I am one of them now.

I did it.  I became one of those folks…I asked for and received a Fitbit.  I am wearing it for the third day and while I can’t say that it’s my favorite gift ever, I don’t mind it.  I am absolutely sure I am not using it to the full potential but I am learning a little more every day.

 

For example, a few minutes ago, I felt a little hum on my wrist.  Oh, the Fitbit says I should get up and walk a few steps.  Whether it knows I have been sitting in one spot too long or it’s because it knows I will never hit my “steps per day” goal doesn’t really matter I suppose.  It’s a good little nudge in a right direction.

I drug our elliptical out of the corner it was lodged in the basement so I could use it a little easier, too.   This is not necessarily a New Year’s Resolution but more of a “Why am I panting?” resolution.  I am losing steam and stamina far too easily these days and need to improve that!   I guess this Fitbit will log that for me as well as there is a little stick figure icon that appears to be using one of those accident waiting to happen contraptions as I scroll through the screens.  

It also lets me know if there is a text message on my phone and will allow me to read it.  That’s cool because I often have no idea where I laid my phone down.  Now THAT would be great ~  “Okay, so you need to walk around and look for your phone…if you don’t find it in 50 steps, I’ll tell you where it is.”

Luck or experience?

There have been many days that I haven’t planned much, haven’t shopped much and haven’t cooked much during this project.  Sometimes I feel really lame over dinner menus; I have mentioned this before.  Guilty even as the guy in the house works so hard.  Thing is, he will eat anything and appreciates everything, except maybe breakfast for dinner, which I will never understand.

Anyway, I came home from visiting grandkids earlier in the month and it seemed there was nothing in the pantry, fridge or freezer to make for dinner.  At least, not an assortment that would make a full meal and I was not in to going to the store.  There was a can of tuna, but no noodles for casserole, there was hamburger patties but no buns.  Three potatoes.  There was a container of chicken white meat taken off the bone from the deli.  A little cheese, a little frozen broccoli, wadded up in a bag and secured with a big fat rubberband.  

   

Hubs made chili for himself while I was gone, and there was some leftover…but he had eaten it for two days already.  I wasn’t about to offer him chili.  He had bought, but apparently forgot, a can of crescent rolls.  I don’t typically have crescent rolls around.  I like them okay but prefer hard rolls, or garlic bread.   Standing at the fridge, door open, trying to piece together ANYTHING that will look good on a plate, a meal was born.

 

I don’t often consider myself an inspired cook but this day, this magical night, for whatever reason, I managed to pull one together that was just enough food, just enough flavor, just enough of “hey, this is good”.  Of course, if he had not bought and forgot the crescent rolls, this would be another ending. Behold, my dish from nothing –

So good.  Throw some stuff in there from the fridge.  I literally had a small hunk of white cheddar cheese, that handful of frozen broccoli and some pecans.  That's about as close to a recipe as I can get.  I think if you have chicken, and crescent rolls, the rest can come together with some mayonnaise - REAL mayonnaise, and just about anything!  What's that you say? Hot mayonnaise?  I also had a can of cranberries that was left from Thanksgiving and it set this off perfectly as a side dish. I mean, this was luck, or experience, or both, and so very tasty.  Look at that cookie sheet. That's seen some love.    

Merry Christmas everyone.  I hope you get what you need and desire, if you are exchanging gifts.  I hope you are surrounded by loved ones, family and friends.  I hope you find joy in the little things, and laughter, oh, how I hope you have laughter.  

A reward at the end.

I spent a great weekend in my capitol city, where my daughters both live, this past weekend.  We had a big time even though the flu bug was running rampant through daughter #1's home.  Even the littlest boy, 7 months, has had it and not feeling great.

However, we visited a favorite store in the area, Sullivan's Hardware.  Yes, hardware.  It is the BEST store, with a great mix of hardware, home decorating and garden items.  I can't adequately describe it, really, but if you are ever in Indianapolis and want to go to a great retail location, Sullivan's at Keystone and about 71st.   Sullivan Hardware for more information.

A big snow was headed our way Sunday, so I delayed my return home until Monday morning.  To both allow time for the roads to be cleared and to drive during daylight hours.  I pressed my remote start key and began loading up my car, parked in daughter #2's drive, well on time and as planned.  A few trips, a walk around with little dog and into the car she goes, I put my key in the ignition and shut the door, running back inside for a minute to make sure I hadn't left anything.

You guessed it.  I just successfully, because I shut the door (so little dog wouldn't get out) but also did not turn my key on to disengage the remote start, locked the poor girl in the car, which soon exhausted the "run time" for the remote...which automatically locked the doors.

She laid down on her little bed, perfectly content to be away from toddlers and other dogs and I paced.  I have been a very bad old lady of late and have been ignoring my blood pressure, my blood sugar and all around nutrition.  I have suffered from a TAD of moodiness and a BIT of forgetfulness because of those things being slightly elevated (I say, having diagnosed myself) and I am committed anew to managing those items which I can control better.  Might as well mention that because I was now two hours behind I had to cancel my doctor's appointment scheduled for this very afternoon, so my physician could agree with my diagnosis...or correct me.

But,  I paced, rather than freak out.  I took deep breaths and watched my daughter scurry around, try to unlock the door with a water bottle, a plunger and a coat hanger while we waited for the locksmith guy, who was out on another job.  She didn't get it, but, bless her heart, she tried.  If she had a stronger coat hanger, she would have gotten it, as she knew just what to do.  I love her little resourceful heart.

So, little dog was just fine although starting to get a little nervous as she watched me, my daughter and the locksmith all peer through the windows at her, and tap on the glass, after she laid content on her little bed in the front passenger seat for more than two hours.  It was cold, but the car had been running before she got in, and she seemed to take it in stride.  She was glad to get out for a minute, while daughter and I cheered, hopped right back in and off we went, $95 and three minutes later.

The closer I got to home, the snowier things became, with fluffy snow on branches of towering trees. When I arrived home, the sky and water were a spectacular aqua shade, with white, white snow and white, white swans on the lake, with a full white, white moon rising.  It was a postcard scene and I was glad to be in it.  Hubs had cleaned some of the construction mess up and the kitchen was tidy. Well, sorta.  He made chili and seemed to have a problem at the stove top but all is well; at least he can feed himself!

Faded memories.

I continue to learn to be a patient person.  Now, yes, I am 62 years old and you would think I might know this by now, but, it is not a skill I have mastered.  At least, not as of yet.  So I’m learning.  I’m learning that you can’t always get what you want, but you can get some stuff.
 

The mantel for Christmas is a no go.  I am accepting.  I am going to be patient as I know when it does happen, it will be awesome.  Even though I would love for it to be here when my son and his wife arrive from 2000 miles to spend just a few days here at Christmas and I could show him how cute it is, I am moving on.  Next.

