Happy New Year

It's holiday time
with bells and good cheer
We sing Christmas songs
And ring in the New Year.
Parties abound
with presents galore,
We remember our friends
And toast days of yore.
Old resolves vanish
And leave not a trace,
But with the best
of intentions,
New ones replace.
Precisely at midnight
When the old year is gone,
In comes a number
For the new year begun.
Our hopes for the future
Oft repeated, and said once again,
Peace on earth, good will to all men.


!! Happy 2011 !!

Whispering Room by KimB

Whispering Room

From the darkness of the gloom
Hear the whispers in the room
Darkness hides the forms of past
And only fading echos last

No shapes to see, No forms to view
No colors bright or of faded hue
Emptiness is all that's there
No matter where you look or stare

Echos faintly from the haze
Remind us of by-gone days
When colors, life and hopes rang true
With nothing hidden from your view


KimB
July 2010

Christmas Trees

Wooden Tree
Kalamaria Greece

Happy Holidays To All



Modern Tree
Puerta Del Sol
Madrid Spain

Sao Paulo Brazil



Dublin Ireland

Tokyo Japan



Antler Tree
New Mexico

Lighted Tree
Poland

Woodland Tree

The Cat and the Quilt by KimB

[Editor's note: This story was written by KimB]

We have a lovely gray tabby cat we call "Princess Zazu" or "Zazu" for short. She came to us about 10 years ago via an animal shelter event at Pet Smart in Monterey, CA. She is a bit different from other cats we've had and that says a lot because as Cat People will tell you, "Cats Are Just Different".

Zazu picked my husband Allen from all the people checking out the animals that day. I say she picked him because when he went to her cage, she immediately came forward to be petted thru the bars. When he moved on to look at the other cats, she retreated to the back of her cage and I watched as other potential owners looked in on her but she stayed in the back. Each time Allen returned to her cage she came forward again. We continued our shopping and returned to the rescue area and she was still there. I told Allen to go see her by himself and see if she reacted the same way. Sure enough, as soon as Allen approached her cage she came forward again and our fates have been linked ever since.

Zazu has been a wonderful and unusual addition to the house and continues to surprise us every day. Like many cats she is a unique individual and has her own way of doing things and getting things done for her. One thing that is constant, is her attachment to Allen. She likes me too of course but if she has a choice, Allen will be it. And if truth be told, Allen is very flattered by her cat-winning-ways, even when she's in a "mood" and "wants to be left alone", she will curl up near Allen and "complain" (meows) if he moves too far away from her.

Allen and Zazu napping on the
Holiday Quilt @2001

About the same time we acquired Zazu, my mother sent me a Christmas quilt. It is a charming simple quilt with holiday motifs on both sides. When Allen took a nap, Zazu would follow suit and would curl up with him and they would have their siesta time together.

For many years I had the quilt on the bed at holiday time and would change it for other quilts as the seasons passed. A few years back, I purchased a bedding set from a department store, one of those high fashion decorator sets with matching sheets and comforter top. The holiday quilt was put away in favor of the store bought set which I thought would be more durable for daily use.

It wasn't long after that we noticed that Zazu didn't sleep or nap on the bed anymore. On a rare occasion she would get on the bed but she preferred to sleep in other areas of the house. As with many cats, she had her napping zones in many places: the left-side of the couch, the window sill, the cat-perch, on the floor near Allen when he's working on the PC and she even comes to snooze with me when I'm upstairs on my PC but she rarely got on the bed. Being humans and not speaking CAT, we decided that she had just found other places she preferred

Zazu on the Holiday Quilt 2010

This year I decided to put the Holiday quilt on the bed again. As soon as I got the quilt out of the chest where it was kept, Zazu came to watch. Allen helped me, as we put away the Industrial Strength Quilt and placed the Holiday quilt on the bed. As soon as it was it in place, Zazu jumped on the bed and plopped down in the middle! She gave us one long look each, as if to say, "Gosh, humans are dumb! Took you long enough to get this back where it belongs!" Then she rolled on to her side and fell asleep.

Zazu on her Holiday Quilt 2010

Now when we look for Zazu, the first place we check is the bed with the Holiday quilt on it and 9 times out of 10, she will be curled up on it fast asleep. She has resumed taking naps with Allen and at bedtime, she leads the way so she can sleep on the quilt with her two humans.

