Wednesday, November 29, 2017

BLOGGERS THAT ARE RETURNING TO THE REALM OF BLOGLAND

All of you bloggers know how hard it is
to build up a base of followers.
It can be disheartening at times
when you pour heart and soul into
A BLOG
and then no one visits
or comments.

I followed both of these ladies
for several years.
Many of you will remember

Many years ago she suffered
a tragic accident that resulted in
traumatic brain injury.
One of the worst problems
was with her vision.
AND she is AN ARTIST!
Can you imagine?

She quit blogging because 
she couldn't read blogs anymore-
nor could she see to paint.
While her vision is still not perfect,
they had discovered some treatments
that are helping her and..
SHE IS BACK!!!
Please go visit her  HERE
and sign up as a follower.
She is one of the
BEST STORYTELLERS EVER !

And the other blogger I want to 
tell you about is
She had some very serious family issues
and had to be away for a while
but now she is back and trying to
find her old followers.

She lives in the UK
and if you love all things ENGLISH
including things like
Cath Kidston's delightful collection--
well, you will LOVE Happy.
Wondering who Rosie is?
I'm not gonna tell you-
you will have to pop over to Happy's blog HERE
to find out!

Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Lord willing, I am on my way to my daughter's house
as you are reading this.
Just a 6 hour drive listening to news,
fighting Chicago traffic,
and drinking coffee 
which means SEVERAL wayside stops
because--well---you know....

If you have time,
please pop over and say HI to these two gals
and give 'em a little blogland love!
Thanks so much!

your photo name

Monday, November 27, 2017

LOOKING BACK- A STORY TO REMEMBER

Grab your coffee, tea or Coke
this is a ramble!

I did a post about this
early on--
when I first started blogging...
and....because I am going to
talk about a special
Christmas tradition later this week..
I wanted to acquaint some of my
readers with this first.

You have never seen a show
quite like a show
performed by
the one
the only
SWEETCHEEKS!

This happened several years ago..
and is as funny today
as it was then.

SweetCheeks is a performer of
extra-ordinary talent. It's a lot like
pay-per-view except she is
a lot more expensive.

Her best performances were usually
preceded by the words..
"Hey, guys..wanna see sumthin'?
(as if we had a choice)
She got the stunning new outfit you
see above for Christmas when she was three.

It seemed to fit her personality
which runs from flamboyant
to downright outrageous.
And, although she liked to pretend
she was a princess..
she was much better as her
own character.

Take a seat, ladies and gentlemen,
the show is about to begin.
This entailed lining up on the couch
in our assigned seats.

We always had to leave a space
(or two) for those "friends"
that we can't see.
(We knew they were there because
SweetCheeks told them where
to sit and they got the primo seats).

After we had plunked ourselves down,
the ticket collector took our stubs.
She looked suspiciously like the actor,
and director, and performer
of the show
we were about to see.

If it was an especially exciting show
we had to fasten our seat belts.
Don't ask because I don't know..
but I think "we" sometimes
had SHOWS and
AMUSEMENT PARK RIDES
a bit mixed up.
Makes no difference.
Here comes the announcement...
(told in present tense)

WADIES & GUNTULMANS..
WEWCUM TO THU SHOOW!
Now I gonna dance and sing
ouprah.
(that would be opera for those
in the know)
Oh Boy! I can't wait.

I am already laughing while
MyHero has that
deer-in-the-headlights-look
the one that means
OH NO-NOT AGAIN.
Buck up Buddy! This will
be over before you know it.

By the time the first few lines
of Jowly Old St. Nickkolus float out
I am suffused with laughter.

At this point
the show
STOPS!
THISSS PLAYH ISSS NOTT FUNNY!
NOW- Stay in yoah seats..
we are gonna haffta starht all
ovearh again!

This statement is accompanied by
a dramatic sigh and
an arm swiped across the brow.

The seat belts must be
refastened and tickets collected
once again.
The show resumes.
I look over at MyHero who
whispers out of the side of his mouth,
without moving his lips..
I can't wait for the intermission.
And, once again,
the strains of
JOWLY OLD ST. NICKOLUS
fills the room.

Every time I look back on that time
I am reminded of that precious little girl--
full of imagination and one that knew
she was adored.

She is a big girl now and 
adored just as much today
as she was then...
but-OH---how I miss that little girl sometimes.

All grown up---
and as you can see---
still performing!

your photo name

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Wishing You All
A Beautiful
And Blessed
Happy Thanksgiving


Now WHERE did that
turkey get to?
He knows we have a date!


