TRAGEDY TURNS TO TRIUMPH

Not sure how to post this the way I want to, but it's amazing and makes me cry every time I watch it. For now, I guess you'll just have to copy and paste the URL into your browser.

http://www.godvine.com/Injury-Turns-into-Inspiration-for-One-High-School-Girl-323.html

SETTING SABLE FREE

Two friends have recently started/re-started blogging, and in the process of commenting, I once again opened my blog. Goodness, it's hard to believe that it's been dormant since 2009. Perhaps now is a good time to revitalize Cath's Corner, too.

Today was a sad day. We set our sweet Sable free to join Jelly Bean and Taffy and Midnight in Heaven. She can once again see and hear and run freely. I know they are having a wonderful time frolicking tonight.

It was time to let her go. She was blind and deaf and had started getting confused to the point of getting trapped in random corners. How scary that must be to have no idea where you are or how to get where you're trying to go. She even had trouble finding the water in the water dish. For the longest time I thought she was just drinking copious amounts of water. She would stand at the bowl and lap and lap and lap. Then, after a comment my neighbor made, I started watching and realized only about one in ten laps actually connected with the water.

Bless her heart. Her old plumbing hasn't worked properly the last couple of years, but she valiantly tried to make it outside in time. She had a funny routine. First she stood and stared at the door, waiting for it to magically open. And sometimes, if one of us was walking by at just the right time, it worked! But if the door didn't open, she would start growling very softly. As the minutes passed, the growl increased in volume until it finally, in one last valiant effort to get the door to open, became a bark. That worked almost every time.

There was one "constant" in her life to the very end. Roy and I never figured it out. Sable had a "sixth sense" when it came to my food. While I was still dishing things up in the kitchen, Sable could always find the steps leading up to the couch and would climb them and wait for me to come sit down with my tray of food. As she got creakier, she sometimes fell off of the steps...but always climbed back up in a flash. What could I do but reward her for her perseverance?

Rewarding her was a bit tricky. Since she was almost totally blind, she thought anything moving in the vicinity of her mouth was food. There is a true art to turning loose of a morsel quickly enough that your fingers do not become part of the cuisine.

I'll miss the click of her toenails on the floor in the morning. I'll miss her meeting me in the kitchen for her morning treat. I'll miss her "high 5" over and over as she tried to impress anyone and everyone to offer her food. I'll miss her barking when her leash came into sight. I'll miss her loyalty and her love. You blessed our lives, Sable, and we'll miss you.

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES

This was actually written for my wonderful College Crazies Crew from church. It applies to all of the younger generation, so share the thought with your kids and grandkids!

Take lots of pictures...especially of events that shape your life. I have the privilege right now of scanning the BSU scrapbooks from the late 60's when my "extended family" was made up of my friends from the Baptist Student Union at ASU. What awesome memories. Those retreats and State Conventions set the course for the rest of my life. They began my personal relationship with Christ and planted the seed for a desire to serve....Now is YOUR time! Surround yourself with Christian friends. Take advantage of life-changing and life-enriching events and activities. Feed your faith. And take lots of pictures!!!!! I wish I had a million more!!!

NOSTALGIC

Hmmmmm...I wonder what it says about my frequency of blogging if I admit that I couldn't even remember the URL to my blog...had to go to my niece's site and click on the link. Bless you, CS!!! I had forgotten my password, too, of course. Perhaps I'll need to do this a tad more frequently.

I'm a bit sad right now...well, probably more nostalgic than sad. An icon of "my era" is coming down tomorrow. The Women's High Rise Dorm at Angelo State University will be imploded at sunrise tomorrow. The newspaper called it the "completion of a cycle."

It had its grand opening in 1968...my junior year at Angelo State. Ten stories high; enough to make San Angeloans ooooh and aaaah. My best friend lived in the dorm, and I have fond memories of sitting on the floor of her room, painting shirts for a couple of friends of ours. They lived at Grapecreek, so the shirts exclaimed loudly our versions...Banana Brook and Strawberry Stream. I wonder if Mike and Robert remember.

It was "state of the art" back then. A bathroom for each 4 girls...a suite. No more community bathroom down the hall. Angelo State was to be envied.

It has touched my life several more times through the years. My older daughter stayed there for band camps, and she also lived there her Freshman year at ASU. More fun memories for this old mom.

But it has outlived its usefulness. It couldn't keep up with the forward march of technology. It was obsolete. It would cost more to "fix it" than to start from scratch. And so, we must say goodbye. No more will we see the twin high rises defining the skyline of the area. No more will we see the messages in lights in the windows. No more will it make the news when pranksters change the intended messages.

