802-862-5247

Surprises are great!
Whether they are big or small, happy or sad.

Yes, even sad surprises can be good sometimes.

Yesterday, for instance.

I suddenly had a very strong urge to call my mom.

As I sat at my computer,  it was as if the clock had been
turned back to a time when it was normal for me to just pick
up the phone for no particular reason to just chat with my
mom while I was having my lunch or cooking dinner.  She was
always there, it seemed, and we would just pass the time
together for a little while.

I even picked up the phone and dialed her number.

802-862-5247

It rang.  I was ready to hang up until I heard the
comforting voice of the operator saying that this
line is no longer in service.

Inside my heart, I cheered!

Nobody has taken my mom's phone number yet.

Then I cried.

It's been a while since Grief has surprised me like this.

Still, I am grateful.  Grateful for that moment yesterday
when I felt connected to my mom.  Grateful that somehow
I was allowed to experience a normal moment that I
have had many thousands of times before.

But most of all, grateful for that precious moment
when I didn't remember.

Jesus, Take the Wheel!

This morning my husband took one of our cars in to the Toyota dealership for service.
I picked him up and we went out for breakfast.  We tried a different breakfast spot
on Sullivan Ave in South Windsor.  The Red Cabin.  It was ok.

After breakfast, I had to drop him back off at Toyota to pick up the car,
so I was driving.  But since it wouldn't be ready for another half hour,
I told him I needed to get something at JoAnn's Fabrics.

As we headed down Buckland Road toward JoAnn's,
he asked  "Where you going?"  in a semi-frantic kind of way.

I said "JoAnn's Fabrics, remember?"

He said "Why didn't you turn left?"

I said "Because that's not how you get there.  It's straight."

He said "I thought it was up by Target."

I said "No, it's straight ahead to the right."

So I drove to JoAnn's and parked.
I got what I needed (vinyl to put over the new sofa where the cat scratches it).
We got back in the car.
I was still driving.

Pulling out of the parking lot, I started to turn right to go back out
to Buckland Road, the way we came in.

He said "Where you going?"

I said "To drop you off at Toyota"

He said "You need to go left"

I said "No I don't.  I'm going back out the way I came in."

He said "You can't go out that way!"

I said "Yes you can. I do it all the time."

He said "No you can't"

Instead of arguing, I turned left instead.
I didn't mention that now I would have two extra traffic lights to make it through.

We got to the main intersection and I got in the right lane to turn right.

He said "Where you going?"

I said "To drop you off at Toyota."

He said "Why are you turning. You need to go straight."

This time I didn't answer, but continued to drive the way I wanted to.

Then he realized where I was going.

He said "Oh, you're taking the highway.  It's faster to go through the mall."

I said "I don't really care if I get there faster.  I like to go on the highway."

I DIDN'T question his reasoning.  You see, by going on the highway one
exit, I was avoiding 7 traffic lights on a busy road.  There was no doubt in
my mind it was faster to take the highway.

When I got off the exit, I pre-empted his query by announcing that I planned
to turn left at the end of the ramp.

He said "That's good."

This is why I don't like to drive when my husband is the passenger!

Some Like it Hot (except me)

Ok, I am a late bloomer when it comes to drinking coffee.

For the first 54 years of my life, I NEVER drank coffee.
I hated the taste of it.

I've always loved the aroma of coffee brewing, and I've
always wished I could enjoy a cup of coffee after dinner
with the other adults.

This fall I have made an effort to learn to like coffee.

To begin, I chose coffee from my homeland:

and chocolate from my homeland:

and made a mixture that I could drink.

I admit it was MUCH more chocolate than coffee!

And I put it on ice!

Yum!

I've since decreased the amount of chocolate, little by little.

And I am proud to say I am now drinking chocolate flavored coffee
instead of coffee flavored chocolate!  I feel so grown up!

Now that the weather has gotten cold, I've experimented with HOT coffee.

I'm having a hard time with the temperature, though.

