Scattered Thoughts

Well here we are well into December and I've not increased my exercise. Why is very it so hard to do the things are good for your mind and body and so easy to do the things that are bad?
The political race is going downhill fast. I don't see anyone that I'm comfortable with. I wish Bill Clinton could run again. The Republican candidates scare the heck out of me.
I went to see The Book of Mormon with two of our daughters and one of our granddaughters. I really liked the cast and the singing and dancing was great. As far as the material it was satirical and very funny... most of the time. I think they were too irreverent at times and cursed too much at other times but that's just my opinion. In my humble opinion too much cursing means that their vocabulary is thin and it makes for lazy writing. I like for things to be witty and to make you think about what they are saying to understand what is taking place before you. Being hit over the head with the F word gets old very quickly and like I said above, it's lazy writing. Part of the play did make you think but other parts didn't. Happily the thinking parts out distanced the non thinking parts. The best part was being out and enjoying life with our girls. They are amazing human beings.
On Sunday we're going to see A Christmas Carol at the Zach theater. It's amazing that the story Dickens wrote so long ago is still relevant today, especially the part about the children of Christmas Present who were want and ignorance. Their needs caused societal problems then as they do today. He also wrote about the poor needing help and sadly this is still true today. Like it's been said before, the more things change, the more they stay the same, or so it seems.
Christmas will be here in a couple of weeks and then the new year. I hope the coming year holds peace and prosperity and health for everyone.

December Entry

 

It's December and things are going along, bumpy, but okay. My little mom has a few more delusions than before but she still enjoys eating popcicle, sitting outside and feeling the sunshine on her face, and getting hugs. Not the mom who raised my brother and me but still mom. I wonder why this terrible disease has been visited on her and thousands of others but no answer to that ever comes. We just have to deal with it minute by minute. We plan to go to our sons on Christmas Day and they are good hosts so I know we'll have a nice time.
I'm posting a few pictures that Cyndi took of books that were donated to her classroom by family and some unknown donors. The Special Ed kids she teaches will enjoy them as will others who come after them. They were donated in honor of Frank's sister Liz, aka Virginia Elizabeth Carr, who was much loved by the family.
Many thanks to Cherly, Evie, and the others who donated.

                                                               

 

After Christmas

Tiny village decoration

Hope everyone had a great Christmas holiday. We got to visit our daughter and her family in San Angelo while my brother came and visited our Mom which made for a good time for everyone. We ate some good food, chatted a lot, and opened some nice thoughtful gifts. Thankfully the traffic was light for us going and coming and so was the weather. I took my camera planning on taking a lot of pictures but I only took one! Guess my memory is getting bad too. Guess the coming New Year is the next thing to celebrate. Not much to that one though. We try to stay up to see the new year in but sometimes when the clock strikes 12pm it finds us snoozing. ;-) The sun is shining brightly this morning and it's supposed to be in the 60's and 77 on Saturday! I hope the hot dry New Year's Eve is not a portent for our hot dry weather to continue on the rest of the year. We could really use a cool wet summer but I guess we'll have to wait and see what Mother Nature will bring us. One thing this sunny dry weather will bring is the dreaded Cedar Fever...some is here because my eyes and ears itch. Sigh...at least it is seasonal and will go away in about 5 or 6 weeks.

Sometimes Making a List Can Make You Sad

I was updating my Christmas card list today and became very sad when I saw how many of my friends on the list had died. One is too many but there were more than that to delete on my list. One I only learned had died after I sent my cards out last December. I emailed her and noticed she failed to email me back but I just figured she was busy or traveling. Not so. She was dying from a brain tumour but never said a word. I did keep emailing her since the emails always went through but I should have called and asked why I hadn't heard from her. When I did hear some news it was from her husband telling me of her passing. So here is my goodbye to some wonderful people that I used to write to and should have written to more. Sandy Ahara, Marie Russell, Eddie Gardiner, and Bonnie Carr. Sadly Eddie's wife and our good friend Betty Gardiner is in a nursing home suffering from advanced dementia. I wrote my annual poem dealing with this subject before I updated my list so I guess they were all on my mind. So write or call or visit  your friends and loved ones while you can because they won't be here forever.