While some may not feel that my little contribution here is appropriate for this topic, it was the best place I could find to put it. I'm new to the board, however, I am far from "new" to Mare and KellKell. I just wanted to take this opportunity to put my 2 cents in when it comes to spiritual relationships. It has long been my belief that many times in life we find those to whom we truly are kin, while it may not be in blood, these spiritual relationships are far stronger and reach far deeper than blood relationships. I was never gifted with a blood sister with whom I could bond; I admit wholeheartedly I am jealous of those who were born into families that had multiple female children. However, I guess my lifelong wishes and prayers for a sister were answered in a most unorthodox manner. Mare and I became acquainted over 35 years ago - just a chance placement in the employment world put us within close physical proximity to each other and on a professional level on a plane of contact that was "spittin'" distance. If I'd been a guy-person and had the gift of being able to toss heaving spit wads we literally could have sent spit wads to each other. As most of you know, generally, work-related friendships often do not endure long periods after one person or the other moves on to other companies or departments, however, in our case, the bond just became stronger and more enduring. So much so that I truly believe that even with DNA testing we'd not be far removed from each other. While our friendship has been long-standing, even with our physical relationship being often long distances apart, the bond has never suffered. Now that I've droned on and on about the "past" - I just want to let you all know that you've chosen a most unique individual with which to align yourselves and one that you will find, if you hang around very long, will learn to be a friend with whom you can share all your heartaches, pains and agony and more enjoyably the enormous laughter that became physically painful from grabbing our sides for long hours. She is a friend with whom I could spend an entire night when the evening began with a "quick stop by" for a Pepsi (and in the early days for a beer or a drink until we both learned that alcohol did nothing to enhance either of our personalities and actually dulled the enormous pleasure we both derived from our uniquely distorted and morbid senses of humor). I'm sure our individual families, at times, thought we were ready for the Funny Farm at any moment, and if they'd be honest now with us, they probably had already alerted authorities to make a pick up by the "wacky wagon". We both could tell some tales here about the other that would cause untold embarrassment to our families (I don't think much would embarrass either of us) and some very tender moments during times of heartache that would require untold quantities of tissue. We've survived the physical deaths of our parents, without that support neither of us could have survived alone. The temporary loss of children (from which the kids emerged far stronger and more productive adults)and a truly unique loss of siblings through almost identical circumstances, hundreds of miles apart while all physically survived, the relationships of blood kin did not (keep praying, though, someday those siblings will realize just what they are missing). I'm hoping I didn't tell too many tales out of school and I know it took a lot of words just to say that you all, who don't know us as we know each other and never will, have found a home on the web that is unique above all others with a common thesis. The road has not always been smooth, as with any relationship, the bond has remained and will always. I sometimes envision, and have envisioned for many years, the two of us, side-by-side on the front steps of some poor unprepared nursing home, dreaming up some kind of prank to pull. We've literally traveled many tens of thousands of miles together and apart, but never, I say NEVER, has one day passsed that we haven't in the spiritual realm been together. I proclaim that my belief is that the spiritual world, too, has relationships that far exceed those which are an accident of birth.
to you, Mare and to my KellKell (whom I have known since she was a babe in arms) I send my love, my friendship, and an increase in your physical abilities and strengths. The road is long and a rough one, but with real world friendships, nothing can destroy that which was borne of the spirit. I'll not go further with some tales of the past (at least not right now - not without a dare - giggle) Here's a lamp, perhaps this will bring back a memory or two

Love to all,
Cinny Bug

Awwww, thanks, Cynthia... muuaaahhhhhh!! Welcome to the board. =) Hey everyone, meet my honorary Aunt Cinny Bug!

Kell

Welcome to SpiritKeep Cinny Bug

Thanks for sharing your heartwarming post about such a great friendship. That kind of relationship certainly is something to be cherished and nurtured.

I'm glad you decided to join our little corner of cyberspace. Take your shoes off and make yourself at home.

