Joy. Loss. And other sticky subjects.

One of the purest joys of Fall is the annual jar of Apple Butter which I buy each year.
I love the stuff,
be it fancy or be it plain,
and I've had both kinds.
The best I've ever had was bought from an Amish Family, homemade at their kitchen stove. I'm not privy to that type this year, but the jar of Bama Apple Butter I just bought is pretty darn good. Truth is I'm not terribly particular, which is one reason I have never tried to make it myself. If one can buy perfection at a reasonable price, why bother?

My oldest daughter, who is now a Mom herself,
shares my joy of the sweet, sticky, appley treat.
When she was about 6 years old we went to the
grocery store to buy our annual jar.
She choose the biggest jar on the shelf and proudly
placed it in our shopping cart.
Returning home she was "helping" me unsack all the groceries
when the HUGE jar of Apple Butter slipped through her small fingers.
Her eyes grew wide and overflowed with tears
as she viewed the floor which was covered with a mix
of the gooey jelly and sharp fragments of glass.
It was a total loss; she would not be consoled.
She stood sobbing, a six-year old with a broken heart,
so yes, we bought another HUGE jar to replace the broken one. . .
This is yet another of those family stories that are often repeated
when the family gathers to reminisce.

BTW, do you wonder why I only buy Apple Butter in the Fall?

It's because of an unwritten rule -

"Apple Jelly is for Spring,
Apple Butter is for Fall -
all other times Grape Jelly rules."

Only partly cloudy

The sun is beginning to
peak out from behind the clouds.

Our son has returned home (?).
He is dealing with his situation
moment to moment, as are we.
He will learn to deal with what "is",
rather than what could/should have been.
This is life.

This I know - God is faithful,
and you, my Blog friends
have a caring heart toward
others.  You have touched my heart
with your concern and kind words.

Sincerely, "Thank you".

Raining on the inside

My heart is broken.
I am used up and drained.

Our sweet young daughter-in-law informed
our son that she wants a divorce.
He is devastated.

Shock.
Anger.
Denial.
Brokenness.
Sadness beyond words.

He loves her.
We love her.
We are all grieving.

Son is visiting this week.
There are no words that comfort him.
It is in some ways worse than a death.
The rejection has brought him to his knees.

Our faith will sustain us,
but it is very difficult at the moment.

Beauty Magic!

I looked into the mirror

and this is what I saw -

(well, not exactly, but close)

What's a Girl to do?

I called my Emergency Hair Repair number -

otherwise known as

"Miss Tessa's Cut and Curl"!

"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
was her degrading kind greeting when I arrived.

I confessed the error of my ways. . .

Who knew one was NOT supposed to flat iron damp hair?

It thought if steam heat was good for ironing clothes

it must be good for straightening hair.

"WRONG!"

Miss Tessa took out her scissors
and began to work her magic.
Yes.
I gave her a BIG tip!
No.
I no longer sport
the Don King look!

Identify ALL Jerks!

I'm thinkin' there should be a universal sign that would warn people when a
J-E-R-K is in their midst.

Perhaps an identifying HAT would be the way to go.

Or maybe a no-frills shirt.

Or better yet, perhaps a Buzzer
could and should be placed under their skin
(you can decide
exactly "where" and under what skin
it should be implanted).
Said Buzzer could be set to BUZZZZZ
loudly when the Jerk
was in the presence of normal folk.

I didn't just wake up this morning and begin to think about Jerks. My thought process actually began when our family (of 3) went to see a movie this afternoon...

The movie was fairly crowded and I approached a row where there were 3 empty seats. I asked the gentleman JERK seated next to the three empty seats if the seats were saved. He replied "yes". I turned to walk away and heard him turn to his wife and say "yea, they're saved for my popcorn".
GRRRRRRR!!!
What a JERK!
Had he been adorned with a
Jerk Hat,
Jerk Shirt,
or a Jerk Buzzer
I would have known to stay far away from him

We moved on and found even better seats,
but later I saw 3 more people approach
him about the seats - I couldn't hear what
he said but they turned and walked away.
So I think it's fair to conclude he told
them they were "saved".

Thinking about this makes me mad.
But, it also makes me sad 'cause
obviously this middle-aged guy
had a wife (or a date),
and probably there are people who
must deal with him on a daily basis.

I'm just sayin' that life would be
a lot simpler if you knew
right-up-front
when you were dealin' with a JERK
rather than having to find out
through social or business interaction.

par-tay!

Did I mention we had a party
while we were in Minnesota?

Cheesecake, anyone?

"If family is the meat and potatoes

of a happy life,

then certainly girlfriends

are the cheesecake".

It's true.
You can exist quite satisfactory on
a diet of only meat and potatoes,
but would you want to?
Would you choose to forego
the creamy sweet decadance
of cheesecake for an entire lifetime?
"I don't thiiiiink sooooo!".

What a grand time I had last week
when I met with 14 of my great
iVillage online friends.
We spent quality time together
in Minnesota. One of the highlights
of the trip was our outing to
Mall of America!

I'm just sayin'
if you've not talked with your
girlfriends in a bit, you need
to give them a call.
Don't let time become a wedge
between you.
Enjoy a bit of cheesecake today!

*Also - I cannot end this post without
mentioning the wonderful young man
I was seated next to on the flight from
Dallas to Shreveport.
"Hi Warner!".
I hope you had a great time in New Orleans
and a safe flight home to join your pretty wife,
Deborah, and your sweet dog, "Baxter".
I'm so glad I got to meet you!
I hope you will stop by my Blog
and say "Hello" from time to time.