I did secure two of the cutest little ottomans during Target’s Black Friday sale and they will be positioned under my two new skinny windows (yes, on either side of the fireplace) against newly painted grey walls.  They are also grey, darker and just perfect as they could be.  I am so pleased with them and although they won’t last forever, I know this, they are perfect right now.  I hope to go get my chairs next week, although hubs is reluctant.  I am sure the furniture store would like me to clear them out since they have been in since October.

In the meantime, while learning more about patience than I care to learn, I have set a few things out to decorate for the holidays.  Not a lot of things, but, the grandkids will be here later this month for a quick weekend stay, and well, you know, they have to see some of GiGi’s prized Christmas do-dads.  I stopped putting up a tree a few years ago as we are now out of town on Christmas morning.  I do have one little tree that holds many Santa ornaments.  That was kind of my thing back when I was accumulating more ornaments than any one person needs.  Honestly, if I see one that is too cute to pass up, I still will grab one.  They bring me a bit of joy, you know?

I’ve written before about growing up in a mobile home and not having much from my childhood, at least, nothing big or bulky or more than I could carry on my own.  I have my Raggedy Ann doll and she is raggedy.  I have some report cards and school papers, and only because they are flat.  I am sure I must have made Christmas ornaments.  I know I made miles of that construction paper garland – every kid has.  My big memory from Christmas as a kid was the aluminum tree with the rotating light to shine on it.  My mom was so proud of it and her satin ornaments.  She was pleased for several years with that tree.  It folded up nice and small and I swear I have no idea where she kept that thing from year to year.  Did she keep things in the trunk of her car? Mobile homes are not big on storage areas.  Give this some thought and you will understand why I have nothing from my childhood.  Just good ol’ Raggedy Ann and memories as faded as she is.

Christmas memories.  Maybe I will spend some time this week unlocking some Christmas memories long filed away in the corners of my brain.  I read long ago that the memory portion of your brain has to “warm up”…that’s why you are better at Trivial Pursuit at the end of the game than you were at the beginning.  When I am practicing patience this week, I will also warm up the brain for some more Christmas memories.  Something more than that dang metal tree. 

That wine looks a little thick.

That’s it folks.  The holidays are upon us.  Blink, blink.

 

Six months ago, I thought things would be different.  I thought I would be preparing some kind of wonderful feast on my new stove, located in my new red island.  I thought I would be looking over a new sectional couch in the living room and a warm fire, turned on with a switch, crackling (or not, unless there is a sound track) in the fireplace.

Not so much.  First, while the island will be red, the stove is no longer going to be located there.  I was talked out of it.  Secondly, it seems a sectional may just be too big for the space and well, the fireplace sits in a pole barn at the lumber yard waiting for me to give the word to have it delivered…which I can’t do until the flooring is here.  Which, I learned recently hasn’t even been ordered yet because we had to focus on the siding and getting “buttoned up” for the winter on our project I hoped would be done in October.  As I said last week, I didn’t have my new mantel for Halloween, nor Thanksgiving and it’s looking sketchy for Christmas.  I told my buddy yesterday that I am going to decorate that mantel, by golly, even if it meant doing so on Christmas Eve. However, I actually own a cut out of Abe Lincoln so I'm good for his birthday and if that's the first holiday I decorate the mantel, so be it! 

 

All complaining aside, it’s coming together, really, and I am not upset by the pace.  It’s been an exciting project and I know we are going to love it when it’s complete.  The exterior is taking shape and looks awesome, after struggling over the color decision.  I have a fabulously wide front porch, a nifty little portico over the kitchen door, a screen porch to expand our living space.   My living room is going to be magazine worthy here in about two or three weeks and well, the kitchen will get done.  It will.

 

We have lived in this little house for all but a few months of our married life, 39 years.  Raised our family here and enjoyed the lake and small woods.  It’s been grand, seriously.  The kids had a great childhood here even though they may have missed sidewalks.  They had lots of family around them, all the time, many memories.  To see this house change so much in the last few months into something bigger, to accommodate more people, more memories, has been exhilarating at times.  I know once everything is substantially complete, I will miss the little living room just a bit.

 

NOT.  No, not one bit.  I have great memories and awesome pictures from the past parties and gatherings with people shoved in to that small living room, but not going to miss it. We did make that little mistake with the color for the living room and are now spending a couple days painting it a new, richer grey.   Our sweetie pie niece came back to do the high parts on the ladder for me while hubs worked outside on lighting and will return to do the second coat with me yet this week, then it will be behind us.

All while trying to maintain the rest of the house, which looks like storm aftermath.  I have right now at this very moment a bottle of wine next to Murphy’s Oil soap sitting on the 12” of counter still in the kitchen by the stove.  I hope to not get them mixed up! 

No silver bells...yet.

I am struggling a bit today.  A little burn-out on the remodeling, with things going so slow…and only because that is the way things go, not because it’s the fault of one thing or another.  It’s just slow, and it’s taking so much longer than I hoped.

No fireplace mantel for Thanksgiving, looking slightly better for Christmas ~ only by that time I won’t want to get any Christmas stuff out.  A lot of my holiday decorations are in my office/guest room closet so I can see the bins stacked up there and it hurts just a little. Sigh.  

I also have pillows stacked on the bed waiting for the living room and porch to be complete and I am talking no small amount of pillows.  But, there’s time I suppose…all things get resolved with time.

 

Two steps back this week as husband and I have decided we REALLY don’t like the grey we used on the living room walls and will be repainting this weekend, after coming home from stuffing ourselves with turkey.  I have heard from the sweet niece who helped a bunch that she is happy to come back and do it again.  Unlike me, she doesn’t mind tall ladders.   I have stopped at the paint store and picked up new grey samples and have taped them to the wall.  The new grey will be a bit more brown than the underlying blue that is in the current choice.  At certain times of the day, that room is blue, not grey and while a lovely color, we don’t do blue.

So, we did decide on an area rug that is not wool and is the polypropylene I was trying to steer clear of, but, it was a great price, the right colors and the big bold print I was thinking of.  It may not last long but it is soft.  I was a bit surprised hubs said to pull the trigger but I think he knows I need a fix.  A decorating and a fun expense fix, so it lays rolled up and encased in plastic along one wall.   I am also waiting on delivery of the overhead lantern for the front porch.  That excites me as we haven’t had an overhead lantern in the past.  We can’t agree on an overhead light for the screened porch as of now, but we’re closer.  Mostly it is how many we need…hubs thinks two, I am saying no more than one.  How big does he think this porch is? How bright does it need to be lit? The porch ceiling, however, is days, weeks or months down the road so I am not fretting that one.