Life-long friendships are the true treasures of this world. My life would be very empty without my closest souls. Mare and Kell's family is lucky to have you!

Welcome to the board!

I can't remember the exact quote, but Mark Twain once said something to the effect of: "The best relatives are the ones you choose yourself."
I couldn't agree more!
Welcome to the board. =)

Cinny Bug!!! Thank you so very very much for your story of our friendship. It has been one of those situations where friends truly are the relatives you would choose for yourself. In a very deep sense, we are each the sister that the other never had. I guess that to sum up the strength of our relationship is best said in the following verse:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 CORINTHIANS 13

Remarkably, each of us has just one younger brother, and each of those brothers became greedy upon the death of our respective mothers, and took all they could grab for themselves, leaving us holding 'the empty bag' and nothing but bills. My mother was cremated and interred without a funeral, and I wasn't even invited to the memorial. Cynthia's mother and father were buried without so much as a headstone, after her brother had blown enough of their mother's money on himself to buy them by the dozens. The brothers don't even bother to stay in touch after the burials. It is like their sisters never existed.

And so, we are each other's sister, in a way that is probably hard for many to understand the true depth of this enduring relationship. We have been through the fire, both together and separately, and our love for each other has survived it all.

Cynthia, you are one of my life's greatest treasures, and I am so very delighted that you have joined our little message board. I hope you enjoy the time you spend here, and I know that you will be loved by many who share this little corner of cyberspace. Welcome to SpiritKeep, Cinny Bug!!!!

Love and hugs,

Mare

I KNEW you guys were crazy. I just knew it. =)

That's beautiful. I hope you guys share it for the rest of your days here and it becomes the full bloom that it is after your time here is done. That's a special relationship.

First off, let me say, I'm so sorry I've been so long about reading the replies to my message. Again, also if I put it in the wrong place, I apologize but looks like it found a great little niche all to itself. While I feel I would be betraying our great friendship to tell ALL that Mare and Kell, Dan and Bill have been through, I can and will share from time to time some of those more precious moments with everyone. They are the ones that bring total laughter in the times of utter horror, disgust, depression as well as times of joy and gladness.

How terribly easy it would be in life if all the roads were paved, but alas, in my years on this old Earth I've learned that few actually are.

Note to Mare and Kell - from my heart - you have built a beautiful community here and while numbers are wonderful, the depth and quality of that community is far more impressive than the numbers. The replies received from my little posting are truly heart-warming and encouraging in a world that some days seems so filled with people who have no heart.

There are so many hilarious journeys that Mare and I have taken together I hardly know where to start. Some would bring such embarrassment to myself that I cannot tell them here. But, what the heck - here's a tiny little preview of one that might redden a face in the crowd. (I hope I don't get 86'd for telling this one, my dear sis, it just has brought me laughter when I needed it most over the years).

A number of years ago after my husband died I was scheduled for surgery in the town where my Mother lived, my sweet Sis, Mare, had agreed to fly with me from our home in Arizona to Texas for the procedure. Just to show you what kindness and unselfishness that is Mare, the day or so before we were to fly out she showed up at my house with matching outfits for us to wear on the plane. Perhaps she thought that if I wondered too far away in the airport and it would be easier to spot a lost soul if that lost soul were dressed in the same clothing she was, or perhaps it was so that if she lost me in the airport (you see I can't find my way out of a paper sack when it comes to directions!)and she had to contact airport security for assistance, and couldn't recall what I was wearing, it would be far easier to just show the security guards what I was wearing. (not sure the reason, but it was fun, none-the-less). I digress, when we arrived in the small airport in Texas we were starved. (One could never gain much weight eating airplane food and when it's Southwest Airlines - the peanuts really aren't that fattening, anyway) We were starved and decided to make a stop, after getting our rental car to make the 100 or so mile drive on to my Mom's. About the only place on our route to stop was Sonic and the one thing I can say for Sonic is that the quality of their food is always palatable and consistent, and cheap! We opted for one of those wonderful foot long chilli cheese dogs that one craves occasionally in a quest for anything wrapped in paper. Both Mare and I have managed to lose identical real teeth over the years. While we were scarfing down the dawgs, attempting to get the boring drive over with, Mare took a huge bite out of that wonderfully soft steamed hot dog bun. As she pulled away from the bite, teeth, dawg and chilli-cheese topping accompanied each other right out of her head. Rather than showing the great embarrassment that I would have expected from anyone else, not so with Mare. You see, we share this tremendous love of fishing and in our years of being so close, we've spent many hours wetting the old hook. As the dawg and its' condoments attended by her teeth slid right down in her lap. Without missing a beat out came the words "Wanna go fishin'?)

