a stinky halloween...

with katherine, will, and sam-the-skunk!!!





i am hoping you make a halloween memory

as sweet as

this one was:)

happy halloween, all!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

13 things thursday...

sweet things...

1. john's kiss good-bye in the mornings.

2. cuddling with katherine.

3. going for walks with maggie.

4. a friend's request for a girls' date.

5. an hour-long catch up phone call from another friend.

6. 2 purring kitties.

7. my electric blanket.

8. charlie brown holiday specials.

9. hooded sweatshirts.

10. carved pumpkins.

11. young love.

12. mature love.

13. answered prayers!!! love and blessings,dani xx

our miracle...

(baby katherine at 3 months)

my being able to give birth was a miracle.
what a gift:)
thank you, GOD!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

thank goodness for nintendo!!!

there have been many times in my years of being a mother that i have felt extremely grateful for nintendo. that may sound like a funny thing for which to be grateful; but i have.

over the years, nintendo games such as dance, dance revolution, karaoke revolution, and american idol have provided the entertainment for birthday parties as well as many sleep-overs. and, more recently, guitar hero and rock band have provided katherine and her friends a reason to hang out safely at home with something fun to do.

well, the nintendo gratefulness tide turned on saturday afternoon. oh, i'm still grateful. but, katherine and chico were really feeling the "nintendo love" a couple of days ago.

it didn't, however, have ANYTHING to do with playing the games though...

this past saturday afternoon, i was not feeling all that great; so i decided to lie down and take a nap. i could hear katherine talking to chico on her phone.
from her end of the conversation, i discerned that the two didn't have enough money between them to go out to the movies, which they'd planned to do.

"i've got some old games you can take, too" i heard katherine say.

"you two are not selling your nintendo games to go see a movie???" i hollered from my room.

katherine walked into my bedroom. "chico is just going to the music, movie, and game exchange to sell some of his old games..." she responded.

"well, i don't want you to sell your games THAT I BOUGHT YOU to pay for a movie ticket:/" i told her.

but, that was exactly what the plan was (dani shakes head).

hence, chico came by with his games. katherine gave him three or four of her old games that she assured me she played no more, and he left to go bargain with the broker while kat finished getting ready.

about fifteen minutes later, i heard katherine's phone ring. "you can't???", "they won't???", "no, mom's asleep; i can't wake her up", and lastly "well then, what are we going to do???" i heard her say.

as i lay in my bed, i wondered why the two hadn't
just asked me or john for the money for their tickets...
but they hadn't... and, i hadn't offered;)

i heard chico return.

i called for katherine to come into my room.

"do you need money???" i asked her.
"no," she answered. "we got $30 for our games."
"oh," i replied, "it sounded like chico was able to sell them???"
"well, you have to be 18 years old to sell, and chico won't be 18 until december. so, he had to call a friend to come sell them for him..."

i nodded my head at her and smiled (as i chuckled to myself).

"we're leaving... love you!!!" she said as she kissed me on the cheek.
"love you, too... be careful!!!" i said.

it was all too funny watching the two "wheel and deal"!!!


love and blessings,
dani xx

mosses monday VII...

for this mm, i thought i'd share the words from lucy's niece-in-law, marlene, and george's niece, susie, which i received after sharing last week's mosses monday with them...

marlene wrote:

Dani Berrong, You just made me cry. I, of course, remember that dinner,as it was the first time that we had met. I didn't know then, that it would be you ,who would be the cohesive factor in pulling the string through the family pearls for us all to wear, close to our hearts.
We almost never talk about our loved ones, who have passed away, to each other.
I talk about all of them to my friends, but rarely bring them up to the family unless to say: Wouldn't George and Lucy & Nellie and Rufus and IRISH, be so proud....as I did recently when our banner from the cabin "went Hollywood." Rufie's daughter & son in law helped donate money to the last family, in Ohio, who received an EXTREME HOME MAKEOVER-.........yep, we were on the banner,as the "cabin" known as THE PULPWINE, donated too. : )
But, you know, Lucy and George mostly kept Mike in a very private place in their heart. I personally, loved it when stories about him came up, usually from his best friend Bob Busby, who would stop by. I like to keep people alive & feel them near me & you're doing that for us , as no other could. Your stories are like a whisper from a beautiful angel saying ....."remember?"...... I love you. You have such a good heart. Hugs, xoxo, m
p.s. I never know how to get on blogs, or I would have put this on, maybe you can do it for me. Such a master a computers ,I am : (

and susie wrote:

