Strawberry Fields Forever

"Strawberry Fields," the memorial to John Lennon in Central Park. This is where I started my first Unity Walk three years ago and where I will go and sit on the bench and think back to the sixties for just a moment before I carry on in the 2010's next week. This year more than any other year before the walk my mind is swimming with ideas for fund raising and writing and poems for the coming year....realizing that only superman could pull all that off and live. I am " very aware of the " paying forward " principle and believe in it. I have said long before anyone mentioned an economy crisis that we needed to "Get Back" "Get Back to Where we once belonged" It's simple if you try and rewarding in many ways. I'm not saying go back to the getto and get killed or deal drugs. I am saying "Get Back" inside where YOUR happiness is and make YOURSELF smile by paying BACK or FORWARD and creating your "Strawberry Fields Forever"..................love you Always Pokie

April Means Parkinson's

It seems impossible that it has been three years since this picture was taken and purely by chance did it and I turn out in this fashion. I was at St Louis Airport waiting to get on a plane to New York City by myself, much to the dislike of ALL my family to meet total strangers from the internet.....me a retired goat farmer from Illinois who knew nothing of New York City. I had made all my reservations myself and was determined to go to the Parkinson Unity Walk in Central Park. My daughter escorted me to the gate and looked like the world was coming to an end as she took this picture. Little did I know that in the back ground it said "Turn to God". I was only a shadow in God's light from then on. The last three years have been filled with people no one could have told me were coming into my life. I have been to places I would have never been. I have been so sick I just knew I was dying and some how lived for another day and another adventure....and then there is my passion...Unity Walks. This year is the 16th annual and I am team captain of Team Patientslikme, named after the web site we post on. Our little team started January 1st with nothing and now have $6300.00 collected for research, and we are still going. We run a total daily on the site and on Facebook. We all but beg for every cent we get. We have not had corporate matching as some have. We are just a little bunch of Parkinson's patients and their families or spouses who said,Yes, I Can and remembered this little phrase:

No matter what the task may be, How hard the course you face; Believe that you have what it takes To run life's toughest race.

And off we go to meet in New York City, some for their first time, me for my third. Some with more money than others, but all with hearts of gold. All will feel that surge when the Walk begins and they realize they are one of thousands and tears come to their eyes and all will feel so much pride when over the finish line they come. Some will have canes and some will have walkers, some will be in wheel chairs and some can still walk on their own but in their minds and that's every mind, they can fly. They can fly like angels if for just one day because they turned to God at the Parkinson Unity Walk in New York City. Just in case you have not checked the totals, $684,371.00 has been collected so far and we are not done by any means. If you want to experience a life altering experience in your life time, whether you have Parkinson's or not, come to Central Park and help us Celebrate Life as it is........Love Pokie

Team Patientslikeme at $5120.00 for PUW

You know what, I am running out of words to describe this group of people I have become so happy to run around with. Never in my life have I felt so at ease with so many people from so many walks of life. The sick the well, the wealthy the poor, the educated and the not can all be blended very well in most any situation when it comes to Parkinson's and our time to shine is fast upon us. April Fools Day starts our month, National Parkinson's Month. Some say our color is red. Some say it is silver. I tend to sway toward the red tulip....only because Karen Painter was the first to hand deliver one of her hand made pens to me in Atlanta at the YOPN Conference in 2008. That was my first attended Parkinson's conference and I had just started blogging. I still have that pin and where it to every major function I attend for Parkinson's and with total PRIDE. I look at my Team at the Unity Walk and watch it grow daily. I post the totals every day on Patientslikeme.com as I will today ....Team Patientslikeme $5120.00 $541,060.00 over all. Proud just seems so shallow a term for a group that started with not one sent January 1 and has over$5000.00 three months later and sure to get more in the next month. We're proud of our home site and want the world to know. The phone calls are going constantly and emails are flying. What we may have casually mentioned before we are begging for now.....The thing that spurs me on is that every penny of this goes to research....EVERY PENNY.... never forget that is so important. I am starting to pack my bag. Yes I start early because the assortment is huge and the airport is harsh...I have even been known to mail gifts to the hotel I am staying at....I know I will have to send a package home...I did last year. I hope somehow I can touch each person and tell them the love they have brought to my life will never be forgotten and be forever cherished. This is not only the members of my team, but people I have met on the street at the Today Show, Very special organizers of other walks, bloggers from all over the world, and those who have written articles about me and to me. We have some how all become one big family and it feels very good and comforting....thank you Pokie

Can You Feel The Burn?

