Christmas Traditions

The Christmas Season is over for this year. We have our tree and decorations already put away. This year all our plans fell through for the Holidays, some because of the weather, some due to illness, and others sadness over a lost loved one. Our Christmas this year wasn't what we planned it to be at all, but it got me thinking about all the Christmas traditions we all had growing up, some we make up as we grow up and move out on our own, and others we keep and treasure every year to make them live on for everyone else.
I remember when I was a little girl my Grandparents would make a huge dinner and we would go over and eat on Christmas day. It had to be Christmas day or it wasn't Christmas dinner according to my Gran. I also remember being allowed to open one present on Christmas eve.. it was already slated for the Christmas eve gift so was usually something small and fun to play with to keep me occupied until Christmas day. Now that I have children of my own we don't open a present on Christmas Eve. We make sugar cookies and spend the evening decorating them.. and picking the best 2 for Santa. And because our family is so spread out we have a huge family dinner on Christmas Eve for my husbands family, everyone comes in. This is usually the only time we see most of them. All of us together is a riot.. but each person brings a Man's gift and a Woman's gift. And we bring a present for our children to open that night. We draw numbers for the man and woman's gifts and have a wonderful time. We also get together with my Grandparents.. This year was going to be a start to a different tradition.. I was going to cook the Christmas dinner (..on Christmas Day of course) and because my Granda isn't allowed to drive anymore and my Gran can't drive this far my husband was going to get them and they would stay with me for a few days. They would get to see their son and visit with him while they were here. That didn't happen due to the weather but we will try again next year. And the most important tradition I started with my girls is to ask them why we have Christmas every year then we talk about Jesus's birth and what it means to us even now. A new tradition that has started because of Facebook not only do I send out cards to my friends and family far away NOW I send out a Merry Christmas to all those online! I don't know how to do the really neat ones my friends send me they are always beautiful..maybe one day I will... but until then I just send a message or if I'm lucky and find a cute picture I like I send it.
I have asked on my Facebook what their traditions were growing up and really looking forward to what they say. One tradition that has come through is from the Director of HAWK Center, that they all gather around the tree and pick a present for someone else rather than one of their own.. then take turns opening them.. but they also wait for the person to look their gift over and enjoy it for a moment before moving on to the next person. Another one that came through is from one of my Africam friends, that they also open presents on Christmas Eve and use to open the rest on Christmas morning.. but now they wait until about 3pm or so until his sister gets there. It's a wonderful thing to wait on family to open presents!.. Very hard on little ones to wait so long in some cases I think... and some big kids!.. but they learn how great it is to watch someone else opening a gift. A friend of mine also from Africam and from the UK says her Gran started a tradition of playing Bingo!, and instead of playing for money you get little presents, that's a neat tradition! Everyone is together and having a great time.
 A neat page I have come across looking up traditions is HERE. It has a lot of information on there but what I was reading of course was the traditions.. and it tells where some of our most long standing traditions started and why. Now I don't know the validity of the information on the page but it made for good reading and was certainly interesting.Thank you everyone who posted to my FB on your traditions.. if your post didn't make it into the blog I had already posted it before yours came through.. But will add it to the comments! I love learning all these family traditions everyone has. It may give others an idea for their own tradition. This blog could go on forever talking about Christmas traditions, traditional foods, etc.. so I will end it here and wait for more responses and add them as they come in as comments! Until next time...

