Good Day for Jack - Is the Economy on a Comeback?

(For my Canadian friends: Jack in the Box is a fast food restaurant whose "boss" is a man with a giant ping-pong ball head.)

Well, here we are on Friday the 13th. It has been raining hard here all day and the lawns are lush and green. Hubby just called to let me know he is 9th in line at Jack in the Box and all is well!

Why do I say, "All is well"? Would it be because it's a scrapbooking night? Hubby has gone for a salad which I will have with low-cal dressing while he has a yum-yummy burger, so is that it? Hmm.

All is well - at least for today - because the Dow index is up for the fourth day in a row. Thank goodness! Now, if it will just stay that way, we can have a nice spring break next week and work some more on our plans to drive to Ontario in May.

Hope you had a fine day today and don't forget to assemble something green to wear on Tuesday!

Happy Friday the 13th - Again!

A Man Named Richard

Exercising!


Off stage - but you'd know him!

In Washington, very serious about getting PE back into schools.

When you hear the name "Richard Simmons", you think of exercising, eating healthy and losing weight. He is often called the "Guru".

Did you realize that Richard is now 60? Did you know he put on a business suit and went to Congress in Washington last fall to present all the reasons for getting Physical Education back in schools?

A lot of people retire when they have reached the top of their field and do not really have to work any more.

Did you know that you and I can log on to Richard's website and get everything we need to lose weight, including encouragement and motivation? Every day there is a fresh motivational message at the website.

I belong to the Club and so I have access to Monday night meetings and extra messages delivered to my inbox every day. I can also use the tools online to log my weight loss, what I have eaten today and journal my feelings as well. It is a very carefully designed website.

When I came to Texas, I was about 55 pounds heavier than I am now. (I lost the weight originally with Richard.) That means that right now, I have ten pounds to lose - again - because I have been about ten pounds lighter than I am now. Ten pounds is just about one clothing size, and I have some slacks in one more size down. I have lost about 16 pounds over the past few months and I appreciate the help I get.

There are plenty of us who will always have to be careful about what we eat. We should be exercising every day and drinking lots and lots of water. Now, I'm not going to tell you any more about that, because it is all at the website for you to read.

It is extremely easy for some of us to gain weight and we have to watch every single day exactly what we eat, or - yes - it will be back. Richard is that kind of person himself. By his own reckoning, Richard fell off about four times last year. That was three pizzas and one trip to a fast food outlet. (I would ask for Sainthood if I could honestly tell you I only fell off four times last year!)

Today was a day that was worse than a fast food outlet for me! Oh My Gosh (as they say now), did I end up at the wrong restaurant! It was at the Angelina County Airport and our friends invited us there and well . . . you know . . . I think I did see a salad or two on that blurry menu, but well, I had a patty melt. Of course, there was a bag of chips with it and a soft drink. OMG indeed!

Do you know how many calories were in that? Well, yes, I did not eat the whole thing, but I tell you, I probably am not entitled to anything more for . . . oh, about two weeks.

Of course, I am trying to make light of it, and this evening I had a very light soup and was back on track, but I cannot afford to gross out at a place like that more than once every four years!

Some people just seem to be able to eat whatever they want. Well, I can assure you, I am not one of those people. And I do not ever want to be looking at size 24 in anything ever again in my life. That's what I wore when I came to Texas. I don't ever want to be that big again!

Every day, I do a Richard Simmons tape and every day I eat very carefully. Every day I do special exercises for my legs and back and three times a week I go to Physical Therapy at a fabulous place where they are trying to make sure I never have to walk with a cane again.

Now, I have a distinct advantage because my Hubby helps me to eat healthy and makes it easy for me to do exercises. He does not bring fattening food home and there are healthy choices at just about every restaurant where we usually eat.

There is one thing I do for me every week. (Yes, I do go scrapbooking once a week, so there are two things I do for me every week!) As long as I am at home, I go to a special auditorium Richard has for one hour. There are generally about 60 to 80 people there and we all have weight loss on our minds.

Richard asked for every one's photos - and he has a book in front of him with these photos. Not everyone sent them in, but I did. I sent him one of Hubby and me when we married 12 years ago. That was a "before". The next one was of Keith and me two years ago when we renewed our marriage vows. Then there was another of me two years ago in Toronto.

At the Monday meetings, Richard knows all the people who have taken time to identify themselves, even though we have nicknames. It's hard to believe that he would take the time to be able to identify a group of people using pseudonyms!

There are many people in that meeting who are much heavier than I am and many of them will lose the same 20 pounds over and over. But Richard has all kinds of stories he never talks about of people who have literally lost 100s of pounds with his help.

The problem is this. Food tastes good. Life is hard. When things go wrong, it is really easy to open the frig and take out something fattening and consume the whole of it. That is exactly how we gain weight. We eat too much, or we eat the wrong things or we stay still and do not move or exercise.

