Today in My Life ... April 26, 2025

 Today is April 26, 2025

I woke up this morning about 2:45 and after spending a few minutes in the bathroom, I rolled and tumbled in the bed for an hour before deciding to just give up the ghost and get up.  It's raining and the sound of the rain on the roof and windows paired with the window rattling thunder is making for a wonderful time to be awake.  There's truly nothing like a LONG drought to make one really appreciate the sounds of water falling from the sky.

Had a cystoscopy this week and am not at all sure that I want to do that again...EVER.. The first one back in December was not nearly as bad as this one.. or perhaps I've just forgotten how bad it was..lol  The worst part is the use of succinylcholine (a paralytic the anesthesiologist uses ) that leaves me feeling like I've spent a week in basic training with the 3rd Marines.  Every muscle in my body screaming..lol  However, the worst is over now and life is beginning to return to normal.  

One would think that after about 8 or 9 years of wearing the same old robe...every morning (and sometimes all day)... that a person would finally realize that enough is enough and get a new one...wouldn't one?   But no, I just can't find one that I like.  I've looked.  In stores.  In catalogs.  On line.  Nothing is even close to what I would like.  So this poor raggedy thing will have to make it another year (or until I find something I can live with... sigh)

My roses are out doing themselves this year.  I guess the lackluster showing from last year was just them saving up for this year.  Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that I have fertilized them at least a couple of time over the fall and winter... 

Phil and Loretta were here over Easter weekend.  What a joy that always is. I had (sort of) planned a couple of things to do while they were here, but it seems that no one wanted to get out of their pajamas so we all just visited, ate, watched tv and in general enjoyed our time together.  Can't think of a better way to spend the time.  

I haven't been in much of a constructive mood lately.  Not much "making" of anything going on.  My sewing machine is acting up and even tho I got the old one down and plugged it in enough to mend a few things, just can't get in the "making" mood.  

I have painted a few eggs for Jerry.  But he has come up with one that I just haven't been able to wrap my head around even though I've had it on my mind for a couple of weeks.  I'll continue to think it through and eventually get it.  Here's a couple of the ones I've done so far...

   This egg I gave to a friend who is a plant enthusiast...like me.  We trade plants occasionally.  However, her green thumb is a lot greener than mine.. lol

It is now going on 7:30am and the rain and thunder continue.  Cannot say how wonderful that is since there has been so little of it. 

There are no plans for this day.  There are several things I need to do, but no real plans to do them.  Perhaps a lightening strike will wake up my get up and go..lol

Enjoy your day today.  Find something that makes you smile and hold onto it for as long as you can!

 

Today in My Life .. July 30, 2023

 Today in my life:  I am astounded that it is already the 30th of July!  The year is half over and all I've done is blink my eyes!

I got up this morning: at 5:30am which is a lot later than I have been getting up.  Seems I wake up about 2:30 or 3am and can't go back to sleep so I just get up.  So today was a real "sleep in" day..lol 

I am wearing:  a really, REALLY, wonky long dress that will cover my feet when I'm sitting in my chair...and that is truly necessary these days.  My feet are always cold.

I look out the window: and am so pleased that the crepe myrtles are blooming, the daylilies have just finished blooming and some of the roses are going for round 2!! Such a pretty site to see looking out the kitchen window early in the morning. 

I am hearing: the buzz of the printer next to me that drives me to distraction. So tempted to turn it off, but DH may decide to print something in a minute..

I am thinking:  not a lot this morning.  My brain seems to be stuck in neutral. 

I am grateful for: all the memories that are held in every picture.  And the fact that those can be passed on to future generations at will.  Amazing.  

From the kitchen: came a large bowl of Tapioca pudding last evening .. It's DH's favorite.. right up there with Custard Pie.  And mine even if I pay for it with a higher blood sugar. 

Current book: is the fifth book in a series called The Kingsfall Histories.  This one is called "Endfall" and has all the mages, dragons, monsters a good science fiction book needs..lol  It's written by David Estes and he is quite good.  

Creatively:  these are many things started and only a few finished.  My procrastination button is stuck in the down position these days.. sigh

Around the house: this seems to be the day for extra things.  Pills for the dogs, cutting DHs hair, doing all those little things and for some reason they seem to be a little overwhelming today.  My brain is not keeping up..lol

From the learning desk: there isn't much happening.  I have tried to "learn Spanish" with an online thing a couple of times and it's a great site, but I keep forgetting to go there.. sigh

Final thoughts: I talked to my sister on Friday .. seems like it's a long time between talks.  That's not good.  I told her we need to set up days.. like every Tuesday and Friday..lol  Maybe we wouldn't get so busy we forget! 

