Saturday, March 31, 2012

Saturday Centus - Centennial Celebration

Jenny Matlock


Welcome to week ONE HUNDRED of Saturday Centus.

One hundred.

Holy my goodness.

Is that possible?

I wanted to make my blog explode with fireworks and send you all cupcakes to celebrate this crazy cool event! I wanted to write a mushy speech and thank you all for enriching my life and blah, blah... (which is quite true...I love reading these and I love our little SC community) ... but I'm sick again and will get all maudlin and emotional ...


AND...

I'm not that good at blog programming...


AND...

I figured the icing would melt on the cupcakes...


So...

I thought it might be fun to go back to where this little meme started.

For old times sake, let's use the first prompt...EVER!

Here's a link to the first SC ever...be prepared to drop your jaw at the lengthy first prompt I came up with!

The prompt this week is: My untied shoelace changed my life. As I leaned down to re-tie it, I kicked away a few leaves. When I turned my head slightly to look where the leaves had been, I was astonished to see a rubber-banded wad of hundred dollar bills nestled in a little indention in the muddy ground.

Number of words: 100 plus the 53 words of the prompt. Geez, I was wordy with the prompts back then!
Style of writing: Any
Pictures: As many extra pictures as you like


The regular restrictions apply: PG, no splitting of the prompt, play nicely and visit the other entries, any style or genre of writing you prefer.

Please display my link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.

E-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Feel free to link up anytime between now and next Saturday!

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Friday, March 30, 2012

A memory of a farmhouse

I really enjoyed sipping tea and chatting with you.

I know you have lots to do today and so do I, but would you like to see the upstairs before you leave?

We'll hurry so I have time to package up some of the left-over cookies and superb lemon angel food cake cupcakes for you to take home. It is funny to think of baking angel food into cupcakes and I’m still surprised it works so well.

Now here. Be careful on the stairs. They are much steeper and narrower than what you're used to. These bottom two wedge shaped steps are easy to slip on.

You should have seen us trying to get furniture to the second floor. With the little landing only two steps up and then this right angle into the narrow, narrow stairwell, it was almost impossible. We ended up having to take a window frame out to get a full-sized mattress into our bedroom.

Do you like this painted carpet runner on the stairs? When we first moved in we put carpet down but it was too slippery and we all fell. I mixed a little sand in with the paint when I painted my ‘fake’ carpet, though, and it works a lot better.

I have always liked this big landing at the top of the stairs. This is the old-fashioned iron register that I told you about. Not only is it the only heat we have upstairs, it’s a great form of entertainment for my kids.

This narrow doorway with the iron-latch is another stairway leading up to the attic. I don’t think we’ll have time to go up there today, but peak into this door. This is my room. I love how the transom above the doors lets light into the landing and I like the blue glass in the windows. There is a certain time of day when the sun shines through all that glass and turns the room into a magical place.

This small bedroom is my son’s room...and it’s a mess. As usual. My husband made this built in toy box and shelves for him to display all his baseball trophies. My daughters share this larger room next to it. They each have a little built in bookshelf beside the window which keeps them from bickering. I like the pink and orange bedspreads with the white painted woodwork. I think the colors work well with the wide old floorboards, too.

Gosh. Look at the time. I know you need to leave.


Let me just show you my neat clawfoot bathtub and then we’ll head back downstairs. Next time maybe we’ll have time to go into the attic and into the small house that’s attached to this one.


Isn’t the glass in this low window pretty? The deep windowsill is perfect to hold shampoos and bubble bath. I even like the old faded linoleum in here. Someday I may try to rip it up and put tile down, but for now I think it looks cute with the curtains on the window and under the sink. I bet you haven’t seen a toilet with a raised tank like this in years. It’s definitely noisy when you flush it, but it still works wonderfully well.

I see you glancing at your watch, but please be careful coming back down the stairs.

Let me find a little plate to put some cupcakes and cookies on.

I had a splendid time showing you around. I hope you’ll come back again!

And here’s a copy of the cupcake recipe if you want to try it!


Lemon Angelfood Cupcakes:


1/2 cup cake flour

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup room temperature egg whites (about 5 large eggs)

1/8 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind


Lemon Frosting:


1/4 cup melted butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemond rind



Preheat oven to 350°. Place 16 paper muffin cup liners in muffin cups. Set aside. Lightly spoon cake flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Sift together flour and 3/4 cup powdered sugar into a medium bowl; repeat the procedure 2 times. Beat egg whites and salt with a mixer at high speed until frothy (about 1 minute). Add cream of tartar, and beat until soft peaks form. Add 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Sprinkle flour mixture over egg white mixture, 1/4 cup at a time; fold in after each addition. Stir in vanilla and lemon rind. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pan; let cool in a draft-free place on a wire rack. To prepare frosting, beat all frosting ingredients together until blended. Beat until light and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick add a bit more lemon juice or milk until desired consistency is reached. Spread 2 tablespoons lemon frosting over each cupcake.

