No More Birthdays

Last year at this time Jennie swore that she was through celebrating birthdays. "No more birthdays," she vowed, "I'm not getting any older."

Well, if she was still celebrating, today would be the day we would say...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNIE

But she has sworn she is not getting any older so, I don't know what we will do.

Family Resemblance

How is it that as each birthday goes by we look more and more like our parents or grandparents?  Here is Ted and his Great Grandfather William...

Ted is the one on the right.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TED !

SERENITY PADS AND UNDERWEAR

Editors Note:  I have 'blacked out" a few words to reduce the chance of embarrassing someone who might not want the whole world to know their business. I don't think the message is changed too much.  

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I want you all to know I went to Rite Aid's Wednesday. I bought ▓▓▓▓▓▓ five 36-42 count pads. They were regular $17.99 each. I also bought ▓▓▓ two 18 count disposable underwear, regular $13.99 each.

That is $117.93 worth of disposable pads and disposable underwear. Including the sales tax that's $125.00. If somebody else was to have purchased them, and charged them to their credit card, it would cost them $150.00 if the card charged 20% interest on them and if it took them a year to paid it.

What did I pay for them?

The pads were on sale for $10.99 and I used five store coupons that was worth three dollars each and I also had five $1.50 manufacture coupons to use on them.

The underwear was on sale for $6.99. Both of them had $3 store coupons on them and I used two $2.00 manufacturer coupons on them.

So far I spent $36.43 plus $4.14 sales tax; totals $40.57. I came home and entered the receipts on the Rite Aid's website. This morning I checked to see if they came through. My surprise was I got $10 back for the underwear packs. I got paid $5.12 including the sales tax.

All five pads packs together will cost me $15.25 after the rebates. The whole thing will cost me a total of $10.13 including the sales tax. A total saving of over 95%.

Don't worry about ▓▓▓▓▓▓ running out cause they will last ▓▓▓ till Christmas I hope.

Sherry

A True Christmas Story

A few weeks ago I went to Luci's for the weekend right after Christmas. We had a great time and some good conversation. This is one of the conversations we had.

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We were talking about Mom and Dad's Christmas and I said, "Mom was so thrilled with her Christmas gifts. She said the light for the living room and the telephones were wonderful, and that the outfit Clyde and Jennie got her for Christmas was really nice." I said, "I'm glad we went together and got her and Dad stuff they needed. I'm just so bad about knowing what to get them for Christmas."

Luci said, "I told Clyde to just put the outfit for Mom in the price of the gifts and we would go in on that gift as well, but Clyde said 'No', that they would get Mom an outfit for Christmas."

When I talked to Mom again, the topic of Christmas presents came up and I said, "Well Mom, Luci said that she asked Clyde if he wanted to just put that outfit they got you in with what we got you and we would all pay on it, and he said 'No', he and Jennie would get it. Luci and I guessed that Jennie just likes to get you a nice outfit for Christmas as a tradition or something."

Mom said, "Oh No! It's Clyde that wants me to have the outfit."

I said, "Clyde?" ( I was puzzled? )

She said that he has always gotten her new clothes for Christmas, that it was from when he was a little boy. She said when he was little that money was really tight, and that she never had extra money to buy herself anything new. She had to wear hand-me-down clothes from Aunt Virgie. She would say to Clyde when he was little, "When you get to be a big boy, you will buy your mommy some new clothes for Christmas."

I could just picture in my mind this little 5 or 6 year-old boy, listening to his mom talk about how he would take care of his mom and buy her something new and nice when he got big . She said that Clyde and Jennie always come with clothes for her at Christmas, and they are beautiful and nice.

Well, I finished the conversation with Mom and picked up the phone, called Luci and told her the story about the clothes.

The line got silent for a minute and then she said, "Yes, that's true. Mom never had anything new, she spent all of her money on us kids. She would roll Mrs. Stapleton's hair for a quarter or fifty cents, and take her to the store for a little money. She would put it in a jar to buy a few school clothes for us kids to start school. She always spent money on us and never for herself. "

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I knew Mom was a special mom but I would never really have known about all the sacrifices, if I hadn't mentioned the Christmas clothes.

Michelle

What's In Your Wallet?

A full week on a great fishing lake, complete with a guide to steer the boat... Zero Dollars.

Getting a manicure and pedicure and being treated like a King...   Zero Dollars.

Loading up so many grapefruits and oranges I can't give them all away... Zero Dollars.

Holding onto my bragging rights over Clyde and Bryan... Priceless !

 

STALKERCARd Member since 1925

What's in your wallet ?

WHAT A DIFFERENCE 21 YEARS MAKES

Dad is 84 this January 22nd. I can't believe how much time changes in 21 years.

• January 22, 1946 at age 21, he was a single young man, never married, and didn't know who his future wife would be. He was coal miner and had to provide for his mother and brothers and sisters.
  
  
• January 22, 1967 at age 42, he was a married man with five children ages 17 - four months. All four of the older ones were in school and the youngest one at home. I remember the household was so crowded.
  
  
• January 22, 1988 at age 63, he was still a married man with five children, nine grandchildren and one on the way.
  
  
• January 22, 2009 at age 84, he has been married for 60 years!  He is now the proud grandfather of twelve grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Wow! What a difference 21 years makes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!

Sherry

Not this Christmas!

I endured one Christmas with that infernal ME-chelle Shrine looking down on all of us.

 

Well, that was one Christmas too many as far as I was concerned.  I wasn't about to sit through that again this year...

  No, Not this Christmas!

Mom's Doctor

Michelle sent me a link to this YouTube video.  She says this is Dr. Manning, Mom's doctor at the Marrowbone Clinic.

 

This may explain some of the medical problems Mom has had recently.

Listen to your Mom

Every time Mom comes to visit me, she always tells me I need a curtain on my bathroom window.  I always say, "Anyone would have to be standing on the neighbor's roof to see in that window." 

One day recently I came home and as usual rushed in to the bathroom. When I stood up I glanced out the window and what did I see? There were 5 guys standing on the neighbor's roof.  It seems they had some wind damage and were getting it fixed. 

After getting over my shock, I thought about that curtain idea for a while. But then decided against it. After all, they just got a new roof. It should be years before they need another one. 

Sorry Mom, some habits are hard to break.

Luci

Who's the Patient?

I called one morning and Dad answered the phone. He asked, "What do you do for an earache?"

Since I knew that Sherry frequently gets earaches if she gets out in the cold without earmuffs, I said, "Oh, does Sherry have another earache?" 

He said, "No, it's bad, it's the one in charge."

I said, "Oh no! Mom has an earache?"

Raising his voice he yelled back, "No! It's worse that that. It's the one that does all the work."

In all seriousness I answered, " That really is bad if Carlos has an earache." 

He just about exploded as he yelled into the phone, "****** IT"S ME!"

Luci

We're Off Again

Well, we're off again (in more ways than one.)  Dad and I are on our way to Florida and this time Bryan is going with us.  It's getting kinda crowded on this old three legged mule.

 

 

Hey, how come I got the back seat again?

Clyde

Christmas Recap

Another Christmas has come and gone.  I hope everyone got what they were wishing for.  I know Emerson got at least one thing he was wanting.  His favorite gift under the Stalker Christmas tree was a Nintendo DS from his Grandma and Grandpa...

Grandma's favorite gift was the big hug she got from Emerson...

My favorite gift is having Dad healthy enough to go to Florida again this year.  We should be on our way early tomorrow morning.  

Why not leave a comment and let everyone know what your favorite gift was this year.

Clyde