Category: My Life

Sunday was one of those unexpected days. I woke too early, and made the coffee, which tasted amazingly good! I sat down to read and then started making lists of things to do and items to pack for our upcoming trip. I was feeling good and productive and by the time Jack got up, I actually had a load of laundry in the washing machine.

After breakfast, I began doing the housework I wanted to get done, but shortly after lunch, I sat down in my chair and put my head back to rest and ZONK! I was asleep! I slept for close to an hour before Arnie started to bark and woke me up.

When I was fully awake and thought about it I had to laugh! I could feel the sixty-ness coming upon me! In exactly two months, I shall have a “Diamond Jubilee” to celebrate my birth! Or perhaps just a table spread with Confetti Crystals!

I don’t mind turning sixty at all. I guess that’s why I can joke about it. I feel lucky. I am healthy, I have a wonderful family, and a good life.

After doing the dinner dishes tonight I felt sweaty uncomfortable, so I decided to take a shower. Not a hot shower, but rather a cool one. We had high temperatures in the 90’s today with quite a bit of humidity! Ugh! I am ready for Autumn, really I am!

Since Greta’s passing, I have come out of the shower to an empty room, which made me miss her all the more. Tonight, as I stepped onto the bath-mat I found a friend.

My darling girl, Anneliese was sitting there waiting for me. She looked up at me and I swear she smiled! She also wagged her tail, reminding me just how blessed I am.

Happy Monday, Everyone!

 

Today was one of those really great days. Our weather was lovely, we had our friends over to pick peaches, and it seemed the entire day just went along slow and easy.

I’ve been working on the laundry and by later on Sunday afternoon, I will be caught up. I even managed to wipe down all the countertops in the kitchen, twice, and the area is simply pristine!

I heard from some new friends from Chicago, and it was so nice to touch base. I met them this summer and their son played with Savannah at the playground in Falmouth.

I wrote out a few cards, did some paperwork, and made three wonderful meals! I’m telling you, it was just a great day!

The dogs got to play outside, and run around, and they had a good day too!

You see, after the storm, the sun does shine again. Sometimes you just have to be open to it and let the wonderful times come to you.

I was sitting here on Tuesday morning thinking of my Greta. Yes, I was missing her, but I was also thinking I should write to her breeder and let him know that she lived for fourteen and a half wonderful years and had been a good mother dog and a wonderful companion. And I thanked him for breeding such a great dog.

My written German is even worse than my spoken German, (which is almost non-existent. I can order a beer and I can ask for a ladies room and I can also ask to be excused, but…), I asked my friend Uschi to translate my letter, and to clean it up for me. She did a fabulous job, and I sent it off to the breeder, with a picture of Greta and me that was taken a few years ago when both Greta and I were in our Prime!

Life has gone on for me, but I really do miss my Greta.

Last night I was sitting in my chair and Anneliese came up onto the chair and lay down. She let me know she wanted a belly rub, and while I was rubbing it, she started to talk to me just like Greta used to do. It struck me as being very odd because she had never done that before.

Oh, and the funniest thing happened today. Arnie and Lili chased a red squirrel up a tree. Oh, they carried on and on until the squirrel leapt from one tree to the next until he ran up a large tree and out of sight. I laughed and laughed and eventually Lili and Arnie came in and forgot all about the terrorist squirrel!

And I’m off to Weight Watchers. Looks like it will be another good week!

It’s been a crazy time for me this week.  I feel like I’ve been wandering around in a daze. My heart is heavy, as I try to snap out of this and get back on my feet.

My life has become quieter since Greta went to Rainbow Bridge.  I can sleep in a bit more, but her presence is sorely missed.

I continue to clean and clear the office and linen closet, and the new mattress arrived yesterday and the base today. The bed is set up, we just are uncertain if the angle we will put it in the room. Jack wants it under the window, and I want it flush against the wall. I don’t want anyone cracking their head on the window sill.

I went out to get my hair done, and it came out quite well. I cannot believe how long it is getting. I did have her shape it for me and I mentioned that my bangs are not falling correctly. (Read that as they do not fall correctly and cover the scars on my face!) So I am not sure what she did, but they came out perfectly!

I had a Twin Bed to just give away, FREE, to anyone who wanted to come and get it. This afternoon at 5:30 our neighbor drove up and got the Twin Bed to use for her grandson. She did not know I was her neighbor when she answered my add and I didn’t know until she asked for directions that she was my neighbor! It is a small world! I feel good that this bed will be used by another generation of children. I didn’t want to just throw it away.

Saturday is laundry day, and boy, do I have a mountain of it to do! I will spend most of the day just doing the laundry, folding and putting away. Such is life!

The other day I was so hungry I could not stop eating. It was a terrible feeling and I almost felt frantic. Then I started to slow myself down and think.

Why are you feeling so hungry? Why are you eating everything that is not nailed down? What is going on here?

Then it dawned on me. I recently have experienced a few losses in my life, and I was eating to feed the pain. Now, how crazy is that?

So on Wednesday morning, I got myself up, showered and dressed in the prettiest skirt and top I have, (it is over 100 degrees as I write!) and off to Weight Watchers Class I went.

Our usual leader was off this week on vacation, and a really kind woman was the substitute. She was talking about finding our peace, and gratitude and balance in this crazy world. This meeting was right up my alley.

I need to be kind to myself and find some peace.

Now knowing this is half the battle but actually implementing it is a little more difficult. Still, I am not going to give up on myself, and my quest to get back into shape.

