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.

Godspeed to my friend Doug! He is on a spiritual journey to Brazil to see John of God. I'm praying that he will find a miracle there. Doug has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease.

I've heard that Doug is having a very positive experience in Brazil. He is feeling that he is where he was meant to be and everyone is very kind and the love is flowing. I am fascinated by his journey. I admire his bravery for taking such an arduous trip given the symptoms he is dealing with. I'm happy he had the faith to do it and pray for a miracle for Doug. God bless and watch over Doug!

http://www.johnofgod.com/

Today's Friday Joke

It's Friday! We can all use a laugh. Sadly, this week it's an obit for a famed character that caught my fancy. R.I.P. Dough Boy

Veteran Pillsbury spokesman Pop N. Fresh died yesterday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71. Known to friends as Brown-n-Serve, Fresh was an avid gardener and tennis player. Fresh was buried in one of the largest funeral ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of celebrities turned out including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Skippy. The graveside was piled high with flours as longtime friend Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Fresh as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded." Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers. He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes -- conned by those who buttered him up. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions. Fresh is survived by his second wife. They have two children and another bun in the oven. The funeral was held at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Worth 1000 words!

I'm not inspired these days to write much so I've decided to hunt through some of my favorite photos to keep this "blob" current. Writing will return... but for now enjoy one of my all time favs - my favorite spot to take pics of the grandkids is our stairs. They also get to play on the stairs at my house. I've always let them go up as high on the stairs as their age. BEP is almost at the top now but there was a time...

Don't you love the red cowboy boots?