I'm not saying it shouldn't come down to make way for progress. It should. The newspaper also said, "It's had a good run, a lot of good memories, but it's time to make room for the next generation." Still, I can't help but be a bit sad about its departure. Well done, ol' girl...and thanks!

WHAT A WONDERFUL WORLD

Santa brought me an iPod for Christmas. Andrea gave me a few pointers when she was home. So now, here I sit, able to enjoy all of those wonderful songs that I loved so many years ago. This is one of the great ones! It IS a wonderful world, and I have been incredibly blessed!

"What a Wonderful World"
by Louis Armstrong

I see trees of green
Red roses, too
I see them bloom
For me and you
And I think to myself...what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue
And clouds of white
The bright blessed day
The dark sacred night
And I think to myself...what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow
So pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces
Of people going by.

I see friends shaking hands
Saying, "How do you do."
They're really saying,
"I LOVE YOU."

I hear babies cry
I watch them grow
They'll learn much more
Than I'll ever know
And I think to myself...what a wonderful world.
Yes, I think to myself...what a wonderful world!!!

YOUNGER BLOOD

I've discovered something now that I've turned 60. I've begun hearing certain phrases much more frequently: "we need younger blood" and "it's perfectly normal FOR SOMEONE YOUR AGE" being two of the more frequently heard ones.

This past Sunday was a delightful day. I got to enjoy the Eagle Scout ceremony of one of the young men from our church who is very dear to me, and then I went with the Praise Team as they went to Goodfellow Air Force Base here to provide music for the evening service.

It was a totally unexpected blessing. Come to find out, the chapel building at Goodfellow has been there for over 50 years which means it is the same one I visited with my best friend when we were in Jr. High. I didn't have any overwhelming memories surface...just a "vaguely familiar" feeling.

The sad thing is that they are going to demolish the sweet little chapel soon. There is a new "state of the art building" opening soon to take its place. I'm sure the new building will offer all of the comforts and extras that we all want these days. And the old chapel is in bad shape. It was hit a few years back by a tornado or a microburst and is now missing windows and being held together by cables. But still, how sad to demolish that wonderful piece of history.




I'm thankful I was given a chance to take pictures while the wonderful old chapel is still standing; I'm thankful for the memories even though they were vague; most of all I'm thankful they don't demolish people when we get old and creaky and "out of date!"

hmmmm

Isn't it amazing what time to ponder will get you!! After my "soap box" presentation about alcohol in the mall, I was reminded that the restaurants that used to be in the mall sold alcohol. That was a little detail that hadn't crossed my mind. Sooooooooo...while I still hate the idea of anyone drinking and getting behind the wheel, I will reserve my judgement until I see how things play out.

It has been such a busy 2009 so far. Younger daughter was just here for a delightful visit and is now safely back in Seattle.

My "clever" genes seem to be on vacation, so rather than bore you to death, I'll close for now and will continue on when my brain is feeling more lively and interesting.

NO THANK YOU

Things come and things go. Things change. Sometimes I greet the changes with excitement and anticipation; sometimes I greet them with sadness and dread.

Our mall is less than dynamic...lots of changes taking place all of the time. Not exactly a hub of activity. We had a big Taco Bell move in a while back. One of the big corner stores. I seldom ate there...not because I don't like their food (I love it), but because I've decided there is no way to rationalize Taco Bell food into being healthful.

A couple of months ago it closed. Apparently I'm not the only one who was afraid to "indulge." The space was vacant for a while, and then one day not long ago curtains appeared on the windows and the signs of activity began appearing. I would be excited...but...along with the curtains, there is also a big sign on the window saying that the establishment has applied for a license to sell and have liquor consumed on the premises. Alcohol in the mall.

I'll be honest with you, I pretty much hate drinking. Not the drinking in the privacy of one's own home...unless one gets abusive...but the drinking which occurs at a site where the drinker has to get in the vehicle to return home, or to wherever. I'm concerned, too, about the impact alcohol will have on the mall. There is already a problem with some of the groups that have chosen to "hang out" at the mall. And, while the members of these groups won't be old enough to purchase alcohol, it will introduce an element which has the potential for creating a confrontational tendency in persons who HAVE been old enough to purchase and consume the alcohol.

Perhaps nothing will ever happen...never a single incident. Perhaps no one who consumes the alcohol will get behind a wheel. Perhaps even the lunch crowd will have designated drivers. Perhaps. I, though, will not be giving the new establishment my business.

SAY WHAT???

