dianastories

Michelle

dianastories — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:57:00 GMT

Our granddaughter Michelle took her Confirmation yesterday. After church, we had a really nice party for her. Michelle is our second youngest grandchild and is fifteen.

I remember when I took my Confirmation. I was just eleven and in the sixth grade. We (both boys and girls) wore red robes. The girls also wore a red "beanie" (a little hat that just covered the top of your head). I got to wear my first pair of stockings and dress shoes. It was a very big deal.

Today, the young people go to class for two years, make retreats, and do forty hours of community service; just to name of few of the things that are expected of them before the big day. The average age is 15-16 and a Sophomore or Junior in high school. The are no robes; just a nice outfit. Times have changed a lot.

It seems like the only thing that has not changed is the meaning behind Confirmation itself. The church service is still pretty much the same with the Bishop administering the Sacrament to each individual. I guess it really doesn't matter what you wear or how old you are, it is just a special time for young Catholics.

It's Me Again

dianastories — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 04:30:00 GMT

This is the first time that I will be posting an entry since last year. Many things have changed in my life in the time that I have been away. With all that has gone on, it is hard to know where to start. There have been deaths, a wedding, babies born, reunions, graduations, and trips taken, just to name a few. I will attempt to capture each of these items in my blogs that follow.

Until next time.

Remember Me

dianastories — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 04:36:07 GMT

Three weeks ago, my husband and I would have celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. He would always buy me flowers for our anniversary. I knew, of course, there would be no flowers this year.

That afternoon, there was a knock at my door. It was a delivery person from a local florist. He had a vase of red roses and a frame that held my husband's picture and a poem entitled "Remember Me". The picture of my husband was taken at his birthday just a very short time before he became ill. It is not a fancy picture but he has a big smile and he is wearing his SU sweatshirt. He looks exactly like I want to remember him.

I opened the card that accompanied it and saw that my daughter Cathy had sent this wonderful gift. On the card she had written "Dad would have sent these if he were here". What a beautiful, thoughtful gesture. I called her immediately to thank her. She just said she had the florist put the roses in a vase so that she would not have to come over and arrange them for me. She was making light of the situation, but I know she really knew how special this was to me.

Of course, I want to share the poem with you.

Remember Me

Remember me when the flowers bloom

Early in the Spring

Remember me on sunny days

In the fun that Summer brings

Remember me in the Fall

As you walk through the leaves of gold

And in the Wintertime - remember me

In the stories that are told

But most of all remember

Each day - right from the start

I will be forever near

For I live within your heart

Thank you Cathy for your thoughtfulness. The gift was very special; just like you.

My Beautiful Bench

dianastories — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 22:22:55 GMT

In my last blog, I mentioned my Memorial Bench. I would like to tell you a little bit more about it. First of all it was given to me by my nephew Michael, my niece Margaret, and their family for my birthday. My niece Margaret said they wanted to give me something special and they certainly did. Anyone reading my blog as of lately knows that my husband passed away this summer. This bench is in his memory.

The bench arrived in two very heavy boxes. It is made up of three pieces; the bench top and the two legs. The bench seat is engraved with a beautiful poem. I wanted to make sure that it was handled very carefully so as not to chip or break anything. I called my son Butch to assemble this for me as he is very meticulous about everything he does (just like his Dad). I knew he would be extra careful.

At first, I thought I would put the bench on my front deck. It is called a Garden Bench and I really do not have a proper garden in which to put it, but after very little thought, I knew that I would not want it outside. I wanted it where I would see it all the time. I decided to put it in my living room in front of a window. This is also where my husband's mother's African Violet plant is along with two other African Violet plants given to me by my granddaughters Dana and Michelle. I would have my own garden spot, but inside.

I picked the living room because my husband spent many hours in this room next to the fireplace. He liked to go there to read the paper or sometimes just relax. Because the bench is by the window, when the sun is out it shines on the bench. To me, it is the perfect spot. When my sister Pat came to visit one day, she said the bench was missing something. She then took a small picture that I have of my husband in his Army uniform and put it on the corner of the bench. She said "There, now it's perfect".

I would like to end this blog with the poem that is on the bench. It reflects my sentiments perfectly.

