Great Ideas For a Blog Post

The past few days I have not done a blog or even visited and read many. I am in a blog fog. One day I had an inspiration for a fun little story, at least I chuckled as I wrote it. Just as I was finishing the last lines, my computer blinked, hic-cupped, or had acid reflux and spit out my article. I know, I should have saved ever so often, but I hadn’t done it. It was gone. What’s worst, so was my patience of writing that day. I often asked real bloggers and writers, “how do you do this each day?”

Tonight I decided I must write something, below are a few of the titles I thought up. Just the titles, not a story to go with them as that would take thinking on my part.
• How Many Times Can I watch NCIS in a Week?
• Why Do People Retire in Branson? Subtitle, “How many times can one Ride the Ducks and still enjoy it?
• Christmas Parades and Why Santa is Always Last
• Twittering Is Not the Same as Twitting Your Thumbs
                                                                                                             
Seriously, folks, I have hundreds of the "not too serious" topics. OK, not hundreds but enough for one a week though the winter months. I am also compiling a new list of blogs I want to read regularly. So many excellent writers online, it’s hard to decide. Meanwhile, I'll see everyone on Twitter.

Branson Christmas Show

Do you remember the song "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round The Old Oak Tree" made famous by Tony Orlando in the early '70? I have been singing it since we went to see Tony Orlando at the Welk Theater in Branson, MO. Tony and the Lennon Sisters are performing together in a delightful, fast-paced Christmas show. This show is a perfect blend of Christmas music and their old favorite hits.

The Lennon Sisters sang in the first half, Tony the second. The Lennon Sisters singing today are Kathy, Janet, Mimi continuing the group's 54 years of performing. Of course I was amazed how tiny the ladies are and what how they danced around the stage at their age. Janet has been Bruce's favorite Lennon sister since they first appeared with Lawrence Welk those many years ago. For a couple of the numbers they were joined by 3 of Janet's granddaughters, cute as a button girls who had the Lennon talent and good looks. Kathy and Janet have a line of dolls called Best Pals.

Tony Orlando opened his half of the show with peppy old favorites, including "Tie A Yellow Ribbon" and my favorite, "Knock Three Times". Of course, the whole audience was singing along. After a few numbers, Tony spotted someone who was having an extra good time and Tony asked him to come up. This old gentleman had a full white beard, and yes, when asked his name, it was SANTA CLAUS! Tony didn't believe that, so the little old man left and Tony continued singing. One beautiful and touching song was, "Mary, Don't You Know". Even in his mid-sixties, his voice is as strong and beautiful as ever.

Suddenly there was a voice blooming through the theater, music was played, and Santa Claus appeared dressed in his famous red Santa outfit. The rest of the show Tony and Santa sang, danced, and told jokes. It was marvelous fun. Tony asked Santa how he liked the show, stage settings, music etc. Santa told him the most important thing was missing, and brought out a Nativity scene.

Yes, Santa that is the most important part of Christmas.

Fight for Preemies

I am proud to write about the two outstanding medical centers that we have in Springfield, MO, CoxHealth Medical Center and St. John’s Hospital. Both have excellent Neonatal Intensive Care Units, caring for premature infants and babies with severe health issues.

St. John’s has a tremendous page on their website that tells more about their services. The following is an excerpt from their site.
For more information about St. Johns, click here

As the region's premier Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, St. John's provides comprehensive care to newborns requiring medical treatment for prematurity, congenital diseases, and surgical care. Our Goal is to provide compassionate, family-centered health care to our babies - helping them achieve their fullest potential.
Be sure to follow the many links on the NICU page to find out all the many service St. John’s provides, information for parents of preemies, and read about the success stories.


One of the most rewarding opportunities for volunteers is the NICU HOLD program. Again, the following was taken from their website.

HOLD volunteers are dedicated, loving helpers that are carefully screened, specifically trained, and always supervised by the nurses. They will be in the NICU to hold and rock babies who are in stable medical condition when parents are not available. 

CoxHealth Medical Center holds a special interest to me and my husband Bruce since his is on the auxiliary board. (He volunteers 2-3 days a week there also.) Recently he told me about a funding request from the NICU department. The Cuddle Therapy Coordinator asked for a grant for training in infant touch/massage. Then volunteers would be trained in techniques also in infant touch/massage. I am happy to say they were approved.

In the application, it was pointed out that while hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent each year for equipment, medicine, etc to bring the newest and best technology to babies, human touch is still very important. Touch therapy for preterm infants’ benefits in numerous ways, such as increased weight gain, earlier discharge from hospital and much more.

