MY FUNNY DAD, HARRY

Consider The Hammer

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

My dad loved woodworking and carpentry so it came as no surprise to me when I found this poem on a church bulletin he saved from 1947. I think it was written by Rev. William Whiteman.:

CONSIDER THE HAMMER

It keeps its head.

It keeps pounding away.

It doesn't fly off the handle.

It looks at the other side too.

It finds the point, then drives it home.

It makes mistakes, but starts all over.

It is the only knocker in the world that does any good.

There aren't many tools I know how to use, but the hammer is one of them. My dad gave me my very own tool box at a young age and one of the tools he gave me was the hammer. I still use it today, mostly to pound nails for hanging pictures.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

A Note From Dad--You're In The Game!

2011-12-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

For my final post of 2011 on this blog, I decided to share a note I found when straightening my desk written by my dad. I never noticed it before because it was on the backside of a pink index card invitation to a "Youth For Christ" meeting. It must have either been some sermon notes he took or else a devotional thought he had. It was written in pencil so is hard to read, but here is what it says:

Game, Sport

A great many people thoroughly enjoy watching a good game; the most popular seems to be base ball. Few of us realize that we are in a game ourselves right now, with many people watching us and hoping that we will win. But ~~some of us~~ we are losing, because we are so much interested in watching others play their game, and forget that it we ought to be much concerned about winning ourselves. You ask "what game are we playing?" Our very life is a game, some win, and some lose. There is always reward for the winner. The prize for the winner of life's game is of unspeakable value; words cannot describe it.

I believe his thoughts were based on these two scriptures:

Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith: who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

God compares our life to a race and those who have successfully completed their journey before us are the "cloud of witnesses" cheering us on. I wonder if my mom and dad see me from heaven and are cheering me on. It's kind of a cool thought, isn't it?

The other verses that I think my dad was thinking of when he wrote his are:

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:13-1)

What a good message to keep in mind as we begin a new year! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I am donating .50 per legitimate comment this month to The Cleveland Pregnancy Center.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

My Favoirte Gift Ever and More! (Writer's Workshop)

2011-12-22T05:38:00.000-05:00

My dad's favorite thing to do was work with wood. Here is a list of a few of the the neat things he made:

My all-time favorite gift is the secretary that my dad made for me when I was only around 3 years old. I still use it today, 53 years later! One of the games I played was with my secretary and toy phone. Once my dad was sick and stayed home from work that day (which was very rare). I heard him call in sick so I went to my phone and did the same: "Hello Boss, I am sick so won't be in to work today. Good-bye." He was not happy with it because he measured the desk top part wrong and it doesn't come up quite as far as it should when it's closed. I still love it! Later, after the foster kids came to live with us, he even put a lock on it for me although I usually didn't bother locking it.

Among many things dad made for us kids was a jeep, which I mention in my book. It was really, really great! Four kids could sit in it at once. My dad, being the ever cautious, safety first kind of guy did not put any motor on it. Thus, it was self-propelled by pushing it along. We had a blast with it, even though we just used it in our own yard. Here's a very short video clip of it and my brother playing with our dog so you can see for yourself:

(This video was taken off a DVD I had made through CVS from one of our old movies my dad had taken.)
My parents always liked it better when our friends would come to our house and this certainly brought them over. Having four kids all within just two years apart meant that our house was the place to be. Especially with our unusual "toys."

Another kid attraction we got one year to compliment our swing set which included a glider was a little backyard roller coaster! It had one big hill and a bunch of little ones. Only one could ride at a time though but it was a lot of fun too and drew a crowd!

Harry used to work at a box company. One of the best things he made for us was out of cardboard! He made us a robot with only three sides so we could go inside and make its head and arms move! We had a lot of fun with that!

I love the things my mom and dad made for me but these are the most unusual. There are so many I won't list them all here.

What was your favorite gift or the best gift you gave or received? Have you made something cool for your kids?

This is my response to the prompt to tell about your favorite gift that you received. To find more interesting posts or participate yourself, head of to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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The Nativity Project of 1982 With Help From Harry

2011-12-17T07:23:00.000-05:00

In 1982, I was renting the upstairs of dad's double house for just $100 a month (which included meals and utilities!) It was a sweet deal. During the time I rented his upstairs, I was youth director at the Brooklyn Christian & Missionary Alliance Church and would have the youth group over for a time of snacking and just hanging out after the Sunday evening service. Usually, we'd have about eight, but when I started the special Christmas project of actually making a Nativity set for the church, we got more kids to come.

I covered my large dining room table with a sheet so we could just paint on that and I could leave it up all week. (I lived alone up there, this was before I even knew Gerard in my former life.) I bought the pieces and the paint, chalk, spray, trays and dad made a stable out of cardboard that the boys could glue wood onto and then stain it. We worked on this about six weeks and then set it up in the church narthex with the intent of using it every year.

Unfortunately, some pieces got lost and broken so I took it back and use it every year. I had to replace Mary and the cow and the angel. To see my post with Spunky Doodle helping me set it up this year, go to Spunky Doodle Helps Set Up Nativity Set. Spunky is the Tuxedo cat I got from dad's when it was just 3 months old.

(All these pictures of making the set were scanned in with my new photo scanner I got for my birthday this year.)

This post is a Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Show us your Nativity Set.

Christmas Parade of Posts

2011-12-10T14:23:00.002-05:00

There are only so many Christmas memories I have so here are links to my past Christmas posts on this blog. Hope you will choose to read at least some of them.

Are You Decorating This Christmas?

What To Get Dad For Christmas

Harry's Tip--My Favorite Christmas Tradition

Save That Paper And Those Cards!

Are You Sending Christmas Cards This Year?

What Would Jesus Want For Christmas

The Nativity Project Of 1982 With Help From Harry

What's Your Holiday Wish?

My Funny Dad, Harry Makes A Nice Gift

I Am A Bit Of A Procrastinator--What About You?

Tashabud Got It (My Funny Dad, Harry) for Christmas and Reviewed It On Her Blog

We Were The Same Kind Of Shoppers--What Kind Are You?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

My Favorite Thanksgiving (Writers Workshop)

2011-11-24T05:30:00.001-05:00

My Mom

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Treasure this time with your loved ones! This is about my mom's last Thanksgiving with us--one of my favorite memories!

Cooking Thanksgiving Day Dinner
(November 25, 1999)

My mom had been quite ill that month. She was in and out of the hospital but was having a good day. We all knew it meant a lot to her to have a nice Thanksgiving so my dad, me and Gerard all decided to pitch in and make it a good day. Mom had made waldorf salad and the turkey roll was in the oven when Gerard and I arrived. (I thought about bringing the camcorder, but didn’t because I knew mom wouldn’t want me to take her picture. She was always camera shy, especially when she didn‘t think she looked good enough. This was the last time Harry‘s oven was used--as an oven, that is.)

Mom supervised the dinner preparations from her favorite comfortable chair in the living room, telling dad and me what to do next. (I am deficient in cooking unless it’s heating up frozen dinners.) We were going to put the stuffing in the oven next to the turkey roll and the rolls on top, but dad had the cookie sheet with the turkey roll turned the wrong way so he had to spin it around. Then the lid on the stuffing was too high, so dad had to make the rack lower. Mom’s wondering what’s going on because I am laughing by now. Instead of taking the turkey out, dad tried doing it leaving it in and just lifting the rack. The turkey started sliding into the oven! Gerard was back from CVS by then, so he was laughing too. I caught it with the potholders in time before it fell into the oven. Dinner was good.

Mom was feeling good and seemed back to normal like before she went to the hospital, recovering nicely. She ate good too. It was a nice Thanksgiving and, as it turned out, was a very good last memory of our time with mom. I really wish I had brought my camcorder that day!

(Excerpt from the book I wrote: "My Funny Dad, Harry," pg. 34.) I shared this in response to Mama Kat's Writers Workshop prompt to write about a favorite Thanksgiving memory.

I am donating .50 per legitimate comment this month to St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Would You Do This To Your Kids?

2011-11-15T18:44:00.001-05:00

This video that I first saw over at Unknown Mama, although funny in how it shows how much the kids like their candy, is also sad how the parents purposely attempt to get the kids upset. The parents lied to their young children, saying that they ate all of their Halloween candy and videotaping their reaction. This little prank was instigated by Jimmie Kimmel who thought they would just get mad and was surprised that almost all of them cried. I think some cried because they were so angry. I know I do that sometimes and so did my mom.

I am grateful that my parents never teased me. Maybe you think we were too serious all the time, but I really can’t remember them ever getting me mad on purpose. Ephesians 6:4 says, “And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” My dad took that literally and so I know he would not have participated in this prank.

Would you do this to your children? Do you tease them just to get them mad? Did your parents tease you? If so, did you like it?

I am donating .50 cents per legitimate comment this month to St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Rescue Me--In Memory of Grampa J (UPDATED)

2011-11-09T05:57:00.001-05:00

Over at Mayzie's Dog blog, to honor their Grampa J who loved pets, they are encouraging everyone to post a pet who needs a home on your blog and next week they will draw five participants and donate $100 to an animal rescue of their choice!

Wendy with one of her adoptable cats at Kitten Krazy.

This kitty is at Kitten Krazy in Medina, Ohio run by Wendy who helped me so much with cleaning after my dad died. I donated lots of his things to her shelter (See Kitten Krazy post). I chose to feature Parker because my dad took in so many black cats and Blackie was his favorite. I was pleased to hear Parker was adopted so no I've posted Isis:

8/18/11 Isis is a FANTASTIC cat! She is loving and sweet. She loves people and other cats. She came to us from Medina Shelter with a newborn litter of kittens. She raised her babies and fostered many more. She was so gentle and caring with all the kittens she raised. Now it is her turn to find a loving home. She would make a great addition to any family. Adoption fee is $40 and includes spay/neuter, first FVRCP shot, rabies vaccination, worming, FELV/FIV/FeHW testing, and flea treatment. To adopt, please visit our new adoption center at Quick Fix located at 930 Lafayette Road - Unit A, Medina, OH 44256 or check out our website at www.kittenkrazy.org and www.quickfixmedina.org (a low-cost spay/neuter and wellness clinic).

Here's the link to Mayzie's if you want to participate too: Big Announcement

Visit Petfinder.com to find a homeless pet in your area that you could provide a good home for--that's how we found Abby!

I am donating 1.00 per legitimate comment this month to St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

My Biggest “What If” Worry

2011-10-27T19:41:00.000-04:00

My dad’s biggest worry was what would happen to his cats if they outlived him. Part of the reason my dad didn’t take his cats for regular vet care was that he was actually hoping they wouldn’t outlive him. I reassured him that I would take care of them for him, and did for three months; but then when I decided to sell his house, I had to get the cats out.

At the time, we already had two cats--Moe (14 years old) and Spunky Doodle (3 years old). His two male cats were not neutered but the female must have been spayed; however, the males had HIV and the female had parasites. They all had their claws whereas; my two both had their front paws declawed. I looked for someone to take them but couldn’t find anyone and ended up having to have them put down. It was heartbreaking for me and I felt I let my dad down. I just didn’t have any choice. I didn’t know about the cat sanctuaries around.

Now, my biggest fear is for the welfare of our pets if something happened to both Gerard and me. We don’t have children. Who would even know something happened to us and that they were in there all alone?

What’s your biggest worry?

I am donating .50 per legitimate comment this month to Samaritan's Purse for famine relief to starving people in Africa.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Choosing Pet Food: I like the Picture On The Bag

2011-10-01T13:36:00.000-04:00

Softie and Sweet Thing Waiting for Whiskas

Harry loved his cats, any and all cats even, but pretty much let them run the show.

Dad chose his cat food by the picture on the bags and I'm sure he's not the only one. Of course, his cats had the final say and they loved their Whiskas and Meow Mix. I fed mine Fancy Feast thinking it was good because of the name; it also had a nice furry cat on the can. When I realized this, I switched to Science Diet--the only one out of the three kinds mentioned here that is lifestage specific and test fed.

Which bag do you like best?

The cat is so small, it's hard to see!

I just wish the manufacturers of higher quality pet food would put more effort into making their packaging more appealing. Just like you can't judge a book by its cover, you can't choose your pet food by the picture or name! I recently learned that there are two very important things to consider when choosing your pet's food and it is pretty easy to find this information once you know what to look for.

AAFCOstands for Association of American Feed Control Officials. A basicgoal of AAFCO is to provide a mechanism for developing andimplementing uniform laws, regulations, standards and enforcementpolicies for regulating the manufacture, distribution and sale ofanimal feeds; resulting in safe, effective, and useful feeds.

Look For The AAFCO Statement

TheAAFCOStatementprovides the twomost critical key points of informationon a pet food label.

What life stage is the food nutritionally balanced for?

LabelA BrandX Cat Food provides nutrition to meet the needs for all life stages.What does that mean? Start your kitten eating this food and continuefeeding this food to your cat forever. But, just as we discussedearlier, a human’s nutritional needs change as we go through life,so it does for cats and dogs. When a pet food is for alllife stagesit must provide nutrition for the most demanding: GROWTH (kittens &puppies). Do cats and dogs need all that extra nutrition as adultsand seniors? No, they don’t.
LabelBWhen a food states it provides complete and balanced nutrition for aspecific life stage: growth, maintenance (adult), and reproduction(pregnant or nursing), the nutrients in the food are optimal for thatlife stage.

Hereare Hill’s life stage guidelines:
- Growth life stage – high nutritional demands for growth and development
  - Puppies and kittens age 0 to 1 year
- Maintenance (Adult) life stage – nutrition that maintains good health
  - 1 to 7 years for small & medium breed dogs
  - 1 to 5 years for large breed dogs
  - 1 to 6 years for cats
- Mature adult life stage – nutrition that supports healthy aging
  - 7+ years for small & medium breed dogs
  - 6+ years for large breed dogs
  - 6 - 11 years for cats
- Senior
  - 11+. years for cats
Which method (formulation or feeding test) was used to determine the life stage for which the food is nutritionally appropriate?

LabelABrand X cat food was formulated based on a nutritional guideline; basically like following a recipe.The "Formulation Method":

Does not require feeding the product to an animal
Actual feeding or digestibility trials are not required
Results can be determined more quickly
There is no guarantee of pet acceptance or nutrient bioavailability when utilizing this method
Is less expensive to develop the food

Thefood has been formulated in a computer based on AAFCOguidelines, and then it ultimately gets tested on your pet.

LabelBBrand Y dog food was test fed using the "Feeding Trial Method."This method is the gold standard for determining nutritional adequacyfor a specific life stage. It is the preferred method.The Feeding Trial Method:

Requires the manufacturer to perform an AAFCO protocol feeding trial as the sole source of nutrition, including required veterinary exams & biological data collection
Feeding trials are the BEST way to document how pets will perform when fed a specific food using AAFCO Standards

BESTOPTION: Pet food labels with the AAFCO Statement saying the food hasbeen test fed is the optimal choice.

Bothof these key points are found in the AAFCOStatementlocated close to the ingredient panel. Some manufacturers place thison the side of the bag while others place it on the back. Consumersneed to locate this information. It's typically like reading the“fine-print. This information is aside from the marketing claimsmade on labels, yet it is the information that answers these twocritical questions. Note: Typically there isn't one on treats simply because they're intended tobe fed as a supplement. We say that treats should not exceed 10% of a pet'stotal daily diet.

