Well, 6 PM came and went and no dinner! Yikes. I have been working all day. It's been very interesting, I still have much to do, but I got a lot done. The house smells clean!
I told my darling husband, "nope - just can't think tonight. It's tuna fish sandwiches or peanut butter and jelly" -- and he doesn't want that. (I don't think I have enough bread, anyway.)
So I told him, well, pretend you're on a date - what would you do? So, he's taking a shower and thinking about it. I think he's deciding to pick up Chinese, but he's already asked 'his date' to order it!
I love my husband. He is so funny! (And I love when he thinks about picking up Chinese!)
Saturday, April 28, 2007
One of those Days
I'm in the middle of one of those days that I kinda like -- I'm doing several things at once. I don't know why that pleases me so ...
I have the laundry going,
I'm cleaning my bedroom,
Cleaning my bathroom,
Reading the email, posting on my blog,
Dancing to old music,
Folding and putting away clothes (oh, you thought that was under 'laundry going' -- haha...no.)
Straightening closets as I look for hangers to keep the laundry going neatly ....
Not cooking - making salad for lunch - the lettuce is drying.
Madam Blueberry has company and is doing a list of small tasks in between visiting...
so far, it's all working out well.
What happens on these days is that when it gets to be about 6 o'clock, I regret not having made any dinner plans!
I have the laundry going,
I'm cleaning my bedroom,
Cleaning my bathroom,
Reading the email, posting on my blog,
Dancing to old music,
Folding and putting away clothes (oh, you thought that was under 'laundry going' -- haha...no.)
Straightening closets as I look for hangers to keep the laundry going neatly ....
Not cooking - making salad for lunch - the lettuce is drying.
Madam Blueberry has company and is doing a list of small tasks in between visiting...
so far, it's all working out well.
What happens on these days is that when it gets to be about 6 o'clock, I regret not having made any dinner plans!
Friday, April 27, 2007
Look Ahead
Look Ahead
Do not look back with shame, nor look up with arrogance, nor look around for blame. Just look ahead with dignity.
It's great outside -- Go see!
I'm up early today.
My house is a mess.
I had company last week, and you would think it was a whole army instead of three people. I cleaned my house and secured it to an orderly fashion for their visit and ~whoosh~it's gone! But I think that's what happens in a tiny house. And my house is very tiny.
I finally found a primary care doctor that I think I might like. A woman named Dr. Leslie. (haha, that's my best friend in Tennessee's name). She asked me what I wanted this Mother's Day and I said, "plants. I love plants. I just want to garden now. If I was rich I would buy more plants." She laughed and said, "me, too!" She's just discovered the outdoors as well! Must be a midlife thing!
Since I don't have money to buy plants, I am into cuttings. So, we will see what happens with my yard. What can happen with cuttings, I will find out.
Taking my nephew out everyday to the park has become a most welcomed time for me. It's great outside everyday. It's always breezy here. Sometimes I wear a hat, sometimes I don't. I am deciding to wear sunscreen everyday now, I wasn't before. And there are other people at the park everyday since we have been going there.
Apparently, this story started circulating about this little boy and his Aunt who are at the park everyday, and that meant that when you went there, you would have a little company. And soon, other people began to come. And then the story circulated that there were lots of people at this park everyday and that made it a fun and a safe place to go, and then more people began to come. It's great.
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver
God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther
I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau
My house is a mess.
I had company last week, and you would think it was a whole army instead of three people. I cleaned my house and secured it to an orderly fashion for their visit and ~whoosh~it's gone! But I think that's what happens in a tiny house. And my house is very tiny.
I finally found a primary care doctor that I think I might like. A woman named Dr. Leslie. (haha, that's my best friend in Tennessee's name). She asked me what I wanted this Mother's Day and I said, "plants. I love plants. I just want to garden now. If I was rich I would buy more plants." She laughed and said, "me, too!" She's just discovered the outdoors as well! Must be a midlife thing!
Since I don't have money to buy plants, I am into cuttings. So, we will see what happens with my yard. What can happen with cuttings, I will find out.
Taking my nephew out everyday to the park has become a most welcomed time for me. It's great outside everyday. It's always breezy here. Sometimes I wear a hat, sometimes I don't. I am deciding to wear sunscreen everyday now, I wasn't before. And there are other people at the park everyday since we have been going there.
Apparently, this story started circulating about this little boy and his Aunt who are at the park everyday, and that meant that when you went there, you would have a little company. And soon, other people began to come. And then the story circulated that there were lots of people at this park everyday and that made it a fun and a safe place to go, and then more people began to come. It's great.
