Writers Block

After publishing three articles for Associated Content I went blank! That is until last night. I prayed and asked the Lord for an idea and the answer came in the middle of the night last night. This evening I submitted 'View from a Wheelchair.' It came to me that it would be good to try to express how a person in a wheelchair lives from day to day and some of the struggles they go thru. If they accept the article I will share the link.

Cabin Fever in the Heat

We are experiencing cabin fever in the south. The heat has been unreal the last couple of days so we just stay inside to keep cool. Talked out, nothing on tv, eating too much...just like in a snow storm up north. Wondering as much about cooling bills here as we did heat bills in WV. At least in a good snow you could go out and sled a little or throw snowballs. Going out in this heat just to walk the dog is like walking into a steam bath and it's just not fun. I do like the early morning along about 6:30 when hubby and I set on the swing and have our coffee. He has several bird feeders around the porch and yard. I notice even the birds seem to be out early to beat the heat. We recently started seeing mourning doves coming and they are my favorite...I love to hear them coo. It did cool down this evening but it's almost dark and the little mosquitoes are lurking out there so I think I'll just stay inside. This too shall pass and it will cool down again. I'm glad the Lord made seasons and that he says long as the earth remains that seasons will too. He is so orderly and setting out early in the morning watching his morning creations getting started on their day reminds me of his care for me. A sparrow doesn't fall without his noticing and the very hairs on my head are numbered. What an awesome God! Jesus has gone to prepare a place for his children and I'm sure it is perfect with no worry of cabin fever! How beautiful heaven must be!

My Daddy - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

My Daddy - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

It's a Small World

I was looking for canning recipes for squash this evening . Looks like we may be having an over abundance of the little veggies and I'm looking ahead for preserving. Lo, and behold I ran upon a blog that has a recipe that looks wonderful for squash casserole but even better than that was the profile of the persons blog. Now get this, we left WV and moved to the south in August 2005 and this lady left the city of Atlanta to move to WV in August 2005! I actually got tears in my eyes thinking of the people (our family and hers) that were maybe like ships passing in the night! The picture on her profile page is of New River Gorge and we have traveled many times over that ol' bridge and I'm longing to do it at least one more time! Just thought it was pretty neat to come across another family who ventured far from home to start a new life. Love the blog..check it out. She looks to be living my dream in WV and I couldn't believe anyone would think my life a dream in Louisiana but we do ok and we are well blessed. Still, when I see those hills something pulls deep down on my heart strings and it sounds like it always plays the same tune...Home.

They Paid Me!!!

I am sooooo excited! I submitted a small article to Associated Content and by golly they got back to me and offered $2.oo for my thoughts! Now that's better than a penny for your thoughts huh? Checking my mail I was almost afraid to look for the notice thinking I would be rejected but whoopie they liked it!! Now my mind is racing to think of what to write next. Wow...can you believe I'm so excited over $2.oo? Well, it's my first attempt and it went ok so yes, I'm excited. Oh dear, I better watch it...blood pressure is surely pumping..haha. It's a good day in the neighborhood!

Muggy Louisiana

Well, 'tis the end of another hot muggy day in Louisiana. I'm still not absolutely settled with the weather here. Being a proud Mountaineer I still find the weather here at times unsettling. The storms here are hard for me to bear. I try desperately not to be fearful of them but sometimes it seems like the thunder rolls about 2 ft. above my head and the lightning is fearsome. Next month starts the beginning of hurricane season and it continues to November 30th. Arriving here the day after Katrina and living thru the aftermath for weeks was like moving to a foreign country after a war. It actually looked like a war zone in many places. Not only the destruction of property and nature but even to visit the hospital we were escorted by armed guards. Buying medicine at Walmart required standing in long, long, very long lines outside in the parking lot in intense heat only to be once again escorted by armed guards into the store and watched while prescriptions were filled and then walked back out again. Gas lines were unbelievable. Heat was unreal. Love bugs were swarming. Communication was all but none. After we made it thru all that mess then Rita blew into town. That was frightening to say the least. The winds howled all night long, rain beat so hard against the windows we thought they would break. A tropical storm at night is not a nice experience to Yankees in a strange land. Then of course there was Gustav...another horrendous storm. Well not all storms here are of hurricane or tropical force but they do get nasty. Seems like every time we get some kind of storm system passing thru up go the tornado warnings. There is something else I'm still not used to...give me a good old snow storm...I can handle that! Anyway, all we got this evening was some hard (wasn't in the forecast) rain that sounded like hail coming down. It didn't last too long...just long enough to make the muggy, humid air feel like a steam bath. Sometimes I really miss my hills...sometimes I do like it here. If I had my rather's then all my family would be somewhere in Almost Heaven West Virginia and we would live happily ever after.

