Is it time already?

Richard will be leaving for DC in the next couple of days, to start a new chapter in his life. No matter how old my children get, saying goodbye always involves a few tears for me. We had a small Xmas eve dinner with my mom, she fixed her great potato soup, and we all exchanged a few presents. She told me that "...after all, I may not be here next year..." And so it goes. It snowed a few flakes here yesterday, and of course everyone was in total awe.

81 years young!!!!!

Happy birthday mom!

Sad weekend.............

This weekend Shida's mom was laid to rest. She was indeed a faithful servant all her life, and will be missed. The day was cold and rainy, as if tears were being shed from above. We will miss you Mehri.

Things I am thankful for............

1. My wonderful husband to whom I have been married for 31 years.

2. My son Robert. Sometimes he reminds me so much of myself its scary. I love him with all his flaws.

3. My son Richard. He is totally different in his personality, but yet he and his brother have a strong bond that cannot be broken.

4. My mom and how she has decided (well, right now at least) to live near us.

5. The fact that I found the Baha'i Faith many years ago and still I continue to mature in Gods word.

6. That when all is said and done, I have a warm house and plenty of food in my belly every night.

All is right with the world................

Rich is home...finally. He is his same old self. Robert is home also on a short visit. Tomorrow we will all have a belated Thanksgiving at my Moms. I love my family dearly.

A wonderful time..................

It is getting oh so close to a good many good good things happening.....Richard will be home next week from his 27 month stay in Lima Peru, (didn't think the time would EVER pass), Robert will be coming home a few short days to say hello to him. My mom is going to cook a late Thanksgiving day dinner for everyone. Since her birthday is December 19th, I have begun to get her some presents for both her birthday and the holidays. Also, we have made arrangements with the SECU to make our money wise breathing room a little easier.

so sad...................

It seems that everything is happening to us at once around here. Our beloved old cat, Tiger, breathed his final breath Saturday. He was 17 years old, which made him 84 in people years. He only weighed 5 pounds. Needless to say, he was quite weak.

Our heating unit has all but quit working, and we found out that it was the same age as Tiger also! We are keeping our fingers crossed that it will hold out until the next month or so.

The guttering from the side of our house blew off during a windstorm.

Ack, what can happen next?

Robert come and gone, new project started.

Robert has been home the last 4 days, a very nice visit. We had a birthday dinner at Jones Seafood. I had grilled shrimp, nothing fried for me, and no hushpuppies! I have started a directional scarf, with triangles. It is surprisingly easy once I finally caught the knack of how to do it.

gluten free, becoming part of my life...........

Becoming gluten free is not as hard as I first thought it would be. We have joined Lovey's Market, which has a host of gluten free stuff in it, even great cookies, pasta, and pizza! I have decided to stop paying $6 for a loaf of bread, and I bought a breadmaker on Amazon. I have not tried it yet, I am waiting to run out of the stuff I have. I am allowing myself one treat a night, be it popcorn, cookies, or just fruit. I think I am finally getting hold of the munchie addiction. On a lighter note, Robert is coming home this weekend, yay!

argh, gluten everywhere.........

Dr. Bridger in all his wisdom thinks that I am gluten sensitive. Today I went my first complete gluten free day, and I have to say that the results have been pretty positive, no *ahem* bathroom moments. I am amazed that gluten is in just about every product out there. Tomorrow we are going to Fresh Market to see about gluten free foods that they carry. While we are there, we plan on getting a bite a Zoe's Kitchen, a gluten free restaurant here. Hurricane Earl whizzed by us last night, just some blustery wind, not even a drop of rain!

Winds a blowin...........

Will Earl hit us or not????? All eyes are on the Atlantic right now. It looks ominus.

My Son

I can see your pain,
My son, I can see that you hurt.
Share with me your troubles,
I am here for you.
I look at you,
sad and distraught,
I remember when you were born,
the dreams I had for you.
How we would play, and,
how I would teach.
I stood in awe of you,
my precious little man.

You were so innocent,
free of this world.
Now I see your anger,
at what your world has become.
My love for you could be no stronger,
a part of me you are.
I want to help you,
but you must let me in.

I will help you grasp this world,
and try to put the child back in you.
We have such little time,
to play and learn together.
Share with me my son,
all that troubles you.

