January

Sat 1-31-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday we got the extra controller in. There were a few mishaps along the way. I'm not sure it is possible to complete
a project without some. One riser got snapped off that had to be replaced. Not bad except that also required a trip back
to the store. The head planner did not do a good job in planning and came up one elbow and cap short. That resulted in
another trip back to the store, but then had to go back anyway. I got one T that was threaded and I needed slick. So not
too bad. Sure wish I could do a project without so many trips to the store.

I took a fall. I stepped over a rose and caught my pant leg on a thorn. It was tougher than I was and down I went.
Luckily for me, I landed in a pile of fresh dirt. I was not hurt at all and most important, I did not harm in any way, the
controller I was holding. That pile of dirt padded my fall and I'm not feeling any of the effects of it this AM. Even
better, the rose was not harmed. :)

Did a water test before we covered everything up and I got water shot into my shoe. Yes, that did improve the pressure a
lot. :) Now I just have to go around and set all the bubblers.

I'm going to pick up Adrian again this morning and he'll finish up the roses. I'm going to have him dig out all the wells and
then mulch them all. Then my beauties will be totally done, except for the new ones I'll be buying. Sadly, I lost two last
year. I need to go over to see the rose lady to pick out some I want. They'll be ready to go the first to middle of March.
Actually, they'll be ready to go when she says they are ready to go and not one moment before. She cracks me us. She is
as anal about roses as I am.

When I pick him up this AM, I am going to go by a rock place to see what their sand looks like. If I like it I'll get a load
and have Adrian spread that on the paths in my roses and then go back and get another load and have him spread it on my
drive and where I park my truck, so I don't get muddy feet or maybe so that my clients don't get muddy and then bring it
inside.

Well, I'm not doing anything outside, I'll be working with clients. :)

Well, that is pretty much my agenda today. I need to put on a pot of spaghetti sauce this afternoon, so I'll have a nice
warm supper tonight.

I want you all to have a wonderful day - a day full of sunshine and warmth - a day full of love - a day where you are not
so full of yourself. :)

As for today's quote, ain't it the truth!

Cyber hugs and lots of love.

Special prayers for Cleo and Beth.

J
Mom
Gram

We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing,
While others judge us by what we have already done.
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Fri 1-30-9

Good Morning All:

In just a few hours, I'll be picking up Adrian and we'll begin another fun filled day. This day should see an end to work
in and around the roses - at least that is the plan. I may just have a truck load of sand delivered to fill in some low spots
and to spread on the rose walkway. After this is all done and the timers are set, I'll go get some Epsom salt so I'll have it
on hand when it comes time to give them their annual dose. After that I'll just have to sit back and wait for all the pretties
to appear. I changed the battery for the flower bed timer. I was tired and I know I did not set it right. I just got the
duration, but not when, so who knows when it is going to come on.

I snuggled down under the quilt Becky and Laura made me and was asleep quite early last night. That cover up is quite
warm. I've been using it every night since I got it. Some nights, I've just been so comfy that I spent the night in my
recliner. I know that is the best place for me to sleep because of my feet. Many nights I start in my recliner and finish up
in my bed. That is my version of sleeping around. :)

I'm going to try to use a few more brains when it comes to what I should and should not do. I've always been a hard
worker, but I was sure not doing me any favors when I paid for 3 days for what I did on one. There is just something
wrong with that. I think the problem is that my back is older than I am. :)

I really do hate taking my meds. The dose and my eating are off kilter. I went into low blood sugar yesterday again. That
tells me I'm back to where I was before I stopped taking them all together about 3 months ago. I obviously do need my BS
and BP controlled. Sucks but it keeps me on this side of the green grass. :) I just do so much better when I have a big
breakfast, a fair sized lunch, and not much at night.

Well, I need to get cleaned up and get something to eat so I'll be ready to start my day. You can say a little prayer for me
today that things go smoothly. Mostly, we need to find the water lines without chopping them in places we had not
intended or I'll have to go back to Lowes for some more supplies. Since I originally dug all those trenches and put in that
line, I should come fairly close. At least that is the plan. :) Last time, it was so much easier to just tell my farm boy what
size pvc pipe I needed and he cut. He was an enthusiastic supervisor.

So has anyone else noticed just how much stuff we eat comes from other countries. I'm not sure I want to eat farm raised
fish from China. I won't buy any more grapes from Chile. Whatever they were sprayed with left a taste on them. Those
other countries do not have the same regulations as we do. When congress bowed down to the greed side of corporations
and send many of our jobs to Mexico with NAFTA, that the beginning of what we have now. Look at all the companies who
have call centers in other countries. Why? Corporate greed. They pay them less than they would American workers. Well,
they got what they wanted and now with all our jobs going out the window, just who is going to buy the stuff. If it was up
to me, I would of course give those corporations the right to use the labor from other countries, but they would not get to
deduct any of the wages paid to non Americans on their tax returns. That would throw a kink into everything. I would
also pass a law that no US company or affiliate or subsiderary of the company could sell any product in this country if
their headquarters were not located in this country. Any foreign country would have a tarriff on every import and all
imported items would have to be tested for lead and toxic chemicals before they could be sold here. I'd also put a whole
lot of people to work by inspecting each and every cargo shipment coming into this country. There would be no container
that could be unloaded without being inspected. I'd also make corporations pay taxes based on what lies they are telling
on their prospectus. If that is what they say is their net profit, they don't even need to file all those forms. Send a copy
of their prospectus and 25% of their net profit. Might be one way of getting a little more truth in what they spew. I am
anxious to see how much tax all these oil companies are going to pay. I'm not going to hold my breath. We have sold out
our country to greed and we are going to have to fight to get some things back. I can't even think of wall street and eating
at the same time or I'll barf. Being on a soapbox is making me hungry. :)

I wish you a wonderful day.

Cyber hugs and lots of love.

Special prayers for Cleo and Beth.

J
Mom
Gram

Families are like fudge... Mostly sweet with a few nuts. - Unknown

Thu 1-29-9

Good Morning All:

Today is a good day. I am moving more like my old self, prior to my attempt at suicide by yard work on Monday. I hope I
honestly realize the next time that I am in fact no long 40 or even 50 and it is impossible for me to do what I used to do.
My body rebels for far too long after the fact. I'm going to try to learn to be better to me. I really need to keep that in
mind for tomorrow. With the help of Adrian, I'll be adding another controller to my roses. Although he will be doing the
digging, I'll be the one crawling down in the trench to do the gluing and connecting. He has never done anything with PVC
and I quite frankly do not want him practicing on mine. He can learn by watching. :)

Today I have learned that frogs are becoming an endangered species because of human consumption. I promise to do my
part by not eating any more frog legs. Yes, I've eaten them before and did enjoy them, but not enough to need to do it
again. Besides, they taste like chicken. :) I'll just take a short cut and eat chicken from the beginning.