I love to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station, through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in. ~George Washington Carver
God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars. ~Martin Luther
I believe that there is a subtle magnetism in Nature, which, if we unconsciously yield to it, will direct us aright. ~Henry David Thoreau
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Two days off
I really enjoyed my two days off. I can't tell you how good it felt to spend the whole two days with my daughter. Gosh, I just love my family.
Sean is heading up to Tallahassee this week to visit old friends up there. He lived there all his life - wow, see I've never had that experience - as in 'born somewhere and then lived there until I went away to college.'
I'm an 'army brat' with the Air Force thrown in, too. My dad served in both branches. And we moved from the time I was in first grade, every other year until I was 17. I changed schools 13 times. Talking about always being the new kid on the block! It was a way of life for me. Sometimes I wonder why I always feel like an outsider, why I never want to bother to reveal all the things about myself to anyone, and that is probably at the root of it. Because I feel like I will be leaving and never see my newly made friends again.
Some people do make an effort to keep in touch. But on a whole, it's rare when it does work. Even good friends have a difficult time keeping in touch.
I miss my friends. I love my friends. I find myself thinking about them more than I actually try to contact them. Once you love someone, they really are a part of your life. They are tangled in your heart like vines. The root goes deeply and disappears into a place that no MRI could pick up because it becomes a part of you. Love is like that. Grasping, keeping, growing ...if you never see your old friends again, that love, I believe does indeed grow and your next friendship is better because you have experienced the first one.
Life is just an amazing thing when you think about it. And Love, who can explain love? Just live it ~ make your life about living love.
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.
~~Emily Dickinson
Sean is heading up to Tallahassee this week to visit old friends up there. He lived there all his life - wow, see I've never had that experience - as in 'born somewhere and then lived there until I went away to college.'
I'm an 'army brat' with the Air Force thrown in, too. My dad served in both branches. And we moved from the time I was in first grade, every other year until I was 17. I changed schools 13 times. Talking about always being the new kid on the block! It was a way of life for me. Sometimes I wonder why I always feel like an outsider, why I never want to bother to reveal all the things about myself to anyone, and that is probably at the root of it. Because I feel like I will be leaving and never see my newly made friends again.
Some people do make an effort to keep in touch. But on a whole, it's rare when it does work. Even good friends have a difficult time keeping in touch.
I miss my friends. I love my friends. I find myself thinking about them more than I actually try to contact them. Once you love someone, they really are a part of your life. They are tangled in your heart like vines. The root goes deeply and disappears into a place that no MRI could pick up because it becomes a part of you. Love is like that. Grasping, keeping, growing ...if you never see your old friends again, that love, I believe does indeed grow and your next friendship is better because you have experienced the first one.
Life is just an amazing thing when you think about it. And Love, who can explain love? Just live it ~ make your life about living love.
To live is so startling it leaves little time for anything else.
~~Emily Dickinson
Come out of the circle of time
And into the circle of love.
~~Rumi
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.~~Corinthians 13, V 7,8,
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Don't keep this secret
Don’t keep this secret
~~Miss Roxie
Walk undaunted
Walk through with no distraction
Of those things that
Would rob you of your joy
Keep focused
On love
On kindness
On your children
Your family
Your friends
Keep focused
On the simple things
The simple gestures
The smiles
The hugs
The pats on the back
People cry out for human touch
without speaking
Hear yourself say
“I love you”
Give away your happiness
If you have too much it might choke you
And you will die a lonely death
Give it away
And it roots strongly
And then returns
A never-ending vine
That produces the fruit of survival
Monday, April 23, 2007
Easy Peasy Mac and Cheesy
My daughter loves Mac and Cheese. It's so easy, I thought I would share ~
Easy Peasy Mac and Cheese
1 Cup of Pasta
1 Cup of Broth
1 Cup of Cheese
1 TBS of Butter
1 TBS of Flour
In the time it takes to boil your pasta -- melt one TBS of butter in a pan with the 1 TBS of flour till you have a paste.
Add the Broth (I use Vegetable Broth, you can use Chicken Broth, and if you want milk, you can use milk)
Bring to a low boil
Take it off the burner
and add the cheese
Stir until it's blended really, really nicely.
While it sits there, drain the pasta (make sure it's really, really drained) and add the pasta and stir.
You can cook your pasta in advance. Just know that you will have to make sure you heat it through once you add it to the cheese.
This serves 2, but this is an easy recipe to double. A side of green beans, some crusty homemade bread, and you have a lovely Vegetarian Meal.
