A Sleepless Night….do you ever have them?

I usually fall asleep early because of some medication I take at night, but since I go to sleep early, I sometimes wake up after a few hours. I can remember when I used to sleep soundly all night. I guess those days are gone forever, or should I say, nights?

Last night was sort of strange. We are approaching a new year and there is always a spread in the newspaper about events that took place during the past twelve months. The national morning television shows also have a review of events or tragedies, plus photographs of prominent people who have passed away.

We do not realize how much has taken place until all the information is shown at one time. Last night after I had been asleep, I woke up. I must have dreamed about singing since I listened to some music before I went off to dreamland.

Maybe I was semi conscious, but I attempted to sing a song we used to sing in chapel at Hand Junior High. I admire everyone in our choir at church. They all sing beautifully. Back when I was young, I was able to sing “Whispering Hope” which is not an easy song. I believe we went to chapel twice a week as a part of our music education. We sang hymns and other songs, like “Beautiful Dreamer” and “I Dream of Jeannie With the Light Brown Hair.” Students today have never heard of those songs. I can still see Miss Nan Swearingen as she directed us. She had a pitch pipe that she used to get us started.

Then my mind kept wandering to eighth grade school days. I remembered our gym teacher, Miss Reeder, and those terrible blue gym suits we wore. They were one piece with elastic around the legs and had a belt to give them a little shape. Why I thought about playing volley ball in the wee hours of the morning is a mystery. I remembered the boys coach. His name was Paul LaRosa. He was very handsome and was a singer, also. All the girls thought he was “something special.”

I was in Homeroom 8-8. Miss Foster was our teacher. She had a huge portrait of General Robert E. Lee hanging on the wall behind her desk. She admired him more than anyone. He was definitely her hero and she talked about him often. She was such a sweet caring lady and had an impact on my life, She was my encourager to do my very best at everything I did. No matter how many years go by, memories of the past are tucked away and will surface at some point.

As I was lying in my bed, everything from those school days of long ago was crystal clear. I remembered my friends, as they were as teenagers. I know that some restful sleep would have been more beneficial, but I had a review of bygone days and when I did wake up, I really enjoyed looking back at those peaceful, happy years.

Things were simple back in those days. I’m sure my children and grandchildren would laugh if I told them about how life used to be in school before cellphones and IPads. I am not against progress, because I am using my IPad right now, but I would like to see some of things we used to do still in existence.

This is New Years Eve. Many hundreds will gather at concerts and parties to bring in the New Year. I pray for the safety of everyone who is out tonight. We have so many shootings, wrecks that take lives and other things that make life sad. Let’s hope that the new year will be one of change for the better and that twelve months from now, when we look at the year 2020 in review, we can see a good report of many positive changes. Happy New Year!

Blessed

Today is Monday. The sun is shining and the neighborhood seems deserted as on a typical workday. Many of the outdoor Christmas trees have been taken down and are awaiting the garbage pickup tomorrow. Many of the lights have been put away until next December.

My usual visit to ALDI is on Wednesday, when the ad comes out with all the specials listed. I decided to change my routine and go today. When I arrived, very few carts were available and the parking lot was crowded.

When I got inside the store, people were buying like you might expect them to when a snow storm was on the way to Columbia. Just like Santa, I had my list and was checking it twice! I knew I had been good all year…or as good as I could, when the pumpkin spiced bagels and cream cheese were in stock. They are seasonal items, so there are no more of the bagels until near Thanksgiving 2020.

My usual menu for New Years Day is black eyed peas, fresh collards, ham, sweet potatoes and corn bread. I have to have corn bread with real butter! Fresh collards were not available, so I will get them at Food Lion, where they have fresh, local grown produce.

It is nice to see friends at the grocery store! It is also good to go to a stand alone store and not to be in a large shopping mall. The check out process went fast and very soon I was on my way home. I remembered I had a 40% off coupon and an earned credit of $2.00 that were expiring today, so my next stop was CVS. I made my purchase and made my way home.

As I entered the kitchen, I looked at a sign I have hanging on the wall and read the one word that you can’t miss….Blessed.

I am very blessed! I am so thankful for access to food nearby, for reasonable prices on everything I bought, for the beautiful weather, for having friends wherever I go. There were two long time friends ahead of me in the check out line at CVS, which was an added bonus today. They can no longer come to church, due to poor health, but were at the pharmacy, in front of me!