It has seemed to me all during 2008 that I was playing "catch up." I never had my act together. I was never on top of things. I could never get all of my ducks in a row (not even in the same room most of the time).

Occasionally I wondered if maybe I was in better shape than I realized and that the "day late and a dollar short" feeling was erroneous. It wasn't!

For two days at the start of this new year, our local news did a clip which was a tribute to those who died during 2008. I sat and watched...with both sadness at the loss of so many "icons" and astonishment that there were so many top names who had died and I was clueless that they were no longer with us.

I am thinking perhaps I had my head in the sand a good part of the year. This year, if you pass by me and notice my head is buried in the sand, would you please pull it out, dust it off, and point me in the appropriate direction to catch up with life as it passes by!

Many thanks!

AND YOU?

Directions: Put an asterisk next to the things you have done in your life, and then feel free to pass it on in your blog! Also feel free to add a couple at the end, if you like.
(Cathye's additions are ! ... and her comments are in ( ).
!*1. Started your own blog
!*2. Slept under the stars
*3. Played in a band (does an orchestra count?...or maybe the fact that I was a bandaid (band aide) my senior year in high school?)
!4. Visited Hawaii
!5. Watched a meteor shower
*6. Given more than you can afford to charity
*7. Been to Disneyland (or Disney World)
*8. Climbed a mountain (how about riding a snowmobile up a mountain?)
!9. Held a praying mantis
!*10. Sang a solo (sadly, yes)(cathye: it doesn't say "sang a solo well"...just sang one)
11. Bungee jumped (perhaps in my next lifetime)
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
!*14. Taught yourself an art from scratch(let's see...there was decoupage and macrame and pottery and ceramics and cross stitch and counted cross stitch and needlepoint and crewel and making rugs...don't remember the term for it...ackkkk...well, you get the idea)
*15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
!17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (and Sherry and I walked down from the top of the Washington monument)
!*18. Grown your own vegetables (the tomatoes grew until December in Washington...best I've ever tasted)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
!*21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
!*23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill (MENTAL health day!!!)
*24. Built a snow fort
!*25. Held a lamb
*26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
!*29. Seen a total eclipse
!*30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
!*37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
!45. Walked on a beach by moonlight (in Hawaii !!!)
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
*52. Kissed in the rain
!*53. Played in the mud (I was the neighborhood gourmet chef of mudpies!)
!*54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
!*57. Started a business
!58. Taken a martial arts class (self-defense class at the Police station...does that count?)
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
!*61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies (and bought about a million boxes)
62. Gone whale watching
*63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
!*67. Bounced a check
*68. Flown in a helicopter
!*69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
!70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
*71. Eaten Caviar
*72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
!*75. Been fired/laid off from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London (no, but saw the Ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London)(cathye: no comment)
77. Broken a bone
!78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
*79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
*80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
!*82. Bought a brand new car (1972 (approx.) metallic blue Cutlas "S")
83. Walked in Jerusalem
!*84. Had your picture in the newspaper
*85. Read the entire Bible
!86. Visited the White House (outside only)(cathye: no comment)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
!*88. Had chickenpox (sixth grade...right after Christmas break because we visited my cousin during Christmas and she had chicken pox)
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
*91. Met someone famous
!*92. Joined a book club
!*93. Lost a loved one
!*94. Had a baby
!95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
*97. Been involved in a law suit
!*98. Owned a cell phone
!*99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
!*101. Learned to play an instrument
102. Kissed the Blarney Stone
103. Ridden a camel
104. Walked on the Columbian Icefields in Canada
*105. Traveled the Oregon trail in an RV

LESSONS FROM THE COOKIE DOUGH...

I turned 60 this year...the age where you are most definitely on the down-hill slide (an assumption based on the fact that I don't know any 120 year-olds). The point where you can no longer pretend that you will "clean up your act" next year. The point where you need to start eating and acting like an adult (well, at least eating like one).

It has long been a tradition in our family to make cut-out Christmas cookies. When I was a young mom, I loved it so much that I developed my own recipe because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. Things of beauty, they were. Melt-in-your-mouth they were. DELICIOUS!

This year, since we weren't with the girls for Christmas, I decided to bake the cookies and mail them to Seattle. I just could not, though, force myself to put Crisco in them. Just reading the word made my arteries shudder in fear. So I substituted "lite" Parkay. You could tell a difference, but they were still pretty tasty.

