Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Spring swap package came today!!!

I went to the post office today to mail my package to my srping swap partner. When I came home there was a package waiting for me from my swap partner. It came here all the way from Australia, a place called Humpty Doo. At first I had to giggle about the name of the town, but I kind of like it!! Anyway I really wanted to just rip it open but remembered to get my camera out and I did it real slow, so this is what I got~

Spring swap package arrives~




This is the beautiful card that was enclosed, she mentioned that she didnt' make it but a friend of hers did~




This is what the small package looked like, I liked the wrapping paper~





This was inside the small package, oh my Moda fabric how luxurious~





Then there was the large pacakge, wrapped in Purple -one of my favorite colors~



These are the items that were in the large package~






This is another picture of the table runner~





I am so grateful to Linda (the swap hostess) for being included in the spring swap and I am so thankful to Vickie for her wonderful gifts. She does such wonderful work. The quiliting is just fabulous. They will certainly make my dining room look very spring like. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.

I will post some more pictures after I get the items where I want them to go. Hope everyone is having as great a Tuesday as I am!!

Blessings,Joann

Monday, March 30, 2009

Prayers for a friend

Hi all, would like to ask everyone out there who reads my blog to please keep my Secret Spring Swap partner in your prayers. She is having some major surgery on Tuesday. Yes I know this is a secret swap but with her having surgery, we (the swap hostess and both of us) agreed to say who I was so she was able to send me an e-mail to say thank you and to let me know what was going on. I am mailing out her package tomorrow but I know she will be in the hospital for at least a month. Her name is Cindy, so if you find led please keep her in your prayers. Thanks

Blessings,Joann

A busy weekend

We had a nice weekend. The weather was real warm, Saturday it was 77'. Sunday the sun was still shining but it was real windy.

I finished up some crafts that I was working on. I made a wallet and coin purse to match the pansy purse.

Here is the wallet~





This is the coin purse~




Here they are all together~





Jennifer gave me a basket a while back that I wanted to make look more country/prim so first I took the handle off and this is what it looked like after I removed the handle~





Then I got some spray paint, I bought both colonial red and a flat black

I spay painted the basket red~





Then I made a liner for it from some fabric that I have had for a long time. I want to also make some curtains out of it for the kitchen.
Here is what it looked like with the liner in it~





And here it is being used for what I wanted it for

A new Fruit basket~





I just love the way it turned out.


I also spray painted another basket that has always sat in my garden window, I painted that one the flat black and I am happy with that as well.





I got lots done and was happy with everything.


Roger worked hard in the back yard both Saturday and Sunday. We had a nice evening tonight, Roger's Mom came over for a visit and stayed for dinner Roger BBQ'd some chicken and baked potatoes. I heated up some fresh asparagus in the microwave and dinner was ready.Roger just loves asparagus and it's that time a year that it's really good. At least that's what Roger tells me as I don't like asparagus!!

Have a great week everyone, I hope to have some pictures to put up in the next few days from the grandkids trip to Disneyland. Jennifer was telling me that most of the time while they were there the kids were asking when they were going to see grandma and pa pa (that's what they call Roger) isn't that such a wonderful thing to hear. My grandkids are in the "happiest place in the World" and they want to see us!!!!

Blessings,Joann

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

My messy kitchen...

The last few nights I have not been sleeping well. Because of this my kitchen was not cleaned for two nights in a row.
This is what the messy kitchen looked like this evening~

The stove side~





The sink side~








All of our messy dishes and sink~





I'm not sure how much time it took, but I got everything cleaned up and either put it in the dishwasher or washed by hand...

This is how it looks now~

The stove side~ with all of the clean dishes drying





The sink side~








My nice shiny sink~





I feel so much better now that it is clean. It's a little after 10pm and I plan on going to bed shortly. I never did get to take a nap today so I am extremely tired.

Hope you all enjoy the pictures, this goes to show that I DO NOT always get everythig done that I want to get done...This is my real life...not made up things.

Tomorrow is going to be a crafting day for me...Yahoo!! I have just not been in the crafting mood at all, I am behind in my BOM's so would like to get caught up with those and also finish some items that I have started but just left sitting here. I am also trying to figure out what I can make for my grandchildren for Easter. It's not too far off and I work so slow that it needs to be something quick and easy. Last year I made stuffed bunnies for each of them...


Blessings,Joann

Weigh in Wednesday

Today I went to my Weight watchers meeting @9AM. I didn't even get to bed until after 5AM Sleep is once again not coming easily.