Source: Hills Pet Nutrition Specialist, Lori Smith

Tasty Tuesday

Foreword here

"Growing Up Colt"--A Father's Love

2011-09-04T06:04:00.000-04:00

I recently finished reading Growing Up Colt by Colt McCoy (the Cleveland Browns QB) and Brad McCoy (Colt's dad). As I read it, I couldn't keep from thinking about how it was for me writing My Funny Dad, Harry. His book shows a love and strong bond between a father and son while mine shows the love and strong bond between a father and daughter. Although his is more about his childhood and the life lessons he learned from his dad, mine is focused more on the the funny things my dad did and how we grew closer as I grew up.

I'm sure writing Growing Up Colt was a fun project for Colt and his dad. Both books give examples of people demonstrating Christian character and both point people to Jesus at the end. Both are personal and written from the heart in simple language that makes for a quick read. Colt mentioned in his book that his grandma told him if he didn't point people to Jesus in the book, it wasn't worth writing it. I remembered how I felt like that as well when writing My Funny Dad, Harry. Neither book is preachy at all; however, both share how faith played a part in our lives. I included an Appendix with scripture references at the end that a person seeking peace with God could read and find that peace through a personal relationship with Jesus. Colt summarized how a person can have a personal relationship with God at the end of his book too.

My Funny Dad, Harry is about my dad's fight for independence as he aged and how I supported him. Growing Up Colt is about parenting and how parents can help their children. Both are about loving, Christian families and are upbeat and touching.

I encourage you to read both these books! Here is the link to my review of Growing Up Colt over at our book blog, Grab A Book From Our Stack. Go Browns and I hope you have a great season, Colt!

I am donating 50 cents per comment on all my blogs during September to Best Friends Animal Society.I hope you will leave a comment and visit my other blogs too (see tabs above)!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Too Many Pesky Pills

2011-08-15T19:54:00.000-04:00

Keeping track of one’s pills can be a bit confusing. Those plastic weekly pill containers worked good to help my dad remember to take his pills every day. He had three separate holders for his morning, lunch time and evening pills that he clearly marked. He would fill up the containers On Sunday and that way he would know if he took his daily pills or not. The only problem was that if he fell asleep, sometimes lunch time wouldn’t be until 3:00 or his evening pills would be really late which he was supposed to take at the same time every day. It’s sad that as we get older we generally have more pills to keep track of which can become a bit confusing and sometimes overwhelming.

I used to think he was making a big problem out of nothing but now I have six pills to take and realize it is an added responsibility. One is only on Saturday morning and one is only every other day (I use the calendar to help me remember which days to take them). I just pull the bottles out of the cupboard when it is time to take them and after I take the pills, put them back right away. I do not use the weekly pill holder because sometimes I take them at home and sometimes I take some at work. Fortunately, my memory is good enough that I take them right on time each day.

Last week though, I had a day off so was out of my usual routine and was pretty stressed out. I remembered I had to take my vitamin pills that I normally take at work, but instead of reaching for them on my second shelf, I grabbed the morning pills I take from the first shelf out of habit. Oops! I had the 5 a.m. swallowed and the next one in my mouth when it dawned on me these were not the right ones! I was able to spit the second one out, dry it off and put it back. I felt very stupid but from now on, I will take them out with the others when I am home so that doesn’t happen again.

I told the Pharmacist I accidentally took my early morning pill twice and asked if I should skip it the next day or still take it. She said “Why would you take it twice? How did you do that?” I answered, because I’m stupid and explained I was off my routine. She told me it wouldn’t hurt and that I should still take one the next day as usual.

It sort of scares me a little that I did such a stupid thing when I’m not even a senior citizen yet!

Everyone makes mistakes but I try not to make the same mistake twice. I think this will work. Do you have pills to keep track of yet? If not, you are lucky! If so, what system do you use?

Read about my stressful day: Thursday Was "Be Mean To Spunky Day" (This is something my dad would not have done.)

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Heifer International. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

I've Been Interviewed--Go See!

2011-07-22T21:56:00.001-04:00

Anne K. Albert over at Piedmont Island Trilogy offered to interview me about my book for her blog and it is up now. I thought it was very nice of her to help promote My Funny Dad, Harry. Please stop by and leave a comment for her! She is a mystery and romantic suspense author. Two of her books are Defending Glory and Protecting Hope.

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Heifer International. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

I Was Here First—Cats Rule!

2011-07-09T12:58:00.002-04:00

I often remember laughing at my dad when he would go to sit down and find one of his cats in his chair. His cats had a knack for knowing where he was going next it seemed. Harry never shooed the cat off and fortunately didn’t ever sit on his cat even though he came close a few times. He just let the cat have his chair and he would sit somewhere else. Well, now I do the same thing and thought about my dad and his cats as soon as it happened!

My Manny boy was lying on the chair under the dining room table. When I pulled it out, it was heavier than usual and then I saw my nice cat lying on it. At first, I was going to ask him to leave (one day I did) but since there was a free chair next to it because Gerard was walking the dog, I just pushed Manny back under the table where he was and I sat in the chair next to him to eat my breakfast.

What chairs to your cats seem to like most? Do you chase them off or let them stay if they are in the chair you want? Who’s the boss at your house—you or your pet?

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Heifer International. Let me know if you would like us to donate a goat, pig or sheep with your comment. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

This is part of Saturday Suggestions blog hop at Mona's Milestones and Pet Pride.

A Practical Backyard Project--Bench or Table?

2011-06-24T07:20:00.001-04:00

My dad made a wonderful backyard bench/picnic table for us. It's kind of like a transformer toy because we can either use it as a bench, or flip the back part up and use it as a table. At each end in the back is a chain, a hole and a piece that fits into the hole to hold it in whichever position you want.

Unfortunately, part of the wood broke off of the second board on the back and it split. It's still usable, but I feel bad every time is see it broke so finally asked our handyman from Handyman Connection if he could fix it.

He was very positive that he could easily fix this saying, "Oh sure, if I can build houses, I certainly can fix a bench." He went on to admire it and said that he would like a picture of it so he could make one for himself and use it when he goes camping. I was very pleased to hear how much he like my dad's work and it made me feel proud once again to have such a wonderful dad. I'm so glad that it will be able to be restored.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Show Dad Some Appreciation – Especially On Father’s Day

2011-06-17T19:55:00.000-04:00

Through the years, I always got something for my dad for Father’s Day. He didn’t like eating out, usually didn’t want to go anywhere but he loved his cats and he loved to work in his workshop so anything I got for his cats was much appreciated. One year I gave him a gift card for Loew’s, one place he did enjoy going. I usually tried to find him a nice shirt or jacket or new pants too since he rarely bought any clothes for himself.

I miss my dad so much and think of him every day, but more so around Father’s Day. It was always a challenge to find something special for him but one I wish I still had. I was surprised to find the stack of Father’s Day cards and birthday cards I gave him over the years when I cleaned out his house after he died. I know he was a pack rat, but I didn’t think men thought much about cards. In his case, apparently he did.

What did you get your dad for Father’s Day? Hopefully you encourage your children to get something for your husband, at least a card. Dads have a big responsibility and get little appreciation but Father’s Day is certainly a good time to do something special for him.

This is my 200^th post for this blog and I am pretty much out of memories about my dad to write about. I encourage my newer followers to check out the archived posts.

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Joni and Friends. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

“My Cat From Hell” Is Entertaining And Educational!

2011-05-23T20:19:00.004-04:00

Thanks to The Best of 2011 blog hop over at "A Pause on the Path," I discovered that this is my most viewed post for the year!

Cats On Tuesday

My cats enjoying the cat tree.

“My Cat From Hell” is a TV show on Animal Planet that I wish I had seen when my dad was still alive. “My Cat From Hell” is an entertaining show. The cat behaviorist helps people who are at the wits end with their monster cats.

So far the three times I’ve watched, once the people change some things, the cats come around. They showed some of the following extreme cases: a black and white feral cat coming into the home that already had two other cats, a white cat who bit and scratched the person while he slept, and a Sphinx hairless cat who got into everything including chewing wires and knocking things over.

It was funny when the cat behaviorist was trying to get the feral cat out of its hiding place in the wood shop and into the carrier. I was actually rooting for the cat. Sure enough, even the “expert” couldn’t get that cat into the carrier. It took off really fast! It made me feel better about not being able to get my cat in.

My dad would have enjoyed this show very much because it’s all about making cats happy. He loved his stray cats but the ones he brought inside I don’t think were very happy, at least not the ones who lived upstairs of his double house rent free. By watching this show, I learned a few things that I didn’t know before:

(1) There are basically two categories of cats, tree dwellers and bush dwellers. Bush dwellers like to hide in bushes, tree dwellers like to be up high. You want to encourage your cat to be up and in the open spaces.

under the bed

(2) A cat that is hiding or attacking does so because they are afraid, stressed out and not happy.

(3) Cats do not like to be confined in small rooms with little to do or things to climb on. If you can provide high places for them all around the room, they will be much happier.

I believe these are some of the things dad would have done for his cats if he had seen this show:

1. Get them some cat trees! This gives the cat a place of their own from which to observe from up high. I don’t know why I never thought of buying them one of these. I have one for my cats and they love it! They usually go on that instead of the furniture.

feather on a stick
2. Use interactive toys. Cats like playing with their owners. Just putting cat toys out for the is not very exciting for them; however, when those toys move they become very interested and pounce, chase and jump. (I played with dad’s cats when I would visit but I don’t think he ever did.)

3. Provide high places. He probably would have built some shelves for them to jump on so they could get up on top of the valance or other higher places. He may have even built a special shelf for them to go on around the room up near the ceiling. Looking back, he had their cat beds always on the floor for Softie and Sweet Thing. They probably would have liked them on the window seat better.

Have you seen this show? What do you think of it? If you like cats or have a problem with your cat, you really should watch it sometime!

I am donating 50 cents per comment during May to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Check out more Saturday Sampling posts or link up one of yours--best posts of the week over at Half-Past Kissin' Time..

Leave The Weeds Alone! (UPDATED)

2011-05-02T05:42:00.000-04:00

UPDATED 5/2/11:
Just like the dandelions return each year around this time, so this post has returned. I know some of you are new to this blog since this was first posted and it is one of my more popular posts so I hope you don't mind me using it again. So far we only have a couple dandelions in our front yard because Gerard put on the Scott's Turf Builder in time this year. Many other yards on our street are covered with them! Good job, Gerard!

Today Gerard and I went to the park and stopped at this bench to read for a little bit. I looked around and saw all these dandelions! I remembered how dad always had a yard full of them and whenever we would mention it, dad would say, "I like them, they're so pretty! Just because someone calls it a weed doesn't mean they're not pretty." I think he had a point there. What do you think? Gerard says they still look like weeds to him.

(re-posted from 4/25/09)
For the month of May 2011 I am donating 50 cents per comment on all four of my blogs (listed in "My Welcome To My Page" section on my sidebar) to The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry).

The Morning Stomp

2011-04-26T07:14:00.004-04:00

My husband thinks it’s so funny that I crush our boxes first before throwing them in the garbage. I think I just picked this up from my dad. He was a box designer so part of his job was to design the smallest box possible that the product could fit into. I assume packaging just came naturally to him after doing it for so many years and I just picked up on it. When I eat, I always consolidate my garbage as well. My husband thinks it’s funny that I stomp on the cereal boxes to flatten them before throwing them away and thought you might like to see my “morning stomp” so here it is.

Do you see anything funny about that? I don’t. Do you consolidate your garbage?

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Samaritan's Purse to help with the relief effort there. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Easter Was Great Except For The Stupid Hats!

2011-04-20T06:48:00.002-04:00

I have all good memories of Easter except for one thing--the stupid hats we had to wear. I remember mine was white with a blue ribbon on it and some flowers. I wish I could have found a picture of it to show you, but I couldn't find it. I know I saw one somewhere. Apparently my parents thought it was cute. I never liked dressing up anyhow on Sundays, but Easter was the worst of all!

Anyhow, let's move on to the things I liked about Easter growing up. I remember going to my grandma's house on my mom's side where I was first introduced to delicious chocolate covered marshmallow eggs. My aunt used to work at Towers Candies and they always had some for me. I still love chocolate marshmallow eggs and and not choosy about the brand. The Towers ones were big and the marshmallow was always soft, never hard or stretchy. Those marshmallow eggs were the highlight of Easter for me growing up.

We used to get Easter baskets too. Some years we had to hunt for them which was fun. I remember coloring Easter eggs and using a wax stick to write or draw on them first so the color would stick to that part. I remember making a pretty purple one with my name on it. I always preferred those chocolate covered marshmallow eggs though!

Another thing my mom used to do that impressed me was to bake a lamb cake. It actually looked like a lamb! She had a heavy iron mold that came apart to form the shape. I found it in my dad's attic after he died and I was going through the house getting it cleaned out to sell. I was tempted to keep that, but figured I probably wouldn't be using it anytime soon and Gerard warned me not to bring so much stuff over because he didn't want our house cluttered up like my dad's was. He was afraid with good reason! I got an estate liquidator to come over who gave me what I thought were fair prices for a lot of the junk and furniture too. If you ever have to do this, I strongly recommend calling one of these people.

One of my favorite memories and most fun things we did on Easter was getting up real early, about 5:00 a.m. to go to the sunrise service which I think usually started at 6:00 or 6:30 a.m. It was such a cool atmosphere because it was a small crowd. I always felt it sort of contained the excitement of the first Easter morning when the women went to the tomb and found it empty because Jesus had risen from the dead! Getting up early and going off to church to worship my Savior on Easter morning has always been special to me. I am sorry to say our current church does not have a sunrise service, although they do have an early 8:15 a.m. service every Sunday which I attend.

Easter is extra special for me because it was on an Easter Sunday during Sunday School when I first realized Jesus died for ME--a little girl about 7 years old at the time. Not only that, but he actually rose from the dead and if I trusted in Him, I could go to heaven one day too to be with Him forever! I was so impressed by that and loved Him for it! I thought if Jesus died for me, the least I could do was live for Him! That day I silently prayed repenting of my sin and asked Jesus to be my Savior and help me live for Him all the days of my life. Yes, it was childlike faith, and I hope I always have that simple childlike faith!

What are you favorite memories of Easter? Do you make your kids wear stupid hats? Have a Happy Easter everyone and make some nice memories for your children! Oh, and if you want a personal relationship with God too, click on the tab at the top of my blog that says "Know God."

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Happy Shabby Chic Day!

2011-04-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

When I saw this I just had to write about my dad's cats decorating skills. He had a total of 6 cats inside at one point. The cats liked going under his couch and reaching up to claw the edge at the bottom of it. It was a white couch covered with black furs! He had a white chair to match which the cats loved to claw up the arms. This was one reason my mom never allowed cats in the house. They weren't allowed in until after she died.

Sweet Thing by scratching post watching Softie Playing

Sweet Thing was the most talented decorator of all his cats. He actually clawed up the rug by the living room door and my dad put a board over it to get him to stop. Sweet Thing and Softie both liked to play and in this picture, Sweet Thing is watching Softie play from his scratching post that they pretty much tore apart! My dad made it himself for them with just some old leftover carpeting and some wood. Sorry I don't have pictures of their work.

