HEY EVERYONE, COME ALONG WITH ME!

Just wanted to let my blogger friends know that I have started a new cooking blog on Wordpress and also moved Living on the Other Side of the Hill to wordpress.  All my favorite recipes are listed there along with photos of family, southern stuff, quotes, etc. I will be updating this often with some of my best southern recipes. Please come by and check me out, leave a comment to let me know you've been there so I can add you to my blogroll, and I would appreciate very much if you would add me to yours.

I was able to import all my recipes from my old cooking blog and my regular blog onto wordpress which was a great help. Thanks for your comments and even any criticisms you might have for me.  Visit me at THE SOUTHERN LADY COOKS and LIVING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL on wordpress.

IS DEJA VU HAPPENING TO YOU?

Have you ever had a deja vu experience in your life?

Deja Vu is French for already seen or the illusion of having experienced something actually being experienced for the first time.

There are several types of deja vu.

Deja Vecu is already lived through. Not just "already seen" but "already lived"

Deja Senti is already felt and can include the senses such as smell, taste, etc.

Deja Visite is geographical such as already visited a place.

Deja Lu is feeling as if you have already read something or a writing is familiar.

Jamais Vu is more commonly explained as when a person momentarily doesn't recognize a word, person, or place that he/she already knows. Jamais Vu is sometimes associated with certain types of amnesia.

Supposedly, 1 out of 2 people has experienced some type of deja vu in the past.

Some people associate Deja Vu with dreams or past lives.

It seems I experience Jamais Vu quite often lately. Usually, I attribute it to having a senior moment!

I like to play Jeopardy and often times the answer just "pops" into my head and I don't know where it came from. Could it be I was smarter in a past life?

Once I was in a restaurant in one of our New England states and felt as if I had been there before. It was a very strange feeling because I recognized everything down to the waitresses and the booth we occupied and the food. I just wanted to get out of there as quick as possible. This has never happened to me again and was many years ago.

I think I experience Deja Senti every time I get within a mile of a bakery! Then, I feel it after eating half a dozen donuts.....

Seriously, or not, I would love to hear about deja vu and YOU!

DOES THIS CARTOON REMIND YOU OF YOURSELF?

That's my twin daughters, Leigh and Anne, on the rock in the cartoon. Leigh sent this to me this morning in an e-mail with the subject line, "the story of my life"!

I thought it was hilarious because I could picture them in some kind of situation just like this.

The funny thing is that I am the exact opposite.

I am always early for appointments. I seldom ever procrastinate or put things off.

The girls say I am a neat freak! I think I am far from it.

We drive each other crazy but at least we can laugh about it and know that this kind of thing is trivial compared to being there for each other and having a great relationship.

Are you always running late for appointments or putting things off till another day?

DO YOU BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT?

Ghosts or spirits seem to be a common experience for some humans.

Just about everyone has a ghost story to tell.

I can truthfully say I don't ever remember seeing a ghost.

There have been some unexplained things happen in my life that scared me at the time.

I do think maybe there is another dimension that we have not tapped into yet and it might have something to do with dreams.

My dreams are very vivid and I am often visited in dreams by people that have passed on or are about to pass.

I have never heard a child's laughter, had a door to slam, or had things to move around in the house as attributed to a poltergeist.

One time years ago when I owned and ran a small grocery way out in the country, I went to bed one night and was awakened by this horrible, very high pitched, eerie sound coming from my kitchen. It would actually make the hair stand up on the back of your neck it was such a weird noise and I was alone in the house.

The crazy thing about this happening is that I had spent the entire afternoon listening to a bunch of older men that loafed around my big old wood stove tell ghost stories. I laughed from behind the counter in the store and told them how silly they were and that I did not believe in ghosts.

I have to admit some strange and crazy thoughts entered my mind that night as I listened trying to determine what was making that noise. Could it be that since I made fun of those guys a ghost decided to visit me and pay me back for not believing? Could there be someone in the house trying to scare me?

The sound seemed to be getting louder and was occurring about every 10 seconds. I knew I had to check it out or die of fright just listening to it. I got my trusty 38 pistol and Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson and I slowly opened the kitchen door from my bedroom to face off with the ghost of Judy's Market!

To my amazement, I did not see a thing. I stood there for a minute ready to shoot up the whole kitchen if anything moved... Then, I heard it again and it was coming from the freezer. Could a ghost be in the freezer of all places? I slowly opened the door and nothing jumped out at me.

