endings

A lovely shot of the harbor in Brookings,  Oregon.  Yes,  I miss it.   I enjoyed my walks on the boardwalk, having fish and chips or clam chowder at the restaurant there and spending tike with family and friends .  

A truism.    All we have to do is let go and it is not always easy to do but there is a little prayer, I keep telling you about, that helps. . ." God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference":  and just Let Go!



 

Now that is a piece of art;.    If you want something beautiful, call on a spider.  The birds might object to a closed door but they are probably off south for the winter.

A picture of snow in Port Orchard taken many years ago;   we had about this much the other day and all we got left is icy roads . . . but . . .the sun came out and took care of that.   It left us with a cold spell and it really is cold out ther

December 31, 2015 , last day of the year and some will be celebrating.   If you are one that is going out and about, remember to keep your wits about you and celebrate with friends and family.    There was a time when we used to go out and  kick up our heels dancing to "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog" and a polka or two.   Those days are long gone and watching the television and the 'ball dropping in Times Square' is the new trend for those of us who  have 'aged'.    A few of us raise our heads off the pillow at midnight when a few fire crackers go off in the neighborhood and wish everyone a  Happy New Year , roll over and go back to sleep.    Life goes on.

 

So keep in mind that you are starting a brand New Year tomorrow and you do not want to start it with a 'big-head' but do start it with a big heart.    Share YOU with those you love and like.   Start your New Year with your spirit filled with love and laughter.    We, Christine, Patricia and I would love to have you here to wine and dine and gather a few of those hugs we are missing, but distance does make the heart grow fonder...so says the old adage...but the ending "b.s. makes the grass grow longer: is more in  tune as you are sorely missed from our lives.  We will be thinking of YOU. . . Happy New Year!!!! Hugs to all.

 

Going, Going on with a surprise story for all of you.

Flowers encased in frost.   Almost like an artists idea of winter.   Nature at its best.

Every year around mid December, I receive a letter from the Oregon Pacific Financial Advisors. Inc. signed by  Donald A. Todd. ChFC, CLU, CAP, President.

Each letter has a very Merry Christmas wish that encompasses all good wishes for a happy, productive and healthy life.  "In this season we are grateful for the opportunity to pause and express our appreciation for good friends like you." and I am amazed as I never had any dealings with this company.   I wrote a thank you note for the years of receiving this Christmas letter saying I was sorry I was unable to participate in their business .  So today, in my mail box, is this years letter which was sent to the old address and forwarded here.    I am delighted to see it and each letter always has a story and one that should be shared.  So today I am sharing "The Pickle Jar"

 

The pickle jar as far back as I can remember sat on the floor beside the dresser in my parents' bedroom.   When we got ready for bed, Dad would empty his pockets and toss his coins into the jar. As a small boy I was always fascinated at the sounds the coins made as they were dropped into the jar. They landed with a merry jingle when the jar was almost empty.  Then the tones gradually muted to a dull thud as the jar was filled.  I used to squat on the floor in front of the jar an admire the copper and silver circles that glinted like a pirate's treasure when the sun poured through the bedroom window.  When the jar was filled, Dad would sit at the kitchen table and roll the coins before taking them to the bank.  Taking the coins to the bank was always a big production.  Stacked neatly in a small cardboard box, the coins were placed between Dad and me on the seat of his old truck.

 

Each and every time,. as we drove to the bank, Dad would look at me hopefully.  "Those coins are going to keep you out of the textile mill, Son.  You're going to do better than me.  this old mill town's not going to hold you back."

 

Also, each and every time, as he slid the box of rolled coins across the counter at the bank toward the cashier, he would grin proudly.  "These are for my son s' college fund.  He'll never work at the mill all his life like me."

 

We would always celebrate each deposit by stopping for an ice cream cone.  I always got chocolate.  Dad always got vanilla.   When the clerk at the ice cream parlor handed Dad his change, he would show me the few coins nestled in his palm.  "When we get home, we'll start filling the jar again."  He always let me drop the first coins into the empty jar.  As they rattled around with a brief, happy jingle, we grinned at each other.  "You'll get to college on pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters," he said.  "But you'll get there. I'll see to that."