 

My buddy is on another project for a few days, but, stopped by today to do a few little odds and ends as he waits for mud to dry on project 2.  Some little trim, setting a line for more siding and considering some electrical boxes.  It actually even snowed this past weekend when we  hoped to be completing siding on one side of  the  house.  Hubs also decided to really concentrate on leaves so we wouldn’t be faced with that in the spring.  I all but abandoned landscaping efforts late this summer as we moved to really getting in to destroying our surroundings and it shows.  It looks horrible on all four sides of the house. We moved big Harry to a new spot and he seems to have taken well to it, however, Harry Jr., which I planted in case Harry didn’t make it, suffered a big blow by someone trying to position a ladder just right and taking off a big limb.  We’ll see if he pulls through.

   

I personally am looking forward to a bit of snow covering as it does look rough around here. We’ve talked clean-up effort for the near future if the weather cooperates for just a few more weeks.  I don’t mind cold so much if things don’t get frozen to the ground! I would love to tell you it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas ~ but it ain’t, and that’s okay as we’re not ready! 

How do you get that job, anyway?

The new siding and shakes have been delivered and are stacked in the yard.  They are cocooned in plastic and I am giving up fighting the urge to go look.  I’ve looked.  Both colors are correct and while more green than grey, which is surprising even to me, they look to be fine colors.  One is called Bronzetone and I am not sure that is the best name to describe it.  I think I should have that paint naming job, quite frankly.  I’ll never forget seeing Bridal Bouquet Blue on a paint strip years ago and thinking “That’s the job I want!”

Next, the hanging lantern for the front porch has been ordered and should arrive any day.  We are using recessed cans in the soffit and in the kitchen porch roof, which is just a little deal over the door so not a lot of room for a mounted light anywhere.  It took a minute to sell me on just cans out there but the idea is growing on me.  They are not installed yet, stay tuned on that one.

I think hubs may be keeping a secret date on when the kitchen will go in and I’m pretty sure he is now well after Christmas and just doesn’t know how to break this news to me.  Like I mentioned last week, I don’t care as long as we make some movement towards the fireplace, which hasn’t happened this week….and Thanksgiving is next week so, there’s little chance that I will have it by then, either.  No kitchen, no fireplace.  He has told me he is 100% in to siding for the next few days at least.

 

But, I took a break and went to a college football pre-game tailgate, game, half-time tailgate and post-game tailgate.  Yep, that’s a lot.  A lot of eating, a lot of snacks and a lot of spiked cider.  I laid low the next day or two as had just way too much food and sugary drink for this old bird. I enjoyed it a bunch, however, make no mistake.  Supermoon started on Sunday and hubs and I sat down by the lake with a small bonfire and enjoyed the rise.  After having a foggy and cloudy Monday evening moon rise, the big ol’ man in the moon surprised us coming up huge and orange and in our face last night.  Gosh, it gives some restoration to the soul to see that big old moon, dependable and strong in the pitch black sky, and we needed that.

I also had a funtastic (yes, I said that) wine and cheese tasting get-together at our cousins with nieces and a nephew, which was intended to last two hours and lasted many longer.  We had a great time, learned much about some white and red wines, drank too many tastes so have forgotten what we learned.  We plan to do this again and maybe I will come away more informed and educated than I can remember being right now! Fortunately I had my iPhone with me and took pictures of wine labels I particularly enjoyed.  I know what to buy for Thanksgiving and that was one of my goals!  Eating great cheese was a second goal, so check that, too!

It is coming up to Thanksgiving and we really do have much to be grateful for.  I remember Oprah saying on more than one occasion that if you are a female living in the United States you are one of the luckiest people on the planet.  I’m holding on to that as I have to admit I feel that, I cherish that.  I am grateful for that.  

Put this on the list.

It’s Election Day and I have exercised my civic privilege and feel darn good about it.  I sincerely hope you have, or will, as well.  It’s a great day in America, and although there are those that feel otherwise, I believe that every day in America is great.

This house has undergone a tremendous change in the last few days and there are oh, so many more changes on the near, and far, horizon.  I have been asked many times if the kitchen cabinets are on order…uh, no.  How about the flooring? No, um, that’s still not quite yet.  What about siding? Is the siding up?  Well, no.  But here is what HAS happened.  The walls have been painted, the trim boards are up on the exterior and the siding is expected next week, as is the fireplace. The cedar boards that wrap the exterior posts are here, ready to be stained, which is on my agenda for tomorrow morning.  The truck from the lumber yard just dropped off the ceiling material for the porches which will also be stained.   I have about four area rugs to decide between, with a shopping trip planned for Friday and I have to pick up my fancy swivel rocking chairs soon.

 

I don’t have a “bucket” list or a life goals list, or even much of a to-do list considering the mess I am living with right now.   I mean, I have some daily stuff that I think about before I go to bed at night.  “Tomorrow I must” and I keep it pretty much to that.  I am a poor planner I guess.  The house project has certainly got me thinking beyond tomorrow on some days, and I have a vague idea of what needs to happen before something else can be completed, but, I find I am screwed up most of the time.  Hubs forgets that I need to know, or at least want to discuss, what’s coming up. He and I are keeping differing schedules as far as the construction timeline - which is why the flooring isn’t on order, and why I am the last to know that something is delayed.  In my mind that should be happening soon; in his, it is more about “buttoning up” for winter and something is pushed.  

One thing that I am good at planning, or at least spending a lot a time thinking about, is decorating the mantle for the holidays.  Really disappointed that I wasn’t able to do so for Halloween, I have become more insistent that the fireplace get finished for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Only thing is, I haven’t decided on a mantle.  My buddy is off on another project for a few days and will be coming back to concentrate on siding first, so I have a few days to think about hearths, and stone and mantles but that’s a big installation that comes shortly and I need to be a bit more ready.   

I have really enjoyed reading near daily Facebook posts on the election, love the especially thoughtful and smart posts from women and men I have known since they were children. I look forward to the results rolling in tonight.  I stopped after voting for a celebratory croissant-wich at the local royal fast food. I figure I deserve it! It is not, and I understand, the best thing for my diet, which is why I don’t eat one every day, but, gosh, I do love the good ol’ fast food breakfast and those little potato bombs.  Meanwhile, I have a sister-in-law on a cruise in France.  Would that I could! I would love a bottle or two of French wine, and a plate or fifty of French cheese, and a real croissant.  Now, I could get behind a bucket list with that! To do, baby!  

Holy Cow, that was fun!

Yep, ding dong the goat is dead.  Congratulations to our Cubs, your Cubs, every man’s Cubs.  It was great, wasn’t it?

Things return to normal after staying up late nights, enjoying gathering around the television with family and friends.  It’s been a huge amount of fun.  Our big, unfinished living room was the scene for more than one game and potluck the last few weeks and brought visions of what the future holds for our new living space.  Can’t wait for it to be finished!

