PREP....WHAT?

I am without my wedding ring for the first time ever for an extended period of time. I have been trying to heal an ant bite underneath the ring for 3 weeks and it just wasn't working. Not getting enough air, I assume, as my ring is a wide ring. I couldn't get the ring off because I've developed arthritis in my finger and my knuckle swells. Not that I didn't try! Soap, lotion, vaseline, cussing...nothing worked. I finally decided Saturday that I would try once more so I soaked my hand in cold water and tried it. Still not moving. So, to the internet I go to see what I can find out there. First good suggestion I found was using Windex. There is apparently something in Windex that will make it slide off. So I go looking for my Windex....I know I had at least 1/3 bottle a few weeks ago. Can't find it anywhere. Back to the internet....there was a suggestion about using dental floss and wrapping your finger with it, then working the ring off. Actually, this cuts the circulation off to your finger allowing the finger to apparently shrink. Didn't try that...I need that finger to work again after I get the ring off. Scrolling on down, a suggestion to use.....Preparation H! My first thought was, of course, eeewwww! I didn't really even want to admit I HAD that in my house. And how was that any different from Vaseline? Oh, yeah....it shrinks the swelling! I'm off and running to the bathroom cabinet now and slathering that stuff on my finger. The ring was actually moving up. I got it right on top of the knuckle and it stuck! Now I'm thinking I'm really in a pickle because it wasn't going up OR back down and I could just see them trying to cut that ring off and telling me I would after all lose that finger! Panic time! The thought occurred to me that I actually had gotten past the worst part of the knuckle, so I just kept twisting. Another 30 seconds or so and the ring slid off. Thankful prayers to God were the order of the next 5 minutes or so. And the healing has begun! Now......they say that stuff works really good for the bags under your eyes.....Naw! Not on my face, I'm not!

SHARPS - NO FLATS!!

On the right in the picture gallery, you can see a picture of 20 music students from Alvarado High School. These students all earned 1 ratings at Regional Music Contest and will be going to Austin next week to sing at State Solo/Ensemble Contest. For the past 2 years I have had the honor of being one of the piano accompanists for the students at Alvarado. And, believe me, it is definitely an honor. This year, I will be accompanying all 20 for their solos and I am really looking forward to it. These students are committed to doing the best job they can do and come through with flying colors. They are all a pleasure to be around and are a good example of the kind of young adults we always hope our children will be. Their parents should all be very proud of them. And, of course, along with the committed students are the music directors who instill the love of music in these young minds and are as committed as the students are. Let's all send good thoughts to these students as they embark on their trip next week.

SISTERS!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YhTKiFEMAg

SISTERS! GOTTA LOVE 'EM! OR DO YA?

I have 6 sisters, all younger than me. When Mom passed away 2 years ago, Sister Deb came up with something called Sister Day to replace Mother's Day. Each sister gets their own day in a specified month. Names and dates are drawn and whoever's name each sister gets is their Secret Sister and that sister then sends a gift to her designated sister to arrive on or before that date. No one knows when the dates are or who has which sister's name. One of the established rules is that we put the date of the Sister Day on the outside of the package and if that package arrives before the designated date, the package can't be opened until the exact day. So, I know you're confused by now, but bear with me. Sister Deb has a slight "mean streak" in her nature (one of my uncles told me years ago that this "mean streak" is a trait of the Johnston family, my mother's side) and she thought it would be fun to make us suffer if we got ours early and had to wait to open it. So, the point is......I received my Sister Day gift today and can't open it until tomorrow! It's sitting here on my desk and I swear I hear it calling to me, "open me, open me". But, alas, I can't. I'm sworn to sticking by the rules. Or so they are trying to tell me. Sister Billie is my Secret Sister and she is a big stickler for the rules, too. Sister Deb is, of course, laughing her head off (and that's a quote from her) because...well...there's that mean streak, you know. So, I will be good and wait until tomorrow. Think I'll take it home with me tonight and set my alarm to 12:01am and open it, and then call all 6 sisters at 12:15. Hey, it says in the rules that when you open it you are supposed to let all the other sisters know what you got and who it was from. One Ringy Dingy, Two Ringy Dingies.....

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MY MOM

Since Mothers Day is Sunday, I want to write about my mom. Mom was a Kansas girl, born and raised on a farm in the times of dust storms, jackrabbit infestations, and the depression. She met my dad when she was in high school and married him a few months before graduation. She became a mother in 1944 when I was born and went on to have 9 more children after me. She was only 5' tall, but managed to herd us kids through life pretty darned well. I don't know how she managed it, but when she got a certain "tone" to her voice, we pretty well knew she meant business when we were acting up, etc. Control in the midst of chaos most of the time. She told me once that all she ever wanted to be was a mother.....however, if someone would have told her she would have 10 children, she would have told them they were crazy. But she did, and she did it well. She didn't have a lot of the things that we all have today...for instance, she didn't have a clothes dryer until I was a Senior in high school. She (and we) hung the clothes outside to dry them. And with that many kids there were always clothes on the line. And no permanent press...we had multiple baskets of clothes to iron which we would "sprinkle" with water in a coke bottle with a sprinkler lid on top, roll the clothes up and let them stand for awhile, then iron for hours. She would never let us older girls iron the younger girls dresses with ruffles, tho. She said we didn't do a good enough job. That's another thing...we were always clean and people used to comment on how clean the Ritchie kids were when they went to town. That took some doing, too, as we didn't have inside plumbing until I was probably 8th grade.
After we 10 kids were grown and gone, she started babysitting for other people and over the years we counted dozens and dozens of different kids she took care of. She especially loved getting the tiny babies. "Grandma Roxie" was loved by every one of them and she loved them back.
This will be the second Mothers Day without her as she passed away in 2006. I miss her. We all miss her. She was truly a blessing to many, many lives. Thanks, Mom.

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