JustaKrusen/ Mrsjustakrusen

I found the other day on my way out the door about 7 new webs. All made in different places, all made over night, while we were sleeping.

I was totally amazed how quickly the spiders worked to make them.

I had watched a very small spider outside the bedroom window working in a web one day, it was unbelievable how the spider was bonging back and forth, at times looking like it was bungie jumping, lacing the web. I watched it for a while and was mesmerized.

No crochet pattern the spider was following, no hooks or needles, just creating this material and spinning it’s web.

When I saw this particular web it was like seeing strings of pearls as the water droplets clung to each thread of web. Don’t you find it amazing that this little tiny being, ( yes spiders are gross… but get beyond that and think about it) that they could create something so dainty, unique and so quickly.

If a human was asked to single-handedly build OVERNIGHT something as massive as this is,the same proportion that the size of this web is to that spider who made it, I do not know one person who could do that.  And without any tools, new gadgets, nothing… just what God given blessings you have.  

How can you not look at something like this and not stop and appreciate the wonders of life.  Things like this make me stop, take a moment, my life gets so crazy, that I have to remember to look close, not just far away… it was weird, because later that morning Mark went back out in front and every one of these webs were gone, poof. Had I just hustled my self to the car, had I not consciously told myself to look, I would have missed this.

What did you miss today? In your life, around you… what did you miss?? It is a wonderful world out there, you just gotta take a few extra moments to see it. Love to all, Mrs Justa…

I heard this joke this morning… hee hee, I am still chuckling.

This man and his wife go out fishing in an  inlet from the ocean. They were having a great time , when his wife stood up and fell out of the boat. The husband totally freaked out, diving for her, but to no avail. He sadly went back to shore and called for help.

The rescue divers came and after unsuccessful attempts for hours, they told him to go home and they would let him know is they find her.

The next morning there was a knock at this mans door, and one of the rescue folks said

“ Sir, I have good new and great news.”

The man said what is the good news…. ???

The rescue worker said “We found your wife, and when we pulled her up , she had 4 lobsters attached to her!”

The man said  “ If that is good news , what is the great news???!!!”

The rescue worker said

“ We will pull her up again tonight and see how many lobsters we get tonight. “

……………….. I thought it was so funny… I don’t know why… it is kinda sick !.

Then I ran across this a month ago…

Now I know there are issues with the economy, and I understand that motorcycles do save a lot in mile per gallon, but I never thought about a person purchasing a motorcycle in sizes. I figured everyone looked the same on a motorcycle… that was till we came across this dude.

How comfortable can this be??? The crotch seam on his blue jeans must be really stressed! He was hunched down to reach the handle bars, and he is so tall his knees are almost touching his elbows. Now maybe he is in his 20s and more flexible then folks like me in my 50s, but I can tell ya, if I rode anything in this position, legs spread till the material won’t let you spread any further, back hunched, neck forward… I gotta tell ya, I would not be able to get my feet down at the next stop. I would fall over ! My body would be so cramped.

He is just asking for a bee to sting his thighs, maybe get his knees caught by a passing car or truck… I just thought it was so funny. This man needs a Harley… big road hog…

And for one final thought for the day…. ( I heard the traffic reporter say this to one of the Disc jockies a while back )…. The DJ was going shopping for something to wear at the CMA’s…. the  traffic chick said… “as you are shopping for clothes remember… just because they make it in your size does not mean you should wear it. “    

                           Love to all, Mrs justa.

More garden dilemma , every day it is a garden dilemma. How strange a day it was today. I went out in my garden to take a photo of the newest invasion in my garden and in the dirt was a bright healthy orange tomato. Unscathed by the fungus kindly named “Northeastern Blite” that took most of my tomatoes hostage…., this bright healthy orange tomato was just sitting there, proud as punch to be found in great shape! I picked it up…

Then I went to the villain corner of the garden, where  I now have these weird looking things walking all over my zucchini plants. I have 2 zucchini plant remnants left- the others I chopped up when the squash bore got to them . These villains look like pumpkin seeds with legs. Today I was mentioning to my best friend and gardening partner about these roaming pumpkin seeds, and she said something like… “uhh oooh”  … “You have squash bugs. “ I think I heard a sound of a chuckle in her words… like she felt bad for me…kinda like she didn’t like to tell me what it was… but also it is kinda funny that every stinking thing has come to visit my garden.