Poor" Coffee" has been left behind while I rambled and traveled on "Today With Pokie" almost daily. So much is going on and it's very hard for me to even keep my "to do " notes straight. This past weekend some of my family traveled to St.Louis for the Undy 5000 for Colon Cancer. My friend, Stacie Mishler, is the event director for the Colon Cancer Alliance and had invited me in to participate and met some of her friends......one in particular Gary Palumbo, , Palumbo Exhibit Designs, Inc. We went out to eat on Friday night and I give him all stars. What a sweet easy going guy and we talked and talked and talked. Imagine that with me around? There are some people I come in contact with, in this phase of my life, who I seem to have this unmistakable draw to. I have not seen Stacie since last years Unity Walk though we have been in constant contact. We picked up where we left off without a hitch. Gary never set in silence, he jumped right in and I can see what a wonderful work pair they must be for the Cancer Alliance. Thank you guys, Gary for the opportunity to meet you and, yes, I will call you in NYC, Stacie for being able to hug you and sit in the warmth of that fabulous smile and last but not least my daughter and her son my grandson Brendan. Heidi is forever taking care of mom I wish it were the other way around but it seems it has never been......but she had a great time! Brendan you pulled it off....Nine years old and at a five star restaurant with no hamburgers and he's starving. Sitting with three adults, talking about things way over his head for over TWO HOURS and he nailed it....He joined right in the conversation, tried all the food and ate his order and was the perfect gentleman....Can you tell grandma is proud? The next morning we were up early and it was cold and a mighty wind was blowing making it worse but we gathered up my old wheelchair and headed to Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri and did the walk and really had a good time. We " Felt the Burn" love and thanks Pokie

The Quilt Squares Keep Coming.....

Some time ago I opened the mail box to a lovely surprise from a newly divorce lady who lived in South Dakota, U.S.A. and had met me through Patientslikeme.com in the past months. As she told me, she was newly diagnosed and jsut wanted to send me something in honor of our newly established friendship. I was working on quilt squares for our Parkinson quilt at the time and as she told me she did not qilt but did chrochet and knit and was sending me these two dish rags(???) she had made so I could think of her when I did my dishes.  I wrote her back immediately and told her there was no way I could ever use something so beautiful on my dishes and lovingly put them on my PLM shelf nex to my computer.  Then yesterday I was sitting at my desk and decided I would make a panel in her honor to go to Scotland in the Fall for the Global Conference......all hers in honor of her friendship and what that gesture meant to me.  Though I hate to loose them, I would love for the World to see just what meaningful and deep relationships are formed at Patientslikeme.com. Not a day goes by without interaction and love in some form. It may come in a card or phone call, a gift or a quilt square, but it's there to help us get by. Thank you always..sdrodeaomom...love Pokie

 

This is Elaine's square from Palo Alto, California. Though my photo leaves a lot to be desired. The square had all the heart that could possibly be sewn into a panel.. This is the story she attached:

"The quilt panel I created is meaningful to me because it is knit from wool given to me from some of the best people in my world. I chose the over all fall color scheme based on some incredible wool Laura(my youngest daughter0 brought me as a present.  There is a purple alpaca wool that Jessie(my oldest daughter) sent me from Peru while there on a bike ride. Joan(friend) contributed the striking orange eyelash and fall ribbon from her collection. Susan(friend) gave me the gold and green mohair. I saved wool that was used to knit Carol(my sister) a shawl and it is incorporated throughout the project.Those who know me well understand my cutting skills are not the best.  David( my husband) made sure my panel was the correct size.....This panel was made in honor of  MY SUPPORT TEAM"

I have no idea how, when the time comes, we will turn these squares loose to the world.  Each has a heart and soul and soon feels like a child we have given birth to. Hopefully when the World sees our work and touches these panels they will feel our love and help our plight....love Pokie

The Cook In Me Still Lives......

