Where Oh Where Has My Creativity Gone,

oh, WHERE oh where can it be.......?

I'm out of blog posts.

Thank you to the few of you who comment! I won't forget you. I WILL post again!

Love,

Mary Ann

October 2, 1981

We got married!

30 years ago today.

It was fun.

It's still fun.

We are getting old. That is NOT fun.

We love each other.

Happy Anniversary to US!

Now SING..........

"Take MEOW To The Ballgame!"

Grief is a "Funny" Thing

Right before Elbie died, I was feeding her baby food out of the jar on a tongue depressor. She was chomping down some yummy food. Then the medicine took hold and her little legs gave out and she slept.

Ya know that awful pit in your stomach, or the pain in your chest when your heart is breaking?

I felt it when my father died, and my grandparents, and good friends, and too many relatives to mention. We cry buckets.

I'm crying buckets.

So far this year I've read THIRTY books. Right now I can't even concentrate to read an article.

Years ago, my grandmother said about grief, "Mare, it gets better. It really does somehow. It never goes away but it gets better. If that weren't true, everyone in this world would be walking around crying all the time."

She was a wise woman. And I cried buckets when she died.

Better days are ahead.

Our Sweet Kitty Has Died

This little cat named Elbie, we called her Elbie Lou, was an angel cat. One of the great ones.

We got her in February 1994, at Lollypop Farm. She was in a cage and when she saw us, she put her little face up against the bars and wiggle waggled like she was saying "Oh, PLEASE take me home. PLEASE!!"

She was six months old. Her previous owner wrote on the paperwork at Lollypop that although she was a nice cat, she didn't fit in with the family. I am so glad that happened or she couldn't have been ours.

When we brought her home, she explored the whole house from top to bottom. The first night, she slept in our bed on top of Larry's head!



She was a beautiful cat, with gorgeous eyes and a personality to match. One day I couldn't find her until I looked under my desk. The picture below I caught just as she had finished yawning. That tongue was sticking out.



She loved being held and petted and especially loved having her head rubbed. I wish we had a video of it.



She was a peaceful, happy little cat......



and sometimes quite nosy! I called her Nosy Rosie.



This is the last picture we took of her. She was senile, along with having other medical problems. After prayer, we knew her time had come and she very peacefully passed away at the vet's this morning. I kissed her goodbye, the vet wrapped her in a cute little blanket, then Larry and I left with broken hearts.

I know that millions of people have to go through this every day with their pets, but not too many have had their pets for nearly 18 years.

She was loved by us and she loved us.

This is a little obituary for a very dear pet and part of our family.

ELBIE LOCKE

1993 - 2011

Grand, Grand, Grand

In case anyone hasn't heard, my YANKEES hit three grand slam home runs yesterday, the ONLY time that has ever been done in major league baseball history.

Just letting you know.

AND they beat the Oakland A's 22- 9. Yes, that's 22 runs in one game.

I was just a little ecstatic.

AND just in case you forgot, I LOVE baseball!

Red Cross Day

Some days I just shake my head.

It seems that people who can't pay their rent or need a security deposit believe that the Red Cross will pay it.

They are very surprised when I say that we don't provide that service.

Then there are those who need a place to live but don't have a job or any money. It breaks my heart.

I really like being there to help when we can, like those who have had a fire. But when I can't help, it makes for a hard day. Sometimes the best I can do is refer them to another agency. Sometimes all they need is a listening ear.

I am grateful to our community and the good people who live here who contribute time and money to help others. There sure are a lot of needy people out there.

Good days!

Dear ones,

Today Larry and I went to the temple.

I felt the presence of my grandfather.............

..........who died when I was three months old.

I also felt that things would get better, that things would change, emotionally, mentally and even financially.

It was a beautiful session and I am grateful! Just wanted to let you know.

AND.............move your eyes to the right, to where it says "Mary Ann's ZIJA Blog. Drink Life In!"

Would you mind clicking on it and reading it? I designed it and think it is okay, but would welcome feedback. It's our new business!

Thank you and love to all three of you who read my little blog.

Cute birdie

Lookit this cute baby robin!!

Larry took its picture a couple of days ago while he was hopping around the yard. (The bird, not Larry!)

Rochester? Or Tucson.............

Hot

Dry

Brown

Is this Rochester or is this the desert?

After pretty much the wettest Spring since the dawning of time (or at least the dawning of Rochester) we are in a hot drought. Today the weatherman is calling for possibly 100 degrees with a heat index of 110.

Really?

The grass is brown. The flowers are wilting. PEOPLE are wilting. The Red Cross is opening up cooling stations today.

