Category Archives: Things on my mind

Good-Bye 2020 Welcome 2021, I Think

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What a year 2020 has been and it just keeps on giving.  When the new year started, it seemed like everything was so fresh and new and that wonderful things would happen and then,…. China gave us the present of the Covid Virus. I’ve heard that was an act of aggression on their part or even an act of war, but we Americans calmly accepted it and started the journey of quarantining ourselves, wearing masks and not gathering together.  It was all so strange. We are a people who like to do things in large groups.  This year we won’t even be able to gather in Times Square and welcome in the new year. Oh, the ball will still drop, but no one will be there to see it.  Is it kind of like if a tree falls in the woods and no one is there, will anyone hear it kind of thing.

I hate wearing a mask. I have breathing problems at times anyway and wearing a mask gives me claustrophobia and shortness of breath so I try to avoid places where I have to wear one.  Thankfully, we are not required to wear them in church.  I try to do all my shopping at once so I don’t have to go several times a month.  I try to spend time outdoors in the fresh air as much as possible. With three dogs, I have to be outside.

Speaking of dogs, they have been a life saver, keeping me company and giving me entertainment.  Lucy and Sugar have definitely become MY dogs. David can be outside playing with them and all they have to do is hear me open the back door and they are off to the races seeing who can get to me first and jump on me.  We are working on that jumping part because when you have two fifty pound puppies slam into you, you really feel it!  At least they are happy to see me and I am usually happy to see them unless they get muddy paws all over me.

Three needy dogs.  They are all three people pups. They love being with people.  The puppies have grown so much and they are still only about half the size they will be.  Our vet said they were slightly overweight, but they look skinny next to Molly and she has lost some weight. The vet told us Labs were always hungry and she was right. They act starved all the time.

They are so darn cute, I can’t get mad at them even when they tear up everything in the back yard. One of them dug up all the flowers I planted around our porch.  I hope they get that out of their system before next growing season.  Lucy still has those beautiful eyes.

They are all partners in crimes. Here David has a treat waiting for them.  All eyes on it!

All our dogs when they were puppies destroyed something. Well, our new pups tore the pool liner getting in and out of the pool so we are going to have to replace it next Spring. The pool is eighteen years old, so the liner was needing to be replaced.  David didn’t even act disturbed about it. Hmmmm.  When Molly tore up the pool heater he had built, I thought she was dead dog walking for a while.  He is attached to these puppies like no other.

Then there’s the chickens or chooks if you are in Australia.   They are such good little layers.  We haven’t had a period without eggs for a long while.  Our new layers are starting to lay some pretty big eggs.

One of these eggs is not like the others…..

I love our eggs. They taste like butter.  We have given away dozens of eggs this year. People always offer to pay for them, but we like giving them away.  As long as we are able, we will continue to do so.

I call this one our loner chicken because she stays outside looking in. When I feed them, she waits for all the rest to begin and then she will find a place to fit in. She’s not henpecked, just chooses to be alone.  I guess if some people live like that, so can chickens.

This is our bossy hen. She meets me at the gate every single time telling me I’m not feeding them fast enough. She has grabbed a bowl of feed right out of my hand and will peck me if she feels like it.  She is also a talker and will follow me around clucking up a storm.

Our only Buff Orpington left. She has been a good layer and the next time we get chicks, I’m getting more Buffs.  They are a gentle, sweet chicken.

No exactly sure what kind this chicken is. I thought I was getting a Silver Laced Wyndotte, but I don’t think that is what she is. She is a lot smaller than the other hens.

It’s been a little cold for bird watching although I still feed the birds, but the other day I got a few photos.

He looks well fed, doesn’t he?

Remember Frankenbird?  She has blossomed from an ugly bird.

She’s got a crest and more feathers. Here she almost looks rainbow colored.  I’m happy for her.

Sitting in the living room the other day I noticed the light at the window was beautiful through our lace curtains.

I took a few pictures.  “Scarlette, it’s the land you love.”  Does this look like that scene a bit?

The sky was on fire.  Just beautiful. God’s creation on display for all to see.

Back to the puppies. I couldn’t resist.  David had to build this gate because the pups were eating our shoes we leave on the porch and they tore the screen door out.  David didn’t seemed disturbed by that either. Hmmmmmmmmmm.  Is he getting soft in his old age?

In the new year I am starting a new quilt project. I have never joined a quilt along before. A quilt along, if you don’t know, is where several people get together online and follow instructions on how to make a certain quilt and we make our quilts together and when it’s over, we should have a finished quilt top. There are over 5,000 people all around the world getting ready to quilt with this quilt along.

We are using this quilt book by Kathleen Tracy.  All the blocks measure four and a half inches square and there are 72 squares and a middle medallion with a saw toothed edging.

It’s not too late to join, but you need Kathleen’s book and lots of different materials. You will need to follow her on her Facebook page. I’ve been going through my stash.

