Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Road Runner PhotoShow

I missed Halloween. Check out my Tribute to Halloween. I worked late tonight so I missed Halloween! Hope you all had a fun night!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Hey Dick!

My daughter and I were in the bookstore browsing one evening. We were in the magazine section, I was looking for a cooking magazine. I saw a man that I knew there, his name is Dick. Emily was goofing around and said, "Mom, didn't you say that you wanted to pick up the latest issue of Playgirl?" I nervously said, " Be quiet, I know that man, he does handyman things for us at work." " You're going to embarrass me!" She just chuckled and we continued to browse through out the store. I had my purchases and we went to stand in the line at the checkout counter. Dick and his wife were behind us in the line, in this order, a stranger,me, Em, wife of Dick, and good ole Dick himself. I decided that it would be polite to speak to him. So since he was a few people away from me, I lean my head forward in Dick's direction and say loud enough for him to hear me. Hey Dick! Well his wife just kept looking straight ahead and Dick did not acknowledge me at all. So , I'm thinking he didn't hear me. So I yell out Hey Dick, Dick! Still no response. So now I'm thinking this guy is really rude and thought he was a nice guy. Soooooooo, now I am yelling a little bit louder, Dick, Hey Dick !!!! This guy would not respond but his wife gave me a funny look. I'm thinking I pay this man to do repairs and he won't even speak, how dare he! Soooo, I am yelling Hey Dick quite loudly this time! Emily says, mom what are you doing, people are looking at you saying, Dick, hey Dick, he obviously is a jerk! Buttttttt, I made one more attempt to get Dick to acknowledge me! Soooooo, one more time Dick, Hey, Hey--DICK!! And---like magic he spoke--He looked right at me, and said, in a calm voice, "Mam, Who are you?" " I'm not Dick."
I was feeling really stupid, and Emily was laughing hysterically out loud by now. Well what could I do but laugh! I had to apologize and explain who I thought he was and how he must be Dick's twin. The rest of the checkout line was laughing by now! So what would you do if some foolish woman in the check out line was yelling, Hey Dick!
I'll share some other of my foolish moments in upcoming posts!!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

News Flash!

I don't have much time to post lately as I am working some very long days at work interviewing every employee in one of our area programs. I have been leaving at 7:30am and getting home at 9:00pm. I will talk more later of this work adventure. The great news is the pocket knives our closed, my son Andy showed me all the tricks with the knives. My oldest son Seth came by and started the lawn mower and he informed me if you have gas in it, it will start much easier! Who would have thought?!?!?

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Words of Wisdom


I have a grandson named Cain who is now 11 years old. He has spent every other weekend with me since a young age. We are extremely close and he was very close to my husband. On the weekends when he would come our world revolved around him. He is such a great kid! His other grandparents have allot of money, we are the poor ones! The other grandparents have a really nice home ours is old and needs allot of work! The other grandparents are to busy to attend baseball, soccer, football, class musicals, etc. We attended most everything we could. I ran around the yard with toy machine guns playing army, tackle football, let him bury me in piles of leaves, have hot wheel races and cut his toast with cookie cutters and give him breakfast in Grandma's bed, and that's only a few things. The other grandparents have a corvette, we have a dodge. The other grandparents have a motor home, we have a tent. Cain said to me when he was pretty young: "My other grandparents have a fancy house grandma, and your house is kinda old, but you know what grandma, this house is filled with lots of love. " Isn't that so wise from such a young boy? His other Grandpa passed away in 2003, at age 62. It was a tragic accident, he was electrocuted while working on irrigation equipment. So the loss of my husband has been very hard for him, but he knows Jesus and he is very mature for his age. When Cain was little, very little he called me Barda for many years. I don't know why that was his name for me. The really strange thing about that is only one other person called me that and it was my Grandpa Oscar. Grandpa had names for all his Grandchildren. Mine was Marda Barda. He died many years before Cain was born. Maybe Grandpa gave him that name!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Pocket Knives