You will learn that I'm not perfect,
and that nobody is.
But my love for you is so great,
that my heart is crushed,
when your down.
I will always be here for you,
my precious little boy.
I will stand beside you,
and lift you when you need.

Let me help you,
I will do all I can.
I may be able to do nothing,
just hold you in my arms.
I may not understand your pain,
but together we can work that out.
I can see that your hurting,
please let me in.

cnn

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/living/2010/08/23/pkg.schwartz.israel.garden.cnn.html

1 sock down, another one coming along......

yyyyaaayy, my first sock is finished! Today I decided to make a list of some things I want to do before I turn (ahem) 60.....

walk in the rain.
make love outside somewhere.
try at least one new recipe a week.
lose 50 pounds. (ongoing battle I think)
take a cruise somewhere. (kinda iffy on that one, since dh is afraid of boats)
buy a new bike.
ready at least 1 new author a year.
eat a new food.
take a bellydancing class.
take a kickboxing class.
Go somewhere different in the world. (itching to go on another trip somewhere)

still hot, still working on the socks!

This past weekend we went down to Georgia and visited Roger's parents for the weekend. It was blistering hot there, past 100 most days. While there we went to brother Richards new house in Atlanta, and had a family get together.

I am still working on my socks, I have 14 inches on the first one. Everyone was very impressed to see me knitting on 4 needles!

socks!!!!!

Well, I cannot believe that August is almost upon us, and Roger will be heading back to work soon. On another note, I am getting new glasses tomorrow, ack, another sign of getting older. On the brighter side, they will be transitions lenses, something I have wanted for a long time. I started making my first pair of socks 2 days ago, I
was determined not to let some innocent looking double pointed needles be my undoing.

ack, no water!!!!

Well, wouldn't you know, at the hottest time of the year, a water main burst? Now we are on mandatory water restrictions, plus we cannot drink the water here, at least for the weekend. On top of that I have a UTI that has been a pain in the bum for at least a couple of weeks. Zia gave me some pyridum, now my pee is bright orange and I am in fear of it staining my clothes.

On a different note, I am finally taking the plunge and making some socks, or am going to attempt to. I am also going to make a table runner for my mom, and have plans for a "manly man" scarf for Will for Xmas. Ah, projects to keep me busy.

Hotter than love in August, as my mom would say.......

Today the paper posted that we have had MANY days in June that we the hottest on record (no kidding). It is only 3 short months until Richard will be home, I can't believe the 27 months has gone so quickly.

its been fun........

I have had 2 years of playing on a facebook account, and tonight have decided to delete it completely. I have found out that the pc is picking up numerous viruses from that account, so it is bye bye time. From now on I will be recording my thoughts daily on this blog.

Tonight was Rogers' dad's b'day. I cannot believe that he is 85 years old. Then again, I can't believe my mom is 80 and my kids are 27 and 23, and that I have been married 31 years. Where does the time go in our lives?

Sand in the hour glass
So tiny
Insignifigant
Yet so full of importance
Time that cannot be regained
Sand in the hourglass
Permanent
Finate
Precious

Peru 2009 Visit with Richard in Lima and Ica

2008 Pilgrimage to Haifa and Akka with commentary

For Robert

Speak to me.

Talk to me.
Tell me what I see in your eyes.
Your silence is deafening.
My mind is full of voices
all saying different things.
At one time
you having the courage to speak
would have validated my worth.
Now
I take that power
that burden
away from you.
Speak freely.
Talk to me.
Tell me what I hear in your voice.
Speak on behalf of our friendship.
Form the thoughts racing in your mind
into words so that you will see
you can trust me.
I will know I can trust you.

A New Day

Spring is coming
A new year
Rebirth of all things.

Saplings show their buds as they take on a come hither air.
The ground begs for seedlings.

The warm air beckons me out.

Our love will grow again this year, as it has the years before.

I wait for you...............

As the long dreary, cold day wears on; a thought suddenly is in my mind:

I Wait For You

I sit in silence counting counting the hours

I wait for you.

I read the paper, hearing the crisp turning of the pages

I wait for you.

I do all the mundane tasks required daily of a home

I wait for you.

Often man made sounds alleviate the silence for me

I wait for you.

Toward the evening hour I make preparations

I wait for you.

How I long to see your face, smell your smell, hear your voice

I wait for you.

Do you wait for me, I wonder?

a poem for Roger...........

