My Return to Blogger

I left you back in September 2017 when I took a trip to Germany with my mother-in-law. I promised to share some of the sites I saw with you. Unfortunately, this did not happen after I returned home that October.

A cousin of mine (once removed) passed away on Halloween 2017 shortly after I returned home. She lived in another state but we frequently talked. I won't say that this caused the funk I ended up being in but it contributed to it.

On November 12th of that same year, my father passed away. It was the day before what would have been his wedding anniversary with my mom and I like to say he was in a hurry to get back with her and her life in heaven. In essence, we had been estranged since he married my stepmother when I was 13. Yes, I lived with him but, he worked 3 to 11 and I only saw him briefly on weekends. As a child, I was a daddy's girl. I've always loved him and I always felt loved back, until he remarried not quite 10 months after my mother's death to an abusive woman. He turned a blind eye to what was going on and the older kids grew up and moved far away and contact was minimal and many years might pass without communication. I prayed that she would pass away first but this was not to be.

At the funeral home, pictures were on a monitor and on tables for people to look at. He was shown with his child with his 2nd wife, with her and friends of their daughter. No pictures or other indications were that he had 2 older children. We were included in the obit but so were pseudo relatives, 3 of his siblings were missing and his father's name was wrong. At the church, the 2 older children were excluded from escorting his remains to the altar but the pseudo relatives were included.

There was not a procession to the cemetery, but the grave side service was started before the 2 oldest children arrived there. I finally blew up at the end when everyone was leaving. No, I did not get physical but, my mouth went into overdrive when I let the wicked stepmother know that I felt she was malicious, a liar and vindictive. Many things that had been eating at me and eroding my mental health since I was almost 14 and at his funeral I was 60.  After all of this, I had some relief in knowing that I no longer had to claim her as family although, I have really had to put in some extra effort battling my chronic depression. So you may have noticed, I have not posted anything since before then. What you are not able to see is that I have not crocheted anything since then either. One of my favorite things in life did not motivate me. I made a few stitches a couple times but that's about it.

I am at the point that I believe I am moving on. I want to return to blog land on a more or less regular basis. Mainly this blog is for me and friends I make here are cherished bonuses.  I hope you will join me here as I share my crocheting and other things with you.

God bless all of you....

Sharon

Happy Birthday!!!

To my dad I'm sending you hugs and best wishes on your birthday--Back in the day, you were the best!

Look What I Found on Ancestry...

Way back in the early 90s, I became enamored with tracing my family tree and I worked it for about 5 years or so. That was back in the days before Internet and Ancestry.com were easily available. I was on Prodigy and there were some message boards I used and I used microfiche/film and other reference materials at the LDS Family History Centers close to where I lived. Then I got side-tracked and put little additional effort in researching for more leads. As a matter of fact, it had been so long, that my data files were stored on a floppy disc! 

A few months ago I bought a new genealogy program. The other day I finally installed it. The previous program I was using was Personal Ancestral File and that program is no longer supported. I purchased  Family Tree Maker Deluxe.  With this program, you can update your tree at Ancestry or on your computer and then sync them so all the changes show up on both places!  When I bought this program I got a 3 MONTH free trial for Ancestry.com too (I don't know if that was a limited thing time or not). I found this picture of my great-great grandparents on Ancestry and now I see where the chunkiness in the family comes from. 

 Once again, I'm up and running after my ancestors and filling in the blanks and looking for more branches.

Take care everyone!

Sadness in Our Home

Our Opi passed away this morning. We weren't expecting it so there is much sadness here. Here's a look at happier days with him.




For more about Opi and his sister Nellie Belle, you can see their blog here.

I've Been AWOL from Here

I've been missing in action here again. I did go to Illinois to visit family and friends. It was a whirl-wind trip. Son Matthew went with me and we were constantly on the go. Even though we saw everyone we set out to see, I felt like our visits were too short. I brought some crochet items as gifts but spacey me forgot to give the slippers I crocheted to 2 people I had them for. I'll make it up to them the next time I see them. I got carried away talking and visiting and forgot about taking pictures. My son took a couple but he's not familiar with my camera and  they turned out blurry. Anyway, here's what we did.

Met up with an old high school friend and we went to Aurelio's  in Frankfurt, IL for pizza and chat. The pizza was great and the chat was even better. Beth is a great friend and I miss her dearly. Here's a blurry picture   of us--

Our room wasn't ready when we checked into the hotel so we went to the cemetery and put out flowers for my mom. It was between Mothers' Day and  Memorial Day so I decided to go with a patriotic theme for the decorations.

Mom

Grandma and Grandpa

For the first time since I graduated high school back in '75, I saw the lady who taught me to crochet. I thanked her several times for teaching me. Crocheting is a great stress reliever for me and I feel like when I give someone something I've crocheted it comes from the heart because of all the hours it takes to make a project and the happy thoughts about the person I'm making the item for. Anyway, she's in her 80s now and no longer crochets because no matter how she sits, her back hurts. She told me to stop in and visit any time I'm back in the area. To be honest, I'm not sure she remembered me.