The HAWK Center

I recently came across a page on Facebook for the HAWK Center (Helping Arkansas Wild "Kritters") while I was trying to learn about all the fabulous birds in my back yard on the Arkansas Birders page on FB. I watched the page for several weeks, reading the updates, watching the videos, reading the good news and the bad. All I could think was... I really wanted to get involved in this place. One story that has held me and many others captive at this facility is the story of 'Ms Perryville' the Barred Owl. Many people who follow this page.. even newbies to it like myself.. fell in love with this owl. She first came to the center in October I believe from being hit by a car... she was released the beginning of November. They were called out again just a few days before Thanksgiving Day because the SAME person found the SAME owl at the SAME place they found her the first time.. and she had been hit by a car AGAIN!! Only this time she was hurt worse. This time instead of getting her bell rung hard as was the case the first time, she had a skull fracture. They didn't know if she would even make it to the vets. But Ms Perryville is a trooper.. she is a survivor. She has healed fast and amazed everyone. Just the other day I read on their page she had started eating by herself when just a day or so before she wasn't able to. Now with reading about this owl, and reading stories about a goose they helped, watching a release video a month or so ago.. reading about the little screech owl that will be blind in one eye that they are rehabbing.. the red-tailed hawks they are rehabbing.. the more I read on this place the more I wanted to drive out and see it. I had never volunteered at a facility before and didn't know what to expect nor did I care what I had to do. I just wanted to see this place that seemed to be full of caring people who healed and loved these animals. I contacted them and went out on a Thursday which is a work day for them. Everyone is so nice, and we were busy! I didn't find out WHY we were so busy until about 2 hours after I had gotten to the center.. A news crew was coming out to do a story on the wonderfully amazing Ms Perryville! So we cleaned the work room, folded the towels, picked up the yard, and a few other things. I was able to see the owls, and they were so beautiful and well cared for. The news crew came in and handled everything quickly and efficiently, and gotta say the camera man was excited about the hawks he really wanted to get shots of them tho the story was about the owl. You can click HERE for the teaser video, news story and the written piece.  After the news crew left I got the pleasure (haha) of taking a scrub brush and a pressure washer to the hawks room.. after they were moved next door of course. And in case you don't know. A hawks poo is made of calcium.. its all white and its like shooting chalk at a wall and letting it dry. It is really hard to get off. After I finished in the Hawks room I was introduced the 2 hawks in residence.. one is an Ambassador Red-tailed Hawk named Kate, the other is a hawk that was probably hit by a car. They are uncertain if he will be released or not due to his injuries, but time will tell. I was also sort of introduced to the Ambassador Barn Owl Tito (laugh) He didn't want to come out of his box to say hi.. he only peeked over the top. They had another young red tailed hawk that had just come in a day or two earlier he was upset from all the noise so we left him alone. But I got to see the little screech owl who looks like he will be released even tho he is blind in one eye. He just has to prove he can catch his own food. And of course Ms Perryville. It was a very special day for me and I am looking forward to going back, and when I do I will get pics.. I need them for here!! So until next time....

Alzheimer or Dementia... Still Painful..

Two years ago my Granda started showing signs of something being wrong.. it was obvious something was wrong. It wasn't him forgetting where he placed his keys or someones name. He thought he had another home and when he WAS at home he believed that wasn't it and he would get very upset saying he wanted to go to HIS home. That this was Gran's home and she needed to choose.. We weren't certain exactly when he fell into this well of confusion but thinking back.. I begin to see a starting point. He use to say he sometimes thought someone was sneaking into the house and opening doors, moving things.. he felt like someone was in there with them. Obviously none of that was true.. but I see it for what it was now. I wish I had then and maybe he wouldn't have progressed so fast. Do I suffer guilt? Yes I do. I feel I should have seen the changes in him.. this is the man who raised me.. he is essentially my Da. It shouldn't have taken the slap in the face of his decline for me to see he was quietly suffering without knowing. As soon as I seen what was going on I stayed with them for 2 weeks got him in to a Dr who diagnosed him with Alzheimer. My Granda fought this diagnosis and still doesn't think their is anything wrong with him.. For about a year he did well on the medicines he was taking. The confusion over the 'houses' was gone.. He did start to misplace everything.. but I could live with this. It was so much easier to handle than seemingly losing Granda down the well of confusion. During that first year my Aunt was able to fly in from Boston and stay with them for a year. She left this past June. Since then Granda has declined so fast. My Granda is gone.. he is lost in his own world most of the time. He has now lost his drivers license.. I completely agree with the decision. But I see my Granda sitting there and he even looks different... I try to visit as often as possible... The girls can see the difference in him. He has been fighting with the Dr who diagnosed him so much about his diagnosis that I told him to get a second opinion from a neurologist.. which I thought he should have seen anyways. He has now been diagnosed with Dementia... but Dementia or Alzheimer they both cause pain.. they both make the sufferer lose ones self... they both make family member watch the afflicted disappear before our very eyes... Does this blog seem a bit selfish.. I guess it could be taken that way.. But as I sit here and type this I think about how he was as I grew up, how he was in the stories my Gran tells from their 67 YEARS of marriage.. I think about how he looked when he held my first baby.. and my second.. I think about so many things.. and I mourn him already a little bit because tho he is still here and he is still functioning he is a completely different person and it is so very very hard to get use to him. But one thing I do know... no matter who my Granda is.. I love him with everything in me and he will always be my Daddy.. Until next time..

