20 yrs ago….

Birhan’s father…”I wrapped her in a shroud and prepared to bury her, but I didn’t have a shovel to dig a grave”, he said. A lot of people were dead, lying on the ground like leaves, and I didn’t want that for my daughter. Eventually some people helped dig a grave.
But as the farmer prepared to bury his daughter, he noticed a slight pulse. He badgered the nurses to look again, and intensive care restored her health.

And yes I do sit on the floor with my niece and nephew!  

I have ordered a few things online already. The ‘big’ gift for my husband may not arrive for up to 3 weeks. Guess I should have ordered it a while ago. The problem is there are hardly any places to hide big things in here, not even in the basement or they will stick out like a sore thumb. I need to find my Christmas cards too. I buy one box of new ones and the rest are usually found at half price sales. We will take a family photo on the new red sofa as soon as we get around to it. I use to send out ‘newsletters’, but I now send out ‘what’s new?’ paragraphs instead. Other people I know use to send those newsletters that sounded like ‘brag’ letters. I notice my old college friend hasn’t sent one for a few years. The last contact I had from her was when she tried to write a poem about her family and it wasn’t that good. I had done the same thing a year earlier, so she got the idea from me. Anyway, here’s a spark meme…
When was your childhood over? Do you agree with the concept of adolescence, or did you go from being a child to being an adult?
I know there is a distinction between a child and an adolescent. I’ve seen enough kids go from innocent children to moody teenagers. It’s those raging hormones!
I do believe deep inside us we keep the child we were hidden and bring her out once in a while, whether it’s sitting on the floor playing with my niece and nephew or drawing a silly picture. I have a collection of dolls from my childhood-yes Barbies and I love them. I even would love to design clothes for her one day. I think ‘turning into an adult’ requires responsibility to yourself and your family, especially if you have children.

BTW, the code they give you to cut and paste is completely messed up and I spent a bit correcting it so it would show up!

I have been extremely upset about the plane crash that took three lives and almost two others. I can’t imagine what the families are going through. Susan St. James is a cool lady. I always liked her tv shows ‘McMillian and Wife’ and ‘Kate and Allie’ from the 1980s. She is really down-to-earth even naming her two oldest kids Sunshine and Harmony. She lost her 14 yr old son Teddy by Dick Ebersol on Sunday. Now I can’t listen to the ‘Five for Fighting’ song….’15, there’s still time for you….you’ve only got 100 yrs to live…’ without thinking of this recent tragedy. St.James hasn’t been doing much lately, so I guess she left show business to raise her younger kids. This parallels with a plane crash that happened near here at the end of the summer. It was two brothers-one from England and their two boys. For some unknown reason they swooped down and into the airplane shed. Someone I know on one of my groups had the same thing happen to her former boss who had just retired and was looking forward to ‘the rest of his life’. Damn that sucks.

I have a teen so blogs by teens interest me. I want to see if teens are any different than teens in the late 1970s when I was in that age group. The girls talk about boys and ‘forever love’ and ‘you are my only one’, etc. so they pretty much are the same. The boys are either geeky-they talk about computers and games or are matter of fact like my son’s blog-‘we went to Dover on Saturday….’ He doesn’t like that I look at it, but what does he have to hide? I am not judging him by his blog. It’s a public blog, so anyone, even his mom can look at it. I don’t know if you agree, but it’s not like I am analyzing every word of it either. It’s the girls I know who worry me. One is a college freshman and she seems lost and unhappy. She seems to be tasting the brew a lot and her words are a jumble. Another girl I know, well her spelling is atrocious and she talks of not wanting to be her mother who I know. Sean mentioned a guy we know so I was looking at his blog and his was like Sean’s only ‘geekier’. I was checking out his prom photos as Sean liked the same girl at one time and she picked this guy though Sean is cuter, but she probably had less in common with him. I don’t like reading the ‘f’ words in blogs. The kids think they have to use it for some reason. To me it’s a lack of vocabulary and I’ve told Sean this.

