A day of housekeeping and retrospection. Feeling a little off kilter for some reason and not sure what it’s about..when I feel like this, I clean. It sorts me out and helps me organize my thoughts and is just generally a good tonic for what ails me. It could be a lot of things, it could be nothing. But whatever it is, it always feels better when my floors and furniture are vacuumed and the sink is shiny.
Fred the dog, you will be glad to know, is learning how to co-exist with the cats. He’s better every day. He’s really a good watchdog as well, although he could be a little more discreet about it at midnight. lol He appears to have come from a place that had more than one dog, because I noticed tonight when we were out sitting on the porch after supper that he isn’t the least bit territorial around the food dish. Our 3 dogs that have always lived together are very territorial when they eat…
My girlfriend is leaving Friday for Puerto Rico for 3 months. I’m gonna miss her!! We’re having lunch tomorrow and we’ll still be in touch by computer. I’m jealous…..lol.
I walked around outside a bit today, looking at gardens and flowers and such. I kept trying fall asleep every time I sat down. I slept very late this morning, and was up very late last night. It turned out to only be about 8 hours of sleep, but that’s a lot for me. My joints have been overly achy the past few days….not sure why. But it wears me out..
I found a lovely piece from a Daily OM posting of 2005 about Cooking With Intention, that I used as my opener last night. It was wonderful…talking about cooking and preparing food with mindfulness and positive energy. It said you could chant or sing over your food as you prepare it, and impart the positive energies into the food. Made me think of that wonderful movie Like Water For Chocolate…everyone loved it. Next week the topic is on community…and no one volunteered to do the opener for that, so I volunteered last night. I haven’t begun to read that chapter yet, so have no idea what I’ll do. Tuesdays a long ways off….lol
WEll, I guess it’s time for this blog to end. Can’t seem to find more words….
Namaste.
Walking around the gardens this morning, I noticed that the beans that are so riddled with Japanese Beetle toothprints are producing green beans nonetheless. Amazing…a lot like some of us folks that go through the fire and just keep on keeping on…lol.
I have tomatoes to pick, loads of cherry tomatoes. I wish I had planted more Romas this year for saucing. The Old German tomatoes are full of baseball sized green tomatoes, and the foliage is about 7 foot high and full. They are doing well, albeit a little slow, it seems to me. We have a lot of butternut squash, quite a few of the acorns, and several pumpkins growing out of the compost bin. The pumpkin patch itself isn’t looking so good- at least I’m seeing flowers that are dropping off and rotting and no fruit. Those seeds are the ones I bought from the heirloom seeds place in southern Missouri. Sadly, the majority of the seeds I got from them have not done well. Oh well…live and learn. There are lots of farmers markets in this area and maybe I can make some connections this year and have a more local place to get seeds from next year. This is just a part of the gardeners dilemma…seeds, the weather, critters, insects…all part of the challenge. We’ll still surely have enough bounty to help us through the winter, and that’s the main thing.
We were supposed to have about a 40% chance of rain today…but now the sun is out and it’s 81 degrees already at 10AM…I’m guessing that window of opportunity has closed. lol
On a bright note: Yesterday, in the early afternoon, there was a man lurking around the end of my driveway. The dogs were going crazy, so I went out to see what had them all in an uproar. It was a guy from the water company, measuring and hammering a little 1×2 stake in MY yard that said…..(drum roll, please)……..
WATER Mete 2040
Oh, My!!!! Can it be true ?????
Yes, it can be and it is. The top end of Detour Road now has a connecting trench dug from the next road over, where I told you earlier they were laying pipe. And I have a stake!!! Water…blessed water….
As you can see, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.
I am home for the day, the DIL got picked up at the airport in a timely manner and then 1/4 mile from our exit off the Interstate back into Illinois, traffic came to a dead stop as there was a really bad wreck that happened within seconds of our arrival. 7 police cars, 2 firetrucks, 1 ambulance, and 2 highway trucks came zooming down the shoulder and we sat there for about 35 minutes. But it was close to a speedy homecoming! lol
Tonight we have the Sustainable Living Class, the topic of this session is FOOD, and I am the opener. That only means that I have to come with a 10 minute introduction somehow relating to the topic. I am thinking about an article I read somewhere called Cooking with intention. If I can find it.
