I’m a bit ticked off by January this year.
I spent the first half of it worrying that my time here was up. As soon as I got the news that I would be here to annoy people for hopefully a good while longer, my husband got sick, and then graciously gave it to me. I’m enough better to be ticked off now, so maybe I’ll feel fine again soon. Today my plans are to make myself into a human sandwich in my recliner – heat pad under me, throw over me, and me comfy and cozy in the middle. My husband will do the errands this morning. He leaves in about 10 minutes, actually. We’ll see how he does. :0)
Our weather has been gorgeous the past few days. I wish I could have gotten out and enjoyed it. Tomorrow evening cold weather is supposed to come back, but hopefully it will just tease us a bit, rather than dumping on us. (Susy, I hope you’re digging out now.)
I had a nice chat with our son this morning. He is buying an apartment and will hopefully get all the details handled by the end of next week. I’m excited for him. He sounds happy and excited – just the way we love for him to be. :0)
Happy Tuesday!
Filed under Family, Mother Nature, taking care of yourself, Thoughts on a ________
Filed under metal art, spoon - cutlery - art
My husband was sick last week. He started with a sore throat, then had sniffles and generally felt bad for several days. He is now feeling, “Fine as frog fur,” thankfully.
Trouble is, he apparently was generous enough to pass it to me. I got a sore throat a couple of days ago. Since I’m still feeling bad, I’m resting a LOT, basically asleep in my chair on and off most of the day, useless on getting anything done.
The saddest thing is that we’re having a truly beautiful day today. It’s supposed to get into the low 60’s today! In January! I may force myself to walk around the yard this afternoon to not completely waste it. (A cold front will bring the high down to the 40’s tomorrow.)
I wish you a great week.
Filed under taking care of yourself, Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Gorgeous Gourd Art, Gorgeous Gourds
My husband and I have been in a kind of celebration mode ever since my test showed I won’t be croaking from cancer soon. It’s good because – no cancer – but bad because I gaining back lardage I’m determined to shed.
My husband dug out some packs of popcorn. Honestly, I have NO idea where he got it. I had THOUGHT I cleaned out the pantry really well. These packs must have been YEARS old. He went ahead and popped it. It smelled a bit over cooked. It tasted truly AWFUL. One piece of popcorn for each of us resulted in trashing both packs. I had him show me where he had found the popcorn – WAAAAAAAY back in the corner of the middle shelf. I almost had to climb into the shelves to reach them. I threw them all out, feeling a bit proud that I had avoided a bad thing and now the stash was gone.
Last night when I was fixing dinner, I found a NEW box of microwave packs of popcorn. My husband tried to give me his innocent look – one that hasn’t worked ONCE in 52 years of marriage – but he still tries.
You KNOW where this will end. The popcorn is calling to me now…
Filed under DIET!
Filed under metal art, spoon - cutlery - art
Filed under Clay Art
Filed under acorn art, Petr Vaclavek - Dubanci.cz
My day has started really well.
My husband hugged me first thing this morning, thanking me again for figuring out how to navigate the website so we could transfer the money we needed to move in our investment account, and again for figuring out what we needed to do to make our new house phones work. Last night I did a final test, calling our house phone with my cell, confirming our call screening program was again working, then leaving a voice message. I’m relieved that we didn’t have to spend another tense day trying to figure things out, dealing with strain of dealing with each other when things don’t work, plus the support people who always want information I can’t supply, with me desperately trying to hear and understand them.
The sun is shining and it seems that we will have just a ‘typical’ winter week here in Arkansas – really welcome news. One of my less favorite feelings about winter is the difficulty of trying to make and keep appointments when you don’t know what Mother Nature will supply. We have been stuck up here on top of our ridge line for a couple of weeks at a time, not able to negotiate our steep driveway – the last place on the planet to thaw after snow and ice. We plan ahead as much as possible, trying to make sure we have all we need for whatever happens, but I hate inconveniencing others when I have to call and reschedule things I’ve promised to do.
My Lunch Bunch friend Kay has a new primary doctor now. She was raving about him when I talked with her last night. She is hopeful that the pain in her back due to her fall will finally be under some control. I’m SO happy for her!