I immediately began to wonder if somewhere in bug and bore and fungi land there was a bug size lap top with google earth set up and it was stuck on our property for a nice “daycation”  ( The new word for vacation in this tough economic time) 

So these little critters have chosen to  gnaw away at the rest of the zucchini plants, make kinda cool looking ( to them) caves and tunnels to walk thru and help with the final demise of the zucchini plants. I have to dig them up and cut them in little pieces and throw them out, but tonight I just could not do it.

I have other things to do tonight, not chop up infested zucchini plants…  I did want to take some photos though and share my newest garden adventure. Just in case any of you in garden land see those pumpkin seeds with legs… they are not a good thing. I have an insecticide called “Seven” that I will use tomorrow before I chop and dice the plants…

Now off to pay bills, fill out some forms with Mark and sort thru some pictures to send some off to Mark’s mom . She wants pictures of Brandon and Mackenzie. She has been hinting

for newer pictures of Brandon for months. I think the last ones I sent her were from November. …I know… I am bad… but I will get better soon. Love to all, good luck to the gardeners— it is a cruel world out there!. Love Mrs justa…

What is life without a joke or two along the way? A time to smirk a smile, a time to sit back and not get stressed out by everything around you. I was told once that a study had been done and it was found that if we were given the opportunities to keep our own troubles and switch with someone else’s, we would probably want to keep our own.

For through all the trials we have, they are our trials.

Mark has a way to do this behind another person or pet, it is just something he does. Even though he is hurting a lot of the time, he somehow steps above it and tries to bring humor into situations. Poor Badger at this time had some abnormal blood levels and Mark was going over each day an letting him out, he was able to lie on the couch and rest his back and leg, but he was a huge help to Jeff and Amanda… and Badger! Even though Mark was hurting, I think he preferred his problem to Badger, Jeff’s and Amanda’s right then.

There are people at work who have challenges galore, they do not want Mark’s and my challenges, and I do not want theirs.

A friend of mine called me a few days back and she was telling me how she has had to relocate back home to care for her sister and daughter, to try to find work locally, and unsure when she can retire. Her life has just done an abrupt stage left. I listened to her, but I do not want her problems. We were able to joke a bit, get a quick laugh in and talk about days gone by, but when we hung up the phone, I was glad I had my life… and I think she was glad she has hers.

I worry about things in life, things I can not change or predict where they will go. I think everyone must do that.

Working in the medical payor business, it is always the worse case scenarios we run across in our area. The tough cases, the cases where people have to face adversities, challenges, and somehow get out on the other side. The thought that there is another side has helped me in my past crisis’s to get through them . I think that is what keeps Mark going ,  knowing there is another side to this crappy thing that is going on with him.

So my thought for this evening is to not give up. Believe that what ever you are facing, that things get better. Sometimes it takes years for us to see a lesson learned thru a terrible time, but there is always a lesson, a good side and a bad side to everything. So hold those 2 fingers up behind your troubles and try to make humor out of a not so humorous time.

I am off to practice my song for Sunday… be safe, be calm, and  if anyone is having a tough time… 

watch for that sun to rise, a new day beginning. Love to all, Cindy

What a Monday- geepers creepers.

At 4:22 this morning we heard indi get off the bed, rather abruptly. Next thing I knew Mark had the light on and was calling me to come and look at Indi. He was in the middle of a grande mal seizure. We stood by him, petting his near unconscious body and watching as his little body trembled and shook, legs kinda moving, back arched, foam at the mouth and once he came out of it there was a puddle of urine and he starting defecating all over.  Not a way tp wake up from a semi sound sleep. The poor guy did get out of it, and slowly became himself again.

We called the vet at 7:00 and they scheduled us for later today. Well… again around 1 this afternoon, he had another, I was at work, Mark got to handle it himself. It is awful to see your pet like that.

We just got back from the vet a little while ago. He said it sounds just like idiopathic epilepsy and he drew some blood on Indi If the blood work it good tomorrow, then we go and get a prescription for Phenobarbital. He will take a small dose, morning and night for the rest of his life.

The vet said 70% of his clients have seizures. It just happens. HE said there will be no side affects from the medication and hopefully the seizures we witnessed today will not come back again.   There is nothing worse then watching an animal suffer. We have done that 4 times now and we were worried because of 2 seizures in the same day. I was not looking forward to a vet telling us we would have to put him down.

So please light a candle for Indi, say a prayer for him. Hopefully the blood work will look good tomorrow morning and we will a start his meds twice a day. Good night to all, Cindy

Tiny little body, tiny little hands,

premmie clothes too big for her, she weighed less then the egg plant I cooked tonight! Miss Mackenzie came home from her 4 weeks in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Friday. We went out today to meet her out of the incubator world she had known for these past 4 weeks.

