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It’s quiet here for right now. The puppy is sleeping, the other animals are almost all outside playing in the sunshine. Hubby is working on the well pump, something about a fried groundwire, he had to go to the hardware store and get some parts. I went to take Caylee to the veterinary hospital this morning for stitches removal. She was good and it was done in a jiff. I stopped at the store on the way home and bought a couple of things that I have to make for the breakfast potluck tomorrow morning, picked up a Subway sandwich and then spent 15 minutes trying to get the car back up into the driveway.
Our country road is still a mess. But it’s only 29 degrees today, so the melting is slow. At least the county came through and plowed it. Our driveway, on the other hand, is full of 8 inches of snow. It’s really hard to get up and down it. YUCK! 
Just when I start getting too snarky about it all, I have to think of my friend who lives in upstate New York, where they have already had something insane like 102 inches of snowfall. AND IT’S ONLY THE END OF JANUARY!!!! Well, better him than me. lol
I seem to have mislaid some W2 forms,…. ;{ I remember picking thewm up and putting them somewhere safe. And now I can’t remember where that night be. Sigh…old age ain’t for sissies. I know I’ll find them eventually, but I get all fired up about this stuff. Sometimes I am so damn un-organized. Thing is, I have a file cabinet too. With folders in it and everything. I have got to change this sloppy way I deal with stuff, that’s all there is to it.
We were going to the neighbors for supper tonight, but she called and rescheduled to Sunday. They are sitting in the ER waiting for a couple of pints of blood, as she so casually put it. So, I guess I’d better figure out what we’re having for supper. lol If that driveway wasn’t so bad, I’d almost think about dinner and a movie…but I don’t even want to risk trying to get back in here in the dark.
I also have to decide what kind of muffins I’m making to take to the potluck tomorrow. I’m cooking a few pounds of bacon as well. I used to cook in a little restaraunt (in my youth) where I made 2 or 3 kinds of fresh muffins for breakfast every day. I bought some buttermilk… I’ll probably just make some bran and then some sort of cinnamon spice-y thing. We’ll see. I also don’t know if I want to risk waiting until tomorrow to make them so they’re super fresh, or do it tonight and not worry about it. lol They’ll still be better than what most people are used to…
I’m thinking about taking a nap….don’t know why I’m so tired, but I’m yawning like crazy. Guess I’d better make some decisions about what I’m doing, so I can sleep soundly for an hour or so. lol
Namaste.
Caylee the wonder pup is running around like a house on fire. I just doped her up again and so maybe I’ll get a minutes peace here in a bit. lol I am so grateful that’s she’s showing such remarkable improvement, but there’s no way she’s going to be quiet for 2 more weeks. sigh…
Home again today…snowed in and loving it. I like the isolating and nesting I get to do when the weather is like this. (To a point). There was a time I’d be climbing the walls by now. But the older I get, the slower I go, and everything seems a lot more contented and peaceful to me. I have plenty to do. lol
Trying to decide what to do for supper tonight. (I’m really not obsessed with food–it’s just that I have to make plans so I can get something out of the freezer. Really. ;0 We had a simple supper last night, and so today I’m thinking about roast cornish game hens or some sort of chicken dish. hmmm…
I’m finishing off a small pot of coffee and going to eat a slice of toasted herb bread that I made to go with the lentil soup last evening. It was all delish…the bread has grated parmesan cheese in it,. along with garlic, oregano, basil and summer savory. It was quite good, with a nice crumb. I have a new recipe for a no knead bread baked in a dutch oven I want to try. Maybe I’ll do that today and take it to my neighbors for dinner tomorrow night. Or the herb bread, since I KNOW how that recipe works out…reminds me, I need to call them.
Just heard from my sister-in-law…that her divorce is final today and she is a free woman. You go, Girl. It’s been a painful extrication for them both.
My inlaws are also coming to visit in about 2 weeks. That should be interesting. My FIL is a lot of fun and the little birdy woman he’s married to is…well….she is what she is, bless her heart. And I will host them with love in my actions and in my heart. No matter what. Because I can. lol
Just because I like trolls. And underdogs. And 3 legged dogs named Lucky.
