DIARY NOTES....

By Olivene Godfrey

Since I have been having arthritis pain lately, I hadn’t been on an outing in some time. So, yesterday (Sunday), son Barry drove us to the huge mall, Hamilton Place, in Chattanooga.
We ate a delicious lunch at the Piccadilly which is my favorite place to eat superb Southern cuisine. Then, Barry pushed me in my wheelchair throughout the mall.

Everywhere we looked we saw, in clothes, decorations, dinnerware, etc., the bright colors of chartreuse, fuchsia, tangerine, yellow, etc.... I remember twice in my lifetime when these identical colors were popular (in late 1940s and 1950s and then again in the 1970s.) Barry and I remembered that in the 1970s, I bought a set of dishes in a bright fiesta red which are packed away now.

At the mall, we also saw my cousin, Ernestine, who lives in Chattanooga, and we chatted a few minutes with her. Her mother, my Aunt Helen, who I have written about many times, is 101 years old. She lived alone until she was nearly 100 and lives in a nursing home now where she has her own telephone. Ernestine said yesterday that Aunt Helen has trouble seeing and hearing but her mind is still as "sharp as a tack." I still write her occasionally and someone at the nursing home reads her mail to her. She is an amazing woman.

On our way home, Barry drove us to downtown, Dalton, GA, my old "stomping ground." Malls and shopping centers surround the city now and it had been many years since I had been down on the main street. While the historic town has been somewhat renovated, it hasn't changed a lot since my youth when people of all ages strolled along the sidewalks and greeted friends and shopped in the stores. And, at night young people who had cars would, "Drag Main". Other teens would walk along the sidewalks, flirting with each other.

In the World War 11 years, we walked most everywhere in town. Barry asked me what we did when the weather was bad and I recalled that we would call a taxi which would take us anywhere in town for 15 cents!

-------------------

Some of you may recall that my sister, Joan, died last year and now her family is saddened again. Joan's daughter, Connie, is fighting for her life in a battle with cancer. She starts chemotherapy and radiation treatments this week and Joan's daughter-in-law, Annie, who cared for Joan, is caring for Connie, too. Annie said Connie is very positive and is determined to beat the odds and win her battle.
Our family would be grateful if readers will remember Connie in their prayers.

My memories of Connie are mostly of her childhood years as she and her family have lived in Florida for many years. I remember buying Connie a pair of black patent leather sandals when she was four or five and she was so excited and she told me she had "butterflies" in her stomach.

See you next time.

SOMETIMES WOMEN JUST KNOW THINGS

By Olivene Godfrey

Like most women, sometimes I just "know" something without any apparent reason for knowing. Some call this mysterious faculty, "women's intuition." And I imagine Eve drove Adam just as wild as modern man when she says,” I just know, that's all.” when he questions how she has certain knowledge without any conscious reasoning on her part.

now, the intuitive woman can identify rivals, social climbers,
even know when her man is just daydreaming about another woman, and often answer questions before they are asked. And while women may have some trouble guessing ages of men, she can with the aid of almost imperceptible clues guess the ages of other women.

I'd like to be able to say it's true that women really are more intuitive than men but research I have done shows there is no scientific evidence for such a claim. But, what investigation has been done on intuition shows that it is based on experience. A person's experience is a storehouse of memories and impressions. These bits of experience, with proper stimulation, shape into a thought or judgment. Then, the person "knows” it, but can't say where the knowledge came from.

Every intuitive person knows how to draw on his reserve of unconscious knowledge and experience in coping with the problems of everyday life. Life is more interesting for the intuitive person than for the nonintuitive. Intuition is finding new and deeper meanings in people and events, and making more sense out of life.

If you are alert to what's going on around you, the clues are all there. Let people tell you about themselves unconsciously. And they do - unconsciously a person's eyes, facial expression, speech, hands, etc… reveal much about themselves.

While it's true that anyone, male or female, can develop intuition, we still hear and read much about women's intuition. As someone said, women don't pay nearly as much attention as men to what people say. But, they usually know a great deal about the way people feel.

See you next time.

NEVER SAY "NEVER"

By Olivene Godfrey

How many times have you remarked, " I'll never do that!" or ""That will never happen to me."? Probably enough times that you've learned now how unwise it is to say such things. Most of us learn sooner or later that all the things we think can never happen will happen, and all the things we think we'll never do, we probably will do.

Of course, we make choices every day. Without some boundaries to give a pattern to life every minor decision would become a crisis.

But, that word,” never", can keep us from fully enjoying the wonder and richness of living. We're born to unspecified possibilities. It's harmless to say, " I 've never..." but to declare, " I will never...", is allowing that thief, "Never"
To rob of us from some exhilarating experiences.