And speaking of hot, two girlfriends and I went to Toronto Saturday to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays!!

The good - Yankees won! Excellent game, beautiful stadium, being with friends.

The bad - Delays at the border, traffic on the QEW, hard to park, prices at the ball park.

The ugly - ME after sweating in the heat! We finally had to move to outfield seats

where there was shade.

All in all, a great day!

OH! And while we were buying hot dogs at the ballpark Saturday, I started talking to a

young couple who turned out to live right here in our neighborhood!! I loved it.

45,000 people in Toronto Rogers Centre for a ballgame and the two people in line

behind me are from Greece! I mean really.

Of course, this is the man of the year Derek Jeter, taken from our wonderful seats in the hot SUN.

And this is C.C. Sabathia who is the greatest pitcher and who pitched an outstanding game.

Rogers Centre, notice the fancy schmancy Canadian spelling of "center"

And this is Nick Swisher (or maybe Francisco Cervelli) getting ready to smash the ball

And of course as you know, I just LOVE this!!

Love that Jeter

There are three diamonds that I love.

1. My engagement ring

2. Neil Diamond

3. The baseball diamond

Saturday found me ringing my cowbell as I watched the Yankee game on television with my mother-in-law Lee Etta. We were waiting along with the rest of the baseball world for Derek Jeter to hit his 3oooth base hit. It is a VERY big deal.

Me: "Mom, wouldn't it be so cool if Derek's 3000th hit was a home run?"

Lee Etta: "Hmmm!"

Me: (ringing the cowbell) "It would be just the best!"

Lee Etta: "Uh huh"

He hits a home run.

I go crazy. Lee Etta smiles.

Lee Etta: "He did it."

Me: (jumping up and down like a kid and disturbing the peace with the cowbell) "I TOLD you it would be a home run!!!!! Hooray! Hooray!"

I love baseball. I JUST LOVE BASEBALL!!

Cranky and cuckoo

Okay so I smashed my head into the door over a month ago. It still hurts.

Yeah.

My memory is shot.

I'm foggy.

Sometimes this is normal for me!

But I do wonder why it still hurts some. I really don't think I had a concussion. But I do wonder......

OH! Our kitty seems a little better. She hasn't thrown up in days and loves the chicken I make. Yesterday I got a nice chicken and roasted it for her. Larry said, "Why did you make it so good for the CAT?"

Yes, I did let Larry eat some of it!

Everything?

Ya know when it seems that EVERYTHING is going wrong?

Taking a Break From Being Happy

I can't help it.

Today was a bad day.

My friend who had oral cancer for the second time now has five spots on her lungs.

How do people deal with this without faith? Thankfully she has it.

Going to the temple tomorrow. The happy news is that we will witness the beginning of an eternal family in the most sacred room on earth. A dear family in our ward is being sealed.

June is Bustin' Out All Over

We've had some dandy weather.

WIND

HEAT

CHILL

MORE WIND

Ah well, we're still here and not blown away.

One another note, my head is better. The discoloration is mostly gone and there is just a teeny bit of soreness left.

I went for a massage Monday...... (THANK YOU to my darling husband for that gift...) and the massage therapist thinks I had a minor whiplash. Since I didn't crash HEAD first into the door, I crashed FOREHEAD first with my head up a bit, it's possible. And my neck does hurt but I never thought of whiplash. Nevertheless I am better.

On a sad note, our kitty seems to be failing. She wants to eat all the time 'cause she throws up almost every day, and she is just really skinny now. I boil her some chicken and she LOVES that! It's the highlight of her day! But she seems to be wasting away. She's affectionate and loving and wants to be near us which is good. She is almost 18 years old and I dread what is coming.

I love this picture of her. She looks like she needs a tiara.

Shiners Are NOT attractive

(I couldn't take looking at that awful picture anymore! GONE!)

There is still a bump. I know you are all jealous.

But seriously, I feel very grateful. When I fell, I could have broken bones. Or the glass in the door could have shattered. Or my glasses could have shattered. Maybe I had a concussion, who knows? But all in all, it could have been worse.

I really AM grateful!

What the Hail

Last night, amid pouring rain and wind and thunder and lightning, the hail came pelting us with ice stones. It was actually pretty cool. They weren't terribly big but big enough that I wanted my mother-in-law to see them.

So I ran out the front door to grab a couple pieces of hailstones.

Then I attempted to run back in the house.

HA!

HA!

Instead, I fell. Actually slammed into the glass storm door WITH MY HEAD.

My glasses went flying, ZOOM off my head.

This is what I look like.

Two lumps on my forehead. Black and blue. My legs all scraped up. My glasses all bent. My face all swollen.