Things to do…later, taters.
Namaste.
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I had a wonderful long distance phone conversation with a friend this morning. We talked for the better part of an hour, laughing and catching up on what’s been going on in our lives. I feel almost giddy.
It’s amazing how that happens. We have re-established our connection with the geatest of ease…and it felt like we talk like this every day. I love it when that happens.
We got a good amount of snow last night. It looks so beautiful …FROM IN HERE. I am really not wanting to go outside, but I know I will have to. For now though, it’s all good. Here’s a picture of my best friend Lucy (in the snow with diamonds….)
Her butt has got to be cold!!! lol She was sitting there barking at the snow falling off the tree limbs.
I have so much housework to do, and was thinking maybe I’d make a nice lentil stew for supper tonight. And some homemade bread to go with. Last night we had a skillet supper of local sausages with potatoes and cabbage. It was quite yummy, and I wish I’d thrown a carrot or two in it. With the water situation being what it is, I’m trying to keep dishwashing to a minimum. Crockpots and skillet meals are in order.
It took P- an hour longer to get home from work than usual last night. I suspected as much. He said the main problem was the guy with 20 people behind him who insisted on driving 20 mph. The highway departments were pretty ready for this storm, and that always helps alot.
Babydawg needs the stitches out of her side toute suite. It’s almopst too long past. I was thinking maybe I would call the vet and have one of the techs walk me through it over the phone. I should know how to do that anyway. How hard can it be?
I had a weird dream about my middle sister last night/this morning. I’m thinking I should call her and see what’s up. In my dream, I was babysitting and she was a young child, maybe 9 or 10. But I was me, now. It was very strange…she was having a seizure or going into a trance or something. She lives in Florida, and I maybe see her once a year. When I lived in NC I saw her more often, as it was a hop, skip and a jump away. Now it’s an ordeal, and I usually wait for her to come here.
I have siblings scattered around a bit, but now that I’m back here, there are 4 of us in the general locale. My youngest brother is down in the southern part of the state. My middle brother is in Georgia. And my sis in FL. # of us are within 40 miles of each other. There was a time when living on the west coast was just about the right amount of miles away from them all. lol
Okay–I have housecleaning to do. I guess the Brownies aren’t showing up to help….sigh.
Namaste.
I am back in from the great white outdoors. Fed the chickens and filled birdfeeders and the suet blocks. Cleaned the coop of all the frozen poopsicles. Rescued the rooster, who had gotten his foot caught in something…not going to talk about it. Just know that I cursed my husband for 10 minutes. LOL. And then I pulled up my big girl panties and took care of it. Walked the babydawg so she could pee and now she and I are both back inside where it’s warm.
I’m sitting here at the keyboard eating a bowl of leftover pinto beans and bread and butter. Remember when you couldn’t even have a glass of water in the same ROOM as the computer????? Muahahahah…
Times have changed.
Oh my, how times have changed. In 1980, my [not yet] ex-husband came home with a Texas Instruments computer. Oh. My. God. I was scared to death to touch it. Even after he assured me it was “Idiot Proof” I couldn’t ever figure out how to use it. I would walk past it sitting in the dining room making the shape of a cross with my 2 index fingers. The boys were playing computer games and having a ball with it. I was afraid to even look at it. I had almost no experience with computers for another year.
Then, in 1991, a restaraunt I worked for started talking about getting computers. I went into a tailspin. I started planning my letter of resignation, because I was sure I was way too stupid to keep working there if they got computers. I was a year sober. My bosses assured me it would be no problem for me. I had nightmares. My bosses said they would send me to a class. I threw up. When the time came, and the company they hired was there to install the equipment, I was interested, but still very afraid. Those guys showed me how everything worked. How I would be able to do all the stuff I already had to do in much less time and with much greater accuracy. They showed me inventory programs. They showed me Profit/Loss programs. They took me by the hand and literally walked me through every phase of the restaraunt program. They showed me how to retrieve all the information from the days sales, hour by hour. I took copious notes on how to do it all. They set me up with all the administrative passwords and codes.