Eventhough most of my meals jump from boxes to the table with very little help mind or body wise from me, the cook in me still lives. When I was old enough to pull a chair to the stove, meal making was my responsibility.  I was given a Betty Crocker first edition cookbook and told to go for it.  "Betty" told me there was no such thing as simple incomplete meals...meat, potatoes, bread, vegetable, glass of tea or milk and dessert....Always a dessert! I would get off the school bus and be sure I started the meal to be on the table promptly at 5:30.  We would eat then I would do the dishes.  This went on every night except Sunday when we went to my grandmothers on the other end of the block.  I still have that cook book along with many more that would have ended up in someone's trash can had I not saved them from an untimely death. Neighbors, grandmothers and friends always brought me THEIR favorite cookbooks when downsizing.They all knew, all too well, that they were in good hands for awhile because a cook book I cannot distroy. Out of three children and five grandchildren I have maybe two children and two grandkids that think they like to cook BUT not the old "I think I'll spend the day in the kitchen" recipies. My brother sent me a cookbook from San Francisco in the sixties on bread making which has so much dough on the pages they look antiqued. It makes twelve loaves of dough at a time.  Can you vision what size bowl I had to start out with and did it by hand once a week.  I was a true "hippy" My second husbands mother was a great cook I heard, though I never met her. When we went to her house on her passing, at the back door was a trashcan full of books.  Now throwing any kind of book away is a scrilage to me...especially cookbooks and poetry. I paid my respects and slipped out quitely and filled my trunk to the brim.  That could have been one of the contributing factors to my second and final divorce....Another whole story to say the least .It is now some thirty years later and I have those books and use them with the old computer cards, we keypunchers use to use for bookmarks.  Those bookmarks are the very best recipes......I never move those bookmarks in the belief they were put there for life and if you move them that recipe will fail.   Silly. huh?

Earlier in the week I wrote about Anna. She has a fullproof recipe for baked bread that makes two loaves

ANNA'S BREAD

one package dry yeast

1/4 cup lukewarm water

Let stand 5 min's in a bowl.  In a large mixing bowl put:

2 Tablespoons sugar (I prefer brown)

2 teaspoons salt (I prefer sea salt)

2 tablespoons shortening  (You know I would go for butter)

2 cups scalded milk (Here I use 2%)

Let mixture cool until luke warm add yeast misture stir gradually

6 cups or more flour

Mix well till you make a stiff dough and turn out on board floured and knead until smooth and satiny. shape into ball and turn into a greased bowl with bread greased all ove and cove to rise.  Double in bulk should come in two hours.  Punch down and turn out on board and cut in half for two loaves or one loaf and rolls for the little ones...Great recipe    Bake in a hot oven (400) for 50-60-min  crusty bread

When I was snowed in two weeks ago mom and I just ate bread and soup all day.  How fattening is that?  Nothing you would want to tell Dr. Oz. But those two loaves made two old snowed in crazy ladies very happy...love Pokie

Inspirations.....

There is someone You have probably never met and neither have I and we will never get the chance now because her days on this earth were numbered and I am sure she is in heaven now. Mary Lou Krauseneck was a ALS patient the likes of which no one has ever known. While in the throws of her illness she wrote three volumes of cookbooks and donated all proceeds to the fueling of research at the ALS Therapy Developement Institute in Cambridge, Mass. Ok, you say, and go on. No, she netted $90,000.00 for research on her own while suffering from ALS. These books  are no small achievements to be passed by...over 500 pages each.  Called simply, "Recipes for Life" Volume One, Two and Three. From 2000  on the cookbooks gave Mary Lou a focus on something positive....something no one knew anything about, Lou Gehrig's Disease.Little did anyone know that these fund raising efforts were laying the ground work for the world class research engine that today is called ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI)

As I said, I never met Mary Lou but I did see a special on her on Dateline and had I had the chance we would have probably become great friends because I feel a emptiness in my heart for her. She had this miracle smile and she kept it coming no matter what.

In the front of my first cookbook is a quote by Luciano De Crescenzo:  "We are each of us angels with only one wing, and we can fly only by embracing each other.". That just keeps going through my head, around and around.. I feel her embrace.  I talked to her niece today, after I received my book, and thanked her for the pleasure and told her I would do all I could to spread the word on her aunt's work.

