The Goblins Will Get Ya......

If Aunt Tricia were sitting in your kitchen right now she would be reciting this in her mostest scary voice.

Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay.

To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.

To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep,

and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep.

While all us other children, when the supper things is done,

we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,

a listenin to the witch tales that Annie tells about

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,

and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,

his mammy heard him holler and daddy heard him bawl,

and when they turned the covers down, he wasn't there at all!

They searched for him in the attic room and cubby hole and press

and even up the chimney flew and every wheres, I guess,

but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts

and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

Once there was a little girl who always laughed and grinned

and made fun of everyone, of all her blood and kin,

and once when there was company and the old folks was there,

she mocked them and she shocked them and said she didn't care.

And just as she turned on her heels and to g and run and hide,

there was two great big black things a standing by her side.

They snatched her through the ceiling 'fore she knew what she's about,

and the goblins will get ya if a don't watch out!!

When the night is dark and scary,

and the moon is full and creatures are a flying and the wind goes Whooooooooo,

you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear,

and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears

and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about,

or the goblins will get YOU if ya don't watch out.

Happy Halloween!

Hope for Haiti and Peace for the Parent

I put my baby girl on a plane bound for Haiti a few days ago. I did it and only got just a little teary eyed---no full out sobbing or biting my lip to keep from blubbering. My eyes just welled up with tears and no more.


It has taken me a few days to figure this out. You see, not long ago I would have been sick to think about having her so far away and in such an uncertain place. I have always felt that I can't keep bad things from happening to my children, but if they happen, I need to be close by so I can fix them.


So even after she boarded the plane and was taxiing down the runway, and a pilot was telling me of the unstable weather that was approaching the island and that the return flight the following week was uncertain, I still did not have that familiar sick feeling.


What in the world was wrong with me? I should be beside myself. I should have tried to talk her out of it...but I wasn't and I didn't. I encouraged her.


That is what I have been trying to sort out. Why? Why am I at peace with this?


Faith. That is the answer.

Oh, I know faith is such an obscure term. We have faith in our spouses. We all know the old illustration of having faith that the chair will hold us when we sit on it. But the kind of faith I am talking about is a proven faith.

How could I not have faith in the God that has shown himself faithful to me so many times? How can I not leave Stephanie....or Chris and Kelly, Elizabeth and Rob and now my sweet Emerson for that matter...in his hands?


I have seen God work in all of their lives. He has placed them in places where they need to be at the very moment they needed to be there. He has kept them from things that they needed to be kept from and protected them from things I am sure we are not even aware of. He has allowed scary things to happen to them. He has shown Himself faithful in all of it.


Yes, my God is faithful. But can I still count him as faithful if something happens to her? Yes, absolutely. I know that beyond a shadow of a doubt that Stephanie was suppose to be on that plane, this week with it's Tropical or Sub Tropical weather pattern, and God is in control of every single second that will pass. That is why I can sleep at night. Not because her safety is guaranteed or that I can hurry down there and fix a problem should she have one. No, I can sleep at night because I know that God loves her far more than I could ever love her, and I know how much I love her. I know that He is sovereign and He will be with her every moment of every day. I am praying like crazy that she remains safe and that she can return home at the appointed time. But I am sleeping at night knowing God already has everything planned out just how he wants it. He is my strength and salvation.

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD. I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." Habakkuk 3:17-19

I Love My Doctor!

So, I had a doctors appointment this week. Thought I better get a check up even though my 50 year 50,000 mile warranty has already run out.

I went to my family practice doc. The same one that we have gone to for the last 27 years. I just love him. He reminds me of Gomer Pyle. I did quit going to him for the "lady" check up cause everytime he lifted up the sheet he would holler "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!" I really got uncomfortable when he was doing the breast exam and he shouted "Shazam!" That's when I decided I should probably find a Dr. that reminded me more of Aunt Bea.

So anyway, I was just there to have him take a look at my bum knee and have some blood work done and what not. So I go in and put on the gown that leaves the backside in a very vulnerable state and hop up on the table. In walks my doc and smiles real big and blesses my heart. He always blesses my heart. He blesses every bodies heart. He is just a heart blesser. As we chat about this and that he asks me what I think about the new tile. I mention that I haven't been in for quite some time so I really don't remember what it looked like before. He then describes the brown carpet that previously covered the floor of the exam rooms and as a visual he opens the door.....wide open....so I can see the brown carpet that still covers the hall and the entire nurses station and anyone else that happens by can see my exposed hind end. Yep...that's my Dr.

