Phoenix airport waiting for the fight back to Houston.

This had been a pretty short trip but, praise God I was invited out and spent Thanksgiving with Cort and Tara.
Goodness, it's so hard to say goodbye,especially when there are two little ones involved. Garrett (9) was happy to see me and even tho' it's been two and a half months, after just a little bit Caylee (15 months) decided we're friends and was more than happy to play and read books and snuggle.
  I've never been much of a traveler, maybe because besides being so busy raising kids I just didn't have too much of anywhere to go. Besides, the idea of getting on a plane and going off seemed selfish to me (what was I thinking?).
I have family in Alaska, my mom and three sisters. They're always saying I need to visit. Between a job I never seemed to be able to break away from and the cost of tickets (how could I just pack up and go away on a trip alone?) that's never happened.
 My oldest Daughter went to Greece quite a few years ago, her stay was shorter than we'd expected but we talked about me going there... but then she was back in the US in less than a year. She moved to Florida and I actually stepped out and made road trips there to visit, sometimes just me and one of the kids or two... That was streching my wings!
But this year, so far, I've flown to Phoenix twice! Cort and Tara moved there in March and I thought the next time I would see them would be when they made a trip here. But, they've invited me out and gotten me a ticket both times. This trip was a shorter stay for the holiday. The first one was very different, we went to The Grand Canyon and to Flagstaff for four days.
 I have a very special friend, Ellen, from long ago who lives out there, too. We'd seen each other only two or three times just for a few hours over nearly 40 years but on my first trip to Arizona I was able to spend three days with her and her husband. Funny how you can be decades apart from some people but then when you're together it's so like you'rfe having your weekly visit... She's just one special lady!
 I don't know what Christmas will bring this year. So much is different from last year for my family, I guess I just wait and see.

Texas has a very strong sense of itself. Being out here for as long as I have could make it easy to kinda forget my own southern-ness. Yes, Texas is in the south but Texas is Texas. Kinda thought of by lots of people out here as its own country and from what I understand, if push came to shove, it could be.

It's not that I don't like Texas. It's really an ok place. And it's catching up... Many places you go now you can get sweet tea. I see Buttermilk and Sawdust Pies on menus here and there . But it's really not "The South". It took me awhile to figure out why I was not so comfortable here... Something was missing.... I mean I wasn't actually thinking "I'm not comfortable here " but it just didn't fit me. Some people would ask, in a place like Houston, how could something be missing?

Years and years ago I lived for a bit in New Jersey and then "upstate" NY... meaning, not in the city. THAT is most assuredly a place I don't belong! The only things I miss about up there is Katz's Bakery in Liberty NY and it's not even there anymore.

I was raised in the south and was taught I had to say please and thank you, excuse me, yes maam and no maam. If I opened a piece of gum or candy the trash went into Granny's pocket... I didn't know what littering was but no-one should ever be able to connect me to a piece of trash on the ground. NEVER_NEVER, NEVER interrupt  adults who were speaking unless it was for a dire reason. That included no fussin' or whimpering of any kinds. I was raised to call ladies Miss, as in Miss Ann, or if close to them but not blood related maybe aunt and of course the men Mr, ie, Mr Everett or Uncle Everett. I even had one I adored and I called her Mama Jo. Never, absolutely never, did I call an adult by their first name.

When I came to Houston when my kids would speak to people and say something like, Miss Ponterella or Miss Nancy they would be corrected and told " Don't call me Miss! Just call me Nancy. " I explained, this isn't about you... it's about teaching my kids what I consider important to their character. And I have seen this improve over the years, at least in my close circles, a bit.

My children, especially the boys, were taught NOT to enter thru a door if there was a person approaching that they could courteously open the door for. Rain or shine. Not to eat like pets even if it was just a sandwich and to be sure to tend to anyone older than them or a guest at any meal setting. They still say ma'am when being introduced to any of my girl friends and my "boys" are 43 qnd 31 years old. I was blessed one day when a man at a garage sale realized he had worked for my oldest son and with my youngest (when was home on college breaks) and said they both treated him with the untost respect and consideration even tho' the oldest was his boss...Always Spoke to him saying yes sir and no sir. Said I should be a very proud momma.

I have friends who have teen and yound adult children...... Boys and girls. And they talk to me like I'm one of their contemporaries.... Not just lacking any respect in the their speaking that causes them to respond with Yeh, and huh? and to have an attitude that they are always the ones it's all about, ... but I hear them speak to their mommas the same way! This so gets my feathers ruffled, but even more than that it makes me sad. For sure I see models of their daddy's and how their daddy's talk to their mommas! I believe it's a momma's job to teach her children manners and for the daddy's to very, very strongly support it, especially by example. But if you have a daddy who speaks respectfully to his wife, momma, grandma, aunts and all ladies in general, it's what you'll see out of his children. If it's in him, important to him, he'll tend to seeing his sons follow suite.

