Blowin' In The Wind...

Blowin' In The Wind...

Good Morning!

That last entry about suicide, (friend of a friend), has certainly left me feeling quite empty inside for everyone that this has touched. I thank you all for your extended kindnesses and sharing. It means a lot to a great deal of people.

Do you notice that suicide, like sex, is somehow a verboten topic? Like if we hide it under a rock somewhere it won't happen?
Not true. I believe it is one of the topics that need the MOST discussion.

And I also believe that if one says they have never thought of their own death, (whether by their own call or Gods), they are quite simply a liar. We have all thought about our own death; with the majority saying "please let me pass as I sleep"...

When once asked by a counselor if she had entertained thoughts of her own death, one of my daughters had responded that she had. She was then put on a suicide hold for 72 hours.
Maybe it wasn't the right thing to do in her case; as she knew that to answer any differently would have been to lie. And maybe it was.
I believe it all goes back to 'when it is our time to die, we WILL die.'
It is as simple as that.

But back to Flintville.
Casey has had quite a few days of feeling much brighter than she has in a long time. Is it possible that this all is waning for her?
I surely hope so.
So we can put these last few years of pain etc behind us.
And SHE can get on with being a normal 20 year old. hehehe (It has just occured to me that I have used the word "normal" in speaking about Casey)!
Yup, still laughing!

We walked back to the woods the other day; as the snow squalls actually went all around us...
(And thankfully so).

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But it was very windy too.
Those nasty winds have died down now for the most partnow. Before they calmed, they had left a bushel basket flying around the fields.

Punk did not like this at all... Growling at the defenseless thing...

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While her beloved Casey laughed at her!

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Casey had also stolen Miss Millys squeak toy...

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And Miss Milly had to fetch it from Casey.
Punk knows it isn't hers, (most of the time anyway)...

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So Miss Punkin has to find her own entertainment in the woods...
She still has a penchant for pulling big weeds out for me;
but was a bit er, um, "stumped" by this "weed"...

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She did get it trimmed an extra foot though!
But was quite upset that she couldn't pull it all the way out too.

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Walking further along was another surprise for the dogs;
AND for us too!
And it sure wasn't a wayward basket either...

(Bear in mind that we are walking on top of the ridge;
the ridge being at least 200 feet UP from the river)...

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Bear?
(Did someone say "bear")?

The Punkster sniffs with caution...

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The fish, whatever kind it was...
Quite dead, but not stinking yet either...
We have absolutely NO idea how it got there, or why it was abandoned.

???
Casey said 'BEAR'. (And she's probably right too).

We decided to keep our walk a bit shorter then...

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And once more, Milly had to dance for her "squeak"...

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Dancing being such an exhausting sport for her,
she was more than happy to get back to her cozy kennel.

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A drink of water, a few bites of kibbles, and she slept the rest of the day.

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Punk cannot dance; though she looks like she wants to.
Please >CLICK HERE<
if you don't already know what happened to her as a wee pup;
and WHY she can't dance now. Or ever...

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My own darn foot held out. And while it is still a bit painful, it is getting better all the time.

..."Time" ~that glorious healer...

I'd better close.
(The danged maid quit and my house is a disaster area). hehehe

Love to all!

XOXO
Anne

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Originally posted on my 360 Thursday November 8, 2007 - 09:16am (CST)

Suicide. Life and Death

Good Morning Everyone;

Tomorrow will be the 9th anniversary of my mothers death. But I write today, not of death, but of death AND life; and the paradox between the two battles.

As many of you know by now, Baby Mariah is fighting a Pontine Glioma.
Please >CLICK HERE< for her Caring Bridge site.
Pontine Glioma is an INoperable brain stem cancer.
Her parents, her grandparents, her extended families, her doctors, and all whose lives she has touched in her 3 years of life, are helping her to fight this heinous cancer.

Yet, through it all, somehow, there is Faith. An inherent, and God~given sense of Faith, a sense of Hope.

Through Baby Mariah we learn that same Faith and that same Hope.

Lord grant that I may never seek,
So much to be consoled as to console,
To be understood; as to understand,
To be loved as to love with all my soul.