I started taking food out and then I realized what was happening. The fan in back of the freezer was sticking for a few seconds each time it went around! What a relief! I have to admit I was scared to death but glad I found the culprit.

If I had not checked it out or if the noise had stopped before I found out what was causing it, I would have sworn there was a ghost in my house.

Do you believe in ghosts and spirits? Has something unexplained happened to you?

THERE CAME A BIG SPIDER, WHO SAT DOWN BESIDE HER!

Do you have a phobia? I think I have several. I am deathly afraid of spiders for one. If you want to see me act like a complete idiot just let me see one in the room or even worse one should get on me.

My twin daughters live on a farm and I spent the weekend with Anne a few weeks ago. On Sunday morning I got up early and ventured outside on the deck to take some pictures of the farm and the dogs and horses. I guess while I was out there I walked into a web with a spider about the size of a silver dollar in it. I came back inside and sat down in the recliner and happened to glance down toward my chest and it looked like I was wearing some kind of pin or brooch. It took a second for realization to reach my brain that it was a spider but when it did I went into a fit, running, screaming, hitting my chest, and generally acting like I was having some kind of seizure! Of course, I woke Anne up and scared her to death. She comes running down the hall in her underwear yelling at me to tell her what is wrong with me. By this time, both the dogs are scared and barking, too. The poor spider was nowhere to be found. It probably ran under the chair and died of a heart attack but we never found it. I would not sit in that chair for the rest of the weekend. That is Anne's favorite chair and it did not bother her at all to plop right down in it. The spider has never been seen again.

The definition of phobia is an irrational and excessive fear of an object or situation. Arachnophobia is the fear of spiders and my worst phobia. I also have Acrophobia, the fear of heights. I am not afraid to fly but I cannot get upon something that is high up and look over the side. Like being on the roof and looking down or on a high bridge.

I have a friend that is scared of birds and feathers. Some people are scared of snakes. Others are scared of horses, or lightening, or even clowns. There are hundreds and hundreds of phobias.

Phobias affect more than 10% of the U.S. population. When phobias interfere with your life, you should get help.

I know you have heard people say someone has a commitment phobia.

Here are some strange or unusual phobias:

Defecaloesiophobia- Fear of painful bowels movements.
Dishabiliophobia- Fear of undressing in front of someone.
Emetophobia- Fear of vomiting.
Entomophobia- Fear of insects.
Gerascophobia- Fear of growing old.
Papaphobia is the fear of the pope/roman catholic church
Geliphobia - fear of laughter
Nomatophoba - fear of names.
Xanthophobia - fear of the color yellow

I am going back to the farm this weekend to take care of the dogs and horses while the girls participate in a rodeo in Ohio. I know that spider has been waiting all this time for me to return and it will show itself! I think I will be o.k. as long as I see the thing before it sees me.

Do have a phobia or something you are scared of????

JUST ONE YEAR TO MEDICARE!

Today, I turned 64 years of age. I don't feel any older than I did 10 years ago for which I am very thankful.

I have been thinking all day about that Paul McCartney song, "When I'm 64". It says: "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?"

Age has never bothered me except when I went from 29 to 30. I sure did not want to leave my twenties for some reason.

Now, at 64, I am older and wiser and more comfortable with myself. I don't worry about what others think. I know what I like and don't like. I think I have mellowed and I am more accepting of life.

I have finally realized that I will not live forever and I need to do the things I enjoy now.

I have found that I can be silly with my grandson and make a fool of myself and people think it is just my age! If I don't answer right away it is my hearing. If I give a stupid answer or can't remember or talk about the weather too much that just comes with getting older. I get the senior discount at Kroger and they carry out my groceries. Most of the time, I get doors opened for me. I don't worry so much about eating that dessert as I once did. Once I started thinking about the good things I could go on and on.

I am so thankful that at my age I do not take any kind of medicine and as far as I know I am in good health.

I had a great birthday with cards and calls from friends and family here and on facebook and in the blog world.

In the words of the columnist, Ellen Goodman, "These are my good days and not-quite-yet old days".

How do you feel about your age?

WHY OUR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS WERE HAPPIER THAN WE ARE

I received this in the mail and thought it would make a fun post.

A bottle of Bayer's heroin. Between 1890 and 1910 heroin was sold as a non-addictive substitute for morphine. It was also used to treat children with strong cough.

