The Gleaners and Other Thoughts for 2017

When I was a child my folks had this painting hanging in our living room. I loved the painting. It was painted by Jean Francois Millet. The French middle class did not like this painting as it depicted the poor "gleaning" the wheat which fell to the ground. I still love it and recently purchased a framed copy of it. As soon as we decide where we would like to hang it, I will snap a photo and share it here.

Here are my folks holding Noelle, the first born of our five siblings. She was just a few days old in December, 1975. This time of year makes me remember my wonderful parents and the happy childhood I shared with them because they were such kind parents. It is always hard to get through the holiday season without them on my mind.

My phamily Christmas 2016. It was a good day. Lots of food and friends with phamily. Our grandson Andrew brings his cousin Robert and this year brought a UPS co worker Davon who shared dinner with us. It was the first Christmas for Jeremy and Brittany as husband and wife. Harrison enjoyed his first Christmas.  Addy enjoyed the company of these phamily cousins too . Cousins Jayden and Michael as well as Jaslin, Alexis and Devon had many good memories. I think we had 27 around two dining tables this year. We keep growing and my folks would smile and love it. Dad always loved the little ones and mom loved cooking, no matter who came to dinner.

Christmas 1993, Oh how they grow up too quickly.

Look at my daddy with his pretty red tie! He was so happy! He loved phamily and we were always together with them all on Christmas.  Mom is on your far right and second row. Uncle Tom Binder is the jester in the brown vest making smiles all around. Gosh I miss them all so much.

Steve is the host of Friday Felines. I got in just under the wire! Love these silly felines! But they are all wishing you a Happy New Year too!

 I am hopeful that 2017 will be a beautiful year filled much goodness, many blessings and good health. Those are our prayers each day. Happy New Year to all and I am hoping to post here and at my Instagram page and Face Book too. I may post here as often as I am able. I will share photos at Instagram and always favorite Scriptures at Face Book. Be safe, be happy and stay healthy in 2017! May God sprinkle many blessings on your lives. Thank you for sticking by my side in 2016.

CHRISTmas Memories and More

Harrison James celebrated his first Christmas in a big way!  He has lots of great grandparents and so he has to travel to several homes to celebrate. He had the cutest little outfit on. His grandma Lisa found this for his first CHRISTmas. He was a bit overwhelmed with all the gifts but after a restful night of sleep he resumed his enjoyment of many new gifts and even a few boxes and some wrapping paper and tissue to sit in.

He was in wrapping paper heaven here. This was with his mommy and daddy and grandma Lisa and grandma Caroline. CHRISTmas Eve 2016. Harrison is a joyful boy!

The Robinson siblings. CHRISTmas 2016. I will share more holidays photos soon. I wanted to share with Sandee and the folks at Aw....Mondays.

These two pets look like they enjoyed their CHRISTmas festivities. Perhaps a bit too much! Our pets were all hanging out yesterday because we had 27 people in the house for dinner and they had to stay downstairs. They were not happy but my grandson Andrew brought his cousin Robert and a co worker Devon to dinner so those guys entertained the pets with Nick. I did not get any great photo ops with the furry bunch.

This google image too reflects the holiday season. This pup is decked out in blue in case Jeanne and anyone from the Blue Monday bunch stops by. Jeanne has had some internet woes. We hope she will return soon.

A google image of a kitty cat in blue. I thought these would make a nice after CHRISTmas smile.

Love is...always has a smile, holidays or not! We need to get the grands and see "Sing", love those animated movies to make a day smile brightly.

You know every single phamily has one of these holiday stressful situations at one time or another. Maxine just tells it like it is! She needs a "Grumpy Cat"!

My folks would certainly smile if they could see my phamily. My great grand boy Jayden took my CHRISTmas hat so I forgot to take the hairpins out of my hair! Sometime  you just have to be yourself!

Mr. and Mrs. Robinson celebrated their first CHRISTmas as husband and wife.

The grandgirl Addy and me. She is a precious gem in my phamily. I love her company. Although my Broncos lost any chance of heading to the Super Bowl I rooted for them in my retro brand new shirt. A gift from my honey.

Hope your CHRISTMAS was merry and bright. I will see you soon and share more of my phamily here. Take care and God Bless you with sweet dreams tonight.

MERRY CHRISTmas and HAPPY 2017 NEW YEAR

This google image reminds me that Jesus is the light of the world. I hope you will have a beautiful and very blessed CHRISTmas Eve and Day!