Zazu and her Holiday Quilt 2010

I don't know why Zazu likes this quilt above all others but I think it is because this quilt was made with love. The quilt radiates the good cheer and happiness that were put into it when it was created. I think Zazu has a special ability to detect this "quilt happiness aura" and in her own way tried to tell us this. She enjoys sharing it with her humans and I'm glad that we finally understood what she wanted to tell us.

Zazu and the Holiday Quilt 2010

Zazu and the Holiday Quilt 2010

To My Chess Friends

Holdiay Bell

To My Chess Friends

Chess Knights



I wish you good Christmas
I wish you good cheer
I wish you good luck
In your chess games Next Year
When we meet on the server
I'll do my best
to give you a run for your money
If I can't win the test
As your pieces come calling
And mine start to fall
I'll fight to the finish
And hope for a draw
When the game's over
We'll politely say thanks
And the loser will wonder
In what part of the game he
Missed the win chance



Chess Kings

Merry Christmas

Mom and Dad by Loretta

[Editor's Note: This story was written by Loretta]

In growing up, I’ve always wondered how Mom a Dad ever got together. Their personalities were completely different. I guess, opposites do attract.

Mom was easily angered but once it was over, it was forgotten. Dad was, to my way of thinking, a pacifist or buffer.

“Family is important,” he would say. “You never close the door.”

I guess, you can say, I have a little of both. I'm stubborn, like my mother. Caring and loving as she was, she didn’t like falling into the same hole twice. I too, stay away from the same holes.

Mom and I were both born in May - the month of the Bull and Dad in January – month of the twins: Aquarius. It's become a habit with me, I’ll ask what month someone was born and compare them to others that I know. You’d be surprised how alike some folks are.

Mom and I were looking at some pictures and one was of two nuns. I asked her, who they were and that they looked mean. Mom's reply was that they were the most caring two people she ever knew. And that was one of the few times I can remember when she talked about her childhood.

Before mom was 21 she ran off and got married. My grandmother found her and had the marriage annulled then sent her to a convent. She also sent aunt Louise (my mother's sister) to the convent.

One of the requirements at the convent was daily mass. Well, mom had always gone to church on Sundays when she lived at home but apparently she didn’t pay attention to the sermon in Latin. One day, at the convent, she was sitting in church and thought she heard the priest say: “Damn it, give me a biscuit!” She couldn’t contain her laughter and had to leave the church.

Other than that, she never really talked to us very much about living at the convent or how long she lived there. I do know my mother had her name changed from Orilla Sophrona Fleener to Rita Marie Fleener when grandma no longer had control of her.

When mom was around 26 or 27 she ran off again this time to marry my dad. Grandma was furious and said it wouldn’t last and no good would come of it.

Well, it lasted for five kids, 35 years and lots of ups and downs until her death in 1967.

Orion and Taurus

Coats

My sister, Esther and I were chatting about how difficult it will be this year for the many unemployed to have a merry Christmas when they are facing loss of benefits and possible home foreclosure.

One of the charities that Esther gives donations to is Coats For Kids¹. When she was telling me about the program, I thought of the many coats I've had over the years, including a coat I got when I was about 4 years old. The memory has never left me and I believe it was the first time that I exhibited a strong feeling of color preference. Or it might have been sibling rivalry and not color consciousness.

My mother and aunt Pearl had taken my sister, Adeline, who was three years old and me to a store to buy coats for the winter. As the clerk brought coats of various sizes for us to try on, we stood in front of a three way mirror and turned this way and that so Mom and Pearl could judge the fit and style.

The coats brought for Adeline to try on were a perfect fit for her and both Mom and Pearl commented on how sweet Adeline looked in them. The choice was a toss up between a navy blue sailor coat with brass buttons and one that was fire engine red.  Mom and Pearl both seemed to like the red one best, but the decision was put off until one was selected for me.  I liked both the sailor coat with it's big collar and brass buttons, but the red coat was by far the most exquisite coat I had ever seen and I wanted one like it.

When it was my turn to try on coats, the clerk had only one coat in my size and it was a brown one. Not only was it brown but had tiny white hairs woven into the fabric and in my opinion, the coat looked like it had dog hairs on it. I let Mom know that I didn't like it and would like a red one.