As you can see, I  am very well organized. I’ve got boxes and boxes of material and it’s like shopping for new when I go through them as I’ve forgotten a lot of these fabrics. but…

Wouldn’t you know?  I ordered more!  And I’ve ordered more again and am waiting for it to come!  And,… I will probably order more before this quilt is done. I always can find an excuse to order more fabric. One of these fabrics has chickens on it, too!  I’m going to try to make two of these quilts at a time. One in reproduction fabrics from the 1800’s and one from Christmas fabrics, so I will have two finished quilt tops by March, I hope.  It’s going to be so much fun.

Years ago, I use to quilt with a friend and all of a sudden one day I lost my quilting mojo. I just didn’t feel like making quilts. It was awful.  I could not get interested. My friend was worried about me. Thankfully, that little blip lasted a very short time and I was soon quilting again. We had just closed our quilt shop at that time and I think I was just burned out with quilts, quilting, fabric, the whole thing. But now I am as passionate about it or more. I love making quilts I can share with others and our house is full of them.  I told my daughter that was my legacy to her and she can do whatever she wants with them when I’m gone.  She already has several quilts I’ve made her as do her two boys.  I love knowing that when I’m gone people will still be snuggling under quilts I’ve made for them.

So I already know what I will be doing the beginning of the new year. These are a few of the blocks I’ve been practicing on.

Do you make new year’s resolutions?  I use to long ago, but I found that I could never keep them or I forgot all about them. I think it’s best to just live each year and be the best you can be. Be kind to people. Enjoy what you do each day.  Find a passion and stick with it. Take a walk.  Get a pet.  Grow something.  Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.  Remember each day could be your last one. We never know.  I’m glad God made it that way.  I don’t think I would do anything much differently if I knew when I was going to die, Maybe patch up some broken relationships if I could.  I’ve tried before.  But the people I love know I love them so I’m good.  Make a new friend.  Go to church because we are to assemble together with one another.  Pray for your country and its leader. We still are not completely sure who our president is.  There was a lot of chicanery that went on with this last election.  I hope it all turns out well. It will be up to the electoral college so pray for those people.  Give money to a charity that helps people.   I’m all for helping animals, but we people are in need of help too. I find that the Salvation Army is one of the best charities to get the most  to more people.  Pray for a cure for all the illnesses in this world. I pray for a cure for MS because my daughter has it and I truly believe she will be healed one day, but pray for anyone you know who is suffering with any illness.  Pray this Covid thing will go away for good.  I could go on and on about what we could or should do, but you know all that.

While it’s been very different this year, I think it’s been a blessing in disguise, too. Families have had to stay together and do things together.  I know my daughter and her sons have had some real quality time. I do hope the boys get back into school at some time because they need that social connection with their peers.  I’ve enjoyed not feeling like I have to be on the go all the time. I’ve read more books, sewn more quilts, and had more free time than I ever have had before and I love it.  My life was not as interrupted as many have been and I know all you social people are ready for a BIG party so I hope you get it soon.

We will face this new year and we will live right through it like we did 2020.  Many did not survive, but we who did have been blessed and we should make the most of every day.  Thank God in Heaven for all you have because we do live in the richest country in the world.  I heard the other day that just one of our states, California, has the fifth largest economy in the world.  One state!  So we are extremely blessed and we really don’t deserve to be. So thank you, God.

I pray for all of you who read this blog that your year will be full of blessings. That your troubles will be few and your blessings many.  Hugs to you all.  Virtually, of course.  Happy New Year. Pray for 2021 that it only can get better from here.  Bye.

 

 

Why I Will Never Be a Wildlife Photographer and Other Things

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Before I get into my story, I have to add something to my last blog I forgot to tell.  You know, the wedding blog.  Well, we got married in July and that September I went back to college. I was taking a finance course and we had a paper to hand in. The next day the professor got up in front of the class and said, ” I have a paper from a Kate Pentecost, but I have no student by that name.”  He looked around the room. I looked at the boy next to me and said in a whisper, “That’s me, but I got married.”  My face was bright red, I’m sure. I slowly raised my hand and said, “That’s me. I got married this Summer and my name was changed.”   The whole class laughed and the professor handed me my paper, which had my pre- married name on it and it had a good grade on it, by the way. I never forgot again.

If we are living in crazy times, I haven’t had much time to notice.  I can’t believe how fast the time is passing and how much we have done this Summer.

We’ve had kids swimming in our pool.

Had seven boys one day.  They had a ball.

David took a week off for our anniversary and we did things close to home.

We took a drive one day.

Just have to say I love Indiana in the Summer.  I sometimes wonder why we ever want to go someplace else when it’s so wonderful here.

Southern Indiana is full of vistas like this.  Lazy rivers and woods.  Once you get away from the cities and towns, most of Indiana is like this.

Cornfields growing high. They did get knee-high by the 4th of July this year.  We’ve been blessed with plenty of rain.

