Monthly Archives: May 2016

Fingers Crossed

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In my post ‘IN 45 MINUTES‘, I concluded with the following –

Image9The showing came and stayed about 20 minutes and then left.

Did anything come out of the showing?

No offer, but the response from the realtor is the people did like the house and the neighborhood.

Will there be a call today?Image8

In today’s post, I begin with the following –

I received quite a few comments on that post that I would like to share –

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As you can see, I received some very optimistic and positive comments sending good luck my way.

Within a couple of hours of the last comment, guess what?  Yes, you are correct – we received another call!  It is Friday evening and the call comes in for a showing on Saturday from 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM.  This gave us plenty of time to have the home ‘show-ready’.  Image7We were up bright and early with a few preparations to take care of and 11:15 AM we had the house ready to show.  There is a knock on the door and it is the realtor showing the house and indicates they are early, no problem; we grab our cell phones and Roxy (our dog) and get into the truck and leave.  The realtor and her clients are standing on the sidewalk and we wave as we drive by.  Nice younger couple with a young daughter; they wave back and smile.

Image5Gary and I drive around a bit and then park in our usually spot across the main street from our small cul-de-sac.  20 minutes pass, that is a good sign – 30 minutes pass, they must like the house; 40 minutes, then 50 minutes, then 1 hour passes.  Image6The cars then leave the cul-de-sac and we proceed back to our house.  1 hour; they must really like the house.

The anticipation grows as Gary and I talk about the possible outcome of this most recent showing.  We are hopeful they liked the home and an offer will soon follow.  Later in the evening we receive feedback from the showing agent –

‘My clients are considering their options in Lake Highlands and Richardson over the Memorial Day weekend. They are interested in this lovely home.’

Yes, this is very good feedback!  Now the waiting begins.  What will their decision be?  When will Image4the decision be made?  Will we receive an offer?

We will have to wait a few days.

I wrote this post on Sunday morning and am publishing today.  It has been a few days now Image3since that very good feedback.

The waiting continues.

 

Fingers Crossed.

War, Wounded, Missing & Death

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Last year I wrote a post ‘Memorial Day‘; and I began with the following words –

As a child it was a holiday and therefore not a school day.  I did not understand the true reason for Memorial Day.

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Image Provided by: shepfamilychiro.com

In today’s post, I begin with the following words –

timeforkids.com article ‘The Meaning of Memorial Day’ has the following –

The holiday got started on May 30, 1868, when Union General John A. Logan declared the day an occasion to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers. Twenty years later, the name was changed to Memorial Day. On May 11, 1950, Congress passed a resolution requesting that the President issue a proclamation calling on Americans to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer. President Richard M. Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday in 1971. Memorial Day is now observed on the last Monday of May. It is an occasion to honor the men and women who died in all wars.

Today is May 30th, 2016 – this United States holiday started 148 years ago today.

Last year I wrote a post ‘Memorial Day‘; and I concluded with the following words –

As an adult it is no longer a holiday, but a day to remember those that grieve for those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Those people that grieve and continue to remember those they lost in the United States armed forces and never returned back home to them, their loved ones.

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Image Provided by: http://www.usmemorialday.org

In today’s post I conclude with the following –

Businessinsider.com article ‘CHART: The Number Of US Soldiers Who Died In Every Major American War’ includes the following –

U.S. casualties spiked drastically during the Civil War and World War II. Each of those wars claimed over 1 million U.S. casualties apiece. These massive numbers carried further weight as the overall population of the United States during both those wars was significantly smaller than it is today. 

Overall, the general trend since the end of World War II has been a decline in U.S. casualties.

Still, according to the Pew Research Center, almost half of all veterans who served after 9/11 were exposed in some way to the horrors of war. Sixty percent of veterans have reportedly served with someone who was badly injured, while 47% of veterans served alongside someone who died in combat.

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Image Provided by: http://www.city-data.com

It saddens me to read about the millions of loss lives due to war.  It saddens me to think about the wounded, the missing in action, the families, the friends of those that were and are affected by war.

I guess war has always been and always will be part of life.

I take time today to honor those that lost their lives and their families; and think about peace throughout the world.

May 1971 – Maggie May by Rod Stewart

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May 1971 – a song popular in this month – Maggie May by Rod Stewart

This song is about the woman who deflowered Stewart when he was 16.

