"A time to reflect" is an overused cliche.  Yet there are times in life when one realizes that is exactly what they are doing.  Since the first of this year I have had some minor health issues that largely incapacitated me.  Being unable to operate, gave me a lot of time for reading, sleeping, watching television, eating...and yes, time for reflection.  In summation I've come to the conclusion that I have lived a good life.  At the end, I have family that are friends and friends that are family...and they all get along.  What more could I ask for?

In fact the other morning, while enjoying strong cup of coffee, I observed to CJ (my cat):  "CJ, you know what, we have landed really well."  We have a warm and comfortable home.  He has critters to watch...and in fact, he thrives in this space.  I have classical music to listen to and good books to read.  What more could I ask for?

Lastly, as I have mentioned, I dealt with health issues this year that impaired my functionability.  Now those health seem to be in the rearview mirror of my life.  And I ask once again,  what more could I ask for?

​You see, I have health, home, food, love.  What more could I ask for?

​This picture just popped up on FB this morning on the site for Bruce/Exeland…and tears immediately filled my eyes.  Esther and Charlie Turner.  They were close friends of Mom and Dad.  Whenever Esther and Charlie had been in Bruce shopping, the place they stopped for coffee on their way home was Mom’s and Dad’s house.  I remember all of them sitting around gossiping  and laughing.  Charlie was an old lumberman from the days when lumber was king in that part of Wisconsin…and he loved telling tall tales which mesmerized this little kid that was me.  They did not have much but they had big warm hearts.  Their house was four rooms and you had to use an outhouse.  Yet the house was always immaculately clean.  Sometime us kids (me and their grandkids) would camp out under the stars in their front yard.  No tent.  Just blankets and pillows and stars over our heads when we eventually would fall asleep.  A big breakfast always greeted us the next morning.  Esther and I would go looking for Christmas trees together (I was 10, 11, and 12 years old) in the woods across the road from their house.  I remember both of us plowing through the snow hauling our trees behind us and she being so patient with my 10 year old babbling.  When Charlie died, she remarried and it was not a good marriage.  I don’t believe it was abusive but she was not the same.  When Esther died it was at church (the Island Lake Church of Christ) during service.  She was with a friend…and the friend felt her suddenly lean against her…and Esther was gone.  This picture…these memories make my heart ache.  It aches because the times shared were so pricelessly wonderful…and it aches because they are now gone and only alive in my heart.  How fleeting these moments are???  I wish I could go back and experience them once again.

It is now Monday morning and I am sitting here enjoying the luxury of a hot mug of coffee, of the lights being on as well as the warmth of heat.

Yesterday was not the same as today.  Saturday night the power went out about 9:00...and it did not come back on until 1:24 yesterday afternoon.  The reason I know the exact time was because I was sitting the clocks on the stove, coffee maker, etc.

We'd gotten a good bit of ice from late Friday night and into Saturday morning.  Then Saturday night the rain, ice and snow returned with a vengeance bringing down tree limbs and trees themselves.  The point where I lost power was close to the corner of my yard where it interdicted my neighbors yard...a tree in his yard came down taking out the electric wire(s).

The long and short of me talking about this is that I hate ice storms.  I can deal with snow.  I can deal with cold.  But ice is just plain destructive.  However, I am also thankful for the goodness of neighbors who had power and invited me into their home for warmth, coffee and breakfast.  And for other neighbors who also had power and baked cookies and distributed them to those of us without power.

I came away from this event with a tremendous sense of community.  In these very troubling times, these goodnesses are beacons of hope.

It was a Friday afternoon and evening at the wee cottage in the woods...

The weather was blustery and cold outside...

Meanwhile inside it was warm and cozy...with a fire burning in the fireplace...

It seemed to me, then, the be a perfect afternoon and evening to be cooking & baking...so I made a batch of chicken noodle soup as well as baked "Symphony Brownies"....

And along the way I had a cocktail or two or three or....(you get the picture)

All in all, it was a most perfect winter Friday night at home...for which I am most thankful.  Wish you could have been here.  ;-)

A good friends passed on to me this idea/recipe for a brownie...or bar.  It is excellent.  The basic ingredients are your favorite packaged brownie mix (8x8 pan size) and two Symphony bars...plus oil, eggs and milk per brownie mix instructions.

Mix together the brownie batter per the directions on the package.  Pour 1/2 of the batter into a greased 8x8 baking pan.  Top this with two Symphony bars.  Pour the remaining batter over the top of the bars...smooth to edge of pan.

Bake per directions on brownie mix package.  In my case it was 30 minutes and 350 degrees.

Enjoy.  Really, enjoy!

It is my conviction that thoughts are powerful tools.  Our thoughts create our reality on a daily basis.  When these thoughts are put into the spoken word, they become even more powerful.  And lastly, when these thoughts are written down they gain a strength and a permanence.

I've been thinking about the direction in which I want to take my blog.  This thing...this blog...is the reason I get up in the morning.  Consequently because it is so important to me, I want to add to it...to make it perhaps even more interesting those of you that come upon it.

As Mark Twain said:  "Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life."

So this area of my blog..."Residual Thoughts" is going to become an area of comment about life whether is be a story about the day...or a commentary on the interesting world in which we live.

I hope you will enjoy this as much as I do...