Friday, May 23, 2014

TV Shows For Memorial Day

To some of us Memorial Day and Veterans Day are interwoven. One is to remember only the fallen and the other is to honor both the fallen and those who returned. A few years ago I posted movie suggestions for  Veteran's Day (and also July 4th) but sometimes I like to watch shows, besides the ones on the History Channel. Since a tv series goes on longer than a movie they are able to build on the characters a bit better. My Father was a Korean War vet and not much of a talker, so getting to sit with him and watch something that we both enjoyed was huge. Here are a few shows about the military I remember watching with him.


I will start with China Beach which ran from 1988 to 1991.  I have always loved the open credit song which is the 1967 song 'Reflections' by The Supremes. This one hour drama (except for pilot and series finale which were both two hours long) is about the everyday lives of men and women that are stationed on an Army base during the Vietnam War. Some of this story lines form the show are taken from actual experiences - which might of touched a little bit too close to home for some but allowed the show to be a place where someone could find a bit of solace that they weren't the only ones with the same experiences.
Now M.A.S.H the tv series is one of those shows that everyone can really enjoy.  This dramedy follows the daily grind of a medical unit (mobile army surgical hospital - to be more exact) during the Korean War. This show originated from the hit movie from the same name (more info in the link above) and kept the opening song 'Suicide Is Painless' but sans the lyrics. This show ran for an amazing 11 seasons and it still holds the highest rated series finale 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen' with about 120 million viewers.

There are tons of other shows including Hogan's Heroes, Homer Pyle USMC, McHale's Navy and the popular Combat! that you can try. Let me know your favorites.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Shabbat Shalom


Ministerial servants should likewise be serious,
not double-tongued, not giving themselves to
a lot of wine, not greedy of dishonest gain, holding
the sacred secret of the faith with a clean
conscience.
 1 Tim 3:8-9
 
 
Let ministerial servants be husbands of one wife,
presiding in a fine manner over children and their
own households. For the men who ministers in a
fine manner are acquiring for themselves a fine standing
 and great freeness of speech in the faith in connection
with Christ Jesus.
 1 Tim 3:12-13

Monday, May 5, 2014

Henry Turns 2 ..








This dog must the quirkiest pet I have EVER had the privilege of caring for. Don't get me wrong I adored Rio and her passing has never been forgotten nor has it diminished my love for her. Rio was a bit older - 5 yrs old - when we got her and already settled down, she had a wonderful personality and had such a kind and gentle spirit about her ~ she was truly a blessing to me.

But when we got Henry he was only 5 months old and had sooooo much puppy in him. His 'pound name' was Rabbit and there are times ... especially when he hops around like Tigger  ... when I think I should have kept that name. But on the drive down to the shelter I thought Eleanor ~ Ellie for short ~ would be a great name. Mr. quickly asked 'what if we get a boy?' So I sat and thought ... and sat and thought ... and sat and thought. I GOT IT!!!! How about Henry? Let me just say the looks that guys gave each other let me know that they are not the readers in the family. Princess understood right away that Henry James wrote 'The Turn of the Screw' and O. Henry wrote 'The Gift of the Magi' ... if you get some time this year, you should really add these two stories to your must read list. Right now Henry's newest little trick is that when I pick the tomatoes from the garden, he waits until my back is turned, he will sneak to the bowl and grab the small ones and runs out to the grass and eats it! What a tomato thief!!!! It is too cute to see him come around, he prances around as if he is so un-interested in what I am doing then he will get quiet and just simply walk behind me and without making a sound he nabs a sweet treat and runs to the grass as if he was chasing a bird. Apparently the dog doesn't know that I can count or he would have taken less. LOL  Lately I have been seeing him roaming around the tomato bed but I just figured he was chasing lizards or something but now I am thinking he might be figuring out how he can cut out the middle man. Silly dog. One of our concerns since he is still kinda young is how he will act around the grandbaby. But he has been so super cute with her ... sometimes he just lays and watches over her .. which is so sweet. Other times he waits for Mr to hand off the baby then he jumps up on him and starts to cuddle up around his neck .. too cute. But he will only do it to Mr. Gosh I can probably go on forever about Henry stories but I will spare you the torture =D

Happy Birthday Henry .. we are glad to have you as part of the Desert Dragonfly family.

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Happy Star Wars Day



 
Now that the Storm Troopers are here 
we can get this party started ... LOL
Sorry but the geek in me just had to do it =D
 

Saturday, May 3, 2014

May Reading

 
 
I haven't read a book since December!! Really?! That can't be right!
Where did the time go?
Oh yeah .. sick with bronchitis end of Dec/early Jan,
new grandbaby in Jan, Princess sick in the hospital most of Feb,
new job in March and Mr knee surgery, Passover/Easter in April
(plus 2 birthdays - I haven't even sent out my birthday
 thank-you notes *.*) I know I am forgetting more events
but right now I just can't remember.
 
Now that spring is ending
*when the temp. starts to get into triple digits ..
spring is ending. I don't care what the calendar says*
and life seems to be settling down *kinda*
I am just itching to get back into my routine.
I have a project list a mile long and it is
seeming a tad bit overwhelming and I am not
sure where to begin. So starting with reading
 seems like a great place to begin and which author
did I pick? Well, Patterson of course silly.
'Gone' is the 6th book in the Michael Bennett
series and so far ... I am really enjoying it.