Touched By An Angel

A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog post called Thanksgiving Thoughts about my friend Cheryl. And if the link doesn't work sense I'm "linked challenged" you may just have to go back to the post on 11/24/09. That day I just sat down and wrote from my heart because I was sincerely heartbroken by everything that Cheryl and her husband Dan were going through. I wrote the post because I needed to get those feelings out. I never realized that an actual angel would touch us all in such a special way!! I received this email this morning from my friend Cheryl.

Dear Sue,
Thanks to Debra Oliver it helped me return to visit Dan in a very depressing convalescent home in Santa Ana, named St. Edna's. He looks ok. Lost about 30 pounds. In 38 years never saw him so thin. Not a good way to lose weight. Sent Debra a beautiful thank you card and told her how much we appreciated the money and prayers. Being touched by this angel was fantastic and I believe in the goodness and heartfelt caring of people in this country. Dan should be released early next year. He is very sad and weepy and loved seeing our daughter, Vanessa and our 2 grandkids: Hayley and Jason. The home was not far from his storage space where we put some of his stuff so it can be brought to him by his business partner. We dropped by Country Roads on Friday afternoon and picked up the tags. Wanted to say "hi" and showed Carol and Yessy picture of Dan. Whenever I return, I hope to drop by to see all you wonderful folks . Have a Merry Christmas from our family to yours.
Thankfully and warmly,
Cheryl
Debra and Cheryl have never met, yet they touched each others hearts in a way that neither of them will ever forget. Debra had read the Thanksgiving blog post and her and her husband reached out to Cheryl and her family after reading it and sent them a very generous check. They both touched my heart as well, just as Cheryl & Dan had touched me so much that I needed to write that blog post. If you want to see how Debra became an angel, go here . There are so many good people in this world of ours. I think sometimes these people get overlooked because of all the other stuff the daily news focuses on! Enough of Tiger already! I wish there would be a news channel that just ran positive and good stories each day. When my kids were young, I helped them "learn and care" about others. The other day Riley and I were going to the grocery store and the Salvation Army's little red bucket was hanging there. I had given her some dollars to put in the bucket and tried to explain to her how this money would help others. She dropped the money in the bucket, and looked up at me with those big blue eyes, and smiled and said, "this will help some other people that need help, right Gramma"? Start growing those angel wings on your little ones now, and they just may grow-up to be Debra Oliver!

Thanksgiving Leftovers!