Mom made the remark that it was just as well that there wasn't a red coat in my size since the red color did not go with my red hair. The clerk searched further and came up with a green one, but it was a tad too small. The brown coat was the only one available and when Mom said she would buy it, I threw a tantrum.  I did not want to wear the brown coat.  I cried and carried on to the point that Mom and Pearl thought it best to leave the store. They put off buying Adeline a coat and after paying for mine, they hurried me out to the street.  I cried and pouted all the way home but I could not make Mom change her mind.

The coat I bought with my first earnings was a source of pride for me as long as I wore it. It was a tan camels hair coat suitable for the bitter cold Iowa winters.

Among my favorites was a coat designed for me by a couturier in Paris when I lived there. It was dark forest green with a small red checked wool lining designed for the coldest winters. I wore it for years until I moved to a warm climate and gave the coat to Mom to tear up and weave into a hand woven rug on the loom Dad made for her.

I've had fabric and leather coats but never one of fur. Presently, I have a beautiful natural gray alpaca cape my daughter gave me, and I wrap it around me when the Texas winters vie for the worlds coldest record.

¹ Check your local area for a Coats for Kids donation drive.

Gray Alpaca Cape

The Christmas Lights of Mexico City by KimB

[Editor's Note: This story was written by KimB]

Our friends, Lou and Paula had a house on the outskirts of Mexico City. As they were far from a bus stop, Paula had learned how to drive and used her 1939 Packard to make the rounds of friends to take them to the parties that where held at their home on the weekends.

They were wonderful people and I enjoyed being with them. Paula spoke excellent English and didn't scold me too often about my Spanish. She was very patient and kind. And while I was very young they didn't exclude me too often from their parties or gatherings. It was always a treat when Mom would say, “We're going to Lou and Paula's this weekend.”

Paula would wield this giant car around Mexico City and thru the narrow side streets to pick up friends. After the party was over, Paula would drive everyone home again. It was a team effort: Lou and Paula always together. Paula would drive, Lou sat “shotgun” and everyone else would be piled into the back seat which could easily handle the crowd and then some.

There had been an enormous highway project to put an expressway around all of Mexico City. It had taken years to make the “ring” but at last it was finished. It was called the “Periférico” and Paula soon learned that it was faster to drive the Ring around the city than to drive across it.

It was during the holiday season and late at night when Lou and Paula took us home after a party. As usual, we sat in the back while Paula guided the Tank along the high speed expressway. We were chatting about what a lovely evening it was and about other holiday events coming up. Paula noted that even the City had gotten into the holiday spirit by putting up wonderful Christmas lights.

Neither my Mom nor I had seen these lights, so we asked Paula where we could go to see them? She replied that they were everywhere! So we looked out the windows and tried to spot these holiday decorations but to no avail.

“Paula, where are these lights?” Mom asked. “I don't see them.”

“Why right there!” She replied. “Right in front of us. See: Red and Green. They are all along the highway! So festive! It's lovely that they decorated the road for Christmas!”

Even Lou sputtered a bit, as Paula was pointing to the Stop Lights that marked the infrequent intersections.

Lou, patient as always, explained that stop lights weren't decorations and if she saw a green light she could go thru the intersection and if she saw a red light she was to stop until it turned green. Paula thought we were pulling her leg! But Lou finally convinced her that she should stop for the Red Lights.

Ever since, I cannot look at Stop Lights without thinking about what wonderful Christmas Decorations they are: even in July.

Holiday Fun

Theater: Backwards in High Heels by Richard

[Editor's Note: We want to introduce a new poster to the blog: Richard. Richard is MrsB's brother. Richard and his wife Frances are avid theater goers and have agreed to share some of their theater experiences with us. We hope that everyone will enjoy his posts as much as we do. There are more details about Richard at the bottom of the posting for those interested in family ties.]

My wife, Frances, and I belong to San Jose Repertory Theatre and for many years have enjoyed going to the theater.

Recently we enjoyed seeing Backwards in High Heels a story about Ginger Rogers life and how she became star. The stage, the costumes, the actors the dancing and the music was wonderful to watch. The song and dances just kept coming for 2 hours.

They included the following:

• Lets call the whole thing off
• Shall we dance
• Fascinating rhythm
• They all laughed
• I got rhythm
• Embraceable you
• We're in money
• Lets face the music and dance
• Change partners
• Fine romance
• Pick your self up
• Baby face

These are the songs I enjoyed the most. If you get a chance to see it, I know you will enjoy it as much as we did.