Okay, we’re having country ham for dinner tonight in honor of this memory:)

both replies were totally heartwarming to me, thus, i just wanted to humbly share... 
have a wonderful monday, all!!!
~@~ 
(to be continued...)
love and blessings, dani xx
ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

procrastination...

by definition, procrastination is a mechanism for coping with the anxiety associated with starting or completing any task or decision.

my name is dani berrong;
and i am a procrastinator!!!

yesterday, i posted pictures of a going away party i had here on the lane 5 years ago this weekend. the anonymous d (bless her heart) co-hosted the party with me. i added "bless her heart" because she is NOTHING like me and yet she still loves me as i do her.

had the party been at her house (on the hill), we would not have been installing new blinds throughout her house, hanging lights on her deck, cleaning the oven, polishing the silver, and looking for misplaced tablecloths three hours before the party.

however, since it was on the lane instead of on the hill,we were.

this is how i have lived my whole life...
waiting...until the last minute!!!
(see my blogger banner;)

because i waited until the last minute to clean my oven,
the anonymous d and i had to high tail it to church
to bake our part of the food
so that the nachos grande wouldn't taste like
nachos easy off!!!

because i waited until the last minute to find the tablecloths,
i was at walmart 45 minutes before the party buying fabric
to decorate the tables.

because i waited until the last minute,
i was stepping out of the shower when the first guests arrived
rather than greeting them.

i was quickly clean, dressed and ready to rock and roll, though:)
such is my life...

in the end,
the blinds all looked great
as did the deck lights and tables!!!
the food was awesome and didn't taste like oven cleaner!!!
the margarita punch was a knock-out
and looked fabulous in my shiny silver punch bowl!!!

and the party???
it was a huge success!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps. are you a procrastinator, too???

adios, amigos...

i cannot believe that it has been five yearssince henderson said, "adios,"to the niemeiers (aka moonpie in the sky and family).
we still miss them like crazy!!!

here are photos from the "adios amigos party"dawn (the anonymous d) and i hosted for them on the lane...

the party was so much fun:

great friends
great food
great music
great punch!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

about yesterday...

first and foremost i want to thank you all for always coming through for me with your prayers and well wishes:) you are the best, and i love each and every one of you!!!

i turned off my comment option yesterday because i had been given the "heads up" that my comment box wasn't working for several who had tried to comment over the past few days. i didn't want chico to see that there were no comments on my post about him if he happened to look and think no one cared. i know better:)

we we're so relieved that he didn't have to have surgery after all. once he got to the hospital, they ran another echo cardiogram and a scope. they were able to (seemingly) take care of the problem without opening his chest.

i hope this will solve his problem. he's been pretty worried...
so have we!!!

whew!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

on another note, i have also had problems getting on and leaving comments on some of your sites, too!!! i hope it is just a blogger issue and will be taken care of soon. i did notice that there was a scheduled maintenance "outage" on blogger yesterday afternoon (us central standard time).if you continue to have problems with mine particularly,email me; and let me know, please!!!

that's all for today.

thank you again, my dear friends!!!

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

chico update at bottom:)

(chico... being chico;)

several weeks ago, chico started having some breathing problems while running, which he was doing on a daily basis. his parents took him to a specialist.

after running a battery of tests, it was concluded that his heart was twice the size that it should be (not surprising at all!!!) and that he had a valve that wasn't working properly.

anyway he was scheduled for surgery today.

he was over last night and asked me to write a blog about his surgery so that my friends would pray for him. (he has as much faith in your prayers as i do:) so, i am asking for prayers for our guy. he's katherine's boyfriend, but he's become part of our family, too.

obviously, katherine and i are crazy about him. but, john thinks the world of him, as well!!!

so, please say a prayer that all will go well for chico, please... thank you all so much!!!

much love and God's blessings,
dani xx

ps. i will update when i receive any news. thank goodness!!! chico's condition did not require anything nearly as invasive as was originally expected.after having the procedure he did,he was actually able to return home today:)thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers!!!

guess who's been baking on the lane???

i know the suspense is probably killing you;
right???

a clue...

