The Life of Mrs. Miles

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My thoughts and heartfelt prayers go out to all today re: September 11th. Words just don't do it, do they?

Are you ready to have your heart touched even more today? My friend Gina posted, and her entry is altogther humbling and inspirational. You all know Gina lost her son, Nick just less than a year ago and she's been allowing us to share her journey of grief ever since. Well, she just knocks my socks off how she finds ways to bring honour to her son's death and still give to others. Won't you take a few moments from your busy day today to leave some love and encouragement for her? Just click here to be transported to her blog.

I'm also thinking of Kim B's friend Jazz who is in ICU on a ventilator – Kim's keeping us posted... but you could slip on over, leave your own boost, and scoop a very pretty ribbon freebie at the same time – just click here.

Happy/Sad today. Mom and Dad left for home today, after visiting with us for a week. Before they arrive, it feels like a week will stretch out forever, and I am always afraid they will be bored, but before we know it, the time is gone. We had a lovely time and didn't wind up with too much time hanging on our hands. Unfortunately Miles had to work so he missed out on some quality time.

We assembled several puzzles, went for drives, ate, ate, ate and they also read the paper and fill out the crosswords daily. That fills up several hours at a time. Do you do crosswords? Doesn't it just suck when you get stuck on a word and don't want to give in? Well, no mind, help is near at hand with this helpful website which allows you to feed your info in and will come up with that word for you! Just click here to check it!

Even though our folks gave me some lovely birthday presents, the greatest gifts of all were the fact they wanted to be here to help celebrate, and all the things I learn from Mom... sometimes reluctantly, I'm afraid to say. We spent a day canning peaches together. Mom's got some methods that are ingenious, and others which would cause alarm with my home-ec teachers from school ... and not what 'the cookbooks' recommend. As she says, she's canned all these years and nobody's dead. Ha!

Speaking of canning – fruit and veg, I came across the funniest video from YouTube ... check it – you might find you have a talent for 'playing' your veg?

I am going to share a fact you may not know about me.

I can't wait to open up presents and gifts.

My birthday is coming, and I recieved a gift from my sister a few days ago and well, I just tore right into it. I have no self constraint when it comes to prezzies. Now if we had children at home then I would have to find some creative way to get around this, to set a good example. I think I might find away to make a 'bogus look-alike' package and switch them out in front of said child, then do some quick-trickery to make it look like I waited. Erm... ah, ok, I couldn't actually do that in good conscience, really, but since we don't have little ones at home, and since I've spent a lifetime of constraint and I'm an adult now, I'm not going to wait. So, I would advise anyone who knows me to send your cards in advance and the prezzie AFTER said birthday or else I'll be 'scrappin' the wrappin' the moment the package hits my warm little mitts. Either that, or send it to Mr. Miles, then I will trick ya by opening HIS mail haha!

Dairy Queen thinks the same way I do. See, they sent me my FREE Blizzard coupon already. Did you know that you can sign up and they send you a 2 for 1 coupon for your special day? Truly, for the past three years they've been faithful to me. I'm impressed! To register your (or someone you love's) birthday just visit them here.

So my sweet, darling, precious (mad at me) sister blessed me with a most bee-you-tee-ful necklace and earrings set (which I promise to be gentle with...) and a gorgeous card she scrapped herself. I will treasure both my Sis. I lerves ya to bits!

Speaking of jewellery, I had to put a piece away for a bit... and I'm sad about that as its something I wore daily. I have a ring which used to belong to Miles aunt, and I wore it daily. Mom has always advised me to get it checked to make sure the claws are strong enough, and I've always put it off. While they're visiting, Mom mentioned it again, so I said “lets just go do that” while she's here. Well... the jeweller has advised me to either fix it or put it away, as the claws need to be rebuilt, or I might lose the stone. It's going to be pricey just having the repairs done, so it's into the safety deposit box instead for a while... thank goodness I listened to Mom, though.

I was forwarded a humorous email (thanx Marie R.) about Julie Andrews, as she celebrates her 69th birthday on October 1. She made a special appearance at Manhattan's Radio City Music hall for the benefit of the AARP, and performed this updated version of that famous song she sang in The Sound of Music all those years ago... (Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores.)

