Always mindful, always mournful

As a singer music has always been there when I couldn't find the correct or "right" words. . . . today, as for the past 9 years, I think these lyrics sung by Alan Jackson are perfect.

We need to remember. . . . .We need to be prepared. . . . We will always mourn. . . .We will always have hope, with God's grace. . . .

"Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)"

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cry

Did you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don't know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left below

Did you burst out in pride
For the red white and blue
The heroes who died just doing what they do
Did you look up to heaven for some kind of answer
And look at yourself to what really matters

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Teaching a class full of innocent children
Driving down some cold interstate
Did you feel guilty cause you're a survivor
In a crowded room did you feel alone
Did you call up your mother and tell her you love her
Did you dust off that bible at home
Did you open your eyes and hope it never happened
Close your eyes and not go to sleep
Did you notice the sunset the first time in ages
Speak with some stranger on the street
Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow
Go out and buy you a gun
Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watching
And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns
Did you go to a church and hold hands with some stranger
Stand in line and give your own blood
Did you just stay home and cling tight to your family
Thank God you had somebody to love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

I'm just a singer of simple songs
I'm not a real political man
I watch CNN but I'm not sure I can tell you
The difference in Iraq and Iran
But I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things he gave us
And the greatest is love

The greatest is love
The greatest is love

Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day





In peace and pieces,

Where have all the English teachers gone?

One of my "pet peeves" is that there are so many people that cannot use proper grammar(and I am talking about people that think they are very smart).

I haven't been in a public school in a while but I hope that the educational society hasn't given up on basic grammar and punctuation rules in an effort to be more "cutting edge".

Case in point, when are you trying to say "You are welcome" but want to use a contraction the proper spelling is "you're" -- which is the correct way to abbreviate the words "you" and "are". I can't tell you how many times I have seen it as "your".

"Your" is the correct word to indicate possession (as in "your desk is too messy".).

And I don't even want to start on how kids today can't spell in any way except "cyber speak". . . .makes one wonder how they think they will be able to move up the corporate ladder without basic skills of proper language skills.

Do you have any English pet peeves?


In peace and pieces,

This is just plain disgusting behavior. . . .

Ok, I will be the first to admit that I prefer the company of animals over alot of humans. . . . so my attitude might be a little too "hard core" for some people to take; but after reading this article online from my local newspaper:

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100908/NATIONWORLD/100908030/PETA+says+video+shows+lab+dog++cat+abuse+at+NC+research+facility

I just have to ask when are people going to "get it". . . God created everything on this earth (not to mention the Earth itself) and while we humans were given dominion over everything God expects us to be good stewards of his creation.

Now don't even get me started about how animal research is the most backwards, idiotic thing I have ever heard of --- researchers even admit that testing chemicals on animals is NOT a good gauge of how things will work in or on the human "animal" since we are NOT the same. But here, this research lab is supposed to be helping with medications for companion animals and God's creatures are mistreated, uncared for and made fun of.

Hey, I have a wonderful idea. . . .people like the lab workers in this story & all animal abusers should be used as research subjects. Human studies will actually WORK when it comes to actual chemical reactions & treatments for the rest of us & all of the animal rescue people would be happy to "dish out" a little justice for our 4 legged counterparts that do not have enough voices advocating for them.

In peace and pieces,

Back Home

DH & I are recuperating from a lovely trip to Denver, PA. It's amazing how tired I get after coming back from a relaxing vacation!

Casey is doing well on her meds. . . .she is pretty much back to normal which is making both of us happy.

Sorry, no new pictures. . . .but I'm almost done with the afghan for my friend so I'll be showing that soon.

Have a wonderful day,

In peace and pieces,

Same Stuff. . . . . Different Day

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth again. . . .I just don't have anything new to post about.

I'm still plugging away on the blue & cream afghan --- I'm thinking I might be able to finish it this weekend as I only have 10 or 12 more rows to go.

I haven't been working on the pink & green quilt all that much. . . even with the air conditioning it has just been too hot to quilt. Plus I have some other projects that have been demanding some time.

On the Lyme Disease front. . . .Casey seems to be doing well on the antibiotics --- she is pretty much back to her old self. We still have a little while before the drugs are completed so I am hoping everything will be fine once she is back "on her own".

DH & I are planning a cruise to Alaska for next year. We will use the trip as a celebration of our 5th wedding anniversary. We will be married 5 years in November of this year -- but as there are no cruises in Alaska at that time it will be a celebration postponed.

We have been very blessed that even in this economy we both have jobs and have been able to get into a position to afford this type of trip.

Sorry that there is no eye candy this time; hopefully I'll have some by the next time I post.

In peace and pieces,

Update on the furbaby

As of this point our vet thinks that Casey just has lyme disease.

We started giving her the antibiotics on Thursday evening & by Friday she was wagging her tail. . .which was a great improvement however how she had been feeling. I thought everything was going fine.

Today she won't let us go anywhere near her mouth. . . even just petting her snout causes her to start whimpering like she is in pain. I'm not sure what to make of this new development.

She did not want to eat this morning. . . . but ate her supper easily and even gave me some soft "whoo whoo" sounds when I offered her the cheese that she gets her meds with.

Hopefully things will continue to improve. . .but if they don't we will just have to see what the vet thinks should be done as a next step.

Hope things are well in your households. . . . .


In peace and pieces,

My furbaby has lyme disease. . . . .

Those of you that have read my blog for a while know that I am a dog person. . . my beloved Bogart died almost 2 years ago after enriching my life for 11 years (and helping me find "Mr. Right").

Casey, our cockapoo rescue, has been with us since shortly after Bogart's passing. . . I wasn't ready, but DH was & she just kind of "picked" us. . . and those of you that have adopted a rescue dog probably understand what I am talking about. . . there wasn't ever really a conscious decision of "this is THE dog". . . everything just sort of fell into place.

Anyway, Casey has been drinking a lot of water for the past couple of weeks. . . I really didn't think too much of it because the weather has been really hot & humid. . .but in recent days it has been pretty dank & dreary but the water consumption kept up.

They she started acting really lethargic. . . and not really being interested in eating.

So today, off to the vet we went. After dealing with Bogart's diabetes I was expecting that same diagnosis. . . .

That's NOT what I got. . .well, at least not yet.

Casey tested positive for Lyme Disease and is now on mega doses of antibiotics. She may have just gotten the disease or she could have had it all along but it just "flared" again. . . there is no way to know since, as the vet put it, "once positive for Lyme, always positive for Lyme".

Now we have the waiting game to see what the rest of the blood work has to say. . .could be diabetes, could be Cushings (haven't looked that up on the internet yet but the vet said it is medically treatable). . .her kidneys could be effected. . .just have to wait & see.

Oh, and on top of all of this. . . .she needs to have her teeth cleaned (which means being knocked out); but that will have to wait until we have these other medical issues dealt with.

There's always something going on in our house.


In peace and pieces,