When we drop a negative attitude we soon discover the satisfying aspects that comes from thinking positive, from doing something, finding fulfillment.

Maybe we should from time to time reexamine our hunches. Maybe our intuition tells us we shouldn't do something. But, if we give it some thought we may decide our hunches are excuses, alibis to keep us from entering new, untried experiences.

Throughout our lives we are finding out who we are and what we may become. And, maybe that thing we insist we'd never do is the very thing we need for completion. To break out of an old rut can become exhilarating and creative. Of course, there are times when negatives are necessary and suitable. But, as we grow older we change and any position may be outgrown.

The Old Testament says, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven." And, it's amazing how much of life's misfortune is simply bad timing. Think back on some of the days when you seemed to have a tremendous amount of bad luck, or good luck.

To get ahead in the world one needs a number of assets. But, even one who is skeptical (including me) of superstition has to admit there seems to be something in knowing when to speak, when to keep silent, and that timing is an important factor.
Actors know the value of timing on the stage. But, all of us can master the art of knowing the "right moment", in our marriages, our work, our relationships with others. And when we become skilled at knowing the right moment, happiness and success are practically ours.

See you next time.

ROBINS ARE SPENDING WINTER HERE IN NORTHWEST GEORGIA

By Olivene Godfrey

Our yard is a bird sanctuary and we enjoy watching a wide variety of birds that visit us. We used to have bird feeders but the pesky squirrels destroyed them. My late husband, Ralph, and I could see the feeders from our kitchen windows and we watched the birds feed while we ate breakfast in the mornings.

Now, my son, Barry, and I watched in amazement this winter as robins flocked to our yard. We wondered if our mild weather first of the winter confused the birds and they didn't realize it was time to fly south. Barry did some research on robins on the Internet and found an interesting and informative article by Scott Shalaway on the subject of winter robins.

He says of the robins” the extent of their annual migration is influenced by several factors, so seeing robins in winter isn't unusual." And he adds that, "Large winter flocks of robins are typical in the southeastern and Gulf Coast states though serious birders can usually come up with a few winter robins just about anywhere." So, that answered some of our questions about the winter robins here.

The author also added that robins are hardy and flexible and are able to survive cold winter weather. He says the mild winter weather has helped the robins find food and adequate cover
And that "large flocks of winter robins are always a sight to behold." And we agree with that.

We had always associated the first robins in our yard at winter's end to be a harbinger of spring." Not so, says Dr. Shalaway. He writes, " The appearance of robins is as unreliable sign of spring as the ground hog and its shadow." He adds that fruit-bearing trees and shrubs sustain robins in winter months.

See you next time.

JONQUILS COMING UP--CAN SPRING BE FAR AWAY?--POWER OF YOGURT-- BARRY'S DRY SOCKET....

By Olivene Godfrey

Our jonquils are coming up through the winter soil, giving son, Barry, and me hope that spring cannot be far away. We love spring with all the new greenery and planting tomatoes and the flowers blooming and the balmy days, which I am really looking forward to this year.

This winter has been harder on me than any in my memory. It started out bad with propane gas, which our central heat uses, costing a fortune. We have tried to conserve the propane gas by using kerosene and electric space heaters during the daytime hours and turning central heat down low at night and cranking up our electric blankets to try to stay warm.

I am still cold a lot. I suspect my chilling is related to old age. I am beginning to understand why so many seniors flock to warm climates, like Florida, in the winter.

---------------------
Some of you may remember that last year, I lowered my cholesterol dramatically by eating a bowl of oatmeal every day. I am still eating the oatmeal and the last time I had my cholesterol checked, it was even lower.

Mow I have started on a new food to try to improve my health. I recently read a feature, EATSMART. By Jean Carper, in USA
WEEKEND, on five reasons to eat more yogurt. The five reasons listed with details are lose weight, cut risk of colon cancer,
Fight bacteria, ease arthritis and help your gut. The reasons were based on recent studies that indicate that yogurt is, indeed, a healthy food. I will let you know in time how my yogurt eating affects my ailments.

---------------------------

Barry had an impacted wisdom tooth surgically removed about two weeks ago and he is still having pain. He went back last week for a follow up visit with the oral surgeon and Barry has a dry socket. The doctor gave him a syringe to irrigate the socket several times a day. He stopped taking the strong, prescription pain medicine and is taking pain medicine that doesn't make him drowsy. Barry did some research on the Internet about the subject and found out the dry socket occurs when the blood clot is lost from an extraction site prematurely.
The article said that, " the pain is an exquisitely painful but otherwise relatively harmless situation." The article also states that, "time and good oral hygiene usually resolves the situation." Right now Barry says his dry socket is getting better but he is still having pain and he wonders how much longer he will be plagued with this problem.

See you next time.