Today would have been my dads 67th birthday. Sadly, on April 25 2002, he lost his short battle with cancer and left us.
My dad and I had a strange relationship. We were so much alike that sometimes we clashed like the Titanic and that dang iceberg, but we loved each other.
Dad didnt just love me...he loved lots of things. My grandmothers german chocolate cake, cooking (he made really awesome chicken breasts), photography and fishing, just to name a few things off the top of my head.
He also loved his family. He was nuts about my step-mother, Nola..or NANA as she is more commonly known and he was absolutely crazy about his grandsons.
Thomas and Jeremy spent many summers with my dad and Nana. They would fish, Nana would bake them cookies. The first question at the end of every school year would be "When are we going to Poppa and Nanas"?! My boys sure got a taste of what grandparents are like!
Dad also loved my little sis...Mary Dawn....I am so glad she had him in her life. When she was little, their thing was going to the pond to feed the ducks. Dad came home really flusterd one day. It seems that a male and female duck were getting a bit frisky in the pond and Mary Dawn asked "Why is that duck pushing the other one under the water"???? Dad didnt really know what to say to such a small little girl so he said "Well, that duck is sick and the other one is pushing it to the ducky hospital"!!! What a character.
The last time I spent any time with my dad I needed to go buy some shoes so he went shopping with me. My dad...suprised me, yet again with something I didnt know. He was crazy about little square feet!! Dont get me wrong...my feet are by far little and square...but both my mom and step-mother have little square feet! He helped me pick out a really cute pair of shoes. Shoes that were gone before he passed away, but how I wish that I still had them.
He left us way too soon but he would be so proud of the things we have done in the last almost 10 years that he has been gone. It doesnt matter if it is serving our country, learning a new language, overcoming problems or giving him great grandchilderen.
Happy Birthday Daddy. I know that you and my Tommy are up there with poles in the water, have a big ole talk!
Till the next time....
"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Kiss slowly, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be anything but good....so Be Happy"!! (unknown)
"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Kiss slowly, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life's too short to be anything but good... so Be Happy"
vrijdag 20 januari 2012
donderdag 29 december 2011
2011
What a year!
It started out great. Jan. 1 was my first official day as an independant business owner, keeping all my awesome clients happy with clean houses and businesses. In the same month my oldest son left his wife and childeren at home to go serve our country and spend some time in Kuwait supporting the troops in Iraq. That wasnt a great part but I am very proud of him and thankful for his willingness to sacrifice for the good of others.
In Feburary I got offered an appartment through social housing....Finally, after 18 months of living in a sub-let that was less than fit for human habitat and being really sick 2 winters long because of that draughty place, I was getting my own appartment!! Never mind that it needed painting and floor covering, my own place, FINALLY! It isnt done yet and I have been here since March 1st...oh well, slow and steady wins the race. I will get it done...eventually.
Until August it was pretty much getting settled, taking on some new clients, getting my weeks worth of work in place. I spent the day working, came home to my new haven, spent some of the evening on Skype with my sweetheart, keeping our long distance relationship going. Making wedding plans. All was right with the world. He was even thinking of moving here because he knew that I loved my life here and it appealed to him as well. Especially if he had car trouble!!
Life was, for the most part, good! Our only concerns was who was going to move where. Or so we thought.
Most of you know that Tom was my first husband, the father of my sons. We had been in each others lives since I was 15 years old. We didnt always get along and that happens with families, but we were always friends even through all the rough times. No matter what our relationship was at any given moment, we loved each other. Period.
My last blog was August 13.....two days later, my world fell apart. I always got a text message from my Tommy around 2pm my time, 8am east coast time. Sometimes those texts came through immediately, sometimes it took awhile. At 4pm on Monday, August 15..no text, so I called, no answer. That wasnt unusual, sometimes he was in the cooler at work or on the cooks line and couldnt answer the phone. In that case I would get a text, within a few minutes, asking me to call again. No text, again, not unusual. I was still getting a little antsy. I called again at 4:30, no answer. At 5pm (my time) I had been at a clients for an hour and called again. This time someone answered, but it wasnt Tom. He had collapsed the night before, after we got off Skype. His work went and found him the next morning after "Johnny on the Spot" didn't show up for his shift. It was the neighbor who answered his phone. Tests revealed that he had Stage 4 mastastic lung cancer to the brain.
