Memories floating back ...

I lost a friend this week and her passing caused me to stop and reflect over the many ways our lives had woven a tapestry in the last 25 years. We attended the same church while we were raising our children and K often commented that she wished her son would marry my daughter. In later years she just wished her son would marry anyone's daughter! We often tried to fix him up with first one and then another but he was shy and it never worked out. (Looks like he does have a serious girlfriend now. 'bout time!) When I returned to Texas last year, K was one of the first to greet me and welcome me home.

There's a group of old friends that go out to eat every Sunday night after church and K and her husband were always there when she felt physically able. We often laughed and talked about events from our past and she was an appreciative audience of my silly side.

Driving home from visiting with K's family the other night I remembered something that made me laugh out loud. Another of my embarrassing moments I had not thought of in years!

Shortly after my ex and I divorced, the kids and I were invited to join several other families that were camping over the Labor Day weekend. K and her husband were among this group of experienced campers with their trailers, campers, RVs, etc and were very welcoming to me and my children.  K's daughter and new son in law came out for a day and brought their ski boat that could easily hold 8 adults or a dozen kids! Throughout the day, everyone was in and out of the water, having fun skiing and Mike patiently took a group out, brought them back and headed out with another load.

When the big innertube was tied to the back, I decided to take some pictures of my kids being bounced across the lake. Soon it looked like too much fun to pass up and the teens reluctantly let me take a turn. I had gone on that run as the only adult supervising the young ones, while Mike drove the boat, and had not intended to get wet again.  I had changed into clothes that were the mode of the day, jean shorts and a big shouldered tshirt. (It was the early 90s and it was the days of bangs that defied gravity and designer tshirts in every color with coordinating earrings the size of half dollars. Anyone remember those?)

My young teen took pictures that preserved his mother making a fool of herself and after a few batterings from the wake, I had raccoon eyes from my mascara running and I looked like a drowning cat. But I was having a blast and laughing so hard at my feeble attempts to stay on and "ride the waves."  Finally, I lost my grip and Mike dutifully came back around to pull me from the lake.

As he trolled up slowly so that I could swim over and climb aboard he tried to say something but he was a bit tongue-tied and stammered that he thought I had "lost something."  Mike pointed next to me in the water and there, a few feet away, were two massive shoulder pads that had worked their way out of my oh-so-chic shirt and past the lifejacket. They were the flesh colored foam ones that were large and rounded on one end and tapered to flat on the other end. I could tell he was embarrassed, not certain of what he was witnessing from this friend of his mother in law. I scooped them up laughing, tried to squeeze out the water and show him, "They are just my shoulderpads!!" With a beet-red face, he just nodded his head, "Yeah, okay." and turned away.

After Mike and his new bride headed home that evening I shared the story with K and the other adults around the campfire. No one enjoyed my tale more than K. She would be pleased that I remembered and shared it here.

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Old Habits Die Hard

“Hellooooo” she said in her best Mrs. Doubtfire imitation.  Yes, I am back after more than a month without access to the computer in my new home.  I have missed reading your journal entries on a regular basis and I have really missed adding my own journal posts!   

 

So often, in the last few weeks, something would happen and I would think of adding to my journal.  Getting everything to work again, after the move, has been a technological nightmare but I have to credit my daughter with finally reconnecting me to the outside world. 

 

I love to keep things light and funny in this little piece of cyberspace so let me recap some of the events that would have been part or all of a journal post in the last five weeks

 

1. Chasing my prescription from the dentist across two parking lots, a street and a field during a recent windstorm.
2. Five visits to the dentist.  My random thoughts while under the gas were certainly blog worthy!
3. Losing a temporary crown just as visitors from Corporate came to see our new office operations.  That post would have been titled “Fixodent:  A Little Dab Will Do Ya"
4. Having a cricket jump up my pants leg while I was on the phone at work.
5. Right after I moved, I unexpectedly found myself with no electricity in the middle of the night. I almost broke my neck stumbling over boxes as I tried to find candles and matches using the only available light … the glow from my dying cell phone.
6. “Fun with Duct Tape”  (I had no idea it came in camouflage!)
7. Casino Night at the company Christmas party.  I could do no wrong that night playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker and wound up going head to head against my boss.

Things are very busy at work and I am still trying to dig out from under the schtuff I felt compelled to move.  I have missed journaling and am soooo glad to be back.

 

Make it a great day!

