Last Commented Family Blogs (544)

Just talked to my 3rd son, after work today.
I felt that pain, as am supposed helped them in every difficulties they are going through. He was worried last week, as he hadn't received any message that he was qualified for a scholarship exam, as he said it's very important for him. Last Monday he got a message for a positive response. The Exam will be this 21st of October. He had no time to review due to hectic schedules. Being the journalists in school,the editor of the school newspaper. Represent the school journalism competition. He already gave up some of the co curricular activities even his passion in music, as a band and bugle corp's leader as I told him so, as academics is more important .
A lot of projects to submit ..I felt like..it broke my heart..I could not help him with his tasks .
Now he is worried how he could make the scholarship exam , he did not reviewed at all.
The only thing I could help him is to give that courage...stock knowledge is always there and don't worry too much just do your best, and TRUST HIM.
I suggested him to sleep in a hotel on Friday and Saturday for him to relax and will not be late on the exam as our home would take an hour due to traffic and thought he could do some reading.
But Saturday is the awarding and recognition day, he must be there too. Hahhhhh, I could not imagine how busy he is.
But my eldest son, has always that magic in comforting me, "Don't worry mama, everything will be all right."..
Those who believed in God, who reads this blog of mine, may I ask your kind prayer, so for my son not to experience that mental black out during the exam.
I thank you all in advance..

Am thinking these past days...just that, I could not think what must be the BEST GIFT for a son, who worked hard in school, to compensate the hardship of his Mom.
My son will graduate in senior high, and got high honours. Passed the scholarship exam, which means, deminished burdens of tution fees, and will receive financial support from department of higher education for his allowances. Happiest , proud mom and GRATEFUL. A gift is never asked, so I could not asked him, as it's supposedly a surprise..
But if I would ask...he might say...I want my Dad...lol..

My friend's mom flew in from Napal last week with a big luggage bag full only of native spices (most of them easily obtainable at any American International type supermarket, but of course those are inferior to the ones she buys back home, even when the labels are the same). She had only the clothes she was wearing and a few changes of under garment. This like totally pi ss ed my friend off because on her last visit my friend had bought her mom over $2,000 of clothes and shoes which her mom brought home to Nepal with her.

My friend asked her mom, where are the clothes I bought you? Her mom's reply infuriated her. Oh, your brother's wife and your older sister liked them so I gave them to them. They sold most of it for good prices in the market.

So yesterday my friend came by my place with her mom and after I got in her car we headed to the city. Even though it was Sunday several of the 2nd hand clothing stores were open. My friend learned her lesson. No more buying mom's clothes at Macy's. We found clothes in good condition her mom was okay with.

Later, feeling sorry and guilty we headed to the mall and JC Penny's. We found a pair of sandals which her mom liked ($99.99) and bought them for her. The reasoning is the women in Nepal may not like used shoes. By now my friend was down about $800 and mom had decent winter and spring clothing ensembles. Hopefully enough selection to last her to August when she flies home.

We hit the food court and had a decent lunch, then off to the Walmart supermarket for some groceries.

After that because it was still about 65F and sunny we returned to my home and I put some chairs on my deck for them. Then, because the lesson was overdue, I broke out my old side by side 12 gauge and some ear muffs. My friend is scared of shotguns because she has seen many YouTube videos of women shooting them falling on their a ss. Clearly made by men who dis liked their girl friends. Ignoring her reluctance and playing the bad step father I dragged her over and taught her how to swap barrels, how to open and load unload it, how the 2 trigger system works (her first time with something with 2 triggers), how to hold it, how to stand (some repositioning of her stance and posture was done by me, until it was correct), then I selected some targets for her and gave her some 12 gauge rounds. She loaded them then fired. With a big smile she then asked me for more shells which I provided. <A few years ago I did someone a favor and her dad was so grateful he gave me over 1,000 12 gauge cartridges still boxed as a way of saying thank you.> She ran through about 8 shells in the short 'stage coach' configuration then swapped the barrels to the hunting configuration, then did another 6 shots. Meanwhile her mom watched and beamed. Afterwards she broke the gun open and handed it back, telling me it wasn't nearly as bad as she had thought and that she got this. (Step) Father's pride. :)



We chatted awhile with her interpreting for her mom (who speaks only Nepali) as my Nepali is still poor, too poor to understand it fully when spoken quickly. Unfortunately at her home her doggie was waiting for someone to return to take her for a walk, so my friend had to leave unless she wanted a mess on her carpet which she didn't.

