Saturday, June 12, 2010

MY FRIEND PLUTO

Around Christmas time Jules and James started talking about getting a dog for Seamus. A boy needs a dog to grow up with....

In our neighborhood there are alot of kids, but they are all too old to play with Shamey. They do try to include him alot, just to be kind, but they are into skateboarding and long bike rides in large groups, with parents and all.

We all agreed that a dog would be a good friend for Shamey, so one night James and Jules met at a very nice dog shelter after work, and I stayed in the car with Shamey while James and Jules went in and looked around. The place was very clean and the staff very friendly. They tentatively chose a dog, but they wanted me to come in and take a look too. (All of this time Shamey was out in the car waiting with one of us, so he would be surprised when "SANTA" brought him a dog on Christmas Eve.) It was all timed out perfectly, and Jules had to fill out hundreds of papers it seemed, but the secret was safe with us 3 adults. It was very exciting to picture his face on Christmas morning!! Actually the 3 of us adults independently picked the same dog! So it was a given! Hee Heee Heee!!

We were ready to tell them our choice, but all of a sudden the staff member working with us said, "Are there any other family members in the house besides you 3? " We said, why?"
Well, it turns out that they are very strict there and want to be sure that all family members agree on the animal chosen. It is a good idea, really, but we were not expecting it... So guess what, Shamey had to come inside and pick out a doggie from Santa.... And guess which one he picked? You got it!! The same one all 3 adults had picked!!! It was a chocolate WELSH CORGI-LAB". He was so friendly and quiet, we were all drawn to him.

So much for "surprising" Shamey! But he was so excited about "PLUTO" that it was all worth it.

I have made a friend of him since I feed him every day. Henry, our cat is the same way. They both know where the food comes from.

Pluto has to be walked 4 times each day. Most of the time, James takes him out early in the morning. Then either Jules (on weekends) or I will do it around lunch time, and James will take him out around supper time if he is at home, or I will do it. The late night walk (just before bed) is James' chore, since Jules and I don't like to go out alone after dark.

I walk about 3 miles every day anyway, so if I am up to it I will take him out on my circuit (through the park one block from our home up to the highway, through the technology government building area, and then through the woods, to our home again. He is a pretty hard dog to keep up with, so I really do get a work out when I take him out.

I almost ALWAYS forget to take 2 plastic bags, in case he poops along the way. I am not used to walking dogs. Every dog we ever had, would just stay in the yard. We never walked any of them EVER! They would not even have known what a leash was!!

Pluto was supposed to be about 3-4 yrs. old when we got him, but it turns out that the vet thinks he is about 9-10 yrs.old. He never barks or acts up at all. God Bless Pluto!
Man's BEST Friend!!!

MY FRIEND CHRIS

ME AGAIN!!

Remember in Part 1 when I said that I was praying for the Lord to give me a good friend?
Well, guess what? the very same day that I said goodbye to my old friend from 50 years ago, the Lord gave me my new friend. HONEST!! I wouldn't lie about something as important as this!! Would I? Nah.....

Earlier in the day that my old friend came to town (no names mentioned...) I met a man at the AARP Income tax office. He was 2 years younger than me and very friendly and kind. We hit it off right away. I almost did not choose him, as there were many people available, but for some reason I went to him. He did my taxes, and of course he could see from my paperwork that I was a widow. He made it known right away that he was single, never married. We talked business for awhile, his boss came over and answered a few of my questions and left, and all of a sudden The Lord said to me: "THIS IS THE MAN I HAVE FOR YOU!! Yes, He really did, and I was very reluctant to believe it myself. So I ignored the Holy Spirit..., knowing that I was going to be seeing my "old" friend in a few more minutes. All of a sudden The Lord Said to me: "THIS IS THE MAN!! Again I was reluctant....

I called to Chris and said "You know, I have been praying for a gentleman to come along, who is a Christian, to just be my friend>>>NOTHING MORE! And I think you're it! He didn't even skip a beat. He started writing down his phone number and handed it to me.

That night I said Hello and Good bye to my old friend, and Chris and I have been going out "Dutch Treat", and having a good time ever since! We have gone to museums, movies, dinner, lunch, and he comes over once a month for Christian Movie Night at my house, and I invite people from my old church as well as my new church. How great is that? He has been coming to Calvary Chapel of Largo (called "Breath of Life") every Sunday since we met, and has attended his first men's retreat at Sandy Cove, and goes to a men's Bible Study every Saturday morning.