The news at W.W. was not the best but I kind of expected it. This has been an unusually stressful last week. Don't really know why, but I know I ate more than I should.

tHis weeks GAIN was .8 wich then brings my total loss back down to 31.8

I am moving on and plan on doing much better this week.

Blessings,Joann

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Hurt, Anger, Hatred, and deception....

This posts title seems a little odd, but all of those things I have been feeling lately toward someone. Let me tell you the story.

About 3 years ago I started posting on a message board it was called Organized home and they had a board called daily sweeps or something like that, I can’t remember the exact name. Organized home is still around but not the message board. It was moved to another site by a few of the posters. I met a very nice lady that seemed to be so much like me in some ways, the things we liked and our love of crafting, our families, and we were both Christian so first we started “talking” through our messages on the board. Then we gave each other our e-mail addresses. After “talking” for a while that way we exchanged phone numbers and addresses. Over the years we talked almost daily on the phone, she would always call me on her drive to pick her daughter up from school, it was only maybe 10-15 min. but it was nice. We each talked about the good things and not so good things going on in our lives. We even sometimes talked about people on the board some good and some not so good things ( I have already apologized to those people). We were what I thought was very good friends. Everything was going fine (at least I thought so) I sent her birthday gifts, once even sending her a nice vase with flowers in it. I did that not because I expected something in return but because I knew how hard she worked at being a good mother and wife and her family sometimes didn’t appreciate her for it. The first Christmas I sent her little snowman ornaments for their tree one for every member of the family with their names on them. I also sent a $40 gift card for them to go out to eat at Olive Garden (One of their favorites). In the summer of 2007 Roger and I were going to go to Northern Missouri to check on some land and just for vacation. She lives in Southern Illinois and we decided that we would also go there just so I could meet her face to face. What excitement, I was so happy. I still remember when she picked me up at our hotel she gave me a great big hug! She showed me her town, where she lived (but I guess I was not welcome to go in, this was always strange to me) and we just sat in the hotel parking lot talking and talking. That year when my birthday came around she did send me some things that she had made me, I was grateful for them. It meant a lot to me that someone would make something for me. Then Christmas came around again and I once again I sent many things including another $40 gift card for Olive garden. We still talked all the time and sent e-mails, her birthday in June came up and I sent her lots of things, some books, lots of Bath and body works things in the brown sugar and fig fragrance (her favorite) and I made her some placemats for her table. Then July came and there was some talk going around the board about things being too Christian for some and them not feeling comfortable. I thought about it for a while and prayed about it and decided it was not a place I should be. I wrote a short post to say I was leaving. I called this lady in July probably 2 or 3 times and was either told she wasn’t home or no one answered. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. I e-mailed her many times with no response. I finally got one response with a very curt one line of something like I didn’t like the way you went about it and so I am just ignoring it. She didn’t even have the decency to call and say what the problem was. So I kept e-mailing asking her to just call me, give me 5 minutes of your time, no response! I e-mailed anyone I could think of to see if they knew what was going on and they say they didn’t. I just didn’t understand this, we had a friendship for over 2 years and she decides to end it but doesn’t tell me that she ended it and also doesn’t give me a reason for ending it. I wanted to know what horrible thing I did to her to make her do this to me…..is that too much to ask??? One of the ladies on the board Private messaged me and said she was just a “coward” for not talking to me. So this hurt me very deeply and she didn’t even care I think that’s what hurt the most she treated me like I was nothing to her and she just went on living her life. I go back to that board now and then just to see what people are up to and she has put a signature line on her posts that says “Treat others should someone say something bad about you they won’t believe it” isn’t that just funny.

So back to the title of this post….I was so hurt by her that I let it turn into anger, and hatred toward her. I think about this every day, just because she never would tell me WHY??? What did I do??? She has put me through HELL and she doesn’t even care. Well Friday night I was reading my Bible and came across a passage in the Bible in Matthew~ The Sermon on the Mount~

I was reading the part about Anger and it just hit me that this is how I was feeling toward this person and how wrong it was. No matter what a person does to me I need to forgive and let it go, pray for that person and also ask that person for forgiveness. Saturday came and I really felt the need to talk to her and tell her about what had happened, so I called and of course she was conveniently gone again??

I don’t want to go through the rest of my life with this anger and hatred for her, but it is so hard to forget what she has done to me. I have forgiven but I have not yet forgotten.