They stayed for 3 days, teaching all my employees how to input orders and check status reports. The very first day that it was in operation, the entire city had a massive power blackout from storms. Everyone (I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP) in a 15 mile radius had no power except my restaraunt. Grocery stores closed their doors. People couldn’t cook with no electricity. And we had been counting on a couple of quiet days to get the bugs worked out of this system and for everyone to get to know it. It was a nightmare! We did 25 times the amount of business that first night than we normally did on a busy Friday. We ran out of everything. My restaraunt was part of a chain, and I started calling other stores to bring me food and bodies to help. My immediate supervisor, his supervisor and HIS boss were there to help (or hinder…because at some point those suits are useless vestigial limbs) lol. The 2 guys from the computer company were in shock. We finally locked the doors at midnight. We had 2 more days of the same.
After that trial by fire, I was 10 ft tall and bulletproof. I got a big bonus a week later. I learned every single problem that you could have with a computer system. I went from being terrorized by computers to walking my staff through problem solving over the telephone.
And now sometimes I blog and play computer games. And eat beans at the keyboard.
Yup, times change. They shore ’nuff do.
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: cornbread and beans, recycling, winter days
It’s a snowy cold Monday here on the Prairie.
Cold enough for ya?
I woke up this morning to a bizarre scene from right out of Flight of the Conchords. First, one of my cats didn’t come in last night. It was terribly cold and I was calling and calling, right up until I went to bed. Earlier in the evening I had heard some racket out front and chalked it up to my little devil-cat wreaking mayhem like she always does right around bedtime. I was very worried about Samurai cat, but nothing left to do.
It was snowing this morning, and we already have about an inch and a half of snow up here. When I saw that, I was even more worried about him. I opened the door and called and called, but still no Sam. I fixed breakfast for my husband and after he ate, he went out to check the chickens and feed and water them. And empty the garbage. And I asked him to look around and see if there were any signs of the cat.
While he was outside, I opened the doors to the cabinet that the television sits in so I could watch the Early Show on Sunday Morning (or whatever it’s called). When I opened the armoire doors, a black cat (Sam, of course) came flying out of the cabinet, where he had apparently been locked up all night. He was not a happy guy. I kept apologizing and apologizing…and he just sits and glares at me. I had to clean cat poop off the dish network machine. Not a lot…but enough that I started having imaginary phone scenarios where they were asking what the problem seemed to be and I had to tell them that an angry cat had sh*t all over the receiver…
This is a day in the life of yours truly.
Sigh….the weather alert thingee on my toolbar keeps cracking loud thunder-like noises to inform me of severe weather. It scares the hell out of me everytime it goes off. Like I can’t look out the window and see the freaking weather. It’s warning of some fronts coming through in the next few days, bringing even more of the white cold stuff.
And I’m having sudden problems with my Internet Explorer not wanting to open any of my shortcuts without asking me questions every time about it…it’s very annoying. I downloaded GoogleChrome yesterday, and didn’t like it so I uninstalled it. Apparently I did something thast is suddenly causing this IE crap to happen. I need to clear my head and take a few minutes to check out what has happened here. (Like I would recognize it, even if it jumped up and bit me on the butt). But you never know…and I do have my IT guy I can call (nephew). He’s actually very patient with me, thank goodness.
Hubby is down to the city for his Sunday morning meeting and I elected to just stay home on the pretext of not wanting to leave babydawg just yet. Thr truth is I was just too lazy to get dressed. I am still in my cartoon cow pajamas. Sometimes I am ashamed of the way I exploit my pets….(not).
Alright, I have things to do, and blogs to read and a coffee cup to refill.
From break of day, to setting sun…a woman’s work is never done.
Namaste.
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I’m all about staying home today.
I think maybe I am becoming one of those isolationistas. People drive me batty sometimes. Especially people I live with. There. I said it.
I’ve been reading some bloggers I don’t always read. Great grist for the mill. I especially like Mama Zen and her funny angle on life as we know it. I do read her irregularly. But today I read some others…Shadow and Shay and Scott. I’m amazed by bloggers that have been doing this for years. A little envious too, I guess, when I read someone’s blog who has 400,000 comments and 6 million followers. And I’m entertained by my own little snarky thoughts sometimes, as most of us are.
