What will you miss?

Just a few things I will miss

 

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.”  William Wallace 

Nearly a month ago, on New Year’s Day, my aunt passed away. Auntie was a beautiful woman who was forever smiling, and her laugh was so loud and genuine you could hear it a mile away, and it always made me smile. The last couple of years of Auntie’s life was not easy – she had several health problems that made it difficult for her to get along, even to breathe. But not once during that time did I hear her complain; she simply wasn’t that kind of person. Instead, she talked about the times in her life that made her happy, and that in itself seemed to ease her pain.

Thanks to Auntie’s zest for life, I’ve been thinking of those times in my own life that have made me laugh, made me smile, those times that maybe I didn’t appreciate so much at the time, but that I do now. And I can’t help but wonder: what will I miss when I’m no longer on this earth? Some people make a bucket list, but I feel it’s more important, (if we’re going to make a list), to remind ourselves of the good times we’ve had, of the lessons we’ve learned, of the overwhelming joys we’ve felt when there’s seemingly nothing happening to cause that joy, (but there is).

Here’s what I’m glad I’ve had, and what I’ll miss when I’m…gone.

• Holding and staring at my babies’ little bitty feet (they’re 12 and 14 now so I miss that already).
• Watching my oldest perform his karate moves and my youngest sack the quarterback.
• Riding through the Blue Ridge Mountains in the fall, admiring the brilliant portrait full of golden color that God gave us to enjoy, the hubby driving, the kids giggling in the back seat, and a sketchpad on my lap, colored pencils in my hand.
• Listening to my mom and dad tell stories of when they were growing up, especially the ones that make them grin, lighting up the room.
• Scrapbooking/laughing with my sisters until we’re all about to pee our britches and tears are bursting from our eyes.
• Driving down the gorgeous east coast with no more than an overnight bag and pen and paper, and no reason to be anywhere anytime soon.
• Relaxing with my best friend Linda as we wax philosophical.
• Feeling the excitement in my dog’s voice when he talks to me at the end of the day. And even the pitiful sounds of my cat as he purrs against my legs begging for a treat.
• Dipping my toes in the icy waters of Gentry Creek as my sons roam around me looking for gemstones.
• The content joy of flipping the pages of a heavy book.
• Designing the layout of every room of my house and then slapping paint on the walls.
• Being lost somewhere – anywhere – while on vacation as the hubby drives. After all, this means we discover places we otherwise would’ve never known existed.

So much more! I really feel I could go on and on, but I don’t want you to wonder if this will ever end. Instead, I’d like to hear from you – what will you miss when you’re no longer here?

*****

Click here to read this week’s Friday Flash, Over and Over – an actual romance! (I don’t write romance very often) – on my fiction site, The Other Side of Deanna. Click here to visit the wonderful Friday Flash community, where you can read more great flash fiction by outstanding authors!

Click here to read reviews of books I’ve read recently, (and I’ve been lucky so far this year in choosing great stories).

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Click here to visit my fiction site, The Other Side of Deanna.

 

The comfort of soup on a cold winter’s day

If it looks anything like this outside where you live

Image by Deanna Schrayer

then you’re going to love the fact that January is National Soup Month. What better time to stay tucked inside your kitchen cooking and baking until not only your body but also your soul is warm and cozy? Winter is my favorite time to play in the kitchen for this very reason. And when I say play, I mean play – never do I dance around with apron on, whisk in one hand, stick of butter in the other without leaving the room looking like a bakery just exploded. Bless my hubby’s heart, he is always following me around wiping up spilled chocolate or sweeping up parchment-like garlic bulb shells so that I can continue to play without slipping on the mess and ending up sprawled across the floor with broken bones. And I love him for that.

Here’s a great, quick and easy soup to make on these cold winter days. Don’t forget to make the cornbread to go with it, and then gather the family to fill your bellies and your hearts. Check out my recipes page for more delicious goodies!

Deanna’s Quick and Easy Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 large cans diced potatoes
• 2 cans Campbell’s Potato Soup
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• Salt to taste
• Fresh ground pepper to taste
• 6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• Bacon crumbles (optional)
• Chopped green onion (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°. Pour diced potatoes into a 9×13 baking pan; evenly distribute potato soup by large spoonfuls across top of diced potatoes; fold potato soup into diced potatoes until thoroughly mixed; whisk in salt and fresh group pepper to taste. Whisk in heavy whipping cream, being sure to distribute throughout potato and soup mixture evenly. Top with ½ the shredded cheese (3 oz). Bake at 350° for approximately 45 minutes or until cheese begins to brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cheese on top; let sit about10 minutes. Serve in large soup bowls, topping with bacon crumbles and chopped onion as desired. And remember the cornbread!

What is your favorite soup to eat? What is your favorite soup to make? Are they one-in-the-same? Even though I love this baked potato soup, my favorite is Italian wedding soup, (I just haven’t figured out how to make it yet).

UPDATE: Sonia mentioned that she hasn’t seen snow [like in the photo above] this year which made me realize I had not mentioned when the picture was taken – it was during The Big One of 2003. I thought you all might like to see more from that same session, so here’s a couple; these were taken in our yard and it’s the same tree in both pictures, from different sides. I hope you enjoy!