This.. that.. and hmm

Well we got our first month of school out of the way. After several days of panic where we can't find our brush.. who stole my shoes.. and did I do my homework? We finally got settled into a system of Get up eat, turn TV's OFF and get dressed and ready for school. Come home do homework PUT THINGS AWAY!!! This is still being learned. I swear the oldest is rebelling. She doesn't want to do anything the easy way. We had our first parent teacher conferences last week. Oldest grades no surprises there A's. The youngest is always a surprise. She is really super smart but she has a challenge.. she is unable to stop talking for more that 2 seconds. I know its 2 seconds because I timed her. Even when you tell her you will duct tape her to the ceiling she HAS to finish what she is saying she can't HELP herself. SO this year is going to be a fun adventure of how to make her be quiet and pay attention. The birds are migrating for winter so I'm keeping an eye out for any new birds making their way to my feeders. I'm excited to get pictures of any newbies. Africa is going thru changes too right now they are going into spring and the rainy season will be starting soon. The grasses will be growing and the Imps will be lambing the wildebeest will have calves all over the plains. The Buffalo will all be calving at the same time. An abundance of babies. The cams will be full of babies in a few months so be sure to peek in an see them. PPO the Africam Potted Plant Owl (pictured above) is laying on two eggs right now due to hatch with in a week or so and the cheetah cubs are growing by leaps and bounds. Things happening and changing so fast. The South African birds will be migrating back like the woodland kingfisher. Will be great to see them again. The temps are getting cooler but they don't seem to stay that way for long here.. but I hold out hope that winter is coming and when it does BONFIRES!! I can't wait!! Roasting marshmallows, hotdogs and my brothers potato soup! yummmmm Lots of laughter and fun.. As long as the kids behave and keep the sticks to themselves.. we have had enough injuries already! Hmmm I wonder if I have rambled on enough. If not their is always tomorrow! So until next time..

Long Summer...

Wow has it been THAT long since I posted?! Well.. It has been a long summer full of very high temps, no rain, stuck in the house all day due to the heat and no where to go! For once this year we didn't have a trip planned. My Granda was diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease a year ago June and so we spent a lot of time in Oklahoma. BUT we did get one of our summer projects done despite the heat. In the early morning we washed one of our big rocks made sure we got all the moss and dirt scrubbed off the top. It has such a great shape. It didn't take long for it to dry but we let it dry for that day because once the sun came out it was unbearable! Temps stayed at about 112f most of the time during this time or better. The next morning after making sure it was still clean we got out our paints and counted off our squares for the checker board. Because it was such a lovely dark rock we chose bright colors. A bright pink and a bright blue and using sponge brushes we sponged circle 'squares' on our board. It looks so unique and lovely! The girls were so proud of themselves. We had gathered some flat stones and painted them accordingly but they just didn't look right. So we later went back to the store and searched for something that we could use for pieces for both boards when we get around to painting the backgammon board.. which honestly I will probably end up painting while they are in school. What I found are the glass accent rocks you find in the craft section. Here is our finished