(aerial view)

(side view)



KATHERINE!!!

yes, my "domestic diva" struck again on saturday night:/

in her defense,i suppose this could be construed as a joint effort??? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ this is what happened...
katherine had a bunch of kids coming over saturday night
to watch movies, eat pizza, and play rock band.

right as the doorbell rang, i was walking through the kitchen
to grab my cell phone, which was ringing.
i noticed that katherine hadn't cleaned up the spaghetti
when she was straightening up for her company.

anyway, i answered my phone and proceeded to place the panin the oven...
outta sight, outta mind; right???

i knew that i was going to order the kids pizza and hotwings,
so that meant that the oven would not be in use.
(or so i thought;)

however...

THE LANE IS NO PLACE FOR PRETENSE!!!

alas, katherine decided to bake cookies
yet failed to check the oven before preheating...

rotflmao!!!hence, now i need to purchase a new dutch oven and colander:/you just never know what a night on the lane will
hold!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

mosses monday VI...

i pulled my little, green datsun into the circular drive, which ran alongside mr. and mrs. moss' home, recognizing only a couple of the cars. i parked and reached for their Christmas gift, a book of poetry i had written for them.

"a pearl untouched...
a jewel of the sea.
a heart touched by many...
a jewel of me." (dani 1988 excerpt)

i opened my car door, got out, and made a mad dash toward their door. it was so cold that day, and the wind coming off the ohio river was brisk and cutting.
it didn't help i was wearing my pink corduroy walking shorts...
BRRR!

before i could even ring the bell, mr. moss opened the door.

"bless your heart, dani, come in here," he greeted me with a big, warm embrace.

"merry Christmas!" i exclaimed as i pulled away and began making my way into their den and over to their Christmas tree where i knelt to place my gift among the others.

after doing so, i stood and turned around to see mrs. moss arms wide open offering a hug.

"i'm so glad you could join us," she said in her gravelly sophisticated voice, "here, let george take your coat."

as soon as i removed my coat, mrs. moss took my cold hand into her warm, soft hand and began to introduce me to their family. of course, i already knew mrs. moss' sister, nellie, and mr. moss' sister, "buzz", from many, many sunday lunches; but it was so nice to finally put faces with the names of their niece and nephews, their spouses and children, respectively. i had heard so many wonderful things about these people. i was not disappointed! they were all so warm and welcoming.

"dani, do you like country ham?" mr. moss asked.

"i love ALL food!" i answered with a giggle and a big smile. i was smiling because i was happy. i was happy to have been included in the moss' holiday, family celebration. i was so thrilled and content to be there.

watching as mr. moss sliced the country ham, as mrs. moss carefully removed the cheesy grits from the oven, and as nellie spooned the turnip greens from a pot into a bowl,
i asked if i could help.

mrs. moss gave marlene (nellie's daughter-in-law) and me the task of filling the tea glasses with ice.

after the table was set,  we held hands in a circle, and mr. moss blessed the food.
while we dined we talked, laughed,  and enjoyed a delicious, authentic, kentucky meal.

after our bellies were filled, we all sat in the den listening to the wind blow outside, watching the fire roar in the fire place, and chatting. everyone, i suppose, was a little curious about me. so, i obliged them by answering their questions...

it was the first of many merry little Christmases i would be blessed  to spend with my mosses...

~@~ 


(to be continued...) love and blessings, dani xx ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

snuggly saturday on the lane...

it's a dog's life around here today:)

love and blessings,
dani xx

you've gotta love this boy...

i've become an avid facebooker...
(shhhhhhhh!!! john doesn't need to knowabout my latest laptop addiction, though;)tee-hee!!!

anyway, a couple of days ago, i received a friend request on fb from chico (you know, katherine's sweet boyfriend).
so, of course, i added him to my friend list.
after we became "friends" via facebook, i went over to check out his fb profile and found this:

(chico at wyldlife)

i laughed until tears came to my eyes!!!
the photo didn't even look real to me...
like maybe taken from a staged production
or even from a 50's movie:D

but, it is real!!!
it is a picture of our dear chico,
who was a wyldlife counsellor last summer,
riding a bicycle toting another kid...

did it just tickle my funny bone;
or do you find the image freakin' hilarious, too???

have a fabulous friday!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

no more braces:D

katherine, FINALLY, got her braces removed yesterday!!!
her teeth are beautifully staight
and surprisingly white:D

drum roll, please....

here she is with her brand new smile:

(kat on her way to school this morning:)

another parenting era gone.

time goes by SO quickly...

i cannot believe that just five months shy of three years have passed since katherine had braces put on her teeth...

where oh where does the time go???

cherish every moment:)

love and blessings,
dani xx

merrily we stroll along...

i took some pictures and a video of my sweet little maggiepie on our not-so-power-walk, today:) this is the best i could do with only my cell phone... (maggie taking time to smell the flowers) (maggie's new harness) (maggie disgusted that i'm taking her picture) (maggie's most disgusted look, ha!!!)

(maggiepie walking me;)

puppy love and blessings,
dani and maggs xx

tuesday tidbits...

finally, a plumber arrived at our house to fix the faucet last wednesday (yes, 4 days AFTER john "fixed" the bathroom faucet")!!!
how many of you think our water bill will reflect that we refilled our swimming pool rather than had a bath tub leak???

when john finally came around after his colonoscopy procedure... he informed katherine and chico that he felt as though he'd been violated!!!
i wonder what he'd feel like if he had to make a trip to the gynecologist once a year??? better yet, pop out a baby or three, HA!!!???
i love my pitiful little patient:D

in honor of his procedure, the notorious d sent him this:



he loved it!!!
i love lou rawls (he reminds me of my wgn childhood and watching the "soul train")!!!

now that our plumbing is REALLY fixed (thank you, henry, the plumber;), my 7 month old refrigerator is leaking water from the ice maker. darn water!!!
don't worry; john told me to call the appliance store:)
(dani sighs a BIG sigh of relief:)...

"did you know they have shin kicking contests in ireland???"
that was the question the notorious d's son, sam, threw out for discussion at the dinner table saturday night.
oh my GOODNESS, i love and miss my baby boy:[
again, why did you move and take my baby from me, d???

i started walking... with maggie:)
i bought her a harness; she totally digs it!!!
she thinks going for a "real walk" rocks:)
(lmlazyao, my jury is still out on this one (the "real" walking part!!!)

i know i didn't write a mosses monday entry this week...
little mavinga's story won out yesterday!!!
(isn't he just a baby doll!!!)

finally, i hope you have a terrific tuesday:)

love and blessings,
dani xx

prayers answered:)

(mavinga with esme and esme's daddy)

an update on mavinga:

from my friend, j, at mozi esme:
Hey Dani,

I heard good news today that Mavinga is feeling better. He has malaria, which many kids here die from due to lack of treatment, but with the proper treatment, he'll be fine. (By the way, I didn't mention on my blog, but I finally learned that his mother was killed by a crocodile. Not a big problem here, but definitely a problem further up north where he lived.)

I'm hoping to get some photos up from a day-care/food center for AIDS orphans that we've been drilling a well for nearby. I haven't had a chance to get out there, but my husband was working there on Friday. Some of those stories are incredibly tragic.

Thanks again for posting about Mavinga on your blog.

J ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

thank you, GOD!!!

please, continue to pray for him, though, please:)
little mavinga has a long road ahead of him...

love and blessings,
dani xx

prayers for mavinga...

(mavinga and esme)

you can go HERE to read about this sweet little 4 year-old boy from mozambique who recently lost his mother and now is sick, himself...


love and prayers,
dani xx

like finding a needle in a haystack...

so sorry about the blurriness...
a friend from college emailed it to me.

have a great day:)

love and blessings,
dani

where's dan-o???

(click photo to enlarge;)

can you find me in this photo taken just a little over 20 years ago???

i was there...
wouldn't have missed it for the world:)

love and blessings,
dani (aka, "dan-o") xx

my impatient patient...

yesterday was a very long day...
spent with a VERY impatient
patient!!!