Interesting facts about Maggie May & Rod Stewart

The name “Maggie May” does not occur in the song; Rod borrowed the title from a Liverpool folk song about a Lime Street prostitute.

Stewart liked the play on words the title created, sometimes introducing the song by saying, “This is ‘Maggie May’ – sometimes he did, sometimes he didn’t.”

Stewart’s record company didn’t think this was a hit, so they released it as the B-side of “Reason To Believe.” Disc jockeys liked “Maggie” better, so they played it as the single instead.

Stewart’s success in the UK was expected, as he had a following there as a member of The Faces, but he was little known in America before “Maggie May” took off.

In October 1971 Stewart became the first artist in history to hold all four #1 positions in the British and American singles and albums charts.

This information was provided by Songfacts.com

The Good Drunk

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My category ‘Pictures & Stories’ are posts with me writing a fictional, creative short story about a picture.

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The Good Drunk –

Is she a drunk?  That eye, that smile, do they tell the story of who this woman really is?  What about a boxer?  Could she be a street fighter?  Who is this mysterious woman?

A busy, hectic and demanding day well demanded a drink!  The bar was unusually busy that evening with regular patrons partaking in their usual drinks of choice.  Who were all these other people here for the first time?  Why was the bar filled with people needing a drink or maybe needing each other’s company?  The music is loudly playing the songs of yesteryear from the jukebox and the clinking of glasses and voices of the people consume the space.  Noise is soon replaced with silence as the front door slams and the figure walks out of the shadows.

It is her!  But who is she and why is she here?

As she makes her way to the bar, the crowd begins to play the role of drinkers again and the music once again begins to play.  As she approaches the bar, the bartender asks for her request and quickly proceeds to fulfill it.  The Shirley Temple is sipped slowly as she focuses on the room of drinkers.  Those drinkers are drinking due to a busy, hectic and demanding day.  As her glass is emptied she turns around for another request while at the same time the patron next to her begins to rise from his barstool.  What takes place next will shock them both.

The man’s elbow firmly encounters this mysterious woman’s eye with severe force.  The knockdown takes place with a smash – the good drunk is down.

Who is this mysterious woman?

IN 45 MINUTES!

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I concluded my post ‘Are we there yet?’, with the following –

 

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Image Provided by: dynastyfootballwarehouse.com

I am like a child (or donkey) sitting in the backseat and continually asking the question “Are we there yet?”

I respond to myself “The Kingdom of Far, Far Away, that’s where we are going – far, far away!”

But in the meantime Gary and I continue to have the house ‘show-ready’ and remain optimistic.

Are we there yet?

I start my post today, with the following –

We are not there yet – I am still sitting in the backseat asking the same question.  The answer is still the same.

Last Saturday we did have a showing; and Gary and I had to rush to get the home ready.  Saturday morning, we had no clue we would have a showing.  We had already decided we would do our weekly cleaning; dusting, cleaning kitchen cabinet & countertops, and Gary vacuumed the downstairs.  I decided I would vacuum the upstairs on Sunday.  I had the pool looking sparkly clean and I picked up the backyard of a few fallen leaves and Gary did the same in the front yard.  These are activities taking place on a daily basis because you never know when we might receive that call.

It is about 11:45 AM and I decided I would lay out and soak in the sun.  Gary and I do this almost daily, as we love the sun.  About 15 minutes later, Gary comes outside and proceeds to lay out and also soak in the sun.  He asks me “Is your cellphone out here?”  I answer “Yes.”  He responds “You never know when we may get the call for a showing, it could be today.”  I respond “It could be.”  In less than 5 minutes my cellphone rings, and guess what?  We have a showing!  I asked the person on the other end twice what time the showing is scheduled for.  The call ends and Gary asks, “What time is the showing?”  I respond “IN 45 MINUTES!”

Okay, you want to talk about 2 guys looking like chickens with their heads cut off –let’s just say, we were hustling!

I hurriedly vacuum the upstairs while Gary starts going through our ‘showing checklist’.  The ‘showing checklist’ lists items we do not want to forget to do.

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Image Provided by: wikipedia.ma

These items include removing the dog’s water bowls, hiding cellphone cords, turning on lights, and removing other personal items from site.  In 40 minutes we are ready and we leave the house.