The entire next week was a whirlwind of emotions. My little brother arranged a ticket for the 22nd, giving me time to notify my clients, make mail pick up arrangements, get packed and have my new place ready to be abandoned for 4 weeks. THEN I realized, my American passport had expired in Dec 2010. I suddenly realized that I had a whole other hill of ants to get around! As an American citizen, you are required to travel to the States on your American passport. It has to be current, so my current Dutch passport was not doing me any good. I called the American Consulate in Amsterdam and asked what I needed to do......"Get a letter from his doctor and be here at 8:30 in the morning". Meaning that I had to have this letter e-mailed to me, print it out, get on the first bus to the train station, get on the train to Amsterdam Central Station, get on a tram to the Museumplein and get in line at the Consulate by 8:30am. I managed it. By 9am I had all my forms filled out and was told to come back at 2:20pm to get my emergency passport. I used those hours to try to calm myself. I was going home to take care of my sweetheart.
Monday, Aug 22 was fly day!! Thomas was already there from Kuwait and had been for a few days, taking over for his brother who was the first to get to Lexington. My neighbor got up early to take me to the train station so I would be at the airport in plenty of time. I was getting on the 6:51 train to Amsterdam, Schipol Airport. At 6:30 there was an announcement. Someone had jumped in front of the train between Schagen (where I was) and Heerhugowaard (the next station after Schagen) and the train was not going for who knows how long. At the suggestion of another passenger, I took a bus to a stop that was suppossed to have a bus to get me to a train station that would get me to Schipol on time.....time was ticking. I needed to be at the airport at 9:30, the next bus to that train station was at 8:30...getting me to Schipol at 10am.....NOT GOOD. I thought I would have a heart attack. The same man that talked me into taking that bus flagged cars down until he found one willing to take me to the next train station and he succeded. I got there just in time and was on my way home to my boys and their daddy.
I felt like I was living in a different world the following 4 weeks. The first two weeks making sure that the nurses and aids...(bless most of them)...were taking care of his needs, trying to make their jobs a bit easier by helping him to the chair, or bed, or wherever it was he wanted to be at the moment without calling them (got a lot of flack from them for it, they were worried I would hurt myself). Most of them allowed me to be sweet but one or two got to see my evil side. I also watched them do various things, like change sheets with him laying in the bed..because I knew that I would have to do some of those things later.
On Sept 1 we went in an ambulance from Lexington Ky to Knoxville Tn to my brother and sister-in-loves house. Tom didnt want to go to a hospice facility if he could help it and Mike and Kathy offered their home for his last days. Tom and I stayed in the biggest guest room, with his hospital bed and equipment and a bed for me.Hospice came in some and if I needed something I could call them, which I did, if it was just to ask questions.Kathy was the best support. She made sure we ate and that laundry was done...goodness knows we went through some laundry!! In the meantime Toms daughters, who live in California, were calling and talking to their daddy. I wish they could have seen him smile while he was talking to them. He was very proud of all 4 of his babies!!
On Sept 12 he lost his battle and left us.
That 4 weeks felt like a whole year to me. The weeks that have followed have also felt like a lifetime. I hated seeing him suffer and while I am glad he isnt suffering anymore, I am NOT glad that he isnt here with us.
Our youngest son has since joined the Army and Thomas is back in the States...almost home from Kuwait.......we have all made it through the holidays and the end of the year is almost here.
I will try to blog more in 2012....I know I can find the inspiration....but my biggest goal is to be positive, help where I can and love life......because life is just too darn short.
Tell the people you love that you love them, find the time to laugh with them and give them a hug every chance you get...Until the next time.....
Happy New Year!!!
It started out great. Jan. 1 was my first official day as an independant business owner, keeping all my awesome clients happy with clean houses and businesses. In the same month my oldest son left his wife and childeren at home to go serve our country and spend some time in Kuwait supporting the troops in Iraq. That wasnt a great part but I am very proud of him and thankful for his willingness to sacrifice for the good of others.
