Tuesday, September 30, 2008

weekend at lake barkley...



our weekend was a blast!!!

it consisted of 4 aunts (phyl, sister (veronica), sue, and day-o (demetria), my cousin (theresa)and oj and myself, wine and margaritas and martinis and beer (all were drunk from water glasses), movies (the ringer, sex and the city), games (scrabble, outburst, and scattergories), pajamas (we never got out of our pj's except to shower and don clean ones;), face and belly hurting laughter, facials, a birthday chocolate chip cookie pizza, pizza, donuts, nachos, laughter and more laughter (we were LOUD: it was a damn good thing we had both sides of the duplex in which we stayed!!!), etc.

there were MANY hilarious incidents.
however, one stands out in my mind;
so, i'll share...

we all got up saturday morning and made our way to the deck to drink coffee. when i walked out on the deck, my brother pointed over to what looked like a rock and said, "do you see that yellow lab (labrador retriever) over there???"
i looked again (seeing only a rock) and replied, "ummm??? no???"
he said, "well, day-o (my granddaddy dubbed her day-o for the old harry belafonte "banana-boat song", which was his favorite) thought that was a yellow lab and started whistling for it to come..."

ROTFLMAO!!!

and THAT was when she was sober:b
i hope you had a groovy weekend, too!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx

Monday, September 29, 2008

mosses monday IV




"she continued, 'you don't know me... 
but, i am lucy moss, 
and this is my husband, george.'"

when i met them,
there was an immediate connection.
they felt like mine,
and
i felt like i was theirs.


that was how it happened.
from that time on,
lucy and george were very inclusive of me,
and i was so blessed
they welcomed me into their fold.


~@~ 

church let out each sunday at 11:30. so as not to have to wait for a table, many of our fellow methodists hurried out of church in order to get to the local restaurants- before the baptist churches dismissed their congregations at noon.  

my mosses were NEVER in a hurry.

on the contrary, in those days, the mosses remained standing in "their" back pew. as the congregation filed out of the sanctuary the two offered kind words, warm embraces, firm handshakes, etc... to their fellow parishioners. after everyone made their way out of the sanctuary, mr. and mrs. moss joined suit. 

while mrs. moss and i waited at the side door of the church, mr. moss went to get his car. he drove his maroon fleetwood around to the side door of the church, got out, walked to the other side of his car, opened the door for mrs. moss to enter the car, closed her door, opened the back door for me to get in, and then closed my door. mr. moss was a gentleman. upon joining us, he slowly drove us to the court where they lived. their house (situated at the end of the court) faced 
the ohio river.

the moss' home had a distinct flavor of the 50's glamor...
 yet the warmth of "home".

sundays at the mosses consisted of soda, mixed drinks, and/or wine... chips, nuts, and/or popcorn (dodads). mr. moss always drank a "toddy" (bourbon and coke) and a half. 
popcorn was his fancy.

 mrs. moss' sister, nellie, and mr. moss' sister, buzz, always joined in the sunday ritual. i loved them ALL. they were so kind to me and treated me like part of their family too. we seemed to share a kindred spirit.

after "dodads" and "toddies", we slowly made our way to our lunch destination (usually ralph's but occasionally gene's, jerry's, hunan's, or the ramada inn). we shared stories of current happenings as well as those of days-gone-by while we dined and enjoyed the company.

oh, how i long for those days.
oh, how i long for my mosses!

