Chore Boy

My dad is feeling better.

I worry that he is going to die of boredom however. He reads but doesn't do much else. Now that he is feeling better he wants to "move around." So I was cleaning the fridge this afternoon and he offered to help. I feel slightly guilty over have a 93 year old scrub my fridge but I remind myself the activity is good for him.

He did a fine job. He always called himself the "chore boy" when we would do a meal when my mom was alive. He would peel the veggies and often do the dishes or at least the pots and pans. He has been a great help to me when I cook a roast or boiled dinner - he peels all the vegetables. It is all good for him. He needs to have something to do - even if it is scrubbing my grungy fridge!

It's Friday again! I hope you have safe and restful weekend. Find time to do something fun. And of course, enjoy every minute!

Not the best joke this week, but certainly not the worst I've ever used either. Enjoy!

Guy walks into a bar and grill with a full-grown ostrich behind him. The waitress asks them for their orderThe man says, 'A hamburger, fries and a coke,' and turns to the ostrich, 'What's yours?''I'll have the same,' says the ostrich.A short time later the waitress returns with the order 'That will be $9.40 please,' and the man reaches into his pocket and pulls out the exact change for payment.

The next day, the man and the ostrich come again and the man says, 'A fish filet,salad, and white wine."The ostrich says, 'I'll have the same.'Again the man reaches into his pocket and pays with exact change.The next time the two enter the man orders pastrami with pickles and mustard with a Dr. Brown Cream Soda. 'Same,' says the ostrich. Once again the man pulls the exact change out of his pocket and places it on the table.

The waitress cannot hold back her curiosity any longer. 'Excuse me, sir. How do you manage to always come up with the exact change in your pocket every time?''Well,' says the man, 'several years ago I was cleaning the attic and found an old lamp. When I rubbed it, a Genie appeared and offered me two wishes. My first wish was that if I ever had to pay for anything, I would just put my hand in my pocket and the right amount of money would always be there.''That's brilliant!' says the waitress. 'Most people would ask for a million dollars or something, but you'll always be as rich as you want for as long as you live!''That's right. Whether it's a gallon of milk or a Rolls Royce, the exact money is always there,' says the man..The waitress asks, 'What's with the ostrich?'The man sighs, pauses and answers, 'My second wish was for a tall chick with long legs who agrees with everything I say.'

My sisters owe me some money. $12 each in fact. When they visited a while back they liked my 911 sign we have on a tree at the bottom of the driveway and asked me to order some for them. I ordered them a couple weeks ago from the Ausable Forks Fire Dept. and yesterday I called and left a message to see if they were ready.

They called my house last night to tell me they were ready but I was in Ausable Forks and happened to be at a Rotary Club meeting in the ambulance garage. The phone rings at the Rotary meeting and a lady hands me the phone, "Hi Jan, I'm calling from the Ausable Forks Fire Dept. to let you know your signs are ready. I'm across the street at the Fire House and I can meet you outside in the parking lot." So out the door I went with the $24 cash (I happened to have $28 in my pocket - good thing) and got the signs. My husband told them I was in the Forks at the Rotary meeting so it saved me a trip back to get them. They are nice heavy aluminum signs - reflective and a bargain at $6 each. If you want one you can call the Ausable Forks Fire Dept or let me know and I'll help you get one. You don't want the Fire Dept. or ambulance to have any problems locating your home.

The Ausable Rotary Club is a wonderful group of folks, doing just amazing things in the community, locally and globally, with their small club. They invited Mary Jane Connors, President and CEO of North Country Life Flight to be guest speaker and MJ invited me, a former patient, volunteer and her pal to join her and tell my story. MJ did a wonderful job of telling the Life Flight story and I shared how much I appreciate that North Country Life Flight helped save my life and minimized my disabilities back in May 2005. I brought along copies of the StoryCorps interview MJ and I recorded in Saranac Lake last summer for everyone. The Rotary Club presented a check to North Country Life Flight and I thank them for that and a wonderful evening. UPDATE: Theresa called to remind me I owe her so she only owes me $6.11!

