the invitation...

last saturday
i decorated katherine's playhouse
for
CHRISTmas.
as i stood hanging the lights
on a rung near the top
of the ladder
john was holding for me,

he asked me
if i would like to

go to a Christmas dance

with him.

now.picture.his.view.

me: what kind of Christmas dance?

wait.for.it.

john: oh, my hog club
is having a Christmas party

over at the fop

in downtown evansville.

yes.he.did.invite.me.to.a.hog.dance.

picturing this:

i giggled...

well,
really i laughed out loud!

john: what?

me: (think medea) lort!

i quickly finished hanging the lights;
as i had to get off
the ladder before entertaining
any further dance talk.

~@~

later...

me: so, what does one wear
to a hog dance? 
john: i don't know.
it's probably more of a dinner.
i'd say it'll be pretty casual.
(he gave me a possum-eatin'-shit-grin)
you know, a leather vest
and chaps...
the usual.

i just looked at him
and shook my head...

a hog party,
really?

~@~

REALLY!

stay.tuned.

love and God's blessings,
dani xxx

mosses monday VI (revisited)...

(enjoy the music; it's my favorite carol:)

i pulled in the circular drive that ran alongside mr. and mrs. moss' home recognizing only a couple of the cars that were parked there. i parked my car 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 and made a mad dash toward their house. it was so cold that day, and the wind coming off the ohio river was brisk and cutting.
it didn't help that 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 hug.

"merry Christmas!!!" i said as i walked toward the den to place my gift under their tree.

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

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

as soon as i removed my coat, mrs. moss began to introduce me to their extended 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. they were all so warm and welcoming.

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

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

i watched 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.

the food was blessed: we broke bread.
while we dined we talked, laughed, and enjoyed a delicious kentucky meal.

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

it was the first of many merry little Christmases i would be blessed to have the opportunity 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":)

entertaining the idea...

me: what if we tear this one down

and build a new one?

john: (silence)

several hours later...

john: were you serious earlier?

me: maybe...

john: what would we build?

~@~

the lane is more a part of me

than i am of it.

it is who i am!

i mean, really,

who am i

 if not

#danibonthelane?

~@~

so, we've been entertaining

the idea

of tearing down our house

and building another.

at first,

it didn't seem economically wise.

however,

when we began thinking

about the updates

our house needs:

a new roof
new siding

new windows
a new garage

new flooring

fresh drywall

plaster repair

new cabinets

etc...

it began to look

more and more feasible,

especially when we realized

that

even after all the repairs

and updates,

we are still going to have

a house that isn't

exactly ideal

for the years to come.

~@~

theresa: i cannot see you

EVER tearing your house

down.

me: i think i could,

but it would be hard.

theresa: i just can't see you

actually doing it.

me: well, i think i could

if i were able to save parts

of it to put in a new one.

theresa: like what?

me: well, the hardwood floors for sure

and the double-dutch-doors.

theresa: i don't believe you could

do it when it came right 

down to it.

~@~

she.may.be.right.

~@~

however,

we are still

entertaining the idea;)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

#themostwonderfultimeoftheyear...

and so it begins...

happy CHRISTmas season!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

so thankful...

when i woke up this morning,

it was still dark outside.

i looked at the clock,

6:16.

i smiled,

my favorite day of the year...

~@~

me: happy thanksgiving, my little dear.

john: oh, yeah...

me: i'm most thankful for you.

john: gah, you're silly.

it's true:

i am,

and

i am.

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

i know...

in this season of giving thanks,

i am most thankful

i know...

God.Loves.Me.

~@~

when i say,

"i know,"

i.know.

~@~

when we were children

we were taught 

the Bible tells us

God loves us.

it does

and

He does.

when we grow up,

we search for our own truth.

only He can reveal it to us.

if we do

He will.

~@~

i know...

because i did

and

He did.

~@~

when He did reveal the truth of Himself

to me,

i tried to be perfect

only to learn

it was impossible.

only.HE.is.perfect.

little by little

i let in a little more of me,

the me He created...

the me

He loved in my imperfection.

~@~

i learned

He created me to be me.

i learned

He loves the me He created me to be.

~@~

how do i know?

~@~

i know...

because

HE.TELLS.ME.SO!

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

for a fun time...

mom: this is the first time we've ever done this.

 i've had a really good time.

me: didn't you know i'm a fun time?

together (in unison): for a fun time, call dani!

laughter

~@~

it's true, my mom and i 

had never gone on a trip together,

just the two of us.

however, last friday morning

we did just that.

on thursday night i looked 

at the new york times' best seller list

looking for a book we could listen to 

on our way to and from georgia.

not knowing much about 

those at the top of the list,

i downloaded an old favorite of mine,

jan karon's, at home in mitford.