Yield: 16 cupcakes

I’m sorry we’re in such a rush today but let me give you a big hug and we’ll see other soon!

Thank you so much for stopping by!


This little memory is written in honor of the letter "S" for Alphabe-Thursday. S is for stairs and splendid lemon angel food cupcakes.



To read other 'S' offerings, just click here.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Know it All...

This little poem is linked to week 99 of Saturday Centus. To read other offerings, just click here. The prompt is in bold and this is EXACTLY 100 words.



You told me and told me
But I didn’t understand
So I’m flipping these burgers...
and I’m living the dream, man.
You said pay attention,
To learn what I can.
Now I pump gasoline,
and I’m living the dream, man.
I thought you were crazy,
and knew nothing at all!
because you’re old and un-cool.
I’m not dropping THIS ball!
My life isn’t captured
in the trap of your fear
Your pronouncements and warnings
just fell on deaf ears.
I’m alone, far from home now
Hope you understand.
I’m too prideful to call you,
While I’m living the dream, man.


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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Alphabe-Thursday's Letter S


Good morning class.

Welcome to round four of Alphabe-Thursday! Today we will be studying the simply sensational letter:




Please link directly to your Alphabe-Thursday URL (if you don't know how to do this let me know!) and please continue to visit the five links before and after your link and leave a comment. Minimum of 10 links visited please. You can visit more if you like, of course.

I also want to let you know that each week I visit every blog. If it appears I haven't visited your blog by the following Thursday morning, please let me know!

If you have any difficulties with your link, please make sure to include the number of the link when you e-mail me. It is really difficult for me to find you easily otherwise.

If you have any questions about Alphabe-Thursday or problems doing your link just post it in a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll do my best to help you as quickly as I can.

The McLinkey will be live from 1:00 pm MST time Wednesday afternoon in an effort to assist our lovely "friends across the pond" and continue through 10:00 am MST time Friday morning!

And remember.... link back to this post, you need to be registered as a follower of my blog, PG posts only, and you must visit at least 10 other posts...perhaps consider starting from the last posts and work backwards. The links will stay live after the final post deadline has passed so you can even wait and visit over the weekend or whenever you have more time.

Please link your silly or somber S link now!


Good morning class. If you can spare a moment and visit the last three or four links from the letter "R", that would be great! I think I was the only commenter on all of those and it made me sad.

Welcome to round three of Alphabe-Thursday! Today we will be studying the simply sensational letter:




Please link directly to your Alphabe-Thursday URL (if you don't know how to do this let me know!) and please continue to visit the five links before and after your link and leave a comment. Minimum of 10 links visited please. You can visit more if you like, of course.

I also want to let you know that each week I visit every blog. If it appears I haven't visited your blog by the following Thursday morning, please let me know!

If you have any difficulties with your link, please make sure to include the number of the link when you e-mail me. It is really difficult for me to find you easily otherwise.

If you have any questions about Alphabe-Thursday or problems doing your link just post it in a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll do my best to help you as quickly as I can.

The McLinkey will be live from 1:00 pm MST time Wednesday afternoon in an effort to assist our lovely "friends across the pond" and continue through 10:00 am MST time Friday morning!

And remember.... link back to this post, you need to be registered as a follower of my blog, PG posts only, and you must visit at least 10 other posts...perhaps consider starting from the last posts and work backwards. The links will stay live after the final post deadline has passed so you can even wait and visit over the weekend or whenever you have more time.

Please link your silly or somber S link now!

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Tuesday, March 27, 2012

No man has an island...

We all need help from time to time...

I've been fortunate in our move that my Aunt and Uncle were here visiting from Wisconsin.

My Undle is 72. He and my 82 year old Dad have been having a good time hanging out at the house, bickering as brothers do, thinking up new projects, and practicing their interior design tools.

They've hung a million pictures, fixed strange plumbing issues, built a bike lean-to to help protect the Grandlittle's bikes and rearranged furniture while sharing strong opinions why my doing things was the WRONG way!