Here's a favorite thing:

This tea infuser was a gift from son and daughter in law many years ago.  I love how it keeps the bits of Lemon Balm that I use to make my tea from floating out and ending up in my teacup.  It's one of my very favorite things.

Have a good day.  Stay cool.  Enjoy your family and friends.  Make it a pleasant memory. 

 

Nothing as Good as Children

 Got a phone call Thursday wanting to know if we were going to be home.  Of course..lol  It seems 2 of my sons had ridden their bikes to Sturgess to the bike rally .. and Chuck was stopping here on his way home! He got to spend the night and had to go home the next day (yesterday), but was sooo good to see him and to spend time with him.  I would post his photo, but he doesn't like to have his pic posted, so will not.  

Sometimes I wonder how I got so terribly attached to our 2 little dogs...and then I see something like this picture.  lol   Katie was only a few months old 10 years ago when this picture was taken.  You can hardly tell her tiny little self apart from the neck pillow I always kept on my chair!  And Sam just had to sit on my lap and nose around to whatever he could find.  They have become our second set of "children" as we grow older and our kids have all grown up.  We love 'em.. 

Temps here in Oklahoma have finally fallen below 100 degrees a couple of days ago... truly feels like a cold front came through when it hit only 98°!  Hopefully the heat dome that was sitting over us has either broken or moved on. None of my flowers did very well this year.  The only thing that was good were the onions that I put out... they were perfect!  Just not enough of them. 

Covid numbers are back up in our county so people are staying in again.  Not too happy about that.  Time for me to go back to sewing, knitting and spinning... maybe a little painting. 

Hope your days have been good ones.  Hug your loved ones and spend as much time as you can with them.  

We Are Here...

It's been two months to the day since I arrived to open the doors to our new home for the movers to unload our furniture.  What a whirlwind of activity!  But I can finally say that almost all the boxes are opened and put away...the furniture is in place... and maybe there will be time now for a few crafts and/or exploring the town.  :)

This house is an older one, very large with a wonderful yard that is landscaped.  Crepe myrtles are blooming all around the house and the roses seem to never stop .. :)

This one is a beautiful peach color and has single roses on a short stem.. sadly no fragrance.  I have no idea what the names of these lovely roses are.. any of them.. but what's in a name anyway?  :) 

This one is on a very old vine that is as thick as my wrist at the base.  It has gold roses on one side and creamy white roses on the other.  Beautiful.

As with any older home, there have been a few things that have had to be fixed, mended,replaced or just lived with.. lol  But we love it already.. and Sam and Katie are over the moon with the size of the back yard... so much room to run.. so many new smells.  

But the best thing... the absolute best thing.. is we are only a couple of houses down from daughter Donna.   It's amazing how wonderful it is to look up and see her at the back door, spending an hour or so just visiting at the end of the day... totally makes everything else .. the move, the inconvenience, the plumber, the air conditioner guy, the builders screening in the back porch.. everything.. totally worth it.   

Well.. the heat is beginning to show it's ugly head around here.  So far there has been enough rain to help keep it down a little, but August is here and I'm thinking that will probably end.. sigh

Have a lovely day..  :) 

Home Made Bread and Things

 I finally decided to get the food processor out that we bought last year and try to learn to use it.. :)  I found a recipe for whole wheat bread and decided to cut it in half since I didn't think the processor could hold the entire thing at once.  After about an hour watching YouTube videos of how to use it, I gave it a try... and felt entirely silly for putting it off so long.  :)  The results were wonderful..

Went out to check on our Bradford Pear tree in the front yard that was planted last year and stopped to see the pansies.  I don't know how we did it, but it seems that one of them was a different color from all the rest.  And I love it!  I'll wait until it has some more blooms and you can bet at least one or two will be picked to be pressed and kept!  This photo may also become a watercolor painting.  :)





We've had such beautiful weather for almost all winter that I have to pinch myself to remember that Spring is so near.  The temps will be in the 70s for the next couple of days and then possible rain.  :)  I didn't think I would ever welcome rain again after the flooding of last spring.  I'm still not sure about my peach tree in the back yard... Flooded and sat in standing water for a month... May not live but I'm not giving up yet.. :)

Have a wonderful day..

Fower Bed ReDo ...