~@~ 


(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

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


Thursday, September 25, 2008

concerning my johnny b:)

this is a post about my guy... i nabbed it from my gorgeous friend christina. i've known this sweetheart since she was in diapers. you can "meet her" and read about her adventures, HERE.

a little about john:

1. john will be teeing off at a golf outing in about 15 minutes... good luck to my boy!!!
2. you are out to eat, what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? catalina
3. what's one food he doesn't like? easy, liver!!!
4. you go out to a bar, what does he order? makers (maker's mark is a bourbon distilled in kentucky) and coke
5. where did he go to high school? henderson county high school... GO COLONELS!!!
6. what size shoe does he wear? 8
7. if he were to collect anything, what would it be? old mercedes roadsters.
8. what is his favorite sandwich? peanut butter and strawberry preserves:b
9. what would he eat every day if he could? cookies (and he does)
10. what is his favorite cereal? honey nut cheerios
11. what would he never wear? a bow tie (except with a tux)
12. what is his favorite sports team? uk basketball
13. who will he vote for? mccain
14. who is his best friend? other than me... marvin or tl
15. what is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? he actually wishes i WOULD take out the trash, HA (ain't gonna happen if he's here)
16. how many states has he lived in? mostly ky... however, when he was in the military he lived in california before being deported to germany.
17. what is his heritage? french
18. you bake him a cake for his birthday, what kind of cake is it? pound cake with homemade chocolate sauce.
19. did he play sports in High School? no, but he played league baseball.
20. what could he spend hours doing? riding his new harley, golfing, watching espn...

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

boobs... UGH!!!



i never had them (to speak of), and i never wanted any more than what i didn't already have!!! so, you can only imagine my horror when i turned 35 and they started growing...

LONGER!!!
not only did they grow...
LONGER,

they didn't exactly grow to the same length:/


well, maybe they did intend to grow congruently..
it's just a couple of years prior, i had to have my left, top rib
removed because it was impeding my circulation.
my ob/gyn informed me the surgery
is what has caused my incongruence.

so, i decided to have a "boob job".
i checked around to find the very best doctor.
my ob/gyn referred me.
i sat up my appointment...

and, then...

at 2:30 am (6 hours before my appointment)...
I CHICKENED OUT!!!
I COULDN'T DO IT!!!

at 2:30 am...
i called the plastic surgeon's office
(knowing i would get his answering service)...
(knowing i wouldn't be asked to reschedule)...


and i left a message cancelling my appointment.
(whew-wee!)

so, now...
i'm back to my original dilemma.
i don't like i have boobs i never wanted!
i don't like they hang... LONG!
and i HATE one hangs about 3/4"
longer than the other!

what should i do?
what would you do?

love and blessings,
lopsided dani xxx


Tuesday, September 23, 2008

nie nie benefit sale today...

i cannot wait to see the outcome for the auction of this doll!!!


(nie nie doll auction HERE!!!)

what do you think the highest bid will be???
she starts out at $85!!!

click here to go to the sale:)

love and prayers for a great benefit!!!
dani xx

update: WOW!!! in 38 minutes everything has been sold except for three items!!!
what a blessing for the nielsons!!!




concerning yesterday's post...




i had to laugh when i came to suz's comment concerning the fact my mosses' story jumped several decades in only a week.

i only did so because it was a part of our story where ida crossed our paths. i wanted to write an installment which included her and commemorated her.

you will come to find that although she was not in mosses' life for very long, she will be an integral figure in the final entries of "our love story".
(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

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

Monday, September 22, 2008

mosses monday III


(my mosses' crooked little fingers)

finally, after all the craziness of the early evening had come to a conclusion, ida looked over at me and asked if i wanted anything from the cafeteria. 

"no, thank you; i'm fine," i replied.

"i'll be right back then," ida said.

"take your time," i smiled at my new friend.

i sat at the side of mosses bed with my book, the grapes of wrath, in my lap... listening to the c-pap machine force air into his lungs. he seemed very at peace unlike previous hospitalizations. he was still, his arms lying at his side. i had covered up and tucked him in with katherine's pink and white gingham, flannel baby blanket i had brought from home...

i had fallen madly in love with this man over the many years i'd been blessed to have spent with him...

our love wasn't a romantic kind of love-
 at.all.
(meester berrong has my market cornered on THAT kind of love!)

no, the love i felt for my mosses...
i cannot even describe other than to just say
it was undeniable, unconditional, deep, and reciprocated.

as i looked at him, i knew in my heart i wasn't going to have him for much longer. i reached over and took his crippled hand with his crooked, little fingers into my hand and crawled up on the bed next to him. 

i whispered in his ear, 
"it's alright, mosses. you can go. 
you don't have to fight anymore..."
(my mosses was struggling and suffering.)

i was still sitting on the side of his bed when ida returned with her dinner.

she sat down, bowed her head to say grace over her meal, and began to eat.

it was as she was eating she looked over at me. i was still holding mosses hand. 
she said, "he loves you like a granddaughter..."

