I find some irony in the fact that I was born on the 'Day of the Dead,' Now Halloween is a holiday and if you are Catholic, you get off on Nov. 1st, but on Nov. 2nd you have to go back to school. There is one day you get candy....the next day is reserved for saints....and I get second string...All Soul's Day.

It's been a fine enough birthday. My husband threw a huge bash for me on my 50th....this one we are kinding of letting slide by. Kind of a mid-decade slump.

Oh I got lots of nice wishes....cute cards and a brunch is in the planning for Sunday.

Rather than ponder aging or the alternative I decided to distract myself. My office is a mess and cannot be navigated anymore...so, I decided to tackle that job of scrapbooking ALL of my 31 years of photos that I had not put in books and given to my kids. ( I have started and abruptly disintegrated into crying on a number of occassions, so I figured I would never get it done...Over the years, between sobbing, I have managed to get them somewhat catalogued.)

Each kid has a baby book and a compliation of pics that they got at high school graduation,but those family vacations and just every day photos added up to this huge bin of just family pics, newspaper clippings etc. The story of a family, not so much just one kid.

They fill up one of those huge bins you use for the storage of fake Christmas trees. Well, needless to say, I am only a fraction done. It is amazing how I can fit those pictures together by which kid was born and by haircuts they had, outfits they are wearing, and by scenery outside of a window on a picture. (Yes, doing this makes me cry, but, it also makes me realize how phenomonally blessed I have been.)

Nowadays, pics are on a flashdrive....hmmm. I suppose that has its benefits, but somehow, to me, somethings need to be in a book. I am not sure I can get all those photos off the flashdrive printed out. $$$$. At least they don't take up all that much space.

Once upon a time................

When you don't have to constantly reload film and count the # of rolls, you have a tendency to take more pix. Last trip to the photo kiosk for prints cost us $80 !!
But you can take as many as you want and then only print the ones you think are the bast, but my wife wants to print all of 'em and send them to relatives (double prints, no less).
Speaking of the holiday, my # 8 grandchild, was born two days ago - on 10-31 at 4:37 in the afternoon. She will have a Halloween birthday too. I'm going to visit, & see her for the first time this weekend.
My daughter says she's 'beautiful', but that's what she said
about her other 5, too.
Yup, its her 6th !! This is her 2nd girl.

congradulations to both of you. Cyclops for living to be 51 and nide44 for having the blessing of a new grandchild!! I've lived long past 51 and don't have a grandchild from my own blood. I'm blessed with wonderful step-grandchildren tho. I'm hoping the future is kinder to both of you tho.

Billye

Since my total sensory deterioration, I was always a TOUCHY FEELY person...I Had to feel, touch almost talk to any and everything through that sense....I am deprived now. Of that at least...
But smell and sight are still working, and I hope they stay that way.

I still maintain, that the best Pictures are those that are IN YOUR MIND! If you can share that series of visions to others then they might get a sense of some snapshot of beauty that probably could not be captured on film, 'card' or whatever. That is why filmers 'film', writers 'write', and painters 'paint'...If it is not in your mind, it is probably safely kept in your heart. Got that?

Cyclelops,been going through the picture thing to..But mine has started in late 1800 hundreds it's a good thing my grandparents put dates and names on
the back...When you said telling the kids by the haircuts and clothes i admit
I cried to..
Now all those grandchildren Nine 44 they can bring tears of joy ,and happy
birthday to your grandchild.
Now every Sat. J i call my 91 yr. old Aunt to see how she is and chat. When
I bring up all those good old days,and always saids it's today why do you want to talk about that old stuff. Ahhhh she's fun. But I get it out of her,sharp as a tack..

A belated happy birthday to Cyclelops and a hearty congratulations to Bob for the new grandbaby... You both deserve a happy day and many more to come.

I could sure enjoy a little of that brunch Sunday...

Cathie

A late, but a Happy Birthday wish for Cyclelops i am finding the only trouble with having birthdays now is they seem like only 6 months apart .
I try to stay away from old photographs too, as they don't seem that old to me, scary
all the best
Brian

--but happy birthday, Cycleops, and congrats to nide44 on the 8th grandkid (and you're saying it's the sixth for one mom? How do they all handle the bathroom in the morning?).

Happy Birthday Cyclelops:

Tomorrow is MY birthday. I will be 60. I have no scrapbooks, I took lots of pictures but they are in the drawer. I never take them out any more. There is no reason to. I've been taking care of Alan's foot. It finally stopped bleeding. We rigged up a bacitracin bandage and took a sponge and cut a hole in the sponge to actually change the Cam Walker to an oft-loading Cam Walker.

I mean, something has to work so he can walk a bit without a spot of blood coming out. He sees his podiatrist after next week. The guy's away for the week. This spot of blood thing is no emergency. His foot looks completely fine, just as long as he doesn't walk too much on it.

Alan is thoroughly disgusted with all this. He went from going to the gym, to not being able to go anywhere. I try and say "hey, at least you have the option of going to see the Orthopedic Surgeon". I mean, this is the final option, but it IS an option. Maybe they can shave down the bone and that will be that. But two years of this ulcer crap is finally getting to him.

He is also thoroughly depressed at how our son does absolutely nothing with is life. What a shame. Alan feels he wasted all those years. I feel the same.

So tomorrow I turn 60, (it's a gloomy day here today, something about a hurricane named Noel coming our way). My right knee is driving me crazy with the change of the weather, but heck, I've lived with arthritis for 20 years, I'll live with it another 20 years.

I watch Dr. Oz on Oprah. I learned about Telomeres (I knew all about those anti-aging things from years ago), but the way Dr. Oz explains stuff, well, he gets you going. He even had a whole dead body standing upright (on the Oprah Show). I saw where the hypothalmus, and the adrenal glands are. He showed the liver...etc. Absolutely fascinating.

Oh, he gave a brain test. I got 36 out of 36 in 40 seconds so my brain is aging just fine, thank god for that.

And I know all about healthy eating because I've been doing that for years, so that was a no-brainer.

But what I didn't know was that Tumeric in Foods, (well they think it does this anyway), it prevents Alzheimers in people. The people in India live on food loaded with Tumeric and they have the lowest incidences of Alzheimers in the world.

So when the weather gets better, I'm going to buy Tumeric and put it on my chicken and fish.

Hey, maybe I'll get as smart as some of you guys.

Anyway, I will be entering my 6th decade (or finishing my 6th decade), depends on how one looks at it.

In my head, I'm still 30.

So Happy Birthday to anyone who has a birthday in November.

We are Scorpios and we rule!!!

lol

Melody

P.S. Alan saw American Gangster, Gone Baby Gone, and many other things on that free movie site that I posted on the thread "ON the Lighter Side",
If any of you guys like to go to the movies but find the expense a bit much, you can see thousands of movies and tv shows on the computer (FOR FREE), and it's legal. You don't dowloand the movies.

I have seen all the old episodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (from over 45 years ago) They were crystal clear and in high definition.
God, what a great thing, the internet is!!!!

My 47th birthday was yesterday November 2nd as well. A Grand Happy Birthday to you!