My favorite playmates were my cousins Ernestine and Dorothy Ann. We remained close all our lives and were more like sisters. Sadly, Ernestine died a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2011….about 6 weeks before her 81st birthday. She and Dorothy Ann lived together for many years after Dorothy Ann separated from her husband and their parents had also died.

I called Dorothy Ann earlier today. She turned 81 in Feb….was a year and 9 days younger than her sister. She apologized for talking so much about her aches and pains and coming shoulder replacement surgery…told her it was okay…at our age health issues are a big part of our lives! I did tell her I’d been doing family genealogy and found our fathers’ Harris line went all the way back to Charlemagne and Edward III…as thousands of others also do, so we aren’t considered special or royalty even if we did have some of that same royal blood now full of cholesterol, ha! I’m so glad we can visit often by phone; but I’ll plan another trip to Wisconsin this year. We were 7 or 8 years old when this photo was taken by my dad when we lived in West DePere, Wisconsin. Our mothers were school friends who grew up and married brothers, and all of us lived together in the same house during the early years of the Great Depression, and later went on summer fishing trips together with our parents. So maybe those are other reasons we’ve always been close! We were so young and innocent when this photo was taken back in 1939 or 1940 in West DePere, Wisconsin by my dad. My mother liked it so much, she had dad enlarge it and she colored it with crayons or colored pencils. I added the Shamrocks for the coming holiday, however.

Today I’m reminded of that song the Carpenters sang…”Rainy Days and Mondays Always Get Me Down”…. but then I had lunch with a bunch of “kids” who graduated with me in 1950 from Central High so then didn’t feel so “down” and didn’t feel quite so old either….that is until I looked in the restroom mirror. But at least last week my doctor told me I didn’t need to lose anymore weight. Funny but I wasn’t really trying to lose any! So now, as a result, I’m more conscious than ever before of just what I’m eating! One thing tho’ I will try keeping my eye on the doughnut and not upon the hole!

I DO believe daughter Valerie (aka “murisopsis”) must have inherited her bargain shopping/hunting genes from me. She and I share a love for clothes and for shopping and for finding designer or expensive label items. For her, it’s flannel lined jeans and she can never have too many jackets. In fact, I got a couple of them for her for her birthday, a genuine suede one and a genuine leather one…for a total of $5!!! It was 99 cent day at Good Will for the color of the week, and I couldn’t resist the beige suede size small jacket even though it didn’t fit me…and the following Friday the black very soft leather jacket was at the Attic Window for $5, but voila!…it was Seniors’ Day so got 20% off. Although the small size wouldn’t fit me, I knew it would fit Val and she’d like them both.

I’m showing you two of the best bargain finds I’ve gotten this winter for myself….best bargains in several years, in fact. Here’s my Boyne Valley Weavers, made in Ireland, color Aran stitch barn jacket….a real bargain! So glad I didn’t buy it when I was in Ireland. I decided on the dark green cape instead at the time. This is very light weight but warm…..a real bargain for $2.50 at the Attic Window. All their winter jackets and coats were 50% off. Earlier this winter, I found a lovely and beautifully constructed, made in the USA mohair coat at the same place in a wonderful blue-green and lavender plaid for just $4.00 (Seniors’ Day again)…so light weight and warm. I had crocheted a hat with the same colors in it last year and so couldn’t resist it. Anyway, they both are nicer than any I’ve ever purchased brand new for hundreds of dollars at department stores or shops! Daughter Andrea calls this “Retail Therapy”…. and it is rather cheap entertainment; however, one does need to find room in the closet to store the treasures found when hunting for these bargains!

I’m not a photographer but once DID take a lovely photo of our calico cat, Abigail. She was a weird one with sort of a telephone fetish. Every time I answered or was making a call, she’d jump up and purr and rub against my arms and the telephone for the duration of the call. She was also the messiest eater from having to compete for food as a newly weaned kitten and living in a basement with other kittens and puppies too…not a good environment for a young kitten. She’d grab her food from the dish and back up away from the dish to eat it…and leave some on the floor. I kept the Star Press newspaper under her food dish changing it often everyday.  She was a beautiful animal, however, and kept herself very clean. Daughter Val and Mark (aka “murisopsis” and “Sparky”) brought their two cats one weekend and taught Abigail some very bad habits, like using the dining room table for hanging out and resting or napping. She knew it was verboten and would almost kill herself in her haste to get down if I came into the room! Anyway, here’s Abigail in a photo I took in natural light since the sun was shining in through our living room’s picture window.

I’ve been having a lot of fun with “Photomania” via Facebook. It allows you to do all kinds of stuff to photos. I’ve enjoyed experimenting…you may want to try it too. I even took some photos of myself and then used some of the special effects available. Here are some…our family in 1982 bursting out of leather or something, me on Broadway under the Budweiser sign which a cousin of my husband’s thought was the real thing, then on the cover of Forbes, and being star struck. There are lots of holiday themes also like the one of my cousins and me back in 1940 surrounded by shamrocks for St. Pat’s Day. It was fun to do.

Last night was my turn to lead the discussion of our Life Savers’ study group…a 2nd installment since I led it last week too. The last two weeks we explored Acts 4 and discussed praying and speaking boldly. I used, as an example for this lesson, the recent news report and interview of Malala the 15 year old Pakistani girl who was targeted and almost killed by the Taliban for her campaigning and speaking boldly about the right for all girls everywhere to go to school to learn and be educated. Here is an excerpt:

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in an attempted assassination by the Taliban in October, has spoken publicly for the first time of her recovery in Britain, saying God has given her “a second life” thanks to the prayers of those who supported her around the world.

In a short video recorded in the days before her most recent operations on Saturday, Malala said:

“Today you can see that I am alive. I can speak, I can see you, I can see everyone and … I am getting better day by day. It’s just because of the prayers of people. Because all people – men, women, children – all of them have prayed for me.

“And because of these prayers God has given me this new life … and this is a second life. And I want to serve. I want to serve the people. I want every girl, every child, to be educated.”

What a wonderful witness to the power of prayer….and for speaking boldly, not backing down, and refusing to be intimidated. This young girl has more true grit and courage and humanity in her than all those who attacked her put together. It was such a good example of how witnessing to your beliefs and standing up for them in the face of danger takes a great courage and faith.

We also talked about the different ways we witness our beliefs whether political, humanitarian or religious. We read in Matthew 5:16 “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” and we sing “This little light of mine I’m gonna let it shine.” But we remember that light has no sound and that ”actions speak louder than words.”  

I also reminded our group that witnessing can take on other forms and offered this as an example of making a statement:

Well, 55 years ago I was at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Flint, MI giving birth to a tiny little red haired baby. My husband and I named her Valerie Ann….liking the fact that her initials could be the same as her nickname. I’d had a lovely second grade student with that name and loved both her and her name. 

I spent Christmas day with long time friends John and Jane….known them for over 49 years! I dropped a sugar free apple pie I’d baked to share with them on the floor but took the “back up” sugar free 1/2 pie from the freezer and the turkey casserole. We spent the day sharing and watching “The Christmas Story” on tv…the one that takes place in Gary, IN….the one with the “Leg Lamp” the husband loved and wife hated…the one about Ralphie who wants that Red Rider air rifle BB gun so badly. Photos are of my living room, friend Jane and of Val’s older son, my first grandchild, and me….my how he’s grown over the years!