I had a really nice Thanksgiving yesterday. I didn't have to bring much over to Katie's, so it was nice to have some time for myself. I remember those days when my kids were young, we would have to go to everyone's house. Bryce, Justine, and Morgan were getting ready to leave for her mom's house and rushing around to get ready. I think you can tell by the look on Bryce's face. I don't miss those days. Yes, those ARE wrapped Christmas presents!! I'm so proud of myself, this is a first. I'm never this organized and always up late on Christmas Eve wrapping gifts. And, I've been buying gifts here and there this year, so this will help me have a more relaxing Christmas Eve this year. This year I only had to bring ahi for Brande and I, neither of us eat meat. Also, the rest was easy, store bought rolls and a case of Corona. I was making a cranberry sandwich "something" that Paula Deen did on one of her shows. I don't even like cranberry sauce and as you can tell, my "dish" looks nothing like Paula's! Brande thought her dessert was the ugliest. We were having a "who has the ugliest dessert contest". I won hands down on that one, mine looked disgusting! Katie's house was SO loud and chaotic. Riley's cousin, Applonini who is five is a, what word shall I use, a free spirit. She's always pushed Riley around and is twice Riley's size. This year Riley has started to stand up for herself, so there was lots and lots of screaming! Thankfully, "teacher Brande" came to the rescue and helped the girls make crowns from paper bags and have a parade! Thank you Brande for the quiet time, it was awesome while it lasted. The parade was cute, nice and it was quiet for awhile. And both of the girls seemed to enjoy it! That is Mary Jane, the cat on the ground that Riley has her arms wrapped around! This is the fattest cat I've ever seen in my life. I don't know if the cat is just mellow so she lets Riley hold her like that or just too fat to get up! After Apple went home, things calmed down considerably as Riley lovingly holds her Baby Riley! Another Thanksgiving behind us, more wonderful memories created, and now, time to put the turkeys away and decorate the house for Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brande and Morgan are pictured above being "thankful" that Country Roads is closed on Thanksgiving! We only close three days a year, so we are thankful to have a day off. It's a beautiful, sunny Thanksgiving morning here at my home which is in Long Beach in CA. It's one of those days you really appreciate living here, the weather is just awesome. I'm a little late posting my Thanksgiving post. I've been sitting in my office, listening to music and thinking about Thanksgiving and what it means to me this year. Here are a few of things that I am truly thankful for this beautiful Thanksgiving morning. How could anyone not be thankful for this? Being a part of my two grandbabies lives, Riley & Morgan, is something that I could never put into words. This picture tells it all! My family is something I'm thankful for each and everyday. Even on the days I'm ready to strangle them, which does happen from time to time! This was taken last Thanksgiving down on the beach in Seal Beach. I'm also blessed to have a store such as Country Roads which is so much more than just a business. I am thankful to be able to work with my Country Roads family. They mean the world to me!
I'm so very grateful and thankful to have not just a house, but a "home" to live in. In a time where not everyone has a place to call home, I know how fortunate I am to have a place to call "home". And I never forget that, especially on this Thanksgiving morning. And I'm also very grateful for my friends that are like family to me. You all know who you are and I love each and everyone of you and you hold a very special place in my heart! And extra thanks to Debra over at Common Grounds for her generous way of "paying it forward" by giving to Cheryl & Dan, along with Malaysia, Debbie, Tanza, Jacque, Maureen, Heather and all of those that have sent prayers and good thoughts their way. This is what Thanksgiving is truly about, giving of yourself. With all that said, let's all go out there and try not to kill one of our beloved family members at the dinner table today! Just breathe deep, remember to be thankful that you love them enough not to kill them on Thanksgiving. There are plenty of other days to do that! Happy Thanksgiving!!

White Wednesday

On this pre-holiday "White Wednesday" I wanted to share some really elegant Country Roads "whites" with you all courtesy of Loretta, who is part of our awesome Country Roads family!





As always, please go over and visit Kathleen,our gracious hostess of "White Wednesday". My wish to all of you on this day before Thanksgiving is to think about what you are truly thankful for and what you have been blessed with in your own lives. I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving and would like to end my post with this quote: "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. -- John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Thanksgiving Thoughts