We live on a small cud-de-sac off a main street.  We park across the main street off another side street with view of the entrance to our cud-de-sac.  Since we know all our neighbor’s vehicles, we know when there is an unfamiliar vehicle that enters the street.

The showing came and stayed about 20 minutes and then left.

Did anything come out of the showing?

No offer, but the response from the realtor is the people did like the house and the neighborhood.

Will there be a call today?

Life as a Goldfish

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In my post ‘Life begins out of my comfort zone‘, I ended with the following –

images5FY7ICW1I will leave the home comfort zone as the current home is being sold.  I will leave my set ways, my current habits and start anew.  I will do this: but I will admit I have some uncertainty and some fear.  But then again if I do not try my life will not begin again.  The time is ticking, am I ready?  The current home is selling, am I ready?  The decision has been made, am I ready?

Life begins out of my comfort zone, am I ready?

In today’s post, I start with the following –

Not long ago, I read a post titled ‘Are you a goldfish’ on the blog theutopiauniverse.  Please go over and visit Brooke’s site as there are a great many interesting and inspirational posts there.

That post, I connected with and felt it applied to me and my life.  That post is about us living in a goldfish bowl doing the same thing and not pushing ourselves to do something different.  I am leaving my goldfish bowl to venture out into uncharted waters to explore the unknown.  What will I encounter and will I be fearful to what l find in those waters?  Will I be like Ishmael from the book Moby Dick who believes he has signed up for a routine commission only to find a tragic ending?  Or will I be like Dory from the movie Finding Nemo and speak whale and find a happy ending, find my way back home safely, wherever it may be?

images1UR7MPUOthenextweb.com article ‘Why leaving your comfort zone can be so rewarding’ includes the following –

So, why should we push ourselves outside of our comfort zone from time to time?

You can achieve more

You’ll lead a more fulfilled life

You’ll deal with change better

You’ll be more creative

In my post I wrote last year ‘The Home Comfort Zone‘, I concluded with the following –

My comfort zone that is my current home is holding me back from living and growing – soon, I believe the moving from my comfort zone will take place!

In today’s post I conclude with the summary of a book I read as a child –

From Wikipedia.org ‘A Fish Out Of Water’ –

The story is about a boy who buys a fish, named Otto, from a pet store. The store owner, Mr. Carp, gives the boy instructions on how to care for the fish, including strict feeding instructions: “Never feed him a lot. Never more than a spot! Or something may happen.

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Image Provided by: Wikipedia.org

You never know what.” When the boy disobeys these instructions out of compassion for his new pet, Otto begins to outgrow his fishbowl. This leads the boy to move him into lots of vases and a bathtub until he floods the house.

The boy requests help from a police officer and the fire department, who help him take Otto down to the local pool. There, they drop the fish in, causing it to expand to the size of the pool and scare off all of the swimmers. Unsure of what to do, the boy calls Mr. Carp. He is not surprised as boys always ignore his feeding instructions. When Mr. Carp arrives, he dives into the pool and pulls Otto below. Eventually, he emerges with the fish, back to its normal size. He refuses to say how he did it but tells the boy to never overfeed Otto again, and the boy takes his advice to heart.

What is the meaning of this story?  Don’t feed a fish too much food?  Or maybe as we grow; leaving the fishbowl into a large vase or bathtub or even a large swimming pool can be a good thing, right?

Treadmill Boogie

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Hello everyone, this post is the first of my Video Log posts that will be related to Boogie Blogging.

What is Boogie Blogging – dancing, moving to music, making a fool of myself, creating laugher within you.

I like to dance and I like to move; movement is good for all of us.  Why not have fun while we are moving?

It you like the music with my videos, you are welcome to get up and move or dance with me!

Let loose, let’s have fun, let’s do some Boogie Blogging.

 

Boogie Blogging on the treadmill –

Learning the Hard Way

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From my post ‘2nd Grade & 2nd Grade‘, I wrote the following –

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Image Provided by: quotesgram.com

Per ‘The Free Dictionary’ website I am not retarded, per the ‘Dictionary.com’ website I am retarded.  I never considered myself retarded, only stupid.

