CHRISTMAS, 2008 (OUR FIRST ONE IN THE NEW ADDITION!)
Here it is, January 17, 2009, and I am just getting some time to bring you up to date on the Holiday season, and other events in my life. I have no excuse other than that I have to prioritize my life right now, and now I have the time to catch up.
I made my usual homemade soups and distributed them, along with my pumpkin breads to several friends. Pastor Lawson and family came the day before Christmas and had a nice lunch with me. I gave them a gift of a very special painting that my friend Dorothy McGee had done for me and, a beautiful frame I had found. I did not have any place to put it in my new apartment, so I gave it to my "son" and his family. They were blessed to receive it, and I was blessed to give it to them.
Christmas was a very nice layed back day for all of us. We opened up gifts and had a nice dinner together in our new dining room. James surprised us and bought some huge scallops, which are a favorite of mine and Jules. James broiled their's and I cooked my own with a recipe I got many many years ago from the chef at a well known restaurant in Auburn, N.Y., where Ter grew up.
We had all day to eat and enjoy each other's company. Seamus was the most excited of all! He received many great gifts from "Santa", and we just relaxed and played with him most of the day. Shamey's friend Stephanie came over and played with him that day, and he was thrilled.
I really missed Ter on that day, as I do every day, but for some reason, Christmas day is the worst time for me to be away from my loved ones.
All in all, I was glad when the day came to a close.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Pictures from 2008
my grandbabies in our aparment in Greenbelt...
me getting ready to move into my new kitchen...
Some of the last pix of the two of us...
Terry's last resting place at Fort Lincoln Cemetery
Alex, Cassidy & Grandma...
Me with Denise (Ter's home health aide...)
Jules, James & Seamus outside our apartment.....
almost ready to move into new kitchen......
Zoe, Seamus & Christmas tree in family room...
Terry's tombstone at Fort Lincoln...
"my son" with me at my new home...
Seamus the pilgrim, Thanksgiving day...
Shamey and "GA" as pilgrims...
Shamey on a bug ride on one of his "adventures!...
Mommy & Shamey riding his new bike in front of our house...
Katrina with Lawson & Zoe...
shamey in Holloween costume,(a puppy dog..)
Shamey with Santa at the farmer's market....
the 3 tootses, and new toots (Marty..)
Happy New Year hats, waiting for Ga to come home again
the 4 tootses in Rochester....
Ter with Denise..final farewell...
Seamus in his new "BIG BOY" bed
Daddy with Spider Man...
"WONDER GA" & "Super Seamus"!!
Aren't they sweet?(Zoe & Shamey)
Shamey in his BIG hat!
all of us at the Washington Zoo
Shamey says....BOO!!!
Our Christmas tree and Shamey looking at deck...
Farewell, Sweet hubby, with Denise at apartment: Aug., '08
Shamey says goodbye to "Pa"
Mommy & Shamey with Thanksgiving hats in kitchen...
JOE COOL......!
me getting ready to move into my new kitchen...
Some of the last pix of the two of us...
Terry's last resting place at Fort Lincoln Cemetery
Alex, Cassidy & Grandma...
Me with Denise (Ter's home health aide...)
Jules, James & Seamus outside our apartment.....
almost ready to move into new kitchen......
Zoe, Seamus & Christmas tree in family room...
Terry's tombstone at Fort Lincoln...
"my son" with me at my new home...
Seamus the pilgrim, Thanksgiving day...
Shamey and "GA" as pilgrims...
Shamey on a bug ride on one of his "adventures!...
Mommy & Shamey riding his new bike in front of our house...
Katrina with Lawson & Zoe...
shamey in Holloween costume,(a puppy dog..)
Shamey with Santa at the farmer's market....
the 3 tootses, and new toots (Marty..)
Happy New Year hats, waiting for Ga to come home again
the 4 tootses in Rochester....
Ter with Denise..final farewell...
Seamus in his new "BIG BOY" bed
Daddy with Spider Man...
"WONDER GA" & "Super Seamus"!!
Aren't they sweet?(Zoe & Shamey)
Shamey in his BIG hat!
all of us at the Washington Zoo
Shamey says....BOO!!!
Our Christmas tree and Shamey looking at deck...
Farewell, Sweet hubby, with Denise at apartment: Aug., '08
Shamey says goodbye to "Pa"
Mommy & Shamey with Thanksgiving hats in kitchen...
