Granny Here,
Hello out there, been quite a while since I visited this venue but here I am once again, rattling on about this and that.
Lost my brother in Jan. of this year, he was 80 yrs. old, God had blessed him all those years for sure and he knew it too. I miss our long conversations on the phone at night, he was a hoot, kept me laughing and that's always a good thing.
Can't say it's been an exciting year since I last wrote but I'm still around to tell you about it anyway. I've been blessed beyond measure as usual, just like my God to do that.
Life is a roller coaster of sorts, one day you're as high as you can get and the next you are sliding fast but that gives us something to work on don't it. God has a way of keeping us on our toes if we just pay attention.
I've never been a good ballet dancer so keeping on my toes isn't an easy assignment but I keep trying.
I've been painting more lately, not good at it by any means but I don't have to throw them in the trash either, it's a time killer and God knows I have plenty of that.
I guess I could go back to work but most days my friend Fibro comes around and he doesn't make things easy let me tell you! He is an aggravator for sure and I don't welcome his visits but they come often.
Well, enough of that chatter!
Granny here, just saying!!!!!
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Grumblin No More
Granny here,
No more grumblin granny, no one likes a grumbler! LOL
Just kidding
Just saying!
No more grumblin granny, no one likes a grumbler! LOL
Just kidding
Just saying!
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Welcome Back
Granny here,
I'm back from wandering in the world of computer confusion. Somewhere in space and time my blog became lost to new postings so I couldn't write anything for the past few months but all is well or "not" depending how you look upon my writings.
I last wrote on August 9th of last year which was two months to the day after losing my precious mom to heart disease. She was a keeper for sure, volumes could be written about her but we won't do that here.
A lot has transpired since then, I am learning to live alone for the 3rd time and I must say I do pretty good at it. There are times when noise in the house would be a good thing but since I can only make so much I'll have to settle for it.
The doctors are trying to tell me that I may be developing my own health issues which we all do if we live long enough so I'd say it's par for the course so why should I be surprised. We are in the stream of life and there are bound to be some rocks in the stream and we will be bruised from time to time won't we. So I may be bruised but I'm still floating and until God says to come into shore I will continue on my journey.
Granny here
Just saying!
I'm back from wandering in the world of computer confusion. Somewhere in space and time my blog became lost to new postings so I couldn't write anything for the past few months but all is well or "not" depending how you look upon my writings.
I last wrote on August 9th of last year which was two months to the day after losing my precious mom to heart disease. She was a keeper for sure, volumes could be written about her but we won't do that here.
A lot has transpired since then, I am learning to live alone for the 3rd time and I must say I do pretty good at it. There are times when noise in the house would be a good thing but since I can only make so much I'll have to settle for it.
The doctors are trying to tell me that I may be developing my own health issues which we all do if we live long enough so I'd say it's par for the course so why should I be surprised. We are in the stream of life and there are bound to be some rocks in the stream and we will be bruised from time to time won't we. So I may be bruised but I'm still floating and until God says to come into shore I will continue on my journey.
Granny here
Just saying!
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
Ramblings
Granny Here,
Wow, what a hot summer we're having here in eastern Tennessee! Feels like we're living in a sauna but not seeing any results! Just kidding! Well! It is hotter than blue blazes as the old saying goes. Yes, I'm old or well on my way. Sunday was my birthday 75 big ones, yes I said 75, who would have thunk it, me Billie Irene Ratliff Smith living to be 75. God has His ways don't He, His sense of humor, His sense of teaching us lessons even if it did take 75 years and it take that long for me to learn some of them and I'm still in school. LOL
Don't really know what to write about today other than to say I've been busy as a left handed paper hanger as my momma use to say (no offense to left handers) have to be careful in this over sensitive
world we live in today. I just wish people would crawl back in their turtle shells so they didn't get hurt so much. We need tough shells, stop being so whimpy, I don't like a whimpy society, I like tough, go getters.