I still have a couple of articles to read, I read several yesterday at the airport waiting for the plane to arrive. Today it’s just me, the critters and a little light housekeeping. Then I can do whatever I want. lol
Namaste.
A lazy wonderful morning of reading and chatting on the phone with several people from the program. Just off the phone with a delightful young gay man that just makes my heart sing. We’re making plans for a double date to the movies. He’s very new to sobriety and is trying to make connections and do things that are out of his ken… Life is good.
I have to pick up my daughter-in-law in a few hours and should be getting myself cleaned up and dressed. It’s been a good morning for gratitude and service. One hot line call, one call from the grandma of little Jaylee who is feeling much better…but her platelet count is not coming up like it should, so there is lots of tension and worry in the family. Everyone taking small steps and doing what’s right in front of them- that’s the situation right now. All we can do, is all we can do…and praying and staying positive will work more miracles than all the fear and worry in the world.
It’s warming up nicely out there today, supposed to be in the high 80s. The tomatoes will like that. If the skies don’t show us some water soon, we’ll be forced to haul water up from the pond to water the gardens.
I have to stop by the water company on my way to the airport and drop off a check for the Good Faith money…whatever that is. lol They want a hundred dollars. Sigh… I think it gets applied to the water bill eventually, so…. It’s not like a total giveaway. Just…well. Never mind. 🙂
Kittens have been outside playing and are all in now, katnapping here, there and everywhere. Fred the dog is still here. Husband called the pound, but the neighbor told him that they only keep the dogs for 3 days before they put them down. That made him stop…he had left a message with his phone number on it. Nothing else. So they won’t just be making a surprise visit out here. My dogs are all shotted up and all, but none of them have their tags on. I need to have them all inside if we do wind up calling the pound, which I’m beginning to suspect is NOT going to happen. He’s playing with the other dogs, getting a little better about the cats, and can’t understand why he can’t come in the house with everyone else. Sigh….I’m SURE it’s just a matter of time….(We are BOTH such pushovers….)
I’m off to get some cukes from the garden for my breakfast/lunch. The morning has whipped by and I’m shocked that it’s almost 1 o’clock already. Oh, well…time does fly when you’re having fun…. (and I did already clean out the fridge, take the garbage out for the truck to pick up, cleaned all the errant containers that went into the garbage, cleaned and filled all the critter dishes, and stripped my bed. Had hoped to get to the laundromat this morning…but as you’ve guessed-that didn’t happen. lol
Oh, well…tomorrow IS another day.
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: crock pot turkey breast, fall gardens, sage and rosemary
A lazy Sunday. I should be out picking tomatoes and blackberries and cucumbers…but I’m not. Instead, I sitting around reading, computing and napping. I put a turkey breast in the slow cooker this morning, rubbed with dried sage and rosemary and some sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. The house smells heavenly, and it’s making me a little hungry. Husband is trying to decide what plants we need to get in the ground for a late fall garden, and I suspect he’s hinting at me going outside with him to look and see where we will have room to put stuff. Im being obtuse. lol
The baby granddaughter of my friend is doing better this morning. She is peeing again and her platelet count, though still dangerously low, is creeping back up. D said that she was singing to the nurses this morning. What a frightening thing to go through. They are keeping her in the hospital until at least next Wednesday. Last night they put an IV in her little hand and she sobbed when they put the hand on a board and taped it down…saying they “bwoke my hand”… grammy and mom tried to explain to her that it isn’t broken, just on there to keep the IV from coming out, but she was adamant that it was “bwoke”. This morning, however, she was bopping grandpa on the head with the board. So it’s all looking better.
It’s a beautiful day here…we have had a relatively mild summer this year. I picked some okra earlier in the day, and looked for green beans. I have tons of cherry tomatoes out there that need to be picked. The dogs are lazing around the yard, snoozing in any patch of shade they find. The cats are stalking wild things through the weeds down by the pond. The chickens continually scratch, scratch, scratch around the floor of the coop, looking for fat juicy bugs and worms. This is just life in the country. It is a blessing to get to live out here for however long I get to do it. It is a measure of grace that I truly appreciate.
I pick my daughter-in-law up at the airport tomorrow at 4PM. Back goes the nice Jeep Compass that I have been driving all weekend. lol But truthfully…I have gotten WAY used to having only one car, and it has slowed my life down a lot. I won’t really be too sorry to go back to the one car again.
