Scared Stiff!

First of all, I want it known that I don't have a long list of fears.
I have faced a diagnosis of cancer, done chemotherapy and radiation. With the Grace of God,  I have helped to raise four children, who all survived to adulthood, for goodness sake.
Last week, I even faced down a construction worker, who had allegedly talked back to one of my seniors. He out-weighed me by at least 100 pounds, but he meekly cowered when I told him not to do it again. And, believe me, he was right in backing off! I would have taken him down, high heels and all.
But, I am afraid of specifically one thing. I don't do high!
Recently, in a fit of cleaning, I came across a card. It was from the Pike's Peak Highway, dated June 5, 1997. I remember the event like it was yesterday.
We were in Colorado Springs. Our youngest was playing in a Soccer Tournament at the US Air Force Academy. In the off-game hours, we had just enough time to take our "Plains Boy" up into the mountains for an adventure. So up we went.
The first 15 minutes or so, was pleasant. But, the higher up we got, the scarier it became. Sitting on the front passenger side of the car, I noticed immediately that the ground had dropped away and it was a really long way down the mountain. The trees were gone. It was just rock, all the way down.
If I could have slipped out of my seat belt and climbed onto the driver's lap I would have done it, but I was too frightened. I was frozen in terror!
At the gift shop, near the top, I remember screaming, "Is this mountain enough for you? Take us down, right now. If you don't, I am going to go by myself. Turn this car around, now!"
So, we returned to Colorado Springs, at the foot of Pike's Peak. I became fearless once again.

Oh, God. We are all afraid of something. You remain our constant through all of our struggles. Shield and shelter us. Give us strength.

They are Gold!

I'm about to celebrate another birthday. Funny how that anniversary rolls around every year at this time, and I never seem to feel any older!
Well this year, I received a little treat, by mail, that made me feel a great deal older, but at the same time very grateful and blessed. My friend sent me an ancient black and white photo of myself! I hardly recognized the skinny pre-teen in the photo. She was a stranger.
Right before I turned seven, my parents bought their one and only home on Walnut Street. It was a nice place, perfect for a family of four, in a nice neighborhood. And, right across the little dirt alley dividing our block was another family of four with a girl who was just my age. That was something very special. We became great friends. There were summers when we saw each other every day and winters when we walked the three blocks, to and from grade school, with each other as companions, religiously.
The two of us rode our bikes, roller skated on the sidewalks, spent hours at the community swimming pool and walked to the public library together.
Throughout grade school and high school, we were very close. Then we went to college in different towns, married, had kids and never lived near each other again. We stayed in touch, but in our twenties and thirties we were busy with our families, etc. Our communication, during that time, was through yearly Christmas cards and the infrequent school reunion.
Thankfully, in the years since, we frequently talk to each other by phone. And when we have our long distance chats, we start right where we left off the last time we talked. It just doesn't get any better than that.

Thank you Lord for my many blessings. Thank you for the friendships. I am so blessed to have such a lasting friendship with someone so special. This is an amazing world and there are so many great people in it. Help us to keep focused on the truly good things in life.

Opposites Attract

By now almost everyone has tried to buy some of the new "light bulbs". I sure hope most of you have better luck than my spouse and me, at trying to get replacement bulbs that give off similar light to what we have been used to, for so many years.
Seriously. Who does that government think we are? Edison think alikes? Genius electricians? The old packages were labeled: 40 Watt, 60 Watt, or 100 Watt bulbs....and we knew what amount of light we were buying.
Now, these new LED or CFL bulbs give out light on a completely different scale. You want a 60 Watt bulb equivalent for your living room floor lamp. Good luck trying to find one.
Because my long suffering husband...he's long suffering because I have the patience of a gnat and the attention span of a hummingbird.... spent a great deal of time figuring out the number of lumen's per Watt and the LED/CFL equivalent, we now know a 60 Watt bulb gives off 800 Lumen's and is "sort of" equal to a 13-15 Mercury infused "new light".
Theoretically the new lights are more energy efficient and are better for the environment, but HOLY COW, detailed stuff like this just wears me out!

Dear Lord: I know that I am deficient in the patience category. Thank you for sending me someone who has enough patience for the both of us. Thank you for allowing us to recognize some of our strengths and weaknesses. We praise your wisdom.

You Have to Visit Me...

Tonight, we had "carry-out" from Kentucky Fried Chicken. Maybe a better phrase would be "carry in" because my husband "carried it into" his car and :"carried it into" our kitchen. Now, no one would name KFC "The Best Fried Chicken on the Planet", but tonight we enjoyed the double novelty of something fried (a rare dining experience in our cholesterol-fighting home) and something not made at home by MOI.
The originator and founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken was Col. Harlen Sanders. An Honorary Kentucky Colonel, he started KFC, after a business failure left him with nothing but his Social Security Check and a recipe for good fried chicken. He created the fast food giant after he turned 65. He cooked up some chicken to sell, created franchises, and became a millionaire, before he passed away at the ripe old age of ninety.
Hooray for the Colonel!
I know tons of folks who are active and going strong, and all of them are past retirement age. Who said you have to quit doing what you are doing at 65? I say that's a great recipe for retiring from life permanently. Keep on keeping on, seniors, and do for as long as you possibly can.

