" Still Having Bad Thoughts !"

O.K. here I sit with my feet up trying to be good. What is that saying that my husband keeps telling me ? Oh yeah , he says's to me , " Just remember , all of the trouble in the world was started by someone who couldn't sit still. "

Now I know he is directing this comment to me as I have much difficulty sitting still . But I can't help it , I just get ant's in my pants . I don't like wasting time . I can enjoy being lazy just as much as the next guy or gal . Just not until my house is clean .

I don't see whats wrong with that . In my mind if there is work to be done than you do it. No excuses . And I just cannot sit there when there is a sink full of dishes that need to be done . I can relax when the work is done.

My husband says that I have O.C.D. I think he's wrong . I think that I just am not lazy.
So here I sit , not by choice mind you , and my mind is wandering again . My recliner in which I am sitting right now , is located next to my living room window . This is good , as I like to be nosy. I mean I like to watch the birds fly by !

And once again I am seeing the Drivers Education cars drive by. The following picture shows the close proximity to which they are to my house.





The other car parked in front of my house belongs to my lovely daughter-in-law Amy.
I ran out of coffee creamer and she was kind enough to drop some off for me .
She thought me crazy as I snapped the photo of the Drivers Education car as it drove by!

So picture this if you will . I am standing at the curb with my Halloween bandanna on my head , my old flannel blue and green plaid robe , wearing of coarse, my black comfy fuzzy slippers. I have a mug of coffee , no a beer in my hand .
And cigarette hanging out of my mouth .

I know your thoughts on smoking but the cigarette is critical to the scenario! On my lips I will be wearing a very bright red lipstick tinged with a purple undertone. You can clearly see that I had trouble staying in the lines , perhaps because of the three previous beers .

As I am standing at the street curb , swaying ever so slightly , I am also squinting at every Drivers Education car that passes by. I know that my Katie will be in one of them.

I am also looking quite distraught you see , as my Katie didn't give mommy a kiss goodbye this morning.

O.K. in reality Katie never gives me a kiss goodbye any more but this is my daydream not yours!

Oh here she comes ! She is in the little red car today with her instructor by her side and two other students in the back seat. I can see her now . I think . Look how careful she's being, driving very slow and cautiously. Tears start to well in my eyes as I am so proud of her new found driving skills.

As I step off the curb to get her attention, the tears are blurring my vision and I stumble slightly, but it's o.k. because now I am even closer to the car ! However I lost my beer , as in mid stumble the can dropped out of my hand and went rolling across the street with the golden , foamy liquid flowing rapidly behind the can .

There , she see's me now as does everyone else in the car and the neighborhood. I start to wave frantically yelling " Katie !! Sweetie !! you forgot to give yer mommy a kiss goodbye this morn.........", oh dear I guess I didn't yell loud enough as the little red Drivers Education car has sped up and is now turning the corner.

She took that corner rather well I say to myself as I stumble back up the curb towards the house. Well there's always tomorrow!

See , now you know why I don't like to just sit here and do nothing . So don't make fun of my obsessive cleaning anymore!

Besides , I could never do anything that would hurt this sweet face .





This is what happens when I have to just sit on my butt !

" I Finally Bit the Bullit ! "

Well I did it . I finally went and got the shot . They offered it to me about two years ago and I turned them down . Thanks but no thanks .
I am not afraid of needles . I have had four shots in each hand for a total of eight and it hurt like hell but the relief was worth it .

For some reason , getting a shot in my knee really kind of freaked me out . And I don't know why . It is a good thing that my daughter-in-law , Amy , offered to go with . I think I might have canceled had she not .

They took X-rays again as it had been a long time since I was there for the knee. The doctor said that my knees were really bad .

I could have told him that . We talked about Synvisc , which is an injection of a natural substance that is supposed to mimic joint fluid . If my insurance o.k.'s this than I can have that injection as well .

We talked a little about knee replacement . It is a possibility somewhere down the line. But hopefully not for several years yet . It looks like I will be having these shots on a regular basis . When that doesn't work anymore than we will talk surgery.

I was so nervous and I am so not a baby when it comes to pain . I don't know what my problem was . But my worries were needless as it didn't hurt one bit . They told me that the ones in the hands hurt way more .

