Erie, PA/ Niagara Falls, Ontario

We woke up this morning in Cranberry, PA which is just north of the city of Pittsburgh. A friend on Plurk suggested that we eat at a place called Eat-N-Park which happened to be right down from our hotel. After breakfast we decided to go to Niagara Falls, Ontario, then decided to go to Toronto first and work our way south back home after that. Then we arrived in Erie where there were lots of things to do so we spent most of the morning and early afternoon there. We went across to Preque Isle State Park which is right in Lake Erie. It was a beautiful park and we got out to walk along the beach and see one of the lighthouses. It was really hard to believe that we weren’t looking at an ocean and only seeing a lake because there were lots of waves as the water hit the beach. After the park, we went downtown to see the festival Celebrate Erie which had a lot of vendors so we found a great lunch (sausage hoagie with peppers and onions, cheese fries and a drink).

When we left Erie, we decided to spend the night in Buffalo but when we got to Buffalo, it was still early so we decided we would go on to Toronto. Luckily I went online to try to find a hotel, and the ones downtown near the Canadian National Exhibition was about $200 a night plus $30 a night for parking so we changed our mind and decided we would save that trip for another time. Instead we headed to Niagara Falls, Ontario. I didn’t realize how long it would take to cross the border because the traffic was horrendous. There weren’t any clear lanes and people were switching lanes and cutting in front of others. Finally we got to the border patrol where we were asked bunches of questions and then told to go to an area where they could search our car. My poor baby car was strip searched. They went through it with a fine tooth comb and I wish I knew what they were looking for but I know they wouldn’t find it in my car.

Finally we arrived at our hotel, Hampton Inn at the Falls which is only a couple of blocks away from the falls. I was so hungry at this time that we went to Burger King for dinner. We both got a Whopper value meal that cost me $18.01 USD! I have never paid that much at a fast food restaurant for a hamburger before! Then we walked along the water front and saw the falls. They were beautiful! Once it got dark, they turned the lights on the falls and the lights changed colors so they looked like a rainbow at times. At 10pm, they had a fireworks show over the falls and then we headed back for some much needed rest.

Best Friend, Relaxation, and Personal Feelings

Thursday's Blog Prompt: Today is Best Friends Day. Who is your best friend and tell why?

My best friend is my husband. We have been married for 26 years and he knows all of my secrets and I know his. When I say all, I mean all. We do not keep secrets from each other at all. I do have things I would rather not tell him and may delay telling him, but the guilt gets to me and I spill my guts (like when I dented the car, forgot to pay the bill etc.). He has always been there to support me no matter what I am doing. He encourages me to do things that I should do but sometimes fear keeps me from doing it. When he knows I really want to do something but not sure if it is logistically possible, he will do all he can to help me make it work. When I am sick, he never wants to leave my side and cares for me better than anyone else ever could. I can’t imagine life without him.

Friday's Blog Prompt: Today is National Relaxation Day. How do you plan to relax today?

I plan to play on my computer, walk in the park with my husband (4.5 mile exercise walk), read Nora Roberts’ book The Hollow, and crochet. It is really easy to relax now that I’m retired. I can do what I want when I want. I have had to make up a little routine of doing household chores or I would never get them done. I know my life sounds boring right now but I’m enjoying it.

On a more personal note: I just have to share some of my feelings lately. I feel so out of sorts that I don’t feel like scrapbooking or blogging. I think it is because school is about to start and I’m missing it. Last year was the first time I didn’t have to go back to school and it was actually a neat feeling, like being on holiday when everyone else wasn’t. I really didn’t mind not going and didn’t miss it at all. This year I’m more connected with other educators online because I’ve been doing some consulting work and for some reason, I really miss it this year. I know this feeling will pass, especially when I hear about the paperwork or the discipline problems so I will just ride it out. I think it was also hard because I was offered another job yesterday for a wonderful position but I couldn’t take it. It was to be a 1 on 1 teacher with a middle school special ed student who couldn’t handle the school situation. It would be like being a home school teacher to someone else’s child. The pay would be great but it would tie us down and I promised my husband five years of not committing to anything long term. Especially with the health scare he had this year (nothing serious even though at first we thought it was), it really brought home that life is too short. I will still contract with the school district to do teacher evaluations which is easy to do because I determine when I observe and have meetings. Oh well, thank you for letting me share this because now I feel a little better.

Sewing Machine Day

Blog Prompt: Today is Sewing Machine Day. If you could sew, what is something you would love to make or if you already sew, what was your favorite thing you made. Describe it.

My mother sewed all my clothes when I was growing up and even made my wedding gown. I picked out the pattern, material, pearls, lace, and she took it home to FL to put it all together. I never saw my gown until the day before the wedding and had no doubts about how well it would fit. She knew my measurements and everything she made always fit me perfectly. We would go to the store and I would point out things I would like to wear and she would go home and sew them up for me. Of course as a teenager, I never appreciated all that she did and the sacrifices she made for me to have these clothes. I was so selfish that all I could do was resent that I couldn’t have store-bought clothes like my friends. Now I wish I could sew like her. If I could make something, I would make a dress to wear that looked simple but classy. I would like it to be in a pastel color with some black swirl print on it (I’m into swirls lately). I’m so tired of wearing the same old dresses to church but since we retired, it is hard to justify buying new clothes when I really don’t have anywhere to wear them to.

Garage Sale Item

Photo by _moonpie
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License

Blog Prompt: Aug. 9th was National Garage Sale Day. What item in your home would you just love to get rid of and why?
This is really hard because I don’t know where to start. I have so much junk (my husband thinks these are treasures) that clutter up my house, shed, and storage building. I think the biggest item that I have is this old vending machine that is in storage. My husband had it in his office and filled it with crackers and cookies so people who were waiting could buy them for fifty cents. It is really heavy, old and just plain in the way of me storing more junk (I mean treasures) that he continues to buy at flea markets and garage sales.

Olympics 2008

Blog Prompt – Today is the first day of the Olympics in China. What is your favorite and least favorite event in the Olympics?

I really like to watch the gymnastics competition because I think it takes so much strength and self discipline (both of which I have so little of). I am always so amazed how young they are and what abilities they have because they always look so graceful (yes even the men!). When I was in high school, we were required to some some gymnastics and I was pretty awful. A somersault was about the best thing I can do and since I had very little muscles in my arms, pole vaulting and parallel bars were pretty embarrassing. I could walk across the balance beam and sometimes turn around and walk back. Now that you can picture my gymnastic ability, I will leave you with that hilarious picture in your mind and let you return to your daily life!