Metcalf Coca Wine was one of a huge variety of wines with cocaine on the market. Everybody used to say that it would make you happy and it would also work as a medicinal treatment.

Mariani wine (1875) was the most famous Coca wine of it's time. Pope Leo XIII used to carry one bottle with him all the time. He awarded Angelo Mariani (the producer) with a Vatican gold medal.

Maltine was produced by Maltine Manufacturing Company of New York . It was suggested that you should take a full glass with or after every meal.. Children should take half a glass.

A paper weight promoting C.F. Boehringer & Soehne ( Mannheim , Germany ). They were proud of being the biggest producers in the world of products containing Quinine and Cocaine.

Opium was used for asthma!

Cocaine tablets were used in the early 1900s by stage actors, singers, teachers and preachers for a maximum performance. Seems they soothed the voice.

Cocaine toothache drops were very popular for children in 1885. Not only did they relieve the pain, they made the children happy!

Opium was used for newborns. I'm sure this would make them sleep well (not only the Opium, but 46% alcohol!)

This may or may not be true but I know my parents had some weird cures for things at times. I can remember hiding under the bed from my father and him pulling me out and forcing me to take castor oil. It was the most vile tasting stuff I ever had and I can still remember the taste from childhood.

My dad thought that chicken noodle soup and ice cream would cure anything. The minute we came down with a cold or upset stomach, he was off to the grocery for those two items. It's funny that now they say chicken soup is good for the soul and a cold!

Do you have any home remedies for what ails you or remember any from childhood???

KENTUCKY'S FAMOUS CASTLE

Kentucky has been home to this castle since it was built by Real Estate Developer, Rex Martin, back in 1969. It is located on Versailles Road in Woodford County near Keeneland Race Track.

I will never forget the first time I saw this structure. I had moved back to Frankfort, our capital city, and gone back to work for state government. I had been away from this area of our state for almost 30 years. I was on my way to a meeting in Lexington with several co-workers. I could not believe my eyes! A real live castle on a hill with turrets, and a fence surrounding the place. I was mesmerized and could not stop talking about it. Of course, they all thought it was so funny that I had never seen it before.

Anyway, the castle set empty for 30 years and was a topic of conversation for Kentuckians as well as tourists that happened to pass by and stopped to take photographs.

It was purchased in 2003 by Tom Post for 1.8 million and has gone through extensive renovation and been renamed, "CastlePost".

CastlePost is now complete with lodging fit for a king for overnight guests, weddings, and charity fund-raising events. There are 16 guest rooms, 21 bathrooms, a library, dining room for 40 guests, ballroom, game room, 20' x 50' pool, tennis and basketball courts. There will be bowling lanes and a putting green on the roof. Cost of a room is from $375 to $475 a night or $1,250 for turret suits!

This link will take you to their website: http://www.thecastlepost.com/ If you scroll down to the spot that says: Check out the CastlePost on KET News, there is a very interesting video there that gives information about the castle's history and how Tom Post's dream is finally coming together.

So, if you want to stay in a real castle and live like a king while you are here visit us in the heart of Bluegrass Country.

Do you have an unusual place or structure near where you live that has been a curiosity to visitors?

BUSY WEEKEND, BUSY TIMES FOR ME

First of all let me say that my blogging friend, Balisha, is at home and doing well. Thanks again for all your prayers and concern.

I spent the weekend with my daughter, Anne, on the farm in Georgetown. (Leigh was out of town) We had a great time.

On Saturday morning, I went with her to get a load of hay for the horses and was able to help load some of it. Next, we road the backroads around Georgetown, Lexington, and Midway. It is beautiful here this time of the year with all the horse farms, board fences, and fall colors. We had lunch at a little place called Wallace Station where you can eat outside at picnic tables and enjoy the wonderful weather we are having.

That's Anne feeding hay to the horses on the left.

Later in the day, we went to the Peddlers Mall and Big Lots and then ordered a big pizza from

Fat Kats for dinner.

We stayed up real late and looked at old pictures of the farm the kids grew up on. The photo below is of me and a friend in 1978. It was 4 months after my twins were born. The girl with me in the photo is Cassie Durham. She is on the left and I am on the right.

For all you gardeners out there, the photo on the left below is our just plowed garden back then. We used to grow, can, and freeze all our vegetables on the farm.