Still I didn't look . The weirdest thing about it was that I had trouble walking afterward and was very glad that Amy was there !

So except for the fact that I really must accept that I can't do everything anymore , It wasn't so bad . It is a little swollen and a little sore . They said I should be good by Friday .
Just in time to start making a huge batch of potato salad !

" Am I Terrible ? "

It has occurred to me as of late that my soon to be 15 year old daughter will be starting drivers education soon. I am reminded of this fact not simply by her age or her , as of late , constant talk of " When I get my license.... ".

No I am reminded of this fact as we live in such close proximity to the high school that almost every school day for the last ten years , the driver training cars with their large " Student Driver " signs stuck to the sides of the cars , drive right past my house .

I started to think about Katie driving , perhaps nervously , right past her own house. I started to wonder if I would be an embarrassment to her if I were to lets say , stand on the front porch waving excitedly , jumping up and down , with a ridiculously hideous outfit on , while yelling as loudly as possible " Hi Katie , sweetheart . Mommy loves you , be careful now and make sure you pay attention , I'll be waiting for you !!!"

There are endlessly funny options in this situation. And of coarse I really wouldn't purposely , publicly embarrass Katie . But think about the fun that I could have.

Am I Terrible ?

" Crazy Picture Day "

As I was looking through my photos today I noticed several crazy pictures. And I realized as I was looking through all of the photos , that we had many fun days !

The above photo was taken early on in the summer . It is my granddaughter Sarah playing in the front yard on one of her sleep over days.

The next one was taken at Katie's eighth grade graduation . Jake and I were happy that day , even though we were sitting way up high in the bleachers where it was very , very hot !!!
I do believe the heat was getting to us in this one !

Still it was a very exciting day filled with much pride for our Katie !






The next photo I set up . I only wish that I had a toy cigar that day !

And no , we don't let our dog's have beer . But somehow Ruby went really well with this can of beer !






Ruby and Roxy along with Katie in the next one. The dog's often
think that there is nothing wrong with a little doggy wrestling match on whomever they happen to be on at the time !






You will need to refer back to this sofa in the photo later.

My husband , even though he isn't home very often , still likes to keep watch over the neighborhood !

Yes , he is posing for me . Silly man !






Alright , one more silly picture and I will move on .

Actually I don't know if you would consider this next photo of Ruby silly . A different word comes to my mind. Spoiled perhaps ? What do you think ?





The sofa's

Sometime ago I blogged about switching furniture with my son and his wife. We had a huge , gigantic , overstuffed chair and ottoman that matched the above sofa and matching love seat.
We had not used this chair in many years and it was just taking up space in " Happenstance" ( spare room ). My son and his wife had a stuffed wing back chair that they were tired of , so we switched.
I have to say that I do love the wing back. Very comfortable and we are actually using it.
Then I got tired of the sofa and love seat that matched. And it hurt my husbands back to lay or sit on it as it was getting worn. I hated seeing him uncomfortable every time he came home. Truck drivers are known to have bad backs with all of the years of driving .
My beautiful DIL , Amy is so good at finding deals and bargains. Well this time she found a free deal . An older woman whom Amy cleans house for wanted to get rid of three sofa's and a huge entertainment center . Free . Just haul it away . So off we went to look at the furniture.
The sofa and love seat combo , Amy wanted. That was fine with me as it was too light in color for me. The other sofa , very flowery , which I love but didn't know how it would go over with Jake and Katie . Hmmm . Oh well too bad , I want it ! It was in excellent shape and I knew it would be much better for Jake's back.
I didn't need an entertainment center and neither did Amy . Yet it was really nice . Cherry wood . No scratches . Very big. " Wait " I say to Amy . " why don't you use it as a hutch in your kitchen next to your refrigerator ? " .
I guess she liked the idea as there it now sits and it looks spectacular . I think I earned MIL brownie points that day.
So my son and Amy's dad hauled it all for us . My son is still not happy about that .
I moved my old sofa and love seat into my dining room and my dining room table into my living room. And there they sat.
Jake surprised me. He wasn't overly fond of the flowered sofa , but he did say " It's not bad ". And it didn't hurt his back.
Now how do I get rid of these two old sofa's. I asked around to see if any younger person might need some free furniture. No luck . The only thing wrong with them was that they were worn. But clean .
After about a month of them taking up my whole dining room , I went next door and asked my neighbor Chastity , who has a huge family , if she would know of anyone. Well she came over to see them and decided that she wanted them ! Hurray !
Last night her family came and moved them out . Wasn't that easy ? Why didn't I think of this a month ago ?
I know you are probably so bored with this furniture story but it is almost over . I promise .
Today I finally washed all of my floors and moved the dining room table back where it belongs .





