60….going once, going twice……
i have a habit of telling folks the day before their birthday, this is the last day you’ll ever be ?? years old
well, today is that day for me…the last day in my whole life that i will ever be 60! smile
and today is a beautiful day in the smoky mountains of east TN…sunshine, blue skies, 65 degrees!
i was born in GA on my momma’s birthday, her name was Ollie. 03/07/27 and me at 03/07/55
my momma became an angel on 12/10/15…i miss her, but so happy she’s not suffering anymore.
“be happy, be happy, be happy”…she made sure we could understand those words our last visit…
all of her family had beat her to heaven, her daddy Ollie, her momma Eula, brothers Roy and Ralph and sister Modean
so now her childhood family is back complete…so many angels we know, so many angels we love…our hearts are full…
have a wonderful birthday, Momma! and know that i always love you madly! SMILE thanks for always sharing our day…
thanks for the love……….
Read MoreHappy Birthday Martha! 02.29.16 on this Leap Day 2016
Happy Leap Day to one and all…we get an extra day to love! SMILE
I must send a shout out to my sweet baby sister…her name was Martha.
Martha Ann Smith Al-zeer…she was married to Ibi…he was from Saudi Arabia.
They met as college students and fell in love…they were a GREAT couple.
Martha was 1 year younger than me…and she was born on a leap day!
The only leap-year baby I have ever known! Another pisces, oh lawdy!!
She would be 15 today! I’ve known and loved her since high school…
I loved her Mama, her crazy Daddy Ed and even little brother and big sister.
Many a time, I turned into their driveway to visit and pick her up to go ride around.
That’s pretty much what you did in Monroe, GA, was ride around and listen to music.
I got to know Martha more when she lived in her Condo just outside of Atlanta.
We’d visit each time we came from Missouri to Georgia, our children loved playing in her pool…
You could always tell her place as each step going up had pots of beautiful flowers blooming!
Her home was always like a jungle…inside and out, sometimes even a HUGE raft could be found!
We got the pleasure of listening to her neighbors practice music quite often, it was Collective Soul.
She told me they were kinda religious guys, but sure were pretty and their music was kick ass!!!
Come to think of it, Martha was the one that turned me onto ZZ Top too! Down at Lynn Peters’ dads BBQ joint.
Martha and I always seemed to live many states apart, her in Georgia and then in Arizona and Florida, too.
I was in Florida, Colorado and then Missouri too. She came to visit us the most on the Bado farm in MO.
Her and sometimes we even got to play with her Daddy, Ed. He was quite the character, full of jokes and tales.
And when 2 crazy guys robbed and stabbed her at her condo door, she came to stay with us about a month or so.
It gave her time to heal, we loved having her there, were so thankful that she was tall and the stabs didn’t end her life.
Yes, she was very tall and I was very short, our weights always alternated between thick and thin but that was fine.
We loved each other with all our hearts, she loved Darlin’ too and loved all my children…she loved being Aunt Martha.
We were also pen pals and wrote crazy letters and postcards from all over the world to each other, about once a month.
She was thrilled when her and Ibi took their trip to Greece and many more countries, I can’t recall them all…Great fun!
She was living in FL, Boynton Beach the last letter I got from her…She went to sleep on her couch and never woke up.
An new angel was born. Her ashes were placed near her Mama…so she could forever hold her in her loving arms…
Her older sister, Joyce, let us have a few things that were hers. I am sitting here looking at her sunshine and moon box.
Only the sunshine on the bottom shows the true colors, the top and sides have worn down with use for many years now.
Darlin’ joined Martha as an angel in 2003…I think she loved him almost as much as I did…we were very close, I’d be happy to share.
So sweet girl, enjoy your birthday today, CRANK UP the tunes in heaven, hey, you’ve got the good musicians, let them play on.
Happy 15th birthday…I mean lordy, even my granddaughter, Sarah is older than you now!!! SMILE…you age quite well, my dear.
Thanks for all the crazy memories, all the love, laughter, music, hugs and tears we shared together! Thanks for being my best friend!
February 27, 1978 and February 27, 2016
I never realized…until just now… it just hit me like a ton of lead…
I enjoyed 27 years with my dear Darlin’, 24 married, first 3 just for fun.
And we were married on February 27th… I had never realized…both 27
That date has been a day of bittersweet memories since Darlin’ passed in 2003
But now it comes to life again! February 27, 2016 will be a GREAT day in Georgia!
My dear friend Peachy’s daughter, Erin is marrying a wonderful guy named Colin…
Hang on, this gets even more freaky with numbers…
Colin was born on my birthday, March 7th…not sure of his year
And they will be married this Saturday, February 27th, the same day as Darlin’ and I
How fantastic!!! New love, new memories, makes me shake my head in wonder!