Since I am definitely in ‘the land of the living’ again, I’m starting to have ideas rattling around my head of things I’d like to try in my art room. I haven’t been up there for over a month now, so it will be good to finally be in the mood to play a bit. I’m hoping to do some experimenting – probably making a mess – but definitely smiling. :0)
I hope you’re feeling healthy and happy this Saturday morning. Enjoy your day!
Filed under Challenges, playing in my art room, Seasons, Thoughts on a ________
I had a lovely Lunch Bunch with my friend, Linda. We had a good time catching up, sharing lots of laughs, and a couple of hugs. Our waitress/friend, Mikey, was mentioning that she was glad to see both of us, checking on our friend, Kay, and bringing a take-home box for me to take chicken to my husband. We gave her our phone numbers so she has a way of checking on us now. Isn’t it wonderful that she cares?
My husband was watching a movie when I got home and looked happy about the chicken.
I went into the office to try to tackle the latest two problems we have: getting money transferred from two investments accounts to a checking account; and trying to get our new phone to work – something we finally gave up on after being on the phone with three different people at AT&T, all of whom were difficult to hear and understand – a really stressful situation that ended with our call being cut off.
THING ONE: Handling something when you’ve slept well and just had lunch helps. I decided to try the transfer one more time before I made the call for help. By fiddling around, I discovered that I could transfer money from ONE of our accounts to the checking, but not the other. So I did the first transfer, and then transferred the money in the other account to the one in which I was just successful. That worked, too, so it’s a case of waiting until it’s ‘recognized,’ and then transferring the money from the successful account to the checking tomorrow. Problem #1 solved.
THING TWO: I decided to get back on the AT&T website and THEN make the call, thinking they might be able to guide me through the activation process more easily. When I got there, though, I tried a different option on devices and got a different set of options. I followed the prompts and was able to activate our phone! I made a test call to ‘time and temperature’ that worked, and then called my friend, Linda, to test it with a number that we couldn’t reach yesterday. It worked! Woo HOOOO! Problem #2 sloved!
I’m not as dumb as I look!
Filed under Cause for Celebration
I found these on Pinterest. The only credit I could find was “Sim.” I don’t care if they’re planters, mugs, or little sculptures, I want ALL of them! Update: the artist’s daughter wrote me on 4/1/2022 and told me that the artist who created these wonderful pieces is her MOM, and that her IG is simsim_pottery. I’m delighted to be able to give her credit. Thank you, Elly!
Filed under ceramics, Sim - Planters, Mugs, Sculpture
I have learned lately that facing your weaknesses is important. I also dealt with a deep fear and made it through. I had the help of wonderful, caring friends, but you are essentially alone when actually dealing with things.
I had a month of trying to face that my husband might have to live alone. I am now taking some positive steps to make things easier for him in case we face this again for whatever reason. The fact that I am making a list of steps I want to take, setting things up differently that I handle routinely, listing reminders for him, has largely calmed me down.
I have let a lot of the fear go.
I don’t think – if I have to face a similar situation again – it will be as bad.
Taking care of what I CAN will help both of us going forward.
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, Attitude, Challenges, Changes, coping mechanisms
My heart is in a puddle under my chair as I type. I think this should be an award-winning photo, at least. and I will keep it for whenever I need a quick pick-me-up. :0)
It’s nice and sunny here, but only 15 degrees right now. We’re supposed to get to 37 by this afternoon, so I’m happy.
I will join a friend for Lunch Bunch. One of the group is recovering from a hospital procedure and another is out of town. My husband has the sniffles, and so will stay home, leaving the two of us at lunch today. I’ll take it. It’ll be nice catching up with her.
Have a happy Friday!
When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard
…..to listen to his son whine about being bored.
….to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.
To be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work
….to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night’s sleep
….to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.
….to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.
….to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.
….to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they’re afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.
….to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.
….to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.
….to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.
….to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.
….to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.
….to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.
The only thing harder than being a Soldier….
Is loving one.
I was asked to pass this on and I will gladly do so!! Will you???
No one has been able to explain to me why young men and women serve in the U.S. Military for 20 years, risking their lives protecting freedom, and only get 50% of their pay on retirement. While Politicians hold their political positions, in the safe confines of the capital, protected by these same men and women, and receive full-pay retirement after serving one term. It just does not make any sense.
If each person who receives this will forward it on to 20 people, in three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.