Professional Speaker Wish

Blog Prompt: Today is Professional Speaker’s Day. If you were in charge of a meeting, who would you invite to be the speaker and why?



I would invite Jill Bolte Taylor. She is a brain scientist who had a stroke and recovered. I first heard her speak on TED Talks. Then I read her book My Stroke of Insight and then I listed to the podcasts where Oprah interviewed her on her soul series. I thought she was so inspiring that I loved to hear her story. I also felt that she had great messages for teachers and other care givers out there in order to be better at their jobs. I would love to meet her in person!

Fresh Breath Day

Blog Prompt: Today is National Fresh Breath Day. If you had to work closely with someone with bad breath for a few months, how would you handle the situation?

First I would try to put out some mints and then offer it to the person. I learned a long time ago that if someone offers you a mint, take it and eat it. If that didn’t work, I would eat a lot of mints so the smell might cover up their smell. If I just couldn’t take it anymore, I would say something as tactfully as I could like: “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but for some reason your breath is kicking off my allergies. It is probably just me, but would you please eat this mint?” If that didn’t work, I would start making gagging sounds every time they got close to me! LOL

Simplify My Life

Blog Prompt: This week is Simplify Your Life Week. What are some ways that you could simplify your life?

I have found that being retired pretty much simplified my life but left me feeling so disorganized that I couldn’t enjoy it. I decided to do certain household chores on certain days of the week. This helped me get them done instead of trying to do all of them at once whenever I got around to them. Another thing I’ve done was plan dinner for the week and grocery shop once a week. This has helped us save tons of money plus I’m not stressing about what we will eat each night. I also garden about an hour each morning and try to do a little bit each day instead of trying to get everything done all at once. I’m starting to see a lot of progress by doing this and I don’t feel miserable when I’m done.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Food

Blog Prompt: Today is National Chocolate Chip Day. Describe your favorite chocolate chip food.

My favorite chocolate chip food is Tollhouse chocolate chip cookies. I remember when I was a teenager, I always wanted to make them at home but I wasn’t allowed to touch anything in the kitchen (because I almost burned the kitchen down once, I was not allowed to do much in it but that is a whole ‘nother story). When I was in college, I helped my roommate make these using our dorm oven. Now how hard is it to make these, right? Well about ten years ago, I tried to make these in my oven but they melted on the cookie sheet and was about 1mm thin and burned. I called my neighbor to come help me because I needed to make them for a garden club event. Being the good neighbor, she rushed over and helped me make another batch. I had her watch me closely to make sure I followed the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag which I did. But when they came out of the oven, the same thing happened. After I got done crying, I went to the store and bought the Pillsbury dough that you spoon out on the cookie sheet and bake. They came out perfect but they weren’t Tollhouse cookies. Ever since then, I’ve stuck to Chips Ahoy cookies but someday….

Respect

Blog Prompt: Today is Respect for Parents Day. How were you taught respect when you were growing up?

My mother used to always have this saying when she was really mad and it was, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out!” Plus, my mother never said anything she didn’t mean so I felt she really believed this. I used to think I was such an abused child when I was younger. I had to do chores before I could go out and play, I had to make up my bed, I had to vacuum once a week. Was I Cinderella? Plus, I was not allowed to talk back to my parents or my older sisters. If I did not do what I was told to do, I was spanked by my mother. How horrible was that!

I have to admit that I was a pretty spoiled child. My mother’s spankings usually entailed being swatted with her hand or a ruler. My father only slapped my hand once in my life when I was about four years old. I went in his pocket because he wouldn’t give me money. He took his belt out of the buckle and swatted me with the end of the belt (while it was still in his pants) so it couldn’t have been very hard. I cried for two days because my feelings were so hurt and he never ever spanked me again. All it took was a look or him saying how disappointed he was in me and I felt miserable.

My sisters were ten and twelve years older than me so I actually learned a lot by watching them whenever they got in trouble. I learned from their mistakes because I never wanted my parents to be mad or disappointed in me. As I grew older, I realized how little we had and how hard my father worked so I didn’t want them to worry about my behavior on top of it. Respect was never an option when I was growing up and I’m so grateful that my parents expected it.

Photo: Me with my two sisters

What I would rather be doing...

Blog prompt: Instead of what you have to do today, what would you rather be doing?

As a retired person, I can do whatever I want to every day! So, this morning I got up early and worked on some homework for an online class I’m taking. Once it got light outside, I did a couple of hours of gardening. I dread starting the weeding and clearing, but then I really get into it and feel good about what I accomplish. After that I finally came inside and ate a late breakfast. Then we went to the park and walked 4.5 miles in the extreme heat and humidity. If it wasn’t for the ice water I brought, I would have melted! By the time we returned home from walking, we ate lunch and decided to go to the zoo. I love going to the zoo because I get to take a lot of fun pictures. We also bought our Friends of the Zoo annual pass which gets us into a lot of other zoos for free or at least a discounted price. On the way home we bought a dozen Krispie Kreme donuts which I’ve been craving for a long time. Then while we ate dinner, we had a thunderstorm (which I hate) but I loved the rain for my plants.

The Olympics

Blog prompt: On this date in 1932, the Olympic games opened in Los Angeles. They'll start next week again in Beijing. How do you feel about the Olympics?

I remember when the Olympics were in Atlanta, Georgia in 1996 and we were so excited. My friend and her family were getting tickets and wanted my hubby and me to join them. So after a bunch of arranging, we got tickets to 3 different events. On July 26, 1996, we took the train from Greenville, South Carolina where we live to the beginning/end of the Marta (train) line to Atlanta. This way we didn’t have to try to find a parking space in all the crowds and it was much cheaper this way. It was a wonderful and exciting day. We even went to Centennial Olympic Park which had the world famous Fountain of Rings where water shoots out of the ground like it is dancing. The scariest thing was finding out that the very next day there was a bombing right in that park where we all stood and played. For some reason, that memory stands out stronger than any of the events of the Olympics.

I would love to see the Olympics in Beijing but the older we get, the more my husband and I hate fighting the crowds and the traffic so we will be content to watching it on TV.

To Nap or Not to Nap

Blog Prompt: To nap or not to nap? Which side of this issue are you on?