I took my yearly trip to a pumpkin patch last week. It had been something that my husband (Pete) and grandson Cain did every year. We would go through the patch a gather pumpkins and gourds to spruce up the front porch and house for the fall season. Since Pete is not with me anymore and I didn't have my grandson with me I thought I would venture off on my own. Pete has this collection of pocket knives and he of course always carried one in his pocket, it was his go to tool of choice. I thought perhaps I best get a pocket knife out and bring it with so that I could cut the stems from the vines. I found one and opened it up, it looked just right for stem cutting, well the blade locks in place and for the life of me I could not get it to close. So I proceeded to open five more thinking I could close them. They are still open! I grabbed the garden clippers instead, which worked just fine. A bit of advice, have your husband show how to close a pocket knife! Other things I found out I can't do! My sons and I can't get either of the lawn mowers started. I tried to pull the cord, but I am to short or the cord seems to long, it's a humorous sight, I'm sure! I am not saying nice things to the mower. The blower, that is impossible to start! If I did start it , when the gas runs out, what the heck is the oil /gas recipe that you mix up for the thing. My hubby always blew the leaves and then chopped them up with the mower. I have two huge maples, two huge ash trees, and a magnolia tree. This just stinks, way to many leaves for me. You know the lawn is colorful with the fall colors of the leaves spread across the green grass. At lest that is a positive spin on all the leaves. I really thought I knew how to do anything or at least figure it out! When I was a single parent and my kids were little, I got a real Christmas tree and the trunk was to fat for the tree stand. I didn't have a saw, but I did have an electric knife! The tree fit into the stand, mission accomplished, but of course I ruined the knife!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

The Visit

Good Morning!
I went to church this morning and thought after church that I would go to the cemetery to visit my husband. I haven't been able to make myself go there since the day of the funeral on the 15th of Sept. It wasn't as bad as I thought that it would be. I have the Lord right by my side which makes things so much easier. I just can't really accept yet that he is really gone. I thought that I had been preparing myself for years but I don't think one can ever prepare for the emptiness that one feels. Those you love deeply seem to be taken from you way to soon. I only know now that he is in a far better place and is at peace and looking and feeling fine! I did have to tell him that Nebraska took a whooping last night, of course he probably knew that already.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Photoshows

Good Evening!
http://www.photoshow.com/members/barda/all

I have been trying out my photoshow free option with roadrunner. Check out my first attempt at a photoshow. I like to call it Family Smiles!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

The Important Things in Life

Let me introduce you to my family. Here we are on Christmas Eve of this last year. Things were good, we were happy, loving each other. Nothing compares to the love of your family. We will never have another photo like this again. Christmas will never be the same again. September 10th, just 3 weeks ago today my husband passed away. We are all lost and wondering how our lives will ever be normal again. We all miss him so much! Pete fought a long battle of 13 years with 4 occurences of cancer. He was working just two weeks before his death. He has always been our hero and he fought as long as he could for our family and we are so proud of him. He lived his live as normal as possible, working, doing everything he could to maintain a normal lifestlye,despite being an ill man. He never complained, always worked. So admired by all who knew him. He taught us all to face challenges with dignity. He suddenly became ill with pheumonia and just could not fight anymore. He was so tired! Even though he was ill with cancer he always seemed to bounce back. He had agreed to tempory placement on a respirator to reverse a condition such as pneumonia. The kids and I could not bear to see him on that machine, everything happened so quickly, he failed rapidly, and we had to take him off the machine. He went peacefully once he came off of the machine. We spent every night their sleeping in chairs, if we slept at all. We all had alone time with him and we would like to think that he heard us talk to him as we said our goodbyes. He would have been so proud of the kids and how much they loved him and supported me. Life for me will never really be normal again. I lost my lover, my best friend. I walk into this house and the emptiness is at times overwhelming, I really am lost in my own home. I know in time things will get easier, but I will always be lost without him.