And it makes me SMILE….. with love…..Congrats you two! Love, Auntie C
Read MoreJoemas 2016
Happy Birthday in heaven, Darlin’ (01.22.55 – 01.16.03)
hard to believe it’s been 13 years since you became an angel
our family has grown, your children are wonderful adults now
sweet grandbabies from ages 5 – 15 bring us all joy and happiness
tacos and a chocolate pie for you, my love…thoughts to you above…
we had good times, we had bad times, we shared them all with lots of love
thanks for loving me and letting me love you…i will always cherish you in my heart
PS….i miss hearing your laughter…i miss your thoughts and ideas…i sure do miss you…smile
with love…from me, ray, jesse, robin and marty
to grampy with love from sarah, phoenix, alexander, ethan and quinn
Read Morejanuary is here
i must say it does not feel like january here in east TN this year! the trees are bare but so is the ground! where is the beautiful snow??
if you have any extra snow, please be kind and send it our way! and thanks! SMILE
Read Moremy momma ollie mae (ann) johnson witcher
my daughter robin and i got to have a wonderful visit with my momma yesterday.
the poor woman has been suffering more than anybody should ever have to do.
most visits she is either asleep or in a really bad mood, she’d tell you how is was quickly!
but yesterday was a blessing to us all…i had gotten her a new dress for christmas.
took this and she seemed to like it, she was awake the whole time we were there.
she tried speaking a few words but made sure these came out loud and clear…
over and over she kept saying for us “all to be happy”…her family that she loved…
her son tom, his wife linda and now sweet grandbaby cami too…my family, ray, dave, sarah and ethan
jesse and alexander, marty tate and robin, jason, phoenix and quinn…we all loved her very much.
no more suffering momma, becoming an angel at angel time…fly free sweet woman, many await you there in heaven…give ’em all hugs and kisses from us and tell all about the adventures since you’ve last seen them…all of your family are angels now, your daddy ollie, your mama eula, modean, roy, ralph and now ollie ann…(never mae) my heart is breaking but it is also soothed by the fact that you are healthy and free, laughing and enjoying being whole once again…i love you momma, with all my heart…now and always…know that you will always be GG and always will be remembered!!
03.07.27 – 12.10.15
Read Morelonghairs
i’ve been a longhair most of my life, all my adult life
when i was old enough to not HAVE to go the beauty parlor
that was my momma’s world, not mine by any means
my darlin’ was a longhair, i do love long hair on men
our 4 children were longhairs not by choice until they were 9
it’s truly amazing how much hair we shed each and every day
clinging to our hairbrushes, clogging up our bathtub drains
when we sweep the floor, we find hair here, there, everywhere
my question is, why are we not bald? how is this humanly possible??
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black friday was more pink in east TN…
well, the sunset was more pink, it was absolutely amazing!!!
i kept my word and did not purchase one thing on black friday…
many of my gifts this year were created with love by friends…
poetry, music, art, native jewelry, all skilled with hands of dear ones to me…
i love hanging out with creative folks, the energy is fantastic!!!
and the finished product is unique, one of a kind, full of talent and delight…
i think that’s what i like the best, you can feel the joy when you hold it in your hand…
the power it took to form just this one, special thing…the euphoria of words, of great sounds…
the beauty of their hard work, their special talents, their ability to create things no one else has…
that is why the commercial stores and their black friday mean nothing to me…
i think the pretty pinks in the sky is what i love…SMILE
Read Moreindian summer
it is with tenderness in my heart that i must say goodbye to sweet indian summer…as the sun sets, the temperature is dropping…for the first time, i have turned on my heat…and as expected, the smoke alarm went off…waving an album to make the smoke alarm stop beeping….smile…the next 3 nights will be below freezing, then warming up for awhile…i have truly enjoyed these warm wonderful days in november! thank you, Creator…i sure have taken in your blessings…SMILE
Read Morefall is in the air
all the leaves are changing colors now, slowly falling one by one to the ground
the temperature has been amazing, still 60-70 in the day, 40-50 at night
all that will change soon…very, very soon….and as it should change!
it’s november…and i still have petunia’s blooming on my front porch
i’ve never seen this since i’ve lived in east TN, going on 6 years now
will need to bring in my plants that live inside during the wintertime
spider plants, cactus, mother in law’s tongue, and my mint this year
i’ve truly enjoyed thess wonderful, warm, indian summer days
i love all 4 seasons…it’s nice to see the world get to enjoy them too!
a toast to all that have their heat on already, i’m enjoying open windows!
not trying to tease, just sharing the warmth with all of you! BIG SMILE
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