Wednesday, April 25, 2018

I HURT ALL OVER, MORE THAN ANYWHERE ELSE



April 25, 2018
I hurt all over …more than anywhere else

Ok, so I am late… 

Yesterday, I finished off cleaning out the shed. The shelves that became catch all…  and then we had pulled up 14 red tiles that are 2’x2’. 

So we worked on putting 6 of them back… because after working on them.. leveling over and over… I decided 6 in the middle looked good to me… and gave me a 4 foot square to put two big planters there,
on the side.

But today.. my arms are killing me.. my thighs are killing me.. and my back is killing me..  I told the King, as I was down there leveling out sand time after time…  I have decided… I don’t want to be a man..  Not that I had any plans of becoming one.. but if one comes back.. please make me come back a spoiled dog..

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

ALL IN A DAYS WORK...

All in a day's work...

Today is a day of pictures... this is why I don't have time to blog. haha...  It was a beautiful day yesterday... and suppose to be several more..  After having what seem like a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOG winter... this was so good.. warm  67.... and got so much done.  both of us... so without further a do.. here are the pictures..


a trip to Home Depot and with 2 bags of potting soil.. and 4 bags of mulch.. and these sweet babies.. we should have some pretty nice baskets...




this is the back garden.. and beyond that is the veggie garden and green house.
this garden here has a lot of work to be done this year...  right now it has two bird baths and several yard arts..... so will need to cluttered it.. after we get some more plants in there.


haven't decided what to do with the geese.. I think they will end up in the front lawn garden beds..



This is ugly bird #1


these are all the boxes I will have to break down..  I keep them.. and then go thru them later and keep different sizes for shipping things from time to time..  90% of these will go



going thru stuff... throw some.. (about half of a garbage can full, and some going to church for their yard sale...




More yard art...



the is ugly bird 2... got him for a quarter at a yard sale years ago..


Horse with flowers...  one of those drop in flower pots..


 left over rabbits from Easter...



Time for a break.... forgot to have lunch.. so grab a quick one from the refrigerator... my R.I. friends and family should recognize the  COFFEE UNTIL THE COWS COME HOME.. with the picture of the cows in the car






Angels watching over the garden..  haven't decided exactly what I want to do here.. going to put a couple of roses here.. have a butterfly bush in the back of it.



The bugs are back with the birds..




haven't seen any humming birds yet.. but I am ready.. just in case


 lots of chimes here with signs..
need to decluttered the the deck area..... 




see below for what it looked like before I started...

 Chickens and Buddha are holding down the fort for now..



Owls keeping an eye on the stairs.... solar lights drawing in sun so they can put posted else where



our oldest son and his beautiful wife gave this dog to us.. now to find just the right flowers for it



getting ready for the flies and yellow jackets...  lol


below is the shed before I started to work on it...




There you are... all in a days work.. no one was more surprised than I ... that I got so much done. While the King had his own projects going.. 

Wednesday, April 18, 2018

Spoken word v written word….


Spoken word vs written word….

Over the years, I have been accused of being mad when I write a note to someone.. Even at work.   It came up at a meeting.. when one of my bosses, mention that I had wrote an angry note. I asked if she still had it.. she did…   I asked for it.  She got it and handed it to me..  Before I read it, I asked her why she thought I was mad when I wrote it..  She said it just sounded like it… So I held up the note…… and read it.. I read it just matter factly, like I had in mind when I wrote it.
She said.. well, it doesn’t sounds so bad when you read it..  I told her, that was just the way I meant it..   Again, I asked her why she thought I was upset..  Do I have an anger tone to my voice when I usually talk….  She replied, no.   so why would you assume I was mad?

It happens a lot to a lot of us.. I have seen on Facebook where some one will have to explain that they didn’t mean to upset someone.. And that person, explain they were not upset. They were just stating the facts with no emotion in mind.

I once ask … what do I have to do to get across that I am not upset over what I am writing?  Put smiley faces after the sentence or maybe before it?

Does one have to explain?  How they are feeling when they write a note or letter?   Do we assume from a person’s personality that they get upset easy? 

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Where did the faces go?


Where did the faces go?

These days, you rarely see faces. 
You can be in a restaurant,
You can be walking down the sidewalks.
You can even have people in your house and sitting at your table.. The younger the more so.