I've wanted to re do the front flower bed for a long time.  There was one privet that grew exceptionally well, was totally beautiful and completely blocked the water from the sprinkler system from hitting the rest of the bed.  Every time I asked to have it moved, the landscaper who mows and cares for our lawn would find a multitude of reasons why it should not be moved... we can always raise the sprinkler heads... etc... etc..  Well, the sprinkler heads were raised and it still didn't help.  Guess what... that privet is NO LONGER THERE!  

It will take about a month for the bed to fill itself in and look like something other than a mess, but I can wait.  :) 

Son John worked like a Turk all day on Saturday and then we finished up with the mulch on Sunday morning.  Looks a little sparse for a while, but that will change.  :)

John works for Midwestern State University in their horticultural and grounds maintenance department.  He was telling me that an alumnus left a chrysanthemum to the University that was over ONE HUNDRED YEARS OLD!  I had no idea they would even live that long!

There will be stepping stones added in a couple of places to make working the bed easier... and stop the walking all over my creeping phlox.. :)  I cannot wait to see it when it is all mature... (telling self to BREATHE... lol)

Do so enjoy having the kids home.. Just seems there is so little time...

Another of the paintings I have done lately...

This is the side view of the house my father's parents lived in when I was small.  My brother and I would spend hours playing on that stump.  I am trying to find a  few pictures of the front of the house... but since my photos were all destroyed first in the tornado in Wichita Falls and then again in a mistaken trip to the trash.. sigh... I have to rely on the goodness of someone else's heart to get them.. :)

The weather is cooling off,  being out during the day is wonderful now.  I'm sure that since that little ditty was said out loud the North Texas weather gods will laugh out loud, snort and bring the temps back into the 90s... but we'll enjoy it while we can... lol

Have a wonderful day... :)

Free Clipart .. Stars of Angels

I've suddenly developed an interest in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...
Hope you enjoy this.. ;o)

Today in My Life... July 11, 2011

 








Today is:  Wednesday, July 11, 2011

I got up this morning:  early.  4am.  It's not that I mind getting up early... it's that 10am letdown and sleepy that gets me. 

As I look out my window:  the sprinklers are sprinkling.  There's a street light on our corner and the water makes all the plants out front glisten like tiny stars.  Pretty enough to go sit out and watch... but it's already 82°F out there at 5:30am....

I am hearing:  my sweet DH wandering around the kitchen getting coffee and asking me why I was up so early... ;o)

I am thinking: that the air conditioning in our new house is wonderful...but I'll be right back...after I've slipped on the shawl that Karen made for me!  Cool on my back this morning!



 One thing I've learned over the past week:  is just how much fun it is to share brownies and cups of tea with friends.  This is not a new learning experience.. ;o) .. it's just that it's been such a long time since I've been able to that it SEEMS like a new one... ;o)  Hopefully all the major hubbub with the move is about over... ;o) 

 



 Creatively: I've learned a bit this week.  You don't have to use vinegar to set the dye for Kool Aid (unless you are worried about the blues being colorfast).  Kool Aid has citric acid already in it ... therefore it will be colorfast without any other additive.  And... I feel totally set free now that I've dyed roving in the microwave and it didn't come out a felted hot pad.  Thanks, Pat, for all the tips last Friday. 

Things I am thankful for:  Visits from sons John and Phil over the 4th of July... Life can't get any better than that... ;o)


Plans for the rest of the week:  include (finally) the installation of the storm doors today... yes! this morning!...yayyyy!  
And the RRFA meeting on Thursday.  Really glad that Mercy may be able to continue coming even tho she's moving. 

It's hot.  And doesn't look there's much chance for any change in temps for a while.  Not even into August yet and the temps are now what the usual high for the year is... ;o/

But... the grass is green, the sky is blue, the flowers bloom and it is a lovely day.  Hope yours is too... ;o)

Summer, The Class and the Crepe Myrtles...

It's hot outside. As a result there is a lot of staying inside or doing the smart thing.... run to the car and jump in..drive to point B and jump out... run to the door of said point B. Thank goodness for the intermittent showers we've had.

The class at the museum is done.. ;o) It went really well and everyone had fun. The bad thing is that I was so busy I forgot to take pictures until everyone was gone! This is my friend Marianne (in white t-shirt) and Jessica helping me put everything away. Fun day..;o) Now to come up with something creative for next month... thinking along the lines of Beaded Wishes...

It's funny that since we have stopped feeding the birds..(due to an infestation of mice in the shop where the food was kept)... it seems that now the grapes actually have a chance to fruit. I think the Cardinals were eating them and feeding them to their babies before they had a chance to grow. Personally I would rather have the Cardinals...lol... but not real happy with the mice... soooo

The Crepe Myrtles are beginning to bloom and I love it. They are one of my favorite flowering bushes of all time... and the color of ours really shines against all that green in the meadow.

