🦃 2024 November FROM MY PERSPECTIVE

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My friend, Melodie, and I were talking about Facebook.  She was irritated that it kept sending her contact requests from someone who writes their name in Arabic.  I told her, "I, too, am irritated at Facebook.  I keep getting a request from some prince in a foreign country telling me he will share his fortune with me if I send him green $60 U.S. dollars.  I sent him three green 20s in U.S. game money, but I've not heard from him, yet." I guess he doesn’t think Monopoly money counts.  He’s not played the game, obviously.  She laughed.

I found this and wanted to share it with you.  It’s about being rude to someone,                                  Being rude is easy.  It doesn’t take any effort and is a sign of weakness and insecurity.  Kindness shows great self-discipline and strong self-esteem.  Being kind is not always easy when dealing with rude people.  Kindness is a sign of a person who has done a lot of personal work and has come to a great self-understanding and wisdom.  Choose to be kind over being right, and you’ll be right every time because kindness is a sign of STRENGTH.                                                                                             Now, I do realize it is difficult (almost impossible at times) to try to be kind because some situations and people just flat-out don’t deserve it.  I had a friend very emphatically tell me this.  I sort of agree, but try to be kind even if it is behind a veiled desire to be another way.  I told my friend this and included, “Proverbs 18:2 will help---"Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions."

I stopped in to see Aint Daisy and discuss a person who just drives me nutz.  “Hello, Chile, jes come on in here and set a spell.  Are ye a-wanting some cherry pie and whipped cream, today?”  Oh what a silly question to ask ME since cherry pie is my favorite, especially when she makes it.  There is just something really special about hers.  So I replied, “Oh yes, if you don’t mind.  I love your cherry pie and home made whipped cream.”  As I sad down on the over-stuffed, flowered couch, she went to the kitchen talking over her shoulder, “So, ye have a trouble ye wanna discuss with ole me?”  She brought the pieces of pie on two antique plates, which had pansies on them, to the living room and sat down.  “Yes, I do and I really hope you don’t mind me telling you who is just driving me nuts with what they’re doing.”  “Naw, jes start a-talkin’ and I’ll listen to ye,” she gently said.  I started, hoping I wouldn’t get angry.  “Aint Daisy, when I talk with Sally Jo about anything I’ve accomplished---mind you I don’t brag, just tell----she tells me all she has done, accomplished, and how good she was at it, and goes on and on about how terrific she was/is and all that.  This is EVERY DANG TIME, and I’m getting so I don’t really want to talk to her about much of anything.  What is your advice?”  Aint Daisy was quiet, smiled, and patted my hand.  “Chile, I know all ‘bout Sally Jo.  She has always been that-a way.  ‘Don’t rightly know why, but she has.  When she comes ovah here, she does the same thang.  I listen as bes’ I kin, but it gets difficult at times.  Sos, here’s what I keep sayin’ to myself, ‘An empty barrel makes the most noise’, meaning the more she jabbers on and toots her horn, and fluffs her feathahs about all ‘em doin’s she’s a-done, the more I know that half, if not more, ain’t true, but she says it t’ make herself look important.  Does that help ye any?” she soothed and chuckled. I laughed out loud envisioning Sally Jo hollering down an empty barrel and the resounding cacophony of chatter.  “Oh, Aint Daisy, you have the best solutions to my irritations,” I said thanking my wonderful friend---The Lady of the Holler.

 The cold months turn me to home made soups.  I have a plethora of them which I enjoy making and eating throughout the week.  The family knows, if the big kettle comes out and is put on the stove, we’re going to be eating what comes out of it for more than two days.  I’ve made this potato soup and it’s delicious.  I hope you have a large crock pot, because it makes a good amount.