Guess I need to figure out what’s accompanying that yummy smelling moist turkey breast for supper. Thought maybe I’d look and see if there are any new potatoes hiding out there in the straw. And maybe a little green beans, or some stir fried cabbage on the side. Also have some good looking sweet corn that needs eating. Times may be tight financially, but we always have enough to eat. Part because I am a thrifty old country wife who always has a stocked cupboard, and part because the Universe is abundant.
Heading out into the gardens….
Namaste
Oy…it won’t quite rain, but you can almost see it hanging thick and hazy in the air. The humidity is about a gazillion percent and it’s only 76 degrees. I’m about to embark on an afternoon of fellowship, if I can ever get my butt going. I’m off to my sons house and then to a bbq.
I’d like to ask for some prayers for a little tiny 3 year old granddaughter of a friend, her name is Jaylee, and she has somehow contracted e.Coli. The tests came back (she has been sick for a week) and they are rushing her off to Children’s Hospital in St. Louis this morning. I know there aren’t many who read here, but every prayer can help, and I would be grateful. Thank you…
Again, I’m outta here. Have a birthday celebration to attend later tonight and then hopefully the running around will be finished for the weekend. I’m feeling pretty tired and looking forward to just sitting in my chair and reading. lol
I may be back here today, I may not. But I did want to touch base before I spin out into my day.
Namaste.
Friday morning musings…a day full of general housekeeping, gardening, errands and life. I’ve taken the old chipped polish off my tootsies, chatted with 3 sponslings, shared in some good news, some okay news, and not so good news. None of it worth getting drunk over. I’ve done some reading and some praying and meditating. I’ve been informed of a great sale at Schnucks on fish and turkey breast. I’ve had a little lunch, played with quite a few pets, had words with a husband, made up with same husband, and read a few blogs.
All in all a good day. I was going to a state convention next weekend, and now the plan has been cancelled. Just as well, as I really couldn’t afford to do it anyway. I would have found a way to make it work, but now I don’t have to. It’s a relief, really.
Tomorrow there is a fundraiser lunch to attend…some people starting a halfway house for men in the area. One of my friends is speaking, so that’ll be fun. Then we’ll go upcountry with some other friends and hang out and play cards and grill some burgers at their place, before going back to an 8PM meeting where a woman friend of mine is picking up her 12 year coin.
It will be a full weekend coming up. And I’ll be ready for it!! lol
I have a birthday card to make, a flyer for the womens meeting potluck/speaker meeting to make, and a card for my aunt to make. Naturally today the printer ink alert decided to go off. I have used the back-up cartridges already, so I don’t have any in the drawer… sigh…
On the whole, life is good. Kittens are sleeping in the living room after having been out helping dad with the hoeing and raking, dogs are sacked out in assorted and sundry places around the old homeplace, even the bird is quiet for a change.
Hmmm…this could be signalling nap time….
*Just got a call from a sponsling telling me she got a promotion and a payraise. I am tickled to death for her. She is coming with me to a meeting tonight at 8…
May your day be filled with all things GOOD.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Cabin Fever, Physical Therapy, Relative Contentment
Sitting here in front of my computer, feeling grateful as all hell that I am me. In a place of relative contentment with my life, troubles and all. I like that little saying :
“Life isn’t about learning to avoid the storm, it’s about learning to dance in the rain” (or something like that). Accepting life on life’s terms, accepting that sometimes people are ridiculous, accepting that every day is exactly what I choose to make it. Last night someone reminded himself (and me) of Rule 62-Don’t take yourself so damned seriously!” The world would be a much better place, it seems to me, if we’d all get our little fat assters off the pedestals we’ve built in our minds.
I got my grass all mowed yesterday because it was supposed to storm today. Hasn’t rained but a few driplets so far. I was really hoping that walking around behinds the mower would be physical therapy for me. LOL Instead, well-you can guess. But–my gratitude list this morning includes “I’ve got a pulse” And “My body, though mangled, still works, mostly.” LMAO…
The kittens are all outside. In and out. I turned off the air conditioning so that I could leave the door open for them to traipse in and out to their hearts content. They have been driving me insane. I’ve been keeping them in because of Fred the Dog, but he is getting much better with the adult cats, so…I decided to trust him a little more with the kittens.The little ones are suffering from Cabin Fever and having been running and jumping and climbing and knocking things off into the floor…so–out they go! So far-So good. And there is relative quiet in my sanctuary once again. Here’s an adorable picture I took Tuesday.
