Merry Christmas!

Oh what a slacker I've been! So, so busy and no time to write.

The house (alas) is not finished for the holidays (we are s-o s-l-o-w) but we're making progress. I've downscaled on the decorations this year to make things less stressful since we're in transition mode here with much packed away and some rooms almost empty... It still looks like Christmas but on a less grander way (and way less stressful too!)

I have retired my teaching cap and accepted a job as a Volunteer Coordinator at one of our local Hospice Homes. The hours are great - the pay is great - and I know that the rewards will be even greater. I begin on January 4th and can't wait to start this new chapter in my life.

The kids will all be together for the holidays (yay!). Youngest daughter & her hubby will be in late tonight from Massachusetts. Then the festivities can officially begin!

My shopping is done. The presents are wrapped. The food is bought and ready to be prepared. Today is supposed to be a cleaning day ( my poor house here so sorely needs it) and tonight I plan to put my favorite 1940's Christmas CD on (A very American Christmas), lite the tree along with some candles, pour myself a glass of wine and revel in the joy this season brings.

Stress? Yes. Family tensions? Yes. Rude shoppers? Double yes. But in the midst of all the turmoil God gently reminds me that the true reason for the season super cedes anything that may be stressing me out.

The year I lost both parents in a month, I vividly remember passing a manger scene in front ofa church near our local supermarket. I'd been shopping and dreading the fact that this holiday me, my siblings and our children would be facing our first Christmas without mom and dad. I suddenly had this strong sense that God was speaking to me as I focused on the baby in the manger through teary eyes. He was saying "Don't you see? This is what Christmas is really all about. This is where it all started...I came and conquered death! So celebrate this Christmas Lora! It's because of Christmas that you'll see your mom and dad once again!"

I've kept that very special moment with me these past 12 years. it has helped me put things in perspective when the icing doesn't stick to the cookies...when the lady with 30 items is in front of me in the "10 items or less" line and I am in a hurry to get to the post office before it closes...when I am wrapping gifts and I run out of tape and all the stores are closed because it's after midnight and I have to get the next morning at 6 am for work...when my mother-in-law wakes me from a sound sleep the following night (when I'm trying to catch up from the night before) to tell me she doesn't think I bought enough rolls for the Christmas dinner - when I had vowed I would not have to go to one more store after I got the tape on my lunch break the day before....

All those things that want to trip me up and make me curse the season...they can't. I may grumble a bit. And vent to hubby. But I still can smile and rejoice. For unto us a Savior has been born. And I will see mom and dad and late hubby again.

Merry Christmas to all!

love,

Lora

The Holiday Season is About to Begin!

Tomorrow we trek out to late hubby's (late brother's) farm for Thanksgiving. Does that make sense? There is nothing like Thanksgiving on the farm...I swear I feel like I've stepped into a Norman Rockwell painting when I walk through the door. A big old fashioned cooking stove sits proudly in the kitchen (there was a time that hot cider would be warming over the coals but now it just serves as a shelf for our beverages.) The dining room boasts a big old cello in the corner and an upright piano along the west wall. Being a musical family, both get played spontaneously and folks will gather round whoever happens to be making the music and then the singing starts.

Even though this isn't the family I grew up with (I get to have Thanksgiving with them next year) and even though hubby is no longer with us - I still feel at home there. It's warm and cozy and full of love. Family from several states gather to share a meal on this special day and I am thankful to be a part of this family. The neat part is - even present hubby likes it there! Our very first Thanksgiving as husband and wife - was spent at the farm! Not with his family..not with mine....but at the farm!

In the meantime we are cranking down hard trying to get the house finished! I've resigned myself tot he fact it won't be perfect. There's a section we will close off because it will still be "under construction" and full of junk! But as long as I have a working kitchen, a carpet in the living room and my family with me - it will be home! Christmas shopping is almost done. At least 3/4 done anyway. And it's all wrapped! That last week before Christmas will be spent moving furniture, stocking cupboards and decorating. No time to be running to the mall.

I'm also going to attempt my first "black friday" expedition. Middle daughter raved last year about all the deals. I'm not camping out a 5 am....there's nothing in particular I'm after. Just want to see what the deals are and maybe finish up the last of the shopping.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! If you eat too much - just hop back on the wagon Friday!

Cheers!

Is it November Already?

