Entering 80 - October 6

OMG . . .I can hardly believe it is already the 6th of the month. I think I must have been sleeping!! Saturday through Tuesday are just a blur. I've been taking Tussionex Liquid. I have had this bottle since before I moved to New Braunfels and protect it like it is made of Gold - very expensive. I keep it in the fridge. It has one of those wonderful 'bad' drugs in it that really adds to the cure of whatever you have but it is supposed to be 'bad' for you. Anyway, it does help me sleep and it does help me get rid of the congestion. Pretty soon I will have to go the doctor to get a prescription for this stuff. They will probably start testing me for drugs! I think when you get to be my age you ought to be able to take what you darn well want as long as you don't hurt anyone.

I have a lot of gripes today!! Last weekend I emptied my trash in my 'office'. My front bedroom has computers and photographs and recipes and books in it - no beds!! Anyway, I call it my office and it is where you can find me most of the day working on photos or reading or planning or checking e-mails and such on the computer. Well, back to the emptied trash . . . this trash consists of papers. I get so much junk mail and flyers selling this and that. Well, would you believe that trash can is already half full!! This is unbelievable. Out of all the mail since last Saturday, I have received two important pieces of mail - the rest has been junk mail and flyers. Now, I have to PAY for garbage to haul off this stuff once a week. Once a week I put two bags in my garbage; one is from my kitchen and the other is from my 'office'. I think all these people who send out all this junk mail should be made to pay for half of my garbage. After all, I didn't solicit any of it. One of the worst offenders is an outfit called RED PLUM. they gather a bunch of flyers from various retailers, bundle it and have the post office stick it in to your post box every Wednesday. It is all loose stuff and when you try to take it out of your box, it falls and scatters. Then you have to pick it up and if it is windy you have to run to gather it. The very first thing I do is throw it into the trash and I don't buy from any of those retailers except for the grocery store. Supposedly there are bargains in this flyer but I have never seen a bargain for a person living alone. The bargains are for families and 'god bless them' they need it.

This reminds me of my telephone. I probably get 4 personal calls a week. All the other calls are UNSOLICITED sales calls. I have a rule. If a person calls me on the telephone to sell something, I refuse to buy from that company!! Most of the time I listen to the first 4 words and then hang up. I don't feel like I have to be polite because this is my phone that I pay for. Therefore since I am paying for this priviledge, I don't think I owe it to be polite to someone who interrupts my train of thought, my dishwashing duty, my cooking, my eating, my work on photos or whatever I may be doing.

Okay, now I will get off my soapbox. I can't think of anything else to gripe about today.

Yesterday I played with the 1st Wednesday Afternoon domino group. Last month when I played with them, I won high for the ladies. We have 6 ladies and 6 men who play on the 1st Wednesday of the month. We play for MONEY. The guys put in $2.10 for themselves and for the ladies. The ladies furnish snacks. Soooooooo last month I won $4.00. This month I took the Booby prize. I did good on the first 3 games and then it went to pot. I just couldn't draw good dominoes.

This morning I subbed at the Lion's Club Domino game at the Senior Center. They play every Thursday morning. When someone can't play, they usually call me to sub. Anyway, the games started out really slow. My partner and I lost the 1st 3 games. Then things started to pick up and my partner and I won the next 6 games. In fact, we were doing so well that I actually threw away some games. We play a game called "Sevens", where you play each domino in an order that is closest to Seven. Five times I had a perfect Seven hand except that the last Donimo was a double blank. I bid thinking that my partner could help me on the last domino. Five times we lost the hand because he didn't have a high enough domino to catch the last trick. How frustrating was that?? After a while it got to be funny. Anyway, in spite of losing those 5 hands, my partner and I won the majority of the games.

Well, I spent the afternoon catching up on the mail - throwing away trash - and answering e-mails and worked on some more photos. I'm thinking about entering the Members Only TPA Photo Contest. I have to send in the photos by the 14th.

Have a great evening and send me a hug!!

Entering 80 - October 1

Hi All . . .