  

My buddy is taking advantage of the last few warm, dry days to trim out the house and get ready for the gray/green siding that will be delivered in a few days.  My husband’s biggest fear is to be putting siding up in a snow storm but I hope he is wrong, wrong, wrong.  He told me yesterday he is giving up on one of two annual auctions he attends so he can install siding.  This was a big hurt for him, I know, but the siding comes first.  And these leaves, oh my, these leaves.  We may be seeing frozen leaves in the spring from the way it looks right now.

We haven’t painted the living room, yet - I believe that is coming this weekend.  My hope that my buddy would be doing the painting has been replaced by understanding my buddy needs to get the outside ready.  I first thought a rainy day or two might allow for the grey paint to be applied by an expert and done quickly, but, I think it’s going to be me and hubs and some pain reliever over a whole weekend.  It’s okay, really, I just know it will take a lot longer than if the pro was doing it.

Unbelievable to be sifting through Christmas catalogs and ordering things online for the holidays, but, that has taken a bit of my time.  I bought a few great things already and have a growing list of ideas.  My buddy has met the UPS driver outside several times this week and just chuckles as he places packages inside my front door.  I am not usually an early shopper, but, taking advantage of some early sales has driven me to the keyboard.  I don’t want the holidays to sneak up on me as the house starts to come together.   Resolved to not having a kitchen by Christmas I remain hopeful for flooring and the fireplace. 

Feeling happy this week and I hope the same goes for each of you! Next week, I believe the porch windows will arrive and that area, which has been serving as a workshop/staging area, can be “decluttered”.   We may even get to use it a few times before it gets too cold to do so! 

We ain't afraid of no goats.

All is right in this baseball fan family.  Cubs are going to the World Series and we are HAPPY about that.  I remember my grandfather rooting the Cubs on from his recliner in Lake Station, Indiana (formerly East Gary) and my dad picking up that flag.  Now, here we are, playing in October and the series starts tonight.

 

We had a big time over the weekend with our annual chili party falling on the same night as the final game of the playoffs.  We yelled, we screamed, we gave high fives and even sprayed the room with champagne…which I then had to explain to my buddy the contractor on Monday morning as he checked his drywall mud.  Um, see, it’s like this…

There’s a big fan base over here on my side of the great lake.  We’ll be gathering nightly for the games and sharing laughs and cheers.  We are looking forward to some big evenings, for sure.  The neat thing about being in a large family is there are always people around if you want them to be.  Your own kids can’t be here? Grab on to a niece or a nephew, or a brother or cousin, even a neighbor from down the street…there’s no need to be alone, to paraphrase Jimi Hendrix.  With our own kids in other towns, we tend to cling to a niece, nephew or other family for shared homeowner work and social escapes.  Nothing like having your own around, though, which we did this weekend.  Although not quite everyone, having the kids in town is a blast.

Five grandkids, which is small in number compared to some, and a lot compared to others, and each as sweet as they could be, my 4-year-old grandsons calling each other “best buddy”.  It’s fun to see the family combine in their smiles and expressions.  One grandson looks like my son, his uncle, at times.  Other times he looks just like his dad, and shares his personality.   Another grandson, who I declare looks like his mom, my daughter, is declared the spitting image of her youngest boy by the other grandmother.   And, we’re both right.  My blonde girl’s youth is displayed on her little girl’s face…right down to the need for braces, and her musicality.

Yes, I love the weaving of families together, I love the small world stories and I love the gathering of family under one roof, and under the stars, around a bonfire or around a television.   Whether across the miles or as close as next door, I love to gather together, in heart or in person.  It was a bit hard to be the observer this weekend as there was much to shout about, but, enjoying the family, and some really good chili, was about as good as it can get..especially with a Cubs win.

Skip over the parts you don't like.

Many of you may be wondering, as am I, when our renovation project is going to be complete.  There are days when I think the answer may be “uh, never”, but, all good things come in time and this project is becoming good, maybe even great.  Another couple weeks and we will at least be closed in for the upcoming chilly fall and winter…siding remains the question of the year.  “What color again?” followed by “Have you ordered that yet?” are the big conversations going on around here.

Don't even get started on the kitchen.  Oh, it will get done, but, it’s going to be a few more weeks before we get there.  Last week was a complete overhaul of the flooring decision…for the second time.  Now settled on an “engineered hardwood” instead of real hardwood, we can begin to think about that kitchen layout AGAIN and make the tough call on what Cindi gets to keep and what Cindi has to lose.

Just this morning I read an article on how to decorate a mantle for Halloween and squealed thinking about how next year, (yes I hoped it would be this year, but guess not) I would be decorating a mantle for Halloween! However, the ideas I have going on in my head for decorating the porch of the shed would make even a ghoul quiver. 

 

Folks, I am not a political person.  Have been on the fringes of politics and been in political situations a few times, times when jobs are more political than they seem or should be, if you know what I mean.  You know, I have weighed the “political answer” many times before speaking and regretted not weighing the political answer many times before speaking.  Because I am not a party politician or person behind the scenes, or with my name on any ballot, I tried to learn as much as I could about the inner workings of politics and elections….not the party stuff but more, how does this machine all work?  I like to understand what it’s about from the bottom up. I asked a lot of questions.  My favorite thing at election time is to visit the courthouse and watch the ballot boxes come in.  Why not? It’s my courthouse! It’s my election, I want to see what’s going on.  It’s a lot less modern that what you may think, let me tell you.  

 

So, here’s what I know.  I am disappointed and disgruntled and confused, too.  But, and this is big…don’t stay home on November 8.  Your vote for president is less impactful in your day to day than your vote for your local offices.  Don’t cast a vote for president if you feel you can’t, but vote for your school board members, your senator and representative…whoever is on your ballot where you live, please, vote in your local and state elections.  THIS is where you find your voice, this is where you have connection and can be made to feel victorious, heard, understood.  For goodness sakes, don’t throw out the baby with the bath water, as the old saying goes.  You want to feel like you are heard? Vote for your representative, your senator, your county commissioner, your judge...however those offices look for you where you live, vote for your candidate (and yes that means not your party).

So, think it over, talk to some folks, read up on some things and go to your polls on that Tuesday.   

Yoga pants and pot roast.

I am not declaring any kind of independence, but, I do hold these truths to be self-evident: that a petite woman in her 60s can never own too many pairs of black, legging yoga pant type things.  Or, at least, that’s what my laundry pile spoke this morning.  It’s funny, last week I couldn’t lay my hands on a pair of black yoga pant things and this morning, they are everywhere.  I had no idea I owned so many, and really, let’s face it, some would say I have no business owning any.

Oh well, not out to make any impressions on folks, so stretchy legging yoga type pants it is..again.

Can I be honest and share a pet peeve? I mean, this one is right at the top of my pet peeve list.

When perusing the internet this morning through some recipe sites, I came across a crock pot recipe.  Sounds delicious, easy and something hubs would go for.  Now, since I am in the middle of construction around here and have zero if any counter space for food prep, the crock pot comes in pretty handy…until the dust starts to fly.  Then nothing is handy and cooking involves heating up the car engine to go get a pizza or a hamburger.   Anyway, my pet peeve comes in the comments posted below most recipes.  They irritate me.

