I have two spots on the wood trim in the kitchen where my #1 Sweetie who passed in 2007 left his mark. He would lean in and peek around the corner.
I refused to wash and repaint the trim. But, now that I am getting closer to moving I have decided I will paint over it. It is his mark and he is my dog and no one else will paint over that reminder of him.
Lucy left her mark, too. Hers is a bit higher up on the wood frame. She would have towered over #1 Sweetie. He, mostly Beagle and she, mostly Yellow Lab.
I noticed a smudge on the mirror, where she got up close to see what she looked like. That memory makes me smile.
Well, if any one is thinking I am a terrible housekeeper, that is not the case. I leave their marks the same as others carve initials. Small and precious reminders of two whom I love and miss.
The third memory bracelet is this one in purple with silver charms. It was part of a group which were made for three friends at a difficult time in my life. I just wanted to thank them for being there in spirit and in words.
I thought it would be nice to end the year on my blog with a Thank You to readers who stopped by on a regular basis and to readers who did a quick drive by just to see if anything was interesting.
2014 kicked me around, and made life difficult. However, I survived bruised and cautious with a deeper understanding. 2015 better watch out!
Wanted to share with you two things I'm happy about. One is this beautiful Christmas Cactus. I bought it last week and it's blooming like crazy.
I think it must be enjoying the new Swan White color on the walls of the parlor. I know I am. The previous color(s) were depressing, so although the white is a drastic change, I'm going to see how it feels over the next few months.
The ornaments image was taken last year(?), could have been the year before.
The second thing I'm happy about is sharing the second memory friendship bead bracelet. I made three bracelets and this is the second one to show you. I showed you the first one in this post, Blending.
This one was made considering how much she enjoys her plants and nature.
I used antique glass seed beads, new charms and new wood beads.
I wanted to give each of the ladies something to recognize them individually and to thank them for their support and good wishes. I can't measure what that means to me and I think they know that.
It's just a little thing, but making these bracelets helped me, too.
It's snowing here today, the first of the season. I'd been expecting it, and sure enough, this morning it was all over the trees and the ground. The snow is piled on top of the fence line and the big trash can at the end of the driveway has an inch or more on top of the lid.
A few birds are looking for their early morning feed amongst the unraked leaves in the snow. Squirrels are still laughable as they shake their tails and run in circles up and down the big tree trunk. I have to hold on to these images, for soon these little peeks into the natural world will disappear until Spring.
In a little while I'm going to paint my parlor or living room as it's also known, sorry I have always called it a parlor. I hope this is no more than a three day job, for I am slowwww and meticulous. I still carry the damp rag, to wipe up my accidents. I might be meticulous, but there's still some clumsy in my movements. I'll probably never grow out of clumsy, and not for lack of trying. Just put the table over that spot.
The snow is steady and heavy at the moment, so I am going to distract myself from the white onslaught by sharing this bracelet with you and then start moving the furniture and getting on with the paint job.
When I moved into the house, the parlor had a mucus-like green swirly stripy look and it made me nauseous just to be in or walking through the room. The front door was the same snot-like color. Sorry, I wanted you to know how much the green was a poor choice. Weird, ugly, just repulsive.
I painted the parlor a beigey/tannish color and one wall was a very light yellow- all because I ran out of paint and energy. I wasn't happy with the end result, but had to let it stay those colors for a while.
For a few years I fought the urge to paint it white, but no longer. I have given in and bought a primer and paint-in-one in something called, "Swan White." It should be white enough, not gray and not too glaring. I hope it's worth the extra money for a primer and paint in one.
I thought this striped design might poke through, even with a primer, so I used some light colored paint leftover from another room to paint over the stripes.
Some of my furniture has white in it and I bought a small coat rack with iron hooks to put on the wall after I clean and paint it in a white color, too. More ornamental, but still useful. (Finally, a thrift store score.)
It's been three months since Lucy died, and yesterday was the anniversary of my Mom's passing. It's taking everything I can to muster the energy and do the work in myself to move forward. Setbacks not excluded.
The snow is not helping, but I can't control the weather. That cold blanket of white, just confirms the finality of things. It's going to be a long time before there is life again. No green poking through, the birds, squirrels, and rabbits take themselves to another place.
I don't want any big changes right now. For me, painting is an exercise and a comment that no matter what happens, life doesn't ever stay the same. Even though I'd give anything to have them back with me.
I wanted to show you this bracelet, it went to a friend. It was a labor of love and helped me to make a little inch-hold in moving on. Not quite a foothold, in due time, though.