November here has been pleasant as far as the weather goes. No snow. Mild temps (sparing a few frosty mornings that required the obligatory scraping of my windshield...) I still have to trek down to the lake to empty out the last few things in the fridge, purge the waterlines and sweep up any remaining crumbs that might invite vermin to move in and set up housekeeping while we're away for the season. Then I can settle into winter.

The new house is in the final stages. We need a crew from HGTV to come in do their magic so we can be in by Christmas. You know those episodes where they revamp a house in the span of a half hour show? Seriously - we have SO much to do in the next 30 some odd days! Thankfully I've put a major bite in my Christmas shopping. Middle Daughter and her hubby are going to come over and help set up furniture and decorate for the holiday. Unfortunately that won't be until the final hour (maybe even December 23rd....) but I'm confident they can successfully transform the place into one of those warm fuzzy hallmark settings. Of course the cabinets aren't installed yet, we still need a hot water heater, the flooring isn't in, the trim work and doors aren't installed.... YIKES!!!

Remember last year how I obsessed about the new carpet in the living room of the old house in time for the holidays? Things always work out. As long as my family is all together - that's what matters.

Weight-wise I was doing quite well. But then I kind of got in an over confident phase and a few pounds have crept back on. In the nick of time my niece decided to hold a family weight loss challenge so I'm back on track. Oldest daughter is getting married next September so we have a goal once again. The biggest thing this time though is the health issues. My blood pressure and cholesterol are not good. It's no longer a matter of vanity. I want to be here for my future grandkids. And there's that pressure knowing that if something should happen to me...the girls would be parent-less. Sure they have a wonderful step-dad that loves them. But it's not the same. Their real dad has been gone for 7 years now. They aren't ready to see both of our names on that gravestone just yet. One has been hard enough...

I know I haven't posted much. Or visited your blogs much either. Every free minute has been subbing at school or working on the house. Oh for the day it's done and we can relax! But the proverbial train really never does arrive at the station until the end does it? I need to enjoy the ride. Take in the scenery. Savor the journey - bumps and all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ps...The pic above is from our girl's trip last month to Florida. It was awesome!

Woo Hoo - Still Here...

Wasn't it me who promised I'd never "fall off the ends of the earth" and stop posting without letting you all know.... yes. That was me. Sorry. I've just been so busy - so stressed - and so not on a schedule that the blog has taken a back seat. But I'm still here!

The new house is coming along and by golly I DO think we will be in there for Christmas! Most of the rooms are painted, the kitchen cabinets have been ordered, the lighting has all been purchased and we have even hung the blinds in our bedroom. It's going to be a mad rush to get the flooring in, order counter tops and install the appliances (not to mention hang the doors, install the trim and the ten million other little things that will make this house our home) but we're making progress and I do see the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel!

This past week I got my official diploma in the mail. I now hold a Masters Degree. No job to show for it...but at least now when I fill out those silly surveys that ask about your education I can check the next box down. (big deal..)

Tomorrow I leave for Florida with my 2 sisters and sister-in-law to visit my niece in Pensacola and celebrate my sister's 50th birthday. We decided we needed a "girl's" trip and since we haven't done a get away like this since 2003 - it was time. I managed to lose 9 pounds and seem to be holding at that. It's a small dent. But enough to keep me motivated. We're bringing our sneakers so we can walk every morning while we're there. I can't wait! We had a non-existent summer here this year (it actually didn't arrive until until mid August and then ended abruptly) so I'm looking forward to a spell of warm weather. We'll be gone till Sunday and I plan to leave all my stress at home and just enjoy life while I'm there!

I also promise to try to write more. And visit you all more. And post some pics too!

Oh - and about the min-reunion last month. It was a blast! The old boyfriend was there and as I sat between him and my best friend since second grade (that lives too far away!) it felt like we were back in high school! There were 19 of us and as I looked around the circle as we sat around the campfire - I swear I didn't even notice the wrinkles or graying temples or extra chins that each of us sported in one way or another. It was just the same bunch of friends from so many years ago and it felt so good! The pic is of me and two wonderful friends!

Have a happy week!

I have been busy. I think about writing here but get side-tracked daily!

There were family reunions, trips to the lake and funerals. After we said good bye to my dear aunt June, a close friend at the lake committed suicide. Seems he was prescribed the drug Lyrica for nerve pain in his legs and he was one of the unlucky people that succumbed to the "suicide side effect." After 2 weeks on it he began to have crying spells. After 4 weeks he leaned over a shot gun and wasn't found until the next day.

Suicide hurts so much. There's so much guilt. Why didn't we see it. What could we have done...