I've also learned that President Obama does not demand that everyone wear a suit and tie around him. On the Richter
scale, I'm not sure that affects my life. I did find it interesting that he is cold blooded and has the oval office "warm
enough to raise orchids". Sounds like I would be comfortable should I ever visit him there. :)

I am very proud to say that I have repaired my own water line by the cooler. It met a fate of the water freezing when I
didn't wrap the line when we had our freeze a few weeks ago. I took it apart which was no easy feat since himself put it
together. Over the years, I have removed many of the extra faucets Brownie put on there. I swear he only did it to get a
rise out of people. So sorry I didn't get a picture of it. I think there was about 7 at one time. I'm down to two faucets.
One for the hose and one for the dog water, and a connection for the cooler.

There are miracles, just plain ordinary miracles. I knew I was going to have to replace the innards of the toilet in my
office. That was the project I was going to keep to myself until either I was done with it or it was done with me. When
the water was shut off and back on, it starting running and would not shut off. The float was not floating at the right
depth. I was going to attempt to do this myself. I went to Lowes and bought a kit that had everything in it. There were
even pictures on the box to make this easier.

Yesterday afternoon after I fixed the water line so I could turn on the water, you just can not imagine how thrilled I was
to find the leaking forever running water in the toilet had stopped. Why that happened, I do not care. So my toilet
innards replacement lesson will be put off for another day and I am not one bit disappointed. I have the kit just in case.
Your brain gets clogged up if you save too much information. This is some I do not need. :)

Well, I best get with the program. My first for the day will be here at 9 and I am not dressed and have not eaten.

I find great truth in today's quote.

Cyber hugs and lots of love to all.

Special prayers for Cleo and Beth and their families.

J
Mom
Gram

If you find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn't lead anywhere. - Frank Clark

Wed 1-28-9

Good Morning All:

I had a full day with Adrian planned again, but he called in sick. I am going to attempt one job and then I'll see how that
goes before I attempt anything else.

A couple clients said how nice my yard looked. I just smiled and said thanks. I just didn't feel the need to share how
much help I had in getting it to that point.

Last night was cold here. Sure do hope it didn't freeze enough to hurt anything. Once it gets warm out there, I'll check
everything out.

This is an amazing video of a bareback ride without a bridle.

There was another version. This one is a bit larger even if it is grainy.

http://www.westfallhorsemanship.com/

Go to see us and then to videos. Scan clear to the bottom. You want to watch the one on the left first.

I hope you all have a great day and that everything goes well for you.

Cyber hugs and love to all.

Special prayers for Cleo and Beth and their families.

J
Mom
Gram

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel. - Carl W. Buechner

Tue 1-27-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday was very productive, but it is very hard to keep up with someone better than half my age. My front yard looks
so pretty thanks to the help of Adrian. First he planted the ranuculas. I started whacking the roses. He worked on weeds
while I was doing that. He offered to cut the roses for me and I said, no, not even my husband was allowed to cut my
roses. :) I whacked, he loaded them in the truck and cleaned out the beds. He dug out 3 willows that had volunteered. We
started shortly after 7:30 and left for the dump at almost 3. It was a very long day and I was dragging. But the upper lot,
the roses, and my flower bed look very good. I don’t believe it has ever been done so early. Now I just need to pray we
don’t get a bad freeze to nip their growth.

I got the stuff I needed to fix the water line by the cooler. Today I’ll put it in and see if that goes as well. After that, I
have one more “little” project and then I can concentrate on tending my clients. Adrian will be back tomorrow and we’ll
attempt to redo the water line for my roses. That is going to take some doing, but I know we can do it.

I am moving so slow this morning. I doubt I could have made it even to bed last night without a hot shower. I didn’t even
see 24 last night. I went to bed. I’ll watch it this AM. Thank God for my DVR. Yesterday, I only made it through the
whole day with the aide of Tylenol. I think I’m going to need a hot shower and pop a pill in order to make it through the
morning.

My toner guy will be out here this AM. I asked him to see what he can find for a copier for me. My copier sucks. It is
jamming. A guard broke. I should have glued it back together or had it professionally repaired. Instead I just removed it
- didn’t think it needed it. That has to be one of the dumbest things I’ve done in awhile. I have gone past the point of no
return so now I’m going to have to bite the bullet and get a new one.

My computer gave me fits this AM. It just didn’t want to on very nicely. I was sweating bullets. Having computer problems
at any time is a bad thing, but at tax time, well that is catastrophic. Obviously, it is working now, but I’m going to have to
get Rent-A-Techie to come out and check it over because I sure can afford to be without it now. There is just something
about my lack of patience when I tell something to on and it doesn’t.

I’m going to go in there and watch Jack. I do love 24. Spending a little time with Jack will be a good way to start the
day. I’m not sure I have any places that are not sore. Even this typing is pulling something in my arms and hands. Damn, I
used to be able to work like that all day long. OK, maybe not all day, but at least a goodly portion of it.

Today, I’m just praying for survival. If I was moving any slower, my name would be molasses.:)

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

To get the full value of a joy you must have somebody to divide it with. - Mark Twain

Mon 1-26-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday, I ran a few errands. The biggest deal of the day was me gassing up the truck. Why you say was that so
exciting? Well, it was because of what I paid for my gas. Long story short is that Safeway gives you .10 off a gallon for
each 100 you spend on groceries. Unfortunately there are only a few stations in town. I had gone over to cash in my
rewards and their pumps were not working. My rewards were going to expire on 12-31. On 12-30, I spoke to a mgr and
got nowhere. I decided to write to corporate and tell them I thought they should reinstate my 7 rewards points on 1-1
because it was not my fault I could not use them. I didn’t hear from them until just a while back. He reinstated the old
points until 3-31. Today, I took advantage of my reward points. Only by now they had leaped up to 9 points. The only
thing sad was that gas had gone up. That was still OK. I ended up paying .939 a gallon. Let me tell you that my back tank
was out and I limped in on less than a 1/4 tank on the front. Sadly, the limit was 30 gallons, but for that 30 gallons of
gas, I paid the princely sum of 28.17. I smiled all the way home. I should be OK on gas for about a month or so - depends
on how much running I have to do. It is going to kill me to have to pay full freight the next time. :)

I stopped by Lowes and the Ranunculus were in. I got 6. They should just about fill in the bed. The only thing I’ll do
after they get planted is to trim off the lower leaves on the HL and then sprinkle some oriental poppy seeds in the bed and
see if any of them will grow. They are so pretty, I certainly do hope so.

I also got a couple of pipe wrenches and even used them. They do work pretty slick. I need to replace an inline shut off.
I think it is a ball something or other.   I also picked up a little repair kit. If I can manage that, let me tell you, there will
be loud bragging. If not, well, I’ll be honest enough to tell you that tale too.