***

My bookshelf has been updated with one of the best classics I’ve ever discovered – Edgar Rice Burrough’s The Monster Men. Stop on in!

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Do you think back, or look forward?

Image by Deanna Schrayer

 

Most of us, at the end of each year, either make New Year’s resolutions or think back on the year we’re about to leave behind; some of us do both. I am of the latter, though I do shy away from resolutions as if they’re bounty hunters and I’m the hunted…I probably shouldn’t admit that – ah well, it’s the truth.

It isn’t that I don’t look forward – I do. In fact, I’ve used too much of my vacation time planning and cleaning, (files on my computer), than I have writing, and with only three days left I have to paint the den and two hallways! (Not that I’m complaining, I love to paint).

But I digress. I often wonder what it says about me that my mind is more often on the past than it is the future. Every once in a while I contemplate the day my children will graduate high school, the fun we’ll have when they head off to college. But it’s very hard for me to imagine that I will be older at that time than I am now, just as they will be. I’m a Leo, which is the teenager of the zodiac, the one whose statement is “I live”, (every zodiac sign represents an age of life, beginning with Aries, the infant, and ending with Pisces, which embodies all the signs to symbolize “wisdom of all the ages”). As that teenager, I tend to be a bit rebellious, which, I believe, is what keeps me from pondering old age. I enjoy living in the moment, and I think back on the past with a nostalgic outlook that seems to block me from thinking of the future. In other words, I want to glorify the happy moments, live life to the fullest, and hope that nothing changes to destroy that happiness. Yes, this can be a dangerous way of thinking for change is something none of us can avoid, and if we don’t embrace it and work with it, we’re doomed to endure many disappointing times to come. I try to keep that in mind, to go with the flow and see the positive aspects of change. But still, there’s that tug at the back of my mind saying, “Stop! Don’t go any further lest you lose the pleasure of right now!” So, even as I’m doing my best to concentrate on what those positive changes can bring, I’m also thinking about a special time in my life that happened maybe ten years ago, and holding on fast.

I’m happy to say that, even though my extended family has lived through some tough times this past year, overall we’ve had a pretty good 2011, and I look forward to making 2012 even better.

How about you? Do you make New Year’s resolutions, and do you stick to them? Do you think only about what has already passed? Or do you do both? After giving that some thought, check out your zodiac sign, (go to the bottom of the page and click on your sign), and compare – it’s quite interesting, especially if you enjoy philosophical meditation as I do.

I wish you all a beautiful and prosperous new year!

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Click here to visit my fiction site, The Other Side of Deanna.

 

December 28, 1996 – December 28, 2011

Jim & Deanna on their 7th anniversary

 

This Wednesday, the 28^th of December, my husband, Jim, and I will celebrate our 15^th wedding anniversary. When I think of that – the [seemingly] miraculous number of years to have been married to the same person, (at least these days), I am truly astonished. It does not feel like I’ve spent the last decade and a half living with the same man – not that he has a split personality or anything; in fact, the direct opposite is true. We all change with the passage of time, sometimes for better and sometimes for worse. But Jim…well, he has hardly changed a bit. A terrific example just this moment happened: he’s currently – and by currently I mean right now – rebuilding a wall, (that we once had to reinvent in order to make a large TV fit in our den), in order to make the new replacement TV fit without having to see the holes along the edges where the large TV previously was.

Stick with me here.

He just walked into his garage, (where I have a little quiet space for myself set up in which to write), and said, “This seems to be taking me a lot longer than I envisioned it would.” I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard those exact words leave his mouth in the last fifteen years. He has always been a very productive man – indeed it is rare to find him sitting still – and he has always thought he could complete any task he takes on in about half the time it ends up taking him….always. I love that I can count on hearing those words at least every six weeks or so.

I also love that I can always count on Jim getting out of bed at the first sound of the alarm and doing his best to urge me out of bed twenty-eleven times before he finally flicks all the lights on and yells, “I’m leaving, you better get up and get to work!”

I love that I can always count on Jim to be uncomfortable in situations that require somberness, and I love knowing that he will whisper, (or at least try to whisper), a joke in my ear when he sees my lips tremble and my eyes begin to tear, because although he deals with my sadness quite well, he hates more than anything to see me upset.

I love that I can always count on Jim to stick his foot in his mouth when really all he means to do is pay a compliment, (seriously, it’s a wonder the man doesn’t have toe-jam stuck between his teeth).

I love that I can always count on Jim to round our boys up and take them out for a couple of hours – every weekend – not only to ensure he’s showing them how much he loves them, but also to ensure he’s showing me how much he loves me, (by giving me the “alone time” I need to stay sane).

I love that I can always count on Jim to tap his fingers on the steering wheel at every red light he has to stop for, and to cast an irritated look at me when, at the same red light, I whip out a book and say, “Oh, yah, more time to read!”

I love that I can always count on Jim to blur every picture he snaps.

I love that I can always count on Jim to clean up the messes I make in the kitchen, especially when he’s interested in tasting the results of those messes.

But more than all that, above all that, I love that I can always count on Jim being right beside me, if not a couple of steps ahead, holding my hand, no matter the sometimes challenging trials I pull him through.

I love that I can always count on Jim, period.

I love Jim!

Happy Anniversary honey!