Fresh Jam

Doesn't this look wonderful? Dreamy thoughts of fresh jam poured into jars, waxed, closed in, boiled, placed to cool and put in the pantry. Perhaps they will be given as gifts . . . who knows.

That really wasn't what I wanted to write here, but just as I placed the graphic I had such memories coming back that I spaced for a couple of minutes. Well, I'm kind of spacy anyway

It's been raining pretty heavily here in Ventura. There is even snow on the top of our local mountains. It's supposed to rain again tonight and then warm up again. Truth is, except for the odd extreme highs and low,Southern California is a very wonderful place to be. We think we are freezing when the thermometer drops below 50 degrees. We are furious when the temperature hits 90 degrees (at least I am - fibro). Life is rough, huh?

The last few days have been tough around here. Everyone has been sick. Lupe went to school yesterday, Andrea went to school today and perhaps Kayla will go back tomorrow. I still have a gravely voice and the cough but I feel well from whatever it is we have had.

The other stresser this week has been this: Kayla and Lupe are leaving the nest on Saturday. Here they are with us last year at Sea World.; Lupe on left, then Kayla and Andrea

I will tell you this - it hasn't been an easy year. They lost Mama, had to get used to us (tough!) and used to a new school. Throughout the last year we have grown to love the girls very much. I have been quite ill this year, especially since I went into the hospital in August. This has made me less able to be all I can be for anyone in the family. Poor Rob has done my work, his work, supervised the girls and of course he has driven them everywhere they needed to go The girls (Andrea & Kayla) have been cleaning the kitchen, bathroom and their rooms . . . well so-so on the room . . . gosh . . . they are pre-teens afterall, whaddya expect?

To make a long story a little shorter, the result is this - Kayla and Lupe will be living with a wonderful (much younger) woman from our church. The new home has a larger bedroom and walk-in closet where they can store their "stuff".

It will be quieter around here and I will have a chance to build up my strength so I can be a more able wife and mom. I know we will miss them a lot. The good thing is that they will still be in our church and close by if we want to visit. And Andrea will have her mom and dad to herself again.

Well guys, I am getting very sleepy so I am going to sign off and hit the rack. I pray blessings on you all,

Tags: jam, stress, flu, leaving, loss, blessings

I know there are just 24 hours in a day, but I am truly stumped. I cannot figure out what day it is.

I think it was ThursdayI got up between 7 and 7:30 am. Not my best day, but I sorted out some stuff that was on my closet floor. We also went to get some food and came back home. I went to bed, but couldn't sleep - finally fell asleep last night at around 11 or 11:30 pm.

I've slept all day today.Woke up, fell asleep sitting up, went back to bed and have stayed there until now. I think I will go back to bed soon. Andrea and Lupe have been in bed all day - they have the flu. I hope they haven't given it to me.

So . . . back to the 24 hour thing. The scientists and astronomers have figured it out over the centuries . . . that's how long it takes the earth to turn on its axis. Okay, I get it.; Only my days are screwed up. I had 41 hours awake . . . and approximately 19 hours sleeping. When did my day start and end?

This is all so confusing to me. Please don't try to explain. I don't want to hear it. I just want to sleep. Just remember . . . I haven't left you . . . just having trouble figuring out what day it is. During my 41-hour day I prayed a lot - if you had a request anywhere, you were in my prayers. Can't write much more. I am falling asleep . . .

Tags: Day and night, 24 hours, sleep, sleep deprivation, too much sleep, flu, prayer

Word Play with Val

Oh, how I love words! They have fascinated me since the early 1950's. I love the sound as they are spoken and sung and written. Can't get enough. Val's Wordplay this week shows some of the most popular sounding words, most horrible sounding words and her favorites. She asks us this.Don't leave your words here, please.Go on over to Val and let her know.

Do you agree with these?Do you have a favorite sounding word or words? Are there any words you dislike the sound of? List them in the comments section . If you do this as an entry in your journal, please come back and leave a full entry URL so that we can go back and read your entry.Thanks!

The words I love to hear are these: symphony, cherish, beloved, sunshine, lullaby, everlasting, Lord, Savior, soulmate, friend and oh so many more.

The words I dislike: crash, murder, hate, loser, stupid, retard, venom.any words that criticize harshly and foul language. Yes, I might use them if I were writing a book (not foul words, though) to get my point across if anotherr word didn't work.