JOE COOL......!
Friday, December 5, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
THANKSGIVING, 2008
Thanksgiving this year was different than I have ever experienced. Our church feeds dinner to 1,000 people each year. It takes place at a Mexican Restaurant, owened by a Korean family, here in Riverdale, Maryland.
I arrived early, and was given the task of working with the kitchen staff. My job was to make all of the iced tea and coffee for the guests, and to serve the guests at the tables their beverage of choice.
The day went by very quickly, and I enjoyed meeting so many of these wonderful people. I took one lady's name and phone number and we plan to get together soon.
The whole town board gets involved too, and it was nice to finally be able to put a face with a name, as I have heard nice things about most of them many times.
Besides giving the guests a wonderful meal prepared by the staff, the people have the option of going outside and picking out any warm clothing they choose. Hundreds of warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves were donated by our church as well as townspeople. The food was donated by several large corporations. We have a man who donates hundreds of loaves of bread, muffins, and bagels to our church every two weeks, and it gets distributed to the needy by our church groups. On Thanksgiving Day, the man appeared and brought with him enough bread for 2,000 people!
Inside the restaurant, live Christian music was being offered by musicians and singers. It was so interesting to see the Hispanic and English speaking people singing together for the glory of Jesus Christ!! Praise the Lord in all things!!
At the end, after all had been cleaned up, I wandered in to my new home, and got served a delicious dinner by my sweet daughter, son in law, and baby grandson. We even had pilgrim hats to wear for the occasion.
We all have so much to be thankful for, and we prayed with thanks as a family for the first time. We were missing Terry that day, but we know he was watchng from above.
A good time was had by all. Thank you, Jesus!
I arrived early, and was given the task of working with the kitchen staff. My job was to make all of the iced tea and coffee for the guests, and to serve the guests at the tables their beverage of choice.
The day went by very quickly, and I enjoyed meeting so many of these wonderful people. I took one lady's name and phone number and we plan to get together soon.
The whole town board gets involved too, and it was nice to finally be able to put a face with a name, as I have heard nice things about most of them many times.
Besides giving the guests a wonderful meal prepared by the staff, the people have the option of going outside and picking out any warm clothing they choose. Hundreds of warm coats, hats, gloves, and scarves were donated by our church as well as townspeople. The food was donated by several large corporations. We have a man who donates hundreds of loaves of bread, muffins, and bagels to our church every two weeks, and it gets distributed to the needy by our church groups. On Thanksgiving Day, the man appeared and brought with him enough bread for 2,000 people!
Inside the restaurant, live Christian music was being offered by musicians and singers. It was so interesting to see the Hispanic and English speaking people singing together for the glory of Jesus Christ!! Praise the Lord in all things!!
At the end, after all had been cleaned up, I wandered in to my new home, and got served a delicious dinner by my sweet daughter, son in law, and baby grandson. We even had pilgrim hats to wear for the occasion.
We all have so much to be thankful for, and we prayed with thanks as a family for the first time. We were missing Terry that day, but we know he was watchng from above.
A good time was had by all. Thank you, Jesus!
PARKER'S PLACE!!
The Lord has blessed me with a new job in the food industry!
I always knew that if anything happened to Ter before me, I would want to go back to work. I am not the type to sit home and feel sorry for myself. I asked the Lord to show me what He would have me do with my life, and to bless me in it. I asked Jules to help me to update my resume, and so I started my quest to find the perfect job for myself, (if there is such a thing!) I sent out several resumes, and got "semi interviewed" at a very well known catering service here in Riverdale. I did find out later that the caterer wanted to wait to see how the economy was going to affect his business, before he went and hired more people for the holidays.
I know someone who is a consultant for the town, and he knew of a family who wants to open a cafe that will serve "light fare", such as homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. This just happens to be what I have always specialized in...
I googled the couple and found out their background, and I called them to introduce myself. (you all know how bashful I am....).
I made a coffee date with the wife and we hit it off right away. She is very sweet, and very intelligent. Her family comes first of course, and that impressed me more than the fact that I could become a potential employee.
The same day we met, she took me to the location where her cafe would be built. Right now it is a shell of a building, but she knows alot about building and decorating.
This building is only about 8 blocks from where I live!
