Saturday, January 20, 2007

"Be ye kind one to another"

Written for Sunday, January 21, 2007
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That's what Mema taught every nursery child in her care who was old enough to memorize. [She passed away January 16, 2007, read her obituary here.]
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Mema always said all her great-grandchildren were great. I'm sure these two had learned this verse. Mema generally would tell you this tale.

One time a little boy and girl in her nursery were fighting. Mema told them to remember Ephesians 4:32.

One replied, "We didn't forget it, we just aren't doing it."


Mema then said, "and further more, God doesn't live in places where people fight."

One child then came back, "Why doesn't God come live with us, it's a lot better than this [meaning the nursery]?"

Did Mema meet her match that time? Of course not, those kids knew and were reminded of their improper behavior.

There are two parts of following God's wishes: first one must know what God wants, the Bible tells us; then we must obey, 'just do it' as the Nike slogan says.

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32 (King James Version)(link)

Ephesians 4:32 and Mema's 62 years of working were a focal point during the minister's message at her funeral yesterday.

A few links to Mema blogs [Technorati Search found 40 blogs, try these]
Family Reunion II - A Meeting of Five Cousins . . . [at New Hope Cemetery where she is buried]
Adi can [Mema thought Adi had worms]
(all) Good things have to come to an end [89th birthday]
One more Mema story [she almost had a sip of beer]
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith

Adi Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sleep at the Holiday Inn

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Just like the rest of us.
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Eddie's BBQ has the best, Jim was eating fried oysters before he took this picture.

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Eddie's is located on MacAurther Drive in Alexandria, Louisiana. I always try to go there when I'm in Alexandria. Both their barbecue is good and so is the seafood.

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Today the boudin wasn't quite ready while we were there. For a short review of Eddie's go here.

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Don't you just love it when the Jim Bunch eats.


Friday, January 19, 2007

I'd Go Back (in an instant) -- Italy and France and Western Europe

Day -- Out the front door and across the lane.
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and Night
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The day after out our back windows

Posted by Picasa These were taken during our stay at Bettolle, Italy, last spring.   For two weeks we were driving where we wanted to and then went back to Bettolle, Tuscany, Italy (a Bing Search) before much dark. We stayed there in a converted granary/silo arrangement, converted to apartments. for about a week.  Our view out the back windows was wonderful.

Our holiday was three weeks in Sicily touring, another week in the Amalfi area north of Naples, then with a rented car at Milan we rented a car for two more weeks, one week in Provence, Fance and the other staying here in Tuscany, Italy.  It all was GREAT!! 
(Later:  Yes we did, we've literally driven to all parts of Western Europe, even most of the tiny countries.  I'm afraid to count how many as our Daughter was working in London and she took her family as well, five years.)

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

That is from 2 Timothy 4:7 (link), Mema died yesterday. She would have been 90 years old on February 19, 2007.
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She will be buried Saturday in the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Hineston, Louisiana. Her final resting place will be there with her family.

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What follows is from the February 19, 2006, blog (link). She had some more stories, Mrs. Jim and I will compile and post them soon.
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"I was born in 1917, in
Poplarville, Mississippi. We came to Louisiana when I was four. We made our home at Camp 19 [near Elmer, Louisiana]. That was in an old logging camp."
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"We came by train. When we crossed the Mississippi River, there weren't any bridges at Baton Rouge. Each car was carried across on a barge and hooked up again on the other side. We stayed in the cars, on the barges."
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Mrs. Viola T is 'Mema' to us and her grandchildren.
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Today is her 89th birthday. She has one son, Danny, and is the mother of two daughters, Velma and Mrs. Jim. Mema also has seven grandchildren. Her kids and grandkids are scattered from West Texas to Alabama. Of course each is the brightest and smartest and has the best job of any in the country.
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More: "I had two husbands and buried them both. They both died of barbecued lungs. That killed them. I won't get married again because I can't afford to bury another man." . Mema now lives in Conroe, Texas, fairly close to Mrs. Jim. She moved here from Louisiana and has been here a couple of years now. She likes her apartment but often muses how nice it had been to live in a 'paid for house.'
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Her work was stay at home mother, church nursery worker for 62 years, and a caretaker for elderly or sick ladies. She also worked with the Cub Scouts for a while when her son, now 52, was a Scout.
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In her 89 years, her faves:
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An observance made by her son-in-law: When she went to the Holy Land, she needed a passport. When her birth certificate came from Mississippi, her name was listed as 'Baby Girl B____.' It bothered her that her mother hadn't given her a name. An explanation that maybe her mother just didn't have enough time to get a name to the nurses worked a little. I know she still wonders.
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Birth certificates lacking names must be a common occurrence in Mississippi, as they were prepared for this situation. Mema just had to tell them she wanted to be called Viola. And Viola, she got a new birth certificate with a real name. . The Holy Land trip was Mema's first time to fly in an airplane. She watched and watched from her window all the luggage that was being loaded. She remarked that "this plane is going to be to heavy to fly." . Then too, the plane was full. She just knew that with the full plane and all that luggage we could not leave the ground. But we did.
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Yesterday we celebrated by going to Pancho's Mexican Buffet restaurant. That is her son's favorite place to eat when he comes here. They don't have Pancho's in Tennessee
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Some of the wait staff at Pancho's
singing Happy Birthday to Mema
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Oh yes, Mema has never held a driver's license. She does have a 'back seat driver's license' given to her by the State of Louisiana to be used as an ID. Mema is good at her back seat driving while telling us her many, many, funny stories.


