Monthly Archives: September 2017

At Last, Fall

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Busy days around our house.  Once Autumn gets here, it’s like a locomotive goes out of control and we speed through the days until Christmas.   I have already been Christmas shopping.  I know.  I’m crazy, but I think about Christmas all year and what things I would like to give to people.  It becomes a little bit obsessive sometimes.

I love the Fall, with its cooler temperatures, although for the past several days we have been in the nineties here in southern Indiana.  So, of course, I choose those days to do a little outside painting.   We are replacing boards on our back porch one board at a time.  I stain the wood and David puts it down.  I find painting relaxing as long as I’m not on a ladder and on beautiful days like today, I crank up talk radio and stain to my heart’s content.   When these get done, I am going to paint some old fencing that David is going to use as woodwork around my shop windows and then…. I am planning on painting all the walls in the shop white.  I’ve been looking at pictures on Facebook of rooms that are all white and for some reason, they appeal to me.  Since my shop is pretty well, my shop,  I can do anything I want to it and I want it all white and lace and quilts.  When I get it all done, David is building me a new, larger work table so I can lay out my quilts on it instead of on the floor when I get ready to pin the layers together.  I love having projects.  When we don’t have any, I think up  some.

Here are a few of the things that have been going on around our house these past few weeks.

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Winds were blowing from the hurricanes down south.  I hope those poor people are getting things done and getting their lives back together.  The Caribbean Islands and Puerto Rico are having a really rough time. My mother-in-law lived in St. Thomas, the Virgin Islands the year the last really bad hurricane came through and they were without electricity for quite some time.  It shirred the palm trees and made a complete mess of the island. Not so sure I would want to live on an island now.  Sounds like this hurricane was as bad, if not worse.

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Loving the glow of the sun through the trees. I love the light of Autumn. It’s different than at any other time of year.

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Closing the pool time.  Doesn’t seem like we had a Summer. I know we did, but where did it go? I sold our hot tub last week since David and I rarely use it and it takes a lot of electricity and is just one more thing to take care of.  It was fun, but it’s time to move on.

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Reading some really good books.  I love it when I find a new author who has written many books.   I just read one about WW2 and the Italian Resistance. Beneath A Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan. It was hard to read in places because war is well, hell, and cannot be glossed over.  This book is being made into a motion picture. I’m not sure I will be able to watch it.  Saving Private Ryan had me so choked up most of the time I could hardly stand it.

Jan Karon has her new Mitford book out and I have it on my Kindle.  Her books need to be read slowly so they will last longer, but I always hurry through them.  I have read her entire series through at least three or four times.  It’s like visiting with old friends when you read her books.

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Enjoying the last of the Summer flowers.  It won’t be long until the first frost and they will all be gone until next year.  I have planted some more lilies and fox gloves so will look forward to seeing them when they bloom.

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Picking pumpkins. I think we ended up with about fourteen.  We gave some to our grandkids and I am decorating with the rest.  Pumpkins are so much fun to grow. Very easy, really, although they take up a lot of room and grow over the fences and through gaps wherever they can reach.

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My little vignette on our front porch.

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The young chickens are starting to lay now. We get about two to three dozen eggs a week.  I give some away and with some I made these….

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Homemade noodles.  I must say these were delicious.  I think we will be having chicken and noodles for Thanksgiving this year instead of turkey since my family doesn’t like turkey all that well, and I don’t like all the leftovers.

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Still knitting socks. I call these Café Au Lait.  I love the colors and someone will be getting them sometime.  Shhhhhhhh.

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I have a quilt in the hoop and this is all I can show because of nosy people in my family.

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And I bought this for the binding.  I ordered more fabric today. I think I’m getting my quilting mojo back after a long period of sock knitting.  I found the cutest pumpkin quilt pattern on a blog and ordered it and had to order some fabric so I could start it immediately despite the fact I have at least ten quilts that need finishing!  If you are a quilter and fabriholic, you will understand this tendency to have to buy more fabric and start more quilts even though you have more than you can handle right at this moment.

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My BFF sent David and me hats she had knitted for us.  They are thick and soft and will be really warm this winter. Thank you, thank you, Carol.  You are such a good friend.   I didn’t get a picture of David’s but its blue with a white stripe.

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As the days grow shorter….

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and the nights grow cooler, and they will,

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I light candles to make the house seem warmer.

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Bake a cake for us to eat.

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And think how blessed we are right now.   It was a wonderful Summer but Autumn brings school activities at our grandchildren’s schools that we will attend, like Grandparents’ Day and Veteran’s Day celebrations, trips to King’s island with our older son and our daughter’s family and a Harvest Festival at our church where we provide games and candy for any children who want to come.  It’s a fun night and lots of children show up.

So I intend to embrace Autumn with all it has to offer. Walks through the leaves, eating a new, crisp apple and baking pumpkin bars.  It’s all good.  Have a great day. Oh, and Molly sends you a big, wet kiss. Bye.

