Tag Archives: gratitude

Prime rib roasting on Christmas, 2015

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Prime rib is roasting now. Potatoes are loaded up for the 2nd baking of them later on. Sam is asleep. His giant dogs are outside. Stef is playing with her new Nikon. And I am feeling a need for a nap, although I doubt it will happen.

Christmas morning was loaded with wonderful gifts and laughter. We all are missing Stef’s Mum who so loved Christmas and would squeal with glee over each gift, like a young girl. “Holy Crow!” she would exclaim, delighted to have been thought of, and overwhelmed when the gift was EXACTLY what she needed, or had been hinting about for months. To have been such a tiny little old lady, hers was a huge presence. We miss her. I know she was with us, though. JS

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Tires for Christmas

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I got new tires and a gift certificate for new rear brakes for Christmas. We just went for a drive and it felt so smooth I almost dozed off. The new tires even made the old brakes sound better. This is a great gift, so much better than a necklace or something that might look good but wouldn’t keep me from sliding off the road and into a ditch on a rainy night. Thanks to Stef for knowing how to make me happy (and safe.) JS

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Important Embedded Thread

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Hey, anybody know where I can buy some of those dishtowels that have been crocheted on the end by little old ladies so that you can hang them on your fridge handle?

Usually, they have a button sewn on there or some ties of some sort.I really like them and the dishtowel lies nice and flat against the front of the fridge, as opposed to getting stuck in the door if we just hang a towel through the handle.

We used to have about a thousand of those that Stef’s Mum made, but then Sarah cleaned out our kitchen drawers one time when I was gone and those went away. I’m not saying she swiped them; I think she didn’t understand how much we like them and she chunked them. Now, we have only one and it is quite threadbare.

Anyway, if anybody’s mother or grandmother is still making those, I’d like to buy some. Just let me know. JS

M.H.: I googled Dish Towel, Crochet Top and got a bunch of hits. Some were instructions on how to make them (You Tube videos even); some were places that sell them.

S.T.: Try etsy.

Jody: Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! Just bought 2 of these at the Roseburg Sr. Ctr. for five bucks each. Larry, the most enthusiastic, gigantic man you might ever meet, called his sister (who makes these – their Mom taught her how to do this) and his brother-in-law brought them up to the center just as I arrived there. Larry swears he can get more of them – all he has to do is light a fire under his sister, and five bucks per towel ought to do it. So, anyway, for now, at least, I have a source (the sister) and a dealer, too (Larry.)

S.P.: God I haven’t thought of those in years my grandmother also had those!!

D,H.: I love those towels. No grandma I knew had them, but I got one at a art fair once and used it until it just dissolved into dust. Wahhhh! Going to a local senior center is a fabulous idea.

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Dogs chasing balls

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I saw a video of a dog chasing a ball on the beach. He was all in. He was gonna get that sucker. He dove face first into the sand and came up triumphant… until he felt all that grit in his mouth. That was supposed to be the funny, important part of the video.

But for me, this reminds me of our boy, Riley, who would run so fast, he would actually run over and past the ball, then look over his shoulder and bark at the ball, like it was the ball’s fault. Used to crack me up – so funny. JS

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Shower time – nice

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Took my first shower today (that wasn’t a sit-on-the-edge-of-the-tub-and-pour-water-over-myself-from-a-cup kind of spit bath) since Nov. 19th. Oooooh, baby!

Wanted to make sure I could bend my leg enough to get in and out of the tub without help and without dragging the shower curtain rod out of the wall and suffocating myself in the bottom of the tub. I’m guessing it worked because here I sit, all clean and shined up, freshly-scrubbed and waiting for Life to give me some new instructions. Time to pay attention. JS

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It takes a village

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First out-patient PT session this afternoon, so I’m very excited about this. I have been quite diligent about doing my exercises, icing my leg, and riding the passive/aggressive machine to break up scar tissue.However, I am bored with this already and anxious to kick this healing process up to a new level.

Stef Neyhart has been a remarkable caregiver and so, so kind to run errands for me, bring home dinner and set up appointments (not to mention, taking time off from her very stressful job to help me get things done, things I could not have gotten done without her help.) It takes a village and we are a village of two. Well, FOUR, if you count Toby and Bennie; FIVE, if you count Eldon, and we do. JS

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WHAT’S ELDON UP TO?

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A couple of people on my FB feed are now wondering, WHAT’S ELDON UP TO?

Well, he and Joanie were gone the other day so Eldon could play golf with their grandson, something he enjoys IMMENSELY.