Said with a gravelly voice!! That Sinus attack turned out to be a vicious head cold. I have been absolutely miserable. The Chicken soup helped but all my other home remedies had expiration dates indicating that they were too old to trust sooooooo after a trip to Walgreens I started taking Claritin, Advil and I got some fresh Cold Eze. I am starting to feel human again.

Having a cold is like meeting my worst enemy. I might as well have pneumonia. I get so sick and just want to sleep my way through the whole affair and wake up well. I did sleep a lot - in fact, too much. Everything started hurting from laying in bed too long.

Today is a re-new day. Clean up, wash, change bed sheets, take a shower, wash hair, etc., etc. If I can get all that done I will really feel good and ready to tackle the world, again. I guess you have to get sick once in a while to appreciate how good it is to feel well.

I can hardly believe this is the 1st of October. Where is September go????????? Time is flying by too quick. I'm looking forward to our photography club's 2nd meeting. I've gathered information to share and talked with a lady about giving a program. Marilyn posted some photos to our BLOG. (newbraunfelsphotographicsociety.blogspot.com) Plug that in to where you would normally start off with www. whatever . . . .

October is going to be another busy month. I have already filled up half the days with places to go, meetings to attend, students and so on. Also, I did a bad thing - I ordered a new lens for my camera.

Although I like my Canon 100-400mm IS lens and it takes really sharp photos, hand held, it is a bugger to hold for a long period. (Found that out last week at the Charreada). Also, it is overkill in many situations. Sooooooo I found a lens Canon 18-200mm IS that just might be a good fit for all occasions except for that time when you need something really loooong. It is scheduled to arrive on the 3rd. I can hardly wait to go out and start shooting with it. I really shouldn't have spent the money but time is passing fast and I have so many places I want to go with a camera and images I want to shoot. I have 2 lenses I can sell, (A Canon 35-85mm Ultrasonic and a Canon 100-300mm Ultrasonic) to help pay for the new one. I may do that after Christmas.

Well, I had better get to work - hope everyone is feeling good and getting lots of hugs.

Entering 80 - September 28

Hi all . . .

I think my immune system needs a huge boost. About 2 weeks ago I had what I thought was food poisening but what could have been a stomach virus that is going around. Took me a week to get my taste back and begin to feel "right". Yesterday morning I awoke with infected sinuses. I haven't had a bout with sinuses since 2009 when I was in Yellowstone.

I was a expecting a new photography student at 1:00 p.m., soooooooo I quickly gave the inside of the condo a facelift so that the lady wouldn't be put off by my complete lack of housekeeping skills. Then I started wishing she would be late. She arrived at 12:45 p.m. She is a really sweet lady. She doesn't know much of anything about photography, she just takes photos of her family and likes to take photos of her grandson playing soccer. She has a sweet little camera, Olympus E650 with 2 lenses. At first she considered buying a new camera because the one she has blinks at her when she wants to take a photo. With a lot of careful probing, I discovered she doesn't know how to set the camera to take photos. What she knows is what other people have told her. That can be good and bad. Well, we looked at the Canon Rebels and didn't find anything she wanted at the price she was going to have to pay. Then we talked a little about photography, i.e. the rule of thirds, aperatures, ISO, etc. She seemed to be absorbing all this and even took notes. Finally, we got around to examining her camera. I looked at the book and showed her how to set her speed and aperature and the ISO. Not too complicated when you know how to do this. Then I showed her a few basic things about Elements 8/9. Once again she seemed to absorb all this and took some more notes. It seems I was answering some of her questions before she knew what questions to ask. She left feeling happy (my goal) about herself and her camera. AND, she promised to practice, practice and call me if she ran into trouble.

I love it when the day turns out great. Soooooooooo I earned $25.00 for the session, then went to the grocery store and spent $24.00!!!!!!!!