I was invited over to her home, which is also close to where I live..) to meet the family. I was very impressed about how much family means to both her and her husband. The fact that they are all Born Again Christians helped to make me feel more comfortable with them.
Right now I am just praising the Lord for bringing me into their path, and looking forward to the day when they break ground, and we will all become one step closer to working and serving at "PARKER'S PLACE". It should happen sometime in January, 2009. Please pray for them (and the staff that she will be hiring.)
Hope to see you there! I promise you won't be disappointed!
The Lord has blessed me with a new job in the food industry!
I always knew that if anything happened to Ter before me, I would want to go back to work. I am not the type to sit home and feel sorry for myself. I asked the Lord to show me what He would have me do with my life, and to bless me in it. I asked Jules to help me to update my resume, and so I started my quest to find the perfect job for myself, (if there is such a thing!) I sent out several resumes, and got "semi interviewed" at a very well known catering service here in Riverdale. I did find out later that the caterer wanted to wait to see how the economy was going to affect his business, before he went and hired more people for the holidays.
I know someone who is a consultant for the town, and he knew of a family who wants to open a cafe that will serve "light fare", such as homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts. This just happens to be what I have always specialized in...
I googled the couple and found out their background, and I called them to introduce myself. (you all know how bashful I am....).
I made a coffee date with the wife and we hit it off right away. She is very sweet, and very intelligent. Her family comes first of course, and that impressed me more than the fact that I could become a potential employee.
The same day we met, she took me to the location where her cafe would be built. Right now it is a shell of a building, but she knows alot about building and decorating.
This building is only about 8 blocks from where I live!
I was invited over to her home, which is also close to where I live..) to meet the family. I was very impressed about how much family means to both her and her husband. The fact that they are all Born Again Christians helped to make me feel more comfortable with them.
Right now I am just praising the Lord for bringing me into their path, and looking forward to the day when they break ground, and we will all become one step closer to working and serving at "PARKER'S PLACE". It should happen sometime in January, 2009. Please pray for them (and the staff that she will be hiring.)
Hope to see you there! I promise you won't be disappointed!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
"TODAY IS THE DAY!!!!!!!"
Right now I am sitting here wishing that Ter could be here with me because he so wanted to move into our new home together. He has his own new home now, and I know that he is happy there, but I miss him terribly today. Maybe it is because I am leaving the apartment, which was the last place we called home together.
[I am learning alot from my course on grieving. Tonight is the last night for the 6 weeks course.
I have met some very good friends there, and we do socialize sometimes. One of the ladies is named Betty, (I now know 5 Betties!!) and we became soulmates instantly. I took her into emergency 2 weeks ago, and spent the day there with her. It wound up that she had pneumonia. Better than the heart condition they had suspected...)]
I will not miss this apartment because I am going to be with my family, and get to see them every day. My new apartment is unbelieveable. Our kids certainly went all out to make us as comfortable as they could. My bedroom is huge, and has a very large picture window, which I have never seen in a bedroom before. On the adjacent wall I have a large sliding glass door going out onto a good size deck. I have 3 large closets and a very nice bathroom, and sitting room. The kids and I will share the large family room, but somehow I thing I will use my sitting room most, and give them their privacy. I also have a small prep kitchen of my own with tons of cupboards and counter tops. We will share the large new kitchen, which attaches to my kitchen. I bought a brand new stainless steel refrigerator with an ice maker on the outside. (I have been wanting one for years. I am a real "ice person"!)
Sunday we moved all of the large furniture. I am sitting on a folding chair and typing on my computer on a T.V. tray. The T.V. sits on the floor. Almost everything is gone now. Last night was my last night here. I will come back tomorrow to clean and hand in my keys.
Everyone (staff) has been wonderful here, but the neighbors are not friendly at all. The man next door was very nice to us, but he moved last month, and I have made one friend, Angela who lives across the courtyard from me. No one else even speaks. It is sort of a creepy feeling to me, because I speak to everyone. Some respond, but never look at me.
I am getting ready to move to the last place I will live. I am excited, but sad at the same time.
I have sent out my new phone number and my e-mail will stay the same.
Time to roll!
More later.
God Bless each of you always.
[I am learning alot from my course on grieving. Tonight is the last night for the 6 weeks course.