In Feburary I got offered an appartment through social housing....Finally, after 18 months of living in a sub-let that was less than fit for human habitat and being really sick 2 winters long because of that draughty place, I was getting my own appartment!! Never mind that it needed painting and floor covering, my own place, FINALLY! It isnt done yet and I have been here since March 1st...oh well, slow and steady wins the race. I will get it done...eventually.
Until August it was pretty much getting settled, taking on some new clients, getting my weeks worth of work in place. I spent the day working, came home to my new haven, spent some of the evening on Skype with my sweetheart, keeping our long distance relationship going. Making wedding plans. All was right with the world. He was even thinking of moving here because he knew that I loved my life here and it appealed to him as well. Especially if he had car trouble!!
Life was, for the most part, good! Our only concerns was who was going to move where. Or so we thought.
Most of you know that Tom was my first husband, the father of my sons. We had been in each others lives since I was 15 years old. We didnt always get along and that happens with families, but we were always friends even through all the rough times. No matter what our relationship was at any given moment, we loved each other. Period.
My last blog was August 13.....two days later, my world fell apart. I always got a text message from my Tommy around 2pm my time, 8am east coast time. Sometimes those texts came through immediately, sometimes it took awhile. At 4pm on Monday, August 15..no text, so I called, no answer. That wasnt unusual, sometimes he was in the cooler at work or on the cooks line and couldnt answer the phone. In that case I would get a text, within a few minutes, asking me to call again. No text, again, not unusual. I was still getting a little antsy. I called again at 4:30, no answer. At 5pm (my time) I had been at a clients for an hour and called again. This time someone answered, but it wasnt Tom. He had collapsed the night before, after we got off Skype. His work went and found him the next morning after "Johnny on the Spot" didn't show up for his shift. It was the neighbor who answered his phone. Tests revealed that he had Stage 4 mastastic lung cancer to the brain.
The entire next week was a whirlwind of emotions. My little brother arranged a ticket for the 22nd, giving me time to notify my clients, make mail pick up arrangements, get packed and have my new place ready to be abandoned for 4 weeks. THEN I realized, my American passport had expired in Dec 2010. I suddenly realized that I had a whole other hill of ants to get around! As an American citizen, you are required to travel to the States on your American passport. It has to be current, so my current Dutch passport was not doing me any good. I called the American Consulate in Amsterdam and asked what I needed to do......"Get a letter from his doctor and be here at 8:30 in the morning". Meaning that I had to have this letter e-mailed to me, print it out, get on the first bus to the train station, get on the train to Amsterdam Central Station, get on a tram to the Museumplein and get in line at the Consulate by 8:30am. I managed it. By 9am I had all my forms filled out and was told to come back at 2:20pm to get my emergency passport. I used those hours to try to calm myself. I was going home to take care of my sweetheart.
Monday, Aug 22 was fly day!! Thomas was already there from Kuwait and had been for a few days, taking over for his brother who was the first to get to Lexington. My neighbor got up early to take me to the train station so I would be at the airport in plenty of time. I was getting on the 6:51 train to Amsterdam, Schipol Airport. At 6:30 there was an announcement. Someone had jumped in front of the train between Schagen (where I was) and Heerhugowaard (the next station after Schagen) and the train was not going for who knows how long. At the suggestion of another passenger, I took a bus to a stop that was suppossed to have a bus to get me to a train station that would get me to Schipol on time.....time was ticking. I needed to be at the airport at 9:30, the next bus to that train station was at 8:30...getting me to Schipol at 10am.....NOT GOOD. I thought I would have a heart attack. The same man that talked me into taking that bus flagged cars down until he found one willing to take me to the next train station and he succeded. I got there just in time and was on my way home to my boys and their daddy.
I felt like I was living in a different world the following 4 weeks. The first two weeks making sure that the nurses and aids...(bless most of them)...were taking care of his needs, trying to make their jobs a bit easier by helping him to the chair, or bed, or wherever it was he wanted to be at the moment without calling them (got a lot of flack from them for it, they were worried I would hurt myself). Most of them allowed me to be sweet but one or two got to see my evil side. I also watched them do various things, like change sheets with him laying in the bed..because I knew that I would have to do some of those things later.
