11/13/2022

What is it about dining out

that is sooooo enjoyable?

I know people who work

long hours at very demanding

jobs must find restaurants a

saving grace.

Caregivers have not only 

earned, but deserve meals out.

Families, grabbing the joy of

reunions, often meet at such

places. Business lunches also

require eateries, don't they?!

Young people in the dating

game must live their evenings 

in all sorts of these different 

places.

But for moi . . . or should I say 

we elder retirees; eating out, 

choosing different places and 

types of food actually provide 

most wondrous experiences. 

Not all of us travel much and 

eating, surprisingly enough,

is a kind of culinary travel.

Give me Mexican food to

enjoy the Mexico I no longer

travel to. Greek cuisine

delights the palate as I can't

fly in. I've ever and always

loved Italy so I must partake

when I can. 

And my seven visits to Japan

and Korea are well remembered

especially when I'm dining Asian.

I await your recommendations!

Yummmmmm

11/12/2022

Mother, forgive me for I have 

sinned . . .

I find I'm enjoying myself way

too much in this retirement era

of mine!!! Seems me and mine

are all about breaking the rules;

make no mistake!

At o' dark 30 this a.m. I made a

fire, lit the candles, called down

my lover and made margs. I'm

not sure who drinks margs at

6:00 a.m. or so, but that just may

be moi!

Methinks 'tis all about living

outside the box! Something that

is sooooo NOT allowed when

one is still working as a proper

adult!!!

Still, this living outside the box 

is pretty fantabulous, as it were!

Wish I had done more of it when

I was younger, especially with

my children.

Maybe I could advise them . . .

and/or there's always precept

and example, isn't there?!

11/11/2022 - Veterans Day

"Veterans Day celebrates the

service of all US military veterans,

while Memorial Day honors those

who have died while in military

service." Wikipedia

Today, I wish to honor my family

members who have served and are

currently serving in the military. I

thank them for their service . . .

FAMILY MILITARY SERVICE

   FINO: Nicholas (Army),

      Bishop (Marines)

   HOSKINS: Michael (Army)

   JENNINGS: (Army) Samuel,

      Chester, Mervin, Stanley, Gene

   KAUFHOLTZ: Gerald (Air Force),

      Melvin (Army), Russel (Marines),

      ZAK (Navy)

   KUKKONEN: Tony (Navy)

   LEECH: Jesse (Marines)

   MACLEOD: Jacob (Army)

   MCGUINNESS: Ryan (Air Force)

   SEYMOUR: Michael (Navy)

   VEATCH: Delton (Army), Homer

      (Navy), Morris (National Guard),

      Ray (Air Force), Shaun (Navy)

11/10/1775 - 11/10/2022, 247 years anniversary for our Marines

I find myself thinking of my

family as today is the 247th

anniversary of the Marines

and tomorrow is Veteran's 

Day.

And yes, my family was and

is a military family; I am ever

grateful for their service. As

today we're celebrating 247

years for the Marines, I honor

three of my family who served.

My lover of 22 years, served

in the Marines and my nephew

Jesse served and my grandson

is currently serving. We will

be celebrating and surely the

powers at be will be doing so

as well. 

Hats off to those who served

and are still serving. Salute 

yourselves, raise your glasses, 

and enjoy . . .

11/09/2022

Methinks I've found my 

soulmate . . .

He investigates murder; 

I so enjoy murder mysteries. 

He reads constantly; my fave 

activity.  He works crossword

puzzles; my hobby of choice. 

Say nothing of his white hair,

chess playing and he drinks 

cold lagers . . . man of my 

dreams. 

I could get along without the 

womanizing, of course. Wonder 

if his being English makes up 

for it a bit?! 

Alas, he died 20 years ago . . . 

what's up with that?! Worse,

he died at sixty. Who the hell 

dies at sixty. Go figure!

At least, when I'm missing him,

I get to view his shows every

once in a while. Inspector Morse

simply R O C K S . . . no other

way to describe him!