I am finding out that a 30 minute power nap is wonderfully refreshing. Since I get up at 5am each morning (my body just wakes up automatically at this time) and most of the time I don’t go to sleep until 10 or 11pm. If I get really tired, I take a 30 minute nap (I do set my watch alarm) and then I feel great. If I sleep longer than this, I have a hard time going to sleep at night or else I feel really sluggish when I wake up. The 30 minutes is just perfect for me. Of course I don’t feel the need for a nap every day so I try to just be in tune to my body.

Books in My Life

Blog Prompt: In honor of Beatrix Potter's birthday, tell us about some of the books (as a child and an adult) that you have loved over the years.

I have loved all the Harry Potter books (and movies) and now I’ve started on the Charlie Bone books. They are kind of like Harry Potter, just a little different and watered down. I also like to read the Caldecott Medal books to see why they won the award. I have to admit that I’m addicted to reading and have been since I was able to read. I love to read when I’m eating or when I’m bored or when I’m traveling and I have to read before I go to sleep or I can’t go to sleep. I have started to list all the books I’ve read or planning to read on Shelfari (I’m loonyhiker on Shelfari).

Secrets...shhhhh!

Blog Prompt: You'll be on your honor today! Set the timer for one minute and write as much as you can about the following word: secret.

I don’t like secrets. I don’t like to keep them and I don’t like when people keep secrets from me. I really can’t keep secrets from my husband at all. If I have a present for him, I have to give it to him as soon as I can because keeping a secret practically kills me. I feel like keeping secrets from him is not being honest.

Photo credit: whisper, 2005 by Dr John2005

Off topic: I had a scare today. I couldn’t get my spacebar to work. I had to open up the onscreen keyboard for disabled people. Then I googled it and twittered (twitter.com) it and plurked (plurk.com) it, but couldn’t get it fixed. I was told to shake the laptop but not too hard. I was told to go buy a can of air, but I couldn’t because I’m waiting for the DirecTV man to come upgrade our receivers. I was feeling desperate and upset. Finally out of frustration, I shook the laptop pretty hard and then blew all over the keyboard. Aha! Now it works. I’m so relieved!

Toilet Paper Issue

Blog Prompt: Light-hearted or serious, take a "controversial" issue and argue your point of view. Extra points if you argue both sides!

Issue: Should Toilet Paper roll over or under on the holder?

My point of view: Toilet paper should roll over on the holder. It is easier to get and looks neater. This is the proper way that toilet paper should be positioned on the holder. If I see it put on the wrong way in my house, I need to change it immediately. But if it is different in someone else’s house, I do not feel the need to change it.

Other side: Toilet paper doesn’t unravel if it is put on this way. It looks neater. Also, who really cares how it is placed on the holder.

Photo credit: toilet paper by lkue

At the Movies

Blog Prompt: With The Dark Knight setting box office records this weekend, tell us about the first movie you saw in the theater (or another movie theater story you have).

Unfortunately I can’t remember the first movie I ever saw because it was so long ago. But I can tell you about an experience in the movie theater where I kind of embarrassed my husband. We usually go to matinees because they are cheaper than at night but of course there are usually a lot of children there too on the weekends and in the summer. This happened to be a summer afternoon when we went to see some PG or G rated movie and it was pretty crowded in the theater. There were three little girls about 7 years old sitting next to me and right before the movie began, the girl right next to me kept pulling up the arm rest we shared and banging it down. I asked her to stop doing that because it was annoying and she replied that I was not her mama and she wouldn’t stop. At that point, I leaned down in her face and told her I knew I wasn’t because if I was I would teach her how to behave in public. Then I told her that if she didn’t stop, I would follow her when she left until I found the adult in charge of her and tell how badly behaved she was. I guess that did it because she whispered to her friends and they got up and moved. My husband said later that I had put my teacher voice on and not only did I get those girls quiet but I also got all the children around us to settle down and behave because no one said another word until the movie was over.

Photo credit: century theater’s by pbo31

Walking on the Moon

Blog Prompt: Neil Armstrong first walked on the moon on this date in 1969. Write a description of walking on the moon or tell us about this event if you remember it.

I was about ten years old and my whole family watched the event on a black and white TV. I thought it wasn’t real and my sister kept telling me that this was real life. I couldn’t believe that someone actually walked on the moon and kept asking if they stepped in an eye or nose or mouth because we always looked for the man in the moon. I love to see the facial features when I look at a full moon so I though the man in the moon was real and always looked down on me to help keep me safe and light up the darkness (I hated the dark even as a young child.)

Road Trip Food

Blog prompt: Do you have a favorite snack to eat on a road trip?

I like to eat salty foods on a road trip. They can be pretzels, chips (I’ve been eating salt and black pepper chips lately), or sunflower seeds. My problem is that I don’t drink enough all day long and especially if we are on a road trip so we bring a cooler of diet pepsi for me and as long as I’m eating salty stuff, I’ll drink. I’m so picky that I really don’t like water and especially if it gets warm so that is why I need a cooler of soda.
Photo credit: Cape-cod by I.M. Bitter

Feelings about Flying

Blog prompt: Today in History: In 1954, the first Boeing 707 flew. How do you feel about flying?

I used to enjoy flying because I could read, do cross stitch, and get somewhere far really fast. We also had a lot of frequent flyer points from our credit card use. Now I’m not so thrilled with flying because of the cost, and the hassle. I try to carry very little on board so I don’t get the big search at security. For some reason I am always the random person they search. Also the last time we were on a plane, I got freaked out by a situation and we haven’t been on a plane since.

We were leaving Washington DC to come back home to Greenville, SC and the plane was pretty empty. Chris Dodd recently announced his plan to run for President of the US and he was on our plane. As the flight attendant shut the plane door, this lady began to yell and scream that her luggage was not on board. After much loud discussion and a description of the luggage, the flight attendant made a few phone calls. This woman started to use profanity and yell that we would not leave until her luggage was on board. About this time, I start getting a little anxious and then my loving hubby says to me in a low voice, “If they remove her from this plane, we are getting off too. What if she put something on this plane and doesn’t want to be on here with it when it blows up!” Now I’m very anxious and practically hyperventilate at the thought. What if she was an assassin to take out a possible presidential candidate? The flight attendant finally tells her that her luggage was put on board and we take off. The plane ride was tense and quiet for the entire trip. I kept waiting for us to blow up and couldn’t read or focus on anything. Finally we arrived at the airport without any incident and I was so relieved to get off that plane. When we arrived at the baggage claim at the same time she did, there were unfriendly and unhappy men in suits waiting for her. The best thing I heard was that her luggage never did arrive because it was never put on the plane! I didn’t stick around to see if she went berserk though in case any guns were fired!

