Me and Charlie actually taking a break from eating and doing tourisy stuff

Fried Green Tomatoes.....mmmmmm

Route 44 limeade cherry! "Boo ya!

Memphis to Nashville

Today we began our day at Graceland. I've never really been an Elvis fan, but for some reason I've always wanted to go to Graceland. It was kinda interesting, but somehow smaller than I expected. There were some fun things though. Green shag carpeting on the floors and ceiling. hahahaha today's cool it tomorrow's tacky, eh.

Then we drove off to Nashville. We had lunch along the way. I made Charles stop at Bart's BBQ and I had fried green tomatoes. I was so excited about my fried green tomatoes that I took a picture. Then I realized that I had taken a picture of Bart's BBQ and one of my fried green tomatoes, but had not taken a single picture at Graceland! I guess we all have our priorities. lol

We're just back from a wonderful trip to Joann's Fabrics and supper. I didn't take any pictures at Joann's cause I was too busy buying stuff.

We went to TGIF's for supper. Charlie had the pecan encrusted chicken salad and I had the strawberry short cake. When they brought the food the girl looked at the two plates and gave me the salad and Charlie the shortcake. I asked him why is it that everywhere we go people get our orders mixed up? He said well if you'd stop ordering chicken fried steak.... and I said oh ya? Well if you'd man up and stop ordering salad....

And that was our day. Tomorrow...the Grand Ole Opery.....oh boy!

Road trip from Texarkana to West Memphis

(please read this blog using a Texas accent, thank you)
We left Texarkana this morning and made it to Hot Springs by noon. We climbed up a giant tower and saw all around. Then we decided to have lunch. I asked garmin where the closest barbeque and it suggested Micky's BBQ 2 miles outside of town. This bothered Charles cause he doesn't like going out and then back but talked him into it. Off we went and as we drove the neighbourhood got scarier and scarier. Determined to get BBQ I egged Charles on. Finally we found Micky's. It was closed.

So I asked garmin for any restaurant in Hot Springs. So we drove back (sorry Charlie) and looked for Bubbaloo's. When we got there it was a hot dog place. A hot dog place? Really? Well that wouldn't do so we went to Granny's Place. I had chicken fried steak.

At the table next to us there was a family with a 10 year old boy and a 14 year old girl, his sister, and their parents. (seriously, you have to read this in your best southern accent) Boy gets a shaved ice for dEssert and his sister doesn't want anything. It arrives and she asks for a bite. He says no, she yes, no, yes, no, yes finally he offers her a bite. She takes a taste. As he offers it to her he says see this is what they call being nice, in his best well bless your heart voice. She gets all pissed off and takes a huge spoonful while he's trying to knock the stuff off her spoon with his.

So then we go to this cool museum place thingy. While crossing the street there were 2 sisters having a slap fight. Mom says stop that right now. One yells Well I reckon you hadn't a otta smacked me. The other yells well I reckon you hadn't a otto shoved me. The first one yells I recon you hadn't a been walking so darn slow.

Well then it was time to drive to Memphis, but first we went to Sonic for a route 44. Ya!!!

Now we're in West Memphis. Tomorrow we go to Graceland, and I have an Ihop coupon.
Best drivecation ever!

A Rock Song

A Rock Song

It’s four in the morning and I can’t sleep. I get up and try to repeat my night time ritual, in the hope it will somehow help me to fall asleep when my head hits the pillow, but no. I am more awake than ever. I listen to the wind roaring in the trees. I listen to the wind roaring from my husband’s lips! My mind starts to wander and race as I realize I won’t be getting any more sleep this morning.

I remember a friend of mind telling me about an exercise she did with her Bible Study group. The reading was about the woman at the well. They were to imagine that they were an inanimate object at the scene, and describe what they saw, heard and felt. I think I might give it a try since it is obvious that I have plenty time on my hands!

At first I found myself identifying with the woman, a sinner, but she seems pretty ‘animate’ so I close my eyes and try again. I picture a well made of stone, much like a wishing well, but without the roof. All around the well is sand, dry burning sand, rising in hot, shimmering dunes. Behind my back is probably a village, but from where I stand I see only the rock of the well and the sand.

