Teacher's Ed

I would wager to guess most of you are fairly computer literate.  If you know how to turn the computer on and where the monitor is you're good to go.

My Son and I at Disney World

Recently I decided to teach older adults at a local community center how to use the computer, to give them a gateway to communicate with family, browse, shop, whatever their hearts desires.  Maybe you don't remember those early days of opening and slamming through a labyrinth of windows, then you should.  I know how difficult it was for me to learn, I learned through trial and error, in some ways I wouldn't recommend it, on the other hand…

  If you're teaching by way of a PC I liken it to teaching some one to drive a stick shift maybe it would have been less painful through an automatic/Mac.  

Starting from the ground up there's only one thing required----- patience, no matter what you're teaching, because without it, you've lost your student if you don't.  Universally I heard how nervous family or friends with good intentions made them feel, rushed, and cajoled.    It stops the flow of free thinking. It's counter productive.
   I had one student who actually thanked me for the patience I had in teaching.  It's good she didn't see me after class. I've learned a little about myself through this teaching process, I thought I had it altogether, I thought everyone would  learn because I had all this patience.  But one student  had some issues  I didn't foresee.  Nonetheless, I've learned and updated and tomorrow when I walk into Part 2 of computers it will be a new day, or at least I hope so.

Tucked in a Book-Author Unknown_

mom reading to her grandsons

After my mother passed, I "inherited" a few items from the little she had left.
Living in a nursing home doesn't afford much room, and you learn it's not the amount of things you have it's more about relationships that matter.

This poem was tucked in a book and I decided to keep it.   I don't know why, maybe because it was what she liked and it was like reaching across the room to touch a memory.

The Spirit of Christmas

I have a list of folks I know all written inside this book, 

and every year at Christmas time I go and take a look,

And that is when I realize that those names are a part

of not of the book they're written in

but of my very heart.

For each name stands for someone

who has crossed my path some time,

and in that meeting they've

become a treasured gem of mine.

And once you've met some people, 

the years cannot erase 

the memory of a pleasant word or a

of a friendly face.

So when I send a Christmas Card

that is addressed to you

its because you're on that list of folks I am indebted to.

And you are one of many folks who in times past I've met,

and happen to be one of those I 

don't want to forget.

And whether I have known you

for many years or few,

In some way you have a part

in shaping things I do.

This is the spirit of Christmas 

forever and ever endures,

and leaves it's richest blessing

in the heart of you and yours.

-Author Unknown-

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours, and heartfelt memories of those

who have enriched your lives even after they've gone.

Wherever your Home for the Holidays is

Ahh finally a moment to breathe, sorta.  The big fundraising, birthday party everyone was fretting over  is but a distant memory.  
Shoes are now stored away, frocks are frocking on the hangers of the local dry cleaners and right when you think you're able to give the party fare a rest from your ever increasing waistline October then turns a corner to November and it's time to drag out the pots and pans.  
Turkey day for some is walking in the door sitting down and eating but for other its 's standing for hours peeling, dicing, stirring and whirring in the kitchen as the steam from all the dishes replaces next weeks spa treatment package, but it makes it all worth it. Especially when the

 tryptophan kicks in and you get a few moments of shut eye.

If you've never seen Home for Holidays, I'd say it's your typical movie/ family dinner with all the antics thrown in. 

 Some of you are lucky enough not to have this kind of drama in your life, good for you. 
But in every family, there is always something to contend with, no matter what it is. 
So just stop and take a moment to be thankful, that's all matters  because we are not promised tomorrow let alone  that piece of pumpkin pie later on in the evening you've set your sights on and already know you won't have room for.

Happy Turkey Day

A Wearing Affair

This has been posted more than once but since the Holidays are upon us, it might cause us to pause and think before we stuff and stuff.Enjoy!
Cookies, Biscuits, Cakes and Tarts. Pies, Betty's, Cobblers, Scones, Shortbreads, Éclairs, Napoleons, Ladyfingers.To what thanks do I owe these lovelies? 
I share with them all that I am, my hips and thighs and my once weightless gait and now I'm waiting on my gaits to catch up with the rest of me. 
Why is it I dream of them with reckless abandon and no self control and how have they become my lover instead of the tall dark and handsome? As sad as this is, I know I am not alone. There are many meeting this sweet lover that rests his or her hands on our waists and hips and promise us endless pleasures, but I know they only last so long as the taste lingers on lips and tongues and then they are gone. What a sinful pleasure and we know it isn't right, a love affair that is not what we had hoped it would be. 
How do we end this meeting of flavors and sights that tease the eyes with sparkle and fluff? 
Will it end, will we kiss the delicate layers goodbye before the evil of it all takes over? 
I try to envision the corners of Betty drying up and Napoleon withering next to dear Ladyfinger, and all that was good is now dead and dying, but wait, out of the corner of my eye.. I caught a glimpse of something glimmering brimming with health and resurrection….I'll visit that vision in time, but now I have to get back to Napoleon, he is waiting... 
By Barbara Lambert

I Fell for Fall

Fall is deep in the throes of it's color soon to lose it's leaves.  How sad, it never sticks around long enough to suit me.  

It's as pretty to me as the spring time, in reverse.

God's handiwork painting the leaves in a variety of shades and colors and as detailed as the snowflakes in the winter.

How I love it, and I wish I lived up north during this time of year.  

I love the smell of the leaves, the crunch!

I remember making leaf houses as a kid, and piling them up and jumping in them, if I did that now I look an awful mess trying to get up like a 3 year old ha!

There is nothing like Fall, nothing.

I think fall get's hurried along to winter like Thanksgiving does for Christmas.  

It's over in a blink.

What's your favorite time of the year?