At first, when we were getting ready to move, I was being stubborn and proud and telling them that I didn't need any help...I had everything under control...I know how to move... blah, blah, blah...

They ignored me and helped anyway...









I tried resisting having help determined to be on my self-punishment island...


BUT...

They just tsunamied over me and did what they wanted and after a short while it started being a lot of fun.

My Mom and my Aunt weren't slackers in that time period, either. They lined kitchen cabinets, held a garage sale for two days, packed, unpacked and just listened to me cry. A lot. Even when I was telling them I could probably do it myself.

They just ignored me and didn't let me be an island even though I was determined to be one.

I am fortunate to have had family step up to help us through this nightmare of change, illness and financial struggle. I am fortunate that they watched my eyes and didn't listen to my words.

I really have no idea why I was being so prideful over all of this. I guess the perceived failure of losing a business, losing a house, losing a lot of things made me afraid to let anyone help me. Or maybe I was afraid if I let them help I would be opening myself up to criticism.


That never happened.

On Sunday I asked them all over for dinner. Things were finally unpacked enough that I could find ALMOST everything in the house.

I started meal preparation. You might recall that we had been using our laundry room as a 'kitchenette' for some months before we moved because of major water damage in the kitchen. I was preparing several things at the same time, and I found myeslf getting really annoyed. There wasn't enough counter space!...why did we have to move anyway?...might as well just be cooking in the laundry room!...yadda, yadda, yadda. At the point I was kind of slamming cabinets and throwing bowls around, Mr. Jenny hesitantly entered the kitchen.

"Ummm...having a bad day?" he asked. "Yes! This is ridiculous. I have no counter space, I'm trying to do all this stuff and it's just like being in the laundry room again and..."

Mr. Jenny looked a tiny bit afraid to interrupt my rampage but he did anyway. "Ummm...why don't you use the island to help spread your stuff out?"

Island? Island? I had a kitchen island?




OMG. I turned around and there was a wealth of space to finish my meal preparations. I was embarrassed. How could I have forgotten there was an island in my kitchen? I had been trying to do all the food prep on the very short counters to the right and left of the kitchen sink.

In my defense, I've never had an island AND I'd been using the minute counter space in the laundry room for weeks and weeks.

In my defense...

Okay.

There is no defense.

I was being an idiot.

I was being prideful.

I was being that person that can help others all day long but has trouble being gracious enough to let someone help me.

Sigh.

Moving, stress, financial disaster and illness is no time to try to 'Island' it.

That's when you let anyone and everyone help.

Receiving gracefully is the hardest challenge sometimes.

But if you don't allow that to happen, you sit on your island and never realize there's a wealth of help available to get you through.

We ate, we laughed, we talked...





Every single time I tried to say, 'thank you', to our relatives for their help I started to cry.

I seriously could not get the words out without starting to cry.

And when it was time for everyone to go home my Uncle gave me a big hug and said something like, "This is what families do, next time don't be so pigheaded."

Pigheaded?

I wasn't being pig-headed?

I was just forgetting that there were all kinds of islands around MY island filled with help...

...and extra counter space.


And...


Okay. Yeah. I was being pig-headed.


Sigh...


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Monday, March 26, 2012

They say that necessity is the mother of invention...

I'm a mother.

And a grandmother.

And I have a necessity.

So I think I need to invent something.

I'm not sure how to go about it, though.

And then I'm not sure, beyond that, how to protect my invention so other people don't take it to China and make a zillion knock-offs to sell on the Home Shopping Network.

But let me get your opinion on this anyway.

This morning I woke up in extreme discomfort.

I had 'bent ear syndrome'.

I had slept all night with my ear kind of folded over and this morning it was tender and painful.

I shared my problem with Mr. Jenny. He said he had never encountered 'bent ear syndrome'.

I felt his ears. They were quite huge and cartillage-y (yes, huh, that is a word) so I suspect it only occurs for those of us, like me!, with small, attractive, nubile ears.

I suspect you have small, attractive, nubile ears so it's probably happened to you as well.

Perhaps you have also been distressed wondering how to protect yourself from 'bent ear syndrome' in the future.

Tell your ears not to fear. I think I have come up with a solution.

Whaddya think?


You can click on the picture to see the fine details more clearly if you like.

It's a great idea, right?

You've never seen these before, have you?

See!

Mother! Grandmother! Invention!

Now I just need to work on the patent and investor angle and I'm good to go!

Let me know if you want in on the deal!

You can have the sewing job. Think how fun it would be to put elastic into all those teeny, tiny ovals of soft, yet rigid, fabric!