What should I be? A bird? A cloud? A rock? Yes, I think I’ll be a rock. Not one of the perfectly hewn rocks that make up the well, but a misshapen rock that the well builders have thrown to the side. Although I have one flat, perfect side, the rest of me is uneven and of no use to anyone, so here I lie. Years of wind and sand have all but covered me up. I lie here alone, unnoticed, useless, but wait …

A shadow has fallen over me. It belongs to a man. He is sitting on the side of the well talking to a woman. I don’t know who he is, but his shadow is cool. It fills me with hope, and somehow I begin to smile, despite the empty life I have led. I can hear him talking to the woman, and I think I should be listening. I’m sure his message must be important, but all I can think about is… I hope he comes closer!

The woman hands him a drink and, joy of joys, he comes over and stands beside me. He doesn’t step on me as so many have done in the past, but he acknowledges my presence and then stands there, right beside ME! My pain and loneliness disappear! I am healed! I know Him now: he is the Christ, my Redeemer, my Healer.

Again I try to listen, but my mind wanders to another place, another message.

“Why waste your breath moaning at the crowd? Nothing can be done to stop the shouting. If every tongue were still, the noise would still continue. The very rocks and stones themselves would start to sing!”

I am overcome with joy and I long to sing with my brothers. “Hosanna, King of Kings!

Hosanna, Lord of Lords!

Hosanna, redeemer of the misshapen!”

I have been made whole. The rock that the well builders have rejected may well become the cornerstone of a temple or a great monument, or maybe even a McDonald’s.

He’s going now. He’s on his way, but I know that even though He is gone He will be in my heart forever. What can I do to show that I have changed when I’m still almost invisible, still buried here in the sand? I know! I can quietly pray for the people who come to this well, starting with that woman right there. (She’s so lucky; she actually got to talk to Him!) I pray that she heard the message that He had for her, special and unique, just as mine was special and unique. I pray that as she labors with her heavy burden He may refresh her, just as I have been refreshed. May she be healed and filled with joy. May her heart and soul be filled with the song that all we rocks sing.

Hosanna, King of Kings!

Hosanna, Lord of Lords!

Hosanna, Redeemer of the misshapen!

Alleluia! Amen!

World's Ugliest Quilt

I went to Texas last month to visit my God daughter. She took us around to see all of the wonderful sites, fabric stores, and, of course, lots of wonderful restaurants. My favorite place for barbeque was a place called Clayton’s Barbeque. This amused me because I live in Clayton.

Clayton’s BBQ is a building made of corrugated sheet metal and it has old rusty tools, antlers and such on the walls. In the middle of one wall hangs an old, old quilt. This quilt is maybe as wide as a single bed, but way, way longer. The blocks are random colours, random sizes. I could see no rhyme or reason for the piecing. There are about 20 black and white nine patches going down the side about two feet from one side, but they don’t go right to the bottom. Why did the quilter stop there? There are some larger white and blue nine patches off to the other side, some churn dash blocks, some blocks that are uneven stripes, and then some just random blocks that I don’t recognize. After a while the quilter just started adding different sized bits of fabric to make it bigger. Wow it was ugly.

We went there several times. Each time the quilt caught me attention. I couldn’t stop staring at it. Why was it this odd size? Did it fit on a couch? Was it made for the world’s longest single bed? Why these colours? Why that crazy row of nine patches? I puzzled and puzzed till my puzzler was sore. Then something started to happen. The quilt started to amuse me. It became a thing of wonder. The quilter had something in mind and I’m sure it was created as a thing of beauty as well as warmth, and I was starting to, somehow, understand it. The more I started at it, the more I loved it. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and I wish I could show it to you. Perhaps I'll make one for myself.

Happy Quilting.

Dianne

Two things

One

Sometimes when you watch discovery channel you see those big fish with the giant teeth and inside of their mouths are tiny fishes swimming around, eating things stuck in the teeth of the big fish. I wonder if it hurts the big fish when the little ones clean their teeth......I hate dentists!

Two

It amazes me how quickly I judge others and judge them harshly. Today I was sitting in Starbucks with my head in my hands. As I was looking down and this pair of green rubber boots walked into my line of vision. What a dumb hick, I thought, wearing his hick boots in the big city. Then my eyes wandered upward and I noticed his engineer ring. Oh I thought the hick can't be to stupid if he's an engineer. Then I looked up at the back of his head and he reminded me of my X father in law, and I thought man this guy must be a jerk.