board.. It was taken before we bought the glass stones. We may change yet again the game pieces. Trying to find the right pieces. but the board is awesome! We started on our cloth backgammon sets but are having to do some revisions. We have all the pieces cut out and just need to glue the pieces of cloth onto the felt and paint the dots in the dice. Also need to make the pouch for the button game pieces.. this is another part of the project I'm trying to figure out how to do so we wont have a lot of pieces every where. I am thinking about making a pouch attached to the back to hold the dice and the buttons. Here is a pic of the materials we have to use. I've assembled the pieces and have taken another picture so you can get an idea of what it will look like put together. Another problem I'm having is the glue makes
the material stiff which is something I was expecting. I'm hoping with use it will become more pliable. The colors and patterns are all chaotic :) big smile. My girls have a good eye for making the the mind work. They wanted clashing patterns and colors. They did a wonderful job. But even tho they clashed a bit they still went together real well.. at least to me who loves clashing colors and patterns so this may be my chaotic mind loving it!

The buttons may get replaces at some point but they work for now. They are cheap game pieces and easily replaced if lost. But they have such cute buttons out that I can't help but want to buy butterflies or dragonflies. Its not perfect cuts which adds to its charm and the girls are excited to get them done. The same concept will be done with the checker boards. But I think,  like I did with the out side board, we will make mismatched 'squares'. I like the idea of a bunch of odd ball circles as our checker board 'squares'. And we may use pieces of cloth as the game pieces..We can glue together two pieces of cloth and make one side the 'king'. Ha as you can see the checker board is still in thought process after my fail attempt at the backgammon board. But we will not give up! They make such charming sets. Now as to the rest of the summer. The girls and I have decided to do some bird watching. We have been surprised at how much we LOVE this activity! I have made contact with some bird watchers in our area and I think we may be going on a birders tour soon. We have enjoyed learning what birds are in our own back yard. This includes visually seeing the birds and identifying them and hearing the calls and identifying them. We set up some feeders so we can take pictures of the various birds, but I will save that for the next blog. SO until next time!

Copper Sun by Sharon Draper

This month my book club read Copper Sun. An amazing story about a girl in Africa who had never laid eyes on a white person until the day they came into her village and killed her entire family and took her and the other young and healthy men and women in her village away in irons. Marched them to the coast where they were branded like cattle sold to slavers and shipped to the colonies. This girl Amari has to learn how to be a slave and what that word even means. Her body is no longer her own, and at the age of 15 she is abused by many. This story should be read by everyone. It gives an amazing depiction of one girls life from freedom to captivity and slavery to her escape and the trials she must face even seeking the freedom she craves. Sharon Draper put this story together so well.. the emotions, how the people of that time Black and White, felt. The horrors of what slaves went through and the sadness they endured. And not only did she bring us into the life of a slave she also gave us an education on indentured servitude. Amari was sold to a rich plantation owner who also that day bought an indentured servant about her age. This girl sold her services to pay off her families debt. Most people didn't know anything about indentured servants. They were just as abused as the slaves only thing is that they could become part of society after a time because they were white. But the indentured servants indenture could be sold to anyone. Essentially if they made their masters angry the master could sell them to whore houses or other horrible sickening lives. I didn't give many details about this book on purpose. I want people to read it. It was an unbelievably fast read. I hated putting it down. The story was fast paced, it never bogged down. This was not a book I would pick up on my own. But I'm so glad I read it and recommend it for ages 16 and older. Mostly giving this age rating because Amari is abused, severely beaten, and other emotionally gut wrenching, but necessary scenes that are needed to tell this story and for it to have the impact it was meant to have. If you have read it I would love to hear your comments and if you haven't you really should then let me know what you thought. Until next time..

Schools Out For Summer!!