I gotta tell ya, you have to remind yourself you are holding her, she is so small. You could hold her all day and not have an arm cramp, heck I bet my winter coat weighs more then she does right now. What totally amazed me was the china doll like hands she has, so tiny, but fingers so long, so frail looking , but a really strong grip.

We were glad we got to go. We were worried transportation wise , as my car the 2007 Nissan, decided to not want to start with the push button. It is not that the battery is dead in the car- it is more like some problem with the car acknowledging we were pushing the start button. It is a nice feature not to need a key to start the car…. until the system does not work… Then it is not so great. So once we pushed the button about 10 times and it finally indicated it was running, we drove it to the dealers to get looked at in the morning.

Plan B was to take the 1997 Intrepid. On the way home from the dealer we went on a country road that is not a smoothly paved as a regular highway, and the car started to make a weird knocking sound. Not loud, kinda like a thud. Once we got onto better paved roads it did get quiet again, so we ventured off 1 1/2 hrs away to meet our grand daughter..Mackenzie.. in her home. We visited Adrianne and Mackenzie for a few hrs then headed back North east to home. I am kinda tired tonight. After Brandon’s big birthday party yesterday and traveling today, plus doing the regular weekend stuff around here, and I need to get to work tomorrow… it is like the weekend left before it started. All was fun.. but I am whipped now.

We only saw Mackenzie sleep, and then one time she……………………….

SMILED

Sleep

tight

you precious one.

How can ya not believe in Miracles, in gifts from God…

This is what life is about………………….

Good night to all,  Love Mrs Justa…   

Can you see any similarity???? Oh my goodness, almost the same pose. The only difference is the one on the left is Brandon- on his first birthday this past Weds night, and the one on the right is  Jeff , he was 1 year and 6 mos old in that photo, it was taken in November 1983.

Brandon was not a happy camper in that photo, he was riding that giraffe is now resting on his leg and he listed a little to far to the left and toppled over. He sucked back the tears, but he was not glad to have been bucked off his giraffe.

Jeff on the other hand was playing  with his dad  on the teakwood floor, he loved spinning on the slippery floor. He would laugh and giggle .  His dad would toss him in the air a little or spin him on the floor, both brought such laughter.

I look at Brandon and I wonder as he grows up if he will continue to resemble his dad. When I see him sitting next to his cousin Emily, I can see similarities in them too.

It was so much fun being Jeff’s mom. His laugh was contagious, to listen to it on the tape I have of it, I can not help myself but still laugh at him laughing. He never was the stereotypical “terrible 2” and he never went thru the dreaded 3 year old spells. He always had a smile for me, a hug goodnight, ( he loves hugs) he loved his back tickled, he always had a zillion ""I love you’s" , he loved being read to, and rocking in the chair, he loved his crib, and his cookie monster stuffed animal, and he was never a smart aleck.

I consider myself blessed in many ways, but the most blessed I have felt  in my life , the very most – top of the list- was being Jeff’s mom. It is not the only blessing by far, no not at all, I have a husband who loves me, some real great family, I have 2 grandchildren, I just got off the phone with a true friend of mine from long ago, I have many many blessings from God, and I thank God for every one of them .

Brandon has been a true blessing to me, a void filled, and now we hear Mackenzie has been discharged to home, so we will go and see her at her home this Saturday.. Yes how can one doubt God When you find a love of your life? When you have a child ? When you see your  grandchildren?

I hope as others read this that they take a moment to reflect, and stop and say a prayer of thanks for what they have been blessed with.

I hope you too feel blessed . My love to all, Cindy… Mrs Justa…

I hope your tomato plants are not looking like mine. This is where mine have ended there vibrant life turned deadly.

I have watched them for 2 1/2 months, they were growing like crazy, lots of promising yellow blossoms. The plants were so full they took the tomato cages and pushed them out of the ground. So I had to get stakes for them, then the stakes were not strong enough so I ended up taking 4 aluminum poles from my old roof rake and tying them to that. But as strong as there were, they could not fight off the

Tomato Blight that

has hit the Northeast

It seems to have spread to many places in the Northeast- and it is devastating.IN one article I read it recommended checking your plants every night.
Well I was in a state of denial… maybe it is not blight. Well tonight I faced reality and chopped up all my plants with about 100 tomatoes-

Plant specialists are stating that it is because people- like myself – went to big chain stores and purchased starter plants. Stores like Home Depot, Kmart, Lowe’s and Walmart,

What I am reading now is that these stores buy surplus plants from farms that are kinda like industrial assembly breeding farms. The plants are infected with this blight, and first time, anticipated gardeners, such as myself, went and bought these plants thinking they already have a good start to they productive life,  I guess these industry breeding farms do not follow the same strict quality control that nurseries do.