I was thinking last night about how I try to keep myself open to new ideas and not get all shut up in my own head. Because really, the times when I think I know anything, no matter how long I’ve been on the planet, or sober or a mother…any of it…that’s when I usually fall on my face. So if I can keep the sense of learning and wonder that children have, I might actually get a handle on something. Or not.
Whatever the deal is, I do know that I have learned some very important methods of living in the past couple of decades. By fire. By trial and error. Never easy lessons, not for me. Always the face down in the dirt kind of lessons. Probably the best kind for someone like me. The kind I’m not easily able to forget.
I got a call from a newbie yesterday afternoon and she was very worried that she wasn’t getting better and she’d already been sober 30 days. She’s having acute neurological withdrawal symptoms from prescription drugs and alcohol. I felt bad for her, in a way. She kept saying “When will it get better? Do you remember how long it took for you?”
And man….I debated on whether I should tell her the truth…she seemed too fragile for it. The truth is, it took me over a year to get out from under all that. All I said was , well it takes what it takes,. Keep doing the things you are…talking to women, going to meetings, working with your sponsor. It may take some time–and she said “YES–but how much time??”
I have to shake my head and laugh as I see me in early sobriety once again. We are people who have spent much of our lives looking for the quick fix. Wanting EVERYTHING to be different, or better, or done –RIGHT NOW! Never mind that it took us years of cultivated depravity to get to this point. I waited and waited for the Fairy Godmother of Recovery to smack me with that magic wand and make it all better. (The bitch never showed.) lol It took lots of time. Patience (which I didn’t have, as my neurons were busy firing like a machine gun and shorting out right and left). All, I’m pretty sure, thanks to the cocaine/scotch concoctions I plied my brain with for so long.
I was told over and again that I had to trust the process. That it would all come together in time as long as I stayed away from the booze and drugs. That if I followed a few simple suggestions, I could get through this. I thought, “maybe you can…but you don’t know how it is for me.” My self-pitying theme song. If only you knew what happened to ME. If only you had been raise the way they raised ME. MeMeMe…
And someone said, don’t compare your insides to someone else’s outsides. You don’t know.
And the journey began. And I get to pass this comforting information along today, when I get phone calls and someone on the other end says…”Will it ever get better? Am I ever going to be okay?” And I can say “Yes. Yes you will. If you just follow a few simple suggestions and trust the process.”
I am so blessed to have lived through the early days of recovery and live today, a relatively sane and whole human being. And grateful that I have a home in the tapestry of Alcoholics Anonymous, where I am woven into the fabric of sobriety.
Namaste.
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LOL….I took the quiz, too. And guess what, my soul sister?? Here are the results:
You see life as your one chance to experience everything, and you just go for it!
You believe the biggest risk is being afraid and missing out on something amazing.
Sometimes your fearlessness means you’re daring. You enjoy risky activities.
And sometimes your fearlessness means you’re courageous. You’re brave enough to do the right thing, even when it’s scary~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~LOL
Had a dr apppointment early and they were backed up and it took way too long and the longer I waited the pissier I got. When I finally saw him, I was telling him that I knew I had gone too long between appointments and that I had been having some $$ issues and he looked at me and said “The next time you come anyway. I will treat you for free….” And as he tried to work my stiff muscles into submission, I remembered why I come here and why I adore this man, who may well be the best chiropractor I have ever been to. SO, he did what he could and I go back next Wednesday. And he must have awakened some cellular emotion there, because I cried on the way home, thinking about a) how much I hurt, lol and b) how blessed I am to have found this guy. I am finally 11.5 hours later, actually experienceing some relief. I’m still hurting, but it’s better.
I haven’t been on the computer all day. I came home and lay down for a little while. Hubby fed me and I realized I hadn’t eaten and that was probably a good piece of my insipient impatience today as well. So after a light nap, I felt much better mentally.