[Who is Richard? Richard is one of MrsB's brothers. MrsB's other brothers and sisters are Esther, Adeline, Jerry, Elbert, Charles and Mickey. Richard is uncle to all of their children.]

New Quicker Links to MrsB's Blog

[Editor's post]

We now have 3 new and faster ways for you to get to MrsB's Blog! You can use any of the following URLs to access the latest postings.

• mrsbizzyb.com

• mrsbizzyb.net

• mrsbizzybsayshello.com

Of course the original link works too.

• mrsbizzybsayshello.blogspot.com

It's My Side of the Road! by KimB

[Editor's Note: This story was written by KimB]

We had many friends in Mexico and Lou and Paula were some of our closest. When Lou retired, he and Paula had moved from the East Coast to her native Mexico and had a house built on what was then the outskirts of Mexico City. They were wonderful people and we often went to their house for parties and gatherings.

Prior to having the house built, they used the public bus system, as did everyone else. But as their house was now far from a bus stop, they decided it would be a good idea for Paula to learn to drive. This would enable them to pick up friends from various parts of the city and bring them to their home for the parties which they hosted almost every weekend.

To this end, a 1939 Packard was acquired for Paula to drive. Even though this was in the 1960's, what we now call "vintage" cars were common throughout Mexico. They had wonderful mechanics who could fix or make anything needed for these cars and this one was in first class shape. But it was HUGE! It was a TANK! A Hummer would have looked like a shrimp next to it.

Lou was teaching Paula how to drive as she made the rounds of friends to pick them up for the evening's activities. It was something exciting to see Paula, who was not even 5 feet tall, peering over the large steering wheel and directing this behemoth to the curb to pick us up. In we clambered and sat in the back seat with our other friends. It was almost like a limo! We could have just about seated a soccer team in the back!

One day, Lou and Paula came to pick us up. The small street we lived on connected to a large 4 lane boulevard and had a convenient stoplight where Paula could turn to head on to the next stop on the list. We got into the back seat and proceeded down the street to the large intersection. The light changed and Paula made a right turn on the the boulevard BUT she did not pull into the right lane! Instead, she swung all the way to the left side of the street facing the on-coming traffic! There were gasps from us in the back seat!

Lou, calmly said “Paula move to the right side of the road.”

Paula protested, “But this is MY side of the road! All those cars are on MY SIDE!”

Lou, again calmly said “Paula move to the right side of the road.”

Paula protested, “But this is MY side of the road! This is where I am and they should be the ones to move somewhere else!”

But she slowly swung the big car over to the right side of the road and everyone in the back seat heaved a big sigh of relief as we watched the barreling on-coming traffic miss us by just a few feet.

The party was a big success as it always was. But on that night, Paula described over and and over how all those cars were on “Her side of the road!”

Winter

Cold winter days and hard freeze nights are here while December days count down the last of 2010. Orion, a winter constellation in the northern hemisphere, was announced back in November when Cassiopeia, (the Queen) alerted Orion's arrival as it came into view rotating around Polaris, (the North Star).

Diagram of Orion Constellation

The Orion constellation, called the Hunter from Greek mythology, is the most conspicuous and most easily recognizable in the night sky by the three bright stars known as Orion's Belt, and the three smaller stars underneath called the Sword.

Depending on which hemisphere Orion is seen, the Belt goes by other names such as the Three Sisters, the Three Marys, the Magi, or the Three Kings.  The Belt and Sword of Orion has been adapted as the shoulder patch insignia of the 27th Infantry Division of the United States Army thru both world wars as a pun on the Division's first Commander, John F O'Ryan's name. In Lord of the Rings, the elves called Orion, 'Menelvagor'. Orion is also the name used for three US Navy ships.

Orion Nebula

Years ago when I was in high school, one of the teachers would hold a star gazing session on a winter night and tell us about the various stars and how to recognize them. Orion's Belt is just about the only thing I can truthfully say I know it when I see it. I know the big dipper of course and the North star but most of my knowledge about the night sky comes from information gleaned from the internet or science programs on television, and I wonder if the Magi of Christmas stories and songs refer to stars and not three wise men traveling the desert.

Detail of Orion's Belt


[Editor's addition: Many years ago I wrote a poem about this constellation.]

Where ever I go,

I look in the sky,

And the first thing I see is Orion.

KimB