Now we drive our Toyota Prius everywhere. The cost is much cheaper, less hassles, and less anxiety!

Photo credit: MD-80 by a nose by caribb

Colors of My Week

Blog Prompt: Describe each day of the week using colors and/or sounds.

A lot depends on the kind of day I’m anticipating or how the day turns out. The color of my day can change if something good or bad happens. Otherwise I would say most of my days are a pretty shade of blue, which is my favorite color. Since retiring, I have developed a routine during the week days and know what shows are on TV and have a schedule all set out for me. I think that is what I liked about teaching because I had a schedule to follow each day. Weekends are usually gray for me because I have no routine schedule and I usually feel anxious. If something good happens during the day, my day turns to a brighter happier shade of blue but if something bad happens, my day can turn to black. Mondays may involve a sunny yellow with my blue because it is bright and happy. If I get to go hiking on Wednesdays, my day would be sunny yellow, bright blue, and a happy green. I don’t usually have many brown (bad), or black (horrible) days so when they hit, it is usually a really bad bad day.

Today we worked on our porch which has been a long and labor intensive project. Part of the reason has been because my husband has been sick so much that we can only work on it when he is feeling well. Today the doctor called and told us that the blood work from Friday shows that he has thyroid problems and will need to take some medicine. Thank goodness we finally know the cause of his misery. After looking up the symptoms, it seems he has a classic case and seems pretty easy to treat. I’m so relieved to know something. Of course, my hubby hates that he will have to take medicine because he hates taking anything. I told him that it was better than finding out he has diabetes (which his whole family has) or emphysema (from many years of smoking but hasn’t smoked in 13 years). I guess today was a blue, brown, getting bluer day.

Photo credit: full spectrum by mdezemery

Expensive Christmas Item

Blog Prompt: What's the most expensive item on your Christmas list today?

I would really like to have an 32gb Iphone which costs over $500. I know that right now we can’t afford it so I really haven’t talked about it much or my hubby will go out of the way to try to get it for me. I even thought about getting an 80gb Ipod because my 20gb Ipod is so old that it doesn’t show videos. Of course that is about $260 so again, not in our budget at this time. I guess I shouldn’t complain because I am getting my new gas range sometime next week.

Photo credit: iphone – I got the key by BlaCkbirD

The Perfect Summer Day (even though snakes were involved!)

Blog Prompt: Describe your perfect summer day.

This was the perfect prompt for me today because today was my perfect summer day. My hiking group was taking a break from hiking today to go tubing. We went to the Green River in Saluda, North Carolina. When we got up this morning, it was overcast and a little breezy so I was afraid it wouldn’t be a good day to go tubing. We packed a picnic lunch and went to meet the group anyway. We got there around 10:15 and it had warmed up and became sunny as well so I was relieved. We all grabbed our lunches and sat by the river to eat and enjoy the day. We couldn’t get on the river until noon because they don’t open the dam up river until a certain time and you don’t want to try tubing when the water is low. While we sat on rocks sticking out of the water, someone yelled, “Snake!” Right out of the rocks came this snake! Needless to say, we had our fill of the lunch spot and went back up to the shack that sells tubes. Soon we all paid our money ($7 for a 2 hour ride) and got our tubes but we still had to wait about 15 minutes before we could leave. They told us when the water covered a certain rock it was time to go so we all watched the rock. I brought my digital camera and kept it in a double Ziploc bag when we went over the rapids. Twelve of us floated down the river and enjoyed spinning off the rocks when we got to the fun parts. It got so hot at times I had to keep throwing water on my legs and arms. I did see about 5 snakes along the bank. At one time my hubby and I were holding on together until he saw the snake. Then he almost dumped me out of the tube and ended up accidentally pushing me straight into the snake. Luckily I pulled my legs all the way on top of the tube and practically over my head when the tube hit the branch with the snake on it. The tube bounced off the branch and spun away with me screaming. The others said when they headed towards the same branch that snake was hissing! After that I made sure I stayed away from the banks and only held onto my hubby’s tube when the water was calm. Everyone had a blast and we enjoyed visiting with each other as we floated down the river. It was relaxing at times and exciting at times too. By the time we got to the “get out” point, I was tired and glad to get out of the water. This was a perfect summer day.

Blog Award!

I have received a very special BLOG AWARD from my friend Tink of Tink’s Tribulations. Thank you SO very much Tink! This was a really neat surprise after I got back from a day of tubing down the river.

The rules of the award are:
1. The winner can put the logo on her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the girls you've nominated

Stephani’s Serendipity - she is a really neat person to get to know and does great movie reviews.
Beth Nixon Blogging - gives away a lot of wonderful freebies and I love to read her blog.

Amanda’s Blog: Reflections - I enjoyed following her pregnancy and watching the baby grow up now.

Daily Dwelling - lives in Germany and reconnected me with a friend who now lives in France, but we taught together in SC. She has 3 small children and I love to read about what they are up to.

Creative Triplet Mom - an amazing mom with triplets. Need I say more?

The Pages of Our Crazy Life - her family is so interesting to follow that I can't wait to read her blog when she updates.

Latest Updates from Scraps of Mind - gives great tips on scrapbooking. They are easy to understand and well worth the read!

Good Stories

Blog Prompt: What kind of stories do you like best? Tear-jerkers? Happy endings? Unexpected twists? Or all of the above?

I like all of the above as long as it is a good story. I don’t mind as long as the story is interesting, there is great character development, and it all ties together. I hate reading a story hoping that things will get better and then feel like I wasted my time reading it. I cannot put a book down once I start reading it; no matter how bad it is because I’m always hoping that it will get better. I like tear jerkers only if it is a happy ending. Stories that make me feel depressed give me insomnia so I don’t like them. I like unexpected twists because I usually figure out how the story will end and then I’m pleasantly surprised when it ends differently. The unexpected twists sometimes keep me on the edge of my seat and I can’t wait to see what happens next. I guess I just like a good story, no matter what kind it is.

Photo credit: Day 106 – I am a librarian by cindiann

Honesty

Blog Prompt: If someone asked for your advice on life, what ONE WORD would you choose to share with them and why?

I had a couple of words that first came to mind but if I had to choose only one, I would say: HONESTY. I think everything else can be built on honesty. A person’s integrity is built on honesty. People respect me because they know that if I say something, I am honest and wouldn’t say something that I know is untrue. I know that I am a control freak and when I’m in a situation that makes me anxious, I am honest with everyone involved that I want to be more flexible and may need some help with this. Just by being honest about my feelings sometimes helps me cope with a situation. Honesty leads to trust and if I can’t trust someone, I usually don’t want to be around them. So I think Being Honest would be the best advice I could give someone.