Some people like to bake macaroni and cheese. I've baked this one before. Just put some cheese on the top and bake for about 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This makes it less cheesy in my opinion, but I have two nieces who love it baked.
The pasta - I like the diatali pasta, but elbow is fine, of course.
”A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.” Bernard Meltzer
“A true friend never gets in your way unless you are going down.” Arnold H. Glasgow
Easy Peasy Mac and Cheese
1 Cup of Pasta
1 Cup of Broth
1 Cup of Cheese
1 TBS of Butter
1 TBS of Flour
In the time it takes to boil your pasta -- melt one TBS of butter in a pan with the 1 TBS of flour till you have a paste.
Add the Broth (I use Vegetable Broth, you can use Chicken Broth, and if you want milk, you can use milk)
Bring to a low boil
Take it off the burner
and add the cheese
Stir until it's blended really, really nicely.
While it sits there, drain the pasta (make sure it's really, really drained) and add the pasta and stir.
You can cook your pasta in advance. Just know that you will have to make sure you heat it through once you add it to the cheese.
This serves 2, but this is an easy recipe to double. A side of green beans, some crusty homemade bread, and you have a lovely Vegetarian Meal.
Some people like to bake macaroni and cheese. I've baked this one before. Just put some cheese on the top and bake for about 35-45 minutes in a 350 degree oven. This makes it less cheesy in my opinion, but I have two nieces who love it baked.
The pasta - I like the diatali pasta, but elbow is fine, of course.
Monday, April 16, 2007
When things go wrong
....I guess we should be happy they at least went somewhere.
1. In my committment to exercise, I put the DVD in the player and began to click. Could get only nothing. I asked my daughter for help. She's braver than I and will press more buttons without a thought of exploding Kansas.
So got that music at the beginning of the DVD - the song that plays over and over again like you could go crazy until you press play? -- and gray screen. Not much good so, I called my husband at work, no answer. I called again at lunch time. No answer. And usually he calls me back. Take it as a sign, you were not met to exercise today. ~~Drats!
2. Had a dentist appointment today. Thought, okay, I'll give my husband one more try on the DVD connection thing as I got in the car. I heard his phone ringing. It was under the driver's seat.
3. My dentist appointment today was disatrous!! Shocking! I have been taking good care of my teeth for at least the last 30 years anyway. Cleanings and check ups every 6 months.
The past year because of the moving, I didn't get to the dentist - and wow - I have to have a special cleaning involving putting my gums to sleep because the hygenist could not clean below the gums on my bottom row of teeth! Wow ~ all that from a year of neglect!! I wonder. I don't know. (I can add that to list of mysterious things I do not know.)
4. I have a great recipe for Pasta Fagioli to share. I'll try to do that this week.
5. I don't have a will. I should write one. I guess my kids could just fight over everything?
6. I have discovered a cleaning product I love. It's called Bartenders Friend. But you shouldn't use it on granite, I don't think. I used it on a tile floor that had a lot of the grout left on it and it worked great! On my stove - which is one of those flat stoves - works great! No real scrubbing just apply and rub. I like it.
7. I have the hiccups for no reason. I guess that's it for me.
8. By the way, don't ever forgot to recharge and reconnect with your spiritual self. You can do it any time. Just stand still. Right where you are and think your Creator. Speak of the things that very minute. You'll connect. You will.
Be thankful, right where you are.
Praise God right were you are.
You'll connect.
Psalm 100:4 ~~
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
1. In my committment to exercise, I put the DVD in the player and began to click. Could get only nothing. I asked my daughter for help. She's braver than I and will press more buttons without a thought of exploding Kansas.
So got that music at the beginning of the DVD - the song that plays over and over again like you could go crazy until you press play? -- and gray screen. Not much good so, I called my husband at work, no answer. I called again at lunch time. No answer. And usually he calls me back. Take it as a sign, you were not met to exercise today. ~~Drats!
2. Had a dentist appointment today. Thought, okay, I'll give my husband one more try on the DVD connection thing as I got in the car. I heard his phone ringing. It was under the driver's seat.
3. My dentist appointment today was disatrous!! Shocking! I have been taking good care of my teeth for at least the last 30 years anyway. Cleanings and check ups every 6 months.
The past year because of the moving, I didn't get to the dentist - and wow - I have to have a special cleaning involving putting my gums to sleep because the hygenist could not clean below the gums on my bottom row of teeth! Wow ~ all that from a year of neglect!! I wonder. I don't know. (I can add that to list of mysterious things I do not know.)