On the other hand, Spunky Doodle was just a little kitten (a/k/a Spunky Rooy) when I brought her into our home but knew if she lived with me, I had to get her front paws declawed too. She was born to a stray at my dad's and was the last kitten of the litter left to find a home. I felt so bad doing it, but she forgave me! When she was a kitten, she tore my curtains. Here is some of her cute decorating work:

Oooh, this is so much fun!


Spunky "Rooy" messed up the den. She did pull the toilet paper out too but I cleaned that up right away.

I am donating 50 cents per comment this month to Samaritan's Purse to help with the relief effort there. To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here Available as e-book (http://outskirtspress.com/myfunnydadharry/).

Visit the Cat's Meow to Find more participants!

A Memorable Neighbor Who Scared Us Away (Writer's Workshop)

2011-03-24T06:33:00.001-04:00

Growing up, we had a crabby couple on one side of us and my best friend on the other side. There were four of us kids and for some reason, the crabby couple next door didn’t like us. To this day, I really don’t know why. They were both heavyset with gray hair and frowns all the time, but they took great pride in keeping their yard looking nice. They didn’t want anyone walking on their grass so when our ball would accidentally bounce into their backyard, I guess they expected us to just leave it. Well, we walked on their grass to get it but went as quickly as we could. It’s not like we ran all over their yard.

Whenever they found candy wrappers in their yard, they always blamed us even though we never littered like that. Yes, we walked to the corner store often and bought candy and ice cream, but we never threw wrappers on the ground. They would complain to the elderly man across the street about us but his response was to be glad he had a nice family living next to him.

When my mom told me we were going to move, I blew my stack. After all, my best friend lived right next door! This was the only time I really was angry at my parents. I think I was a junior in high school at the time and didn’t understand why my parents would let the crabby neighbors chase us out of our home. My mom explained she saw the man with a rifle in his driveway and was afraid he might shoot one of us or my dad when he came home late from working third shift.

Both my parents had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ and so I didn’t understand why they couldn’t trust God to protect us or work things out by having the crabby people move. It didn’t seem to me like they were exercising much faith by moving. We moved, but not far. It was only about a 20 min. walk away and at the time, I could make it in just about 5 minutes if I ran. The crabby neighbors also moved away about a year or so after we did.

What would it take for you to move? Was there a time when you got angry at your parents? Did you ever have a crabblepuss for a neighbor?

This is in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompts: "A Memorable Neighbor" and "What Would It Take For You To Move?"

You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

A Story of Love (Writer's Workshop)

2011-03-17T04:40:00.000-04:00

My Funny Dad, Harry is about love--my love for my dad, his love for me and our family, and ways God’ showed His love for me. My dad was called home to be with our Lord February 16, 2007. I found him dead on the floor of his bathroom with his head against the tub when I stopped by to visit him before work.

At first, I didn’t realize he was dead but couldn’t wake him and called 911. He was a very loving family man, a great dad who was always there for me and I felt so sad that he was gone but happy that he didn’t suffer long and was able to live independently and die in his own home like he wanted. I just wish he didn’t die alone.

I was so overwhelmed that I couldn’t sleep through the nights. There was so many things that needed to be done and I am the type person that likes to get everything on my “To Do List” done each day. That just wasn’t going to happen for a very long time. Many wonderful memories came to me during the nights following his death and I got the idea to write a book in his memory because he was such a wonderful father. I knew there were a lot of books written about abuse, domestic violence and sad tales and thought perhaps the world would like to read about a happy family for a change. After all, “Marley & Me” was a big hit and that was about a funny dog.

I began writing “My Funny Dad, Harry” and remember feeling like it was something God wanted me to do. It was fun writing and although I had no idea how to get a book published, I just trusted God to lead me—he did. One Sunday there was a big snowstorm and church was canceled. I went on the computer to see if I could find out how to publish a book, was going to go on an author’s website where I thought I might find some advice and instead up came Outskirts Press, a self-publishing company in Colorado. To this day I cannot explain how it came up. I never heard of it before but there it was with several packages to choose from and an offer of a representative to walk me through every step of the way. I started writing my book the end of February 2007 and it was published October of 2007.

I still miss my dad very much but know I’ll see him again and hopefully because of this book, others will get to meet him too. I included God’s plan of salvation in an appendix.

This is in response to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt: A Story of Love.

You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

(“My Funny Dad, Harry” is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.)

Please, Keep Your Hands Off My Stuff!

2011-03-07T18:40:00.001-05:00

Harry's dining room table after mom died.

My dad used to always keep a stack of stuff on the dining room table by his place and didn’t want anyone touching it or moving it anywhere else. This was one of the things that used to upset my mom. My dad had a lot of stuff in the basement, in the back room, and in the garage. It looked like a big mess with a lot of clutter everywhere, yet, he knew where everything was. He liked things handy. I’m like him in this respect.

I generally have a place for all my things and know where they are. That is until my husband moves something without telling me which really irritates me. I like knowing where everything is! Why can’t he leave my things alone? He likes moving his stuff around all the time from one place to another. An example is his book holder that sits on a desk or table (one of the many things Harry made). I think it’s funny that he can’t pick one place and just leave it there. I have no problem when he rearranges his things or even the furniture in the basement that we consider to be his man cave, but he needs to leave my things alone, don’t you agree?

This morning I found my evening pill bottle moved to a different shelf. Now I have it placed exactly where I need it to be so I remember to take it in the evening every other day. My morning pills are on the far left side and my evening pill on the far right.

I read somewhere that it’s good to change things around to help prevent Alzheimer’s from setting in. I’m afraid I am headed for it but since my dad didn’t have it and I take after him, I’m hoping I don’t get it either. Maybe my husband is trying to challenge my mind more.

What about you? Are you particular about your things? Who are you more like—me and my dad or my husband who likes to change things around? Does it make you nuts when people move your things?

You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

I linked this post up to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop for the prompt: Something you do that drives your significant other CRAZY. How do you make your significant other crazy?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Be Careful, Don't Fall!

2011-02-19T16:33:00.000-05:00

Toddlers fall a lot and it seems so do the elderly. I think I'm getting there but am only 57--this is not good!

Dad Goes Boom

My dad used to fall quite often once he hit his 80s. The beginning of his falling seems to be when he fell in our driveway one day and broke his hip. He recovered nicely but didn't want to go to the hospital. Oh, what a fuss he made!

After that he would fall often it seemed to me but didn't break any more bones. He got the Life Alert and sometimes it was very useful when he would fall and couldn't get up, but after it went of accidentally a few times, he quit carrying it with him which got me mad. One Sunday in particular I remember he feel in his hallway and just waited for us to come by at our usual time after church. When he fell while grocery shopping pushing his cart to the car, he cut his head and we got a call from the paramedics saying he didn't want them to take him to the hospital but he hurt his head so he really should get it checked.

Now I'm Falling!

Since my lumpectomy, the doctors told me I should be very careful about not bumping my right arm. I also found out that my bone density is a bit below average. So far, I've fallen once at work tripping over the carpet and sliding into a file cabinet, once playing tennis I was backpedaling and just sat down, hitting my head on the concrete but was okay after rubbing it. Every time our phone would ring at an odd time, I'd think, "Uh oh, now what happened?"

Yesterday, I fell again while changing clothes! My foot got caught in my pant leg and I lost my balance and toppled over, bumping my head on the dresser once I was down. I thought about how dad used to fall all the time and I felt like a klutz. I just read Left Neglected recently about a lady getting brain damage when she was in a car accident and hoped my brain was still okay. I thought about that commercial where the lady falls and can't get up. I'm not that bad off yet, but if I was knocked unconscious, I wonder how long I would lay there. The stuff on the dresser made noise but my husband was watching TV in the living room and heard nothing. My cat, Spunky Doodle, came in to check on me, but by then I was up and just rubbing my head. No broken bones and no brain damage, whew! It's ironic that I fall in my bedroom when I've managed to stay upright walking on all the ice every day to and from the bus stop.

Tips About Falling

Here are some tips to remember when falling or things to do to help prevent a fall:

1. Just roll and try to protect your head. (I am still working on this one.)

2. Always hold on to something steady when standing on one foot.

3. Use the handrails on stairs.

4. When on ice, take small steps and walk on your toes first and not your heels first.

I've been very fortunate with my falls. How about you? Have you fallen or know some elderly people who have?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Where Did The Time Go?

2011-02-16T06:00:00.003-05:00

It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years now since my dad died. The first two years it didn’t seem real. I couldn’t believe he was really gone. Now, over time, I have become used to not having him around. I still miss him very much and wish he were still here; however, it no longer seems that he’ll call or that I’ll visit him tomorrow. I am finally over the routines I had when he was alive.

Now instead of buying his medications, I buy my own and have to remember to take different pills at different times and on certain days. I now understand how he felt about not really being bored staying home. I used to think nothing of going out in the evening, but now once I get home from work, I’m happy to be home and don’t have any desire to go out very often. I sure hope this changes once the weather warms up! I think back to when my mom was alive and would go to church on Wednesday nights with me to help in our AWANA club for the kids when she was in her 60s and early 70s. I give her a lot of credit! In just three more years, I’ll be 60!

It’s strange how some days I feel old and other days I feel like I’m 27! Bundled up, tromping through the snow in the cold I felt like an old lady going to work last week! I guess it depends on my frame of mind and how my knees are that day. Funny how time flies by the older we get. I look forward to retirement, but also plan on enjoying each year along the way!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Thanks For Making My Day!

2011-02-08T20:18:00.000-05:00

I was so happy to receive this email from a blogger letting me know she gave My Funny Dad, Harry to her father for Christmas and he LOVED it!

Monday, February 7, 2011 12:14 AM

From: Life with Kaishon

To: myfunnydadharry @ sbcglobal [dot] net

Hi Karen, I didn't read it but gave it to my Dad for Christmas. He LOVED it! I can't tell you how much. He still talks about it : )
My Mom read it also and enjoyed it as well! I meant to send you an email! Thanks for checking in. 2 thumbs up from my family! : )

This makes me feel so good to hear things like this and makes me want to market my book more. I am not a person who is outgoing and pushes things on people so marketing my book is low on my list and not something I generally do much of. I would like to say though, I think many elderly people could relate with my dad’s fight to stay independent and he’s a very lovable character! Others who are taking care of elderly parents would relate to me and my frustrations in trying to help my dad as well as my grieving process after his death when God helped me through.

I often hear that once someone reads “My Funny Dad, Harry,” they pass it along to someone else to read. I purposely wrote it as a quick, easy read so that anyone could enjoy it, even kids who might like reading about his cats. You may want to keep this in mind for a possible gift for Father's Day or just a surprise gift for your father or caregiver.

What makes your day?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

The Cat Nip Mission: Cat Won!

2011-01-23T07:36:00.002-05:00

Striper, Before Dad Brought Him In

When I came across these Clips of cats opening doors over at Sparkle The Designer Cat, it reminded me of one of my dad's cats, Striper. My dad had stocked up on some catnip and in trying to find a safe storage place for it, he put it in on the second shelf of one of the top kitchen cupboards.

Striper, of course, smelled it and since he was a fantastic climber, he had a plan. My dad was dozing in the dining room and heard a bunch of noise coming from the kitchen. When he went to investigate, he saw the top cupboard open and Striper on the floor between the stove and the sink with a bunch of stuff from the cupboard all around him, trying to open the bag of catnip which had been on the second shelf!

It always fascinates me how smart and agile cats are. They are beautiful animals and my dad loved his cats very much. They were great companions for him in his old age and kept him laughing! My love for cats came through knowing his cats.

R.I.P.

Don't forget to click on the above link to view the cat clips--they are short and well-done!

To enter a giveaway for "My Funny Dad, Harry" visit Red Pine Mountain. The Drawing from those commenting on the post will be entered in the Feb. 5 giveaway!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Tweet This

Sledding Is Always Fun!

2011-01-17T14:51:00.000-05:00

Here is a short video of my dad pulling me on a sled when I was three years old. Such a great time we had! This is a wonderful way for parents to have some quality time with their children. I still love sledding and hope to go with my husband sometime this winter.

Hope you enjoy the snow with your children.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

An Easy Way To Help The Last Hope Cat Kingdom

2011-01-15T06:19:00.000-05:00

My dad would love it that I have decided to use this blog (as well as my other two) to help the Last Hope Cat Kingdom rebuild their no-kill shelter that burned down. I will donate $1 to Last Hope Cat Kingdom for each legitimate comment received during January on our three blogs.

My dad always had a lot of compassion for the homeless cats that roamed his neighborhood and if I had known about a no-kill cat sanctuary when I was looking for homes for his cats after he died, it may have saved their lives. I hope you will visit our other blogs too since this one is only updated about once a week or two.

I will change the charity from month-to-month on a three month trial basis, and if I like how it works out, will continue throughout this year.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

A New Year Means A New Calendar

2011-01-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Customized Calendar I Got From Work For Christmas

I am a big fan of calendars and like how they keep me organized. I like calendars about as much as my dad liked thermometers and flashlights which he had in just about every room. I use calendars throughout the house and have two at my desk at work. It used to bug me when I visited my dad in his later years and his calendar would be on the wrong month.

What To Put On A Calendar

My dad only had one, but he used it for everything. If he got a new roof on the house, he marked it on the calendar along with the year. If he had a Dr. appointment, he marked that on the calendar. If he bought a new furnace, that would go on the calendar along with the year. For birthdays, he would also include how old the person was, not just put their name on that day. (I liked that idea and started doing that on my calendars too.) The problem with this though was that it would take him forever to change to a new one because there was so much information to transfer over that he kept putting it off. It must have taken him all day to get his information transferred to a new calendar but when it came time to sell his house after he died, it made it easy for me to find out how old the roof and furnace were when the realtor asked.

When To Flip A Calendar

Sweet Thing, my favorite of Dad's cats

Most people flip the calendar page at the end of the month, but not Harry. One year I made him a customized calendar with his cats and he didn't realize they were his cats on it until I pointed it out to him. His eyesight wasn't so good. He was very surprised and quite impressed with it! Throughout the year though, when the months ended, his calendar would still not be changed. I thought he just forgot so reminded him and he just nodded and said he knew. He always had business cards and stuff hanging from it so he had to transfer it all to the next page and just put it off.

What good is a calendar if it's on the wrong month? And the year I got that customized one with his cats, I really wanted him to flip it to the next page because that was Sweet Thing, my favorite one! I remember being very aggravated about that. I am very good at flipping the months on time on all my calendars so just had a hard time understanding why he didn't.

What do you mark on your calendars? Do you change yours on time?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Time To Decorate

2010-12-19T19:00:00.001-05:00

My dad would have loved this video so just had to post it here.

I wish all my readers a very Merry and Blessed Christmas! Hope you will celebrate our Savior's birth in a big way!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Going Back In Time--56 Years Ago

2010-12-13T06:09:00.056-05:00

Today is my birthday and I am so thankful for the lovely present my dad gave me by taking so many movies.

I feel like I'm in a time machine when I watch these old movies. My dad took pictures of my first 11 birthdays, skipped my 12th and got my 13th. That was a pretty fancy cake spinner that played "Happy Birthday" as it turned the cake around. My mom used to come up with some cut cakes even though she wasn't big on cooking or baking.

My mom never liked her picture taken so this video is pretty funny of her holding me telling my dad to stop taking her picture. I'm glad he didn't listen to her though because I think it's funny and love watching her.

I finally decided to go ahead and get them transferred to DVD's. Some I did through CVS but now I found that I can get them transferred and stored online at iMemories. The CVS ones cost $30-$55 each. I had 13 movies converted to digital at iMemories for $391 and ordered two DVD's at $9.99 each. The cost depends on the length of the movies.