I am disappointed in Walmart- I am devastated that I have tried so hard to have home grown vegetables and have lost my squash to the squash bores and now these tomato plants to blight. Growers out there, I am sure you understand my despair.

Well, I still have broom plants and a couple of butternut squash, and some pretty nice looking sunflowers. And ya know what, I had fun with my garden… just will buy my plants from local vendors next time. Maybe you… Walmart- need to close your vegetable selling area.  Love to all, I am itching like crazy- going to take a shower… I feel like I got blight crawling all over me… sigh… Cindy

Happy First Birthday little Brandon. On this day , 1 yr ago, to the hr I am writing this, your mom and dad were at the hospital , ready to meet you- you were coming into the world 6 weeks early, and look at you now!.

You have such a cute smile and even your frown is entertaining. You love books, you love your basket of toys, you love to tempt your parents by going for the pets water, and you like to take your bath.  You have weaned off the bottle, and are so close to walking it is not funny. You know when the camera is on and ready to take your picture and you

usually ham it right up.

You are a lucky little boy, with parents that love you to pieces, with grandparents, great grandparents, Aunts , Uncles, great Aunts and Great Uncles, friends, and cousins who all adore you. Yes little Brandon you are a lucky boy. but then all of us are lucky to have you in our lives.

Oh yeeah, and you LLOOVVEEE cake !

It was – shall we say- interesting to see how you tackle your little birthday cupcake. It looked like a wedding cake at a reception move. Somehow you got every crumb and morsel of frosting, and smiled your way through it.

Yes Little Brandon, you really special Grandson of ours, Happy Birthday.

Your BIG party is Saturday, but today was a little gathering for your actual birthday. Sleep well oh little boy, and get lots of rest before Saturday!. We love you ! Grandma and Grandpa __Mr and Mrs Justa

We all need to remember

that we need to identify ourselves with who we are, not who we share a relationship with, or what we do to earn money, or even what illness we may have, or imperfection we may possess.

I was thinking  about my life

today on my way home, and about there have been really great times and really bad times. As I was analyzing this I was thinking about when the times were really bad- I wonder if it was because I had made who I am based on another person , or a job.

 I think after getting gut wrenching disappointments I have learned something from life.

First before anything else- I am me.

I am an honest person, compassionate, love my family, treasure my friends, love to sing, love to be with people, love to camp, to have outdoor camp fires, I love staring at clouds as they roll thru the atmosphere, the list of what makes me who I am is long.

Things that I am.. not who I am – are :  I am Jeff’s Mom- I always will be that, I am Mark’s wife-that is what I am  – I am Adrianne’s step mom- same thing- I always will be that-  my job is a nurse–. It is easy to get stuck and identify your being by your profession. It is a dangerous thing to do.

Because if you loose the ability to do your profession, you end up loosing your identity.

After I got my nursing license, I noticed that sometimes people did not see me for who I am ( me Cindy… what makes me tick) but instead saw me as Cindy the nurse. People would call just to ask me a medical question. Not asking about how “I” am, but instead asking about there problem.

And if you make your identity as being someone’s wife ( or husband) and that marriage turns into a divorce- again- you are stripped of what you believe you are.

I have made that mistake in my life –

a few times- and let me tell you- when I identify why I  tick on a job or another persons existence, and I  no longer had that, it feels like I no longer have anyone or anything out there in the world. I remember feeling like a lost kitten in a heavy shadow, not being able to see any light and too afraid to move.

This has happened to me when I worked too.

Once it was when I worked at a photo finishing plant. I had been there 7+ years and all of the sudden the doors closed. I made that job my life. it was all I thought about, I would work extra time because I had a passion for the job. I was trained in every area, and we were not allowed to get over time, so I would come to work 2 hrs early, not punch in till my scheduled work time, punch out at the end of the shift and stay there and help get everything done. When it closed- it sucked me right out of me, I was a shell, no idea what to do, where to go, or who “I” was. It took years to re meet myself.

Then I was married-

and I became his wife, and then Jeff’s mom. It was all I was. I had no interests that were me, my life existed to be a wife and a mom. And when the curtain fell and my marriage was all of the sudden no longer there, I again was stripped of part of who I was. Fortunately I still had Jeff, but I learned that I had to find me… and oh it took a long long time- and in finding me, I could actually be a better mom to Jeff.