Words can keep our minds alert and growing even as we grow older. We read them, look them up, close our eyes to the sound of them, I think of most words as part of a symphony just for me.

Learn some new words.Share what you like and dislike with Val

Tags: Wordplay with Val, words, likes and dislikes, word sounds

U.K. Meme

I went over to visit Barbara and found this meme from the U.K. Since I am struggling through a medication change and don't seem to care about much, this was perfect for me. If you want to try it, please let Barbaraknow . . .just click on her name.

1. Where were you when the ball dropped for 2007? I was awake when it dropped in New York (9 pm CA time) and slept after that. Woke up right at midnite, kissed hubby and went back to sleep.

2. How did you get the idea for your my space name? My Space stinks - I won't even go there.

3. What are you listening to right now? A program about Kodiak Bears.

4. Has the death of a celebrity ever made you cry?Yes. I had just lost both my mom and husband when Princess Diana died. I don't know if I cried for her or my own grief - a senseless loss of a wonderful young woman.;

5. What color underwear are you wearing? yellow and white - why?

6. Do you live in a zoo? yes, a bird zoo - sometimes the girls act like animals, too.

7. What did you do this morning? Sat up, took morning meds, dragged myself to the living room where coffee, breakfast and my laptop awaited me.

8. What does your mom do for a living? My mom was a customer representative for Allstate Insurance for just over 30 years. She died at age 78 in August 1997, loving the Lord just as much when she was a young Christian.

9. Where do you work?thankfully I don't work anymore.

10. What are your favorite smells?the Cinnabon store, coffee brewing, the house when I bake bread.

11. What are the last two digits of your phone number? 67

12. What was the last concert you attended? I can't remember if it was Joan Baez or Handel's Messiah - both were in the early 90's.

13. Who was with you? Roger

14. What was the last movie you watched? A Wrinkle in Time with my daughter.

What do you dislike at the moment? Hatred. Will always see it as evil.

16. What do you crave right now? to see my daughter Heather and her children - to see my son John and his family. 

17. Did you dream last night? Probably.  It's rare that I remember my dreams.

18. What was the last TV show you watched? KTLA morning news

19. What is your favorite piece of jewelry? My new wedding set and my opal ring and cross.

20. Name someone on your Top 8 who is just like you? What's a top eight??

21. Who is your best friend of the opposite sex? Rob

22. Who last IM’d you? Krissy

23. Are you on any medication? Yes, lots of it.

24. What side of the bed do you sleep on? right

25. What color shirt are you wearing?two shades of blue, white and red.

26. What color is your razor? Pink

27. What is your favorite frozen treat? Double Vanilla/Caramel Swirl ice cream.

28. How many tattoos/piercings do you have? Each of my ears is pierced twice.

29. What are your favorite stores? Pet stores, Burlington Coat Factory, Book stores, Fabric stores.

30. Are you thirsty right now? yes . . . need water

31. Can you imagine yourself ever getting married? Not again! Don't you think 5 is enough.

32. Who’s someone you haven’t seen in awhile and miss? My sons and daughter.My grandchildren.

33. What did you do last night? gaze at TV - slept.

34. Do you care what people think about you? Yes, most of the time. I'm not going to change at this late date. So truly I guess it's love me or hate me, I yam what I yam.

35. Have you ever done something to instigate trouble? I don't think so......at least not on purpose.

36. Do you like your nose? yes

37. What color is your room? It's painted white, but complements are rose and hunter green.

38. When was the last time you worked out?I don't remember.

39. Do you like pedicures? oh yes! especially spa pedicures

40. Where do you live? California

41. Are you an aggressive driver? No, but I yell at other drivers if they are idiots. Of course, I never roll my window down