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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Winners, winners, Barnes and Nobles dinners!

Hmmm...that didn't make much sense.

Barnes and Nobles doesn't even have dinner! They do have chocolates. At the checkout counter.

Not sure if that really counts.

But...

Here are the two winners for the Barnes and Noble gift cards from the two part giveaway.



Please e-mail me with your e-mail address...ummm...did that make sense?... so I can get your e-gift card to you. Could you put something like "I won!" in the subject line just so I see it!

I may not get your card out until Monday because tomorrow we are taking advantage of a visiting Uncle to help continue to whip this little rental house into shape.

The first day of the story there were 40 entrants.

Random Org picked:

Min: 1
Max: 40
Result: 32

Comment 32 was this one: noexcuses said...
I also missed this post yesterday. I love to read your writing, no matter what the subject. You have a way of pulling us in as though we are witnessing it along with you. Thank you so much for sharing this, and part two. I hope it eased the pain of loss a little more for you.


The second day of the story there were 39 entries.

Random org picked:


Min: 1
Max: 39
Result: 6


Comment 6 was this one: J. Kwiatkowski-Schuler said...
I would love to be sent off with a story. That's a beautiful recollection.
Justin's favorite book is about a big, wide-mouth frog, and I read it with my mouth open really wide "I'm a big wide-mouth frog and I eat flies!" It cracks him up.

Congratulations to NoExcuses and Julie!

Thank you everyone for all the kind words. They were much appreciated.

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Saturday Centus - I'm living...

Jenny Matlock


Welcome to week ninety-nine of Saturday Centus.

The prompt this week is: I'm living the dream, man...


Number of words: 100 EXACTLY including the 5 words of the prompt.
Style of writing: Any so long as the total word count is EXACTLY 100 words
Pictures: As many extra pictures as you like


The regular restrictions apply: PG, no splitting of the prompt, play nicely and visit the other entries, any style or genre of writing you prefer.

Please display my link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.

E-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Feel free to link up anytime between now and next Saturday!


post signature

Friday, March 23, 2012

So...

Just so I don't break my post a day habit, I'm posting a post...

And this is it...

Who. In. Their. Right. Mind. Lays. Tile. And. Doesn't. Seal. It?

Who, I ask you?

I have spent much of the day trying to scrub the grout in our new rental house with a scrub brush.

Yeah.

Ummm...

Ick.

I am paying a professional company to come tomorrow and try and do some kind of stream extraction on the unsealed grout...because...

Ummm...

Ick.

Just sayin'.

Unsealed grout should be illegal.

I will be circulating a petition on just this subject soon.

Ummm...

Ick.


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Thursday, March 22, 2012

A Memory of a Farmhouse

Can you come for refreshments today?

I am trying out a few new cookie recipes and I thought I could share them with you.

Our house is a little bit hard to find. It is tucked away from the street behind two big industrial buildings. Just turn west into the gravel driveway and follow it back.

See that big garden to the right? It is my asparagus patch. Too bad you aren’t visiting a little later, the asparagus spears would be emerging from the ground in thick clusters and I could send you home with a paper bag stuffed full.


The big garage to the left is where we park our cars away from the snow and rain. It is always a trek to haul groceries and sleeping children into the farmhouse. If you look on the west side of the garage wall you will see that it is almost totally covered in old road signs. These are the signs that the man who owned the house before us salvaged from the town. My favorite is that giant red stop sign.

Don’t park way out there, though. Just pull up the gravel driveway to the side of the house. Do you like the color? This brownish-gold shade is one of my favorites. Perched precariously on a 30’ extension ladder, I painted this house myself. With a paint brush. It took me months to complete, and I will admit to having almost continuous terror when I was painting the highest eaves of the house. See those little windows beside the brick chimney? Those are the windows that shine light into our walk up attic. The old glass is beautiful, isn’t it?

The tree to the left of the house is a Carpathian Walnut tree. I’ve told you about it before. I suspect you’re surprised at how huge it is, though. It’s hard to imagine a tree that large. If it warms up a bit, we can swing on the old wooden swing mounted to the large walnut branch, but for now, please come up to the enclosed porch.

Are you surprised that I have painted the steps and the wooden foundation of the porch as a checkerboard? I love painting and any wooden surface at the farmstead is fair game. The porch stays warm, even in early spring like this. This porch is where I sort all the roses that I dry in the attic to sell at art and craft shows. It’s too bad I’m not getting ready to dry any right now. When the buckets are filled with hundreds of roses the porch smells like a garden no matter what time of year it is.