Your books may be ordered too. Your pleasure can start soon and your knowledge that you are making a difference on this earth will begin. ALSTDI CAN BE REACHED  AT 215 First Street, Cambridge, Ma 02142 or 617-441.7200 or www.als.net get involved, make a difference and help us save our grandchildren from this and other neurological diseases...love Pokie

Real-World People with Parkinson's: Meet "PokieToo"

One more month and it will be Parkinson Awareness month. Are you ready to do something that will bring a cure on? Can you look at your grandkids and say, beyond a doubt, they will not get this disease? Talk to just one person and spread the word....love Pokie

Compulsive Behavior

This has not been a bad day even though we have snow five inches high and ice under that. Wind chill is suppose to be below zero tonight and high winds. Nothing yet like what is going on in the East. This morning I was snoozing in late thinking no one in his right mind would be out on the road  and they couldn't get up my hill here at the farm anyway, when the phone rings and a very nice gentleman informed me I had a "RED" power chair at his office just waiting to be delivered. I ask him if he was crazy because I wasn't going anywhere in this weather and second did he have four wheel drive because there was no way he could  get to me. He said directions were in order and if I would give him a little time he would be here with my brand new chair and teach me how to use it.
Now I am sure there are some who think this is a definite case of giving in on my part. I can still walk but I have terrible pain when I do and let me tell you this is nice. The only thing is I must remember to exercise along with this new found comfort.....or all use of legs will be gone. Oh, but my back screams thank you when I sit down in this chair. It supports my bad arm and is controlled by my good arm.  It reclines and has a foot rest...I'm in love .It also breaks down to two pieces for moving easily....all the comforts.

Also while I was snowed in this weekend I rediscovered another lost love....Sewing... and just in time for the . PDF  Quilt Square Project for the Parkinson's Global Congress in Scotland October. They were wanting a seven inch square to represent each committee member in order for the committee to make a panel of our own. I started out and this was what I came up with.  Then the compulsive behavior set in. I had been working on a panel of my own.  I had it done all but the embroidery to finish.  I had some things on my mind this weekend that just would not go away and my hands kicked in. this is what I had and then this is what I ended up with.I still have to put my title back on and then I think I will put it away.  It did serve it's purpose and for that I am grateful.   I worked off some steam and when Monday morning rolled around I had climbed up on that darn "soap box" again but I had mellowed out for another time and another compulsive act.....Oh, don't we love that Requip...love Pokie

Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired | Video on TED.com

Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired | Video on TED.com http://blogger.com/blog-formatting.g?blogID=7105864728904284820 Blogger: Today With PokieToo and Parkinson's Disease - Formatting Settings

Crazy Mondays

Are all Mondays becoming crazy or is it me becoming crazy or crazier? I knew it was hopeless when I called a place I had some X rays done in hope of tracking them down and getting them sent to my Rheumatologist.  The number I got through information got me the office which informed me nicely that since January first this was no longer the practice and I must show up with a photo ID before my X rays could leave there facility. She gave me a number to call and check on my bill and then call her back in twenty minutes.  I hung up and called only to hear this, "Thank you for calling this number for Lonely Ladies in your area to talk to." I hung up and tried again and got the same response.  I called my first Unlonely lady back at this point and checked the number. I  tried again and this time got a Very Stylish Hair Salon   I decided it was time for help so I lied and said I had called the other number at which point the lady on the other end said, "Oh, I can fax this to your doctor and you won't have to come by." How sweet since I live an hour away.  Is there a conspiracy against old people going on? If the thought is to make me crazy they are doing a good job....love ya Pokie.