On Sunday morning, my son, Rob, his wife, Sarah, and TW, Anne, Bob and I met at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. The food was great and we all enjoyed seeing each other.

Thomas Wyatt came to spend the night with me on Monday. We watched videos, ate oats (his favorite thing to eat), and played with cars and trucks. Oh yes, we had to play hide-in-seek.

The picture below is TW hiding. He thinks I can't see him when he gets behind the shutters!

Look at his toes in this picture. I do the same thing!

He is getting sleepy when he lies down, wants his blanket and gathers all his toys, and cup around him. He is watching a Mishee Mouse video. He can't pronouce Mickey yet.

Today, was grocery shopping and a haircut. I am worn out! Now, to get around to all the blogs and make comments, finally! Hope everyone had a good weekend and is having a good week.

THANK YOU BLOGGERS AND AN UPDATE ON BALISHA'S SURGERY

Just a quick note to thank everyone that did such a great job of praying for Balisha and visiting her site. I am sure she is going to appreciate all the wonderful comments left by you for her.

Balisha's surgery went well and the neurosurgeon told them he was successful in removing all the tumor. Joe, her husband, says she is progressing nicely and had two tasks to complete today before she could be moved to a stepdown medical surgical unit from ICU. She was able to complete the tasks and has been moved. A CT scan was done early this morning and showed no bleeding or clot formation on the brain and the tumor was completely removed. Joe says she talked with family and went for a walk down the hall today. The surgeon says if she continues to recuperate at this pace, she may get to come home this weekend!

Please continue to pray for her total recovery. It is amazing to me to see bloggers from all parts of the world come to the aid of someone in need and send well wishes and prayers.

I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I know Balisha and Joe thanks you, too. Love and Hugs, Judy

A PRAYER FOR BALISHA

This is my blogging friend, Balisha. She is a wonderful person and today she is having surgery for a brain tumor. Recently, Balisha had a seizure during the night and when they did an MRI she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. There had been no problems until the seizure.

Balisha and her husband, Joe, are both wonderful people. He has been devoted to her and will keep us all up to date on her progress by keeping up her blog while she recuperates.

Balisha's blog is: Never Enough Time . Please, take a minute today, to say a little prayer for Balisha and Joe, that this will all be over soon and she will be her feisty self again. I am sure they would appreciate it if you popped over there and said hello as well. Balisha has been keeping a journal on her blog about how she has felt since this happened to her. Thanks so much, Judy

MY RODEO COWGIRLS, ANNE AND LEIGH

I think it is about time I did an update on my lovely twin daughters, Leigh and Anne. The picture on the left was taken at Keeneland and is one of my favorites. Don't you think they look alike? That's Leigh Harper on the left and Anne Parker on the right. They light up my life!

The girls live a very busy life with boyfriends, jobs, rodeo, and taking care of their farm but they always find time to call "Mom" every day. Leigh calls each morning on her way to work and Anne calls on the way home in the afternoon. We recently made our annual trip to Amish country

and I will be making a trip to their place for an overnight visit in the next couple of weeks.

Anne has a new man in her life. She is in the process of training him and took him to his first rodeo last night. That's Anne with her new man, Roanie on the right. She also has Drifter that she has trained. He is up for sale at this time and a beautiful horse. Anne is riding Drifter in the ring in the picture on the left.

Leigh has been doing great and came in second overall last night at the rodeo and won the second division placing in the money! That is Leigh with her barrel racing horse, Dually, in the picture on the left.

The farm seems to be growing. They now have four horses, two dogs and a cat. Dodgie is Anne's dog and Spur Dog belongs to Leigh.

Greeley, the cat, stays at the barn and keeps all the mice out of the horse feed. Greeley, is named for the hat company in Colorado that makes custom hats for cowboys and cowgirls.

The girls each had a hat made on a recent trip out west to visit a friend.

Below are some videos taken at last night's event. This was Roanie's first time at the barrel race and he did great. Leigh and Dually beat their best time last night.

I hope I got these videos uploaded correctly.

I am so proud of my girls and all they have accomplished in their lives and love them so much.

I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

IT'S BEEN A SHORT SUMMER HERE!

I could feel fall in the air this morning when I went outside. It seems like summer has come and is almost gone in a very short time this year.

My flowers are beginning to look sort of ragged around the edges.

I planted a lot of new stuff this summer after having several big trees cut down. I now have sun in the backyard. Most of my plants in the front have to be shade plants such as impatients, hostas, vines and ferns like in the pot in the photo.

