It's almost here!

The new year is almost here and I am thinking about what I have learned during the last 80 years of my life. Wow that's a long time!

Most importantly to trust my strong intuition because it is the voice of my soul. It is never wrong no matter what anyone else believes. This year especially I knew I was taking medication I had no business taking and I was proven right in the end. My health is now beginning to settle down.

The thing I have been struggling with for the last few years is to let others live their own lives. Being a parent sometimes causes one to either do too much or too little for their children. Not many parents get it right in the middle. Of course, we are blamed for the rest of our lives for the choice we made.

I have learned to ask for help and listen to the answers I am given. Help may come from a human or an unseen source, it makes no difference. There is after all only one source that really matters. 

In summing up my 80 years on this planet I would like to once again share a poem that was channeled to me in 2000. I especially love the line "I will help you live but will not live for you". Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the source of the poem. Oh well, live and learn!

Pure Love

I will love you forever and ever
I will defend you against your enemies
I will support you when you are weak
I will cry with you when you are hurt
I will warn you when I see danger
 I will teach you anything I know
 I will listen quietly as you teach me
I will pray with you and for you
I will hold you if you need comfort
 I will feed you when you are hungry
 I will help you live but will not live for you
 I will respect your right to your freedom
I will love you forever and ever. 

Barbara Loure` Gunn 2000 

Goodbye-Hello

It is the end of 2017 and the time has come to bite off the line and spit out the hook of negative energy that has been holding me hostage for the last 7 years. Lately I have been feeling like a fish attached to a fishing line held by several negative people. It is past time to let them live their lives however they see fit. I no longer need their drama! Goodbye to another 7 years and hello to my freedom as I look forward to 2018!
Happy New Year to my faithful readers!!

A sneak peek

For several years I have kept a little book of over 50 pictures of some of the people I wrote about while I was a columnist for the Cibola Beacon.

The little book still had many empty pages. As I gave some thought as to just how I could fill them an idea came to me. Since I opened my Facebook account in 2009 I have made many friends from all over the world. Some are still in my life in one way or another. I decided to think about the ones who have been the most important or offered the most advice/support over the years.

Next I took a sneak peek into their photo albums, one by one. I chose the photo that best represented the person I know as my friend to copy, print and add to my little book. I ended up with about 20 pictures, but some had more than one person in them.

I'm sure that some of the people would not be happy with the picture I picked. I know of at least one male who would rush to tear his up, as it is the one he likes the least. It is also the one I like the best because it shows him smiling and appearing to be very relaxed.

 I also added two pictures of male cousins that I connected with through ancestry.com this year. Interestingly, one is on the paternal side and the other is on the maternal side of my family. You just never know what can happen when you take a step into the unknown.

My little book is still not completely full, but then my life is also far from over.

Christmas soup

I just finished making soup in the new pot my son gave me for Christmas. It has a little bit of everything and should be very filling for dinner tonight.

I began by boiling some chicken cut into bite sizes pieces along with leftover raw onion. When that was done I added a couple cans of chicken broth, a package of soup starter vegetables, some leftover  broccoli and leftover no yolk egg noodles from Christmas dinner. Oh and also whatever seasonings I felt like adding to the pot. The result smells really good and the new pot was just the right size!

Encouraging the mind to think

My family has dwindled down to a few who still communicate. One of the most important people that I still buy gifts for is my grandson, now 16. I enjoy giving him things that will encourage his mind to think beyond what he sees.

This year I gave him a floating globe to remind him that nothing is impossible. I also gave him some new art supplies, which I was later told his art teacher had mentioned to him. I know he has a lot of interests, but I have always seen a born talent for art and creativity. Perhaps someday he will be famous and just maybe I have encouraged a little spark to make it so.

As long as I am able I will continue to look for and offer tools that encourage his mind to think and grow.

What is missing?

Thanks to a friend's Facebook post I finally figured out what is missing from Christmas for me.

Things have certainly changed in my house in the last few years around this time of the year. Yes I still decorate the house and buy gifts and make fudge and cookies, mostly to give away, but for some reason it doesn't feel like Christmas. What could be missing I have wondered.

One of the things I like to do more than anything else is cook and plan family meals for special occasions. That's what is missing! I no longer have a family to cook for.

Perhaps next year I will rent one!

Happy birthday Uncle Jeff

Yesterday I loaned my kitchen to my grandson, Colin. I offered minimal assistance as he constructed a birthday cake for his uncle, who will be 57 on Christmas day. I remember that day quite well.