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Monday, November 13, 2017

PUTTING THE BRAKES ON FOR A BIT! Grab your lunch-this is a long post!

ICY ROADS!
DANGER AHEAD!
SLOW DOWN!

Grab your coffee, coke or tea-
This is a LONG POStT!

We went to the most beautiful wedding
last Saturday night.
MyHero performed the ceremony.
It was magical.
It was held in a spectacular exclusive setting
about an hour south of us.
The ceremony started at four 
so we left home at two,
following my son & his family down.
We wanted to be early.

On the way down,
we hit a steady fine, sleety rain.
The roads weren't bad yet
BUT
you could tell it was coming.

The ceremony started and the bride walked in.
Erin looked movie star beautiful 
AND
there is a special connection.
Not only is she friends with my son
 & his wife,
she was MyHero's nurse for the radiation part
of his treatment.

Used to seeing her in scrubs,
MyHero's mouth dropped open
seeing her walk through the door as a 
BRIDE.
He FINALLY recovered, 
told her she was beautiful,
and the ceremony commenced.

I will post some wedding pictures
in an upcoming post
because they deserve a post
of their own.

Following the ceremony,
we walked a brick walkway
to the main clubhouse,
greeted the wedding party,
and went to the Irish pub on the second floor 
for drinks and fabulous hors d'oeuvres.
(internet photo)

Later, we went back downstairs to the
main dining room to eat.
It was the best five course meal
 I have ever had at a wedding..
maybe anywhere!
It was all done effortlessly, 
at an easy pace,
while we chatted and listened
to a few speeches.
There was a dance that followed
back upstairs in the Irish bar.
It was fun to see my little grandson.
CJK (age5)
ask a little girl to dance with him.
She was shy and said NO 
and he was heartbroken,
and embarrassed, 
and hid until the bride's mom,Judy,
dragged him onto the floor.
Such a tender thing to watch unfold.
A hint of what is to come when he is a teen?

Okay--so the
REAL REASON
for this post....lol

We left early because we heard
from latecomers to the dance
that the roads were bad.
My son & family 
decided to head home, too,
so we followed them.

The first few miles of road were fine,
clear, not even a hint of rain, ice, or snow.
About 30 miles into the drive,
the weather changed abruptly.
There was a heavy 'mist' and the roads looked slick.
They WERE slick.
We slowed down to about 20 MPH under the speed limit.

There was a line of cars behind me
and ahead of me,
 with only a few fools flying past, 
well over the speed limit.

About 5 miles from home we saw
a lot of police cars and the road was down
to one lane--almost to a stop.
We snaked through and carefully 
wound our way home.

On the news this morning I heard there were
125 ACCIDENTS IN OUR AREA!
The road we were on had been closed 
earlier for part of the night
AND--
the police lights and one lane?
Clean up from a fatal accident
on the overpass there.

When I got home I realized that
I had to peel my hands off the 
steering wheel because I had
been gripping the wheel so hard.
My neck and shoulders were tight
and actually ached.

I started thinking about all that is going
on in our lives at this point.
An upcoming move,
which means purging and 'letting go',
some family issues,
someone moving in temporarily,
a recovering husband,
and a recurrence of an old 
auto-immune issue that requires
steroids and anti-inflammatories for me.
That's a whole lotta stress.
10 years ago-this would have all been
a piece of cake to handle.
Today-I wish I was 10 years younger...lol

But it doesn't stop there--
To punish myself further,
I decided to open an Etsy shop and 
a second blog to support it.

Hello, Blondie!

I had an ephinany!
I guess I needed ICY ROADS to point
out that I need to 
PUT THE BRAKES ON 
AND
SLOW DOWN.

At this point, 
I have decided to put Etsy on hold,
along with the second blog.
My original intent with Etsy was to 
do all handmade items
and not use it as a 'dumping ground'.
I have not had the chance to do much creating
with everything else going on.

I want to thank everyone that made purchases
from the shop.
I did really well in the few weeks I was open
SO
I won't close the shop completely,
nor will I kill the other blog,
but I am taking a 
BREAK by putting the BRAKES ON
for a bit.

I will still be keeping/using
THIS BLOG-
Nana Diana Takes A Break
so you will always find me here.

I need to look forward to
my volunteer work at the VA
and my grandson's library/school.
I don't want either of those to become 
A CHORE.

WHEW!
I think I'll go bake a pie...
because we all know...