Simple things like all of this goes a very long way to help children present themselves in ways that makes them positively stand out, it's truly an advantage to them everywhere they go. And I miss it.
I guess the best thing I can say from my heart is, if you're not from the south, I'm sorry.

The other day I came acrros a copy of a cd a very special couple  had made as wedding favors for their wedding and I had picked up a couple to bring home with me.  I thought they'd had a neat idea... to have a CD of their music for each of the guests.I can't say that all the songs on it were to my best liking but there were a few I enjoy, one very nice one and one, my all time favorite song. E.V.E.R.
I love, have always loved and will always love Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers. It's a very special song to me. It' so beautiful.
In the last few years I've met a lady, Liz, and have become very good friends with her. After a bit we realized we have a lot of favorites in common. Surprise, surprise.... We both LOVE this song. I'm amazed how many people my age don't remember it. Cause I just love it!
Bobby Hatfield of the Righteous Brothers sang it in  '65 and that version is the best to me. I loved to dance when I was younger and  I bet I danced plenty of miles to this song.
I went to The Peabody Auditorium in Daytona Beach Florida in 1967 and saw them. Be still my heart....   I saw them again in Houston in the late 90's. Not the same awesome show but I enjoyed them still. Elvis, my very, very, very most favorite singer recorded it once. Sad to say it wasn't really very good at all. It was also in the movie Ghost, or part of it.
If I'm shopping somewhere and it comes on, I stop and take a break to listen.
The CD was made by my daughter in law and son for their beautiful wedding. My son chose the song I Hope You Dance as the Mother - Son dance.... That was really special because I had sent my son that song when he was away at college..... I cried.... Then, near the end of the wedding Unchained Melody began and he came and got me to dance again.... He said "You didn't think I'd forget, did you?" Oh, what a wonderful thing for him to do.
Something else no one knew was one day, lots of years ago, I was listening to the song and it had been so many years since I'd danced to it asked God to let me dance one more time with someone who understood how much I love the song...
I've been thinking about some things that have been special to me in my life and this is for sure one!

This is kind of an unusual post, but I thought it might be helpful to someone... I love old linens... tablecloths, napkins, table scarves, hankies, curtains, bedspreads, anything like that. I find them at garage and estate sales, antique and thrift stores and sometimes I even get them as a gift (happy face here). They're marked really cheap alot of the time because they have rust stains on 'em. B...ut I have the never fail, simple solution to remolve the rust. I found this product in the '60's when a metal zipper, this was BEFORE plastic zippers, left a rust stain on my skirt. It's Whink. I've seen it at Walmart and Ace hardware recently. It was hard to find for quite awhile so I bought a couple extra bottles, just in case.... Because I love it! It's worked INSTANTLY on everything I've dripped it on EXCEPT vinyl flooring. I don't understand that but..... if you need to remove rust, this is the answer!

Trying again.

It's been so, so long since I've been here... I blame it on Facebook, my own procrastinating and life in general.
Facebook because I get filled with so much interesting stuff from FB friends... recipes... gardening and decorating ideas, DIY projects.. etc, that I spend very little time even looking at the fabulous blogs I follow.
Procrastinating because I want to have everything ready and organized in my head to post here on my blog.
Life because of so much unexpected happening over the last few months...
I was thinking there was plenty going on.. a new grandbaby girl, born on my father's birthday in August, Caylee Marie. Me being busy with lots of things at church. Keeping up with Bleah, 16 with so many ideas, things to do and places to go.
Then, Kathryn's (my oldest daughter) husband, Franco, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in March of last year. The drs said with chemo he could have eleven months. We prayed for a miracle... so many wonderful people stayed in prayer with us. But Franco went to be with the Lord in January ('12).
Three weeks before this in late December ('11) drs told Kathryn she has stage three breast cancer. She began chemo treatement the week of his funeral.
I've been able to be out here in San Antonio with her to go to chemo most of the time and stay on till she's feeling better and able to tend to stuff and take care of herself. She ended up with pnuemonia after the first chemo and in the hospital for five days.
All of this has put some stuff on hold, more so for Bleah than for me. She'd finished school in January, she's home schooled and graduated a year and a half early.
Kathryn just began the second round of chemo yesterday and will have surgery in June, after her youngest graduates... then radiation ... then reconstruction surgery in about October.
I just ordered some save the date cards for Bleah's graduation party in mid-May so I have to get on the stick and put that together.

One week when Kathryn was feeling surprisingly well we went for 3 days on the beach on Okaloosa Island in Florida.   It. was. so. nice. !
I still have a job keeping my precious Emery (beautiful, 3, amazingly bright and so loving) but because her family is so fabulous, different family member's have stepped in to fill in for me so I can be at Kathryn's.
I am out here more than I'm at gome in Houston and they have been great!
Em's mom has said she'll do some pictures of Bleah for her graduation announcements and even do the announcements!
Okay, so I'm going to get back to my stuff here and blog like a real blogger!
I hear the three girls upstairs getting ready to go do pictures in the Bluebonnets, Lots of rain coming tonight and tomorrow.... need to get this done!