Mary about Merry

I love this Mary Engelbreit tin. The cheerful colors, folksy flowers, and especially the message.  SHE WHO 
LAUGHS, LASTS
Laughter is good for your health according to help guide.org

*Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

*Laughter boosts the immune system.

*Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.  Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

*Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

So that verse from the scriptures is a medical fact.


A merry  heart doeth good  [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth  the bones . Proverbs 17:22


So now, smile, say Hee, Hee, Hee, Ha, Ha, Ho.  Don't you feel better?

School Days--Golden Rule Days

I have had unique educational opportunities. My primary school days were spent at a little one room school house.  All 8 grades were taught in the same room. There was a library, modern bathrooms (which were a treat, as many kids still had outhouses at home), and a small apartment for the teacher. She had to live at the school, as town was around 30 miles away and the road was often impassable. The student body size ranged from 8 to 20 students.  We had all the fundamental classes, plus art, music and physical education. It might have seemed primitive, but our school produced exceptional students--my graduating class of 2 were outstanding high school students.  

My Favorite Veteran

My dad loved freedom and wide open spaces. He was born in Ontario, Canada in 1890.  In his late teens he worked his way across Canada wrangling and taming horses, until he ended up in northern Wyoming. When World War I broke out, he tried to enlist in the US Army, but failed the physical because of an old eye injury.  Because freedom was so important to him, he returned to the land of his birth and enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army where he served in the Canadian Railway Construction Corp.  When the war was over, he returned to Wyoming and enlisted in the National Guard until his discharge in 1924. He knew that freedom was worth fighting for even when obstacles were thrown in his way.

In Flanders Fields 

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) 

Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow 

Between the crosses row on row, 

That mark our place; and in the sky 

The larks, still bravely singing, fly 

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago 

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, 

Loved and were loved, and now we lie 

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe: 

To you from failing hands we throw 

The torch; be yours to hold it high. 

If ye break faith with us who die 

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow 

In Flanders fields.

Phoenix--What did I see?

A city of contrasts--Haboobs (violent dust storms), cotton fields, urban skyscrapers, grazing sheep, beautiful sunrises and sunsets all seen within Phoenix city limits.  Where else could you see all this 
                                           AND

A cowboy in a sombrero, talking on his cell phone, riding his horse down a residential street past a new truck.

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Last rose of summer

1. Of all the tools and gadgets you own which do you most enjoy using?  It would have to be my computer.  I love all the worlds that it opens up to me.  My kids laugh at me.  They will ask me a question, and I say "Let me google that".  Second choice would be my camera.  It helps me remember those special moments.

2. When (if ever) is impatience a virtue?  I am a patient person so view impatience as something to overcome.  But that's just me.

3. What temperature do you keep your thermostat set to in winter? Do you have another way to heat your house besides a furnace of some type?  Here in Phoenix, most of the time heat is optional.  When I do turn it on, I have it set at 68 in the day 60 at night.  On a chilly day, I will bake something in the oven, or put a pot of stew on.  That usually does the trick, that and getting off my butt and doing chores.

4. Do/did you have a close relationship with any of your grandparents?  Unfortunately no, they have all passed away.  When they were living my grandma was a hard person for a kid to love.  She had grown up in the"old country" where children were supposed to work or keep quiet.

5. When did you last have a family portrait taken? I live by myself, but I did have a portrait taken just about two years ago, before I retired.

6. What does the word patriotism mean to you?  Being proud of your country, and willing to make sacrifices for it.

7. Do you like to play cards and if so, what's your favorite card game?  Well, I played "Go Fish" with my grandson today while I was taking care of him because he was sick and stayed home from school.  Other than than I sometimes play solitaire on the computer.

8. Insert your own random thought here.  Last night I went to a "Girlfriends Night" at our church.  We learned and sampled mixes in a jar, and each came home with a little cookbook.  Some of the recipes were so easy.  So now, I am on the lookout for jars to use to make a few extra gifts.