That's a good subject, the whimpy society we have become. Everyone wearing their feelings on their shoulders just waiting for a breath to knock it off. My, oh, my how sad it is when I look around and watch the world in motion, what ignorance has brought us to this point. How far down the ladder of stupidity will we slide before someone knocks some sense into us? When will America take inventory and see that we have been drugged by our own importance into becoming a society that no longer respects itself or others, that has no respect for authority, family. Our society has become so important to itself that it no longer has room for others.
Don't get me wrong, good deeds are being done and lots of them and no matter what our society becomes God will see to it that good prevails. But He needs vessels to work through, He needs those that see a need and fulfills that need. We are all dependent on each other in some form or another, no man is an island and lives to himself, we all need one another. To me there is nothing like sharing whether it be time, self, possessions, knowledge. We all have something to share with others, learning from each other is one of the greatest experiences we can have during our lifetime. When we stop to think that someone had to pay the price for that lesson they are passing on to us we should receive it with appreciation, the price they paid may have been high. We never know but we can be richer ourselves just by learning to listen to someone else's experience. Learning can be fun if we look at it in the right light and perspective.
Oh, well, enough is enough don't ye think?
Granny here, just saying!
Wow, what a hot summer we're having here in eastern Tennessee! Feels like we're living in a sauna but not seeing any results! Just kidding! Well! It is hotter than blue blazes as the old saying goes. Yes, I'm old or well on my way. Sunday was my birthday 75 big ones, yes I said 75, who would have thunk it, me Billie Irene Ratliff Smith living to be 75. God has His ways don't He, His sense of humor, His sense of teaching us lessons even if it did take 75 years and it take that long for me to learn some of them and I'm still in school. LOL
Don't really know what to write about today other than to say I've been busy as a left handed paper hanger as my momma use to say (no offense to left handers) have to be careful in this over sensitive
world we live in today. I just wish people would crawl back in their turtle shells so they didn't get hurt so much. We need tough shells, stop being so whimpy, I don't like a whimpy society, I like tough, go getters.
That's a good subject, the whimpy society we have become. Everyone wearing their feelings on their shoulders just waiting for a breath to knock it off. My, oh, my how sad it is when I look around and watch the world in motion, what ignorance has brought us to this point. How far down the ladder of stupidity will we slide before someone knocks some sense into us? When will America take inventory and see that we have been drugged by our own importance into becoming a society that no longer respects itself or others, that has no respect for authority, family. Our society has become so important to itself that it no longer has room for others.
Don't get me wrong, good deeds are being done and lots of them and no matter what our society becomes God will see to it that good prevails. But He needs vessels to work through, He needs those that see a need and fulfills that need. We are all dependent on each other in some form or another, no man is an island and lives to himself, we all need one another. To me there is nothing like sharing whether it be time, self, possessions, knowledge. We all have something to share with others, learning from each other is one of the greatest experiences we can have during our lifetime. When we stop to think that someone had to pay the price for that lesson they are passing on to us we should receive it with appreciation, the price they paid may have been high. We never know but we can be richer ourselves just by learning to listen to someone else's experience. Learning can be fun if we look at it in the right light and perspective.
Oh, well, enough is enough don't ye think?
Granny here, just saying!
Friday, July 8, 2016
Where Do We Go From Here?
Granny here,
It is with a heavy heart that I pen these words today and my heart joins all those around the world that are mourning once again the loss of innocent people that were in the wrong place at the right time. As I look at our society here in the United States and this is the country I am concerned about right now for it is my home, it is the place where I raised my kids, the place where I built my home, the place that gave me my education and the place where I will die. Yes, this is my home.
Today, sadly I am at a loss as to how we got where we are and where we may be going if our society continues on the course that seems to have engulfed us. The course of destruction and insanity that seems to be widening as we speak. I ask the question Where do we go from here?