"i know," i replied. "i love him, too."

"you could be his granddaughter?" she was prodding.

"no, if you'd ever seen my dad, you would know i am drury through and through," i smiled at ida.

ida was a petite woman with dark skin and very dark hair and eyes. she was in her mid 50's i thought. ida had lived a hard life (she told me so). she also told me she had once nearly died and had heard the voice of God. the incident had changed her life forever. ida was a servant of the Lord. 

she was also a servant to mosses.
she treated him like a king!
in a very short time, 
i had grown to love ida for that.

"well, i HAVE seen pictures of mr. moss' son, mike, and you look just like him," she stated matter-of-factly between bites of food.

i just smiled and assured her it wasn't so.

"i don't know," she got the last word in rather sing-songy.


that was the first time anyone had ever been bold enough to say it.

~@~

(in loving memory of my friend, ida)

Ida Mae Sawyer Gee

Services for Ida Mae Sawyer Gee, 61, Henderson, who died Sunday, will be at 11 a.m. today at Benton-Glunt Funeral Home. The Rev. A.G. Winters will officiate. Burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.

Friends may call after 10 a.m. today at the funeral home.

Pallbearers will be Murray Carter, Zach Stone, Ronnie Williams, Randy Bentley, Chuck Gee and Josh Gee.
(courtesy of the henderson gleaner)


(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

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

Saturday, September 20, 2008

a tale of zin and miller


(zin and miller-all grown up taller) 

in 1976, "zin" moved from the country into town and started attending a new elementary school. the first person she met was "miller". zin was a chubby little girl with curly brown hair; she had a killer smile:) miller was a skinny little girl with straight brown hair; she had a killer sense of humor:b they quickly became best friends. 
zin and miller were inseparable at school...
as well as at home.

in the summers, they would awake every morning, ride their bikes a couple of blocks to the local market, dick's finer foods, and play ms pacman until their quarters were depleted (i have even heard on several occasions, when no one was looking, one would unplug and replug the midway game in order to rack up the "high score"). afterwards, they would catch up with hometown tennis legend, doc hosbach, and ride slowly along side him on his yellow tricycle to the local tennis courts, which were named for him. finally, they would make their way to the library and hang out until lunchtime before returning home...

for the most part,
that is how they rolled.

however, there was this one day zin was hanging out at miller's house playing atari(quarterless, they were deviating from their normal routine)- this was the day the duo "rolled" a little differently. miller's neighbor rode up on his scooter and offered the two a ride. miller hopped on behind her neighbor and moved up to make room for zin.

(zin's VERY strict mother had most definitely forbidden her from riding a "motorcycle"; but, she had never really said anything about a "scooter"...  no, she definitely had not.)


so, without much hesitation, zin straddled the back of the scooter, sat down behind the two, scooted forward (on the not-nearly-long-enough-seat), and wrapped her arms around millers waist. miller's friend gave his scooter gas and peeled away from the front of miller's house. as he did, he hit gravel throwing zin up from the back of the seat!