Unlimited storage at iMemories is just $5/month but I can upload pictures, edit film clips and order DVD's or just download them to my computer. Now I can store all the videos I make with movie maker on iMemories and free up space on my computer. I can set up galleries with just certain things and share them with others by giving out the URL. For example, here is the link to my pet video gallery there. In the upper left corner you can click on the all gallery tab and see I have some password protected that you cannot view unless I give you the password. The "How To Video" gallery is available for you to watch if you wish. I can cancel at any time.

Just thought you may like to make a DVD for someone. It's probably too late to do it for this Christmas, but it's something you may want to look into. You can also have them convert slides and photographs to digital.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

What To Get Dad For His Birthday Is No Longer A Problem

2010-12-05T21:00:00.004-05:00

My dad's birthday would be Thursday if he were still alive. I think about how hard it was to know what to get him and wish I still had that problem.

Growing up, I thought it would be so much easier if he liked sports because then I could by him sport equipment or team apparel. I did manage to come up with a few really good things for him that he wore even though he always said he didn't need any new clothes. A lumberjack jacket was one of the best gifts I gave him. He liked the fleece pullover I got him too.

In his later years, I used to buy him things for his cats. This is a picture of Sylvester in the bed we got him which he loved! He liked that even though it wasn't actually something he used himself. I sure wish he was still alive! I haven't a clue what I would get him this year if he were, but I'd find something.

In cleaning out his house after he died, I came across a pile of birthday cards I had given to him over the years. I was surprised he saved them because I didn't think men cared about cards, but they must have meant something to him.

If you still have parents to shop for, you may find it hard to know what to get them, but that's one problem you should be glad you have!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Manny Picks A Winner

2010-11-29T06:05:00.000-05:00

Spunky Doodle was busy looking out the window so Manny volunteered to chose the winner of our Fabulous Followers Giveaway. The winner will receive an autographed copy of my book, "My Funny Dad, Harry" and a DVD with clips of him in action! Thanks to all who expressed an interest. The book is available on Amazon and Barnes Noble.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Catalog Shopping vs. Hitting The Stores On Black Friday

2010-11-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I'm the one on the right in the brown plaid flannel shirt.

Back in 1965 when we were growing up, my parents were never big on taking us four kids all shopping very often but we always looked forward to when the catalogs from Sears, Penney's and Montgomery Ward arrived in the mail. We would each be able to go through them and check up to a certain number of things we would like in each one. I think it was somewhere like five to ten items but I really don't remember the exact number. I know we had a limit so it was a very serious task, but one we all enjoyed. I wonder if we grew up in these times with the Internet if my mom would have gone online and requested catalogs so we could mark the things we would like.

Today, I shop by catalog too. We get them from L.L. Bean, Whales and Friends, Brookstone and a bunch of others but I like to actually get out and go to stores too. When I was a teenager, I went for the first time on Black Friday. We went early in the morning and it was so much fun! As an adult, I always look forward to getting my Christmas shopping mostly done that day and when I married Gerard, we both go now about 7 a.m. and get home around 2:00 or so. In my younger years, I used to go all day long but then I had more shopping to do and more energy. I do remember being wiped out though by the end of the day. We like seeing all the holiday shoppers, hearing the Christmas music in the stores and finding some good bargains. The only part I don't like is hunting for a seat at the food court to eat lunch.

What about you? Do you love to shop on Black Friday? What shopping traditions do you have? Do you still order from catalogs?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

A Thanksgiving Day Memory (Writer's Workshop)

2010-11-25T07:48:00.002-05:00

When I saw one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompts this week was to "Describe a memorable Thanksgiving," this immediately came to mind. It is an excerpt from the book I wrote in memory of my dad.

Cooking Thanksgiving Day Dinner (November 25, 1999)

Feel free to become a follower and enter to win an autographed copy of My Funny Dad, Harry in my Gratitude giveaway for my fabulous followers.

We wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Happy Blog Jog Day!

2010-11-20T23:29:00.061-05:00

Welcome to my blog for Blog Jog Day. This blog is mostly about my dad and memories I have of him and growing up to promote the book I wrote in his memory, My Funny Dad, Harry. I have listed my most popular posts on the right so please pick one that catches your interest. I hope you will look around some before moving on.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Feel free to become a follower and enter to win an autographed copy of My Funny Dad, Harry in my Gratitude giveaway for my fabulous followers.

Thank you for stopping by my Blog! Please explore a bit, then jog on over to Cate Rowan. If you would like to visit a different Blog in the jog, go to http://blogjogday.blogspot.com. Happy jogging!

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Fabulous Followers Gratitude Giveaway

2010-11-16T23:30:00.016-05:00

Gratitude Giveaway for My Fabulous Followers

Nov. 17-Nov. 28 For “My Funny Dad, Harry”

I have read quite a few books about dysfunctional families so thought it was time for one that is heartwarming and uplifting. The short funny stories in this book about my dad, our family, his cats and the strange things he did are all true. Many of us deal with aging parents so can relate to me as I try to help and care for my dad. If you are an elderly parent, you will probably identify with my dad. I suspect you will smile, chuckle and may even laugh out loud but also will find parts very touching that may bring a tear to your eye. This is an emotional read that will hopefully inspire you to cherish the people in your day-to-day life and may even get some useful tips.

In appreciation to my fabulous followers of this blog, I am giving away an autographed copy of my book, “My Funny Dad, Harry” and a DVD featuring him to a follower who leaves a comment stating they would like to have it along with their email or blog URL so I can let them know if they win. All those who express a desire to have it by November 28 will be eligible. I will put each entry on a piece of paper and let my cat Spunky Doodle choose the winner since I got Spunky from my dad’s yard. (This giveaway is limited to the U.S.) If I do not hear from the winner with their address by the end of November, another winner will be selected.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

I am doing this over at Grab A Book From Our Stack too so you could also enter there if you follow that blog too. I sure hope someone would like to have my book! Just leave me a comment. Also, you may want to enter our other two book giveaways over there: Check out our two giveaways: Hard Cache by Charles Neff (Suspense/mystery) and You Already Know How To Be Great (Self-help) by Alan Fine.

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November Is Adopt A Senior Pet Month! Wouldn't You Like One?

2010-11-13T18:15:00.000-05:00

My Dad Petting My Cat, Moe

Since my dad loved cats so much, I thought it appropriate to write about "Adopt A Senior Pet Month" here. My husband and I adopted two senior pets, our cat, Moe, in 200 when the shelter estimated his age at eight and our dog, Abby, in 2009 through www.petfinder.com at an estimated age of five. Both turned out to be great pets. Over at the Conscious Cat, is a post listing The Top 7 Things About Older Cats. They are all so true.

Speaking from personal experience, cats are less work than dogs simply because you do not have to walk them at least twice a day and also are cheaper because dogs eat more and their vet care is more frequent. My dad didn't walk his dog though. (He just put down litter in a section of the basement and then shoveled it out when the dog went down there. It still stunk! I don't know why he did that! I don't recommend it.) When we got Moe, I was looking for a cat that would basically lay around and not wreck things. Moe was perfect. There are so many nice cats and dogs just waiting for a loving home. They have so much love to give and are wonderful companions!

If you like, read about Moe's adoption story and Abby's adoption story: Disappointment Turned To Joy and My New Home by Abby.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

My First Halloween Costume--NOT

2010-10-26T10:00:00.003-04:00

I think parents of young children really look forward to Halloween with their kids. They love dressing up the little ones in costumes and visiting the grandparents to show them. I remember lots of fun times at Halloween and do not feel guilty at all participating in the fun. Here is a picture of me in my clown costume with my dad, one of my early Halloweens going to visit Grandma Arlettaz.
I remember my parents having a Halloween party one year with a cardboard skeleton hung that we could make jump by pulling the string. I thought it was fantastic! As kids we always liked trick-or-treating and trading our candy when we got back. Mine usually lasted until almost Easter. I was good at self-discipline and saving some for later. I do believe mine outlasted the others.

Now as an adult, I like passing out the candy and seeing all the cute costumes the children wear. We do not get many on our street so this year I decided to fill little baggies with more goodies than just one piece of candy. Our pets enjoy seeing the kids in their costumes come to our house too. Last year Abby was outside helping Gerard welcome them and our cats watched from our dining room window.

I know some Christians believe it’s not good to participate and that’s up to them. I would never try to change someone’s conviction about that; however, I have not yet been convicted by the Holy Spirit that I should refrain so until I am, I will continue to enjoy the celebration. This is one time where the neighbors come out and we as Christians can make the most of this opportunity by giving out good candy and perhaps a kids salvation tract with it. I plan on doing that this for the first time this year.

OOPS, CORRECTION: I originally posted this was my FIRST Halloween costume, but when I opened up an account on iMemories and viewed my old movies, I discovered this wasn't my first after all. Take a guess what you think it was and then go to 5 Things I Learned This Week to see if you are right. (It's worth the click to see the cute video--notice all the black hair my dad used to have! I loved his hair!).

How about you? How are you going to have fun this Halloween? What was your first Halloween costume? Have a happy and safe Halloween!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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Entrecard Helps Promote Your Blog And Gives 5,000 Credits!

2010-10-24T19:26:00.001-04:00

Entrecard is like a huge blog directory but so much more. Blogs that have an Entrecard (a blog ad with the word "DROP" on or next to it) are members of Entrecard. It is like a business card but for blogs. It is completely free with the option of paying to advertise if you wish. It is a great way to kick-start traffic to your blog as well as revisit your favorite blogs and develop friendships with other Entrecard members. When you visit a blog with an Entrecard on it, you just click on the word "DROP" and it lets the blogger know you visited their blog. You get a credit for visiting and these credits all add up which you can then use for advertising your blog on other blogs. Now and then Entrecard has promotional contests like this. The deal is for members to post pros and cons of Entrecard and they get 5,000 credits--they say everyone wins!

Here is what I like about Entrecard--the Pros:

The blogs are grouped by lots of different categories. You can easily find blogs related to yours or topics in which you are interested.

It provides an easy way to send messages to other members and write recommendations for their blogs if you wish, thus making it very easy to "meet" other bloggers and develop friendships.

I like to easily see who visited my blog.

Of course I like getting new traffic from this too.

Cons:
The down side is like anything, it takes time but if you want to get more traffic, anything you do takes time.

For me, since I have three blogs registered in Entrecard, my drops are divided so it takes me longer to build them up to advertise each blog.

I like Entrecard, have stuck with it for almost three years now and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an easy way to increase traffic to you blog.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Playing Dress Up and Learning To Skate-An Old Time Movie

2010-10-16T15:45:00.002-04:00

Growing up our dad always liked taking movies of us. Back in 1961 it was much harder to do than it is today. We didn't have video cameras then and no digital. It was on film and for indoors, big flood lights were needed to make it bright enough. There was no sound back then either, but he did have a title set that he used. I remember him spending hours splicing film together to make larger reels.

This is a short clip of us kids playing dress-up. I thought it was pretty funny and my readers may enjoy seeing it. I had this movie transferred to a DVD at CVS and it allows you to save and edit clips to the computer. My dad told us to put some action into it so I am the one who pulled out the Kleenex and pretended to blow my nose at the beginning. My brother was always self conscious about his ears. As you can see, they are pretty big. This clip of us playing dress up reminds me of "The Golden Girls."

After the dress up is a short clip of Pam and I learning to skate in our driveway. We have big clunky coats on which was good because we fell often. I never did get to like skating. It just seemed like a lot of work to me and I was always afraid of falling. Pam's fall at the end got cut off on this video clip. I'm still trying to get the hang of editing these things.

Do you take video of your children at play? Sorry for the quality but hope you can see it well enough to enjoy it.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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What Makes You Mad, And What Are You Going To Do About It? (Writer’s Workshop)

2010-10-07T04:45:00.001-04:00

The short answer is spam on my blog by Anonymous makes me mad. I’m going to change the comments to not allow anonymous ones anymore. That’s what I’m going to do about it besides confronting Anonymous here.

The long answer is:

Anonymous is my top commenter.

I don’t know why but someone must hate me. EVERY SINGLE DAY I get spam comments from Anonymous on this blog. Actually, I don’t think they are all from the same person because they vary. Yes, I admit it. This makes me mad. Even though my comments are moderated, Anonymous still spams me every day on old posts that don’t even remotely relate to the comment. It’s not as though they actually get on the blog.

I don’t know if this person likes wasting their time doing this or has devised some way to have it done automatically. I do not like taking the time to have to mark it as spam and delete them every day. My time is very precious to me and I like to be productive and use it effectively. Some comments aren’t even in English so I have no idea what they even say.

Here is a sampling of the typical spam comments I receive:

crystal items zeal pretentious any confine, condo, commission, yacht, pile, motel entrance-hall or barter center with their middling elegance.
All the designs are as respected, as they are beautiful.

Some SEO marketing comment.

This was helpful to my research.

Hiya everyone, awsome board I find It extremely useful & it's helped me out alot
I hope to be able to contribute and guide other users like this message board has helped me

[Duh, THIS IS NOT A MESSAGE BOARD, HELLO Spell much?!]

But yesterday I received this line repeated about 15 times in the same comment.

DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! sucker

What do you make of this, should I be scared? This was the first time I ever got one like this but that does it. I am changing my comment setting to not allow any anonymous comments. I’m sorry if that is an inconvenience to anyone wishing to leave a legitimate comment; however, I’ve had enough! Why would anyone leave a nasty comment like that? This blog certainly is not offensive in any way that I am aware of. Here is my advice to anonymous that doesn’t like me: If you don’t like a certain blog or a certain blogger, don’t visit it! Is that so hard?

Are you a spammer?
If so, you are wasting your time as well as annoying people. Why do you do it? I’d really like to know! C’mon you coward whoever you are, fess up and leave your name and contact information. I’d like an explanation.

What sort of spam do you get on your blog?

This post is in response to the prompt, “What gets you mad and what are you going to do about it?” Share in the comments what gets you mad or write about it on your blog and link up to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Check out the other prompts too!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Dad and I Differ On This--Do Vets Really Care Or Do They Just Want Our Money?

2010-10-03T19:02:00.000-04:00

I have a cat, Manny, who dose not like being picked up, is afraid of going into a carrier, and of course, hates going to the vet. We do take our cats once a year for their annual checkups which my dad never did with his cats. I believe it's a good idea to do but dad didn't for the following reasons:

(1) He felt unless they were sick, it wasn't necessary.
(2) He was afraid they would outlive them anyway and didn't know what would happen to them when he died.
(3) Vet care is not cheap and he was a bit worried about running out of money.

When I was told Manny's teeth should be cleaned and they would put him out to do it, I knew if dad was still alive he would advise me against it. I believe the vets care about our pets and are not just out to get our money. I went along with this and scheduled Manny to have it done. I was doing well getting him to the vet twice in three weeks! But then they called and said his back molars are rotting and should come out. I said, okay, do whatever is best for Manny hoping dad was wrong about vets. We brought him home later that day, had to give him soft food for two weeks and pain medicine for one week which I was very pleased that I could do it! Cost = $500!

We couldn't get Manny back a third time for them to check to make sure everything was okay, but he seems normal and is even more affectionate than ever so we blew off the follow-up visit. Manny absolutely refused to go back. We tried to get him into the carrier for four hours unsuccessfully.