I like the old door into the main room. We open the transom above the door when it’s warmer out and it helps circulate the air through the house but right now the days aren’t warm enough yet. The old brass hardware on the doors and windows is really neat, though, don’t you think? There are only three actual doorknobs in our entire house and they all have these old porcelain knobs and rectangular lock plates on them. The rest of the doors still have the ancient, hand-forged iron latches and they work perfectly.

Come inside. Do you like this room? Do you see how high the ceilings are? It took me almost a month to tear down the ugly dropped ceiling and expose all these beams. It took me nearly that length of time to lightly sand and paint the ceilings this lovely french vanilla color. The floors were covered with cheap carpet when we bought this house and I was very surprised to see how lovely the old, wide floorboards were underneath. It only took a good waxing to get them like this. Do you see the huge old built-in corner cupboard there? It holds so much. I have to have one of my children crawl inside to reach the farthest corners. Every glass panel in the doors is old glass. I wonder how careful someone must have been to keep that glass from breaking over the years.

I had quite a time wallpapering this room, but I’m happy how it looks now. Do you like the pattern?

Oh. I see you looking at the doorways there on the right side of the room. That first door with the single french door panel leads into a small sitting area. That small middle door leads to the basement. We will definitely NOT be touring that part of the house. It’s ancient stone with low ceilings. There is a shower down there and some rooms to store coal but it is not very charming. And there, in the corner, those two steps go up to a little landing and then up to the second floor.

Would you like to have a seat on that comfy couch under the big windows while I get our refreshments? Or if you prefer, you can come with me into my kitchen. It’s just through that open doorway to the right of the corner cupboard.

This room has been a bit of a challenge. Remodeling an old farmhouse with a dollar budget can be difficult. There used to be an old gas range on the left where the stove sits now. I burned my eyebrows, bangs and eyelashes off one too many times and it finally had to go. That is the dishwasher I found beside the road and dragged home. It worked perfectly, it just needed a coat of paint and some wallpaper on the front panel to look cute! And the red countertops! They are so happy...it’s hard to believe I found those at a salvage yard for five dollars! I even like this wallpaper I bought at a dollar a roll. It’s not pre-pasted but it made it more of a challenge. It really is cozy in here, though, isn’t it? I like looking out these big windows to the old barn down below. To the left of the barn there...do you see? You might have to stand on tip-toe...do you see that little stream? The stream flows from a little fresh water spring in the hillside. We’ll have to walk down a bit later, but for now I have a pitcher with water from the spring and I will brew our tea from that water as well. Let me just drop the teabags into the teapot and I’ll show you the rest of the downstairs.


Here. Step into my little laundry room. It’s always warm and comfortable in here. This little door leads right outside to the sled riding hill. It’s perfect when my children are shivery from being outside too long. Warm mittens and hot cocoa are always available in this laundry room. And the old linoleum floor is easy to clean up, too.

Do you see this little door in the corner of the laundry room?

It leads to a very odd space. Some people have told me it was designed as a box room...others have said it’s a ‘borning room’. I’m not exactly sure but it’s where I have my little desk and a single reading chair and lamp. I like the tall window in this little room, but there’s not much space for any more furniture. Between the window and the doorway to the laundry room and the doorway to the little living room it can be pretty crowded in here.

Let’s finish our little circle tour of the downstairs, okay?

Through this door is the little living room. See? We’re on the other side of the single french door now and you can see the great room just through there?

I like the exposed brick on this chimney wall. I’m sad there’s no fireplace in this space but the mantel looks nice there anyway, don’t you think?

This is where we watch tv and I read to my children. The chairs and couch in here all came from garage sales and I recovered them in this soft vanilla colored fabric. Don’t look too closely. I’m not going to get hired as an upholsterer any time soon, I suspect. I like this berry and wine wallpaper, too. The warm colors always make me smile and I think it looks good with my primitive wood furniture.

Let’s head back to the kitchen. I suspect the tea is perfect now.

After we have our refreshments, I’ll show you the rest of this house and then we’ll go next door to our second little house.

I think you’ll like it!

How do you take your tea?

And would you like to try one of each kind of cookie?

I’m so excited you came to visit for a little tour round and some delicious refreshments. This recipe for potato chip cookies is from my friend, Joanne. I think they're really delicious. Do you like them?


POTATO CHIP COOKIES

1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 c. flour
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. crushed potato chips

Mix all ingredients. Roll into small balls; flatten with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 - 14 minutes until just set. Sprinkle with powdered sugar when cooled.