Been catching up with lots of friends - some I hadn't heard from in 20 years - thanks to Facebook I tracked them down. I also recently heard from my friend, and another former boss at PBS, Jo Flick (pictured happily painting). Jo now lives in Montana and I was happy to see and hear that she is still creating beautiful watercolors. Years ago, I was the lucky recipient of one of those beautiful creations. I've asked Jo for permission to share some of her work with you. She agreed. She invited me to Montana for a visit and even said I could pick out another painting to take home when I go. One of these days David and I will take her up on that offer - Above is a desert painting, "Vulture Peak," she did for a friend’s new house in Arizona – 20 in tall- 40 in wide! Just beautiful Jo! Below are some photos she sent of Glacier National Park. No wonder she is inspired to paint!

You might remember that I wrote January off for 2009 and have begun my New Year in February. February has had lots of difficult times too, but I think my attitude has been better for dealing with all of it and I'm choosing to be hopeful throughout it all. So to celebrate that New Year and the new attitude, I'm posting one of my favorite postcards in my collection. I used it as a bookmark in January. Not a good thing to do if I were a serious collector but I collect for my pleasure so it works for me.

You might not be able to read the message so let me try to transcribe it for you.

This card was mailed on January 8, 1923 at 10 am from Albany NY to Mr. B.F Whaling, 900 Harrison Street, Davenport, Iowa. The message reads: Friend Byron - Hope you and your family spent a Merry Xmas & will have a very Happy New Year. The booklet rec'd & think a beautiful city. Hope all is well. As ever, Pearl Smith.

I love these old postcards and especially the messages. I have some that are part of a series, every week someone would write home on a postcard and the card was saved by the family. It's sad that the US Postal Service is not being used much anymore. I don't think anyone will be posting the emails we write one another 80 years from now but who knows. But they sure don't have the same appeal that these postcards do for me.

I have collected postcards for over 30 years, spent hours at flea markets going through boxes of them back when they were affordable. Now I can't afford the prices people want for them so I'm glad I collected when I did. My grandmother got me started by giving me some she had saved and it took off from there.

And with this posting I again send every good wish for a very Happy New Year. Enjoy every minute.

Coco had fun today!

I wish I had gotten a pic to post. Her Uncle Tom came over after he and David went to the turkey shoot in Willsboro. I let her out the door and she ran right to him - not David - she can see him anytime but she loves her Uncle Tom! And does he love her! I went out to the garage and he was holding her in his arms like a baby and she was loving it.

When it got time for Tom to go home, he invited Coco over to play with his dogs. Off she went, happy little pup! He took her up on the mountain at his house with her buddy Shadow and they ran and played. Coco came home tired and happy. She loves to play with other dogs and that is one thing I don't provide well for her.

Here's a pic of her and Uncle Tom from last summer. They took a ride up the mountain! Coco loves a ride on anything, anytime, anywhere!

Thank you Barbara!

I wrote "The Apple Thief" artist Barbara Sala the other day telling her I had mentioned her and her work in my "blob." Barbara wrote back and kindly sent me a better picture of "The Apple Thief" to better represent her work and also kindly gave me a valuable lesson in copyright issues.

She cautioned me to ask permission to post an artist's work before doing so. Usually they will be happy to agree to this. Even though I own the painting, the reproduction rights remain with the artist. I'll remember that (hopefully) in the future - I was looking around at Speedy Arnold's work hanging in my house thinking I'd share some of that too. I can ask first! She even gave me suggestions for better photographs of the art. That will help too.

Barbara also sent along an image of another of her works, "Cow Playing Piano" © Barbara Sala. This is the one I remembered and love. It has been sold to some lucky person. I'm glad Barbara has images of it so we can all enjoy them. Thank you Barbara and it was great to hear from you!

I just might order her children's books. She tells me you can get them from Amazon.com and that way you have 40 images of hers in the two books to enjoy with loved ones. The book titles are “Celestine and the Magical Geranium” and “Village of the Heart."

Barbara has a nice website, still under construction, visit it at www.barbaraNaiveart.com

"The Apple Thief" © Barbara Sala.