This is my friend Cheryl. Sorry about the sizing of the pix's, took them off her Facebook page. Cheryl and her husband Dan, have been dealers at Country Roads for some time now. On Sunday, I had to say good-bye to Cheryl with hopes of seeing her and Dan soon. Here's their story in a condensed version. Cheryl & Dan are about my age, with Dan being a bit older. They had a house, have grown kids, a couple of grandkids, one being autistic, and Dan was self-employed. And with the economy the way it was/is, he couldn't afford their health insurance, so he let it go. He had no other choice. Dan is diabetic and hasn't taken the best of care for himself. These past four months he has been seriously ill, and a recent surgery just pushed everything over the top for him and Cheryl. They sold their house, and in this housing market here in SoCal, didn't get much but she was thankful they got "something". After the house sold, Cheryl moved in with a friend while Dan was still in the hospital. Now, she has learned that Dan will be in a medical care facility here for some time. There seems to be some major medical "mistakes" that have happened to him. Meanwhile, Cheryl is driving to Arizona to live with daughter. She told me she didn't even know if her car would make it there! They have to leave Dan, but her and her two grown kids will take turns coming out here to be with him. She said this whole ordeal is surreal! I hadn't seen Cheryl for awhile, and she had come into Country Roads this past Sunday and was telling me the latest in this path in life they've been placed on. I could hear, see, and feel her hopelessness. It broke my heart. She had a few things left at the store she had marked down to 75% and had told me just to donate what was left to charity. If you remember a post I wrote when Rachel Ashwell had been at the store for a book signing a week or so ago, I had a customer want more than 50% off of a $32 item in Cheryl's space. I briefly tried to explain to this woman why there were no further discounts, mentioning what Cheryl was going through and "why" her and Dan needed the money. The woman just looked at me and said, "we all need the money". I'm still in amazement over that comment, actually disturbed at the selfishness of it. And if the store hadn't been so crowded, I may have slapped her! Before Cheryl finished saying her good-byes to me, she was telling me how much she had wanted to come to Rachel's book signing and was sorry she missed it. I told her to hang on a minute, and I got a chair and climbed up on a shelf behind the counter where we have some signed copies of Rachel's books for sale. I grabbed one and gave it to Cheryl telling her that I wanted her to have this. I reminded her that Rachel wrote this book when she was at a point in her life that she was struggling with some issues of her own. I saw Cheryl's eyes fill with tears, her bottom lip start to quiver and everything in me wanted to throw my arms around her and give her a big hug. But I knew in my heart that would cause us both to cry uncontrollably. So instead, I mustered up a big smile, and told her to stay in touch, got her new email address, and watched her walk away. I prayed her car would take her safely to Arizona. The reason for this story? It is the little things in life that can make a difference in peoples lives. It's Thanksgiving, and please remember it's not about all the food on the table, it's about the people "around" that table. Help when you can, it doesn't have to be a lot, but just let someone know you care and please, remember always to be "thankful" for what you have!

Time To Be Thankful

This is my friend Ruthie. I think you might remember her story, the big falling out between her and her daughter last year. Look at that smile on Ruthie's face now. She's at her daughter Susan's new house in Ohio! I gotta tell you, I didn't think I would ever see a happy reunion between this mother and daughter, but here's the photo to prove it! I don't want to get into the whole sad story that happened between this mom & daughter that had been SO very close and then suddenly were apart for a year. Let me just say all of us were so jealous of that mother/daughter relationship they shared and then the unbelievable happened. Ruthie is an amazing woman; my friend, my mentor and my hero in every since of the word. And to see that smile on her face in these pictures warms my heart in a way that words can't describe. It's time for Thanksgiving, and a good week to really dig down deep and think of what we are truly thankful for. And for me, to see the picture of Ruthie and her daughter Susan together again, is something I'm very thankful for. Take some time this week to remind yourself what you are thankful for. I believe this is a good year to be "thankful" and grateful, don't you?