I’ll be picking up Adrian about 7 and I’ll be whacking roses and he’ll be loading them and cleaning out the wells. I hope we
can finish them up, but if not, there is always tomorrow. The yard is in good shape for this early in the year. I fear there
will be at least a couple trips to the dump.

I wish you a happy and productive day and wish the same for me.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.   - Jim Rohn

Sun 1-25-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday, I got the shelves on my computer unit empty. I don’t know why I let it get that clogged up. It does look ever so
much better. Besides, I have a certain order of working on returns and there is a pecking order of where folders go
during the entire process.   I took everything off my book shelf. Most of it will be sold, cause it isn’t going back up there.
I’ve just got a feather rose, a Kokopelli, a couple candles and that is it. I do not want all the clutter and when I need to
dust, I don’t want to have to move a ton of stuff to get to the shelves.

I took some pictures of the old Hawaiian Lily and have a new one of the bed. It is coming along nicely and looks so much
better with the HL at the far north edge of the bed instead of being in the middle. It broke it up too much and now it will
act as a lovely border and even barrier to block the back yard. Take a peak... http://community.webshots.com/user/jragels

Today, I’m going to work on files. That is the kind of stuff that no one will ever see what you’ve done, but you’ll know. I
worked on my files a lot last year and just got side tracked with the house stuff. I need/want to get back to it. I have 6
file cabinets now. When I’m done, I’ll only have 4 and only two of them will be tax return related.

I started putting everything on the computer last year. I have scanned client papers for each year and am storing them
electronically along with both a tax program copy of the return as well as a complete pdf ver with all my worksheets. To
offer me some security, I have offsite storage with Carbonite. At 50 a year, it buys me great peace of mind. What I like
most of all is that I don’t have to make a conscious effort to do the backup. It automatically backs up whatever I do. Now
since I am also very skeptical of any electronic storage, I have those same files on the hard drive and at the end of the
year, I put them on CD/DVD. I may stop doing that last part. I mean, just how many places do you need to keep anything
for it to be safe. I have two internals and one external hard drive.   Anyone needing a good storage solution, you can
check it out. There is a free trial. This came highly recommended by people on a computer list. I could actually keep all
this myself without paying out the 50 a year, but this system does the automatic backup shortly after I create the work.
Off site storage is huge. I mean look how totally stupid we all are. We create work whether it be a document,
spreadsheet, a picture, whatever. We faithfully copy that to a DVD. Where is your DVD? It is in the same room as your
computer. So if your house burns down, or someone breaks in and takes it, it is gone, gone, gone. With offsite storage, I
don’t have to even think about backing up. Now, I’ve never had to restore anything, but that is suppose to be fairly easy
too. Anyway, I’m sold on it. Both my books are backed up as well. Trust me when I say that is true peace of mind.
http://www.carbonite.com/

I have gotten the last of the pictures I'll put on my site for a little while. There is a cute picture of Brownie with his poem.

Talking about doing stuff doesn’t get anything done, so I best put my feet in motion instead of my fingers.

I wish you a happy and productive day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Optimism and humor are the grease and glue of life. - Philip Butler

Sat 1-24-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday it was cloudy most of the day with the rain on and off. I managed to get the porch washed off where we got
some dirt the day before. There was a very limited amount of sunshine. While the sun was still out, Casey and I went over
for our walk. By the time we were finishing up, it clouded over again. We got sprinkled on while going home, so that
pretty much ended the outside stuff. I think we used up that tiny patch of sun to the max.

I called Lowes about their Ranuculas and they didn’t come in. At least the call saved me a trip over there for nothing.

I was up way too early yesterday and laid back down for a nap at 8 and didn’t raise up again til close to 11. Sounds crazy,
but it felt like the right thing to do.

Today I’ll be busy doing tax stuff, which is always good. It is always good to see most of my clients.

I wish you a happy and productive day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. - Unknown

Fri 1-23-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday was another extremely productive day thanks to the able assistance of Adrian. After I picked him up we went
over and got a load of dirt. Thanks to those over the top tires I bought last year, the load didn’t hardly even flatten them
out. We fought rain all morning long. It was suppose to rain off and on, well, it was on more than off. He got the bed
filled with dirt and all the plants planted. The last group we finished with me holding an umbrella over him while he
planted. When we finished that, I told him we were not going to fight with the rain any more and that I was going to call it
quits for the day. I took him home, stopped by the store, got sprinkled on a bit, but after I got home, it didn’t rain any
more and would have made nice working weather. Go figure. We both got wet. I changed my top twice. Being a wet rat is
not my idea of fun. I'm too much of a high and dry kind of gal.

I’ll take some pictures of the flower bed today. It looks so good. I am going to go over to Lowes today. They were
suppose to get in some Ranuculas and I need to check them out for sure. The last time I planted some, they lasted for a
very long time and looked so good. Besides, I’ve got a couple holes to fill in. :) Maybe I can get something nice for my
toilets too. Today is suppose to be more of the same, so I told Adrian we would try it again on Monday. Over the weekend,
I’m going to try and cut some roses back, so that we can finish them up on Monday. After that we’ll work on the yard.   It
will be good to get a head start on things around here.

Well, best get ready to work or I’ll be shot before afternoon even hits. I went to bed so early last night and suspect
tonight will be more of the same.

I wish you a happy and productive day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Friendships are fragile things, and require as much care and handling As any other fragile and precious thing.
- Randolph S. Bourne

Thu 1-22-9

Good Morning All:

Yesterday was an extremely productive day. I had the able assistance of a young guy named Adrian. He has all those
wonderful qualities of a person I’d love to have around here on a steady basis. He is young. He bends quickly and easily.
He even squats while doing some work. He does not have any back problems. He ASKED me if it was OK if he took a break
to eat of piece of fruit. I told him not only was it OK, but he never had to ask that again. He is a good worker and does
not shirk. He works like Brownie used to work - full out without hardly taking a break. I am for sure getting my money’s
worth. The one negative is that he does not have transportation and I had to take him home. He does not live that far away
- only about 7 or 8 miles. I will have to go get him this AM too, but he is such a good worker, that I will overlook that
without blinking.

He got my Hawaiian lily divided and moved. I now have two lilies and they are at the north end of my bed. It opens it up
so much. He moved some of my miniature roses, some bulbs, and my Echinacia. It looks so good. Now because it looks so
much better, I of course, went out and bought new stuff to put in. I got some very pretty big yellow pansies, some stocks,
and some lobelia. I can hardly wait to get them in. Rather I can hardly wait for Adrian to put them in where I tell him. :) I
also decided to try some Gladiolus bulbs. I’m going to alternate a dark black/red and a yellow. If they grow, they should
be beautiful. After we finish up that bed, we’re going to start in on my roses out front. Hopefully we can get it all done
today and even haul a load to the dump. That will be great if that happens. There will be pictures as soon as the bed is
done. I should have taken a good before. I did take one of the lily. I knew I wanted to move that lily after that dog died
in that bed. It just blocked my view so much that I never saw the dog before it started smelling. I for sure do not want
that to happen again.

