Happy B'day

Happy birthday Christina. You made it to 34! I vividly remember the day you were born. Your journey began with a 73 mile trip from Laguna to Albuquerque, NM and the waiting hands of my ob, Dr. Dennis Ready. Your father was observing your delivery and his first words upon seeing you were, "she has fingernails!" Upon arriving home two days later you were greeted by your paternal grandparents and a rather large stuffed bear, left in your crib by your brother, David. Your older brother Jeff was in the army and didn't meet you for several months. It has been a long trip from there to where you are today. Although we shared much of the same journey our views of our experiences are entirely different. May the remainder of your life here on earth fulfill your highest good. Happy celebration of your day of birth!

Just do it!

As my very opinionated deceased mother used to say "Do it or get off the pot!" She also thought that calculators were the ruination of students. She could have been right on that one as it seems kids have stopped thinking for themselves. For those followers who might be wondering what I decided to do about my computer troubles the short of a long expensive story is: Firefox is gone and Google Chrome is here to stay. I did keep Internet Explorer installed as a backup, just in case something unexpected occurs. This morning I am laughing at how long it took me to actually click that uninstall button for Firefox. At my age it is hard to detach from the familiar, even when it is causing problems. Not touching a computer until I was over 60 has caused a major flaw in my literacy. I remember my oldest son's comment that a computer is only as smart as the person using it. I may be a little slow to catch on, but I am not stupid! Are you happy now mom I just did it?!

Trying something new

I'm still walking around the internet trying to see if I should just give up on my "old" PC and check into a laptop, which I really can't afford at the moment. Today I am posting my blog using Google Chrome. It is an interesting experiment and I have no idea what the post will look like after I click publish. Perhaps the person who said you can't teach an old dog new tricks was wrong! I'm always willing to try something new and I see nothing wrong with mixing old and new together to create a fulfilling experience. It kind of reminds me of my new part time job of subbing at our local community center. Over the years I have donated many volunteer hours so it's nice to finally be appreciated for my efforts. I am not going to make a fortune, but as anyone living on social security knows, every little extra helps. Perhaps I will apply that little extra to the purchase of a laptop in the near future. Now that would really be something new in more ways than one!

Take another look

Sometimes it is necessary to eliminate all possible causes for a problem before settling on the best course of action. It is easy to put the blame on the probable cause that sticks out like a sore thumb. My current blog problem is a good example. I just assumed It was the blog site. Wrong! Out of curiosity I opened the blog with a different browser than the one I had always used and guess what? I came on just the way it is supposed to with no unwanted ads from a still mysterious source. I feel as if I should apologize to blogspot for making a wrong assumption. Checking further, I ran a malware byte scan, which came up with four viruses. So much for being told I have a secure virus program. There probably is no such thing for a 2005 PC. I still have no clue why accessing the blog site using Firefox is giving me unwanted advertising, blocking what I am trying to offer, but as the saying goes, "where there is a will there is a way". For now I will just use Internet Explorer and see what happens. So there! A friend just posted a Facebook quote by Douglas Adams that fits this situation perfectly: "I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be". Apparently when you care enough to take another look things will tend to work out.

blog problem

Notice to readers: I am having a serious problem with unwanted ads popping up and interfering with writing posts. Until I can find someone who can help me fix this problem I will be taking a vacation from further posting on this site. Hope to return soon.

Over the top confidence

August 12th was the last day of summer vacation for my grandson, Colin, and he spent it with me. That made me very happy as I don't get to see him as much as I would like to. He has a multitude of friends who seek his presence. The only word I can think of is one often used to describe John F. Kennedy. That word is charisma. His spirit/soul just can't help shinning.

Anyway, we repeated a recent experience and took a pepperoni pizza to the Riverwalk for lunch. The ducks were in full force and Colin began tossing scraps of pizza crust to them. Suddenly a little bird, probably a sparrow, swooped down amongst the ducks and claimed a rather large piece. We started laughing because he was so brave and determined. His confidence was tested when three of his fellow birds began chasing him. Colin shouted, "go little buddy" as the bird flew to a tall tree on the other side of the pond to eat his lunch.

The experience reminded me of watching my grandson participate in his elementary school races. He knows he will win before the race even starts. Being a little short doesn't bother him in the least. I smiled during a recent race when one of his class mates encouraged him with, "go little man". It was a term I had once used as a columnist to write a story about his birth journey on 9/8/01 in New York State. His due date was 9/11/01- smart kid!

When you have over the top confidence you have it made!

Tidbits to share

Slow cooker Mexican pulled pork

1 lb pork tenderloin
1 15 oz can tomato sauce or 12 oz jar salsa
1 Tbl chili powder
1 Tbl ground cumin
1 Tbl brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic minced

Place pork in slow cooker. In small bowl stir together remaining ingredients and pour over pork. Cook on low for 8 hours. When done shred the meat using two forks, pulling against the gain. Serve on toasted buns.

Mandarin orange salad

I pkg. instant vanilla pudding (use dry)
1 large can crushed pineapple (undrained)
2 medium/large cans mandarin oranges (drain)
1 8 oz tub cool whip

Mix cool whip and dry pudding together, add fruit. Refrigerate until it thickens, about to hours.