For home, though, I decided to really "clean up" the recipe:
Splenda instead of sugar
Egg Beaters instead of eggs
"lite" Parkay instead of Crisco and margarine

INTERESTING best describes the outcome. However, I did glean some wisdom from my experiment (and adventure):
1. Above substitutions do NOT produce a dough suitable for cutout cookies. (no prob...flat, round cookies will do just fine)
2. Above substitutions do not even produce a dough that resembles dough...ADD MILK
3. The term "sticky bread dough" is a necessary part of any vocabulary used to describe results of this adventure.
4. Eye-balling "walnut sized blobs of dough" to be made into spheres will NOT produce uniform sized balls of cookie dough.
5. Rolling them in Splenda does help the stickiness, but putting the bowl of Splenda on the burner is NOT the best idea unless you want to do some cleaning of the drip pan.
6. Taking the rings off BEFORE rolling the dough into balls is a much better idea than taking them off AFTER said rolling has been done.
7. Finished product does not even VAGUELY RESEMBLE sugar cookies. They resemble...uhhhhh....ummmmmm....welll, they DON'T resemble sugar cookies!
8. Adding this recipe to "recipes that turned out well enough to make again" is a great idea...NOT!!!!

AND

not actually related to the cookies, but just FYI, when the spout of the soft soap has "build-up" in it, the soap tends to squirt on the shirt instead of into the hand.

And now I think I'll go have a "cookie."

Holiday HUGZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

into

I'm moving into the 21st century...have created a page on Facebook. Supposedly I can import my blog. Let's see if this works.

GOD'S AWESOME AUTUMN 2008

NOSTALGIA

Went to a luncheon today for the Methodist District Conference. During the program, the praise team led the group in 3 songs. During one of them, the instruments stopped, and it was just the group singing, filling the room with such beautiful sounds. It transported me back to the college days of Baptist Student Union retreats and conferences...to the overwhelming feelings of love and being blessed. It transported me back to a retreat at HEB foundation camp...driving through the river to get to the camp...hiking in God's glorious hills...swimming in Blue Hole, ice cold and crystal clear...sleeping on bunks with such sagging springs that you had to do major climbing to get up and out of the bunk. And then...on the last night...sitting out under the stars with a few dear friends and the guy I was crazy about...and suddenly we all started singing "God Is So Good." That has been a special song to me ever since.

It transported me back to an awesome Conference...Mission 70...in Atlanta, Georgia. A huge auditorium of young adults all singing the song written especially for the occasion. I still remember the words. ..."oh help me Lord to find my place...in God's world today." (Funny, that's what we're all still searching for, isn't it.) An amazing conference...strong feelings of conviction...such life shaping events.

And then I returned to the present...back to the "here and now." I found myself awash with the longing to just once more be able to revisit and recapture those amazing feelings when the heart overflowed with love and the conviction to be totally selfless was overwhelming. I guess I will just have to settle for the nostalgia...the nostalgia and its accompanying mixed emotions...joy and gratitude for having had the experiences, but sadness that I will never again be able to experience them. I've often heard it said that you can never go home again. I know that's right, but in this case, I would love to try.

MUM'S THE WORD

Nope, I'm not trying to tell you to shush...I'm talking about all the great fall colors as the mums begin to bloom. I just love it when there is "a touch of fall in the air."

Today was a good day. It wasn't overly cool, but it was overcast and blowy...kind of like "blustery"...so I was able to convince myself that fall is close by. And indeed I think it is. The high temps for almost all of next week are in the 70s!!!! I LOVE IT!

I have some cool pumpkin pictures to show you...just as soon as I figure out which memory card they're on. I rounded up all of my memory cards tonight to look for a batch of missing pictures, and now I'm not sure which one has the pumpkin pictures on it. But never fear, I will find them!!!!

Slideshow came together nicely. The really nice thing about showing it on the big screen at church is that you don't see all the "noise" and imperfections that show up on the computer monitor. That's close enough to "editing" the pictures to make me happy! Only glitch to the finish of the project was when my slideshow program informed me that I don't have a CD drive on my computer. Uhhhh...yes I do. See...it's right there!!!! [pointing to the CD drive] But alas, there was no convincing it, so I had to resort to Plan B. Now that all of that is behind me, I can work on some of my other projects that have been waiting in the wings.

Other tidbits from the week:

I was quite annoyed on Thursday night to find out they had killed off Warrick Brown (CSI) without consulting me first. I have seen every episode of that silly show---MULTIPLE TIMES; surely that should have given me some special privileges, don't you think? BUT NO! I had to find it out when they aired the show just like everyone else....HOW RUDE!