I planted a small double knockout rose bush about a month ago and it is full of blooms and has grown since it was put in the ground. I can't wait to see what it does next year.

The hen and chicks pot on the left has a succulent that I bought not long ago. It has put out this long tenacle that seems to be reaching for the sky. If anyone knows if this is going to bloom or seed or keep growing straight up or what, please let me know in a comment. I may need to put it in a bigger pot. I don't know if I need to bring it in for the winter either.

I finally got some mint and herbs started in my yard this year in several places and planted two crepe myrtle bushes near the back fence.

My impatients flourished with all the shade. The pot on the right sits on the front porch of my home.

I sit here on the concrete bench and rest for a spell when working in the yard.

The hanging baskets are overflowing with impatients, too.

I plan to grow some garden stuff next year and have lots of new flowers in my backyard.

Soon, the leaves will be falling and Bob and I will start our yearly raking and mulching. I won't have nearly as many this year but still enough to keep us pretty busy with the trees that are remaining.

I love fall and the cool, crisp, days and evenings but always feel sad when summer ends!

Do you have a favorite season of the year?

MY WEEKEND VISITOR - THOMAS WYATT!

It has been a while since I did a post on my grandson, TW. He has been here several times to visit and he turned 2 years old in June.

We had a birthday party at my house with two cakes, cupcakes, and all the trimmings. Dad took lots of pictures and made a video.

He is all boy and has the cuts and scrapes to prove it.

His favorite toys are those little diecast cars and trucks.

The World's Longest Yard Sale has been going on right near where I live and I got him lots of those little cars to play with on this visit and even found a school bus he has been wanting for a while now and a big dump truck.

We always watch the movie, "Cars" and "Elmo" and "Toy Story" when he visits. He loves oatmeal and as soon as he is awake (usually around 5:30 a.m.), Nanna is making oatmeal with bananas and applesauce. Then, around 8:30, we have sausage and waffles. It takes a lot of food for such an active little person!

He has to go outside to see if there is anything new since his last visit. TW enjoys looking at my owl, "Hootie". Hootie keeps the birds off my patio furniture.

He likes to show Nanna his muscles! Mom, Sarah, thinks he looks like a little bumble bee in this picture.

Climbing is a favorite thing, of course, and Nanna's shoes have to be tried on for size every visit.

Bathtime is fun and after a very busy day TW settles down for a little more t.v. and off to bed.

I love my time with Thomas Wyatt and enjoy his visits.

He is a beautiful little boy and his Nanna loves him very much

GREEN TEA - THE MIRACLE DRINK!

I love tea! I drink tea almost all day every day. I like it cold or hot and with or without sugar and I like all kinds of tea.

Did you know that next to water, tea is the most consumed beverage in the world?

Research indicates that green tea contains polyphenals that act as antioxidants and are reputed to be very helpful in preventing and treating certain medical conditions.

The Chinese have been drinking green tea for centuries and in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent.

The list of benefits from green tea is a long one. I am going to list a few of them.

Prevents and helps in treating:

1. Blood clots
2. Tooth Decay
3. Arthritis
4. Atherosclerosis (where plaque builds up in the arteries)
5. Parkinson's Disease
6. Osteoporosis
7. Bad Breath
8. Reduces Inflammation
9. Gastritis
10.Colitis
11. Improves memory
12. Blood pressure
13. Stroke
14. Controls weight
15. Lowers cholesterol
16. Diabetes
17. Heart Disease
18. Alzheimer's Disease
19. Increases life span

The only negative side effect so far is that it contains caffeine. You can buy it without caffeine but the decaffeination process removes one third to half of the antioxidants. I think the positive outweighs the negative when it comes to green tea.

If you are not a green tea drinker, maybe you should consider trying this beverage and enjoy some of the benefits it has to offer.

My doctor told me recently that I was very lucky to be in my sixties and not on any kind of medicine and to enjoy good health. I wonder if the tea has anything to do with it.

What is your favorite drink? Are you a tea drinker, too?

TOM T. HALL, KENTUCKY'S STORYTELLER

Tom T. Hall was born May 25, 1936 in Olive Hill, Kentucky. He was the son of a Baptist minister. Tom was 11 years old when his mother died. He joined the Armed Forces and spent most of his time in Germany during his four year stint. He attended Roanoke College and is known as a storyteller and songwriter.