Sorry, loving Sis, if I've violated a confidence in sharing this little story, but I just couldn't help myself.

She is oh so right about choosing relatives, I am thankful that she was willing to share the nightmare that we both experienced with our brothers. It is so painful to know that the very ones who should have bonded more closely in the loss of parents were indeed torn apart. It is even more amazing in our own stories as chosen sisters that our life experiences continue to be so identical. It is so overwhelming to arrive at your deceased mother's home to be met with "I've already got the will laying out and all of her bank statements and the contents of her purse" rather than "What are we going to do without our Mother". It is odd too, that the greatest issue in both our situations involved real estate property. I guess the coincidences just go on and on.

Thank you for letting me share this bit of laughter and a few tears and heartbreak.

Thank you all for giving Mare and Kell the love and support I see here so openly displayed. She has obviously put so much work and her heart into this website and it obviously has been a labor of love. Let me say this as well, this IS a labor of love since it means nothing that is done for any $$- all from the heart and soul and the willingness to share that wonderful God-given artistic talent that is so evident here. What you see on these web pages is such a small sampling of that ability. A visit into her private life and home reveals an enormous life's work in art. While her graphic arts are tremendous they are just a small side of the beauty and creativity that I've seen.

To you, Mare and Kell, Dan and Bill,
Love from my heart to yours,
CinnyBug

Stay tuned, more laughter over the years to come! With her permission I will share some other loving experiences at other times.

My, oh my.... LMAO.... she had to tell the Sonic story, and when we mention it to each other, we still get the giggles to this day. Yep, that chili dog took my teeth right out of my mouth, right there at the Sonic, and I was hoping that people in the cars next to us didn't see it... but, what if they did?? That is great, because they are probably telling their versions of it to their friends and families to this day, hopefully met by some side splitting laughter. If something I have done has caused someone to laugh, that is terrific! Laughter is a great medicine that heals many, many things. They should have Laughter 101 in med school, since many of the doctors would heal more with it, than with any medicine known to science.

Perhaps I should tell you all about Cinny Bug and the duck guts. (that isn't a typo). She was staying with Bill and I and our two little ones. She had her two little ones with her. We were living in a townhouse at the time, which had an upstairs. It was Thanksgiving, and we had agreed to roast a duck to do something a little different. Well, Cynthia was up earlier on Thanksgiving morn than I was, and so she proceeded to remove the giblets from the duck, and get them cooked for use in the stuffing/gravy. Well, wouldn't ya know, she chose to use a small clear Pyrex roaster. She put the giblets and water in it, and put it on the electric stove to cook. Well, I was awakened by something crashing in the kitchen and some remarks that I didn't quite understand from upstairs. I grabbed my robe and rushed downstairs.... and there was Cynthia.... standing there with the strangest look on her face, and mumbling something about the stove burner now covered in scorched duck guts. LMAO I came closer for a look, and sure enough.... she was absolutely right! That Pyrex roaster pan was for oven use only, which she was unaware of at the time. It had fractured all over the stove, and the giblets just plopped on the burner. So, there was this nasty electric burner, still smoking as it tried to cool off, and we started laughing like loons! Now, all we have to say to each other is 'duck guts', and the laughing starts all over again. We finally got the dinner cooked, and all was well. We just didn't have any giblets in anything, which suited me perfectly, as I have an aversion to duck or goose liver anyway! (And it smelled pretty bad, scorching there on that hot electric stove burner.)