I will for sure have to eat my wheaties if I’m going to even attempt to keep up with Adrian today. It will be so good to
have someone help me with this work. I just can’t do everything I used to do. OK, so I can still do it, but it will take me
forever and my back will scream nasty words at me. I’ll prune my roses and Adrian can load them into the truck and cut
and clean out all the wells. This is going to be so much easier.

This year will be the first year I’ll have my roses in good shape so early for their spring run. That will leave me with just
the water line to correct and then I’ll be in business. Anyway, I’m pumped with the prospect of getting so much done
before I really get busy. I know we’ll probably get hit with a freeze before our winter is completely over. If that should
happen, I’ll have to cover my lilies because they are the most vulnerable now right after moving them.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

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

Wed 1-21-9

Good Morning All:

I watched TV most of yesterday. Regardless who is coming in or going out, the ceremony involved is nice to watch. I loved
the courtesy. I love them being polite to each other. I did not see any reason we could not have watched the luncheon. I
read the recipes online and that seafood stew just sounded so good. I may attempt to make that for myself. The rest of
the stuff mostly did not interest me and I would have for sure passed on the duck. I got a bit bored with the parade. I
taped so I could FF through the evening events.

Now down to business. I efiled my first return yesterday. I have done some mockups of tax returns, but it will take time
to figure out where everything is. Most stuff appears to be in the same places, but they always think they need to improve
something that isn’t broken. I find it funny that my first three returns are all out of state returns.

Last night Casey clawed my hand as he was jumping out of the truck. It was my fault. I had my hand on the seat at the
same time I told him OK, which is his permission to jump out. He stepped on my hand and then used it for a springboard. I
have 3 claw marks where he torn the skin. I washed it and put bag balm on it. I fear I’ll be getting an ugly bruise. Still
love the guy. It was not his fault. I’m just glad I didn’t scream at him.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Optimism and humor are the grease and glue of life. - Philip Butler

Tue 1-20-9

Good Morning All:

I so much admire those brave souls who are attending the celebrations in DC today. That weather is so bitterly cold that
even if I was there, I would not venture out.

Some applaud this day. Some decry this day. The bare truth is that this day is here, time will pass, and this day will end.
I pray he can help to bridge the gap between the haves and the have nots. It is the theory behind those differences rather
than a monetary amount. I think that attitude's best example was when one of the pundits who was talking about the
problems in Detroit said the first thing that had to be done to make them more competitive was to reduce the cost of labor.
I was appalled at that remark. Basic corporate greed has done more to harm to this country than anything else. There is
absolutely nothing wrong with any company making a profit. That is what they are suppose to do. There is no CEO worth
what many of them have been paid. The vast discrepancy between the top and the bottom has just been too extreme. Now
I do not want every bank account to be equal. I believe that hard work alone should be rewarded, but the let them eat
cake attitude is not good either.

I was very pleased to see both the Obamas and Bidens practicing a time of service yesterday. What a wonderful thing to
encourage people to give up their own time and energy in helping others less fortunate. I believe it is a true statement that
if we all did something to help, our world would be better. I say that and I believe that, yet I did nothing.

I want to congratulate Sharon upon the healthy arrival of another great grandchild. Both mother and son are doing well
and Sharon was a proud as punch.

I hope your day will be a good one. Good quote today.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and lots of love.

Mom
Gram

You don't get ulcers from what you eat. You get them from what's eating you. - Vicki Baum

Mon 1-19-9

Good Morning All:

Well, not much going on this morning. I got my windows washed and things washed down with vinegar water. Makes it
smell better. Got stuff moved out of my copy room. My desk is cleaned off and I'm ready.

I'll work on my files. I still need to do some scanning. Oh well, it takes a little time to get all this done.

Need to scan some files. I figure by the end of this year, I should have my office files down to where I want them and
then I'll be able to get rid of my 3 smaller file cabinets. At least that is the plan. :) Eventually it will get down to me just
having sewing projects to do.

I hope you all have a lovely day.

Cyber hugs and love to you all.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

J
Mom
Gram

A child's life is like a piece of paper on which every person leaves a mark. - Chinese Proverb

Sun 1-18-9

Good Morning All:

I had a wonderful surprise yesterday. Becky, Laura, and David came down and brought me a very pretty throw. They also
took me to the casino with them. I had a great time and walked away even. Actually it was a good gambling story. I
dropped 20. Dropped another 20. Wandered around some. Dropped 5. Wandered some more. Found Laura and asked her
if she minded if I sat next to her. So I did until a lady wanted to know if I was playing that machine. So I got up and
moved across the aisle. I said what the heck and took out a dollar and put it into a penny machine. Would you believe I
ran that tiny little dollar up to almost 100. I played on it for the longest time and then cashed out when I hit 45. So I
walked away even, actually, I lost 1 dollar, but I bought a lot of fun with that. When they took me home, Becky came in
and got the cheese she bought from Rob that I forgot to take to her when I went up on New Year's Eve. I settled into
watching some TV under my new blankie and fell promptly asleep in the arms of Morpheus.

Today will be a not so fun day. I have lots to do to get my office in order. I need to pack up some dishes for ebay and
give my office a general good cleaning. Depending on how good I am will have to decide how to reward myself. I went to
the store yesterday afternoon to pick up some more fruit. Those strawberries and blueberries are calling my name.

I changed my web page a little in the quilt section. I just had to give Carey's quilt a little more room. It took up so much
of my life for so long and it is so pretty that it deserved it. I gave it it's own page and added a couple closeups of two of
my favorite blocks, plus added the label so its story could be told. I doubt I'll ever have as much time and effort involved
in any one project. I'm just glad that she liked it and I liked it when it was done. That would have been something if we
had both tired of it and no longed liked it. We still laugh at one horrid email fight we got into way back in the planning
stage. Communication was not high on our list that day. We were just laughing about that a week or so ago. Some funny
stuff. Probably to no one else, but funny to us.

Anyway, I think I'm done with it for right now. I know in another week or so, I'm going to add some tax tips and maybe
some more links. I do so love how simple it is to do and change. I'm not completely sure I like the buttons on the pages and
will eventually change them, but for right now, they work and are serviceable, so that is fine.

I best get me some breakfast cause this is going to be a long day.

Cyber hugs and lots of love to you all.

Isn't today's quote beautiful and true?

Special hugs and prayers for Cleo and her family.