This is exciting for me because now I can put the leaf back in the table , get my sewing machine out of " Happenstance " and start working on Katie's denim quilt that I had promised her for her bed .
There is one down side to this story . You see we have had the old sofa's for almost eleven years . They were both Katie's " Big Comfy Couch " !
As she was helping last night to carry the cushions next door , she was not happy . At all. But I do think she's over it now .

The End

" Happy Labor Day "

Well things today aren't quite like they used to be but if you have the day off , I wish you a pleasant day! I remember the day's when everything was closed and the actual laborers had the day off too. Today stores will be open and all of the minimum wage workers will be working.


My husband is working today. Which for us right now things being the way they are , is a blessing ! I too plan on working . I was able to get half of my house cleaned yesterday and will work on the other half today along with a few loads of laundry . My Daughter-in-Law , Amy , did invite Katie and I out there yesterday for a B.B.Q. but I had my mind set on cleaning. The arthritis in my knee finally let up a bit so I was behind on my own home.


I made a large pot of potato soup on Saturday. The picture below shows what was left after Jake and Katie got through with it. And by Sunday morning it was gone!





I can never make enough potato soup in this house. And speaking of potato's . I am going to be making a huge bowl of potato salad for our potluck at church next Sunday! We are going to try to have an outdoor service again. It was too wet out the last time we tried. Our church has a potluck once a month. I love the potluck's , always good food and desserts ! I am hoping that next Sunday will be beautiful as there is something very special about having an outdoor service.


Saturday morning I made some Chapati bread. Thanks to Tranquility from " Rendezvous with Stillness " for turning me on to the recipe. Early last year I had cleaned house for a Hindi family that made Chapati everyday. I loved and missed it so much . Tranquility found the recipe for me and there you go. Katie and I ate it all yesterday and she wants more today. It is a cross between a pita and a tortilla . Very good with just butter or.....






For breakfast with scrambled egg , chopped turkey ham and tomatoes !





Katie and I had chopped chicken breast , cucumber , green pepper , tomato with some Caesar dressing and shredded cheese on Chapati for an evening snack!





Katie wants to try it next with butter , cinnamon and sugar ! Whatever floats your boat! Mine came out a little tough compared to what I was used to . Perhaps I over worked it. I will keep experimenting .


Yesterday during one of my cleaning breaks in which I stretched out on my recliner , I turned on the T.V. and what did I find ? " The Way We Were ". With Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford , both at their very finest . And Robert Redford , well just very handsome indeed !

Several years ago I had this movie on VHS , before the DVD days ! My older daughter Ginny borrowed it , permanently !



Well at least I know she has good taste !


It is another dreary , rainy day here in southern Illinois . Nice and cool too. Perfect day to finish my housework and do laundry ! I think I will make some apple , cinnamon muffins for Katie this morning.


Tomorrow we will all go back to our usual routine's and school . My husband left Iowa this morning and will be in Georgia tonight . He has been driving in fog this morning. I hope he doesn't have to drive through too much rain today.





And I pray for safe travel for him and all who will be traveling today.


As for me......




You will excuse me while I dress to mop my floors , Won't you ?

Happy Labor Day to you all !

" Do You Sing While Driving ? "

The other day as I was driving home from the house that I clean weekly, one of my favorite old Motown songs came on the radio. I don't remember which one it was as there were so many that I enjoyed.

It was a beautiful day. I had the windows down and the radio turned up as I was singing away to the old tune.

Growing up in Chicago , singing while driving was very common place. I think that it was because it was such a large city with so many different people. Many people, myself included , would be driving down the road singing away to their favorite tunes.

" To My Peeps "

This is just to let you all know, I am well but busy. The husband came home today and we have lots planned for this weekend.

I am going to try to keep up with reading your blogs for the next few days . Gods blessings to you all . I will be back A.S.A.P.

Enjoy your weekend , Love you all !