MY FAVORITE THINGS

Maalox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillac's and cataracts, and hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak,
When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad,
I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pains, confused brains, and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache,
When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim,
Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

I want to be sure to share a tip with you which I devised. Miles loves biscuits, so I don't make them often. LOL... I'm not Grisilda the cruel wife, its just that he really, really, REALLY likes my biscuits and will eat every crumb. And I want him to keep his slender waistline, so he gets them in very small batches – usually at a time I know we have guests or he can take some to the school as a treat for the staff and students.

My secret for them is actually two things...

The first thing I do is when I flatten the dough out to about 1 inch thick, then I sprinkle the surface lightly with flour using a sifter. Then, I fold the dough over and press it with my hand till its 1 inch thick again. This way, the biscuit will seperate itself when its pulled apart when eaten. I cut my biscuits to a fairly small size, using a tomato paste tin which I've cut both ends out of.

I also put a slab of cheddar cheese ontop of each biscuit before baking, this gives it a nice crunchy, savoury top. Adding in a bit of garlic salt, chives or spices to the dough makes these a hit!

I would like to say Thank You to Ruthie, who awarded me with the Rockin' Girl Blogger award – wowza, this is my third election. You folks are giving me a LOT to live up to! I promise to 'tag' some people in the near future, ok? And thanks for thinking of me!

Also, I've had several comments from you, Olga, and would like to send you an email. Could you please email me at lalalime@hotmail.com as I don't have any way to contact you.

Sneaky Potty!

I came across a blogsite which features very unusual furniture, like this port-a-pottie... hehe, how clever... will make you look at that business person with toting their breifcase in a totally different manner... To check out the other 'oddities' just click here.

Well, I had better 'git it together'... a lot of stuff to do in this next week, as I put everything aside to visit with the folks. I hope to post again in the next few days. Until then, I wish you all a Blessed Week.

Daddy helps me Can!

Today in History:

1609 - Henry Hudson, English navigator and explorer, entered the river later known as the Hudson, in North America.

1873 - The customers bought the first practical typewriter.

1878 - The obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle, originally cut from the quarries of Aswan in about 1475 B.C., was erected in London.

1910 - The world's first woman police officer, Alice Stebbins Wells, was appointed to the Los Angeles Police Department.

1928 - Actress Katharine Hepburn made her stage debut in the play, "The Czarina". It would be four years until the "First Lady of the American Screen" would make her first film, "A Bill of Divorcement".

1935 - United States millionaire Howard Hughes flew a plane of his own design at 352.46 mph to establish the first of his several aviation records.

1940 - The Lascaux cave paintings were discovered by four teenagers near Lascaux, France, after following their dog down a narrow entrance into a cavern. The 17,000-year-old paintings, consisting mostly of animal representations, are among the finest examples of art from the Paleolithic period.

1953 - 24-year-old Jacqueline Lee Bouvier married 36-year-old United States Senator from Massachusetts, future United States President, John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

1954 - It was the first appearance of "Lassie" on CBS-TV. Despite being called, "girl," Timmy, played by Tommy Provost, and June Lockhart, who starred as Mom, "Lassie" was a male dog. There were over six Lassie dogs doing stunts. "Lassie" aired on CBS for exactly 17 years; the last episode aired on September 12, 1971.

1958 - Researcher Jack Kilby invented the Integrated Circuit, popularly known as the "chip." The chip consisted of a transistor and other components on a slice of germanium. The chip is considered of such importance that many of today's electronics products could not have been developed without it.

1966 - The Beatles were awarded a gold record for "Yellow Submarine".

1970 - The supersonic airliner Concorde landed for the first time at Heathrow airport in London, prompting a barrage of complaints about the noise.

1983 - Fourteen years after leaving Austria, Arnold Schwarzenegger became a United States citizen.

1991 - The space shuttle Discovery took off on a mission to deploy an observatory that was to study the Earth's ozone layer.

1992 - Mae C. Jemison became the first African American woman to go into space. An astronaut and physician, Jemison was a Peace Corps volunteer in the mid-1980s, and soon afterward joined NASA's astronaut program. The United States space shuttle Endeavour took off with a crew that included Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.

1993 - Television and film actor Raymond Burr died at the age of 76, falling victim to liver cancer. Burr's acting career, which spanned over 30 years, included his brilliant portrayal of defense lawyer Perry Mason and investigator Ironside on the TV series of the same names.

Barb's Handy Tip # 306
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The Great Pyramid