Dear Lord: We pray that we remain active and healthy, to do your will. You bless us with abundance and that abundance takes many shapes. We are honored to be your children. With your blessed help, show us how to be as good as we can possibly be.

RECALL!!!!!!!!!

I received an interesting piece of personal mail yesterday. The letter, addressed directly to me, was from General Motors Corporation.
Now, please understand that we are not currently paying off a General Motors automobile. Our only GM car is a thirteen year old Cadillac, with a mere 350,000 miles on the odometer. We haven't heard from GM or a Cadillac Dealer in eight or nine years. All of the Cadillac "bells and whistles", like ON-STAR, have been expired now for several years......maybe a decade. The car runs like a top, but it is a junker.
Never-the-less, suspecting a major sales pitch, I opened my personal letter and read that "I must immediately strip our Cadillac key chain of all items, except the key". The key must be the ONLY item attached, in any way, to the ignition of our Cadillac. GM says that there may be something horribly wrong with the mechanism that triggers the ignition and the extra weight of the fob and anything else (Price Chopper, CVS, K-Mart, U.S.Toy discount mini-cards, the flashlight, Hand sanitizer, and panic whistle) attached to the key, is going to cause a wreck. OMG. Who knew?
The letter went on to state that there were no parts available, currently, to fix the problem. GM is going to let us know when to bring in the car for a re-fit of the ignition. Just be sure and reassemble our key chain, ASAP.
Right. I have enough to worry about, for Pete's sake. I refuse to worry about what damage my key chain is going to cause. We would have more issues trying to locate a safe and usable place for all of the stuff that GM wants me to remove from where I know it is. Lord, if I lose that stuff, I will be in a real mess.

Oh Lord: Help us hold our lives together. Sometimes it seems like we are being bombarded from all sides by nonsense. Show us a filter. Help us to see what the really important issues are.
We glorify your name. We praise your majesty and power.

Meeeeeowwww!

Yesterday, I chased and caught a cat. No big deal, you say. People chase and catch cats every day....unless you mean a Tiger or perhaps a Lion, of some ilk.
No. I am writing about my experience with a common house cat. I don't spend any time around cats. It's not that I don't like them. I'm not one of those people who abhor cats and say with firm belief "that the only good cat is a dead cat". Oh, no. Cats are just fine......as long as they don't come near me.
I am one of the many folks who are allergic to felines. Really, desperately allergic to cats. If I am in the same house (not even the same room) with a cat, I will start to wheeze, cough and tear up within minutes. And, my throat starts to close up, if I am even near someone who has a cat. Let me touch a random cat owner's coat, hat, scarf or purse, and I know within minutes that the owner of these garments lives with a member of the feline order. They don't need to tell me. I just know.
So yesterday, I allowed a cat to escape from one of the apartments. Being a conscientious concierge, I took out after the escapee. Upon tracking him or maybe it was a her (I certainly didn't bother to check) down and pinning it with my right hand to the floor, I called for the owner. As I smiled, the grateful owner rescued Le Chat from my death grip and took it back to her apartment.
I kept my right hand away from the rest of my body and rushed to the nearest sink where I bathed, fingertips to my elbow, in hot water and soap.
Two of Christ's creatures saved.

God of our Universe. You created us all. Thank you for the animals that enhance our lives. Keep them all safe and in the care of those who love them. We enjoy your many blessings.

Yum and then some.

During our journey to California this past week, I had the opportunity to taste several new dishes. I wouldn't call myself an adventuresome eater, but sometimes when the opportunity arises, I like to tickle my taste buds with something off the beaten menu.
Last Sunday night, I tried Paella for the first time, and I really liked it. The spices were a pleasant mix of some sort. And, who doesn't like rice, sausage, shrimp and chicken? The ingredients, in this Spanish dish, were blended excellently and I enjoyed the meal immensely.
Then, later in the week, I had an Ahi Tuna Burger. Of course, I have eaten tuna many times. Tuna Salad (of the Starkist kind) was one of the very first dishes I ever learned to make. I believe the recipe went down in Miss Esch's seventh grade Home Ec Class. However, this Tuna Burger consisted of fresh fish, grilled to a delicate hue and it in no way resembled that gray stuff called canned tuna. The burger, coated in Panko Crumbs,  was delicious.
Next, I tried Lemoncello. Talk about good! After I got over the fact that I wasn't going to eat reconstituted lemon geletin, I loved it. It was even better tasting because I knew that it was made from lemons grown not over 20 feet from where we sat drinking the delicate liquor.
Now, what did I learn from my Culinary Adventure?
You know! Of course it was...Try it, you'll like it!

Great and glorious God. We are blessed with sharp new adventures and soft comfortable memories. Thank you for allowing us to experience life each and every day. You are our Rock and our Salvation.