Wildflowers growing beside the roads.

Old church yards with graves behind them.  Whoever cares for this graveyard has a talent.

Someone carved a chair from a tree stump.  It even has a footrest.

There are a lot of old, abandoned houses spotting the landscape all over Indiana. People just up and leave and the houses go back into the earth.

We ate out about every day, but I have to say something about all this cleaning for the Corona Virus.  In one restaurant, my arms stuck to the table and David said it’s the cleaning supplies they are using.  After eating there, I got sick to my stomach.

We went to another restaurant later in the week and the disinfectant smell was so strong, I once again got sick to my stomach and could not eat.  So now I’m wondering if the cleaning for the Corona Virus is worst than the virus.  It can’t be healthy eating and smelling all the disinfectant and now I’m wondering how much of the disinfectants are getting into the food.  I think I’d rather take my chances with the virus.

So on to my photography. I have taken so many pictures the past few weeks.   One day I sat out on my shop porch swing and tried to get some pictures of the birds eating at our feeders.  This is why I will never be a wildlife photographer.  Let me entertain you with my wonderful pictures.

This guy was wondering what in the heck I was doing.

 

He/she kept looking at me suspiciously.

Molly was curious about what I was trying to do.

Finally I got a bird shot.

And another.

Then papa cardinal arrived with one of his babies.

You can see the topknot on this baby bird.

This is what a baby cardinal should look like, but…….

We have a visitor to our birdfeeders that we have named Frankenbird.  Poor thing, I don’t know whether it’s just a young Cardinal or an anomaly, but he comes regularly and doesn’t seem to be afraid of us.

No topknot and very few feathers.  Almost the size of an adult Cardinal.

We will watch him and see if he transforms into a beautiful Cardinal.

You know how life has its ups and downs and you never know when either will come?  I had some really deep downs this Summer when I lost our dog, Belle.  I have to spell her name in front of Molly because when she hears Belle’s name, she starts looking for her. How do you explain to a dog that her friend has died?   I keep telling Molly we are looking for a new friend for her and we have been.  We’ve lost the chance on two litters of Labradors the past couple of weeks.  We didn’t get in soon enough in being a pick which is your number that you get to pick a puppy from the litter because we didn’t know about it.  We tried getting a Silver Lab, but they were all sold before we even got our name in. The second litter was sold quickly also, so when David found a breeder in northern Indiana he got our name in right away and guess what?  We have first pick of the puppies!   They aren’t even born yet. That is how popular Labrador Retrievers are right now.  They will be born next week and six weeks later we can go see them.  I’m sooooo excited.  They will be either black or brown. I don’t care, we have had both and they were great dogs.  I also have someone who will care for our dogs if anything ever happens to David and me.  I hope I have dogs until the day I die, but I want to know they will be cared for.

I’ve outlived too many dogs. This is Belle’s pawprint. It still makes me sad to see it.

And this is the Rainbow Bridge poem that I still cannot read because I know it will make me cry.

But joy comes in the morning and I know getting a new puppy will bring joy to our house so I’m looking forward to it.

I’m watching America’s Got Talent right now. They are having to watch the acts on video which makes it very interesting. One woman sang opera while sitting on her horse in Oregon.   If nothing else, this virus has made people very inventive.

This weekend we will celebrate our oldest grandson’s graduation from high school. We don’t get to go to the graduation which I think stinks, but we will see him at his party.  We are so proud of him.

Here’s to joy in the morning. Bye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Fourth of July

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The fourth of July is going to be a big Phsttttttt this year.  No fireworks displays. No congregating with like minded people to watch explosions go off in the air. No hearing the national anthem, which, by the way, is the only national anthem of our country.   David is working so I will be home alone. I wonder if I could be like Kevin in the movie. Eat ice cream in bed, watch old movies, and plan a way to stop the bad guys from getting in the house. That last part I really hope never happens.  But you can bet I will be busy doing something or just laying out by the pool, whichever suits me.

We have had several people swimming in our pool. Our daughter brings her friend, her kids and her friend’s kids and sometimes friends of the friends.  I say the pool is there and it needs to be used, so they have been using it often. I’ve been in the pool once this Summer. The water has to be like bath water for me to get in it.  I like sitting out and watching the kids have fun.  One day they swam for six hours. They all are as brown as nuts.  I tell them that and they laugh because they’ve never heard that before.

I still miss Belle.  Molly still looks for her. I feel sad when I see her bowl I never have to fill and her bed in my shop where she will never lay again. The vet sent us a sympathy card and it made me cry.   She was such a good dog.  But I am looking for a Lab puppy.  The only way to fill the empty space is to fill it with a puppy.  Belle can never be replaced, but a puppy will help heal the sadness. I found a breeder who has three day old Labs and I’ve given him our phone number in hopes he will get in touch with us. I told him we were seriously looking for another Lab.   I sometimes think I am a glutton for punishment by taking on the care and training of yet another puppy. Molly tried our souls. She really did, but she has turned into the sweetest, most loving dog, but she still will chew anything left out in the yard. Our daughter called and said she left her Boes  music box outside by the pool. I immediately felt my stomach drop wondering if Molly had already discovered it and done her work, but fortunately for our daughter, it was still in one piece.  Once the man who mowed our lawn left headphones out in the yard and Molly made mincemeat of them.  So this is what I want to take on once again with a new puppy.

