Compassion For Physically Challanged Gardeners #13

What a lovely red rosebud.
I also remind myself that noone can hurt me (feelings) unless I let them. My peace and feelings of self worth are not based anymore on others opinion of me.
I know who created me and what a high price was paid.

Katie, I pray that this Christmas will bring you blessings and peace. All of the happy faces of the children that you bless says far far more than any of those snooty comments made by any 'adults'.

Hugs,
Sheri

In theory no one can hurt my feelings unless I let them In practice, when "friend" says to you "We had fifty-three people over for dinner last night. Would you like the leftovers?" I think if you are human you're going to be hurt. I feel what I feel and then it passses. If I'm lucky.

On this, with Dana, it is passing. I slept well again and Tony is here. Ii'm wrapping Christmas presents.

My ankle is still a little sore. I think by New Years I'll be ready to do some more work outside.

Tony and I compare notes on our "friends" and just shake our heads. A good friend of his borrowed a considerable sum of money a couple of months ago - about two weeks' salary for Tony - because he was in desparate need. Hasn't paid any of it back. Tony and I just look at each other and shake our heads. At least we know it isn't American or Mexican - it's just some people. NOKD.

Happy Holiday Hugs all around,
katie

Great news> I found my purse!!! It had gotten buried in the Christmas stuff in a storage box. Hurray.

katie

Yea! Now THAT is a Christmas present. :-D

Joy to the world. - Linny

Thank God!! I was hoping that it had gotten mixed in with all of the Christmas goodies didn't mean that we don't "get our feelings hurt", of course when people don't live up to our expectations or give a back stabbing demonstration, using your back, that one wouldn't feel hurt.
When I read your entry, Katie, it sounded as if you were stuck in that mode and I just wanted to give you a gentle reminder. If it offended you, please forgive me. I'm sure you know that I care for you very much.

{{{Hugs}}},

Sheri

No problem, Sheri. I know you care a lot.

I'm absolutely manic since I found the purse. All my documents are in it. I had cancelled my ATM card but BofA is sending me a new one here and my credit is excellent here so I'm set.

Wrapping presents and being happy.

In regard to my neighbor, I was remembering a couple of years ago when Shaq oneil and Kobe Bryant were kind of sniping at each other. There was an interview with Kobe in which he moaned about not having gotten along well with Shaq. Someone showed it to Shaq. His response was. "I'm buying Christmas presents for kids. I don't have time for Kobe." Or words to the effect. Words to live by.

hugs, katie

YAY for your purse!

Katie, I have this in my office.

Debra

Thank you, Debra.

I want like that that also says "or whether I wore a bra."

I'm getting over it. Who woulda thought of Shaq as role model in this.

katie

Her's a Christmas story from a few years ago.

At my last stop we were quite low on candy. About a dozen kids gathered around. One boy who was probably about eleven and good-sized edged his way to the front and was right next to me ready to get his candy. I whispered to him that we didn't have much left and before I could even ask him to he jumped back and let the little kids go first. I still tear up when I think about his generosity.

katie

Very sweet.

Katie, I remember the burn your bra era. I told everyone i burned all of them.
Bare in mind just why are these men paying so much attention to your Bxxbs? I MEAN R-E-A-L-L-Y!!!! LOL

I loved the little boy. He had been taught to share.What gets to me is these little kids that pull a temper tantrum in Walmarts for candy.
Glad you found your purse.
Now i have to admit i've lost my lower teeth. Really!! I can't find them anywhere.I don't wear them unless i need them. So who knows where they are. I have a bad habit of wraping them in a paper towel till i get to the kitchen.

My Christmas card for you.
Whatever else be lost among the years,
Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing;
Whatever doubts assail us,or what fears, Let us hold close one day,remembering Its poignant meaning for the hearts of men.
Let us get back our childlike faith again
-Grace Noll Crowell


The marketplace in Reinteln, Germany. It looks like a Christmas card. Since it's a live webcam It shows both daytime and night time.

http://webcam.prorinteln.de/bewegt.php



And on the lightside
The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a Nativity scene in Washington D.C.
This was'nt for any religious reasons.
They could'nt find three wisemen and a virgin
Jay Leno

I'm not a Leno fan, but that's pretty good, Vickie!