Then I realised that I had done nothing but judge the poor guy. I was so very mean to the poor bugger and I hadn't even seen his face, course he was probably ugly anyway.

Christmas Traditions

When I was a little kid we always celebrated Christmas on Christmas eve. That was when the Christ child came and brought us our presents. Then we would go to midnight mass to say thank you and sing carols. It was a really happy time.

Later I married and we changed our traditions. We opened our gifts with mom and dad on Christmas Eve, then we went to my inlaws for Christmas to open more presents. My first motherinlaw didn't like me at all. She would spend five or six hundred dollars on her son and she would buy me a pull over from the department store where I worked so that I would know it was marked down to $12.95. It always made me sad. When I separated from my first husband that year she bought me opal earrings and an opal necklace. I always thought it was a thank you for leaving my son gift. lol

Later I found Charles and my Christmas traditions changed again. We had no money whatsoever. I decided I didn't want a tree or any Christmas crap around. He said no we are starting a new tradition and we have to have a tree. He drove us to a tree farm and we found the saddest lumpiest, most wonderful tree ever. It cost $2. hahahaha. It had branches sticking out all over and no branches at all in some spots where there sure as heck should have been some. Oh it was a joy to behold. Charles' first wife had been a Christmas Nazi and the ornaments had to be placed just so. He picked up an ornament and asked me where I should hang it. I suggested he put it on the tree. He stared at the tree and carefully hung the ornament and he just looked at it for a while. Then he looked at me but by then I was busy hanging stuff on the plants. He smiled, laughed, picked up stuff and soon the whole place had ornaments every where, on plants and trees and pictures. Joy!

Soon we had three little boys running around. Once again we changed tradition. The new tradition became staying home on Christmas day. It seemed so hard to visit this person and that person with three little ones in tow, and the kids hating opening all of these great new toys and then having to leave them behind to go visiting. We stayed home and played with our presents all day. All day just us. That was a nice tradition.

As years went by I found it so uncomfortable seeing my family once a year at Christmas, buying gifts for complete strangers. After a while I stopped this. The Gale family has welcomed me in and they are a joyfully crazy bunch of people. One more wonderful than the next. My new tradition became being with my new family. As painful as it was to leave my family behind, I soon found out what it was to be loved by new brothers and sisters. Gales and Airds and Rosses, oh my. I had never known this joy. I'm sure my own family loves me, and I do love them, but oh my new home made family is a hoot. Christmas day at Brian's is the best day ever!

The boys grew into men. The world pulls them in many directions. One year it became evident that one of them couldn't come home for Christmas. Time for a new tradition. Fakemas was born. After all, what is more important, having Christmas on December 25th, or having all of my boys and their adorable girls friends all together? Some years Fakemas is a couple of weeks before the 25th, and some years it's after, but we try hard to find a family get together day.

Some day our traditions will change again. Some day there'll be grand kids and the boys will change the traditions according to what works for their own families. Someday Charles and I will be too old to travel and someone will have to take us to the celebration, or come here and do all of the work for us. Hard to say. I don't know how it will change, but it will. It doesn't really matter to me how the traditions change as long as I can have my family around, those that I have married, those that I have birthed, and those that I have adopted and have adopted me.

I love you guys.
Merry Christmas

secret keeper

The secrets I keep are my own. Smiles that hide the pain. Lies that hide the truth. Good days followed by bad days followed by bad days that look like good days. I love the people around me, Charles, kids, friends. I love where I am. I love God. I love my pets. I love to quilt and paint and create. It's me I could live without. Sometimes I feel like this great and wonderful person trapped in a shitty body that slows me down.

That's the tip of my secret keeping ice burg. if you have read this then you must also keep my secrets.

Dreams…..

Sometimes I long to go back to that place where I haven’t really been before. I often go there in my dreams. There’s a house there. Sometimes it’s tiny, similar to the one on Rekaneni’s farm. Sometimes it huge, rambling, expansive. It is, however, always haunted.

We stand outside of the servant’s entrance as our friends arrive. Ellen and Dave get out of their car just as Steve and Katie pull up. As I turned to greet them I notice a twinkle from above and look up. I could have sworn that there above the stone carved fascia, a third floor hovered just for a second. Foolishness!