Yes life hits us with lessons,

and we try to share them with those who might not have yet learned the hard knocks of life. More lessons will come, they do till we die… but this was a very valuable lesson. Can I say I have totally learned it- probably not- although I do try to keep ME  ( the who I am ) separate from what I am. May you each have that ability, love always, Cindy  alias Mrs Justa—

Mackenzie, Mackenzie you have such a personality showing in these photos and you are such a little peanut.  I think your mom and dad better get lots of rest as you grow in the NICU unit, cuz I have a funny feeling you are gonna have a lot of fun with them once you are home.

In this first shot it looks like you are trying to patiently await discharge from the hospital. Planning your trip home.

Your mom told me about the kangaroo hold that your dad is doing in this photo. At least I think that was what she said. You look so content.

And in this final photo I got off facebook-

you are showing that just because you a tiny, doesn’t mean all the different stages won’t happen as they are supposed to. You are now able to use the pacifier and even have every other feeding by bottle.

Wow, time heals all wounds and grows tiny babies into strong infants.

You keep eating, stretching, and growing oh little one, cuz you have lots of friends and family who just can’t wait to hold you !. How can anyone look at these photos and not see the blessings of a baby and the miracle of life we are blessed with from God.

This post is for you tonight oh little one. Love grandama justa… ( and grandpa too)

I almost did  a Hillary today at Joanne Fabrics. Man the guy behind the counter pissed me off.

I saw this photo on google images, and this is how I felt ! Thanks Google….

Yeah,  it was 92 degrees today feeling like 100+ with heavy humidity.  The kinda day you feel sweat droplets running down the curve of  your back. So it is the kind of day that makes me easier to annoy.

But even if it had not been so dang humid, the guy still irritated me!

I had the material that I had chosen for our den curtains. I asked him  for four yards- and to please cut it at 2 yards and again at 2 yards.

He hemmed , looked at me with almost displease, and said  “We don’t do that? But since it is not busy we will do it for you today. “ 

….I reflected on my material purchasing at Walmart a few weeks ago. I asked the women if she could cut it at 2 yards and again at 2 yards… sure no problem.

So I asked this rather arrogant, wanna be powerful person..”Why would you not do that?”  He said  “it is custom cutting “

So I said to him… “What if instead of getting 4 yards off of one type, what if I wanted 2 yards from this material and 2 yards from another ..” He said “Naturally we would cut it.”

So I asked “What is the difference?”  (Today will be one less bundle of fabric they have to put back on the shelves) 

He looked at me and said “ Because 2 cuts from the same material is “CUSTOM CUTTING”  GRRRRRRRRRR  I thought about having him cut 2 yards, taking the material back and coming back to the counter for the next 2 yards to be cut. I wanted to grab the scissors and do a jintzo knife master move in front of him. Ya know one of the ying, yang fast arm moving tricks. Instead I took the 2 pieces of material and followed instructions to the register.  Then I am told the material is 7.99 a yard  GRRRR it was where the rest were 4.99 a yard.. The lady at the register said “Would you like to be on our mailing list?””   Bet cha know what I said…. GRRRRRRRR What happened to customer service— oh one who thinks he is all that and more???  Yep, I almost pulled a Hillary on ya… you are one lucky sucker. Cindy

Mark and I  took off at 11:10 to head West to Rochester, It was Adrianne’s baby shower for Miss Mackenzie. I was excited to go and a little apprehensive, because I do not know a lot of people that Adrianne and her mom know, but I also think I am a friendly sort, and I was going for Adrianne and for her mom Dianne. I was looking forward to seeing her various friends and the gifts she got, if she liked the things we had brought, the weather was perfect.

As we were going out there I was thinking to myself how unusual life is. We grow up, and everything we do in life we are weaving a web. Some get married, some have kids, and some of those who get married and have kids end up having issues and get divorced. Then some of those divorced re marry..and we become entwined in a life of challenges at time, with children that we each had from previous marriages, trying to maintain relationships with kids as they travel back and forth between parents.

I found myself wanting to be a second mom to Adrianne, but never wanting to impose on her relationship with her mom. And I have worked hard to let her know over these past 23 years that I am here for her , if she ever needs it.

She has grown up to be a strong incredible person, who has gone thru a few “life sucks” events in her life. Today was a day for her, at her moms home, a shower for her new baby, as her baby becomes stronger in a NICU  , Adrianne arrived at the shower after being up at the NICU unit with her sister-in-law, many friends and family arrived, gifts wrapped in various patterns of pink. We played a game or 2, and a all of the sudden Adrianne did not feel quite right. She ended up with shivering, chills and a fever, she had to lay down, my heart felt so bad for her, as she knew people were there, anticipating her opening her gifts, and she could not partake in the shower any longer.