So much has gone on this Summer and so much will be going on so I’m thinking this will be the fastest Summer to pass in decades. We all will certainly remember this Summer, if not this year as the time of the Virus when we were held hostage by a bug that they know very little about and have no cure for and yet we have to work around it somehow and make our country work.  My grandsons will have to wear masks all day at school this Fall.  I feel for them. I’ve worn a mask two times and both times were at the doctors’ offices where they handed me a mask to wear. I really feel claustrophobic with a mask on so I go nowhere where I have to wear one.  I need to get my hair cut, but they require their patrons to wear masks so my hair will be very long before I make an appointment.  I’m getting use to having long hair although it is a pain to take care of and keep the tangles out.

I hope you all are having a good Summer.  It’s a wonderful time to read a book, lay in the sun and just enjoy the lazy days.   I’ve been reading some really good books on my Kindle.  On one blog she has people send in the names of books they recommend. So many books. So little time.

I also have been having fun with my new pastime, painting by numbers. These are not like the old paint by numbers we use to paint. These are very intricate paintings where you really have to pay attention to detail.  I finished one of a flower in a vase and now I’m working on one of all colors of roses. David ordered some frames for them.  It’s very calming to sit and paint.  I think about the masters like Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso and even Norman Rockwell who painted pictures for the front of magazines.  Now they didn’t need numbers and they really had to pay attention to detail, but I bet they got the same relaxing feelings I get when I paint.  I feel at one with them.   I can even order Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh to paint if I so wish. If you are interested, just check out paint by numbers and you will find several companies that produce them. Just know, at this time they are being overwhelmed with orders because of the virus and it takes a month or more to get your set, but if you are patient, it will come in time. My first ones took three months to get here and I have another picture I ordered over a month ago. But they are worth it.

So Happy 4th of July. God bless our country and protect it from those who would destroy it.  May we continue to live in peace.  Bye.

 

Creating

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I’ve had plenty of time the last few weeks to put my creative juices to good use.   A couple of weeks ago I got these.

That necklace was a Mother’s Day gift from my daughter.  You can’t see them very well, but my grandchildren’s names are all engraved on it.  I love it.  But what I was really trying to show was the paint by number picture.  I ordered two of them in March and just received them recently. The colored picture is what I will be painting.

I also got this one which is a picture of a flower in a small vase on a table. Doesn’t look much like that right now, does it?  I love these because you don’t have to mix colors. A few years ago I bought a paint by number at Hobby Lobby and you had to mix some of the paints to get the color you needed.  I wasn’t very good at it and gave up half way through. Now that I’m painting these pictures, I think I will go back and see if I can finish that one if the paints haven’t dried up!

Anyway, I ordered yet another paint by number from another company and they wrote me that they were weeks behind because of the high volume of orders they had received. Must be a lot of bored people out there wanting something to occupy their time.  I find painting is very relaxing.  I wish I had taken some art classes in high school and college because I think I would have loved painting pictures of my own making.  I know I love painting in general as I have painted every room in our house several times since we’ve lived here.  Something about taking a brush with paint on it and transforming a room or a canvas  just makes me happy.

I’m hoping to have this one done in a week or so and then David is going to build a frame and we’ll stretch the canvas onto it. Saw them do that last night on the show Home Town. One of my favorite fixer upper shows.   David and I took a road trip to Laurel, Mississippi where the show takes place and where the hosts’ have a little store downtown.   Very nice little southern town with beautiful houses and big oak trees down the streets.  I can see why people want to move there.

Do you notice how I get off subject pretty quickly? That’s how my mind works. It meanders through one thought to another thought until I forget what the first thought was!   I was talking about painting, wasn’t I?   When I was a girl I would get color by number picture sets for Christmas and used color pencils to color the pictures. I absolutely loved doing  it. I wish I still had some of those pictures. They sell them on E-bay now and people decorate with them.

But painting is not all I’ve been doing.  I am working on six quilts. Six!  I have a plan, but I can’t write it here because nosy people might know what I’m writing about.  I found some wonderful fabrics in aboriginal prints that I am using in a couple of the quilts.  It’s really amazing fabric.   Sadly, my stamina isn’t what it use to be and it’s taking me a lot longer to get sewing done than it use to.   I have a deadline when I want these quilts completed, so I’m going to have to get it in gear and work harder.   Maybe I’ll show you a corner of a quilt sometime.

