The Day After…

Holidays always seem to leave me wanting more…

Today, the day after Easter, I wonder what to do with that colorful Easter dress that I can only wear once? Everyone I go to church with has already seen it, even if I wait another year to re-wear it and the noobies that only make the Christmas and Easter service would be sure to remember it. So what to do… what to do?

I cleaned up all of the mess last night and put the Easter stuff in the garage. Then I did the dishes and pots and pans. So there’s really nothing to do today, but the usual Monday stuff and of course Taxes. If there ever was to be a perfect day… it would be one that I never had to pay taxes. I guess, “Death” is something to look forward to afterall.

I spent a few minute this morning reading other genealogist blog posts for the week and nothing really jumped out at me. But it was nice to read other peoples thoughts and ideas on their genealogy research. Some I have something in common with. I did love a few posts on Sharing Memories. I do that a lot on the blog now. I didn’t use to, but I realized that I needed to share with my Grands as well.

I found this quote:

It’s important as genealogists that we not forget about writing our own story. Yes, we all want to find information on our ancestors and once we find it, most of us will put it in booklet form to share with other family members. But what about our own memories? We may think writing about ourselves is boring or egotistical but stop and think how excited you would be if you found a journal or memoirs that your great great grandmother kept!  ~ http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/

I found it to say exactly what I thought about it a few years ago, when I started sharing my memories. You may want to give her blog a look see. She had some very interesting posts. I wish I had more time to devote to reading it. I did bookmark it in the hopes of going back one day – maybe in the winter – and spending some time reading a few of her posts.

I too keep journals… not $77 ones, mine come from the Dollar Store or Christian Bookstore. I just write on whatever is handy as my mother did and I have a tendency to toss them out if I reread them and they seem to be just ramblings.

I found one that I had to burn once, I had went through a mild depression after three miscarriages and then my old doctor said that I might have cancer… and made the mistake of writing all my thoughts about it down on paper. As my then Pastor, Pastor Spence asked me too. He thought it would be therapeutic.  Some things are even more depressing after the fact than when you’re in the midst. I never wanted to relive that experience, ever again. And yes, that was the year I put my Christmas tree up in June. Deal with it. People cope in their own way. It made me happy! And THANK GOD, NO CANCER!

I try to be positive and enjoy my life… I love my life! I don’t want anything laying around to remind me of the low points. My husband ask me last night when was the last time I went to see my – you know – doctor. He’s so goofy. But since I honestly could not remember; I did some checking and it was January 2007. That might just mean…  now its on the schedule.

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I’m so looking forward to my vacation. “I NEED A VACATION!” I will have to get a friend to babysit my greenhouse and feed my cats as crazy as that sounds. I only have one “Society Finch” named “Ward” left but I guess, I should put him out in the greenhouse. He’d get more attention that way. I’m not in my office as mush as I used to be.

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My 31st Anniversary is tomorrow and I’m trying to decide whether to have a big family party of just the two of us go to dinner at the Old Montgomery Inn. I love their food… I love BBQ Ribs. Yes, its all about me! We had our Anniversary dinner there a few years ago but in came a Chatty  Cathy doll, she sat next to us and never shut up, but I can’t hold the restaurant responsible for that. It just made us all crazy. Especially our waiters. It wasn’t just me.

It’s been 31 of the most wonderful years of my life. I love what the late Vestal Goodman said about being married to her husband Howard on their 50th Anniversary. She said, “He can leave anytime he wants to, but I’m going with him.” That just about sums it up for me. I’m looking forward to every minute of every day with him for the rest of my days!

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My sister Shirley has a B-day coming up so I will need to pick her up a gift. She really enjoys giving gifts. For my Anniversary this year, she mailed us the card, then brought a gift to church yesterday. I got a necklace and earring set of brown beaded jewelry and a bag of black licorice (my favorite). She gave Anthony (and me) a box of Turtles. Yum! Also my favorite. LOL

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*Banff, Shire, Banffshire, Scotland

PS: Someone looks at my Tostada de Carne Asada recipe, everyday. You should really get the good stuff with the lime. I’ll try to find the recipe for you and post it this week.

Thanks as always and Welcome to the Family,
Sheila Jean Adkins Metcalf
mail to: vvsfan@msn.com

There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. ~ Freya Stark

 

It’s all around us

What is all around us?
The constant drumbeat of how bad things are and how long this will last is all around us.  We find it difficult to turn on a radio or television newscast without hearing anew just how bad everything is getting to be.  Newspapers are full of the bad news.  Electronic media of all ilks are full of bad news.

In reality, there are problems; no one can deny that.  Jobs have been lost and will probably continue to be lost for a few more months to come. 

We are in a recession and most of us have long ago accepted that fact.  The good news in all this is that recessions come and recessions go.  The most typical cycle for recessions is six months.  Recessions hit us and then begin to go away in a typical six month period of time.

This recession seems worse because we’ve heard about it coming for many months during the presidential election cycle.  If we think back, it seems as though we’ve been in a recession for a year already and it really only recently materialized.

The doom and gloom talk actually helped to promote the recession.  We hear that a recession is coming and we reduce spending.  The reduced spending brings about a recession.  The definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy.  Why would anyone ‘create’ a recession?  To get elected.  Pure and simple.  Nasty tactic?  Yes.  Does it work?  Yes.  Will it continue to be part of the repertoire?  Yes.

This is akin to dirty campaign tactics.  People use dirty tactics in political campaigns because they work.

How do we get out of a recession?  We get out of it by positive actions.  We shop like we used to shop.  We buy things.  Automobiles will never be priced lower than they are today.  Homes are at bargain prices.  Banks are lending money to good credit risks.

Some 27,000 truck drivers have lost their jobs because people quit buying things, and that caused shipping to drop drastically.  Others have lost their jobs because automobile sales have dropped significantly.  Others have lost their jobs because their employers lost orders or were forced to shut their doors.  Retailers have gone under because we quit buying things.

The near trillion dollar “stimulus” package will do virtually nothing to solve this recession issue.  It is simply, as Rahm Emanuel said, the result of a crisis that couldn’t be permitted to go to waste.  The “stimulus” package will not benefit you or me for at least two years, if ever.

You and me are the only ones who can bring this recession to a close.  Government cannot do anything that really helps.  Government simply wants us to think they are helping.  We certainly wouldn’t want the citizenry to realize that government actually doesn’t create anything.  We may not be able to spend like we once did, but every little bit helps.  Little by little, we’ll dig ourselves out from under the bad news and replace it with good news. 

Why not get that ‘movement’ started in Germantown?

 

Valuing the things that don’t cost money.

The financial crisis going on is a scary thing for so many people. Our own investments have taken a beating, as almost everyone’s has, but we also know we are in it for the long-term and the market will have its ups and downs. Let’s hope for some ups real soon though. But while we wait it out, it gives us an opportunity to examine our own spending habits and make some changes to ensure we aren’t living beyond our means or living on credit. It means being content with what I have and not wanting more material things. It means valuing the things that don’t cost money — our family and relationships.

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The highest reward for a person’s toil is not what they get for it,

but what they become by it.

~  John Ruskin

 

 

Grief

Never allow a friend to grieve alone.

 

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Friendship improves happiness and abates misery by doubling our joy and dividing our grief. ~ Joseph Addison