I don’t know about you.. but I am really getting tired of looking at the top of peoples heads.

I want to see the smiles, and even the scows of those in thought… as they walk.. I am tired of jumping to the side, so said person doesn’t run into me..   Or their car creeping up on me at the crosswalk..  One time, I slapped my hand on the hood… only to get the finger telling me I am number one..  with a glare.. and I glared back. 

All of these tick me off, but the one that gets to me the most is the times when these people are suppose to be visiting.  The top of heads is all you see, as they talk to you.. or there is a lull because they stopped talking… 

Why, because they are looking at their cell phones constantly.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

It was the worst of times and the best of times..


It was the worst of times and the best of times..

I would tell you that I walked 12 miles to school in a snow storm… but truth is.. I walked 2 miles to school, because I didn’t want to ride the bus. The bus would wind thru the two towns and get to the school 20 minutes after I did, walking.

I would tell you, that I had to get up and change the channel on the tv. But we didn’t get tv until 1950’s and my brother and I were not allowed to change the channel.. only the grown ups could do that.  We didn’t get to watch television until 4pm  and that was for Howdy Doody time.  After that the adults (parents) changed to John Cameron Swayze…  for the news.  We only had one ..and then two channels. We didn’t get to watch tv all night.. we were sent to bed at 7 in the winter and 9 in the summer.  And we were outside in the summer until 9.

And I can tell you.. we had chores.  Mine started out with dishes. Then babysitting said brother. As I grew older the chores got longer. Like getting my brother up, give him breakfast, and then I fed the animals while he ate. I had to feed the chickens… Sounds innocent enough.. but it was involved.  Hauling a bucket of water to the shed. Then going into the greenhouse/feed room. .. kick the metal garbage can with the feed in it.  That was to scare the rats or mice out of it. Before I put my arm in there with the coffee can. So they didn’t run up my arm and send me running screaming.   Then it was head to the barn, throw hay over the door… coffee can with oats in the manger, and take down the buckets, fill them and drag them back to raise up and snap in place..  Then into the house, send my brother to the showers while I ate breakfast. My mother’s rule was animals got fed before us. Well, at least me.
Then it was time to send my brother off to school and I headed out for school.  His school was half mile away.

Summer time was clean stalls was added and weeding the vegetable garden.  We had a Victory garden. Every one had one. It started in the 40’s during World War II.  You grew it in the summer and canned it in the fall.  I was jar washer.  My brother had to feed the dogs and cats. Take out garbage. And later got garden duty.

Then there was the washer … wringer type. Which I hated because I would catch my hand in the wringer, as I tried to feed the clothes thru to fall into the rinse water in the cement sink on the other side.. Then back thru the winger, to the laundry basket. Then up the stairs from the basement… to the line outside.. Attaching the wash corners to the line with a wooden clothes pins.  One time, the sheets froze… I was standing there… with the sheet corner in my hand…I wiggled it back and forth.. and next thing I know …it broke off…. My mother was not amused.

Summer time also was haying time.. but I have written about that before.

Now phones were interesting during those days. We were a 6 party line and then a 3 party line. That meant we had to share it with those families. So if we picked up the phone, we could by chance hear our neighbor talking.  To which one would quickly hang up. So when the phone rang.. we had to count the type of rings..  If it was one ring.. space …one ring that was one family.. or two rings.. space… two rings.. one of the other families.. and three rings and then space and three rings it was us..  We were glad when we made it from the 6 party to the one party.  Children were not allowed to use the phones.  If per chance a friend wanted to talk to you..  Their mother would call and ask YOUR mother if it was ok that their child talk to you. And you were allowed ONE MINUTE.. that was it. As a teen, you were allowed to get phone calls that were supervised by your parents. And still only one minute . Oh, and our phone number?  R-23.. because we were the 23rd family with the name starting with a R.

And God forbid if you ever picked up the phone and listen to the other parties… almost worse than murder… one did not embarrassed thy parents…

Oh, and capital punishment was used often, with children.  Any offense was pretty much met by the paddle on ones back sides.. And no one yelled foul to the authorities.

Later in life I traded all this wonderful world, for one of my own… switching parents to me being the parent.. With all kinds of chores. Sleepless nights with sick kids, meals for all.. and I didn’t gain dish washer for 7 years.. She had to wash dishes, as her younger sister set the table for chores. And then as the kids kept coming the chores were divided up.

