Daylight Savings Time - Defintiely a Recliner Kind of Sunday!

Today is definitely a Sunday recliner kind of day!

We've been to church . . . and got there on time, despite losing that hour that is promised for fall. Turning the clocks ahead, well, it just gets your body rhythms out of whack!

We all need to kick back and get a couple of extra hours of sleep this after noon . . .

Night now!

Aaron Tippin on Mike Huckabee Tonight - A Nice Little Break!

Here's a tip for some genuine entertainment tonight. Country Singer, Aaron Tippin - very much a Patriot - is scheduled to appear on Mike Huckabee's FOX program tonight. Check your local listings for the time in your area.

This is a real ordinary fellow who we met at a Cracker Barrel last year. He can really sing, and I see from a photo that he can also assemble a child's bicycle, if required, as he did at a Toys for Tots benefit.

Real practical fellow who has written some beautiful songs about his country. Don't look for fancy clothes, just good solid entertainment with a wonderful voice!

A Toronto Man Was Reading About Three Women Driving to Peterborough From East Texas and Thought It Sounded A Lot Like His Niece . . .

You may recall - or you can go back to a blog I did in December which talked about my friend and her two daughters who drove 'round the clock from East Texas to Peterborough, Ontario, to visit their very sick grandfather. They had a blowout on the way, got it fixed and they still made it by taking turns driving.

At that time, I was wondering how difficult it would be for the President of General Motors to drive from Detroit to Washington . . .

Well, a man in Toronto read that blog and called his sister in Peterborough to say he had read a blog with a story that sounded much like his nieces' adventure.

We had lunch with his sister (since widowed) who is visiting her daughter here in East Texas and listened to her story:

"So, I told him, that you had indeed written a blog about the girls! He was pretty surprised!"

So, as I munched on my delicious grilled cheese on special bread yesterday, I told her,

"Gee, thanks very much for tomorrow's content!"

I remind you how small the world really is!

Kendall Beard Again . . .

Well, Kendall Beard didn't make the final cut last night on American Idol. Showing her class and grace, she slipped her arm into the arm of blind contestant, Scott MacIntyre who deserved to move on and did. We'll be looking for big things from Scott who is a natural.

All around Lufkin, we have seen signs posted on everybody's billboard encouraging us to vote for Kendall. We were excited!

I had great difficulty find a photo of Kendall who may or may not be approached by someone from Hollywood on the strength of her natural good looks and pleasant charm.

So, today, I have posted her graduation picture and although I am not certain, her degree is probably from University of Texas as she was in Austin (Texas' capital city, for my Canuck readers). As I was clicking on this photo from her MySpace page, I was kind of wondering how many of the other contestants could post a graduation picture.

Kendall will do well in whatever she does because she is just plain and naturally a gentle, fine looking person with smarts to boot!

Good Luck, Kendall . . . sorry your Dad didn't get to do his dance again. What a great experience for you and you have made Lufkin very, very proud!

Kendall Beard of Lufkin on American Idol - Watch Tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern

The other day I told you a little about Kendall Beard from Lufkin who has been competing on American Idol. Unfortunately, I could not get a photo to post for you although I gave you links to take a look at her because she is a very beautiful girl.

Today, I have been given a link on Facebook which will show you her performance last night.

We have signs all around Lufkin and most of us put in lots of votes for her last night.

The results show will be tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on Fox. She had some excellent competition and we will be anxious to see how she does. I cannot image how nervous she was. (By the way, Kendall is not just a pretty face: she is a college graduate.)

http://s79.photobucket.com/albums/j141/mjsbigblog/Semis-wk3/?action=view&current=kendall-semi-wk3.flv

Martha, Mary and Lazarus

Last year, our Pastor Paul wrote beautiful scripts for various of us to portray characters of the Bible, in particular those who would enlighten us during Lenten Season.

Last year, I was honored to play my namesake, Martha, sister of Mary and Lazarus. I practiced it and was not nervous up at the podium. What I was to say had been written well. At the end of my presentation, one of our members stopped me to tell me how much better he now understood those characters.

Now, that picture does not show me as I like to be seen around town, but it shows that I wore an apron - Martha spent a lot of time in her kitchen - and of course, a shawl on my head, and a long, plain, black dress.