"HANG ON, DAN ZIN!!!" ame miller yelled.

zin dumbly hung on for dear life as the street's pavement began to eat the flesh from her knees and the gravel burrow itself into what little flesh left on zin's knees and shins...
(it was years before all that gravel worked its way out of zin's legs!)
when the short ride came to an abrupt stop (like before it ever even got started), zin had finally let go and was lying face-down on the street.  
she was hurt...
 BUT
 more concerned about the wrath of her VERY strict mother 
than about the bodily damage she had sustained.

zin's concern quickly turned into EXTREME concern about the aforementioned wrath! so, she got on her own
(NON-motorized) bike and stiffly, painfully pedaled her way home. when she finally arrived at her house, she took a most tortuous shower and then club-footed her way to the den,  gingerly lowered herself into the recliner, and covered herself with an afghan.
zin was hoping... PRAYING
 her VERY strict mother would notice her injuries. 
 
however, 
after the VERY strict mother came in from work, after MUCH serious thought, and, lastly, after she realized she would be unable to walk to the dinner table without her wounds being noticed, zin confessed. 

PRAYERS ANSWERED, 
zin's VERY strict mother must have realized zin had already more than learned her lesson...
for, zin only received a glare and stern, "i-guess-you-won't-do-that-again."

thank the VERY good LORD!!!

that was zin's LAST scooter ride.

it was, 
however, 
NOT the LAST antic in which 
she and her-best-friend-since-third-grade, 
miller, 
involved themselves...

no, 
on the contrary, 
i hear the dynamic duo are still in cahoots today.

love and blessings,
dani xxx

Thursday, September 18, 2008

and they call it pepé love...


chico called to ask me
if it would be ok to bring pepé over
to play with maggie, last night.

after assuring me
that pepé would not "mark his territory",
i told him it would be fine:)



(they met)

(they did the normal butt smelling thing;)

(they kissed)

yada, yada, yada...



have a lovely day:D

love and blessings,
dani xx






Wednesday, September 17, 2008

thank you, linda:)

("prize to personal effort")

today, linda at lindanjake gifted me with this award...
thank you sooooooooo much, linda!!!
you are so sweet;
and i feel totally blessed to have gotten to know you:D

Here are the rules for this award:

1. Mention the blog that gave it to you.
2. Publish these rules.
3. Share six values that are important to you and six things you do not support.
4. Grant the prize to six people.

Six values that are important to me:

1. faithfulness
2. honesty
3. compassion
4. kindness
5. charity
6. patience

Six things that I do not support:

1. cruelty
2. dishonesty
3. abortion as a means of birth control
4. capital punishment
5. extremes
6. redefining "marriage".

I pass this award on to (my first six blogging friends):
1. shannon h.
2. rhonda
3. tabitha
4. dana
5. christina
6. amanda f.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

the "i's" have it...

it's baaaaack, hehe!!!


something fun from jan:




i am- getting sleepy...

i think- all over the place most of the time, ha!!!

i know- i am a child of GOD:D

i want- one of those clap key-chain thingies, really!!!

i have- the shingles, again... UGH!!!

i dislike-
liars!!!

i miss-
my grandmothers terribly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i fear- loss of those i love:(

i feel- cozy in my flannel pjs and polo sheets...

i hear- crickets chirping on the lane:)

i smell- spring fresh downy...

i crave- DONUTS!!!

i cry-
very seldomly...

i usually- am one of the most laid back persons you will EVER meet:)

i search-
for my car keys on a regular basis:b

i wonder-
if our country is headed for another not-so-great depression:?

i regret- gaining 40 lbs over the past year!!!

i love- God and that He loves me so much to have blessed me with an abundant life rich in wonderful people:D

i care- a great deal about the elderly!!!

i always- shower, shampoo, and shave at least 2 times a day, tee-hee;)

i worry- very little except when john's riding his motorcycle:S

i am not- going to back down when i think i'm prayerfully fighting for a good cause!!!

i remember- most everything since i was about 18 months old.

i believe- when i die i will live eternity in heaven.

i sing-
alto because i'm a lazy soprano:>

i don't always- abide by the speed limit;b

i argue-
with my john about once a year (usually i have the need to get a couple of things off my chest, ha!!!)

i write- in mosly lower case.

i win- the lottery, never, because i gotta play to win:D

i lose- my keys on a daily basis...

i wish- i had all the answers.

i can usually be found- with my laptop on my lap:b

i am scared- of losing loved ones.

i need-
to lose 30 lbs, UGH!!!

i forget- where i put my keys...

i am happy- most of the time:)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How do you feel today?