We go in through the back and enter into a hallway that leads into the kitchen. It has huge areas for preparing, cooking, roasting, stirring. A large butcher block table stands in the middle of the room, two hundred years of chopping having left tiny, bowl shaped groves here and there. Off to the right is a small windowless room, just large enough for a bed. This is where the cook lived when this grand old house had servants to care for it.

From the back of the kitchen a narrow corridor runs the length of the house. It has cupboards along its length housing the fine china, and sinks for washing and cleaning. The corridor allowed servants to travel unseen while clearing the dining room or attending to their masters any where in the house.

I notice a door at the left of the kitchen. Servant’s stairs to the second floor no doubt. Eagerly we race up the stairs to explore the living quarters. As we tumble up to the top we bump against a wall across from the door. It moves. At first we think we have broken something, but then we realize that this board is a newer addition and that there is yet another set of stairs behind. We pull off the barrier and head upwards through years of cobwebs, leaving our foot steps in the dust.

We step out into what must have been an exquisite ball room. It is still decorated for a grand Christmas party. There is a long dead, once beautifully decorated tree in the middle of the room. The room itself is almost completely made of glass. Large swags of pine boughs stretch from window pane to window pane, encircling the room. As I reach out to touch one of the beautiful red bows that adorn the boughs I can hear a tinkle as a few needles drop to the ground.

Oh what a party it must have been! What a sight! I can almost envision the grandeur of the evening. I can hear a majestic waltz playing in my mind. A handsome young man in tie and tails offers me his hand and bows. I extend my gloved hand and shyly curtsy. We begin to dance around the room. Slowly at first, but as the music rises in intensity we begin to whirl around the dance floor. I can see the orchestra now, in their formal attire. I can feel my gown swing to and fro, fine Italian lace swishing across satin. I wonder at the Christmas tree, all aglow with candles and hand blown ornaments. I can smell the mouth watering treats as we swirl past the buffet table. People, one more beautifully arrayed then the next, clink glasses, toasting their good fortune. Smiling at me. Smiling at me. Smiling at me.

Smiling at me….I begin to get a little uncomfortable. Why won’t they stop smiling at me? Is there a bit of malaise in there eyes? Just then I hear grandfather’s clock far off in the distance as it begins to strike twelve. Smiles frozen on long dead faces. Forgotten glasses in half raised arms. Starring at me! All at once I realize that I have to leave. I have to be gone before the clock strikes midnight or I would be stuck at this hellish ball forever. I untangle myself from my partners arms. He glares at me in anger. I make a mad dash for the stairs. Angry eyes following my every step. Flying down the steps two and three at a time. Tripping, stumbling, the music growing ever fainter. I continue out through the kitchen and stumble out the back door trying to catch my breath, bent over, terrified.

Next to me Charles, Steve and Ellen stand, also bent over, also gasping. We look at each other afraid to ask the question. I look at Charles and out of the corner of my eye I see a twinkle. A third floor? Foolishness!

Today's topic....Quilts in your lives

HA! I figure since I'm the first person to blog today on Blog Tuesday Day, I get to pick the topic. I had the busiest day yesterday. It was my third Monday of the month guild of which I am president. I finished basting a quilt. I made binding and finished binding a quilt, and I finished my block of the month. Nice to see that I didn't leave anything to the last minute, eh?

It was also my night to bring treats to the meeting, so I made Toblerone Shortbread cookies. They were really good. Everyone really liked them. Elaine the snack coordinator asked me if I could remember the recipe by heart. We were standing next to the snack table and I said I thought I could. She pointed to the orange, current cookies next to mine and said they were amazing. I said oh I made the Toblerone Shortbread beside the orange cookies. Oh she said in a kinda disappointed voice. Well I guess you don't really want the recipe then eh? I said jokingly. She made this mumbly noise and backed away slowly, turned and ran. hahahahaha

Yup those were some fine cookies!

Bob says Tuesday are bloggy days

Today is Tuesday and or Friday Nov 12th. We have to take the dog to the vet today. Unfortunately when we are done there the vet insists that we take him home. Some how he hasn't had his shots since 2006. Oooops.