Where do we go to find the answer to this question? Where do we go for the wisdom to handle this situation? Where do we go for the strength to be the citizen we need to be in a nation that is wounded, a nation wounded by the baggage of the past, a nation that has forgot what it takes to rise above our circumstances and become what our forefathers envisioned that we would become. A nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
It's no secret that mistakes have been made down through the 240 years that we have been a nation but my question is "Will we ever learn?" When will we learn that repeating those things done in the past does nothing to insure our future. We will never move forward carrying the baggage from the past. It is too lethal, it is too heavy, it is too damaging. We must let it go, we must unleash the hatred, the blame, the hurt that has been eaten over and over again at our dinner tables and feeds the next generation with the wrongs of the past that can never be changed, undone but can be forgiven and forgotten at least in the way that brings harm and danger to the future generations.
When will we learn that change can only come with one person at a time and that person is me and you. We must look into the mirror and realize that the person looking back at us is the person who can make a change. What would happen to our nation if each one of us began today to make that change? If we each went out of our way to make life better for another person no matter what color they were, where they were from, what language they spoke. I ask what would happen?
You know what would happen, lives would suddenly matter, what we did would matter, what we say would matter, we would matter not only to ourselves but to each other. We would see that after all is said and done we are human beings living in one space so we need to make room for each other. We would make a better world.
It wouldn't be a perfect world but it would be better. The only way it would be perfect is for all citizens to live by the BOOK! God's word has all the answers but having God on our money, on our buildings, on our license plates, on our documents and not in our hearts will not work! He must be IN not ON, it is only when He enters that change will come. There must be a change within that brings the change without, there can be no other way. We cannot do it on our own without His help. The human being doesn't have it in him to change without the help of God. His mind is on evil continually.
So when we take time to reflect on the happenings of this day and days gone by and days to come we must remember if it is to be it's up to me, that is change, respect and honor. Man needs to stop trying to make a name for himself and come under the only name that will bring us change Jesus Christ!
Granny here, Just saying!
It is with a heavy heart that I pen these words today and my heart joins all those around the world that are mourning once again the loss of innocent people that were in the wrong place at the right time. As I look at our society here in the United States and this is the country I am concerned about right now for it is my home, it is the place where I raised my kids, the place where I built my home, the place that gave me my education and the place where I will die. Yes, this is my home.
Today, sadly I am at a loss as to how we got where we are and where we may be going if our society continues on the course that seems to have engulfed us. The course of destruction and insanity that seems to be widening as we speak. I ask the question Where do we go from here?
Where do we go to find the answer to this question? Where do we go for the wisdom to handle this situation? Where do we go for the strength to be the citizen we need to be in a nation that is wounded, a nation wounded by the baggage of the past, a nation that has forgot what it takes to rise above our circumstances and become what our forefathers envisioned that we would become. A nation under God with liberty and justice for all.
It's no secret that mistakes have been made down through the 240 years that we have been a nation but my question is "Will we ever learn?" When will we learn that repeating those things done in the past does nothing to insure our future. We will never move forward carrying the baggage from the past. It is too lethal, it is too heavy, it is too damaging. We must let it go, we must unleash the hatred, the blame, the hurt that has been eaten over and over again at our dinner tables and feeds the next generation with the wrongs of the past that can never be changed, undone but can be forgiven and forgotten at least in the way that brings harm and danger to the future generations.
When will we learn that change can only come with one person at a time and that person is me and you. We must look into the mirror and realize that the person looking back at us is the person who can make a change. What would happen to our nation if each one of us began today to make that change? If we each went out of our way to make life better for another person no matter what color they were, where they were from, what language they spoke. I ask what would happen?
You know what would happen, lives would suddenly matter, what we did would matter, what we say would matter, we would matter not only to ourselves but to each other. We would see that after all is said and done we are human beings living in one space so we need to make room for each other. We would make a better world.
It wouldn't be a perfect world but it would be better. The only way it would be perfect is for all citizens to live by the BOOK! God's word has all the answers but having God on our money, on our buildings, on our license plates, on our documents and not in our hearts will not work! He must be IN not ON, it is only when He enters that change will come. There must be a change within that brings the change without, there can be no other way. We cannot do it on our own without His help. The human being doesn't have it in him to change without the help of God. His mind is on evil continually.