I have met some very good friends there, and we do socialize sometimes. One of the ladies is named Betty, (I now know 5 Betties!!) and we became soulmates instantly. I took her into emergency 2 weeks ago, and spent the day there with her. It wound up that she had pneumonia. Better than the heart condition they had suspected...)]
I will not miss this apartment because I am going to be with my family, and get to see them every day. My new apartment is unbelieveable. Our kids certainly went all out to make us as comfortable as they could. My bedroom is huge, and has a very large picture window, which I have never seen in a bedroom before. On the adjacent wall I have a large sliding glass door going out onto a good size deck. I have 3 large closets and a very nice bathroom, and sitting room. The kids and I will share the large family room, but somehow I thing I will use my sitting room most, and give them their privacy. I also have a small prep kitchen of my own with tons of cupboards and counter tops. We will share the large new kitchen, which attaches to my kitchen. I bought a brand new stainless steel refrigerator with an ice maker on the outside. (I have been wanting one for years. I am a real "ice person"!)
Sunday we moved all of the large furniture. I am sitting on a folding chair and typing on my computer on a T.V. tray. The T.V. sits on the floor. Almost everything is gone now. Last night was my last night here. I will come back tomorrow to clean and hand in my keys.
Everyone (staff) has been wonderful here, but the neighbors are not friendly at all. The man next door was very nice to us, but he moved last month, and I have made one friend, Angela who lives across the courtyard from me. No one else even speaks. It is sort of a creepy feeling to me, because I speak to everyone. Some respond, but never look at me.
I am getting ready to move to the last place I will live. I am excited, but sad at the same time.
I have sent out my new phone number and my e-mail will stay the same.
Time to roll!
More later.
God Bless each of you always.
The BLOCK PARTY!!! (with Del and Emily...)
A couple of weeks ago we attended a birthday party after church on Sunday, and after that we went to a BLOCK PARTY" in our neighborhood.
Every year the neighborhood people get together and close off the whole block and party, party, party! It was all very innocent, with lots of good homemade food and friends that some people would only see once in awhile as they entered or exited their homes. The world has become such a fast paced whirl, that it is nice to sit down and talk to your neighbor at least once a year and actually be able to have a conversation!
I met a VERY interesting couple, and spent my whole time there talking to them. He (Del) was 78, and she (Emily) was 74. The week before the party they had just gotten back from China! I thought it was a vacation but it turned out that it was a work expedition.
Del, who is a retired science professor it seems, is still working! He has to travel all over the world and take samples of dirt! I guess they are looking for radiation percentages.
While they were there they had an opportunity to ride elephants! (I am lucky I can drive a car, let alone elephants!) Poor Emily, had a bad car accident 3 years ago, and broke almost every bone in her body! She still has alot of pain. (My question was: How did you manage to get up on an elephant? Her answer was: "very slowly!"
One of their hobbies is dancing, which I am finding is a popular passtime down here. they said the next time they go, they will call me. (they didn't remember to get my phone number though... I think I will give them a call once I get settled into my new home.
I really enjoyed meeting them. Guess how they met?
Both were widowers, and they are now married 10 years.
I meet the most interesting people!!
Every year the neighborhood people get together and close off the whole block and party, party, party! It was all very innocent, with lots of good homemade food and friends that some people would only see once in awhile as they entered or exited their homes. The world has become such a fast paced whirl, that it is nice to sit down and talk to your neighbor at least once a year and actually be able to have a conversation!
I met a VERY interesting couple, and spent my whole time there talking to them. He (Del) was 78, and she (Emily) was 74. The week before the party they had just gotten back from China! I thought it was a vacation but it turned out that it was a work expedition.
Del, who is a retired science professor it seems, is still working! He has to travel all over the world and take samples of dirt! I guess they are looking for radiation percentages.
While they were there they had an opportunity to ride elephants! (I am lucky I can drive a car, let alone elephants!) Poor Emily, had a bad car accident 3 years ago, and broke almost every bone in her body! She still has alot of pain. (My question was: How did you manage to get up on an elephant? Her answer was: "very slowly!"
One of their hobbies is dancing, which I am finding is a popular passtime down here. they said the next time they go, they will call me. (they didn't remember to get my phone number though... I think I will give them a call once I get settled into my new home.
I really enjoyed meeting them. Guess how they met?
Both were widowers, and they are now married 10 years.
I meet the most interesting people!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
