RubyRed's Home Page

Welcome Friends. Pull up a chair and sit and chat awhile. It's always nice to have company and I'm glad to see you back again. For those of you who are old friends, it won't be a surprise when I say I've neglected my parlor terribly for the last several months (ok... ok.... years). I'm sure you've noticed the thick layer of dust and the pulled curtains when you've peeked in! Well, what can I say? Housekeeping isn't my best talent and I've been busy on lots of things which have kept me from pulling out the cleaning supplies *grin*!

I've just (November 2002) added a lot of new photographs to the site and guess what! I've found out that Geocities/Yahoo has a limit on how much data can be accessed from a website within any given time period.... meaning, that if you suddenly get a message saying that data transfer (or something of that sort) has been exceeded, it just means that my website has hit it's limit. Just come back in an hour or so and resume your visit, ok? I'd get a higher data transfer limit, but then I'd have to pay for it! LOL!

I've never been a big fan of all the junk email which gets circulated. In fact, I've asked a few people to take me off of their 'lists'. Very often, I delete the mass mailings without even looking at them. Today though, something prompted me to read one and I was moved by what I read. Those of you who know me as a mother of a child who suffers from CVS, will understand why when you read the following. This isn't the entire poem, just the part I liked the best and wanted to share with my family and friends here in my parlor. I do not know the author of this poem, but thank him or her for touching my heart.

"THE BLESSING IN "NO"
I asked God to take away my pride.
God said "No".
It is not for me to take away,
but for you to give it up.

I asked God to make my hurting child whole.
God said "No".
Your child's spirit is whole,
Your child's body is only temporary.

I asked God to grant me patience.
God said "No".
Patience is a by-product of tribulations;
it isn't granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness.
God said "No".
I give you blessings,
happiness is up to you.

I asked God to spare me pain.
God said "No".
Suffering draws you
apart from worldly cares
and brings you closer to me.

I asked God to make my spirit grow.
God said "No".
You must grow on your own,
but I will prune you
to make you fruitful.

I asked for all things
that I might enjoy life.
God said "No".
I will give you life
so that you may enjoy all things.

I ask God to help me LOVE others,
as much as he loves me.
God said... Ahhhh,
finally you have the idea!

To all of you my friends, I wish God's love, that you might share it with all of those who touch your world.

There are so many chain-emails around, every day more arrive in my in-box. I delete a lot of them without ever reading them. But still... I do read some... and some touch my heart. I want to share one of them with you. Again, author unknown....

"ENOUGH"
Recently, overheard a father & daughter saying their good byes at the airport. They had announced her plane's departure and standing near the security gate, they hugged and he said, "I love you. I wish you enough." She said, "Daddy, I wish you enough, too." They kissed and she left to board her plane.

He walked over toward the window where I was seated. "When you were saying good-bye I heard you say 'I wish you enough'." "May I ask what that means???" He began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone." He paused for a moment, and looking up as if trying to remember it in detail, he smiled even more. "When we said 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with enough good things to sustain them," he continued and then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory:

"I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Good-bye". He then walked away.

My friends and loved ones, I wish you enough! Please send this to your friends and loved ones, and don't forget to send it back to the one that sent it to you!! I wish for you...", Comfort on difficult days, Smiles when sadness intrudes, Rainbows to follow the clouds, Laughter to kiss your lips, Sunsets to warm your heart, Gentle hugs when spirits sag, Friendships to brighten your being, Beauty for your eyes to see, Confidence for when you doubt, Faith so that you can believe, Courage to know yourself, Patience to accept the truth, And love to complete your life.

I WISH YOU ENOUGH!!!

I wish each and every one of you God's love, that you might share it with all of those who touch your world.

And to each one of you... I wish you enough.

Four years ago now, I took a few minutes to tell you how it feels to me to be the parent of children who really are no longer children. I thought that the words I wrote about my feelings about my children would be a temporary addition to this site, but when I look at them now, I just don't want to remove them. Instead, I'm updating ages and a few other facts and leaving them here. All of you, who love your children as I do mine, will understand why I can't take them down.