I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new

I thought about you yesterday and days before that too

I think of you in silence. I often speak your name

All I have is memories and your picture in a frame

Your memory is my keepsake with which I'll never part

God has you in His keeping, I have you in my heart

Thank you Mike, Margaret, Taylor, Michael, Joshua, and Maggie

Unrelated Thoughts

dianastories — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 06:00:50 GMT

I am back. I have not written anything in my blog since August. Lots of things have happened since my last blog, I had a birthday and an anniversary in September. There were also several birthdays and a couple of anniversaries celebrated by members of my immediate family. Fall has always been a busy time (in particular the month of September) for my family; lots of milestones.

This year it has been difficult for me to celebrate these happy occasions without my husband. I have found it hard to write just my name at the bottom of cards. On cards that I have given to our children, I just put some kisses. I don't know if it would make them feel sad not seeing their Dad's name there, so I substitute names with kisses.

In addtion to the happy celebrations, we also have had very sad issues to deal with. A very short time after my husband passed away, a very favorite niece of ours was diagnosed with *** cancer. She is a wonderful young woman. She is a teacher and has four young children. Even with all of her own problems, she has been a great support for me. She gave me a Remembrance Angel figurine and a candle. They are next to my huband's picture. I burn the candle every night. Also, for my birthday, she and her family gave me a beautiful memorial bench. I will write about that sometime very soon.

My high school class reunion is next year. I was contacted by a class member who is pretty much organizing the whole thing. I have visited with him a few times via e-mail. After my husband passed away, I asked if he could contact someone for me who was a very close friend in high school, Over the years, we lost contact and she has moved to N. Carolina. My husband and I had double dated many times with her and her boyfriend and I wanted her to know of his passing. He did contact her and she in turn e-mailed me. We have shared many e-mails since then and it has been great catching up. Hopefully, she will come back home next year for the reunion and I will get to see her.

I have gone back to teaching my religion class on Monday nights. Normally, I have 10 - 12 students. This year, I have seventeen and most of them are boys. Hope I can get through this...............

I realize I am rambling on about unrelated things, but pretty much I am writing whatever is coming into my head. I am going to try to get back on track and get back to blog writing. Until next time.

Susan's Birthday - A Little Late

dianastories — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 04:57:06 GMT

While I was looking through the statistics of my blog, I noticed that I wrote my first blog just a year ago. I remember wondering what I could possibly write about and a year later I still have something to say. I have not posted anything in quite a while due to the difficulties of losing my husband, but I thought it was probably time to do so again.

My daughter Susan�s birthday was Sunday. A few years back, I wrote a poem for her birthday. As you read this poem, you will be able to see how special she is.

I can hardly believe your birthday is here Where did the time go, year after year?

You came to us on a Sunday morn When the church bells were ringing, an angel was born

Curly black hair and a pugged up nose Two sweet little lips as pink as a rose

We named you Susan, a name I love so For my dolls that I played with a long while ago

A tiny new sister for Cathy that day She thought you her doll for her to play

You grew into a sweet little girl With big brown eyes and hair that would curl

You were painfully bashful, as shy as can be Who spent a lot of her time behind her daddy�s knee

You sucked your thumb and held on to your dypie Security for you, I guess that most likely

Soon a little brother came your way Another little one for you to play

Very obedient, a mom�s dream come true There was very little wrong you ever did do

A good little girl and a teenager too Never any trouble we got from you

You played musical instruments and fixed your hair Then off to beautician school for you to prepare

A career ahead waiting for you To cut and comb and style hair too

Shortly later you said, �I do� To have your own home and family too

A few years passed and you were blessed with a daughter Hard to believe, you were now a mother

You worked very hard to make a good home Cooking and cleaning, not far you did roam

After a while, nine years had passed When along came another, two girls at last

You spent lots of time with both of them Your first thought always from beginning to end

You�ve had your ups and some downs too But you�ve always managed to pull right through

Your father and I are very proud of you In all you�ve accomplished and in all that you do

Now it�s your birthday, what more can we say But we hope you�ll be happy for the rest of your days

But remember this one thing I want you to know However how old and wherever you go

No matter how many birthdays there happens to be You�re still our little girl to your father and me

Happy Birthday Susan

Father's Day 2006

dianastories — Tue, 25 Jul 2006 00:15:17 GMT

Father�s Day this year was a little different for our family because we spent it in a hospital room with my husband. As each one arrived, I took their picture with their Dad/Grandpa. We ate Ham sandwiches from Arby�s and had doughnuts from Dunkin Donuts. In the past, I usually made a big dinner or perhaps we had a picnic depending on the weather. This meal was a little different, but that�s okay because we were together like always.