Case in point, recipe for a simmered roast and calls for mayonnaise, butter, apple cider vinegar some herbs, that kind of thing, and the roast.  Author of the column states it’s delicious and so on.  The comments such as “this was delicious! I substituted blah, blah, blah and instead of blank, I used blanket blank blank.  Then I ….”.  That’s where I go off track.

No.  That is not the recipe.  That is not the post, you are not the author of the article, you are not a chef or a food critic.  What you are reviewing is nowhere near the recipe that was published, so please, stop.   Write your own article, create your own recipe and submit it to a panel of judges to be published in some great spot, like this morning’s post, for example, the New York Times.

This is when I need to breathe.  To take a step back and say to myself “Hey, try the posted recipe, let them try it, tweak it, turn it…it’s okay.” Maybe readers enjoy seeing what others have to say about changing the recipe.  Maybe you are too literal,  Cindi Lou,  and need to take a time out.  Yeah, put on your stretchy yoga pants and take a breath. 

It's a small, small, small, small world.

Recovering a bit these last few days from a broken heart, and trying to be the best support to my husband who lost his brother, a great friend, our neighbor…So many memories with this guy and a great sense of loss, as I touched on last week.  I will forever have etched in my memory the silhouette of these two, down by the fire, sitting on a bench exchanging solutions for the day’s problems or celebrating the day’s events.

So the blog world has become a repository, of sorts, for those feelings of loss, the expression of sorrow and I thank you for allowing me to go there with you for a while.

The funeral of my brother-in-law brought some old friends to town…my husband’s best friends from his childhood.  We are in a small town, relatively speaking, so it is no surprise that my brother-in-law’s wife had a younger brother, too ~ one who became my husband’s best friend while growing up.  Many people are interwoven in our town, with family becoming best friend, or the best friend of a family member becoming like your own.  We are simple, and complex.

 

Those who attended my Sunday School class or the youth group I helped lead may remember that I love stories of people woven together through a common thread, or their common experience, relationship or history.  I love when I meet someone and they say “Hey, wait a second…” or one my children tell me they “met someone who…” It makes me feel so connected, and warm.

Like recently we and discovered our friendly electrician’s wife works at the dentist office my husband visits. During an appointment she shared vacation plans as they had just returned from a visit to Seattle, where our son lives.  She said they stopped in to visit the son of their friend, who is in a band with her husband (because what middle aged electrician doesn’t play in a cover band?)  Now, my son and his wife love to share their home, live almost communally.  So, yes, they stopped in to visit my son’s roommate.  There is absolutely no reason these people should be in my son’s home…other than through the relationship, and while my town is small, it’s not THAT small.  However, I am reminded everyday that our world is small and I love those small world stories.

Of course, it’s even more special when it reaches across many miles, many generations.  Because I did move around so much as a kid I didn’t get the opportunity to learn much about my neighbors and playmates, so few small world stories in my personal history from childhood, and may be why I like hearing them so much now.  Kids (and adults) in a small town, where they are related to almost everyone, or have known their classmates since kindergarten, don’t fully appreciate, perhaps, how small the world is, how closely we are woven together;  that you must talk with someone, open up a bit about yourself and your history, to really experience how small the world can be, not online, not through Facebook, not in passing, but really interact.  Learn about your neighbor, help your neighbor…love your neighbor.   

Acorns fall, as they must.

Making decisions for fireplaces, where to put outlets, and can lights and oh my, this is getting exciting as things move along into the soon to be done category of home renovation.  We are super excited about the progress and while it will take some time to get everything finished the way we hope, it is a terrific project.

Hubs is beginning to feel a bit of pressure to get it wrapped up.  Not because of anything I have said, although I admit it will be nice to have it done, but because the next season is gaining on us.  The acorns are falling like mad and the leaves will soon follow.  Leaf raking is a big undertaking here on our property and takes a lot of man hours to complete…mostly by one man.

 

Hubs is a workhorse but needs to slow it down, which is something I remind him of all the time.  He pushes and pushes.  This past weekend, a son-in-law came to visit…just him…while I was away visiting his family, and taking care of the other daughter’s kids.  This son-in-law, as even tempered as my husband, and also a hard worker, was a gift.  Two days of his help and a couple nights of laughs and beer was just what my husband needed to move into the next phase of this project, and the next season.  He didn’t even mind when we, after discussion with my buddy the contractor, totally changed the kitchen design and the size of the island.  Well, he maybe minded a LITTLE bit…

However, in all the great and progressive things that happened this week, we did experience a huge and sad loss of a much loved brother.  My husband’s brother, five years older, passed away following a brief illness, leaving behind his beautiful wife and their two grown, gorgeous daughters, whom they raised to be confident, competent, independent, intelligent, kind and witty women.  He could not have been more proud of his girls, and his new son-in-law and his boy.  To say he loved his wife, his true soul mate, together since they were teenagers, would not begin to honor their relationship.  We will miss this kind man, this gentleman, this good, good soul.

 

Hug your loved ones today and every day.  From those whom you might be distant, whether by miles, mishap or misunderstanding…bring it together, mend, if it’s mending that’s needed.

 

Love, as love is all you need.  

Some things never change.

As I age I find myself caring less and less about food.  Caring less about shopping for it, less about preparing it, less about actually eating it.  I don’t think this is unusual…anything you do for 60+ years gets boring.

But, today, for some reason, I began to think about my all-time favorite foods.  Things I just really would like to eat, if someone wanted to present it to me primarily, but also things I just love to have, even if I have to make it myself.  This thought came to me as I prepared my lunch of two slices of garlic bread with melted parmesan cheese.

Bread is one of my favorites.  I mean, I seriously love bread – me and Oprah.  A niece has nearly perfected bread making and offers it up at many family dinners and functions.  Today’s garlic toast is one of those loaves that was up for grabs after dinner on Sunday.  I brought home her rustic loaf and man, I am telling you, my lunch has never been so appreciated.

When I was a child I was a seriously picky eater.  I am sure I about drove my poor mother crazy with my preferences, especially awful of me since we were so often eating in restaurants and things could not have been fun to start.  I was a brat.  No ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles or onions.  No barbecue sauce.  No fish, shrimp or crab.  Only white bread. I would eat bologna, hot dogs, pizza and spaghetti, as long as there were no green peppers, and my very favorite, cherry pie.  Somewhere around age 21 I began to open up my palate and eat like a normal person.  I’ve never looked back.

