The Brod Abode ~~ Where life's a hoot!

 Haven't blogged in years so, therefore, this is a fresh start. Many people will identify with what I say; many will not. However, these are my thoughts on things that are no longer acceptable and a few slams on companies that are cheating us, if you have noticed. And, cheating others. It is never okay to just sit at home and collect money (other than retirees) when you are young, able bodied and fully capable of maintaining a job. When did we allow this to become acceptable? I believe in working for what you have, not sitting around letting your fellow Americans pay so you can do nothing. Very black and white. Wrong and right. The government (we as taxpayers) should not be funding a lifestyle you have become accustomed to over generations. It is wrong. This is no longer acceptable to me and I will be doing whatever it takes to change this in the November 24 elections. Get up off your arses and WORK for what you want! I refuse to pay for you. Let me address a HUGE elephant in the r...

It's been months and months since I have blogged. I haven't been much of a blogger. Period. I think maybe if I had started in my 20s rather than my 50s (and now 61) I would have kept up much better. I used to multi task much better when my kids were young, I was a firefighter/EMT, active in many volunteer organizations. I cooked all the time, crafted and sewed all the time and had great ideas for what would be posts today. I'm semi-domestic, I guess. I loved being at home with the boys and taking care of my home and gardens. I loved being active in the community, school district and the occasional political hoo hah. It's how I got to meet President George W. Bush, Kay Bailey Hutchinson and I think Rick Perry. Twenty two years ago......my brain is old; my memory older. But as I've grown older, maybe wiser, maybe more in awe........so much has been let go. I still love to volunteer and for the time being have been on the Highland Village Police Department civilian aux...

Even though the temps are still hot here in north Texas, the air has changed. At least it seems that way to me. Grasping at straws.....quite possibly. LOL  But regardless, it lifts my spirit and I'll take that any day. Fall is my favorite time of year. Opening windows after living in air conditioning for months on end and before buttoning up for the colder air of winter and the heater. The leaves on our ornamental pears begin to turn a beautiful shade of maroon, the neighbors' trees are a riot of gold and orange and the leaves begin to fall. Yard work slows down. I swear every year I'm going to have a wonderful fall veggie garden and every year it doesn't happen. I have always believed we will have better luck in the fall rather than our non existent spring that quickly melts into a hot and dry summer. One of these years I will have to follow through. Have you had a successful far garden? Texas weather can be so strange but I still have hopes of getting a garden in. S...

Oh my goodness! How long has it been? And how to leave the readers hanging? Are you out there? LOL I think about the blog often and what I need to share and post and the pictures I want you to see. I think a lot! :0 So today I will catch up with our grand daughter's wonderful journey and all the other good stuff going on at The Brod Abode. Guinevere Isabella was the phone call we got that day in February. She was to be born a month early and it was a wild ride for the next few weeks. But........... Our grand daughter, Izzy, has thrived. She is growing like babies do and she is the blessing of our lives. Our home looks like a day care center which is as it should be! She and I have been spending a great deal of time together the past few weeks. Her daddy, our youngest son Jordan, plays in an ice hockey league. In July during a game his skate got stuck in the ice while he was trying to get the puck and he broke his ankle. Now, Jordan is a stay at home dad. Our sweet daughter in ...

Happy New Year? Part 1? Yes, I have been away for a long while and so much has happened. I'm breaking it up into 2 parts to try to explain all the crazy, wonderful and yes, painful things that have happened too. It's been crazy around the Brod Abode since the holidays and hasn't let up for a moment. But, all is good. Once the holidays were over I always leave up our decorations until 12th Night or the Epiphany. I enjoy them so much more after the holidays it seems because there is a bit more time to relax and focus. I planned to take them down starting on the 6th. For those of you who occasionally read my occasional blogs, our family had a major challenge handed to us last summer. Hubs, Mr. Mike, who has been a pharmacist for nearly 40 years lost his job at Express Scripts. Yeppers, they just closed the entire place down in June. This put hundreds of pharmacists and pharmacy techs out of work in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Which means those who found jobs in this area were v...

