Real News

The following is from an email that I received from my sister.  It brought tears to my eyes.  Today, on the last day of the year 2010, let these words touch your heart.

“Lindsay Lohan, 24, and Paris Hilton got their names and faces all over the news because they went to jail for a few short weeks or days for acting out, negative behavior, resisting arrest, cocaine possession, being drunk and disorderly, not to mention their insolent attitude.

What do you know about these men?

Justin Allen, 23

Brett Linley, 29

Matthew Weikert, 29

Justus Bartett, 27

Dave Santos , 21

Chase Stanley, 21

Jesse Reed, 26

Matthew Johnson, 21

Zachary Fisher, 24

Brandon King, 23

Christopher Goeke, 23

Sheldon Tate, 27

Do you recognize any of their names? No? None of them starred in a movie or made a record album, hit a homerun or scored a 3 point conversion or did a celebration in the end zone after scoring a touchdown. None of them brags about "showcasing their talents for their fans" while being paid millions and millions of dollars.

Did that help? No? Well then I should tell you that they are all Marines who gave their lives for YOU this week. They died for honor and country. They are all heroes of the highest magnitude. How much did you read about them ?

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december042010/marines-darkhorse-tk.php

We are asking everyone to say a prayer for "Darkhorse" 3rd Battalion 5th Marines and their families. They are fighting it out in Afghanistan & they have lost 9 marines in 4 days.

Semper Fi, God Bless America and

God Bless the United States Marine Corps...

Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever”

  Beth

Hooray…

It is 39 degrees and the snow is melting.  Water standing in the streets where the snow was never plowed.  One reason the water is standing is because maintenance never raked up the leaves from the big oak trees and the sewers are clogged.  Warm up tomorrow into the 50s should get rid of a lot more of the snow.

I have been reading several blogs that listed their New Years resolutions.  I rarely make a New Year resolution because I most probably won’t keep it.  For some silly reason that makes me feel guilty.  Why I feel guilty I don’t know.  However I do have a few resolutions that I am going to try to keep in 2011.

1. I am asking God to help me to be a kinder, gentler person.

2. Conquer the one way streets downtown.

3. Eat healthier without Marie Callender looking over my shoulder.

4. Take my foot out of my mouth.

5. Quit procrastinating, just get up and do it.

Whew, five resolutions is enough.  I wore myself out just typing them.  Do you have any New Year resolutions to share.

Well, I intend to carry out resolution 5 right now and get up and go clean the dreaded bathroom.

You all stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Another cold Tuesday…

checking in at 16 degrees.  I am looking forward to the warm up on Friday into the mid 50s.  Hopefully that will get rid of a lot of the ice and snow.  The side roads are still not salted or plowed.
I did make it to Wal * Mart yesterday where I got a few Christmas markdown things.  It was pretty well picked over after the first day.  I have to go out and clean my car off pretty soon as I need to make a grocery store run.
There is nothing much happening here right now and for that I am thankful.  Well, other than an unexpected bill from my hospital stay which should have been billed to Medicare and was billed to my supplemental insurance instead which denied it of course.  To say that I went in to shock would be putting it mildly as this happened twice last summer. I spent several hours on the phone getting that straightened out.  I am grateful that I have insurance as I know many people are not so fortunate.
I need to go eat my breakfast so I will catch you all later.

  Beth

The day after..

and this afternoon I thought it would be a good idea to put the Christmas decorations away and do some major cleaning.  I did this and now I am frazzled out.  My house looks really good though.

Christmas Day I had lunch with my daughter and son in law and a gift exchange.  Santa brought me all of the things I have been hinting for the last few weeks.  Two new Farberware skillets, a muffin tin for the jumbo muffins, an indoor outdoor thermometer and a 13X9 Farberware baking pan.  After reading about the glass pans exploding I decided I wanted a metal pan.  Then in the evening I went with my daughter and son in law to his brother’s house for supper.  I was made to feel welcome again.  I enjoyed it very much.

Still lots of snow on the ground.  The official total was 7 inches and a bit more fell last night.  My car is covered again and today I just left it alone.  I would have gone to the after Christmas sales except the streets are not plowed, just the main roads.  Just as well, I got my house cleaned and saved some money.  I think I will brave it tomorrow though and see if there is anything left on sale.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth

Happy Birthday Jesus…

Looking out my back door.