And of course, there is always socks.  I could knit all day I love it so much, but it would not be very good for me to sit so long so I get up and do other things like feed and water the chickens, chicks and dogs.  That’s my life. Feeding and watering birds, both wild and domestic and the dogs.  They can’t do it themselves and I’m the only one here most of the day, so somebody(me) has to do it.  Yesterday I accidentally left the door open on the young chick’s pen and two of them got out. Luckily the pen was in the cabin so all I had to do was shut the cabin door and catch the little rascals and all was well. The chicks are getting almost big enough to join the big girls.   Next week we will put their pen inside the coop so they all can get acquainted.  I always worry how the older chickens will take to the younger ones. Once our daughter’s family was going somewhere and needed chicken sitters while they were gone so they brought their flock over to put in with mine.  Well, the rumble began as soon as her chickens saw mine. Her chickens were thugs!  Bullies!  I had to keep them all separated or someone would have gotten hurt. Not going to try that again. Chickens are very territorial.

But, back to knitting.

I got this lovely yarn in the mail.

And this one. This is called Monopoly because it has the colors of the Monopoly game.  This designer always sends a little charm with each hank of yarn she sends to her customers.

Of course, Monopoly had a little green house.

The pink yarn included this pink and white sucker charm. I have several charms from this lady and I bought a charm bracelet the other day and am going to put all the charms on it to remind me of all the stockings I’ve knitted from this one business.

I’ve also been going through my yarn and finding like colors and making patchwork stockings. I knit until one color runs out and join yarn and keep knitting. I’m loving these Christmas colors socks.

The flowers in my garden change almost weekly. The peonies were so beautiful this year, but just did not last long enough.

The last paint by number I ordered is actually a picture of peonies in a vase somewhat like this picture of my peonies. So I can have peonies all year through if I get the painting done.

We practiced social distancing long enough and our grandchildren were ready to get out and the came down to see us.  It’s so nice having grown grandchildren you can carry on a conversation with. They are such fun to have around.

I just love these kids so much and could not be any prouder of them than I am already.

The one on the left is the youngest! I told his brother that one day he’d be taller than him and I was right.  Two are in college and the youngest will be a freshman.  I can’t believe how fast these children grew. Seems like just the other day I was holding them on my lap and reading them stories.

I baked banana bread twice. It is so good with a glass of cold milk or a cup of coffee.

Well, hope you are getting out and about. We’ve eaten out a few times at restaurants that are serving.  Have you noticed most of them expect you to have a cellphone and place your order with the phone? David and I are old school and don’t carry our phone with us every place we go. We went to one restaurant where there was a wait and we said we didn’t mind waiting and the young man told us they would call us on our phone and David told him we didn’t have a phone with us and would you believe, the young man told him we could go to another restaurant!  Banned for not having a cellphone with us?  Needless to say, I wrote the company and told them what I thought of their policy. We have had no trouble at any of the other restaurants. They gladly have someone tell us our table is ready.  Oh, well. You win some, you lose some.

June is here. Can July be far behind?  Summer is going fast!  Bye.

 

 

Do You Have a Doppleganger?

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Do you have Doppleganger?  Do you know what a Doppleganger is?   A Doppleganger(I just love typing that word) is someone who looks like you.  Your twin sort of from another mother.   I have had several in my life.  When we first moved to our present home over forty years ago, we looked for a church and found one. It wasn’t long before I was told there was a woman in town who looked just like me.  That was interesting.

She evidently attended my new church, but had not been there for a while. I watched for my Doppleganger every Sunday and one day, she appeared, but I didn’t know it. You see, we all think of ourselves as looking one way and the world sees us in another way so when I was pointed out my Doppleganger I thought no way did she look like me.  She did have blonde hair and was short, but that was all I saw that looked sort of like me. But after that, I kept looking at her trying to see something others were seeing in her that looked like me.

I went to the library not long after we moved here to get a new library card and it was not long before one of the librarians told me she had seen someone who looked “Just like me” come into the library.  This Doppleganger I never saw and I was wondering if it was the same lady who went to my church.  Crazy.

Do you remember the model Twiggy back in the sixties?  Now in no way was my body like hers, slim as a rail. I had more curves and you might even call me a little chubby, but my boss where I worked said I sure looked like Twiggy.  And I guess I did a little in my pictures. In the face.  Funny how that works.  And in one of my younger pictures I look sort of like Princess Diana.  If I can find the picture, I’ll put it here.  I know that sounds crazy and I’m bragging, but I’m not.  It’s just that in one of my pictures and how I am posed, I look like Princess Diana.  I don’t look at all like her now. Of course she probably wouldn’t look like she did back in her younger days if she were still alive which I wish she was.   I still miss her.  I was one of those who got up extra early on her wedding day and watched, enraptured, the pomp and circumstance of the whole thing and then days afterward I looked for anything about Diana I could find on the TV.  Just wish she and Charles could have made a go of it, but I don’t think the love was equal in that relationship, sadly.