In between the roller coaster of emotions and over-scheduled days, I managed to get a lot of painting done in the new house. We WILL be in there for Christmas this year. We WILL! I have threatened dear hubby on this :-)

I've also gotten control of the pie hole and have managed to lose 8 pounds. It's a start. I got a kick in the rear end from my Dr. at my physical last month. Seems my blood pressure is not as low as he's like it (I've never had a problem with this before) but I've read enough from Dr. Oz about how this is the ONE number you don't want to mess around with. With the history of heart disease in my family I'm not taking any chances.

So I've reduced my salt intake... I never was an over-salter, but now that I'm reading labels I'm finding that it's hidden everywhere. Especially in so-called "diet" foods! Yesterday I was about to have a cup of instant soup. Only 45 calories. But when I looked at the label it had aver 2000 grams of sodium. Yikes! I opted for some tuna instead.

I've also been filling up on lots of fresh fruit and veggies. And avoiding the dreaded Golden Arches (except for a Southwest Salad now and then). Now I need to step up on the exercise. Hopefully those numbers will be down when I see him again next month.

Tomorrow night I'm hosting an outdoor party at the new house for about 25 former classmates from my high school days. A mini-reunion of sorts. An old flame will be there. (an old flame that actually asked me to marry him way back when.) Last time I saw him he reminded me of how I remember his dad. I wonder if I'll remind him of my mom. Last time he saw her she was about 45 years old. I'm now 52. That's kind of scary!

I'll take some pics of the house this weekend and post them next week. Cactus keeps asking me to do this so I guess I should! (that's weird - I just tried to create a link to her blog and I can't...hmmm.)

Anyhoo friends - I'm still here. I'll try to be more consistent. Things seem to be slowing down. Hope you're all well and happy :-)

How I Spent My Summer Vacation...(or why I haven't been blogging!")

This summer is flying by and I have nothing to really show for it. Except a few extra pounds. You'd think when you're so busy you often don't even have time to pee in the morning that you'd not have time to eat. Not me. I'm at my all time high and I want to scream!

It's been a very busy few months but not so busy that I didn't pack on an extra 5 pounds. Doesn't sound like much - but when the 5 pounds is going in the wrong direction it's discouraging. I'm not going to say I don't know why. Because I do. I'm mindlessly snacking.

Hello...my name is Lora and I'm a snackaholic. There. I said it.

ARGHH!

Anyway, I'm determined to turn this around. My sisters and I are going to Florida in October to celebrate a 50th birthday for one of them and I refuse to go weighing what I do. I've been so lax lately. Eating whatever I please...not exercising....it's gotta' stop!

Enough on the fat soapbox. Here's my essay on "How I spent my summer vacation" by Lora.

I've managed to squeeze another trip to lake in. I tried to get the order of protection against Mr. Imanass but because no charges were filed in the last altercation it couldn't be done. *sigh* But he did lay low this past weekend and didn't bother me at all.

I camped with my kids in the Adirondack mountains 2 weeks ago and we survived. No bears - just rain. But hasn't it been doing that all summer? Gheesh!

I'm still volleying back and forth with my advisers on my thesis. I want it done already! And I'm still searching for a full time job. Though I desperately want to teach art - I'm willing to do just about anything now to have a steady paycheck and some kind of health insurance benefits. I hate the home health aide job. Can't stand living away from home 2 days every week! It throws off my entire rhythm.

The new house is coming along slowly. Very slowly. Hubby has been so busy with his seasonal job that there hasn't been much time to do anything else. We finally have a front lawn. The rain washed away the seed three times!! Most of the drywall is primed. Other than that - it's still un-livable.

We have a massive garden this summer (I don't know what my husband was thinking - like we don't have enough to do right now) but at least we'll be eating lots of fresh veggies from here on in. And the berry bushes have been bountiful with all the rain. I have 12 quarts of blackberries in the freezer and will have that many blueberries after today's picking. The garlic and onions are picked and hung in bunches to store in the fruit cellar for winter. We're still waiting on the tomatoes but the snap peas are doing great and so is the corn! The beans on the other hand are being ravaged by Japanese beetles. Any suggestions on how to handle those pesky things without resorting to pesticides? We're also waiting on the beets, carrots, swiss chard and a bunch of other stuff I don't recognize, but we did pick our first cucumbers yesteray and a big zucchini.