Meals took hours to make.. as there were no microwaves.  There were not quickly dinners from the store. Soups, cakes, spaghetti sauce, and etc. were all made from scratch. (for those younger, google making meals from scratch).

I had graduated up to an automatic washer..but still had clothes lines. And diapers… and lots of kid clothes… 

I skipped canning….. as I tried it once. I spent all day blanching tomatoes, putting them into the quart jars with the juice…  sealed them.. boiled them. Took them out.. placed them on the towel and covered……. Only to wake in the morning to not one of them sealing…  so once was enough.

But as I look back on my childhood, compared to the generation now.. I have to laugh.. this generation has no idea how easy they have it.. every thing is pretty well instant.. Instant meals, instant music.. instant television, instant entertainment… and etc…
It might have been the worse of times, at the time.. but as I look back on it.. it was the best of times. 

Kids could play anywhere safely… no one shot kids in schools and churches.. We had dirt road, heck we had dirt..and got dirty.. no one yelled about how we could die from it. We played Dodge ball.. which could have been called bully now.. We drank out of the hose, or the outdoor faucet..  We used our imagination…instead of following a book.  We had animals to take care of.. but we also had animals to love.  99% of us had parents who loved us.. had time for us.. Mothers who stayed home.

Yes, it was the best of times.

What was the best of times for you as a kid?  and what was the worse of time?




Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Surely you jest…..


Surely you jest…..

About a week or so ago, I read in the paper
that one Phil Hart was thinking of running for Idaho congress..  House of Representative.
As I read it.. words that came out of my mouth was… YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! 
It seems he thinks he has a chance of getting back into office because Trump is President, and if people  think he is ok, he thinks people will be open to him.. 

For those of you who are not from Idaho.. let me fill you in on this person.

Phil Hart represented a section of Idaho for may years.. About 8.  Because he served in the Idaho Congress, he thought he has privileges. In my opinion…  See in Idaho if you get trees from the forest, you have to have a permit.  He decided he did not have to.  He built a house out of those trees… and put that house in another person’s name so the Federal government wouldn’t take his house.. as he owed about 4 years of back Federal income taxes.  Oh, it gets better..  See he owed I believe they said 7 years of back Idaho income taxes as well… And when there was the investigation, he figured he did not have to pay them.. and they couldn’t take him to court because he was in the Idaho Congress. And as a serving Congressman he could not be taken to court.   And the final kicker… HE WAS ON THE IDAHO TAX COMMISSION COMMITTEE …. He got to stay an extra 2 years because … he beat out his Democrat opponent .

See Idaho is SO REPUBLICAN that they rather have a bad Republican than a good Democrat..
Thankfully there was another Republican who ran against him and won.  

  ONLY IN IDAHO 



Thursday, April 05, 2018

a good raining day THROW BACK THURSDAY TALE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2005


No Walls, No Floor, or Recipe for Remodeling.

NO Walls, No Floor Posted by Picasa


This is the recipe for remodeling your
bathroom..If you have only one bathroom.

FIRST RULE: DON'T...do it yourself....

SECOND RULE: Knowing you have
already skipped Rule One.... make sure
you have some one who knows that they
are doing, to help you....if you insist on
this being a as a self improvement job. .

So you are insisting on doing this
yourself... Sad, real sad. But here I will
give you the recipe. And for gosh, sakes
don't skip the rest of this.

Check out a book or buy one at Home
Depot. This can be skipped if you paid
attention to Rule Two, and have a
qualified contractor friend/family
member who will help you.

Next, make sure you have all the tools.
As hammer, screwdriver and saw is not
enough. If you have that friend/family
member, they can help you in this
department. They may have all the tools
you need. Or they will take you to Home
Depot or such, to buy or rent what you
and the person don't have.

Next, expect at least two weeks to do this
job, and if you have skipped Rule Two,
well, sorry, wife, but this project will never
be done and you will be lucky enough to
have a toilet in 2 weeks.

Next, look into the possibility of Port-a-
Potties for 2 weeks. Maybe you should
rent a camp trailer or borrow one. You
will need it. For the toilet part. And if it
gets too hot between spouses, one of you
can sleep in there.