I know Father�s Day has passed, but I would still like to share a poem I wrote for my husband a while back. Again, it tells you a little bit about what a great Husband and Dad he truly was.

Honey,

You are the love of my life

Blessed was the day I became your wife

Good times many, bad times few

But one thing was left for you to do

To be a Dad to a sweet little one

Maybe a daughter or maybe a son

Our dream then came true for me and for you

A daughter called Cathy so sweet and so new

A little while gone and we had yet another

Her name we called Susan � all we need now a brother

Our two little girls you loved them so

So good a Dad, it�s hard to know

A little while yet another will be

A son we called �Butch� now our family complete

You were always there through the good and the bad

The best Dad that three kids ever had

You worked very hard to give them all that you could

Some days were tough, but so many were good

You always found time for love and for play

Even at the end of a very long day

We watched them grow into women and man

To have our grandchildren � the best in the land

They call you �Papa� or �Grandpa� or sometimes just �Gramps�

But each one and all, they think you�re a champ

You love them so much from the big to the small

It seems like you�re always at their beckoning call

You�ve earned the name Father and now Grandpa too

You�re one in a million and that�s why I love you

The Fire Marshall's Retirement

dianastories — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 05:55:34 GMT

I thought today I might post the poem that I wrote for my husband when he retired. His retirement took place seven years ago in 1999. He was the Industrial Fire Marshall at a steel mill. It was a job that he enjoyed very much and he gave it his all like everything else he touched in his lifetime . This little poem is about his career while working there.

It�s didn�t seem so long ago

When off to Crucible you would go

A young lad of just twenty one

Your career with Crucible had just begun

You�d start at the Wire Mill on your first day

Where you got pretty dirty, I might say

Then to Bar Finish where the crane you would run

For you that always seemed like lots of fun

But you were not settled, so off to the Guards

But even that was not in the cards

Another position was waiting for you

To fight the fires and fill extinguishers too

The sprinkler systems, the smoke alarms

To make sure to cause no harm

The frozen pipes, the leaky lines

OSHA, Jerome, and inspections on time

The nasty uniforms with brown soot

Some days covered from head to foot

The training classes, being on call

The calls in the night from one and all

So now this all belongs to Bob

To enjoy it all and do a good job

Last of all, �Bob, the best of luck

But whatever you do, take care of the truck�

My Loss

dianastories — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:46:11 GMT

I thought that I next time that I posted something on my blog that my husband would be sitting here next to me perhaps watching TV or reading the paper. Sadly, that is not the case as he passed away on July 6. It has been extremely difficult for me to write; therefore, I have not.

My husband was a wonderful caring man. He was taken away from us way too soon. I have written many poems for him in the last few years. My next few blogs will be some of these poems. Maybe this is a way of making me feel better and/or telling anyone who may be reading this of the great loss my family and I have suffered. Please bear with me throughout this difficult time.

H Is for the Happiness you have always shown to me

U Is for United and that we�ll always be

S Is for the Safety you have given when I feel you by my side

B Is for the Band you gave to me when I became your bride

A Is for the Arms that hold me oh so tight

N Is for the Nearness we have every day and every night

D Is for the Day that you came into my life

And for all of this and more, I�m glad I am your wife

Away Time

dianastories — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 07:36:29 GMT

Just a short note to let anyone who may be interested in my blog that I am still around. I am at this time spending many hours in the hospital while my husband is recovering from a bout of pneumonia.

Hopefully, I will sometime in the very near future be able to take a few minutes and write a little. Please continue to check for any new entries to my blog. New entries are on their way, it just may take a while.................

Annoyed with Cats

dianastories — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 00:38:25 GMT

I was trying to think of something to write about and decided on an annoyance that I have every Spring. It has to do with our neighbors� cats. (Notice that neighbors� is plural.)

For many years, I have tried to grow flowers in my front yard. Every year, the cats would use my flower beds for depositing their gifts to nature. In addition to the flower beds, they have decided to also use under our deck for their littering. I have purchased different mixes to put around plants and even scattered moth balls; all to no avail.

I have complained to the neighbors (they�re sorry) and called Animal Control (there is no leash law for cats). My husband has even sprayed them with the water hose on several occasions. They don�t care. They still keep coming back. They do, however, run when they see my husband coming out of the door.