What do you think? Is it worth putting the cats through all this vet care or was my dad right?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

A Title I Am Proud Of: " Why Wash Your Car?" (Back2Blogging Day 3)

2010-09-15T07:18:00.004-04:00

For the SITS Back2Blogging challenge, today's is to re-post a post with a title you are particularly proud of and explain why. I chose "Why Wash Your Car?" because it's a question that prompts people to wonder if they know or not. Also, doesn't that peak your curiosity a little bit to come and look to find out? Then, when you read the post, you will find a funny surprise about my dad. I hope you enjoy this one:

Why Wash Your Car?

Harry never washed his cars. I remember when I was a kid, we used to write things with our finger in the dirt on the car sometimes. He didn't care. For one Father's Day, my husband offered to wash my dad's car for him and he didn't even want Gerard to do it. He just said, "I don't need to wash it, I just wait for the rain to wash it off." He didn't want Gerard "wasting" his time washing it either.

I really cannot recall one time when my dad washed his own car or even went to a car wash. Although I only remember washing my car once myself, I did go to the car wash now and then. My husband loves a clean car and likes to wash it himself every week. In the winter though, he'll run it through a car wash. He does mine for me too.

How often does your car get washed?

Related Posts:
Challenge Day 1: First Blog Post I Ever Wrote
Challenge Day 2: Important Post To Me That I Wish More People Had Read
Challenge Day 4: Inspired by Marva Collins
Challenge Day 5: Why Do I Blog? Good Question!

This post originally posted June 21, 2009 is in connection with a giveaway going on in connection with "Back To Blogging." The giveaway is a washer and dryer from sponsors, Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Lenore--The Love Of His Life (Back2Bloging Day 2)

2010-09-14T20:23:00.001-04:00

Day 2 of Back2Blogging is to re-post a post you wish more people read and tell why it is important to you. Well, this was originally posted December 2, 2009 and is about both my parents and reminds me of how blessed I was to have had such loving parents.

On this 10th anniversary of my mom's death, I thought it appropriate to write a bit about how important she was to us. Lenore and Harry met at a church function and my dad was attracted to her because she was funny and fun. They both served in the church together for many years.

They both were very loving, caring and generous. With me being an only child, they took in three foster children even though they had only intended on taking in two so the three could stay together. I was thrilled with the idea of sharing my wonderful parents with other kids who needed a good home. It was fun having two sisters and a brother all at once and we grew up together.

Although my dad was the "head of the house" and when he said something, that was it, mom really handled all matters concerning us kids. Often she would convince my dad to let us do things that he felt wasn't a good idea. They discussed all decisions and dad appreciated her input. They were married I believe for 52 years! They had a good balance between them. Dad was reserved, mom more outgoing; dad was handy around the house, mom was nurturing and intuitive.

When mom got very weak and had to go into the hospital, dad stayed with her all day. He was 80 at the time and insisted on caring for her instead of having her go to a nursing home. He had nurses come by the house and he took care of her and even built a special step that she used for therapy. The nurses were amazed that dad could take such good care of her and said she was they're best patient and doing so well with her therapy.

Her last Thanksgiving with us was very encouraging to me. She seemed normal and was enjoying the holiday. I really thought she would be okay but she died a week later. One of the last things she said to me was that dad was a good man and I should take care of him. I tried to do just that.

Poor dad seemed so alone, but not for long. He soon let in some of the stray cats that he had been feeding outside because mom did not like cats and did not want them in the house. They were good company for him. The first week or so, my dad slept upstairs with his cats instead of in his own bed. It was just too hard without her by his side. I had a closer relationship with my mom but after she died, my dad and I became much closer and our relationship improved.

He was so cute though. He shared with me that he would often dream of her so it was like she was still with him and that he had two lives now--the one during the day and the one in his dreams at night. It's hard to believe mom's been gone now ten years. I'll never forget her or my dad. I loved them very much and miss them both.

Related Posts: A Letter To Mom (insight into our relationship)
A Thanksgiving to Remember

(I re-posted this to participate in a giveaway going on in connection with "Back To Blogging." The giveaway is a washer and dryer from sponsors, Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.)

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Fun Times At Memphis Kiddie Park (Parent Tip)

2010-08-26T06:14:00.002-04:00

Although I do not have children, I suggest that parents take their children on surprise fun outings once in awhile. I remember going to a tiny amusement park that just had rides for little kids. Sometimes I remember my parents just surprising us and saying “We’re going to Memphis Kiddie Park today.” It first opened in 1952, a year before I was born and is still going strong today!

I remember liking to ride in the Ferris wheel cages, the carousel, the cars, the boats that went in a circle and how hard the one ride was that you had to keep turning a wheel to make it go along the track. Here is a picture of all of us four kids by the trolley car ride. (I am the one farthest on the right--I don't remember those awful peddle pushers though and don't know why we are wearing tennis shoes!) It even had a small roller coaster that at first was kind of scary, but that I got to like a lot! I believe by going to the Memphis Kiddie Park and being able to experience the fun of going on different rides when I was very little sparked my love for amusements parks when I got older. They even had a miniature golf course with fun obstacles where I often played when I was older.

I remember thinking as a kid that working at Memphis Kiddie Park would be a fun job. The ones running the rides get to make kids happy and collecting the tickets, turning the rides on and off looked like an easy job to me. I never did apply for a job there though.

Years later, when I was youth director at our church, we went there with 5^th-8^th graders for a miniature golf outing which my dad helped me with.

When I was commander of our AWANA Club at church, one year I organized an outing for all the Sparks (boys and girls in K-3^rd grade) who had finished their handbooks. They had a great time and so did I. I could even still fit on the Little Dipper roller coaster and still enjoyed it! I’m the one right in the front!

I have many pleasant memories of this little fun place. If you live in the Cleveland area or visit with young children, I highly recommend to take them here. It’s very family friendly!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Stop by Saturday Samplings for highlighted posts of the week.

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Who Are Cat People?

2010-08-19T06:25:00.038-04:00

This is a video about an amazing cat sanctuary I wish I had known about when I was trying to find homes for my dad's three cats after he died. Two of them had FIV (Feline aids) and the other was a small thing with parasites. They were all nice cats, the two males just didn't get along and neither were neutered. Judie and her husband are real cat people. They used their retirement savings to get this no-kill cat sanctuary going and it costs $15,000 a month to keep it running. They've been going for eight years now!

My dad would have loved to volunteer at a place like this and I'm sure if he had known about it, would have been sending them money to help support it. That is why I send a monthly donation. I felt so bad I couldn't save his cats, but by supporting this sanctuary, I am able to have a small part at saving others. Perhaps you could help too?

Because my dad had such a soft spot for cats, I included some stories about them in the book I wrote in memory of my dad, My Funny Dad, Harry. He was by no means the perfect cat owner, but he did love them very, very much and always let them rule in his house--scratching up anything they wanted and napping anywhere they wished. They loved him very much too!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

Stop by Saturday Samplings for highlighted posts of the week at Half-Past Kissin' Time.

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It May Be Grubby But It Saves Time!

2010-08-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

As my dad aged and got up into his 80s, he became very slow about doing things. Getting dressed would take him at least an hour if not more! It takes me just 10 minutes and that includes the time I take deciding what to wear. His solution for this was to just sleep in his clothes and wear the same clothes all week. I was actually doing well if I got him to change his clothes after just a week!

I understood why he did this, but I thought it was grubby. When I did camp counseling at Beulah Beach, one of the things we were told to do as counselors was to make sure the campers changed their clothes each day. It's so true that the elderly become like kids again in so many ways.

I come home and remove my bra when I change into my shorts and t-shirt and then don't even bother changing for bed. Just jump right on top of the covers still dressed and go to sleep. I do change in the morning into fresh clothes at least!

Do you ever sleep in your clothes . . . and wear them the next day? Do you have any time saving tips?

Inspiration for this post came from One Hat, Two Hat, Wife Hat, Mom Hat--Not Mom of the Year. Check out the post, it's pretty funny.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

How Nutritious Is The Cereal Your Family Eats?

2010-08-01T17:26:00.003-04:00

When we used to shop for my dad after he couldn't drive anymore, he would make out his grocery list with what we thought were goofy brands of cereal. Nothing sounded good to us. He ate Fiber One Bran, some Smart Start kind, Kashi Heart to Heart 7 Whole Grain Flakes and Kellogg's Corn Flakes. In my way of thinking, the Corn Flakes was the only one that sounded normal to me.

I quit eating the sugary kids' cereals a long time ago when I was trying to lose weight, realizing they were packed full of sugar and weren't very healthy. I kept Frosted Flakes, Rice Krispies, Rice Chex, Special K and Raisin Bran. Just this year I added Cheerios Multi-Bran to my cereal list. However, when I went on http://cerealfacts.org, I was shocked to find that NONE of the cereals I eat are very healthy and that dad's were way higher up on the list!

I spent about a half hour plugging in different cereals to make a list of which were more nutritious that we could start eating. (Even Gorilla Munch (organic) is listed as being more nutritious than the ones I currently eat!)

What kind of cereal to you like? Do you think it's nutritious? I bet you will be surprised at what you find if you check that site. Here is a screen shot I took of the top 10 most nutritious:

Who likes Shredded Wheat????? Not us! I don't even like the Frosted Mini-Wheats!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Find Out What Famous Author You Write Like

2010-07-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

At Joann's Best I discovered a fun little site that analyzes your writing samples and then tells you what famous author you write like based on your word choice and writing style. Since I was curious, I used several random samples from the book I wrote in memory of my dad, "My Funny Dad, Harry."

At first, I just picked a couple to see if the results would match. They did not. So then I chose more random samples (20 total) from my book to see what authors came up most often. I questioned if it was just a rotation automatically that came up, but there were repeats and once I got the same result twice in a row. I repeated a section I did earlier to see if I would get the same result, and I did! You can use lengthy samples for better results. Here's what came up for me:

Kurt Vonnegut 1 time

I write like
Kurt Vonnegut

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Corey Doctorow 10 times

I write like
Cory Doctorow

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Stephenie Meyer 3 times

I write like
Stephenie Meyer

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Stephen King 5 times

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Chuck Palahniuk 1 time

I write like
Chuck Palahniuk

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

This was pretty fun. It also shows you some of the books written by these famous authors. Go ahead and try it at I Write Like.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

One Memory I Wish Would Disappear (Writer’s Workshop)

2010-07-22T05:30:00.015-04:00

I went to dad’s one February Friday,
Just like any other work day.
This horrible day the door was still locked.
The lights were off and the paper was still on the porch.

Why, oh why?

I used my key to go in the upstairs door.
The downstairs lock was broke so the key wouldn’t work.
That’s why dad always opened it for me from the inside with his letter opener.
I noticed the cats were laying quietly, no greeting from them today.

Why, oh why?

Uh oh, something is wrong, did dad over sleep?
I hope he’s okay and did not die yet, he is 89.
I hurry downstairs and call out to him. . . . silence.

Why, oh why?

He’s not in the kitchen, or the dining room or the living room either.
I look some more and find him in the bathroom,
On the floor against the tub,
Naked. His legs are dark purple!

Why, oh why?

He’s not waking up, I’m scared he’s dead.
I try to find a pulse but can’t, his chest isn’t moving!
I call 9-1-1.
They tell me to get him flat on the floor to do CPR.
I can’t, he will not budge.

Why, oh why couldn’t he just die in his sleep in the chair?

Related Post: The Day Dad Died God Gave Me Special Cat Time

This is in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Write a poem about a memory you sometimes wish would disappear.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

What To Do BEFORE Rearranging Furniture

2010-07-15T05:00:00.001-04:00

When my parents decided to rearrange furniture in our house growing up, Harry would pull out some graph paper and make a scale drawing of our room and then cut out pieces to scale of the furniture they would have in that room. I think the scale he used was one square on the paper equaled one foot in reality.

I remember my dad made a scale drawing of the rooms in my house and all our furniture to scale on little pieces of paper so I could try different arrangements before moving in. It really is a great way to make sure things fit without having to keep re-measuring and without wasting a lot of time and effort moving things back and forth. It was fun trying different arrangements on paper without any effort.

One thing to keep in mind when doing this though is to measure furniture with drawers open and mark on your room drawing where the windows, doors and outlets are located so you can see if your furniture pieces will cover them up or not. This also helps you get an idea of the walk space you will have between the pieces which especially comes into play for small rooms with lots of big pieces, like our bedroom.

I was reminded of this when I came across Housewife Eclectic: Rearrange Your House Virtually. It never ceases to amaze me what things one can find on the Internet. Somehow, I think dad would still get out his graph paper and make his own scaled drawing and furniture pieces. He just enjoyed doing that sort of thing. For me though, I think I’ll bookmark that site and use it the next time I do major furniture rearranging.

(I told you he was smart even though he did not graduate!)

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

You May Be Surprised (writer’s workshop)

2010-07-08T05:30:00.001-04:00

People would be surprised to learn that my dad did not graduate high school even though he was one to follow the rules and wasn’t lazy or stupid. Harry was never a follower or a leader. He was his own person with just a couple close friends. Harry minded his own business and had strong convictions and a strong will which could be seen as stubbornness. On more than one occasion I called him a “stubborn old man” usually under my breath so he couldn’t hear me. He did not just become stubborn in his old age though; he had a lot of practice. Harry never graduated high school because he refused to give an oral book report. Apparently, his English teacher also had a stubborn streak and did not give him an alternative. Granted, you could argue that he was stupid then but Harry loved to learn things, just not fiction. He had no use for it and in his mind, it was a waste of time. Nor was he an outgoing person so getting in front of a class and talking was probably just too scary for him. I’ll never know for sure because it was my mom who told me this, not him.

This post is in response to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt: People would be surprised to learn that . . . .

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Tahtimo Reviews "My Funny Dad, Harry" and Liked It!

2010-06-30T13:29:00.000-04:00

One of the winners of my book giveaway at Red Pine Mountain, Tahtimbo at Everyday Living, has given me permission to repost part of his review of "My Funny Dad, Harry" here.

Here is part of what he had to say:

I was amazed at how personable the stories were and it seemed as if I came to know Harry as well. Some of the stories are humorous; some will bring back memories of when you were growing up, and some stories are emotionally hard, but they all combine to give us a sense of who Harry was.

Karen, I would like to thank you for sharing your stories and giving us a glimpse into your life. I know that there are many out there that are taking care of aging parents and your book lets them know that they are not alone. In closing, I want close by saying that I highly recommend this book and I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I did.

I am always pleased and amazed that people who read my book have such nice things to say about it and like it. I think what makes it likable is that my dad is so endearing. Be sure to check out the entire review at Everyday Living.

He said he was thinking of reading it for two years and finally won the book giveaway. Once he got it, he read it quickly and got to the place where he didn't want to put it down. If you have been thinking of reading it, I hope you don't put it off for two years! Just click the Amazon ad for it here and it will take you right to the page where you can order.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

I'm Getting More and More Like Dad (Writer's Workshop)

2010-06-26T21:43:00.004-04:00

My dad and I used to always get comments that I looked so much like him. Probably because neither of us smiled very much.

We were both very stubborn and always felt our way of doing something was the "right" way. Often times, we would butt heads because we already had our mind made up how to do something and were not interested in other alternatives. I have worked at being more open to other ideas, and my dad even started listening finally to at least some of my ideas in his old age.