The shower goers, we all understood, we felt terrible for Adrianne, and as she lay there shivering, she is apologizing to the shower goers. And we all were just worried about her. Everyone left, I sat by her side in her moms bedroom, and she,  her mom and I ended up being together, in this room, chatting, trying to find humor in anything we could, getting Adrianne anything we could, … Mark and I had gone out together- he helped me carry gifts in and he left- knew to be back around 5. So we sat there, I tried to get Mark a few times, but he had gone to a movie to kill time and take in some AC. After the movie ended, he called me, he had seen he had missed a call or 2 from me… he came over and off we went- back East to home. 

We pulled in the driveway and found our sunflowers had opened up… and in a very strange way… it was like a message.. that we all grow up, get thru challenges and open up to others. Just an hour or so before, I left Dianne’s home, after sharing 1+hrs with her and Adrianne, in Dianne’s bedroom, all enjoying each others company. Peaceful joking, chatting,  we sat there.. her mom and me.. (her step mom)…mutually concerned about Adrianne’s temp and well-being,  2 moms  … I did not get to see her open her gifts… but I am sure she will like them… yet in the end… I think this was much more memorable. Yes I am sure of it. I hope you feel better Adrianne- 

With much love, Your Step-Mom… Mrs Justa… alias Cindy

Sun Sets. There are none that are alike. I find wonder in the setting sun. It is almost like a reward for me, I made it through another day. You do not need money to see the sunset, nor a car, or a huge home. We have a gift of sunsets every day.

I find days seem to fly by, which means I feel like I am getting to see more sunsets. I just get one set in the back of my memory bank and poof there is another one.

I love this time of night- the sun set shares so many colors in the sky and at the same time it causes the world around me to be a silhouette. The prettiest things and ugliest things now come together and are just shapes, shadows, black and white. A tree, an object, a person in the distance, all become black silhouettes. The imperfections are gone. You can have a stained  picnic table next to one in good shape, but at this time of night they are just picnic tables. Trees, cars, houses, people- everything becomes equal in the world of black shapes.

And all day the sky is blue or gray, and clouds are puffy white or whisping white, but once the sun sets the colors are brilliant, changing as the sun disappears.

Yes I love sunset time… it is a time to reflect on the day, to slow down a little, to appreciate my family, to stop the whirlwind of work.

It is a time to be home, to stop.

And in my mind it is a time to look forward to bed… I love going to bed, I bust my ever loving butt all day long, and I treasure the 5 hrs in my bed.

No chaos, no worries, the sunset is the red carpet path

way  to my pillow .

Enjoy the sunsets wherever you are, they each will be different, they each can bring you a live oil painting that transforms before your eyes, if you let it. To me, it is Gods way of painting a treasure as my days settle down. Our own live photoframe—ever changing. Peace to all, Love Cindy

We went on a very mini vacation, what a nice night, coolish breeze off the water, sky crystal clear, you could see forever. Now pretend it is the ocean and this is Jamaica- ahhhh

The shore seemed to be to ourselves, but there were others around. But at this moment it was Jamaica, looking off our cabana at the ocean, sea gulls squawking in the distance… ( do they have sea gulls in Jamaica?) well they were in this vision of Jamaica last evening… along with sparrows.

Sailboats listing in the breeze, seeming to float effortlessly along the horizon, the peacefulness of waves slapping on the against the shore, the water a crystal blue… was this Jamaica… no my dear friends this was on the pavilion at Rudy’s in Oswego NY.

The closest I will get to Jamaica probably in my life, it is nice up in Oswego in the Spring Summer and early Fall. In the other months hang on to your hats and britches, cuz the wind cuts thru you like a hot knife in butter. But instead of heat it is bitter cold. They say ( whoever they are) that at one point on the campus of Oswego State University, there were ropes out to hold onto when walking between buildings to get to classes and dorms. . I could believe it… but not last night I could not.

Rudy’s was nothing great,  ( sorry Rudy)

I think the ambiance of it being on the lake is a selling point, food though kinda greasy, my hamburger was just a frozen thin patty cooked on a grill, I thought expensive but it was a nice evening. We went up with Shawn and Pat, and being with them is fun.

Did any of you see any of the meteorites last evening. We sat out on the park bench in our front yard and watched for a bit around midnight. it was cool, I guess it got wild at 4AM, but so did the fog… so I am glad we went out when we did.