Next, and listen really well. Make a list
of good friends. Really good friends. And
how close they are to your house is where
they will rank on this list. These friends are
very important. Because they are the ones
you will hint about using their showers for
the next 2 to 3 weeks. Of course by day 3, you
may not have to hint, the smell will have
them offering, or they will shut their blinds
and turn off the lights at night.

Next, in your budget,...... you are going to
make up a budget of supplies before you
start, aren't you? No? You thought you wing
it as you go along? Oh, boy, this is going to
be worse than I thought, no budget planning.

It won't be any good anyway, I guess. As
when you tear out the walls and floor, you
will find rot. Lots of little spots of rotted
beams. So included at least 6 extra beams
in your list of supplies. But also on this list....
the price of a dozen roses for each one of
your female friends who let you use their
shower, and listen to your tales of woe...
Beer for the guy friends.

Are you scared yet? Be afraid...very afraid.
We did Rule Two, and we are on the down
hill side of the remodel. We are within a day
of having it all done. Oops, should not have
said that... maybe two or three days left.

But boy, is this going to be looking great...
Thanks to one of Sweetie's best friends,
who is helping. And next month, the
remodeling will be just a memory. And
we will have a room of pride, instead
of cringing, when some one ask to use
the room.

Wednesday, April 04, 2018

The King's birthday....


The King’s birthday….

Today is the King’s birthday.. and he has finally gotten old enough to understand my saying.. it is just another day…  That only 5’s and 10’s count now..  The rest are just betweens…

We can always remember when each other’s birthday is… see his is today…. And mine is tomorrow..  And our 5’s and 10’s are off center of each others.. So we can really make it a special day,  without over shadowing the other. He has 4 more years to his.. I have 2 more years to mine..  Me being the older one.

We use to celebrate by going out to dinner for his and breakfast for mine..  This year we settled for lunch the day before his.  Ha ha. .. 

But his buddy is taking him out for lunch today.. It seems friends make more of it than we do.

Like I said.. to us… it is just another day..  with cards.  Oh, even with us telling others.. no gifts.. we still get them.. and they have caught on to gift cards for us buying flowers and plants..   So I guess you could say our birthday’s go on for a couple of months..   As it is June and July before we cash them in for our garden supplies.. 

So how about you… is your birthday still a big deal….or has it gotten to be.. just another day??



Tuesday, April 03, 2018

April, April, April….


April, April, April….

What are we going to do with you April. After the month of March which had what ever weather you wanted..  snow, rain, cold, warm, even a thunder storm.

But then April 1st came along.. with hopes of Spring in the air..  This year.. April 1st was not only April Fool’s Day but also Easter as well. 
And we all woke with great hopes of good food, thanking God for giving his son for a short time.. and sadly taking him away to pay for our sins. And on Easter we celebrate his rising..

But Mother Nature had a different idea.. Instead of giving us a warm Spring day.. with some still hiding Easter eggs..  they had to do it in  SNOW. 

We thought we were done.. but no, Mother Nature says.  And to make sure we understood, she threw some more at us on April 2nd… So is it going to be April that comes in like lion and goes out like a lamb?  Changing to those April showers for May flowers?
April, we understand lots of rain, but we are really sick and tired of snow.  But the good news the snow of these past two days are melting for the most part. Some of the higher levels have hung on to it.

I truly feel sorry for the bulbs that are sticking their noses up thru the dirt in hopes of growing into beautiful flowers..

April is also the start of many birthdays.. Gal pal started it out on April Fool Day, the Kings best buddy, on the 2nd.. and today is Susan our friend, and Danny our grandson..  and then there is the 4th is the King’s birthday… leading to the 5th being mine… and then a niece on the 8th..with two cousins and another great neice on the 14.  Oh, forgot Susan my boss of years gone by and Michael a fellow worker of years gone by, on the 13th, which happen to be my mother’s birthday.. with the 16th being my sister in law Mary’s … followed by the 20th of a fellow worker of the 1959 time.. Judy.. followed by the 22.. the Earth Day birthday girls… Betty K and my baby girl, Jeanette..  There were my uncle and my grandmothers on the 26th I believe.. I have a friend Marianne who can almost match me with April birthdays in her family.   So for anyone I forgot..HAPPY APRIL BIRTHDAY..