I'm having a current look-see; 

I'll be sad when the series ends.

11/08/2022

Coming home is an interesting

concept! I've talked about this 

before, but perhaps it bears 

repeating!

We all look forward to our mini

vacays, if not proper vacations!

I would say, especially once one

is retired, mini vacays suit both

the temperament as well as the

somewhat diminished pocket

book!

Lucky for me, I see visiting our

kids as mini vacays! Having said

that, I want to look into some

proper little get out of town!

Sooooo NOT advertising here, 

but methinks Colorado may just 

be the be the perfect place for 

mini vacyas!

I have friends in Ouray that much

need visiting, to say nothing of

Delta and Montrose. And, love 

me some New Castle, fave cousins

ahoy! I'd bet dollars to doughnuts 

that there are people who've never 

even heard of these places.

So, here's the plan . . . as I only 

have half a retirement here is U.S.

I'm going to win the lotto (pray I

buy a ticket any time soon) and

I'm going to dedicate the whole

bit to minis!!! 

Wanna come along? Just let me

know! Soooo pray YOU don't

have to win the lotto too as I'm

counting on you to treat the bar

bill!!!

11/07/2022

"she loves wine, but can't start

her day without a cup of coffee. 

she likes breakfast for dinner

and pizza in bed. some of her

favorite days are spent entirely

in pajamas and others are

surrounded by those she loves.

she has learned to live life, her

best life on her own clock and

by her own rules." ~j. iron word

One of my fave authors, he ever

and always depicts exactly who

I want to be when I grow up! 

And then I take another look-see

and realize 'tis absolutely who I

am already. Wow! Just WOW!!!

I've really never had issue with

who I am. In fact, I've always

quite liked me. But having said

that, there's always been bit of a

wonder about who I was going

to be when I grew up.

Methinks, what with being about

a 120 and all, that maybe I should

consider the fact that I am already

grown up . . . go figure!

Maybe my next phase, thoughts

and words, are going to be . . .

"Now, when I get to heaven, I'm

going to be . . . "

11/06/2022

"But all I want

is to touch your soul

in simple ways

in ways you'll never forget."

~indra

Find myself musing about

this constant battle 'twixt

truly living and simply

existing.

I imagine it takes some of

the second to make the first

doable. One has to earn in

order to spend, after all!

There is a part of me that is

quite happy to pay the price

in order to reap the rewards.

But, methinks the problem

just might lie in how we're

taught to work until a given

age and then it's time to play.

Sooooo NOT true! There are

still meals to prep, dishes to

wash, floors to sweep and bills 

to pay.

Praise the gods for our partners 

in crime . . . My biggest plea to 

the powers at be . . . Pray, let us

spend these last years together

in a relative crutches and wheel

chair free existence . . .

11/05/2022

The plains of Colorado have

a completely different kind of

beauty. Wow! Just WOW!!!

This state has it all . . . 

mountains, foothills, forests,

lakes, streams, paths . . . and 

yes, plains! Well, has it all 

except maybe oceans. Sooooo

if you're  an oceans and seas 

lover, you're maybe just SOL!

And now that I find myself

in the elder age bracket, I'm 

hoping I get to lay eyes on 

d) all of the above, before 

passing onto the better life!

Notice I said lay eyes and

said naught about walking,

hiking, swimming, skiing . . .

I get that I actually have peers

who do all of these ing words,

alas, I'm not one of them. 

Otherwise, why would God

have invented PBS and David

Attenborough?

So, if you want to go sight

seeing with me, come on

over; we'll sack out on

the couch and hike Pikes

Peek or Mount Evans!

Oh right . . . I forgot!!

Everything's covered in

snow right now! Damn!

11/04/2022

I sit here at the dining room 

table, looking out at miles

of untouched snow . . .