A big void has been filled, and both Chris and I agree that it was all of the Lord. He even goes to the cemetery with me on our way home from church, and lets me cry and talk to Terry. He is my best buddy right now, next to the Lord. I am so blessed to have him for my friend, and I thank the Lord every day for bringing us together. Neither one of us ever wants to get married, but we do compliment each other very well. He will be flying to Europe in 2 weeks for a vacation, and I know I will miss him alot, but the Lord knows our hearts, and they both belong to Jesus.
AMEN??

CATCHING UP AGAIN!!

Part 1

Hi again! It's just ME, donnao.

I have not been keeping you all up on things, I know.... but you will have to forgive me because I have been involved in so many activities, including e-mailling an old beau from high school (no names mentioned...). We enjoyed each other's company online for about 4 months, and then we decided to go our seperate ways. At the time it was very exciting sharing all of our activities with each other, especially since we had not seen or heard from each other in over 50 years!! (YES!, 50 years!) You read it right. Well, we finally did meet, and we had a nice dinner out and a very nice long talk, and then he left, and that was the end of it. Neither one of us was what the other expected, I guess... Anyway, it was fun while it lasted. We do still keep in touch a little.

I had been asking the Lord to send me a friend (male), so I could just go out once in awhile and not be alone. That has been my greatest problem since Terry went home to be with the Lord. I wanted a gentleman (of course,,, ) and a Born again Christian of course. The BIG thing was that I wanted to pay for my part of the dates. Some men would not put up with that, pride I guess, but that was and is still a very important part of the friendship, or nothing at all...

Stay tuned to see what happens in Part2 of this Blog!

Friday, January 1, 2010

CATCHING UP!

I have been very busy for several months. First, we went on vacation to Williamsburg, Va., and then down to Virginia Beach, and then Seamus got sick, and spent a week in Johns Hopkins requiring a trip every day in LOTS of traffic...

When Seamus finally got home, we were all very attentive to his needs. Most of my "free" time was spent taking care of Shamey, as James' job required more and more attention. I want to be here for them when they need me, as they are always reaching out to help me.

We had never taken the trip down to see our son Woody and his family in North Carolina. I was so excited to see my other two grandchildren, Alex, who turned 12 when we were down there, and Cassidy who will turn 11 in February. I can remember taking them to the nursing home where my sister lived for 3 years, until she went home to the Lord. Everyone thought they were twins! Almost, but not quite. They are 13 months apart.

So we took the trip down to see them AT LAST!! We booked a Hilton Hotel suite, and it was wonderful! Two large bedrooms with King size beds in each one, and two private bathrooms, and a sitting room and kitchen. We were served a freshly cooked breakfast each morning, and it was all free! The cost of the hotel was very inexpensive also, compared to others we had priced, which were not half as nice! The Lord really blessed us on this trip!!

When Alex and Cassidy first walked into our hotel room, I grabbed them up in my arms, and wept like a baby. They had tears too. This visit was way overdue!They decided to stay overnight with us in the hotel. Those beds held 3 people with plenty of room over. Of course Alex slept on the couch. He is sort of bashful about sleeping with his grandmother,and that is perfectly understandable. Terry and I used to take care of them alot when we all lived "up North", so we were very close to them. I found myself looking at them and remembering how much fun we had playing with them both from infancy. They haven't changed at all, except maybe growing a few inches taller and they are both smart as a whip!!

We celebrated Alex's birthday at the RED ROBIN restaurant, and had our Christmas with them back at the hotel. We had a great time getting reacquainted with them, and even Woody and Chris, his wife. Seamus just loves being with them, and he talks about them all of the time now.

While we were down there, in the mild weather, Washington D.C., and our town of Riverdale received 16 inches of snow! What a mess we came home to!! But it was a good feeling to crawl into my own bed that night!

I am now so glad that we had that time with them, and can't wait to go back again.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

OUR WONDERFUL PARK

As I stated in my last post, I have been walking alot. Ususally at least 2 miles a day...even on Sunday, when I have to get ready for church. I have so many choices of routes to take, I can change it every day and not repeat it for a week.

