Z: Zipping It Up Between Me and Me

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

Finally, the Letter Z

Zip it up.

My blog, this blog, “Lynda Grace An Hour Away” is my main, public, (and publicized) the more who read, the merrier blog.
On January 1, 2012, I started another blog which was a personal journal.  You know, pretty boring stuff like what the weather was like, who I talked to, where we went, things like that.
Lately my days seem to seamlessly blend, one into the other and I easily forget what I did, when I did it and sometimes even why I did it.  So, why not record it in a blog, right? It basically became a memory record for me.
I kept the settings open to the public on this blog also, mainly because I didn’t think anyone would find it and if they did, I didn’t think anyone would be interested in what we had for dinner on Monday, March 12.
I know, I know, I do post entries from Anna’s diary, but I feel Anna’s diary is more of a sociology lesson and readers might be interested in how a young widow spent her days back in 1929.
Perhaps, in 2095, someone might find what we had for dinner on Monday, March 12, 2012 interesting, but I think not today.
Okay, I admit, since I felt that privacy (because like I said, who would be interested) was not an issue, I did use the names of family members.  And I may have recorded an incident here or there that if I knew anyone was reading this journal, I might not have otherwise done so.
What happened today, couldn’t have come at a better time.  You know with today being the last day of the challenge and therefore the letter is Z.
Today, someone did find my journal.   One of the family members, whom I happened to mention a few times in my journal, was contacted by this someone.   Then this family member contacted me and asked me if I mentioned a certain incident in my blog.   I said, “No, why would I do that?”
I honestly never even thought about my journal blog.  As this family member and I scratched our heads and wondered how this someone would know about this incident, I suddenly remembered my journal blog.
Actually, whatever I did write about was quite innocuous, but I did write it without censorship, because, I will repeat for the third time, I never thought anyone would find it or read it.
Lesson learned the hard way.  Public, means just that.  Yeah, I knew that, but (here’s number four mention) who would ever find it or care to read it?
My journal blog is still active, but it is zipped up so tight, that even I have to enter a password to read it.

P.S. My apologies to this family member.


This is the end of the A-Z challenge.  It was a lot of fun and I happened across a ton of new and interesting blogs.

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today’s entry from Anna’s diary:
Tuesday, April 30, 1929
E. came to see me and confided her state of affairs.  Very little advice could be give on this trouble but hope it all works our for the best.

To see more A-Z posts click here

The Story of One Child Less Mother

 This is the story of one child less mother.

     The woman was the same age as the rest.  They were a group of twenty-somethings, but she seemed to have lived a longer life than the others. It was true that her way was not their way. She knew things that the others didn't know.  Yes, she was, she was wise beyond her years.  She saw things, sometimes things she did not want to see.

     As she cupped the shy one's hand in hers, she saw the darkness that was to be.  The shy one wanted to know, "how many?"  The woman softly traced the lines with her finger.  Three she said.  There will be three.  The shy one smiled.  The woman folded up the shy one's hand and gently placed it next to her heart.  You will have, always have, three in your heart.

     I was nearly 21.  One of my co-workers was a young Chinese woman, who was probably only a couple of years older than me.  She told me that she could read palms.  I didn't believe in such things, but for fun I let her read mine.  After she told me that I was going to have three children,  I saw a slight change in her face.  I always remembered that for some reason.

    It's been a tough couple of days.

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today's entry from Anna's diary:
Monday, April 29, 1929
Went to help Mary who was taking furniture out of storage into apartment on Clifton Ave. Edythe had been trying to find me all day long.

Y: Yesterday, I Believe

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

Y: Yesterday

I have decided that Yesterday is my favorite.  Yesterday is reliable.  There are no surprises.   Yesterday provides you with many choices and you can hang out there whenever you want.  You can be at your senior prom one minute and your daughter's senior prom the next.   Yesterday can take you to exotic and faraway places over and over again.
Oh, yes I admit, Yesterday can be quite cruel sometimes and it is stubborn about change.  True, Yesterday has a tendency to play the shoulda, woulda and coulda game, but Yesterday does not have the scariness of uncertainty that Tomorrow has and it is without the stress that Today can bring.

The Beatles said it best:
"Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away
Now it looks as though they're here to stay
Oh, I believe in yesterday."

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today's entry from Anna's Diary [Actually many yesterdays ago]
Sunday, April 28, 1929
Had dinner at Mrs. Naps.  Rained all day long. Played bridge with George and Marietta for a few hours.  Had light supper then home early to bed.

To see more A-Z posts click here.

Tell Me What You Think...Isn't The Customer Always Right?

