I cried through the movie, "My Sister's Keeper"

There was so much sadness in the world today with Farrah Faucett's and Michael Jackson's deaths, and I was still shaken from Gary's heart problem, so I decided to go see this movie, even though I knew it was sad, too. I followed the case when it was in the news, and I don't know how close the movie stayed to the real life story, but I thought Nick Cassevetes who directed "Notebook" did a good job. Nick Cassevetes is the son of movie makers John Cassevetes and Gina Rowland and I read today in the paper that he related to this story because he had a daughter with a heart defect. The story is about a mother who is so determined to keep her daughter with chldhood leukemia alive that she goes along with her doctor's idea that her only chance to live longer is with a bone marrow donor related to her. Neither her parents or her brother are a match, so he tells the parents it might be possible with today's technology to genetically engineer a donor match in an invitro fertilization. Unbelievably the doctors are able to do it, and the little girl that is born spends the next eleven years giving her sister what she needs in 11 different sometimes very painful procedures. Finally her kidneys fail and her mother wants the little sister to sacrifice a kidney to save her sister. But I am not going to spoil the suspense by telling you any more of the story.
I thought a lot of the acting was very touching, well done. Or this movie would not have been so emotionally moving. It was a movie about some very hard choices when a terrible disease is involved. If you go take your kleenex! You will cry.

1- Gerry brings spirit Pierre to be in New Years Series

Yes, I took spirit Pierre pictured with me in the big photo down to Doc's which startled him to say the least. But Doc cannot resist anything unusual so he accepted Pierre's presence in this video series. I had to tell him what Pierre was saying, but all in all I think they got along quite well. I explained that Pierre was with me now, since he, Doc, had taken just too long to sober up I knew I could not find a new man at my age in this place, so when Pierre offered to come back and take up our relationship again, I accepted. He said he has been coming through the walls for a long time anyway. I did not realize that the dead could get so involved in your life again, but he says he will be around now until I die when I need him. I could not tell who he thinks will die first, Doc or me, but I rather think it must be Doc due to his more poisonous diet. However I do know I will have to get my dying done at some point. I can't get out of it. Anyway, you will learn more about Pierre in this series.

Doc withdraws from the presidential race

Being outtalked by his woman opponent, me, so badly (he did not get a word in edgewise) is I believe the reason Doc is announcing his withdrawal from the race. People act like I don't give him a chance to talk. People, he is drunk. That is why he doesn't speak up. He can't marshall his thoughts. My next video will be "Doc is the worst drunk in America." I figure if he won't quit drinking, I can document his fall from a 160 I.Q. to about 80. Maybe I will at least learn something about why he continues on this path.

Victor Victorious and moving right along...

I have to report that I cleaned out my closet, gave away clothes put away summer ones which is very important for someone with as many clothes as I have. I never mentioned I don't think that I also change clothes often to take care of a bladder problem rather than wear depends. I hate depends. Course you do acquire huge washings this way, but I am willing to do the extra labor. After all, I was raised in a primitive area where I had to carry buckets of water from the ditch, heat it in an outside tub, carry it on to the porch to put it in the washer, and wash for 7 people when I was only 10 years old! We had to carry the rinse water the same way. Some hardy souls like my grandmother boiled her whites on the stove before she washed them in the washer. So do you think I think washing now days is a hard job?
No, not at all. I am prone to say people don't know what work is now days, but then I would be wrong. They just work hard other ways. Like on their jobs, for example.

I did get to the thrift store and found this lovely lavender hat for a $1. I just love it, so I promptly put it on this morning with a lavender blouse and modeled it for you. My Aunt Net had beautiful white wavy hair and her best color was lavender. So here is a hat Aunt Net would have adored.

I am happy to report that I have gotten around to a number of the journalists' new blogs. Lisa of Please Dont Take Life For Granted finally made it over after a minor meltdown and guess what she is making her blog entrance more interesting than I am. She is talented that way. Joyce of Treasure Chest of Life has a most inviting front page with an array of photos from one of the other photo places like Photobucket and Flickr. I have not even got all my AOL homepage photos saved back to my computer in case I deleted some I want. Nelishia has learned fast how to embed Youtube which I must learn soon, when I take a notion to make a new video. I call her graphically talented, too, as I am not. She loves handicrafts. My family is loaded with handicrafters but I always resisted their efforts to get me to sew when young, as I didn't think I had enough time to read all that was required to become a great writer.

Raymond is still in town, very busy no doubt meeting with the rather large company of actors who are interested in filming another season of Caffeine.

My sister's best friend Jewel died over the weekend. Ann is preparing to go speak to her services to be held at the school where she taught elementary school. Ann taught high school so they had a lot in common. Jewel was from our home town, and she was so courageous in fighting the chronic disease of Reyaud's as well as the after math of a heart attack, that we all had to stop and pay homage to the passing of a very strong spirit.

I know Ann is thinking oh I better get ready, as she is a severe diabetic without a pancreas and has no idea how long she can last. She is very conscientious about obeying the doctors' orders. She has done very well for the ten years she has been so afflicted. Ann is 8 years younger than I am, which made Jewel's passing a bit of a wakeup call for me, too. People at this age know they have to through the biggest event since being born some time soon, that of passing on to whatever lies ahead. Doc thinks nothing lies ahead, but alcohol causes him to draw a blank. I don't let him influence me. He is just not thinking well.

Jewel was also a friend of my sister LaRae who passed over twenty years ago. I know that she was among the throng to come and greet Jewel, and she will be riding along with my two rather decrepit sisters, Margie and Ann, as they travel to her services. Ann said she is concerned about Margie who is only a year younger than I am as she seems a bit shaky after undergoing surgery to remove a painkiller device from her back. She has had 3 back surgeries and a stroke, and does not know which keeps her in chronic pain. A number of Utah people she says have died of a prescription drug overdose. She is already suffering from quite severe apnea and the doctor told her if she did not learn to keep her oxygen on at night, she could die quite easily in her sleep. That alarmed her 85 year old husband I can tell you. He does not want her to go before he does, and right now, even after 10 bypasses, he is doing very well. I can't imagine anyone tougher than he is.

Watch this journal for signs from the spirit world, as I expect a whole lot of leaving of my friends and acquaintences from now on. Ellen, if you will remember, died a few months ago after a year in the hospital with an infection after stomach reduction surgery. She dreamed of being fashionably thin for Victor who was in Paris at the time. Now Victor is in and out of the hospital, and I have felt Ellen close by. He had to have back surgery because his hand was going numb. And he is in a wheel chair with lymphoma in one leg (big leg) and severe diabetes. Since she died he lost his kidneys and had to go on dialysis, and he is the nicest guy! Somebody said in the elevator he had to go back to the hospital, I thought they said hospice and my heart dropped to my knees. Ellen only lasted a few days after signing up for hospice and telling them to stop feeding her by tube. I am hoping Victor will have a little more time with us, but he has had very bad health for so long. Always so cheerful with a smile and many interesting words to say. His apartment is wall to wall books. He has been going to college for years, learning and learning all the time. For these reasons I call the photo of him above Victor Victorious!