Can you come again next week so we can go up the stairs and around the side of the house?




This little memory is written in honor of the letter "R" for Alphabe-Thursday. R is for refreshments and rooms.


To read other 'R' offerings, just click here.



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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Alphabe-Thursday Letter R


Good morning class.

Welcome to round four of Alphabe-Thursday! Today we will be studying the ridiculously radical letter:



Please link directly to your Alphabe-Thursday URL (if you don't know how to do this let me know!) and please continue to visit the five links before and after your link and leave a comment. Minimum of 10 links visited please. You can visit more if you like, of course.

I will be by to visit each of your blogs, but I am having trouble with some of the WordPress ones. If there's no e-mail linked, I might not be able to comment...even though I've been by.

Also, please, please consider removing word veri from your blog. Blogger has made it so hard to utilize that tool. I don't use it on my mind and have very little spam activity to date. In two plus years of blogging I've had perhaps 5 attempts total. The trick is to change the comment parameters to 'registered users' instead of 'anyone' and then simply turn word veri off. However, Miss Sue explained this wayyyy better than I could, so just click here to see her explanation of how to fix it. Thank you Sue.

If you have any difficulties with your link, please make sure to include the number of the link when you e-mail me. It is really difficult for me to find you easily otherwise.

If you have any questions about Alphabe-Thursday or problems doing your link just post it in a comment or send me an e-mail. I'll do my best to help you as quickly as I can.

The McLinkey will be live from 1:00 pm MST time Wednesday afternoon in an effort to assist our lovely "friends across the pond" and continue through 10:00 am MST time Friday morning!

And remember.... link back to this post, you need to be registered as a follower of my blog, PG posts only, and you must visit at least 10 other posts...perhaps consider starting from the last posts and work backwards. The links will stay live after the final post deadline has passed so you can even wait and visit over the weekend or whenever you have more time.

Please link your "R" post right now:

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Tuesday, March 20, 2012

A memory, a giveaway, and part two of the story.

Part one of a memory, a giveaway and the story.

Over the next days I would arrive at various times to wait for the end. My sister was never responsive regardless of whether the sky outside her window was the promise pink of morning, the deep afternoon blue of a desert sky or the velvet purple of night.


No matter what time of day it was, I continued to read with my hand on her forearm.

Sometimes I would put the book down to rest my eyes and then I would fill the quiet with songs that I thought she would like...’Where have all the Flowers Gone?’, ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, and ‘Forever Young’. I never attempted singing the rock songs we both liked, but I did bring my guitar in from the car one afternoon to sing the Christmas songs to her that she had always loved. I closed the door to her room and sang my heart out. She never responded.

Hours went by. It was one of those suspended times when the days blur together...was it Tuesday? What was the date? Some days it felt like I had been sitting in that chair reading that book forever...other times it felt like I had just arrived and the waiting was only beginning.

Hospice continued to check her.

“Oh, no...no signs yet,” they would say.

And so it was that on the day before she died we arrived at the last chapter of the book. On that evening I drove home with the windows down and the sunroof open. I remember crying and laughing in the car. I remember playing Aerosmith and the Police and Foreigner really, really loudly. I sat in the garage when I arrived home so the music could finish.

I spent the night dreaming of ringing telephones and cathedrals and girls twirling around in white dresses.

When I arrived the next morning, my Dad was there. He looked weary. Hospice came in while we were there together and checked my sister. “No signs, yet,” they said confidently, “Probably at least 24 hours longer.”

I walked my Dad a short way down the hall. “Now don’t leave her alone,” he admonished me. I assured him I wouldn’t and hurried back to be with her.

I talked to her briefly and opened the window just a bit to let fresh air into the sterile room.

Resting my hand on her forearm, I started reading bits and pieces of the last chapter.

Reluctantly I turned the last page.

I didn’t want the book to end. It had felt like a journey to a place far removed from the reality of what was actually happening.

Words to an old folk song came to mind, and I started singing the old Peter, Paul and Mary song, ‘500 Miles’, to my sister.

Just then my husband called my cell.

I stopped singing to answer his call.

I told him we had finished the book and I was wondering what we could read next. As I was talking to him my sister took a deep, deep breath.

I said, “Let me call you back, Liz is breathing strangely.”

I hung up.

There were no more breaths.

I was shocked.