The glass seed beads are antique, some of the other beads are upcycled, and other charms are new. The bracelet was made with the wearer in mind.
I found the burlap bags in a craft store. I sewed on the flower and button felt. The reverse side has a white heart (to which I added her initial.)
Whatever you're doing this week, be safe, have fun and keep your chins up.
On August 13, 2014 my gentle good girl, Lucy, left my side. Funny ladylike loving demure friendly smart soft playful quiet loud precious. She had all those qualities and more.
Lucy needed a lot of love when I met her. She had no home stability, was abused and neglected the first eight years of her life.
I earned Lucy's trust and affection, minute by minute. She gave an inch and I gave a yard until one day Lucy's world was stress-free, happy, and optimistic. She realized that she was in a home with people who wanted her and accepted her completely.
Last week she had an emergency health problem which surgery was supposed to have fixed, but the surgery created problems, too big for Lucy to overcome.
There are no definitive answers for why she could not recover.
I searched high and low, asked loads of questions, all without success. Now there is a huge aching hole in my heart and soul.
Lucy made me a better woman by letting me shower her with love, compassion, kindness, and patience.
She built up my energy each day in return with little triumphs and encouragements.
I'm going to try and remember her life lesson and how it included me. In time, letting her go, with all the pain and hurt, will probably soften, but never go away.
Paw prints on the heart are indelible.
Good night my sweetie pie,
you're my best and most good girl.
I love you dearly and completely.
Lucy, you are my treasure.
Thank you Linda, Stacy, and Debbie for your prayers and positive energies. Knowing that Lucy and I had you encouraging us was a blessing.
I wanted to let friends and readers know that this will be my last blog post for a while.
I hope you all get to experience a great love from a pet you treasure.
Until we meet again - my wish is for you to be well, kind, and content ...
I was okay with the garland as necklace, but
I DO NOT like the x*#! hat and antlers!
I couldn't resist. She pulled the antlers off twice, but then she let me get a few snaps of her. I will say that she enjoyed the necklace (beaded garland) and walked around the house wearing it, no problems with the jewelry diva in her.
But, when I put the antlers on, that was a different story.
Lucy, my tree trimming helper:
Look into my eyes... this will be the last time I wear antlers for you!
The indignity of this getup! I will get you for this...
Hope everyone is having a great week, being productive, making memories, and easing into the warmer weather. It was 32 with a freeze warning for two days, the next day it was 85 and today is up there warm-wise, too. That's Spring in Ohio. This blog post is a little cornucopia of topics.
Well, I have been practicing a bit with the new camera, and my conclusion is, it must be me. The images are still blurry even with the stabilization setting on, and the macro is a little better, but not perfect.
The camera does have a touch screen option to take a photo, and that was the only way to get a picture of Lucy. She's not one to pose, not for two seconds, not for 1.5 seconds. The fish eye lens made some funny images, and poor Lucy is all nose in this one. At the bottom of the page, you can see her in normal focus. I mention that for karma's sake.
I had to separate the sandwich to cut it.
I found myself in IHop looking for a muffin or a piece of pie and a pot of tea, but they don't have anything like that (tea, yes.) The last time I was in an IHop it was a bad experience, so today I gave them another chance, and they passed.
Since I took the camera with me, I thought I'd snap a quick photo of my plate. The lighting is a little dim, I didn't use the flash, but there are some details showing up, like the moisture on the knife and the texture in the spinach.
This was artisan grilled sourdough bread (2 half, but large slices) with lots of tasty veggies cooked in scrambled egg with a variety of cheeses. A little dish of fresh fruit- nice, was my side instead of potatoes. Trying to limit my carbs, all in all a good meal for $4.99. No, this is not a paid post; LOL.
I want to give a reminder about the Inspired by Four series. Next Friday, May 24th, is the fourth Friday of the month and our second challenge with linkup. Have you chosen a word yet? I have and need to get the work finished. Anyone who wants to join, please do. Read the link above and you will be all set with info and links too.
Take good care my friends, have a great weekend. I will be continuing to declutter the basement and upstairs. The garage is half filled with things to donate or put in a yard sale. It will take me a few months to declutter the whole house with my pace, but it will be done!
Do you get this message sometimes? "Live first, Blog later." Maybe it is all the busyness catching up with you or appointments to keep. Household chores, errands, cleaning, cooking, ... All the normal things usually taking up your time, before you ever get to put brush in hand, or needle in thread, or beads on a wire... and then to blog about it.