Jaime is 23 now and is definitely an adult. She is a lovely and mature young lady, who has her head on straight and knows where she's going. In addition, she now knows who she's going there with, as she has recently been married. Welcome to the family, Brad! We love you! Jaime, when you read this, I want you to know that I'm telling the world what you mean to me. You are one special woman, my daughter. I've been told many times that you are a beautiful woman and now I want to tell you what my response to that is. I respond that yes, you are a beautiful woman, and that you are as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside and that is what makes me so very proud of you. 'Nuff said. I could go on for pages and what I've just said is what it all adds up to.

Jeremy is 21 now. Time has gone so quickly! The other day, we were laughing together about a cub scout camping trip that I helped supervise when he was about 8-9 years old. The boys had quite a competition going, trying to see who could make the loudest rude noise (I'll leave the kind of noises they were making to your imagination. If you know anything about little boys, you'll guess :-) Jeremy is a child no longer. At 13 he was a wonderful combination of child and man all packaged in a body that was nearly the size it would be at an adult. A wonderful age, it's true. At 17, I saw less and less of the child in him. He became a thoughtful young man with a wonderful sense of humor that just cracked me up at times (and still does). Even then, he could see the good in people and treated everyone, child and adult, with respect and kindness. Today, at 21, Jeremy is a young man yet, but he shows great promise af being a man others can depend upon, one who cares greatly for those who are fortunate enough to be in his life. Jeremy, if you read this, I want you to know that I am proud of you.

I love both of my children with the love that is reserved for mothers. Admittedly a touch possessive (after all I gave them life) but a love which wants them to be the wonderful, caring, independant adults they were born to be. I also love my children as friends, people I am proud to be friends with.

Sorry guys, I know this is probably embarrassing to you, but it's the way I feel. I promise not to leave it on my website until we're all old and grey if that helps at all *grin*!

Hmmmm..... I'm not sure about that 'old and grey' part. As reluctant as I am to remove the section above, it could very well stay here at least until I'm old and grey. Forgive me Jaime and Jeremy, I can't help myself :-)

As many of you know, I'm very involved with creating and maintaining web pages for those children and adults suffering from CVS (Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome). It's not a pretty illness, but then illness seldom is. If you've been to my parlor in the past, you may remember that I had a list of links to sites I've created for people suffering from CVS. The list is getting longer all of the time and I've also discovered other pages related to CVS which I am anxious to share. Forgive me if some of these sites have become out of date, or are no longer valid. I'm still deeply interested and still live with the effects that CVS has had in Jeremy's life, but am no longer actively involved in the websites. Still, they are worthy of looking at. Please visit the:

CVS Site List
for a complete listing of all CVS related sites I've created and also other sites I've been able to find. Again, some of these may be out of date... sorry about that.

For a brief description of many of the personal pages I've written and other pages written for CVS children you may visit The Disease in Disguise - Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome WebRing Listing. If you know anyone with similiar symptoms please pass these urls on to them. They may have been searching for an answer for their symptoms or thier child's symptoms for a long time and this might be just the information they need to see.

As always, time flies, so I'd better fly with it!! Take care friends, and we'll talk again soon!

I love Web Page Development. If you're a regular visiter that's probably apparent... you've constantly (well except for these past several monthes when I've been terribly lazy) seen new themes, new ideas, new pages, as well as updates to existing pages. In addition to 'RubyRed's Parlor' and many of the personal CVS pages listed on the CVS Site List, I maintain:

'Kasson and Dodge County Minnesota' site at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/9675/
'Ruby's Holidays' at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Estates/9685/
and 'RubyRed's Graphic Depot' at http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Valley/6040/
but the parlor as always, is my real 'home on the web'.