Why am I putting this on my blog, to warn people about making friends online, I am just too trusting and I let someone basically use me, she got all kinds of things from me and when she was done tossed me to the side and didn’t even tell me. She is the type of person who online sounds wonderful, but does things very unchristian like , now things make a little more sense, she didn’t want me to visit her house maybe that wasn’t really where she lived?? She says she has made all kinds of craft things but can’t post a picture because she doesn’t know how?? She couldn’t visit my blog because her internet is to slow, but is now visiting blogs all the time to get craft ideas…Things just aren’t adding up and now sound very suspicious…

There are a few people that I have met here on blogger that I would love to get to know better but I am doing it much slower.

Have a very peaceful Sunday (what’s left of it) I plan on using my time spent with my beloved and working on some embroidery..

Blessings,Joann

Friday, March 20, 2009

My Grandson turns 5 years old

Tonight Jennifer had Dylan's 5th birthday party. I can't believe he is already 5 years old.

His birthday isn't actually until the 25th which is Wednesday, but they are leaving to go to Disneyland on Monday so he will be in Disneyland for his actual birthday.

His Birthday cake~




His Balloons~





Dylan opening presents~











Dylan with his Birthday cake~





Almost ready to blow out the candle~




Of course eating the birthday cake, with his sister~





and some cute pictures of Katie~













Matthew holding Katie~




Hope you all enjoy the pictures

Blessings,Joann

Friday's new routine

Morning Routine

[] Wake up
[] Let Molly out
[][][] Feed/water pets~ Molly, Oreo and Fish
[] Unload dishwasher
[] Make Breakfast
[] Breakfast cleanup
[] Dinner prep
[] Wipe down kitchen counters
[] Clean sink
[] Shower/get dressed
[] Make bed
[][] Tidy both bathrooms
[] Gather dirty clothes
[] Start laundry
[] Tidy living room
[]Bible~Reading/study/
devotions after lunch
[] Check e-mail, blog/computer time

[] 15 Minutes Zone Work

Friday’s things to do

[] Plan next week’s menu
[] Inventory Pantry
[] Inventory Freezer
[] Make grocery list
[] Go Grocery shopping
[] Put all groceries away


Evening Routine

[] Make dinner
[] Feed Molly and fish
[] Dinner clean up
[] Take medications
[] Load dishwasher
[] Wash dishes that don’t fit/go in dishwasher
[] Clean off table
[] Clean sink and counters
[] Clean stove
[] Sweep floor
[] Scoop litter box
[] Take garbage out
[] Lay out clean dishcloth/dishtowel
[] Check menu for tomorrow night’s dinner
[] Wipe off daily sheets
[] Check planner
[] Make To Do list for Tomorrow
[] Craft/Reading/TV time
[] Turn off fish light
[] Bedtime

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Thursday's new routine

Morning Routine

[] Wake up
[] Let Molly out
[][][] Feed/water pets~ Molly, Oreo and Fish
[] Unload dishwasher
[] Make Breakfast
[] Breakfast cleanup
[] Dinner prep
[] Wipe down kitchen counters
[] Clean sink
[] Shower/get dressed
[] Make bed
[][] Tidy both bathrooms
[] Gather dirty clothes
[] Start laundry
[] Tidy living room
[]Bible~Reading/study/
devotions after lunch
[] Check e-mail, blog/computer time

[] 15 Minutes Zone Work

Thursday’s room’s to clean

[] Kitchen
[] Dining room

[][] Refrigerator Inside/outside
[][][] Sink/counters/Stove
[][] Dust furniture/blinds
[][] Windex windows
[][] Vacuum carpets
[] Clean garden window [] Wipe down cabinets
[][] Sweep
[][] Mop
[][] Trash


Evening Routine

[] Make dinner
[] Feed Molly and fish
[] Dinner clean up
[] Take medications
[] Load dishwasher
[] Wash dishes that don’t fit/go in dishwasher
[] Clean off table
[] Clean sink and counters
[] Clean stove
[] Sweep floor
[] Scoop litter box
[] Take garbage out
[] Lay out clean dishcloth/dishtowel
[] Check menu for tomorrow night’s dinner
[] Wipe off daily sheets
[] Check planner
[] Make To Do list for Tomorrow
[] Craft/Reading/TV time
[] Turn off Fish light
[] Bedtime

Wednesday's new routine

Morning Routine

[] Wake up
[] Let Molly out
[][][] Feed/water pets~ Molly, Oreo and Fish
[] Unload dishwasher
[] Make Breakfast
[] Breakfast cleanup
[] Dinner prep
[] Wipe down kitchen counters
[] Clean sink
[] Shower/get dressed
[] Make bed
[][] Tidy both bathrooms
[] Gather dirty clothes
[] Start laundry
[] Tidy living room
[]Bible~Reading/study/
devotions after lunch
[] Check e-mail, blog/computer time