The Posse, sacked out on the kitchen island on top of a bag… Aren’t they the sweetest things???
Took my DIL to the airport in St. Louis this morning, then dropped darling grandson off at a friends to spend the night. I am keeping her 2008 Jeep Compass while she’s gone, and will pick her up again on Monday afternoon. She’s gone to Ohio and West Virginia. Sonny boy called me from work on his lunch hour, saying he’s working like a dog, and will come by this weekend and give me some money for gas. We chatted a bit and I told him come for supper one night, and he may…and he may not. He’s working a lot of OT and has people calling him for side jobs. He said he’s turned down 3 people already–he’s too tired and stretched too thin. He’s a very hard working man, and I couldn’t be prouder of him. I still put him in God’s hands every morning in my meditations and prayer…just like I had to do with him back when I was first getting sober and he was on the streets living a crazy, dangerous life.
Meeting a sponsling this afternoon for some supper and stepwork in the park, assuming we don’t get rained out. Then we’ll go on out to the womens meeting at 7. I need to fix up some supper to take and something to leave for that man as well. I feel like a nap honestly, but don’t quite see how I can fit one in today.
High class problems, eh?
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Fred the Dog, Quiche Magnifique!, Starbucks Sumatran Coffee
Woke up late this morning..stayed up way too late last night fiddling around on the old computer. What a life sucker these things can be, especially if you’re an undisciplined person like myself. I am addicted to playing Bejewelled on Facebook, competing with all the people I know on there. It’s ridiculous. LOL never think of myself as being a competitive person, yet…the proof is in the pudding, I guess. lol It was almost 2:30 before I went to bed.
It’s an overcast day here on the Prairie and there was a sprinkling of rain last night, but nothing to speak of. Only about 69 degrees at almost 11 Am…sheesh. It got so muggy yesterday I had to turn the air back on. I’ve had the windows open for a couple of days, which was nice. Aired the house out, lost the wet dog smell some, blew out some cobwebs, etc. I did some housecleaning and straightened up and had a sponsling over for the day yesterday. I baked a lovely broccoli, carrot, onion, garlic and tomato quiche with a Romano cheese and basil laden pastry crust for our lunch. It was lovely. Then I took the leftovers to the class, cut into little finger sized chunks, along with some of the watermelon, cantaloupe and blackberry fruit salad I had made. Everyone raved about it, so I got my quota of needed adulation for the day. *snork
My back is still really hurting, so after my bath, I’ll put on another pain patch with the anti-inflammatory in it. I have to make juice today, get supper for himself and then be off to an 8 PM meeting. IN the meantime, I just had a great chat (IM) with an old friend of mine from California. Am finishing up me second cup of this wonderful bold Sumatran coffee, and have let the doggies in and out at least 3 times. Life is good…my old pal is trying to entice me back to California…lol
I have a little golden kitten sleeping on top of my feet, curled around me like a fuzzy pair of favorite slippers. He chooses the strangest places to slumber. These kitties are getting so big… Fred the Dog is getting much better with the cats and with obeying commands in general. He still looks longingly after them as they scamper past him, but only makes the slightest bit of a start towards them, and sometimes lets them go right under or around him with nary a look. He’s catching on…I still haven’t been letting the kittens outside around him though…they’re too inexperienced around strange dogs, and too familiar with their own dogs. That saga continues…will Fred the Dog become part of the Kelley household? Will his owner call and come get him?? Will I, in a fit of panic, call the dog pound to come get him?? Stay tuned for this, and other groundbreaking news…lol
((Paxaa)) Last night as we were leaving for class, we saw that there are NEW TRENCHES DUG UP AT THE END OF DETOUR ROAD !!!!!!!! So the answer to your ?? is, no county water yet…but it is looming on the horizon. . We are waiting with baited breath, as you can imagine.
Alrighty then–up and att’em.
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Jack Russel Terrorist, Rebel without a Clue, Summertime
Newsflash!!!
Really stupid middle aged woman plants irises and cannot walk the next day!!!!
So what does she do?? She does even more crazy stuff. Like bending over at a spring that runs out of the ground to fill 29 gallon jugs. That should help.
