One Year

Hello friends I hope your Tuesday is going well. It has now been one year since my sweet husband left this world for his permanent heavenly home. Actually Saturday the 22nd was the day. I spent all of last week reliving that week from last year. It played like a recording over and over in my head. No matter what I did I could not stop the thoughts and pictures from being there. Grief is such a painful ache that simply does not go away. I think you just learn to live with it day by day. But that is all I will say about that for now.

We are out of the “Dog Days of Summer” I’m sure you have heard that expression. Especially if you are from the south. The month of August for us here in Tennessee is just miserable. The humidity is really what hurts us. High temps and high humidity makes for some uncomfortably hot days. The good thing is the evenings start to cool down pretty quick. Dog Days ended on August 11th but I think someone forgot to tell the weather.

I always thought it was called “Dog Days of Summer” because it was also a miserably hot time for dogs. Come to find out that’s not it at all but a dog is involved. I did a post a few years ago about how this hot time of year got its name. You can read it here. I think it is very interesting.

I have been to a few more estate sales with my nephew and his wife. We have so much fun. I bought another crock: I don’t know why I am so obsessed with these crocks. They take up a lot of room but I just love them. I have been collecting them for years.

These are a few from my collection of crocks. I put them on the stair landing. I have several others spread around the house.

I also found more of that Temptations glassware. This was such a pretty green I couldn’t pass it up.

***This is not a big piece I just wanted you to see the detail.***

My family and I attended a sunflower festival last month. It was hippie day. Lots of people were dressed up, and you could pick your own sunflowers and zinnias. Seeing all of the hippie outfits was so much fun. I picked a huge bundle of sunflowers.

***Tractor rides through the sunflower fields.***

In July I had to have the gutters on my house replaced. The gutters have been on the house since we built the house in 1999. They were terrible and I knew I would never be able to keep them cleaned out. Living in the woods is such an issue for gutters. I got a couple of estimates and finally chose a company with a gutter guard system that is easier to keep clean. It was a huge investment but it has a lifetime warranty for the house. Even if I sell the house the warranty goes to the new owners. Making decisions on things on my own is not something I like to do. Mark always took care of those things. I always wonder if I am doing what he would want. It’s really hard to make decisions on your own. You never really think about it until you have to do it. Of course I ask advice from my family especially my sister and she always helps me decide. But I know the ultimate decision comes down to me.

The guys who did the work were great. I was so worried about them on the back of the house where it is three stories high. They were awesome and cleaned up everything after they were finished.

Remember those two old chairs I got at the antique store a few months ago?

***They were in rough shape but very sturdy***.

***I finally got them painted and added to my deck. I love them.***

I leave you with a picture of my goose, Mille. She is still sporting her summer outfit.

So that is just a little of what has been going on with me. What have you been up to?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

An Old Lady Gets Braces

Through the years I have always had a bit of a buck toothed situation going on. I also had a gap on each side of my upper four front teeth. It never bothered me while growing up but I noticed as I got older that the gaps were increasing and I was possibly starting to look like Howdy Doodie. Many of you may be too young to know who that is.

My dentist told me that as we get older teeth shift. Several years ago I had looked into getting braces. I was going to have to wear them for a while and I am talking the full metal package. I decided against them. I could deal with the spaces.

My dentist retired and I have a new dentist. When I went for a cleaning she mentioned Invisalign braces. These are clear flexible trays that fit into your mouth. You can barely see them.

I said I would think about it. I have been through a lot this year and just didn’t want to make any big decisions. Plus they are not cheap. That was last year and I said I would think about it after the first of the year.

Fast forward to May and another cleaning. The lady cleaning my teeth, who I love, asked me about Invisalign. I told her I was still thinking. She said she had them and was in her fifth week. I couldn’t believe it. You could not tell she was wearing them. She went through a bit of the process with me. You have to wear them 20 to 22 hours a day. You cannot eat while wearing them and you can only have water while wearing them. It is a commitment. You get a set of trays based on X-rays of your mouth. You switch the trays out every week. The number of weeks you have to wear them, and the number of trays, depends on how much correcting you need. I said “sign me up!”

I got the ex rays that day and the braces were ordered. It took a few weeks to get them in.

I had my appointment to get them and everything went smoothly. You actually have to have these little buttons put on several of your teeth. Again, the number of buttons corresponds with the severity of the correction. The buttons help guide the teeth to straighten and shift them where they need to be. I received a box with 13 trays, numbered by the week.