[] 15 Minutes Zone Work

Wednesday’s room’s to clean

[][] Bathrooms

[][] Tub/shower
[][] Sink/counters
[][] Toilets
[][] Windex
[][] Check supplies
[][] Sweep
[][] Mop
[][] Trash


Evening Routine

[] Make dinner
[] Feed Molly and Fish
[] Dinner clean up
[] Take medications
[] Load dishwasher
[] Wash dishes that don’t fit/go in dishwasher
[] Clean off table
[] Clean sink and counters
[] Clean stove
[] Sweep floor
[] Scoop litter box
[] Take garbage out
[] Lay out clean dishcloth/dishtowel
[] Check menu for tomorrow night’s dinner
[] Wipe off daily sheets
[] Check planner
[] Make To Do list for Tomorrow
[] Craft/Reading/TV time
[] Turn off Fish light
[] Bedtime

New Blue spring purse...

Today I worked on making a blue purse with some little flowers on the fabric, it looks very springy to me. I was using the purse that my good friend Veronica sent me at Christmas and since it has been nice weather figured I should change it out for now since it has snowmen on it.

This is the blue purse~





Here is the inside lining~





I like it because it is large enough to carry both my small Bible and my planner in it.

Roger has a possible lead on a job so any prayers would be appreciated...

I will be putting up a seperate post with my Wednesday routine next.

Have a great Thursday...

Blessings,Joann

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Weigh in Wednesday's

Today's weigh in at my Weight watchers meeting was a very happy one. After last week of not loosing anything I was very excited when the scale said that I had lost 3.2 pounds this week!!!!!

This brings my total weight loss to 32.6 pounds. I can't believe I have lost that much, I have many more pounds to go but I am getting there.

Blessings,Joann

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

I am as dumb as a box of rocks!!!!

Okay ladies I need help, well nothing new in that but none the less I need your sewing help!!

The other day I seen these great wallets on Winona's blog and I figured I would make one out of the same fabric as the purse I just made. I bookmarked the tutorial, got all the fabric cut out and then came to the part about making the lower pockets, this is where I came to a screeching halt. I just can't figure it out. I put my lines but can't figure out how to fold it~ Now how dumb is that. I folded it about a hundred times last night and then finally gave up. The fabric is right now just sitting on my table top, glaring at me and probably laughing at me too, because I can't figure it out. The tutorial is wonderful but I wish she would have put a picture of folding the pocket parts. If anyone out there reading this knows what I am talking about and would like to help an old woman who has no brains out I will greatly appreciate it.

I am working on some tissue holders today until I can get the "wallet fiasco" solved. At least I can manage a tissue holder!!!

I also plan on making another purse out of blue fabric, but am thinking of going with a different pattern. I like the way this purse turned out but would like to make something different since I am so good at learning new things!!!! Yes that was supposed to be funny.

Thanks for reading all of my babbling...
Blessings,Joann

New Routine for Tuesday

I am posting this mainly so I can get it into my sidebar under the label homekeeping. Basically all the days of the week are the same just the daily cleaning is different..

Morning Routine

[] Wake up
[] Let Molly out
[][][] Feed/water pets~ Molly, Oreo and Fish
[] Unload dishwasher
[] Make Breakfast
[] Breakfast cleanup
[] Dinner prep
[] Wipe down kitchen counters
[] Clean sink
[] Shower/get dressed
[] Make bed
[][] Tidy both bathrooms
[] Gather dirty clothes
[] Start laundry
[] Tidy living room
[]Bible~Reading/study/
devotions after lunch
[] Check e-mail, blog/computer time

[] 15 Minutes Zone Work

Tuesday’s room’s to clean

[] Master bedroom
[] Craft room
[] Office

[] Change bed linens
[] Windex~ All windows
[][][] Ceiling fans
[][] Dust furniture and electronics
[] Trash
[] Vacuum

Evening Routine

[] Make dinner
[] Feed Molly and fish
[] Dinner clean up
[] Take medications
[] Load dishwasher
[] Wash dishes that don’t fit/go in dishwasher
[] Clean off table
[] Clean sink and counters
[] Clean stove
[] Sweep floor
[] Scoop litter box
[] Take garbage out
[] Lay out clean dishcloth/dishtowel
[] Check menu for tomorrow night’s dinner
[] Wipe off daily sheets
[] Check planner
[] Make To Do list for Tomorrow
[] Craft/Reading/TV time
[] Turn off Fish light
[] Bedtime

Monday, March 16, 2009

What a wonderful Monday...