After class, I came home and took 5 pounds of chicken breasts and tossed them in the crockpot. I wanted to make the recipe I posted yesterday for Shredded Chicken, which I can have on standby in the fridge for quick meals and snacks. Chicken is Zero Points, so it is a good thing to have handy.

Long ago now, I actually reached my goal weight, but after I did a series of unfortunate incidents and surgeries found me putting the weight back on. Ugh!

So, here I am now, approaching my sixtieth birthday and I would love to be able to give myself the gift of a slightly smaller waistline!

I also feel that if I can drop a few pounds, it will be better for my spine, and overall health. I’m not happy at this weight, and so I will be kind to myself, eat healthfully, and drop the pounds.

Most of all, I will find other ways to deal with the hurts in life. I’m afraid chocolate cupcakes with cookies and cream frosting, Lorne Doone cookies, and fried foods must be banished from my daily diet! Bring on the vegetables, fruits, chicken, and fish!

 

I met my cousin, Janet and her friend, Susan uptown today for the wonderful Craft Festival. It is so much fun, and I go every year.

This year the temperatures were nearly 90 degrees, and after a bit of walking around, we all needed to escape to have a cold drink and some lunch.

Yup, it was back to the Tavern again for lunch. This is now my third visit and three weeks! I had a nice cold draft beer and so did the other two ladies.

Picture courtesy of my cousin, Janet!

We all had burgers and then loaded up on water. Everything was great. As we sat chatting I couldn’t help but wonder why I hadn’t been in here much. Really it is a great place to dine. Very casual, good food, and draft beer.

I started my Christmas Shopping at the Fair and even bought myself a little gift! And tonight I am just beat once again.

Tomorrow finds me going to Mandy’s house for the night and babysitting on Monday for the kids.

Have a wonderful Sunday all!

Saturday was a wet, wet, day. In the morning and afternoon, it rained like crazy, I got soaked and the grass grew longer! It was also 88 degrees during all this rain, so it wasn’t just wet, but hot too. What a summer!

It was time for me to get my head dipped in the fountain of youth, which was just what I needed. There is something so refreshing and relaxing about this. I also needed a good shaping, and Dianne did a great job. For a change, she blew it out, so my usual curls don’t show right now. However, by tomorrow, the tight curls will be back!

Once again, no make-up.

I really don’t like make-up. I have been told I “have” to wear it to look good. Well, you know, I am, who I am, and I hope that sticky wretched make-up doesn’t make me a nicer person! I am almost sixty years old. I’ve had facial cancer, and sort of had things on my face rearranged. But despite this, I don’t think I look too bad, and actually, no amount of make-up will make me a better person.

Greta is doing beautifully today. I am still keeping her on a leash, so I can guide her around safely, but I think we were very fortunate that it wasn’t worse.

So, as the sun sets over Lake Waukewan and we settle in for the night, I will leave you with a beautiful summery picture of the Lake we live on.

Friday was a day of waiting. Waiting for the new air conditioner to arrive and for the SIM card to arrive for the phone. Now one thing I have to say is that the SIM card came, and while trying to install it, I found that the original SIM card was still in there. So why Verizon needed me to have a new one, I still do not know.

I set about setting up the phone, but after 2 hours of getting nowhere, I have quit and will call Verizon tomorrow and have them walk me through it. I wish I lived closer to a Verizon Store because I am sick to death of doing this!

The new air conditioner came and Jack assembled it and carefully we installed it, turned it on, and my goodness it made a horrific noise! We turned it down to a low fan speed and let it run for a bit and the noise stopped. Thankfully. After five days with no air conditioning in the bedroom, I was ready to leave home! The heat and humidity have made Maribeth a very cranky lady!

As stated above, our heat and humidity continue. The rain was not as bad today, but they say the air quality will not change until Monday or Tuesday. Ugh!

So, while the air conditioner problem is fixed, we still must deal with the blasted cell phone. Ah well, tomorrow is another day!

With the continued absence of hot water in our house and the fact that it has been hot and humid,  I decided drastic measures needed to be taken. Friends have offered us their shower and I appreciate that, and eventually, I may take them up on their offer, but on Sunday morning I had a light bulb moment!

I set about boiling water to add to the cold water in my bathtub. I took 4 lobster pots full of water and set them to boil. I then integrated them with cold tap water, to give me enough water for a nice bath. I’d watched countless episodes of Little House on the Praire and watched Ma Ingalls boil water for baths. Surely I too could do this for Jack and me.

Once the tub was half filled I climbed in and I soaped up. I used a scrubby brush, I scrubbed and then rinsed myself. I enjoyed every wet moment of my bath! And it went pretty fast because I knew I needed to share the hot water with Jack.

I called Jack into the bathroom and helped him into the tub. For him, I made two pots of rinse water and then helped him out of the tub. This is no small feat for an eighty-year-old! But we managed to do this and now, as I sit here writing, we are both clean, happy and smelling fresh!

To explain a little about the hot water situation, you see it has almost nothing to do with our hot water tank. What it does have to do with is our Tekmar Control Center. This Controller runs the hot water to each faucet in the house, as well as running the under the floor, radiant water heating system. It’s not the furnace, but this Controller is nearly as pricey and as difficult to get and set up.

We did speak with a company on Saturday and they will arrive first thing on Monday to evaluate the situation. Meanwhile, we wait, and enjoy any hot water we can boil up and use!