On Sept 1 we went in an ambulance from Lexington Ky to Knoxville Tn to my brother and sister-in-loves house. Tom didnt want to go to a hospice facility if he could help it and Mike and Kathy offered their home for his last days. Tom and I stayed in the biggest guest room, with his hospital bed and equipment and a bed for me.Hospice came in some and if I needed something I could call them, which I did, if it was just to ask questions.Kathy was the best support. She made sure we ate and that laundry was done...goodness knows we went through some laundry!! In the meantime Toms daughters, who live in California, were calling and talking to their daddy. I wish they could have seen him smile while he was talking to them. He was very proud of all 4 of his babies!!
On Sept 12 he lost his battle and left us.
That 4 weeks felt like a whole year to me. The weeks that have followed have also felt like a lifetime. I hated seeing him suffer and while I am glad he isnt suffering anymore, I am NOT glad that he isnt here with us.
Our youngest son has since joined the Army and Thomas is back in the States...almost home from Kuwait.......we have all made it through the holidays and the end of the year is almost here.
I will try to blog more in 2012....I know I can find the inspiration....but my biggest goal is to be positive, help where I can and love life......because life is just too darn short.
Tell the people you love that you love them, find the time to laugh with them and give them a hug every chance you get...Until the next time.....
Happy New Year!!!
zaterdag 13 augustus 2011
Talking to Strangers
(The pictures in this post are only relevent because they were taken the day I talked to a stranger)
A couple of months ago I deided to take advantage of a beautiful Saturday afternoon and ride my bike to a neighboring village to do a little grocery shopping. I had never cycled to Nieuwe Niedorp before so I grabbed my camera and stopped a few places along the way to take some pictures.
The first time I stopped I looked around and didnt see a house or anyone around so I started cllicking away and suddenly out of the bushes came a man and his dog. It seems there was a house behind the trees and Mr. Hand (yes, that is his real name!) was training his year old chocolate lab, Duno, who is a very lively teenage boy!
 |
| The picture I was taking when I noticed that I had company! |
Now, growing up in the States I am well aware of the dangers of talking to strangers. I also know that I never know a stranger. I can strike up a conversation with an information operator, beleive me, I have done it!! Chatty Cathy has nothing on this ole girl! However, I live in the Netherlands now and really dont think twice about talking to some random man, with a big dog, on a country road where the next house is probably 1/4 of a mile away. No problem!
 |
| Windmill in the county Niedorp. I believe that is Winkel, another small village in the area. |
 |
| Nieuwe Niedorp |
After a couple of cups of coffee and very pleasant conversation, which included why I live here, what I do for a living and his interest in learning more English, I left Mr. Hand in his man cave filled with his hunting trophies and continued on my way.
 |
| Add a canal and some sheep to that windmill and you have a pretty typical Dutch country scene |
Later that evening when I was skyping with Tom (who has known me since I was 15 and knows very well how outgoing I am) and telling him about my day, he got this weird look on his face and said "You did WHAT"???? I guess that was a natural reaction. So I looked up about serial killers in the Netherlands and in the US. It seems that in the last 250 years there have been about 125 in the States vs 1 (yes, ONE, een, uno) in the Netherlands in the 1870's. That gave my sweetheart a little piece of mind.
During the time between that Saturday afternoon and July 1, I was invited back for coffee, conversation, blues and beer. Mr. Hand likes company and is a big blues fan. He is also owner of Hand Horeca, a restaurant supply company in this area. Dealing in all the equipment you would ever need for your restaurant. On July 1 his company became one of my clients.
 |
| Possibly teaching the dangers of talking to strangers? |
Yes, I know the dangers of talking to strangers but if you never talk to strangers you miss out on lots of opportunities! In this case, gut instinct and openess landed me a new client. It also gave me the chance to do a little research and confirm to myself and to others that I live in a pretty safe place.
Till the next time, be safe, use caution but talk to people, you never know what can happen!
woensdag 3 augustus 2011
What Mamaw saw.......
My grandmother, Inez Stephens Barber McDaniel was born August 5 1909. She liveed to be 99 years and 9 months old. She would be turning 102 in a couple of days.