Adi Can . . . . . . . . . Have a troubled dream sometimes

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Maybe she's thinking something like this might happen?
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For sure she wouldn't want to ride today. But you can tell by my shoes that I'm not driving anyplace very soon.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Adi Can . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Be the only one out on the golf course today

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Why do you think this is? [Click on picture for full screen view]
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Very simple:
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For up-to-date Montgomery, Texas, weather click here.

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That lantern came to me new in the 60's. The fuel also. I fired the lantern up tonight, I had to lubricate (oil) the plunger pump leather to make it work. Drinking water came from our filtered faucet to fill those jugs.

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The bath tub will be filled and a bucket brought in for flushing and washing. When we lost power because of Rita damage we never did lose water pressure. Our water district is small and has emergency generators.

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Of course we have the flashlights and candles. And a battery radio. For the huricanes I have a battery TV but I'm not real sure which box it is stored in. It probably will stay. Oh yes, the cars are gassed up.


Monday, January 15, 2007

A very busy weekend

For some the weekend is Monday also (Martin Luther King Day here, a holiday) . My weekend was over Sunday night.
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This camellia will do ok tonight, tomorrow night some of them will be covered with plastic or cloth for hot house action.
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Our winter may be here again. This time with a little rain and temperatures in the thirties tonight and high twenties tomorrow night. Dallas has icy stuff today and last night.
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Our Saturday began Friday night. We have house guests, Mrs. Jim's sister and her husband (Velma and Royce) are here from Louisiana. Mostly they came to visit Mema but we sure do enjoy their visits and stays with us.

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Saturday Mrs. Jim and I drove to Corpus Christi to visit a friend who is in the nursing home. We have power of attorney for her health matters and needed to check on her and her care.

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As this lady has no family and can no longer make decisions for herself we keep pretty close tabs on her. I will blog about her another day.

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Our first stop was Hillje, Texas, for kolaches at Presek's Smokehouse. This mural is on the east side of their building, right ahead of where we parked.

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Their flag was at half mast for President Ford.
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We stopped for gas at Woodsboro. This time the stop was welcome because gas was ten cents cheaper here than the lowest in the Houston area. Woodsboro is on U.S. Highway 77, between Refugio and Corpus Christi.

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As it always happens, the grass really was greener on the other side of the fence. Regular was $1.84 on the outskirts of Corpus Christi with our premium at $2.04. And on the way home this station had gone down three more cents ($1.81).
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After a visit with the sitter and nursing staff there we were on our way back

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This meant another stop at Prasek's. Then a stop at Billy and Karen's to deliver them a ham and cheese kolache each. There would have been more but Praseks was sold out. It was a good thing we hadn't gotten two we really didn't need on our first stop in the morning.

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We did have some rain here and there and again in Houston on the way home. Nothing freezing as the temps were in the 50s and 60s. Our high for the day was about 75 degrees.

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Today was Sunday school and church [First Baptist Church of Conroe, Texas]. We had to be there at 7:30 for the one last orchestra practice.

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Mrs. Jim plays in both the 8:15 and the 10:45 services (at 10:45 we have two services, we attend the traditional one, the other equally popular is contemporary). I taught (?) our Sunday school class, three of us have rotating teaching privileges.

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After church we met Velma and Royce with Mema. When she had finished her lunch we headed for seafood at Papadeaux.

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We didn't eat any of these lobsters, they were all safe for a while longer. Velma and Royce each had blackened catfish and shrimp Creole, Mrs. Jim had a combination poboy, shrimp and oyster (it was huge, we brought half home in a box!), and I had a crawfish combination plate half full of fried crawfish with the other half being crawfish etouffe.
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We all brought doggie boxes home, Adi won't be allowed to touch these.

Tonight this routine was for me: "Take a laxative at 2:00 pm the day prior and eat a light dinner. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight, take an enema the morning of the test and chew 2 gas tablets on the way to the office. Take all medications as usual with water."

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April this year was the fifth anniversary of my abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. My cardiologist is going to have me checked over.

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I double checked to make sure all this was necessary as I have doubts it is. If it isn't you might hear me complaining where you live.

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You can see that today isn't a holiday for me.


Sunday, January 14, 2007

When you make God a promise you'd better keep it

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When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.
Ecclesiastes 5:4 and 5 (New International Version-link)

Photo courtessy of Billy, this bird may be a U.S. citizen or a Canadian?
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Ecclesiastes 5:2-5-link:

2 Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.
3 As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.

5 It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it.

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