As we drive through town it just make for something beautiful to see in almost every block of town.

We are expecting our son and daughter in law from Michigan next week so this will be a week of cleaning...lol I can hardly wait for them to get here. And there is a possibility... perhaps...that the beautiful tiny granddaughter will get to come visit too.

Hope you have a lovely day... and week.. ;o)

Ebay Day and More

I seem to have spent the entire day with the new laptop sitting at the kitchen table uploading things for our ebay shop... whew... Add to that a chair pulled up along side, left foot up in that chair and an ice pack on the shin and it leads to a rather long, very cool day. But I must say that I am pleased with the amount of work done.

I think I have come up with a naalbinding stitch that I just love. Not sure yet how I will actually use it since I'm not very good at turning corners, but I will definitely find a way. It looks almost woven. I think the Hansen listing would be UOO/UUOO B1. I have no idea what the name of this stitch might be.

It rained today. One of those soft, easy rains that left everything glistening like tiny diamonds flickering in the sunlight. I took some pictures of the flowers...

These are the bluebonnets that I so look forward to every year. They bloom on the shoulder of the highway just across from our house.

This is Indian Hawthorn. I planted them last year, so this is the first blooming. I love them.

Never been able to keep a geranium alive, but this one is really surprising me. I put a little fertilizer in the water when I watered it and boy..did it ever go to town. This is on the front porch. I'm thinking that if I break off a branch it will be easy to propagate. I'll give it a little longer to just grow then you can bet at least 2 or 3 branches will be sacrificed to try it. ;o)

All in all it has been a really good day...even with the leg up on a chair.

A friend of mine put something up on Facebook today that I thought was wonderful... It goes like this....

"Your life is your garden

Your thoughts are your seeds,

So if your life isn't awesome

You've been watering the weeds."

Have to say it hit home a bit.. ;o) Working on that....

Hope your day was awesome and you have a great one tomorrow...

Happy Flowers Quilt

I was wandering through my fabric stash the other for something or another and came across...voila... a baby crib quilt piece of fabric that has to have been there for at least 5 years... Since it is pink and green...girl's colors... I guess I thought I would never have a need for it. But now there's Hannah..!! :o) Well, it is now in the process of being quilted... This will be much quicker than the last one. I will not be doing any embroidery on this one.


And... guess what... when I was in JoAnn's the other day... lo and behold...what did I find...and on sale, no less...for 99 cents... but the impossible to find in this town or any nearby town... a quilting foot! I have looked everywhere...asked everywhere. No one has one and everyone wanted to send me to Wal Mart to find one.. I had already looked there and they didn't have one. It will get it's first tryout on this quilt.. ;o)


The sun is shining today and the temps will rise this afternoon into the low 90s. I haven't looked at the weather, but I'm sure hoping for at least a week respite from the rain. Of course, along about August everyone will be praying for rain..lol.. can't be pleased....


Have a really good day...

Soup's On!

It's been raining all day. We had planned a trip to my aunt and uncle's for tomorrow...but... the car is still in the shop and the rain looks like it will be thunderstorming all week... I will give it a few more hours before I call and change our plans... When it rains and gets cold, I always put on a big pot of soup. Yummmm... I love that smell. It will be long before supper, but I never mind smelling it slow cook through the afternoon.

I finished the blue cotton runner. I had thought that I would make placemats that would fit our trays that we eat on, but I kinda like the long runner.

The Japanese Irises are blooming and they are really lovely this year...

The irises in the meadow have begun to really bloom out. It's hard to see in the background to the left, but the purple ones are out too. What a pretty view from back porch....

It Looks Like Spring!

A few days ago when DH and I were coming in from the hot tub, I looked over at the huge oak tree and lo and behold... the daffodils were blooming! I grabbed my camera and ran to take some pics, but they came out terrible. This morning I went out and took some more.

Then I opened the front door to see if just perhaps..maybe... Fed Ex had delivered my 2 Elizabeth Zimmerman books that I ordered from Amazon a week ago.. (they hadn't..sigh).. and I saw the weigela blooming in all it's glory!

While I was taking the pics of the weigela, I noticed the nandina...lol

I know we have several more weeks before we can count on the weather staying warm...but I love this time of year when the colors begin to show and the spirits begin to lift from the dull winter "browns" .. as opposed to the dull winter "blues". ;O)

Green Is A Wonderful Time of the Year

It is so nice to look out the back and see green and the colors of the flowers as they bloom to the tune of this lovely season. Spring has to be my favorite... the lovely colors and warming of the temps just does something for the last vestiges of winter's cabin fever.