More than 500 infants receive life-saving care in the NICU at CoxHealth each year. On their site, there are wonderful success stories from the graduates. To read them, click here.


Note: I have very little knowledge or experience with preemies, although the years have known friends who had little ones. I am proud to join The March of Dimes with this blog.

Missouri Welcome Center

Yesterday was just a gorgeous, warm fall day here in the Missouri Ozarks, a perfect day for a Sunday drive. My son Randy and his wife Lou Ann live near Conway, MO about 45 minutes from us. I had been told that the rest stop near the Conway exit on I-44 had been redone and expanded to be an official Missouri Welcome center. But I had no idea how well done it was, a tourist attraction it's self.

Years ago Route 66 came through Missouri from St. Louis to Joplin, MO..remember the song "I Get My Kicks on Route 66"?  There are still parts of the old Mother Road left, in fact people come through from all over the world to travel it. It is also quite important to Missouri tourist trade and economy. Today I-44 parallels Route 66.

Even though I'd been told how darling the new look is, I was completely surprised and pleased when I saw it in person. Every little detail was well thought out. The picnic tables are covered with buildings depicting business that were on the old Route 66. The vending machines set in an area that said Diner. All of the signage and graphics were exactly like they would have used during the hey days of traveling Route 66.

While honoring the past, the rest stop also is very modern and GREEN. There is a wind turbine that is used to supply electricity, state of the art rest rooms, TVs with current road and weather conditions. Since we were there on Sunday, the welcome center part was not open, but we certainty will stop again.

This following is taken from an article in the AAA Traveler.

The new $10.8 million I-44 Conway Welcome Center opened this summer with a new larger building including a tourist information center, triple the truck parking that it had before, better lighting, a playground and pet walk areas. Sections of the old Route 66 parallel I-44, so the center also features display boards about the Mother Road, 1950s-era neon signs out front, an inlay on a terrazzo floor tracing the route across eight states, and several picnic shelters that resemble buildings once found along Route 66.

My Favorite Saying

If I had my life to live over, I’d pick more daisies.

Why this is my favorite saying:

My nickname is Daisy, I have often thought of changing it legally to Daisy. (I use the id MissDazey online as often as possible.) I collect things with daisies on them and like to have daisies in the house. The saying and poem also reflects how I feel, I wish I had had a more positive outlook on life when I was young. However, for many years now I have “picked more daisies” and have given more daisies to others.
This saying has been contributed to several different people, but most give the credit to Nadine Stair, an 85-year-old woman from Kentucky. The whole poem has so much meaning with several other tidbits of wisdom as one looks back on life. Another of my favorite lines is “I would eat more ice cream and less beans.”
The first part of the saying, “If I had my life to live over”, has been used in titles of several books, movies, etc. In 1992, Sandra Martz used the saying for the title of anthology, the second in a series of books she wrote. The first one “When I am old woman, I shall wear purple” is the most well known of the series. That saying and poem was also written by Nadine Stair. It has become extremely famous since The Red Hat Society was founded a few years ago, that is their motto.

Aprons

Saturday when we got home Bruce went to get the mail and returned carrying two cupcakes, decorated with Halloween sprinkles. He thought the mail lady had left these, unwrapped fresh homemade cupcakes. I said, “Don’t be silly, she would have at least put saran-wrap around them”.

 However, there was also a bag there by the mailbox that he hadn't looked in yet. There was a book about aprons and a late birthday card from my friend Georgia. She and her 10-year-old granddaughter had been by. I’m sorry I missed them. Georgia and I have been friends since our kids were babies, now we both have great grandkids. She had found the most adorable birthday card with daisies, just perfect for MissDazey.

This book is so interesting, filled with patterns, stories, and photos of aprons. The author is EllynAnne Geisel, her site is Apron Memories. It's another exciting story how someone turned their hobby into a business. I did some searches, couldn't believe how many books, sites, etc there are on aprons or how much people are paying for vintage ones on eBay.

National Tie One On Day™ – November 25, 2009

“Women clad in aprons have traditionally prepared the Thanksgiving meal, and it is within our historical linkage to share our bounty.” EllynAnne Geisel
The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort

I actually spent hours having the most enjoyable time reading about aprons. There are hundreds of them listed online, especially on sites like eBay and Etsy. When I was browsing Etsy, I found the cutest vintage Christmas apron with kitties on it. One of my daughter-in-laws loves both Christmas and cats, so of course I bought it for her.