19 hours of father tim, barnabas, 

dooley and the gang...

perfect timing.

first thing friday morning,

we packed mom's little pt cruiser to the brim. 

as we pulled out of mom's subdivision,

i got settled and pulled my iphone

and auxiliary cord from my purse.

mom: what are you doing?

me: oh, i downloaded a book

for us to listen to on our trip;

but, i don't see an outlet for my aux-cord.

we both looked only to find

there wasn't one.

i returned my aux-cord to my purse

and proceded to plot our trip 

on my phone's map

before placing it in the cup-holder

between our seats.

siri began routing us to

augusta, georgia

usa.

with that, we were on our way

to visit our cousins,

ralph and ruth latta.

siri: in one mile,

turn right for i-75 south.

~@~

we drove for a little over 2 hours

before stopping in lake city, tennessee

for breakfast and gas.

there weren't many patrons

in the local mcdonald's.

however, among those there,

there was only one topic of discussion...

rattlesnakes!

apparently, someone in the area

had 50 snakes, which had gotten loose!

needless to say,

we were happy to finish our biscuits, 

fill up with gas, and get out of dodge!

~@~

mom and i talked and talked

and were making great time

until we made our way out of atlanta 

to i-20 toward augusta.

a digital traffic sign read:

right two lanes closed

3 miles ahead

due to traffic accident.

merge left.

in less than 50 feet,

we came to an abrupt, complete stop...

(one of those stops you see in cartoons

where the front bumper nearly eats the road

and the middle of the car arches!!!)

in the seat behind me,

there were two, large,

kentucky legend,

football hams,

a large bag of ice,

6 diet cokes, and

6 diet sunkists

all inside a large igloo cooler on wheels.

as the car came to a halt,

 the cooler slammed into the back of my seat!

mom: that was close! did i scare you?

me: well, i did curl my toes a little.

laughter

me: i can see it now...

"mom kills daughter with 'kentucky legend' ham!"

laughter

~@~

we sat for nearly 30 minutes

before mom asked me

to turn on my "i never meet a stranger" charm

and

ask the truck driver beside us

if he knew what was going on ahead of us.

mom rolled down my window,

and he rolled down his.

i apologized for bothering him

then proceeded to ask if he knew

what the issue ahead of us was .

he replied he didn't know

but he did know there were 

now three of the four lanes closed.

after thanking him,

i took my phone from the cup-holder

and keyed in the words

i-20 wreck, atlanta, wesley chapel.

a fox news story posted only 3 minutes prior

popped up on my screen.

"pedestrian hit and killed

traffic backed up for miles."

i read the story to mom.

my heart sank...

she shook her head: why would anyone

be walking out here on the interstate?

me: maybe it was a hitchhiker.

after another hour-and-a-half or so,

the traffic started to slowly move.

when we made it to the scene,

only emergency vehicles,

police, and a cleanup crew remained.

so sad...

~@~

we stopped again

about 80 miles outside augusta

to fill up with gas.

mom: do you want to drive the rest of the way

since you know how to get to ralph's and ruth's house?

me: sure, i don't mind.

the last hour of our trip passed quickly.

siri: in one half miles, 

take exit 199 for washington rd, 

ga-28 toward augusta.

siri: turn right onto washington rd 

toward augusta state university, 

medical college of georga, 

and paine college.

me: we are supposed to turn right

at the lone star steakhouse.

siri: in .1 miles turn right onto berckmans road.

i looked ahead to see a large water tower

standing on the corner.

me: this isn't where we are supposed to turn.

mom: are you sure?

me: i'm positive; we always turn right

at the lone star.

siri continued to try to reroute us

down the next three roads.  

when we passed augusta national,

i knew something wasn't right.

we were heading toward downtown augusta.

mom: just turn around and go back to berckmans.

me: okay, maybe they tore down the lone star

and replaced it with a water tower.

  

~@~

finally, we pulled onto ralph's and ruth's street.

we came in from a different direction though.

in the driveway stood ralph

looking in the direction 

from which i normally come.

wrinkling his forehead,

he looked at me curiously

as i pulled mom's little pt into his driveway.

ralph: what are you doing?

did you get lost?

me: well, kind of...

after hugs and kisses,

i explained what had happened.

me: did i pass the lone star?

ralph: naw, they tore it down 

and put a walgreens up there.

well...

that explained that!

