The sun is shining brightly….

on this Wednesday morning in central Illinois.  It is too warm and humid to have the windows open so I can’t hear the birds chirping.  I can see by looking out my front window that the workers are back working on the houses cattycorner across the street from me. 

I have big plans for this, another day that I have been granted.  First to run some errands (again) then to sit down and take stock of my life and what lies ahead for me.  You know, one day you are young and pretty and you have your whole life ahead of you.  The next day you look around and your children are grown.  Your husband of so many years has been taken from you.  Members of your family and friends are gone too, many taken by the dreaded disease of cancer.  Suddenly it becomes very real to you that you have had your 15 minutes of fame or maybe even 20 minutes.   I am not complaining, just taking a minute to thank God that I have been granted one more day.

I will be by to visit you all later.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

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Sunday…Special

I have been up early this morning.  I invited my daughter and son in law over for a meal after church.  I have a peach cobbler in the oven.  I will have chicken tenders, potato salad and 3 corn casserole.  It feels good to be back in the kitchen working but I confess that it does wear me out.

I am doing better each week with my recovery and a scan next month should let me know if I am in remission.  I am praying for that.

The weather here today is chilly but sunny.  It is 47 degrees right now and to warm into the 60s this afternoon.

Just a little catch up here on this blog as I forget to post regularly.

You all stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It all started in 2005…

My husband had just been diagnosed with lymphoma.  I had started a blog on Windows Live Spaces shortly before that.  I was overwhelmed and gave that blog up only to start it up again shortly after.  I missed my blogging family.

There was Ariana, my very first blogging friend who was a teacher in Chicago at that time.  I still know how to find her now as she is on Facebook and she comes to visit me once in awhile.  And then next there was Carole in Tennessee, Carol in Michigan, Joe in Montana, Nicky in Scotland, Nita in England, Kerrie in Australia, Patsy in West Virginia, Nancy in Missouri, Stephen in Illinois, Stephen in Michigan, Shelly in Michigan, Sheila, Pen and Arlene in England and Paul in Boston who calls me his big sister and the list goes on and on.  I can’t name everyone so I won’t even try,  Just know that my Windows Live Spaces friends were and still are special friends to me.  I even had the privilege of meeting a couple of them in person and chats on the telephone and on messenger with many of them.  I cried when 3 of my blogging friends died.

Over 2 years ago Live Spaces kicked us out and moved our blogs over to WordPress. That is when I started blogging on Blogger.  And several of my old blogging friends started blogging here too.  And I made a whole new list of blogging friends.  My blogging family was getting larger.  They care what happens to me and they show it.

I have made so many new friends here on Blogger.  Among them is one special lady named Mildred who thought enough of me after I was in the hospital last month to send me a lovely gift.

It was lost in the mail for a few weeks but I finally received it yesterday afternoon.  Thank you Mildred!!

I found a lovely young lady in California here on my new blogspot.  Her name is Janice and she is battling cancer.  I have adopted her as a daughter.

And here again in Blogger, the list goes on and on.  I  can’t name all of you but you are all special to me.  You lift me up each day with your posts and comments.

Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

A lot has happened…

since I was on here last. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, had many doctor appointments plus lab and the icing on the cake was my computer crashing. I ended up having to buy a new computer and that never is any fun. Trying to get all of the things you had on your computer that you need on your new one. Very frustrating.

It has been lightning and thundering and pouring rain this evening. A cold front is coming through and the hight temp for the next few days will be in the low 50s and the low in the low 30s.

I am sitting here yawning so it must be near my bedtime.

I hope you all have a peaceful weekend.

Beth

Friday…

is my garage sale day. I love garage sales. I am very picky about what I buy. Today was not a good garage sale day.

I finished off the morning by going to Schnucks. I have now been to all of the major grocery stores in town this week to get their bargains. I wanted some tomatoes from Illinois but they were hard as a brickbat. I really enjoyed the homegrown ones I was given a couple weeks ago. The peaches looked good though so I got enough to make something with.

Yesterday the high temp was 95 degrees and 100 a little bit to the south of us. Today is going to be another scorcher but there is the tiny hope for some rain on Sunday. I really am longing for fall!!

I am really tired this morning after a sleepless night. I will be by to visit you all after lunch.

Have a great weekend. Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

It takes a lot of work…

to grow older.  How do I know this for a fact?  Well, I just do.  Take my word for it.  As you grow older first one thing begins to fail and then another.  You have one health problem after another.

Then after 50 years with one of the best guys on earth, you lose him to cancer,  Just like you had lost one brother and three sisters to cancer.  You think that you can’t go on but your sister tells you that you can go on and that you have to go on.

So you go on.  And believe me it is harder than h*** to go on.  But I did.

mamade

A Week of mourning…

I am mourning along with the rest of America the senseless deaths Thursday night in Colorado.     My heart, thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/20/batman-shooting-aurora-critically-injured_n_1691217.html

Is it safe to go out in public anymore?  You might be sitting in a McDonalds or even as I was in a KFC yesterday when some lunatic comes in and starts shooting.  We have to believe that we are safe when we go out in public, otherwise we would be afraid to leave our homes, and even that might not be safe.  I usually don’t quote excerpts from the Bible in my blog.  Today I am  making an exception.   I tend to be a worrier, if I get one problem solved in my mind a new one soon takes its place.  Matthew 6:34 tells us not to worry about tomorrow, just to let the days own troubles be sufficient.   I usually recite these words out loud several times a day.  It does help.

*****

I made potato salad this morning.  Tomorrow my daughter and son in law are stopping by after church for lunch.  I am having the potato salad, barbeque beef on buns and baked beans along with cherry pie (my daughter’s favorite) that Marie Callendar helped me make.  Other than the cooking, I am not doing much today.  I am going to treat myself to a couple of chapters from my new Sandford book.  A question for M in Wisconsin.  Have you read his Virgil Flowers books??  I love them too although I haven’t purchased the newest one yet.

I am settling in for a peaceful weekend.  I hope you all do the same.  Stay safe and be happy!!

Beth

P.S.  I have made a resolution to not mention the excessive heat and lack of rain.  Doesn’t do anything but give me something else to worry about.  lol