The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong in the broken places.
Ernest Hemingway
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

PLAN B . . .  AGAIN

5/27/2019

0 Comments

 


PEOPLE TEND TO COMPLICATE THEIR OWN LIVES, AS IF LIVING WEREN'T ALREADY COMPLICTED ENOUGH.                                                                            
                                                                                Carlos Ruiz Zafron "The Light in the Heart"


Gorgeous day yesterday . . .  today, not so much. Rain, rain, rain. I really shouldn't complain considering how Oklahoma and Texas, plus numerous other locations are getting whalloped with tornadoes and flooding, I guess it is really pretty peaceful around here. I got a lot of mowing and trimming down yesterday afternoon and everything is looking peachy! I even cleaned our small garage. Good feeling.

Here is another "Plan B" that I am always having to turn to.

I'm still plugging along with my cleaning (and channeling Marie Kondo). I know you are groaning when I continue to mention our friend Marie. But things have to change, things need to be sorted out, and things need to be gotten rid of. Since I still have no new space to work with, I have decided to go under . . . underneath, that is. I purchased some of those zipper bags that you put clothes and other junk you want to hang on to, but you really don't need at this very minute. These bags zip up and you just shove them under your bed! Presto! Gone. What I am storing is not anything that I can afford to get rid of. Like my winter clothing that will be used again. 



​
Picture
Try them. They really work and you can see what is in each package.

Another Plan B that I have had to turn to is . .  . my hair.  Again, you are probably thinking "She's crabbing about her stupid hair again!"   Tough.  It is really bugging me. It is NOT coming in like it did the last time. It is nasty curly and frizzy. And sooooo white. Well, I decided to try and color it. Tah Dah!
So last night I began. I had bought a hair coloring kit labeled Light Pearl Blonde. That sounded about right. I carefully followed the instructions. When I had the dye mixture shaken up, it was a tad bit disturbing because it looked like a bottle full of mustard! Yup, a really bright orangey-yellow. Whatever. I put it on and then proceeded to wait the full 30 minutes. Then I got to thinking about it. I got on the phone and called sister Sandy who had been a beautician for many years. I had to know if it was normal for the mixture to look like mustard.  After she talked me down from the ledge and reassured me that it would probably be okay (probably????) I felt better.  Anyhoo, it turned out alright. At least I am not wearing a wig right now. I did use a curling iron on it, but that was kinda tough to get it to look very nice,  because the hair is the consistency of baby-fine hair.  WHATEVER!

Hey, great news! My new sign for the Woodbridge Building came. I had been second-guessing myself about what I wanted on it. I had been to our local sign-making company twice and had talked to the lady behind the desk. Both times she was very intimidating and grouchy. Later, I  called the office and asked if they would be able to mount it on the front of the building. I talked to a very nice young man who quoted me a price. Okay. So, I went back to the sign-making store to place my order. Wow, that old lady really got snotty. I wanted a very plain sign with CAPITAL block letters, a bit of a sunflower in one corner, and a black border. She said I needed to have SMALL letters because they were easier to read. And the border wasn't necessary. She didn't want to use the colors that I had mentioned. I smiled anxiously, and told her that that was what I had pictured in my mind on how it should look. She proceeded to tell me that she had been in that business for 30 years and she knew better than I how it should look. I also mentioned the quoted price for mounting the sign, and she was astounded. Oh no, it was going to cost a lot more because they would have to rent a lift truck to get it up high on the building. What?  I walked out.  My Jenna looked on line, used templates to make up exactly what I had pictured, it was way less money, arrived in four days, and is an excellent product. Hubby said he'll put a ladder up against the porch roof, and stick that  sucker up for me. Whoo hoo! I still have it semi-packaged up, but when it is out of the box or up on the building, I will post a picture. I am so proud of it!

Got to watch my boy, Alec, recently. Jenna and her honey-bun had to go to a social function so Al and I had a sleep-over. When he was dropped off, I took a picture of Jenna and Joe. I wish I had made her turn her head a bit. She was wearing a long curly ponytail that looked darling. 