There seems to be a VERY SHORT window of opportunity to drink it
while it is at a good temperature.

I don't want to burn my tongue, but if I wait too long for it to cool down,
it doesn't taste good either!  I end up throwing half of it away!

Any suggestions?

If I can't figure this out, I think I'll just go back to drinking it cold.

Maybe I'm not grown-up enough to handle it hot!

Breaking English

What is it about the Amish that is so fascinating?

Is it the simplicity of their lives that attracts us?
Do we long for a little more of that in our lives?

Do we try to understand how they can live
the way they do in this modern world?

Or do we love to get glimpses into their minds
to try to understand how they think and feel?

One of my favorite movies of all time is "Witness".
It is the story of what happens when a young Amish
boy traveling with his mother witnesses a murder.
An "English" detective goes undercover at their
Amish home to protect them and ends up falling
in love with the boys mother, the beautiful Rachel Lapp.

This is my favorite scene in the movie...



There is a new TV Series that began this fall called "Breaking Amish".

This reality show follows 5 young Amish/Mennonite  men and women as they leave their plain lifestyle to explore and English way of life in New York City.

My daughter, Kerry, and her friends have been faithfully watching this fall, and the series finale was Sunday night.  They watched it together.

To make the evening fun, they decided to break from their "English" way of dressing and  dress like Amish girls instead!

So they went from this...

to this....

Julie, Kerry, Justy, Molly, Molly, and Maggie...

This is "Amish"  Kerry with her "English" roommates, Sam and Katie...

 Maggie and Molly...

 Justy, Kerry, and Molly...

Julie and Justy...

which reminds me of the American Gothic painting:

Nice job, girls!

Boo!

Halloween has always been a BIG DEAL in this house!

The kids would put a lot of thought into what they would want to be...
and I would make it happen!

I only bought 2 costumes - the baby pumpkin costume and the brown bear.
The rest were hand made, and as the kids got older it was a collaborative effort.

As I look back, it was SOOOOO worth the time it took!


1991 - Adam was solo for only one year...

1992 - Adam was a bear and Kerry was a fat pumpkin (she was too large to fit into
           Adam's pumpkin costume of 1991)

1993 - The year they were obsessed with Disney's 101 Dalmations!

1994 - Winnie the Pooh was their favorite!  

 Adam was Pooh, Kerry was Piglet, and Vance and I were the Hephalumps!

1995 - Annie joined the group!  Annie was a bear.  Adam and Kerry  were really
           into Gumby, so Adam was Gumby and Kerry was Gumby's sister, Minga.

 1996 - Pocahontas was the Disney movie of choice this year.  They knew
            every word to every song in the movie.  Kerry was Pocahontas
            and Adam was Kocoum.

Annie just wanted to be a bunny.  Here she is holding Bun-bun,
her favorite stuffed animal.

 1997 - There was no real theme this year.  Kerry wanted to be a princess
            (and I'm proud to say I actually sewed the dress!)

 Annie was Piglet this year...

Adam was a butterfly...

 I was a cat...

 And Vance was a "woman"...  (He did his own make-up!)

1998 - Adam was obsessed with the Titanic, so I made his a replica costume
            complete with Rose and Jack at the front of the ship!  Kerry was a
            Japanese geisha, and Annie was a princess (she always got the
            hand-me down costumes!)

1999 - Harry Potter was popular this year, so Adam was Harry...

  Annie was a hand-me-down butterfly, and Kerry was a very cute witch!

2000 - Everyone got a new costume this year!  Adam was a pint of Ben&Jerry's
           ice cream, Annie was a leaf pile, and Kerry was a scarecrow.

2001 - Annie was very happy to be a hillbilly, Adam was something American,
           and Kerry was an alien.  Adam and Kerry designed and made their own
           costumes this year!