I awoke this morning with a head that felt like it weighed like a ton. I didn't want anything - not even coffee!! I decided to make Chicken Soup. Somewhere in my past I must have been a Jewish mother because I believe Chicken Soup will cure anything!! I did this in stages. First, I put the chicken into a large pot, added a gallon of water, one peeled onion, one carrot and one stalk of celery. I got things cooking and then went back to bed. I always cook the broth 4 hours. I awoke 4 hours later, strained the broth and saved the chicken and threw everything else out. I put the strained broth back into the pot and added 1 cup of brown rice, 1 Knorr chicken boullion cube and 2 Knorr beef bouillion cubes, and some sea salt. I got that boiling again and then started working on the veggies. I added once bunch of chopped green onions, 3 stalks of chopped celery, about 5 carrots, chopped or sliced, and half a bunch of fresh chopped parsley. I let all that cook for another 2 hours and then added the chopped up meat from the chicken. OH, I forgot - I added 4 oz. of Pace Picante sauce, medium hot. I finally got to eat about 2:30 p.m. and ate 2 bowls full. There is nothing better or more soothing than Chicken Soup when you are sick. I ate 2 more bowls full and then filled 4 plactic containers with the left overs.

Well, this day is not ending perfect but I'm alive and my belly is full of chicken soup and I have plenty of kleenex to take care of all the snuffing and sneezing and I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. What more could I want?? Someone to please come in and wash the dirty dishes!!!!!!

I think I will spend some time reading one of the mysterys I brought home from the library last Friday before I try to go to bed.

Hope everyone is feeling well and giving someone a hug!!

Entering 80 - September 26

Hi All . . .
I wanted you to see these images I took at the Charreada. The first on at top left is of staci diaz standing on the back of a 4 horse team riding at a full gallop.
The photo on the left is of a girl side saddle rider coming into the arena at full gallop. The image at the top left is the moment of the abrupt stop slide. Just imagine doing that kind of riding 'side saddle'. If you like these kind of horse events I hope I have tempted your interest to go to a Charreada. It is spectacular.

First thing this morning my friend Carl called to say that he had a sick kid home and we would not be able to go to The Little Red Barn for lunch, today. He was so apologetic and promised to do that sometime in the future. I told him not to worry, I won't starve to death and hope the kid recovers quickly.

About 2 weeks ago I had a bout with diarrhea and vomiting. Someone said it was a virus going around. Put me into a tailspin. I didn't really feel good til the latter part of the week. My taste buds were blah. Nothing tasted good, not even coffee.

Sooooooooooooo today I sort of lazed around. Worked on some of my photos and made disks to archive the images. I don't like to load up my computer too much. It works better when it is lean.

I just had a nice surprise!! My neighbor William made cornbread and brought me a large piece - warm out of the oven. When I was at the Fall Fest on Saturday, I bought some homemade peach jam. OMG - that tastes so good on warm cornbread. Everything tastes good on warm cornbread. One of my favorite meals when the weather turns cooler is pinto beans cooked until they make a thick sauce with bits of sausage in them and cornbread and onions. Add a can of Heinneken beer to that menu. Speaking of cooler weather, will we ever get some????

That did it . . . I'm hungry . . .Give somone a hug.

Entering 80 - September 25

I'm baaack!!

I got sidetracked on the 22nd and never did find the time to write about what was happening. One of my students came over for a lesson on Thursday Morning. She just needed a little assistance with understanding one of the applications. We spent 2 hours going over different ways to do things on the computer. then we progressed on to filters. We tried different filters on some of her photos. Some turned out well and others did not. Not all things are the same for all photos. You just have to play and see what happens. Anyway, I ended up showing her how to do an Orb. She picked out one of her flowers images and we began to apply the steps to turn it into an Orb. It was beautiful and she was amazed. I know she tried the same applications to some of her other flower images because she posted some to Facebook and sent some to me. She really has an eye for something like this.

I think I eneded up taking a nap that afternoon and then went to the grocery story and finished reading a book in the evening. I've been reading a lot of David Baldacci books. He writes good mystery suspence. I may have mentioned that before.

Friday morning I awoke early (for me), got dressed and drove downtown for the parade. I arrived at my parking spot at 8:30 a.m. and the streets were already filling up with people waiting to watch the parade. The parade was to start at 10:30 a.m. I had not been to one since I moved to New Braunfels. BTW, I told a fib. I remember saying that our parades were not terribly long and not terribly overcrowded. Well, I learned differently. The parade lasted over 3 hours and based on the people I saw, I think everyone in NB turned out to watch along with people from other nearby bedroom cities. The streets were really crowded. When I arrived downtown, I parked and went to a bakery named Naegelin's. I had to stand in line for 30 minutes before I could order what I wanted. It is the oldest bakery in Texas. I went there a couple of times when I first moved to NB. Everything was so good I gained 5 pounds so I quit going in there. this particular morning I had 2 bratwurst Kolaches and some apple strudel. OMG, I thought I died and went to heaven. Nothing had tasted that good in years!