CROCKPOT POTATO-CHEESE SOUP                                                                                                 1 large bag of frozen hash brown or diced potatoes; large can of low sodium CREAM OF CHICKEN SOUP; One 8 oz. block of cream cheese cubed; 1 to 1 ½ C shredded sharp cheddar cheese; ½ cup diced onion; 8 oz. bacon bits, 32 oz. low sodium or regular chicken stock; ½ tsp. granulated garlic.             Pour the potatoes in first, add the cubed cream cheese, soup, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, bacon bits, garlic, and pour the chicken stock over it all.  Carefully mix it all together so the liquid is distributed evenly.  Cook 4 hours on high stirring about every 1.5 to 2 hours.  Stir to blend before serving. You might have to add some salt to taste.  ENJOY!!!

I came across this list of HOW TO TELL YOU’RE A MATURE ADULT.  So much rings true, so I guess I’m an adult.  ---you’d rather sleep than go out ---everything hurts ---comfort comes before style ---everything feels like a chore ---you want to sleep late, but awaken early ---you make sounds when you rise from sitting ---fiber in your diet becomes very important ---you’re constantly being called about Medicare additions, and you tell them you’re on an 8 month cruise.

As with some of you, I’ve lost people in my life who touched my heart and will remain memorable. This observation by Bruce Coville is so true.  I hope it helps you as it has me.   “Nothing you love is lost, Not really.  Things, people, they always go away, sooner or later.  You can't hold them, any more than you can hold moonlight.  But if they've touched you, if they're inside you, then they're still yours.  The only things you ever really have are the ones you hold inside your heart ..”  

 Did you know that the original first Thanksgiving wasn’t even called that?  I don’t know what it was called, but it wasn’t what we call it.  It was originally in October after the last harvest.  The first recognized Thanksgiving was in 1789 when President George Washington issued a proclamation designating Nov. 26 as a national day of thanksgiving to recognize the role of providence in creating the new United States and the new federal Constitution.  President Abraham Lincoln officially changed it in 1863 from October to November 26, which was the final Thursday of November of that year.  Then it was declared that Thanksgiving Day is to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, as specified in a joint resolution passed by Congress in 1941 and a proclamation issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1942.

I was wondering about which gender is the happiest.  So, I checked and found “Women around the world report higher levels of life satisfaction than men, but at the same time report more daily stress.”  Well, yes we have more daily stress because men can go out and have a burping contest after drinking gallons of beer then after that have a farting contest and laugh until they wet their pants.  Then, all their buddies think they’re great, all go home, sleep it off, and become civil the next day.  But we gals can’t do all that and remain ladies and not be scorned by other gals.  There is our “more stress”, and the standards are not equal.  Then I wondered which gender has a high pain tolerance.  Here is what I found:  “Lab-based studies find men demonstrate a higher pain threshold (the point at which you first detect pain) and higher tolerance to pain, compared to women.”  Oh right!!!  Men haven’t birthed a “bowling ball”, either.  THAT is pain!!  And have you ever seen a man with a cold vs. a mother with a cold?  “The end of the world is coming; I’m gonna die,” cries out.  But, the mom goes on without much complaint.

I had a friend tell me they were tired of being used and disrespected.  They asked me if I had any suggestions on how they could prevent having that happen to them.  I told them, “It’s always a good idea to initially be nice.  You establish your treatment from another by what you say, how you say it, your posture, and how you look at that person. A Fireball candy piece looks fine until you test it.”

“A mistake repeated more than once is a decision.”  Paulo Coelho  “A mistake learned from it is a learning experience, which eventually teaches wisdom.”  TJR

I've never wrestled an alligator, but I've walked into a spider's web in the dark.  Soooo, same thing.

A friend came over and found me a bit honked at someone else.  "Trudy, what's going on with you?" she asked. I told her, "I'm just going to start treating others the way they treat me, from now on. I try to treat others the way I'd like to be treated, but recently I've discovered that doesn't seem to be the case with everyone."  She thought for a moment, and then gave me a bit of her insight, "I understand.  I've known you for a long time and have seen a lot of sides to you.  I'm happy and content with you, but I know some who really should be scared.....very, very scared."

"And life went on.  It was not the same, but it went on."  david jones "Yes it did, and the memories kept you in it until I let them go." tjr