4. I have a great recipe for Pasta Fagioli to share. I'll try to do that this week.
5. I don't have a will. I should write one. I guess my kids could just fight over everything?
6. I have discovered a cleaning product I love. It's called Bartenders Friend. But you shouldn't use it on granite, I don't think. I used it on a tile floor that had a lot of the grout left on it and it worked great! On my stove - which is one of those flat stoves - works great! No real scrubbing just apply and rub. I like it.
7. I have the hiccups for no reason. I guess that's it for me.
8. By the way, don't ever forgot to recharge and reconnect with your spiritual self. You can do it any time. Just stand still. Right where you are and think your Creator. Speak of the things that very minute. You'll connect. You will.
Be thankful, right where you are.
Praise God right were you are.
You'll connect.
Psalm 100:4 ~~
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Okay ...so what now?
1. I have the day off tomorrow. Hahahaha. What mom has a day off? I do have a dentist appointment.
2. I need to make a list of things I have to do for the next 100 years.
3. My father/in/law is 90. That is a tough job. He just went through 2 1/2 weeks of chaos in his life. Three times to the emergency, twice in the hospital, two emergency doctor appointments, two regular doctor appointments, one trip to a place that is in between the hospital and going home -- oh and people I need to give you details on this place, it is like a holding area and if you don't have your family, you are in big trouble, there are no showers in this place! - then a procedure for the prostrate (men: take your saw palmetto), and home with a nurse to visit every day, and ton of drugs in his system. Drugs, drugs, drugs. It's hard out there for a 90 year old. I mean, people, you gotta prepare ...
4. I have got to start a serious excercise plan. My leg is still numb, but I don't think it's going to go away.
5. The beach. Go to the beach. I love the beach. Very healing. Day, night, afternoon - anytime. It's a great place to calm your mind and get refreshed. I love to go there and just be there.
6. Do you think you can learn something from every situation? I do. Everything that happens in your life, happens as an opportunity for your spiritual growth. You can believe that or not believe that. But lessons about ourselves and life to come are there for us everyday in what we see around us.
7. How are your surroundings? Calm? Chaotic? Spring cleaning going on? I am such a supporter of Spring Cleaning ~ it's taken me a long time to realize the truth of less is more -- but, really, the purging is good. I always feel better when I can give something to someone instead of just throw it in the garbage. And what happens, as our society is so fickle, is that things go out of style, out of fashion -- and if we are regular in our cleaning and purging of items, they are put to better use than just going to the garbage.
8. Of course, better than purging your house, is not buying more stuff than you need in the first place!!
9. You will get old. Will you be happy with what you have accomplished?
10. Make a list of what you want to accomplish before you are old.
2. I need to make a list of things I have to do for the next 100 years.
3. My father/in/law is 90. That is a tough job. He just went through 2 1/2 weeks of chaos in his life. Three times to the emergency, twice in the hospital, two emergency doctor appointments, two regular doctor appointments, one trip to a place that is in between the hospital and going home -- oh and people I need to give you details on this place, it is like a holding area and if you don't have your family, you are in big trouble, there are no showers in this place! - then a procedure for the prostrate (men: take your saw palmetto), and home with a nurse to visit every day, and ton of drugs in his system. Drugs, drugs, drugs. It's hard out there for a 90 year old. I mean, people, you gotta prepare ...
4. I have got to start a serious excercise plan. My leg is still numb, but I don't think it's going to go away.
5. The beach. Go to the beach. I love the beach. Very healing. Day, night, afternoon - anytime. It's a great place to calm your mind and get refreshed. I love to go there and just be there.
6. Do you think you can learn something from every situation? I do. Everything that happens in your life, happens as an opportunity for your spiritual growth. You can believe that or not believe that. But lessons about ourselves and life to come are there for us everyday in what we see around us.
7. How are your surroundings? Calm? Chaotic? Spring cleaning going on? I am such a supporter of Spring Cleaning ~ it's taken me a long time to realize the truth of less is more -- but, really, the purging is good. I always feel better when I can give something to someone instead of just throw it in the garbage. And what happens, as our society is so fickle, is that things go out of style, out of fashion -- and if we are regular in our cleaning and purging of items, they are put to better use than just going to the garbage.
8. Of course, better than purging your house, is not buying more stuff than you need in the first place!!
9. You will get old. Will you be happy with what you have accomplished?
10. Make a list of what you want to accomplish before you are old.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Around the house remedies
I read this column in the newspaper now and then, Dr. Gott is his name and in his column, over and over, comes up the dicussion of Vicks Vapor Rub for dried cracked heels. Well. I'm here to testify, it works!