Cynthia, thanks so much for your sweet compliments about our website/message board. We built SpiritKeep to share love, laughter, and compassion, and those commodities should always be free. I am just overjoyed when someone enjoys the things we have built here. ::hugs::

Yes, if you want to share some of the laughter in our lives, Cynthia, it is fine with me... then I can share some of my stories, too! LMAO Do you remember the cantaloupe ice cream?

Hi!
I love reading your stories! Honestly, I am waiting to hear about the ice cream cantalopes!
You both have something to treasure, each other!
These posts, sorry, are making me laugh hard!
God Bless you both!
((((((((hugs))))))
Piglet

Ok, y'all - you've asked for it - let the giggle wars begin! First let's clear a little unfinished business here, the incident of the cataloupe ice cream. I can recall, as a child, having Sunday afternoons reserved for making home-made ice cream in my grandmother's (Muzzy) back yard. It was always my desire in life to do the cranking - but alas I was far too little to even give it one good crank, much less to actually do the entire job, so they always assigned me the task of sitting on top of the durned thang to try and hold it still (generally I wound up just spinning around with it as the old crank turned the paddle inside - always coming away with a dead-butt from the freezing goodies inside. It seemed no matter how many towels they stacked on top of it - I wound up not being able to feel a thing on my back side for days!). Here's my Muzzy's recipe for those who are not familiar with that wonderfully delicious southern treat.
6 cans of Eagle Brand Milk
6 eggs - well beaten
4 cups of sugar
lots of vanilla
1 vanilla bean if you've got it
Just mix all that up well, toss it in the old ice cream freezer and finish it out with lots of half and half and perhaps a little whole milk until it comes about 3 inches from the top of the can. Now there's a treat for ya - of course it takes 3 weeks to clear all the cholesterol out of the old blood stream and an additional week to come off of the sugar high. But in those days we didn't have cholesterol and who cared about ADHD - it didn't exist, they were simply normal kids!
You know when you get something new you can't wait to use it and use it often? Well, it was the same with me and my new ice cream freezer - couldn't wait to see just how many flavors I could come up with...can't just leave well enough alone and didn't know that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Since most of our free time was spent in the company of best friends, it was "Extended Family Time" on most Sunday afternoons as well. We normally would toss something on the old barbque grill and do something - even if it was wrong. Our kids were almost the exact same age and were also best buddies as well. It was a perfect match. Mare and I would stir up the goodies and chatter the afternoon away while the kids and guys spent their time doing who-knows-what but we knew they were having fun. Normally the pool was our gathering spot and we really did enjoy each and every moment in good company. One particular Sunday afternoon I was getting desperate to find something new to add to the old ice cream freezer. As I recall, I didn't really have time to make a dash to the store for a new ingredient. As I was frantically looking in each crevice for that new special ingredient to try I happened to look at the fruit bowl and all that sat there was one lonely cantaloupe just crying out "pick me - pick me" - without hesitation I peeled and cut it up and into the blender it went. After adding all the above ingredients it went into the freezer. We had all enjoyed most of the concoctions that Mare and I had dreamed up to try in ice cream and being the over-confident chef I was, I had no reason to believe that this wouldn't be the flavor that sweeps the countryside. After stuffing ourselves with whatever it was that we cooked on the grill, mouths began to water in anticipation of hearing the ice cream freezer stop its' telltale whirring noise and lock up (that meant it was done!).
Now I've got an ego as big as anyone else when it comes to my culinary non-skills (see duck guts above for example of those skills) and it is not beyond me to burn most everything I cook. Fortunately there is no cooking in ice cream so how could I screw it up - right? Way wrong answer. It would take a book the size of War and Peace to fully describe the looks on the faces of everyone when they took their first anticipatory bite of that stuff!!!!! The flavor was somewhat like you might think that squash ice cream would taste - but you know what? Not one word was said - Mare, with all her selflessness never said one word - just ate what she had to be polite and to this day has maintained that it was "pretty good" - fess up, O Sis of mine, how many times did you guys have to stop on the short trip back to your house to toss your cookies?
But...that's what friendship is all about.
Someday I'll tell you the story of the 5 pound cake.