After I got home , when I read my sign, as I put away the food I bought, I said to myself, “You are truly blessed beyond words, Jean, and don’t ever take that for granted!”

My journey…from minimalist to maximalist and back!

Looking back to my younger days when I got married and money was scarce, but love wasn’t, I was a minimalist and didn’t even know it. Whether you were a newlywed or a couple who had been married for years, most people back then did not have an excess of material things. Almost all the friends in my circle were working people and our houses were not overcrowded with “things.” We had to save our money to buy furniture, a car or to make a downpayment on a home.

That was the way of life for “average” people so it was accepted and most people were happy and thankful. I remember when we lived with my mother so we could help her, but also we were able to buy a lot and have our own home built because we had saved some money. That was a milestone for us! We had a beautiful home; three bedrooms, living room, kitchen with an eating area, screened in porch, back porch and a big bathroom. It seemed like a palace to us!

We had ample closets and cabinets to hold our belongings and the house was always very neat and tidy. As incomes increased a bit and some of our friends moved to new developments, we built another home and moved, also. It was nice to have membership in a swim club for the children and for us to have three baths instead of one!

The only problem was that I bought new drapes, towels, dishes, pictures and other things I just had to have for a beautiful, new home. Then I became “attached” to the old things for sentimental reasons. Need I say more? I had lots of closets, thirteen of them, and tons of storage, so very little left the new home. Now, I did give clothes and other things to charity, but because I could, I kept a lot, too.

Children grow up, get married and want their own things, so I followed in Ruth Bell Graham’s footsteps and became a “pack rat.” She confessed that in her book about being one. I did not write a book about my tendency to “save”, but I was a pack rat, through and through! I was a “maximalist” of the highest order!

Then when the term “minimalist ” became a new trend recently and I was all alone in a big house that was running over with “keepsakes” that my children and grandchildren did not want, I made a major life changing decision….I had to go back to my early days and become a minimalist, by choice! I put out an SOS and found someone I could share much of what has been accumulating, with.

So, beginning with the New Year…I will attempt a major lifestyle change….a diet to lose weight and with the determination to dispose of my excess….hopefully, I will then have the title of “Minimalist of the Year!”

What day is it? I am confused…

Yesterday seemed like Sunday. My family celebrated Christmas for the first time on December 7, the second time on Christmas Eve. Yesterday I was at home with my fur babies.

This morning I had my thirty minutes with Dr.David Jeremiah on television and he began a new series, which he usually does on a Monday. Today is Thursday. I brought the paper in. I had two, one for Wednesday and one for today. The Wednesday paper was full of ads, just the way they had been for weeks before Christmas

When the National news came on the host of the show said today would be one of the busiest shopping days of the year because 75% of the gifts that were received yesterday would be returned today. Several people were interviewed to find out why. The reasons varied, but several reasons were; the gift was too large, it was too small, the wrong color, not my style, I just don’t like it. Some had wanted money.

Many of the people said they did not have a receipt and the price had been reduced. The same situations were taking place all over the United States, I suppose. It is a disappointment to pay full price for a gift only to find it had been reduced 50% to 70% since the article was purchased and the purchase price would not be refunded.

I feel so sorry for the people who work at the return desk the day after a Christmas. I think that some people buy things just to have a gift to give when they know the person they buy it for will not like it.

Many of the gifts are returned because they do not work, especially toys. That results in a disappointed for the child, especially if the toy is the most popular of the season and there is not a replacement in stock.

The host of the television show remarked that many people “invade” the stores to spend gift cards and to take advantage of the deep reductions. Other shoppers snatch the good buys on decorations for next year.

As a rule, the Christmas season is one of peace, happiness and love. The day after is sometimes just the opposite. My regular grocery shopping day is Wednesday. The store was closed because it was Christmas. I did not go out today because of the anticipated crowds on the advice of my daughter. Tomorrow is my volunteer day, so I suppose I will do my grocery shopping after I get off.

I have checked my calendar several times to make sure I don’t miss something important. As of now, it looks like I might “be on schedule” again on January 5, 2020. Then I will know what day it is!

December 25, 2019

Christmas Day! This year has been a little different than in the past. We celebrated early because of family members not being available to get together today.