Photo credit: You can handle it…by lush.i.ous

Freedom to Me

DSP Prompt: In America today we celebrate Independence Day. What does freedom mean to you?

Freedom means everything to me. In 2000, my husband and I took a 30 day tour of China. After seeing how the people live there under Communist government, I am even more thankful for living in America. People were so oppressed and frightened there. We could not talk to any local people for fear they would be arrested because they did not have clearance to talk to us. Before we went there we knew that we could not bring our Bible or anything religious. In fact, I was advised to take my cross necklace off and I’ve worn that ever since I was a teenager. Since I am Chinese (even though I was born in America and never had been to China) and my husband is Caucasian, we took us longer to get checked into a hotel each time because they do not allow Americans to take Chinese women up to their rooms. This meant we had to show our marriage license and answer questions. The Three Rivers Gorge Dam was being built while we were on the tour and we took a 7 day cruise down the Yangtze River. Whenever we stopped, our guide asked local people (ones who were given clearance) how they felt about losing their homes due to the dam and all of them had the same canned answer, “We are glad they are doing this. Our life will be better.” We were warned never to look the police (the military) in the eyes on the street and also told that they had the authority to enter our hotel rooms, drag us out of the shower naked, in order to interrogate us if they want. I felt very tense while I was there because of all these restrictions and warnings. Now, keep in mind, the scenery was awesome and so were the historical places we saw but this other stuff overshadowed it.

When I returned to America, I wanted to kiss the ground. I actually tear up now when I hear large groups sing our national anthem. I’m thankful that I’m free to:
Speak to whomever I want to.
Have rights that the police can’t ignore.
Own my own home and car.
Free to spend the night with anyone I want to (but of course I only want to be with my husband!)
Go wherever I want to if I have the money to pay for it.
Be anything I want to be.

After this trip, I realize how thankful I am that I live in America with all its faults and problems. God Bless America!

Photo credit: St. Louis 4th of July by Creativity + Timothy K. Hamilton

World UFO Day Brings Memories

Blog Prompt: Today is World UFO Day. How do you feel about that?

This prompt reminded me of a trip we had taken to Roswell, New Mexico. We had gone to Big Bend National Park and Carlsbad Cavern National Park so we decided to head up to Roswell, New Mexico. Before the UFO museum, we went by a WalMart which was very unique to this town. Outside the store was a bus stop that included a bench seat surrounded by plastic walls with aliens painted on them. It was really cute. Inside the Walmart we found lots of alien stuff but the best thing was an 8 foot tall inflatable green alien. He was magnificent and I had to have him. Luckily he packed down into a box that we were able to carry onto the plane with us when we headed home to South Carolina. Whenever we have a party, he usually comes out of the box, inflates, and joins us for a good time.

Impulsive Moment

DSP prompt: What's the most spontaneous or impulsive thing you've ever done?

One of the craziest things I’ve ever done was when we were on a cruise. One of the stops was in Nassau and we went to a garden and some kind of show. In the show the man had a huge snake and at the end asked for people who would hold the snake around their neck. Now keep in mind that I was not drinking at all and I’m really not an impulsive person. I am also very afraid of snakes. The next thing I know is that I’m up there with him and he puts this snake (I think it was a boa constrictor) around my neck. When it started moving and I jumped, the man warned me not to move or it could end up bad. By that time I was ready for him to get the snake off of me. I have searched for the picture I have of it but I can’t find it anywhere and I know it is here somewhere. When I find it, I will post it. You can see the look of terror in my face!

Sharing the Love Award

I’ve been tagged for the Sharing the Love award!!!

The rules of this award are to tag bloggers who make your day, make you laugh and/or smile as you read their blogs, and who leave uplifting comments on your own blog. You also include a link to this post, where the award originated, and ask the people you tag to do the same thing.

Here are the blogs that I read every time they update. I have them in my google reader so I don’t miss anything.

Daily Dwelling by Monica who is a DSP friend and the one who tagged me with this award. Through her, I was reconnected with a friend that I taught with about five years ago. The amazing thing is that Monica is in Germany. When my friend Stephanie, who is now in France, went to visit Monica, my name was brought up and Stephanie knew me! It really is a small world!

Creative Triplet Mom who also does digital scrapbooking and I’m so impressed with all that she does even though she has triplets. I really think she is superwoman.

Ordinary Days by Glynis who is a DSP friend and is one of two others that I share the responsibility for doing the DSP scrapbooking prompts. She always seems so self assured and happy.

Pictures, Prose and (Scrapbook) Pages by Meg. She does awesome scrapbook pages and has the neatest family. Even though her son is autistic, Meg is a very positive person and makes sure that both of her children get their share of attention. I’ve learned a lot as a teacher from reading some of the challenges she faces with her son.

Personalized Creations by Tammy who is another DSP friend. She lives in Florida and has a wonderful husband as well as a wonderful home. She is so in love that you can’t help but smile when she writes about her husband.

Stephani’s Serendipity by Stephani who is another DSP friend. She lives in Wyoming and I love reading about what she is doing there. She has faced some hardships and is so brave about facing her fears and problems that I truly admire her.

Tink’s Tribulations by Tink who is another DSP scrapbooking friend. She is really into astronomy and doing beautiful scrapbook pages of her wonderful family. Glynis, Tink, and I share the responsibilitiy for doing the DSP scrapbooking prompts.

photo credit: A Mother's Love by nailbender

View from my window

DSP Prompt: View from my window (literal or mind)

I have the best view of my backyard from where I sit most of the time that I'm in the house. I have these huge windows that look right on my back deck. Right in front of me is the water garden that is visited every day by doves, cardinals, blue jays, and wrens. It is so much fun to watch them. On the other side of the deck is my blue hydrangea bush and gardenia bushes. I also have a great view of the flower bed on the left of the back yard that is filled with rhododendron and ferns. On the very back is a flower bed full of rose bushes. On the right I am starting a flower bed with a butterfly bush, lots of cannas, nandina bushes, angel trumpet, Russian sage. I have also planted 3 tomato plants and a green pepper plant wherever I found an open spot with lots of sun. Hopefully I will get some vegetables this summer.