The pet parade led things off. There were all kinds of pets including goats. In the photo above, the little girl in the wagon is holding a teacup chihuahua. There was a whole series of tractors and I wondered if there is a tractor club. The one in the picture was the smallest I saw. Good lookin' guy sitting there holding his son!!

There were horses, of course, and street image cars and lots of bands.. I saw one band that reminded me of "The Music Man". They had black dress uniforms with white gloves. their hats were bright blue with white plumes. I wanted to jump right in and march with them! There were also some pretty floats. I thought the prettiest was the NB County Fair float. It was red, white and blue. The queen and duchesses were dressed in red, white and blue. Come to think of it, that might have been the theme for this year. There was a lot of red, white and blue.

I went home about 1:00 p.m., ate lunch and then worked a little on a photo project. I think I took another nap - I had to prepare myself for Saturday.

Saturday morning I awoke at 6:45 a.m. this was the photography club field trip day. Marilyn was supposed to drive to my place and then we were to go to Purgatory Road to meet with Darryl firth and his wife Terri. Marilyn was late and we didn't get there until 9:15 a.m. We piled into Darryl's truck and headed for Dripping Springs for the Dr. Pounds Fall Fest. Dr. Pounds was one of the early inhabitants of Dripping springs. The land has been in the Pounds family for over 100 years. The original house still stands and has been faithfully restored. I met Marjorie (Pounds), daughter of Dr. Pounds. She is 90 years old and quite beautiful for her age. She has some wrinkles but not too many because she has some weight on her bones!! I also met her daughter. I walked around and looked at all the exhibits. There were 3 re-enactors showing off civil war things and showing people how to load blackpowder into a gun. There was a lady making grape and peach jam - might tasty! I bought some. there was a man weaving scrap cloth rugs. I bought a blue jean purse made out of blue jean scraps. there was a man giving covered wagon rides. There was a man who had some corn shucking machines. Another man made corn cakes and served them with black strap molasses. They had two blacksmith's showing how to form red hot metal. They had singers and guitarists playing and singing. There were about 6 tables showing kids how to make all kinds of things with heavy paper, i.e. wall paper. It was a fun time. We had our club picture taken. there was a board set up with face holes. Reading L - R is me (Liz) then Steve Touchstone, then Marilyn, and Darryl.

We left about 1:30 to head back home. We stopped for a short while in Dripping Springs because Terri wanted to see a quilt place. It was a beautiful store - very colorful. I was almost tempted to buy something and try my hand at quilting - but I slapped my hand and said "no"!!

When we returned home, Marilyn said good by and took off for Corpus Christi to go visit a friend. I did a quick refresh and changed lenses and took off for a Charreada. It was scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. Since I didn't know how long it would take me to find the ranch I arrived early, at 4:15 p.m. I'm glad I did as I discoved that the good place to sit was at the top of the bleaches. These were about 6 high, and there were no steps to get up to the top. Well, I had to struggle to get to the top and once there I was not about to move for the duration. The Charreada was very interesting. Gerado "Jerry" Diaz was the (el hefe) of the evening. He is a 4th generation Charro and head of the Diaz ranch in New Braunfels. You can google him and get a lot of information. His wife Staci Anderson is a stunt rider and performed on the back, standing up, of a 4 horse team. She even jumped the 4 horse team. It was quite exciting. There was a lot a pageantry associated with this event. All the participants were dressed like they were going to Sunday Church. I took my long lens (100-400) and really got some good photos, but handholding that heavy lens was a bugger for 3 hours. Their young son (age 7) also performed. There was a girl sidesaddle precision team. The thing that amazed me was how close they all performed together. They were really good riders. The men entered in a steer throwing contest. They grab the tail of the steer, from horse back, wrap their leg around it and urge their mount into a gallop to give them leverage to throw the steer. It was awsome. There was never a dull moment. When nothing seemed to be happening, there were several cowpokes doing rope tricks. I ws lucky enough to capture a 3 photo set showing the cowboy jumping the rope while standing on his horse's back.!! I saw some magnificent horse flesh. It was a great evening and very entertaining. I can hardly wait for the next Charreada.