Tom went to Nashville in 1964 with very little money and a guitar and quickly made the charts with his songwriting talents. Artists such as Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Alan Jackson, George Jones, Waylon Jennings, Faron Young, Jeannie C. Riley, and many others have recorded his songs.

Tom T. Hall wrote such hits as Jeannie C. Riley's, "Harper Valley P.T.A" and Alan Jackson's, "Little Bitty" but his biggest money making song has been, "I Love".

He is also an author and has written several books including The Storyteller's Nashville (1979) and the novel, The Laughing Man of Woodmont (1982).

Tom was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in February 2008.

My favorite song of his is, "Old Dogs, Children, and Watermelon Wine. You can hear it playing in the background.

REMEMBER THE HULA HOOP!

Remember the hula hoop craze in the late 50s? I used to love to hula
hoop when I was younger. I once entered a contest sponsored by a Frisch's Restaurant when I was in my early teens and went five hours and twenty minutes. I won a big boy and a malt for all that work! The girl that won went for 8 hours and won a transistor radio.

According to some sources the hula hoop originated in Australia. The 50s hoops were hollow plastic tubing. It is estimated that Wham-O sold over 100 million hoops in 1958 alone.

I recently read an article in Prevention Magazine that "hooping" is making a comeback and they are no longer for the playground but a way to burn calories and tone your stomach muscles.

Today, there are web sites such as http://hooping.org/ and http://yourhoop.com/ where you can purchase custom hoops, collapsible hoops, do-it-yourself hoops and instructional videos if your are interested in "hooping". They can range in price from $15 to $50 and more. It seems adults need one based on your body weight if you are using it for exercise.

So guys and gals if you want to tone up, get yourself one of these new "hoops", turn on the music and start "hooping" it up! I am seriously considering trying it out.

Do you have any memories or past experiences about the hula hoops or do you think this would be a good way to lose weight and tone up today?

OUR SICK HEALTHCARE SYSTEM!

This show aired a couple nights ago on PBS and I thought it was very interesting. I know this interview is long but I think it's worth it. I would love it if you would consider it and share your thoughts about it with me.
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html

Many of you know that I recently lost my niece Faye to cancer. Along with having to deal with the disease, Faye had to deal with the insurance companies that refused to pay for many of her procedures she needed to fight this dreadful disease. Faye's sister also has cancer and is going through the same process and trying to deal with insurance companies, too.

The greed of these companies and our hospitals and doctors has caused our people not to be able to afford health care. Our Senators and Representatives are being paid off by lobbyists and the people are suffering.

Recently, I had a bout with colitis and ended up in the emergency room. I am lucky enough to have insurance but the bill was $7100.00. The lab work was another $400 and I have not even received a bill from the doctors yet. They told me to see my regular doctor on Monday and gave me 3 prescriptions. When I visited my regular doctor, one of the prescriptions was disagreeing with me. He changed my medicine, they weighed me, and took my blood pressure. They did not take my temperature. He was with me all of five minutes. The bill was over $100 for that office visit.

Our people cannot afford health insurance. They don't have it because they can't afford it, not because they choose to not have insurance.

Something has got to be done in this country about this situation. It becomes worse everyday.

Please give me your thoughts and opinions on socialized medicine, insurance companies, our elected officials, etc.

Also, I would love to hear from other countries about your healthcare and how it works and how you feel about it. Do you wait for months without healthcare or do you receive the attention
you need?

June of 70 Plus and Still Kicking resides in Australia and has posted on her blog about healthcare in her country and linked to this one.

All comments appreciated.

DO YOU NEED WASHING?

A friend of mine sent me this. I love it. This is something we all need to stop and think about.

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.

It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall.. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in "Mom let's run through the rain," she said."What?" Mom asked."Lets run through the rain!" She repeated."No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit," Mom replied.This young child waited about another minute and repeated: "Mom, let's run through the rain,""We'll get soaked if we do," Mom said."No, we won't, Mom. That's not what you said this morning," the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm.This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?"Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!

"The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes..Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith."Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD let's us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing," Mom said..Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars..And yes, I did. I ran.. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday..To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.

This brought back memories of one rainy afternoon about fifteen years ago when a friend and I walked about three miles in a warm, summer afternoon's rain. We were soaked to the skin but it was one of the most exhilarating and fun things I have ever done.

Do you have memories of walking in the rain???