So when we take time to reflect on the happenings of this day and days gone by and days to come we must remember if it is to be it's up to me, that is change, respect and honor. Man needs to stop trying to make a name for himself and come under the only name that will bring us change Jesus Christ!
Granny here, Just saying!
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Never Too Old
Granny Here,
The last six weeks have been a learning experience like no other. Although I have lived quite a few years so far and hope to live as many more as the Lord will allow I am still learning with each passing day. One thing I have learned is that you are never to old to learn about yourself, about others and what you are capable of and what lessons life has to offer you in living and in dying.
Some things I've learned about myself were a surprise to say the least, I found that I had strength to use in a time of dire need that I didn't know was there, I found that I could stand when I had every reason to fall. I found that in my circumstance I could stand up to the challenge although difficult it was. I found that I could be the strength for someone else when the strength they once had was slipping away as if suddenly an escape hatch had been opened and there was no way of shutting it again.
In the weeks before her death in caring for my ailing mother I found that she had a determination that was beyond my comprehension. Without knowing it we were making an exchange, she giving to me and I giving to her but in such different ways. Seeing her strength from day to day gave me what I needed for the days ahead. She never relented in her efforts, never giving in to what she knew was coming, making plans almost to the day she took her last breath. As I watched her make the last mile of her journey I knew the end was coming but didn't want to face that I was about to loose the most precious gift I had ever been given here on this earth, my Mother. I would no longer hear her voice, no longer watch her as she slowly shuffled down the hall bumping the walls as she made her way. I would no longer feel those wrinkled hands in mine as we chatted from time to time. Yes, this was a difficult lesson to learn, that we don't always get to keep our most valued possessions. We lose sometimes.
I found that in my mother's dying process that there is much that the human body can endure before saying I give up! The human spirit is the strongest possession we own, it can carry us through storms of life and even the shadows of death. She taught me these things, even in her dying moments she was teaching her child that there is more to life and that is death. She endured by doing what she knew best seeking her Lord and master in prayer, singing and conversation with Him. She confronted Him with questions, with wonderment, and with challenges. She wanted to know why, how, when and in her spirit He was giving her the answers and she accepted them although knowing mother she did it reluctantly but she accepted. What other choice did she have, this is the time that God doesn't let us make choices. That's a lesson within itself, He is in charge, remember that and she did.
I found in myself the courage to hold my dying mother and knowing within my heart there was enough love to hold her to the end if that's what it took. It wasn't the way she would have wanted it I'm sure, even in her last moments she felt as she was a burden but how could she be when she had given so much, would I not do the same, if not, she had taught me nothing. Mother's are teachers in every sense of the word, every moment we spend with our mother is a day of learning whether it be good or bad there is a lesson to be learned. I loved my teacher.
She's made her final journey, although she is absent in the flesh her spirit is alive and well, the lessons she left behind will continue to teach the next generation and the next and the next as the stories of Grandma Willie are told over and over again. Her legacy lives on in all that she left behind, recipes for chicken and dumplings, the value of saving for that rainy day, the art of using your hands for the necessities of life, the strength of offering that shoulder to cry on when we felt as if our lives had come to an end, her artistic ability to keep a beautiful home, to care for those who didn't care for her, to open her home for shelter to those who had none. Yes, she will keep teaching as long as we are willing to open her book of life and see the lessons she left behind. Yes, mother was a teacher, is a teacher and will keep teaching as long as we are willing to learn and we never get to old for that.
Granny here, just saying!
The last six weeks have been a learning experience like no other. Although I have lived quite a few years so far and hope to live as many more as the Lord will allow I am still learning with each passing day. One thing I have learned is that you are never to old to learn about yourself, about others and what you are capable of and what lessons life has to offer you in living and in dying.