Play along if you would like.
love and blessings,


dani xx



Monday, September 15, 2008

mosses monday: II



i was out in my front yard with maggie several weeks ago when my neighbor's daughter, janie, came over and started talking... she asked how my mom was doing (she was a year behind my mom in school and was good friends with her). i answered she was doing well.

then janie randomly inquired,  
"dani, she never got over mike moss, 
did she?"

~@~

my mom was a beauty queen, bathing suit model, and an artist. mike moss was a very handsome, only child, and sort of rebel-without-a-cause kind of guy. he was several years older than my mom. (mike started college when my mom was a mere freshman in high school...) 

mike's parents, the mosses, shared with me they were taken with my mother. they thought she was a kind, well mannered, beautiful young girl. likewise, my mom's parents thought mike was a great guy. when mike's name would be mentioned, my mamaw would never fail to remark, "mike was too pretty to be a boy." 

besides being extremely handsome, 
mike moss was a charmer!

when the news of mike's extra-curricular dating made its way back to my mom, she broke up with him. this didn't at all deter mike where mom was concerned.
 he said he would get her back one day.

(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

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

Sunday, September 14, 2008

guess who visited the lane...


ike!!!

as in hurricane ike!!!
WTHeck???




and he was still packing one heck of a punch!!!

the power has just recently been restored here on the lane,
but there are 7000 homes still without it in our city limits.

and, finally, a state of emergency has been declared for the entire state of kentucky...


our unexpected guest

(hurricane ike made landfall 950 miles southeast of us;
and was still categorized when he reached the ohio valley)


caused transformers to blow, trees to fall, and debris to scatter as he travelled through our town!!!


don't get me wrong;
i know that what we experienced today
was nothing in comparison
to those living on the gulf coast!!!
but, WOW!!! what a storm!!!


it's been an interesting day in our neck of the woods:o

(front yard)

(back/side yard)

has he visited you???

love and blessings,
dani xx
*****update: katherine has school today. however, every school system around us has cancelled classes due to ike. i am quite certain this is the first time ever classes have been cancelled in kentucky and indiana as a result of a hurricane!!!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

anyone???

and has anyone heard how jenn and family fared ike???

(jenn)

if anyone has seen or heard from this crazy girl

from houston today,

please let me know:?



love and blessings,
dani xx


Friday, September 12, 2008

this and that...


(ike)
hurricane update...

as i type, the galveston/houston, texas area is getting whacked by hurricane ike, a storm literally the size of the whole state of texas.
jenn at half full life is hunkering down... as are many others (those who don't live in flood zones) who were asked to stay behind and ride out the storm.
those living in flood zones were told to evacuate or face "certain death" (that according to cnn). as of this morning there were still approximately 20,000 persons in those areas who had yet to evacuate!!!

please keep all of those living in texas in your prayers. ike is a monster storm!!!
~@~



confession... 

i ate a chocolate chip cookie last night. the scales have stayed the same for the past two weeks. the one cookie didn't change that fact at all. 

~@~ 


changed plans... 

we were going to go to a winery for my brother's birthday and spend the night in french lick; however, the new plans are that we (adult family) are going to go to kentucky lake and bond in a cabin for the weekend. that sounds like so much more fun to me:D 

~@~


grades... 

katherine has all a's on her mid-terms; YIPPEE!!! her year is off to a very good start. i was concerned when she signed up for the classes she did but so far... so good:) 

~@~

that's pretty much my week in words... 
it was i good week; 
i hope yours was too:) 

love and GOD's blessings, 
dani xxx 


Thursday, September 11, 2008

smoke rises



i cannot let this day pass
without remembering its significance.

(just before the collapse)

september 11, 2001

dressed in a gray 3/4 length sleeved tee, my ralph lauren weekenders, and steel-toed metatarsals, i walked into the administrative building where our office was located. not unlike any other day, my boss, tl, asked if i wanted to go have a "smoke"...