We are both reserved. My dad was never much at making small talk and neither am I. I much prefer just being with people I know well rather than meeting new people. Neither of us are "social butterflies."

Neither of us are very interested in buying new clothes. We both wear our clothes for years, whether they are still in style or not. That's why I mostly just buy classic, traditional things that are timeless. Neither of us like dressing up. I am happiest in jeans, sweatshirts or t-shirts.

We both Like To Keep Our Blood. Yesterday when I went for my annual check-up, they had a problem drawing my blood. I remembered how dad used to have to try to find a finger to prick for his diabetes testing every day and sometimes he would hardly get enough blood for it. He would rub it some before he tried to warm it up. Remembering this, I suggested running some hot water on my wrist to warm me up. Yes, it is summer and was a very nice warm day; however, the office had air conditioning blowing so hard it felt like 60 degrees in there. The technician even wore a fleece jacket!

The doctor gave up and decided to just do the one test for anemia. I sure hope I am not anemic! I don't need that problem yet. He was concerned because I lost a couple pounds, but I think it was because I just got finished doing sports camp in hot weather all week which was way more activity than I normally do.

I have some of my dad's good qualities though too.

We are both organized. My dad was quite organized even though his desks, tables, chairs and floors were a mess. He knew where his things were most of the time. I too have a place for everything and usually remember where my things are too.

We both are list makers. My dad always had lists going of projects he wanted to work on, grocery lists, and even lists of what he ate. I do the same thing except I don't write a grocery list every week. I just print out a list of items we usually get and check the ones we want. I did this for my dad as well when I was his primary caregiver and started doing his grocery shopping for him.

We are both very generous and helpful. He used to teach boys in Sunday School and now I do. We both get so involved in working on projects we care about that we can work for hours and forget to eat. Neither of us have any trouble sleeping and are both early risers and neither of us are night owls. Hoot! Hoot!

My dad told me over and over he didn't know what he'd do without me when he was in his 80s and I was his primary caregiver. I know he was very proud of me and loved me very, very much. I am glad I am so much like my dad! He was such a good person and got along with everyone. (Mostly because he kept his mouth shut.)

This is one of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop posts in response to: What does your child do that reminds you most of yourself? How does it make you feel?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Mission Impossible--Happy Father's Day!

2010-06-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

My dad always liked watching the squirrels play and also the show "Mission Impossible." When I got this video in an email, I went on YouTube to see if I could find it and sure enough, there it was with the code for embedding it. Enjoy and happy father's day!

Other Father's Day posts about my dad you might like:
Happy Father's Day!
Happy Father's Day (2008)
Happy Father's Day Everyone (2009)!
Book Review by Winner of Father's Day Giveaway Contest

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Cameras and Kids

2010-06-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

My dad was always taking pictures—mostly slides and movies. I remember how I used to hate getting my picture taken, especially when he had to bring out the bright flood lights to take movies indoors. We'd all groan but later enjoyed watching them! I remember my parents got a little family tree photo stand that had all six of our pictures in it and none of us kids liked it. We kept turning it backwards and my mom kept turning it back when she would notice it. Maybe that’s why I got to like taking pictures because then I was behind the camera where it was safe.

A camera can be a good gift for a child. I had a lot of fun taking pictures with mine. I took pictures of goofy things, like my dad’s bristles on the back of his head. My parents let me take pictures of anything I wanted and never said I shouldn't take something because it would be wasting the film (like I'd be tempted to say if roles were reversed). I wonder if the camera would still work.

I don’t know how old I was when I got my first camera, but it wasn’t fancy. It is an Imperial Mark XII Flash but I don't have the flash attachment anymore. It just snaps open to load the film but I don't even know if they still make the kind of film it uses. The film went in there and after each shot I had to wind the film forward. I looked it up on eBay and found one exactly like it with an asking price of $103! Ha, ha. Good luck getting that, I say! There were no bids on it. I thought of trying to sell mine on eBay except I printed my name on the bottom of it in marker so doubt if anyone would want it, not to mention the fact that I don't even know if it works. I'd be happy to get $5 bucks for it!

Taking pictures is fun! I went through a long line of different cameras including the disc, the Polaroid, the 35mm and now my digital. Cameras sure have changed a lot but I believe my love for taking pictures started because of my dad and that first positive experience I had taking those silly pictures.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Where Did I Put That Letter Opener? (Writer's Workshop)

2010-06-02T16:44:00.002-04:00

Harry also spent a lot of his time looking for things he misplaced. One day, he told me "I can't find the letter opener so I am using scissors to lock the door." (Since his door lock broke and he was still in the process of fixing it himself, he used the letter opener to lock it.) I spent the whole time there before work helping him look for it, but I couldn't find it anywhere either. Later that day, I got a call from dad at work saying, "Hello, Karen, this is dad. I just wanted to call to let you know I found the letter opener under my pillow." We both laughed at that, wondering how in the world it landed there. At least he found it!

Head on over to Red Pine Mountain to enter her giveaway for an autographed copy of my book, "My Funny Dad, Harry." Contest drawing is June 9 and all you need to do is leave a comment on that post to enter.

This is an excerpt from "My Funny Dad, Harry" which I posted in response to Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: “What did you once lose? Write about your search to find it again.”

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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People Actually Stole From Me--That’s Not Nice!

2010-05-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

When I was going through grieving for my dad, cleaning out his house to get it ready to sell and basically putting in long hours every day while trying to maintain time with my husband, a few people helped me out a lot.

However, some of the neighbors came around offering their “help” only to get stuff, which I was mostly okay with if they offered to buy it; but I wasn’t okay with them stealing from me. How can people be so mean? Here I was still grieving and overwhelmed with so much to do, running myself ragged working at my dad’s to get the house ready for sale and still trying to get home to spend some time with Gerard. It was a very hectic and emotional time for me. That’s when I really decided that the sooner I sell, the better.

I had a lot of knick knacks and some other small things set out on the dining room table that one of the neighbors from up the street came to look at. He offered to buy a lot of the knick knacks that he planned on taking to the flea market to resell, but after he left, I notice the small scale that we used at the AWANA Grand Prix to weigh in the cars was gone. It had been on the dining room table with the knick knacks and was something I had wanted to keep. I should have brought it home with me sooner, but didn’t. I never saw it after that day so assume he must have taken it.

Harry had a garden hose hanging on the front of the house which I used to wash off the porch. Ricky, a junk dealer who helped me the most and was pretty much an all-around handyman who worked for himself, told me the garden hose was gone. Someone just took it! I couldn’t believe it. Who would take a garden hose right off the front of the house?

Ricky cleaned out the 3-car garage for me which I really appreciated. I had no idea what to do with all that junk that was in there but it was such a big job that he asked another guy to help him. I was paying Ricky for his help, but Ricky told his helper from up the street that he could borrow my garden weasel. It was an great tool for getting out whole patches of weeds and I had planned to use it and keep it. Too bad I never saw it again. The guy never returned it and Ricky never got it back for me.

Why didn’t I report it to the police? Truth is, I didn’t need any more hassles and just didn’t think it was worth my time. I’m sure the Cleveland police had bigger crimes to solve and probably wouldn’t have been able to get my things back anyway. There’s no way I could prove they were mine. Some people just see a weak vulnerable female as an easy target and don’t hesitate to take advantage even though stealing is wrong, wrong, wrong! Thou shalt not steal.

Did anyone ever steal from you? What did you do about it?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Photo Tag Challenge--Number 8 It Is

2010-05-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged by Home to the World to do this photo tag challenge. Here are the rules:

1) Go to your photo files, select the 8th photo folder.
2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.
3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.
4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!
Easy peasy!

Okay, this is a picture of me from 1964 in our backyard. While others were in the pool, I acted as lifeguard. I rolled up a newspaper for my horn to announce rest times--yes I did. You see, I didn't like the water, or going barefoot. Look close and you will see I am wearing socks with my swimsuit! My dad got us a 3-ft. pool and we had a lot of fun with it. Although I didn't like to swim or even go in it, I did enjoy playing with boats and army men in the water from outside the pool. Go ahead, laugh.

Now, doesn't this sound like fun? Feel free to copy the rules and participate in this photo challenge if you wish. Of course, a link back here would be appreciated. Oh, and if you laughed at me when you read this or looked at my picture, consider yourself tagged and do this challenge!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

Which Cat Did This?

2010-05-13T06:00:00.002-04:00

I thought it might be a fun series to give you some insight into my dad's cats by doing some little "Who Am I" posts. I haven't posted much about his cats on here but they were very important to him and a huge part of his life after my mom died. So, here's some things about my favorite one of his cats:

Clawed up the carpet by the hallway door.

Loved being brushed. All I had to do was pick up the brush and he would jump up on the table and lay down for as long as I wanted to brush him.

Licked so much, he had bald spots--the Revolution fixed the problem.

When he went to the vet, his skin was so thick the vet was afraid his needle would break.

Liked clawing cardboard and laying on the air conditioner box that Harry never opened.

Liked laying on the brand new air conditioner box that Harry never opened in the middle of the upstairs dining room.

Fought with Sylvester whenever he left the bedroom room.

Afraid of strangers and would hide from them the best he could.

Never scratched people even though he clawed the scratching post to bits.

Never was neutered, did some spraying in the house.

This was Sweet Thing, the black and white cat who outlived Harry.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

You Can Try . . . But Some Things Just Won't Happen

2010-05-06T08:15:00.000-04:00

This picture was taken in 1954 of my parents holding me. My parents named me Karen Anne (with an "e" because Ann was so common, they wanted my name to be a bit different). Anyhow, I was called Karen Anne for the first few years of my life. I think my mom wanted me to be called Karen Anne because at the time, the name Karen was pretty popular. The bottom line though is that I didn't like it. I always just went by Karen.

Funny thing about names--the person they belong to really has the final say in the matter. My dad was named Harrington and the only people who actually called him that was his mother and her sisters. Everyone else who knew him called him "Harry."

Do you go by the name your parents planned for you?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Tweet This

How To Post A Customer Book Review On Amazon

2010-04-29T06:00:00.002-04:00

One tip I received to help promote my book from the book How To Sell Your Book On Amazon and my publisher, Outskirts Press, was to write customer reviews on Amazon. I had no idea how to do this but worked my way through and now have done 188 customer reviews! After asking people to write a customer review after reading my book, My Funny Dad, Harry, I discovered that most people had no idea how to do this so that is why I'm writing this post.

First, you have to open an account if you don't already have one. This is a bit of an inconvenience, but doesn't take too long. You have to actually order something from Amazon in order to post customer reviews (that's why it's called "customer" reviews). You could start by ordering the book I wrote: My Funny Dad, Harry or any other. (Just a word of caution here. You can order used books cheaper but should check out the feedback about the seller first. I got burned on this once when I ordered a used book and never received it but was out my money.) Once you have an account, posting reviews is quick and easy.

2. Type the title of the book you wish to review in the search box and do the search.

3. Click on the book title and it will take you to what is called the "Detail Page" which contains more information about the book. If you scroll down, you can even see the Amazon statistics about its rank and any editorial reviews.

4. Click on the small print right under the book title that says "customer reviews."

5. That opens a screen that shows all the reviews that have been posted and has a button that says "create your own." Click on that and then just answer if you're over 13, rate the book, fill in a title for your review and then write it.

6. At the bottom of the review box is an option to put in tags, several are usually listed that have been previously used that you can just click on to insert). Click on "preview" and you'll see how it will look when published. From here you can either edit it or hit "publish" and be done. It sometimes posts the same day but can take up to two days.

Here is a video I made demonstrating how to do it. Please excuse the shakiness--it's not easy using a Flip camera while typing:

Why not give it a try and brighten an author's day by posting a good review? There are 21 so far for My Funny Dad, Harry. If you have read and liked my book, I'd love for you to post a customer review of it on Amazon if you get a chance.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Now That's A Tool I Can Use! Thanks, Dad!

2010-04-22T11:04:00.004-04:00

My dad’s favorite stores were any hardware store. He had lots and lots of tools in the garage, the basement, the back porch, his dining room, his bedroom and even his living room! While my mom was still alive, he kept them in the garage or the basement but after she died, they made their way into various rooms of the house. His tools were very important to him because they were not cheap and he loved working with them. He even bought tools from catalogs and ordered one the week he died which I returned because I didn’t even know what it was for. He obviously planned on living longer.

Unfortunately, there weren’t too many of his tools that I would have a use for or a place for. Most I didn’t even know how to use! I wish I was blogging back then because I would have taken more pictures of things, but I didn’t even know what a blog was back in 1997. Ever hear that saying if only “I knew then what I know now”? The few tools I did take were a few C-clamps, a couple lights that have clamps, picture hangers, his bubble level (for the pool table), the snake to clear clogged drains (although I don’t know where it is) and a big roll of duct tape. We also kept the lawn mower—is that considered a tool? I offered the others to my brother-in-law and my nephews and sold the rest.

The best tool I kept though is the duct tape. I never knew how wonderful it works and how easy it is to use until I took his. I can actually fix things now too! Check out my post, “Duct Tape To The Rescue In 5 Ways” to see five uses I’ve found for it. If you read the comments, readers mentioned even more. Every house should have a roll of duct tape!

Do you have a house full of tools? What tools do you use?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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5 Products My Dad Used In His Old Age (Writer's Workshop)

2010-04-15T05:30:00.002-04:00

Five products my dad used were a weekly pill box, a magnifying glass, a grabber gadget, a very cool walker and a wheelchair that his favorite cat, Blackie, liked riding on.

Weekly Pill Box --This kept him organized enough to take his pills. He had quite a few to keep track of and with his memory going, sometimes he couldn't remember if he took his pill or not. Don't laugh, I've had this on occasion too. He would put them all in the three weekly pill boxes he used--morning, noon, evening. It was a good system that worked for him.

Magnifying Glass--Since Harry didn't go to the Optometrist regularly, he couldn't see very well so he used a magnifying glass all the time. I must admit, however, that his instructions that came with his diabetes gadget and his watch and clocks had such tiny print that even I couldn't read them without a magnifying Glass. When I was showing him how to use the computer, he needed a magnifying Glass to read everything unless it was 14pt or bigger! He even had a special one for reading books or the paper. It was flat on one side and curved on the other and about 8 inches long so he could just slide it right down the page. Why spend money on eyeglasses when he could see just fine with his magnifying glasses.

The Grabber--Because of his arthritis and lack of feeling in his finger tips, Harry loved this gadget because he could pick up the things he dropped easily without bending over. He kept it right with his walker at all times. My dad had ten of these when he died so I just kept the one and donated the rest to a nursing home.

Walker with a basket on the front--My dad had a great walker that folded up for easy storage. It had wheels on just the front legs so he could roll it along easily but the back legs did not have wheels which provided stability. The best thing about it was a basket like some bikes used to have so he could carry things in it easily.

Wheelchair--When dad's legs got very weak, he would use his wheelchair around the house. I felt bad for him because it seemed everything he did took so long. I'd offer to help him get his breakfast in the morning, but he insisted on doing it himself. He used both the walker with his wheelchair at the same time and would put stuff in the basket to get it from the kitchen to the dining room and back. He actually got quite good at this!

Take a look at this video I made demonstrating how my dad used the grabber with the wheelchair and walker together:

My dad was old when he used these things, but they all made his life easier. He was also very independent thanks to these things and wanted to stay that way. Fortunately, it was not too often that he had to use the wheelchair, but he got accustomed to it and probably used it a bit more than actually necessary. Most days he still was able to climb the stairs to feed and care for his upstairs kitties. They were very good company for him and kept him motivated.