2002 - Adam and Kerry made their own mummy costumes and I made Annie a
           Spongebob Squarepants costume.  Trick-or-treating ended in tears for Annie
           that year when she tripped and fell, cracking Spongebob (he was made out
           of styrofoam) in pieces!

2003 -  Kerry was an old woman, Adam was and old man, and Annie was a clown.

2004 - The older kids went to friends' houses to get ready, so I only had Annie to
           take pictures of.   She was a Japanese lady.

2005 -  I don't really know what they were!  My job as Halloween costume designer
            was over.  Done.  I was partly relieved, but mostly sad that those fun times
            had come to an end already!

2006 - No kids dressed up (sniff, sniff)

2007 - Annie had a Halloween party to go to, so she got dresses up with her friend, Gigi.
            She was Dorothy, of course!

To my kids, I hope this brings back happy memories for you!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

In the Olive Oil Aisle

When I woke up to my alarm this morning, I felt like going back to sleep.
But I couldn't.
I had to be up and dressed for a mattress delivery between 8 and noon.

As I was eating breakfast, I noticed my left eye hurt every time I blinked.
When I examined it in a magnifying mirror, I discovered a little whitehead pimple on my lower eyelid - a stye.  Even though webmd said not to pop it, I have to admit I couldn't resist.
It felt better afterward.

It was one of those cloudy, dreary fall days where the sun never came out from behind the clouds.

The refrigerator was bare, so I thought I should get some groceries.
So I put the dogs in the car and I went to Whole Foods.

It was here I found my sunshine.
Not in the sky, but in the aisle next to the olive oil.

His name was Glen Miller.
I know that because he announced it as I was passing by.
"Hello, my name is Glen Miller!"

He was an older gentleman with a coat and hat on.
He was accompanied by his daughter (I assumed).

I laughed and asked him if he was running for office!
It seemed like just what a politician would do!

Then he did something unexpected.
He sang to me!
He sang a love song of some kind,
a song from days long past when he was a much younger man.

I think he was flirting with me!

His daughter informed me he has dementia and his name really isn't Glen Miller.
It was Glen something, though I don't remember what she said.
I prefer Glen Miller anyways!

As I continued my shopping,  I had a smile on my face.

But by the end of the next aisle, I knew I had to get a picture
with Glen Miller.  After searching a few aisles back, I saw them
at the checkout.

Leaving my cart, I walked over to his daughter and asked if she
could take a picture of me and her dad and told her how much he
had brightened my day.

I don't know if he remembered me, but he was glad to pose
with me for some pictures. 

 First he took one with his hat...

 Then took it off for one more!

Then he sang for me one more time...
(If anyone knows what song this is, please tell me)

Blessings in Disguise

"There are no mistakes, no coincidences. 
All events are blessings given to us to learn from. "
                   ~Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

When things happen in my life,  I trust that there is a reason.

The reason is not always evident at the time, but looking back

I can see the good that came about, the change it may have forced

upon me, or the growth that occurred because of it.

It's the unpleasant events I am referring to now.

After all, we don't usually try to find reasons for the joyful ones.

Perhaps it's just my way of dealing with the difficult ones, like

loss, sadness, disappointment, and despair.

This past month, my family has experienced things that stop and make

you think.

One such event was the hospitalization of my husband, Vance.

Totally healthy one day, and a few days later - not.

After bringing him to the Emergency Room one day a few weeks ago

and coming home alone with no answers to his unbearable headaches

and fever, I lay awake for much of the night with my mind racing.

I thought about all he means to our family.

And  I thought about what our lives would be like without him.

I can't really speak for the kids, but possibly a few of these same

thoughts could have crossed their minds too because Adam and Kerry

came home from college to spend time in the hospital with him.

And I'm sure over the past three weeks that Vance has contemplated

many things too.

We have discovered that Vance has Legionnaire's Disease that

he picked up while at a business conference in Utah earlier in September.

He's recovering - although more slowly than we imagined - but home

from the hospital and doing well.

Is it weird for me to think, even now, that this was a blessing in disguise?