Martha truly loved Jesus and enjoyed making him feel comfortable whenever he was in their home. Just like today, Martha complained that her sister, Mary spent too much time socializing and not enough working in the kitchen.

Their brother, "Laz" is the one Jesus raised from the dead. We mention the nervousness of waiting for Jesus to come to heal him from his sickness and the tears he also shed when he arrived too late. So, Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.

These are characters that most of us are familiar with and it helps us during this Lenten Season to trace the steps to Jesus' Crucifixion, being sealed with a rock in a borrowed tomb and wonderful rising on the third day - Easter!

The story about today? Well, Pastor didn't tell me I would be portraying Martha again this year and I just found out this morning!

Busy day today because I want to get Martha just right! Have a blessed day!

John 11:1 - 12:19 The Death of Lazarus, Jesus Comforting Martha & Mary; Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead.

Tuesday - Watch American Idol and Vote for Kendall Beard

Here is a girl who is pretty, sings country and comes from Texas: Kendall Beard. Kendall's hometown is Lufkin and she currently lives in Austin.

She auditioned for this season of American Idol in Puerto Rico and has only been on camera a short time.

Do check her out tomorrow night and vote for her! American Idol airs at 8:00 PM Eastern, 7:00 PM Central.

You can find more information on Kendall at

http://www.lufkindailynews.com

http://www.ktre.com

http://www.americanidol.com

Buddy the Lhasa Guests Today

I know you know me - I'm Buddy the Lhasa Apso that she talks about. Today I thought I should tell you about my car ride to Walgreen's parking lot. In case you don't know, you can really have a good time at parking lots! We went kinda late and I am glad we didn't to to CVS because there were hardly any cars over there.

Something technical I have to mention is that there is a lock system for the windows on the Explorer. Mom was a little upset last time because apparently I accidentally hit the unlock button or something when I was up front with Dad and well, she almost had a heart attack to see me with my back window open as we came into Englewood!

So, guess you know, Dad went in this time and, well - I hate to say it - but Mom is a bit fussy about hanging on to me and watching I don't do "stuff".

People in other cars sometimes do stuff. People should think about what they are doing because I saw that man picking his nose in the next car . . . I know that's not nice! Of course, he probably doesn't know I have access to a blog!

How about the lady with the red 4-door pick-up? She seemed worried about that third bag . . . that it would break or something. Well, they're probably making them weaker so you'll use the cloth recycle bags. Yeah, I think that's it.

Oh, yeah, there was a man smoking a cigar who got out of another back square car - I've never seen a cigar before . . .

Oops . . . gotta go now . . . like I said, I don't usually do this, but you know, home all during church and lunch . . . well, I get to sleep then, and I have lots of energy on Sunday afternoon and evening.

Oh, yes . . . you want to know what Dad bought, don't you? I know. It was two ink cartridges and a weather alert radio - all on sale. You know Mom & I check the flyers in the Lufkin Daily on Sunday morning. (She already told you that the other day!)

You have a nice week, you and thanks for stopping by my Mom's blog. (I am a natural-born Texan, not a Yonge-Street one like she is!)

Scrapbooking - All Day!

Here are three really nice layouts. As many times as I sit down to crop some photos, there is always a different approach to take. I like to see other people's pages also because this is a hobby that truly reflects individuality.

We all have stacks of paper that we have purchased, some for the color, some for the sparkle and some because it reminded us of days gone by.

CeCe and I have a running joke about polka dots and I sure hope you haven't heard me talking about this before . . .

One night, I was cropping a little black and white photo of my Grandmother. Grandma was a tall lady, very kind who always had some sweets to slip to me. (Uh oh, that's how we all began our battle, isn't it?) She was my cheerleader and I suspect she was older than some of my friends' grandparents. I just had one and I respected her, loved her and had lots of good times with her. So this was a good memory to crop.

In the 50s, Dad and I went out every Sunday to visit and Dad would play cribbage with Grandpa, a retired policeman. Grandma and I would sew, knit, crochet, talk and laugh.

"Martha, every one's crazy but you and me and sometimes I wonder about thee!" She smiled as she said that for fun - lots of times.