Today was a quiet day. I slept in late. Started moving all the photos I took into folders and onto disks to save them until I had ideas on how to use them. Now, it is time to retire again and tomorrow starts another busy week. I'm going out to lumch tomorrow, Tuesday I have a new student, and Thursday I play Dominoes and etc., etc.

See you later alligator!!

Entering 80 - September 21

On September 13th, The New Braunfels Photographic Society held its first meeting at 173 S. Seguin in New Braunfels, TX. We had 10/11 people in attendance. That was really what I had hoped for. Everyone introduced him/her self and Marilyn and I went over the plans we have for the future. Everyone seemed to think we had some great ideas, so we are off and running.

Anyway, while I was sitting outside waiting for Marilyn to show up and let me into the building where we are meeting, I looked around and spotted these beautiful shadows against the wall. I love to take photos that look like black and white but are really color photos.

This was a great day until I spilled about an ounce of black coffee all over my computer keyboard and desk!! Took me a while to sop up all the liquid and then let things dry. I was afraid to turn on the computer for fear I would short something out. Things seem to be working alright, now. The moral of this story is: never take a drink in an open container near a computer. Always use a container with a security lid.

I have a new photography student. She wants to join our photography club but is also looking to learn how to use her camera. I suggested she take a few lessons before diving into our group. We do have a couple of beginners but even they have some experience. She has an Olympus. This is really a good camera but not for people who are total beginners. So we shall see what happens at the lesson session next Tuesday.

Yesterday I was watching TV and I saw a commercial about getting rid of wrinkles. I have a great method that doesn't cost anything. Put on some weight! Have you ever really looked at thin people? As they age, they get wrinkles. Now, granted, there are some people who just naturally have wrinkles, but the wrinkles we are talking about occur when people start to age. Soooooooo if you don't want wrinkles, put on some weight. When you get a botox treatment, they are actually adding fat underneath your skin and charging a heavy price to do so. Doctors don't like me.!!

I will probably attack a few more commercials as time goes on - I just wonder why people don't see through some of this stuff that is being advertised.

I entered a photography contest yesterday afternoon. I received an e-mail from Popular Photography about a reader's contest. Among the choices of subject matter was sports and people. I don't normally shoot sports but this year I bought a new camera body that gives me more options for better photos and I have been shooting sports, i.e. Little League and Rodeo. Also, I recently took a photo of my youngest grandson blowing out his birthday candles. It was a spur of the moment shot but has received good comments. Anyway, I sent 3 entries in. Now, you can win by getting votes for your image. I sent out an e-mail asking all my friends and acquaintances to please go to the site and vote for my three photos. Pray for me - there are really good prizes!!

I had a nice suprise last evening . . . My oldest grandson called to chat. This young man is trully brilliant. He has a BOS degree from the Airforce Academy, he dances like a dream and could qualify to give instruction in ballroom dancing, He has studied to become a pharmasist and has worked as a pharmacy tech, and his hobby is studying cookbooks because he likes to cook and everything he creates tastes wonderful. He doesn't know what he wants to do for the rest of his life. BTW, he also plays the piano and has studied guitar and violin. Well, he applied for a railroad position and was called for an interview to someplace in South Dakota. He did that and then received another call for interview from Burlington RR in Casper Wyoming. So he gave up the South Dakota interview after going through all the tests, to head to Casper Wyoming. On the way, he sidetracked to Denver, CO, where he is staying at his dad's place while waiting for the Casper, WY, thing. I really hopes he gets this job. He likes snow and snow activities - despite spending his first 18 years in Texas. I told him to get snowshoes and learn to ski cross country. Anyway, the house in Denver needs repairs and he will help his dad get some of this done this next week.

Give somebody a hug, today - you might get a hug back!!

Entering 80 - September 20, 2011

Good Morning World!!