After they departed I fed my own 2 Flerkens, cleaned the shotgun barrels, then watched Walking Dead and went to sleep.

...Sure, the blood testing, and ruling out of the underaged, or of close cousins, (except in places like US Appalachia), make some sense. But we license just about every other nanny state confiscatory taxation generating activity, except parenthood. Want to cut hair or trim cuticles? You'll need the paperwork, ma'am. Severe measures to ensure compliance, with state rules on entrance to the role of parenthood, including mandatory surgical sterilization, welfare amount adjustments, tax policies, fines/prison time, etc. Biomarker controls. Assessments of requisite parental groundedness and financial abilities, and perhaps more, needed for the tickets. Mein Fuehrer, wir muessen es doch vermeiden, dass unsere Untermenschen ihre eigene Kinder haben duerfen. Who said that?

It was against the odds.

She was 46 and already had 4 adult children and 1 still at home. A new relationship, after a scandalous affair had ripped her first marriage to shreds, brought her love she had thought she'd never have again.

I was a surprise that relatives told her, in polite terms, would not be "normal" and that should be "terminated".

What was she thinking? Women her age are usually starting to enjoy being grandparents, which she already was....

My dad was on the road far away as a long distance truck driver. He would arrive the next day. The pictures showed his exhilarating joy - a baby girl!

My birthday, close on the heels of Valentine's Day, would come to exemplify how Love can be found deep inside each of us.

My mom had made mistakes in raising her first brood. She was more diligent about her next set. She saw the importance of passing on to the next generation the knowledge and skills she possessed.

Life is one constant lesson.
She was ever learning, too. We taught her how to ride a bike when she was in her 50's - not an easy feat on bumpy gravel roads! But she always compared it to riding a horse - even when she fell down!

She could understand animals and what they were thinking. I would laugh at the stories of horses thinking that huge rocks were bears and cats competing over mice in a barn.

Her eyesight had diminished before I was even born. Colors and shapes gradually almost completely faded. Yet, when she braved the transatlantic flight to come see me, she commented about how friendly and smiley the locals were when we walked to the market.

It was because she radiated Love wherever she was.

She didn't let her handicap prevent her from experiencing Life to its fullest.

And when my own world fell apart and I tried to hide it from her, she called crying and simply said, "My daughter, you are Loved."

On this day, the day I was born, I remember my mom and all the wonderful gifts she gave me.

My Life is a Tribute to her greatness.
Thank you, Mom!

Just heard a few days ago that Hungary is encouraging young Hungarian families to have more kids (due to population decline) and with that comes some benefits for the mother as well. Benefits include a $36,000 loan which is cancelled after a certain period of time etc. I think after the fourth baby is born the remainder debt is cancelled....
I truly don't know if this is true but would like to find out if anyone on CS might confirm this

Stove top pressure cookers have done nothing but terrify me so you couldn't give me one. However the digital counter top ones stole my heart after I saw a friend brag about it on Facebook. Mine is called the InstanntPot or IP for short. You would have to pry it out of my cold dead hands now before I would give it up.

On a side note this blog is directed at someone here as a lure to write. I think two members have bought a pressure cooker because of my blogging love for it. One has used it and one still hasn't (I'm guilty of this as well - buying something then not using it)

It doesn't just pressure cook, it steams, stews, has a crock pot setting, saute, rice cooker and more. I love this damn gadget. I've spent lots of time on you tube watching recipes in the IP or on Pinterest. Can't tell you how many things I've cooked, including eggs, lots and lots of eggs. The best feature is how easy to maintain as it cleans so easy PLUS I can't burn anything in it when I forget. It knows and keeps it warm all by itself. Having Dad call me in the evening to tell me dinner was delicious melts my heart as I'm glad he still remembers who I am. He is not a compliment giver either, he usually teases me on what I did wrong so feeding him something he loved feels damn good. I won't have much longer to do this.

