A REALLY BAD CASE OF THE EPITOOZIES

House with a Sunny Disposition

There's a popular joke about a patient going to the doctor for pain in his arm. Lifting his arm he tells the doctor that it hurts when I do this. The doctor replies, " Then don't do that ! "

For the past few Winters I've not only had seasonal disorder but a mysterious angry red rash on my neck and arms. After trying just about every over the counter remedy I gave up and sought a doctor's advice. I told him the rash only appears in Winter and mysteriously disappears when Spring arrives.

I asked if I could be allergic to Winter and he said, " Most definitely. " So, my stalwart Winter-loving friends, I have a great prescription for the Epatoozies ( Southern for unknown malady ) that I've come down with. Doc says get out of town and he was very specific about it , the sunny Southland is where he said I should go for the cure.

SO, you'll hear me humming a little tune .... "I'm Alabammy bound, I'm Alabammy bound...There'll be no heebie-jeebies hanging 'round ...... "

It may be some time before I file a report of my road trip but I figure that my next posting will find me rash free and as happy as a pig in mud. Somewhere down in sunny Florida.

Bye for now, Y'all !

TRASH AS ART

ABSTRACT I : CARNIVOR'S CONTAINERS

ABSTRACT II : TRASH AS ART

Just kidding ! It's tempting to make art from trash and I've been known to do it when the mood strikes. An artist friend of mine who invites visitors to his studio started getting requests to buy his thickly encrusted palette and they fetched $75 each. I must say that they were quite unique in color and texture.

I collect the styrofoam containers (discards shown above ) that meat comes in to use as my palette of acrylic paints. It saves a lot of time and effort in cleaning up. I just discard it when I'm done. I can't remember the last time I bought a palette.

NO. 2 ALWAYS TRIES HARDER !

The Belles of 'Bama :
Right to Left in order of birth : First born Wilma,
Shrimp in the Middle; second born, Moi and third born , youngest and tallest; Linda.

Any truth to what they say about how your order of birth affects your personality and life ? You've probably heard it all - the first born is a leader ( Yep, that's Wilma ) second one likes to stir things up ( Yep , that's me ) and the youngest is generally a happy go-lucky sort ( Yep, Linda ! ) . Well in our case it could apply but I'm sure that doesn't mean that it's the same in other ones.

I do know that true to sterotypes I struggled mightly to compete with my over achieving first born sister Wilma who was the Captain of our basketball team in High School. It didn't help any that I was short but I made up for it in determination.

I'm afraid I also took advantage of my younger sister Linda's mild mannered personality more times than I'd like to admit, but she's since forgiven me.

Did being the middle girl cause me to be mischievious and overly curious as a child ? Linda seldom got into trouble and I seldom got out of it.

P.S. Is it just me that thinks Annie in Austin looks like Wilma ?

I'd love to hear from other blogger's about how the order of their birth has affected their personalities.

A SAD FAREWELL

Life begins at 40 and for some unfortunate ones, it ends not long after. I'm still in shock at the sad news I received. A colleague at the garden center where I work passed away in route to make a delivery for a customer. I'm glad he wasn't driving because it could've been a lot more tragic.

He was but 42 years old, so young and energetic. He worked very hard at his job and his whole future lay ahead of him. What happened ? The silent killer - a heart attack. I was told his father died from the same thing. So why don't people with a family history of heart trouble go for a routine checkup ? Maybe being young has something to do with it.

Such a tragic loss that could've been prevented. The miracle drugs that control high cholesterol have saved countless lives. Used to be it was unheard of for women to have heart problems but now it's the number one killer . So my friends, both male and female, make sure to check your heart. It could mean the difference of 30 to 40 years, a whole lifetime for some.

YOUR LIFE DOES FLASH BEFORE YOUR EYES

I had a near death experience the other night . I never gave much credence to the old saw that your life flashes before your eyes, but I'm here to say that it does .

On my way to Walgreens just a few blocks from home I was crossing the street at a green light and was in the center of the crosswalk when all of a sudden a huge SUV came barrelling down on me. Normally I would have been frozen in fear but a rush of adrenalin came over me and I literally jumped out of the path of the car which was so close it brushed my side. Good thing I'm agile.

The driver, a young woman, stopped, rolled down the window and said " sorry. " " Sorry ? Sorry doesn't make it, Sister, " I said. Driving is a serious business not to be taken lightly. I'm someone's wife, mother, sister, friend . Just how sorry would you be if you took someone's life because of your carelessness ? She was shaking and my knees were so weak they could barely carry me. I let her go with that lecture. What else could I do, have her arrested for almost killing me ?

Thank you , Jesus, was the first thought that came to my mind. He was surely looking out for me. My sisters best friend of many years was killed by a young driver while crossing at a green light. " I didn't see her " was all he could say .


This is NOT the first time that I've almost been hit by cars while crossing at a green light. When I worked on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Chicago a Taxi cab screeched to a halt right in front of me, so close he was touching my knees. I was so angry I pounded the hood of his car and gave him a piece of my mind. Much to my chagrin a big audience of onlookers had gathered to witness my drama and clapped and whistled !

What are pedestrians to do ? I always look both ways but even then a car will come speeding out of nowhere and not see you. Especially if its at night and you might be wearing dark colored clothing. OR, and this is my pet peeve, they're on the cell phone .

Do pedestrians need to carry their own personal red light that flashes and says STOP ! while crossing at the light ? Necessity is the mother of invention as the old saying goes. If you see a crazy old lady waving a flashing stop sign crossing the street you'll know it's me.