 

Donna

 

This is my post from www.dustbunnyprotector.blogspot.com 

Bringing you up to speed

I have actually posted twice on Blogger lately.

Click here to check it out. 

My older entries are being moved and they have been backdated to their original August post dates.

 

http://dustbunnyprotector.blogspot.com

First Annual Dallas Bloggers Holiday Extravaganza

                           

For the second month in a row the Dallas Bloggers (formerly known as J-landers) got together for fun, food and festivities.  This time we gathered at the home of Vivian, Nwanyioma's Journal. Even though our little AOL community has been dealt a blow, we did not let it deter us from coming together and having a wonderful time.  I'd say six hours for brunch is more than sufficient, wouldn't you?! 

The last time we were gathered Julie, twin sister of Judith at Mirror, Mirror on the wall, was out of town and unable to join us.  This time, Julie was present but Judi, emmapeeldallas, was under the weather and did not make it. We missed you, Judi!  It was great to meet you, Julie!!

The food we enjoyed was as eclectic as the participants.  Everything was delicious!  To avoid indigestion, we kept our grumblings of the AOL ad dibacle to a minimum but all agreed, it was poorly handled and has damaged what was a peaceful, happy little community.  We each have handled the situation in our own way and were pleased to know we shall remain friends regardless of where we blog!  I suspect we will learn of more bloggers in the Dallas area in our new and various journal homes and our numbers may grow.  Vivian was the only one who took pictures this time and, even though she has shared, I'll let her post those on her journal.  She has a lovely home which reflects her warmand friendlypersonality.

I can tell V has been very busy since we were all together yesterday.  Check out her latest journal entry.  I am a bit behind but have every intention of catching up soon. Here is my new home. 

I am in love!!

It has been a long time since I felt this way!  It is difficult to put into words the emotions I have been experiencing in the last 24 hours.  My legs are weak ... I can't concentrate ... my eyes flutter open and then close again  ... coherent thoughts will not form ... a brief smile floats across my face and then I drift into a peaceful reverie.  Ahhh .. yes Christmas has come early to my house.

I am not one normally given to such abandon.  Typically, I would remain more discreet and reserved but you are my Internet family and I know I can share this with you.  I trust you will respect my feelings, share my happiness and wish me well.

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I bought the Homedics, Shiatsu Massaging Cushion from WalMart.  I may never get up from this chair.

Isn't he adorable???

Speaking of leftovers

How appropriate, after Thanksgiving, to be thinking of re-heating leftovers. (Is that redundant?) So much is happening right now and the best I can do on most days is keep my head above the fray. I am going to focus on adding my old (AOL) posts to my new Blogspot journal starting back in August so I hope you will enjoy the re-heated entries. Check (http://dustbunnyprotector.blogspot.com) for new August posts.

 

I enjoyed a nice weekend with my parents and my aunt and uncle in East Texas.  My kids had other family members they needed to be with but everyone is coming together at Christmas so we will celebrate together then.

 

I am preparing to move out of my son's house into my own home in just a few short days so decorating for Christmas is a bit hit and miss this year. Christmas is always my most favorite time of year and I have enough decorations to fill a house and three full-size trees.  I do not like to over do it so I carefully pick and choose what I set out each year and rotate items to keep from becoming too cluttered.  It has been three years since I set up my Christmas Village but it isn't going to see the light of day in 2005 either. And, since I will not be entertaining this year, that means the Christmas dishes, platters, bowls, chip N dip snowmen, etc. will stay packed away. Of course, the outside lights can stay packed as well.

 

So, what does that leave? Well, for one thing, there is my Santa collection including almost 200 miniature Santas. I promise to post a picture of the little guys as soon as I set them out. I am so silly about my Santas.  To be part of my collection they must be full-bodied.  Just a Santa head will not do.  They cannot be over four inches tall.  And, I am partial to the Santas that are unique. I have one little guy who is riding a dolphin, given to me by a friend at work in North Carolina.  Another one is Santa taking a bubble bath in a lion claw tub. I must assume he is full-bodied but cannot prove it.  LOL Then there is the Santa that is 1/4" tall, the one that is from Russia, and the marzipan Santa. Each one holds a special memory and it just makes me feel good to get them out each year.

 

Quite by accident I realized one year that I had a large assortment of angel ornaments. I gathered them all together and have enough to decorate a full-size tree. And, my mother just added two to that collection over the weekend!

