Lesson 400: One in a Billion

It's a beautiful, warm winter night here at the Lamp Post,

but the morning sunrise was spectacular.

Yes, it was just one of a billion sunrises

but every single one is unique and it's own kind of special.

We've hit our midwinter stride here in the north.

As we get beaten from the continuing bands of lake effect snow,

the billion dollar question is:
What are we doing this weekend?

We move into the bowling alleys, 

the gyms,

and the ice rinks.

(Eloise loves the sound of skates on ice).

A parent can go crazy with cooped up kids.

Awwww, come on, Eloise!

Your kids never try your patience,

so say my Readers.

Eloise's standard response to, "Mooooommmmmm!":

Here's the one in a billion smile of the week!

To the anonymous gift giver who sent a tin of cookies to the Lamp Post,

in a beautiful tin bearing a lamp post--

Thanks a billion.

I feel like a billion dollars in my new ovarian cancer awareness socks.

Daughter Ellen Louise is the foot model in the photos above.

No lumps and bumps like Mother Eloise's.

I always say putting toenail polish on my feet is like painting two turds.

Sam has a billion hairs on is head that we are attempting to tame.

He begins the day like this:

and by lunchtime we have this!

His hair grows straight up!

Billion is the week's most operative word.

If this is what 7 billion people do,

I know for sure what two people won't be doing.

If anyone needs an office job or is looking for a maintenance position

in Munford, Tennessee,

I think there will be a couple of jobs open.

Congratulations to the first to come forward with the winning ticket

(and their lawyer...).

Some advice for sharing worth more than a billion dollars:

Some bad advice worth a chuckle:

Here's one of my favorite commercials by Android

titled 100 Billion Words.

Easy weekend homework:  Watch it.

Bonus assignment:  Watch this one, too.

I love it.

Nice one, Amazon Prime.

This post is titled One in a Billion,

but really, 

it's only 1 in 400.

400 Friday nights of capturing life

and sharing it with you.

Thank you for coming back week after week.

In fact,

Thanks a billion.

Eloise

Lesson 399: Tears of Teal

It's the end of a long week for Eloise.

It was one of those weeks where time passed slowly.

Normally, the turtle that I am doesn't mind the sense of creeping time,

but this week just felt long.

Time was measured mostly by breaths in and out

instead of tic tock of a clock.

The snows came to Erie,

blanketing us with enough that it finally feels like winter.

And surely as the snows come,

so does bowling season.

Hubby and Boy Wonder tore up the lanes 

on the first Adult-Junior tournament on New Year's Eve.

The alleys are far too distracting for Eloise to partake in all of the excitement.

I'm just a fan, as always.

For Old Eloise, January is a soft month,

a quiet month,

a month full of long walks,

warm blankets,

and reflection.

As fate would have it,

a 55 minute Zombies Run mission popped up for me last weekend.

It was too slippery to give it a go at my usual snail's pace, 

so I walked it all,

plus ten minutes extra.

It gave me some time for some photographs.

I was thinking about paths of life 

as I walked along the park roads and trails,

and how sometimes,

you find yourself at a fork in the road.

The life you once knew has come to an end,

and you have to decide on a new path to follow.

Quoting the Bible we can find wisdom in Proverbs 3--

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge Him

and He will direct your paths.

And when the difficult times are upon me,

I take the advice of John Lennon and Paul McCartney:

I get by with a little help from my friends..

Many a tear were shed on that long, cold walk.

Eloise lost a friend last week.

My friend Sue succumbed to complications resulting from ovarian cancer

on New Year's Eve.

I will miss my friend very much.

Many of you not from Erie recognized her
as one of my Top 5 Suspects
in the Fionnula Flanagan mystery of 2013.

Lesson 249 gave my list of suspects CLICK HERE



I was certain she was sending me mystery packages in the mail,
like this beautiful leather journal, embossed with a lamppost.



After putting her in a headlock and applying a fair amount of pressure
(cancer or not...I needed to know)
she vehemently denied the gift-giving.
Fionnula revealed herself weeks later.

Sue then became the recipient of mystery gifts--

little surprises left on her desk at work,

or mailed to her home,

to help her through her five and a half year battle with cancer.

Sue was convinced the gift giver was me.

After she put me in a headlock and applied a fair amount of pressure

(cancer or not....that chick was STRONG)

I vehemently denied the gift giving.

Sue posted about her gift giver on facebook,

thanking the person and narrowing her choices

exactly one year from the day that marked the beginning of her memorial services.

It showed up as a "facebook memory"

for me, and for the others she named.

It took my breath away when I found it on my news feed,

on the very day I was headed to the funeral home to say my goodbye.

Here is part of it:

shared a memory from January 5, 2015.

January 4 at 11:09pm · 

On this day, one year ago.

One more thing before I hit the sack. My guess on my secret gift giver was an epic fail! Well not in a bad way!  Eloise has led me to understanding food and nutrients in a way I never looked at it before. However, she was not my secret gift giver. It has to be someone from work because I've received gifts there as well as ones mailed to my house. After a few suggestions from Eloise and some thinking about the gifts again, I have a few people I narrowed it down to:

Sue called out four other people on facebook

and to this day, I am still not sure who Sue's angel was.

Thank you, Kindhearted Person.

I know the surprises meant so much to her.

The best way I can honor my friend is not with my words,

but with her own.

Sue wrote a blog about ovarian cancer,

 to which she posted 20 times in the last year.

For those who knew her and are feeling up to it,

you can hear Sue's voice again here:

Sue's 12 blog posts CLICK HERE

I also raided her pinterest account and swiped a bunch of her pins.

The woman truly loved everything and had 40 boards!

I am honored to share some things with my readers that Sue had pinned.

I learned September has been designated as Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

It was assigned it's own ribbon color--

a very pretty teal.

We will know many who develop this disease in our lifetime.

This facts sheet,

including early warning signs,

gets the biggest photo space on the blog.

Please read carefully.

It's not your homework;

it's your responsibility.

The cheerleaders honored their teacher Mrs. Chase at a December basketball game.

Help spread this word, girls.

I'm on a mission to find these socks.

Some pins of a more personal nature--

that reflect Sue's positive attitude and fighting spirit:

She sure didn't!

Life with cancer was not easy for her

but she found ways to count her blessings every day.

She treated every day as a gift,

and mentioned that often in her blog posts.

She understood one of the most important lessons in life:

happiness is a choice.

I've shed many a teal tear.

I will miss my friend.

Sue's soul has flown to a beautiful place

where we are promised

there is no sickness, 

no worry,

and no fear.

This is the pin from her very last blog post on Halloween.

I look up at the sky and smile through my teal tears,

and thank God for allowing me to know and love Sue in the time she was here.

I'm signing off early tonight,

prepared to watch some TV with my family.

 I'll drinking a steaming cup of decaf coffee,

wearing my Dalmatian onesie,

with my cabin socks on,

completely content with another day passed.

I'll sign off this blog post in the same manner Sue ended her posts--

Until next time, 

Sue.

Yes, Sue, until next time.

ELOISE