This week's topic is food so....I was working late on the church books and the rev fed me supper. then yesterday PC took me to momma's and we both had there special of the day and we both got rice pudding and he doesn't like it so I got his and mine. Best day ever. The while we were at momma's I forgot we weren't home and I put my head back and let out a huge burrrrppp. It just resounded in the place. People stared and PC laughed. I can't even go out in public anymore! I blame you boys!!!!!!

Girl brought Dan some nuttella. I love that stuff. I love it when she brings Dan treats. She's gotten smarter though cause now she brings him a large jar so that he can actually get some too.

I am apparently way behind in birthday cakes. Chuck and Dan haven't had one and possibly also Bob. But in my defense I'd like to say that in all cases I've bought the ingredients.

Monday I have to take treats to quilting. I'm making Deane's famous toblerone shortbread cookies. I've told PC to buy the toblerone and hide it and not let me have it till Monday when I bake no matter how hard I squeeze his....ummm...well I just told him don't let me have the chocolate till baking time.

I don't feel like making suppers anymore, so we usually end up with unhealthy last minute things. I'm not sure how to get motivated again. It's a vicious cycle really cause the crappier meals I make the worse I feel and then I don't feel like making good things.

Well Bob....food was a good topic. What is next Tuesday's topic I wonder, and by the way Bob....send me your phone number duffus. As if I have to email you to get you phone number???? I'm your mom!!! Don't make me bake a pie at you!!!

Best Birthday gift ever!!!!!

Judy took me out to lunch today and gave me my birthday present a little early. While we waited for our food to arrive, she handed me a lovely wrapped box with a tiny fuchsia bow on it. I openned it up and peered inside........ nothing......there was nothing inside. Judy asked me why I had a funny look on my face and I showed her the empty box. Then she laughed till she cried. Apparently she had 2 boxes that were the same and she put the one with the gift back in the drawer, and wrapped the empty one. Hahahahaha I got an empty box from Judy, and a great story. Best gift ever!!!!

Now we get to go out to lunch again next week so I can get another present. YAY!!!

Hmmmm

I had something odd happen to me Monday night.

I was at my evening guild meeting. As president, I brought the meeting to order using my new bike horn. OO aa oo aaaa. I introduced people, reminded people of things and such. I reminded them to bring slippers in a bag when the snow starts. I pulled out my giant bear foot shaped slippers and they laughed. I asked them why were these my quilting slippers. Because they're bear paws someone answered correctly and they laughed. I told them that these slippers were just so darned comfortable that when I wore them it felt like I was wearing bare feet and they laughed. Man I was so "on". I had a great time and everyone else did too. Many thanked me after the meeting. Everyone wanted to talk with me during break and after. It was really great.

When almost everyone was gone, one lady came up to talk to me. She looked into my eyes, thanked me and hugged me. She quietly thanked me again and smiled the saddest smile you ever saw. Her sad eyes were teary and had just a touch of a smile in them. I had moved her in some manner. Something I did meant something to her. I could tell. We didn't really speak. She just left after that. I watched her turn and walk away, but her eyes stayed with me.

When I got home I told Charles about it. That lady and I had somehow shared something and I had no idea what. She was going through something and somehow I had helped her in some way, and somehow this was bothering me. I realized that I have an effect on people, somehow. I know that we all do, of course but, I seem to really move people in some way. Charles told me that yes of course I do. He said that he's noticed it for years. It is my great gift and with it comes great responsibility.

Hmmmm

A Hairy Lent?

As you may have read I had decided to stop shaving my legs this winter. When Lent came along and everyone was giving up this and giving up that I jokingly said that I was giving up shaving my legs for Lent.  Well the weather forecast for the next three days is 20, 26, and 27! I might have to find my shorts, except that, I have an impressive crop of hair on my legs. I mean I couldn’t believe just how hairy legs can get, and we aren’t even gonna mention my pits!

So you see my dilemma. I said I wasn’t shaving my legs for lent because I knew it wouldn’t effect me in any way, and it amused me to tell people. Now it seems that it will indeed effect me.

Options are…

1. Shave cause I was only kidding?

2.Wear long pants and be hot?

3. Wear short and hairily praise God?

Why do these things always happen to me?

