Man and His Dog

A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.He remembered dying, and that the dog walking beside him had been dead for years. He wondered where the road was leading them.

After a while, they came to a high, white stone wall along one side of the road. It looked like fine marble. At the top of a long hill, it was broken by a tall arch that glowed in the sunlight. When he was standing before it he saw a magnificent gate in the arch that looked like mother-of-pearl, and the street that led to the gate looked like pure gold. He and the dog walked toward the gate, and as he got closer, he saw a man at a desk to one side.

When he was close enough, he called out, "Excuse me, where are we?"
This is Heaven, sir," the man answered.
"Wow! Would you happen to have some water?" the man asked.
"Of course, sir. Come right in, and I'll have some ice water brought right up."
The man gestured, and the gate began to open.
"Can my friend," gesturing toward his dog, "come in, too?" the traveler asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we don't accept pets."

The man thought a moment and then turned back toward the road and continued the way he had been going with his dog.After another long walk, and at the top of another long hill, he came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate that looked as if it had never been closed. There was no fence As he approached the gate, he saw a man inside, leaning against a tree and reading a book.
"Excuse me!" he called to the man. "Do you have any water?"
"Yeah, sure, there's a pump over there, come on in."
"How about my friend here?" the traveler gestured to the dog.
"There should be a bowl by the pump."
They went through the gate, and sure enough, there was an old-fashioned hand pump with a bowl beside it.
The traveler filled the water bowl and took a long drink himself, then he gave some to the dog.
When they were full, he and the dog walked back toward the man who was standing by the tree.
"What do you call this place?" the traveler asked.
"This is Heaven," he answered.
"We ll, that's confusing," the traveler said. "The man down the road said that was Heaven, too."
"Oh, you mean the place with the gold street and pearly gates? Nope. That's hell."
"Doesn't it make you mad for them to use your name like that?"
"No, we're just happy that they screen out the folks who would leave their best friends behind."

Way to Get Out of Debt

It is a slow day in the East Texas town of Madisonville. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. Times are tough, everybody is in debt and everybody lives on credit. On this particular day a rich tourist from the East is driving through town. He enters the only hotel in the sleepy town and lays a $100 bill on the desk stating he wants to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one to spend the night. As soon as the man walks up the stairs, the hotel proprietor takes the hundred dollar bill and runs next door to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 and runs down the street to pay his debt to the pig farmer. The pig farmer then takes the $100 and heads off to pay his debt to the supplier of feed and fuel. The guy at the Farmer’s Co-op takes the $100 and runs to pay his debt to the local prostitute, who has also been facing hard times and has lately had to offer her “services” on credit. The hooker runs to the hotel and pays off her debt with the $100 to the hotel proprietor, paying for the rooms that she had rented when she brought clients to that establishment. The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so the rich traveler will not suspect anything.

At that moment the traveler from the East walks back down the stairs, after inspecting the rooms. He picks up the $100 bill and states that the rooms are not satisfactory…… Pockets the money and walks out the door and leaves town. No one earned anything. However the whole town is now out of debt, and looks to the future with a lot of optimism.

Nice Note from the Netherlands

One of the people that I sent a post card to received my card yesterday and sent me a nice note back. She's a young lady that is studying Pharmacy at the University of Utrecht and lives in Odijk. Here is her note:
Hi There! Thank for your nice card. I like your blog a lot! It's really
funny. Thanks for the music you 'send' me.

The ladybugs are really great! In dutch they are called Lieveheersbeestjes,
which is english for lovely-lord-animals haha.

Bye!
Meike

To see the cards I've received, please check out my other blog: goblepostcrossing.blogspot.com

Dallas and Her Artwork

I guess artists run in our family genes. Jordan is a great artist and now Dallas is becoming one. Her pictures have progressed just in the last week since she learned how to make a circle. Here are a few of her pictures: The first one only had the head, arms and legs. Then she started to add hair and grass. Today she made the picture of our cat, Willow!

Strawberries

They don't look good enough to eat but they won't get overripe.

Peace Signs and Tie Dye Shirts

I heard that the peace sign is coming back. Did anyone save their shirts with the peace sign on it? I wrote on Facebook for everyone to put a picture of their tie-dye shirts if they still have one. Scott VanderMolen put a shirt on and it's just beautiful. He's an artist so it had to be pretty.
Another tie-dye from Maria. I have to see if I have any pictures with tie-dye. I must have one somewhere.

Vampires, Would They Bite Me?