One of my favorite things is a painting I bought years ago in a PBS art auction while I was working there. Barbara Sala of Montreal is the artist and I bought it early in her career. Her paintings sell for much more now.
Mine is titled "The Apple Thief" and it hangs in my kitchen. I love the color and whimsical quality in her work, it's pure joy. I saw her exhibition in Plattsburgh years ago and my favorite piece there was a big painting titled "Cows Tea Party," it was great fun and out of my price range but I'll always remember it.
Here's a link to a website where you can view more of Barbara's work. I met her several times during Arts Auction and she is a sweet and very talented lady.
www.yessy.com/bsala/gallery.html

Barbara sells notecards featuring her work at that site (Holly watch for one coming your way!)
and in researching Barbara I see she has two children's books. Cool! http://www.trafford.com/03-2283 to check out her books....

I'll always remember Lola Johnson presenting my "Apple Thief" for bidding, she spoke of the whimsical quality of Barbara's work and commented on the colorful shawls on the sheep. It's one of my treasures. Here's a link to Barbara's website: http://www.barbaranaiveart.com/

Too much technology!

We recently got our tax refund. I'm using some of it to start a garden. I feel that is important to keep my dad active and to grow some good food this summer. I also gave in after a long hold out and bought an IPOD. I told my sister and daughter, "I'm deaf in one ear, why do I want an IPOD. I hardly listen to music anymore." But for some reason, I decided I was in the market for an IPOD - a purple one no less. It was either that or a Wii and I knew I would not use the Wii.
So I get that lovely purple IPOD home and download the Itunes software, plug the IPOD in to my computer and charge it up. Then it starts downloading my photos - all 2000 of them from my hard drive. Yikes. It started to download the multitude of music I've recorded -I stopped it. I then recorded just a few songs to test it out. Well, I somehow managed to corrupt the stinkin' thing. I was ready to drop kick into Lake Champlain. I then uninstalled Itunes, mangaged somehow to restore the frozen up IPOD and it now has three songs - no pictures. Wow. For this I needed to spend all that money?
I was thinking the IPOD would be good to download podcasts of programs I like on public radio and then I can listen to them when I drive. I don't drive much anymore though but my occasional outings will allow that once I spend more money and buy the adapter for my car stereo. My sister Mary told me I needed an IPOD so I could listen to music driving without fooling with CDs. Well, I never found fooling with CDs to be much of a problem.
So today I spent too much time dumping the 2000 photos off my computer hard drive to a flash drive. I got half done and the flash drive gave me an error message and won't save another thing for me. I then saved the other half of the photos to 2 CDs.
I found myself longing for the days of polaroid cameras and transitor radios. I even listened to shortwave when I was growing up.
I feel like I gone to the dark side with this IPOD purchase. Hopefully, I'll find a way to enjoy it but I may just return it for a refund before the week is out.

I love Bill Moyers. As a PBS employee I was always proud and pleased to promote the programs that he brought us. Programs that changed my life and made me think. I don't watch much PBS anymore but I catch Bill Moyers' Journal when I can. Tonight's show on the stimulas package was excellent and featured "Shovel Watch." Concerned about all this money of ours and our future generations that Washington is going to be spending??? Do something about it. Get involved with "Shovel Watch" and make sure that your community is getting and using the funds as planned. http://www.shovelwatch.org/ Check it out. You can even read the stimulus bill there.
Bill also had on renowned poet Nikki Giovanni, author of 27 books. Once dubbed the priestess of black poetry, her work has spanned the themes of love and sex, anger and grief, race, politics, and violence. She was inspiring as she spoke of grief, mothers, race and more. You can read some of her poems here: http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060099527

Browse Inside this book Get this for your site

It's Friday

Every Friday I send a joke or two out to some pals. I think we can all use a laugh - hope you like this week's. Have a safe and happy weekend. Enjoy every minute!