Today was real nice. I got up not too late and was able to accomplish most of the things on my new lists. I didn't get everything done but that is okay. I did get 4 loads of laundry done and that is quite a bit.

I also worked on a purse that I am making. Remember that pansy embroidery I was working on well I wanted to put it on a purse but have never done it before. This is what the finished product looked like~









It turned out much better than I was picturing, the colors in the pictures don't look exactly like they do in person. The purse is actually a deep purple and dark green.

This is the inside~ With my cat checking it out~




I worked on that purse for quite a few hours,it gave me a couple of problems, but in the end I won and it is finished!!!


I am now working on a wallet, well actually two of them, got the pieces cut out but haven't gotten them put together yet...these may take a while!!


The other day my wonderful husband gave me the checkbook and said go to "Joann's" and buy yourself some fabric. This is a very big deal right now with money being so tight. I found so many things to buy but in the end only spent $20 which for me is very low, I could have easily spent $100 but right now that $20 worth meant so much to me. This is what I purchased~






I am going to spend a very nice relaxing evening with my husband and am hoping to go to bed at a decent time.

Blessings,Joann

Sunday, March 15, 2009

My morning and evening routines

I have been busily working on my routines since reading the book "Sink Reflections". I have found over the years that there isn't just one type of routine or strategy that works for me, so I usually end up taking things from different books and then adding my own ways and I come up with a routine. Starting tomorrow I am going to try and follow my new routine (which is very similar to my old routine) and see if it will work for me. When I have done this before it usually turns out that there is nothing wrong with my routine it's ME that just doesn't do it.

Since Matthew moved out and it is just me and Roger here I seem to be more apt to let things go. This is not the way I should be looking at doing house work but to be honest I do. I also am someone who can't just do a little bit~ though I am working on this~ I am one who walks in to the kitchen and I know the floor needs to be mopped, but my thinking tells me well I can't mop until I clean the counters off because if I do it after then there will be crumbs on the floor again, and I can't clean the counters off until all the dishes are done, and the table cleaned off and it just continues to snowball after that. So the floor just doesn't get done at all becuase I don't have time to do "ALL" of that cleaning right now.

Tomorrow Monday March 16, 2009 I plan on putting my new routines in place and I will post on my progress. I am praying that I can accomplish all on my list but I will not be discouraged if I don't . My routines are very detailed and seem like there is much more on them than there is. This is for my benefit, I do better if I see everything written out. I actually printed out a page for every week day Mon-Fri with both my Morning routine and my Evening routine and the days cleaning. I put these in page protectors in my Home management Binder so I can use my dry erase pen to mark things off. I have also listed a section for "Zone work" for that day, but I haven't gotten to that chapter of the book yet so I just put it on the days anyway so I won't have to reprint them later.

So here is my New routines


Morning Routine

[] Wake up
[] Let Molly out
[][][] Feed/water pets~ Molly, Oreo and Fish
[] Unload dishwasher
[] Make Breakfast
[] Breakfast cleanup
[] Dinner prep
[] Wipe down kitchen counters
[] Clean sink
[] Shower/get dressed
[] Make bed
[][] Tidy both bathrooms
[] Gather dirty clothes
[] Start laundry
[] Tidy living room
[]Bible~Reading/study/
devotions after lunch
[] Check e-mail, blog/computer time

[] 15 Minutes Zone Work

Monday’s room’s to clean

[] Living room
[] Entryway
[] Hallway

[] Windex~ All windows
[] Ceiling fan
[][] Dust furniture and electronics
[] Trash
[] Vacuum

Evening Routine

[] Make dinner
[] Feed Molly and fish
[] Dinner clean up
[] Take medications
[] Load dishwasher
[] Wash dishes that don’t fit/go in dishwasher
[] Clean off table
[] Clean sink and counters
[] Clean stove
[] Sweep floor
[] Scoop litter box
[] Take garbage out
[] Lay out clean dishcloth/dishtowel
[] Check menu for tomorrow night’s dinner
[] Wipe off daily sheets
[] Check planner
[] Make To Do list for Tomorrow
[] Craft/Reading/TV time
[] Turn off fish light
[] Bedtime


Like I said it is very detailed and everyday has something different for the day's cleaning.

I am going to be posting the other days as the days come, I would like to have them all under the label Homekeeping.