Global Congress Quilt Square #2

This is my first square in it's first form. Now ccomes it's personality. A nose for Rudolf and a name for Teddy (HUGS). Ornaments fo rthe trees and names on the packages Glitter and Glow a litttle here and there and we'll remember that we all dream we fly in "Parkinsonland"

The First International Quilt Panel I Received

I am so sorry about the delay getting this picture to you.  Machinery never seems to run with me but away from me....but any way is this not beautiful........Not to do anything to give anyone's idenity away on the internet BUT this little lady's name is Whitewings and she is a Parkinson's patient from Wisconsin who wrote me "Here's my baby.  I know you'll take good care of here.  It was a joy working on the panel and thanks so much for doing the organization for PLM.  Take care and Best Wishes"
This is totally my pleasure.  I will save these until I receive 16 and then send them to the National Parkinson Disease Foundation http://support.pdf.org/quilt Our plan are to keep our panels together when being displayed. and if any time we end up with an odd amount of panels we will make enough for another full quilt..  You may follow our ongoing success by visiting my personal page under Charlene Pryor.  We are so excited to participate in this project and invite anyone to join in with us. through panels or just donations.  There is another way you can join in....Post a comment and give me ideas that you would like to see or thanks you would like passed on.....love Pokie

Conquering My World

When all things seem to be sliding down hill or "Going South" as someone said recently on the site, I begin to get very depressed which is very much not like me.  An unusual number of my friends are taking a turn for the worse this winter, The Winter From Hell. and yet I have made some amazing friends to spur me on. one wrote last week on his blog,"Weakness is not an attractive word.  but there can be depth in the damaged soul, breadth in the battered body, and toughness in the tested and troubled mind." Isn.t that beautiful?  R. Kuhn wrote this in one of his recent articles in his blog Positive Parkinson's  and today that was just what I needed to hear.

For days the mountains in front of me have been getting higher and higher.  I am taking new seizure meds that are just kicking ***.I have to take it or seize and when I take it I get light headed and head for my ever faithful recliner where yesterday I spent the whole day out like a light.  This would be fine if I lived by myself but I am suppose to be taking care of myself and my mom who is 84.  No way...There was plenty of food stocked up in the refrigerator and the television was on a good channel with lots of news, so I am sure she wandered in and out all day questioning wither I was among the living or dead and still was not sure when she heard me snore. I woke up late yesterday with my cat laying on my chest with his arms around my neck licking my chin. I guess I had scared him to death and he sure did me no good either.  So now I realize I have a Seizure Cat Buggar. Is this possible?  Could be.  I know he never leaves my side.

Number two on my list for weeks has been my printer.  It seems like everything else around here,seems to have decided that in order to survive one must do what you can when you can.  My printer has decided to do nothing when I want it to and yet when I dose off it prints something I don't want. So as of today it is history. I will now take pictures with my camera and download them straight to my laptop. Little did it know who it was dealing with.  I'll just unplug it and let it pout in the corner while I carry on.

I really don't have it so bad but some days I sure tell myself I do. and then like the printer I need time out to get things straightened out.  My weaknesses or not as bad as I think nor or my bones broken.  I have a multitude of friends who keep me smiling at all times I could be worse,"I'm in time out and what inning did you say it was?"    Love ya Pokie

Grandma Says

I grew up in a college town in Southeast Missouri in the late forties.  We were a modest family.  No one ever discussed it but we knew we weren't rich.  We had cousins who lived in St.Louis that must have been rich because their Christmas presents always came in Famous Barr Red Boxes. I saved these boxes and when my friends had birthdays during the year I would be sure they were given something that fit into a Red Famous Barr Box.  We saved the small things for worse times and thats what we should be doing now.Hopefully we all won't have to live through a natural disaster, but does it hurt to be prepared to save YOUR family if one happens?What are your grandkids going to eat and drink for a week while the Government takes care of itself first..  Have you got a spare closet? Could you store a week supply of water in gallon milk jugs?....One per Day.  How about some candles and matches batteries and radio?

Learn a new old plan "Take Care of Your Own".  Are you watching the Haitians? They had nothing and are going out in the middle of fields and sitting up some sort of shelter to huddle under. God bless this mother of seven, who lost four and had three left and was squaring off in the corner of a field so they all knew where each other were.

No matter how much I fuss, my mother cannot throw anything away.  I throw containers  in the trash upstairs and she takes my trash out and sorts it and washes every discarded container and brings them back into the basement. When I head off to town for groceries, she brings them back upstairs and we start the cycle all over again.  Crazy maybe, BUT my mom was one of ten kids.......... five, boys five girls who grew up during the Depression.  Their father was an unemployed carpenter and their mother was disabled most of her life due to a open leg wound..