​
Picture
I was a little bit surprised when I later looked at all the pictures I had taken of these two, and realized that in every single photo, Joe had made a face. Bad boy!!!!  :)

​                                             GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY

0 Comments

FIVE SECOND RULE

5/16/2019

0 Comments

 
BE THE REASON SOMEONE SMILES. BE THE REASON SOMEONE FEELS LOVED AND BELIEVES IN THE GOODNESS OF PEOPLE.
                                                                                 Roy T. Bennet

HI, Kids! Hope everyone had a nice Mother's Day last Sunday. Hubby and I road-tripped to Minnesota to spend the week-end with son Dan and his wife, Tammy. We had a wonderful time. Not only do they cook fantastically, but they showed us around the countryside and we saw wonderful buildings...real old fashioned places with the tin-ceiling panels and old, polished woodwork. Did some great dining in those places, too. Their new house is really great.  Quite a bit bigger than mine, for sure. They have it fixed up so nicely. On Mother's Day, we went to the Crow Creek Winery for a fabulous brunch. Really quite posh. Wonderful food and ambiance. I came home feeling pampered and stuffed to the gills. :)

I am now back in my home office on the lower level of the house. For months, I have had a four-foot table set up in a spare bedroom, where Hubby put my computer and printer for me, while I was recovering from my leg "problems". But it was time to get my files, and papers and office supplies (which I always have a lot around me, 'cause I happen to love paperclips and pens and . . .  well, you know). It was starting to look a tad bit too cluttered up there, and besides,  I can now maneuver up and down the stairs.  However, when I finally got settled at my old desk, I looked over at the calendar on the wall. Sadly, it was still at November 2018. I had not been down here since I broke my leg. How creepy to see that time stopped for me to be in here in November. Another situation that I find interesting and somewhat sad, is at my late mother-in-law's house. The family still owns it, and when you walk into the bedroom, there is her calendar on the wall with the December 2014 page showing. That's when her life, her story ended.   I sure do miss that wonderful woman.

I have finally decided that I am an old, confused woman. I have been using that Gold Bond Neck and Chest cream to tighten my . . .  uh  . . . wrinkled neck. But lately, it wasn't do much good. Then I realized that I had been grabbing the Gold Bond Foot cream and using it on my neck!  sigh   Talking about old woman things, get a load of the latest hair report.  Prepare yourself. 

​


Picture
Front.    NOTE: You can see my lovely neck scar from the para thyroid operation. Did I mention that I have been telling people that the reason I have so many health issues going is because I got in a bar fight, was jumped by a women's gang, had all my hair cut off . . .  hence, the lack of hair for so long, and then  they slit my throat . . . that explains the scar, and then they broke my leg, and that's why I limp? Unfortunately, everyone knows I am a Church Lady, not a Bar Hopper Lady. Rats!

​
Picture
Back.


I finally have curly hair. But it is an odd kind of curly hair.  I don't know if today is the day to stop wearing the wigs or not. I am still thinking about it. My real hair is waaay whiter and grayer than my wigs, so it might be a shock to a lot of people (especially my clients that have arranged rentals at my building) to see me with my real hair. Whatever. Tis what it tis.

I only have two more weeks of systemic chemo pills, and then I am done!!! I truly think once I am done taking them, maybe my hair will start really growing back big time! I can only hope, I guess I'm lucky it is growing at all while still on chemo. 

This post's title is FIVE SECOND RULE. You all know what that is, right? It's when you drop a food item on the floor and if you pick it up within 5 seconds, it hasn't had time to get dirty, so it's okay to still eat it. The one item I would strongly advise against using this rule for is chewing gum.  Enough said.  Anyhoo, I have discovered that there is another case scenario that falls under the Five Second Rule. The other day I went into the bathroom and reached out to get a tissue from the box sitting on the back of the stool. Unfortunately, the stool lid was up, and my cell phone fell out of my pants pocket and right into the water! I immediately scooped it out and wiped it off. (Relax, the toidy had NOT been used). It had been less than 5 seconds. Whoo hoo! The phone still works like a champ.