 

I told this story to a few family members before but, when visiting a distant aunt and uncle in Kentucky, I was offered butter for my pancakes.  Straight from the farm, in a big block, on a plate.  I threw such a fit and refused to eat that butter, which I am now sure tasted like gold would, if you could eat it, and insisted on margarine, straight from the factory or wherever it comes from, in a stick.  My mom and dad must have been horrified at my turning up my nose and screaming at the top of my 6 year-old lungs, over that sweet, creamy butter.  I remember my mom following me around the dining room saying “But, it’s the same as what you buy in the store” and I guess I didn’t believe her. What a dope.  And those precious family members, who I recall as being sweet and kind, giving me King Leo peppermint sticks as a treat, and then sending the whole box home with us.  I remember that box in the back seat of the car, a treat waiting to be shared, as we piled in the car to drive home.

 

My mom made the best cherry pie.  She really had that one mastered, and I loved it.  She used to tell of my going around the table after finishing my own dessert and cleaning off anyone’s plate that had a smidgen of crust and filling left.  I loved my mom’s cherry pie.  My siblings had their favorites, too, but I don’t think anyone could boast of loving it quite like me. 

So, I’ve been thinking of my favorite foods lately and how my tastes have changed.  I will always love bread and rolls, with real butter (would love to have that big block of farm butter today), and will miss my mom’s cherry pie for the rest of my days, I suppose.  Brie, popcorn, sweet corn, watermelon, a good salad, lasagna, fried shrimp, tacos, fettuccine and pan-fried lake perch are on my favorites list now, along with the first two pieces of Oscar Mayer bologna from the package on the first two pieces of white bread taken from the loaf…no mayo or anything else. I am still a brat.  

My new buddy.

I got off the “we’re remodeling” track I was on there for a while as I thought I was sounding a bit redundant.  Great, remodeling…who isn’t?

But, I have to tell you…it’s fantastic stuff we have going on over here.  It is about to drive hubs over the edge, which was my fear, as he watches the pennies.  And I mean he WATCHES the pennies.  I get a look every time I bring a new pillow or candle in the house, and can see his wheels turning, wondering how many pennies I invested.  I have to remind him I have established a decorating budget on top of the wood and drywall budget.  Besides, it’s a good time to purchase items for the screen porch and entry.  I am walking past the Halloween items, for now, but a good porch pillow? On super sale? It’s mine.

 

A lot of the decisions have been made.  I meet the contractor out in the yard almost every morning to discuss what is happening that day, or just to say hello.  Sometimes there’s a decision looming and sometimes it is just another day.  We did add a little something to the project, you know, just to add expense and to keep him around longer.  Truth is, I'm going to miss him a little when this is all over.  

 

You certainly develop a relationship with a contractor.  He was already a good acquaintance but I’ve gotten so used to seeing his face in the yard, he’s now a good friend.  He pets the dog, calls her Tiger, which is not her name, but when a guy gives your dog a nickname, he’s moved beyond good acquaintance.

We have not yet moved the project in to the interior of the house, which is not SUPER involved but will certainly bring that beloved drywall dust.  I’m not really looking forward to that part but I also know he has a plan for keeping the mess to a minimum as he is just that kind of guy.  Clean up is our job and he doesn’t want to see me sweat.  No one does, let’s face it.

I am excited about the changes being made to our little home.  The entries especially are seeing a much needed facelift and I will be a landscaping fool for the next several years.  Yes, it is a time when we should be slowing down, I get that.  Downsizing, not building on, should be on our radar, but I love what is happening around here!  I know there will be days ahead when it seems like this is too much house for us, but for now, no way! Bring on some family, some friends, some parties and get-togethers! Just not quite yet. 

By all means, be yourself.

I love kids.  I love their wit, their humor, their capacity to learn…their sweetness, their cuteness.  I just love them. Now, add to that mix the fact that they may be related to me in some way, well, it doubles or triples or to infinity and beyond.

I am always impressed by a kid’s determination, their unabashed bravery to tackle something they have never done, and may not have even seen, let alone have a frame of reference to be either confident, or afraid.  They just nod their heads, get a look in their eye and go for it.

 

Would that I could.  I have entered a phase of life where I am more timid than I use to be, more aware that things could go wrong or that I could wind up with a broken hip…yes, that’s right, a broken hip.  I heard a joke years ago, a single woman, a comedian, that went something like “Every time I go home for a visit, my elderly aunt asks when I am going to get married and start a family.  I just want to reply ‘I don’t know…when are you going to fall and break a hip?”

 

So, now that I am that elderly aunt, I try not to ask that question of my nieces and nephews but I have to admit I have probably done so, in maybe a not so direct fashion.  I do fear falling and breaking a hip these days and I admit to taking stairs much differently than I did even ten years ago.  They frighten me.

This past weekend my 7-year old granddaughter participated in an “apple cart” derby.  It was incredible.  First, the volunteer fire department of this small town in central Indiana sponsors the event.  They block the highway – yes, they close the highway, or main street, for about two hours.  They line both sides of the street with fire hoses let out the back end of the truck, charged with water, like bumpers in a bowling alley.  The little people race down this pretty significant incline from a bridge, starting somewhere near the middle, from a chute.  Racing down the highway in a wooden box, with a small crowd of townsfolk and others cheering from the sidewalk.  See what I mean? Incredible.

For my little granddaughter it was an extra thrill as grandpa on dad's side is a volunteer firefighter in this little town.  He has been waiting for her to turn 7 so she could participate.  They built her car, picked out the color for paint (pink, of course) and her uncle, who is also a tattoo artist, designed and painted a super great logo and her name blazoned across the front.   They had some practice runs down a smaller hill in town and they were ready.  We were all ready.

 

The moment of the race upon us, we paced back and forth while my princess stood on the sidewalk, pink helmet in place, and her flowered dress…yes, she races in a dress, people, announcing that she was “going to be myself”…mary janes and anklets.  She looks freakin’ adorable.  She is absent mindedly fiddling with her fingers…a habit she has had since infancy, while they move the cars to the top of the hill and set out the chute.  She squints her gaze up the hill ~ I am not sure she has seen the chute before this, so she’s curious, and calculating.

  

Grandpa is already at the top of the hill, proud uncle escorts her to her position and dad and mom take their places, cameras in hand.  There are 11 cars, double elimination.  She loses her first race, wins the second and loses the third.  She is undaunted, skips to her fan section to accept their hugs and high fives, shows only a moment of disappointment and watches the rest of the field, and their one by one elimination. The field is narrowed down to the driver who has won the last five years and wins again this year, HER last, and a smart looking lad in a fancy car, who ends up in second place.  An award is given to the most “true” to the apple cart definition, which really did look much like an apple cart.  There is discussion about modifications to the pink race car so that it might participate again next year.  There is also discussion about a pop up tent, food and lemonade for those of us pacing the sidewalk.

I drove home proud of that little community and the day, proud of the girl and impressed by her courage.  Get in a box on wheels and careen down a hill, like you know what you are doing and do it in a dress.  Seriously.  How great is that? 