I have decided our house is haunted. I wouldn't have been able to make such a brilliant deduction had I not been faithfully watching "Hauntings" [TV show] for several years now. I have learned soooo much. What other explanation could there be for notebooks that disappear and directories that turn up in the wrong pile and missing batches of pictures????????????? YEP...HAUNTING HAS TO BE THE ANSWER!

And now, since it is past midnight, I shall bid you a fond adieu.

Lovies and huggies to all!!!!

NO DOUBT

The jury has returned. The verdict is in. There is no longer any doubt whatsoever. It is totally and completely out of my ability to do a project simply!!!

Yep, I'm in the midst of yet another of my projects. (Not my idea this time, but I once again failed to say "no.") You know the projects I'm talking about. The ones where it is supposed to be "no big deal"...just a little something...keep it simple, but I am on my third day, full-time--and it isn't finished yet.

"Just a simple little slideshow," they said. Just a little something to show a bit of the church's history; something to be played before each of the services one Sunday during the stewardship emphasis. But simple isn't in my vocabulary. "Little" never applies to my projects. Audience or not, it doesn't matter. And so I am compiling a slideshow which pretty much shows the complete history of the church. Pictures of the progression through the years. Pictures of the buildings and the leaders and the people. Researching as I go, of course. But it'll be cool when it's finished, even if I AM the only one who ever sees all of it.

I'll let you know when the smoke clears and the dust settles.

TECHNOLOGY...JUST GOTTA LOVE IT!

This has been one of those days...one of those days when technology and I have locked horns...one of those days when technology wins by leaps and bounds.

Need to rip a track from a CD? No problem...should take about 5 minutes. It took 3 hours!!!! (new programs and hidden commands, in case you're wondering!)

Need to send email to a friend...a friend to whom you send mail all the time? BOUNCY, BOUNCY...4 TIMES!!!

Need a new title line for a new web page? No prob...you have a template and notes. But where the heck are some of the settings listed on the notes???????????

Need bad weather for your NOA weather alert machine to go off? Heck NO!!! You just have to be breathing on days like this, and it will "come alive"...not with warnings but with nice loud static!!!

I can hardly wait to see what the rest of the day will bring!

WORDS

One of my favorite things to do each night is to read my niece's blog. She writes beautifully...and says a great deal with her words. Tonight's blog was about the power of words, which of course started me on a trip down Memory Lane...all the way back to some of the nicknames I had in elementary school. I assure you they weren't terms of endearment. I remember them vividly to this day. They did indeed hurt my feelings...and they did indeed have an influence on the way I felt about myself.

Her blog went on to say that that is often carried to excess these days with folks being "offended" when no offense was intended. And I agree with her. There is a lot of absurdity these days.

But I do think we need to be ultra aware of the power our words have on those who hear them...while at the same time being willing to "forgive" those who have a tendency to accidentally put their foot in their mouth...such as the "someone" who created this blog!!!

BUSY

Wow, September is 2/3 gone. Fall arrives officially next week, again without my being ready for the big day. (have I mentioned that I'm still trying to get my "ducks in a row" so 2008 can begin???)

The past month has gone by in a blur. We have family reunioned, CLEANED (and I mean REALLY CLEANED) the house except for my closet, the computer room and the laundry room, and had a wonderful visit with daughter and her beau. It's been a great time with lots accomplished. I will try diligently not to let it become habit.

While daughter was here we visited the Brown Ranch in Christoval which is a Wildlife Habitat with lots and lots of hummingbirds. We hiked, we watched the birds and deer and wild turkeys, we played games, we cooked outside, and we had a fabulous time. Oh, and we (using that pronoun very loosely) took lots of pictures. I can definitely see a return visit happening in the spring!!!



Today I spent the day updating the church's website. I was about a month behind in doing that. You just can't get good help anymore! All is spiffy and up-to-date now...all ready for the beginning of the fall season.

Tomorrow I will do whatever I decide I'm the furthest behind on...probably the stewardship slide show that is due in a couple of weeks. I still cling to the fantasy of being totally caught up on my projects, but I'm not at all sure I'll live that long!

Our weather has been beautiful. Our animals are all HEALTHY! I have a clean house. I'm slowly catching up on projects. All is right with the world.

Have fun on your wilderness hike, ACM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lovies and huggies to all!!!

ITS TURN...

After reading about vacuums and features, reading about a million on-line reviews, and shopping for 4 days, I have finally purchased a new vacuum cleaner. A thing of beauty, it is!!! Lots of cool features but moderately priced. BLUE! I have read the manual and taken it for a test run. NOW...I'm going to go set it in the middle of the back bedroom and tell it to "do its thing!" IT'S ITS TURN NOW!!!!!