So, in this little black and white photo (very fragile and dry, ready to destruct), my friend, CeCe noticed that Grandma was wearing a polka-dotted dress.

"Oh, look, you can use polka-dotted paper - that would be perfect!"

The lovely scrapbook papers available today are like candy in a sweet shop. So, I wandered out of the crop room and into the shop to find just the right paper for Grandma's photo.

When I came back from shopping, CeCe looked at my paper and said,

"WHAT is this? This isn't polka dots!"

"No, it isn't, but I did get polka dots to back up the picture of me to put on the opposite page!"

"Well then, WHAT is this?" By now, she is smiling real wide because she feels she is being rather inquisitive, but she is very curious about the paper I have chosen to back up Grandma's polka-dotted dress!

"Well, CeCe, this is just like the wallpaper in Grandma's living room!"

The memories we have are ours to keep, to share, to crop in a scrapbook. Imagine finding paper that was just like Grandma's wallpaper, so many years ago!

Have a beautiful day. I love cropping, with it's calm, laughter, tears. It is truly the best hobby I have ever had.

And if you haven't already, please read yesterday's Blog on Newspapers.

Life Without My Newspaper?

Maybe I need to give you our routine each morning so you understand just how much a part of our day our newspaper is!

The alarm goes off - most mornings - and Keith quickly dresses. Ever notice how quickly men dress? Annoying, isn't it? But it is handy!

He opens the master bedroom door and says good morning to Buddy (our Lhasa Apso who sleeps outside our door). Keith now turns off the alarm at the wall there and he and Buddy walk together to the patio door so Buddy can go outside and check out the squirrels and birds in the yard.

Now, I can hear the garage door opening. Keith walks out that way, down the driveway, says "Hello" to any neighborhood walkers and picks up the Lufkin Daily News at the bottom of the driveway. On rainy days he unwraps the paper and puts the wrapper in the blue recycle bin.

Now, he heads back in and sets the paper down while he pours my coffee into my striped mug and brings me the paper and coffee.

Keith exits the bedroom and goes to turn on our computers and check a couple of things.

Now, it is my time to read the paper and sip my coffee. It takes me just about 25 minutes to scan everything.

I glance at the cover stories and check the names of the unfortunate folks who had a mishap over the past 24 hours. (Sometimes you hear about a wreck, but now you have the name.)

I turn the page and - yeah, yeah, because I'm a senior, I guess - I check the obituaries. More than the deceased's name, I check the paragraph of survivors. Keith and I try to honor those who have lost loved ones and generally we show up at the visitation if you lost your brother-in-law or your father. (I don't know everyone's name as well as some do: remember I've only been here twelve years.) We pride ourselves on being people who "always show up".

I glance at the Police Report in the upper right, to see how well our neighborhood is doing. Hmm. Shot out a back window of a SUV six blocks from our house yesterday? Glad we are down to one vehicle always parked inside the garage. On the opposite page is a coupon for Belk Department Store or maybe it's Senior Day!

Now, I realize I have about 13 minutes left till Keith expects me for our apple and cheese which starts our day.

I glance at the AP stories that I may have seen on KTRE or online in case I missed one. I always check the People column, especially the birthdays of famous people at the end. Sometimes I get an idea for my blog that day.

Always glance at Sagittarius (Keith's) and Taurus (my horoscope) and check if Dr. Gott has an idea for anything that is bothering one of us.

Glance at my watch - not that either of us is obsessive-compulsive but the day is short, yup, shorter than it seemed when we were younger.

On Friday, I scan the entire Entertainment. Are the Hipshakers playing somewhere this week? (Jeff, their keyboardist is our church music director) and is Larry Greer at Fredonia twice this week? Is there a concert at Angelina College this weekend? I do quickly check the movies that start today.

Glancing at my watch, I speed through the TV page and you know sometimes I have told you what classic movie is playing in case you've had enough of the news.

Sometimes I check the Pet/Dog column, just in case somebody is looking for a dog, like the time I found Kathleen's Scottie! Oh, what a day that was - just about two (or maybe three) years ago this week. I called the number. The lady was pregnant and needing to find a home for "Samantha". I got all the details; Kathleen went at lunch break; Southwood checked out "Sam" out in the afternoon and well, Kathleen brought "Sam" to church that night to thank me for finding her. The best part of that story is that Keith thought I might have been interfering!