As we progress he begins asking all the routine questions. Do you smoke? Do you have any heart palpitations? Do my bowels move regularly? Then a page comes on the overhead. "Dr. Pyle, Dr. Fife on line one. Dr. Pyle, Dr. Fife on line one." To which he looks at me and somberly says, "Excuse me, I have to take that." Of course I want him to take it. For goodness sake, Dr. Fife may be calling for a very important medical consult for a very sick old lady and I would not want to delay her treatment. Now, Dr. Pyle talks VERY LOUDLY so I can hear his side of the conversation. It went a just like this:

"Hey Barn, how ya doin'?"
"Good, good. Glad to hear it."
"The Chicago Symphony? I love the Symphony. When did you say? Saturday. Yes I would love the tickets."
"That's too bad. I am sorry you can't use them, and thank you for thinking of me. I am sure we will have a wonderful evening"
"No, no I don't work tomorrow. I work on Friday."
"OK, great, just drop them off on Friday. Thanks again and tell Thelma Lou I said Hey."

He comes backs into the room and with a serious face and a furrowed brow resumes the questioning. Yep, that's my doc. I love him.

So after all the questions and the pokes, prods and peeks he decides I should probably have that knee x-rayed. So off I go to the x-ray room. But first I have to insist on a second gown that would cover the back side. I know the nurses and that man with a mole has already seen it, but I have some pride.

As it turns out, the knee looks fine and if I continue to have trouble I may have to see Dr. Otis Campbell. Golly! I hope he is as nice as Doc Pyle. And just wait until I tell you about my dentist!!

Has It Really Been a Year?

Day One May, 18, 2009

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

January

February

March

April

HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Emerson Christopher Louie Cantwell

Graduation, Gambling and Grandsons

Let me introduce you to my daughter...

the doctor!

Dr. Elizabeth R Burckardt, DNP, RN, ACNP

Elizabeth graduated on Friday, May 7, 2010, with her Doctorate of Nursing Practice. I am so proud I could just bust!!

THE GRADUATION

The Gambling

at Churchill Downs

The Grandson

A Word From Your Long Lost Friend

So I would love to say that I haven't posted anything because I have been busy traveling the world on an adventure of a life time. But that wouldn't be true.

It wouldn't be true either if I said that I have been absent due to a tremendous project I have been diligently working to complete. You know, something like organizing 32 years of photos. I started that back in the fall, had to take them off the dining room table for
Thanksgiving and they haven't moved out of the closet since.

Another falsehood would be to say that I have been wrapped up in a ministry to the poor and needy and have not had time for the frivolity of the blog. I wish that were true, but it's not.

Nope....I have just been pooped...lazy...or uninspired.

Sorry.

I have thought of so many humorous tidbits to share, but by the time I get home and sit down, I just don't have the energy to type it. Sad isn't it?

I wanted to tell you about how I was flashed by a cop on my way to work. I suppose I could just give you the quick version. I was driving to work on the new three lane interstate and as on any normal day there was a car in the left lane and the car in the middle lane and a car in the right lane all going the same speed. Silly me didn't know that was why the third lane was added so that now we can have traffic backed up on three lanes instead of two because three people choose to drive the exact same speed. Well on this particular morning the driver in the left lane was one of Illinois' finest. I was able to stare a hole in the back of the middle lane's driver's head and scared him enough to speed up and move over to the right lane. As I made my move to break the bottle neck the car in the left speeds up to my speed. I slow down...he slows down. I speed up...he speeds up and then....then he has the nerve to speed up just enough to get just far enough ahead and flash his cherry and berry lights. (I hope your mind wasn't wondering else where with a different kind of "flashing") I had to drive the stinking speed limit the rest of the way.

Anyway, please accept my apologies. And stick with me. I hope to find a little more energy and inspiration soon!!

So Much To Talk About ....

The Kentucky Wildcats lost in the Elite Eight. I was so mad I could've cussed. Some say I might have, but don't believe it. I was mad enough to though.

Spent last weekend with my girls in Nashville. What a busy, busy weekend.

I got there on Thursday and we met up with my Sister-in-law and niece and had a yummy dinner at Mafiaoza's. Loved the fried ravioli.