And lastly we laid my dear Aunt June to rest 2 weeks ago. She was my mom's sister and I adored her. Last Christmas she was diagnosed with fronto-tempera lobe dementia. It doesn't effect the mind though - just the body. With in a few months she could barely talk and by May she was in a wheel chair. It happened so fast and it was sad to watch. After the ceremony by the graveside my siblings and I walked across the street to "visit" with our parents and my late hubby. They are all buried together in a mausoleum. We decided that we are the official "grown ups" now. Whether we want to be or not. We took some roses from the spray on Aunt June's casket and wedged them into the crevices around the around the face stone by mom and dad and Pat. No one cried. Just a few arms around the shoulders....

So that's my summer so far.

I'm sorry I've been so AWOL lately. It seems my "to-do" list is always a mile long and blogging gets put on the back burner. This weekend we're hosting our annual family picnic at the new place - the yard is hospitable - just not the house. And we have an outdoor kitchen and bathroom so it's do-able. Of course it will rain....this has been the summer of rain here in upstate New York. But we'll manage.

Always do!

Back to Reality....

Oh my...I've been way for a while! Tweaking the thesis, working on the new house and then away for 10 days at the lake. Oh complete blissfulness!

We were finally there long enough to settle into somewhat of a routine. Morning coffee on the dock...leisurely strolls around the lake after dinner....campfires in the evening with Benny Goodman crooning endlessly from the boom box (yeah, we're rustic there - no fancy stereo system, a TV that only plays videos, no A/C or laundry - but we do have an array of cellphones when we're all there that we actually have created a shelf for now!)

All of my daughters were there - the hubbies were gone to work during the week so we had some extra nice bonding time. My sister was across the lake (a short sprint across on the boat) with her 2 daughters and my youngest sister drove in for a night, so we definitely had an excess of estrogen at times. All good!

I received a complimentary bottle of green tea supplements from a fellow blogger (see side link under "Diet and Weightloss" ) the day I left for the lake so I decided to give them a shot and see what happens. I've read good stuff about green tea so I'll let you know!

The only flaw in the whole vacation was Mr. Imanass. (He's my jerky neighbor - the deranged one that is always harassing me.) Last night as I was leaving to go home with my 4 year old grandson (everyone else had gone - it was just the 2 of us) I walked to the top of the stairs and there he was in all his looniness - drunker than skunk with a pitchfork in his hand. Reminded me of that Grant Wood Portrait - Gothic America. Anyhoo - as I'm backing out the idiot whacks my car with the pitchfork! I jumped out (shaking like a leaf) and used some of the words I try not to say very much on him. Then I went back to my cottage and called the police. He hightailed it inside his cottage and turned all the lights out. We're on a small lake and word travels fast so it wasn't long before a few neighbors showed up. When the cops finally came (it was almost an hour...) note to self - if I'm ever in a real crisis - don't call the Bath Police! we had a small crowd and Mr. Imanass was nowhere in sight.

Well it seems that because there wasn't any damage to my car they couldn't charge him with criminal mischief. And because he never raised the pitchfork towards me (just my car) he couldn't be charged with attempted assault. My car was assaulted - what the heck??! But that's how it is down there. We actually have him on video tape throwing my lawn ornaments into the lake but he was never charged. There's lame D.A. down there that doesn't like to deal with "lake stuff". But the officer last night was nice enough and said he go down and try to scare some sense into the guy. In the meantime he told me to get an order of protection so the creep would maybe finally leave me alone.

Who knows what his issue is. He's not very popular on the lake (remember small lake - big mouths...) I think when first hubby died he kind of like to think of himself of my "guardian". He was always friendly before that (still creepy and perverted - but nice enough). Then he started referring to me and my 3 daughters as his little "Harem." Enter hubby number 2 and all hell breaks loose. The "harem" was busted up and Mr. Imanass started getting jerky about property lines and other petty issues. Anything to start a fight. Ah but I'll leave it at that or I could go on forever!

Yet even he could not wreck the peaceful bliss I experienced the past 10 days with my family at our little cottage, nestled in the hemlocks, perched on the edge of a small lake where the bass are big and gentle summer breeze rustles the curtains as the sun sets and sparkle time starts - casting glinting diamonds of light across the ceiling. How I wish I lived there all the time! Even in spite of Mr. Imanass.

Hope you all had a delightful 4th of July - picnicking with family and friends, watching the fireworks, puttering in the garden....

I'll be catching up on blogs this week. No computer at the lake so I've been out of the loop.

Ciao!