I jumped up and went into the hall to find a nurse. It was breakfast time and the hall was crammed with residents in wheelchairs and walkers. I tried running down the hall to the nurse’s station and it was like an obstacle course. I was freaking out! Pushing wheelchairs out of the way! Trying to get some help!


The nurse’s station was empty. I realized I had left my sister alone.

I had promised my parents I wouldn’t.

“Holy crap!” I thought, “She is probably not even dead!”

I ran the gauntlet of wheelchairs and walkers to get back to her room.

“Holy crap!” I thought. “She is still dead!”

I called my parents.

I called my husband.

A nurse came in and asked if she could get us anything. I said, “I need help. I think my sister is dead!”

The nurse said, “Oh no, honey, I read her notes...she is still stable and...”

She stopped.

She looked at me in surprise.

I think she gulped.

She checked her pulse and said, “Oh my, you’re right. She is dead.”

It was really, really strange.

I was so worried my parents would be angry for me leaving her alone while I ran for help.

I was so worried that I should have done something.

And then...

...just like that...

...all the worry left me and I felt great relief for her.

She was finally free.

Free of pain. Free of being trapped in a body that no longer worked. Free of suffering.

But I’ve always wondered.

She was unresponsive. How did she know it was the last chapter?

Why did she wait?

Was it just a coincidence?

I think of the lyrics to the song I was singing to her right before she died...”If you miss the train I’m on, you will know that I am gone, you can hear the whistle blow 100 miles...”

And somehow, in the deepest part of my heart, I think she was waiting. Waiting to hear the end of the story...waiting to catch her train.


I'd like to do a little giveaway in honor of my sister.

I will be giving away two (2) $25.00 e-gift certificates to Barnes and Noble so that you can get your own copy of Pillars of the Earth...or whatever book your heart desires.

You can enter twice...once on yesterdays part one and once today by leaving a comment here telling me if you have a memory of a loved one associated with a specific book.

I will use Random ORG on Saturday morning to post both winners. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their e-mail addresses. If you don't respond, I'll select a new winner(s) on Monday, March 26.

Monday, March 19, 2012

A memory, a giveaway...and a two part story

I am still astonished that she knew.

How did she?

She had been unresponsive for almost a week. Her visions were all turned inward and although emotions would show on her face occasionally, for the most part she was unresponsive with only shallow breathing and an eyelid twitch now and again to show she was still alive.

I shared her eulogy with you before, on previous anniversaries...but today, on this fourth Anniversary of my sister’s death, I want to share the story of the event with you.

Because I still find much of odd...

Because I still find much of it humorous...

..and because I think I am finally ready to tell the story.

Understand that this is my story. I may not have all the medical parts of it correct...I’m not a nurse or a doctor. Just a sister.

The thing is, though, that I was with her when she died. Alone. And she died within minutes of my turning the last page of an epic book my husband had given me to read when my sister’s death vigil began.

My sister suffered from something similar to Lou Gehrig’s disease from her teenage years until her death at the age of forty. She was quite a bit younger than me and although we loved each other and shared a common love of rock ‘n’ roll and crafts we had never really been ‘sister friends’.

As her disease progressed, my parents finally made the difficult decision to place her in a full-time, residential care home.

While she still had coherent speech, she voiced her displeasure loudly and often, but as her disease progressed her vocalization became less and she expressed her displeasure by a disgusted roll of lips or eyes.

In the years prior to her death it seemed that our family was ruled by her health. My memories interweave every holiday and occasion as considered to be ‘her last’, and sadness was always entwined with the joy of celebration.

She fooled everyone, though, and continued for many years...slowly degenerating until it finally came to the ‘last’ last.

Her organs began shutting down.

Hospice and doctors and nurses agreed that she had just a short time to live. Possibly just hours.

Everyone gathered in the hall at the nursing home and wept and lamented and said goodbye and spent final moments with her.

The only problem with that scenario was that she wasn’t willing or ready to go yet. She made it through the night.

In the morning, hospice and doctors and nurses agreed, again, that it would just be hours, but it wasn’t. She made it through the day and the night again.

So our parents set up a schedule so that someone would be with her around the clock.

My husband had just finished reading Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. He handed it to me as ‘reading’ material as I headed out the door for my first scheduled vigil.
I dismissively tossed it onto the front seat and left it in the car.


Settling into the uncomfortable chair beside my sister’s bed, I found that time passes slowly when you are talking to someone who can’t respond. I brushed her hair, held some violets under her nose that I had picked from my garden, read her some poetry, opened the window, sang to her, put lotion on her hands and arms, and attempted to watch daytime TV.