I'm a mess.

All this to show Larry's mother some dumb hail that all but melted in my hand before I got back in the house. But I hung on to it!

So this might be the third dumbest thing I ever did. The first and second are here and here.

A Pretty Amazing Weekend

So I've been doing a lot of studying about nutritional healing and stuff. I was all worried that I might be having gallbladder issues, so I did a regimen that is suppose to heal it. Yeah right, right? But this is what I did, according to the book:

For one day, all I ate was apples. Granny Smith.

ALL DAY.

Then before bed, I took two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil,

and two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

It was amazingly good, not gross at all. I did that for five nights.

I HAVE NO PAIN.




Really.

No pain.

I also found out thanks to our friend Paul that drinking aloe vera juice will prevent acid reflux and eliminate the need for prescription medication.

It WORKS!!!

I am happy.

Then, our Stake Conference was this weekend. Sunday's session was a broadcast for the Northeast. We were sitting with our little pals -



and their parents. I was feeling grateful and sad at the same time. I love that young family and am VERY grateful to have them in our lives. Tender mercies of the Lord, you know?

Yet I was getting all weepy eyed, thinking YET AGAIN, "where are MY children?" then feeling bad because I still get that way after all these years.

Then somehow this happens. God knows us. The speaker, Elder W. Craig Zwick quoted from the Doctrine and Covenants 98:1-3

1Verily I say unto you my friends, ^afear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give ^bthanks;

2^aWaiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament—the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted.

3Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been ^aafflicted shall work together for your ^bgood, and to my name’s glory, saith the Lord.

You can imagine how I felt. It was like the Lord was right there in my heart.

Like I said, pretty amazing weekend.

I Can't Eat WHAT?

I think I'm having gallbladder issues. Of course I am not sure. But considering that the pain occurred right after Larry and I had ONION RINGS, it's a good bet.

It is definitely weird pain. Almost like spasms around my back and to the front. It's been happening for a few days now and I am mad. Not only have the Yankees lost three, count 'em THREE games in a row, I have pain.

Curses.

I Broke a Man's Heart

I did. Really.

You'll love this story!

It happened forty years ago but just the other day I heard the WHOLE story.

Okay so I was 18 or 19 and we had friends from Sicily who had a nephew (Giovanni) coming to America for a visit. They thought he and I should meet. He was looking, and I was available but not necessarily looking.

This was me........

No No! Just kidding. (That's really my great great aunt Cesidia.)

THIS is me when I was cute. Except for the glasses.

So the meeting between the families was arranged. They came over to my grandmother's house......

and we sat outside in the yard.

He looked at me.

I looked at him.

He had reddish hair and was a little older than me, maybe like 25 or so. He was in the Italian Navy.

These were my thoughts:

"He's a nice man but not for me. He's too old. I can't speak Italian. I don't want to live in Sicily. This is ridiculous. HELP!!"

But we continued to furtively glance at each other. I didn't know what to do except smile.

(It gets better.)

So a few days later my parents and I were invited over to our friend's home for dinner. We were all sitting at this long table eating wonderful food when someone poured Giovanni a drink. He tasted it, then gave it to me to try. I'm dumb, so I took a sip.

WELL.

Everyone started cheering and clapping and carrying on like something BIG just happened. I was of course, clueless. I don't remember what happened after that.

Later, as we were leaving to go home, our friends' little 6 year old daughter came up to me and asked, "Can I be in your wedding?"

WHAT?????

I said, "I'm not getting married!!"

And she said, "Sure you are. You're marrying my cousin Giovanni."

I said, "Oh no I'm not. What makes you think we are getting married?"

Bless her heart, she looked at me like I was crazy and answered, "Of course you're getting married. You drank out of the same glass!"

WHAT????? (Do you see a pattern here?)

I looked at my father, pulled him outside and said, "DO something!"

The rest of the story is that my father had to explain to the family that I didn't understand what I was doing and that in my world, drinking from the same glass didn't mean I was marrying the guy.

Last Sunday as we were remembering this story with the same friends from forty years ago, I found out that Giovanni was so heart-broken that he cried and cried. Apparently he really loved me and wanted to marry me and take me to Sicily to meet his parents, NOT to live there. Ooops.

Nevertheless, I cannot understand this because we knew each other for like maybe three hours.

So the poor heart-broken man said that if he couldn't have Mary Ann he didn't want anybody so he went home to Sicily and never came back.

Rumor has it that he got over me, married a nice Sicilian girl and has four sons (and probably lots of grandchildren.)

I apparently knew that someone better was coming along in less than ten years!