We live in a nice residential area, with many streets and roads to walk on. WE EVEN HAVE SIDEWALKS!!That is something we did not have in "Wally World" as my dear friend, Toots 5 used to call our hometown of Walworth, New York.I used to walk up and down several hills then. It was good for me, but I hated leaving Ter home alone while I went out and walked. Some days I even got him dressed and pushed him up and down those hills, just to get him out in the fresh air, and to enjoy our beautiful surroundings. It was a tough job, but I would gladly do it all over again, just to see him one more time.

Anyway, at the end of our street here, we have a wonderful little park, which is only one block away. There are several playgrounds for the kids, and many ball fields. It is quiet in the early morning hours (about 8:00 a.m.)and there is a long path, running along the river, and into the woods. Along this path the town of Riverdale has set up benches for us to sit down and rest, and even has "monkey bars" set up at different intervals, to stretch your muscles as you go along. I really can't explain how nice a park it is! They even have outdoor bathrooms set every so many yards. I had to giggle one day as I was walking past one of the outhouses... It said: "Don's Johns" (Terry used to call me "DON") (when he wasn't calling me "Cuddles"!) Anyway, it is a nice park, and I like to walk there and make a big circle, through the woods, and up to a big highway (with sidewalks), and back to the house through another woods. There are tons of people out walking every day, but especially on Saturdays and Sundays. Everyone says "Good Morning!!", and goes on there merry way. this is a very friendly town to live in, and I am blessed to be living here.
I have a friend, Sue who lives only 2 streets away, and about 4 blocks down the street from us. She works out of her home, and is very conscientious, so I usually just wave as I go by. Once in awhile I stop and ring her doorbell, just to say hello, and give here a big hug.
Believe me, when I say, I have SOOO much to be thankful for!!Thank you Jesus!!

"MY CURVES!!"

YOU MAY THINK THAT THE TITLE IS A BIT FUNNY, BUT IT DOES NOT REFER TO MY STATUESQUE FIGURE, JUST THE PLACE WHERE I AM WORKING ON IT.

WHEN I LIVED IN UPSTATE NEW YORK I WAS VERY HEAVY FOR MANY YEARS, AND I JOINED A WEIGHT WORK OUT GYM CALLED "CURVES", WHICH WAS FOR WOMEN ONLY. I PAID ALOT OF MONEY TO JOIN, AND ACTUALLY LASTED 3 WEEKS AT IT! I ONLY ATTENDED ONCE EACH WEEK FOR 3 WEEKS. THE NORM IS 3 TIMES A WEEK! IT WASN'T THAT I DID NOT LIKE TO EXERCISE, BUT THE FACT THAT I HAD SUCH A HARD TIME GETTING ON AND OFF OF THE MACHINES. THEY WERE LOCATED IN A TIGHT CIRCLE, AND WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED (like "musical chairs") YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO QUICKLY JUMP OFF AND GO TO THE NEXT MACHINE! WELL, AS YOU CAN PICTURE, I WAS HOLDING ALL OF THE OTHER LADIES UP BY NOT BEING VERY DEXTERIOUS, AND IT WAS JUST VERY EMBARRASING FOR ME. NOW THAT I HAVE LOST 100 LBS. AFTER BEING DIAGNOSED AS A "PRE-DIABETIC", IN 2006, I IMMEDIATELY WENT ON A STRENUOUS DIET PLAN CALLED MEDIFAST. WHEN WE MOVED DOWN HERE TO MARYLAND, I HAD LOST 93 LBS. I STILL HAD ALOT TO GO, BUT FELT GOOD WITH THAT LOSS. I NEVER LOST ONE LB. AFTER THAT, FOR 1.5 YEARS. I DISCOVERED A VERY NICE CURVES GYM NOT TOO FAR FROM OUR HOME, AND IT WAS SO NICE AND SPACIOUS, AND THE STAFF WAS SO FRIENDLY AND SUPPORTIVE, I FINALLY LOST THE LAST 7 LBS. I HOPE TO NEVER HAVE TO TAKE INSULIN, AS I CANNOT IMAGINE GIVING MYSELF A SHOT, WHICH TERRY DID 4 TIMES A DAY FOR THE LAST 25 YEARS OF HIS LIFE. SO NOW I WALK 2 MILES EVERY DAY AND GO TO CURVES 2-3 TIMES A WEEK, HOPEFULLY THE 3 TIMES. ALL OF THE MACHINES HAVE WHAT IS CALLED "CURVESMART" SOFTWARE IMBEDDED IN THEM, AND THEY GIVE YOU A LITTLE CHIP WHICH YOU INSERT INTO THE COMPUTER AND GET AN UPDATE ON HOW YOU ARE DOING WITH YOUR WORKOUTS. SINCE I HAVE STARTED ON THE "CURVESMART" PROGRAM, I HAVE BEEN DOING MUCH BETTER. I NEED A GOAL TO REACH FOR, AND THE MACINES TELLS YOU IF YOU ARE GIVING IT YOUR BEST OR NOT. THEY ALSO TELL YOU HOW MANY CALORIES YOU BURN EACH TIME YOU WORK OUT. ALL IN ALL, I FEEL LIKE IT IS ALL WORTH IT, TO WORK TOWARDS A GOAL OF GOOD HEALTH. I HAVE MADE MANY FRIENDS THERE AND WE ALL SUPPORT EACH OTHER.
THANK YOU,LORD, FOR PROVIDING ME WITH THIS PROGRAM, AND ESPECIALLY THE PART WHERE MY HEALTH INSURANCE COVERS THE WHOLE COST! AMEN!!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