After all that activity I was astonished to see that only an hour had gone by.

Remembering the book on the front seat, I told my sister I was going to be gone for a minute and then I sprinted to my car. Okay. Technically, I’m not much of a sprinter but I hurried as quickly as my old, fat body could go and returned to chair at her bedside.


I opened the first page of the book, certain that it would offer no distraction, but I was soon swept into the world of civil war, famine and religious strife. I wiggled unsuccessfully around in the chair hoping to find a comfortable spot and finally ending up leaning at an angle toward my sister’s bed so that I could keep a hand on her forearm while I held the massive book in my lap.

I shared passages with her. I talked to her about what I was reading. I talked impatiently to the nurses as they came in to check her...how dare they interrupt our reading. I was transported and I used all my powers of communication to take my sister along on the journey to the past with me.

When my Dad showed up at the room to take over, I was shocked to see that three hours had passed. I was dismayed to find I could barely stand up after pretzling beside her beside for so long.

I put the book into the bottom drawer of my sister’s dresser. I told her I would be back later and we would read some more.

I will finish this story tomorrow, Tuesday March 20.


I'd like to do a little giveaway in honor of my sister.

I will be giving away two (2) $25.00 e-gift certificates to Barnes and Noble so that you can get your own copy of Pillars of the Earth...or whatever book your heart desires.

You can enter twice...once today and once tomorrow by leaving a comment here telling me if you have a memory of a loved one associated with a specific book.

I will use Random ORG on Saturday morning to post both winners. Winners will have 48 hours to send me their e-mail addresses. If you don't respond, I'll select a new winner(s) on Monday, March 25th.

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Sunday, March 18, 2012

Anybody have a dollar?

98 words got me nowhere close to what I wanted to write here. But, alas, some taskmaster limited the word count and I could only come close to what I wanted to say. Sigh...

It was only ninety-eight cents.

But it could have been a million dollars.

This measly bag of groceries costs $20.98?

As always I had more month than food stamps.

I was reduced to the wrinkled twenty dollar bill I had saved in my wallet against the most dire emergency.

Hard to believe that buying groceries was the dire emergency.

Hard to believe that the food bank had nothing to give us this morning.

"Take the loaf of bread off," I said quietly to the teller.

"Hooray!" I told my child, "It's going to be a cereal week again!"


This little 98 word post is linked to Saturday Centus. The prompt is in bold. To read other offerings, just click here.
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Saturday, March 17, 2012

Saturday Centus - It was only...

Jenny Matlock


Welcome to week ninety-eight of Saturday Centus.

Still behind. I read week 94 and started on week 95 BUT it was Spring Break for Grandlittles this week! I only have 12 moving boxes in my office now so I'm feeling able to read blogs with less guilt, too.



The prompt this week is: It was only ninety-eight cents...


Number of words: 98 EXACTLY including the 5 words of the prompt.
Style of writing: Any so long as the total word count is EXACTLY 98 words
Pictures: As many extra pictures as you like


The regular restrictions apply: PG, no splitting of the prompt, play nicely and visit the other entries, any style or genre of writing you prefer.

Please display my link button or just a hyper-link back to Saturday Centus. Be careful to link your SC URL to the Linky and not just link to your main blog.

E-mail me directly with ???'s or ask your question in a comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible.

Feel free to link up anytime between now and next Saturday!


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Friday, March 16, 2012

Early mornings at our house are usually preceeded by...

...me!

Poke, poke, poking Mr. Jenny in the ribs.

This morning was no exception.

He ignored the first round of me attempting to wake him up, but finally succumbed after great determination on my part.

He D-C-Papped and finally stuttered out, "Whaaaa...whaaat....what's wrong?"

"Wake up, please. It's important."

He sat up.

And I'm pretty sure he was scowling at me but it was too dark to really tell.

"So what's so important?"

Yes. I could definitely hear the scowl in his voice.


"Ummmm..." I proceeded, and quite sweetly I might add, "When was the last time you said 'Gee Willikers'? And what does that really mean anyway?"

"What? When I said what? 'Gee Willikers'? How do I know? At least fifty years ago. Where do you come up with this stuff...go back to sleep."

He laid back down, turned over, re-C-Papped up, and quickly went back to sleep.

Leaving me alone. In the dark.

To ponder how long it's been since I heard the phrase 'Gee Willikers'.

Sigh.

So I'm wondering.

If you're not sleeping.

Or grumpy or anything.

When was the last time you said it?

Enquiring minds want to know.

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