Since Mom's accident the IP has been a God send to make one pot dinners. The IP has the inner pot which is what you cook in. I can take the inner pot out, go to my folks and put it in there IP on warm at anytime of the day, (bring their inner pot home as we have the same IP) then they can have their meal anytime they want and I got to deliver it at my convenience. If I forget to defrost something for dinner, no problem just throw the frozen hunk in the pot and it still comes out delicious.

Lots of people make cheesecake in thier pots, I haven't tried that yet. I bought the spring form pan for it but haven't had the desire to make it. I'm so used to flying solo that planning a meal to feed more is the biggest challenge I'm facing. However while writing this blog chicken and dumplings came to mind so that's what for dinner. Well I will call Mom and see if she wants what is on my menu, if so then that frozen bird is getting cooked today.

....should be a joy. Sure, the birds and bees advice some, but more and more, not all, of our folks gave us, mostly did the job. And speaking of parents, isn't that what they call Catholics follwing the rhythm contraceptive methods? But I digress. It's much more than a plumbing story, peebles. Yes, anatomy is important, but not everything---ask any barren couple or their consultant nurse or doc. Relaxation must be involved, for one. Those poor souls in IVF clinics are among the most anxious partners I've ever seen. The reason acupuncturists often get results, or why natural births often follow adoption?Women know. There are o*gasm, and then there are o*gasm!---with visits from the stork often following the latter. And lots more. We're much more than a bunch of tissues and chemicals---well, at least if we escape CFM, early in this life.

But I know I can't. I am realistic about Life. But I think it is okay to wish.

Yesterday my oldest daughter got married. The legal part of it. The actual wedding is in two months.


I went to the cemetery in the morning and laid flowers on three graves. My Dad, my late husband and my late parents in law. I was asking myself why I was doing it. Of course I miss them and wish they were here. But more than that I am forever grateful for them being a part of my life.

I didn't mention her of her dad. I just wanted her to be happy. So it was a secret visit to the ones who passed.

I joined CS after my husband's passing. It was a difficult time. There are lots of people who have been kind to me here. I won't mention names. Though we don't talk often on blogs, I am forever grateful to all the wonderful people. You helped me to move on.

Welela, Wallops, KN, Sands. Even Ian who are not in CS any longer. Thank you for your kindness and understanding. I hope all of you are keeping healthy and happy.

Of course there was a troll or two I got to know. Somehow you came to my mind RC. Funny, I feel you will read this.

Life goes on. People come in to our lives for reasons, seasons and life times. Even death does not seem to part the one I once loved, married and had children with. I think it is natural to think of him and feel his absence on days like these.



Wish he was there standing by my side.

Seems everything in life has trade offs so one just has to take the bad with the good. Luckily I've been told many times throughout life that I can find good in any bad situation. I like that compliment.

I know how lucky I am to still have both parents, especially for putting up with all the challenges us kids put them through. I'm also learning that trying to help them in their aged years is an honor and a chore.

Minor example; I love to cook, however I'm finding it is difficult to cook fairly bland and to make enough so there isn't any leftovers as they don't do leftovers. They have always had them but all us kids would go by and grab those leftovers throught the years, we loved them. I don't want left overs of bland food so I'm trying to cook differently than I'm used too. Challenge and figuring out what to fix is another challenge.

Today I'm going to make mango/strawberry smoothies for their lunch because having mango and strawberries in the freezer. I need to work on the foods from two households as Mom must have been grocery shopping before the accident and both our households were full. So have to plan meals around what is going to go bad first. Challenge.

Seeing Mom getting better, she now has the strength to walk on her own, just slowly. Blessing. Bone doctor put her shoulder in a different sling and gave her some therapy exercises as it is now frozen. Pain & Agony.

Repair man is on his way to fix heat/ac unit. Life is good. I love my home and being in it, near to the folks. I spent much of my life on the other side of the country, was a little home sick but truth be known I hate this state EXCEPT in winter when I love it.

Love Hate relationships? I love/hate my state and I love/hate technology but I LOVE LOVE my dog.