If there is anything I know, it is how to stock pile, cook and can...prepare for the worse day you could ever have  and come out having a good time. This country needs to stop waiting for the government bailout.....the government will bailout the government...My.Grandma always said, "Straighten up,  stop sniffling and do something...Love Pokie

Patti Moreno Gardens With The Native American Three-Sisters Method (VIDEO)

This is a beautiful idea especially for someone in a wheel chair. I am an ex farmer and gardener who is going to try this this summer..love Pokie
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

Recipe for a Happy New Year

one husband

one wife

children

one bible for each

one home

generous portion of prayer

one pkg. of work

one pkg. of play together

one portion of patience

one portion of understanding

one portion of forgiveness

one small  paddle

one gallon kisses with blended hugs 

Mix thoroughly and sprinkle with a large amount of awareness.  Bake in moderate oven of everyday life, using as fuel all of the grudges and past unpleasantness.  Cool.  Turn out on a platter of cheerfulness.  Garnish with tears, and laughter in large helpings....Serve God.  

YouTube - MOVE YOUR MONEY

YouTube - MOVE YOUR MONEY

Healthblogger of the Year 2009

I want to take this chance to thank everyone who read my blogs and voted for me http://www.wellspere.com.  I came in 34th in the top 100 and I am ecstatic.considering I was running with doctors and professionals and the type of blog http://justmeantiques.blogspot.com is.  I am truly humbled by all the kind and encouraging words sent my way.  I have many more projects started for the new year so stick around and leave me comments....love Pokie. 

It's Been Too Long

It's Been a month and this is my favorite spot to vent.  Though all readers seem to flow toward http://justmeantiques.blogspot.com , this is where I like to play and experiment. Everyone needs a laugh once in a while and a need for a good memory to flash through our head is always there.  I have run the gambit on emotions today from child like glee to tears.  I presume this is normal for 63 year old at Christmas Time, especially one with my malfunctions. My Christmas has been full and still it grows.  Today is only Christmas Eve.  I have always turned all the lights out except the Christmas tree and put on Christmas music and read the Christmas story and traveled to Bethehem in my mind and then after twelve started my cooking for Christmas Day.  The first part will be the same but I no longer am in charge of dinner and my packages are wrapped.  There are no kids in the house and it is really quiet.  The traditional divinity I make my son has come from Swiss Colony instead as well as finger cakes and bonbons. I am not sad in any way because the stress is completely off and I would say passed on to my children now grown with their own families.  It was time for me to pass the fancy dishes and hidden recipes on to the next generation.  The only one really missing out is my Mother who lives with me and early Alzehimers.  She said this evening, "This just doesn't seem like Christmas" and went quietly to bed very early.  I bet at 84 , and being very confused, Christmas does loose it's punch.  I hope I never think of Jesus's birthday as just another day.....It seems I live all year to share all I can with as many as I can and love it. This year I am going to make it a point to celebrate his birthday as many days as I can, be it March, July or December....The world needs hugs and caring right now...I fear much more than they are telling us....I pay you have a very Merry Christmas or what ever Holiday you call it and you do something to make you smile with a memory of the past....and figure what you want to do in the coming year to spead God's light to all corners of the world for peace....love Pokie

Drum Roll

Drum roll please.....out of the 13 entries for the TERRA COTTA DIFFUSER Pendant/ornament giveway.  Random. org chose entry #8 Charlene @ Coffee With Pokie!  Thanks to everyone who participated

And as time is running out and Thanksgiving is fast on my heels...please go to http://justmeantiques.blogspot.com.to read my Happy Thanksgiving to all just in case I don't get to all three blogs before Thursday....Sure...Happy Thanksgiving anyway...love Pokie

If Times Get Really Bad This Winter......

OPOSSUM......I was looking through some of my very old cook books today and came across this so I am passing it on: "Scrape the opposum, stuff the body with dressing, Sew up and roast, baste with salt water and vinegar mixture. Rub cloth dipped in it's own grease.  Serve with its own gravy made from browned flour. Serve on a platter whole and put an apple in it's mouth.  Now I am so sorry but the economy just can not get this bad because in all my years on this farm, I could not eat a opposum.....They are the ugliest critter around and yes they do play dead and then bite the heck out of you.