I hope everyone has a very wonderful week ahead, we are still praying for work for Roger. We know that God has a plan for us and we are waiting to see what it will be.

Blessings,Joann

Friday, March 13, 2009

Some questions about decorating on a budget...

As anyone knows that has read my blog for any time. I am in the slow and steady process of changing things in my house to the "prim" look. I have been doing stitcheries for a while now but would like to find some more things but need to do it on a very tight budget. I have a nice oak colored shelf in my dining area that holds a quilt hanging and I am thinking of sanding it down and then repainiting it black. I also have a small cabinet in the dining area that is similar in color to the shelf and was thinking of making it either black or some other "prim" color, maybe dark red or green. I would love any suggestions from anyone out there. My home has always been very country looking to me but now I want it more "prim" and I really want to get rid of all the OAK. I am so tired of everything being oak. My front bathroom has an old oak trimmed mirror/medicine cabinet and also a light fixture that is oak and those too I want to just repaint in black. I think this would be much cheaper right now than buying something new. We got 2 large canisters for the pet food, one for the dog food and one for the cat food, I am going to spray paint them some nice dark color and use them as decorations in the dining area. Right now they have an Iams logo on them and are bright orange, we don't even use Iams but the pet shop owner gave them to us anyway since we always buy our pet food there.

I am still working on some craft projects but they are for the spring swap I am doing so don't want to post any pictures of them yet.

I also forgot to post my weigh in Wednesday on Wednesday this week...there was both good news and bad news... I didn't gain any weight~the good news, but I also didn't loose any weight~ the bad news..I stayed the same...so my total is still 29.4 pounds lost.

We don't really have any exciting plans for this weekend, but I think we might just take a drive and get out of the house for a while. We are now going on our 4th month with no work. Please keep Roger and anyone out there who is without work in your prayers.

Blessings,Joann

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

My Dad

My father passed away 2 years ago today and today I just wanted to post a few things in his memory. Our local newspaper ran a story on him in 2006 so I have posted that.I also want to post a picture of the "A Wartime log" which I now have~





My father also made a very detailed map that I think is just beautiful, he put so much work in to it~





Also my favorite poem that my father wrote while in the prison camp ~

Five slat bed~

Each night before I go to bed,
I fix a pillow for my head.
Now I lay my blankets neat,
On which I hope to get some sleep.
I lay down easy on my sack
Those slats aren't right to fit my back
So up out of bed, I slowly go,
To move those slats both to and fro,
I get back in and with a sigh
My head is low and my feet are high
So up out of bed again I go
To move those slates both to and fro
This time I'm madder than before
So I grab my sack and sleep on the floor