(NO,  I'VE NEVER SMOKED.)


i said, "sure, let's go, but let me get me a grab a cupppa coffee first..." ("having a smoke" at the company where we were working was more like "hanging out around the water cooler".)

i grabbed a cuppa, and we headed out of the building. as we did so, tl held the door for one of the accountants, who was arriving for work. "have you all heard that an airplane just hit one of the towers?" pam asked.

jack, who was joining us for "a smoke" said he had heard about it...
no details.

we walked out onto the patio. preoccupied, i drank my coffee. tl, jack, and pat smoked and talked. i heard them talking but really wondered what tower the airplane had hit. i didn't realize pam and jack were referring to one of the towers at the world trade center and the airplane was in fact a large jet.

shortly thereafter, pam stuck her head out the door and informed us a second plane had crashed into a second tower. as my three co-workers quickly extinguished three cigarette butts in a sand-filled ashtray located outside the office door, 
it dawned on me...
the world trade center?! the four of us hurried back into the building.

i followed tl into our office, which was also the company's information center (where cnn headline news constantly looped) for the company's telemonitors . tl and i just stood there in stunned silence, horrified. our co-workers, rhonda and sue, arrived. none of us could believe what was happening.

we heard our fellow employees start to gather in the lobby to watch the news. we walked out to join them.

more breaking news: "the pentagon has been hit!"

concurrently, a maintenance man walked into the lobby from the factory. he looked over his shoulder and exclaimed, "guys, this is not a terrorist attack-
these are acts of war!"

false reports ensued: "we are getting unofficial reports that the white house and the capitol building have also been hit!"

in what seemed like slow motion, i panned the room. the looks of shock, horror, and disbelief encompassed the faces of everyone, respectively. i backed around the corner and into the empty hallway to catch my breath. i noticed a facilitator was teaching a class across the hall from where i stood. the instructor looked at my face obviously wondering what was happening. i walked toward the door as he opened it.

"we are under attack..." i heard the words come from my mouth. "they have hit the world trade center, the pentagon, the white house, and the capitol building."
the gentleman turned away from me, uttered something, and dismissed his class.
i rejoined tl, rhonda, and sue. we made our way back into our office. in complete silence, we sat staring at the monitor.

"tl, what is going on?" i asked. "there's smoke coming from the bottom of that building?! smoke rises; something is not right!"

tl shrugged his shoulders, "i don't know, but, you're right."

within seconds the building began to collapse!
what i had noticed wasn't smoke at all:
 it was dust from the impending collapse
 i had witnessed pouring from the lobby floor of the south tower.

knowing i was going to accomplish nothing, 
i put away my work, grabbed my phone and keys, 
and told my co-workers i would see them 
in the morning ("God willing," i thought to myself).

i needed to go talk to Him, 
to God.
so, i drove directly to church.
once there, 
i went into our sanctuary,
made my way to the altar,
knelt, 
and began to pray.

that tuesday will forever be etched in my mind,

and those same prayers will forever be in my heart...

they are still here today.

love and GOD'S blessings,
dani xxx

Monday, September 8, 2008

mooching off the neighbor's internet so that i can share lovely lucy with you...

i've been experiencing internet woes... called to report it and got a recording saying that my provider is having problems in the area... noticed my wireless icon was active (my neighbor doesn't enable her security feature;)... so, i thought i'd jump on really fast.

this is mosses' monday; and, i promise that post as soon as MY internet is up and running:) in the meantime, here is a photo of katherine and baby lucy jane... you may remember my post about the mary janes i sent to lucy jane a couple of months ago...

well, i finally got to see her; and she is gorgeous!!!



don't you agree!!!

i cannot wait to get to see her again in november:D

love and GOd's blessings,
dani xx

Saturday, September 6, 2008

and i like it...


i'm in a rut; and i like it!!!

doesn't that sound crazy???