I received a phone call this evening asking me for a bit of advice.
Here's what happened.
     After a four hour drive, he checked into a well known hotel chain.    He was facing another four hour drive back, but he wouldn't be able to leave until well after midnight.   He decided to try to get a few hours sleep so that he would be up for the drive home.
     He was placed in a room which was on the first floor, next to a conference room.
Just as he was dozing off,  he was awakened by a booming voice, enhanced by a microphone.  The speaker was addressing a large group.  As the man soon discovered, the group was a religious group.
     The group was loudly enthusiastic and quite boisterous.
     The man became irate for two reasons.  First he was woken up.  Second, he was appalled that the hotel staff would not be sensitive to the fact that the guest who was placed in that particular room might not want to be exposed to the teachings of religious beliefs that were not his own.
     The man went to the front desk to voice his displeasure.  The desk clerk apologized and offered to have the man's room changed.  The man was not satisfied with the offer and asked to speak to the manager.  The clerk phoned the manager.  The manager did not want to speak to the man, but the man insisted so the clerk handed the phone to the guest.
     The guest tried to get the manager to understand that the hotel staff should be more sensitive to its guests. The manager became just as irate as the man.  Finally, the guest backed off, but he promised the manager that he would be addressing his issues in a letter to corporate headquarters.
     I must say I was taken aback by the behavior of the manager.  Isn't the customer always right?
   
Different story.
     About a month ago, Ross and I went out to dinner.   We were seated in a cozy little room, which was quite empty at first.  Our order was taken right away and our first course arrived quickly.  In between our first and second course, a large group of men entered, and practically took up the whole room.  They were loud and boisterous.  Conversation between Ross and I came to a halt.   The whole wait staff began to administer to the man group, taking drink and appetizer orders.  After 20 minutes, our second course still was not out.  Ross motioned to the waitress.  She apologized and said she would check on our order.  After waiting another 5 minutes, we spotted the waitress taking man group's orders.  Ross asked to speak to the manager.  The manger was quite abrupt, saying he would check on our meal.  After another 15 minutes, Ross and I got up.  We did not want to leave without notifying the waitress or manager, but they were no where to be found, so we left.  As we were walking towards the stairs, the manager came running after us.  He was noticeably upset.  He begged us to stay.  We told him no.  But he would not take no for an answer.  He said he would pick up the whole check,  and put us in a private room.  We gave in.  I have to say we got the royal treatment.   Now that manager knows the meaning of "The customer is always right".

What do you think about these two stories?

X: Aww Poor Old X

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

X: Aww, poor X

I kind of feel sorry for today’s letter.  It rarely stands alone.  It is hardly ever the leader because it usually has to follow the letter E.  How exhausting it must be for the letter X.
And to add to its extreme humiliation, when it does stand alone it cannot even have its own sound but must sound like the letter Z.  

That’s right it’s pronounced Zenops.

This drawing was done by my granddaughter.  

(Okay I drew it , she would have done a much better job. :)

Its name is “Plain Xenops”.  According to Wikipedia it is a member of the South American bird family Frunariidae, a group in which many species build elaborate clay nests, giving rise to the English name for the family of “ovenbirds".

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today’s entry from Anna’s Diary:
Sat. April 27, 1929
Carrie here.  Brought baby to 360.  Went to Broad to see Irene Bordoni in  “Paris”> Very good. Home picked baby.  Ted and Marie came to spend evening.  Cool out.

To see more A-Z posts click here.

W: "Winter is Coming"

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

W: "Winter is Coming."
 “Oh, my sweet summer child,” Old Nan said quietly, “what do you know of fear?  Fear is for the winter, my little lord, when the snows fall a hundred feet deep and the ice wind comes howling out of the north.  Fear is for the long night, when the sun hides its face for years at a time and little children are born and live and die all in darkness while the dire wolves grow gaunt and hungry and the white walkers move through the woods."

     "Thousands and thousands of years ago, a winter fell that was cold and hard and endless beyond all memory of man.  There came a night that lasted a generation, and kings shivered and died in their castles even as the swineherds in their hovels.  Women smothered their children rather than see them starve, and cried, and felt their tears freeze on their cheeks.” Her voice and her needles fell silent, and she glanced up at Bran with pale, filmy eyes and asked, “So child. This is the sort of story you like?”

   I am currently reading A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin.  This is the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series.
     Warnings of harsh times ahead are touted by different characters who repeat the foreboding phrase: “winter is coming."
     In the passage quoted above, the ancient nursemaid, Nan, describes winter to Bran, the child she takes care of.

        I have known this winter.   This is the winter of mine, just past.  Cold bitterness has gripped my heart and encased it in ice.  I was a summer child who knew nothing of winter, until this winter of mine,  just past.

     My fear is now of long nights of fitful sleep where white walkers come to me in my dreams to remind me of my loss, in this winter of mine just past.   The sun's rays do not warm my heart as my tears lay frozen inside, in this winter of mine, just past. 

    No, this is not the sort of story I like.  For I did not want my child to die in this winter of mine, just past. 

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today’s entry from Anna’s Diary:

Friday, April 26, 1929

Sunshine again.  Lunch at Mrs. Wittenburg’s.  Lovely.  Stayed home all evening.  Jean & Junior to bed very early.  Stayed up alone.  Felt blue, depressed. 

To see more A-Z posts click here.

V: Visiting Vagabond

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

     Tonight, I am not feeling the best and just want to crawl into bed with a heating pad to ease my crampy stomach and aching head.

     But with victory just four letters away, I am making a valiant effort  to write this post with an appropriate variety of V words so that I can complete this challenge with valor.      