There is hope too, for the family of Theresa's friend, a dear friend of mine.  Her friend, JoAnn, was in a terrible car accident, (struck by a drunk driver who had run a red light), and is slowly, but surely, fighting to recover.
She remains in a coma...
Please >CLICK HERE< for her site.

But my question today is What happens when somehow we 'lose' our Faith? Whether it is for a moment, or for a lifetime?

Jens blog from yesterday addresses suicide. A young cousin of her own friend had commited suicide this past Saturday. Since I cannot say this more eloquently than she already has, please >CLICK HERE< for Jens blog.

Jen has met this topic head~on and has addressed what hindsight truly is. Her own grieving just below the surface of each word.

Oh "suicide"...

~That taboo topic of what epitomizes hopelessness in our own souls.
~The empty arms and hearts of the souls we leave behind, and all the recriminations there of.

I know more than a few of you here whose lives this awful "suicide" has already touched, and welcome your own comments below...

Yet oddly, in life and in contemplating death, there comes a familiar place where we have all been at one point or another. That being the question of life after death.

I think we are all grown up enough, and harbor enough faith of our own, to know that life does not end because our heart stops beating. But in those moments, as we attend funerals and wakes, and offer up our own sympathies; it is only because we have 'lost' someone that we have also loved.
We can commiserate "loss".
And yet, it is at that same point that we are afraid to offer up our own faith too.

My father passed away almost half a lifetime ago already. I was 26 when he died suddenly, after visiting many of his friends just the day before. As I drove into town the following morning, there came a sense of loss so overwhelming... And I can still remember EXACTLY where I was on that road, as I questioned "Life after death"... And all the "what~ifs" that flooded my soul. And yet, it was just a moment of my time, less than a mile of my driving. But I can tell you this...
... As dark as that moment was, even as brief, there have been no other instances in my life that I have ever questioned it.
To say it was the most soul~less moment of my life is most accurate.
After that moment came a lifetime of 'knowing'...

As I somehow 'knew' just 4 years earlier while Roberta lay in the neonatal intensive care unit; being seven and a half weeks premature.  Fighting for her own life.
I 'knew' during those weeks what HOPE truly is.
And I knew then through the offerings of prayers, what those same prayers were capable of.

Jens page brings to mind the poem I had first read while I too was recovering from Roberta's birth. That was 1980, to say I almost bled to death is an undertsatement, as I recall the doctor hollering into the hallway, "Where the hell is the anesthesiologist, I've got a woman in here that is going to die." But there was no fear, even weak as I was, neither then, nor in those days after.

The poem, by Edgar A. Guest was on the wall of her room...

"I'll lend you for a while a child of mine," He said.
"For you to love the while he lives and mourn for when he's dead.
It may be six or seven years, or twenty-two or three,
But will you, till I call him back, take care of him for me?
He'll bring his charms to gladden you, and should his stay be brief,
You'll have his lovely memories as solace for your grief."

"I cannot promise he will stay; since all from earth return,
But there are lessons taught down there I want this child to learn.
I've looked the wide world over in My search for teachers true
And from the throngs that crowd life's lanes I have chosen you.
Now will you give him all your love, not think the labor vain,
Nor hate Me when I come to call to take him back again?"

"I fancied that I heard them say, "Dear Lord, Thy will be done!
For all the joy Thy child shall bring, the risk of grief we run.
We'll shelter him with tenderness, we'll love him while we may,
And for the happiness we've known, forever grateful stay;
But should the angels call for him much sooner than we've planned,
We'll brave the bitter grief that comes and try to understand!"

I cried then, sobbed, that wretched soul wrenching cry... Roberta being less than 24 hours old... Yet those words also gave me hope to go on.

Baby Mariahs parents know what they are up against.
Their Faith has held steadfast throughout her illness.
They know the joys of parenthood a lot better than those of us who seemingly take it for granted, or simply do not care.
They have more Hope than our own hearts have ever dreamed of, and they have known more love because of it.

JoAnns family is continually praying; hoping that she will recover.

Christophers family and friends' faith will be tested over and over again in the coming days, weeks, months and years. And what can we offer his family, but our hope that all will know life after death?

Sadly, even that sounds shallow.