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Comfort and Peace

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Every day when I  sit down to eat, I thank God for my food, but I also thank Him for the chair upon which I sit, the roof over my head, the husband sitting beside me and all He has provided.

When I lay my head on my pillow at night, I thank God for that pillow, the bed in which I am sleeping, that all is peaceful in my world right now, the husband beside me and all He has provided. That right now my family is doing well and we have our health.

I have been thinking a lot lately about all I have to be thankful for as I watch the news every day.  So many people don’t have the luxuries I have. And yes, I call the comforts of home luxuries.   Today in Texas, Louisiana, Montana, Oregon, Washington and California many people don’t have their beds to sleep in tonight or at least, not their own beds. Many have lost everything.  Some have lost loved ones.  Some have lost the pets they love.  I can’t imagine losing a family member or one of my pets in a flood or a fire.   I can’t imagine having to start all over again.   I realize that the United States is not the only country where people are suffering.  I just can’t wrap my brain around all the suffering that is going on around our world today so I am focusing on our problems right now.

So, I pray and ask God to make things better for people.  That His comfort will sustain them as they try to rebuild their lives. That they won’t lose faith in Him, because He is there in the people who are rescuing them, feeding them, providing shelter for them and trying to help the best way they can.  I sent some money to Samaritan’s Purse.  I know it was a drop in the bucket at what they need, but if thousands of us send some money, there would be lots of buckets full to help people in need.

To all those who are suffering right now I say, you are not alone.  We the people are thinking of you and want to help.  My prayers go out to all of you and I pray your lives will get back to normal as quickly as possible.

And on this day when we Americans are remembering one of the worst tragedies to ever happen on our soil on September 11, 2001, I pray for our country and it’s safety and peace.

To all who join me in prayer I say thank you.  Bye.

10,000 Steps

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Back in about 2012 I think it was, I read an article that read if people would walk 10,000 steps every day, they would be healthier. 10,000 steps is about five miles give or take a few feet.   I decided I was going to try it.  I began by walking a mile or so every day.  I had the same route I’d take every  day, over the railroad track and around the back road where there was a rock quarry.  There were always a lot of trucks I had to dodge, but I would take this route every day. Then I started to branch out, walking around our block two or three times, it being a little over a mile around our block.  Then I started walking all over. Living where we do, there is a lot of traffic and not a whole lot of walking spaces. No sidewalks.   I would find lonely roads to walk. People began to notice me and talk to me   Then they began to notice I was losing weight. When I finally hit 10,000 steps I celebrated.  After that I walked five miles pretty much every day.  Rain or shine.  Even in the snow. I did not walk when it was icy out, but I walked inside.

I really did not do this to lose weight.  I never weigh myself. NEVER.  I went that route for years obsessing about my weight and finally  decided I would rather be healthy than skinny.  But, the weight began to fall off me.  I was still eating well, but it seemed like every day I would lose a pant size.  I think some people thought there was something wrong with me, but I was perfectly healthy.  My doctor, at one of my regular visits, told me how much I had lost and I didn’t believe him.  I knew my clothes were loser, but still I never weighed myself and I never look at how much I weigh in the doctor’s office.  I was rather shocked. Even more so that I had that much to lose.     I told him I was not on a diet, I just walked.   He said to keep it up.

The year we went to Alaska, David would stop at rest stops and parks and I would walk a mile or two before we drove on. I counted my steps diligently.   When we rode the ferry up to Alaska, I walked the deck over and over. One day it was pouring rain and only me and one other woman were out walking the deck.  I was obsessed with getting my 10,000 steps in.

Then about three years ago, I hurt my right leg. Pulled a muscle or tendon or something and I was in great pain.  It was hard for me to even walk three miles, let alone five.  I was just getting back to normal when in Fredericksburg, Texas, David and I walked up this small mountain and I tore something in the back of my left leg that hurt so badly, I just fell down where I was.  From then on, I was afraid to walk much because it hurt too much.   Then that began to heal and I was getting cocky about myself and was coming down the stairs pretty fast and got the most excruciating pain in my left leg again.  I became careful about going up and down stairs. I walked very little.  Then, this Summer, I thought I was having heart trouble  and could barely walk around in my yard without getting winded.  I had many tests done and my heart was fine. Just needed my medication adjusted.  The cardiologist told me to walk.  Soooooo.  I am slowly starting to walk again. I am doing it in my house.  I set the timer on the stove for twenty minutes and just walk.  Today I managed over two miles.   I am hoping to work up to 10,000 steps again.   Next year David and I plan a big trip out west and I want to do a lot of walking along the way.    I don’t care if I lose weight, but if it’s a side benefit, that’s okay.   I just don’t worry about my weight any more. Fat or thin,    I just want to be healthy.

So I am writing this in order that I will keep the walking up. David is getting me a treadmill for when the weather is bad.   I am going to get up to 10,000 steps again, if it kills me. Let’s hope it doesn’t.   Bye.