Anyway, back to Dopplegangers,  I put some pictures online a few years back while we were traveling and one of my friends told one of her friends that I looked like one of their friends!  Well, when I saw who they were talking about I asked David if I looked anything like her and he said, “Absolutely not!”  But her friends saw something in me that reminded them of her.

Right now with all the mask wearing it would be hard to see your Doppleganger if they were standing right in front of you.   Do you have a Doppleganger?  Are you happy they look like you or are you a little distressed about it?   Everyone has a twin, they say.  My grandson has a picture of his best friend’s grandfather when he was young and he looks exactly like my grandson.  I almost fell on the floor when I saw their two pictures together.  Twins!  I mean exactly alike.   There has be to a family relationship there somewhere down the gene line.

If you have a Doppleganger or just haven’t seen yours yet, keep looking.  Your twin may show up one day.  Bye,

 

Sharing Toilet Paper

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What is it about toilet paper that has people so anxious?  And why are people hoarding it now?   You can only use so much toilet paper in a month, but some people are buying enough to last a year or two. Why is that?  Did you ever think toilet paper would be the most coveted item on everyone’s grocery list?

And what happens when the toilet paper starts to run out everywhere?  Will we have a government bill passed that ensures that every American would have a month’s worth  of toilet paper sent to them every month?   Will toilet paper take the place of the welfare check?    Or will we have a toilet paper exchange where you get so many sheets of toilet paper for so many eggs?  Or loaves of bread? Or anything?  Will toilet paper become part of the black market where people meet in dark alleys to slip a roll to someone for a few bucks?    I can see it now. The new mega millionaire who gets rich by selling underground toilet paper.  Maybe that’s what all these toilet paper hoarders have in mind.  Would you buy toilet paper on E-bay if it were priced 100% higher than the stores had had it? Would you really get that desperate?

I read where somewhere in the U.S. people were ripping up t-shirts and using it for toilet paper causing major sewer jams.   I call that desperate, but if you can’t flush, what’s the use?   You are left with a bigger problem.

So let’s all work together and buy ONLY what we need.  Don’t hoard. Share. Remember that word? We learned it in kindergarten.  Make this toilet paper scare a thing of the past.

The Coronavirus and Me

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No, I still don’t have any pictures. I’d show you what the Coronavirus looks like if I could. It’s kind of pretty as viruses go.   I’m just writing to tell you how stunned I am at how scared people are and how panicked some seem to be.  I’ve been out and about and most people I see are going on about their affairs while all the news shows are telling us to stay home.

They can stay home if they want to, but I’ve got a life to live and no virus is going to stop me.  It may stop me from getting groceries when some of these scared people go to the stores and clear out the shelves with things they will never use.  More food is being bought than I’ve ever seen. Do people think they are going to be locked in their homes and not allowed to go to the grocery for months?  My preacher couldn’t find a roast. My son couldn’t find one piece of chicken for his curry.  Either there’s going to be a whole lot of cooking going on in the next few weeks or a whole lot of food is going to spoil and  be thrown out.

It really bothers me when churches close. Seems to me that’s where people ought to be during something like this manufactured crisis praying for common sense and patience with people who are so scared.  If you really think you might get the virus if someone breathes on you, then stay home.  I’m going shopping tomorrow in hopes of finding some things I need on the shelves.

How do you feel about this virus?  I’m just amazed that people are having to be told to wash their hands. What in the world have they been doing?   And I hear you should wash with plain old soap and water and not to use hand sanitzers too much as they tend to become useless after a while.  I agree with that.  Maybe we are too clean.  Maybe being exposed to a few germs might be healthier.  And stay out of hospitals if you fear germs because  they have more germs there than anywhere else.

Anyway, the Coronavirus and me might meet up one day, who knows and it we do, I will stay home and drink lots of liquids and take aspirin.  The only time I’ve ever had the flu was after I got the flu shot. Go figure.  I’ve refused a flu shot ever since.  From people who should know I’ve heard that the flu shot is only for one particular flu every year, so if you get another kind, it doesn’t do a bit of good.

I really hope you aren’t one of those who is panicking over this. You really shouldn’t.  As C.S. Lewis wrote, we all are going to die of something. It’s in our future, no matter what.  So should we fear this virus any more than the volcano that might erupt, the tornado that might fly overhead,  or the bullet that might fly?  As FDR said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  Wise words because I think it’s the fear that is fueling this more than the disease itself.

I really hope and pray all who reads this will remain well, but should you get the virus, don’t worry.  If you are a relatively healthy person you will pull through as thousands have.  I will pray this all will end soon. And don’t listen to the panic mongers on the news shows. Go out and have some fun with your kids since all the schools are closed.  Bye.

I promise my next blog will have pictures.