Click on the pictures for a larger view.

  Beth

Merry Christmas…

to you all.  May you have a blessed holiday filled with lots of love and happiness.

And from something I bought at a Christmas Bazaar:

“On Christmas Day at half past three,

Brew yourself a cup of tea.

I’ll think of you, you think of me,

Sitting beside the Christmas tree.”

 

Beth

It’s Thursday…

in Central Illinois and I am up bright and early.  Awake at 5 AM, so I just got up.  Company coming today, but just for lunch.  Well actually family, as my brother and sister-in-law are on the way from the St Louis area.  Not to stay all night as originally planned, but to have lunch and then get on the road to Northern Illinois before the predicted winter storm hits.  They wanted to take me out to lunch, but I have cooked a turkey and we will have the regular Thanksgiving type meal.  This is because I had that other turkey I bought before Thanksgiving taking up all of the room in my freezer.  Hey, that is another thing I miss from my old home, a separate freezer.  I do miss the garage and washer and dryer more though.  Not complaining, just reminiscing. 

Today is my son-in-law’s birthday.  Happy Birthday Mike.  Soon you will catch up with me as I get younger each year and you get older each year.  Mike is recuperating well from his knee surgery and is about to wind up his therapy.

And now back to the weather.  It is 23 degrees F right now.  We do have a winter storm advisory out for tonight with 3 – 5 inches of snow predicted.  Looking for my ship to come in so I can have a home in the south for the winter and back home to the Illinois heat and humidity in the summer.

I do want to take a moment again to remember our troops stationed all around the world looking out for our safety.  May God Bless you all.  I wish you all could be home with your families for Christmas.  My constant prayer is for peace on earth!

Guess I better get busy with the fixings that go along with the turkey.  Love that stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy.  That is the best part.

  Beth

What fun…

last night.  I was invited to a cookie exchange by my daughter.  This was hosted by Liz, a lovely lady that I met last night, along with several other very nice ladies.  Liz has a beautiful home which she has decorated for Christmas.  She was gracious enough to allow me to take several photos of her decorations.

Some of the goodies, waiting for the exchange.  My eye is on the divinity as it is my favorite homemade candy.  I took peanut butter fudge for the exchange.  Eight bags with 6 pieces in each.

 

The lovely refreshment table our hostess provided.  Hot chocolate is in the snow man.  Very unique dispenser.  I had never seen one like this before.

A very interesting collection of old Santa pictures.  As usual, click on the pictures for a larger image.

A hostess gift we were each given.  I love the saying attached to the ornament.  “Friends are the ornaments of my life.”

And I am home from the cookie exchange with my 8 packages of goodies, thanks to the hospitality of a new friend.  Thank you Liz.

  Beth

Good Morning…

and we missed the freezing rain so far.  We do have a significant snow warning forecast for Thursday night and Friday.  We will see how that pans out.  I definitely do not want to see my brother and sister in law caught on bad roads on their way north on Friday.  They are the only ones traveling now through Christmas in my family.   I hope all of your families arrive at their destinations safely.

I am kind of on a let down feeling today after a sleepless night with a lot of nightmares.  Christmas shopping and baking, etc. puts a big strain on us all.  Now I am going to try to relax and remember that we are celebrating the birth of Jesus and not a big bakeoff or seeing how much money we can spend on gifts.  I think I tend to go overboard because I was number 6 in a family of 8 children.  We were very poor.  My mom and dad moved us from Missouri to Illinois, hoping for a better life,  when I was 3 years old and Rae was 1.  My youngest brother was born in Illinois.

 

This picture was taken when I was 7 years old in the 3rd grade.  Notice my lovely dress.  I remember it very well.  It was a soft mint green made from a feed sack by my mother.

I can say with all honesty that I don’t ever remember getting a present when I was a child.  Later on after I was in high school was different.  My mom tried very hard, sewing us dresses from feed sacks and making homemade candy which she saved in a 5 gallon can.  Anyway, that is my explanation for the reason why I go overboard for my kids.  Now I appreciate life for what it is and I thank God that He has given me an opportunity to live it.

I would like to clarify something from my post yesterday.  My cousin Audrey who is Nate’s grandmother lives in Michigan as does Nate and his family.  Audrey did the applique on Nate’s sweatshirt as was explained in the paragraph in quotations which was an excerpt from an email from Audrey to me. 