I wanted to add how special my online friends have been to me in remembering my birthday. My friend in Ireland not only sent me a lovely mini-rose bush (see my photo) but also a pretty cross stitch kit plus a little mirror and pillbox with cross stitched designs. I love getting anything handmade. My friend Angela sent me a ‘kitchen angel’ made out of dish towels, a pot holder and some measuring spoons and a little fairy with a flower petal dress. Karin sent me a little pin cushion chair and Belgium chocolates. Terri sent me a trio of black candle holders with hanging clear beads and crystals, a keepsake box, a little resin basket and a t-shirt from Alabama. My brother sent me handmade wooden flowers from where he works on the weekend ( a gallery in Fort Lauderdale). My friend Barb is sending me a gift from Colorado. I feel truly blessed to be remembered by them all. My entertainment center is covered with cards.
So back to the weekend. On Saturday we took a late afternoon trip to Dover, Delaware which is about 52 miles away from here. We just couldn’t get our act together. This strip of the Dupont highway has tons of shopping and restaurants, but I mainly wanted to go to the Atlantic Book Warehouse. It’s one of my favorite stores and I get to go there once or twice a year. It’s almost one stop shopping. I also buy things for resale on eBay. Mom enjoyed it too. I get my love for books honestly. After about one hour or so in the book warehouse, we went to The Olive Garden. My mom had never been in one. We had to wait about 35 minutes. We had a really nice waiter who looked like a young Tom Hanks with a beard. Mom loved the bottomless bowl of salad. After dinner we hit a huge Dollar Tree store and I spent about $40 in there. The last stop was Michaels as I was looking for some extra things as gifts for my brother Don’s birthday on the 28th. The weather had turned rainy and Brian kept turning on the defroster and roasting Sean and me in the back seat. When we got home we finally had my birthday cake. I would say it was a much better birthday this year.

Is that an ear of corn in your pocket….or are you just glad to see me? This is from some other pre-Thanksgiving, because GW just ‘pardoned’ two turkeys this year so they won’t be ending up on some family’s dinner table. The look of his face is just….let’s say priceless!

My mom came out for my birthday and ended up staying 2 nights and sleeping on the new sofa. I was to meet her at the Outback Steakhouse on Friday, my birthday and the darn restaurant doesn’t serve lunch. Why didn’t I call first? We tried another place that ‘use’ to have excellent pizza in the same shopping center and they were gone too. We ended up with premade cold sandwiches from Starbucks of all places. I look at my mom and my heart breaks a bit more each time. She has aged a lot since she’s been sick last year. She is thin and her hair is wispy. Brian said he is truly amazed that she is driving at all this year because of the way she was last year. Back to after lunch. I am a hopeless collector of cross stitch stuff. There is a great shop across from Starbucks that I have been going to for years. I went in and bought myself some overdyed floss and charts that I don’t need. But I will probably use them sometime. We went back to the house and I opened my gifts from everyone. Brian gave me some nice soap and lotion, a cross stitch program for the computer and two amarylis bulbs. Sean gave me Bridget Jones Diary-lol-I had asked him a number of times to rent it for me. Yes, he has a chubby mama just like Bridget. Now my mom over did it. I asked for t-shirt style night shirts and maybe a crucifix for my collection and she got both. Then she got Christmasy items (why do people who have birthdays in Nov. get gingerbread houses and ornaments?). I opened an old cigar box that she found in the basement. She said it had had a rubber stamp in it with my name on it and some pencils. That was a long time ago as I didn’t remember it. Inside she had a lovely red necklace with round crystals that she and my grandmom had had forever and a blue rhinestone pin that belonged to my grandmom. I read the card and started to cry as it was so me. Maybe the tears were more for the box and the jewelry. I am tearing up now.
So we went down to ‘The Grille’ a local restaurant for dinner and I got steak Diane (of course) and it was really scrumptious and we all had too much to eat. So much the Carvel ice cream cake that sat in the freezer until the next night. I didn’t ask for it as I had showed Brian the two containers of Haagen Daas in the freezer. I swear that man doesn’t look or listen sometimes. More tomorrow….