Ernest was playing golf with our town's fire chief when he hit a ball into the rough. As Ernest headed for the brush to find his ball, the chief warned, "Be careful, the rattlesnakes are out." The chief explained that calls had been coming in all week requesting assistance with removing the snakes. "You've got to be kidding," Ernest replied in astonishment. "People actually call you to help them with rattlesnakes? What do you say to them?" "Well," said the chief, "the first thing I ask is, 'Is it on fire?' "
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The pastor of my church hates to plead for money. But when the coffers were running low, he had no choice. "There's good news and there's bad news," he told the congregation. "The good news is that we have more than enough money for all the current and future needs of the parish. The bad news is, it's still in your pockets."

IT’S HERE!!!!!
The Adventures of Molly the Monarch Butterfly and Friends

(SPEEDY ARNOLD'S 2ND CHILDREN’S BOOK)


Keeseville illustrator/musician George “Speedy” Arnold has teamed up with long-time friend and former local schoolmate Maureen Akey, to produce “The Adventures of Molly the Monarch Butterfly and Friends”
The book is targeted for beginner readers and relates the transformation of a butterfly from egg to chrysalis to butterfly through colorful and wistful illustrations.
Copies are available at the artist’s business, Arnold’s Grocery and Likker Lokker on Rt. 9N (182 Pleasant St.) in Keeseville, NY. For more information, call 518-834-4692 or e-mail Speedy at gsarnold@frontiernet.net

I'm thrilled for my multi-talented pal Speedy! I was at the post office the day he came in with the package of his artwork to mail off for publication! I'm proud to own many of his drawings that I purchased over the years at Arnold's Grocery or received as gifts. My favorite is a piece I commissioned him to do for David's Christmas present. I brought him photos of our house and he created a wonderful drawing titled The House that David Built. Stop by Arnold's buy a book or two, maybe a drawing or two and while you are there pick up the Doug Knight & Friends DVD too. You'll be glad you did and you will be supporting the local arts community and helping the economy.

A Hint of Spring!

It's Mud Season! At least for today - temperature is supposed to drop like a big old rock later but for now it seems like spring. I got out the Muck Boots today. I got these as a birthday gift last year from my pals MJ, Chuck and Billy. What a great gift! We had a muddy wet summer and got lots of use out of them. This is my first wearing for 2009! They are very comfy and they make it fun to wade through the muck.

I wish I could add sound to this page. The birds were out in full force, singing songs that made it sound like spring. It's coming!

My dad continues on his road to recovery from his bout of pneumonia in November/December and has grown much stronger.

I'm trying to make his life comfortable and last night our friend Leslie came by and washed and cut his hair. He has been cutting his own hair for the last couple of years since his barber Tony died. So it was a treat for him to get all this attention.

He's looking fine with his new haircut at age 93!

I Give - You Can Too!

It seems that almost every online store is participating in the I Give.com effort. You shop and a percentage of your total goes to your favorite not for profit. You can also raise the total by using the I Give search engine. For every search, they give your cause - 2 cents - it adds up. If you shop online, the impact can be great for your not for profit. Land's End, LL Bean and most everyone participates in varying degrees.

Yes they do track your internet visits. But you are being tracked already and at least this for great cause. I support North Country Life Flight through my shopping/searching but you can choose your own cause if you prefer. Of course I think North Country Life Flight is a great organization to support and highly recommend that you consider it. Sign up and your cause gets a $5 to start off.

Here's a link should you wish to check it out. http://www.igive.com/welcome/warmwelcome.cfm?c=47761&m=578999

News of the Day

February has been so much kinder in the weather department. We actually had a bit of a thaw over the weekend that gave us a hint of spring coming. Back to 10F today but we can deal with that easily. The icy driveway brings some challenges as I walk my energetic Coco but I'm managing carefully.
Saturday brought me wonderful news - my mammogram was normal. I was a bit nervous about it as last year at this time I was dealing with a diagnosis of cancer. So getting that letter was a great relief. I know how lucky I am. Every day I give thanks for my extended life. After my brain episode and the cancer, I don't take it for granted.
For those of you dealing with serious illness, hold out hope. Try to keep your neighbors, friends and family close and use their strength when you don't have your own.
Update: I'm adding my spring Haiku from last year. Seems appropriate.

Those that suffer now,
I wish you a healthful spring;
warm sun on your face.