I hope you are all having a good week.  Stay safe and be happy!

  Beth

News about Nate…

on this snowy Monday morning.  Yes, it is snowing like crazy right now with more to come.  Several of you have been asking about Nate.  Following is an excerpt from an email from my cousin Audrey who is Nathaniel’s grandmother.  Nate had a heart transplant on December 26, 2009.

“This picture of Nathaniel was taken on his birthday, December 7th,  he turned 9 years old and he is doing great.  We would love to see him gain some weight but he is growing tall so fast I guess that is taking all his growth energy.  I am 5' 5 and he is all ready as tall as I am.  He is wearing the sweat shirt I appliqued for his birthday.  He said he wanted to be Charlie Brown and I felt he needed the appropriate attire and he absolutely loves it.  The shirt is a mans size small so you can kind of see how tall he is.  His surgery was done on Dec. 26th, 2009.  He is back to going to regular school now.  His mom, Jeni, home schooled him while he could not go be with other children because of the fear of him catching something from them.”

This does my heart good to see that Nate is doing well.  He and his family remain always in my prayers.

I am in the midst of doing laundry again.  When that is finished I have to make a grocery store run and a couple of other errands.

I hope you all have a blessed week!

  Beth

Sunday afternoon…

and this has been a busy weekend.  Yesterday morning my great niece came for a visit and brought her little girl (my great-great niece).  She is such an adorable little child who will be two years old in March.

I laughed at her hair when she took off her winter hat.  Her hair was going in every direction.  Her mommy usually has it in two pigtails.  She seems to grow more each time I see her.  She is like a little bolt of lightning darting here and there.  I sure can’t keep up with her.  Rae, (my sis) and I decided that is the reason why God decided mothers should have their children while they are young as we can’t keep up with them as we grow older. 

My brother and sis in law are coming Thursday to spend the night with me.  They will head out to northern Illinois on Friday morning to be with their son, DIL, and granddaughter.  Thursday is also my son in law’s birthday so it will be a busy day.

I have gifted all of my service people except the mail carrier.  She moves so fast it is hard for me to catch up with her.  The one most surprised was the garbage man as I gave him a plate of cookies and some money.  That is a nasty job and I don’t think that they are appreciated for what they do.

It is cold and cloudy here today.  25 degrees and there is snow/and or freezing rain predicted for the next couple of days.  I need to make a grocery store run in the morning and get stocked up.    Did you you catch that Boston guy??

I hope you are all having a great weekend/

  Beth                                                    

Friday again…

and my son did get to come for a visit bringing presents and taking home presents.  Although it snowed here all day, he did have a safe trip here and a safe trip at home. We ate at Applebee’s.  The next time you are there you should try the Brownie Bite that comes with a scoop of ice cream drizzled with chocolate for only a dollar.  The brownie is warm and scrumptious.

This is what my car looked like yesterday morning.  You can click on the picture for a better view.  Notice the cemetery behind me has a nice coating of snow.

This was very early in the morning, about 7AM and then it proceeded to snow all day long.  Today it is clear and right now the temp is 16 degrees F.  I have several errands to run this morning over snow packed roads so I will be glad to get them done.  grocery stores, pharmacy, etc.  The main roads here are snow plowed and the side streets are left to fend for themselves.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  Stay safe and be happy!

  Beth

Wednesday…

and I almost forgot to post today.  I could say I have been busy, but that is not really so.  I did go to get my haircut and that is about it.  I took  a couple of pictures of my Christmas decorations to share with you.

Click on them for a larger picture.

We are in line for another snow tonight and my son is supposed to come tomorrow.  I guess if he gets snowbound he will have to spend the night.

I will post again tomorrow evening.

  Beth

Warming up here…

all of the way up to 3 degrees here right now, wind chill still below zero.  I have sped with the speed of lightning over to the laundry room and did two loads of laundry, hardly felt the cold at all. 

I need to go out, warm up my car and head over to the grocery store, mostly to get out of the house.  I am getting cabin fever.  Yesterday, I did get out long enough to go to the post office.  I am thoroughly aggravated with the postal service as I mailed an overseas package on Nov 26 and it hasn’t been received yet.  I was given a number to call for the 2nd time.  The package was sent first class and I was informed it should have been received in 6 – 10 business days.  I also was informed that there is nothing that can be done about it. 