You Were A Sincere Thought Made Real- For Roger

I watch you sleep in the brilliance of
morning's light-
the grey in your hair
glistening in the sun.

I love the way you make a cup
of tea-
just the right shade of dark
sweetened perfectly.

I am captivated by the authenticity
of your honesty-
nothing speaks more deeply to my
soul's heart than your genuine-ness.

I whispered, "I love you", into the silence that
surrounded me-
no image preceded those oft repeated words
which were passed from my heart to the ear of God
to your heart.

I watch you sleep in the brilliance of
morning's light-
the grey in your hair
glistening in the sun.

another Ayyam-i-ha come and gone..............

This year I had a very nice Holiday season. On Friday night we had a large party at Shida's, and a Santour player was there that had all the kids enthralled. The next day Roger and I had dinner out (after dividing our meals into take out boxes of course!), and visited all the shops I wanted to go to for gifts; b&n, ann taylor, and ulta. On Sunday we went to another party at Mary Lou's, and had lots of good food yet again, and played some fun games.

oh the weather outside is frightful............

It snowed here, 5 inches, the most in a decade! Well, I don't have to tell you that the entire city has almost come to a standstill. Roger and I went out this morning, found weightwatchers closed, could not find a restaurant open (finally had to get a kids meal at cracker barrel). Saw some teens riding their boogie boards down a hill, and you could see the grass peeking out from under the snow. Went to my moms and had some homemade veggie soup for lunch, she was totally surprised at the little teapot i got her for valentines day, as well as some apple butter from cracker barrel that she loves.

another year, almost

Well, Roger just had his 57th b'day. We celebrated by having a great dinner at Indochine Restaurant, which serves Thai food. Tomorrow is our 31 anniversary. Roger does not know it, but he has some balloon and flowers being delivered to him! And next week is Valentines Day, then Ayymiha is coming up, which I have no presents yet. I surely have to start working on that one.

Missing...........

Well, it has been a little over 2 weeks since our trip to Peru. Roger took over 300 pictures, and everything is still so fresh in my memory. I can honestly say that I thought this trip would ease my longing to see Richard, after all, it had been 15 months. But now since we are back, I am faced with the fact that it will be October until I see him again. It seems overwhelming, and sometimes my heart is just filled with aching only a mother can know. I truly wish that Robert would come home more often; he had stated that he does not want us to come to his house. I think I need to continue prayers in this matter.

The bus to Paracas

Dec. 26....Today we ate breakfast, went to Pisco, then headed to Paracas. We are staying at a very nice hostel right by the sea, about 300 feet away. Our hostel is very nice, all of us are in the same room together. We also have our own private balcony. Rich and I split a big plate of fish for supper. Tomorrow we are planning a boat trip. The weather has been beautiful since we got here.

Dec. 27...Today we went on the boat ride of a lifetime. First of all, it was a speedboat that took about 1/2 hour to get to our destination (I got really windburned). WE saw the "Candalabra" which scientists have no explanation how the huge thing got in the sand. Next we traveled to Crossbow Island, a huge rookry for boobies, sealions, terns, penguins, storks. It is used to harvest guano. Later I bought goodies at a Paraches market. Had a bite to eat around 9pm.

Dec. 28..Today we are headed back to Lima. I cannot believe my days here are almost at a close. It will be so hard to say goodbye to Richard. We are scheduled to leave here at 2:30, on the same bus.

Dec. 29 Our ride back yesterday was really uneventful, took 5 hours on the same bus we rode in on. We are also staying at Friends House, the same hostel that we stayed at in the beginning of our journey.

Dec. 30 Sadly, this is our last day. Richard rounded up our money for us today, he had been keeping it at his bank, and brought our laundry back to us, he had had it done at his laundry. Later that evening we ate out with Richard's gf Martha, and she bought me a lovely alpaca scarf. It was so hard for me to say goodbye.

Dec. 30 continued, the airport. Did I mention our country is on high alert now???? Guess that that means if you are flying out of the country? ACK, LONG lines. Especially if you are flying on Delta, which we were. So, after waiting for 2 hours in Lima for our plane, then for another hour inside the airport we finally boarded. Our seats were most uncomfortable, and we have decided that if we go on another long journey like this, we will definately spring for the first class seats. This was definately the trip of a lifetime, one we will never forget.