Classified stories don't get much better than that. Well, they sort of do . . . like the time we found Buddy the Lhasa about five years ago.

I glance at my watch again and - oh, man - if I hurry I can catch the comics and I'll leave the flyers till later, I guess.

The comics are generally on the back of the last section and I start at the middle crease on the left column which is Dagwood Bumstead and scan up to Arlo and Janice. I move across to Family Circus and catch three more, skip three and pick up at Zits down to Sally Forth.

I fold the paper really neatly - that's a courtesy to hand the paper to Keith as though it hasn't been yet read.

In comes Keith and we sit on the side of the bed, eating our apple and cheese. We say our morning prayers and begin our day.

I feel I must tell you that Saturday I do read the Religion page thoroughly but I hear you asking, "What about Sunday"?

Yes, Sunday is church day and there is definitely less time and more paper. Well, I do not touch the Sports section and I save the Business, Charm/Lifestyle and East Texas to read after apple and cheese. I go out to the sofa and Buddy and I check the flyers quickly before I go back to put on make-up and earrings. Last Sunday, we used an El Chico coupon for lunch after church.

So, why - if we can fit reading the paper into our daily routine - why are newspapers closing down? This is one of the last leisurely pleasures in life! Heck, Dagwood Bumstead was on those comic pages when I was a kid! Why wouldn't I still read him now?

I like to keep up with what's going on - right here in my town - not somewhere else! First thing in the morning, with that beautiful cup of coffee, I want to be updated right then at the beginning of the day!

Isn't it time more people subscribed to have the newspaper in their driveway first thing? I hope so, because that's my ritual and I don't want to give it up!

It Must Be Spring in East Texas!

First, the forecast high temperature for today is 81 degrees F. That's a good start to what we love about Texas!

And to make it a really fine day, the first televised game from Florida Winter Training will be on ESPN today at noon. Atlanta Braves will be playing Houston Astros. I just love it!

The picture above is of Minute Maid Park in Houston which is very much like Rogers Dome (SkyDome) in Toronto.

Ah, surely spring is here!

The Brightness of Shrove Tuesday Before The Solemnity of Ash Wednesday

Well, here we are in our Mardi Gras colors of yesterday. We had our party at church and followed with another photo of Buddy the Lhasa at home. It was a fine time! I already explained that good food we enjoyed.

Today is Ash Wednesday, a solemn day in the Christian calendar. We are heading out to our church service where Pastor will mark a cross of ash on our foreheads - "From ashes you have come and to ashes you will return". We will all leave in silence and thus begins the Lenten season which ends in the crucifying of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. After three days, He rose on what we call Easter Sunday.

It is for Christians, the holiest time of the Christian calendar. Then on Easter Sunday, we shall proclaim,

The Lord is risen; He is risen indeed! On that day (Easter) we shall again put on our bright clothes in celebration.

Letters for Our Troops

March, 2009

Hello Again from East Texas,

All around Lufkin, there are sparse signs of spring emerging. Driving down a residential street, if we look carefully, we can see paper whites and daffodils in clusters on lawns or in prepared flower beds. At our house we have a few blue iris in bloom. Looking up, some trees are still bare, but some trees have beautiful branches of tiny pink flowers.

The birds are starting to come back and some are looking for places to build nests.

At churches, the Lent season has begun which will bring Easter.

We think about our troops and all you do and how much you have sacrificed for us. We pray for you every day, hope you are safe and that you will be home again soon.

We send you our special blessings,

Keith & Martha Sutton

This isn't all that special - just a simple letter - to which I add comic strips top and bottom. In our area, our American Legion Auxiliary boxes personal items, candies, special things that troops miss from home. They do this every month, month after month and are currently sending about 85 boxes to troops from our area.

A young person away from home, serving our country, opening one of these boxes, knows people back home are thinking about them and praying for their safety and their safe return home.

We have a granddaughter in the Army serving in South Korea and being away from her friends and family is a sacrifice she is making for her country. We have more young people from our church who are serving. Joyfully, one, a Marine, is back on American soil after serving three tours in Iraq. He signed up coming out of high school and in May, his commitment will be fulfilled. He's coming home this week for a three-week leave. Is he ever in for lots of hugs!