Friday we spent a leisurely day in downtown Franklin. Ate at Pucketts and had my favorite meal of the entire trip, a fried bologna sandwich. Oh my word. It was a thick cut of bologna, so I wasn't sure if I would like it. I usually like my FBS thin slice of bologna slit in four places and fried up crispy. But this was bologna-icious.I bought the cutest little scarf to tie on my purse. I am so glad I got it early in the trip because I think every where we went people noticed me and thought I must be a famous country singer or something because having a purse with a cute little scarf tied on to it is so trendy.

We then yearned for something educational. So we jumped into Steph's Patriot Missile and landed smack dab in the middle of the Civil War. We gazed upon the Carnton Plantation. (We weren't going to pay the $10 a head to actually through it.) We learned that the Battle of Franklin had swept right through the very spot we were standing and many a confederate soldier died on the veranda of which we were observing. John and Carrie McGavock buried those soldiers right there on their land. As we strolled through the final resting place of these soldiers, Steph got a call on her Blackberry.....but no one was on the other line. Coincidence? I don't think so. I think it was an attempt from someone on the other side asking her to please get off his headstone.



We piled back into the Patriot and visited a war memorial and then back to Steph's place to think about all we had seen.....and to admired my scarf embellished purse.


Elizabeth showed up just in the nick of time to join us for yet another meal. We feasted on steak at JAlexanders. We were going to need all the nourishment we could get for the night that lay ahead of us. With our belly's full, we bolted for the dark side of Nashville to a little karaoke place called Wanna Be's. Oh if those walls could talk. I'm not going to say too much except....I Go Out Walking..After Midnight..Out In The Moonlight. I am so sorry Patsy....so very, very sorry. It was a wild and crazy night I tell you. I didn't get to bed until TWELVE THIRTY.



Saturday was to be a 100 proof kind of day! The Patriot Missile took us straight to Lynchburg, TN and the Jack Daniels Distillery. If people knew how much work goes into making that stuff they would drink it with a little more respect and not guzzle it down like it was water! Did you know that Lynchburg is a dry county. They can make it there, but never a drop is to be tasted.


In the words of Elizabeth, we were all Jacked up and now it was time to wine down. We stopped by a vineyard on the way home to enjoy some of Nashville's famous Calypso music in the vineyard.


Now, it is about an hour to Lynchburg and and hour back so we kept ourselves entertained on the road by getting to know....da turdle man.

By then it was time to eat again. Who cares none of us were a bit hungry, but the clock said it was time to eat and ate we did. After a filling dinner of Mexican we were all wore out from our whirl wind tour of middle Tennessee so we called it a night. Hugs and kisses to Brenda and Andrea as they were leaving first thing in the morning.

Sunday morning we met Steph's room mate and her Mother for a delightful lunch at The Brick Cafe'. Good food and good friends. Elizabeth had to get back home so that left Steph and myself to fill a Sunday afternoon until it was time for me to catch my flight home.

I got home around 10:30 Sunday evening and now a week later I think I have finally caught up on my sleep.

But my scarf is still tied to my purse and looks marvelous.

March Madness Makes Me Merry

The madness has begun!

I love this time of year almost better than Christmas!!
The fact that it does not require any shopping, wrapping, cooking or cleaning is just a bonus.

Here are some very important dates to highlight on your calendar so you won't miss a minute of this years Hoops Hysteria.

Selection Sunday: March 14, 2010

Opening Round Game: March 16, 2010

First Round: March 18-19, 2010

Second Round: March 20-21, 2010

Third Round: March 25-26, 2010

Fourth Round: March 27-28, 2010

Final Four: April 3 & 5, 2010 at Lucas Oil Stadium
Indianapolis, Indiana.

Need a bracket? You can get one here.

GO CATS!!

Grandma's Little Sweet-E

Grocery Shopping Brings Out the Worst In Me

Before you go any further, please don't think me as cold-hearted and uncaring. Don't call me insensitive. Just hear the frustration in my voice for what it is.

I am of the firm belief that there should be some type of rules for grocery shopping. I think that you should have to show a current check stub or an employee badge of some sort in order to prove that you have no other time to shop to be allowed in the grocery between the hours of 4:00 and 6:30 p.m.

I believe that if you are retired, you can turn the DVR on and record the current showing of Deal or No Deal to be watched later in the day. There is no need for someone who has ALL STINKING DAY to grocery shop to be in the mix during peak hours. I mean come on Elmer and Avis Oldfolks, if you need to study the saltine boxes that long, you need to get an earlier start. Just grab a box and get on with it for crying out loud. I understand that on nice days that Elmer and Avis just need some fresh air. But don't you think the air is fresher at say 1:30?