Since mosquitoes don't bite me, am I exempt from getting bit by a vampire? We discussed that on Facebook. Now today we discussed if vampires are vegetarians. It's a good debate. I figured that they are not vegetarians but it doesn't matter because they drink the blood of humans and not animals. So, maybe they're vegetarians. Who can say anything on the subject of vampires.

What Mosquitoes?

I never get bit by mosquitoes. Everyone is slapping and hitting and the next day scratching. Not me. I don't know why but I guess they don't like me. Not scientists are showing that people who are 'stressed' don't get bitten. Well, I don't know about that. I know a lot of stressed people that get bit! But I believe them when they say that it could be a combination of the body chemicals that the mosquitoes may not like the taste of on some people's skin and blood. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I have that chemical. I don't sweat like a lot of people do but evern when I do sweat, I don't get bit. I've watched them land on my arm, walk around and fly away. I'd be a happy camper, for sure.

Plastic Continent

I just learned about the Plastic Continent. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it contains 3.5 million tons of trash, 80 percent of it plastic, and is more than 2 times the size of Texas. Instead of clear waters, there is nothing but a sea of plastic, bottles, fridges, furniture, cigarette lighters, lightbulbs, fishing nets and garbage. Unbelievable and unbearable.

Jamie Makes Associate of the Month at Kohl's

Click on the article and you'll be able to read it.

Angie has her baby

Denny wasn't too far off from the weight. I'd say closer than the doctor's prediction on the weight. Of course, I was right. Angie and Mike have a 10 lb 1 oz baby girl! So cute. Grandma Sue Bronson is really excited. Now she has two grandchildren, Brady and Izzy. The baby's name is Izabell Sue. All the luck and love to the Gallagher family.

Dallas Turns Three!

Dallas is three years old now. Time for a two wheel bike with training wheels. Wow, I was still riding a three wheel when I was ten...well, maybe not that old! We didn't have knee pads or helmets back then. Probably should have. That's probably why there are so many goofy people in the world now...falling with no helmets! Anyway, she had a good birthday. Besides the bike, she got a Tinkertoy Set and a few other things. Dallas, Jamie, Sue, Denny and I went to Chuck E Cheese for her birthday and we celebrated with pizza. Dallas had Sue running all over the place. I think Sue was having a great time. When we got home, Dallas got a call from Kayla wishing her a happy birthday, she blew out her candles on the first try, and opened her presents. She had a lot of fun. Sue made a butterfly out of the tinkertoys. I wondered why she was so quiet! Real concentration. So now Dallas started her 4th year! I can't wait to see what new things and what new conversations she's going to have with us. So smart.

Here's a picture of Sue's butterfly.

Boy, was Denny wrong that time!

Denny told me that Angie's baby weighed 11 1/2 pounds! Sue, (grandma) read it and commented! The baby is around 8 lbs, 11 oz. Isn't that just like a man to get it backwards?

Linda and Sue

We visited with Linda and Sue, who are daughters of Bob and Betty Bronson one day at the Bronson trailer. Jennifer, Linda's daughter and her children were there. Linda is like her dad, she never changes. Still skinny, lucky girl.

Annette, Roger, Dylan and Kayla

Annette and Roger are our dear friends that we hang out with. I should say that we're at their trailer most of the time. Annette and Roger make all the meals. Roger at the grill, Annette in her kitchen. Kayla spent the whole week playing with Dallas. She said that she wanted to keep her. Kayla is really good with children. Dylan hangs around with Denny when he isn't with his friends. He helps Denny at the flea markets, which, by the way, was a waste of time for Denny this year. The economy is so bad in Michigan that no one spends money. Annette left for three days while we were at Sandy Pines. She went on the 60 mile cancer walk in memory of her sister Tammy. She came home with blisters on her feet but she made it. We're really proud of her. They have two dogs, Duka and Copper. Cute little dogs!
We had lots of laughs with the family.

Our visit with Bob and Betty

Bob and Betty Bronson were our neighbors on Charlesgate Ave for 37 years. Her kids were like our kids and vise versa. We were really close. Neighbors aren't like that anymore! Then one weekend, we went to Sandy Pines with Bob and Betty and ended up buying a trailer the same weekend! So we called ourselves 'neighbor, neighbors'. Bob and Betty are the nicest people to have as neighbors and friends. Randy used to call Betty "Betty Tippytoes". I don't really remember why. He'd sing "Hey Betty Bronson, Tippy Toes, Tippy Toes". Bob has never changed in looks! We can't believe it. He still has all of his hair and it didn't turn gray! We went camping with the Bronson family one time at a lake. Betty babysat for me, I babysat for her,then her kids babysat for me and I babysat for the granddaughter! So funny. Betty had lukemia at least twenty years ago but she beat it! I knew she would.
We went to their house to visit them last week. It's always so enjoyable to talk to them.