J
Mom
Gram

Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden where the flowers are dead. - Oscar Wilde

Sat 1-17-9

Good Morning All:

Since I do what I do, I get a lot of notices from the IRS and different states. I just got one from CA that states due to
the present state of the economy, refunds will be delayed for 30 days beginning on 2-1. If that is not a good reason for
everyone to file early this year, I don't know what is. :) This has happened before to other states. I can recall it
happening to Alabama refunders a few years ago.

I don't have much on the agenda this weekend. I'll be working on my office.

Got my first gas bill that involved many cold days. This is just a bit too high. But then I bitch about the gas bill in the
winter and the electric in the summer. It does not make me turn either off. It is just hard trying to make sense of why. It
also does not make me believe running a natural gas vehicle is going to be cheaper than gasoline either.

Casey and I will take our walk later on.

Faye told me that Letha has finished doing the hand quilting on Bill's quilt. As soon as the weather is decent between them,
they will make a run to MO to get it. I know she will be happy when that happens. Linda caught an error on my web site
when I was talking about Bill's quilt. I had Letha's name wrong. Those are the kinds of errors I am so grateful to have
others find for me. Obviously I sure missed it.

Well, I best get with it. I want to run to the store before it gets that crowded with the weekenders.

You all have a great day and do something to make you smile.

Special prayers to Cleo and her family.

Lots of love to you all.

J
Mom
Gram

The scars of others should teach us caution. - St. Jerome

Fri 1-16-9

Good Morning All:

I had an absolutely wonderful day yesterday. I think my web site is finished for right now and I've removed the under
construction sign. I may end up doing a little more tweaking, but for the most part it is finished unless there is more tax
stuff I want to post. You can check it out. If you spot any typos or anything that you believe looks whacko, please let me
know.

Casey and I went on our first walk in close to a week. I thought I was up to it, but my legs got a little rubbery just as we
were finishing up the first lap, so I decided it would be best to call it quits. I was very pleased to see so many people
walking. There must have been at least a half dozen cars in the main lot, a few on the side lot, and at least 6 people on the
track. Three more were starting just as I was finishing up. Kids were playing on the playground equipment. Mothers were
pushing babies in strollers. There were a couple mother and daughter teams walking. One guy was running. That was the
most active I’ve ever seen it. We ran into people about every quarter. About half were walking clockwise and the other
counterclockwise. Everyone seems to have their own idea of which is right. I still find that amusing, but I’m a firm
counterclockwise walker. That is like putting on your pants. I always put my left foot in first. I always put on my left
shoe and sock first. I don’t know why, but when I’ve tried to do the other one, it just feels wrong. I also don't know why
we say shoes and socks when we absolutely must put on our socks first. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone say they
were going to put on their socks and shoes.

I for sure need to do some hard work in the office. It won’t be long before I’ll be wanting everything neat and tidy. I
refuse to work in a messy office. Drives me nuts, or at least moreso.

Barb came through surgery just fine. I talked to her for a bit in the late afternoon and she said her blood pressure went
down pretty low and that she was cold. They were working on getting that up. Say prayers that she heals fast as she is
one impatient lady.   One thing I find odd is that she is in the same room as Beth was in. I mean what are the odds of
that? It isn’t as if that hospital only has a couple rooms.

It is possible to send her an email. You just need her name and her room number. It is 252.

I wish you all a lovely day and that whatever you accomplish makes you smile.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

I absolutely LOVE today’s quote. Made me laugh.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Life asks us to make measurable progress in reasonable time. That's why they make those fourth grade chairs so small – so
you won't fit in them at age twenty-five! - Jim Rohn

Thu 1-15-9

Good Morning All:

Well, yesterday Beth went home. She will be recuperating for awhile and then start her chemo in two weeks. Beth is a
very strong minded and kind hearted individual. She has gone out of her way to help others most of her life. She has
written the book on caregiving. Please say prayers for her. I love ya tall one.

Barb is going in for her hip surgery today. I know she is looking fwd to being able to get around a little better. She'll be
in the hospital for a couple of days. Please say prayers for her. I know she'll be up and about as soon as possible and
loving every minute of it.

I was feeling like my cold was gone and I was over it yesterday. Well, I woke up with a stuffed nose this AM, so, guess
I'm not out of the woods yet.

I feel pretty fair, so I think Casey and I will go on our walk today. The only walking I've managed is what little was done
when going to the store and you all know that isn't really walking.

Today is garbage day, so I'll at least pick up all the junk in the front yard the wind blew in and get rid of that. I sure
need to work on my roses and get them ready.

I also need to go buy a fitting for one of my pipes that froze and get my outside water turned back on. Course, turning
off the outside water would have been a good thing BEFORE the damn pipe froze. Actually it froze at a shut off so it
shouldn't be that big a deal.

Robby is just getting over a king sized sinus infection. Long story short is that it was pretty bad. I talked to him
yesterday. He said one place on his face is still sensitive, his teeth still feel numb, and his eyes hurt when he has them in
any position except straight ahead. The antibiotics seem to be working, so I hope he is better soon. He also has a cut on
his chin from where he took a direct hit when he passed out and his chin collided with the floor. Poor guy. Said he was
standing there one minute waiting for his RX and the next thing he knew, some guy was slapping him on the face asking him
if he was OK. He bent his glasses, but said he got those bent back in shape. This was much worse than I thought in the
beginning. All this from shoveling shit. Yep, he was cleaning out the goat pen when this all started. The dr believes some
stay particle lodged and started growing. Yuk and double yuk. I'd be wearing a mask next time. Course that is what the
poor boy needs, both his mother and his wife on his ass. Talk about no where to run and no where to hide. :)

I want all those I love and care about to get better. Prayers to Cleo, Beth, Barb, and Rob.

Special prayers and thoughts to Sharon and her family and they continue with their healing and dealing with the loss of
Gary.

Love to all

J
Mom
Gram

He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away. - Raymond Hull

Wed 1-14-9

Good Morning All:

Today is a great day. I got my first SS check of the year in a larger amount. Beth is going home. I am feeling so much
better that I know I am going to live and even want to.

I got some stuff lined up a little better on my site and did a little general tweaking. I worked gathering pictures to post to
my quilt section. I should have that done in a few days. It is all very exciting. You'll be the first to know. :)

Being sick slowed things down. Sure I could have done some things, but when I'm not at 100%, I just don't work well. At
least now I won't have a good excuse for not doing anything. Maybe I'll actually get my office ready to go. I've been
getting some things or questions from clients, so it will all start soon. The 16th will be the first day anyone can efile a
return, so the floodgates will open up after that.

Best get moving so I can accomplish something worthwhile today.

I've been on both sides of today's quote. :)

Special prayers for Cleo and family.

J
Mom
Gram

It is better to keep your mouth shut and appear stupid than to open it and remove all doubt. - Mark Twain

Tue 1-13-9

Good Morning All:

I spent another day mostly resting - not so much in bed as just easing back into life. Got to get my sea legs back.