I like to start each day thinking this will be the greatest day. Most of the time it is. Every once in a while someone or something will rain on my parade . . . but think of it like a bad hair cut - why get upset? The hair will grow out!! . . . so if a few moments of this day turn out to be not so great, those moments will pass and tomorrow will be the start of a new day or a new time.

Yesterday was great!! Carl picked me up about 10:30 a.m. and we drove into San Antonio to the Little Red Barn Steak House for lunch. The LRB has enjoyed a great reputation for steaks and food for 48 years. They are celebrating their 48th anniversary this month by offering the following deal. Buy the steak of your choice for the regular price and get the second steak for $4.80, every Monday in September. When you walk into the place they greet you like you are their long lost cousin, immediately signal a waitress who shows up carrying large bowls of fresh, cold, crisp salad and who guides you to your seating. They immediately get your drink order and make sure that you have everything you need to enhance your salad, then they take your main course order and leave you to graze over the freshest, crisp salad you ever ate. You have plenty of salad dressing, i.e. Ranch, Thousand Island or Blue Cheese. Soon after, another waitress shows up with fresh rolls. The decor is Ranch Style, knotty pine planking on the walls decorated with all the early famous Texas cattle brands. The waitresses are dressed in short black skirts with fringe, white blouse with black fringe vest, boots, and white 10 gallon hat. The waitresses are all shapes and sizes but the outfit works for them. They give you a great Texas smile and constantly check to see that you have all you need to enjoy your meal. I didn't take my camera this time but we plan to go next week. I'll take my camera so that I can take pictures of the place to post. I ordered my steak medium rare and it was perfect. I paid the tip!!

After enjoying such a great lunch we drove to a couple of places where Carl needed to find items to enhance his life. We stopped at a place called Harbor Freight to see if he could find some LED trailer lights. Well he found the item, but they were $40.00 and he felt that that was more money than he wanted to spend. We spent a little time walking around the place to see all the items available - hundreds of tools and most anything mechanical. My kind of fun. It is amazing what you can learn just by looking at and reading labels. Reminds me of the days when I was working at Western Aero Supply Corp. selling aircraft parts and pilot supplies. On my off times I would walk in the warehouse looking at all the nuts and bolts, wire and wire cutters and engine parts.

Next we drove to Academy (store). Carl wanted to see if he could find thermoses for his 3 grandchildren to take to school. At his request, I had checked on the internet to see if Academy had what he was looking for before he picked me up for lunch. Sure enough, they had a great little stainless steel 18 oz. food thermos for $14.99. Nothing is too good for the g/c so he bought one for each of them. He also wanted to get handle parts for his Igloo cooler but they didn't handle the parts. I have since looked them up on line and only found one outfit that might have what he needs. Carl is kind of a handy man recycler. If it is broke, he can fix it and will spend twice what it is worth to do so!! He figures he can fix most things with a hammer!! We are not talking intelectual here but he is a sweet, caring person - like a gentle giant. Thirty minutes later he dropped me off at my door with a hug and a promise that he would see me next week for lunch!! Go figure!!

Well, I worked on my blog, took an hour nap, watched the news, and then went grocery shopping. We have a super, plus, HEB about 1/2 mile from my condo. They have two cooking stations and are always whipping up something delicious to get you to buy their products. If you sample what they have made, you can also sample the wine they suggest. This is cool!! Sometimes I sample enough for supper and beyond!! By the time I arrived back home and put the groceries away I had used 2 hours. I ate a bowl of cereal (Rice Krispies is my favorite), checked the TV to see what was on and decided to start another book. I started reading "First Family" by David Baldacci. There are a lot of twists and turns to this plot. At 1:00 a.m. I was halfway through the story but decided to go to bed. When I walked into my bedroom I saw that there had been a call recorded on my answer machine. I listened to the message and discovered that it was from a lady who is interested in the photography club we have started. Hooray!!

Sooooooooooo I went to bed remembering that the day had been really great!!

Entering 80 - 09/19/11

Last night I wrote down somethings I want to talk about. But before I get started we need to celebrate. It rained last night. I have a photo to post if I can discover how to do that.