You may have a member of your family serving in the forces, or know someone who has made this sacrifice to keep us safe.

Its just a little thing that we do to contribute 85 letters each month. Some teachers have their students write letters in their classes, many people hand write letters every month. Many contribute money for postage, money for the contents; some contribute some of the contents. Some people get together to put the boxes together and ready to mail.

If you go to http://www.ala113lufkin.org or call Lucy Burris at 936-676-9148 in our area, you can learn more. If you are in another area, I think you will find links to guide you. If you google for information for your own area, you will find people just waiting to receive your contributions with open arms!

God Bless our Troops and we do pray for their safe return!

Happy Fat Tuesday - Mardi Gras - Shrove Tuesday - Pancake Tuesday

Tomorrow - Tuesday - is known by various names in different places, but for us it is Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) and we will have a party at church tomorrow. When I was in Canada, we called it Pancake Tuesday, which would have the same effect for those of us who are inclined to gain weight easily!

This Tuesday represents the last day before the beginning of Lent (on Ash Wednesday). So, in other words, Mardi Gras is the last hurrah or party or major eating before Lent when some people give up - say chocolate - for the entire time till Easter.

Now our party will be pretty tame with some in costumes, perhaps masks and most dressed in gold, green, purples with matching beads. Our meal will be red beans and rice. (Oh, I do hope there will be some salad or cole slaw!)

For dessert, we have special Mardi Gras cakes. You eat your piece very carefully because there is a tiny plastic baby doll baked at the bottom. Whoever gets the little baby is expected to have the next party - or have good luck - whatever one believes!

The slogan for Mardi Gras which is celebrated in the craziest and grandest style in New Orleans, is LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!

If you are really wondering what to do tomorrow, just go to IHOP and get a stack of three pancakes for a donation to charity. Hopefully they are having that promotion where you are!

At the very least, do wear something colorful and enjoy a break from routine!

Yup . . . Even Smaller Than You Think!

About ten days after John’s death, I was in the Mart and when I said my husband had died, a cashier named Jopy put down her cash tray and gave me a huge hug. These were small miracles that got me through the day, the kindness people would show to me. Although people at that store did not know me by name, they knew my husband was very ill in nursing home and now that he had died.

- Exerpt from the Chapter called More Than Groceries in BUMPY ROAD TO TEXAS by Martha Sutton

I was talking to my wonderful Port Hope friend, Judy today and she was telling me about talking to her friend, and how she had told her about my book and that she was in it! Her friend turned out to be Jopy! She actually remembered me from 13 years ago and now Jopy is reading Bumpy Road To Texas!

Of course, I do wish all these people would buy copies so my book would generate income and become a bestseller, but I have to tell you that I thought it was amazing that woman remembered me and that she was interested in reading my book!

Just like Winn in Ottawa shaking Barack Obama's hand on Thursday, it points out how small this world really is! It reminds us too just how our actions can actually impact others!

Ava Is Two Already! Where Does The Time Go?

When Ava comes to our house, we crate Buddy the Lhasa because he's an only and we don't ask him to play with "other children", but he always leaves his toys for Ava to play with. Ava rolls out the toy bin from under the coffee table to see what stuffed toys and what balls are there.

It sure doesn't seem very long ago that you could hold Ava and she'd be real still for a photo. You have to be pretty fast with a camera these days!

She is as pretty as her Mother and she walks with a Texas swagger now. She can string words together into sentences and loves veggies. Today, her Mommy and Daddy will host a party for her at their house - yes!

Where does the time go?

Happy, Happy Birthday AVA!

Laugh . . . and the World Laughs with you!

This is our nephew - actually with a couple of "greats" or "grands" in front of that - Josh! Bet you didn't see anybody smile as fun as this today!

Josh is so old now that this week he got his first real haircut. Yup, Josh was one-year-old in January and his parents even took a whole week for themselves, skiing in Tahoe last week.

The benefactors were his grandparents who got to keep Josh for a whole week!

Especially these days, we need to have beautiful little children in our lives to remind us what it really is all about.