I manage to have a nearly tech-free Sunday each week. Well, I try to anyway. For me, it is necessary to give my eyes a rest and my brain a chance to focus on other things than whatever is on the computer screen.
I try refreshing my soul and nourishing my heart towards the bigger picture. I am not always successful. If I turn the tv on and see chaos, corruption, and brutality- well, there goes any refreshment I was seeking.
Putting on music, or just listening to the birds sing, to get that quiet feeling, for me the house needs to be almost silent, that is nearly impossible to secure. Why did it used to be so easy to tune-out the static and buzz, even just a few years ago. The older I get, the quicker time passes, the more fragile life's balance has become front and center. There is no escaping, it was always like that, but becoming aware is a blessing, I suppose.
What about you? Do you tune out the chatter and buzz on any given day? Does it help you to focus or feel renewed and energized?
Not counting my eyes, which are now doing very well (yay) and hopefully will be in good shape into the future, December sped by with a few bumps in the normal rhythms. Golden Hours.
Go to the bottom of the post to click on the video-lovely music- and then come back up here to continue reading.
While I was living on tenderhooks thinking about surgery and possible outcomes the furnace broke- it was repaired the same day, but boy is it cold to wake up to a house with no heat in the middle of a cold December. One thin wire, about 14 inches in length was the culprit.
Lucy needed extra care and attention for a painful ear infection- her ear is all better now, unfortunately I found out she has cataracts in both eyes. They're small, but it wasn't news I wanted to hear. Anyone know if there are any foods or lifestyle choices to help Lucy's cataracts grow very slowly? She just had her 11th birthday on December 15th.
Yarn Wreath was Coca Cola showered and broke into three pieces. A little soda goes a long way when it's airborne. You can picture that, soda all over the walls and floor, what a mess. Thank goodness I was out of the direct hit on that one. lol Scrubbed 3x- stains still there. Wall painting next week for someone...
I didn't see this one coming: with the new healthcare bill, our prescriptions are going up in price by 300%, that's right, a whopping 3 times more than 2012. Then, to add insult to injury, the cable company sends its annual, "your rate is going up" letter, this time they blamed it on Congress. What?!
But the mother of all breakdowns was the refrigerator on Christmas night. With a freezer full of uncooked food, bags of veg and assorted other foods- well you can imagine. I spent most of the 26th cooking and baking what had thawed. One recipe I came up with was a chicken and hot sausage stew/gumbo with spinach, carrots, and potatoes. That was nice and hot after shovelling snow.
The bright side is that it has been so frigid and snowy that we haven't lost any food. It's out on the deck and we have to go back and forth in the cold, but that's better than the alternative; it could've been summer and we'd have bags of ice to buy and pour off the melt; plus me worrying about the insects, chipmunks, and squirrels coming through the doggie door and finding the food. This is as close to camping as I ever want to be!
The repairman made it here on the 27th, we had a snowstorm on the 26th so no one was going to come that day. He said the compressor would cost more to replace than to buy a new fridge which should be delivered on the 2nd.
(It was delivered and we are now back to normal fridge wise.)
If that's the worse to handle for a while, I'm very grateful, either way, I'm thankful. I hope that the beginning of January and the new year will bring hope, comfort, and relief to everyone dealing with hardships, especially Sandy Hook families, Superstorm Sandy survivors, and people needing encouragement and help.
I'll leave you with the poem, "The Flower" by Alfred, Lord Tennyson: Once in a golden hour
Can this year have gone by any faster? When time is dragging by slowly, I wish it to speed up- and now the opposite. Goodbye 2012 and Welcome the fresh New Year 2013!
My bloggy friends,
"Thank you for bringing laughter, wisdom, and heartfelt tears."
Let's renew and continue to meet again in the New Year...
Sometimes we want to see who is behind the blog, their home, town, etc. I've some random photos of present and past homes. I will have to make time to scan more pre-digital photos into the computer to show more. Until then:
$30.00 find on craigslist!
Lucy
Torture Machine
The original toy box for #1Sweetie.
I took a sturdy cardboard box
and kept cutting the lid back
until he felt comfortable
sticking his nose in w/out the
lid coming down on his head.
Voila, covered with sticky Contac
Paper and used for many years.
Just wipe the surface clean when
gets hairy and dusty.
This craft area has been
totally reorganized since
taking this photo.
Pretty ironing board cover.
I planted all of those shrubs!
A previous home.
Christmas 2010
Part of the kitchen window overlooking
the backyard, stove on the right.
For some reason, this photo is fuzzy.
Current home.