One of my buttons kept popping off because it was being placed on a capped tooth. So the tooth was smooth and the button didn’t adhere well to the tooth. I have already popped it off a couple of times and had to return to have it put back on. I have 13 buttons total.

Now, what do I think of these? I can let you know more in a couple of months. I am starting my sixth tray this week. You change each tray every 7-10 days. You can tell when they are ready to change out because they get loose. I suddenly start having a problem pronouncing my s’s.

I have my 2 hours a day down to the minute. I usually have them out for an hour in the morning while I have coffee and eat breakfast. I then take 30 minutes at lunch and 30 minutes when I get home for dinner. It is a bit of a pain to have to brush and floss after every single meal or snack so taking them out is a decision to be made.

A plus to all of this is that I have lost 9 pounds. It really makes you realize how much mindless snacking you do. Or let me say that I did.

I know this is a commitment that will last forever. I will have to wear a retainer at night. I am okay with that because I have been wearing a bite guard for years.

I am sharing a couple of very candid photos of my teeth. It is a bit uncomfortable to put them out there but I want you to know the full process.

***When I first started five weeks ago. You can see the buttons on several of my teeth.***

I will have to wear these for about 16 weeks. I have read that the shifting mostly takes place the last few weeks. We shall see. I am also using a whitener that helps but some of this is just from the photos.

Most insurances do not cover this procedure. But it never hurts to try. Mine did not. It is about a $5,000.00 investment.

I know that sounds like a lot of money but I had become very self conscious of smiling. I hated the gaps on the side of my teeth and these photos don’t do them justice. So I decided before they got any worse I would try the Invisalign. There are days I wish I hadn’t started it. No sipping on coffee on the way to work unless I am prepared to take them out. I think in the long run it will be worth it. I will keep you posted. Pictures were taken on the sides and I can share those at the end of the process.

That is just a little about what has been going on with me. How about you? Have you ever tried Invisalign or know someone who has?

I am not receiving money for posting this but if any of the Invisalign sponsors would like to pay me for my opinion I am willing. Ha!!

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!

The Mimosas Are Bloomimg

Hello friends, it’s hard to believe we are halfway through a new month. How can that be? Time is something that is a bit elusive to me. It’s also so hard to believe that it has been almost eleven months that I said goodbye to my precious husband, my person, my everything, Mark.

I heard someone who had lost their spouse say ” I feel as though I can only ever be 50% happy for the rest of my life.” I totally understand what they are saying. I want to be happy, but there is a part of me that will always be sad. The pretending to be okay is absolutely exhausting, sometimes I try and sometimes I just don’t.

I want to get back into a regular blogging schedule. I may need to do one of those 30 blogs in 30 days posts to get me back into action. I miss the interaction with my fellow bloggers. I am behind on reading your posts but I still love reading them I am just much slower at it.

The weather here has been so hot and humid. We really need rain. The mimosas are blooming. I love them. When I was a little girl we had Mimosas in our front yard and that sweet cloying smell is so comforting to me for some reason. I guess it reminds me of simpler times.

***Aren’t they beautiful and they smell so good***

I am here taking care of the babies. We lost Sadie in April and that was quite a blow. I shared a post about my sweet girl and you can read it here. The other babies are doing well. Bunnie my big dog is getting bigger than ever she weighs 75 pounds and according to the vet she needs to lose about 15 pounds. All of the four kitties are doing well. The month of May was spent taking each of the kitties to the vet for their yearly check ups. I took one a week for the entire month. I can’t take more than one at a time because it is just too much for me to handle alone. Plus the two outside kitties are still a little wild and they require a lot of handling.

I am working about four days a week and plodding along as best I can. Grief hits me at the most unexpected times and I feel myself dissolving into a big puddle. But that’s the way grief is I have heard. It’s not okay but that’s the way grief is. Nearing the one year anniversary is really hitting me hard.

I am knitting and crocheting like a fiend. But you know how I am. I always want to start something new before I am halfway finished with my current project. I have also started beading and making some necklaces. I am still working on getting those just right. This has left me with a lot of WIPs. That stand for work in progress. I happen to have a lot of them.

I finished my crochet sweater I mentioned in my previous post but I decided it was a bit short and I needed to add more panels. . I will soon show you the end result. I love it!!! Update on that. I finished the panels and sewed them on and tried it on and hated it. I took the extra panels off and went back with the original. It is a bit short but I like it like that. I think I will wear it with a longer shirt in the winter. I still want to add some stitches around the neck. I ‘ll show you a picture soon.

I have been to a few estate sales and yard sales and have found some great items.