Colin began by making a chocolate cake mix. After it cooled he took it apart with his hands and smushed it into a ball which was then mixed with chocolate frosting. I should have taken a picture of his hands when this step was finished. One would have thought he had been playing in the mud.

The last step was to flatten it into a smaller dish and spread cherry frosting on top, finishing it up with sprinkles and candles. Below is a picture of his masterpiece, now hiding out in a closet waiting for dessert tomorrow night.

Great job Colin I hope Uncle Jeff appreciates your gift!

As I look back

We only have 8 more days in 2017. Where has the year gone I wonder. There are a few souls who began the year and moved on to hopefully a more peaceful place. There are some new souls who have been added as friends. I certainly have had my share of medical adventures this year and I hope 2018 settles down a bit. I'm getting tired of the focus.

One of the things I am most grateful for is the opportunity of being part of social media. Who would have thought as I was growing up that a new invention like computers would be an important part of my life. It has allowed me to connect with friends all over the world. The part I enjoy the most is watching the families develop. I have been able to enjoy the children and grandchildren and even their pets grow up.

Not having a lot of money for travel this is a very special gift.

This year I even found, through Ancestry.com, over two hundred cousins I didn't know I had. A couple of them actually became friends.The site also helped to clear up some life long questions. One of which I would just as soon have left in the past.

As the clock clicks down on another year I look forward with gratitude to new experiences and the opportunity to meet new people who just might become friends.

In closing I would like to share a poem I wrote in 1999 titled Take Time to be a Friend.

How long does it take to be a friend?
To share a thought, a dream, a plan, a life
To offer a smile, an ear, a shoulder, a hug
To gently guide, support, defend, respect
To help, to love, to pray for the other
How long does it take to be a friend?
A moment or a lifetime.
         BLG 1999

Two Christmas celebrations

For the last six years my youngest grandson has come to my house on Christmas Eve to have dinner and open his gifts. He then goes home and opens the rest of his gifts with his mother and stepfather. It has always left me feeling sad.

A little while ago my grandson caused me to change my reaction. He referred to December 25th as "my Christmas with you this year". We are in his words, switching Christmas this year. It made me laugh. The best part is he won't be rushing home to open his other gifts.

This year there has been a change in plans and he will spend Christmas Eve with his family and Christmas night with me and his uncle. Yes I am family too but I am not welcome to celebrate holidays with my daughter and her husband, her choice not mine. It reminds me of children with divorced parents. They get two celebrations, if they are lucky.

Last year he decorated a birthday cake for his uncle, whose big day is also December 25. This year his skills have improved and he is doing the whole cake. 

  

My Christmas Wish

As Christmas approaches I always think back to a poem I wrote in 2000 for a local telethon for St. Vincent de Paul. It is still true today.

One Gift

If you could have one gift for Christmas
Tell me what would it be, someone asked.
Seriously pondering the question for awhile,
The gift I choose wouldn't be under the tree.

What I really want for Christmas
I told the person who had asked me
Is the most precious treasured gift of all,
LOVE, pure and simple and completely free.

Back to the drawing board

Our nights have been getting really cold and it seems my bedroom and bathroom are the coldest rooms in the house. They are the furthest away from the furnace. For some time I have used a space heater in the bathroom for showers, but I have never tried to fix the cold air problem in the bedroom. It makes getting up in the morning more than a little chilly.

In an attempt to fix that problem I just purchased another small heater, thinking that would work. To make a long story short it didn't put out enough heat to warm the room. This morning I think I solved the problem- I hope!

I switched the heaters. The larger one is now in the bedroom and the new one is in the bathroom.

Where there is a will there is a way! I'm tired of being cold!!

Another chance

The recipe I shared yesterday for potato chip cookies didn't bake right so I deleted it and am sharing another. Not sure what happened so here goes.

Peanut butter chocolate bars

6 tbl. butter or margarine
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
 1 cup peanut butter
3 eggs
1 cup flour
 2 cups chocolate chips
colored sprinkles

Beat peanut butter, sugars and vanilla until creamy. Add eggs and flour, stir in 3/4 cup choc.chips. Spread into greased 8 x12 pan. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees until edges brown. Immediately sprinkle rest of chocolate chips on top. Wait 5 minutes and spread. Sprinkle colored sugar on top.

Happy birthday

Today is my 80th birthday. One would think it would be a special day. The only one of my family who even acknowledged the event was my oldest son, who also gave me a gift.

I am thankful that I had over 30 Facebook friends who did take the time to send greetings. I have always said family is more than biology. I have an assortment of friends all over the world who apparently care more than my biological family does.