1) What is your first name? Dianne
2) Were you named after anyone? My mom’s name is Jeanne so she said (she is here) she took the last part of her name to make the double ‘n’ spelling of my name.
3) Do you wish on stars? It’s so clear here, it would be a shame not to admire them.
4) When did you last cry? Last night because the birthday card my mom gave me moved me. Plus she gave me jewelry that belonged to my grandmom.
5) Do you like your handwriting? Yes, I get hand fatigue like Mindy.
6) What is your favorite lunch meat? Turkey.
7) What is your birth date? Nov. 19th.
8) What is your most embarrassing CD? A Bobby Sherman Christmas one that my brother gave me a few years ago because I was a fan of his when I was a kid.
9) If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
I think so as I like to be creative and see new places which is interesting I think.
10) Are you a daredevil?
I use to love rollercoasters, buy I don’t think I could handle anything too fast now.
11) Do looks matter?
I like neatness, and cleanliness first. Then your personality. But if you don’t know someone and you are attracted to them, you will look at them.
12) How do you release anger?
I usually blow my stack if I am really peeved at the person.
13) Where is your second home?
My mom’s house.
14) Do you trust others easily?
I usually have to know someone to trust them.
15) What was your favorite toy as a child?
Barbies, Lite Brite, Spirograph and coloring books and tablets (markers and crayons too).
16) What class in high school was totally useless?
Algebra and Geometry. I have no math brain.
17) Do you have a journal?
You are reading it. I was keeping a food journal for a month to see if I could make a connection with how felt with the food I would eat.
18) Do you use sarcasm a lot?
Only if I sense sarcasm if I am trying to discuss something with another person.
19) What are your nicknames? Diadsie-dyed see. Thanks mom. That’s about it.
20) Would you bungee jump? If I didn’t think I’d pull a muscle or something, but I seem to be able to hurt myself easily these days.
21) Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? Yes.
22) Do you think that you are strong? Yes, I’ve been through a lot lately. I like to have people do things for me once in a while to hold up my moral.
23) What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate anything.
24) Bush or Kerry? Kerry
25) Pen or pencil? Fine tip felt tip.
26) Football or basketball? basketball.
27) Shoe size? Was 7.5, but 8 feels better.
28) Red or pink? Red
29) What is your least favorite thing about yourself? My stomach is too big.
30) Who do you miss most?
My grandmom who helped raise me and lived until she was almost 97.
31) Do you want everyone to whom you send this to send it back?
Hey you can steal it for your blog too!
32) What color pants are you wearing?
Usually black.
33) What are you listening to right now?
The tv is on the BCC channel with an auction show on.
34) What was the last thing you ate?
A breakfast banana bar thingie.
35) If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Aquamarine.
36) What is the weather like right now?
In the low 50s and a bit rainy.
37) Who is the last person you talked to on the phone?
One of my brothers who wished me a Happy Birthday
38) The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Eyes
39) Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes.
40) Who was it? Mindy — got if from her blog
.41) What is your favorite drink? Apricot Sour
42) Favorite sport? Walking.
43) Would you rather sing or dance in public? Dance but I have sung in a choir.
44) What will you be on Halloween? I don’t dress up.
45) Do you wear contacts? No.
46) Pet peeve? Liars.
47) Goal in life? To be a good person and help others.
48) Last movie you watched?
Van Helsing-Oh Hugh Jackman!
49) Favorite day of the year? Christmas.
50) Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.
51) Summer or winter? How about Spring? I like summer better.
52) Hugs or kisses? Do I have to choose. I’ll take either.
53) Mountains or the beach? Beach
54) What is your favorite dessert? Do I have to repeat myself-chocolate anything!
55) Who is most likely to respond? Not sure, but Mindy was right!
56) Who is the least likely to respond? I don’t know. Everyone else? LOL
57) Living arrangements? In a ranch house with my husband of 20 yrs and our 18 yr old son and cat Cosmo.
58) What books are you reading?
Little Altars Everywhere by Rebecca Wells the Ya-Ya author.
59) What’s on your mouse pad? Crayola crayon stamp design from the post office.
60) Who was your first true love? Michael Barbarick from high school or was it Steve Hepler in jr high?
61) What did you watch last night on tv? What Not to Wear.
62) Favorite smells?Gardenias, roses, lily of the valley, rain, oregano, chili powder.
63) Rolling Stones or the Beatles? The Beatles.
64) Do you believe in evolution or creation? Both. I believe in Evolution but also that God put the whole thing in motion.
65) What’s the furthest you’ve been from home? Cancun, Mexico on our honeymoon.