I recently saw a headline of an article "What our childeren will never know". It was about technology that our childeren will never imagine living without. It made me reflect on my grandmother, and all that she had seen in her almost 100 years on this earth and how amazing all of it had to be to her. Everything from instant coffee to color television, jet engines to wireless internet. Everything that came about in the 20th century, she saw. Most of those things we all take for granted, just like the childeren from now will take what amazes us for granted. They will take the internet for granted. Something that amazes me on a daily basis, whether I am skyping with my sweetie, my son in Kuwait or my grandchilderen. It amazes me when I am listening to a Dutch radio program with my friend Sunny in Nashville or watching a live tornado with my friend Cyn in Toledo Ohio. Mamaw saw a piece of this this too.
Just a couple of weeks before she passed away she got to do one of the things that would probably amaze her the most. She got to Skype, and talk to her grandaughter that was over 4000 miles away. Not bad!
I will always miss my grandmother. She wasnt technology, but she was AMAZING!
Just a couple of weeks before she passed away she got to do one of the things that would probably amaze her the most. She got to Skype, and talk to her grandaughter that was over 4000 miles away. Not bad!
I will always miss my grandmother. She wasnt technology, but she was AMAZING!
zondag 17 juli 2011
The mystery of the ratty socks........
Today is laundry day!! Yay, I love laundry day....NOT.
Every one has lost socks in the machine, it is just a fact of life, your washing machine eats your socks. Admit it, you have a whole drawer dedicated to socks with missing mates that you are hoping the mate some how re-appears.
Well, today, I had no lost socks, quite the opposite.
I went to the hamper this afternoon to put a load of whites in the wash, WHEN.........
I found these...........rolled up, just like that, in the middle of my dirty clothes.
I have no idea who they belong to or how they got in my hamper.
No one has been in my appartment and I have not done anyone elses laundry.
The sock portal has apparently found its way to my appartment. So if you are missing socks, dont worry, they may appear in "The Hamper" in the near future and I will be able to return them to you.
maandag 30 mei 2011
Way over due.......
I never got around to this blog and it was one I was really looking forward to doing. So because Thursday is the Day of Ascension and that still ties in with Easter I am going to post this now. And just because I just want to. Also just because my client/accountants kids are just too darn cute not to let my friends and family see.
The Easter Bunny doesnt come to the Netherlands, we have his cousin, The PaasHaas (Easter Hare). While the PaasHaas hides eggs, just like the Easter Bunny, he doesnt bring baskets.
Andy and Melissa got lucky this year. The Easter Bunny went on vacation with his cousin and Santa. The three of them went to visit Sinter Klaas in Turkey where Sint was telling them about some really sweet childeren in the Netherlands. Childeren who always make beautiful artwork for their parents and whose bedrooms are always straightend up when I come to clean every week. Childeren who are 4 and 6 years old and did their best to sing "We wish you a Merry Christmas" in English for me while presenting me with a bouquet of flowers at Christmas. It just melted my heart and brought me and their mama to tears.
The Easter Bunny thought that since I knew these children he would mail me Easter baskets for them.
 |
| Melissa (4) discovering a "Robin egg". |
 |
| Peeps and Bunnies |
 |
| Andy (6) said "WOW, That smells good"!! |
 |
| A little suprised at all the goodies in that bucket! |
zaterdag 16 april 2011
Something a little different...
While making my dinner tonight I thought "Hey, blog this sandwich". That was after I had made the sauce, of course. So further down I will give you a rundown of what is in the sauce.
I eat a lot of Paninis. They are easy, filling and pretty darn healthy (if you make them that way). Recently I saw a Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken panini and decided to use that as a basis for my own vegi version.
I dont do exact measurements....everyone has different tastes..here is what I thought was tasty.....
The sauce:
Put....
sundried tomatoes in oil (I also used a little of that flavorful oil)
pesto
lemon juice
salt and olive oil
in whatever it is you use to puree such things and blend till roughly fine.
Then mix with mayonaise till it suits your taste
I also mixed up some olive oil and pesto...you'll see why in a minute.......
Next I spread two pieces of bread (use your fav) with the yummie sauce......
Topped with cheese and then.......
Into my handy little table top grill (use a pan if you need to) it went.....
A few minutes later I had a yummie, gooey, satisfying sammich!
Make one today, you wont regret it. I know I didn't!!
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)