Thankful

Do you ever wake up in the morning and think about the day before, and are reminded how very "thankful" you are for the life you've been given? Yesterday, Saturday, was one of those days for me. We are in the middle of our three day "Holiday Memories" big sale, and had such an incredible day yesterday. It's a feeling of being so slammed, so busy, your body aching, but at the end of the day when you crawl into bed at night, you think back on why you are so thankful for a day like that. Obviously, when you close business for the day and see those awesome numbers, the ones you have to look at a few times to really let it sink in, you become thankful for that. But for me, I tend to see things differently as well. I was thankful to work with all of my kids (and they didn't kill each other) and Yesi & Carol who I also consider "my kids"! Yes, Carol is 31 but she will always be my kid! It's nice to be so busy and you all work together like a well oiled machine. After all these years, Country Roads still "clicks" with all of our customers. I don't really know how to tell you about the feeling you get being in business almost twenty years and have customers still enjoy shopping with you. Thankful doesn't quite cover that. I had so many customers talking about the excitement of Rachel Ashwell's book signing next week. It warmed my heart to see so many people anxious to meet Rachel. I had a girl call me from, I think, Alabama yesterday. She wanted to know if I could get Rachel to sign a book for her and ship it to her. Why does that make me feel good? Because I've followed Rachel's career over these past 20 years. In the early years of Country Roads, she so kindly filmed segments of her tv show on Style network at the store. I always hold that kindness close to my heart. Rachel has also been a great customer as well which I also am grateful for. And I think what I admire Rachel for so much right now is the strength and courage she has shown this past year as she struggled publicly and as sadly, many people like to see successful people struggle. And Rachel, she's still standing, and I personally applaud that. Many people have been asking "why" Rachel is doing a book signing at Country Roads? Maybe because Country Roads has always been proud of Rachel, because "we" and "me" are just that, proud. It's not always easy to be a single business woman in this world of ours today, but as one lady told Rachel at a recent book signing after she met her, "you are on my bucket list, to meet you". Can you imagine how awesome that is to have someone tell you that? Towards the end of the day yesterday, I was so very thankful to meet Sheril. Her and her husband bought Ruthie and Susan's house. After Ruthie moved back to Florida last year, she told me, "the Hardwood house is just that now, it's no longer a home". That always saddened me. I wish I had more time to talk to Sheril and her husband yesterday. But after chatting with her, I know now that the Harwood house is now a "HOME" in every sense of the word! Come to find out, Sheril's husband has a green thumb and he is bringing back Ruthie's garden to it's full beauty just the way Ruthie loved it to be. Sheril was telling me this story about they had gone to the estate sale before Susan moved, and she spotted this cute little white cabinet with decorative painting on it. Sadly it wasn't for sale. Ruthie had painted it, so it wasn't going to be part of the estate sale. But there was just something about it that kept calling Sheril's name. After six phone calls to Susan, it was sold to Sheril. She was also excited to learn yesterday that the room her and her husband had chosen as their master bedroom was Ruthie's. I had wished I had more time to chat because I could see how excited Sheril was to learn all these things. She had mentioned that she was a teacher, and I told her that was what Ruthie use to be. I swear, I saw tears fill her eyes, Sheril wanted to know where, what grade and sadly I had to get back to work. But I know Sheril and I will get to chat more about her new Harwood home! And as the day came to a close, we had a customer in from Japan. He was there almost an hour after closing. As Katie was writing his order up, Carol and Yesi were turning off the lights. We've had this thing lately about ghosts. Yes, there has always been stories of ghosts in Old Towne Orange. On this past Monday when I worked with Carol & Yesi, a history teacher had been in shopping and basically scared the "you know what" out of Carol with his ghosts stories. As Carol turned out the final light in the store and was headed to the counter as we finished with our Japanese customer, Yesi, I believe jumped out at her in the dark and caused Carol to scream very loudly. In turn, our young Japanese man screamed and twirled around holding his chest, just like a girl! There was no way Katie and I could not laugh, and laugh, and laugh as our customer did too, still holding his heart!After work I dropped Katie off and picked up Riley. It was Katie & Vinnie's wedding anniversary and they were going out to dinner. I took Riley over to Brande's, who was babysitting. We ended up walking over for dinner at Taco Surf. The beach was beautiful last night, and the weather was feeling like Thanksgiving to me. As I crawled into to bed last night, I thought about what a full day I had. I also thought about a phone call I had received during the day from one of my dealers. Her husband has been having a tough time with his health. He was self-employed and with our "awesome" economy, he dropped his health insurance because as we know, it is not exactly affordable. A couple of months ago, he was hospitalized because of almost going into a diabetic coma. Of course they send him home with an IV attached. They've sold their house, and are getting ready to move out of state to their daughters. Yesterday when she called and shared with me yest that he is having surgery on his back and there is a good chance it could paralyze him or cause him to have a heart attack, I didn't even know what to say. As she said, "it's all so surreal". It's tough to have these conversations at the counter because when we are busy it's so hard to talk on the phone. So, I hope Cheryl & Dan both know they are in my prayers, and I know it would sure help if some of you keep them both in your own prayers. They are truly awesome people, and I AM very thankful for them being a part of my Country Roads family! With all that said, I need to drag my tired but happy butt, out the door to my second home, Country Roads!