 

The years passed, and I finished college and took a job in another town.  Once, while visiting my parents, I used the phone in their bedroom, and noticed that the pickle jar was gone.  It had served its purpose and had been removed.

 

A lump rose in my throat as I stared at the spot beside the dresser where the jar had always stood.  My dad was a man of few words, and never lectured me on the values of determination, perseverance, and faith.  the pickle jar had taught me all these virtues far more eloquently than the most flowery of words could have done.  When I married, I told my wife Susan about the significant part the lowly pickle jar had played I my life as a boy.  In my mind, it defined, more than anything else, how much my dad had loved me.

 

No matter how rough things got at home, Dad continued to doggedly drop is coins into the jar.  Even the summer when Dad got laid off from the mill, and Mama had to served dried beans several times a week, not a single dime was taken from the jar.  to the contrary, as Dad looked across the table at me, pouring catsup over my beans to make them more palatable, he became more determined than ever to make a way out for me.  "When you finish college, Son, "he told me, his eyes glistening, "You'll never have to eat beans again... unless you want to."

 

The fist Christmas after our daughter Jessica was born, we spent the holiday with my parents.  After dinner, Mom and Dad sat next to each other on the sofa, taking turns cuddling their first grandchild.  Jessica began to whimper softly, and Susan took her from Dad's arms.  "She probably needs to be changed." she said, carrying the baby into my parents' bedroom to diaper her.  when Susan came back into the living room, there was s strange mist n her eyes.

 

She handed Jessica back to Dad before taking my hand and leading me into the room.  "Look," She said softly,. her eyes directing me to a spot on the floor beside the dresser.  To my amazement, there, as if it had never been removed, stood the old pickle jar, the bottom already covered with coins.  I walked over to the pickle jar, dug into my pocket, and pulled out a fistful of coins.  with a gamut of emotions choking me, I dropped the coins into the jar.

 

I looked up and saw that Dad, carrying Jessica, had slipped quietly into the room.  Our eyes locked, and I knew he was feeling the same emotions I felt.  Neither one of us could speak - we just enjoyed the wonderful moment.   Author Unknown.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the story and maybe, just maybe, you will feel like finding a pickle jar and start filling it up for a child in your life. 

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR.     Hugs to all.

Going . . .

Nope,. not a  decorated Christmas tree but a forest tree full of eagles.  Now that is a sight to see.

So now you pay attention to what you choose to buy and spend your hard earned dollars at the local butcher shop. 

now that is a true friend and you know how to be one of those too.

Speaking of friends, I had, or thought I had some pictures to show you this morning of Jock and his little friend, Angel, fishing on the river showing Angel catching a big fish.  They seem to go on the computer just fine but when I went to pull them up this morning they were not there.  Lost to 'never, never land somewhere in the computer world.     Jock is the kind of a friend who finds reasons to make you smile, have hope and courage as he becomes one of the reasons Angel smiles these days.  Angel has one who has an auto immune diseases which  there is no cure for .  Jock is an adopted grandfather and takes time to teach Angel how to fish and hunt.   Jock tells us he is a natural.     So our Jock is one of the 'good friends' and we sure are happy he is in our lives.

Only today and tomorrow and a new year begins.    I wonder what it is going to hold for each of us.  I gather the old adage of  'you get out of life what you put into it, no more, no less';   um. . . well we had better think of what we want for ourselves and start putting in a lot of what is good in us.   Mend fences . . . another old saying. . . but a good one, one that means you had better lose those bad feelings and 'get with the program' and change your attitude.  It makes us or breaks us;  it is that easy.

Be warm and fuzzy like a big boa that tickle your nose and  makes you smile.   Ever notice that when you smile everyone around you smiles right along with you.  Try it today and see what happens.

Be good, be kind, be gentle.  Think about what you can do to make your space  shine.    One good deed, or maybe two.  The choices you have...think then act and be one of the 'good guys'.    Hugs to all.