I enjoy every minute I spend putting these pages together and hope you have as much fun on your visit as I did preparing for it. I've included a wide variety of pages and links and think I've been able to include something for nearly everyone. Take your time, have fun, enjoy.... and while you're at it, don't forget to sign the guestbook. I'd LOVE to hear from you!!

Curious what you're going to find in RubyRed's Parlor?? Read on for a list of what's new, and what's here to visit again and again!!!!

Wondering what's new??? Well..... ohhh.... None of them are anywhere new anymore! Again, time does get away..... I hope you enjoy them anyway :-) My latest projects are:

Created August 1998, a section called Ruby's Backyard Birds . I've added some bird feeders and a makeshift bird bath to my back yard this year and the results have been wonderful. Please visit this new page and meet all of my new backyard neighbors!

In the spring of 1998, I added the first RubyRed's Bio Pages. Included are: my bio in the words of Jarrus, a good friend and a very talented writer; an autobiography written by my maternal Great Grandfather; and a sneak preview of some photos I'll be including with my own story of my 'growing up' years. If you want to find out more about RubyRed, this is the place to go :-)

The 'Graphic Depot' just grew so much it absolutely needed a site of its own!!! RubyRed's Graphic Depot. I did my first graphics back in November and now I've started doing border background collections. These collections will include backgrounds, matching accessory graphics, midi's.... everything you want for your site. Check out this link to view and/or download the following collections: 'Horse', 'In God We Trust', 'JoyRose', 'Out of Africa': Many more to come :)

Created October 24 1997.... Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome . A serious page on a serious subject. My son suffers from recurring bouts of unexplained nausea (repeated vomiting over a long period of days if you really want to get technical about it!) and until now no one had ever diagnosed it as a 'real' disease. Check out my CVS page to read more about it. This could be a real eye-opener if you or someone you know suffers from a similiar problem. By the way, this is the same link as the CVS link above so don't be fooled into taking it twice. It's also still 'under construction' so be sure to come back and check it out again later on.

Oldies but Still Goodies!~
I'll be the first to admit this is a 'links' page only, but I think I've included lots of useful ones. Check out my HTML-n-Stuff Page. You'll find lots of great helpers for HTML, Java, General Web Page Design, as well as links to sites with great 'freebie' backgrounds, graphics, and ICON's you can use on your own page. There's something for everyone here from the beginner to experienced Web Page Designers. Take a look.... and Have Fun!!!

A page of wonderful Minnesota links. I've explored the net looking for the best sites to take you on a tour of this lovely state of mine... and there are a ton of fantastic links available for you to check out. You'll find links for birdwatchers and authors, links for newspapers and weather reports across the state... AND... The Minnesota Zoo, Renfest Renaissance Festival, and ValleyFair... Great places to spend a day!! Lots of other good links too. Please take your time and enjoy this trip around Minnesota!

There are many issues that we, as 'citizens of the world', should be aware of. While I realize that we can't all be involved in helping to solve ALL of the worlds problems, we CAN all become better educated so that we can choose which areas we might be best able to help with. Please visit RubyRed's Awareness Page. This page is me helping to spread the word.

A few more words from RubyRed
Once you've finished looking around don't forget to come on back and sit a while.... The chairs are always soft, the beverages and snacks are always ready, and the welcome mat is always out at Ruby's House.

Have fun... and come back soon :))

Sign Ruby's Guestbook		View Ruby's Guestbook
~~~Email~~~		RubyRed~~~

A - is for Album ----- RubyRed's Picture Album
B - is for Bio -------- RubyRed's Biography
B - is for Birds ------ RubyRed's BackYard Birds
C - is for Chapel -----RubyRed's Little Chapel
C - is for CVS ------ Learn about my son's illness.

This may be important if you have a child
With unexplained stomach problems.

E - is for Entertainer -- Ruby the Entertainer
G - is for Graphics --- RubyRed's Graphics Depot
H - is for Holidays --- Ruby's Holidays
R - is for Resume ----- My Resume