Tony just left with a car full of presents. I'm laughing because one of things Dana said to me to justify her behavior was along the lines of "You know you're a little weird." I'm laughing because some presents are wrapped with paper and duct tape (I couldn't find any other tape though I know I have lots - sopmewhere). Others are wrapped with fabric and safety pins - lots of sewers in Tony's family. One box of towels - marked for "everybody" - is also wrapped in a towel and closed with safety pins. Lots of the presents are from thrift shops. Not everyone gets something every year. The kids get the best stuff. I am really weird.

Tomorrow I will don my Santa suit and make my rounds with candy and toys. I like giving the lie to all my relatives (most now dead and GONE) who thought holidays were an excuse to get drunk and try to make everyone else as miserable as they were.

Christmas hugs from kids are the best. Hugs from me are almost as good.

hugs, katie

Oh Katie, ...I bet hugs from you are wonderful. Because you hug with your heart too, not just your arms!

Sheri

If any of you care to see how Dogwood has grown, here is his updated site. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1146254

Just back from my first Santa round. I took my friend Lee who does a lot of animal rescue work a couple of books, nicely wrapped. She looked a bit stricken until I assured her that my presents are of the thrift shop variety and do not need to be reciprocated. I also gave her and her husband a blue bottle hummingbird feeder. Weird old me doing my thing. Took lemons and grapefruit to my friends who have restaurants. Nobody was at either place. I left the fruit; they will know who it's from. I have one of the only yellow lemon trees in the area and it's producing abuntantly right now. I take some to my friend Saul for his store and they always sell out immediately.



Here is another Christmas story:

Whe Tony's daughter Barbara was two-and-a-half her mother, Fely, worked for me on Saturdays. Being two, Barbara was going through the fear of abandonment stuff and midway through the morning Fely would get a tearful phone call from Barbara, wanting to be reassured that Fely would be coming home.

One morning in December the phone rang as I was going outside and I told Fely to answer it as it was about time for Barbara's call. When I returned to the house later Fely was laughing. It seems that when she answered the phone it was Barbara but instead of tearfullly asking if her mother was coming home she asked in a fairly grown-up way if she could speak to me. They went back and forth as Fely explained I was outside and Barbara insisted she wanted to speak to me. She finally agreed to give her mother the message for me: "Tell Katie I want to borrow a Christmas video."

She got several.

katie

Merry Christmas, all.

It's chilly here this morning so I shouldn't sweat too much in my Santa costume. The van is loaded and I'm excited. Well, as excited as I can be while still mostly asleep.

Time to wake up and make my rounds.

Everyone have a wonderful day.

Peace.

hugs, katie

Tell us the story when you get back home, Katie. :-)

Wow. What a morning. I was gone less than two hours - enough to exhaust me. And exhilerate. I am so high.

As usual, the voices in my head assurred me that it was going to be awful. "No one appreciates it," my grandmother used to tell me when I got excited about making Christmas presents. Well, she should have lived in Mexico! Lots of kids of all sizes and shapes. I stopped at the army post up the street and a couple dozen soldiers came out to get candy and take pictures. Kids appear out of no where. Hugs from lots of them. They are so happy.

I have a route that I follow from year to year so many of the kids know to watch for me. There are also those who are driving by in cars or beach buggies. The looks of surprise on the little ones are just wonderful. For them it's incredibly magical that Santa finds them and has presents for them. There are people/organizations that have parties for the kids but I really enjoy the spontenaity of what I do.

