Ever Changing Crusades

pic's added in "In Remembrance" album

Two more pictures have been recently added of Ronnie's well know activities..........HUNTING. I apologize for the long list of thumbnail pictures once you get into The Gallery. If I counted correctly (starting at the top), the two I've added are #32 (Ronnie with the shiny red truck & flat bottom boat) and #37 (Ronnie and Eddie with their geese)..... ......OR if you want to count from the bottom up their #20 & #25.

Thanks Eddie.....I'll be glad to post more.

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This is me with my 7 doves from Saturday. 

At the time I was editing my post that night, the computers and internet and firewalls were not cooperating (and what else is new). 

Do I look "mean" enough?       ;-)

greeting cards

It's been quite awhile since I have posted any "Crusades".  My crusades are not to attack the past, but to change the future.

Are you a person which keeps all (or a selected special few) the greeting cards that you received for your birthday, wedding anniversary, Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc.?

My crusade today............

to the GIVER:     sign more than just your name; try to write a small personal note.  It doesn't have to sound like another greeting cards, just something from your heart, even though it may be something that you have said time and time before.

to the RECEIVER:    keep all the cards from everyone for at least a year.  You ask why?  If something happens to one of those loved ones before the "next occasion", then you will have one of their last "heart felt" messages (in their own hand writing) that they sent to YOU.

   

"TO MY HUSBAND"     "from your loving wife"

cemetary marker

A few days ago I received a telephone call from the cemetery's management.  They said that Ronnie's marker was "now in place".  I have been busy with "this and that" all this past week.  Finally today I took the time to drive to the cemetery to visit his grave, and to verify that all dates and spellings were correct.

This particular cemetery does not allow upright headstone markers.  All markers are flush with the ground.  As a person gazes over the grounds, the sight is quite nice.  All you see are the iron/brass vases with beautiful flower arrangements.  Here in the south, each cemetery has a designated day of each year called "Decorations".  On Decorations, the families of the departed loved ones, can re-fresh the flower arrangements.  Of course, if choose to, can re-fresh multiple times during the year too.  I suppose one of the reasons for Decorations is that for at least one particular week of each year........ALL the flowers are fresh at the same time........looks fairly uniformed. 

Five years ago, this week, I convinced Ronnie that he and I should pick out and pay for our cemetery lots and markers.  Our lots are next to his Mother's and Father's lots   (Ronnie's father passed away several, several years ago).   Here are pictures of 2 corners of Ronnie's marker (and will be mine too).  We always shared a love for nature.

 

As you might can see, there is mud around the grooves.  There is still raw dirt surrounding the marker and we have (finally) had a couple of hard rains since the marker was installed.  So the rains made the mud splatter onto the marker.  I went un-prepared.  My next trip (soon) I will have a jug of water (to wash off the mud), scrub brush and an old toothbrush (to get into all the nook-n-crannies), and mineral oil and old rags (to give a "shine").

photos added

I just finished downloading 20 more photos into the In Remembrance album of Ronnie's.  Most are very old, near the bottom of the list.  Also a few added that were taken during the past 6 years.

REMEMBRANCE photo album

I am fairly satisfied with the results of the new photo album (top left column) I have created, labeled "In Remembrance".    There are currently 32 pictures. 

For my deceased husband, Ronnie.

In the future I will post a small reminder after I have added more pictures of him. 

Now is an excellent time to sign up to receive email notifications on when I update.  Enter your email address in the top/right block  & click on "subscribe me" button.  There will be one confirmation step to do through Feedblitz to complete the subscription.  Easy!!

I WANT

This has been the hardest post to find the words I want to use.

My husband, of nearly 31 years, died suddenly last weekend.  He was only in his mid-fifties.

I want to express what a superb husband, father, and son he was.  I want to convey how he thought his grandchildren "hung the moon".  I want to describe every characteristic which made him so wonderful, even the irritating ones too.  I want to tell you how many, many friends he had and how each friend fulfilled his joy for living.  I want to describe how much he loved to fish and hunt.  Fish for any kind of species.  Hunt during any type of weather, any location, and for practically any kind of animal.  How he tried to pass the satisfaction of a "good and safe hunt" and conservation on to our youth.  I want to brag how he never gave in to various illnesses or aches & pains over the years.

I have recently started remembering all the family members, dear friends, and his pets that have passed on before him.  I know that he is now with them all.  They are likely having one gigantic fish fry.  These thoughts give me both contentment and loneliness at the same time.