Deal me in.

Watching a skilled craftsman work is, in our case, both thrilling and terrifying.  Our contractor friend is a mix of spider, gazelle and dancer among the rafters and ladders, boards and shingles.  He thinks nothing of stepping backwards to the edge, stopping just short of toppling over to the ground, to measure, to nail, to double and triple check.  He has caused many an intake of breath over the last few weeks, as we stand around in awe watching him confidently scurry from one end of the house to the other. Is he that agile, that fearless or is he just plain nuts?

I have to say, I’m leaning towards nuts.  I thought the tree guys were crazy, but, this guy,  I am just not sure he wasn’t born into the circus and has chosen not to share the story of his dark and checkered childhood or something.

Work on the house continues at a fast pace, his expert advice and dedication to perfection and quality is not lost on us.  He is there to guide and instruct hubs along the way and that has proven to be invaluable, too.  We are very grateful for his friendship as well as his professionalism, his personal and work ethic and just darn good work.

So! We are bleeding money as you might guess.  Hubs, who is Mr. Conservative in all areas of life, is freaking out and I am beginning to get a little nervous.  I have put the new sectional on the back burner for the time being as a decision we made last week, to switch to all hardwood flooring instead of carpet, and to replace our existing hardwood in the rest of the space at the same time, created a bit of an uptick in the budget but also opens up furniture placement.  Now I need to live with the space to know for sure what to do, which is almost as exciting for me as actually getting new furniture pieces.  I love figuring it out.

I feel like those folks on HGTV at times saying “Well, if we increase the spending there, we have to find room in the budget” ~ always playing the good cop bad cop game with hubs.  I have a spreadsheet and make new entries and correct entries every day, as it seems like there is a new wrinkle every day.  Sometimes not a bad wrinkle, as it may have pointed out an error in our plan, but a wrinkle just the same.  I don’t know that we could have ever built a house together, but, this is our third “big” remodeling project and we’ve done okay.  There was one little yelling session the other day, which was followed by a fairly long silent treatment, but overall it’s good.

After this many years, it will be 39 years of wedded bliss in October, I am somewhat surprised by the silent treatment card still being in the deck.  Both played to me and by me, the silent treatment does still work a bit.  If forces me not to say any more, thank you.  I can push it and I know it.  It also allows me to walk away and not have to hear any more, what is usually frugal, logical and sometimes even *gulp* right thinking.

   

That aside, I do find that hubs has become very resilient to the silent treatment.  He may even relish it.  What does work at this stage of life is the no cooking treatment.  I can go days with eating just cereal or rice and skip big meals for days - but not so much hubs.  He needs to eat.  So, if he walks through the kitchen and sees meat out for dinner, a salad being cut up perhaps or potatoes being scrubbed or peeled, he knows not to start trouble.  Not a good time to find fault with a decision I’ve made or discuss a new plan that may change the budget, or alter the design, like paint color.  You better just love that paint color buddy, unless I nod some acquiescence that it is an open topic, or risk not knowing where your next meal will come from.

Now, today, this week, we are in safety zone mode.  We’ve made all our big decisions, unscathed and fed, and are left with just a few, basically minor, items we need to both consider and agree.  For example, I have voiced my opinion about the size of the new television, and he wants a bit bigger.  But, I know this bigger television decision will require a new piece of furniture and I have had my eye on something that I had no real place for, until this new television was added to the ante.  Now I know where to make that next adjustment to the budget. 

Different but the same.

I didn’t particularly want the blog posts to be all about the renovation of our lake home, but, I have to admit that is taking over a huge hunk of our lives right now so it is what it is! In between the nailing, the decision making, the sawing, the sweeping is the little bit of other stuff that we are managing to squeak out.

 

I feel like it’s been weeks since I’ve seen the grandkids for example, and this construction site is really not a good place for hosting them, so it may be a few more days.  It’ll be fine in a couple weeks but right now, it is controlled chaos at best.  Meal preparation around here is almost non-existent but the local restaurants are loving us.  The bad news is the amount of fast food we are ingesting, not good for these old arteries.

We have been enjoying the evenings, with mild August temperatures and gentle breezes keeping the bugs at bay.  We have a new neighbor, who is renting the small house next door to us.  He’s here from Arizona working on a big construction project in the adjoining town and thinks he will be here about a year.  He wanted to be on water, he is hoping to try ice fishing for the first time in his life, and he’s a hoot. He’s lonely at times, being away from his family, so he walks through the fence line and comes over in the evening to sit a while and check our progress on our renovation.  He is both curious and knowledgeable so there is always some lively conversation.

His wife is in town this week.  They have it scheduled for her to be here about once a month for a few days.  She holds down the fort in Arizona and works as well.  Last evening, after hubs put in way too many hours on the roof and carrying lumber, they invited us over for dinner.  It was perfect.  The evening was great, although the bugs did kick up a bit, and we ate inside.  Now, I have been in this little rental house a few times over the years and I have to say, it is a cute little place.  Our neighbor made his special country ribs, which were perfectly prepared on the grill, and a nice baked potato, some great bread.  Lovely, really.  Here’s where it gets good…they don’t use sour cream but a spoonful of a nice mix of diced avocado, tomatoes and red pepper after the butter.  It was so good, so different and how I will be eating my baked potatoes from now on.

 

Dinner conversation was filled with stories from our childhoods with their background of being raised in the Texas panhandle sprinkled with regional phrases, their easy drawl.   We laughed and learned.  Of all the traveling I did as a child, Texas is not a state we landed in during those years, so I very much enjoyed the stories.

 

I love learning something new, especially at this point in life.  Something we’ve not experienced, or ever really even thought about.  Sure, in Indiana we have corn fields, but, to think of acres and acres and acres of planted fields, as far as the eye can see, and how different their view is from our own, their experiences yielding different but yet similar results.

Sit down with someone new this week, if you can, and learn something new from your neighbor here on this earth.  Take the time to ask some questions and be delighted with your differences, and your similarities.  

Failure to commit.

Doing a little hurry up to slow down this week.  Some last minute plans and a torrential rain storm has left the yard wishing for more attention and the building project super underway, but soggy.

 

It’s fun to watch the house change and become something we hope we will be happy with for a long, long time.  Or, at least as long as we are given.  Our contractor friend is a dream.  Busy, thorough and informative.  He listens to ideas and makes adjustments where needed.  He also is a voice of reason and a calm reassurance that things are progressing just like they should.  I don’t like these days much, when things are left “open” to the elements, but, a necessary evil I suppose.

Hubs has been busy and puts a couple hours in each evening when he gets home from already long days at work.  I feel sorry for him, sort of ~ he is also liking the activity and seeing things change.  We’ve got a few decisions to make but most of our “design” or style choices have been made and well, we're just waiting for it to all come together.