I am off now, go do a load of laundry , wrap gifts for the baby shower for little Mackenzie and the first birthday gifts for Brandon. Shower this weekend, birthday party next. Oh I just love having grand kids. ! Love to all, Mrs Justa grandama

Monday was our anniversary and I had initially wanted to take the whole week off, maybe we would go away, but some things have happened recently and this was just not a great time. So I kept Monday off, but have gone back to work for the rest of this week. So on Monday I had a goal- to have a nice dinner with my husband and to change the window treatments, Both goals met. I made curtains for 3 rooms and hemmed these drapes for the living room. We got these at Wally World- they were 84” long, so I needed to cut off about 9 inches. I think they look pretty good, and they really will darken the room.

This is what the living room looked like before.

We like the drapes and the affect they have, and if we want the room dark, we can just have the curtains hang straight and it will really keep the light out.

I also did some for Brandon’s room slash the spare bedroom. I was going to look for disney type characters, but then thought that adults may be using the room too, so I went with this really neat material that is dark and royal blue with lightening flashes on it.

These also will darken the room pretty well , so I am pleased with how they came out. Mark likes the changes too.

It was fun, life seems so busy, this was good therapy for me, good relaxation, and really I felt like I had accomplished a lot.

I will also show the bedroom and side door, my last to projects for the day of sewing.

A day well spent.

I hope you do something that can take the chaos of the world away for a little while too.

Love, Mrs justa

We need to give children a chance to try things, to try things that are safe for them, to give a little so they can experience different adventures.

This is my nephew, he was about 4 when this photo was taken. We were paying softball at the family reunion.

Now bear in mind there is no age limit, no expectations of talent, it is just for fun. We had some on the teams that were very good at softball, and some that were toddling between bases. In reality , someone could have gotten this little guy out, but instead we fumbled with the ball and let him trot to first base, greeted by cheers and a high five from his cousin.

We need to protect our kids, yet not smother them. Give them enough space to try yet not enough to get into trouble.

It is a very fine line really, we do not want to become their friends and not be authoritative when needed… yet we do not want to be so strict that as soon as they can they go totally wild.

Life can smother people or life can be lived. I wish each of you take the time to live life, to feel the ability to breathe, to not smother others, but to be there as a pillar, watching out, and when needed stepping into the forefront to guide those who need it . I wish all a great day tomorrow, Love, Mrs Justa

13 years ago  we were at the Fireside Inn in Baldwinsville saying our vows to each other.

The ceremony was officiated by Judge Winkworth, he did a rose ceremony.

it was quite nice. And the rose part is that the rose symbolizes our love for one another, and if we should ever need to apologize or just say I love you, a rose will always be that symbol.

I laughed one year when Jeff and Mark went out and bought 3 huge rose bushes, I guess they were figuring they covered times gone by and times not yet happened.

Jeff and my sister Melanie were our witnesses who signed our license. We had about 36 people there, it was a dinner and DJ and the second floor was reserved for us for the night. Open bar for 2 1/2 hrs, then we closed it. It was a comfortable and relaxing, fun and exciting night.

Poor Jeff came down with poison Ivy so bad Mark had to take him to the docs while I was getting my hair done. He was pretty uncomfortable in the tux, but he smiled his way thru it.

We took Jeff on the honeymoon with us, we figured he was a very integral part of the marriage as he had lived thru 10 years of our relationship. We rented a place in Lancaster Pa, it was in Amish country, it had been a pool house, changed to a efficiency room for rent, with  a large pool , sauna, Jacuzzi. The weather was not terrific, but Jeff got to use the pool.  We all tried the Jacuzzi and the guys did the sauna.

It was a nice place, we had memories made there, laughs, talks, coolness in the air, fog, hot air balloons in the distance, and us. Oh yeah.,.. And a woman who owned the property who came and checked on us.

It was strange, up until that day thirteen years ago, Mark was my boyfriend, then fiance, the marriage seemed to bring us together as a couple. It was sealing a commitment we had made in 1986.

Jeff referred to him as his dad when speaking of him or introducing him,  and called him Mark. Mark always told Jeff he would be there for him, and not ever try to replace his dad, just be there for him. They understand each other, like father and son, the years have been good for them, I believe.

We have had good times and not so good times, yet through it all we have survived. We are stronger for it in many ways, and I often wonder where we will be in another 13 years. Brandon and Mackenzie will be teenagers then, Jeff and Adrianne will be 40.