This is in response to Mama Kat's Workshop prompt: What does that tell you about your father? List five products your father used (or uses). Write a longer piece about, at least, one of them.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Don't Ever Go On A Plane! (Writer's Workshop)

2010-04-11T11:32:00.007-04:00

Harry was always very cautious. He never liked to drive fast so would avoid the Interstate highways if he could and always said that planes were dangerous. He was not only fearful of flying but felt like no one else should ever fly anywhere either. He always pointed out the plane crashes saying "See, planes are dangerous!" Although I would tell him that there are more car accidents than plane crashes, he was not persuaded that planes were safe and stuck to his belief that people shouldn't fly.

When my sister went on a plane to Hawaii, my dad was very nervous about her flying and told me to NEVER go on a plane. Since I had no plans or inclination to go traveling anywhere, it didn't bother me. I thought I would spare him the worry and not fly during his lifetime and just said okay.

As he aged and thought about his mortality, one day he said: "When I die I want you to wait until after my funeral to let the out-of-state relatives know so they don't come on an airplane to attend my funeral. I don't want them taking that risk." That's how much he feared flying!

This is part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Where does that fear come from? Write about something that frightens you that other people might find ridiculous.

So, do you think Harry was being ridiculous? Do you fly? What scares you?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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A Glowing Book Review of "My Funny Dad, Harry" From MyTop Commenter of 2009

2010-04-01T18:00:00.004-04:00

Yesterday morning when I checked me email there was a Google Alert which I followed to Jude's blog at Mature But Not Senile and found the following review of "My Funny Dad, Harry" which I have re-posted here with her permission. Thanks so much, Jude! I really appreciate it and am so glad to hear you enjoyed the book, sad parts and all.

I received Karen Zemek’s book My Funny Dad, Harry in February, but have only just finished due to other things going on in my life. I simply didn’t have time to read it all in one or two settings. The book itself is a collection of Karen’s memories and things she wrote about in her journals of her life with her Dad, Harry and Mom, Lenore. I met Karen through the Internet and enjoy reading her blogs.

She writes about how her parents decided to foster and help 3 other children and some of their adventures while growing up. This book is a tribute to both her parents, but it’s mostly about Harry and his funny ways. She paints a picture of Harry that had me laughing at times and at other times I felt tears in my eyes when she talks about her Mother’s illness and death.

It’s a charming little book filled with antidotes of Harry’s kindness, generosity, love and creativity. Just from reading the book I can tell Karen was a good Daughter and was there for Harry when he needed anything even though he didn’t like asking for help and would often not take her advice when offered. There are many stories about Harry’s cats that had me laughing, but some were sad.

I’m sure when she wrote this book it must have been a healing process and I totally admire Karen’s determination in getting it published so she could share with the world what a truly ingenious, funny, and wonderful Father that she was blessed with. I enjoyed Karen’s book and all the stories she shared of Harry after Lenore passed away.

Some of her recollections of cleaning out Harry’s house after he passed away (even though I felt sad about poor Harry and what Karen was going through) made me laugh. All in all it was a nice book which showed good family values and some of the problems one faces when dealing with aging parents. I will agree with Karen, Harry was funny and by the way Karen I love the suspenders and Harry not caring what other people think.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Loving Memories Of My Grandma Arlettaz

2010-03-25T06:30:00.003-04:00

Grandmas are the best! My Grandma Arlettaz (Harry’s mother) was always active. She became a widow when my dad was only three years old and never remarried. She was a very thin old lady when I knew her who loved me very much. I found some old slides of us together which was the inspiration for this post. She helped my mom take care of me when I was born and got the blame when I needed glasses in first grade because she let me sit too close to watch TV when I had the chicken pox. I used to love staying at her house over night sometimes.

Grandma and my three aunts had a very big house with many rooms but let me sleep in the same bed with her. The windows were from the floor almost to the high ceiling. It had a long staircase in the front hallway leading to the upstairs. As a teen, I thought it would be nice to have that house because it would be great for big parties. The rooms were huge except for the kitchen. The heating bills must have been enormous! Harry actually considered buying it when the last of my aunts died, but didn’t because the neighborhood was on the decline.
Here’s a list of some specific fond memories I have:

Playing restaurant with their good dishes. How many people do you know who would let a preschooler or Kindergartner play with their good dishes?

Playing church with me acting as the Pastor serving communion. My grandma and aunts thought it was cute, but I really wanted them to know Jesus as their Savior and this gave me a way to tell them.

Playing with a horse knickknack that had a broken leg. She even let me keep it. At the time I liked horses because cowboys rode them and I was into cowboys big time. I had that little horse for a very long time. I just threw it away recently when I was trying to get rid of some of my clutter to give Gerard less to dust.

Going shopping downtown with Grandma. We used to eat at Higbees by a fish pond that was in the restaurant. She always told me I could buy something but usually I didn’t really see anything I wanted. I do remember getting a “Let’s Take A Trip” game but don’t know what happened to it.

Just enjoying being with her and watching her work in the yard. We just liked hanging out together. I can’t remember her ever once raising her voice. She was such a loving, gentle woman that I admired tremendously and always had fun with her.

My parents asked me for suggestions as to what to buy Grandma Arlettaz for some holiday—(I think Mother’s Day). After some serious thought, I suggested a sliding board. I really thought she would like one for her yard because she liked to do fun things. My parents disagreed and went with something else instead.

I always wanted to grow old like her—staying active and thin. It was very sad when she had a stroke and came to live with us because she couldn’t talk. It was frustrating for her and my parents. I felt very sad and was angry at the doctor for not being able to make her better. She had medicine to take but didn’t like it and it seemed like it was an ongoing battle between her and my mom. I was upset that she gave my mom such a hard time.

When grandma Arlettaz died, I really had a lot of anger toward the doctor and God. I felt like the medicine battle was a waste because it didn’t make her better anyway. I remember I rode my bike up and down the drive as fast as I could when I heard she had died.

I was very mad at God too for letting her die but not so mad that I turned away from Him. In fact, just the opposite was true. I prayed and prayed for God to raise her from the dead, thinking that perhaps He was testing my faith. I don’t recall how old I was, somewhere between 5th grade and 8th grade I think. I knew he had raised people from the dead in Bible times and had faith that he could still do it if He wanted to. I had a very special bond with my Grandma Arlettaz and knew God loved me so would certainly answer my prayer of great faith. Then I began to sort of become afraid that he would and started hoping I wouldn’t see her ghost. I thought, since she was already buried, if she came back to life, she wouldn’t be able to get out anyway. That’s when I finally accepted the fact that she was dead for good and realized that God knew best after all and forgave Him for not answering my prayer the way I wanted. He did answer—but the answer was no.

What fond memories do you have of your Grandma? Have you ever prayed in great faith and not had your prayer answered the way you wanted?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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What A Lift After A Hard Day At Work!

2010-03-17T20:30:00.001-04:00

After a very busy day at work two weeks ago after just starting a new assignment, I came home and checked my email to find this:

From: Rebecca
Subject: I Got Your Book!
To: "karen&Gerard Zemek"
Date: Wednesday, March 3, 2010, 4:43 PM

Karen, I am so excited I wanted to tell you-- I ordered your book and just came in from Amazon today!!! It looks SO COOL. I am looking forward to reading it. I've been wanting to read it ever since you first blogged about it-- Praise God I got a new writing job and am able to afford books!

I will be writing a review on it soon, on my blog. I flipped through it a little and am very blessed by the Appendix D. :D When I'm done reading it, I'm going to give it to my kids to read, or perhaps we will read it together after dinner every night.

Congrats on a really nice book! Did you ever write a post about how you got a book published? I think that is an incredible feat. I'd love to read your story about that.

Rebecca

I actually did write a post about how I got published. It's "How I Found A Publisher" on my PNN blog at http://karen.pnn.com.

I was happy to hear she was 3/4 of the way through when I asked if she started reading it yet two days later. She said her son hijacked it and she hadn't seen it all day.

Be sure to read her review at Freaky Frugalite.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here. Maybe you would like to order it too. There is a tab at top that says "Buy Book" which takes you right to the page on Amazon.com where you can order it.
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A Tip For Parents—Split Those Shakes!

2010-03-11T10:00:00.002-05:00

Growing up, my mom used to cook a big dinner using the slow cooker. For several years we always had mashed potatoes, a vegetable, brown-n-serve rolls and some kind of meat for Sunday dinner. It would always be ready when we got home from church and tasted great!

When I started writing my book, I asked my brother and sisters if they had any funny memories about dad and my brother mentioned that he remembered how dad would always fix our dog, Brownie, a special plate on Sundays. I had forgotten about this. Brownie loved these Sunday dinners too!

At one point though our routine changed to going to McDonald’s for Sunday lunch. Brownie was disappointed but us kids were happy about it. We still had meat sometime during the week so Brownie still got some meat bones every week so don’t feel too bad for him. Us kids loved McDonald’s and it gave my mom a break from cooking. My mom was overweight and consequently was very careful about making sure us kids didn’t get fat. When we went to McDonald’s, she would bring along a couple paper cups to split the shakes. She always said that we didn’t need that big of a shake. My dad didn’t mind at all and saved a little money too doing that.

Portion control is a good practice to get into if you want to eat unhealthy things now and then. For example, I love pizza and could easily gobble up an entire large one at one sitting with no trouble at all, but I don’t. In fact, I have cut my pizza portion size down to just two slices instead of three like I used to eat before I started working out. When I was younger, I was more active and had better metabolism but as I age, I notice my metabolism has slowed down and so I adjusted my eating habits.

So, how many slices of pizza do you eat at a time? Do you like McDonald’s? Do you split shakes for your kids?

This is a post that addresses a Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop prompt: Where was your favorite place to eat when you were a child?

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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Keys, Keys, Keys--One Of Harry's Hobbies

2010-03-04T10:00:00.001-05:00

The mind is a funny thing sometimes. As forgetful as my dad was, he could remember what each key was for and he had a whole lot of them. For awhile, he even had a little locksmith business going after he retired. He spent a lot of money on this endeavor, which my mother was not happy about, just so he could help people who needed a lock or key. Sometimes he’d be called on to help someone who locked themselves out of the car or house. Often the church would ask him to change their locks and make more keys for them. He did it so often that the Pastor’s son referred to him as the “key man.” Dad always liked to have his clump of keys hanging on his belt, all of them—they were too heavy to keep in a pocket! This was his main reason why he didn’t want the sweat pants I bought for him.

The very first key I ever got from my dad was for a ladder dime bank. It went to a little tiny lock that fit on the bank that said “turn dimes into dollars.” I got a lot of use out of that and saved a lot of dollars over the years with it. That key was a very tiny silver one with notches on both sides. I even had a diary with a lock on it, but I never bothered locking it—I never really wrote anything very interesting in there. During the 80s, I painted a big plaster key for dad that he hung in his living room! I tried selling it but no one else wanted it so today it hangs in my hallway. I'm glad I still have it.

When I was cleaning out my dad’s house after his death, I kept finding more and more locks. He had them stacked in three different places in the basement along with locksmith binders and two really old key making machines. The locks were so old by then that even the locksmith had no use for them because he couldn’t guarantee them. I also found some colored key holders that are supposed to help you remember what the keys are for, but they were kind of clunky and I didn’t find them all that useful so didn’t keep using them.

I wonder how he was able to remember what all his keys were all for. It took me a whole morning to label the keys and try to figure out what they all were for. I don’t have near the number of keys he had but do have a few that I have no idea what locks they work. One is even in my change purse! I know it’s not a car key. It might be an old house key. Maybe it’s my secretary key, I’ll have to try that. I have a couple others in my squirrel box on my dresser that are a mystery to me too. Now at church I have a cupboard I can use for my Sunday School class with another key to keep track of—oh goody! I’m trying to think where to keep it—maybe in my Sunday purse. I think I’m going to tag it first though, that should help me remember its purpose!

How do you remember what all your keys are for and where do you keep them?

Find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Only 1% Interest On Our Savings?

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I was looking at my interest the other day, I wondered why it was so little. I called the bank to find out and was told my e-savings account is now only earning 1%. Immediately I thought about my dad and how he had all his money in a savings account only earning 1% interest. He was adamant about not tying his money up for a long period of time so I told him about the short-term options available at Dollar Bank and eventually convinced him to let me put some of his savings into a rising interest CD for a year so he could at least get more than 1% interest.

That's why I decided to check at the bank to see if there was a better place for my savings that would earn more. When I opened my e-savings, I was getting 5% interest on it. Funny, they don't tell their customers that better options are available. Anyhow, they did have a new account that gives 2% for 90 days and after 90 days they advised me to switch it to a free money account which would at least be a little more than just 1%. Both my husband and I had to physically go to the bank to sign papers to change it and couldn't just do it on the phone or online.

If you haven't checked out different options at your bank recently, you may want to just to see if you could be getting a bit more with your savings account. My dad did not want to have to fuss with remembering when CDs came due and have to make decisions all the time about what to do with his money. He did, however, let me handle it for him his last year or two. I wish banks would just give their customers the highest interest possible on their savings without making them monitor it constantly and investigate what all the different options are. It seems sometimes that there are unwritten rules of procedure somewhere that tell companies they are not allowed to make things simple for the customers.

I can certainly understand why my dad didn't want to fuss with switching his accounts all the time and moving money in and out of different CDs. He just didn't think it was worth the hassle. I think banks hope people will take that attitude so they don't have to pay as much interest. What do you think?

My dad taught me early about banking by giving us a little extra as interest if we put part of our allowance in his "bank." I didn't trust banks and mentioned that I didn't see why anyone would put money in a bank so he wanted to teach me the value of doing that. I also had a real savings account as a kid and when I got birthday money from relatives, some of it went into my savings. I think parents should teach their children about saving. When dad died and I had to clear out his house, I was very thankful that he was one who did not have money secretly hidden all over the place. It made things a little easier knowing that I knew where all his money was.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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A Poem For You, Dad

2010-02-16T06:00:00.004-05:00

This is the 3rd year anniversary of my dad's death. It is getting easier but I still miss him and wish things had been a bit different.

I love that you made so many things for me
And that today many of them in my house I see.

I love that you let me mess up your black hair.
I hate that it turned gray and isn’t there!

I love you giving me piggy back rides.
But oh, I hate how fast the time flies.

I love that you were so nice to my friends.
Even though you wished the noisy parties would end.

I love that you accepted my husband, Gerard,
Even though he finds making and fixing things hard.

I love that you took in all those cats,
Loving them in spite of their elusive acts.

I love that you helped me complete my projects,
Whether in science, Awana, paintings or other objects.

I love that you were so protective, driving us all over the place,
Although at the time I preferred to ride with someone with a different face.

I love how you planned fun family outings,
Including my friend coming along with us always!

I love the pictures of when we were younger,
But also sweet memories of us growing older.

I love you were able to make or fix anything—just great!
Even eager to learn the computer at age 88.

I love that you were honest, generous, and kind,
Helping others without charge, paying no mind.

I love how you took care of mom when she was sick.
Insisting that by her side you would stick!

I love that you were self-sufficient to the end,
But hate that I found you in the bathroom dead.

I love that you didn’t have to go to a nursing home to die,
But hate that you died all alone without me close by.