Many of them were in South Carolina on December 7, so that was our first family gathering. Then other folks were here on Christmas Eve, so we had our second get together at that time. Another group could not be here at all, so we had our FaceTime visit with them and will see them in person this summer.

Life has become complex because families no longer live in the same town, as most did years ago. Social media makes it possible to talk from anywhere around the world and to be able to see each other on the screen. Who could have imagined that we would keep in touch this way, even ten years ago?

We live in a rapidly changing world, for sure! I like to reminisce about Christmas gatherings in the past. My fondest memories are of the times when my children were small and we made Christmas cookies and candy. I would make the dough and would roll it out until it was thin. We had many metal cookie cutters and the girls enjoyed taking turns cutting them out and getting them ready to go into the oven.

We also had a metal tube we put dough in and they would squeeze another batch. We used food coloring for these, so some were red, some green and others were plain. We made icing from butter and confectioners sugar to decorate a batch. Others were “painted” (iced) and sprinkles, nuts, and cocoanut completed the job.

One of their favorites to make was little gingerbread men. They took special pains to make the smiling faces just right, as well as the buttons on their suit. Cookie baking was great fun! Santa expected milk and cookies on Christmas Eve.

Chocolate fudge was another “must ” make for Christmas! Everyone loved fudge! The preparation for Christmas was time consuming and there was a lot of cleaning involved after all the fun part.

I always made matching outfits for us. Most of the time it was night gowns, robes or pajamas. Back then, you could not buy all the matching sleepwear for the entire family.

Times have definitely changed, lifestyles are different, families buy cakes and candies rather than making them. Many families go on vacations for Christmas, either to the beach or maybe on a cruise. Most people stay at home, but trends are changing. Every year we hear about the flight delays due to bad weather, so some people spend Christmas in an airport on the way to “Grandmother’s house.”

Well, our Christmas was different this year, but no matter the day we get together, we remember the reason we celebrate Christmas! God sent His son, Jesus, into to the world as the best gift of all…the gift of LOVE and we love each other every day!

A small, light blue hobnail vase…

I spend much of my time in the back part of my house, especially during the winter. I have a large bedroom that allows me to have my desk, computer, some extra chests for books, plus my bedroom furniture, all in a convenient place. My large bathroom joins my bedroom. I can live in this space and not feel crowded. During the winter, it is my cozy place.

Each time I go to the other end of the house, I pass a china cabinet in the foyer. As I have mentioned in other posts, I collect a variety of things I enjoy. One collection of glass includes depression glass that belonged to Grandmother McInnis. My parents lived with Mother’s parents, so that was my first home.

We ate in the kitchen at a large table. Grandmother kept a fancy glass on the middle of the table, which held silverware. She had several cruets that held vinegar to use when we had greens. There was a sugar bowl that stayed on the table all the time, as did the salt and pepper shakers. In my mind, I can still see all those things. All the glassware was ” fancy.”

Grandmother had pedestal cake plates and all sorts of pieces, some probably came from her mother. I do not know all the history.

After Mother died, all the glassware came to me. Each piece has a memory of mine associated with it.

The title of this journal entry is: “A small, light blue hobnail vase.” There is a story behind this piece, also. I don’t remember how old I was, but a family friend of my parents invited me to spend several days at their home in Landis, N.C. The friend had a little girl for me to play with, but most of the details are unclear after all these years. Mrs. Corriher gave me an old evening dress that she no longer wore. I would never wear it, but she said I could play “dress up” with it.

Mother gave me a little money to take with me in case we went someplace and I needed some. Sure enough, we went to a small “mom and pop” dime store. I saw a small, light blue hobnail vase that really caught my eye. I thought Mother would like it. It was very reasonable. I even got some change from my two quarters. I was so proud of my purchase!

Time came for me to be taken back to Grandmother’s house. I could not wait to give Mother her gift! She liked it so much. She put it on the chest of drawers and so far as I know, it was kept there for the rest of her life. I saw it each time I went back to visit after I was grown and living in another state. Many years passed, but that vase was always in it’s place.

Mother died in 2004. Being the only child, it was left up to me to clean out her house, dispose of what I did not want and to make room at my home for the things I wanted to keep. One of my cousins wanted the antique furniture. I had no room for it and was so happy that it could be given to a family member.