i almost hate to say it;
but i love, love, love my life:D
i do...

don't get me wrong...
my life is not perfect.

there are times that john drives me crazy
(about once a year;)

there are times that katherine gets a little sassy
(but not very often;)

there are times that i want to give my cats
to anyone who would want them...
(those times are happening more often;)
would you like two black cats???
they are not bad luck!!!
but they are a package deal,
disclaimer: one has hairball issues...
mia grooms herself as well as maisey:S

my puppy dogger...
is perfect:D
you cannot have her.

anyway about the rut that i like...
i know i should desire to do great things
to make a difference in this awesome world
in which we live.

i've been there before;
and i've made little differences.
i liked that, too.
i guess i just like whatever whenever

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven...

when i was right in the middle
of making one of those aforementioned
"differences",

God told me:

"DON'T JUST DO SOMETHING;
SIT THERE!!!"

i listened and did what HE told me to do.
i guess i'm just waiting for my next order...

have you ever been in a rut and liked it???

love and God's blessings,
dani xx



Friday, September 5, 2008

a few things friday...


1.)i haven't posted the past couple of days... because i have been TOTALLY sucked in by cnn and the republican national convention... (how funny that heart doesn't want their song attached to sarah "barracuda" palin;)

2.)i have an award i'd like to share with ALL of you:



this is from my sweet and beautiful, little friend, esmé, and her mommy, j:) they send it with love from all the way over in mozambique!!!

3.)i have got to organize a birthday party for my brother. september 25th will mark his 30th birthday, and he wants to spend it at the winery in french lick, indiana. (let me just say that the post-post on this one ought to be quite interesting, rotflmao!!!)



4.)we have 3 hurricanes, which are about to slam into the southeastern us coast!!! please keep our coastal residents in your prayers...



love and God's blessings,
dani xx

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

there are signs...

that fall is on it's way to the lane...

september is upon us,
which means the days are getting shorter,
and the nights are getting longer.

john has shocked the swimming pool
readying it to be closed for the season.

further, when i was pulling out of my driveway today,
i noticed that a few leaves had changed
from green to crimson on my next-door-neighbor's
tree...


(i love the new colors of fall:)

upon returning home from picking katherine
up from school, i couldn't help but take notice
of the leaves again.

i had stopped and picked up katherine's dinner.
while she sat at the dining room table eating,
i grabbed my camera and maggie pie.
we went out so that maggs could potty
and so i could snap a few pictures of
nearly fall on the lane:)

when maggie and i came back into the house,
katherine asked me if i would finish
putting her new electric blanket on her bed
while she loaded the dishwasher
(she's getting better at the dishwasher, by the way;).

electric blanket??? i thought to myself.

(kat's blanket found plugged in and heating up on her bed)

there are signs that fall is coming...



but, it's NOT here, yet!!!



i mean it was 92 degrees farenheit
(33 degrees celsius), today,
for heaven's sake!!!

love and blessings,
dani xx


Monday, September 1, 2008

mosses monday: I...


august 1986
mrs. moss glanced at her husband. "george, i told you she was sherry's daughter," she remarked in her gravelly, sophisticated voice.

she turned her gaze to me.
"you look so much like your mother..." 


her nose crinkled as her smile broadened.


precious


a little thing i miss.


immensely

after church, i returned home and changed out of my new, green linen dress into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, pony-tailed my hair, and made my way into the kitchen where my mom was preparing lunch.




"well, did you join the church this morning?" she asked.

"i did," i replied.


"and you'll never guess whom i met today," i continued.

"who?"


(my mom was aware i already knew many of the congregation,
which was why i chose that particular church. )

"mr. and mrs. moss," i replied.

mom stood for a moment...
reflecting.


"awe, you did?" she asked.


"did you tell them who are?"
"i didn't have to," i continued, "mrs. moss already knew."

mom looked at me...

i told her about the conversation i had had with mrs. moss...


all the while,

 my mom's mind seemed to travel


to another place in time.

(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,
dani xx

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