My Family Celebrating Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving last night. We all met at Brande's apartment in Old Towne Seal Beach and then walked to Main Street for dinner at O'Malley's.While waiting for our dinner, Brande and Bryce joined Riley in some some "coloring" activity.As everyone knows, there is nothing better than when it's time for dessert for a two year old!
Dinner AND dessert were finished so Riley went to the other side of the table with Uncle Bryce and Gramma.After dinner we walked down to the pier where there is also a little park in the sand. Brande has always taken Riley there since she was a baby, and her favorite thing to do is go on the swings with Auntie Brande. The Pier looked awesome with all the holiday lights and decorations reflecting off the ocean.This is MY family, I couldn't be prouder,and of course I made them pose for my Thanksgiving family photo. These are my favorite kind of pictures!Riley insisted on having on last ride down the slide with Uncle Bryce before we left to walk back to Brande's apartment.Brande made her very first pumpkin pie and cupcakes for dessert for Thanksgiving(note, Riley was the only one that had dessert at O'Malley's). Of course Riley was ready for more dessert, her favorite part of any meal. She just needed a little help drinking some milk she was having with her pumpkin cupcake or should I say "icing".Bryce and Justine, sitting on Brande's couch, were pretty much ready to call it a night after the Thanksgiving chaos we all usually create."MY" girls, both enjoying Brande's holiday baking project that turned out quite nice!And just before we were all getting ready to go home, we got a surprise visit from Jamie Bill and her husband James. They came down from Vegas to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jamie's family. And as many of you know, Jamie was part of our Country Roads family years ago as one of our "cheerful" counter staff! Just looking at all the smiles see my family's faces, reminds what a wonderful Thanksgiving we shared. It's one that I will always remember and as I write this today, I'm very, very grateful to have been able to spend time and share laughter with my kids! It means the world to me.

Have a "Grateful" Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a time to be "grateful" for whatever has filled and warmed our hearts this year. I feel very fortunate, thankful, blessed, and all the other words that make me happy I can sit down at a Thanksgiving dinner table surrounded by all of my grown kids, my granddaughter, and my new grandbaby that Justine(Bryce's wife)is pregnant with. We have kind of a tradition of going out to eat on Thanksgiving. All of us work so much, it's become a nice tradition. We go to this Irish pub, Omally's in Old Towne Seal Beach. We go out because that way we can just sit down and relax and enjoy each others company without stressing over cooking and cleaning up. I know personally I am very thankful we are able to do this. It hasn't been a easy year for many, including myself. I'm hopeful for the new year, for Barrack, and a brighter future for all of us.

And if you are wondering why there is a picture of bricks with this blog, well here's the deal. My parents bought their house, brand new in the early 50's. With the appliances, it cost $9500! After I was born, they brought me home to this house. I grew up in that house, and myself and my kids spent many Thanksgiving dinners at that house. After my parents passed away, Katie and Vinnie bought the house. This past year they re-modeled and took out the old, original fireplace. The bricks in the picture above are from that fireplace. The bricks sit in my office on a work table behind my desk. Sometimes it's just nice to look at them and remember the past, like tonight. Believe me, our Thanksgivings at my parents house were never perfect. My mom really wasn't too good at cooking the turkey. My sister and I use to call it "turkey dust", it was pretty dry, as in no liquid to even make gravy with! It was okay though, it helped me become a vegetarian! But it was never about what we ate (obviously) but who was at the dinner table to spend time with. So, with all that said, its nice to have stuff from our past, like my fireplace bricks, to bring back fond memories. I hope you all have a "grateful" Thanksgiving tomorrow! And, BTW, I still won't be eating any turkey tomorrow!!