June 22nd, 1944





William Graser November 7, 1923 ~ March 11, 2007


By MERRILL BALASSONE
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: June 14, 2006, 03:44:52 AM PDT
Retired Sgt. William Graser sat and watched from his north Modesto home as the news media made Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch an instant celebrity.
A month later, there were still parades, a book deal and numerous talk show appearances. Lynch, then 19, was rescued after being captured by Iraqi forces in March 2003. Hers was the first rescue of a U.S. prisoner of war from behind enemy lines since World War II. After nine days in captivity, Lynch was a war hero.
"The whole world stood still," said Graser, 82.
Graser couldn't help but compare Lynch's homecoming to the day he arrived in New York harbor after being liberated from German prison camps during World War II.
After 459 days in captivity, Graser and about 10,000 other former POWs were greeted with doughnuts and coffee. Graser hopped on a train alone back to Solway, Minn., wearing pieces of French and English military uniforms.
When he arrived home, Graser remembers his mother and sisters sitting around the table in shocked silence with hardly a word spoken. All his mother could do was show him the small newspaper clipping announcing his death.
Graser was a flight engineer with the 100th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces, nicknamed "the Bloody Hundredth" because it had the highest casualty record in the 8th Air Force. Graser was part of the first daylight raids over Berlin, Germany, on March 4, 1944. One plane was lost on that mission, and the group received a presidential citation.
Two days later, Graser returned to Berlin as part of a mission of 660 B-17 bombers, in what was called "the most intense air battle of the war." In that battle, the 100th lost 15 planes, their greatest loss of the war.
Twelve days later, on March 18, 1944, Graser's plane was shot down as he returned from a 14-hour mission to Augsburg, Austria.
Prisoners marched 500 miles
On a recent afternoon in his north Modesto home, Graser sat at his kitchen table carefully turning the pages of his hardback diary, titled "A Wartime Log." In it are written the names and addresses of fellow captives and poetry, both dark and humorous, written in neat script. On one page are two German stamps bearing the image of Adolph Hitler. Graser carried the journal with him every day of his captivity.
Graser was most fearful during his last 31 days as a captive,when he and fellow prisoners were forced to run as Russian and English troops edged closer.
The prisoners took a five-day boat journey through the Baltic Sea, so packed in the hull that they slept standing up. The hatches were open to let in the rain and snow, with standing water climbing up to their necks. When they were let off the boat, legs shaking from exhaustion, Graser was forced to run for miles while handcuffed to two other men.
Then came the 500-mile march. Graser and his fellow captives marched from the Baltic Sea nearly to Austria, where they would be liberated, never stopping for long as the front edged closer.
The men had nothing to eat and slept on bales of hay in the countryside as they marched from Nuremburg to Munich then finally to Moosburg. Families nearby would offer them sandwiches as they marched. Smoke still billowed from the death camps as they went by, the putrid stench of bodies burning in the crematoriums filling the air.
On June 7, 1945, Graser was liberated by Gen. George S. Patton at a camp in Moosburg.
After the men were acclimated to eating small amounts of solid food, Graser was packed with thousands of other former captives on a ship bound for New York. The men were kept in the harbor overnight before they were allowed to disembark. That night, they watched the moonlight shine off the Statue of Liberty.
"All of us big guys were crying and blubbering," Graser said. "I think we raised the ocean two inches."
He took flying lessons early on
Graser was born in Chicago in 1923, one of six children. His family moved between Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota, where his father worked as a rancher and rural mail carrier. Graser first developed a yearning to fly living on his family's 120-acre farm in Solway, Minn., population 98.
After finishing his daily chores, Graser would meet with a flight instructor at the local airport. He filled planes with fuel in exchange for flight lessons.
When he was 19, Graser decided to enlist in the Army Air Forces. He told his brother to pass the news on to their mother before going downtown to the recruiter.
As he walked down the steps of his high school to join the service, a girl called out to him: "If you don't get killed, I want a date."
Her name was Eunice. They have been married 57 years.
Graser's greatest tragedies in life weren't in the German prison camps. Four years ago, his son Earl was hit head-on by a drunken driver on Highway 4 in northern Stanislaus County after visiting his father that morning. He died from his injuries.
In 1992, Graser also fought cancer. He was diagnosed with lymphoma and given six months to live. A year later, he was declared cancer free.
Graser has spent years trying to earn recognition in the form of a Prisoner of War Medal, which was first issued in 1985. Graser said he has sent three letters to the Veterans Affairs headquarters in St. Louis, only to be told he needs more documentation to prove his status as a prisoner of war.
"I've seen just about everyone but the president," he said. "It's just a little pin, but it's the idea that I got one."
Recognition has been elusive
About five years ago, Graser told the full story of his ordeal in public for the first time, in front of his grandson's elementary school class in Ripon. He said for so many years, he felt guilty being a prisoner, for being captured when so many died.
"I lost a lot of buddies," Graser said. "I thought I must be a coward because I was shot down and was a prisoner of war."
For Graser, there are still profound psychological effects that linger. He is too shellshocked to attend Fourth of July fireworks celebrations. The loud pops of the fireworks — too much like an exploding grenade or a shower of bullets — trigger a self-protective instinct. Eunice Graser said her husband had once hidden under the bed to protect himself from the sounds of neighborhood fireworks.
"Us prisoners, all of us, we came home and there was no such thing as a welcome," Graser said. "We're just as wounded now as we were 60years ago."
Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at 578-2337 or mbalassone@modbee.com.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Sink Reflections

I was lucky enough to stumble across a group of very nice ladies who are doing this book as a group. They are already on Chapter 7 but were very welcoming to me even though I was late in joining. THis is what I posted today at the group, as you can tell I have many things to work on!!



I have read parts of this book before but not all of it. Last year I was kind of doing the zone things but not really. Recently I have tried a bit of everything, Fly lady, sidetracked home exec. file system, posting on a board, but I am still in the process of tweaking things to my own way.