Confidence

Quote of the Day: "Confidence is the feeling you sometimes have before you fully understand the situation."

Swiped from my nephews Facebook post. I love it!

Stepping Out on the Water

Well today with trembling hand I submitted my first article to Associated Content. I hope they are kind if they refuse me! It sounds like an interesting way to make a few coins but I suppose you need to write about things of interest to a mulitude of different folks.
My 'world view' these days is pretty slim as my eyes have been in tunnel vision mode for some time. I do see that they call for opinions on American Idol. That is something that we do follow from week to week. I'm not thrilled with the judges or the visiting 'star's that perform but I do like to root for some of the contestants. Hubby and I have a favorite this year with the lady they call MaMaSox. She is young but sings like an older rocker so I guess that's our draw to her style. Ya know there is really not much to watch on tv anymore that's fit to watch. My fella just about wears out the remote from changing channels every few minutes. Me, I usually end up at the computer before heading out to work in the evening and try to beat Spider Solitare. Thrilling huh? My son would have said, "Yea Mom, 'bout as exciting as watching grass grow"! lol
Well now back to the Associated Content--- I do plan to try a few little articles and see what happens. Check back in a few weeks and I'll let you know how that goes. They say it takes about a week to hear back on an entry soooooooooo --just in case I will have a box of tissues ready for either tears of joy or sorrow!
My plan right now is to do little things to make a little here and there so I can have a tiny nest egg for retirement. By the way...pondering the word retire...does that mean I get tired again?

Dealing With Turning Sixty

In the great movie, "Gone With the Wind", the character Scarlett O'Hara repeatedly says during the story...Oh, fiddle-le-dee, I'll think about it tomorrow. Recent years have found me using the same phrase quite often. Well I've found that as I face my sixtieth birthday in a few short months and my tomorrows are dwindling away there are many things that I must think about today and decisions to be made. I find that turning 60 seems to be a great big mile stone for me. The saying is these days that 60 is the new 40 but I'm not so sure. Maybe for those folks who have retirement pensions, home and property and are financially secure they can feel 40 again. This, alas, is not my situation. Having worked since being teenager it never seemed to be my lot in life to have my barns full as senior years are entered. Rather I find myself working at a job that is one of the hardest physically, mentally and emotionally that I've ever attempted. Taking care of my disabled daughter and trying to be a care taker, mentor, instructor, teacher and working grandma in somewhere has me tired and frazzled. So sixty is not so glamorous to me. I must wait two more years before I have the "security" of social security which isn't so secure in our economy. As my body wears down from the job I've worked so hard at for almost five years my brain is working over time trying to figure out another route. Can you believe I've even thought of enrolling in an online university to earn a degree? But, the big 60 looms again and I realize that I will be at least 62 before graduation and who will want to hire me then? I dare say there would be many younger folks graduating and applying for positions that have employers considering things like health of new hires along with speed and energy! So here I am thinking, pondering, dreaming, wishing but most of all praying. One thing I know for certain is that God will make a way. Another thing I know for certain is that He doesn't always share all his plans with me up front! My part is to do the praying and his part is the answering. According to the Bible our years can be three score and ten and if it goes well with us even a few more years may be added on to that total. So possibly I may still be around at 70 and if it's looked at positively maybe a few years after the big seven zero. So, I guess all in all I have some things to look forward too although to some it may be a bit slim. What I'm truly blessed with at this time is first of all knowing where I will spend eternity. That's a relief to know when you're facing 60 and beyond for sure! Then there is the time with my husband which is the best of our lives now that it's just the two of us. We hardly rattle around our home all alone but rather have our youngest daughter and her family living close and the joy of the youngest grand baby visiting often. We have been blessed with six children and fourteen grandchildren all together. Two sets of twins make up those fourteen and they are a joy as are the others. I can honestly look back over the years and find strength for the days ahead because I've seen so many things work out when there seemed to be no way. I know God is with me and I have the love of my family. So bring it on 60! Perhaps I will just go ahead and say with Scarlett "Oh fiddle-le-dee, I will think about it tomorrow".....or I will wake up one morning in late October and say "Well looky, looky who just turned 60 and the sun didn't stop shining after all!