Dallas and Brady

Sue and Angie came over to our trailer with Brady while we were at Sandy Pines. Angie is pregnant with her second baby. I think it's going to be a girl. I even did the 'ring test' and it circled around for a girl. The doctor told her today that the baby is 11 1/2 lbs so I'm wondering if maybe there are two girls. That would be something! Brady is a little doll. We went to the waterpark and he played with Dallas. He's two years old. Dallas took some pictures and, wouldn't you know it, she took a picture of Angie's big belly! Of course, she didn't do it on purpose.
The pictures are of Angie, Dallas and little Brady.

Tom and Terri Bernott

I was able to visit with Tom and Terri while at Sandy Pines. I'm sure some of you remember the story of what happened to Terri. It's been four years now and she's done remarkably well since that fateful day that she went in for minor surgery and, because of hospital error, ended up in a coma for three weeks and has the biggest change in her life that anyone could ever fanthom. I saw her on a good day. She ran to me and threw her arms around me and said "I missed you". Those were the only words she said to me that day. We sat at our trailer for awhile. Pam, Terri's daytime caretaker was with Tom and Terri. After Pam's shift, Tom does all the care for Terri. He also takes care of her on weekends. He's a saint. It has to be so hard to take care of her. He told me that there are days when she doesn't even know who he is. She smiled when Tom told her to smile for me. And she threw him a kiss. It seems that she understands what we said to her and wants to communicate but Tom said that we'd never know if she did or didn't. Tom was told that she would always be bedridden but she walks without a cane or walker and doesn't use a wheelchair. We went back to their new trailer and visited for a few minutes. Then Tom took us on a boat ride. He said that she enjoys sitting on the deck overlooking the lake and loves to ride in the boat. It was a nice ride. Terri got upset once when Tom went a little faster. I think it was because she was cold. I got cold when he speeded up.
I'm putting some pictures that we took that day. I saw Tom, Terri and Pam a couple of days later riding on their golf cart. I went to say hi to them. Terri never responded to me that time like she didn't recognize me. She laid her head on Pam's shoulder as Tom drove away.

Third Day in MI

Well, it's not cold here anymore. Now it's so humid. We're having a good time. Dallas likes it here. Sue, Angie and Brady came over yesterday. We'll see them again today. Hopefully, all of the Bronson family. We'll go into town to see our dear friends, Betty and Bob, since she isn't able to get out here. Dallas took pictures and she snapped a picture of Angie's belly. We laughed at that. It's a pretty cool picture. Angie is due to have her little 'girl' this month. I did the 'ring test' over her belly with my gold ring and it showed 'girl'. I used to do the ring test all the time and was always right. Anyone else ever do that? Ihat the ring spins, it's a girl, back and forth, it's a boy. We'll see if I still have the touch! Today we're going to the water park here. Sandy Pines has changed a little. The play area is really nice here. Pictures will be added when I get back to TX.

We'rrreeeee Here!

We made it to MI. Dallas kept saying 'Here we go!" over and over when the plane was getting ready to take off. When it took off, she fell asleep. Today is Saturday and it's been pouring rain since last night. Man o' man!
Dallas loves Kayla. She's so good with Dally! She actually got her to pee in the toilet once. We went to the pool today and they had a lot of fun. I'll give more updates later!

August 4 and 5

Randy had the filter removed that was implanted by his lung after he had the accident. He had to have it to prevent a bloodclot from reaching his lung. The bloodclots are gone and, now, so is the filter.

Jordan was here today but can't sit down. He had a cyst removed by his tailbone. Not to worry. He's fine.

Tomorrow we go to Michigan. It's finally warming up there, so they say! It's only 102° here today. Hot, hot hot. But, it doesn't bother me at all.

I have to take Willow over to LB's house tonight. They're going to watch him while we're gone. I hope he gets along with her three cats. He's pretty good with other cats so I'm not worried.

Plato

I ordered a book by Plato on Amazon yesterday. I've never read anything written by him but after my grandson showed me some of his work, I decided that I'd better expand my reading horizons. I never hear anyone talk about Plato. Have you ever read his works?

Did you know that...