Richard Simmons is currently on a special campaign to get physical education back into America's schools. Children are becoming more and more obese because they sit inside and play video games rather than playing outside or in organized sports or having physical education in schools.

When you are big, everything is harder. I know that. Many other people know that too. As we age, it gets harder and harder for us to do things that were simple when we were younger.

I do not think of myself as a vain person, but when I can go into the department store and buy just about anything off the rack, I just love it!

If you or someone you know has a problem with their weight, be supportive of them. Even if you do not have trouble, try to think how hard it is for them to resist some of the foods you can eat.

If you do not follow Richard Simmons, then you probably don't know that he gets up at 5:30 every morning and is exercising every day just like I have to. He knows he cannot go one day without "moving" and he knows he cannot have the pizza delivery magnet on his refrigerator.

Thirty some years ago, Richard opened a weight loss salon that you can read about on his website. He still personally teaches there when he is home and I think that is one of his greatest pleasures. Soon, he will be hosting his Cruise To Lose (to the Caribbean) and he travels around the country promoting fitness for every age group.

One thing Richard still does just about every day is sit down at his desk and personally make maybe fifteen telephone calls to those of us who are having major problems. That is terrific dedication!

Now that I am on Facebook, well, Richard and everybody knows I ate what I shouldn't have today. That is not really a problem because tomorrow, I will just double up on my exercise and try to make sure I am back on track. If you have a weight problem, I hope things are going well for you today and perhaps something I have mentioned will help you as it has me.

http://www.richardsimmons.com

My Friend Jesse - From Another Great Generation!

Now, I don't know a lot about the military, but I want to tell you (as best I can) about my friend, Jesse.

Jesse's a Marine. Always will be. You know, ONCE A MARINE, ALWAYS A MARINE!

Jesse joined the Marines right out of high school and now the five years are almost fulfilled. WOW!

We prayed for Jesse every day. He has been to Iraq three times! He has been home several times for brief visits, like in the photos above when he served at our Sisters In Christ Banquet.

Jesse has an older brother who is working in Houston and an older sister in Baltimore. He has wonderful parents, a forester and a nurse. Tonight, Hubby noticed just how much Jesse looks like his Dad. His father was giving a presentation for our Lenten service - The Judge.

Jesse has been home for a couple of weeks and will soon go back to Camp Le Jeune till June.

Aside from Jesse looking more mature, he's just the same Jesse he has always been . . . courteous to his elders, friendly, well-spoken.

How can a person be in the military for five years, in Iraq for three tours and just be the same person?

The first answer that comes to mind is that Jesse has very grounded parents. Tonight we were talking and I told Jesse that his father told me back when he entered the Marines that Jesse always wanted to help people. His father had seen that in him as a youngster.

What I was wondering was how much of an adjustment Jesse has to make to ease back into ordinary civilian routine. He will go to college, I'm pretty sure of that, but I think he is not too sure just what he would like to do.

I asked him about the contents of those boxes that get sent to Iraq. I asked him what were his favorite things and he said,

"Cans of soup and energy bars." Simple enough!

I asked him about the food they ate in Iraq and he talked about little packages that when you pull a cord, it heats and you eat it. Hmm . . . he did not seem to be too sorry to be leaving those behind although he pondered that it was a pretty good invention.

He seemed pretty comfortable at church and really was enjoying the potluck. Jesse has always been a quiet person - which I admire in people, probably because I am the opposite. I had to keep asking to get a feel for how he was really feeling about coming back to civilian life.

I asked about his friends because I guessed many of them had moved away and I was right about that. Jesse will also probably be going elsewhere to college and he will make lots of friends, I don't worry about that. He bought himself an SUV and that seemed kind of a sensible vehicle for an attractive young man. (Guess he had all the thrills he needs for a lifetime in Iraq. Of course, we didn't talk about that.)

We talked about simple stuff tonight, and I told him I was going to tell you about him because he is one of my favorite people. I gave him the link to get to this blog.

I think we know from The Greatest Generation that certainly the men who went to WWII wanted to come back to a nice, simple life in a tidy home with a picket fence. I wonder just how different this generation is from that?

We have another friend who was here on leave from Afghanistan and he commented on missing his little boy's daily adventures. So, you know, I am thinking that this generation is also a great generation and hopefully most of them will survive as Jesse has been fortunate to do.

Future plans for Jesse as he eases back into civilian routine?

"I think I will go to Schlotzky's tomorrow!"

[Schlotzky's is a chain of restaurants whose slogan is "Funny Name - Great Sandwich"]

Let's Talk About Divorce . . .

When I was 25, I married an attractive man who had a few flaws but a great family. Since I was an only child, I really enjoyed being part of that family and they treated me very well. We gathered most winter weekends in Toronto and in summer we went up to Muskoka. In latter years, we would go snowmobiling up north on winter weekends.

