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.