I even bought the store brand - called Medicated Chest Rub - and it worked fine. It's been two days, and my heels are remarkably better!!
Just want to point out, be sure that you don't need to take your contact lenses out after you have applied the Rub.
Another good product from around the house is Olive Oil - it's a great makeup remover, a hair conditioner, or can be used for frizz control, any dry skin can benefit from Olive Oil.
Then there's Witch Hazel. Makes a good and inexpensive toner. Toner is very important in skin care, and witch hazel has never let me down.
I even bought the store brand - called Medicated Chest Rub - and it worked fine. It's been two days, and my heels are remarkably better!!
Just want to point out, be sure that you don't need to take your contact lenses out after you have applied the Rub.
Another good product from around the house is Olive Oil - it's a great makeup remover, a hair conditioner, or can be used for frizz control, any dry skin can benefit from Olive Oil.
Then there's Witch Hazel. Makes a good and inexpensive toner. Toner is very important in skin care, and witch hazel has never let me down.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
The Electric Bill Challenge
I challenged my family to bring down the electric bill. We brought it down $2.00. Somehow. I'm not sure what that means. We did try the usual stuff, turning off lights in rooms, and this month we turned the computers off when we weren't using them (2 computers).
We did turn more things off when not in use, yes, and now this month, I am going to uplug the lamps and even the coffee machine...... I am seriously thinking of unplugging my dryer and washer when not in use but I can't get anyone to support me on this.
Actually, I would like to close all the circuit breakers in the house, with the exception of maybe the refrigerator, when we are out or not using an item, but I can't get anyone to agree with me on this issue.
The general consensus is that the people I know think that just because something is plugged in and not in use, that it is not causing the meter to turn. I strongly disagree.
I remember when Sean was about 11 we were doing some science involving electricity, and he would check the meter as I closed off different circuit breakers. Any 220V breaker that was closed off, slowed the meter down.
But since no one believes me, I'll have to check again. If indeed, it works, I may just try to see if doing that will lower my bill.
I realize that this will be an inconvenience, but if the price turns out to be right, I might be able to put up with it.
I realize to make a difference in the world, a bit of inconvenience, and maybe a lot, might be involved. I am ready to make that choice.
We did turn more things off when not in use, yes, and now this month, I am going to uplug the lamps and even the coffee machine...... I am seriously thinking of unplugging my dryer and washer when not in use but I can't get anyone to support me on this.
Actually, I would like to close all the circuit breakers in the house, with the exception of maybe the refrigerator, when we are out or not using an item, but I can't get anyone to agree with me on this issue.
The general consensus is that the people I know think that just because something is plugged in and not in use, that it is not causing the meter to turn. I strongly disagree.
I remember when Sean was about 11 we were doing some science involving electricity, and he would check the meter as I closed off different circuit breakers. Any 220V breaker that was closed off, slowed the meter down.
But since no one believes me, I'll have to check again. If indeed, it works, I may just try to see if doing that will lower my bill.
I realize that this will be an inconvenience, but if the price turns out to be right, I might be able to put up with it.
I realize to make a difference in the world, a bit of inconvenience, and maybe a lot, might be involved. I am ready to make that choice.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Save as draft 2
Common Errors of English.
(from above)
ATM” means “Automated Teller Machine,” so if you say “ATM machine” you are really saying, “Automated Teller Machine machine.”
~~~~~~~~~
I ran across that site while I was looking up the correct spelling of a word that I can't remember right now. I thought it was funny and quite useful. Not the word, the site.
My mind is like a carbonated drink right now. It's fizzing. But nothing else is happening. I have reached an over load section and must pause to try to think my way past the situation I am in. I've never been here before. I don't recognize this junction.
I have 7 "Save As Draft" entries. I can't seem to close a thought. You might say, my life is being interupted by life. It's one of those days when I can't remember how to spell.
So I'm just going to go to bed. I'll begin again in the morning.
(from above)
ATM” means “Automated Teller Machine,” so if you say “ATM machine” you are really saying, “Automated Teller Machine machine.”
~~~~~~~~~
I ran across that site while I was looking up the correct spelling of a word that I can't remember right now. I thought it was funny and quite useful. Not the word, the site.
My mind is like a carbonated drink right now. It's fizzing. But nothing else is happening. I have reached an over load section and must pause to try to think my way past the situation I am in. I've never been here before. I don't recognize this junction.
I have 7 "Save As Draft" entries. I can't seem to close a thought. You might say, my life is being interupted by life. It's one of those days when I can't remember how to spell.
So I'm just going to go to bed. I'll begin again in the morning.
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