The world is such a challenging place now. We do what we can to help and reach for inner strength to cope. Love is a big part of that. Reach out.
Filed under Challenges, coping mechanisms, love
We’re still eating ‘sicky-food’ around here, at least another day – soup, crackers, eggs, toast. I awoke suddenly last night with my husband being sick. We got his system settled down with Alka Seltzer. I dealt with the aftermath and then couldn’t sleep, so came downstairs and read for quiet awhile. We both slept in this morning a bit. My husband slept through the night and is feeling stronger today, thank goodness, but we’ll be very careful with his food again today, hoping this will be past us soon.
One of the really LARGE perks of being old and retired is that – if you’re up a lot of the night for one reason or another – you can take a nap or two during the day so you’re not TOO much of a zombie. To say we’re grateful for this is a vast understatement.
If my husband’s health improves, we may look for garden plants this week. I’m just ITCHING to throw off the tarps from our raised-bed, square foot garden planters and get some plants growing! If I do, I’ll take some pics to share.
I wish us a calm, quiet day.
Filed under aging, DIET!, Family, Gardening, taking care of yourself
Owl
Wiser than can be
Seeing great at night
Flying quieter over the sea
Making hope shine bright
“The owl,” he was saying, “is one of the most curious creatures. A bird that stays awake when the rest of the world sleeps. They can see in the dark. I find that so interesting, to be mired in reality when the rest of the world is dreaming. What does he see and what does he know that the rest of the world is missing?”
~M.J. Rose
“A wise old owl sat on an oak; The more he saw the less he spoke; The less he spoke the more he heard; Why aren’t we like that wise old bird?”
“He respects Owl, because you can’t help respecting anybody who can spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn’t spell it right.” A.A. Milne
Filed under Amazing Animals, Favorite Quotes
I’m having trouble eating the right things lately. What I HOPE is the last gasp of winter has encouraged comfort food. I’m getting so ‘comforted,’ I’m almost comatose.
I titled this post, ‘Sad,’ because I saw a thing on aging –
and it made me HUNGRY…..
Old, hungry, and ticked off by pet peeves can be a lethal combination….. :0)
Filed under .gifs I Love, Funny Signs - Humor
As I age, I find I am less gracious about things that tick me off – like Daylight Savings Time.
The idea behind it was supposedly giving the farmers more daylight for harvesting their crops, or something to that effect. It’s bogus, in my humble opinion. :0) Farmers get up before the sun comes up and go to bed when they are too tired to do anything more, whether the sun is still up or not. They have never been ‘by the clock’ people.
I’m not suggesting any kind of conspiracy, but I would gladly bite whoever came up with this a bite in the leg, and I have NOT had a rabies shot.
Several states are reconsidering whether they want to continue to comply with this or not. Arkansas tried, but the bill failed, for some unknown reason. I hope they take it up again.
The aggravation this causes outweighs any benefits. I wouldn’t mind changing to Daylight Savings Time and then leaving it at that, whichever way the majority think it should go. But then STICK to that. Don’t make us leave reminders all over the place so we don’t forget and be late or early to an appointment. Don’t make us have to go around changing all of our clocks, watches, stove clocks, alarm clocks, clocks in our cars (I have to re-figure out how to change these every time), make sure the computers are showing the correct time, etc. :0(
Filed under Pet Peeves
Filed under sculpture, willow sculpture
My husband and I were up most of the night. Something didn’t agree with him and he was really sick. I finally got some Alka Seltzer into him and that settled his stomach enough that he could finally sleep. I stayed up for a couple more hours after he went to sleep to keep a careful eye on him, then rested as much as possible, alert for any movement, the rest of the night. He’s weak and a bit shaky this morning, but is in his chair resting now and reading or watching TV. I’m hoping he’ll take a nap and rest. I’ll be relieved when he’s his normal, ornery self again. Meanwhile, I’ll watch him like a hawk.
Our snow is melting fast. I’m waving ‘bye-bye’ without the slightest regret, silently telling winter not to let the door hit it in the butt on its way out. :0)
I wish you a happy Sunday.
Filed under Family, Thoughts on a ________, weather
In innate perversity, I want to start my garden today so badly I can TASTE it – in the middle of the snow we had yesterday. If the weather were beautiful, I probably wouldn’t be feeling so antsy to start it. :0)
I looked at the weather forecast for the next 10 days here in Arkansas, though, and there are NO freezes and beautiful weather ahead, so my plans to get my early spring garden going have me chomping at the bit.
I think my husband would seriously think about having me committed if I wanted to go shopping for plants today in the middle of the snow, so I’ll wait for it to melt. Maybe we can shop Monday…
I want to look for spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, and as many kinds of lettuce as I can find to start. I’ll also start some radishes and sweet onions. Anything more would be gravy.
As soon as the snow melts, all I have to do this year is pull the tarps off, hook up the irrigation system, and plant.