Yesterday I got some more bad news. This time a good old friend from the lunch bunch found out she has cancer. You
know I am hating cancer more and more all the time. Cancer is touching the lives of too many people I care about and love.

I guess several days ago Beth went into the emergency room and they drew off 3 or 4 quarts of liquid from her abdomen.
They did an exploratory on her yesterday, removed her ovaries, fallopian tubes, and her appendix. She has stage 3
cancer. It is also in her lymph nodes in her groin. They put in a port and she will begin chemo in 2 weeks. I feel so
terribly bad that I can't go see her, but I don't dare go anywhere near her with this bug I've gotten. I'll just have to lend
my moral support in emails until I'm better.

Beth has done so much for others, I do hope people are good to her. She deserves that for sure. She has always been the
caregiver for so many. I hope she will allow herself to receive as well. I am also praying that her body can handle the
chemo well. One step at a time, just one small step at a time.

Cancer staging is complicated. There are actually 5 stages in cancer, 0, I, II, III, IV. The staging can somewhat be
dependent on the type of cancer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_staging Most of us never hear about anything
except 3 or 4. To get under that you have to be diagnosed very early. Brownie's lymphoma was caught very early as far as
lymphoma goes and he was at stage III.

After that news, anything I have to say just pales in comparison. She has been on my mind since I learned the news.
Please say some prayers for her.

I must say my hot date with Jack was great and I was so glad to find out that Tony was really a good guy. I miss some of
the people on the old team but I'm so glad they brought Chloe back. I just love her. This one is also going to be about the
good guys battling the bad guys. Only these good guys are really on their own just trying to do the right thing and
exposing the greedy evil bad guys close to the President. Like that is a stretch from our reality. :)

Continue saying prayers for Cleo.

I hope you have a good day and that your skies are blue with only a few small clouds for contrast.

Cyber hugs and love to all

J
Mom
Gram

Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.
- James Stephens

Mon 1-12-9

Good Morning All:

I was so glad to hear that Gary’s memorial went well and so many attended. That did a lot to help his family.

I was in bed again most of yesterday. While it feels good, after a couple days of being in bed, not everything works real
well. I’m hoping to be able to walk today even if I only do one lap. So why is it you can breathe so much better after a
hot shower? If it is the moisture in your lungs, isn't that what leads to pneumonia?

I had two wonderful people offer to make a grocery run for me. Damn it is nice to know genuinely kind and wonderful
people. Actually, I am in good shape as far as the groceries go. After I got my own diet 7, I got over the whining part. :)
Whining does not become most people, but sometimes life just sucks and the complaining turns into whining. I’ll give Diana
and Tim two gold stars each for even offering to come to my whining aid. :)

It took me two tries to watch all of 24, but I love Jack enough. I’ll probably watch the entire thing again from the
beginning just to make sure I didn’t miss anything. :) He is my kind of a problem solver. Course if he was on my payroll, I’d
do in most of those idiots in government and for sure put out a hit on several judges. I think if someone did in all of the
Supreme Court, it would be great to start from scratch, however, they should all be forced into retirement at age 70.
When you stop and think about all those drooling old fools wearing black robes handing down judgments the rest of us
have to live by, well, it just makes my skin crawl. Let me also say that idiot bimbo in Alaska would not come back from her
next airplane moose hunt. What a sport? I wonder if she shoots fish in a barrel too.   If you don’t have ethics in hunting,
you damn sure don’t anywhere else. I love that she is blaming everyone else for her stupid answers. I don’t dislike her
because she is a Republican. I dislike her intensely because she is one peg below stupid. It will be interesting to see if
Alaska elects her again.

I got the last of my strawberries cleaned and also my cantaloupe, so I’m in good shape for a several days. I do so hate
running out of fresh fruit.

I will not be answering my phone again tonight. I’ve got another hot date with Jack.

I wish you all a lovely day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Many things which cannot be overcome when they are together yield themselves up when taken little by little. - Plutarch

Sun, January 11, 2009

Good Morning All:

First of all, Gary’s memorial is today, not yesterday. I am sending a piece of my heart and all the support in the world.
They will be fine for lots of reasons. They have no choice. They know how much they loved and were loved. That love
will hold them well.

I was in bed most of yesterday. I had to go to the store. That was the only walking I did. I was plugged up most of the
day and woke up this AM with one nostril and one eye running. That is really disgusting.   I mean it really sucks when your
own body turns on you. I don't know why, but my left side is either worse or getting better.

I know I’ll be in bed most of today as well. Snuggling under both of Brownie’s quilts doesn’t hurt either. Even being sick
sucks more now. It was easy to be able to get him to go up to the Circle K and get me some 7Up. He loved me and knew I
wasn’t feeling well. This time, I had to go get my own. Whine. Whine. Whine.   I just hate being sick. You know that
makes me different from the rest of the world. :) In that way we are all the same. I wonder if the trappers got colds in
the winter or were they protected by both the cold and loss of human contact? My brain can be a scary place to be
sometimes. :)

Well, I’m going back to bed. I had a hot date with the Shaggy Dog movie with Tim Allen. I liked the old one. This one was
OK, but no awards or bell ringing. Watched Eagle Eye yesterday. That was a good one too if you like the idea of what all
Big Brother could really do.

I will not be answering my phone tonight. This is the night 24 comes back, so I’ve got a hot date with Jack. Same goes for
tomorrow night.

I wish you all a lovely day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Special prayers for Gary’s family and friends today.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

If you don't learn to laugh at troubles, you won't have anything to laugh at when you grow old. - Ed Howe

Sat, January 10, 2009

Good Morning All:

Yesterday Casey and I had a wonderful walk. He handled his first children who wanted to pet him and also a guy on a
bicycle very well. We enjoyed the breeze. It was good. We were feeling fine.

I'd been home about an hour when my one nostril plugged up. The first thing I thought of was some kind of an allergy.
Since I've never had any of those A things, I figured, sure why not get something else that was related to getting old that
I didn't like. About a half hour later, I knew it was not an allergy. I knew I was getting a cold. I went from perfectly
fine to having a cold in a heart beat. I hit the drugs and started popping pills and using nose sprays. About another hour
and I was sick. I fixed me a bowl of chicken and rice soup and decided to go to bed, bundle up and watch a movie. At
some point later I started getting hot and had just a horrible night of tossing and turning. I took some Aleve sometime
during the night and that probably got me the best rest.

I have never gone from perfectly well to sick in such a short time. My throat was never even scratchy until sometime at
night. This morning I can tell I have a cold and I'll be doing my non gag version of gargling. Brownie could gargle with
the best of them. It was another thing he did so much better than me.