After not making a trip up there the last 4 or 5 years, I was rather surprised at how much a couple of older relatives have slowed down. I need to make an effort to make a trip more frequently.

My aunt is taking care of my cousin's twins who were born last fall. They're the cutest little things. The little girl has longer hair and very feminine eyebrows. She's definitely the alpha child (is there such a thing?) and she has a very dominant personality. She wasn't happy when I tried to hold her. Her brother on the other hand, not only was I able to hold him but I was able to feed him a bottle too. His hair is shorter and his eyebrows are thicker and he just looks like a little boy already. I took the blankets up there that I've procrastinated about mailing. It was such a long time since I held a baby and I was amazed at how heavy the little ones were! Got me wishing that there were more little ones around us. .

I visited with my cousin and it was very nice. We met at Jameson's Pub and dined outside. Food is delicious there and service is great too. I had a hamburger that was too big to finish at one sitting. I had a small cooler with me so I put my leftovers in it and had the rest for breakfast. I often eat crazy things like that for breakfast, I hate to waste food. Her mother is my aunt who passed away last Thanksgiving. I put some flowers out for her at the cemetery too.

Before I made the drive, Ray had the tires and oil changed in the truck. I'll be darned if my uncle didn't notice a strange sound when he rode with me and after getting it checked out, I had a bad wheel bearing. I'm pretty happy that he noticed it because I could have had a bad accident driving home. So, I extended my stay and had it fixed. My son ended up missing a day at work. Even though he called the day before, he was given a point, or as I call it, a demerit for missing work. He works at Wal-Mart and they're really mean about those things. I've been contemplating boycotting them but then again, my son still works there and is getting a check so I should be less quick about the boycott thing.

We made it home safely and my "babies" were happy to see me.

Nellie Belle

Opi

I have a few ends to weave in on my latest project then I'll post a picture for you.

Take care everyone and hugs,

Sharon

A Great Family Day

Yesterday, my younger son and his family came over to have a cookout with us. I am so thankful when they come to visit because they are always so busy working with their "not the same" working hours. So, I made cupcakes that the girls went crazy over (just from a cake mix I got at Aldi's). We had some crab salad and potato salad, baked beans, chips, Nathan's Hotdogs and thick hamburgers with all the toppings. It was pretty  much traditional picnic food and not too complicated so that made the day even more enjoyable.

Son burning cooking the burgers

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My baby boy son

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The oldest kid Ray "Keeping Things Cool"

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 Hey, dil Karen was already cool in the pool!

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dil and granddaughter of my heart

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Great-granddaughter of my heart.

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Of course the babies were there too.

Today I'm remembering those who sacrificed so much for us.

 Have a great week everyone.

Mothers Day 2011--

I had a quiet Mothers Day yesterday. Both sons were working but son #2 did come over on his dinner break to surprise me. Love it when the sons drop in--the fridge gets emptied of the left-overs! :)

Anywho, here's my handsome son #2:

And here are the cute gnomes he and his wife gave me for Mothers Day:

Search Amazon.com for garden gnomes

Happy Birthday Uncle!

It's my uncle's birthday today. He's a great guy and I just want to wish him a "Happy Birthday." He's my mom's baby brother so he's still a young puppy. :)

Whazzz Happenin'

Not much going on here. DH and I spent a lazy weekend. I did finish the baby cocoon I was crocheting. I'll hold off on posting a photo of it until I get the matching hat done.

I'm making the blue one.

Winter storm is supposed to move in tonight. I have plenty of canned food on hand and a few MREs and the camping stove with several bottles of propane on hand just in case we lose power. Also have a few of the gallon-size bottles of water. If we get the word that the water will be cut off I'll fill the bathtubs up for miscellaneous needs. I just expect everything to be ok though.


The oven on my stove stopped working and I haven't had it for 2 years yet! I've always bragged about how quickly the oven pre-heated and I mentioned to dh that it seem to be taking a long time and he said "check it." The darned thing was stone-cold! I had mixed up a batch of cookie dough this weekend and tried to bake some snickerdoodles and I ended up resorting to my toaster oven to make them. The bottoms got a bit too brown but we ate them anyway. :)


Son #1 is going to Colorado this week. Hope he doesn't get snowed in there. I really don't want him to go there especially this time of the year but he's a big boy and I guess he can handle himself.


Need to get to the store to do my "coupon" shopping at Walgreens. Y'all take care...

Birthday Greetings...

If my mom, JoAnn Jungles French, would still be with us, today would have been her 74th birthday. She passed at the age of 33 from a stroke. She is still missed by my brother and me. Angel food cake is being served :). Love you mom...

A Belated Birthday Greeting & Getting Old and Things Are Starting to Fall Apart!

I was so wrapped up in myself and some dental phobias yesterday that I forgot to make a post saying "happy birthday" to my "baby." He's a big bouncing baby boy of 31 now! I did remember to get him a present so I'm not a totally derelict mom :). Happy belated birthday Justin!