The idea is to alternate plantings so you get the benefits of crop rotation, disease prevention, and weed control. For example, I could plant one broccoli plant in the middle of a square, skip the adjoining squares, and then plant another. You can plant 4 spinach plants in a square, but I choose to only plant one, giving it plenty of room. The picture also doesn’t show the hose that runs down the middle of three boxes, with a sprinkler in the middle of each box, for irrigation. We connect the hoses to a timer.
There is a fence around the six planter boxes to protect the garden from deer. We have chicken wire around the bottom to discourage rabbits, etc.
We’ve also converted a couple of brick planters on the other side of the yard to square foot planters for growing tomatoes.
I’ll post pics when I get the garden started. Ooh! I can’t wait!!!!
Filed under Gardening, Square Foot Gardening - Raised Beds
Source: Linda Teddlie Minton – Fiber Reflections
Filed under Embroidery/Sewing Art, quilts
I found some things I think are wonderful this week and wanted to share them with you –
Filed under Favorite Things
We had what I consider to be the perfect snow yesterday. It started about 10:30 in the morning, got heavier and heavier as the day wore on, reaching the pinnacle of heavy, fluffy, gorgeous flakes like we were in the middle of a snow globe before gradually easing off by around dinner time last night. My husband told me the driveway was clear, but I have to admit I had to check for myself. It is!! There are tracks for the tires to use all the way to the bottom (I walked down about half way so I could see.) Amazing. Since spring is here officially on the 20th, I’m hoping this is the last we’ll see of the white stuff until next year.
I really wish that Daylight Savings Time would be done away with. I don’t care which way (spring forward or fall back) is chosen, just make a decision and I’ll live with it. I just HATE changing twice a year and then dealing with my reaction to it. End of rant. (I THINK)
We have a large air compressor in our shop, similar in appearance to this one, except ours is almost an antique and seems larger in circumference than this one. Anyway, it developed a problem after serving us for many years. My husband was able to isolate the problem and removed the piece that is causing the problem. He was able to find what he THINKS is a replacement part and ordered it. If it works, we’re back in business again. If not, we have to weigh other options. There is a huge difference in cost between replacing the part and having to buy another, smaller compressor, so our appendages are crossed that my husband can fix it. The main thing we need it for in the near future is changing from snow tires back to regular tires on our truck. If we can’t get the compressor working soon enough, we can throw the regular tires into the truck and I can take the truck in to have the tires changed and aired up commercially.
I’m amazed by how hard it is to find out the truth of what’s going on in the world today. I read a lot of different news sources each day, truly baffled by the differences in the information provided on the same subject depending on the source of the information. I read a bunch of different reports and then try to sort out ANY agreement on what happened, trying to ignore all the opinion and ‘slant’ of the sources. Sometimes it just makes me tired. It used to be easy. I could almost listen to the news with half an ear, my mind on the myriad of concerns in my life otherwise. Now, I have trouble making sense of things really concentrating.
Enjoy your Saturday.
Filed under Thoughts on a ________
Our ‘Winter Wonderland’ is forming, just as our weather experts forecast. The snow seems to be coming down faster as I watch.
At least Amber is enjoying it. She actually stopped in the yard and put her face up, seeming to taste it as it fell.
My husband is watching a rented movie right now. He has decided that we should be in full survival/comfort-food-mode since it’s snowing, and asked for chili mac with cheese and onions for dinner tonight.
Since I have absolutely no willpower, and wasn’t aware we HAD any chili left, that’s what we’ll have. I can now say – and no one can dispute my veracity :0) – my PLANS to eat right just went out the window for the day – ALL because of my husband. (That’s my story and I’m trying to keep a straight face as I type it.)
It WILL be much easier for me to be good when I can concentrate on planting my early spring garden, play in my planters around the yard and more. For now, I WILL be a good girl and do my yoga this afternoon, but it won’t begin to offset the chili….
Filed under .gifs I Love, DIET!
Some wise person said, ‘If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em,” or words to that effect. I just checked outside again, and the white stuff is clearly falling now. No accumulation on the ground yet, but you can easily see it’s snowing. Oh, joy.
Grudgingly this time, I’m sharing some more snow creations from really creative folks who obviously enjoy the snow more than I do right now. I truly love the imagination and humor shown, and delight when I find new examples. :0)
Filed under Seasons, snow people
I’m in a whine-and-cheese frame of mind this morning as I watch our weather deteriorate. I’ve been so happy seeing signs of spring, shoots coming up through the debris of the winter, daffodils blooming, our tulip tree full of buds and starting to bloom. All this comes to an end now – at least for awhile – as the temperatures fall and LITTLE BITTY white pellets start to fall.
I was just outside for several minutes, taking pics and realizing that the white stuff the weather people predicted has begun. I had to really concentrate, holding my head very still to SEE it. I FELT it falling on me, though. The wind has picked up and the temperature is really BRISK out there!