OK, I've opened the gate, Dear Precious Sis 'O Mine - YORE TURN - Wanna go fishin'? To quote a great American - "I have not yet begun to defile myself"
Love ya more'n my luggage,
Yore Sis Cinny Bug

[ July 05, 2003, 06:32 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

On a very serious topic, I am so saddened by the horrible fires on Mount Lemon near Tucson. You wouldn't think that this would impact a little (4'9") old gal in Texas, but it just breaks my heart. In the years that we lived in Arizona, Mount Lemon was one of our very most favorite places to go. So very many memories up on that mountain with Mare's family. With each burning acre I have at least 100 memories. In those days it was not just an area of exclusive homes, but more a wonderfully, gorgeous place for families to go and enjoy, without TV or electronic games, telephones. Those were times when families truly were families. Many days we packed up the old picnic hamper and ice chest and headed out. A spot where the kids could use their imaginations to make up games and laugh and play together. I mourn the loss of those days and that special place. We've changed many a diaper right up there on that mountain!!!! It was a time when families actually communicated and didn't require electronic baby-sitters.
But, well, you know me, "oh wordy one" - as my hubby calls me - I have to tell just one little quickie - On one Saturday afternoon after spending some time up on Mount Lemon we loaded up and decided to take a quick drive down to Nogales, Mexico - a fairly short jaunt that we made often. No particular reason, just did it. We (the two families) have always been quite fond of our pets and on most occasions took them with us on our picnics and outings. That Saturday was no exception and the little trip to Nogales was quite impromptu. We crossed over from the American side - Nogales, Arizona - into Mexico and walked a few blocks picking up a knick knack here and there. We entered one little shop - Mare and I while the guys and kids stood just outside the door of the little shop. Always looking for a little bargain and finding a little wooden wine set I found attractive - I walked over to it and picked it up - WRONG THING TO DO - the shop keeper approached me and began to bargain. Not wanting to be the stupid shopper I engaged in a bit of bargaining with him. Now please know I speak no - zip - nada - Spanish. I have no clue what the shopkeeper was actually saying other than the numbers involved - however, they were not to my liking. The shop keeper came over to me and patted me on the rear-end - whereupon I raised my hand to let him have it - quickly a figure stopped my hand in mid-air and reminded me I could be the one to wind up in a Mexican jail for the rest of my life for assaulting a Mexican National person. After that little adventure - coming away WITHOUT the little wine set - we loaded up the car to leave Nogales, Mexico. I suddenly realized that Penny, our beloved dog was in the car!! - Truth is, in Mexico if you attempt to cross back into the US all animals are confiscated and held in quarantine. Most are never returned. We did not want to lose the family pet - she was a part of the family. We were horrified. This was a time when bell bottoms were quite the style. As we searched for a spot to hide the dog (and just by the way the pistol that was in the glove compartment) you guessed it, the only place to stash them was in my pant legs! Never have a pair of bell-bottom pants been so valuable. We did make it back across the border but I know that my utter fear had to show on my face. Now there had to be an angel riding with us on that trip.

hugggzzzzz - yore Cinnybug

[ July 05, 2003, 06:35 AM: Message edited by: KellKell ]

Open letter to Piglet - while I don't know you, I just want to say to you that it gives me great pleasure to make you laugh. Laughter is the second greatest healer in this old world and there is far too little of it. I know that Mare shares that philosophy as well since, over the years she has provided me with so much laughter and healing in that way.

May the blessings of the day reach you deep in your heart and all that is in the past, that could be hurtful, disappear before your eyes.

Someone needs to ask Mare about the best way to wash windshields of cars driving beside you!

Huggzzzzz to all,
Cinnybug