It is just me and my husband at home so you would think it would be easy to keep clean, you would be wrong. It is because it's just him and I that I seem to let things slack off. I spent the past few days reading this book and trying to catch up to chapter 7, this post may be long but please bear with me. I wrote down some notes on all of the chapters up to this one...here they are

The Fly lady commandments!! I really like these and plan on printing them up and putting them on my refrigerator door. (Will post them here at my blog later)

Chapter 1~

Where to begin??
The shiny sink thing I do do, every night that is one thing that is almost always done unless I am not feeling good. I so enjoy walking in to the kitchen in the morning and not seeing piles of dishes.
Getting dressed to shoes, I don't do this as often as I should but she is right it does help.
11:00 pm put book down and go to bed~ Now this one is really a struggle for me especially right now, my husband is out of work and there is much stress in our household, I haven't been sleeping good at all and I definitely don't go to bed at 11. Last night we were both up till 7AM this morning then we slept until about noon. This whole thing is taking a toll on us and we just can't seem to snap out of it.

Chapter 2~Chaos
We have mostly mini-clutter problems except for the craft room, which is as always a work in progress.
Perfection~ I was certainly not born organized; I even have a hard time working on being organized.

Chapter 3 Can't organize clutter
This is so true, I have tried so I know first hand that it does not work. Clutter~ Living in the past/reliving the past , embarrassed, mind and body do not rest.I am a pile Mover, Many times thinking "oh I'll just sit this here for a few minutes" and then 2 months later it's still there and it has multiplied.
I have never used a time for cleaning. Have used one to remind me to check laundry. I like the 15 minute suggestion~ Set timer for 15 min. and see what you can get done. It's amazing what you can accomplish in just 15 min. Lots of things that I thought took much longer.

Chapter 4~ Running on empty

She mentions looking to find the "magic formula" to fix your family and your home...you mean there is NO Magic formula ;D
Running on a full tank
Things I would like to work on~
Go to bed at a decent hour
Be proud (but not to prideful) of the way the bathrooms look
Dressed to shoes everyday

Chapter 5~ Attitude
"When the kitchen is clean it keeps the rest of the house in order" This is so true!!

Routines~ Written out, I have most of my routines saved on the computer but am still working on finding one that will work for me.

Chapter 6~ Control journal
I use an Amy Knapp planner which I love, but I also have a small Home management binder~ rarely used and a card system also rarely used. Can't decide which one I like best.

Chapter 7~Daily routines
This is where I want to do some major tweaking. Have too much listed on Daily/morning/evening routine so never get it all done and the I get the attitude well if I can't get it all done why do any of it. I need to make daily swish/swipe easier because I too have made it too complicated..
Recently had company and it took me all day to get house presentable at least in my eyes. I probably could have swished and swiped in the bathrooms and do a quick vacuum but NO I HAD to do everything~ Would like to work on this.

What really makes me sad or mad is that I do more in my house if I know that company is coming than I do for my own husband and myself. This is just not right, we are important too and I want a home that we both enjoy being in and not having to worry about what need to be cleaned because it already is.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I finished the pansies

Last night we had some company come over, my Aunt and one of my cousins. They had never been here or seen our house.

I wanted to make sure the house looked nice so I swept and mopped the floors, vacuumed the entire house, cleaned the bathrooms and the kitchen. The house looked and smelled so good. Of course if I did most of these things more regularly I wouldn't have to do them all in one day. I was exhausted when I was done but also happy with what I accomplished.

After they left I worked on the pansy embroidery and was able to finish it. Here is a picture though it is wrinkly~






These are the fabrics I have chosen to make a purse out of using the pansies for the front of the purse.They are a little different from what I posted before~





I have never done that before, put an embroidered piece into a project like a purse. Figured I would give it a whirl and see what happens, it may even turn out nice.....It will probably take me a few days to get the purse together, I have a very difficult time reading instructions in sewing patterns. Seems like the try to make it harder than it should be. I end up doing a lot of sewing and then ripping out, over and over. But it does give me some experience at how do to things and not get upset about it. I am probably the QUEEN of ripping stitches out...

Hope everyone is having a great week...
Blessings,Joann

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

I finally hit my 10 percent at Weight watchers

Today is Weigh in Wednesday, my loss for today is 1.6 pounds that brings my grand total to 29.4 pounds and with that I hit my 10 percent, I know everyone that can do basic math can figure out how much I weighed when I started but I figure if I am going to be truthful about the weight loss then you have to know all the details no matter how horrible they are. Yes I am a big person, but I am doing something about it and I am proud that I am sticking with it.

This is the key chain I received today~






Last night we went over to my Mom's house for dinner and I had Roger stop on the way over so I could take these pictures, the Almonds are in full bloom and the road we take has orchard after orchard, I thought they were so pretty~









I also said that I had made some progress on the pansy embroidery project I am working on and I did remember to take a picture of it, here it is~





This is a close up so you can see the stitches better, my stitches seem to be getting a little better~





Have a great Wednesday

Blessings,Joann