I really love our tulip tree. It’s quite fragile, though, and so you have to keep an eye out for the buds and then blooms because they don’t last long in the best of weather. They really lift my spirits, though, for however long I can enjoy them.
Usually it doesn’t snow here after my birthday (March 9), so I’m fully into ‘weather resentment syndrome’ considering this a personal insult to my embrace of spring.
Hopefully, this will be a really quick last gasp of winter that will melt quickly and won’t kill everything. All appendages are crossed.
Filed under Mother Nature, Seasons, weather
I was here at the computer reading the news of the day when Amber, our 85-pound-ish yellow lab decided she HAD to have some love and proceeded to flip my arm up with her nose and try to climb up in my office chair with me. We both started rolling around with me laughing my head off as she tried to kiss my ear and bring her back legs up into the chair with me at the same time.
We didn’t dump the chair, but it seemed close. I hugged and petted her until she finally got enough for the moment and started listening to my requests for her to ‘get down.’
An overflowing lapful of dog is a great cure for any worries you’re having.
Filed under Amazing Animals, Family
Filed under Gorgeous Gourd Art, Gorgeous Gourds
About the only thing I don’t mind about being snowed and iced in again is that I have plenty of good books to enjoy.
I’m on book #50 Golden in Death from J.D. Robb’s (Nora Roberts’) In Death series. I’m re-reading the whole series in preparation for enjoying my newest paperback addition, #53 Forgotten in Death. I’ve pre-ordered the next one, #54 Abandoned in Death, which comes out in paperback in July.
The thing I’m particularly enjoying this time through is all the ‘extras’ that wind their way through the series, the poignant things people say and do that define their strength, humanity, vulnerability, love, and more. They make me tear up, adding so much richness to the series.
If we get all the rain/wind/sleet/freezing rain/snow forecast tomorrow, picture me, curled up in my recliner, heat pad on low under me, throw over me, coffee on my warmer beside me, cat in my lap, book in hand, appreciating the luxury of my life.
My friend Kay called yesterday to ask if we wanted to do Lunch Bunch today, instead of tomorrow, because we’re due for a ‘wintry mix’ tomorrow – WHAT!?!?!? We were happy to do Lunch Bunch anytime the group wants to, but I’m bummed by the idea of more snow and ice. I’m embracing spring. Our daffodils and tulip tree are blooming! Hopefully the bad weather will be over very soon and we can start making active plans for our garden and working in the yard.
Under the category of ‘too many changes for old people’ – our son told me yesterday that the conference call program we use to communicate, actually being able to see each other and talk in real time is going to start charging for their services. When I told my husband, he got upset, wanting to keep the program we’re using, even though there are several other options available. I talked to our son briefly this morning, telling him that we wanted to continue the program and that we wanted to pay for all of us to use it. He’s going to check it out and will get back to me.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Filed under .gifs I Love, aging, Family, Friendship, Thoughts on a ________
Filed under Amazing Animals, drawings, Julie Rhodes
Filed under Chainsaw Art, When Wood Comes Alive
“To me old age is always fifteen years older than I am!” — Bernard Baruch
To be honest, I’m delighted to BE here, still able to annoy or entertain a bit without a lot of drama. My husband is sleeping in this morning. Our son is happy and doing well. Our animals are happy and healthy. Things are good in our own little world.
In the ‘I ain’t dead yet’ category, I’m enjoying ‘birthday greetings’ from my newest lust, Alan Ritchson, a luscious actor who plays the Reacher character on TV (Amazon Prime Video) from Lee Child’s (one of our favorite authors) books. We watched Season 1 the other day and are actively anticipating Season 2.
No huge festivities are planned for the day. My husband asked last night, “Hey. Do you want to go out or something?” (I swooned at the romance of it :0) ) A happy day is perfectly sufficient to my needs, so I’ll let him off the hook. Besides, he gets to all the birthdays first, so they don’t sting as much when I reach them – a thing I’ll always cherish.
It is lovely to meet an old person whose face is deeply lined, a face that has been deeply inhabited, to look in the eyes and find light there.”
— John O-Donohue
“As long as I am breathing, in my eyes, I am just beginning.”
— Criss Jami
Wisdom is the reward for surviving our own stupidity.”
— Brian Rathbone
“I’ve enjoyed every age I’ve been and each has had its own individual merit. Every laugh line, every scar, is a badge I wear to show I’ve been present, the inner rings of my personal tree trunk that I display proudly for all to see. Nowadays, I don’t want a “perfect” face and body; I want to wear the life I’ve lived.”
— Pat Benatar
“When I grow up I want to be an old woman.”
— Michelle Shocked
‘Happy as a clam’ birthday to me!
Filed under aging, Attitude, Cause for Celebration
Filed under Stone/Pebble Art
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