I said that that other was the last post but wait there's more! Another Friday! Tough times require laughing every chance we get. Enjoy every minute!

Alabama Joke (my little dog Coco came from a shelter in Alabama - not sure if she had a banjo on her knee)
When a visitor to a town in Alabama spotted a dog attacking a boy, he grabbed the animal and throttled it with his bare hands. An impressed reporter saw the incident and told him the next day's headline would scream "Valiant Local Man Saves Child by Killing Vicious Animal.""I'm not from this town," said the hero."Then," the reporter said, "it will say 'Alabama Man Saves Child by Killing Dog.'""Actually," said the man, "I'm from New Hampshire.""In that case," the reporter grumbled, "the headline will be 'Yankee Kills Family Pet.'"

Illinois Joke (I'll send this one out for John and Melissa)
This is how Chicago got started. A bunch of people in New York said, "Gee, I'm enjoying the crime and the poverty, but it just isn't cold enough."

Desperately Seeking a Skateboard!!!!

Photo captions: Coco in hot pursuit of her Clementine - resting after her Clementine romp.
Below: After a good Clementine chase Coco enjoys the view of Mt. Pok-o-Moonshine.

Ok one last post for today! I am in need of a skateboard....No I'm not even slightly tempted to add to my brain damage by skateboarding but I want one for Coco.

I saw a dog riding a skateboard on TV and I know Coco could do it too and she would love it. She plays in the garage, sliding on crushed milk jugs on the cement floor so she could easily learn to skateboard. So if you have one you are not using.... Arielle thought she had one for Coco but Mary could not find it.

Until then her favorite toy is a frozen Clementine. I throw one out in the snow about once a week and she plays with it for days before the peel comes off - she eats the orange and time for a new one. She hides them in the snow and plays hockey with them. Good cheap dog toy!
And Mary Thill says we bloggers go on about nothing.....LOL Damn right we do!

Thank You Raquette Lakers!

What a nice surprise to go to the mail on Tuesday and have not one but two packages awaiting me from Raquette Lake. My pal Holly sent me a lovely letter and great book to keep me happy! Thanks Holly! I wrote you a thank you and will send that along to the post office today. Oh by the way Hol, my PO Box is 434. It used to be 435 but they remodeled the post office and I guess they forgot to install 435. I moved.

My other package was from my sister Mary. She sent us a photo card to use in the digital frame my dad got for Christmas from Tara. It works now! She also sent me some fresh and yummy herbs from Frog Park Herbs. Now I can make a fresh batch of Chicken Mary Ruth with the Pesto Pasta & Garlic Bread Mix. She also sent me Cranberry Horseradish Spread : A tangy, sweet cream cheese spread - my favorite all time dip on a Wheat Thin. You can order some too from the nice folks at Frog Park - http://www.frogparkherbs.com/frogparkherbs/

Thanks Holly and Mary! People in Raquette Lake are the nicest. My sister Theresa and her husband Dayt brought us a huge pot of homemade soup, cornbread and carrot cake when they last visited. We look forward to them coming again soon!

A Sunset to Remember

Wednesday evening the sky was bright pink as the sun set. One of the nicest sunsets I've seen in some time. I made everybody go look at it and grabbed my camera. It doesn't really do it true justice but a nice pic nonetheless.

I took this one from our porch. We are blessed.

I almost quit blogging last night. I read the January/February edition of Adirondack Life, it had an article by Mary Thill called "Blog Cabin." She opened the article by disparaging the writing of us casual bloggers, wondering "where they find the time to write it. And why." I found her opinion (which of course she has a right to) to be mean-spirited and discouraging. Yes Mary, we ramble on and on about "nothing." But that "nothing" to you obviously means something to us and I think people should be strongly encouraged to write anything these days.

Luckily, I get some good feedback on my blog writing so I know that some are enjoying my attempts. Where I find the time? I grab it when I can, sometimes at midnight, usually early morning. For those of us who are housebound for various reasons, a blog is great way to connect and stay in touch. I feel for those whose writings were singled out by Mary Thill's article. I hope she hasn't thrown a damper on their writing. It would have mine. I'm thankful she's not aware of me and my "blob." She would have a field day with mine. LOL

Here's a link to that article:
http://www.adirondacklife.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=174&Itemid=119

Thinking Ahead to Spring!!