Although my birthday won't be until February, I am actually already 80 according to some circles. For instance, there are those folks that strongly suggest that once you are conceived you are a viable human being. That being said, then when I was born I was already 9 months old. Now think about this - I was born in February 1932 . . . wouldn't I be 1 year old the following May 1932?? If this is so then Social Security owes me some back pay because I was actually 80 last May. Just some food for thought!!

So what is it like getting to be 80?? My mother didn't spend a lot of time talking to me about getting older. I've had to discover all sorts of things all on my own time. Fortunately, I 'saw the light' some years back and diligently began to pay attention to my health.

On November 6, 1986, I quit smoking, cold turkey. I had been smoking up to 3 packs a day. I had one whole carton and one pack that was half smoked. I put them on my dresser. Every morning when I woke up I would go to my dresser and say "I will not pick up a cigarette and light it". I think I said that 3 times. I had to give up friends that smoked and I couldn't drink coffee. I would make myself a cup of strong tea with honey to sip on and then I would go for a walk or do some yardwork or something. Anything to get my mind off cigarettes. I chewed gum constantly and joked that I should buy stock in a gum company. I was not comfortable being smokeless for 2 years. That was 25 years ago. I was so addicted that I used to dream I was smoking. I still have a dream about smoking to this day. When I wake up I want to find a cigarette and enjoy a smoke. I am afraid to touch a cigarette for fear I will start again and I stayaway from those places where I think I will encounter smoke. Yes, I gained weight. I have my mother's body style which was heavy German stock. But the good news is that I can breathe and what little shortness of breath I might suffer is what one gets from getting old.

Because I gained weight I had to pay attention to what I was eating and make adjustments. I switched to frozen or fresh foods and cut down on portions. I haven't touched a Cinnamon roll or Doughnut in the last 10 years. I eat a lot more fruit these days and snack on Walnuts and dry roasted peanuts. I allow myself 4 oz. of beef at noon and 3 to 4 oz. of chicken or turkey with a tomato in the evening. I strongly believe tht medicine will kill you. Just watch the drug ads on TV. I take a lot of herbs and control what few ailments I have with diet. I don't care about living a long life but I do care about living a quality life. My brother lives in a wheelchair in a VA hospital and my sister-in-law lives in an Alzheimer's unit. That scares the H--- out of me! So I stay busy!! I live in a condo and I am on the Board of Diretors; I belong to the Canyon Lake Art Guild (I do photography); I belong to the Hill Country Photo Club . . .they meet in San Marcos . . . and I particicpate in the things they do; A friend(Marilyn Brinker) and I just formed the New Braunfels Photographic Society and, God willing, I will be busy getting this club organized into a legitimate club for the next 2 years. In my spare time I play FreeCell on the computer and write this Blog. I would like to travel but I don't have the money to do so, so I don't fret - that is just the way life is.

I still drive. I have a 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis with 150,000 miles on it. I am lucky to get 13 miles to the gallon in town but on the road I can get as much 28 mpg even with air. Someone suggested I get a smaller car and I said "with what??" I live on SS and I am considered poverty level. I don't get enough SS to pay my living expenses. I don't go out to eat unless someone else pays, and I don't go to movies. My entertainment is the TV - a poor choice except during basketball season - and our wonderful local library.

I love to read and read one or two books a week. My favorite authors are Nelson DeMille, David Baldacci, Harlen Cohen, Jeffery Deaver, Ken Follett, etc. Oh, add James Patterson to that. I'm sure there are others that I can't think of at this moment. I love a good mystery and if a writer has humor, that is a plus. So far, DeMille and Cohen are winning on that score.

So, back to my car . . . A couple of years back I took a 7000 mile driving trip. I visited my 1st boyfriend who lives in ElPaso. His daughter was there and what a great experience getting to know her. I stayed two days and then went on my way heding West. I stayed in camp grounds and slept in the right seat of my car. I took side trips to see sights new to me and finally got to Phoenix where I had another set of friends that I stayed with for 2 days. BTW, before I left, I invested in a GPS (Magellan). That was the greatest thing since Microwaves!! I breezed through large cities like a native. If you travel and don't have one, I suggest you get one. Anyway, I drove all the way to Yellowstone, stayed a week and then went on to Idaho Falls and Boise to visit my cousins. Any of you who have Mercury GM's kinow that these cars are road cars. My car purred like a kitten on the whole trip. Everyone was so nice to me in the campgrounds and tried to place me in a spot close to the bathroom. I often wish I coud redo that trip. I would have liked to stay in some places for a week. I was gone 6 weeks and took about 2000 photos.