42. Who is your cell phone carrier? T-Mobile

43. Do you like the person who posted this last? I sure do!

44. Do you know their birthday? sometime in December?

45. What is the thing you’d most want to change about yourself? My ability to finish a project without pain.

46. What color is your car? RED

47. What do you smell like right now? Good & Plenty

48. What is your favorite color? Red

49. Do youlike mustard? Yes - the spicy brown one. Comes off with glycerin..

50. What do you tell yourself when times get hard? The Lord your God will never leave you nor forsake you.

51. Would you ever sky dive? a resounding NO!

52. What do you sleep on? Usually our bed.

53. Have you ever bid for something on eBay? yes

54. What do you think of Angelina Jolie being pregnant? So what? Lots of people are pregnant.

55. Do you enjoy giving hugs? I sure do - but only to my family and close friends

56. Would you consider yourself to be fashionable? Who me?

57. Do you own a digital camera? 3 of them . . . or is it 4 . . . ?

58. What celebrities have you been compared to? Janis Joplin

59. What does your 19th test message say?I don't get text messages.

60. How ’bout your 30th? as I said . . .

61. Who did you hang out with last night? Rob and the girls

62. What are you doing this Saturday? I was supposed to be at retreat. Probably sleep a lot and read God's Word. 

Tags: God's word, medication changes, memes, marriages, Janis Joplin, U.K.,

BRRRRR! California is freezing

It's been a rough few days, folks. The weather has been decidedly UN-Californian. The weather men were right about one thing: its been C-O-L-D cold. The dog's water was frozen, baby birds had to be kept covered all the time, kids shook and chattered (still wanting to go outside) and snow could be seen blanketing our local mountains.I won't even go into the litany of things the cold does to my body Nah . . . you don't want to hear it.

I'm looking forward to my yearly retreat this year. I haven't figured out how I'm going to get there yet. I definitely can't drive. I need to check in to train or bus schedules. It's not that far, really. I just have to go through Los Angeles to get there. UGH!!

Currently I am waiting for the other shoe to drop as Southern California heads back above freezing tonite. I really don't think any of us here totally understand what cold weather does to you. I think about the Midwest and the ice and snow storms out there and all I can say is this: you are all in my prayers. J-Landers, we must continue to pray for those that have been hit with these storms and those that will be hit. I don't care how you pray . . . just do it. Thanks.

Tomorrow is my birthday. Rob wants to take me to dinner at Milano's. I really want to go. My back is screwed up. We'll go hour by hour to see if I can stand the drive, the wait and sitting in one place for an hour. We have a gift certificate, so we could take the kids. He wants to buy me a tiny little dog as my present but not having two nickels to rub together, that's impossible right now. How many of you out there are familiar with being so broke you can't even pay attention? Yeah, me too.

So glad you are all here to listen to me crab about these silly things. When all is said and done, they won't matter anyway. What really matters is who I am in Christ. I pray blessings for you all

Tags: California, weather. ice storms, cold, kids, retreat, backaches, prayer, Christ

Weekend Assignment # 147 WARNING!

For this week's Weekend Assignment #147  John asked us to make a warning sign and for extra credit, he asks us to tell him if we have ever ignored a warning sign we should have paid attention to.  Here is what I've done.

              

Warning signs I have ignored:  when my son was two, he started reading on his own, swimming on his own and by five years old, he was telling us thing he read in the encyclopedia - would have been best if I had paid attention - look what he is up to now!

                           bye for now,  Penny

Tags: weekend assignment, Scalzi, reading, swimming

Busy Day

Good morning everyone . . . yes, it's still morning where I live It's a bright sunny day, though cool. We are about to sit down to prayer with the girls. This is a special time for us. I remember the prayer requests I've seen in J-Land, and lift them up. First of course we give God all the glory, pray for our family and then for the prayer requests. When we are finished, there is just peace here.

We have been doing some "spring" cleaning around here.We bought junk drawers for Andrea and Kayla. They each had the two top drawers of their dressers full of junk, most of which I would throw away. I am organizing my space in the bedroom. I got rid of two bags of clothing yesterday. I keep things because I like them, then never get rid of them. Yesterday I was hard on myself . . . If I hadn't worn it in the last 6 months and wouldn't wear it in the next . . . out it goes. Some things I hadn't worn in a year or mare. Man! that was hard. I'm a pack rat - probably more than the girls.

I'd like to give you a heads up about a journal I've been following. She doesn't write every day, but I like her alot. She is our own Krissy and Val's sister, Grace. She has a very interesting name for her journal. I am expecting great things from her over the next year. Please drop by and leave a comment and/or put her on your alerts.

Now I have to do my chore for today.I've been procrastinating. I'm praying God's blessing on you all.

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