Jewelry cleaner
Cover bottom of small bowl with a piece of foil.
Heat 1 cup of water and add:
1 Tbl salt, 1 Tbl baking soda, 1 Tbl dish soap
Let jewelry sit for 5-10 minutes in mixture and rinse with cool water.

Wood furniture repair

3/4 cup oil (vegetable, Canola etc.)
1/4 cup white vinegar

Combine in jar and use a soft cloth to apply to wood. No need to wipe dry.

The end for now!





 serve on buns

The best laid plans

The last few days have been an adventure in plans that don't work out the way I saw them. Makes me wonder yet again who is in charge of my life anyway! It often appears it isn't me.


A good example is my previous blog post about an article I wrote and submitted to the editor of our local paper regarding a problem with youth soccer. I had no doubt it would be published, but I expected it to be as a contributing correspondent article. It appeared as a Letter to the Editor. I suppose it really doesn't matter as long as the information was shared with the community.

Then there was an experience with my unpredictable grandson. Summer vacation is coming to a close and the family center where he usually spends his time is closed until school starts on August 13. The staff needs a vacation too. My little man has been moving around from person to person during the day, while his parents are working. He spent yesterday with me. He popped in a little before 8:00 a.m. and said he was hungry, even though he had already had breakfast. I fixed him turkey bacon, an egg , a mini bagel topped with mixed berry cream cheese and orange juice.

One would think that should hold him for awhile- wrong. About mid morning he decided he was hungry again. Raiding my refrigerator, he consumed an apple, broccoli and a handful of baby carrots dipped in blue cheese dressing. Perhaps he is going through a growing spurt. That would be good!

I took advantage of the extra help he provided and we later went to work dealing with the chipped paint on one side of my house; giving it a new paint job when we had finished. The job wasn't in my plans, but is something that really needed doing.

When my grandson left last night he said he would be back today. I had planned on some outside jobs we could do together. He ordered pancakes for breakfast. This morning came and he didn't show up. I began to worry and called his father at work to check on his whereabouts. He had decided to spend the day with a friend and forgot to call me. Relieved that nothing was wrong I began taking care of the little jobs I had seen us doing together. Again, not exactly how I had planned the day.

Oh well, as long as things get done I guess it doesn't matter how it happens.




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A cause to write

Step by step my writing has been motivated by a cause of one kind or another.

It started with a newspaper column, followed by self published books, hard cover books, a blog, E-books and a writing group that offered an opportunity to occasionally write an article for our local newspaper.

The published books are now out of print and the writing group is no more. The Amazon E-books as well as the blog are still being offered to the public. After informing the Cibola Beacon editor of the demise of my writing group he informed me that I am welcome to submit articles of my choice as a freelance correspondent. Reviewing this turn of events caused me to realize that it is what I wanted all along; to be able to write what I wanted when I wanted to write.

This editor and I have had an interesting adventure learning to accept each other for who we are and utilizing our individual strengths to benefit our community. I have learned a lot about what to write and what not to write during our several year association.

Finding a new cause, I just submitted my latest article to the Cibola Beacon entitled, "Where are the volunteers?". It reveals the fact that our local American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is in danger of folding if they can not attract new coaches, referees and board members.

As the grandparent of a 12 year old who has played soccer since he was old enough to qualify this is an unacceptable situation! It appears all I needed was a cause to write about to see where my writing is about to go now. 






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Mr. Popularity

With summer vacation coming to an end I was surprised to discover that my grandson chose to spend two days in a row at my house this week. This kid has so many invitations from his friends that it's getting hard to squeeze in any time with him. I entertained him Wednesday and Thursday and before today even hit noon two groups of his neighborhood friends knocked on my door wanting to ride bikes with him. I had to convince them I had no idea where he was spending the day.

Oh to be that popular! The best thing is he just accepts it as who he is.

Wednesday started off with a bowl of his favorite cereal and a glass of orange juice. After helping me rid my front yard of pesky weeds we decided to share a subway sandwich for lunch. His favorite, a cold cut combo with tomatoes, cucumbers and pickles on his half. I  take everything offered on mine. He made up for it with chips and a drink. Since the weather was decent we spent the afternoon at the local pool where of course, he attracted several of his friends to horse around with.

I hadn't expected him on Thursday, but about 7:45 a.m. Ejay started barking and I heard a knock on my front door.  It was a good thing I still had cereal because he hadn't had breakfast yet. After swinging by his house to pick up his basketball we headed to the family center so I could exercise and he could shoot hoops. On the way home we made a stop at the grocery store where his father works and of course, the employees greeted him by name. Next we tried to spruce up my yard a little. He did a good job of trimming my juniper shrub until a red ant crawled up his leg and took a bite. That pretty much ended the sprucing up and I got to play nurse. 

Feeling sorry for his pain, I suggested we pick up a pizza and take it to the Riverwalk, our most favorite place to eat lunch. First we stopped by his house to deposit his basketball and exchange it for his scooter to ride later. To make a long story short the pizza was good and he of course, connected with several more of his friends before we were chased away by rain drops falling on our heads. Perfect timing.

Yesterday came to a close when some of his neighborhood friends begged him to go bike riding with them. It seems I can't take Mr. Popularity anywhere that someone isn't asking for his attention. I love watching the show!