I Write Blogs in my Head

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If you are a blogger, you know you are always looking for something to write about.  Anyway, I do. I write blogs while I’m quilting, while I’m laying in bed unable to sleep, at the  most strange times a story will pop into my head. I really ought to carry a pad and pen with me and write down what I am thinking, because I’ve written the best blogs when I’m not sitting at the computer. Honest.  I will think of something and it will grow and grow in my mind and I think to myself, “you really should write this down because you will forget it all if you don’t.”  But I don’t write it down and then later I forget what I was going to write.

So I was sitting in my Lazyboy on the computer when this idea for a blog popped into my head so here I am, writing it and now I can’t remember exactly what the aim of this post was supposed to be!   All I know is I have had some pretty amazing blogs pass through my brain and you would have been astounded how great they are, but sadly, none get on this site.

This is my birthday month and already I’ve had reason to celebrate as I went to my favorite antique store where a lady has a booth of fabric and sewing paraphernalia and I got a big pile of really nice fabric to use in the quilts I am  making now.  It’s almost like she saw me coming and stocked her booth just for me.   Tomorrow is actually my birthday and we are going out to eat at a restaurant where I have a coupon for a free salad bar and since I’m easy to please, this makes me so happy.   I also have two cakes, TWO, albeit they are small cakes that David slipped in on me and I just happened to see them in the cake stands.  One is chocolate and the other is a tiny white cake with one rose on top.  I’d eat a piece tonight, but I better wait until tomorrow to start gaining weight.

 

March, April and May are my favorite months of the year.  I love Spring so much and already the flowers are poking through the soil and we have a few daffodils almost ready to bloom.  For some reason this Winter has been especially hard on me. I’ve been cold all the time and can be wearing three layers and have two blankets on me and still be cold.  I’m so glad we have a heated mattress pad on our bed. Best invention ever. It’s like getting onto a hot pad for your whole body and while I usually have to turn it off after a while, when I first get into bed it’s an ahhhh moment for me.

There’s been a lot going on around here and now we are getting ready to paint one of our bedrooms. I’ve grown to love the shabby chic look and want to make this particular bedroom look shabby chic.  I’m making a quilt for the bed and found some beautiful linen pillowcases with wide ruffles and I plan to paint some of the furniture white.  David’s not sure about that, but since I will be doing all the work, he won’t stop the progress!  I don’t know how long this is going to take me, but when it’s all done, I will TRY to remember to take some pictures to show you the finished project.   We bought an old chicken nesting box a while back and I plan to paint it and store things in it, fabric or linens or something.  The box needs a lot of cleaning as it was used, well, by chickens and they are not the neatest creatures on the planet.  I laugh sometimes when I see ladies have put curtains in their chicken coops or nice furniture or paintings on the wall. I tried decorating our chicken coop when we first built it. I bought a picture of roosters to hang on the wall which I thought my girls would like. I also hung posters of chickens on the walls.  Well, those hens made short order of the posters, tearing them to shred, pooped all over the curtains and knocked the rooster picture whopper-jawed.  Needless to say, all they get now is a good cleaning out of their coop and a -refreshing of their bedding every so often.  No more shabby “chick” for those girls.

I hope to have some pictures for you next time.  I know I like to read blogs that have pretty pictures to look at. There are some really pretty blogs out there and I love looking at them and  I look forward to these.  I try to stay away from the blogs where they are constantly selling something.  I like to read about people’s lives all over the world. We all really are not that much different.  We all are looking for beauty in our lives  and love in our homes.

Here’s to all you bloggers. May you continue to entertain and inform us.  Bye.

Sorry, I’m Lazy

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Here I am and it’s February already.  When I was learning how to spell February in elementary school, I thought it was odd there was an “r” after the “b” because I had always said Febuary and no one had ever corrected me. Spell check just corrected me! Ha!  But it was impressed on me so I never misspell it now.  Anyway, I’ve got nothing right now to show you because I’ve grown lazy taking pictures.

It’s not to say things aren’t happening around here. It’s just that I get up and before I know it, I’m going to bed again and I wonder where the day went.  I have a grand plan to make so many quilts this year and give them away.  To accomplish that, I need to get into my shop and sew like mad.  But right now I’m only accomplishing one or two blocks  a day so my grand plan isn’t going as quickly as I wanted.

David and I have been thinking about vacations and where we should travel to this year. We’ve been to every state but Hawaii and Rhode Island, many of them several times.  One of my favorite bloggers is having a special event this Spring and I just mentioned it to David and he said, “Let’s go. Put it on your calendar.”  So I did. I will tell you about it later when I’m sure we can get tickets and pet sitters and all that.  Whenever we plan a trip, our dogs and chickens are first on my mind. Who will watch them? How can they ever do without me?  Will something horrible happen to them if I go away?  So far we’ve  been pretty blessed with pet sitters and our animals have been well taken care of. I checked once with our vet on their accommodations and I was appalled at how small the pens were and the run for the dogs to get outside was about eight feet long. My dogs would go crazy there. So that was out. But I’ve found a girl who does sitting and she does a very good job, so I will be calling her. And my dogs can stay home where they are comfortable.

