Time to catch up.

My, it's been quite a while since I've visited my blogosphere. Facebook doesn't fully capture my thought process or give me the opportunity to fully utilize the written words that continually rattle around in my head. I have a few ideas that I think are better served here where I can be free to roam the universe in any style that I choose. I went back and reread some past posts and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed what I wrote several years ago. I now pick up the fallen standard and march ahead into the unknown, with nothing more then my phaser set on stun and a copy of the prime directive. First off, my plan was to chronicle my lemon bars that I made yesterday and post pictures and ingredients to share with you all. One problem though, the lemon bars came out like crap. Not that they tasted bad, but the consistency was mediocre and soggy. I do occasionally have high hopes for a recipe that ends up falling completely flat. You have to own your mistakes, and my skills are good enough that I'm calling bs on this particular recipe. I know what I have to do to make these lemon bars stellar and I'm going to fix and remake them in the near future. And you know, it's enough with the food already. We have more important things to discuss. Some of you know that during the last couple of years I've been dealing with a treatable form of bladder cancer. I continue to monitor the situation with my next colonoscopy scheduled for January. Since I was diagnosed, Ive taken it upon my self to get off my butt and start walking. The benefits have been tremendous. I'm down around 40 lbs, strong as a bull with unbelievable stamina. Between walking and boogie boarding, I stay in pretty good shape. Not bad for an old man. Moms been gone three plus years now. My brothers and sisters all have a hand in keeping Pop healthy up at the house on Leland St. We all try to get through this life with what Mom taught us but it's just not the same without her here. I ran into my cousin Scott up at Busy Bee last week and he told me his dad, my Uncle Jon, had sent down a couple of pictures of Mom that he wanted me to have. How completely thoughtful. Scott came by a little later and dropped the photos off. I was blown away! This first picture was taken March 16, 1940 which happened to be my Moms birthday. She was 8 years old.

What a cutie patootie! As she got older, she started to lose those freckles and became a stunning looking woman. My sister, Erin favored this picture when she was a little girl. The next photo in progression was taken of my Mom in 1946. She was 14 years old.

I have one final picture that I want to post. This last one I've posted before but I wanted to show the total beauty of my Mom, both inside and out. This pic was taken in 1951. She was 18 years old.



I see this beautiful person no longer with us and it hurts my heart. What was and what could have been.  I tell ya, she was something special.
Well, all... Thanks for letting me ramble tamble for a bit. I was a bit all over the place but I settled down to a nice rythym. I really wanted to show my family these pics and let them know copies can be made. I have the originals.
Oh, and remember... Same bat time, same bat channel. Bye, for now.