I did receive some other interesting results from my Google search of the word ‘retarded’.  I found ‘Intellectual disability’ a below average intelligence and set of life skills present before age 18.  The information presented to me is the following:

About –

Intellectual function can be measured with an IQ test to detect below-average intelligence.

The main symptom is difficulty thinking and understanding. Life skills that can be impacted include certain conceptual, social, and practical skills.

Special education and behavioral therapy can help a person live to his or her fullest.

Symptoms –

The main symptom is difficulty thinking and understanding. Life skills that can be impacted include certain conceptual, social, and practical skills.

People may experience –

Behavioral: impulsivity or hyperactivity

Also common: difficulty thinking and understanding or restlessness

As a young child I thought maybe I was retarded or maybe my parents thought I was.  Growing up into my adult years I thought I was stupid, as a middle aged adult I thought I had ADD and OCD, but now I know I have an intellectual disability.

In today’s post, I write the following –

Obviously I diagnosed myself – I have never been diagnosed by a medical professional.

In my post ‘suicide – it sounds peaceful, it sounds calm’, I wrote the following –

Can I go get on some medication?  Yes, I could and that would probably help – but then I feel like I lose the fight.  I feel like that I am just existing and not becoming; becoming better; becoming stronger – but just existing and accepting.  To me that’s not, that’s not good enough.  I have to fight I have to struggle, I have to keep moving forward; I have to keep going with the flow and working on myself and becoming a better person.

In today’s post, I conclude with the following –

I have to learn the hard way – for me this is a good thing because I believe for me to grow and become a better person and to live a better life I need to struggle and learn the hard way.

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Image Provided by: quotesgram.com

If I do not, I just become lazy and accepting of myself as I am and I just do not believe that is what I am here for.  I believe I need to struggle to learn – this is how I become a better person.

I will end this post with this definition from Wikipedia.org –

Learning the hard way refers to the educational results developed in the process of living life, the perspective gained as a result of trial and error—more often used in reference to the mistakes, mis-steps and misunderstandings which lead to better judgment.

Are we there yet?

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Image1

Image Provided by: dynastyfootballwarehouse.com

I feel like I am on a journey to ‘The Kingdom of Far, Far Away’.

In my post ‘The planning continues‘, I wrote the following –

There is still a house to sell and possessions to rid of and other activities that must be dealt with before the travel begins.  Gary and I are ready to begin, but other activities must first take place before hand.  The truck is bought and an RV has been picked out.  We are waiting to purchase the RV until the house is sold.

As we continue to plan, I will keep you posted on the progress.

In my post ‘show-ready‘, I wrote the following –

The additional activities that will take place once a solid offer is in place and the results of my next Dr. F. visit are on hold until the time comes.  In the meantime, we continue to clean windows, dust furniture, wipe countertops, pickup leaves from the yard and wait for that next call and the next showing.

In today’s post, I write the following –

We have made plans as to where we would like to travel to, the locations & stops and the amount of time for each location.  These plans will change as at this point in time we do not have a date when the travel adventure will start.  I am holding off on revealing the travel plans with you at this time because, they will change and I want to make sure we have concrete plans before revealing to you.  Upon receiving an offer on the house and depending on the results of my doctor visit; we then will finalize our plans.

Stay tuned my friends and be patient as I have enough frustration for all of us.

I am like a child (or donkey) sitting in the backseat and continually asking the question “Are we there yet?”

I respond to myself “The Kingdom of Far, Far Away, that’s where we are going – far, far away!”

The journey is partially planned, but yet to start.

And in the meantime Gary and I continue to have the house ‘show-ready’ and remain optimistic.

Are we there yet?

April 1971 – Just My Imagination by The Temptations

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April 1971 – a song popular in this month – Just My Imagination by The Temptations

Motown writers Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong wrote this in the late ’60s, but since Psychedelic songs were popular at the time, Whitfield and Strong decided to wait a few years before releasing it.

Interesting facts about Just My Imagination & The Temptations –

This was the last single for the Temptations with Eddie Kendricks and Paul Williams in the group. Eddie started a solo career and in 1973 scored his biggest hit with “Keep On Truckin’.”

This was the third of 4 #1 Hits by the Temptations.

The track was released in February 1971, and took off right away, peaking at #1 in April.

The Rolling Stones covered this in 1978. They had a hit with another Temptations song, “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” in 1974.

This information was provided by Songfacts.com