Both of our children died in infancy and that did not help the union at all. (I was about 35 years coming to closure. Why? Why me? My current Hubby and I were in a Bible Study of Isaiah when the words jumped off the page at me and I finally – with the help of all my friends in that study – was able to somewhat understand the “why”. )

The marriage went very badly and after ten years, I bravely packed it up. (Yes, I say bravely, because there must be others like me who have a job but not a lot of resources and virtually no family. I had nothing to fall back on. I was selling Real Estate in Toronto and you can bet I worked very long, hard hours!)

After the break, I remember driving up Yonge Street one afternoon and seeing my “former” brother-in-law in his station wagon but not waving. It just felt awkward.

Now, if you have read my book, Bumpy Road To Texas, then you know some of this already.

When I married again and was able to travel to Cape Breton where they now live, I found that my Ex’s family wanted us to visit. We not only visited, we had a fine time and over the years, I have visited them many times. They have been great supporters of mine and have been very kind to Hubby, welcoming him into the family as well.

All these years later – about 43 or so, I know I have family in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and also in British Columbia. So, these people are family to us. We are family to them.

I wanted to write about this subject because I have been through it and now am very much on the other side of it. That family is a very special; Mother-in-law is ninety now and my two sisters-in-law are still my sisters-in-law.

When I was a kid, hardly anyone got divorced. You just hardly ever heard about it – in Toronto, anyway.

Well, that was then and this is now and the divorce rate is very high and there are many families who try to help their children and their children-in-law. If couples have been married for, say eight or ten years, bonds have formed and perhaps your sweet grandchildren are involved.

Nowadays, there is usually a proviso for joint custody of children and I hear all the time about children not wanting to go to visit their father, for instance, or being obliged to talk to fathers on the telephone at a specific time. (I realize I may offend some in assuming that mother has the children most of the time.I apologize for that.)

Sons and daughters calling mothers for advice on how to handle situations is pretty common and I have friends who are grandmothers caught in the middle of this drama.

You may have your own experiences so I won’t give you any more examples because you know exactly what happens, and especially how much it hurts everyone.

I just want to point out something you might not have thought about. That man or woman your child married was very special. You probably thought so too! It is not your fault it did not work. Now, say five or ten years later, you know it is better that they have separated but you are not too sure what to do.

Probably the first thing to do is nothing in terms of siding with one or the other. We are never inside other people’s relationships and we cannot even imagine what their married life was like.

Parents do not like to think that their children could have done anything that would have contributed to the break-up. That is fair.

Another aside would be to mention that today, many couples are not getting married. Some of them even have homes and all the traditional events – birthdays, Christmas, and so on but they just did not legally marry. They do have children though.

We, as parents and grandparents must mesh in or be out of the loop totally.

I saw a photo the other day that actually made me cry. It was my niece – yes, she is still my niece – and so beautiful and now working to keep what she feels should be hers and her child’s. Her parents and her in-laws are trying to be supportive. I am not close to her but she is a very special person who went out of her way to pick up a card I had sent. (She is a special person from a special family.) She is a great mother and a beautiful woman. I want so badly for her to have a super life. (If I have had a super life, so can she!) I hope she meets fine people with similar interests and moves on.

I also hope her soon-to-be-ex husband moves on and has a great life too. People grow apart; their ideas change; problems interfere. That doesn’t make them bad people.

I have several friends facing this problem and worrying. They worry they might not see their grandchildren. They worry their children (adults though they may be) have made mistakes that they cannot reverse or heal.

The older I get, the more I see that we do not live in our grandparents’ world. My grandparents lived a nice, simple life and certainly never knew if there was a problem in their son’s home life. I see friends all around me trying to cope with their children’s marriage breakdowns. I see them trying to be wise in answering the questions posed to them. I see them going out of their way to make sure their grandchildren especially know they are loved. I see them having Christmas a couple of days late because someone else was “entitled” to celebrate on the actual date.

One of the sweetest encounters I have seen, was a mother whose daughter was invited at the last minute to dinner by a person she had not dated before.

“Oh, I am so sorry – I have no sitter for my son and daughter – can we do dinner another time?

Now here is the kind of man you want your daughter to meet! He said:

“Bring your children along!”

After dinner, the daughter came by cropping (scrapbooking) with her son and daughter who had had a wonderful time at Red Lobster. We all were asking the children if they had fun and clearly they and their mother had indeed!

“Mother – you told all these people?”

Ha! Ha! How happy we all were but not nearly as happy as her mother!

We live in the 21^st Century and we must cope with what it has in store for us. We must adjust but most of all, we must have a loving attitude toward all involved in our lives.

Barbie is Fifty!

Monday, March 9th is the 50th Anniversary of Barbie Dolls! How can that be, you say?

There will be a special doll marketed this week (March 9 - 14) for $3.00. This could be the best value of the week!

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!