(my john)

john was supposed to be at methodist hospital
yesterday morning at 8:30 am for his 9:15 am
colonoscopy.

we arrived at 8:15 am.

john hasn't been having any problems or anything.
this was just a routine test that he needed to have...
a baseline test if you will.

(now, before i go any further, i'm just going to say it:
i have found that men are the most pitiful beings
when it comes to medical issues!!!)

wednesday, john came home and immediately started
his pre-test regime of laxatives and fluids.
within thirty minutes of drinking his first drink of gatorade,
he looked and acted like he'd come down with the flu...
and not just any flu...
like the bird flu!!!
you know
something MAJOR!!!

i would have felt very sorry for him
had i not myself already had three of these tests
in the past.

there he sat in the chair-and-a-half
covered up from nose to toe
shivering.

well, that went on all night...

so, when yesterday morning finally arrived,
i swear he looked like death.
but there was NOTHING the matter with him!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

back to the hospital...

as i said we arrived a little early,
but they took john back soon after we sat down in the waiting area.

about 30-45 minutes later, the same nurse that took him back to day surgery reappeared and said my name. i looked up and smiled at her. she said that i could come on back as he was ready.

wow, i thought, this is the fastest methodist hospital has ever done anything that i can remember!!!

john had told me that the test itself would only take about 15 minutes but still...

well, i walked in to the room to which she directed me expecting to find my groggy, pitiful husband. instead, i found an alert, pitiful husband awaiting his turn.

it was a little after 9 am. i sat and we talked a little and listened to the nurses gossip outside his opened door. then he turned on the tv, and i started working a puzzle.

"dani, what time is it???" john asked.

"twenty-one minutes after nine," i answered.

"THEY'RE LATE," he quipped.

"john, only six minutes..." i said.

one can only imagine how irritated he was when 10 am rolled around and he still hadn't been taken back for his test (irritated like saying that the doctor was going to owe john for john's time irritated)

ROTFLMAO!!!

john hasn't ever been sick, he doesn't have a family doctor (he's never needed one), and he's never been at anyone else's mercy; so, he was just getting a taste of what the rest of us have come to expect; right!!!

i walked into the hall. all three nurses looked at me and almost in unison inquired if they, respectively, could help me.

i asked when he would be taken for his test.
one of the nurses grabbed his chart and said,
"his test is scheduled to begin at 10:30..."

before she could get out that it would be about another 30 minutes,
john hollers, "my test was supposed to be at 9:15, 9:15;
this is bs (only he didn't say bs;)!!!"

i grinned and shrugged as the nurse whispered to me that scheduling must have bumped him and failed to let him know.

my guy was NOT a happy camper

until...

after the procedure (drugs) and all was declared to be ok!!!

i guess it was all just too much for him.
(i KNOW it was too much for me, tee-hee!!!)

my poor john has been on edge and cursed more in the last 6 days than in the last 6 years combined!!!

it's good to have back MY good ol' guy:D

love and blessings,
dani xx

things that are bothering me right now...

things don't normally bother me...
they really don't!!!
you can ask anyone who knows me:)

you can go back through my posts,
i don't think you will find many complaints
other than...
my puppy dog's smelly feet and
my dieting woes, of course...
ha!!!

but, today there are 2 or 3 things
that are weighing heavily on my mind:

1. our economy- the state of our economy has not seriously, directly affected me, yet. but, i know it is affecting others, and it breaks my heart. it really does!!!
it bothers me that our country has failed to oversee the goings-onon wall streetand thus the domino effect of our poor economic conditionsare affecting not only americans but the world as a whole.

to those friends of mine abroad, i'm sorry!!!

to those friends of mine who are fellow americans,
we need to be more educated and vigilant.
we need to raise our expectations of our leaders
and hold those leaders accountable!!!

2. the 2008 presidential election- this election scares me even more than the last election did(and that is saying A LOT)!!!