Thank you to all of you that
read this whole mess-lol
You guys are THE BEST---
I don't care what anyone else says about you!

Now pardon me while I go relax~

your photo name

Sunday, November 12, 2017

REQUESTS FOR PRAYERS FOR SOME SPECIAL PEOPLE

I had an outreach from someone
NEAR AND DEAR TO ME
via Messenger.
She is traveling now- 
gone for the winter-
 but is worried
about her brother's wife.
This is her plea.
Please pray for my brother Bob
and his wife Jeri.
Jeri has been in the hospital for 9 days.
She had surgery on her back.
She is not doing well.
She can not walk.
She does not have feeling
in her hands or feet.
Her digestive system is not working well.
My brother is very sad and discouraged.
Many things are not going well.
He is desperate.
He is tired. He is discouraged.
Thank you for your prayers.

Please pray for the person that sent this to me, too.
Her name is Carol
and she is suffering the anxiety that comes from
being away from home when someone is ill.

Also, Robbin's mom, Donna-
Down On The Farm
During the procedure Monday on mom's back, they discovered she has another compressed vertebra.  So 3 compression fractures instead of 2.  Sometime in the last 3 weeks another vertebrae became compressed.  They were only able to fix 2 of the fractures since, as the doctor explained, they can only do 2 at a time so instead of coming out of the procedure pain free . . . she's still hurting.

They have put her on a stronger pain medicine which helps a little, but of course doesn't take the pain away. She will have to go back in a couple of weeks for the same procedure to get the third compression fracture fixed. 

The only way to keep the compression fractures from continuing is to start giving her injections every six months to strengthen the bones.  But she has to have some teeth pulled before they can give her the injection, since the injection will make pulling any teeth nearly impossible, and my mom's teeth are not good.

In the middle of everything, my mom is trying to take maintenance chemo every week.

As you can imagine all of this is very discouraging to my mom, and to our entire family. 

And..continue to pray from 
my best friend's family.
Mainly her son, Mr. T.
They still don't have the full scope
of what is wrong with him
and are going to do more biopsies.
It's a scary time for all of them.

Thank you, as always, 
for all the prayers.

If you are not a pray-er-,
please send good thoughts 
and wishes their way.

I hope each and everyone
reading this will have a
blessed Sunday.
your photo name

Saturday, November 11, 2017

MY PERSONAL THANK YOU TO OUR BRAVE VETS

I am ashamed that I don't

always think about what the cost

is for my freedom.

I don't always think about

the person that laid

down their life so that

I can enjoy the freedoms

this country allows.


I don't always think about

the day-to-day struggles that

some of our veterans must deal with...

the physical, emotional, spiritual end

of it.


I do think about my Father,

a vet of WWI (yes-WWI)-

He was a young man in the service and 

a man of many years when I was born (53).

His gas mask was in our attic.

He never talked about WWI

but I have 1/2 of the letters he

wrote home to his family.

My dear brother had the other half.



I do think about my Uncle Samuel,

that fought in the Korean War~

but I don't ever remember him

mentioning it.


I do think about my foster brother, Gene,

that was part of the Vietnam war years...

the war that wasn't a war,

or so they say.



I do think about my nephew, Scott,

that suffered permanent damage

when he was fired on as

he guarded one of

Sadam's palaces.


I think about my friend, Tom,

a man that shared a 3 room 

schoolhouse with me in the 

shadow of the mountains 

in Pennsylvania,

a career man that was a 

Chief Petty Officer.



And, I do think about a man

that has a blog..

A man that I met in my blog travels...

you know when you hit that

Next Blog button on the top..

This is a man that gave it all

for his country...

and is now but a shadow

of his former self, on the outside..

Inside- he is a fighter of the

greatest magnitude.

I have so much respect for

Kurt The Krippled Warrior.

He lives a hard life but asks

for no pity or sympathy.


As many of you know,

I volunteer at the VA on Tuesdays.

I am so blessed to be a small part of it.

Two of the men I work with

were in Vietnam and served faithfully.

Thank you Dave you crazy fool

and Rick.

Rick is the "normal" to balance

Dave!

I am blessed to know you both.




Today, I hope  to

raise a salute to every man or woman

that fights for all of us.

God Bless Our Veterans

and those that are serving

our country today.

Without you- we have no hope.


Have a wonderful Tuesday

and if you out and about and see

a service person shake his or her hand

and tell them 

Thank You For Your Service.

You'll be glad you did.
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