So we were moving Kat from Belleville to Ottawa. Charles and I are in the truck pulling a trailer and Chuck and Dan are in the toy behind us, and Kat behind them in her car. They were about ten minutes behind us on highway 7. All of a sudden I saw a cop at the side of the road, so I texted Chuck to tell him. I text “cop”

He says “What? Who is this?”

I smirk but type “mom”

He says “Do you know who you’re talking to?”

I roll my eyes, oh those crazy boys, I laugh, but sure I’ll bite.”Ok Who are you?”

He says “I am Mustafa”

Hahahahaha Charles and I laugh. Man you can’t put two Gale boys in the same vehicle for an hour without them being stupid, and they spelled Mufasa wrong. Tools

I say”I hope you get a ticket”

He says “WHO IS THIS F***”

Well, I think, that’s a bit rude. Charles says “Do you have the right number?” “Of course says I. I pushed the button that says Chas.”

Hmmmm I check the Chas button and it’s his old phone number!! Turns out that Virgin reassigns old phone numbers. Somewhere there’s a guy named Mustafa who has declared a fatwa on “mom”

A winter of hairiness

All spring and summer I dutifully scrape the hair off of my legs. Then every year, in the fall, I get bored with the whole shaving my legs process. So this year I wondered what would happen if I just stopped shaving for the whole winter.

First thing is the itch. The legs get itchy as the hair starts to get a bit longer. Then the itch stops as the the hair gets really long, but every time I saw my legs I was surprised cause that much hair in an unexpected place is shocking.

But now they are getting itchy again. I keep thinking I should really shave them cause they are grossing me out, but I am a woman of deep commitment who is determined to not shave her legs for the whole winter! I am making a hairy statement! However, when I have a hot flash I think I’d be cooler if I shaved them. But still…

Picture this

We went to Pembroke this past weekend. While we were there Gramma and I started looking at old pictures. Oh man, what fun. I borrowed an old album from when the Gale kids were little. I brought it home and scanned the pictures into the computer so that I could enjoy them forever. Pictures of Grampa and Orville and Wally, group shots of the whole family, kids in front of a Christmas tree, a  striking shot of Gramma at 15 years old, hair blowing in the breeze, another one of her in a lovely purple pants suit with her hair all seventied up. Too much fun. Great, great pictures.

There is group shot where Charles doesn’t have his glasses on. You may not know this cause he always has his glasses on but but Charles has the most stunning eyes. They are strikingly beautiful. Amazing. There is one picture with Charles and Brian and Deb, cause there were only three then, and they look almost exactly the same as Charlie and Bobby at that age. Such fun.

It was fun sitting there looking back into the past. And I noticed that the photo album smelled like Gramma’s house. You know that warm, comforting smell that feels like a Gramma hug? I guess that and all the pictures made me spend the night in the seventies. Drama. Intrigue. Starsky and Hutch dreams. It was a fun sleep. Book ‘em Dano!

Here I sit broken hearted, paid a dime and only farted

Here I sit, sigh, trying to decide what to do. just before Christmas i had to wean off of my meds to go on to another type, but as i got off of them I felt just fine. So PC and I decided to stay off of the new meds and just take it one day at a time. I’ve been fine for a very long time, but….well…PC said this morning that maybe it’s time to start the new ones.

I just don’t know, though. I’ve been sick for three weeks with a cold. I’ve broken a tooth and had to have it repaired, had a horrible panic attack in the dental chair which still makes me tear up as I write, and I’m totally behind in everything I have to do. Maybe it’s just life making me crazy and sad. How will I ever know the difference? I hate this so much. What do the sane people do?

Oh well, maybe I’ll just wait  through the weekend and see. I don’t wanna do drugs anymore. I just don’t.

I’m being followed by a moon shadow

I could not sleep last night for the life of me. I wandered around, went to the bathroom, knitted, got a drink of water. I meditated, and prayed. I was in and out of bed a bunch of times. It was actually a lovely night except for the not sleeping thing.

It finally occurred to me that it was the fault of the moon, a moon so full and bright that it was almost like day light outside. I wandered over to the window to give that moon a stern talking to, but when I looked up at him through the empty trees I was stunned into silence by the beauty of the moon light shining through the millions of diamonds frozen to the bare branches. It was beautiful.