XOXO
Anne

Please take a moment and visit and read what is offered to you on the links above.

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Originally posted on my 360 Tuesday November 6, 2007 - 09:02am (CST)

Locked Windows~ The Trigger; Part THREE

My friends family...
A Portrait from the South Side!
hehehe

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Good Morning All!

I hope you all had a wondermous weekend! Ours of course made LOTS brighter by Green Bays win over Kansas City! WOW. (Not a good enough word to describe it)... But close enough...

That I should recall anything else from yesterday would be a minor miracle of sorts... But I do. I recall that I had to send little CaseyFace down to the water pit to shut off the outside water to the milkhouse. Poor kid; and to pull the hose down too. Thank you, Casey! Our weather is about to change, (special thanks to Canada and its ability to share its freezie types of weather)...

From my forecast page... Our high of 43° will only "feel like" 33°. Not impressed. And even LESS impressed that they have used the "S" word so damned early in the season.

A WIND ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON TUESDAY. WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST AND INCREASE QUICKLY THIS MORNING. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. THE STRONG WINDS WILL CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY MORNING...AND THEN SHOULD DIMINISH TUESDAY AFTERNOON. THE STRONGEST GUSTS ARE EXPECTED TO MOVE THROUGH TONIGHT...WHEN SOME GUSTS AROUND 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE.

Today: Windy with a few rain or snow showers developing this afternoon. High 44F. Winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of precip 30%. Winds could occasionally gust over 50 mph.
Tonight: Windy. Snow flurries and a few snow showers throughout the night. Low 33F. Winds WNW at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 30%.

Winds will shift to the West and increase sharply. Wind speeds will average 25 to 40mph, and at times gust to around 50mph.

Dirty buggars... Glad though that we got Miss Millys kennel winterized yesterday too. Her insulated house, now tucked in the most sheltered corner; and all full of new red cedar shavings. Her kennel, spotless... (for now). hehehe

And life goes on... Back to my mischievous flower friend..

***Once again, I must reiterate, according to my highly scientific poll from yesterday; and again, being that this is America, and the majority rules, (EXCEPT in an election); you have told me that you await to hear how the now troublesome flower has done after its "breaking and entering" offense.

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It got in!!!
(Apparently to be in search of my car keys).

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And being the smart little flower that it was, it went to all the places that I most frequent...

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Very funny!
(By the way, it's a smart~aleck too).

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Still in "nag" mode, it told me to "Scrub the toilet out" too!

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And from there, to the kitchen table...

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Usually one CAN find car keys there...
But no luck, (just a messy table today).

So it ordered me to "clean off the table!"

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Then it thought maybe near to the telephone!

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Nowhere near there though...

"Dust the danged telephone off already!"

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And the flower got SO mad...
And went to the next place it thought of.

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Not in the back entrance either!
(But it did tell me to scrub back there too)...

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And told me to "Get these in the fridge!"

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Nope no keys near the sign either.

More orders to "Dust it off!"

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No keys anywhere in the entrance!
hehehe ~Love y'all...

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Thinks (erroneously) maybe he would find them upstairs

No.
It used up a ton of energy going up/down the steps too.

And told me to "Vacuum up there"...

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And then finally; a brainstorm!!!

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But NO (car) KEYS!

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Sad, mad, and perplexed; it wanted transportation,
and needed it badly too
(Trying to get the heck out of Dodge before the weather changed).

So back outdoors it went...

Looking for a fast ride...

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Not fast enough, nor far enough...

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It couldn't possibly navigate the wires fast enough...

(Besides, it would never be able to take its whole family along).

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.It considered hitching a ride with the bird.
But quickly discovered it was driftwood.

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Still frantically searching...

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It finally came upon the one thing that made its stamens (and pistel stand up), light up, and take notice!

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Secure transportation for ALL!

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My buddy/helpmate is gone now;
along with its entire family too!

And I have seen neither the family, nor the wagon, since.

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NOTE: I would have finished with "The End" but since they were all last seen heading southward, I am expecting that maybe this 'wanted' flower family will end up in your neck of the woods at some point.
Please let me know if they appear.
The Brown County Sheriff Department has issued an APB, nationwide, to search for the flower wanted in connection with the B~&~E at my house.