I've had an achy tooth for a couple of weeks. It wasn't excruciating or anything, just a low-grade ache. I procrastinated going to the dentist but I started picturing having a toothless grin and I decide to cave and make plans for a dental visit. I get the insurance information from dh and schedule an appointment. Of course, with insurance being as it is, my previous dentist wasn't in the "network" and I had to get a new one. So, off I go to the yellow pages and find a "new" dentist and I do mean new. Turns out he just graduated from dental school this year. At first I was apprehensive to have this "kid," younger than my kids, delve into my mouth with his pointy instruments of torture! To my surprise, he was very gentle and took the time to show me the x-rays and explain what was going on. Seems like I need a root canal. Ugh, gasp, oh no! I've never had anything more than a filling except for the 1 wisdom tooth I had pulled. I've heard all the horror stories and now I'm sitting on pins and needles! Tomorrow is the day. I wanted it scheduled asap because the end of the year is coming up and I know that after the 1st of the year the new insurance deductible and all that starts over. I have no idea how much this is going to cost so it's best to get it taken care of before Jan. 1st.  I don't want to go!!! My question--will the tooth fairy leave a quarter under my pillow after this????

Happy Birthday Ray!!!

Today is dh's birthday.  He's 4 1/2 years younger than me--sshhh don't tell anyone!  Here he is coming home from work today and Opi and Nellie Belle are greeting him with balloons. I made him a cake and brought home some KFC--one of his favorites. I told him that we'd go this weekend and he should pick out something for himself. I never know what to get him. I said he should get whatever he wanted as long as it didn't have wheels because he's been talking about Camaros, Harleys and Ford 4x4s.  Men and male menopause geez... ;)

Hope y'all are having a great day too.  Hugs...

Search Amazon.com for male menopause

Family...

This verse will hopefully be an inspiration to an angry not-so-young lady in my extended family:

⁸ Anyone who does not look after his own relations, especially if they are living with him, has rejected the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (This is from 1 Timothy 5)

I don't "preach" my spiritual beliefs.  I attempt to follow them.  I informally say my prayers off an on throughout the day as if the Lord was in the room and we were conversing.  I say "thanks" for whatever I have to be grateful for and ask for His help with problems--whether the outcome is what I want or just receiving the strength to handle what is coming our way.  I make a lot of mistakes, perhaps not as many as when I was a more foolish young person but mistakes just the same.  I'm human as are all of us here on earth.  I'm getting better as you will too.  The Lord will forgive us if we sincerely try to do better and are sorry for our errors. I've had a family situation recently that tried me tremendously but I am getting through it.  I hope the lady the above verse is meant for will read 1 Timothy and take his message to heart.

No matter what you have said out of ignorance or by knowledge gleaned from hateful sources, I love you.  I don't know if you'll see this but if you do, know that you are forgiven.

Sorry for being so gloomy today dear readers.  I just had to get this off my chest.

Best Wishes on Your Birthday Dad

Dad, where ever you are, I'm sending you loving wishes for your 78th birthday.

Why I Have a Copyright Mark on Some Photos

Every now and then, you will see a photo on my blog that I have posted a copyright statement on.  Why do I do this you ask?  I do this because there is one individual who haunts my blog to see photos of my sons and then badmouths me.  So, if he wants to save copies of my photos then he has to deal with the copyright mark on them.  If any of my real, true friends want copies without the copyright mark then send me a message and I will happily send you a "clean" copy of the photo.  Sorry for the inconvenience...  Hugs Sharon


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It's The Big 5 Oh!

Happy birthday baby brother!!!

Another Birthday...

Today was my birthday and I'm 39 AGAIN lol!  I can only do that for a few more years because then I'll be the same age as my son :).  Anyway, I was born my grandma's birthday, her first granddaughter, and we used to celebrate together.  Here's a picture taken on my 10th birthday and her 62nd.  I have the glasses on. I really miss her...

A Look at Our Christmas 2009

My brother,his fiancee and one of my nephews were able to visit us at our home in Kentucky from their home in Arkansas. They brought their little fur babies too. Our fur babies had a great time with them. Here are some high-lights of their visit with us. I hope you enjoy. Of course, you won't see me because as usual, I am the photographer lol. You may turn off the blog's music player by scrolling down the column on your right side and clicking on the parallel lines on the player. Hugs to all...

I'm Slow so Sue Me lol...Here's Halloween Pics

Here's a few pictures of Halloween at our house.  My daughter-in-law is the little devil and my son is the handsome fellow with her.  You can see ggranddaughter and granddaughter. Ray and ggranddaughter posed with the giant tomato.  The dogs also dressed up so that they wouldn't be caught nekkid by other trick-or-treaters! Hope you received more treats than tricks...

Finally Home

I was recently pretty sick and went to the emergency room dark and early Monday morning.  Today (Thursday), around 5PM I was finally discharged from the hospital.  I just wanted to say "Thank You" to my wonderful family and friends.  You kept the phone wires burning to cheer me; or you who were close came to visit.  You all kept my spirits up and really shortened my stay in the hospital with  the prayers you made on my behalf.  I love you all.... Sharon