And we, whoa !!! we will be 68- it will come so quickly that we won’t realize the time gone by, just all of the sudden, it will be here. Life has been tough, and at the same time good, difficult relationships in our families at times, and the struggles of having children from other marriages and the trials that challenge can bring sometimes.

But here we are, 2009, Mark and  I, Jeff and Amanda , Josh and Adrianne, and 2 blessings

of grandchildren. We made it this far, we will make it further. Happy Anniversary Mark, Love to all, Cindy

We are all different. We look different, everything has a characteristic that is unique to each of us.

What is special about you? Or what makes you different from someone else.

Our pets are different, our planets are different. Two of us can have identical size yards, identical homes, yet when we move in or landscape, we each have our own special touch that makes it different.

Even when something is made to be identical, once we as people own it, it is unique to us.

I had gone by our old house the other day, and it always was a certain way when we owned it. We had a dining room, living room den and 2 bedrooms. Now it looks like the living room and dining room are being combined as a large room for TV and stuff. The office is now a bedroom. Who knows how the house looks, the colors or the furniture, the baby blue carpet- I wonder how good it looks, nothing stays the same.

We have a garden we planted certain plants, and when i drive by other folks gardens, same plants- the gardens look different. Our sunflowers are about 8 feet tall, others that were planted when we planted our are already with flowers in full bloom, but only stand 5 feet tall.

Our house… I was looking at photos of it as a model home- it looks different the way we have the stuff in it.

I have a bunch of the same plants planted- yet the flowers all look different, different characteristics.

My brothers and sisters, we have the same parents but we are more different then the same. We look similar in some ways and way different in other ways. Maybe our noses resemble each other, we all have blue eyes, but after that, there are more differences then similarities. Yes life is strange, we need to accepts people’s differences and focus on their good qualities. We need to remember not to judge, for I have found if I have been judgement of others, I end up with their problems, their unusual situations. God definitely has a sense of humor and a way to teach me not to judge others. May you find patience with accepting the things you can not change, and changing the things you can. May you appreciate things for how they are. Love to all, Cindy

I think back to times gone by quite frequently, and I wonder if I do that because in reality I have more years behind me then I have in front of me. I was born in 1953, think about that, I have a hard time imaging the math is true. How many sunrises have I seen??

Mark and I have been a couple for 24 years.

24 years!!!!!!!!!!!!

The thought that I have been with the same person for longer then some of the people I work with have lived is surreal.  Others I work with were probably not even potty trained yet.

24 years… and soon our anniversary will be here and we will have been married for 13 of those 24 years.

Our kids were 3 1/2 when we met- now our kids are married with children of their own.

We have been together for almost 1/2 our lives.  We have lived in 7 different places, owned Maybe 13 different cars, and 2 tractor trailers, have had financial and emotional challenges, have had to deal with the challenges of each having x’s, doing the kid every other weekend thing, have had the opportunity to raise 2 really good kids, we have made good and not so good choices, and between the two of us had dealt with 15 different surgeries or hospital stays. We have shared losses and gains and thru it all we are still together. I do believe we a good friends, and I think our life has really been blessed.

We are not the suburban couple with tons of friends and parties all the time, we are both home bodies, we love our family, and the friends we have are good friends, real people, who also like to be home. Our kids are really great, and their families are wonderful.

I look at photos of us and it is not how I feel. But we are what we are. Inside I feel younger, I feel like I am 40 maybe, but the real truth is I am not. Marks dark thick hair is graying, and my hair is thinner then it used to bee. I have swatches of gray, but not total gray yet.  We have GRANDCHILDREN>>> imagine that, GRANDMA and GRANDPA.. I still can not get used to that. We have wrinkles and our skin is more frail, we wobble, and ache at times, we are always challenging ourselves to make the 11:00 news.

The future is there, it holds secrets unknown to either of us, and it goes on for an undetermined amount of time. My goal , my wish is to live thru my 90s, but will I, I have not a clue. ( Heck the house will be paid for when we are 84,, it would be nice to have 6 or 7 years without a house payment! )  I do crosswords, and word searches, and read articles, some books, I listen to music, I research every day, and  I still can sing , all trying to keep my mind fresh. I try to walk at lunch a few days a week, today I took a walk after work. I need to lose more weight, it is hard, I will do it. I know I will.

I need to stay active, stay moving, stay young at heart and mind. I will not invite the age to get me, it will have to go elsewhere. Hang on Markie- ol boy… we have another 30 years or so left together.>>>> HAPPY ALMOST ANNIVERSARY >>>I love you.. ya ol fart !

Bless you all, Cindy