Friday, June 29, 2018

Mischief

Llb’s cats are here because she is on travel. Mischief is a wee black kitty with one eye. He is the most curious cat I’ve ever seen. He explores. He checks everything out. He climbs on things. He doesn’t let his disability hold him back. It does take him a little longer to check things out, but he misses nothing. 
Mischief is currently asleep on my lap. (Mini is not a lap sitter. Angel was. I have missed this!)
I will put off my chores for a while and enjoy this wee cat on my lap. 

Thursday, June 28, 2018

Rules

We have rules. We are a nation built upon those rules.

One of those rules is that if you want to come into our country to stay, you need to do it the right way. You need to apply for a visa, fill out paperwork, submit all kinds of documentation, show up at the appropriate office at the requisite time. It’s not easy, but nothing worth having is easy.

My family is full of legal immigrants on all sides. My family came to this country the right way. Every member appreciates what it took to get here. My grandfather came from Italy when he was a young boy.  He served in the Army, worked hard, and believed in the American Dream. He also never allowed Italian to be spoken in his home. “This is America. We speak English!”

My husband came from Canada. When he immigrated, he had to sign a paper that said he would never go on welfare. When my husband became an American citizen, it was one of the proudest days of his life. He still gets a twinkle in his eye when he talks about it.

Lately the media is all hyped up about illegal immigrants being caught sneaking into our country being separated from their children. Well, it seems to me, that if you sneak into the country, you have broken the law, you are a felon, and you have no right to be here. Also, if you’re sneaking into our country, who are you and who are these children with you? Are they yours? Are you a sex trafficker? How do I know? You have no identification. You could be a terrorist. If I tried to sneak into Mexico, I’d be separated from my family and tossed in jail. Why? Because I came in illegally. I broke the law. Why should it not the same here? Oh, it is... but some don’t like it.

Basically, if you want to come to the US, do it the right way.

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

More Chores...

I’ve finished my 30 minutes and 4000 steps on the treadmill and had my breakfast of yogurt, a banana, vitamins and orange juice. Next up - dishes. Dishes and laundry are simply never ending.
Today I’ll be vacuuming, dusting, washing floors, ironing drapes, and starting to organize my yarn stash. I have a LOT of yarn and I need to figure out how and where to store it when we start the renovation. I’ll still need to get to it, but I certainly don’t want it full of dust.
Yesterday I cleaned and wiped down as much of the garage as I possibly could. I washed the garage bay doors, the windows, the cabinets, the central vac, and a bunch of bins. I went through a whole bottle of windex and a roll and a half of paper towels. Gross is an understatement, but it looks a whole lot better now! When the ozone machine arrives later today, I’ll run it to get any residual stink out of the garage. I’m very interested to see if it really works. According to a friend in the real estate business, it works like magic... I certainly hope so!
LLBs cats are slowly adjusting to life here. Leo is still wanting to hide. Mischief, on the other hand, is quite a little explorer. He is so much fun!
Ok... I’d best get moving...

Monday, June 25, 2018

It’s Monday!

After I cleaned Gram’s garage all day on Saturday (woo, that was a lot of work), I worked all day on Sunday. That means I spent 3 days in a row on my feet. I kind of wish I’d worn my Fitbit so I would know how many steps I put in, but I probably don’t want to know anyway.
So, this morning, I’ve started slow. I did 30+ minutes on the treadmill for a total of 4000 steps. Next up - dishes, vacuuming, and some more garage cleaning. I’ve got an ozone air purifier machine coming to get the remaining stink out of the garage. I’ll let you know how it works.
I guess I should get to it...

Saturday, June 23, 2018

New Boarders

LLB’s cats are coming for a couple of weeks. They will be staying in the guest room and living room until Mini gets used to them. I’ve set up the cat tree, moved all the fragile stuff, and am hoping things go smoothly and that they can all get along sooner rather than later.
Mischief and Leo are young and curious and fun! Mini is not going to be pleased, I’m sure...

Thursday, June 21, 2018

Cleaning out

Friends of ours are building a house on their property behind us. We have offered them Mom’s house to stay in while the build happens. They are coming over to check it out to see if it will work. In the mean time, I am finishing the clean out. Mom and Dad were married just shy of 60 years... they have a lot of stuff - and they downsized in 2006...
I finished up the closets, the dressers, the bedside tables, and part of the laundry room. I’m not touching the garage... they’ll have to live with that. I’m headed back over after I have a snack to finish up the master bathroom, the family room, and the rest of the laundry room.
It won’t be perfect, but by the time they are ready to move in, I should have it all neat and tidy.


Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Crochet Time!

I love Wednesdays because I get to go see the Prayer Shawl ladies. They are such a sweet bunch of women. We talk about anything and everything while we crochet and knit. Granted, I can’t do any complicated patterns while I’m there because I’m too busy talking! I’m working on a triangle Road Trip Shawl in gray tones for the church. It’s easy, mindless, and I can talk while I work.
While I’m in town, I’ll run by Walmart and get a few groceries, get some gas, and I’ll stop in at the fabric store and get another yard or so of black fabric for the bell foam project. If I get the fabric I have cut out this morning before I leave, I’ll know exactly how much I need - I’d best get to it, huh?
Have a lovely day!