 

I placed a furniture order this past week and that was big for me.  I will have more as the budget gets spent down on the building materials (leaving me crumbs) and I have a firmer grip on what we’re doing!  Which, I sound like I am joking, but, renovating is scary! Budgets are scary!   I don’t want to do too much too soon for fear of hubs freaking out and careening over the edge, and I still can’t make up my mind.  I mean, I have a couch that I love, but need more seating.  Once I get the chairs I ordered, and the carpet and paint colors, I hope to commit to a sectional.  I haven’t been able to commit to a sectional design, size or color.  I mean, that’s a big ol’ piece of furniture.  I have had a sweet, young furniture salesman follow me around and around the store, and stand at the fabric sample rack for an eternity.  I need to be sure I love it, and so far, no swooning.

We are very excited and it is fun to see a change every day.  I look around at construction madness in the yard and it is a little overwhelming, but, still fun.  I see trampled plants, and mud on top of mud on top of what was once a shrub and I’m crestfallen, but, still excited. Every time I go to one of my favorite stores ~ Pier 1, Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel or even Target or Walmart ~ I’ll pick up something new for the kitchen, or for the porch that has yet to get framed.  This week it was pillows at Marshall’s, and dish towels at Target.  I have had to walk away from some gorgeous pots for new plantings by the improved front door and hope I will be able to find the same thing next time I’m out, or heaven forbid, pay full price in the spring.  Somethings I know exactly what I want, others I will spend hours looking for just the right thing, come home empty handed to try again tomorrow.

 

But, I still can’t commit to that sectional.  

Catching the wind.

It’s no secret that like all of you with them, I love my grandkids.  They crack me up, bring me much, much joy.  I have one seven year-old girl who has always just entertained me and is so much like her mommy, my daughter.  I have a near five year-old grandson who says the deepest, most adult phrases and full paragraphs, that leave me rolling from his grown up wisdom, on all topics.  I have a four year-old grandson who is wild in a good way, free spirited, mechanical..a boy’s boy, but a mama’s boy and as sweet as he can be.  Not far behind him is his little sister who is showing signs of needing to keep up with him and can be just as daring, and darling.  Rounded out by the little guy, the sweetest baby, born this spring and a delight. 

This summer has been full, but never full enough, of time with these kids.  It is a couple hours for them to arrive for a visit and when they aren’t here, I am thinking about them.  Like, ALL the time.  Wondering what they are doing, how school is, if they are outside, inside, swimming, reading.  I miss them so when they have left following a weekend visit.  I love them so.

Of course, they leave me little signs they were here.  Toys left out, books laying around.  Dirty towels, sheets…the usual.   A pantry full of unusual eats…Fruit snacks, sugary cereal, chips in multi flavors.  Things that are not often in my particular menu plan.  There’s always a half empty bag of this or that.  Some things that go stale before they return, so get tossed and some things that remain till they visit again.

 

I am working in the landscaped areas as much as I can while this summer air will allow, making sure the current remodeling stays out of my plantings, protecting or moving my shrubs and flowers as things are thrown all around the house, out of windows and from roofs.  Hubs tends not to watch where things are going and has many times over the years destroyed one plant or another.   I mean, I get it…plants can be replaced but watching something grow to maturity and fullness is difficult to then see torn out to make room for equipment or structure, or trampled.  

 

That being said, I have areas that I tend that are far removed from the building project.  A bit of a respite in what is becoming more chaotic by the day.  I have a little wind chime, a gift from years ago, that has been hanging on a low branch for a number of years.  I had to move it recently and when I did, the string holding it in place broke and it had been laying on a bench.  My little grandson came across it and concerned, wanted to hang it somewhere it would catch the wind, do the job it was meant to do.  Encouraging him to put it down, that it was broken, that I would have to fix it before it could be hung again, he found a solution.  I think it may be a while before I move it as it brings a smile to my face to see it, right where he left it, his chubby, grubby little hands in a hurry while we called his name, beckoning him to “Come on!”  At about a foot off the ground, it won't catch much wind, but it does catch my breath. 

Thinking about what's next.

I was recently struck by how routine my days are.  I mean, now “retired”, I am almost as scheduled, subconsciously so, more than when I worked outside the home.  I go about a daily routine almost as if I were getting up and preparing to leave for work.  Well, except for the makeup and nice clothes.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I know I can throw an unexpected delay or sleep in a bit later to my day, but typically, it will still go the same.  I decided this morning, while walking around admiring some of my landscaped areas, that I should shake things up, do something different.  I then thought what would that be?  Go counterclockwise around the yard instead of clockwise? My “scheduled” morning isn’t super challenging, you see.

I start out the front door and watch where the little dog runs off to, and she almost always goes to the same area when she first bolts out the door.  I walk past the little dogwood tree at the corner of the house, thinking about how much it has grown and soon will take over the pathway.  I walk past the area where the cars have been parking for 100 years and resolve to move my car to the “new” designated parking space…only to think “nah” or “later”.   Then down to the lakefront, feel the sun on my shoulders and face, check out the lake, the sky, listen to the birds, check to see if little dog has erupted from the woods yet (also her usual routine), walk to the flower pots, check for watering needs and deadhead a few marigolds.  Around this time is when I start to seriously watch for little dog to come out of the woods, call her and whistle, and walk towards the shed.  I check the plantings around the shed, sit on the bench, contemplate life and solve world problems, welcome little dog onto the bench and drink my coffee.

 

This is almost every day.  After we sit for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on how the coffee drinking is going, we head inside.  Today I compared this to sitting in traffic on my way to work and how much better this is.  I fix little dog her breakfast, caution her to slow down, fix my own bowl of cereal and go in to the office to read a few news sites, eat my cereal and begin my day in earnest. 

This doesn’t sound too bad, right? It is a good start to the morning. It doesn’t change much from day to day, sometimes I have company so I may have a grandchild to hold hands with as I make my rounds.  Sometimes, and this happens once a week or so, I may sleep in.  If I sleep in, I usually have the same routine but I may make a bigger breakfast for myself.  I don’t know why, but, something about sleeping in makes “brunch” necessary so scrambled eggs and toast is required, if not a full-blown omelet with cheese and bacon, sometimes potatoes.  I know…I know.

I wonder how this is going to change when hubs retires and is here, too. I do really look forward to when he retires, as gosh, he needs it.  He deserves it, but, I mean, is he going to want to walk around with me? I am sure he is going to expect breakfast.  The thing is, although I am alone every day, for a large chunk of the day, morning is special.  Today, for some reason, today, I began to think about when hubs is here, too.  Not just the weekend, but every day.  He has occasionally caught up to me while I sit on the bench.  It’s pleasant but, it’s not meditative.  Sometimes he’s been up and at it for hours before I sit on the bench, has already done his morning thing, so he’s ready for the day to get underway, whatever it might be.

 

I am not quite there yet, fella, I have a routine.