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT EITHER CANDIDATE
WILL BE GREAT FOR OUR COUNTRY!!!

i fear that john mccain's age will be a factor that he cannot overcome. as i watched the debate last night, i watched the man i will vote for (i am very conservative in my beliefs) look, move, and talk like a very old man. it didn't help that his contender looked, moved, and spoke like a very young man.
speaking of his contender, there are many things that bother me about him. mccain has been referencing the fact that although obama has penned two memoirs,
obama is still no "open book".

mccain has never spoken truer words!!!

these are just a few of the things we don't know about obama:

1. Occidental College records -- Not released
2. Columbia College records -- Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper -- "not available"
4. Harvard College records -- Not released
5. Selective Service Registration -- Not released
6. Medical records -- Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule -- "not available"
8. Law practice client list -- Not released
9. Certified Copy of original Birth certificate - - Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Certification of Live Birth -- Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published -- None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles -- None
13. Record of baptism-- Not released or "not available"
14. Illinois State Senate records--"not available"

these are MAJOR things and very bothersome to me
given that obama is leading in the polls!!!

if you know any of the above information to be untrue,
please let me know:)

3. education- it is also very much so bothering me when i see how very little katherine has really learned over the past 8 years in the public school system. she has been in the duke university talent pool since 4th grade for mathematics (katherine went to a private school k-3); yet, she knows very little about much else.
she brought her report card home last friday. she had 5 a's and 1 b (missing an a by 2/100's of a point); i feel she has actually learned very little, though her grades are always high.
cnn reports that the next generation to graduate in the usa will likely be the first generation to graduate with less knowledge than that of the generation before them.

that's all for now...
i just pray that things will settle
and there will be a positive turn-around soon!!!

i also pray that regardless of who wins the election
that he will pleasantly surprise us!!!
i'd totally welcome a pleasant surprise;
wouldn't you???

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

IT'S TANIA'S DAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY DEAR FRIEND!!!

(tania with caitlin:)

when i started blogging, i did so
to keep keep up with friends
and to keep a record of this and that
for katherine.

however, not long after i started, i happened onto sheye rosemeyer's blog. there were several of us that commented each day as a way to support sheye in the loss of her beautiful super-princess, ava. it was there and then that friendships began to form.

one such friendship that was formed was between
tania (little sweethearts)
and me.

i can remember leaving her a comment (my first on her blog) about different activities she could do for her son's birthday party. several days later she responded.
i was thrilled!!!

we became fast friends:D

actually something clicked and 6 of us (tabitha (uk), amanda (scotland), tania (belgium), elise (australia), and tanya (australia)) became "fast friends"!!!

what a gift!!!

tania came up with the brilliant idea of us puting together
the "snail mail bunch"!!!

it has been so much fun sending and recieving
not only blogger comments and email
but also "snail mail"!!!

tania is a lovely, lovely person. she has a sweet, romantic husband...

(kenneth proposing a renewal of their wedding vows:)
and two beautiful children...

(princess caitlin and prince robin:)

she aslo has a heart of platinum;)
as she was one of the first to get on the nielson bandwagonand donate from her etsy store(HERE)to aid in their recovery after an horrific plane crashnearly took their young lives.

tania is all that, HONESTLY, and so, so much more!!!

i am so blessed to have the honor of calling her
"friend".
please feel free to leave my dear friendbirthday wishes here at "give me...",or go over and visit her,or (even better yet) in both places!!!

love, knuffels (hugs), and blessings,
dani xx

ps if you visit tania's blog and comment,
HERE!!!
you will be entered to win
a set of darling Christmas ornaments
she created commemorating not only her birthday
but also her 100th post!!!
good luck:D

mosses monday V

(snowbirds in florida)

george and lucy moss were snowbirds. when the holidays were over, they would head to lauderdale by the sea, florida, to enjoy the sunshine, sand, the ocean, and friends who went there each year since retirement to escape the cold of winter. they were usually gone for three months or so.

though they were away from home and i was away from them, we were never far from each others thoughts.

i remember each week hurrying back to my dorm room to receive either their call or a sweet voice message mrs. moss would have left me on my answering machine - messages i saved, of course:)

"dani, this is mrs. moss," she would start in her gravely, sophisticated voice, "george and i were just calling to check on you. we hope you are having a good day. we love you...  BEEEEEEEEP!"

in the late 1980's, however, the mosses' florida sabbatical took a very different turn. mrs. moss became very ill and was hospitalized. she was symptomatic of having leukemia. they really didn't know what was wrong with her, but her condition continued to deteriorate.
i was so worried about her!

she underwent an extensive series of tests including even a very painful bone marrow draw from her fragile body's breast bone. finally, a specialist discovered  she had a rare vitamin b deficiency...