This year will be the first summer holiday for my youngest daughter. I don't know if she is really looking forward to it or is excited about not having to go back to school or is true to form...just goes with it. My oldest is an old pro at summer and really enjoys the lazy days.. as long as she has a book (big glowing smile!). So for this summers activities I have planned weekly Library trips and some crafts. I decided my oldest was old enough to read the Twilight series much to her excitement so she is in the process of devouring number 1. My youngest is happy to read her books to her 'class' of stuffed toys because she plans on being a teacher like Mrs. Taylor. So this weeks library visit is out of the way. As for all the crafts planned for this summer most are cheap (my fave!) and relatively easy and because they love boardgames we are going to make some! Every year we paint rocks.. we have zillions of them and the painted rocks look pretty in the flower beds. SO this year I decided instead of slopping paint on them like they have been in the past the girls will have a couple of projects. I found 2 large mostly flat rocks that they are going to pain a Checker board on (with a little help from masking tape and me) and on the second large rock they are going to paint a Backgammon board (again masking tape). They have to figure out what colors they want to paint the two sides then how to mix the paints. Then they have to find 30 small rocks for the game pieces. I'm going to be a bit specific about this since they are going to be for both boards. I want the game pieces to be flat rocks so they can paint them the colors they want them to be but on one side paint a gold crown for when a checker has been Kinged. Now they will have an outdoor checker set and backgammon set to play. We also drive a lot in the summer to Oklahoma and back. So I thought it would be fun if they made their own roll up checker sets and backgammon sets and maybe become really creative and make a chutes and ladders sets (if you hadn't noticed they like checkers and backgammon). to make these I thought we would buy felt in the colors they choose for squares and the triangles of the checker and backgammon boards, and buy pretty material they choose to glue it to (this may actually have to be sewn.. I will see) And they can pick the color/style of buttons for their game pieces. Because we are going to use felt I can buy Velcro to help the pieces hold on to it, so I need to make sure I have some hot glue for my gun to glue that on. The Chutes and ladders one will take some extra thought but think a fun print with red felt chutes and gold felt ladders would work. I can make little pouches for all the pieces to go in with a drawstring top that they can leave in the game and just roll the whole thing up and tie closed. I haven't planned anything else until all these are done! I'm really hoping they work out it sounds like so much fun to do and the girls are really excited. Keeping them busy, active and creative is really important! If they finish we may try recreating or making up other boardgames. Pictures etc to come of these projects. Wish us luck! If you have any summer projects please share! Until next time...

A Post About Nothing!

I don't have anything life altering or deep to post.. basically right this minute I'm waiting for the dryer to ding so I can hang up jeans before I go to bed. I just watched the Boston Bruins lose a chance at the Stanely Cup and the Washington Capitals (ugh) move up. I am also trying to remember what else I was suppose to do before I finally drag myself into bed and hope I finally get some sleep. HA! I'm sure it will come to me! At church tonight my Preacher said his mom always told him a clear conscience was the best sleep aid.. so now I sit here and think.. do I have a clear conscience? and If not what do I feel bad about.. For the life of me I can't think of anything I may have done or said to cause me to have insomnia so much. I normally always enjoy going to church. Just being inside makes me feel good and when my Preacher gives his sermon it nearly always feels like God wanted him to talk to me.. Bro. Patrick my Preacher does say when a sermon moves you and you say I wish so and so was here to hear that! .. It would be great if they were but those who hear it are the ones who needed to hear it.. I know he says it better but that's basically it. I've thought that many times about a wonderful, deep sermon.. how I wish so and so was here for that.. but then remember what he says and start to think what did I need out of that.. I usually get a good lesson just thinking that over.. My nerdy tendencies are at work in church.. I take notes while he preaches.. I write down all the verses we need to look at, I write down important points he is trying to say... geeky I know! I have started walking with my friends mom every morning, and I love it. We walk as fast as we can for about 30 minutes. Its great exercise and I get to spend time with a friend. I also just started belly dance classes! All I need to say is OUCH.. stomach and back muscles are sore! but again it is great! I am hoping my uncoordinated self can figure out where all my body parts are suppose to be eventually. My oldest daughter is working on 3 writing projects for end of year (lazy teachers don't want to mess with teaching anymore this year) grades.. We have to make a solar system with an asteroid belt, a poster of Earth with facts and why beings would want to live here (sigh) and one on Mars.. Surely I'm not the only parent that sees lazy teachers getting out of teaching by putting all their grade in these projects. Good thing my baby is smart, creative and loves to write (don't know where she got that!). She will be done and turned in on time. There is the dryer dinging and time for me to put jeans up.. then bed! Hopefully for a good nights sleep. One last thought.. If you have never had South African Koeksisters your missing out.. easy to make and soooo yum... worth the little effort you have to put in.. Melktert is just as yum.. its a custard type dessert with cinnamon...my next SA try will be Bobotie.. and Vetkoek.. makes my stomach growl just thinking about it. Until next time..

