So long 2011.......

   In a few short hours we'll say good bye to 2011. Some have shared with me that it wasn't a good year for them. To many problems, short falls and heart aches. Many are excited for a new year. It's a fresh start. Maybe your going to stick with the diet or save more money. What ever your "new" is I hope you follow through with it.
As we reach the end of 2011 many of us will reflect on the past year. Some will laugh, some cry and some  the memories will make us sad. But what ever each day brought it's just part of our journey.
   My journey this past year was filled with many emotions.......

Our first day of chemo......

Cindy visiting with me on the third round of chemo.........

Debbie taking the needle out on round six--the last one.

Linda & I on the last day of the Red, White & Blue Festival.

Floral design show at the Jackson County Fair.

Sarah & I in downtown Chicago.

I end with a picture that was taken a few years ago. It's one of my favorites.

Thomas and I wish you the best in 2012. May your journey take you on all the high roads. When you come to the cross roads may each decision be the best and may you and your family experience-love, wealth and good health.

Aunt Lizzy......

   Was scanning some of my old pictures the other day and I ran across this one. It's me and my Aunt Lizzy. It was taken around 1960 Daddy tell's me. Aunt Lizzy was my Papaw Brumett's sister. When I was about six I can remember walking up her dirt driveway and going through the iron gate. I have  memories of her and I walking around the side of the house with her holding my hand but I can't remember which visit that was.
   Aunt Lizzy was one of Papaw's three sisters. She lived in Crab Orchard, Kentucky, and was content with her life living in the hills of eastern Kentucky. They tell me she raised lots of chickens, maybe that's there I get raising chickens from. Aunt Lizzy wore her apron from the time she got up till she went to bed. I would love to have one of her aprons just for a keep sake. Lizzy lived the simple life, fixed three meals a day and you never left her table hungry.
   I wonder if she knew how lucky she was living in the hills with out all the worry's that we have today. I'm sure her day wasn't without some worry. Living in the hills was easy some say, you did without a lot but life was good.  Daddy always said he never went to bed hungry, there was always work to be done and they made up the games they played.
   My Aunt Lizzy...what a remarkable woman!


  

The Grinch....

   My favorite Christmas story is, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" each year I fix some popcorn, curl up in my chair and become a kid again. The girls even bought me a musical Grinch for Christmas one year. But as you watch the show do you really understand the story? The Grinch wasn't a mean person, he just never really understood why all the Who in Who-ville got so excited about a silly holiday called Christmas.
Christmas is in your heart. Yes, we run around with a list of gifts to buy and a list for food that we need to purchase. Some folks wait till the last minute to buy their gifts and then they stress and fuss about it. Some folks are never ready. But whether your ready or not, Christmas will come no matter what.
   See that's what the Grinch thought. If he took all their presents, decorations, wreaths and even their Christmas ham that it wouldn't come. So he set out for Who-ville and cleaned out all the houses of their Christmas pretties. He thought he had stopped Christmas from coming-you might say he was pretty proud of himself. But as he stood there in the faint distance he heard the Who people singing....what....how did it come....I took everything....It came without ribbons! It came without tags, without packages, boxes or bags!
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before..maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more.
   What happened then... his heart grew three sizes and he felt Christmas in his heart. Are you so wrapped up in the rat race that you haven't given it much thought. Christmas is not how many packages you can fit under a tree or if you can out spend your friends. Christmas is about spending time with your family, gathering around the table and enjoying a good meal or sharing a kind word to a stranger
  Thomas and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and as you wake up on Christmas morning may you feel the warmth of Christmas in your heart.
 


  

Riding shot gun.....

    Around 11am I gathered up her flowers and loaded them into the van. I checked the ledger to make sure all that had been ordered was loaded. It was time to get her. I told her, "we're ready to roll." I picked up the urn and headed to the van with her in my arm. I set her in the front seat and told her to set tight. We drove to the funeral home and I unloaded her flowers then came back and got her. I set her in the middle of her flower arrangement and told her to rest in peace.
   As a florist you get to experience every aspect of life. From the excitement of a birth to the death of a elderly person. Just the other day a young couple came in and they were devastated and broken hearted. Their baby boy had passed away the day before. I comforted them and I cried with them as we picked the flowers out. It brought back memories of the day Thomas and I lost our baby girl, Amanda. We talked for a bit before we chose the flowes and we formed a bond. They've been in the shop a few times since and we have become friends. Every day is different and some day's it's a tear jerker but the majority of the days it's a blessing to be a florist.  

Awesome Discovery....

   While drying my hair the other morning I made an awesome discovery......my hair is growing back. My bald spot should be gone hopefully in a few months. We just might have to have a, "Hair growing back party".....whoopie

Two months to the day....

   Yesterday was two months to the day of my last chemo. Doesn't seem possible that it's been that long. My appointment with Dr.Olivarez went great. Red & white blood count was good. She was very pleased with the progress that I've made at getting back to normal. She was a little concerned about my Bell's Palsy and this cold that I have. She reminded me that my immune system has and always will be low and I will always be acceptable to colds and virus.   Going to acupuncture has really progress my healing. Most people can't tell unless you talk to me and see that the right side of my mouth doesn't move as well as the left. I no longer need a straw to drink from a glass and I can almost chew on that side again. I'm a believer in acupuncture.....
   Saturday, Sarah and I spent the day in Chicago. We had a great time together. It did rain for a few hours but it didn't stop us from doing what we had planned. Sarah had an agenda for us and  we were able to do and see all that she had planned. I spotted an old church on Michigan Avenue and wanted to check it out. The architecture caught my eye and I just had to go inside. When you walked into the sanctuary it was so peaceful. The stone carvings, the high ceilings and the pipe organ with over six thousand pipes were breath taking. There were fourteen carved angels seven foot tall that topped the piers along each wall. Each stained glass window told a story. We've decided to go back next year and take a tour of the Fourth Presbyterian Church.
   From walking on busy streets, people darting in and out of stores. With everyone in a hurry to get the best deal, to bumping into you and with taxi horns blasting going into the church was good for the soul. As soon as you closed the door the only noise you heard was the creaking from the old pews when someone stood up.
In the hustle and bustle of life it's good to sneak into a quiet place.