Roy Rogers

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    Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

 Happy trails to you, keep smiling on ’til then

Who cares about the clouds when we’re together

Just sing a song and bring the sunny weather.

Happy trails to you, ’til we meet again.

If you grew up in America in the 1950’s, you probably watched the Roy Rogers’ show on television. Roy Rogers was the ultimate cowboy.  My brothers and I watched it every week without fail watching Roy and his wife, Dale Evans, fight the bad guys.  Roy rode his beautiful horse, Trigger, a palomino.  Years later, he would have Trigger stuffed and put in the Roy Rogers museum.  At the end of every show Roy and Dale would sing the above song.   One thing I always noticed.  When Roy Rogers was on his horse galloping after a bad guy, his cowboy hat never fell off his head.  Don’t know why I noticed that, but I did.

  This is a long way around to telling you about another dream I had the other night and forgot to write about on my last post.  I dreamed I was at Roy Rogers’ funeral.  There were a lot of people there, but no one was crying. In fact, people looked pretty happy. And then, I noticed something you don’t see at funerals. The guy they were remembering was alive and standing in the crowd of people, talking and laughing with them   Yes, there was Roy Rogers standing there.  It made me so happy to see him. And then I woke up.   I know Roy Rogers is happy where he is right now so the dream actually made me happy, too.

 There was actually Roy Rogers’ fabric for sale a few years ago and I got some.  I hate to cut it up, though.   Maybe I’ll get it out and make a little quilt to remind me of all those shows I watched  with Roy and Dale.

  Here’s to Roy Rogers, one of the greatest cowboys of all time.  I hope to see him one day.  Bye.

Dreams

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I have dreamed all my life.  I remember dreams I had when I was a young girl.  Some were really scary.  Some were rather funny.  David says he hardly remembers dreaming at all, although one night years ago he was fighting with someone in a dream and he punched me on the arm.  I shook him awake and told him what he had done.  He didn’t remember the dream. I have very vivid dreams that I remember for a long time. Some I cannot remember as soon as I wake up.

I read one time that we dream in only black and white.  Wrong. My dreams are in bold Technicolor and three dimensional.   I don’t know whether it’s because my neck has been hurting at night when I am in bed and my synapses are all screwed up, but the last couple of dreams I have had were so vivid and so real, I thought they were really happening.  You know those movies made in the fifties where the colors are so vivid?  That’s my dreams.

The other night I dreamed David and I were driving in England in our little PT Cruiser and off in the distance I saw the White Cliffs of Dover.  Now I have always wanted to go to England and see the cliffs, so in my dream I was really excited.  I told David to drive up to them and he made an immediate right hand turn and was driving on a rocky cliff with drop offs on both sides. The really strange thing was, I was standing outside of the car yelling at him to get off the cliff as he bumped and rolled on ahead of me. I was so scared.  I ran down this big mountain we were on and saw David driving down the side of it just as easy as pie.  My sense of relief was so great, I thought I would cry.   We arrived in this village where people were dressed up. The men wore bright blue jackets with white pants and white shoes and the women were wearing what looked like dresses out of the 1930’s, long and slender. The sky was a brilliant blue and the white cliffs that could be seen were so very white.  The people were just milling about and I could see just a corner of the cliffs around a corner, but could not get to them.  So, I went up to this very tall woman, she was at least six feet tall, with short, curled blonde hair and a very haughty look upon her face, and asked her if there were boats taking tours to the White Cliffs of Dover.  She said no, but there……..and there is where I could not understand a single word she was saying. Almost like a foreign language even though she was speaking English.   I was very disappointed. Then all the people started to exit this courtyard, going, I knew not where and I tried to walk to the cliffs and saw that the ocean was raging and a storm was at sea.  Then I woke up.  Hmmmmm.

I don’t know how that dream would be analyzed, but it was very strange.

I dreamed I shot someone in a dream once. I won’t say who as it was a long time ago, but I remember waking up shaking and feeling absolutely horrible and didn’t want to go back to sleep.   It wasn’t someone I disliked, either.  So, don’t know where that dream came from. It was right after President John F. Kennedy was shot so I probably had shooting on my mind.

When I had a tooth pulled years ago, I had laughing gas. I had a very fun dream during the time I was under. I was having a party with Disney characters with balloons and singing and having a wonderful time. When I came to from the gas, I was laughing and telling the dentist I had just been to a party.

Every night when I go to sleep, I pray to God I will have pleasant dreams.  I always wonder what I will dream about. There are certain things I cannot see before I go to sleep. Snakes. I saw some yellow snakes on tv one evening and that very night I dreamed there were yellow snakes under my dresser striking at me.  So, I cannot see a snake or even think of one before retiring for the night.

Do you have strange dreams?  Do you dream in color?   I find dreams very interesting.  Do they represent something in our lives?  I don’t know.  I just know I have a very interesting  dream life.

Here’s to dreams, the good ones. Bye.