Yesterday, he came over and brought us a late lunch, some pasta thing Joanie had made, which was so filling we didn’t have to bother with dinner.

He’s such a dear man. It’s always good to see him. JS

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I am thankful…

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I am thankful that the person I love the most is also the best person I know.

I am thankful that we have a dog who is still grateful to have been rescued from doom and dropped into paradise.

I am thankful that I have friends who make me laugh and make me think.

I am thankful that I have been able to be a rolfer for over 35 years, and for my clients who are more spectacular than they yet know.

I am thankful that I have been given a gift of being able to write and tell stories that, hopefully, mean something to someone besides me alone.

I am thankful that our mean cat is no longer a kitten.

And, horses, of course, I am always grateful for horses. Their power and beauty make my soul flutter.

You?

JS

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Eldon to the rescue (again)

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Eldon, our 84 yr. old neighbor, always manages to yank my large ass out of the fire at least once a year. He just did it again while ago.

The city sends a big truck around through the neighborhoods in the fall to suck up the leaves we have raked to the curb. This usually happens the week of Thanksgiving and again the week of Christmas, so I certainly didn’t expect to see it today but, THERE IT WAS, just a couple of houses down from us, sucking and grinding away. I grabbed a rake and was furiously raking piles and piles and PILES of leaves toward the curb, trying to talk myself into being moderately satisfied if they only managed to pick up half of the four tons of leaves covering the yard today.

Beneath the growling noise of their machinery, suddenly, there was another noise. I looked up and here came Eldon across the street with his leaf blower blasting into action. Between the two of us and, adding to what Stef had raked to the curb the other day, we managed to get it all out into the street before the truck drove up. Of course, a strong wind or rain storm will coat the yard again with more leaves but, for the moment, we are feeling under control.

Eldon is such a dear man. I love this guy. And, he loves being the hero, I’m sure of it. Sometimes, I think he stands at their picture window just watching for an opportunity to race out and save me with some sort of equipment he loves to use. I’ve not spent a lot of time in my life being a damsel in distress, but rescuing me from havoc and doom seems to bring Eldon quite a bit of joy. Luckily, I don’t ever disappoint him. And, then, I get to hug his neck. JS

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Inspiration coming in on all fronts

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It is early Monday morning and I’ve been up early, thinking, as usual, and reading parts of an excellent book by Nicholas Kristoff and his wife, Cheryl WuDunn called A PATH APPEARS. This book is about programs emerging all over the world to help address the dual crises of extreme poverty and hunger, what works and what doesn’t and how we all can help. I’m feeling some inspiration coming on… don’t know how that will present itself to me, but I’m trusting that A PATH WILL APPEAR.

Today is my last day in Lubbock for this trip and I fly back to Oregon tomorrow, so I’ve got 3 rolfing session to do today before I begin packing. My thanks to Melody Ogletree and Cheryl of PforymWELL for hosting me to do rolfing here in Lubbock. They do wonderful work with their company, focusing on personal, as well as corporate, wellness programs, and I don’t think I’ve run across two people who do as much research into supplements as these two women do. I trust what they have to say about it all. So, if that’s something you are interested in, too, or, if you are interested in scheduling rolfing sessions with me when I return next to Lubbock, give them a call @ (806) 784-0506.

I won’t be back to either Lubbock or to Tulsa for awhile. The time has finally come to replace my other knee with something smooth and bionic, which will be done by my favorite bone guy, Dr. Ira Weintraub (Dr. Dub) in Portland on 11/20. (“We have the technology. We can make her stronger, faster, cuter, more able to handle small-talk at parties…”)

I am only mildly apprehensive about this since I know what to expect and I love my doc, who, in addition to being a great surgeon, is also a wonderful man. Still, it’s a big surgery, what with bones being sliced up, chopped off, and spikey things being whammed down into the marrow. (I’ve watched YouTube videos just to see what is actually done and, also, to scare the bejabbers out of myself, like the fascination of a bird to a snake. I know, I’m a dumbass sometimes.)

Anyway, my next rolfing trip to Tulsa will be in the new year, 1/15-1/20/16. Call Stephen Saunders to schedule rolfing sessions there @ (918) 605-6508.

I’ll be back in Lubbock 1/22-1/25/16. Contact PforymWELL @ (806) 784-0506.

I will spend the holidays rehabbing my leg and, chances are, not cooking as much as I usually do during those days. I hope all of you have a delightful Thanksgiving with family and friends and that your Merry Christmas is truly that. We all deserve the love we have to share with each other, let’s try to remember that one. So long for now and remember this, too: You are all deep in my heart, from Texas (and Oregon.) JS

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