As a last resort, the last few years I have just decided to purchase some shepherd hooks and hang pots of flowers rather than go through the aggravation. There is however still one thing that really irritates me. Because of the cats, in addition to ruining my flowers they have also �killed� three rose bushes. Also, a few years ago, my son gave me a beautiful rhododendron plant. My plant has �one� just �one� flower on it. As I look across the street at my neighbors� house, they both have great big beautiful rhododendron bushes. What is wrong with this picture????

With that in mind, I thought I will continue to hang the flower baskets rather than plant them, but I am going to try one more thing. I had heard about using cayenne pepper to scare the cats away because it would burn their feet. I made a purchase of two jars of pepper and sprinkled some around the rhododendron plant (which seems to be a very favorable spot) and under the deck. Would you believe that the next morning when I checked under the deck that there were paw prints in the sprinkled pepper along with a deposit. Are they trying to tell me something or what?

I�m sure I have irritated some cat lovers, but if your neighbors have a problem with your pets, they may not be as nice as I am and may harm your little darlings. If there is no leash law in your area, at least try to keep your pet indoors so that it is not destroying other people�s property��. Okay, I�ve vented. Have a nice day.

Richard and Stacy are Engaged

dianastories — Sun, 28 May 2006 17:31:46 GMT

Yesterday, our grandson Richard became engaged to Stacy Taddeo. He was very excited. He had bought her a very beautiful ring and planned the special moment so that it would be a surprise to her. Not sure how much of a surprise it was, but from what I understand, when he asked her to marry him that her response was �Of course, I will�.

According to my daughter Cathy (Richard�s mom), they have already started making plans for the wedding which should be next June. It will be here before you know it.

It is so hard to believe that our �little� grandson will in the very near future become a husband. Another plateau in our lives too as I mentioned to my husband; another extension of our family. Of course, Stacy has been around for a long time, but now it will become �official�. She fits in perfectly and we all just love her.

Congratulations Richard and Stacy. We love you both!

The New Printer Blues

dianastories — Sun, 21 May 2006 06:32:55 GMT

I am going to share my tale of woe with you. It started out last Friday night when I was attempted to make some greeting cards.

I was getting black smudges on the side of the card, so I tried to clean the "feedthrough" or whatever it is called on my printer. I tried printing another card and the same smudges. I tried cleaning again and then inserted another card stock piece of paper. At this point, the lights on the printer started to flash and the papers started spitting out with "stupid" markings at the top of each sheet. I turned the printer off for a moment, turned it back on and the papers started spitting out again. I then decided to reboot the system. I did this twice. This did not work either, so I turned the printer and computer off. It was now getting late and I was becoming frustrated by the minute, so I decided to call it a night and try again in the morning.

Saturday morning, I decided to try again to make the greeting card that I had started. I went to turn on the printer and there were no lights. I thought that was strange as there were lights the night before. I kept pressing the buttons; nothing. Well, I thought, "The printer has died." It's not that old, but then you just never know how long things will last." I decided I would get a new printer that would have a copier, scanner and printer all in one. I also wanted a printer where I could insert the memory card from my camera into the printer as I was using a USB cable to get pictures from my camera to the computer.

After going to my daughter Cathy's house on Saturday afternoon and setting up her new computer and printer, I decided to stop at Office Max to see what they might have. While there, I found a very nice Hewlett Packard All-In-One Printer with the memory card slots for a digital camera. I had a $15.00 discount card for Office Max that I did not have with me so I decided I would go back the next day. Well, that did not happen, so I went there on Monday and made my purchase. As I was making my purchase, the salesman asked if I had a USB cable and I told him that I did and I continued on home.

I had worked extra hours on Monday so I thought I would probably wait until Tuesday to put everything together, but being me, as the evening progressed, I decided to set up the new printer. I took everything out of the box, had my directions all set and was ready to put my new printer together. (Keep in mind before I continue that there had been no one there but my husband and myself from the time I turned the printer off on Friday until the next morning on Saturday and the desk that held the printer had not been moved at any time.) I pulled the desk out. You guessed it. The printer was unplugged. How the heck did that happen! The only explanation I could come up with and it wasn't at that moment, was that some way or other the phone cord on the desk must have got wound around the printer cord and apparently one of us moved the phone and when we did, the plug came out of the back of the printer.

I had already made arrangements to give the scanner that I had to my grand daughter, the ink cartridges to the "non-working" printer to my niece and there was a new printer sitting there on the floor. My husband said to just keep it and don't get upset about it. At least I would not get smudges on my cards. (By the way, never got smudges on paper; just my expensive card stock.)