And these are just a few things to let wander around in a brain that is loosing brain cells very rapidly.

"A rattling coffee pot on the stove means company is coming"
"Wind blowing from the east is bad for fishing"
"Baggy stockings on a girl shows her man is thinking of her"
"It is bad luck to go out of a different door than you came in when you go visiting"

And last but not least.....CRUMB PIE

I have heard this recipe is from before 1800 but it is good and is easy when supplies are close:
Makes two pies, Combine 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup molasses or syrup, 1 cup vinegar, 1 and 1/2 cup bread crumbs, 4 cups water, 3 beaten eggs, 1 rounded teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon nutmeg.  Bake in double crust....

I would not recommend the top one for Thanksgiving unless you want to eat by yourself, but the pie will bring in the grandkids.....love Pokie

HealthDataRights

There is a site you must check out.  You must develop a passion once you read this and you must fight.  This is for yourself and the patient who can no longer speak for himself.  The patient who needs a friend who can still get in there and tell them how he feels.  I have fought so long for the "one on one" theory and here it is.  Make a difference in this health care bill.  Let your voice be heard.  You can go to this site http://www.HealthDataRights.org and make a difference and be heard just as you can go  to http://PatientsLikeMe.com and find a friend to help you through the loneliness and pain.It's two am and we are now in God's Day and he has a way of leading us where we need to go.. Then it is up to us which road we take. Do we fight for ourselves or leave it in others hands .Just remember If you leave it to someone else you should never whine again.  Feel the passion of a mission and the ability of saying ,"Yes" when you are winning...love Pokie

THE KITTEN

THE KITTEN

God brought me his kitten on the fourth of July,

No bigger than a minute, a baby, oh, my!

He was quite homeless,no mom or no dad.

In need of some lovin' and a place to lay his head.

I held him and bathed him and gave him my heart.

I named him my Bougar and we had a start.

He bites, and he cuddles and knows only me.

I am his mom now, forever to be.

Thank you my God for this pleasure to receive.

I love him.... he loves me and life's much easier you see.

When pain and tears crash into this life,

There is my Bougar to make it all right.

Those long legs reach up to touch me and he seems to say,

"It's alright, mom, take a deep breath and believe.

Just say a slight prayer, and shut those tired eyes.

Your Lord is with you to see you through the night."

SSDI

While SSDI has brought relief and hope to millions, there are a few challenges to overcome in the system.  In January 2009, almost 3 million individuals who have applied for SSDI are stuck in the system and will wait an average of 2-3 years for assistance.

Overwhelming? Yes.  Still applying for SSDI is one of the best financal steps you can take when a diagnosis like Parkinson appears to have long-term impact.  These benefits are rightly your if you qualify.  From Allusp's website below are a few suggestions to help the SSDI process move more quickly.

1.  Determine your eligibility for SSDI.  A few eligibility guidelines are 1)You've received your diagnoses before full retirement age (65-67); 2) you are not working due to reasons like fibro; and have received a taxed paycheck for five of the last ten years.  For a full list of criteria, visit  http://Allsup.com.
2.  Ask your doctor for a written medical confirmation.  At the beginning you will need this or your process will be slowed down two or three months,
3,  Meet deadlines.  If benefits are denied at any stage of the process, there is only a 60 day window to file an appeal.  You don't want to miss the deadline or else the process starts all over again.


Don't give up during the application process!  Get help early and be persistent.  While 60 percent of first time applicants are denied by the Social Security Administration.  It is also known that two thirds of applicants who appeal eventually receive financial assistance.  No one could have prepared for the day your doctor said, "I's Parkinson's." but there is help available and government fund to give back a little of your stability.  Good Luck.....Love Pokie