This is the official start of my "New Year" as I whined on and on about January yesterday. I even drank an alcoholic beverage last night to toast the new month. Unusual for me. Sat at the computer drinking some Bailey's Irish Cream - my daughter gave me two sampler bottles for Christmas and it was just right. I only drank one - another awaits for the next toast. I couldn't sleep so I was sitting at the computer (drinking alcohol) looking for Facebook friends at 1:30 am. I gained several I'll have you know. All former colleagues. I liken Facebook to walking by someone in the hall and saying hi! I'm too old to understand its appeal I guess. The hall is big I guess and that's a good thing.

As we begin the month, I heard red wing blackbirds when I took Coco out for her stroll and roll (in the snow). Their call always make me think of spring.

My pal M-A sent me a link to a pdf file that you can print out and order your garden seeds from the students at Keene Central School to help them raise funds for their trip to Spain. Good deal on seeds and great cause. Come together, help the kids and grow yourself a Victory Garden. Given this economic climate, we should all be growing food. I'm looking forward to putting my dad to work on a garden this spring. We will do a couple of raised beds as our soil is clay and I can't bend over with my brain shunt pressure. If you have any advice for me on raised bed gardening, it would be most welcome.

Here's the link for Keene seed order form:

http://www.fedcoseeds.com/forms/keene.pdf Happy Growing!

Good Bye January!!!

Kiss January goodbye!!!! I was not impressed with the month of January, I'm sorry to say. I'm about as happy to see that month end as I was to see our 43rd President fly off into the sunset. It was colder than a witche's thorax (-36.8 F!!!) and filled with news that was just awful. As much as I try to "enjoy every minute," January 2009 is going down in my history book as a month that, to put it plainly, "pretty much sucked." I won't share all the tales of woe (we all have our own), but we will deal with it all, learn to cope and hope February brings some brighter days. It's a little early for my spring haiku but if someone would like to contribute some verse to cheer, I'll share it with the "blob" readers. So Hip Hip Hooray for February!!! Let's hope for a good month. Valentines Day cometh - we can eat chocolate! We did have some good times in January, lots of family visits and good meals chatting with my Dad and David but there was also lots of sad and trying news, more than we should have had in the beginning of this "Happy New Year." It will all be dealt with and we will live long and prosper.

Winter carnival happens in Saranac Lake this month. I've seen some nice pics of the ice castle on the Adirondack Enterprise site. I already bought my Winter Carnival button for 09 - I have the entire collection that Garry Trudeau designed - since 1981.
You can buy a button at many of the convenience stores in Saranac Lake or visit here to view and order from the Chamber of Commerce. Note to chamber: you have Garry (as Gary) misspelled on your website. You can hire me to proof anytime.
http://www.saranaclake.com/carnivalbuttons.shtml

So, my poll is not going so well. I'm the only responder at this point. Rather pathetic. I was reading another lady's blog and she was talking about how only 2400 readers had stopped in the day before. Wow! A high readership day for my "blob" is in the double digits. I get excited. And hey it's not quantity I write for - I have some HIGH quality readers out there and that is why I do it.

My pal M-A was talking about her Facebook and how she feel that it is bit of an egocentric exercise. Blogging is a bit of that too I guess. I do it more or less keep a journal of daily life and I like sharing good pics when I have the time. M-A is supposed to invite me to be her friend or whatever that is they do on Facebook - I'll check that out too.

My dad's health continues to improve with each passing day. Here he is sitting in front of the wood stove chatting with Mary on the phone tonight. We are all looking forward to spring so he can get outside a little more. We talked of hiking on the mountain behind the house. Hopefully he will be strong enough for that in the spring. And that is part of the good January happenings.

I realized tonight that I have not been at Life Flight to volunteer since last year. No wonder woe is me... LOL I do some long distance volunteer work when I can but it's not the same. In February I will hopefully do a road trip with Coco and go up and do some good work.