Winter Whites

Picnic anyone? This is the way my back deck looked a couple of days ago when i took this pic. It still looks that way today.

Michigan... gotta love it... either that or be a bit crazy, eh?

Will i prevent weight gain during the holidays this year?

Well, i did last year... and was SO proud. This summer i was still down to a respectable level and holding. Out of a sense of optimism (insert: eagerness, love, desire to 'do good', loneliness, or perhaps just plain stupidity), i encouraged my sister to move in with me.

She has changed... loads more than me, i think (although i probably have a bias). She is no longer the fun-loving, eager woman i knew years ago. Life did something to her i can't 'fix' - but i still love her. She has a chronic lung disease, or bronchial, i'm not quite sure, but won't quit smoking. Even though she doesn't smoke in my house, she steps out the back door to smoke... the odor is on her clothes so you can smell it in the house anyway. She 'tried' to quit since moving here but started when our mom went to the hospital.

She has diabetes but will not eat healthy food. No matter what i buy or cook, she lets me know she is not very fond of it. She prefers the fatty starchy version. She IS a good cook, but doesn't like whole grains or most vegetables... unless the veggies have a buttery sauce on them.

Since she moved in, i've tolerated a variety of mood swings to which i am not accustomed. My usual good humor is taken as 'sarcasm' even though my friends and rest of the family seem to enjoy my company. My desire to have her 'talk things out' or for any real conversation is considered tiresome and greeted with grunts or one syllable answers.

Okay, so the question was... How will i avoid weight gain during the holidays.

This holiday i will remember my SP friend's favorite quote: "You are always a valuable, worthwhile human being -- not because anybody says so, not because you're successful, not because you make a lot of money -- but because you decide to believe it and for no other reason." Wayne Dyer

i will eat like i did when i was working to keep my husband alive. i will eat healthy foods regardless of what my new housemate likes to eat. i will eat moderate portions.

i'm beautiful, dammit!!! i will remind myself of this every day.

i will continue to love my sister but remember to love me first. After all, how can you have any love to share if you don't love yourself. Meanwhile, her disposition really is improving. This i know.

strange feeling...

...when you wake up in the morning, begin it like always. Turn on the TV, turn on the computer, make your morning two cups of coffee...... whoops! No TV!!! Charter Cable has a blue screen... 'You are not subscribed to this channel... blahblahblah..... if you are subscribed check your cable to see if it's unplugged......'

Hmmm! Computer is online (that's good.) Mmmmm! Coffee's done (that's good.) Uh-oh! the town siren is blowing... and blowing..... and more....... for at least 5 minutes; maybe longer. Was there a prison escape? ...a fire? .....an accident? Who knows? THERE IS NO TV!!! I hear NO fire engine or other types of sirens..... just that continual siren sound. Nobody knows what it means... Can't reach neighbor's phone (she has Charter phone & when TV is off, so is the phone! she has a new cell phone so i don't know the number yet.) Well anyway, the doors are locked.

Phoned my trusty son-in-law. He drove my daughter to work; says it's freezing rain... don't take any unnecessary chances. Thank you, SIL!!! The siren is probably something to do with an accident somewhere nearby, or a cable down somewhere..... or???

Oh yeah... i remember! i DO have a radio. Turn it on... news? It's not the same. i NEED my Fox News fix!!! TV still doesn't work. Will i be okay? Will let you know.....

Thank God the internet is working!!!

Tradition... what it is?

When we were kids, days moved so slowly... and now..... well, it's Sunday again. Since my life changed i've had a new tradition. Every Sunday a few friends & i get together for some fast food and ice cream... always ice cream for dessert.

It's fun. My friends are so wise. They knew it was time for a new tradition - for them and for me. We all look forward to this time together. We thank God for the friendship and the food. We eat the food. We enjoy the friendship. We look forward to next Sunday. I love these wonderful people. I enjoy the food and the laughs..... but dear God, why do the Sundays seem to come faster now than they did when i was a kid?

It's Saturday...

.....and it snowed all day. Had a phone call from an acquaintance involved in an earlier part of my life. He facilitates a writer's group i expressed an interest in... and now i will be a part of that group. Growth is life. Life is good.

An OLLI new day...

Woo Hoo!!! I just finally joined OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)! Been planning to do this like... forever..... and finally went to a meeting with a friend last month. Saw several people i know; met some new people... even a neighbor who lives just down the road from me. Talk about a new day.

First on my OLLI agenda, planning to join the photography group and the writer's group. FUN!!! Yes, i'm a happy camper.

It's a New Day!!!

Hello... this is the NEW me..... the BORN AGAIN me!!! Been there; done that... loved and shared and lost and grieved. I will never forget but now i'm ready for that shiny brand new day! Wish me luck.