Anyway. I hope none of you get this thing that hits like 90. I have to go to the store today. I could have gone yesterday,
but decided I'd wait. Not a swift move since I was feeling fine then.

Luckily none of you can catch this from an email.

I wish you a very happy day.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Special prayers for Gary and his family. They will be having his memorial today. I know I speak for everyone who will not
be able to go that our hearts are with them.

Cyber hugs and lots of love to all

J
Mom
Gram

If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right. - Henry Ford

Fri, January 9, 2009

Good Morning All:

Accomplished a little work in my office, nothing much to brag about, but a start. I’ll be happier when I reach done. :)

Casey and I went for our walk and met several other fat people. Fat people are not attractive. They are just fat.

Funny how you don’t really notice putting on 5 or 10 lbs. Then you don’t notice 20 to 25. But everyone has a number in
their head that screams, “You are fat”. Most people are fat because we eat too much and don’t get enough exercise to
burn it off. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to take it off. There are no easy fixes. Back in the day of the
farmer, boy they ate huge meals, but then they worked like dogs too. There are very few of us that need more than about
a tablespoon of a veggies, a half cup of salad, and a piece of meat about the size of a silver dollar. Everything else is
excess. I agree with that and don’t usually have a problem with it. I just have a hard time knowing where to fit in my hot
fudge sundae. :) I have just about lost those 4 lbs I gained eating my bourbon balls. I know I loved them, but did not
realize they were so deadly. If this was a fair world, I should be able to have a few bourbon balls every night. Hell, I’d
be better off just slugging down a shot. :)

I finally got my new sewing lamp. It is just like my old one except it is white instead of black and I like it a whole not
more. It won’t show the dust as much. :) The peg is a little larger, so I’m going to have to enlarge my hole in my table.
That sucks because I used my largest drill bit. All of Brownie’s files are gone. There are times I’m sorry I got rid of all
his tools, but then at that time I was moving to TX. I’ll either figure something out here or I’ll make a trip to Lowes.
Anyway, now that I’ve got my eyes back, I can finish up Jo’s jacket. I'll at least work on it this weekend.

Best get with the program whatever I do.

I wish you all a lovely day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. - Plato

Thu, January 8, 2009

Good Morning All:

Got the last of my newsletters folded, stuffed, stamped, and taken to the PO. Done could be one of the words I love the
most. A client dropped by. There seems to be a bevy of letters from the IRS questioning stupid stuff.   I swear I hate this
kind of stuff.   The explanation was on a statement attached to the return, or in the case of multiple years, they processed
them out of order. It upsets clients for no reason and wastes my time.

I braised some stew meat and onions and then put it on to simmer early yesterday morning. It sure smelled good. My pest
guy even liked the smell. :)   Ended up using the last of the canned veggies I bought before Brownie died. They were going
to expire in 2009 and 2010. I am trying very hard to not keep so much stuff in stock. I’ve been eating out of my freezer
more lately, so that supply is going down. It is just such a waste of time, effort, and money if you let it go bad. I ate
supper last night, put up six 2C bags of stew and have a large bowl with part of a potato in it for today. I cooked 3 whole
potatoes in the stew. Used half of one for my supper last night and the other have will be eaten today. I am going to have
one of the others for breakfast. Not sure of the fate of the other one. That tells me I should have only cooked two
potatoes. :) Now when I want some stew, I’ll have to nuke a potato to put in there. It won’t be the same, but I do like
potatoes in stew. It is just a shame that something truly evil happens to them when you put them in the freezer.

Casey and I got our walk in yesterday. It is funny that people have strong opinions about which way you are suppose to
walk on a path. I walk counter clockwise. A guy was walking at the same time and he was walking clockwise, so we passed
him on each round. We did our mile is good order. I would have gone another loop, but I was getting cold. We are
suppose to be getting into warmer weather. While that is good, I honestly am not ready for it to get too hot too soon. A
slow spring is much better for my roses and I’m ready for some pretty pictures.

Well, best get to work to clear up some stuff in my office so I am ready to really go to work. I have lots to do before
everything is in great order. Then need to get back to my web page. It is driving me crazy that all the text does not start
at the same place or that the navigation bars are not located at the same place. I think I have found a solution, but I don’t
have time to work on that again right away. I swear my butt was sore from sitting just way too long. I need to do more
moving around.

I wish you all a lovely day. There are a lot of people in this world who could benefit from today’s quote.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

If you wish to experience peace provide peace for another. - Dalai Lama

Wed, January 7, 2009

Good Morning All:

Up early again this morning. I made a little progress yesterday. After sending out an email to all my clients telling them I
was not moving to TX and their newsletter would arrive before too long, I got several calls or emails.   So solved some
problems or answered some questions.

I decided to print out the envelopes rather than use labels. I think it looks nicer, but it is just a trade off as far as time is
concerned. I got half of them done and to the PO. I’ll get the rest done this AM. After that I need to write a couple
letters to the IRS for clients and get that out of the way. After that I'll work on my web page a little more. I can see that
will be a constant thing.

Casey and I made a photograph run yesterday afternoon, but didn’t get a damn thing I could use. Drats and double drats.
I’ll have to do that again. I had set my camera to take panoramic shots, but that didn’t work, so all I did was take Casey
for a ride and burn up some gas. After our run through the mountains, we stopped by the park for our walk. I was only
wearing a sweater, the sun was getting very low, and the temp was rather chilly. My hands and nose were cold by the time
we finished. Home felt pretty damn fine when we arrived. This attempting to walk at least a little each day is already
getting old and this is only January 7th. December 31 is one long way off. :) It is such a shame we all do not naturally
maintain a perfect weight. It is also a shame we can’t take a good health pill that will protect us against ourselves and our
bad genes. It is also a shame that my taste buds still prefer a hot fudge sundae over a serving of veggies and I don’t care
which ones or how they are fixed.

Well, I best get moving. Maybe I can take some more pictures today that will be good. One thing I have found is that the
pull offs in Saguaro National Park are not in the best places to get good pictures. A photographer surely did not put them
in the plan. I need to go to A Mountain and get some shots of the mighty Catalinas and the Rincons. I spotted a good shot
of the Santa Ritas, but not a good place to pull off. The ones of the Tucsons I took fizzled into yuk and surely not fitting
for my web page.:)

I wish you all a lovely day.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family. My heart still tugs for Gary's family as they begin to face life without him.
Adjustment is such a hollow comparison to what they will endure, but they will come through it and survive. His love for
them will help that to be true.