The depression glass, with all it’s memories was definitely brought to my house! It was placed in the china cabinet in the foyer. Taking the spotlight, placed on the middle shelf, is that little light blue hobnail vase! Each time I go by the china cabinet, I take a long look at the little blue vase and think of my dear mother. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. If I could have one wish, it would be to spend some time talking about old times with my Mother and I’ll bet she would want to hold her little light blue hobnail vase one more time.

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down…..

When I went out to get the paper today, cold rain was pouring from the sky. I had just left my cozy kitchen and was warm and dry. I thought about the song the Carpenters made famous years ago. It is Monday and it is raining, but it has not gotten me down!

I have too many things to be thankful for to let that happen. My thoughts did wander to all the people who have to be out in the bad weather today. First, the person who delivered my newspaper had to get up while it was dark to pick up a batch of papers and put them in plastic bags so they would not be soaked by the rain when I went to get my copy.

Because of the Christmas holiday, the garbage pick up schedule had to be rearranged, so those men will work very hard today. Usually one or two men hold on to the back of the truck and one man drives, so the ones who are exposed to the weather can hop on and off the truck and no time is wasted. They have a hard job in warm weather, but their job is more difficult on days like today.

Delivery trucks are already racing down the streets in my neighborhood because they have so many more packages to deliver before Christmas. I don’t think the trucks have heat or AC because the drivers are hopping in and out so often.

I live off a heavily traveled street and under normal conditions, there are so many accidents because drivers are rushing to get to work when they have overslept or because of normal congestion with so much traffic on the road. Thousands of people work at the hospital nearby and the drivers know the public is depending on them to be on duty on time. I’m sure this brings on a lot of stress.

Schools are open on schedule most of the time, so crossing guards have to be on duty, rain or shine. They are responsible for our children being safe when the bus drivers let them off.

Grocery stores, drug stores, and offices of every kind are open no matter what the weather is doing, unless there is some terrible weather condition that forces them to close. I could go on and on naming people who must be out in bad weather because of the nature of their jobs.

When conditions are “perfect” we take everything for granted, but sometimes unpleasant things happen and the work must go on. Today, I am not concerned that I have to rearrange my plans, I am thinking about all those who must go out; rain, shine, sleet or snow to serve the public.

Today, I am so fortunate to be able to be inside, drinking my coffee and thanking God for my Monday blessings. I have plenty to keep me busy inside. My thoughts are with the many people who are there whether it is raining, snowing or sleeting, to make our lives stay as comfortable as possible. God bless them all on this rainy Monday!

So you think it is easy to give up eating bread…

I thought nothing would be too hard for me to do, but I was wrong! I want to lose weight for a number of reasons. When I was younger I could eat anything and never gained an ounce. That went on for years. Then one day things changed!

I know that life styles don’t remain the same, metabolism changes, too. As we age, some weight gain takes place, which means our looks change, also. In some rare cases, people remain the same. My mother was one of those people. She didn’t gain, but she became shorter, due to osteoporosis.

I have a friend, who has been on many diets and presently is a vegan. He has lost weight. He has given me a lot of advice about what I should and should not eat. I can’t tell you what he eats and does not eat because I would probably get it wrong.

He told me I should give up sweets, meat, dairy products, colas, bread and other things.

I was born loving sweets. My mother enjoyed candy, cakes and ice cream, so I followed in her footsteps, I suppose. My grandmother was very small and so was Mother. I thought I would be like the two of them. Again, I was incorrect.

That brings me to the present. I decided to try to get back to my weight when I was much younger. How naive could I have been?

First, I begin my morning with coffee. I may have toast or as I have done recently, I eat half a bagel. Each fall, the grocery stores have “pumpkin flavored ” everything! My downfall was buying a carton of pumpkin spice flavored cream cheese and a package of the most delicious pumpkin flavored bagels. I did try eating them in moderation, just half of a bagel, but it wasn’t long until I ate a whole bagel for breakfast.

I really enjoy eating at Captain D’s. When I order tilapia, it is served with the most delicious soft bread you can imagine! I cannot pass that up. Last week when I went to Cracker Barrel with friends, we were served a big plate of hot, right out of the oven, corn muffins. I ate one and brought the other one home.My three girlfriends insisted that I take their extras since they didn’t want them,. Well I wasn’t going to wast perfectly good food, so the extra muffins came home with me.

I don’t do it often, but sometimes I crave pizza….a supreme, rising crust, deluxe pizza. Since I live alone and do not waste food, over several meals, I eat the whole thing!