I called last night and talked to my old friend Chris who is in a nursing home.  She has neuropathy and has been in the nursing home for almost 4 years.  That gal has lots of courage and determination.  Her daughter is a nurse practitioner and has made very sure her mom has had the best of care.  She has made several trips to the Mayo Clinic and is due to go again in March.  Each time I talk to her she tells me of her accomplishments since we last talked.  She is able to walk a short distance now with a walker.  Bear in mind that when she first went in the nursing home she couldn’t walk at all and barely use her hands.  First it was a few steps between the bars and then finally up to over 2000 steps, and now the walker.  Makes me feel pretty small when I think I have something to complain about.  She is a devout Christian and that plays a huge part in her accomplishments.   Chris was my neighbor for many years back in the days when our children were small.

Speaking of old neighbors, my husband’s best friend is in stage 4 cancer and it is like reliving a very sad time in my life over again.  I spoke to him on the telephone this week and he is courageous and optimistic even though he is on antibiotics and recovering from the flu.  Prayers for you Bill.

OK, I have procrastinated enough, I need to get the car going.  There are only 96 days left till Spring!

  Beth

Monday…

and I woke up to a  bitter cold temp of 2 degrees F with a wind chill of 19 below zero.  The snow has drifted around my car and the front sidewalk is drifted over.  Maintenance came last night and plowed off the driveway where we back our cars out and of course everything has blown over again this morning.  I hope that my car will start.  I will go out in a little while and give it a try. 

This picture was taken last year of one of my flower beds at home.  If you will click on the picture you will see how pretty they were.  The compensations here in my new place go a long way towards making up the difference.  It’s ok, I am just reminiscing, and feeling a little bit homesick.

To the best of my ability my early countdown shows only 97 days till Spring. 

  Beth

You oughta be here with me…

as we are having a blizzard.  The wind is gusting and is predicted at times to peak at 50 miles an hour.  The snow is blowing against the window and I don’t dare to venture outdoors.  The temp tonight is to have wind chills of 15 to 20 below zero.  I am stuck here in the house with that awesome peach pie and I guess you all know what that means.  I am cooking too, oven baked steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and corn.  I never cook anymore and Marie Callender and Healthy Choice are the ladies who usually feed me.  Hurry, come save me from myself. 

For my friend Paul in Iraq, if you are reading this, I am so glad your mom was able to get a fruit cake to you.  I normally make homemade fruit cake each year which I send to unsuspecting family and friends.  This year for some reason I did not (probably because I have an electric stove here and for 50 years I cooked with gas). I love fruit cake, especially homemade so I think everyone else should too.  Prayers for you Paul and all of our troops all around the world.  Our  blogging family here is praying each day for you all!

I just talked to my sis in WV.  The weather there is one day behind us as they are getting the rain and then some snow to come.  She is busy getting presents ready for several of the special needs kids she works with.  Kudos for you Rae.  I am so proud of you.

I need to close now and check on the steak.  You are all welcome to come and join me.

  Beth

Saturday…

and I am up bright and early again.  The weather forecast for today through Monday is miserable and my early Christmas plans have been put on hold for a week.  First rain, then snow, then bitter cold.  To be even worse in the Chicago area.  Such is winter time in Illinois and as old as I am you would think I would be used to it by now.  I am used to it, but that doesn’t ease the disappointment.  The lemon cream cheese bars are now in the freezer too.

So what will I do today?  I could do a bit more shopping but I have already spent way too much so I had better forget that.  I would like to make some frosted sugar cookies but those do not keep well so I think that will wait for a few days.  I can always find laundry to do but that can wait too.  Yesterday I got the vacuum out and cleaned, so that is done.  I even did the dreaded bathroom cleaning a couple of days ago.  Well, I do have several Bones episodes recorded on the DVR so I can watch those.  I love that show.  One of the best things about DVR recording is that you can fast forward through the commercials.  There is about 44 minutes left of a one hour show after you remove the commercials.

An update on Angel in WV.  Her bones are healing and the cause of the crash is undetermined yet.  Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

I am still searching for free e-books on the internet.  Most of the free ones are just samples which to my way of thinking isn’t worth the download.  Some of the sites want you to register and pay a fee to get free books.  How is that for being free?

My favorite all time Christmas song is Hark the Herald Angels Sing and my favorite performer of this song is Neil Diamond.