Life a Soap Opera?

Some days it seems the things that goes on just piles on and it should read like a Soap Opera. Some moments are less believable than others but no less real.. and you just think really?! The only thing missing is your little sister coming into the room saying she is pregnant with your husbands twin brothers love child but it could also be your husbands.. but that's only if he was the mysterious man who she met at the bar.. HA some of those scripts are hilarious.. they should just follow real people around and they would get some great stories! Brothers who swap wives every 10 years.. yep I have seen that... have to say thank heavens I'm not related to them but my half brother is.. (soap opera!) Oh my I could keep going and really clean out closets.. but then I wouldn't be a bit of a mystery.. big laugh... I know some who LOVE when their life is chaotic and drama ridden and thrive on the attention.. and others like me who just want to be left in peace and never have drama of any kind.. I know I like to keep my head in the sand.. keeps the voices down that way... and I can pretend I'm sane a bit longer. And then their are those rare ones who don't like drama but seem always to be having some.. I have to question do they enjoy it a little to have so much of it... but who honestly knows. I bet Police officers and bar tenders could really tell some stories... But I have always wondered where did all this stupid stuff come from in Soap Operas? The magic and ghosts... all the weird stuff.. I thought Soaps were suppose to be a reflection of true life.. if true life was rich women being total witches (the non magical kind) and the men being devious, dying, coming back and mysteriously having a twin.. I will admit I don't watch Soaps.. blasphemy I know.. I learn about them thru other people and commercials.. but I do remember them from when I was a little girl and my Grandmother watched them all.. no one dared touch the aluminum covered rabbit ears and try to switch channels until her soaps were over! I am sitting here watching hockey as I type this.. shows how good the game is (not) but this was just a way to make myself smile tho it is all true. Whether it does you or not.. can't say I'm too fashed about...big smile... but hope you got a chuckle out of something I wrote. So until my next chaotic ramblings.. or another terrible hockey game.....