Me
Moved this post and comments over when I made the button post link into a regular post link:
You made me laugh with your AbLounge! LOL! Love all these pictures! Except the place where you fell and split your knees open! Ouch!!! Not fun! Have a great day ;o)
If you're squeamish look away, but we could use your positive thoughts about this:
(Click on the image to enlarge.)
Last Friday afternoon (May 18) Lucy was at my side, as she usually is and as I was stroking her freshly washed back, I felt a lump.
Fast forward to Monday (May 21) at noon. The vet thought it might be just a fatty lump, or impacted hair follicles and did a small incision to attempt to remove the infection he couldn't see.
On the outside there was no inflammation, seeping, anything like that. After opening her lump he decided it was better for her if he removed it and had it tested.
She came back home walking like a drunk lifting her paws and walking crossways, and with a drugged out tired look, but her tail was wagging so that was a great sign.
I would love your positive thoughts as I wait for the test results. My previous sweetie, my beagle and his illness came flooding in and I know they are not the same at all, but when we are faced with the vulnerabilities of both our pets and ourselves, it makes everything more tender, precious, brief, and sweet. ♥♥♥
Thank you!
EDITED TO ADD: Late on Thursday I got the good news that Lucy's lump was a benign tumor. I am thankful and relieved as you can imagine. THANK YOU for your kind words and positive vibes and wishes, it means a lot! If you were here, Lucy would thank you too, by giving you the pleasure of petting her. She's always happy to meet and greet with a little lick and a nuzzle.♥♥ ♥
Just wanted to share this image of a big girl with teeny bows. Lucy came back from getting her hair and nails done last Friday and she had these two little neon green bows in the fur atop her head. I had to chuckle.
There's usually a bow on the collar or a bandana, but she must have had a new groomer with a creative attitude. Lucy doesn't like to sit still (even with the flash off) so this is the best photo I could get. She's one of a kind; and she'll be eleven this December.
No matter how old you are, dressing up to feel good is nice. Except when you're dog tired (pun intended.)
I approached this recipe with some of the knowledge I picked up by watching Alton Brown's Food Network show, "Good Eats." Although I haven't seen that show for a few years, it was amusing and certain tips stayed in the library within my mind.
Alton used chemistry and trial and error to show how ingredients interacted with each other. He had a whole cast of characters, sometimes silly props (reminded me of Mystery Science Theater) and plenty of terrific information. Have you seen him lately? He's lost a lot of weight.
Use my recipe with bananas, berries, raisins, apples, pears, just about any non-citrus fruit you like. Make it without fruit. I've used it with Nutella, too. Here's my basic recipe:
Preheat Oven to 350F
Spray Pam or other oil OR use shortening to grease a 9x9 square pan.
2 cups Flour (mine is unbleached all purpose)
3 teaspoons Baking Powder (aluminum free if you can get it)
Pinch of Salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup of granulated Sugar (to your taste)
2 eggs
3 Tablespoons vegetable oil (Canola) OR 3 Tbsp Melted Butter or Margarine Cooled to room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract OR not, depending on your taste
3/4 to 1 cup milk OR milk/water combo This amount will depend on how pourable your finished batter is.
Bananas, well ripened. Usually two small or medium or one large.
1) In a separate cup or bowl mash your peeled bananas with a fork until they are nice and smooshed.
Set aside.
2) In a separate bowl combine eggs, milk, oil, and extract and whip with a fork or whisk until eggs are
blended well.
3) In a bowl add flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon lightly until blended.
4) Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until blended. If the mixture is not pourable like batter
and not too runny like crepe batter add more milk and blend. Thin and runny is not good.
5) Add bananas last and fold in or stir gently.
6) Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 34 minutes, checking every 3 or 4 minutes with a
skewer/toothpick/cake tester until it comes out clean.
Ovens vary, my cake is usually finished baking in 38 minutes.
7) Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. If you are taking the cake out of the pan, gently
loosen the edges first. I leave my cake in the pan, it comes with a plastic cover and I just put that on
after it is thoroughly cooled. (Like a brownie sized pan.)
All ready to be served with a little whipped cream and diced walnuts on top. There's Lucy waiting for her share.
There you have it, my basic batter, versatile and not so fancy that you don't have the ingredients in your local stores.
I like a little cinnamon in the cake, if you want spices just add to the dry mixture, add to your taste. One teaspoon or more is the usual amount. This would be nice without bananas, sliced like little squares and spread with jam.
Enjoy with my favorite, Hot Tea, or cocoa, or even coffee.