It's amazing to me how such

beauty can be responsible

for the cold that we feel. It 

may even enhance those 

winter sniffles we sometimes

nurse.

But, in all fairness, snow

also brings much needed

moisture, a gift to Mother

Earth. And of course, it's 

interesting how we all have 

our fave seasons, each of us 

different for our own reasons. 

I'm coming to suspect that 

the answer lies not only in 

acceptance, but in a serious 

search for the beauty and 

the benefits in each season.

Obviously, I'm preaching 

to the choir here . . .  I

actually want to listen to 

my own words this time. 

I need, nay want, to have 

a proper in depth look at

each season and recognize

the benefits of each.

And, not to overlook the

humor . . . such a kick to

watch the kittens sniffing,

touching and sussing out

the snow for the first time.

Toooo sweet . . .

11/03/2022

And, on the third day . . .

November finally began!

I thinks it's because we

celebrate October 31st,

November 1 and 2, that

it doesn't feel like Nov

even starts until the 3rd.

Go figure!

I'm curious to see just

what November has in

store for us. I think of it 

as the gratitude month.

As I enjoy celebrating

the months thematically,

I will dedicate this one

for all that I am thankful.

We can all immediately

list the things we love and

for which we are grateful.

Family and friends, hearth

and home, health and

happiness, the means to

making a living, etc.

And I reiterate, for these

treasures of life, I am most

grateful. Still, this year, I

want to challenge myself

to think outside the box.

I want to have a good look

around my life and find

other things for which to 

be grateful. Bet there are

some much neglected

blessings I haven't even

acknowledged!

Going back to the 'one a

day' formula, let me have

a think . . . What am I

especially grateful for

today outside of those

precious pieces of my 

life mentioned earlier?!

My tiny, little travel trailer 

comes to mind. It houses

dreams of things to come

as well as fun memories

to recall. Every time I 

glance over at it, my mind

is flooded with those places

visited and others to see.

I am grateful that life has

gifted me the means for

this glorious bit of joy in

my life!

11/02/2022 - Día de los muertos adultos . . .

El día de hoy recordamos

a los adultos que hemos

perdido en nuestra estancia

aquí. Es difícil, claro, pero 

algo menos que las triste

memorias de ayer.

Ha sido doloroso perder a

mis padres, tíos, abuelos, 

y ciertos amigos. Pero, 

cuando menos, han vivido. 

Dejando la tristeza de ayer

a un lado, he de confesar . . . 

cómo extraño a mi padre.

Cuando se me fue, se me 

hizo como si yo hubiese 

perdido la razón de vivir.

Sentimientos encontrados,

sin lugar a duda. A diario

pienso en él, lo recuerdo

con tanto cariño. Pero, 

esto de celebrar este día 

cada año, despierta el 

dolor de nuevo.

Mañana apagaré las velas,

quitaré el altar, guardaré 

los recuerdos . . . las

lágrimas cayendo a mares.

Espero que pasen algunos

días rápidamente para dejar

el dolor por otro rato . . .

11/01/2022 - Día de los santos niños

Despidiéndome de las 

glorias del mes de octubre . . .

Espero ansiosa gozarme 

del mes de noviembre!

Muy sin embargo, estos

primeros días son un tanto

difíciles ya que honramos

a nuestros seres queridos

que hayan pasado a mejor

vida.

Hoy es aún más doloroso

al recordar los nenes que

hemos perdido. Bien me

acuerdo las lágrimas tan

abundantes por los bebés

que no pudieron llegar al

mundo.

Más difícil aún, los niños

que no pudieron quedarse

más tiempo. Como madre,

sé que el dolor nunca pasa.

Y cuando nos visiten en

sueños, al despertarnos, 

el dolor ni siquiera es 

soportable.

Hoy, y todos los días, ellos

están en nuestros corazones.

Mando abrazos fuertes a

todos los padres quienes

hayan perdido un hijo.

Espero en Dios que puedan

consolarse de alguna manera.