After reviewing my likes and way of eating, I decided I might be more successful if I chose something else to give up. Maybe pickled pigs feet or sardines would be something I can live without! I never eat them anyway!

I still have a few days to decide on how I can modify my eating habits in an effort to lose weight. I already know what I am not going to give up and that is bread!

Don’t get your tinsel in a tangle!

A friend gave me a cup with this saying on it just recently. Today is Saturday. It is only a few days until Christmas and I am calm. The temperature has been very cold earlier this week and we have had heavy rain a few times. Today is fair and mild. You could not ask for a nicer Saturday! My check list was made and I was looking forward to getting a lot accomplished today.

My plans did not work out like I had hoped for, but maybe they were intended to be rearranged. Many times that is the case! Instead of having someone to be here to help me put some bins in the outside storage house and to do some other things that are a bit too strenuous for me right now, I am alone.

When plans change, you adjust! I have had a good time just being by myself. Some of the chores that my help would have done, I did. I really did not have a lot that was urgent, so I added little jobs just to take up time and to give my helper more money.

At one stage of my life, I would have been a little upset that I was “stood up” because every minute counted on Saturdays. Back in those years the weekend was crammed full of necessary chores. Retirement means fewer chores are urgent like they once were. You can defer many things to the next day or just realize they weren’t even needed at all.

I always have a date at 6:00 PM on Saturday. You know I am “set in my ways” when my exciting Saturdays are spent with Lawrence Welk and all my television preachers.

I have really had a good time today! I got all the essentials taken care of. I cooked some food for tomorrow, cleaned and straightened the house, did my laundry, sorted some of the mountain of papers that had mounted up for a few days, selected clothes for Sunday, shampooed my hair and now I am going to make some hot chocolate so I can use my new cup.

While I was working in my sunroom, I had to put a few books back on the shelves of a large book case. I rearranged a few of them to make more room and guess what I had glaring at me? A book by my wonderful Texas TV pastor, Robert Morris! The title was “Beyond Blessed.” I certainly am that! Then when I went back to my bedroom, there was his latest book, entitled, “Take the Day Off!” I did not actually take the day off, but I plan to on Monday! No check lists, no obligations, just following Pastor Robert’s advice to receive God’s gift of rest that day!

I am so happy that I did not get ” my tinsel in a tangle ” and now I think I will have some cookies to go with my hot chocolate! It really has been a blessed day and I really am “Beyond Blessed!”

Thankful Thursday

I can never express how thankful I am for all the blessings that I have enjoyed through the years. Every day is different and I have learned to seize the day and to savor the happiness I find in simple happenings. No matter how bad things seem in the course of a day, it could be worse and usually the unpleasant things happen to teach a lesson.

Today, for example, I had an appointment to get a haircut. I was “worked in” because Thursday is a very busy day at the shop. I appreciated this favor. The lady who owns the shop reserves 9:00 AM for her mother. Her mother happens to be a long time friend of mine.We talk on the telephone frequently, but seldom see one another unless we are at the grocery store at the same time. It was a treat to have a chance to visit face to face today.

When my friend and I were much younger with children about the same ages, a tragic thing happened to her on Thanksgiving Day. The family was in a small town where some relatives lived and they were butchering that day. Her husband went over to his car, had a massive heart attack and died.

After the funeral, when she was mourning about this unexpected loss, I called her every night when I came home from work, took her shopping and we became very close. She had three daughters. I had two. Many years have passed. Later she was introduced to a wonderful gentleman. In time they got married.

My work took me to Georgia and when I came back to visit my Mother, I traveled on I-20 and would stop by to visit long enough to have a cup of coffee and maybe a slice of her delicious walnut cake. We always remembered each other’s birthdays and sent Christmas cards.

After I became a widow, she and I would go to Myrtle Beach during the Christmas season. During those years, Myrtle Beach was promoting all the theaters and offered three shows and three days in selected motels, for a very good price. This “deal” lasted several years. We enjoyed every show we saw. At that time, we felt safe driving at night. We would shop during the day and eat a lot of good food.

Since it was about this time of year that we were having our good vacations, she reminded me that we were the best of friends and that our friendship has grown closer through the many years that have passed. We gave each other a big hug and went on separate ways.

How nice it was to reflect on the past and the times we have enjoyed. So I can really say that this has been a very thankful Thursday for me!