     I thought about taking a vacation from blogging after this challenge is over, but if  I were to venture a guess, I would say that probably won't happen.  I wouldn't want anyone to think I have vanished into the thin air of Virtual Reality. 

     I have visited hundreds of fellow A-Zer's.  I'm like a vagabond stopping by, sometimes saying hi but,  then moving on to the next one on the list.

     Oh by the way, I have verified that I have 43 wonderful followers.  But there are plenty of vacancies left, room for one or two hundred more :)

Here is today's entry from Anna's Diary:

Thurs. April 25, 1929

Rained all day.  Rosalie home from school.  Felt sick. stayed in bed. [me too, Anna.] Jewel came from work, stayed over-night.  Thunder & lightening kept me awake nearly all night. 

To see more A-Z posts click here.

U: Unfinished Business

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

U: Unfinished Business

     I love the BBC version of the TV show “Being Human.”
     One of the premises of the show is that if an individual dies unexpectedly, and has left behind unfinished business, the character cannot pass onto (or is it into?) the next world.  When the character figures out what that unfinished business is and completes it, a special illuminated door will appear for the person to walk through as passageway towards the light.
     I thought about this and wondered what would be the one thing I would have to finish before I could go through my door.
     Running down the list in my mind, I began to mentally check off the things that I feel I have satisfactorily completed.
     1.  Yep done, check.
     2.  Uh huh, no problem, done, check.
     3.  Umm, let me think about that one...okay, yes, done, check.
     I won’t bore you with the rest of the list, it is pretty long.  After all I have had quite a number of years to get stuff done.
     As I thought and thought, I began to understand that even though my completed list was long, my list of unfinished business was even longer.
     There was that business of solving the mystery of my great grandfather’s disappearance,  and then I can’t forget that special trip that Ross and I dream about, but have not taken. My closet, oh dear, I can’t leave with my closet looking like that.
     But really, if in my ghostly state, I was given a second chance to finish unfinished business, I would visit each person I left behind and softly brush a cheek, gently smooth back a loose lock of hair, wipe away a tear, give a pat on the back, tuck the afghan under a chin and whisper in an ear that everything is going to be okay because I will be there to watch over you.

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today’s entry from Anna’s Diary:
Wed. April 23, 1929
Elsie, Minnie, Jean I., Junior and myself went to Frances’ for lunch.  She had spaghetti dinner and all remarked they had wonderful afternoon.  Rushed home for supper.

To see more A-Z posts click here.

T: Tomorrow’s Hope

This month I am participating in the April 2012 Blogging From A-Z Challenge. I will be blogging every day this month with Sundays off (except for April 1) using a letter of the alphabet in order from A through Z. So, Basically, beginning with April 1, my topic will be themed on something with the letterA, then on April second another topic with the letter B as the theme, and so on until I finish on April thirtieth with the theme based on the letter Z.

T: Tomorrow’s Hope

When Anne and Joe shared the exciting news that they were pregnant and that they were having a boy,  they chose not to reveal their choice of  the baby name until after he was born.   They insisted that it was a waste of time to even venture a guess because there was no way we would figure it out.

I suppose staying in the moment of today is wise advice, but my mind is a wanderer.  While I know brooding about yesterday won't change anything,  I am a dweller.  Of course, fretting about tomorrow is futile, but I am a worrier.

One of the most inspirational and emotional moments I have experienced was when Joe said these words to me: "We still have time." And when it was time for me to go he said,  "See you tomorrow?"  For Joe yesterday's memories, today's moments, and tomorrow’s hopes were precious.

 Joe and Anne made sure they would always have the hope of a tomorrow.

On October 11, 2011 my son and his wife welcomed a beautiful boy into the world and named him Domani Joseph.

Translated from Italian, Domani means tomorrow...Tomorrow Joseph.

Joseph                                                 Domani                  
                                   

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today’s entry from Anna’s Diary:
Tues. April 23 1929
Went to 369 and left Junior there.  When I got back found Grandma M. there.  Her Bad Day. Junior fell had mark on forehead.  Raised cain. Had club at Flo Valentine’s Brought girls.

To see more A-Z posts click here.

Follow Me and My Canon - Longwood Gardens

One Day we walked and walked and walked through the gardens of Longwood which is located in the heart of the Brandywine Valley in Kennett Square, PA.  The gardens are displayed in a 4 acre Conservatory as well as in 1077 acres of outdoor beauty.

Wall of Orchids

Fountain Girl

This is What Potential Looks Like

Ross Only Takes Me to The Best Places

View From The Back Of The Deck

Gull Ballet

 

No Photo ID
No Entry

Happy Birthday Bella

Princess
Not My Fat White Cat

I have created a page for Anna's Diary.  It can be found under the Tab titled Anna's Diary.

I have posted all of the entries to date there, starting with January 1, 1929.

Here is today's entry from Anna's Diary:

April 22 1929

Rained all day.  Felt blue.  Elsie called and felt same way so we both wen down town with Junior.  Found Grandma M had been at the house while we were out.

To see more A-Z posts click here.