Tweety Bird is Sixty Today

I bet you did not know this useless little bit of information. One of my friends from 45 years back sent me a picture of Tweety on a perch looking quite forlorn indeed. The caption was " I tawt I saw a pussy cat.......Oh hell I don't know what I saw" and I thought though I got a good laugh out of it ....how true. I have no idea any more what I'm seeing most of the time. I understand little of what my grand kids are saying and nothing if they text me. I look at television and can hardly believe what I think I see and wonder just how much further it can go. Just as a passing note I liked the Biggest Loser without the bleeped cuss words.....and I would not want anyone talking to me that way....400 plus pounds are not. The government keeps saying we need to get back to basics, but is it still out there. My grand kids would not know basics if they came up and slapped them one. With most banks in America striking me as crooks, what happen to the nice place you went to on Saturday morning to deposit your check and everyone knew each other? A good conversation was had and you left with a smile on your face. So many of the memories I hold dear are becoming something I can not even relate to my grand kids. They have no time and don't want any. Well this is the ramblings of a Tweety Bird Fan from way back who sure did enjoy those days that I can only shut my eyes and dream to remember and have. love pokie

Puzzles, Puzzels Everywhere....

When first diagnosed with Parkinson's I found doing jigsaw puzzles helped me get past the pain in my legs. In the first two years I did thirty some odd puzzles. Some were small with tiny pieces and others were large 1000-2000 pieces. The more complicated they were the better I liked them. Jane Wooster Scott has always been my favorite. As the puzzles piled up, I found I could actually do a 1000 piece puzzle in two days....laminate it and have it hanging. You see people with Parkinson's and particularly those on Requip often become obsessive and gamble or whatever, I did and still do puzzles. Is compulsive behavior when you know you are doing it? Every one I know has at least one of my puzzles. I have one whole wall dedicated to my puzzles, from ceiling to wall.Now this week I have started a new project. I finished a puzzle called "Grandmothers Kitchen" which showcased a 30's kitchen and all the antiques that went with it. As I was putting this puzzle together, I decided to redo my kitchen and showcase my antiques......Now we will see how long this project takes. "Parkies" are known for procrastination, obsession and fatigue. I wonder which one will get the best of me.....love pokie

A PASSION THAT IS UNMATCHED.....

I have spent some time lately spinning my wheels. Be it depression or fatigue, who knows, but it is time for me to get over it and go back to what I love most and that is being with people who are associated with Parkinson's or have it. The truly best times in my life have been in the past three years after I decided to write my thoughts down and commit them to the Internet for all to read. I went full force for all that time and loved it but did not address the idea that sooner or later I would run out of steam and crash. Well I did just that in May and can say I have never been so tired in all my life BUT I have slept and regrouped my meds and visited many doctors. All in all it was the rest I needed most and next was the fact I was extremely over medicated. Once the fog cleared and I stopped sleeping way too many hours a day, things begin to shine again. I really believed my life was ending by God's will. If that was the case I was going to go along with it but needless to say he must have more plans for me. Daily offers pour in and help on how to get what I do write out to the general public.....I have always said that "Today With Pokie" was from my heart and "Coffee With Pokie" was for laughs and Journey to 2009 was commercial. I think that still applies but somehow I need to consolidate so a person can go to one place and find me not three or four......We will see what I come up with in the on coming months but needless to say I am doing well and back with a "PASSION" THAT IS UNMATCHED......see you later love Pokie

Confessions of a Happy Heart

While I have been recuperating and tying to loose my case of apathy I read one of the best books I have ever read and I am passing my thought on to you. The Shack Buy this book and read it and pass it on to a close friend or maybe an enemy you should make up with or someone who has had a profound loss and is not coping well. I have never read anything like this book. I started out thinking I could not read this...it was too depressing and all of a sudden it takes a turn and I could not lay the book down. I will not tell you anymore except I know you will love it and after reading it I hope you become part of the "Missy Project" and make it your project to spread this book far and wide. You may learn more at theshackbook.com. There is "Willie's Blog" and you can talk to the author, share your feeelings and discuss your feelings on the forum. Good luck and enjoy this new masterpiece...love pokie

Sure Have Missed Coffee

It has definitely been awhile and I have missed posing here. I have been in the battle of my life and then some for over two months now and it's not over. I started by getting so tired I could not sit up and my general practitioner decided a sonogram and MRI were in order which ended up heading me toward a D/C. This was fine with me but when I had the pre op testing, all sorts of things started showing up and I have been through specialist heaven ever since. Next week will be the worse with three major appointments and still no D/C. This lying around and constant extreme pain is not me and so hope to get to the bottom of this soon. Someone was very right when they mentioned "Old age is not for sissys" love pokie too