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Gifts

My sweet sister in law gave me a generous monetary donation for the handbell group at my church in memory of my mother’s death. This morning I figured out what to do with it. I could have bought music. I could have put it towards the refurbishment. Instead, I decided to purchase fabric and make new covers for the foam we use on the tables. We will use them for every single rehearsal and performance. I will see them every week and every week I will smile (once I get them made - until then, I will probably make faces, grumble, and moan because I can).
Today I will start the process of making these covers. It’s been at least 20 years since I made covers for another church’s bell foam. Somehow, it’s a skill that’s like riding a bike... you never forget!
I need to make 8 covers. I have 2 cut out... I will make one, put it on a piece of foam, and make sure it’s right before I go crazy.
If you want the directions, let me know. If you want to help me, come on over!

Monday, June 18, 2018

It’s HOT!

Today is the first day of the heat wave. I’m staying in.
I’m working on moving stuff out of our upstairs rooms to get ready for the renovation. If you need me, I’m sure I’ll either have my head in a closet or I’ll be running the stairs.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

Saying it...

There have been a lot of deaths in the extended family in the last month or so. We’ve lost grandmothers, mothers, grandfathers and other special people. We will miss them all. I’ve found that people might not say how they really feel out loud or in so many words, but an angry outburst or a sigh often says more about their feelings than they care to admit. Recently, I heard from an extended family member. In 3 angry sentences aimed at me, yet not aimed at me, that person told me how much their loved one meant to them, how much they missed them, and how they were struggling. So, they might not have said, “I really miss my loved one”, but they said it - more than once.

Next time you talk with someone and they say something mean or harsh or unwarranted, remember that they might be dealing with stuff...

Dad died in 2015 and Mom passed away in February. My sister and I have always said that their deaths were a blessing, but that doesn’t mean we don’t miss them both. That said, I know my sister and I have each other.  Our respective spouses are extremely supportive - of us and of all the crazy ideas we have.  They understand our odd sense of humor. They made a difficult time not so difficult. We are lucky. We know it.


Saturday, June 16, 2018

Happy Father’s Day!

My Dad and my husband are two of the most amazing dads I have ever known. My sister and I  are very lucky girls to have the dad we did. He loved us unconditionally and would do anything for us. My Mr is absolutely devoted to our children. He never missed a game, a party or a performance. The children are both grown and flown, but he still asks about them every day. My children are still so blessed!


Friday, June 15, 2018

Paint, etc...

We are finally going to renovate our house.

Did you know that when you renovate your house, you practically have to move out if it - especially if you are installing hardwood floors. Hardwood? You ask... yes... the carpet on the stairs and upstairs is original to the house - circa 1986. Yes, it is the color of dirt. Yes, I hate it. Yes, I have hated it since the day we moved in back in 2004. I’m really looking forward to hardwood floors. I am not, however looking forward to moving everything that is upstairs out of there. Every.little.thing.

So, since we are doing that, we may as well redo the bathrooms that are also circa 1986. I’m going for white subway tiles in the shower and tub areas. I’m considering gray on the floors, but I may go white and black... I need a timeless look. I’ve got some time, so I’ll think about it some more.

Paint... oh paint... picking wall colors is hard. I thought I’d go gray in the laundry room. And white in the kitchen... and then I thought maybe a creamy taupey something everywhere else... I’m still thinking...

You got ideas?
Comment below!

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Yarn!

A couple of days ago I scored a bunch of sale yarn at Hobby Lobby! I picked up a whole bunch for me and a bigger bunch for the prayer shawl group I’m a member of. Today I dropped off the Prayer Shawl Haul! It was so much fun to see the ladies’ faces when we emptied the bags into the table! Everybody loves a bargain, but these ladies love love love a yarn bargain like nobody’s business! They’ve already put most of it away and taken some to make some shawls. I can’t wait to see what lovely things they end up making. I took some “shawl in a ball” in gray to make a road trip shawl... I’ll let you know how it turns out.

It’s good to be back to blogging... it’s sure been a while...

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Pork Chops in the crockpot

I found a recipe that is simply amazing!

Put porkchops in the bottom of the lined crockpot. Crockpot liners are the best invention ever!
Then I mix the following in a measuring cup and dump over the chops:
1 can chicken broth
1/4 C olive oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic (2 cloves if you’re using fresh)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tbsp poultry seasoning

Cook 5 hours on high.
Serve over rice.

Monday, June 11, 2018

An aha moment...

I was sitting in church today while our priest described what Jesus was like. I’m paraphrasing but basically she said Jesus was different, an outsider, and certainly not ordinary. He went out and performed miracles on the sabbath and did what he did for the benefit of all. He didn’t care what people thought about him, he had a job to do and he did it because he was called to do it... his family supported him, but often thought he’d lost his mind.

And as I sat there, I thought... wow! That description sounds a lot like our own President. I’m not saying that Trump is the next coming of Christ, but I am saying that he has a lot of Christ like qualities. Trump is an outsider and is definitely not ordinary. He is a little rough around the edges. The establishment thinks he is crazy. He didn’t think he’d ever be a politician. He is a businessman. He works for the good of every American. He believes that he can help our great nation become even greater. He might not toss tables in the temple, but his twitter feed is definitely making waves! He tells it like it is. Jesus had deciples, President Trump has his advisors. As for miracles - the job report, the booming economy, my retirement fund, and the extra cash in my paycheck each week could be considered miraculous.
We, as a nation, are blessed that Mr Trump is willing to take the crap from the media and those who disagree with him and poo poo his work day in and day out because he believes in what he is doing and that he was called to serve. That, my friends, is a true gift.
It is time for those who disagree to stop for a moment, take a deep breath, and remember that the Office of President is one that needs to be respected regardless of what you think of the guy who holds it. He has accomplished so much already. Focus on the good. Life here in the USA is good. It can be better. Listen to the man - I mean really listen. Don’t “yeah, but”. Listen.