Time flies so very quickly. I thought after the boys were grown and gone our lives would slow down a bit and as we aged and our bodies broke down a little day by day it would be leisurely. Time still goes by at the speed of light or so it would seem. Mr. Mike is 61 and I will be 60 in 5 short months. Halloween is upon us and the decorating has begun. Christmas is right around the corner and I'm starting to plan and get ready for that. We will have a no addition to our family in early spring. We are expecting our very first grand baby with our son and his lovely wife. We are absolutely giddy with excitement and thanksgiving. God is so good and mom and baby are doing well. I'm in a flurry of activity for that as well. Quilts, burp cloths, story books.....all occupy my mind daily and just the glory of it all fills our hearts with joy that only the Lord can bring. We are blessed and are praying for continued good health (with a bit of sickness during the day) and a healthy mom a...

I can't believe it's been nearly 3 months since I posted! OMGosh......I thought life would slow down once that "certain age" was attained life would slow down and we will enter the golden age of relaxation and slowing down. Well, the Lord says His time is not ours and His ways are not ours and we saw that in spades this summer. So with our faith and trust in someone greater than us we have forged ahead. And been blessed in a way we weren't quite ready for but knowing someone has our backs each and every moment of every day is a comfort. In May we were told that Mr. Mike would no longer have a job after June 27th. He has worked for Medco mail order pharmacy and then Express Scripts for the past 10 years. After working in retail for 30 years he was ready for a change. Those of you who are in retail and those of us who have worked that merry go round know of what I speak. It's daunting in this "entitled age" of which we live. Shame on people who get u...

My eyes have been so weepy this week. I do not think this is from the recent cataract surgery. I'm sure it could be due to the so many changes going on in our lives right now and the difficult decisions that have to be made concerning our future. My mind has been consumed with thoughts of my sweet baby boys, now 34 and nearly 32 and the overwhelming desire to go back. And do it all over again. Because being a mom, a stay at home mom, was absolutely the best. Once the chickies started leaving the nest I was devastated. It hit me so dang hard to watch them drive off to Texas A&M in 1998 and 2001. I was devastated because they had been my life for so long. Yes, there were days I would have signed them up for a field trip to Mars. Yes, I realized quickly how much easier it was to have a job away from home than stay home with 2 little boys, 2 1/2 years apart in age. But I would not have traded it for the world. And the fact that I was a volunteer firefighter/EMT probably kept me san...

What has the Brod Abode been up too? Hmmmm so many things have gone on the last month or so. This Brod has become a Food Network addict. Again. And that is awesome because now all I want to do this "going to be Texas hot" summer is try new recipes! IF ONLY I didn't have to go to the grocery store. My dream kitchen would include a never ending pantry. Need it? It's there. Ah, I can dream. The bored om factor has been so great I've succumbed to the temptation of General Hospital again. First time in maybe, 20 years? Getting old is extremely interesting and so is double cataract surgery. And the rules that accompany said surgery. I think I have discovered that they have discovered I can be an ornery patient. I guess another old thing. An old EMT, VBG. So no bending, lifting heavy things, gardening, being out in the wind, no anything at all that might allow something to get in my eyes. I get that. I do. And the resulting eyesight is awesome. It's not perfect but w...

Is the American Dream gone? Are our "Golden Years" a thing of the past? What has happened to our country? Our lives? The belief of One Nation Under God? I think this may be a question many middle aged Americans are now asking themselves. And the younger generation as well. They will be left to pay for the Sins of the Fathers. And the mistakes years in the making. My husband, Mr. Mike, has been a pharmacist for 38 years. He worked in retail for over 25. A trying job to say the least. Those of you/us who have worked in retail over the years know the challenges faced making certain the customer is always right. And a pharmacist's goal is to make sure the patients that come to them are safe. But after so many years a new opportunity came about and he was able to go into mail order pharmacy. It was a wonderful job. Good for him. Good for the marriage and good for the family as a whole. And we were blessed for him to have that job for the past 10 years. A couple or so years a...