Cyber hugs and my love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

You don't get to choose how you are going to die or when. You can only decide how you are going to live. - Joan Baez
Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark. ~George Iles
To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death. ~Pearl S. Buck
Hope is patience with the lamp lit. ~Tertullian

Tue, January 6, 2009

Good Morning All:

I was up at some ungodly hour yesterday morning and basically worked on the web page all day long except for a run to
the store and a very short walk. I didn’t get nearly enough of a break. Oh yea, I stood under some hot water for awhile
and loved that. It is a lot of work just sitting. :)

I finished up the tax and poem section and got rose pictures in their section. The Tribute to All Veterans will always
remain on the site, but I will change off the other two poems from time to time with poems that appear in a published book.
You can get a preview of what will be in the new book by looking at the TOC (Table of Contents) for Road of Life. The
only section I still have to do is the one on my quilts, but I’m going to take a break now. It is far enough along that it is
OK. Sometime this week, Casey and I will make a run to take some more pictures of the mountains around me and finish
off the headings. I just can’t believe how easy it was to do and yet I have something that I like. I’ll let it gel for a while
and then go back and pick it apart, but for the most part, it is done. I had the hardest time centering some things. Some
I’m not completely happy about, but in time I’ll get them in line too. It would probably be easier if I learned how to use
the grid tool. :) Maybe later. It will be fairly easy to keep updated. Now, I’ll be able to put tax bulletins out for timely
information. You know, like people are going to be checking my webpage on a daily basis! :)

At some point I’ll might be adding some genealogy stuff as well - maybe. I’ve got my hands full with just these things.   I’ll
have to weed out what I want to post in the quilt section. I will not be putting up as much as I have in webshots.

Now I need to get back to getting my newsletter out. I’ll get the labels ready and see if I can get them in the mail today.
There is no rest for the wicked.

I talked to Faye yesterday and she said Cleo told her she might only have 6 months. I am just so saddened by all the
people in this family who have had cancer. All of us have been touched by it when it touched those we love.

Check your moles.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family.

My love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
- Marcel Proust

Mon, January 5, 2009

Good Morning All:

Lots is going on right now. I am finally getting my webpage set up. It will be a work in progress for some time to come,
but it is shaping up. There eventually will be a picture of my mountains or others at the top of each page. Some of them
are missing. I was going to go out with Casey to take some pictures yesterday, but it was just not a good picture taking
day. I know of one place I want to go, so I can hardly wait for a good day. Anyway, you can check it out so far.

Now for something very serious... This message is for all you women. If you have a mole that concerns you, go get it
checked out. If you’ve been putting it off, stop it and go get it checked out. The family has a sorry relationship with
cancer, so do not ignore this and do not wait for a better day or another day. This day is the right day to do this.

My heart is still heavy for Gary’s family. At the same time, I am happy they have so many memories to sustain them.
Unconditional love is a wonderful gift and they are all richer for the bounty he left them. Where Gary is now, he is no
longer in any pain and that is not a bad thing. When we lose someone we love, we don’t want them to stay with us just one
more day, we want them with us for more years. That is selfishness on our part for we can not even imagine the hole in our
lives they will leave. We will always have their memory with us and in that case they will live in our hearts forever.

Special prayers for Cleo and her family and Gary and his family.

My love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Friendship is a sheltering tree. - Coleridge
Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life. - Alvin Toffler
Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced. - Ned Rorem

January 4, 2009

Good Morning All:

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Gary died last night. While on the one hand, I am happy he is no longer
suffering, I am sorry he is no longer among us. He loved and was loved greatly and deeply and that is about as good as it
gets. While he leaves behind people who will mourn him and miss him, he also leaves behind many loving memories to sustain
them. Prayers to Gary and his family.

There is a poem called, "The Dash" written by Linda Ellis that so touched my heart the first time I read it. Gary lived his
dash well.

Cyber hugs and lots of love to all.

J
Mom
Gram

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal. - From a headstone in Ireland

While we are mourning the loss of our friend, others are rejoicing to meet him behind the veil. - John Taylor

In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing. - Robert Ingersoll

Tears are words the heart can't express. - Unknown

December 31, 2008

Good Morning All:

What a difference a day makes. One minute it is 2008; the countdown happens; and we swing into 2009.

In reality at the end of each December we assess the good, the bad, and the ugly. Sometimes we're honest, but most of
the time we at least walk hand and hand with denial. We each have more to do with our lives than circumstance. One of my
favorite quotes is, "Life is not the way its supposed to be. It’s the way it is.   The way you cope with it is what makes the
difference." - Virginia Satir

Each new year we make vows to promise to do at least one thing better than the last year. Each year we are genuinely
sincere. Each year many of us will not make it through March with that vow in tow. Each year we try very hard to deny
that we are liars. Life just gets in the way. Something comes up. Bluntly we excuse ourselves into failure. The sad thing
is that we take this right of passage as a given. We believe a resolution does not have to be kept. Somehow we feel we
will still get a gold star if we but attempt to keep our vow.

This year I'm going to add a few escape clauses in my resolutions.:) I do so hate the deception, but it might fit more
comfortable in March.

First, I am not going to lose 50 lbs. Rather, I am going to attempt to watch my portions.

Second, I am not going to walk 5 miles a day. Rather, I am going to attempt to walk at least a little each day.

That is it for me in the resolution department.

As for welcoming this new year, well 2008 was no bed of roses, so I'm going to hope and pray that 2009 will be better.

I was a more stable person in 2008 than I was in 2007, so I hope that trend continues.

I'll never have lots of money, so I just hope for enough to meet my needs. It would be nice if a few wants were satisfied
as well. I figure I can come up with lots of wants, but honestly have very few needs. Dreams and hope just made the
dreary part of ordinary today living bearable.

Mostly one year is the same as another. They begin full of hope and dreams. I hope our road is fairly smooth and that our
dreams last forever.

Hope is that shining star we cling to. Hope bursts forth proudly in our mind. Hope travels with dreams. It is sometimes
only hope and dreams that can walk us through the darkness. Believing the sun will come up and there will be a new
tomorrow is what keeps hope alive. It is our job to believe. For in believing we have instilled inside our hearts the hope
necessary to survive. Once you can believe in something, love will allow you to believe in many things. Caress your heart
and soul and infuse them with the dream of a better day. Most of all love deeply and passionately every day you live.
Enjoy the simple things and the rest will take care of themselves.

Check out this guy’s review of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWiXy55OHyY

I wish you lots of love and happiness. I wish you the joy of loving and being loved. I wish you a happy heart and that you
laugh often and deeply.

Casey and I will be going up to Becky's for the gala event. We'll be gathering together for games and cards. Mostly we'll
just be having a good time with people we love. I am taking Casey with me this time because of all the gunfire that will go
on here tonight. I could not have left him home alone under those circumstances. I'm glad Becky extended the invite to
him as well. I'll think of all of you with love as the clock ticks into the new year.

May whatever resolution you make today fit your soul just as comfortably tomorrow and the rest of the year.

Special prayers for Cleo and Gary and their families.

Cyber hugs and my love to all. See you next year.

J
Mom
Gram