I will leave you with this and go fix me some breakfast.  Cheerios, banana and milk.  I hope you all are having a good day.

  Beth

By Request…

Lemon Cheese Bars

28 Mar 2009

by Beth Marie in Desserts

My son’s favorite dessert…

Step 1.

Mix 1 box yellow cake mix with

1/3 cup of oil and 1 egg.

Mix until crumbly.  Reserve 1 cup.  Pat remaining mixture evenly into a 13X9 ungreased pan.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for exactly 15 minutes.  Meanwhile do

Step 2.

Beat 1 eight ounce package of softened cream cheese with 1/3 cup of sugar.  Add 1 egg and 1/3 cup of lemon juice.  Beat until light and fluffy.  Spread over hot baked crumb mixture.  Sprinkle remaining crumbly mixture over the top.  Bake 15 minutes longer.  Do NOT overbake.  Chill and cut into squares.

OH MY!!

this has been a morning and a half where I have had my patience sorely tried.  Perseverance won out though and I was able to keep my cool.  To begin with I woke up at 5 AM so I just got up.  So far, so good.  Then after meds, 1/2 hour workout, 1 load of laundry I decided to make the lemon cream cheese bars which my son specifically requested.  These are his favorites and I have made them dozens of  times.  Caution, do not use fat free  cream cheese, the topping was FLAT!    

Then I head off to Krogers to finish grocery shopping and to pick up some more cream cheese.  The left turn signal in my car was working fine on the way to the store.  On the way home, oh no, that fast clicking which my son in law told me meant the bulb was burned out.  My daughter was kind enough to go with me to get it fixed, first trying Firestone who was backed up all day with work and then on out to the Buick dealer.  This little light bulb cost me $26.90 to replace.

Then on home where I proceeded to make those cream cheese bars again.  They turned out perfect this time.    Reminds me of the time several years ago when I was making potato soup and I went to shake some pepper in the pan and the lid came off and all of that pepper went in the soup.  Jim and the kids loved this.  My daughter said “Mom, I thought you never made a mistake when you are cooking.”   I told her that of course I made lots of mistakes while cooking, I just never told anyone.

Now I am worn out and I still have quite a few things I need to get done before the day is done.  You all stay safe and be happy!

  Beth

Festival of Lights, East Peoria Illinois…

and what a sight it is to see.  My daughter and son-in-law took me last night to see it.  I can’t begin to describe how awesome it is.  This is the city where one of our fellow bloggers, Stephen, lives. 

I am in the process of making Chex mix now.  I made some in the microwave and I have some in the oven now.  My kids love it, so do I but I eat just a bite of it as it is loaded with salt.  Yumm!!  Tomorrow I will finish grocery shopping and Saturday if our predicted snow storm holds off my son will be coming for an early Christmas.

Gotta go now and check the Chex mix.  Come on over.  I will give you a cup of tea and a homemade cookie and you can take a bag of Chex mix and a box of homemade fudge home with you.

  Beth

Hummingbird in December in Illinois?

http://www.pjstar.com/photos/x1646546233/Annas-Hummingbird-Found-In-Chillicothe-Causing-a-Stir

Yes, it is so.  Click on the link above to read all about it.  Quite a phenomenon, first one ever to be spotted in Illinois (just a few miles from me) and in December, rare indeed.  Be sure and look at all of the photos.  They are beautiful.

It is too cold here this morning to go bird-watching, although I do love to do that.  It was 7 degrees F this morning with a below zero wind chill.  I have been running back and forth doing laundry and got my tootsies cold, also my hands.    Now I have to go out and clean the snow off the car and warm it up as I have some shopping to do this morning.  Yes, we got some more snow yesterday afternoon after I had cleaned the car all off in the morning.  Perhaps I will come into a few million today and I can live in a warmer climate in the winter.  LOL  Just kidding of course, who in their right mind would ever leave the joy of ice and snow in central Illinois?  Not me??  I love it.

My cookie making is all done.  My freezer is the trunk of my car.  Right now it is filled with cookies and candy, so if I ever get stranded in a snow bank anywhere I will have something to eat.  Seriously, I do love Illinois, I just don’t like ice and snow.

Gotta get moving now.  Places to go, things to do and people to see.  Have a wonderful day.  Stay safe and be happy!!

  Beth