I want you to know long ago I decided if I ever did have a boy,
I would name him Harry!

I hate that you’re gone, and still miss you terribly!

Check out these Related posts: Day Dad Died

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.

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My Secret Blog Giveaway--And The Winner Is . . .

2010-02-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

I read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and one of the bits of advice he gave is that when someone does something nice for you, you should do it for someone else. I was so surprised and happy when I found out a while back that I won a set of Snoopy towels in a free blog giveaway that Mountain Woman did that I thought I would have one too and hopefully make someone's day a bit brighter. So, for Valentine's Day this year I decided to show my top commenter during the past year some appreciation by sending her an autographed copy of my book.

I visit this person's blog regularly and is one of the first bloggers that I "met" through Entrecard. The winner is Jude at "Mature But Not Senile." She left me 20 comments over the year which was the most by any one person. Runners up were Homestay Mama at Amazing Journey, Amazing Grace (16) and Sandee at Comedy Plus (15).

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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My Earliest Memory--A Mouse In the House!

2010-02-04T05:00:00.001-05:00

Kathy at The Junk Drawer had a post "What Was Your Very First Memory" which I commented on and thought it might be good to post about it here.

We used to live in Garrettsville. This is a picture of our first house that my mom and dad worked together on building. As you can see, it was pretty much in the boonies with just open field all around.

I don’t remember much before I started school but I do remember this because I was afraid my mom was going to land on me and squish me! (She was not a small person.) I must have been 4 years old sitting on the couch one night. All of a sudden, my mom screamed really, really LOUD and jumped on top of the couch right next to me!

She saw a mouse in our house! She was terrified of the cute little things and told my dad, she couldn't live there anymore. She can't live with mice in the house. Harry, being the loving husband that he was, put the house up for sale and we moved to Parma (a suburb of Cleveland). Here is a slide he took of mom and me at out new home playing a word game also dated 1958. I've always enjoyed playing games, all kinds. This is probably why--she started me early.

I found this slide which was taken after the house was sold and dated 1958. Harry was great at labeling things and a very detailed person which sometimes got on my nerves, especially when he'd explain things like I was a 2-yr.-old sometimes. Anyhow, because he dated that slide, I am able to figure out how old I was at the time. The one of my mom and me he listed both our full names as well as described the type of game we were playing. I'm glad he did now even though it may have seemed silly at the time.

Tip: Always label the back of your pictures with names and dates. Years later, it helps bring more meaning to the people who find them.

One of Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompts this week is: Explain a time there was an emergency. What “mode” did you go into? Freaking out, calm and collected, etc. I modified it a bit by sharing about my mom freaking out in what she considered to be an emergency.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Best Advice I Ever Got From My Dad (Writer’s Workshop)

2010-01-28T04:37:00.000-05:00

The best advice I ever got from my dad was to “Always pay off your credit cards every month. Don’t spend more than what you can pay off each month and save as much as you can.”

I am glad I listened to my dad and had enough wisdom to follow this advice on this! The only time I spent more than I had and borrowed money to do it was when Gerard and I bought a house after we were married. Even then though, it really bothered me that I had a house payment every month and we paid more than necessary each month to get it paid off faster. Gerard still had car payments when we got married, but once that car was finally all paid for, we never had a car payment since.

It is very tempting to blow money on things we don’t really need but it is not a wise thing to do. It’s always good to be prepared for unexpected expenses such as repairs, home improvements, medical bills and costly prescriptions. For years I have arranged for my bank to automatically transfer a certain amount from our checking account to our savings account each month. This way, money gets into savings each month.

When my dad retired, he did not work part-time as some people do. He lived on his Social Security check, a pension and his savings which served him well. However, the last few years of his life he was worried his money may run out before he died because he was spending more than he was getting in. It was during these years that he told me to “save as much as you can.” What I found funny was how he would still buy extra stuff. He always wanted plenty of tools and supplies on hand: scissors in every room, a thermometer in every room, an electric heater for every room, piles of post-its and flashlights all over his house too. It looked like a store!

What do you think of this advice? What good advice have your received?

This post was inspired by a prompt from Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop where you can find more.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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10 Things To Stave Off Boredom (Writer's Workshop)

2010-01-21T04:45:00.000-05:00

Even though Harry was retired and home most of the time, he always told me he was never bored whenever I would mention it. I guess because when he reached old age (70s, 80s) it took him longer to do things so it seemed he was always busy with a lot to do. Here is a list of ten things he used to do that kept him from being bored:

10. Eat. (It was always quite a production for him.)

9. Write a letter or make a phone call. (Phone calls always were time consuming because he was hard of hearing and letters would take forever because he had arthritis in his fingers and sometimes a lack of feeling so he wrote very slowly. Once he wrote to President Bush with a suggestion for solving the high cost of fuel.)

8. Read the newspaper. (This often took him an hour or two because he'd fall asleep while doing it.)

7. Go shopping to stock up on things you might need some day--walk instead of drive. (This could take up an entire morning or afternoon.)

6. Cut the grass. (Again, he walked very slowly so it took him long to do. He usually only did half the backyard at a time.)

5. Pay some bills. (This took long because again with the writing but also had to find them first! Sometimes he wouldn't get to his mail every day and it would pile up. He always managed to date the envelope though with the date he received it.)

4. Index those magazines and file them away. (He had piles of magazines sitting around his dining room and living room because he had to get them indexed before he could file them or toss them out. He had shelves filled with Consumer Reports and could quickly go to the one he needed because he had them all indexed.)

3. Make some scratch paper. (He always saved his junk mail and then cut it up and used the back for scratch pads by clipping the separate sheets together with a big binder clip.) See post about this and picture: Even Junk Mail Has A Purpose

2. Feed the stray cats and clean the litter boxes for your indoor cats. (Every day he put out food and water for the stray cats in the neighborhood. His porch was a real mess though because not only did the cats eat the food, but so did the birds and they pooped all over the place! In the winter, this really took long because he bundled up in is snow suit first to keep warm--this took him at least 15 minutes to get in and out of.)

1. Fix something or make something. (This was his favorite thing to do, but often ran out of time.)

Are you ever bored? How do you fight off boredom?

This is in response to the prompt: "Write A List Of 10 Things To Stave Off Boredom" from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Never Get That Kind Again!

2010-01-14T05:15:00.000-05:00

If “chewable” means “suckable,” then that’s what they should say! After dad couldn’t drive anymore because the doctor told him he shouldn’t, I used to take care of his shopping for him. One of the vitamin pills he took was Centrum. When I went to get him more, I saw there was a “chewable” Centrum Silver for people over 50 so got that thinking it would be better for him since he was in his 80s. He said okay, he’d try it.
The next day he told me “NEVER, get that kind again! I asked him why not and this is the story he told me:

“Those things are hard as ROCKS! I was afraid I’d break my tooth on it.” (shaking his head back and forth) I tried grinding it first with my pill crusher and was afraid it would break my pill crusher! I finally used a pair of pliers to break off little bits and it took me two hours to get it broken up enough for me to even eat it!“

I said, “Maybe they were old. I’ll return it for you.”

When I asked the druggist about it, he told me they weren’t meant to be crushed. You are supposed to suck on them and they dissolve in your mouth. I decided to try one to see if it worked and found out it did and even tasted good! With that discovery, I took them back to dad the next day.

He was skeptical and I spent about 20 minutes convincing him to just try it. He said, “They shouldn’t call them ‘chewable’ if you can’t chew them!”

I think he had a point. What do you think? Got any complaints you would like to share?

This is a partial excerpt from “My Funny Dad, Harry” as part of Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop prompt to write about your latest complaint.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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You Want Me To Read About SNAKES? (Writer's Workshop)

2010-01-07T04:15:00.000-05:00

I had many books as a kid and enjoyed seeing them again when clearing out my dad’s house after he died. My mom enrolled me in a Children’s book club because she wanted me to like reading and encouraged me to enjoy books. I had a green bookcase, built by dad of course, filled with books but when asked what I would like read I would choose the snake section in The Book of Knowledge. I liked snakes back then but more than that I loved seeing my parents cringe when I’d ask them to read about the different snakes. Although it wasn’t really a children’s book, it certainly was the one my parents hated reading to me the most!

Even today I find snakes fascinating to watch at the zoo when they’re on the go. This is a picture of a Python that I took while curled up on top of a fake elephant's head. I wouldn’t want one in my house though.

Is there something your child likes that makes you cringe? What book do you remember your parents reading to you?

This post is part of Mama Kat’s Workshop: What Children’s book do you hate reading to your child? Go check out more posts there or participate yourself.

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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Aunt Dorothy Was Right!

2009-12-31T10:00:00.004-05:00

After writing my last post about missing our family gatherings, look what I found when searching through my photo album for the picture to go along with my previous post: a couple notes from 1962 that I had sent to my Aunt Martha and Aunt Dorothy. I was just 9 years old at the time I wrote these, but my aunts were very pleased with them. I remember those animal stickers I had too!

Here's what I wrote to my Aunt Martha:
I enclosed a sheet of paper with a picture of a house and tree and flowers on the one side (nothing spectacular) but on the other side it said "Happy Martha's Day."

Here's what I wrote to my Aunt Dorothy:

The best part though was the typewritten note enclosed from my Aunt Dorothy! I can't figure out what I was thinking on some of those problems, but my aunt said they were all right!

She was right when she wrote: "I am going to keep this first letter I received from you and when you are grown up, you will like like to read it too."

Finding these with her letter was so sweet. I did enjoy reading them too now that I am grown up and it seemed like I had a little visit with them at the holidays after all! I thought it was cool that the envelopes were still saved too! Postage was only 4 cents back then!

Do you encourage your children to write to their aunts, uncles or other family members? Things written at the time may not seem like much, but finding them later is a sweet thing. I remember when I was cleaning out my dad's house after he died, going through the dresser drawers I found some notes my grandma Nieman wrote when she was living with us. She wrote that she liked hearing me play the piano and that I did real good tonight. I never knew she liked it when I played. I wish she had told me then!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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What's Your Holiday Wish?

2009-12-24T06:00:00.003-05:00

My Holiday Wish is Being with Family and Friends

The holidays are near and dear to your heart. You don't need much to make you happy this time of year.
As long as you're able to be near the people you love most, you are content. It's really that simple.
You want nothing more than a full house of people celebrating the season. It doesn't matter if it's your house or not, just as long as everyone is there.
And if someone doesn't happen to be around during the holidays, you think about him or her often. You get very sentimental this time of year.

Take the quiz to see What's Your Holiday Wish?

and share your results in the comments.

This quiz is right on for me. I do get sentimental around the holidays and think about years past when I spent holidays with my parents, grandparents, aunts, family and friends.

Thinking back, when we were kids we'd each get a game and then we spent the afternoon learning to play them all. It was always a challenge to decide what to buy for my parents. We always managed to find something they could use though. After I got married, one Christmas they came to our house, but usually we would go to theirs because it was easier on them. After my mom died and my dad had all the cats, we would always buy things for them. My dad got a big kick out of watching them play with new toys or lounging in their new beds.

We went to my sister's several years which was always fun. I always liked buying for her kids. When her four kids grew up though, it got to the point where we would give them gift certificates and they'd give us gift certificates. After that, I suggested we just get together and don't bother exchanging gifts, it seemed silly. So that's what we started doing. She had the biggest house so it was logical for us to all go over there.

When we were kids, we always looked forward to going to grandma's for Christmas. I had three unmarried aunts who also lived with my dad's mother and they would always give us nice things. I remember thinking how funny they were because every year when we visited at Christmas, they would still have packages sitting there that they hadn't opened and they'd say every year, "They look so pretty, we hate to open them.!" I never understood that! Of course, the adults were at the big dining room table and us kids were off to the side at a smaller "kids" table usually, but when we got older, they included us at the big table. I liked that!

For New Year's Eve we used to get together with my mom's best friend's family. They had a daughter my age and two older boys, one of which I sort of had a crush on. He was always nice to me and even taught me how to play Chess. I always looked forward to these times because it was so much fun playing games together.

I am glad we have movies, video and photographs of past Christmases. I like watching the videos especially because I can hear my parents voices and it seems they are back at least for that little time. I encourage you to take pictures at your get-togethers.

This year we are going to visit with Gerard's sister and her adult children. I think it's very nice of her to invite us to join them for Christmas dinner. I think I'll bring a camera along, maybe even my Flip for some video.

I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and hope you enjoy being with your families for the holidays! Make the most of them while you can!

To find out more about my book and why I wrote it, read the Foreword here.
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I Am A Bit of A Procrastinator, What About You?

2009-12-20T06:00:00.002-05:00

Every year I debate if I'm going to send Christmas cards and then end up doing it. I know it's nice to hear from people at Christmas time, especially ones we don't see throughout the year, but I know our cards just get tossed into a basket. Then next year we throw them away to make room for the new ones. I update my "card" list throughout the year and usually buy cards for next year when they go on sale after Christmas.

When I used to ask my dad if he was going to send Christmas cards this year, he always would. He'd always be sure to buy a religious one to send. They are getting harder and harder to find. Most say "Happy Holidays" or "Holiday Season." Many have very cute pictures of animals or beautiful scenery, but those aren't really projecting the true meaning of Christmas. Therefore, I too always buy the religious ones. I figure if the Christians don't, who will.

I used to call my dad a "fuss budget" because he always made extra unnecessary work for himself in my opinion. He'd fuss with stupid things. His Christmas card "ritual" is one example. He kept track on paper of who he got cards from and would make sure to send them one back if they weren't on his list. But just a check mark wasn't good enough. He put the date he received a card. Then he'd also have a list of people that he sent cards to and keep going over and over his lists.

Harry sent out cards every year in December. The last six years or so of his life, I printed out mailing labels for him so he didn't have to write as much. It was a bit difficult for him to write because of arthritis in his fingers. The last Christmas before he died (2006), he got behind schedule and didn't get his cards out on time because of the medication he had been taking that made him so drowsy that he'd fall asleep for long periods through the day and wouldn't get anything done. I felt bad for him and offered to do them for him, but he wouldn't hear of it. He said, "Oh no, I can do it." I suggested that it wasn't mandatory and that maybe he just shouldn't bother with it this year, but he said, "Oh, I want to send them out so people know I'm still alive. Otherwise, they may wonder."

So, his last Christmas, came and went and he didn't get his cards done in time but sent them out after Christmas so people would know he was still alive. He said he wanted to put a note inside explaining to the people why his cards were sent so late so I offered to type up little notes for him to just insert inside. After I explained he could tell me what he wanted it to say and I would type it up, and print them from the computer, he finally understood and started dictating away. He died the following February, two days after Valentine's Day. (This is reposted from 12/22/08)

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My Last Birthday Present From Dad

2009-12-13T05:00:00.009-05:00

Today is my birthday so I thought this post would be appropriate. After we bought the computer back from dad since he couldn't really use it well, he then paid for a printer for me and gave me a beautiful cabinet he had made a long time ago for the church. He had told the church board that if they could have it for as long as they wanted to use it, but if they didn't use it, he would like it back. For years it was used in his back room but he gave it to me to use as my printer cabinet when I got a printer.

My cat that I got from dad's as a kitten, Spunky Doodle, likes to crawl inside it whenever I open the door. I'm so glad I took her in. I'm sure my dad would be very pleased that his former kitten enjoys the cabinet too!

(See my earlier related post about teaching dad how to use the computer at Seniors and Computer)