Kayaking: Lesson I - Rack 'Em Up

There sits a boat, a kayak to be precise. It is best used on water, but before one can get it to water, it is of utmost importance to strap it to a land vehicle for transport to the water.

It just so happens I have a nice rack. LOL That was fun to say. LOL

Actually, my jeep has a nice rack.

Anyway, my friend is big into kayaking and today she was moving her kayaks to her new apartment. Her car is unavailable, but since my jeep has a rack, she said we'd be able to tie the kayaks down to that and transport them. Right now she is suffering from a debilitating injury that makes it impossible for her to lift anything so she directed her friend Kathy and I as to how to load them up and how to tie them down.

It was a new experience for me for sure, but we did it. We got those kayaks loaded up and strapped to the Jeep. I thought my aunt would be proud that the Jeep she left me was being used in a "sporty" way. She was a lover of the outdoors and so I snapped a picture of Jeepers with the kayaks strapped to him. We transported them without incident, well, almost. We had a slight difficulty with the dismount, but nothing we couldn't handle. All is well.

I think I passed the Kayaking: Lesson I.

Simple Things

Sometimes it is so easy to forget that each and every day small occurrences happen around us that should bless our hearts. These are things that become lost in the activities of life, yet when I take time to notice them, I realize that it is these things that put smiles on my face and joy in my heart.

Here are some examples of things that I take pleasure in and some things that I consider to be blessings in my life.

First of all, I just have to say I really appreciate denim. I love how soft my jeans are and how rugged they can look at the same time. I love blue jeans! Denim rocks!

Something happened yesterday that is really sticking out in my mind, but it is such a small thing, I'm quite sure the other person involved never realized how big a deal it was to me. I have a friend who is suffering through a physical injury right now that makes it difficult to even move around, to the point that even sitting or lying down causes great pain, let alone standing and walking about. I was spending some time with her last night when she received a phone call. I looked around for the newspaper that I had yet to read for the day so she could carry on a conversation and not be concerned about me being occupied with something while she talked with her brother. The newspaper was not to be found and she noticed that so she strained to get up, fished through a pile of mail and magazines, located the recent US NEWS and WORLD REPORT that she knew I'd enjoy and handed it to me. I accepted it and she returned to her bed to rest, and continued her phone conversation. It was a seemingly small gesture, but it touched my heart in a huge way because I know what she goes through just to be able to move. I had NO IDEA she was trying to get up to serve me, but that is exactly what she did. I was so blessed by that.

I look forward to reading the morning paper over breakfast while drinking fresh hot coffee. It doesn't need to be Starbucks, in fact, I'm glad it isn't, just hot. After I add the cream and sugar it doesn't really resemble coffee anymore anyway, it just needs to be hot. It is such a simple pleasure and really just starts my day out right! It is quite possible that my enjoyment of this particular daily activity goes back to my growing up and the paper being there on the table while I ate breakfast. Gram was usually there with me, having already read the paper and by this time was working the crossword and mom was most likely milling about the kitchen serving me and my dad who has come out to join us at the table. Those were good times. I'm so sentimental!

The other night I had fallen asleep on my futon while doing my Bible study. Pen still in hand and everything. Katie came in, noticed this and awakened me by gently scratching my back, and removed the pen from my hand, the book from under my head and snickered slightly while doing so. That was a neat moment between friends and one of those small things that I can ponder in my heart, yet most likely Katie doesn't even remember it.

Tiffany has no idea how special it is for me when she calls to ask me permission to do something. I am the default when her mom isn't available, and it means so much to me. Last weekend she spent the day and night with a friend of hers and she had asked me permission. After quizzing her about this friend I said okay and added "no meth, no boys!" LOL Being a "not-the-mom" can really be a blessing.

Now I have the added blessing of having to leave for work. I have a job I enjoy, great people to work with, and it's time to go! Later!

Passionate Homemade Sex Movies Stories

Yep. That particular search string led a person to find this blog. Well, actually it was "passonate homemade sex movies stories" It sure is interesting sometimes to see how people happen across our little place in cyberspace. Something tells me they didn't find what they were looking for!

It bloggles the mind!

They Said It Was Coming

Yes, it finally snowed.