LOL…I am just not that girl who says “Oh, I probably shouldn’t do this…” Or “They said I shouldn’t do this…” If I were THAT girl, I would still be in that hospital bed and walking around with that goofy assed walker. Instead, I am a rebel, a Know-It-All, a stubborn as a mule kind of a girl. A “Don’t try to tell me” kind of a girl.
So, I plant irises and gardens and do what I can get away with for as long as I can, and then I shuffle around for a few days and am forced to take it easy. lol SEE?? It all evens out in the end.
I had really planned to be asleep long before now. I even fell asleep in front of the computer for a minute, until my beloved Jack Russell Terrorist (Molly) farted a fart so vile that it woke me up. I swear, that dog is 10 pounds of crazy in an 8 pound bag. As soon as I woke up, she immediately stood up and stretched, as if to say “My work here is done.” And laid her sweet little head on my knee for some ear scratches. Against my best intentions, I adore that little girl dog… She teaches me so much about life on a daily basis. Play, play, play until you (or someone) drop(s). Act big, even if you are not. Be fiercely loyal to your family (this includes the other dogs and all the cats). Only eat when you are hungry-no matter what. Get all the pets you can muster. Stay Focused.
Here’s a great picture of her: 
Time for me to visit the Sandman…
Namaste.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blackberries, poachers, Sustainable Living
Middle of the afternoon, and I’m taking break from yard work. Just easy stuff like pulling weeds in the flower beds, picking cucumbers and blackberries, gathering eggs. I’ve just started digging the trench to plant the irises along the west side of the house. It’s only 72 degrees today, but I’ve started sweating, so I came in for a small break and to drink some water. I’ve played hookey from the District Meeting this afternoon…just didn’t feel like going. Really no reason for me to be there…Patrick went and I’ve stayed home to putter.
Did a little minor housekeeping this morning and played on the computer a bit. Trying to take a day “off” and only do things I want to do. lol
We’ve been talking about taking a day off once a week and really just spend it in observance of our life. It’s something the sustainable living courses have talked about…where you unplug, don’t do any retail consuming, don’t use any fossil fuels (if you can help it), and eat and live very simply at least one day a week. It sounds wonderful, but can we really do it in this day and age? I guess there are a lot of really devout people who manage it as part of their observance of the Sabbath, so it MUST be possible. I’m thinking it would have to be Saturday for us. Imagine….a day where all you do is eat simply, laze around and read to each other, listen to music (oops–thaty’s not unplugged, is it?)–ok, make music perhaps. And take the time to slow way down and really relax. To maybe walk in the woods near your home, play with the dogs and take time to pet the cats the way they really like it. lol To use the time for prayer and meditation, napping, whatever kinds of things make you really pay attention to your life and your home and your relationships. It sounds like heaven., to me. Although somedays I think if I was any more laid back, I’d tip over. lol
The dogs went berserk this morning late and when Patrick went out to see, they were running somebody off that was picking our blackberries. Pat said the guy was running down the road to the bridge where he’d parked his car. I guess that part of the yard is probably really county property…but geez….it’s the embankment that goes down to the road. Anyway, I went out and picked today too, and he had pretty much stripped the front area. Oh well, it will probably just help the ripening along to get picking. I hope he enjoys them, and if he was hungry, I wish I could have given him some more food. I still picked about 4 cups of berries from the inside parts of the yard. The weather hasn’t been real conducive for the fruits and vegetables this year. Periods of broiling hot dry heat interspersed with cool mega-rainy days. It’s weird. The green beans do finally have flowers, so I’ll be picking beans within the week I expect. The apple tree is loaded, but the apples seem soft for some reason. The peaches are doing well–the ones that survived the late frost we had. The tree closest to the house has beautiful huge peaches on it–more than I thought we were going to have. The other tree has smaller peaches, but they are sweet and huicy. I picked a bunch more cherry tomatoes today, and looked around at the damage in the garden. We do have a couple of baby bells watermelons on the vines. And lots of squash. Turban, Acorn and Butternut. I am very happy about all the squash, as it keeps so well all winter. The bell peppers are doing fine as well.
Okay. Back to the irises. I am hydrated and rested and ready to shovel a little more. The ground is nice and soft from all the rain,. so it’s really not much of a chore, as shoveling goes.
Until next time….
Namaste.
Stark Raving Sober 