We are still having water problems and P can’t figure out why the pump isnb’t drawing water. sigh…he gets very frustrated at this stuff. I have laundry piled up to the ceiling and need to mops floors and all sorts of stuff. I am dying for a long hot shower. My son offered his house, but he lives in a split level on a hill and I cannot possibly walk up there. There are staiurs to the house, stairs from the foyer to either the downstairs or the upstairs. Stairs, stairs, stairs. ON a good day I cannot handle it.
So, tomorrow we will take all the laundry to the laundromat in town and just do it all in one fell swoop. And then it will be done. I called 5 different plumbers today, and cannot get one of them to come out here and look at this stupid pump. But–tomorrow’s another day and we’ll attack it anew. This is all part and parcel of living this primitive country life. lol One of my friends said–gee, you might as well be living in pioneer times!
I am sitting here with my dear friend Joni’s gift to me from last year…a heating pad for my neck and shoulders, handmade of flannel and filled with rice. Put it in the microwave for 3 minutes and it soothes my weary bones. It is close to heaven.
I need to check some readings and do a little more writings…life is good….
Namaste.
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Afternoon here and I haven’t accomplished 1/2 of what I need to have done. sigh…However. The cake is out of the oven, the peach pie is in. The bed is made, the chickens are fed and the coop cleaned and the critters are all fed, medicated and loved accordingly. I have a sponsee celebrating 4 years tonight at the women’s meeting and I still have to make her a birthday card.
I’m making fish tacos for supper tonight and I will have to leave as soon as hubby gets home from work to get there on time. SO that means we’ll be eating separately tonight. I hate it when that happens, but on Thursdays there’s just no escaping it. He doesn’t get home until a little after 6 and I have to leave before 6:30 to make it down there on time.
Babydawg is a little more subdued with the Acepromazine in her. It’s not knocking her out though, which is good. I’m also not going to give it to her 3 times a day like the vet suggested…it’s too much. So I’m giving it to her between doses of the pain medication. I can tell by the look in her eyes when she starts getting buzzed that she is scared and doesn’t like the feeling. I can relate…lol.
I’m so tempted to call off the visit with my grandson….I think I will. I started an email to his mom, and cancelled it, but I really don’t feel like I can handle a 12 year old’s energy when I’m in this much pain.
Much later now. Meeting is over, grandson is cancelled and I am exhausted. I’d better post this before it’s tomorrow!! lol
One more good day at a time….
Namaste.
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A new day, a new era ushered in. Maybe. We’ll see.
I have a full day today, beginning with having to go pick up sedatives for the pup who is entirely too energetic for the doctors liking. lol Although right now she’s sleeping by my chair and looking so adorable I could just eat her up. I’m trying to get in to see my chiropractor, and I am going to make an appointment to use the massage gift certificate I got for Xmas. I am going to try to make a noon meeting if there’s any possible way, since I haven’t been to a meeting for almost 2 weeks. I have to go to the springs and fill water jugs and try not to make my back any worse than it already is. We still don’t have running water, and hubby is off on Friday so he will attack it then. He works 10 hour days, and this time of year it’s dark when he goes in and dark when he comes home. Makes it hard to get out there and work on the well. I have laundry piled up to the ceiling and I need to mop floors, but it’s all on hold until the water is fixed. I have water on the stove so I can go take a “camper” bath when I get off here.
Sure makes a person grateful to have running water…to think that there are places in the oworld where water is one of the biggest luxeries!! And we SO take it for granted (well, except for me, that is…now.)
It makes everything a little more thoughtfull. A little more efficient. And that’s not such a bad thing probably. But I sure will be glad to have the water back on!
It’s supposed to get to 46 today and then 50 tomorrow. I think I’ll stop and wash the salt off the car somewhere as well. The inside needs doing, but I’ll have to see how much energy I have left over…lol I’ve been mostly at home for the last 2 weeks and have settled into a very laid back routine. (Translated: LAZY!!)
I have been blogging on my food and Garden blog, Dragon Woman’s Kitchen and having a lot of fun with that. Please come visit me there, at www.DragonWomansKitchen. It’s a new endeavor for me and I’m having a ball.
Okay–I’m outta here. Have a grand day…or whatever kind of day you want!
Namaste.