Some things I've learned about myself were a surprise to say the least, I found that I had strength to use in a time of dire need that I didn't know was there, I found that I could stand when I had every reason to fall. I found that in my circumstance I could stand up to the challenge although difficult it was. I found that I could be the strength for someone else when the strength they once had was slipping away as if suddenly an escape hatch had been opened and there was no way of shutting it again.
In the weeks before her death in caring for my ailing mother I found that she had a determination that was beyond my comprehension. Without knowing it we were making an exchange, she giving to me and I giving to her but in such different ways. Seeing her strength from day to day gave me what I needed for the days ahead. She never relented in her efforts, never giving in to what she knew was coming, making plans almost to the day she took her last breath. As I watched her make the last mile of her journey I knew the end was coming but didn't want to face that I was about to loose the most precious gift I had ever been given here on this earth, my Mother. I would no longer hear her voice, no longer watch her as she slowly shuffled down the hall bumping the walls as she made her way. I would no longer feel those wrinkled hands in mine as we chatted from time to time. Yes, this was a difficult lesson to learn, that we don't always get to keep our most valued possessions. We lose sometimes.
I found that in my mother's dying process that there is much that the human body can endure before saying I give up! The human spirit is the strongest possession we own, it can carry us through storms of life and even the shadows of death. She taught me these things, even in her dying moments she was teaching her child that there is more to life and that is death. She endured by doing what she knew best seeking her Lord and master in prayer, singing and conversation with Him. She confronted Him with questions, with wonderment, and with challenges. She wanted to know why, how, when and in her spirit He was giving her the answers and she accepted them although knowing mother she did it reluctantly but she accepted. What other choice did she have, this is the time that God doesn't let us make choices. That's a lesson within itself, He is in charge, remember that and she did.
I found in myself the courage to hold my dying mother and knowing within my heart there was enough love to hold her to the end if that's what it took. It wasn't the way she would have wanted it I'm sure, even in her last moments she felt as she was a burden but how could she be when she had given so much, would I not do the same, if not, she had taught me nothing. Mother's are teachers in every sense of the word, every moment we spend with our mother is a day of learning whether it be good or bad there is a lesson to be learned. I loved my teacher.
She's made her final journey, although she is absent in the flesh her spirit is alive and well, the lessons she left behind will continue to teach the next generation and the next and the next as the stories of Grandma Willie are told over and over again. Her legacy lives on in all that she left behind, recipes for chicken and dumplings, the value of saving for that rainy day, the art of using your hands for the necessities of life, the strength of offering that shoulder to cry on when we felt as if our lives had come to an end, her artistic ability to keep a beautiful home, to care for those who didn't care for her, to open her home for shelter to those who had none. Yes, she will keep teaching as long as we are willing to open her book of life and see the lessons she left behind. Yes, mother was a teacher, is a teacher and will keep teaching as long as we are willing to learn and we never get to old for that.
Granny here, just saying!
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Because I'm Mother
Granny Here,
My subject today is not a pleasant one but necessary, it's about the loss of my sweet mother Irene. She was a keeper for sure, a woman all her own, a woman of substance, a woman of opinion, strong opinion, a woman who didn't know the art of backing down or giving up. She lived 97 years 2 months and 14 days so to say she lived a long life is as much truth as I can come up with.
She was born Effie Irene Webb on March 26, 1919 in almost heaven, West Virginia, in a coal mining family that suffered their share and then some during the great coal mining strikes and the great depression. Her father Fred Webb was very active in the coal mines and often found himself in danger of becoming a casualty from the union depressors of that day. Her mother who was quite a few years younger than her father but her mother was also a lady of class and brass as was she.
My mother was born poor, very poor but her family of 6 sisters and one brother who died at birth had a classiness about them that made them stand out among others. They were fashionistas, always having or trying to have the latest in fashion even if their mother had to make it by hand which she often did being a seamstress well known for her sewing abilities. With 6 girls in the house you can be sure there was never a dull moment and never a time when momma wasn't watching through the keyhole to see what was going down with the girls. And boyfriends, well that could be a book all by itself, I'm sure there was an abundance of romance in that household.