WHERE DOES THE TIME GO TO????

It sure seems like a LONNNGGGG time since I have blogged.... Maybe it seems that way because it HAS been a LONG time!!

So much has happened to all of us in the last few months, I can't even remember all of it. Here is a sampling of things that happened:

0 After I got kidnapped in March, I found my way home, and was safe and happy.
On April 1st, we had a baby shower for Katrina and Pastor Lawson. The baby (Eirenee) remained in the hospital for a very long time. She weighed only 1.5 lbs. when she was born on Feb. 28, so she had to be in ICU for a long time. I went with her Mommy and Daddy and big sister several times to visit her at the hospital.

The shower was a BIG strong success! There were men, women and children there, and the children were all especially "active"! Whew! I am glad we all lived through it, and a good time was had by all.

0 Eirenee came home for good about 2 weeks ago and weighed 5 lbs. 10 oz.!! I even got to take care of her all by myself. I just held her the wholw time, and thanked the Lord for this beautiful young lady. She is very special, as you can imagine, and she continues to gain weight and grow stronger every day.

0 Katrina took her driver's test in April and passed it with flying colors. She used to live in England, so I imagine it was hard to learn to drive on the right side of the road. I am very proud of my new daughter-in-law!!

0 Shamey had his pictures taken in a place called Wheaten Park, and I did send them out to everyone. If you did not receive them, please let me know. They were beautiful, and Jules put them to music. (He is a natural model!!)

0 We got new patio furniture and a new BBQ grill. We are now ready for lots of Summer company.

0 I found a Calvary Chapel not too far from us, and have made lots of new friends. As usual, Calvary Chapel is very friendly and welcoming. I really do feel right at home now. Praise Jesus!!

0 We joined a "pool club"! It is in a parklike setting right in the middle of the metropolitan area! (Correct me if I already told youi this,,,please...!)
In fact we just got back from a "picnic/birthday party" at the pool club. There are lots of picnic tables, gas grills,and a huge adult pool, and a kiddies pool...They call it the "baby pool" there, and Shamey heard them say it, and thought they said "Navy pool". So it remains the "Navy pool" to us...

0 I worked for one day at the Art Festival, which is held in the Town Center, where the Farmer's Market takes place every Thursday. James runs it, and has lots of prospects for businesses to move into Riverdale. He is very good at his job, and soon we will be overflowing with new businesses coming in. This will lower the tax base for alot of people.(I am very proud of James also!)

0 Jules remains at her job at Westat. She is going on a business trip next week to L.A., California, and James and Shamey are going with her. (She makes me VERY proud also!!)I will be all by my lonesome, but plan on having lots of get togethers with different groups of friends.

0 I gave up on the Cafe ever being built. They have had their permit for months now and still nothing has been built.

0 I am now doing surveys for money. That is my home job. I don't have to go out, and when James needs me to take care of Seamus, I am available. Sometimes he just brings alot of his toys in my bedroom, and plays for hours, while I work at the computer. Alot of times we will watch one of his shows on T.V. or a movie we have received from Netflix. We do play games too, and go for walks to the park, which is only one block away from our home. (He always makes a new friend when he goes there!)

0 I really miss all of you up there, but don't hear from very many of you guys. Please drop me a quick note, so I can see if you are still around or not.

Love to all,
tootsie roll2