NOT cancer, thank God!
regardless, mrs. moss had a long recovery ahead of her. she had lost a lot of weight and muscle tone; she was as weak as a dish cloth.

finally, though, they were able to return home so she could continue to recover in the comfort of her home on the court.

the saturday after their return, i called to ask if i could come by for a visit.

"ABSOLUTELY!" was the response i received from mr. moss. 

so, i stopped by our local flower shop and asked that they make me a bouquet of fresh flowers... 10 minutes later, the lady brought me the biggest, most beautiful "bouquet" of cut, spring flowers i'd EVER seen, really!!!

i placed them in the seat next to me and headed toward their home.

i rang the door-bell.
i could barely see over the flowers (they were massive)...
when the door opened, there stood mrs. moss  grinning ear to ear...  her little nose wrinkled.

mr. moss was standing over her shoulder.

"well, bless your heart, dani, come in here," he said as he helped me into their house.

"these are for mrs. moss..." i said as he took the flowers. "there are more here than i thought; i don't know what to tell you to do with them." i giggled and shrugged. 
(they were not going to fit in a vase... maybe an umbrella stand, but NOT a vase;)

"ooohhhh, they are beautiful, dani, you didn't have to bring me anything. i'm just tickled to see you," said mrs. moss.  (when she saw that BUNDLE, she probably never spoke more sincere words as "you didn't have to".)
ha! 
after an hour and a half (or so), 4 LARGE vases full of flowers, and several apologies, we had all the flowers arranged. i felt horrible feeling as if i had brought work to my dear, fragile friend...

she wouldn't hear of the apologies and assured me this kind of "work" was just what the doctor ordered...

for years after, we laughed about that special time we spent talking, cutting stems, and arranging, cutting (more and more) stems and arranging... though i felt bad at the time, i now look at that day as nothing short of a gift from God. 
~@~ 

the sweet "thank you" note i received...



(you may click photos to enlarge)

(to be continued...)

love and blessings,
dani xx

ps you will find earlier entries in ascending order on my side bar entitled, "our love story":) 

maggiepie and the rest of the story...

(maggie, 2 1/2 years later) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ok, well, after typing my post yesterday, my darling john returned from the hardware store and stated that the next time i needed to call the plumber as he marched off to katherine's loo... from katherine's bathroom, i heard sounds of him working fervently to repair the damage.such sounds as cursing, water spraying all over the place (BUT, no longer dripping;), doors slamming, and tools being dropped (and thrown) were streaming through the house. i totally dig saturdays:b finally, john came back into our room (where i was hiding) with a phone book in hand and requested that i call a plumber. being that it was saturday, i got mostly answering machines. i left messages of despair along with our telephone number. no response. a bit later, john returned (sweat dripping from his brow and nose). "did you get me a plumber???" he asked."not yet, dear (you gotta love the term of endearment i added;)," i continued. "i left messages; but, it IS saturday, and most places are closed.""well, call another one," he quipped (angry at himself... not at me)."all the other ones are septic people," i explained while looking again through the names in the directory. "there is ace plumbing; but don't you think that's just the hardware store???""call 'em, and see if they know of someone who can come fix this damn thing," my dear stomped out of the room. so, i called. they actually had a plumber on call (YESSSSSSSSSS!!!). the operator linked my call to "bruce". bruce told me that he and his buddy were finishing up a job about an hour away and that he'd be on his was over after that."oh, thank you, bruce!!!" i could have hugged the stranger's neck.that was at 1:30 pm. at 5:30 we still had not heard from bruce; so, i called the dispatcher back to make sure bruce had our telephone number. the nice lady said that he did and should be calling soon. at 7:30, my cell phone rang. "miss berrong, this is bruce. listen, i JUST checked with my supervisor, and i am not licensed to plumb in the state of kentucky. i sure hope you can find somebody to fix your problem today..." what else could i say but, "ok, thank you"??? i knew john was going to love this. i quickly told him, he got totally pissed off, i left the room quickly, and he returned to his plumbing job. i did get on the internet to see if i could help him. i was online less than a minute, when i figured out the problem. "when you went to the hardware store this morning, did you buy a valve seat???" i asked. "YES!!!" he answered. "well, where is the original one??? it says that you should only replace it as a last resort because many of the new ones on the market don't fit..." i was such a font of knowledge. "well, i dropped the bastard, but this new one should work," he showed me the new one. not only did he drop the b&^$#%^d, he dropped it down between katherine's wall and the bathroom wall!!! much longer story (it's still broken)... shorter,i asked john to turn on the water main to the house.we took showers, flushed potties, and went to bed... while in katherine's bathroom... there was still a "drip". ..
(the "DRIP")