***This bowl is made by a company called Temptations, and when the woman selling it told me I could bake bread in it I was sold.***

***You can also serve on the top plate.***

***Another Temptations tray. I bought both of these the same day but at different sales.***

***I added another crock to my collection. Sorry about the lighting.***

***I love these little weird looking planters. I usually look for the animals but I loved this little boy fishing.***

Bunnie and I take a couple of big walks every day. She refuses to be outside without me. I love taking these walks but man they can be so boring. We only have a few places we can walk and it gets old. I remember reading about the pioneer women who walked with the wagon train. They would knit while they walked. They carried a ball of yarn in their pockets and walked and knitted and sometimes even carried a baby on their backs. I plan to do a blog post about these women soon. I find them fascinating.

So I decided to put my crocheting in a small satchel and carry it on the walks with Bunnie. I love it. I can only work on small projects so I am only doing granny squares. I put my phone and my keys and my yarn in this small satchel.

***This is one of those Kavu bags that were so popular a few years ago.***

***I actually find it very easy to walk and work on my crochet. It’s fun and makes the walks much more interesting.***

I finally finished the afghan I have been working on for my nephew. When I started it he was a big Tennessee Titans fan and these are Titan’s colors. He is not such a big fan now but he still likes the colors.

So that is just a bit about what has been going on with me. Life is so different now. I don’t like it but I know that God has a plan for me and there is a reason that I am here. I have to have faith in that.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Making Butter and Lemonade

Hello friends how was your week and weekend? Last week I went with my sister to Knoxville and we picked up little Sadie’s ashes. It was a very small box. She had lost so much weight. A sad time for sure. It makes me so paranoid about all the other fur babies.

The weekend was good. My sister, nephew and I went to the Mennonite farm market for the first time this season. They have just opened and they still haven’t got a lot of veggies in yet. They did have some beautiful strawberries. I have never been a big strawberry fan so I didn’t buy any. I started to get some for freezer jam but I knew I probably wouldn’t get around to it before the strawberries went bad.

We also visited a couple of local antique stores while we were in the town of Tellico Plains. Whew!! a little too rich for my budget in several of the shops. We did stop in at a little shop where the owner also does interior decorating. It was just a lovely shop. I bought these little butterflies to hang. I started to put them on a curtain but hung them on this sign instead.

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day for me. Weekends are really hard for me because they were always so special to me and my husband. Last week was my birthday and our 36th wedding anniversary. I got through it but it was pretty hard.

I have been crocheting a cardigan. I am making the panels and will put them all together. Hopefully soon. I spent most of the morning yesterday working on that while I listened to an audio book. The babies sleep all day. It is their favorite sleeping time. They occasionally look up at me with sleepy eyes and go right back to their napping.

***I love these colors. I can’t wait to put all of them together for the cardigan***

Along with cheating on my knitting with crochet I have also been watching a lot of needle point videos. Needle point is really hot right now. I still prefer cross stitch and embroidery. I ordered these stamped embroidery kits from Amazon and was really pleased with them. I got all four stamped patterns and thread and a hoop for $20.00.

***I can’t wait to work on these but I’m trying to finish my sweater first.***

***The kit comes with everything you need. It would be easy to put this in a bag and take it with me to work on while I am out.***

***I may even learn a few stitches I am not familiar with.***

Of course Kitty Kitty is enjoying the box from Amazon.

Have you seen the videos of people making butter from heavy whipping cream? I decided yesterday to give it a try. This is the brand I used from Walmart but any heavy whipping cream will do.

Put the cream in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Start the mixer on medium speed. This entire process will take about 15 minutes. You can also use a hand mixer if you don’t mind holding the mixer the entire time. I think it’s interesting that this is the way people churned butter many years ago. They would collect the heavy cream from the milk from their cows and put it in a butter churn. It took much longer than 15 minutes.

This is the stage where you could stop and add powdered sugar and have some yummy whipped cream.

Soon liquid will appear, this is buttermilk and you need to drain it off. You then scoop the butter and put it in a bowl of ice water. This will rinse the butter of any remaining cream that could cause the butter to become rancid.

You can use this buttermilk for making biscuits or pancakes.

I patted the butter out and added some sea salt. You can add any herbs or flavoring you like. It fit perfectly in my butter bell. I was very happy with it. It is so creamy and delicious. But I will say it it a bit of a messy process.

I also made some lemonade on Sunday. I had a bag of lemons that needed to be used. It was great with some toast and fresh butter.

I leave you with a picture of Millie my porch goose sporting her Easter outfit that I crocheted for her a couple of weeks ago.

Have a great week and always remember:

Love your day your way!!!!!