                                           GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY
0 Comments

KEEPING BUSY IN SLOW MOTION

5/4/2019

0 Comments

 
MAKE IMPROVEMENTS, NOT EXCUSES. SEEK RESPECT, NOT ATTENTION.
                                                        Roy T. Bennet

I have been very busy the last few days. Weather is great and I've got Spring Fever big time! Washed windows today, along with scrubbing the bathroom and washing my shower curtain and liner, did a few more loads of laundry, and polished the wood floors in the laundry room and small bedroom. THEN, I sanded down my picnic table that I power washed a few days ago. I have been wanting to prime and paint it and then put it at The Woodbridge Building. We haven't used it in for a long time, so I think it can be useful at the WB. I even started digging up some of my mature hosta plants to take to the WB. That is not easy when the one leg I have to stand one is weak, and the other is stomping down on the spade to dig those suckers out. Makes a person a little off kilter. I managed to dig up  two of the five huge plants that I want to move. I know, whine...whine...whine.   Anyhoo, I'm still getting so much done, but when you have to work at half to one-third the usual pace that you have always run at, it takes a lot of time. Blah! 

Today I got to talk to my good friend from Georgia on the phone. We touch base every so often and get caught up on each others lives. I have know her for 44 years (OMG!) and she is a special, quiet, sweet woman who works hard and is appreciative of everything she has. This post's quote if for Sandy since these things describe how she lives her life. I asked her about the government shut-down around last Christmas, to hear how she had fared. She works for TSA. She handled it beautifully. Thank goodness she was in great shape financially, but she said some of the younger workers who had kids in day-care, or were living paycheck to paycheck were in a bind. Sandy and I don't talk politics because she and I are kinda on separate sides of the fence when it comes to the government. That's okay. I'm used to it. Have I mentioned that I am in a "mixed" marriage ? . . . Hubby belongs to one party, and I favor the other party. That's what America is all about -- the right to your own opinion. (But I'm still mad that those people were subjected to the government shut-down for absolutely no reason). And that's why I think she is a special person, to go through all that so gracefully. 

Hey, I have a question for you all. Can you figure out what this thing is? I have often mentioned how I love to go scrounging at Goodwill, second-hand stores, and garage sales for precious items at a bargain price. One thing I am always looking for is good storage container. You know, the kind you put your left-overs in, and then forget about them, and have to throw the stuff out when you finally clean your refrigerator? Well, I found this little gem and thought it looked useful. It was kinda different from anything I had seen before, but it sealed up tight and was see-through for ease in identifying what in the heck was in it. It also came with a strange hose and attachment thingy which I didn't recognize. All of these items were sealed up in plastic and where brand new. So, I bought it from Goodwill and brought it home. I noticed that there was a small plug on the lid where the hose thingy could be pushed into. I figured I didn't need that, so I tossed the hose. After studying it for a bit, I think I figured out what it is. ewwwww

​



Picture

Oh my dear Lord! I think it is something that hooks up to a breast pump and lets the milk flow into the storage container!!!!! Is that it?  ewwww   I'm donating it back to the Goodwill. Sorry that the hose is missing but maybe someone else might need a left-over food storage item. uh huh

Now, for some very bad news. Son Dan called us night before last and told us that his father-in-law had been killed in a car crash. No one knows all the details, but apparently his father-in-law had a stroke, died instantly and his pickup truck continued into the path of a semi truck. In trying to avoid the on-coming pickup, the semi driver slammed on his brakes and tried to get to the side of the road. He didn't have enough time and the vehicles hit. The semi rolled over in the ditch, but the driver was not hurt. Thank God. What a sad time for Dan and his wife, Tammy, and her sweet mother, Marlene.

                                               GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND GOD BLESS AMERICA



0 Comments

    Archives

    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    November 2020
    July 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Janene...

    ... was diagnosed with breast cancer on November 11, 2013. This is a place for all of the people who love and care about her to get the information about her treatment and her personal experience of kicking cancer's ass, (sometimes from her daughter's perspective). It's hard to stand by and not be able to do anything to help. Writing gives my mom an outlet and allows both of us to share information during this time. Therefore, we blog :) 

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.