Things I Wish I'd Known When I First Got Married

Blog Prompt: Things I wish I had known when (graduated, got first job, married, had first child, etc)

Since it is our 26th wedding anniversary today, I will write about things I wish I had known when I first got married. Keep in mind that the first year we were married, we fought like cats and dogs, so I am so glad that we have made it to 26!

1. How to Compromise – we were both babies of the family and we each wanted our way, all of the time. Over the years we have learned to give in or at least meet half way. When I don’t want to do something he wants to do, I remember all the times that he has done something for me that he really didn’t want to do. It makes it easier for me to compromise then.
2. How to Argue – Growing up my parents didn’t argue in front of the children so I thought a good marriage was one where people didn’t argue. That first year there were many things I wasn’t happy about but I stuck it all in my mental closet. Then when we had a fight, everything from the past 3 months would come tumbling out. Then we started arguing over stuff that happened 3 months ago. I realized how could my husband act differently if he never knew at the time what was bugging me. Now I try to tell him when things bug me and not hold on to them for a long time.
3. How to Communicate – we talk to each other about everything and we are honest with each other. Over the years we have talked a lot about our marriage and what works for us. Things that work for other people might not work for us and that is okay.
4. Arguing isn’t the end of the world – just because you argue doesn’t mean that you hate each other. It is a great way to clear the air. It is one way of communicating your dislikes. Everything can’t be a bed of roses all of the time or you wouldn’t appreciate the good times.
5. Winning isn’t everything – sometimes it doesn’t matter who wins the argument. Marriage shouldn’t be a power struggle to see who the winner is.

Heirlooms

Blog prompt: What heirlooms do you have to pass down?

My most treasured heirloom is the Chinese china set that my parents gave me. They got this when they went to China right after they were married in 1946. It is a rose colored set and sits in my glass china cabinet. I won't let anyone eat off of them or really even touch them. I don't have a picture of the set right now but may do a scrapbook picture of them in the future.

We also have a grandfather clock given to us by my mother in law when she had to move in with my sister in law. This clock sat in their livingroom for many years. In fact, before we got married, I did a cross stitch picture of a grandfather clock to give them as a present. It sits in our dining room near the china cabinet.

Where I Got My Talent From

Blog Prompt: So where did you get your talent?

I really don't have a lot of talent doing anything because I am more like a "jack of all trades, master at none" kind of person. My parents and sisters were very talented and for some reason it never rubbed off on me. In fact, I think maybe God gave me to the wrong family because I couldn't do anything that any of them could do.

My father can build just about anything with his hands and some tools. Any kind of furniture I wanted when I was growing up, he could make it. When I got married he made each of my daughters their own desk. Any repairs around my house were done whenever he came to visit. When I needed worm boxes, he was here to build them for me.

My mother could sew, knit, crochet, or craft anything. In fact, she didn't even need directions most of the time. She could visualize the final product in her head and make it. She was able to make my wedding dress even though she lived 700 miles away from me. I gave her the picture, bought the material and supplies and away she went with it all. When she came for the wedding about 4 days early, the dress fit me perfectly. Every Christmas she would make my family matching knitted sweaters that fit all of us even though she never took our measurements. If she wanted to make something she saw in the store, she would look it over, decide what materials she needed, and then make it.

My oldest sister was the artist in the family. She would do beautiful paintings and drawings. Since she was 12 years older than me, she always helped me with my school projects and they usually looked pretty good. She was very creative when it came to art. She was also very athletic and played sports in high school.

My middle sister is like my mother and can sew, knit, crochet, and do just about any craft she wants too. She also does a lot of baking and cooking. Every Easter she bakes these neat Easter dough boys holding a dyed Easter egg. And her yeast rolls are to die for! She was also very athletic in high school and was in a bowling league for many many years.

Now me: I can not make anything from anything and using tools usually ends up in disaster. I can not sew, or paint. Just this past year I learned to crochet but right now I can only make things that have square or rectangular shapes because I hadn't figured out the increase and decrease stuff very well. I just taught myself to knit but it isn't a pretty sight to watch me. I am trying to improve my cooking by trying 2 new recipes each week. I'm not really great at this and I get stressed out the day I'm going to try a new recipe but I am building up my repetoire of things we eat for dinner. I'm so tired of eating the same old things each week even though my husband never complains.

So, the bottom line is this, I have no talent but life goes on!

What Makes Me Cry

Blog prompt: Let's start this week's diary entries with: What makes you cry?

I am kind of weird but I hardly ever cry. I usually cry when I am very very angry. In fact, my family knows that when I'm mad and I've started to cry, watch out! One time at work I was furious with a colleague and I left my class alone as I walked rapidly around my portable crying until I calmed down. I could see my students in the window watching me as I walked around and around. Once I walked into my assistant principal's office, shut the door, and said, "I'm mad and I will probably start to cry, but you will just have to ignore the crying and listen." He did.

The only other time I remember crying when I wasn't mad was when my youngest daughter turned 13. I felt old and sad. I didn't want her to grow up because I knew our relationship would change. We had always gotten along and she never gave me a problem but I knew difficult times were coming. If I could only have found a way to stop the clock!

photo credit: crying by world of oddy

Grandparents

Blog Prompt: We are now at the end of another week. Let's round it out by telling favorite memories of your grandparents.

I don't remember my mother's father because he died when he was 100 years old when I was only about 2 years old. My mother's mother was 40 years younger than him, so I remember her much better. This is a picture of her with my mother and two older sisters (I wasn't born yet when this picture was taken). She lived in Chinatown in New York City and when I was young, I used to spend the weekend with her during the summer. We used to sit outside on the steps of her apartment building and visit with people passing by. Sometimes we would go to the roof and she would let me lay down on my stomach and look over the side. I felt like I was on the Empire State Building instead of just 4 stories high. Her apartment was just 2 small rooms with a bathroom where she lived with my uncle. My uncle had the tiny bedroom and my grandmother's bedroom was the livingroom, kitchen, and diningroom. I believe her whole apartment would fit into my livingroom. It's hard to imagine that my grandparent's raised 7 children in that apartment.

My father's mother lived and died in China so I never got to meet her. My father's father lived in New Jersey and once a year during Easter vacation my parents would take me to visit him. I always wore my finest dress and Easter coat. He never really liked my sisters or me because my mother was not full blooded Chinese and he never felt we were good enough for him. As I grew up, I felt his aloofness and really didn't have much feelings towards him.

Our 59th Anniversary Letter (in the future)

Blog Prompt: In this exercise write a letter to your spouse/significant other for your 59th anniversary. You can do this in the past, present or future tense.