I believe if the only form of mobility you have at your disposal is a little rascal, you MUST obey the rules of road at all times. Riding in a motorized shopping cart does not give you license to barrel up the produce aisle at break neck speed chasing all of rest of us out of the way just so you can have your pick of the apples and mangoes.

I only have one thing to say to those who have a passel of kids.....GET A BABY SITTER! For real, if you have 5 kids under the age of 4 and are wearing pink sweat pants that you obviously purchased prior to birthin' all them babies, then you can either come first thing in the morning before boredom and over-stimulation has set in. Or you can get a baby sitter. I can get you some names if you need them. I really don't want to purchase a bag of chips after Penny the Pooper has carried them through out the store while whining "Mooooooommmmmm....I neeeeeeddddd theeeeeesssse." Only to have you put them back on the shelf just before you head to the check out.

Now I am fully aware that there are circumstances that may require those who are not at work the previous 8 hours to have to be shopping during prime time. I was blessed to see the cute little old man in the race cart being helped by what very well may have been his grand-daughter. I admired her security as she shouted to her hard of hearing friend the multiple varieties of frozen vegetables. I panicked with her as the driver of said race cart announced "I THINK THIS THING IS RUNNING OUT OF GAS....IT IS GETTING SLOWER."

So, please forgive me. I am not usually this irritable. But I just took 2 and one half hours of my life to complete what should have been a 45 minute trip to the Piggly Wiggly. I didn't even get a good look at ice cream because there was a mob of preschoolers climbing in the freezer case while the moms discussed why Oprah can't keep the weight off.

Next trip I think I will try to get in at 5:oo A.m. on my way In to work and see how that works.

Ode To A Girl Scout

Oh you little sprite, all dressed in green.
You and your badges all sown on with honor and pride.
You are such a Carmel Delight to so many people.

You just Tag-A-Long without any complaint,
Just the Peanut Patter sound of your little feet brings a smile to many a face.
It makes us just want to Do-Si-Do with joy when we see you coming up our walk.

Oh you precious little Brownie Scout.
You are a gift to us all in your beanie.
Your Thin Mint-ens are always on your tiny hands.

You enrich our lives so.
You and Samoa of your friends are always a welcome sight at out lonely door posts.

Oh you little Daisy Scout.
You little Shortbread you!
What a Trefoil treat you bring us.

You are such special young entrepreneurs.
Many have tried to imitate, but none have succeeded.
We love you Girl Scouts.
We love you with all our cookie craving hearts.

Surprise! Surprise! Suprise!

My birthday was on Friday. I turned 5....fif....49 plus 1. Yeppers, I hit the big 5 - 0. I don't mind reaching that mile stone, it just that it seems so weird, so not normal to say that I am fifty. But you know what they say....Fifty is the new Thirty!!

Before I go any further, let me first say THANK YOU to all my friends and family who helped me celebrate my birthday.

As I take inventory of 50 years of my accomplishments, my failures, my experiences both good and bad, I realize how ridiculously blessed I am to have the honor to call so many amazing people my friend. Then, when I look at those that I am fortunate enough to call family, I am so very thankful for each and every one of you.

And I want to say a very special THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU to Danny, Chris, Kelly, Emerson, Elizabeth, Robert and Stephanie. You are far and above the best gifts I could ever hope for or dream of. You make me proud in who you are and your successes are just bonuses!

Here are a few pictures from the Nifty Fifty Surprise Party!! Enjoy.

Is it wrong that I start out with the cake?

I live for cake. Cake and I have been best friends for 50 years now. Cake is the only reason I attend weddings. This cake was amazing. It looks beautiful and it tasted just as good as it looks. The top layer was lemon with raspberry filling...yummy. The middle layer was Red Velvet...my all time favorite. The bottom layer was marble with custard filling. Fantastic. (A shout out to Kirin Hertzner, the cake artist!)

Emerson was the first surprise, then Chris and Kelly....

Then Elizabeth....
Rob came a little later.

Then Stephanie.

My sneaky kids!

Here I get to beat the stuffing out of 50!

And 50 just doesn't want to die!

Here are some of the guests...who by the way are very
good at telling untruths!!


Big Mommy and Emerson
(aka my Mom)

Andrea: Hmm, so that's what 50 looks like.
Stephanie: I will never be 50.
Elizabeth: Poor Mom, won't be long until we have to move her into the home.

I was queen for the day!
Thanks to everyone!!