Death of the Faceless

      Two weeks ago this Wednesday a 14yr old boy in my daughters Middle School attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself in the boys bathroom at the Middle School. He later died from his self inflicted injuries that Friday and was put to rest this past Friday. To my knowledge I have never seen this boy before, I have never spoke to him.. I don't know his little sister or his brother. His death shocked our community and put a spotlight on our schools and the big question of 'Was it bullying?' Some say yes, some say NO (the school mostly) some have even stated it was the worse case of bullying they had ever seen.. who to believe.. It obviously needs to be fixed. This boy's death has affected me in many ways.. anger at people who didn't do anything when they noticed something wasn't right, anger ,anger, anger.. The thought that this boy was so hurt and disheartened and beaten down in spirit that he would rather die than face the rest of his life has bothered me and I hope many many others here. I mourn his passing without having known him. When I passed the church the day of his funeral I seen all those cars there and had to fight that anger again.. all those people are there now when he is gone but where were they when he needed them to help him.. at that age to ask for help from an adult is almost impossible.. the adults in the kids lives have the responsibility to know when something isn't right... and the kids friends who he CAN confide in have the responsibility to take real concerns to an adult. I know these kids are great actors.. but even the best actors can't keep up a performance 24/7.. their is always a tell.
    Yesterday I found out Iris had taken her own life as well Jan. 5th on her daughters birthday who would have been 16 this year. I have never met Iris, I have never verbally talked to her. She was a chatter on Africam and later on NatureTalk. I had chatted with Iris for at least a year. Knew about some of her life and a little of what happened to her daughter. She posted poems, pictures, etc.. of her life in Norway. Her life was isolated and not many neighbors. Town was a good journey from home. Iris would have been 33 this year.. just a year and a half older than me. She lost her daughter when she was 5yrs old and never got over her death. Iris's friend Silje says she feels this is what made her take her life.. This kind woman was alone and in mourning for not only her baby.. which is probably the worst pain a person can go thru emotionally, she is mourning her parents.. she is alone and turns to a chatroom for company. We gave her something she couldn't have otherwise.. friendship with faceless people. I was happy to give that to her, she was always very nice and had a lot of stories.. some exaggerated.. but who cared.. it was a good story. She is going to be missed on chat so very much by many of us at Africam and Naturetalk.
   Two faceless people, two suicides, two very very different stories. These two separate acts of desperation to be free and seek oblivion are hard for many to understand.. some say they are weak.. some say stupid.. I say they were afraid to seek help they wasn't sure or they didn't think was there.. they were afraid to take anymore chances to reach out and find help or a listening heart. And they were tired, weary of the pains, pressures, and hurts put on them by others.. Kindness is a gift we should be sharing.. no matter how dreadful some people seem, no matter what station they have in life, no matter their natures.. God was kind and loving to everyone he met.. those that were hated by others.. adulterers.. sinners.. EVERYONE... so how hard can it be to be kind and loving.. you NEVER know the impact a simple kindness can be for a soul seeking the oblivion of death. One loving gesture or one simple kindness can bring a person back from the brink.. Instead of saying something scathing or cruel because you feel they don't deserve anything else.. a smile, a God Bless you, or reaching out and asking a perfect stranger who is hurting.. 'Are you OK?' 'Do you need help?' and sometimes telling them they are not alone will help them fight for their lives. Kindness is God's gift to man if we use it we can help save lives of those who are lost in the dark clouds of their minds.. Help bring them back instead of making the hurts worse! You NEVER know what a person is TRULY going thru and let the first man without sin cast the first stone...  These two people were both faceless to me.. one I didn't know at all, the other I knew from a chatroom.. They are both gone because they couldn't stand to face another day in their lives. Look at your loved ones today and make sure they are truly OK... Make sure you hadn't missed a cry for help. I know I have been with my family.  Until next time..... 

Critters

I have always been an animal lover. Growing up I loved cats and dogs.. normal pet animals. Then we had a sort of farm with horses and a couple of chickens even a few ducks and pigs. I loved the babies of everything. It didn't matter if that baby was a slimy little frog if it was tiny it was cute. The last place I lived with my parents was in the woods 88 acres of woods.. and beyond those 88 acres was more wood. But this is where we had our tiny little sort of farm. I watched the deer with their fawns and the coyote pups..tho wasn't often I got to see the young ones. But growing up in that setting you would think I would come to know the names of all the animals I was watching. I knew an opossum when I seen one or a raccoon. But I couldn't name a bird, or a muskrat or a hedgehog. I often would look at a bird and wonder what kind it was or hear a pretty song and wonder who was singing it. I grew up and moved out and into my own home which happened to be out in the woods.. only nearer the mountains. I became immersed in the wildlife of Africa because of Africam. I can name many many birds, mammals, etc. from South Africa and can even spout off some pretty cool facts that I have learned over several years. But I still kept looking at birds out my window wondering 'What are you?' and hearing songs and thinking 'Who is singing to me?'. I was so pleased when Critter (his nickname) of CritterWindow found a room I was chatting in (of course it was about African wildlife) and told me about his wildlife cameras in Indiana at http://www.thecritterwindow.com/cams.htm. I have been visiting his channel nearly every day since and have learned many of the most common visitors there and starting to learn the songs too. Everyone at The Critter Window are great to help and are fun to chat with, Indy one of the moderators of the chat has even put up a bird cam in her back yard so The Critter Window has a total of 5 cams to view. Tho he keeps his mostly on the bird feeder and creek. Which is my personal favorite. In summer he puts a whole roasting chicken in the water for the fish and the turtles.. I only got to see this once and it was pretty neat. I have found an excellent website to help me learn the birds and even their songs; I go to http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189&ac=ac and put in the birds name if I know it and learn all about the bird and it even has a sound byte of the birds song. It's a really great tool to use. I still watch my Africam and am still learning birds etc  for SA animals but now I watch and chat at Critters channel too so I know what I'm hearing when I go outside. I will be outside listening to the birds singing and actually knowing who some of them are not.. so until next time....