The "doomsday" predictions of a "major" snow storm to hit Jackson, TN actually hit. I was beginning to wonder because by mid afternoon there was still no precipitation, but then it started and kept on snowing. This is what I woke up to this morning. Pretty.

White knuckle driving, yeah, gotta love it. NOT! I was reminded again that I do not miss snow. Roads were okay this morning, but last night was fairly treacherous in places.

I do laugh at how people in the South freak out about snow. Everybody rushes to the grocery store to hoard the necessities like bread and milk, lines at the gas station are longer and people are all abuzz about what's coming. High school games are cancelled and other community events as well. It's rather comical to me, having come from Cleveland, OH and spent some time in Northern Michigan, and Iowa as well. It takes a lot for cancellations to start happening in the north and people are always expected to show up for work.

People down here will not go to work for fear of crashing or something. Heck, I lived an hour away from jobs in those other states on a good day, and I never missed work due to weather. Not ever! You just need to drive slower and be careful is all. I think here people just use snow as an excuse not to work.

No, I do not miss snow. I do not miss having to get up early in order to shovel the driveway. I do not miss having to scrape ice off the car and clean it off everyday and wait 10-15 minutes for the car to warm up everytime I want to go somewhere. I do not miss driving in "white outs", nor do I miss "black ice" patches. I do not miss fearing for my life each time there is an oncoming snow plow truck barreling down the road, firing ice and snow missles toward me. I don't miss needing to watch every step I take in the parking lot so as to not slip, or twist my ankle on ice ruts. I do not miss needing to wash my car to get all the salt off so I don't end up with a giant pile of rust in my garage.

Clocks spring forward tonight! A sign of Spring! Yes! My favorite season will soon arrive!

Grape Crush

I went shopping the other day for some items and noticed something on the shelf that I haven't noticed in years. Grape Crush.

I saw Grape Crush just sitting there and so I bought it.

I no longer drink a lot of pop, coke, soda or whatever one calls it, but when I saw Grape Crush I started to reminisce about my childhood and my visits to Grandma and Grandpa's.

Popping off the top and taking that first sip after a couple of decades, immediately transported me back to Grandma's kitchen on Louisiana Ave. in Canton, OH. I would raid the fridge over in the corner that was usually stocked with Crush. It was most often Orange Crush that was in there, but the Grape Crush was a special treat for me!

The Grape Crush started me thinking about some of the things that trigger memories for me. In my room I have a special lamp. It is from my grandparent's house and used to sit on a very heavy marble top end table in the front window, and I have that same table in my front window now. The lamp is beautiful and one of those things I never really noticed until I was older and could appreciate it. Grandpa's recliner used to sit next to that window and I remember watching him nap there quite often, especially after filling Thanksgiving meals. Grandpa used to tease me about all the mashed potatoes I could put away; he'd tell me that it was gonna put hair on my chest. I can still put away smashed tators, but never grew hair on my chest...THANK GOODNESS! LOL

Someday soon I hope to retrieve the paintings I am having restored. These paintings were created by my granddad and one hung in the living room of the home I was raised in. He painted such a deep blue summer sky and a white yacht with a big white sail on a colorful blue-green sea. I treasure it in my heart! He liked to paint tall ships and ships with lots of sails, so I've always had a fondness for tall ships. He did some still life stuff too, but the ship paintings impress me the most.


Also on the wall in my room hangs a picture of Christ, the "Sacred Heart of Jesus". It hung over the bed in the guest room of my grandparent's home. I always loved that picture because Jesus looks so masculine and his hand is over his chest as if he is holding his heart in because it is about to burst out of immense love. That picture reminds me of my grandma.

Everyday I drive my jeep, I'm reminded of my aunt who left it to me when she died. I'm also reminded of Pat and my Gram anytime I see a Peanuts character. They both were huge fans of Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

On my left ring finger I wear the 1934 class ring of my Gram who I miss terribly. I'm so thankful to have this ring to remind me of her each day.

It is so weird how seemingly insignificant inanimate objects can come to have such meaning in our lives because of how they connect us with the important people we have been blessed to know.

All this from Grape Crush. It bloggles the mind!