Love the Holidays?

New shelves i installed over the tv in my cozy newest living room. NOW i really really need a new tv stand - corner style in the same walnut wood tones as the shelves, futon and fireplace in here! I think it will be my 'after Christmas' gift to me.

Yes, the family living great room is decorated too. Fact is i have four Christmas trees around the house... the ceramic shown here; two pre-lighted small trees, one in front of fireplace and one in the greatroom near the wood burner, and my five foot fiber-optic tree in front of the window in greatroom! This is the first year i've actually FELT that Christmas joy in my heart since my life changed drastically more than four years ago.

Pearl Harbor

...was attacked 68 years ago today. I was five years old. I don't remember that day but i remember things that happened during those times. I remember almost nothing about my father - who was off again, on again with my mother until their divorce was final. I do remember though, asking him why he didn't have to go to the war. He told me it was because he was '4F' - and when i asked him what that meant he told me it was because he had flat feet!!!?

Now i know he was alcoholic. I also know he was eleven years older than my mother which means he was about 36 years old at the time.

I also remember when the war ended. I was nine years old at the time. We lived in a two apartment house in a primarily Italian-American neighborhood. My mom had banned my father from ever coming around to see us - their four kids. My new dad was not yet in the picture. He was in that war... a nephew to two of my mom's best friends in the neighborhood.

People were making noise with whatever means available... mostly tooting their car horns. Everybody was happy. It was a really good day!

It's Monday Madness and more...

This week's questions; all about birthdays!
Happy Birthday Natalie!!! (Natalie/Otto's birthday is tomorrow.)
1. Name one thing you received as a gift on your last birthday. Love! It may be a phone call, a visit, a card, or some other token of acknowledgment... but bottom line, the message is 'I'm glad you were born.'

2. What would be the "perfect" birthday gift? Okay, call me sappy but my answer is in number one.

3. Do you look forward to birthdays? Not really, but I am more aware of my age on my birthday. I guess my attitude still is '...better than the alternative.'

4. On your birthday, do you treat yourself to something special each year? Not really but then again, I've never been overly excited one way or the other about my birthday.

5. Do you bother keeping up with your horoscope on a regular basis? Yes... it usually has some relationship to my life - except when it refers to my 'love life' - which is nonexistent. I'm a widow with no intention or desire to resume a brand new love life. I find mine, not on MyYahoo, but the regular Yahoo page which can now be customized & is faster loading the MyYahoo! Matter of fact, here's my horoscope for today:

Quickie: Improving your health is admirable -- lecturing other people to do the same is not.
Overview: Branch out. Take a language class. Try some exotic delicacies. Attend art galleries, poetry readings and cultural festivals. If you make an effort to enjoy and indulge in the new and the sublime, it will indulge you.

6. What zodiac sign are you, and do you think you fit the description for that sign? I'm a Pisces & pretty much fit the sign. I also read an inspirational quote of the day - arriving every weekday in my email. I always think it's a good way to find something to blog about... and today's was NO exception:

... that today is the birthday of the Automobile Speed Limit? In 1901,
Connecticut enacted the first automobile speed limit:15 mph on country
highways and 12 mph within city limits.Celebrate by keeping to the speed
limit on our roadways.
~~~
Today's Inspirational Quote:
"The moment of enlightenment is when a person's dreams ofpossibilities become images of probabilities."
--
Vic Braden, American Tennis Coach

The auto speed thing? Appropriate! Not gonna tell the whole story here but... Friday late afternoon I was stopped by a policeman for speeding. I was going fast - didn't know how fast! It's a new car and moves 'easier' than my old pickup truck did. I was going 72 in a 45 mile/hour zone... and honestly didn't realize it. The WONDERFUL officer actually let me off with a warning! You know, I actually like and respect police officers and that must show through. I was not frightened (although my passenger was a bit nervous) and I guess that's a good thing too.