 

I have one large Rubbermaid tub filled with what I have labeled Christmas Critters. In addition to several full-sized Christmas bears, I have a collection of small critters that I perch on each rung of a little ladder leaning on the tree. There is Rodney and Rhonda Reindeer, a polar bear, a fluffy, fat lamb, a donkey, and a teddy bear, just to name a few.  They look like they are invading the tree and then a few sit on the branches.  Rodney has a half chewed ear from the year of the puppy but he doesn't mind!

 

Among my other Christmas goodies are throws, decorative pillows, chair covers, books, pillowcases, games, puzzles, wreaths, CDs, sleighs, baskets, flower arrangements, hat boxes, candles, wall hangings, pictures, Smores, table runners, snow globes, music boxes, frames, a lamp, stationary, tote bags and the kids' childhood crafts. 

 

Oh, yes.  There is also a tree and a few hundred lights and ornaments. It will be interesting to see what gets done this year!

Keywords and Transitions for a Dust Bunny Gal

I have remained relatively low key about my unhappiness with AOL and the garish ads they have slapped on our journals.  I do not want to stomp and scream and respond in a way that will cause how I express myself to be dismissed as over reacting, drama or impulsive.  I have given this much thought and have been taking the necessary steps to prepare for my transition to another journal home. (It is a tedious process but one I feel is necessary.) 

Before I share the simple steps I am taking to make the move smoother, I want to tell you about a conversation I had with AOL yesterday.  While visiting with my parents over Thanksgiving, I told them of the recent events and how AOL was behaving with little apparent concern for their paying customers. One thing led to another and, after helping my dad obtain another Internet provider, we then placed the call to AOL to notify them of my father's decision to drop their service.  He let me do the honors and I eagerly waited for the question as to why AOL was losing a customer. 

I was gracious but firm when I explained to the customer service representative that since my parent's free trial period was coming to a close they had decided not to stay with AOL.  When the rep pressed me further I told him about my length of time with AOL and since I was leaving my parents no longer saw the benefit of continuing the service. 

The CSR had obviously had to explain about the ads and pop-ups many times and he proceeded to tell me how I could get rid of the ads through a plethora of options AOL offered.  "Yes, I have done that (and it leaves a big gap on the screens), but will it prevent anyone coming to my journal from seeing what I may or may not have eliminated?"  No.  They would not be able to block the ads but if they were part of the AOL community they could follow steps one thru fourteen and delete/block the ads themselves.  'Nuff said.  I asked the CSR to please pass my expressed unhappiness on to "the powers that be" even though I had little hope of a satisfactory resolution.  He then told me about an AOL option I have not seen posted onany other site.  (If you have already passed the word on this, I apologize for taking your time.) 

Go to Keyword and type in "Member Feedback."  This particular form is directed straight to the corporate office in Virginia.  Interestingly enough, you will not find Member Feedback on the "M"s when you are "exploring keywords."  You can find "Tell AOL" but that is handled by staff and not Corporate.

Please share this information to anyone you feel might be interested.

Here are the steps I am finding helpful when transitioning away from AOL.  I do not want to lose touch with so many of you that have become an important part of my life. I can already see that we are continuing our feeling of community with our blogspot journals and I expect to see it grow. 

1.  I registered for Bloglines.  This is the easiest way to copy and paste all the URLs of the journals I wish to read when they post.  Bloglines will then notify me when one of my friends adds a new entry.  [A plus to this option is you can see the name of the journal that has posted rather than a generic alert notification.]

2.  I started a new journal among the many free blogging sites.  I am very understanding of advertising when the journal service is free.  (That is why it never bothered me for the AIM journals to have the ads.  It was a trade-off in my eyes.)  I have chosen www.Blogger.com

3.  I am notifying interested parties of my new journal location.  http://dustbunnyprotector.blogspot.com/

4.  I have started copying and pasting my AOL entries into their new home.  With Blogger I have the latitude to back date the entries to the date when I originally posted.  This will also give my new readers a chance to easily read my earlier works as they are re-posted.

5.  Luckily I was already using www.photobucket.com for saving graphics and pictures to use in emails and my journal.  I am still trying to get use to the graphic side of my blogspot but then I had a learning curve at AOL, too, when I was new.

6.  I am trying to be gracious about leaving and not in your face about my decision.

7.  I will continue to post in both locations (as it is appropriate) until the transition is complete. 

I hope you will stick with me and continue to find my little piece of cyberspace worthwhile.

Thank you.