The New Year

At the end of 2011 my mom had a heart attack and was taken to Mercy hospital in Muskegon. While she was there she had a stroke, and was paralyzed down the left side of her body. After being held there for several weeks she was finally released to a nursing facility here in Grand Haven.

She has made some encouraging progress since then. She has recovered most of her mobility, but she is still unable to speak or use her right arm very well. She gets very aggravated because she can't articulate to us what she wants to say. Last week while I was there with my niece Sarah my mom sat up and was trying to tell us something. We waited. Finally, as tears welled in her eyes, she managed to say, "I have no home anymore."

My niece has taken over the house my folks lived in and she is handling the rent and bills and keeping an eye on my dad, who isn't doing very well himself. My brother drank himself into a stupor and Sarah had to call the ambulance to take him to the hospital. After being there for several days they told her that he would never recover and so they sent him to a rehab facility in Fremont. So now it's just me and Sarah trying to keep what little family we have left together, for the time being at least.

Last week they allowed my mom to leave the nursing home and come back to the house for a short visit. She was able to sit outside with Sarah and my dad and enjoy the quiet of her yard once more. She can continue to come home or go for drives as long as she is doing well. She makes progress everyday, because my mom is very stubborn and refuses to give up. Her beloved computer is now gone. I had my own drama happen at the beginning of 2012 and I'm now staying in the basement of a friend's house. I gave the computer to my friend's son, and his wife is using the computer desk. I have the monitor.

We certainly had a traumatic new year here at the Cloud residence and while things can never really go back to what they were, we can only hope and pray that what we do have will improve.

- Doug Cloud

A Child's Christmas Eve Dream

Last night I had a lovely dream, but strange as it could be,
For on the hill beside our house, stood a great Christmas tree.
It glowed with lighted candles, right at the top a lighted star,
And round it dancing in a ring, children from lands afar.
Polite little English girls, Swiss boy's with funny skis,
Dutch children in queer wooden shoes. joined hands with shy Chinese.
Turkish lads is tassled fez, tots from France, Greece and Poland.
Laughing as the children do, in the safety of a free land,
Perhaps my dream's a prophecy, of Christmas to be,
When little children everywhere, can sing because they are free.
I surely wish with all my heart, this day of Jesus birth,
That peace and love and happiness, soon cover all the earth.

I would like to wish all my blogging friends==A very Merry Christmas and may all your dreams come true, love=Margaret.

The Night Before Christmas

Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), wrote the poem "The Night Before Christmas" also called "a visit from St. Nicholas" in 1822. It is now the tradition in many American families to read the poem every Christmas eve. The poem has redefined our image of Christmas and Santa Claus. Prior to the creation of the story of Twas the night before Christmas St. Nicholas the patron of children had never been associated with sleigh or reindeer's.

Clement Moore the author of the poem, The Night Before Christmas was a reticent man and it is believed that a family friend, Miss H. Butler sent a copy of the poem to the New York Sentinel, who published the poem. The condition of publication was that the author of The Night Before Christmas was to remain anonymous. The first publication date was December 26, 1823 and it was an immediate success.

It was not until 1844 that Clement Clarke Moore claimed ownership when the work was included in a book of his poetry. Clement Clarke Moore came from a prominent family and his father-Benjamin Moore was the Bishop of New York, who was famous for officiating at the inauguration of George Washington. The tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas on Christmas eve is now a world wide institution and tradition.

Waiting For Winter

Right now I crave the quiet days that brings along with winds that sweep the streets clean of life.

What wonders lies in cold times, the ground gets bright like the moon in the night sky, and during those times when the moon shines, she tends to brew up a gloomy atmosphere for all to bathe in and all to sleep through.

Those peaceful times!
Those peaceful times!

Poem by Ralgy Cepeda

My Year 1933

Some facts that occurred the year I was born, I found interesting. It was a common year, starting on a Sunday of the Gregorian year. As you probably guessed, this is my birth year (November 24th), my birthday comes on Thanksgiving every seven years.

These are just a few facts that happened in the year 1933. Construction of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco Bay begins. The U.S. Congress votes for the independence of the Philippines. U.S. Constitution is ratified, changing Inauguration Day from March 4th to January 20th.. Mount Rushmore was dedicated. A powerful earthquake and tsunami hits Honshu Japan, killing 3,000 people.

During the Great Depression, President Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday, closing all the banks in the United States, and freezing all financial transactions. Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camps, it opened March 22nd. 1933. The Jews called for a boycott of German goods. Beer is legalized in the United States.

The first alleged sighting of the Loch Ness monster occurs. The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey. A United Airlines Boeing 247 destroyed near Chesterton, Indiana by a bomb. This is the first proven case of air sabotage in airline history. Albert Einstein arrives in the US as a refuge from Nazi Germany and accepts a position at Princeton University.

New Deal by President Roosevelt unveils Civil Works Administration designed to create jobs for more than four million of the unemployed in our country. The 21st amendment goes into effect, alcohol becomes legal in the United States. King Kong movie is out. Aldof Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Gas was 10 cents a gallon. Rent was $18.00 a month. Bread was 7 cents a loaf. Hamburg was 11 cents a pound. Average labor wages was $20.00 a month. This may seem like a dream but most were unemployed or their salary was small.

Hope you enjoyed these and Hope you all have a very happy Thanksgiving, don't eat too much, know I probably will.