I love it when the irises bloom. And the crepe myrtle in the corner is always a lovely red in early spring...then blooms with that lovely red again in the summer. There are irises all through the meadow...

Remember That Little Trumpet Vine?....

In the spring of 2006 when DH planted his little trumpet vine, I don't think he really thought it would grow to be as big as we told him it would...grin Well, look at it now.... Click on the picture for a much better view...

Did I Tell Ya...

that I've been religiously trying to kill all my plants....???

Well, I have.

One of my two African Violets has gone to that Great Garden in the Sky already. I did pinch the center out that still looked really good and plant it.. we'll see if it will root. The other is perking up since I bought a Gro-Light bulb and put it in a lamp near the flowers. A friend from Alaska told me about how she uses them all the time and her plants are wonderful...which amazes me since Anchorage is dark for about 6 months a year. Anyway, it seems to be working, so think I'll keep it...grin

that this same friend named Loyce will be coming to visit during Christmas this year? I can hardly wait. Just hope she brings loads of photos...grin

Pennys and Pleasures

Have I said anything about our Pennys store closing... moving to another shopping mall? Their last day where they are will be Sept. 22, 2007. They will be opening up in their new store Sept. 27... according to what was posted yesterday.

We have been in and out of there for about 3 days running and yesterday the "shoe horse" in me came out.... love those close out prices... Also found a set of Aramis men's cologne with the after shave, shower get ... etc... for $14.00! Am I in heaven! Have loved that scent since the mid '80s. I'm so tempted to start carrying a cloth hanky so I can sniff it all day...lol

On the 2nd or 3rd of Sept. every year we wake to a line of red spider lilies along the drive. It's so easy to forget they are even there since they do all their "leaving" during the spring, die back and are mowed over all summer until that day when... straight out of the grass ... comes this...

It's cloudy here today...I think the forecast calls for partly cloudy and possible rain.. we may actually get the rain... who knows.

I hope everyone has a lovely day today.

Trumpet Vine and Seed Pods

The trumpet vine that Jerry planted last year has really outdone itself with all the rain we've had this year..

I've never paid close attention to a trumpet vine before and I know they can spread like wildfire, but I didn't know they made seedpods. DH came in a couple of days ago with these. I find them very interesting... they look almost like they were molded with a form and the brown thing (whatever it's called..) at the top looks just like a tiny bell.

These were the only ones he found on the whole vine. I wish I had been there to watch him jump up and down trying to reach them...grin

The Trumpet Vine Will Bloom This Year!

Last year our sweet gum tree died from the long drought we had been experiencing...plus the fact that it had once been hit by lightening and had a huge gap in the trunk filled with concrete. DH was lamenting the fact that the birds would no longer have that center of the yard protection from the hawks and predators, so he decided to leave the stump about 8 feet high and plant a trumpet vine to grow up it. The vine didn't do much last year. It did climb the trunk...but no blooms. Not so this year...grin

More good news...when I stepped out last night about 9:45 and turned the light on I saw our possum is back. Much bigger, but still recognizable by the sizable area of smuzzled looking white across it's back. It looks like there may soon be a smaller possum around...smiles

The night before, I turned the shop light on as I stepped out onto the porch and there was another racoon. These I don't recognize individually since there are several who come up to scavenge the sunflower seed and corn from below the feeders.

Daylilies and Queen Anne's Lace

For the first time since we have lived here, the daylilies bloomed...Every year I have asked DH to please not mow down the lilies at the fence in the side yard... And every year he asks "What lilies?"...grin Well, this year there is no mistaking them for tall grass...lol And speaking of tall grass, DH finally did get to mow the grass. It now looks like hayfield wind rows out back, but at least it's mowed..lol And a good thing too, because in the afternoon it rained again...not much, but just enough that he wouldn't have been able to mow.



I always have a problem identifying Queen Anne's Lace... but not this year, with it growing in several places in the back yard. I love it. Who knew??!! So as I'm trying to get a really good picture of it, who comes wandering by but 3 Pearl Crescent Butterflies. Talk about a fluttery surprise as you're looking through your camera..lol Anyway, I finally had the presence of mind to "just click it !" and got the picture... Aren't they pretty? I kept thinking they were Fritellary butterflies, and of course when I tried to look them up on the net, I came up with Frittellaria lilies...grin But I finally did find an identification site.. and according to that site, we can look forward to seeing these beauties until late August... (The pictures are all clickable to see them in a much larger format... as are all the pictures on this site.)