Thirty four years ago today God blessed Mike and I with our son, Josh. He was born at the hospital in Lewisville, 6:47PM weighing 7 lbs. 8 1/2 oz and was 20 inches long. And we were in awe of him. He was perfect, he was safe and he was ours for as long as God chooses. We fell in love with your big blue eyes which are one of your most striking features today. I love your quick wit and your sensitive heart. I loved spending time with you and watching scary movies all day, going to the Galleria and Benegins for lunch and watching you grow. I loved that you enjoyed bringing friends over because I fell in love with them. I'm proud of how hard you worked on your projects and continue to do so in your life today. You have a work ethic when so few do. I love that you have worked with Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity, that you are ready to help and take care of people and that you still get a tear in your eye when you see something that troubles you. You love animals (except my ...

Is anyone sick to death of the name calling and the blame game? It gathers speed each and every day and it almost makes my head swim. On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day the family sat around and talked about different "religions" and political parties. Frankly I think the various religions, for the most part, are more a hinderance than an actual help. We all have preconceived notions of what each might possibly mean and when I tell people I am now a southern Baptist rattlesnakes and loony tunes light up their eyes and I quickly explain I don't really believe in all the hoopla over "what religion are we." I grew up without any affiliation at all. And I was fine. And becoming a Baptist with my husband didn't make me believe one iota different. When our youngest son was married he was married in the Catholic church. Now the precious deacon who performed the ceremony is one of the most awesome men I have ever heard speak. Half of the church, for the most part, w...

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to The Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable. All the animals who have been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content except for one small thing: they miss someone very special, someone who was left behind. They all run and play together but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he breaks from the group, flying over the green grass faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally mee...

that one day would be the last time. For someone. For someplace. For you. What would we do differently? And would it ever make a difference in our lives or the lives of our loved ones and others? I think perhaps we think it would make a difference in a desperate attempt to understand the whys and to salve the hurt. Or the first time would also be the last. I think we would linger try to draw as much from the moment as we possibly could. To savor it. To hang on to that one last time. If we knew. Yesterday we lost a beloved member of our small little family. Our beautiful, perfect Challenger Reveille (Chucky). Our third greyhound rescue. He was so sweet, so even tempered, so loving. He was a mama's boy the foster parents said. And he was. We bonded immediately. I was still trying to recover from the loss of our first rescue Holly Rae who had cancer and we had to let her go 3 months before. In that space of time we also adopted a sweet, elderly little lady Emma Rose. Emma was...

Today is November 16th. And three years ago today was a day that has forever changed my life. I am blessed. So many of you know this story but I wanted to write today to share with other people who may be considering scoliosis surgery or have already scheduled it. You need to know my story. I had talked to so many of you on the phone over the past 3 years, we've actually met over at Southwest Scoliosis Institute (SSI) and we are friends who try to keep up with one another on Facebook. A few of you are like family now. It's a day that continues to give in the friendships that are cemented and will never end. I thank you for your trust and encouragement over the past 3 years. When I was 13 I was diagnosed with a mild to moderate case of scoliosis. It was still pretty new but Dr. Paul Harrington had invented the Harrington rod by 1968 and we found a wonderful scoliosis doctor in downtown Dallas. My case was not severe enough to warrant surgery so we used a Milwaukee brace for my...

Each year as we approach the anniversary of a world tragedy, the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, I begin to look for new books or magazine specials to read and am glued to the TV for new specials or simply watch the video library I have acquired over the years. Even though it was published months ago I am reading Killing Kennedy by Bill 0'Reilly and look forward to watch the National Geographic special movie based on O'Reilly's book. Rob Lowe will take a stab at the title role. He has garnered praise but I think I will have trouble seeing him as Kennedy. Ginnifer Goodwin plays Jackie which I do not see at all but then I couldn't imagine Katie Holmes in that role either and she did very, very well. So maybe I will be surprised. Clint Hill, the secret service agent, assigned to Jaqueline exclusively has a new book coming out this month as well.  He is an excellent writer and absolutely was the rock Jackie could lean on. So I'm in my "JFK Mode". It...