Proposed28th Amendment to the United States Constitution: “Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ” YES!!
You are one of my 20+. I passed it on, will you?
“If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice,” and these brave soldiers have given you that right!
Filed under Blog Repost - Wonderful Posts
“Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want.” ~ Joseph Wood Krutch
“My husband said it was him or the cat… I miss him sometimes.” ~ Anonymous
“As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows, cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human kind.” ~ Cleveland Amory
“I have studied many philosophers and many cats. The wisdom of cats is infinitely superior.” ~ Hippolyte Taine
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes, paintings I love
Filed under Amazing Animals, Awe-Inspiring Photography
When bad things happen, or scary things that MIGHT happen hang over my head, I tend to implode emotionally, spiraling down to use all the tools in my imagination box to picture the worst scenario. The stupidity on my part can be held at bay while I’m awake and functional, but tend to overwhelm me in the middle of the night.
I found out lately that I am not alone when I’m trying to be an adult, but failing. I’m feeling like the luckiest woman on the planet right now because 1) the scary thing I feared didn’t happen; and 2) several kind people showed me they are here for me if I need them to encourage me to be an adult, or help me handle the bad stuff emotionally. If I had even ONE person in my corner like that, it would be wonderful. To have SEVERAL people who care is miraculous.
Now that my scary scenario is gone, I will concentrate on trying to show these wonderful people that care goes both ways. THEY are not alone, either. I will do everything in my power to help THEM through any bad or scary stuff.
Filed under caring, Friendship
I am now researching good ways to increase the fiber in my diet going forward. It’s easy to find good lists of high fiber food on the net, thank goodness. A harder thing is to figure out how to add these while trying to lose the lard while trying not to alienate my husband.
So far, I’ve figured out that I can –
It looks like I will be trying to eat 25 grams of fiber per day. I’ll see if my cronometer.com site will help me track how many grams of fiber I’m eating.
Filed under DIET!, taking care of yourself
There are some beautiful words in our language. One I’ve found today is “negative.”
I had a test last month that was ‘positive.’ Like a child, I immediately spun the worst scenarios and have been having real trouble keeping my act together, trying to figure out what I could do to make it easier for my husband to live alone.
The exam I had last Friday came back as “negative.” I received the results on the medical portal this afternoon. I had to look up a lot of words, and then look further into what they MEANT, but unless my doctor tells me something different, it looks like I’m out of the woods.
The news hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I told my husband it looks like he’ll have to put up with me for awhile longer. :0)
Filed under Cause for Celebration, taking care of yourself
MISTAKE ONE: waiting, rather than living in the moment.
I spent much of my life waiting. I met my husband-to-be when I was 14 and he was 17. When he joined the Marines soon after, he took my heart with him. I waited for him to come home on leave. I waited for letters, checked days off the calendar, dated little because my heart was waiting for him to come home. Then we were in different colleges and I waited for breaks from school so we could be together. Then I waited to finish school so we could marry. I cried when we finished the ceremony and my life could finally begin.
Telling myself that I was missing out on a lot of life didn’t make it past the thought running through my head. My heart was set. I avoided complications, getting close to many people, always choosing the path that would get me where I wanted to go the quickest way possible. I wonder how things might have been different if I had made different choices.
Now I live in the moment, wringing every drop of joy I can out of seeing people I love, talking to those I can’t see as much as I would like, taking the time to soak up beautiful things, celebrating the talent surrounding me – LIVING – rather than waiting.
MISTAKE 2: worrying about things over which I have no control.
This is a gut level reaction. I TRY not to do this, realizing how stupid it is. I do pretty well during the day when I can choose my activities, stay busy, etc., but if I wake in the middle of the night, I get swamped pretty easily. I worry about worst case scenarios, causing myself a lot of pain for no good reason. My head tells me to prepare for things the best way I can, see what actually happens, and then deal with it. My inner child wants to live in ignorant bliss, avoiding the bad situations, seeking hugs and someone to solve the problem about which I’m worrying.
I’m doing pretty well on rectifying my first mistake. The 2nd remains a challenge. 99% of the time my “adult” handles things reasonably well, I think. Now I concentrate on the 1% of the time my inner child comes out.
Filed under Acting Like a Grownup, aging, building good habits
Filed under Gorgeous Gourd Art, Gorgeous Gourds
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