Valentines Day?

I never understood Valentines Day... It is such a commercialized holiday I really don't care for it.. I try my best not to make a big deal of it. I buy a card for my husband and tell him not to get me anything. Not that I don't mind chocolates like any normal female out there.. but I would rather him think of buying me my favorite chocolates on his own without having a holiday reminding him I like them. It actually means more to me when he does. I like flowers but would rather have a new plant or rose to plant outside.. cut flowers just don't last and seems such a shame. I guess I'm really not romantic either because I don't care to be taken to a restaurant and treated to a candle lit dinner.. it just seems so cheesy. Take me to our favorite restaurant instead.. the one with my favorite dessert (Tiramisu)...  Because of all the hype and the pressure the kids put on their peers I feel obligated to buy my daughters Valentines presents and send it to school. Your apparently not cool if you don't have this done. I don't remember ever getting a gift sent to school except for one time I was dating one boy and he sent me 2 dozen roses to school. I was shocked and a tad embarrassed... even now thinking back I can't believe someone would waste that much money on some cut flowers. I know I am not the only person out there to feel this way about Valentines Day... and I know I'm not the only woman to say don't get me anything and actually mean it. But those poor men, they were trained from childhood to always get momma, sister, wife, and daughter a gift EVEN and ESPECIALLY if she says 'don't get me anything' because we supposedly don't mean it.. and their are those few women out there that DO say this and actually don't mean it and the guys get in trouble and make it harder on us who actually DO mean it. But when they do we accept it graciously (I hope) and with a loving smile because those sweet clueless men in our lives have tried to make us happy and make us smile. And in their way let us know they think about us and love us still after how ever long its been for you.. for me its been almost 16 years. But you have to admit its those little treats that mean the most. Like when they come home after they know you had a bad day with your favorite root beer float from your favorite place.. or your favorite coffee from Starbucks.. or even your favorite candy just because they were there and seen it and thought of you. THOSE are the times when it really means I love you.. when they didn't have a holiday to remind them to tell us. And now I sit here and wonder.. do I show him I love him in those same small ways... hmm will have to sit and think a while. Until next time.... Happy Valentines Day

Where Have I Been?

I haven't written in a while now.. seems the world hasn't slowed down long enough for me to have a look at what was going on around me. The days have fluctuated between almost cold, cool and are we sure its not still Spring? It is the beginning of February and we haven't had any snow this year.. tho we more than made up for it in rain. Honestly not much HAS been going on I just haven't taken time to think about what to write about. I have read a lot of books between last post and this one.. but none really stand out as being amazingly note worthy. Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy.. post apocalyptic book that is libel to give me nightmares.. but read it for my book club meeting which is tonight. The Hunger Games movie will be out soon and several other women and I are really looking forward to that movie. Expect a full blog on it when we get out but before that movie is the One For the Money by Janet Evanovich. My book club, my clubs hosting library and I all plan on going to see it together if we can..It should be great. The books were so amazing it shouldn't be too hard to make a movie out of rich text as Evanovich gives us. I have also heard they are making a TV series out of Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter books! I am in a romantic readers movie heaven.. I don't watch a lot of TV but will make a huge exception for these. I have gone back and reread my Hunger Games books getting ready for the movies and am currently in a book slump. I need to find me something to read.. new authors maybe try some new genres. Just so long as I get my happy endings! I never understood why people wanted to read depressing books or sad books.. they always made me sad and depressed. Any book ideas let me know... I'm off to the library to do some author searching and maybe come up with a new one. Until next time....