(i had to capture this quickly and quietly...)

love and blessings,
dani xx

john is plumbing...

and i need to potty (sorry, but i do!!!)...
brush my teeth, shower, shampoo and shave!!!
not to mention katherine does, too:o ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

two nights ago, i mentioned to john that katherine's faucet was dripping in her bathroom (first mistake) and i inquired if i could just turn the water off leading directly to her tub... as she uses our shower and not her tub, anyway.

"i fixed that," he replied.

those of you who read me on a regular basis KNOW that john (meaning well) tries hard but is NOT handy.

"well, i don't know when you fixed it," i replied, "but it is and has been dripping."

"i fixed that months ago," he continued. "i can fix it; there is no need to turn the water off leading to the tub. it's probably just a "whatchamacallit" that needs to be replaced." (he didn't call it a "whatchamacallit", by the way... i just cannot remember what he said needed to be replaced (maybe a gasket???).)

anyway, this is the current situation:

(a panel in katherine's room located directly behind her tub's faucets)

1. john has turned off the water main.
(there is no water leading to the house.)

2. john is gone.
(i assume he is at a hardware store somewhere in town.)

3. no water is coming from any faucet in the house.
(except, for some reason, the pipes (in the photo above) have a steady stream of water coming from them dripping straight down into the furnace room in our basement. AND the faucet in kat's tub is also STILL dripping???)

4. i did remove katherine's nightlight (in the photo above) from the equation since it was a gift from her great aunt.
(i KNOW john has a "snake light" for emergencies such as these somewhere in this house. i know he does because i bought it for him (second mistake!!!) .)

5. did i say that my sweet husband is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND???
(yeah, i thought so...)

anyway, that's my morning in a nutshell:/
how has yours been???

love and blessings,
floating eyes, stinky dani with a drip xx

another pot of coffee

and a warm puppy at my feet...

(maggie 3 months old:)

john must have thought that the "whole-pot-of-coffee" thing worked so well yesterday (five loads of laundry... CHECK!!!) that he'd try it again today, ha!!!

he is soooooooooooooooooo passive aggressive;
but i've sooooooooooooooooooo got his number:b

i'm thinking it will be a good day to decorate the front porch for fall. i bought new cushions for my wicker chairs and a new wreath for the front door.

that will take all of ten minutes...

WHAT WILL I DO WITH MY CAFFEINATED SELF THE REST OF THE DAY???

any ideas???

love and GOd's blessings,
dani xx

13 things thursday...

1. i could see my breath in this morning's brisk, fall air:)
2. i am really enjoying my facebook account...
3. look me up, i'd love to "chat" with you:D
4. we have decided NOT to head to florida next week due to petrol shortages.
5. john made me a WHOLE pot of coffee this morning...
6. hence, he must be hoping for a "thursday accomplishment":?
7. i'll endeavor not to let him down... LAUNDRY!!!
8. john is getting ready to celebrate 35 years with "his company":)
9. in 35 years, he has only ever taken 2 "sick days"...
10. my guy is an OVER ACHIEVER, tee-hee!!!
11. my cats got a reprieve... and a new litter box:]
12. i still have 35 pounds to lose...
13. obviously, my diet didn't go as planned!!!.

love and blessings,
dani xx

a funny little ditty...

i was downloading photos from my phone and remembered i'd videoed this from our weekend at the lake (pardon the burp; bahahahahahahahaha!!!):



my aunt's rendition of this:



i love lucy and ethel;
i love my family!!!

TEE-HEE:b

ENJOY!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx