame.
Your memory is a keepsake, from which I’ll never part. God has you in his arms. I have you in my heart.

I want to face each new day as an adventure, with hope & the promises of new things to come. I’ll continue to remember those that have gone on before. Respecting the past while embracing all that God has in-store for me this year. “Let us resolve to do the best we can with what we’ve got.” ~ William Feather

What are your plans? A party at a friend’s house? Watching New Year’s Rockin’ Eve on t.v.? Time Square in party hats? Tell us how you’ll be ringing in the new year tonight!

The measure of life is not its duration, but its donation. ~ Peter Marshall

Social media vacations – did you take one over the last month or so? I know of some people who made a conscious effort to reduce their social media interactions during the holidays, but for a lot of us our social media vacation may have been a consequence of being busier than usual!

I know I did, I took a few weeks off from writing the blog to clear my head & desk & work on some other things; lots of parties, etc.  If you’re an avid reader then you know I actually went back and back-posted all of the posts that I wanted and/or needed to write for the family. Everyone needs to allow themselves some alone time. Its not being selfish, its just part of our well being; prudent.

I left my Great Aunt Treva’s funeral this afternoon with a renewed sense of life.  She didn’t watch it – she lived it. She was an avid golfer, loved to dance, play basketball & baseball, was a long time member of the DAV, among all sorts of other activities. She way always doing something.  She even bowled a 299 in 1999, which given her advanced age, was a very nice accomplishment.  I don’t bowl myself, but my Aunt Jackie always has so I turned to her at one point & asked if she wanted me to include that in her eulogy & she said yes;  just don’t look for it in mine.

Our elders LIVED life. They didn’t have any of the media that we do now, some couldn’t even imagine it. I need to be more active – that’s what I plan to do this year – LIVE!

You may start to see fewer posts in the upcoming months. I don’t think I’ll take up a new sport at age 50, but I may spend a little more time sitting in the grandstands watching my grand-kids play ball. Sounds like a good time to me.

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Did you take a Facebook/Twitter/Blogging vacation? How did it work out for you?

There is nothing final about a mistake, except it being taken as final. ~ Phyllis Bottome

Treva Francis Fugate Terrell

B: 2 Mar 1922 in Dan, Menifee, Kentucky
D: 23 Dec 2011 in Middletown, Butler, Ohio
Burial: 30 Dec 2011 in Butler County Memorial Park

Treva Francis Fugate married Robert Lee “Bob” Terrell B: 26 Feb 1919 in Perry, Kentucky D: 12 Nov 1992 in Middletown, Butler, Ohio.

Parents
James “Nathan” Fugate
1897-1977

Mary “Edna” Craft
1900-1956

Siblings
Sylvia Fugate (1916 – 1994) Goode: wife of Louis Vern “Babe” Goode (1914 – 1944).
Elvia Mae Fugate (1918 – 1965) Stump: wife of Odis LeRoy Stump (1916 – 2001).

TERRELL, Treva age 89, passed away Friday, December 23, 2011 at Atrium Medical Center. She was born March 2, 1922 to James Nathan & Mary Edna (Craft) Fugate in Menifee County, KY. She graduated Middletown High School in 1940. She was a member of the Middletown V.F.W., D. A. V. Women’s Auxiliary and the Eastern Star. She was an avid golfer and enjoyed basketball, baseball, bowling and was inducted into the Middletown Women’s Bowling Assoc. Hall of Fame in 1992. She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert L. Terrell; parents and a grandson, Bobby Deaton. Treva is survived by her daughter, Myrna Deaton of Middletown, OH; grandchildren, Jeff Deaton, John Deaton, Melissa (Gary) Sergent-Smallwood and Dawn Grant; 7 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandson. Visitation will be held on Thursday, December 29, 2011 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Baker-Stevens-Parramore Funeral Home. The Celebration of Life service will be held on Friday at 1:00 pm at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Butler County Memorial Park.

The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning. ~ Ivy Baker

Take a moment (or two) to look back over the year – what’s one thing that you did in 2011 that you’re proud of? Did you follow through with a project or resolution? Did you try something new that you never thought you’d do? Did you change something about yourself? Looking back can be difficult as you remember maybe some rough patches, but also exhilarating as you realize how successfully you persevered through those hard times.

I was looking at my same new/old New’s Year’s Resolutions list that I keep from year to year, making only the as needed changes. Removing the things that I completed and adding and new ideas that may come to me, Although, its funny that somehow every year it seems to stay the same. Never getting any bigger or smaller. Other than to

• Start a library room in my house/get more books.

Even though I use audible.com & my eReader most of the time. I still love to hold a book in my hands and read & reread it if need be. I read a dozen or more books this year that I loved, with the exception of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I tried a dozen time to read that book, even talked to friends about it, just could not get interested in it. I may go see the movie just to get a better perspective on it.

I did complete a lot of jobs around the house this year, but still have a few to finish. I do think for the most part, I’m on track.

• Have coffee once a week with an old friend.

I think I’ll work on this resolution again. I used to make a point to do this every week, but proved to be too much at times, but seems like this year, I’m going to branch out more.

How was your 2011?

Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life. ~ Sandra Carey

INGREDIENTS
1 cup granulated sugar
2 T flour
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tablespoon butter

DIRECTIONS
Combine everything except butter in a heavy saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.
Once boiling, cut the heat down and stir for a minute more (it will get pretty thick rather suddenly). Take off heat and stir in butter.
Pour over biscuits.

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My cousin Sherry Adkins, uncle Hassel’s daughter, was talking about this, she says that hers never turns out. I’m going to give it a try, although I’m not sure about chocolate over a biscuit.  So I’m going to make ham biscuits & dip it in the gravy. I always say that I’d eat anything with enough chocolate on it, so we’ll see.

 I come from a family where gravy is considered a beverage. ~ Erma Bombeck

Are yours splits-ville or do you take them down after the new year’s celebrations? Decorations & all the trimmings make the house look festive & fun…for a while, but then they start to look drab & dingy & it’s time to move ‘em on out.

I’ve been inching my way, packing it in. Wreaths are down & the red is off the porch. I was getting a little tired of seeing red to be honest, I’ve still got a ways to go yet, but it’s a start. I took the obvious Christmas stuff down from the bathroom which is normal since its the first to come out.

This is the first year that I’m embracing all of the teal & silver new years decorations. I just placed a few on a wreath for the porch. I don’t do contemporary, so I’m mixing it with a little burgundy here & there. I’m almost liking it.

I’m also resisting the urge to buy any of the end of the year 75% off items to pack away for next year.

Have you already returned your house to its normal status? When do you usually do it?

One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go. ~ Sheila Murray Bethel