Courage

A truism.

A beautiful loving remembrance of acceptance.

And life goes on as we search for perfection but settle for our flaws and work hard at counting all of our blessings.

Granddaughter Erin was having one of these for lunch and said it was really delicious.   A bit of Cuban mixture and an  energy builder after a long hike.    Looks good to me.

It is always good to meet up with a red head.

The end of our year is creeping up on us, time to think back and realize not only how fast our seconds tick off but  a look see as to what happened to us this past year.   For many in our country it was stormy weather that left them without a stitch to their name.    Remember that when you think of donating a few dollars to the agencies that came through for them.    I have had to rebuild several times in my lifetime and it really is not the end of your world, just the beginning of a new and different one.    You are a survivor and testing your mettle goes along with it.   It is a little miracle of survival.  As your new year starts, think about survival as one day , all to soon, you have to make decisions that you really are not ready for ...why?   Because you didn't think ahead and that is something you have to start doing right now.    Prepare for your future down the road when you will want and need a different life style only because you reach a 'golden year' that resembles a rusty bucket.  You need to work on you first of all.  You need to develop a positive attitude.  You need to put aside a few dollars every  month so it adds up and is there when you need it.   Don't fall for the plans that promise it is the end of all ends as you will discover you paid in but the plan never grew along with you and when it comes time to use it there is little or nothing there.    Depressing thoughts....never.....just reminding you that it is better to prepare now than wake up a half century later and find out you missed the boat.   

 

Here at Ridgemont there was almost a full house.    We have two in the hospital from falls.    How fragile we become with age.    Rosie fell going into the hospital building doorway and hurt her arm badly and didn't do her face any good either.    Laverne tripped and we haven't heard the outcome of her fall yet.    Vinnie has been a no show for days.  I think he went into a Christmas depression and we are sending cookies for his sweet tooth in  hopes he will rally.    Don lost his wife to Alzheimer and had a really tough time over the holidays .   On the other side of the coin, we had almost a full house since the holiday season began.    Everyone dressed up in their new finery and full of tales of a wonderful family and friends holiday.  it doesn't take much to cheer them up...being wanted and being useful sets the tone for the day.   Many had new great grandchildren to welcome and lots of tales to tell.  It was uplifting for them and now they are content to settle back and do as little as possible, until a bus ride is readied and they are ready to go off and running to a new adventure..

 

So all of you  young 'whipper-snappers'  thank you for participating in the lives of your senior members of your family.   It only takes a look, a smile, a hug or a kind word of remembrance to make the 'old folks' come alive.    One is always needed . . . something about being useful that makes one feel cherished.    Remember you get what you give so prepare your road with good thoughts and deeds for those who spent a lifetime making your world a better place.  Be good, be kind, be loveable.  Share you with those you love and like.    Remember to give some of your time  sharing and caring as what does go around comes back around as time flies and you are seldom aware of it.  

 

I now have my music back as I was gifted a new little radio...sounds great and I do sing along although I keep the door closed.    I have two new sweaters to wear, one a bit on the fuzzy side and the other replaces a worn out favorite style.  I have dates to eat, yum . . . and if the oven didn't set off the alarm I could make some date and nut bread, one of my favorites.   The box of pears Jock sent went fast.   I shared and the ladies were so grateful.   One told me it was the sweetest pear she really enjoyed for the first time in ages.    I wont tell you about the goodies as it would make your mouth water....but I  am sharing or I'd be over-sized in a hurry.    I'm looking forward to a nice quiet New Year;   I can watch the ball drop in New York Time Square.    Remember Guy Lombardo???  I do!    Oh,. and don't forget you have to update that new calendar and prepare for a new year. 

 

So take one day as it comes.  Prepare for the future.    Share you with those you love and like.    Remember to light a candle for those less fortunate.    Prepare for the New Year and decide that YOU make your world go around.    Sharing is caring so don't be stingy with those hugs.   verbal ones matter. . . I could use a few.    Hugs to all.