But back to February.  I do love the cold, wet, and snowy days that are part of this month. Even at that, there are days when you can smell Spring. David and I sat on the swing on my shop porch and I could smell the earth and hear the birds and it almost felt like Spring.  The other day I saw a flock of Sandhill Cranes go over.  We see them every year, but they are early this year.  They fly in large groups and there are several that fly over. If they are early, does that mean Spring is not far behind?  Part of me says, “I hope not” and part of me says, “Yay” I’m ready for warm weather.

We are going to an antique show tomorrow.  I know I don’t need one more thing put in our house, but I would like to see what they have for sale.  There may be that ONE thing I just need to have.  I got a box today with more fabric in it. Yes, I ordered more fabric. I love fabric.  The colors in the fabric I chose are so vivid. I’ll try to get some pictures taken and I will tell you where I get my fabric online.  There is a store where the fabric is one or two dollars less a yard than most other places. I only ordered it two days ago and already have gotten it.

Well, David and I are off to Sam’s Club.  It’s one of my favorite places to shop and I don’t like to shop.  I’ve rambled today, but that’s the kind of day it’s been.  I’ve just rambled through it.

And I’m only going to say this once. I am very thankful the impeachment fiasco it over and President Trump can do his job without being harrassed.

Have an almost but not quite Spring Day.  Bye.

I’m Wondering

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Here it is, the middle of January in a brand new year already and I’m getting nothing done.  I find myself dreaming more than I am doing.  Does that happen to you?  I wonder when I will get energetic enough to get all the things done I want to do.  I want to clean out closets. I want to begin my walking regimen again. Now that’s a good question. I wonder when that will happen again.

Just a few years ago I was walking at least five miles a day and then my health went all downhill. After getting a pacemaker in I thought I’d be walking miles again real soon. Well, it hasn’t happened yet.  I can barely walk a mile without getting tired out.  I have got more done this past year than I have been able to do.   But I want to walk again without wearing myself out.  I want to stop whining about it also.

I wonder if I will finish many quilts this year.  I have been working on blocks for the same quilt for the past several weeks. It’s called Grandmother’s Fancy and I’ve completed one quilt from this particular pattern that I love and another that is just waiting to be quilted so, of course, I started another one.  The blocks are just so much fun to make and are using a lot of my scrap fabric.  It’s like a display of a lot of my old fabric.  I have flour sack fabric in it and fabric we sold at our store twenty years ago and fabric I got from my mother’s stash after she died.  If I get the energy to take pictures, I’ll show you the quilts in my next post.

I’m wondering if David and I will take a vacation this year.  We didn’t take one last year because of, well, you know, my medical problems.   We are planning on buying a new car, maybe a Jeep this Spring and we tell ourselves we need to break it in by taking a really great trip somewhere. Alaska again?  Maybe.  Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.  Sounds wonderful.  Martha’s Vineyard?  That’s somewhere I have always wanted to visit.  Who knows.  I just know If we don’t take a trip I will feel like we are getting too old to try again and I really don’t want to think that.

I remember my mother’s and daddy’s last trip to Colorado. They got into a blizzard and had to stay in a church for a while. Mother always had snacks with her and shared them with people around her.  It was a trip they talked about a lot, but it was their last one.  They visited some friends in Colorado and went out to dinner with them and the man got choked on some food and my daddy performed the Heimlich maneuver on him and saved him.  Yes, it was their last trip.

I’m wondering if this trial against our president will ever come to an end.  No president has had to go though what President Trump has had to endure.  I know some hate him so much they will believe anything about him that they hear, but he’s done so much good since he’s been in office. If only the media told the truth.  I’m praying it will all end and he will be allowed to do his job without being harassed constantly.

I wonder how many people decided they weren’t going to read my blog anymore because of the above paragraph.

I’m wondering if we will have a blizzard this Winter.  I know some people really don’t want to see snow, but I’d love to see one really big snow before Winter is done. Last year Winter was so mild, we had very little snow and it just didn’t feel like Winter.   Just one day where everyone has to stop and stay at home.  Just one day to snuggle down with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book before it’s time to get outdoors and plant a garden and work in the yard.

I’m wondering if I will lose the weight I really want to lose.  Well, not enough that I didn’t eat a big piece of David’s chocolate birthday cake I baked for him.  It is really good!   I have to stop baking which I like more than cooking.

I’m wondering what other people in blogland will be talking about this year.  I read several blogs. Some I never miss because they are such good writers. I wonder about their lives and how they are doing all the time.

I wonder just how quickly this year will pass by. If it’s like the last one, I will be writing my 2021 blog before long.

What do you wonder about?   Life if full of wonder and delight.  Hope this new year is going well with you.  Bye.