I went to Tony's house. His daughter Babbara and a friend were waiting for me and we went to the rancho where Fely's parents live now. There were about thirty people ther. All ages. Everybody got candy and stuffed animals. Lots of the older women like to get a stuffed animal. I can relate. I have a few of my own. I got my picture taken with the Santa pinata and a large group of kids.

The best (maybe, it's hard to say) was when Antonio opend his last present. I had given him a set of computer repair tools which were his gift with all the other family gifts so he was not expecting another. I had also told Tony that my car repairs were expensive so he was not expecting anything more. Everyone gathered around as Antontio opened his new laptop computer!! Such excitement. Big hugs. This is a major present and they all know it and everyone was so happy - I got a round of applause and someone took a picture of Antion and me and the computer. Lots more hugs and whispered "thank yous" and I headed for home.

Saw and stopped for a few more kids on the way home.

It was wonderful.

hugs, katie

Lest I forget I want to express my overwhelming gratitude to all of you for helping me through the rough time that happened earlier this week.

Without your love and support I would not have been able have such an unblemishedly wonderful time today.

katie

I believe that God can turn anything into a blessing.
I am so very happy that you had such a wonderful experience today Katie. You obviously bring much love and are cared for by many of then people down there, especially the children.
There's some saying about "out of the mouth of babes..." anyway is is that the truth can be heard from them. Their laughter and wide eyed joy hopefully showed you just how very special you and what you do are to the people of your village.

Merry Christmas hugs,

Sheri

Katie, You are such a special person.Thank you for sharing this special time. You do realize that these people are your family in a way your biological family could never be or realize and they are so much poorer for it,and you are so loved by your special family and you deserve it.You are rich Katie bear.Again thank you for sharing, It made me feel warm and fuzzy.
Vickie

We are having a quiet day here. Tony just left. Ii've had a mild stomach ache so I've been lying down.

Tony thanked me again for all the presents, especially the computer. Antonio asked after I left if Tony had known about the computer and he said no, it was a surprise to him, too. I have trouble keeping happy secrets so I'm still kind of giggling.

In regard to my neighbors something has occurred to me. Dana wants to blame Tom for not wanting me there because I don't wear a bra. She also wants to blame me - told me in a patronizing tone, "You so know you're kind of weird." It's like having my mother back. She would blame my father for things and she would blame me but she was always sure that there was never any blame attached to her. The innocent between two weirdos. They say the universe keeps handing you the same situations until you learn to deal with them. I hope I've learned this time. My jaw is sore from having clenched my teeth so hard while getting through this.

I'm sorry to be on "walking on eggs" terms with people I tried to be friends with. I also cannot see myself moving to be more friendly with people who would treat me so badly. Not out of pride, but self-respect.

I'm still thinking of one little girl, about two or three, wo was with her mother in a dune buggy. The little girl was so wide-eyed at seeing "Santa." Just seeing her would have made it all worth while. Also, getting hugs from boys wo are eight or nine - old enough to resist hugs from relatives, but they have big hus for Santa.

I am lucky to live in a community where my abilities are a good match for the community.

Tony's son Antonio, who got the computer, is very smart and all the family members are aware of this. He is also very responsible. The happiness he had with his gift was shared by all the family members.

My cup runneth over.

hugs, katie

We could all go down there, stand in a line and ask her to define "weird." Betcha that anything she comes up with will be reflected in something she is or does herself. :-)

Thanks, Debra. I think she feels defensive about treating me badly but she'll have to make amends better than by calling me names. Anyway, I am weird. And darn proud of it. She spent Christmas with her husband and whatever friends are good enough for them while I was out being Santa. I'll take my kind of weird. And revel in it.

katie

Weird by any other name is... 'unique'

besides, who wants to be normal, whatever that is. Ozzie and Harriet? I always thought they were obnoxious. The Cleavers? Ugh, what a bratty family. Now, Gomez and Morticia Addams? Them's my kinda peeples.