(This is definitely for the future because we are about to celebrate our 26th anniversary on the 26th of June!)

Dearest Hubby,

I can’t believe it has been 59 years because it seems like yesterday we just got married. Every year has gotten better and better. I’m so glad we’ve had a wonderful life together and I really am excited about the future.

Living with you has never been boring and each day you always surprised me with something new. Remember the first year we got married and we fought like cats and dogs? I remember the year we retired from work in 2007 and how excited we were about spending retirement together. The next spring we traveled for 3 months straight and I was afraid whether we would get on each other’s nerves, but we didn’t. I loved going to Macchu Picchu, the Taj Mahal, and the Sphinx in 2010 when the depression had ended. We hiked to the top of Macchu Picchu and I don’t think I ever saw anything so beautiful.

Being a frugal husband, you always made sure we took at least 3 cruises each year and now I wonder where you are taking me on our 59th anniversary cruise. We’ve sailed around the world and been on every ship there is so I wonder which one we will go on. I’m glad we stayed healthy all these years and continue to hike and backpack. It makes me sad to see people get older and stop exercising and taking care of themselves. I think our activities are what is keeping us young! Thank you for so many wonderful years together!

I’ll love you forever!
Love, Pat

photo credit: hot love by avdgaag

Room Description

Blog Prompt: Room by room... Pick a house you have lived in during the course of your life and give us a room by room description.

Since I have already told you about my “playroom”, I will tell you about my bedroom in the house that I grew up in on Long Island, New York. After my sister died when I began tenth grade, I moved out of the bedroom that I shared with her and moved into the smaller bedroom that my other sister used to sleep in before she got married. I was allowed to paint it any color or colors that you want so I painted one wall Kelly green and the other 3 walls a contrasting mint green. I couldn’t believe my parents let me do this. My twin size bed was on the right against the wall. There was an end table for my lamp, alarm clock, and a place for my book and glasses. On the opposite wall from my bed was this ceiling high wall to wall wooden bookshelf that my father which had a spot for my black and white TV. There was also a leaf that opened up into a desk beside the TV. This room was my sanctuary when teenage angst got too much for me. I slept in this room until I left for college three years later.

Photo credit: The Sanctuary by Manic Street Preacher

Shenandoah National Park 6/11/08

What a wonderful day we had in the Shenandoahs! We camped at the Big Meadows campground and woke up too early to get breakfast from the lodge or wayside, so we ate granola bars and Pecan Sandie cookies in the parking lot of Milam Gap. Then we began our hike down the Appalachian Trail about 7:30am. It was a beautiful trail of green as we headed uphill (I really don’t like uphills!). We finally came to the top where we saw a beautiful overlook. From here on out it was pretty much downhill to Rapidan Camp which is also Camp Hoover. When we reached the intersection, we turned left onto Laurel Prong Trail which was a little steep and rocky but at least it was downhill. On both sides of the trail, the mountain laurel bushes were almost in full bloom and it was a wonderful sight to see. We also so flowers like fly poison, beardtongue, and columbine. As we came to sharp curves, or thickets, Don would start singing (using lyrics that he made up) or we would start having loud conversations so we wouldn’t startle any bears. It must have worked because we never came across any.

When we arrived at Rapidan, the park workers were gathered to work on trail maintenance and the caretaker of the camp, who was off duty, offered to open the President’s house for us and gave us a tour of it and the prime minister’s cabin. I was thrilled because we had been here many times and only peaked in the windows. It was amazing how simple The Brown House was. They called it this because they lived in the White House in Washington DC and had a Red House in London so we were told this was a little “Hoover humor.” They couldn’t put down any of the Native American rugs though because the mice would chew them up. There were only 8 original pieces of furniture in the house but the others were either made or bought at flea markets or ebay as replicas of what was shown in pictures. After eating a little lunch of triscuits and cheese, we headed back to our car. Luckily it was only about a 2 mile uphill walk.

When we arrived back to our camp we made a snack of Ramen noodles and rested for about an hour before deciding to do a little more hiking. We ended up doing the Limberlost Trail and the Stony Man Nature Trail which brought our daily mileage to about 12 miles. I was truly ready for our hamburger dinners at the Wayside by 6pm. On the way back to our campsite, we saw a bear on the side of the road. I wondered if it would wander into the campground and noticed that the ranger kept driving through the campground every 15 minutes. It was all I could do to stay away for darkness to hit (I didn’t want to look like an old woman and go to bed while it was still night out!) so we finally went to bed as soon as it got dark. About 3am though, I did hear a barred owl hooting until it finally got an answer from another one. It was kind of magical to fall asleep to that.

Where I Pay My Bills (and do everything else too!)

We have a “play room” that we spend most of our time in when we are in the house. It has a hot tub, pool table, tread mill, big screen TV and table with chairs. We play with all of these things at one time or another. Our table is covered with a printer, scanner, two lap tops, lots of cords, and plenty of paper “stuff.” When it comes time to eat, we just move things over so we have a little table place to put our plates. While I pay bills, correspond with others by paper or email, browse the internet, scrapbook, or just play on the lap top, I usually have the TV going at the same time. We truly love our playroom!

Washington DC

Yesterday we arrived at the Holiday Inn in Arlington about 9:30 am and they had a room ready for us so we checked in, dropped our bags off, and headed to Washington DC. Since this was the only day I had free, Don was willing to go wherever I wanted to go so we bought a day pass for the metro ($7.80) and rode the metro to Chinatown.

I wanted to go to the Portrait Gallery but they didn’t open until 11:30 so we went to the National Building Museum which was awesome. There are huge columns in there and the architecture is astounding. It is a free museum but they have a box posted for a suggested $5 donation.

Then we went to Chinatown and had lunch at my favorite restaurant which is Full Kee right across from the Red Roof Inn. If you come out of the metro at the Chinese Gate, you would take right and walk about 2 blocks on the left. I always get the Hong Kong style noodle soup with roast pork ($5.50) because their roast pork is so tasty and tender. It is always fun to watch people while we are sitting there too so I get free entertainment.

After that is was time to go to the Portrait Gallery which I really enjoy every time we come to town. In one section they were having a scavenger hunt, where you look for the art and then right the acquisition number and answer a question. They were giving prizes too but we didn’t have enough time to do the hunt even though it looked like fun. I watched some other families doing it though and the children were really excited. Since I go there so often, I like to see the new exhibits that are up.