It's A Small World . . . Even Smaller Than You Think!

Well, it was a great visit to Ottawa for President Barack Obama today and we followed it from our Lufkin home on Twitter and TV.

Back when we were entertaining visitors in Toronto, I was always fascinated that they really did want souvenirs to take back home. Once we toured the CN Tower with a well-known purebred dog person as he closed down one kiosk with an enormous bill and we moved on to another that was still open where he bought several more items to take back to Bogota, Columbia.

So it was no surprise to watch President Obama looking for maple sugar (cookies) and a snowglobe among other souvenirs in the ByWard Market in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada this afternoon.

What was a surprise was that friend, Winn from Ottawa (who we know from widownet and that's twelve years ago) was there and shook hands with the President!

Now, how did I know that and know it 13 minutes after she got home? Well, that would be because when I joined Facebook a few weeks ago, Winn found me there stat! Heck, Winn has even read my book, Bumpy Road To Texas!

Don't you just love it! The world is really delightfully small these days!

By the way, Winn had already read my blog this morning!

Canada Welcomes Barack Obama - From A Different Point Of View

President Barack Obama being greeted at Ottawa by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Mounties; R.C.M.P.) and Governor-General Michaelle Jean.

Take a longer look at this cartoon coming out of Canada to honor President Barack Obama's visit today to Canada. Almost like tourists on a cruise ship, The President will spend only about six hours in Ottawa, Ontario (The Capital) today.

When people draw a map showing you how to get to their place, they often do not draw it traditionally with North at the top. Well, this cartoon is like that. It is drawn from a Canadian perspective with Canada at the bottom and U.S.A at the top. I like that!

Take another look at the Superman rendering of the President! Better than the cartoon in our paper this morning of his arm being yanked off when trying to cross the aisle (to work with the Republicans).

Being a Canadian, living most of my life in Toronto, I grew with multiculturalism. (Sorry, Mr. Hilliard - readers: refer to Mesopotamia West - see link on sidebar.) When I was a kid, Toronto was pretty British and Canada was still a Colony. Toronto back then was about 500,000 in population and Montreal, Quebec was THE city to visit in the 50s

Once I was into my thirties, Toronto was a mix of every nationality and the last figure I knew was that "Anglo-Saxons" represented only about 17% of that city's population. The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is about 5.5 million in population and that makes it THE most culturally diverse city in the world (yes, including New York). When you ride the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) buses, streetcars and subway system, you can hear many different languages.

Canadians are very excited about Barack Obama being elected President of the United States and they are showing him quite a welcome!

So far, I see that he was greeted by Mounties (R.C.M.P. - Royal Canadian Mounted Police) at Ottawa Airport. I would wager Canada will try to cram as much Canadiana into the six hour visit as possible! Already I have seen photos of people who have come from other parts of Canada to greet Mr. Obama.

Ottawa is about 250 miles northeast of Toronto. I think many people will be following Mr. Obama's visit and some may have travelled to Ottawa today.

We will see lots of footage tonight, I am sure on our nightly newscasts of this visit.

Bienvenue (Welcome) Mr. Obama! And by the way . . . there might be roaming charges on your Blackberry!

Forget the Stimulus – Here’s News You Can Use!

Fox News last night on Twitter posted a story from the Times of London on Adolf Hitler’s table manners.

Apparently while cleaning out a house, papers marked, “must be destroyed within 48 hours of reading” were found.

The papers included a psychological profile of the Nazi dictator. I think we already knew pretty much all we wanted to know about Hitler’s psyche!

I wouldn’t have thought him to be particularly well-mannered, so it is not surprising that the Fuhrer is described as biting his nails during meals, gorging on cakes. Ah . . . too much sugar, was it?

It was also mentioned that he was lost in his own thoughts and paid little attention to the dinner conversation going on around him. And we thought he was the life of the party!

Apparently Hitler would eat only vegetables and stewed fruit and banned smoking in his presence. As we would expect, he generally had one or two glasses of beer. The veggies and fruit are healthy enough.

All this coming a little less than 64 years after Hitler’s death is pretty much a non item.

But, it got you away from thinking about the stimulus bill and GM’s new money request for a few minutes, didn’t it?