Katie, that's wonderful wonderful! Like seeing a picture of my new step-grandson (6 mos old) playing with the toy I ordered from Amazon. My husband was too busy to remember that he had another grandson besides the BRAND NEW grandson. They live in Utah and the father (my husband's firstborn) is a music teacher (highly paid - NOT) and his wife stays home and the third child is hearing-impaired and I wanted to make sure each of them had a gift. (DH got the oldest, his first grandchild, a $100 Lego toy!

I loved the Lego building blocks I got for my sixth Christmas! (I thought I was lucky to get one of those $30 or so cannisters of them.) I can still remember them. I didn’t understand why mine were pink, white, lavender, light blue and baby yellow while the little boys I played with had red, bright blue, caution-sign yellow, black and gray ones. At least, someone understood girls liked building things with Lego blocks too. I don’t think I was an ungrateful child, but if I had gotten one more Barbie doll for Christmas, I would have screamed. ~N~

I did'nt get many toys. My most prized possessions were always books from other relatives. I did have some toys and a couple of dolls.I mainly invented my own toys outside tho.I was a wild feral child with a wild imagination.LOL Still am.Tho now i tend to avoid the cold.
I loved the Nelsons but also loved the Gomez famly too.Morticia was a true lady.Thing was a treasure.
The girls were tomboys too. They had a couple of dolls but they liked outdoor stuff too.At 14 DD#1 was a dead shot.DD#2 was a fisherwoman.
LOL i work very hard not to be normal.

Oh, good, another weirdo.

katie

And proud of it!!!

For three or four years in a row, all I wanted for Christmas was a Wedding Doll. All dressed up in veil and lace. All pretty and nice and clean. Got one the Christmas in this picture (think it's been posted in another thread, but I like it) I was almost four. My sister got a play broom and dustpan that year. Well, it WAS 1959. :-) The funny thing, though, is that she is the world's WORST housekeeper. Just doesn't care about it at all. And me? I was married in 1985, divorced in 1987, and only once even THUNK about doing it since. All my siblings have been married at least three times each. Who knows what happened there. That let's me fit into the weirdo category, too, doesn't it? LOL

OK, you are officially a weirdo. The more the better. Does anyone else remember McCarthyi. Or the pod people.

The dogs and I had another good sleep. I hurt my jaw clenching it last week and iti's still a little sore. My ankle is sore but only when I put weight on it. Poco poco, as we say here. Thank goodness for Tony coming every day. The value of a steady caring influence in my life is beyond words.

Being as I'm soing better not moving around too much I am sorting through my junk jewelry and boxes of miscl papers and stuff that I haven't gotten around to in ages. I have to keep reminding myself that between the physical problems (even though minor) and the depression that, like so many, I have this season I need to just get on with what I can do and not worry about how I feel. Feeling, like the weather, change as they will and often there's nothing to do but keep on keepin' on.

I think I'm not so much depressed as low energy though it's hard to tell the difference. Between chronic pain and tiredness depression sneaks in there. I think of Tony, who hs been working long hours at least six days a week since he was a teenager and I remind myself my life ain't so bed. He, in turn, is happy to have a boss who leaves him to work on his own, never complains about his work and exchanges "than you"s with him at the end of each day. We both feel very lucky.

The dogs are always willing to sleep a little longer than usual and they like to cuddle, keeping me warm on these chilly nights.

We have all survived another Christmas. We'll probably all make it through New Years as well. I have some empty storage totes that I can start filling up with new junk.

What a life.

hugs, katie

I was just struck by a funny thought:

One of the nice things about being a weirdo is that I can't reject anyone else because they are "weird," whatever that is. I try to avoid people who are selfish or mean-spirited but "weird"? Some of my best friends are weird. There's enough white bread in the world already.

kb

I seem to recall a lot of headless Barbie dolls among Nadine's toys. Wouldn't that make her like "Wednesday" and her Marie Antoinette dolls? (Jim)

OK Jim...I don't gt it. What does Marie Antoinette have to do with Barbie? & Who's Nadine?