After we left there we went to the National Gallery of Art and that was nice too. I always like to go see the sculpture The Thinker by Rodin. I think it is because I had to do a report on that in school and it always stuck with me. We also went to the new exhibits there.
We left there and walked to the National Botanical Garden to see what flowers were blooming on display. There was also all this neat artwork on huge globes promoting sustainability. I enjoyed looking at them too. The orchid room is always fascinating in addition to the regular rooms. I always feel inspired and can’t wait to get home to do some gardening.

By this time it was almost 5pm when most of the museums close so we went to Union Station for dinner. I like Johnny Rockets because you get waited on and they give free refills on your drinks. The food is pretty good there too.

After dinner we came back to the hotel to go to the bar and visit with our favorite bartender, Roberto. We have been seeing him for years and he treats us like long lost family when we arrive. I love to hear stories about his twin sons and how they have grown up. We also met this other man named Ali who discussed how we could change the world, politics, etc. the whole time he was there. I think he wanted to get us into a heated discussion, but we just couldn’t generate enough energy or interest in it to debate about it. Finally it was time to get some sleep, so we left.

Photo credit: Washington DC: Smithsonian Institute by BernieCB

Front Royal, Virginia

We arrived in Front Royal about 5pm and started to hunt for a place to stay. We had those coupon books that you pick up at the Welcome Centers so at least we knew a price range. The cheapest was about $32and went up to $52. After stopping at three that didn’t have a coupon and they wanted about $50, we decided to try the cheapest one with the coupon which was the Front Royal Motel. It was a cute one level u-shaped motel and the desk clerk was extremely friendly. She was willing to honor the $32 coupon and showed up the room first. After deciding we liked the room, we checked in. Our room had a queen size bed, microwave, refrigerator, color TV with HBO, and free wireless internet. What more could I ask for and for only $32!

For dinner, the clerk suggested that we go to the Royal Oak Tavern which is right down the road from the motel. We had an excellent dinner for $23. I had eggplant parmesan with pasta and Don had a philly cheesesteak sandwich with fries plus our two sodas. We will probably stop here on the way home.

After dinner, since it was still early, we decided to drive down Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park. It is so beautiful and different compared to the national parks out west. Our Toyota Prius is so soundless that we actually drove up on twelve deer who didn’t even hear us. In fact, one deer was in the middle of the street licking the road when our car pulled up right beside it. If Don had rolled down his window, he could have touched it. Driving slowly, we got past the deer but we were afraid it would spook and jump on the car so we held our breath until we got past. I think the animals don’t know what to think about us since our car doesn’t make any noise.

It was a wonderful day for traveling and tomorrow we head towards Arlington, VA and Washington DC.

Photo credit: Shenandoah National Park by heartonastick

Memorable vacation and Following the "Plan"

Traveling for the past 2 months with my husband has been the most memorable vacation I’ve ever had. He has been looking forward to this for years and finally we were able to make his dream come true. Meanwhile, I had doubts about being with him 24/7 for 2 months, not because I don’t love him, but because I was afraid too much togetherness would drive me crazy. Instead the opposite was true. Spending this time together, we were able to talk a lot and reconnect in ways we couldn’t when we were both working. We spent a lot of time together when we were working but this was different. You see, we are very opposite in many ways. Don likes to do things spur of the moment and even though we make plans, they could change at the last minute. I am a planner and I like to know ahead of time what I’m doing and where we are going. Planning makes me feel in control and I don’t like to feel as if I am not in control, which really stresses me out. To compromise, Don would try to plan the night before and stick to the plan as much as he could. Every night we would talk about what we would do the following day or where we would head but I would keep “planning” that our plans might change. This helped me tremendously. I learned that spontaneity is not a bad thing and could lead to lots of fun things. So I guess I learned to loosen up more and see what happens. Here are some examples of how our plans changed and the fun that resulted.

1. When we planned to go to Yosemite and camp for a week in a tent, and then the weather turned bad (down to 9 degrees at night), we cancelled our reservation and went to Joshua Tree National Park, Nixon and Reagan Presidential Libraries.
2. When we realized we were pretty close to Anaheim, we decided to spend a couple of days at Disneyland and was able to find a cheap hotel right down the street from the entrance.
3. When it was too early to stop for the night where we planned, we drove straight into San Francisco and was able to spend another night there instead of killing time someplace there was nothing to do.
4. When we found out the roads we wanted to take to Las Vegas was closed because of snow, we took a different route and was able to spend a couple of days in Yosemite National Park like we had hoped to do, only weeks early.
5. When we got to the top of California and was going to head east like we planned, we decided we were kind of close to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon so we went there. It was neat to see the 10 feet of snow on each side of the road as we drove into the park.

Photo credit: First Floor Plan by smalloy

Smells of My Memory

When my oldest sister, Betsy died in the hospital, there was a peculiar smell of the hospital that I associated with her. While she was in the hospital, we were all at home with relatives trying to comfort us and pray with us, when I smelled the smell in the hallway. Minutes later, we got the phone call that she passed away. My little niece woke up from her nap and told everyone that Aunt Betsy had come and kissed her goodbye. Many times during important events, I would smell this smell. I smelled it at my high school graduation, when I started college 800 miles away in South Carolina, and when I got married. I know that when I smell this, that she is with me and celebrating my happy events.

My mother smoked ever since she was a young girl until she died. She smoked Chesterfield cigarettes with no filter and by the time she died at 59 years old, she was smoking pretty heavily. I had only seen my mother go to the doctor once so I know there was no doctor advice for her to quit. Because she smoked so much, all of her clothes and her skin reeked of this kind of nicotine smell. They even smelled after she washed her clothes and after she bathed herself. I believe these toxins were oozing from her skin pores. It was such a strong smell that I associate it with it as her smell. You know how you can smell a cologne or perfume and associate it with a specific person? Well, this was her smell and I never smelled it from anyone else ever since. After she died in Florida, I would smell this smell every once in awhile around my house and believed that she was there trying to comfort me.

Once time my husband and I was in the car arguing because as usual, I got us lost while trying to read a map (I’m a terrible navigator!). All of a sudden, we both smelled the smell from the back seat. My husband said, “That’s your mother, and she’s in this car with us, isn’t she?” And I said, “I think so,” but we stopped arguing. I was afraid to look in the back seat in case I saw her and I didn’t know how I would react. Once we found our way, the smell went away.

Isn’t it funny how I associated strong, I would even say unpleasant, smells with people. I can think of one for my husband but I hate to think that my memories of him will involve onions and passing gas. LOL!

Photo credit: smelling the flowers by msspider66