(to be continued...)

love and God's blessings,

dani xxx

mosses monday XLVII (continued from XLIV)...

he was back nearly to his same old self
but with a new sense of purpose...

which God had bestowed upon him.
~@~
mosses never spoke again about his experience with God, but the effect of their encounter was very apparent.   at the age of 90, he put two, new projects into motion. he decided to gift (respectively) both his and mrs. moss' childhood, country churches with endowments for growth.
it was quite apparent mosses wasn't ready to go and that God had answered my prayer
God, if he is ready to go, take him... but if he is not ready to go, please, leave him, and leave him whole!
by granting him a stay, which gave him the opportunity to dig up his proverbial buried talents  and use them.
~@~
i don't know that mosses ever saw the fruits of his gift to his, church home. however, the gift he gave to  mrs. moss' church was put to immediate use. 
niagara united methodist church invested mr. moss' endowment in adding a gathering area to their small church. further, they allowed mosses to play a part in all aspects of its erection. ~@~
i hadn't seen him that alive since before mrs. moss  had been diagnosed with alzheimer's.
he was back, and  he was whole!
love and God's blessings, dani xxx
ps. you will find earlier entries in ascending order  on my side bar entitled, "our love story":)

from fem to forkin'...

for the past week

i've been editing and narrating

a forklift training powerpoint

for a local aluminum smelter,

the very same factory i personally

received forklift equipment training

 from 25 years ago...

~@~

in the early spring 

of my freshman year at murray state,

my mom informed me i would be working

as a summer student, laborer at alcan aluminum.

alcan was a local aluminum smelter 

where she, my step-dad, 3 uncles, and

numerous cousins worked.

although she and my step-dad

worked in accounting,

you can believe me

when i say i was well-versed

in the woes of working in the factory.

i think she thought working 8-16 hours a day

in the 100+ degree heat

would teach me a valuable lesson...

that i needed to stay in school and get my degree!

the thing is,

i went from this:

to this:

like a fish takes to water...

i.loved.it!

~

ironically, terry givens (tl),

whom i now work for,

trained me on the forklift.

tl had worked for alcan

prior to starting the givens group

(then known as "the tool shed").

alcan had brought him on as a contractor

to train new-hires

and shoot and produce safety training videos.

#thingscomefullcircle

i ran stackers,

i banded metal,

i charged the furnaces,

and

i fork-trucked billet, slab, and t-bar.

and, you know what?

i was good at it!

when i went back to school in the fall,

i declared my major,

occupational safety and health engineering.

i knew i wanted to work

in a factory setting.

there was nothing like it.

the people were real,

the work was hard yet rewarding,

and

perhaps, i could be 

one of the ones to keep

the employees safe!

it was the following fall,

after finishing 

my safety engineering internship,

that i started working for tl.

we put together videos,

painted signs and banners,

and

i drew and labelled alcan's

emergency plan maps

for each department.

~@~

my job assignment

this week

has been a very nostalgic one.

there are so many more regulations now

than there were back in the day.

in 1988,

there were no seat-belts,

our trucks were propane,

i don't recall having

to perform a pre-use inspection

on any of the heavy equipment

i operated,

and...

there may or may not have been 

horse-play on the midnight shifts.

(and, btw...

i may or may not 

have won a forklift race

or three;)

love and God's blessings,

danixxx

charity...

several weeks ago my boss,

tl givens,

said to me:

"now, dani, if there's a good

charity that you know of or hear about,

let me know.

i like supporting good causes."

me:

"really?"

tl:

"yeah, really."

me:

"well, there is a golf outing coming up...

it's for childhood cancer awareness.

did you know september is 

childhood cancer awareness month?"

tl:

"well, no..."

me:

"yeah, it is, 
and that's what the scramble is for.

do you remember lane goodwin,

the young, local boy who died of cancer 

last fall?"

tl:

"yeah, i remember."

me:

"well, his story was and is

very near and dear to my heart.

would you want to get

a foursome together 

and go play golf on friday?"

i looked up from what i was doing

to find tl already googling

lane goodwin.

tl:

"well, i see links for his story...

a prayer facebook page

and a twitter page;

but, i don't see anything

about a scramble."

i told him where to find

the list of lane goodwin events.

tl:

"oh, here it is."

~@~

within just a few minutes,

he put together our team and

printed out our tickets.

me:

now all we need are matching shirts?

(i grinned. #gohardorgohome)

tl:

well, yeah!

i'll call and see if i can get

them by friday.

and this, 
friends,
is the kind of boss for whom we all
should work! 

love and God's blessings, dani xxx