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