Mom was a woman who knew her mind, spoke her mind and rarely changed her mind. She thought she was right, believed she was right, knew she was right and would go down fighting for the right.
If we didn't agree with her on any subject she just clammed up and that was it but we never won a battle. She didn't lose easily.
Married to our dad William (Windy Bill) for 59 years, they were Maude and Archie in reverse with Mom being Archie and dad being Maude. Mom was the driving force and I do mean driving she was always looking out for the welfare of her family and although she and dad were not the most romantic couple in the world (we know they had at least 6 passionate moments) he got the best of care at her hands. She made sure dad got the best part of a meal, that he had clean clothes and a clean home, that his children were well taken care of and that all the household business was up to date. Dad on the other hand made sure she had what she needed to do her job and do it well so together they made a complete team. We can be proud of them both and are!!!
This blog could go on and on but I will bring it to an end for now, I'm sure there will be more forthcoming. But to say mother had a colorful life would be like saying that Jimmy Fallon wasn't funny, the truth is in the pudding, her life was a book of color not always pretty colors but colors none the less.
To say she was loved is an understatement, she demanded it, she craved it and she obtained it. Loved by her family almost to a fault, she was spoiled and didn't feel any grief from it. She deserved it according to her calculations. Her reasoning was "because I'm Mother" and she meant it.
For the love of my mother
Granny here, just saying!
My subject today is not a pleasant one but necessary, it's about the loss of my sweet mother Irene. She was a keeper for sure, a woman all her own, a woman of substance, a woman of opinion, strong opinion, a woman who didn't know the art of backing down or giving up. She lived 97 years 2 months and 14 days so to say she lived a long life is as much truth as I can come up with.
She was born Effie Irene Webb on March 26, 1919 in almost heaven, West Virginia, in a coal mining family that suffered their share and then some during the great coal mining strikes and the great depression. Her father Fred Webb was very active in the coal mines and often found himself in danger of becoming a casualty from the union depressors of that day. Her mother who was quite a few years younger than her father but her mother was also a lady of class and brass as was she.
My mother was born poor, very poor but her family of 6 sisters and one brother who died at birth had a classiness about them that made them stand out among others. They were fashionistas, always having or trying to have the latest in fashion even if their mother had to make it by hand which she often did being a seamstress well known for her sewing abilities. With 6 girls in the house you can be sure there was never a dull moment and never a time when momma wasn't watching through the keyhole to see what was going down with the girls. And boyfriends, well that could be a book all by itself, I'm sure there was an abundance of romance in that household.
Mom was a woman who knew her mind, spoke her mind and rarely changed her mind. She thought she was right, believed she was right, knew she was right and would go down fighting for the right.
If we didn't agree with her on any subject she just clammed up and that was it but we never won a battle. She didn't lose easily.
Married to our dad William (Windy Bill) for 59 years, they were Maude and Archie in reverse with Mom being Archie and dad being Maude. Mom was the driving force and I do mean driving she was always looking out for the welfare of her family and although she and dad were not the most romantic couple in the world (we know they had at least 6 passionate moments) he got the best of care at her hands. She made sure dad got the best part of a meal, that he had clean clothes and a clean home, that his children were well taken care of and that all the household business was up to date. Dad on the other hand made sure she had what she needed to do her job and do it well so together they made a complete team. We can be proud of them both and are!!!
This blog could go on and on but I will bring it to an end for now, I'm sure there will be more forthcoming. But to say mother had a colorful life would be like saying that Jimmy Fallon wasn't funny, the truth is in the pudding, her life was a book of color not always pretty colors but colors none the less.
To say she was loved is an understatement, she demanded it, she craved it and she obtained it. Loved by her family almost to a fault, she was spoiled and didn't feel any grief from it. She deserved it according to her calculations. Her reasoning was "because I'm Mother" and she meant it.
For the love of my mother
Granny here, just saying!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)