I think of each one of you that stops by and supports me here as a gift. A gift of friendship, no matter how near or far, is such a beautiful and rich blessing in my life. I value each one of you. I am not a tech savvy girl but I love my blog and visiting with you when I can. The past six weeks have been difficult dealing with sinusitis and coughing bouts and such. I broke down and saw a provider at our urgent care on Thursday. Now I have to muddle through the holidays with a 14 day supple of antibiotics because the sinus infection is not going away. But i am so very blessed and so very grateful for each and every blessing in my life. If I know you and you are struggling during this CHRISTmas season please remember not only does God love you but I do too and I spend many hours praying for phamily as well as friends.

I wish you much peace, lots of love and a bounty of blessings today and always.

Will You Have A Blue Christmas?

Leo says "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!" He wanted to show Sandee how handsome he is and also very nice. He has been into a bit of mischief lately so he knows Santa is watching him. Stop by Aw...Mondays and say hello to Sandee.

This is not our Bronco  Christmas tree but we are adding new ornaments each year. Perhaps, next year, God willing, we can have a real Denver Bronco blue and orange tree. I know Jeanne will like all the blue filling the tree and Leo's pretty handsome blue collar too! Stop by and say hello.

Even Love is...decided to add some blue today! My honey loves his coffee every single morning even when we were sick and drinking gallons of hot tea.

Oh Maxine, you even wore some blue today too!

One thing we enjoy at all the holidays is potica. No one could ever make it like my mom but this is darn close.  I love CHRISTmas so I am looking forward to it. I have been busy preparing lists and wrapping gifts with my honey.

My husband always read the Christmas story to our kids when they were small. Now there are grands to enjoy this time with. I hope you all have a beautiful CHRISTmas time. Love to all and stay safe and warm wherever you are. We are in a deep freeze.

Lots of Blue Just for You

You know Grumpy Cat is very unhappy! He should know better, that sometime the holiday season will make us overindulge. That is not a good reason to be such a meanie! But this face is priceless and perhaps Sandee agrees. It has been a few long weeks, just feeling about 80 percent better today. My honey and I have been coughing our heads off! He at least can get a breathing treatment. I have suffered long and hard with this junk. Yesterday I ate a garlic bagel. It really helped suppress the cough.I have spent many days getting ready for Christmas. We are going out for the little ones. It is what makes me smile at Christmas anyway. So I have been busy getting ready. Stop by Aw....Mondays and say hello to everyone there.

This pretty tree dressed in blue sits in the lobby of my honey's office building. I went there with him yesterday to sort mail. Oh my goodness, when he came back to the car with a giant tub filled with four tubs of mail and 17 packages I nearly cried! It was my birthday and I was hoping we would not spend the day sorting mail! He has to log in each and every package with a tracking number. If it belongs to an attorney he must send him and his secretary an email. It took him a long while to get it all done. So I started to sort 1-2-3.....200 law magazines for 200 attorneys! We spent three hours at his office but felt very accomplished when we left.

These blue and silver decorations fill the square planters in the lobby. I thought Jeanne and the Blue Crew might like seeing these. I have been missing visiting and posting the last few weeks. I am happy to be back.

I was thinking, Grumpy cat needs someone to love him! I thought this sign was sweet.

We had to buy another jar of honey. We are very particular. We love Colorado honey best of all. We have lived on chicken broth and hot tea with honey for nearly 3 weeks! We should be skinny! Hee Hee!

Oh Maxine, she is a grumpy girl and should take Grumpy Cat to her house. Maybe they would decide being nicer is the right thing to do.

My cousin Sissy who is a sheriff's deputy, sent this birthday message to me. She also called me a "Beautiful BoJon" and really made my day. No cake this year. The hubby bought me a nice lunch and we shared a slice of carrot cake later that evening. He bought me 8 Vintage Precious Moments. I am so happy. The kids bought me some Barbie's so I will share them soon. My girlfriend Lynette sent an ice cream gift card and my  friend Karen in Idaho, who I have known the longest, sent me a cute card and really lovely handwritten letter. I received some nice cards and I also got a pair of Clark's Cloudwalker shoes. They feel like marshmallows on my feet. Ahhhhhh.......... The birthday went by quickly but it was a very good one.

My pillow and a nice cup of hot tea with honey is calling my name. Enjoy the week. 