I want to celebrate his life.  I want his business to thrive in his absence.  I want to be thankful for the years we had together.  I want to tell him that he didn't have to pamper and spoil me the many ways that he did.  I want to look in his face and tell him "I love you".  I want him to hold me in his arms again.

cats - an odd bunch

Wait!  If you are a dog lover / cat hater, please give me a chance.  You might find this informative helpful amusing, aaaww what the heck, read on.  When a person wants to obtain a new dog, with a little research, he can decide on a breed and fairly much knows what kind of disposition to expect from “that” dog.  With cats, you NEVER know.  Cats’ dispositions are all different, even from the same litter.

Up until 4 years ago I had never owned a cat, or kitten.  Four years ago, we bought some extra land with a barn on it.  At that point, we were informed by the previous owner that “his cat” had a litter of kittens in said barn.  The 6 kittens were about 4 weeks old, draining momma cat to skinnyness.  We immediately started taking moistened kitten chow, once a day (an hour’s round trip drive from our house), to help supplement momma cat’s milk supply.  Did this everyday for 2 weeks.  When the kittens were an estimated 6 weeks old, we took 2 (1 female and 1 male – spayed and neutered) home with us.  Found other good homes for the other 4.  Momma Cat stayed at the barn, where she is still very happy to this day.  My daughter and son-in-law would be moving to this property very soon anyway to take care of Momma Cat.

Back to my 2 (now indoor) new kittens.   The solid black one is named Baby.  Here he is drinking from the water faucet.  He RUNS to the sink anytime someone is in the bathroom.  He “insists” we turn the water on.

Baby does NOT like strangers.  He growls when hears an outside door open.  He runs and hides in the top of my closet if strangers actually come in the house.  Baby has an odd choice of “people food” preferences, refuses fish and chicken, but he likes mayonnaise and sharp Monterey Jack cheese.

Gidget (alteration name for Midget, because she was the runt of the litter) is my female, indoor cat.  She’s just a plain, grey, run-of-the-mill Tabby.  But now her personality is exactly like her mother’s (her biological mother – not me).  Never meets a stranger, loves to be petted, will be a nuisance if you let her.

I could go on and on, but I won’t.  I’ll just show more pictures of our current, and previous pets.  All 4 of our cats have completely different personalities, even tho 3 of them are females. 

Trix cat – an outside stray that appeared at our house 1 ½ years ago when she was estd. 6 months old.

Snickers cat – an outside stray that I rescued from a warehouse 10 months ago

when she was estd. 8 weeks old.

The dogs.......Emma Jane (border collie mix) and Tessie Mae (lab and who knows what mix).  Both rescued from the local animal shelter a year and half ago.

The custom headstone for

Bell

and Brownie.

Today’s “EVER CHANGING CRUSADE”.........please have all your pets SPAYED AND NEUTERED.

(this posting imspired from

Phlebitis

i'm typing 1 handed, 1 finger,pick, pick.  if it is not 1 thing wrong lately, it's 2.  now i've developed phlebitis in my right forearm where the IV was during, 2 weeks ago, my hospital stay.   there are 2 good veiw points to this now........ 1.  i'm left handed........ 2.  the pain in my arm is over riding any pain i might have concerning the appendectomy of 2 weeks ago. 

I  WANT TO GET BACK TO NORMAL.   ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

back at "work"

Since it's been a few days, thought I'd give an update about myself.

Stayed home and "walked the rooms" all day Monday and Tuesday.  With the thoughts of "the more I take off from work now, the more days I will spend at work" before my retirement days can begin.  In that note, and I was felling up to pare, I returned to work on Wednesday.  My hubbie obliged in driving me to work, an extra 45 minute drive out of his way (isn't he sweet!!?).  Did good.....not great....but good.   My co-workers are super, they made certain that I did not pick up anything over my 10 lb. limit and they have been very patient with me too.  Guess I did not over do it on Wednesday, was able to return (still not driving myself) again on Thursday.

I must be patient.  This inconvenience shall pass.  I WILL be back to normal, eventually. 

I  REALLY MISS NOT BEING ABLE TO PICK-UP , or get down in the floor with,  "MY GIRLS".

get well wishes

Thanks to everybody that has sent me "get well wishes".  That is VERY sweet of you!! 

About the only thing I CAN do right now IS sit or walk through the house.  I can only watch so much TV, and sitting for long periods of time is not good recovery method.  They, the medical staff, says walking and being in a some what active state is the best therapy to a speedy recovery.  I agree.  So I have been laying out my race track from the kitchen, down the hallway, passing the living room and a return lap.  THIS is all I can do.  Sit and type on my blog. Sit and watch TV.  Walk about the house and observe all that needs to be done (but can't do yet).  My discharges orders included "no clothes washing, no sweeping, etc. etc.  Boring!!!!!!   Except for the fact that I can be on the computer is my only sanity.  I HAVE TO HAVE MY DAILY FIX ON THE INTERNET.    LOL!!!

Thanks again for your comments!!  I am doing very well.  Still working on resuming strength and endurance.