Entering Eighty with enthusiasm

My computer makes me feel like a complete dummy! I could have continued my post for the day but my computer decided to end it all and did!! It has taken me a while to get back so I could continue.

I gave you some background so now you know that I can be quite outspoken. Once I got past 60 and could no longer be accused of going through the menopause thing I started speaking up about many things. Most of what I had to say wasn't appreciated but that's okay. I kept practising! I'm not in the mood to get on my soapbox today.

This week will be a busy one. Marilyn Brinker (a friend) and I started a Photography Club. We had about 12 people show for the first meeting. I was especially pleased at the attendance since this was an organizational meeting. We have a field trip planned for next Saturday. We will be going to Dr. Pounds Fall Fest in Dripping Springs, TX. There are a few old buildings on the Pound farmstead. There will be docents dressed in period doing all the chores they used to do before we had conveniences. They plan to have old fashioned games and a horse drawn wagon to give rides, civil war re-enactments, and blue-grass music for entertainment. There will be bar-b-que, kettle corn and homemade ice cream. Also, lots of photo ops.

Tomorrow, Monday, my friend Carl will take me to lunch. Carl has been taking me to lunch for 5 years, about once a week!! After the first two years, I volunteered to pay the tip!! Carl is medically retired and lives with his youngest daughter, husband and 3 grandchildren. He is a wannabe farmer/rancher. He leases 50 acres so that he can teach the g/c how to take care of animals and hunt. He had goats for several years but has switched to cattle. This is a bad year for cattle because we haven't had rain to produce hay. Last month he butchered 2 calves. Mighty tasty!! I get the livers since nobody likes them except me. I do a great job of cooking them.

Thursday I have a photography student coming for a lesson. I teach photography 101 and Elements 8/9. I tried to walk her through a process over the phone last evening but she now feels that a visit would work better.

Friday there will be a Comal County Fair Parade in downtown New Braunfels. I love parades - so many photo ops. Our parades are just right - not too big and not too long. This will kick off the Comal County Fair which will happen all next week.

While reviewing the Herald Zeitung Newspapers last evening I noticed that there is going to be a Charreada at the Diaz Ranch next Saturday evening. I think I will go when I return from the Dripping Springs fall fest. The Charreada doesn't start until 5:30 p.m. They are always so colorful. For those of you who don't know, a Charreada is kind of like a Mexican Rodeo. More photo ops.

It's time to eat lunch and then I have some work to do for my daughter-in-law. More later . . .

Entering 80 with enthusiasm

There have been so many times in the past when I had things I wanted to say to the world and I wondered how to start a blog. There is an old saying that things don't come to you till you are ready. Well, guess what folks - I must be ready!! Just in the past few months I've learned how to google some extroadinary sights and get wonderful information. I don't know why it took me so long. I've been playing with computers since the eighties, mostly doing photoshop and games like FreeCell and Hearts. I just never ventured out to see what I could find. Could it be that I am slowing down? Well, wash your mouth out with soap cause I'm just getting started!!

Now that I have a voice, look out. There's no telling what I might say.

The photo I have chosen says it all . . . it's been a hard ride but I'm staying on for the count.

I've had nine careers. I've been a Wife, Mother to 2 boys, Office Manager, FBO, Commercial Pilot ASEL, Salesperson, Dog Trainer, Business Owner doing Video Production and ,now, a Photographer.

I've been a widow since 1969. Trying to make a decent living without a degree was a struggle. Back in those days no one gave you anything. On the contrary, there were people who were trying to take everything you had and often did. I made a lot of mistakes but I survived. My youngest son was killed at age 16 - I survived. I wanted to curl up and die but I had another son who needed a strong mother. I raised a man who has seen hard times, but he has been a wonderful caring husband and a wonderful caring father to his 3 children. BTW, nobody ever gave him anything, either.