Black Friday Thoughts : What Shall We Give The Children

What shall we give the children?
Christmas is almost here.
Toys and games and playthings,
as we do every year?
What shall will give the children?
Yes, for the magic of Toyland
is part of the yuletide lore.
to gladden the heart of childhood,
But I shall give something more,
a more sympathetic ear,
a little more time for laughter,
or tenderly dry a tear...
I shall take time to teach them
the joy of doing some task.
I'll try to find some time to answer
more of the questions they ask.
and take long walks in the sun.
Time for a bedtime story
after the day is done.
I shall give these to my children,
weaving a closer tie,
knitting our lives together,
with gifts that  money can't buy.

Author Unknown

A Happy Thanksgiving To All

Memories flooding my mind all week long. Missing those wonderful and kind hearts for parents I was raised with. Oh the beautiful Thanksgiving feasts  my mother laid before us. She was a master in her kitchen. I can close my eyes, and see her in her apron and holding a spoon in one hand. she cared for her phamily with such grace and beauty. You don't have that today, people are too much in a hurry. Cell phones in one hand, phamilies often an afterthought. Sadly I do not have a photo of my beautiful mother but I have dozens of silly food photos from all those beautiful Thanksgivings I spent with her.

A favorite KSKJ ladies in the kitchen cooking photo. My mother, sans her apron on your far right. She loved the color green and wore it a lot. These BoJons Queens of the Culinary set could whip up dishes these TV foodie celebrities couldn't touch today! They had husbands who worked hard for a living, most of them at the CF and I Steel Corporation. They were married to railroaders, like Uncle Louie, all those years working in the yard for the railroad and traveling the country for free when he took Auntie Ang (far left in pink top and apron)on vacation, always to see her sisters in southern California.

This is a beautiful photo. These BoJon queens of the Culinary Arts were something. Auntie Ang whipped up these outfits like most of us have a thought. Even with crippling arthritis destroying her once beautiful hands, she sewed like a magical wizard and whipped the outfits up from her own designs. Talented, folks that would be an understatement today. She baked like a dream and if you ever had a cake she baked, it was light as a feather and filled with delicious goodness. All these precious ladies were wonderful in their kitchens. They did it out of joy and not drudgery.  They had long, loving marriages and they enjoyed serving others.

Not to forget these fabulous BoJon beauties! Three of dad's sisters, Anna, Mary (Mima) and Angela(Gela). Missing in this photo are Stephie and Millie. Auntie Mima, married to a true blooded Italian, learned to cook his favorite dishes when she married him. She would shame these so called experts in food today. She never used a recipe, measuring for the crowd size. I learned a lot from her, she put us to work setting tables for political dinners and weddings, We were kids, and our mothers did not have play dates and babysitters, we went where they went. We had manners and we respected our mothers. Life was better than.

One more BoJon Queens of the Culinary Arts photo. Fashionable designs by Auntie Ang second on her right. My sweet mother second on your left. They were young and they were beautiful, I sure miss them tonight.

A Bittersweet Day Filled with Memories

My mother Cecilia Mary Steblay Kocman passed away fifteen years ago today. It is a bittersweet day for me as it is also the birthday of her late mother, Cecilia Mary Krall Steblay, my beautiful grandmother and dear best friend. This photo was from the wedding of my dad's older sister Angela "Gela" Kocman Medved. My aunt her husband Anton "Bear" Medved were godparents to all of my sibling and myself.

My grandmother, born on this date, was a strong woman of faith. It is what saved her and her phamily, after my grandfather's sudden death in a gold mining accident in Victor, CO. in February, 1927 along with her youngest son Anthony. She perservered through difficulties never taking any handouts but rather raising her children and caring for them by taking in boarders. She fed anyone who stopped at her doorstep and lovingly cared for all of us her entire life.

This photo, from the Mother Cabrini Shrine, is a favorite of my folks. They loved each other and cared for each other until my father's untimely passing April 5, 1985. This was taken in 1979 and I will always cherish this candid shot.

Some of us were grandchildren, others great grands. No matter, grandma loved each one of us. Another favorite candid shot.

Mom and I, Mother's Day 1979, what a beautiful life I have been given. Miss this woman so  much. She was always there to lend an ear. Seeing any kind of bullying or hatefulness, my mother would always say, with a friend like that, you will never need any enemies. she had so much wisdom. A kind heart, A strong willed woman. I miss her terribly and always will.

I love this photo of my grandma. an apron, a clothesline, a simple life. whenever I hang clothes on my clotheslines, I think of her. She was amazing. I know she is sharing in her best heavenly birthday today, Enjoying the company of all her children.

Mom I will honor you and know that you and dad both taught me that Love is the greatest thing. I miss you telling me to pray and pray harder. Enjoy your time in heaven because one day I will see you all there.