With that decision being made, I then started to hook everything up. The old printer was connected to the computer via a parallel cable, but I did have a USB cable from my camera that I was not longer using. I know. I know. The USB cable for the printer and the camera are not the same. Did not know this. Do now. I called Office Max to see if they had one available as the closer store to me (Staples) had only six footers. I only needed a 3-ft cable. They did. I called and asked daughter Susan if she would do me a very big favor and go get it and bring it back to me as I was not dressed to go out and "stuff" was all over the floor. She did and returned with the right cable. I started installing right away to the sounds of giggling grand daughter Michelle. That was a mistake. Susan and Michelle left and I continued on. Something was not right. So I uninstalled it and started over again. Finally, everything was completed. I printed a test sheet and everything was fine.

Next thing I wanted to do was check out the camera. Well, would you believe it, my memory card would not fit in any of the openings in the printer. I called Office Max. It seems that Hewlett Packard decided not to support the SmartMedia which is what I use for my camera. I looked in the Instruction Guide and you can use a USB cable and make adjustments. Could not get that to work. It turns out that I am getting a new camera sometime soon, so I am not terribly upset over that, but it was just another thing to go wrong.

I had enough for one night, so I thought I would check out the scanner another time. On Wednesday, there was an article in the newspaper that I wanted to scan and send to grandson Chris. This did not turn out to be a simple task. The scanner I removed was straight forward and very simple to operate. This is a little more complicated. I thought to myself that I set up my daughter's computer and printer, my sister's computer, my cousin's computer and helped my other daughter with installing Anti-Virus software. What is the problem? I can't seem to help myself.

After a few attempts and carefully reading the instructions (which vary from the Guide to the computer instructions), I was finally able to figure out how to operate the scanner. I'm sure I will be happy that I have a new printer in the long run, but it has sure been aggravating getting there.

By the way, I still have to find a new home for the perfectly working printer that I replaced provided that some one doesn't want to make cards.

Mom

dianastories — Sun, 14 May 2006 04:59:56 GMT

My friend Becky has sent me lots of e-mails; some are spiritual, some informational and others funny. She sent me one a few days ago that I thought was very appropriate for Mother�s Day.

As I read it, I thought of my own mother and all the things that I do every day that are just like my mother. Like��

Fluting the end of pie crust

Scalloping the edging of a crotched blanket

Mixing flour and water in a small bowl for thickening gravy

The way I give the extra pat under the pillows after pulling up the bedspread

How I put pillows in their cases

Keeping the emptied canned tomato can on the stove to hold my spoon to stir my sauce

The way I fold my sheets and towels

More importantly, my Mom always made sure family came first. She saw that we knew our prayers and attended church regularly. Also, how she gave me a crucifix to hang in my bedroom for a wedding shower gift. It is still on the wall in my bedroom and is the first thing I see in the morning when I wake to greet the day. Most of all, Mom always made sure that my brother, sister and me knew we were loved. How many times I remember her saying that she may not like us very much for something we may have done, but she always loved us. Can�t tell you how many times, I have said that to my own children.

To get back to the e-mail, it is actually the end of the poem, but it really touched me, so I thought I would share it with you.

Your Mother is always with you....

She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home; and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you. Not time, not space... not even death!

Chris's Tag

dianastories — Fri, 12 May 2006 00:31:11 GMT

Grandson Chris tagged me to write about a few things that I know, things I used to know, things I want to know, and things I don�t care about or want to know. Well, Chris, I will give it a try.

Things I Know:

1. I have a very loving and caring family

2. Everyone seems to like my meatballs

3. I am a nut about cleanliness and germs

4. Love hot fudge sundaes, carrot cake and coconut cream pie

Things I Used to Know:

1. The Greek alphabet

2. How to type math formulas on an Executive typewriter

3. How to produce software that contained computerized artwork

4. How to roller skate

Things I Want to Know

1. Why people still smoke and know the dangers

2. Why I can�t seem to get anyone to publish one of my stories

3. Why I have never really had an interest in reading, but like to write

4. Why I am such a worry wart

Things I Don�t Want to Know or Care About:

1. Smoking

2. Hard rock

3. Intimate details of one�s personal life (some women are soooo guilty of this)

4. Rare beef (yuck)

As I�m not really sure who may read this, it is a little hard to tag someone. Chris, tag someone for me if you like. Thanks for tagging me. It was lots of fun. Took a little bit of concentration of my part.