I love cats.
I like dogs.
I like to keep busy.
I knit chemo caps for cancer patients.
I paint rocks like ladybugs.
I read every day.
I like Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice.
I like Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp and both have double
letter last names.
I send postcards all over the world and receive them too.
I'm in Facebook.
I list the books I've read on this blog.
I hate mushrooms.
I hate raw fish.
I like John Malkovitch movies.
I like horror movies.
I wonder what happens to scrap metal. Where does it go?
I'd like to be a vegetarian but can't quit eating meat.
I listen to audio books when I drive.
I had a cat named Elvis once.
My favorite car is a 1953 two toned green Plymouth.
My first car was a 1953 two toned gren Plymouth.
My favorite tv shows are True Blood, House, Lost and Grey's Anatomy.
My favorite shows only have one or two words in the title.
I like books about Alzheimer's Disease and Sevants.
I do not want to ever live in a nursing home.
I want to be cremated.
I do not want to be buried.
My cat O'Ley has his own garden. He's in it.
I hate snow.
I'm allergic to contrast dye.
I love dark cherries.
I've been to Europe once.
I've never been to California.
I do not want to go on a cruise.
I hate it when my husband does something big without my input.
I love gardening.

Ladybugs

I've been so busy painting Ladybugs! I got the stones from a stone company. They gave me the stones, actually. I've been painting about 10 a day. All different sizes and shapes. I've given quite a few of them away already. They're good in yards or as a paperweight for those who don't have gardens.

Trip to Michigan coming soon.

We'll be going to Sandy Pines in about three weeks. Good thing we weren't there last week. They had a big storm there and a lot of trees were knocked down. Some fell on trailers. I wonder if it wasn't a small tornado. Denny is doing ok there. Here is Annette's trailer where Denny spends most of his time.
The three stooges on the golf cart are Russ, Roger and Dylan. Denny couldn't fit on the golf cart so he wasn't there. A picture of one of the trees down and a picture of Dylan out on the lake.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Sue and Laurie's yard

When we had the garage sale at Laurie's and Steve's house, Sue went in the back yard and started to pull weeds. Well, after a few visits back to the house, she has their yard looking really nice. New plants, flowers, trimmed trees and a few decorations. Sue's a champion gardener and loves to do it! She's quite a gal.

Dallas' finger, Randy's checkup, weather, and Denny

Dallas' finger is doing good. It still has to be bandaged up and has a ways to go. The injury caused the top part of her pinky to be cut off. She likes the bandage. She's afraid of it hurting without it. I'm thinking that the nail may be growing back but I don't get a chance to look at it long. She doesn't like anyone to look at it.
Randy went to the doctor for a checkup. It's been 9 months since the accident. He has to have surgery on his nose because there's cartilidge in his nose that prevents his breathing. His nose was broken in the accident. But it still looks the same.
Our temperatures have been in the 100s for a couple of weeks. Doesn't bother me at all. I just think of the cold days in winter. The heat doesn't bother me, except when I try to work in my garden. I'll be posting more pictures of my garden soon. So many pretty flowers and a big Swallowtail butterfly was in the yard on my butterfly bush the other day. Just beautiful.
Denny is in Michigan. He played golf yesterday. We talk several times a day. It's quiet around here without him. Dallas is excited about going to MI in August. Denny got her a life jacket. Jamie doesn't like life jackets but we said that it's too bad because Dallas WILL be wearing one in the lake!

Tombstones and Cows

Now here are a few facts to ponder.
Do you know why Christian burial plots are East and West with the headstone facing East?
It's because in the Bible, it says that Christ will return from the East and when Christians rise to meet him, they want to be facing him.
OK. Now, did you know that Muslims are buried facing South East? That's because they want to be facing Mecca.
Alright, now on to another subject of direction. Did you know that cows face North or South? It depends on which way the wind blows. They don't like the wind to blow in their faces.
One day when I was working at Raytheon and I was making copies, I was looking at the ranch across the street. Since the copier faced the window, I had time to look. No, I wasn't goofing on the job. Anyway, all of the cows were facing North. I thought that it looked so funny to see all of them facing the same way. I continued to make copies and when I looked out of the window a little later, all of the cows were facing South! I thought that I was losing it. Somewhere between copies, the cows decided to turn. I sure wish I would have seen them do it! So, when you're driving somewhere, look for cow pastures and cemeteries. You'll know which way the wind is blowing and you'll know your directions.

I found a real interesting article on the web, by the way. It's called Cow Psychology. No, the article isn't where I got my information.

Temperature

It's been in the 100's all week but today we had clouds and rain and it's 90° today! Sure is a beautiful day. My flowers are singing! And the birds! And my windchimes!