Have a good one.
(I am off to scrub, and dust, and clean, and vacuum... and, and, AND)...

Love to all!
Have a wunnaful Monday!!!

XOXO
Anne

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Originally posted on 360 Monday November 5, 2007 - 06:53am (CST)

PRIVATE PICS,

My Little Miss Valerie, and her cousin, Isaiah!

Pretty please, keep replies to this page only.

Love to you!

XOXO
Anne
aka
Grandma Nana!

~

Life's Tough, get a helmet...

Locked Windows~ The Trigger; Part TWO

My friends family...
A Portrait from the South Side!
hehehe

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Good Morning Once More!

First and foremost, GO PACKERS!!!!

I hope that you have all enjoyed your extra hour of sleep tonight. Odd this fall, with respect to that time change. I have a calendar here that claims it was to be last weekend... And yet, having gone to check it all out for a bit of trivia, I found the article that said it had been moved to November. >CLICK HERE<

What's the point of it all anyway?
My own thoughts would be to "Spring Ahead" and leave it alone.

Before I continue with the (mis)adventures of my newfound friend, I need to tell you how WEIRD it is to wake up with a dogs snout in my right ear... Turning a bit, the snout then impacted itself upon my closed right eye. All that because she wanted to let me know that Miss Casey had left the skin of her twice~baked potato on a dish in the living room. (No, it didn't work; the skin did not become Punkins midnight snack)... Poor thing. hehehe
It must have been killing her! She does not help herself, or "take" anything... (Only if it's on the floor and past that 5~second rule)...

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According to my highly scientific poll from yesterday; and being that this is America, and the majority rules, (except in an election ?); you have told me that you await to hear how the now angered flower has dealt with its fury...

Last I remember, my friend and co worker had gotten mad about NOT being able to break into the old pumphouse...

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Yup, there it is...

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That negative emotion started a bit slow;

and actually began with simple nagging...

(Even though I know it was trying to break in through the window in the dining room),

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And then it screamed at me...
"Take the window AC out already!
It's way past time to get this done!"
(Guess the darned thing didn't realize about my foot)...

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"Replace your "FAITH" on the ornate cross!"
(Clearly this had nothing to do with my foot, so no excuses)...

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"Mulch your baby trees!"
(Please refer to my foot)...

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"Throw some Christmas lights on a pine tree this year!"
(I don't know, I kinda liked the crabapple tree lit up LAST year)...

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"Fill your birdfeeder, the birdies are starving!"
???

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"Fill this side too!"

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On and on it went!

Nag... NAG... NAG!...

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"Clean up your leaves!"

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"Trim the grass around the old stumps!"

And so it went ~Until I finally hollered back at it...

Off it ran, being all talk and no action...

Tried breaking in to the old shed...

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Even madder than before! ~as it too was locked up!
hehehe

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Running across the yard, (and helped by the 20~30 mph winds),

it came to rest upon a baby oak...

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Being a bit of a Tasmanian Devil, it scattered the leaves.

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Finding no solace in disturbing those leaves, it attacked my mums!

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Scattering the browned petals all about...

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And off to scatter a bit of Joe Pye Weed seeds too!

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(for which my monarchs will be eternally grateful)!

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Seeing that it didn't anger me, it went for Caseys car...

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And could not get through the windshield!

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It then headed to MY car!

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SUCCESS!

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WHAT?!?!?!

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(It got in)!!!

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...But NO keys!

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So he had to break into the door!

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And you DON'T want to know what kind of damage it did...
Or DO you?

Later then...on the INside.
And fueled once more by its emotions!

(But you will have to wait til later to find out what happened then).

After all, 'Breaking and Entering' IS a crime!!!

hehehe

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Hope you are still enjoying your weekend, WHERE EVER you are!

XOXO
Anne

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Am I crazy yet?

Lady, You are WAY Past "Crazy"...

No, I want to see its "Indoor Spree" now...

Hmmm... Where are you from again???

Rocks! I want ROCKS!!!

 

Originally posted on 360 Sunday November 4, 2007 - 03:09am (CST)