Hello Monday!!!!

How was your weekend? I had a long weekend. I was off on Friday to take my sister to her chemo appointment. She has only one left now. She is doing great!!!

On Saturday I went with a friend to Athens to eat Chinese food. We also went to Dollar Tree. They had all of their Easter things 50% off so I bought some extra plastic Easter eggs. I like to make baskets for Easter and I will put these up until then. I buy so much of this stuff when it goes on sale. I don’t think I have ever had to buy anything for a holiday at the actual time of the holiday.

I have a large bush in my front yard. I am not sure exactly what it is some type of boxwood but it is over twenty years old and it is mostly dead. We, my husband and I, decided to cut it out and put something else in its place. But when I cut all of the dead branches away there was still a lot of greenery left. I read that older shrubs like this can be more susceptible to disease and bugs and things that can cause them to decline. I noticed that it hadn’t been draining well so I cleaned out all the dead leaves and rot from around the roots. I am going to give it some time and see if it starts growing again.

So you can see quite a bit of green. We will give it some time and see.

I got out my mini chain saw I got for Christmas and used it on some of the other shrubs and trees around the yard. To be so small it is really quite powerful. Well to me anyway.

While I was working in the yard I noticed the kitties were quite fascinated by something in the yard. I went to see what it was and it was a huuuuuuge snake. Only a black snake but he was big!!! The kitties would not leave him alone so that he could get away. I finally distracted them enough that he was able to get through the woods and head down to the lake.

Over the weekend I made Watergate Salad or Pistachio Delight some people call it. It is so light and fluffy. Only a few ingredients are needed; pistachio pudding, canned pineapple, cool whip, and miniature marshmallows. You can garnish with cherries or add additional walnuts if you like. I hadn’t had any in years. It’s a favorite dish for family reunions and church socials. I don’t think it’s just a southern thing but I ask my friend from Ohio if she liked it and she said she had never heard of it. I love it!!!!

And finally my irises are blooming. I was afraid they weren’t going to bloom again this year but they are. My nephew and his wife took the entire bucket full I had thinned last week. I was glad they took them. As I mentioned they originally came from the house where I grew up. My mama planted them. Now they are spread out among several family members’ homes. That would make my mama so happy.

How was your weekend? what plans do you have for this week. It’s my Birthday week and my wedding anniversary. I actually got married on my Birthday. But that’s a story for another time.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Friday Favorites

Oh Friday I am so glad to see you. It has been a really long week. Here are a few of my favorites from the week:

I listened to two audio books this past week: The Whittiers by Danielle Steel. A sweet story about a large family who came together after the death of their parents. And though they are all a bit dysfunctional they make living together work out. I know Danielle Steel can be a bit predictable but sometimes that’s just what you need.

The next book was Moon Shell Beach by Nancy Thayer. It was pretty good. Again a bit predictable. When I am driving I don’t like to have anything too heavy to listen to unless it is a long drive.

I needed a new pair of sneakers for work. I like black because they go with everything I wear, imagine that. I love New Balance so I ordered these “fresh foam”, that sounded intriguing and comfy. And they are!!!! They are so light weight and just what I need when I am running all over the property at work. These were on sale for $52.92 marked down from $84.99. I just checked and they are still on sale. I love them.

I wear reading glasses and I have a pair in every room of my house as well as in my car and a pair or two at work. If you’ve ever had reading glasses most pairs are not very attractive. I found these through an ad on Facebook. I ordered them through Amazon. I love them. Only $16.99 for the set. And each one comes with its own little case.

I love these larger frames!!

I actually got this new orchid from my friend Lorie last week but I just had to share it with you this week. Isn’t she a beauty. I named her Kalliope. She is doing great and adjusting to all the other orchids and her environment.

Isn’t she beautiful!!!

My husband and I love to see the musical CATS. We’ve seen it several times in different places. Maybe it is because we love our cats so much. But even before we had cats we loved seeing this. When we heard that Cats was coming to Knoxville to The Tennessee Theatre we knew we had to go. And Wednesday night we went. It was awesome!!! Just like always. Check out the Tennessee Theatre here for more information.

What fun things did you enjoy this week???

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!

Feel Your Feels

A few weeks ago I was at a meeting that I attend a few times a year. I spent some time with a friend that I don’t get to see very often. When we do get together for a few days we have a lot of talking and catching up to do.

This woman is one of the strongest women I know. She has been through so much in her short life. Her husband is currently sick and facing cancer for the second time. They are in their thirties. She is always very positive and upbeat and smiling and never hesitates to ask what is going on in your life and then she listens to every word and remembers it months later. She is a very special person. But she told me something the last time I saw her that has really stuck with me even more than usual. I asked her how she could stay so positive and happy all the time. She said you just have to feel your feels. You can’t push them aside and pretend they don’t exist. If you do then your feelings will become overwhelming You have to feel what you are feeling when you feel it. Don’t bury it. Wow!!! I had to let that sink it.

Webster’s dictionary has several definitions for the word feel(ing) a few that stuck with me : A consciousness or vague awareness, The general state of consciousness considered independently of particular sensations, thoughts etc, a physical sensation not connected with sight, hearing, taste or smell. After reading that, you can see consciousness and sensations are of course a large part of feeling what you feel. That’s scary.

I have always been the type of person that never wanted to feel my feels. When I was growing up we were never supposed to show our feelings. My dad didn’t want us to cry or be upset about anything. I am not sure why. Maybe because there were seven of us kids and if we were all showing exactly what we felt at the exact same time it could have been a little crazy. I do tend to be a bit dramatic but when it comes to feeling hard core emotional feelings it is something I try to avoid. Ways to avoid feelings are not always good for you: overeating, indulging in things you don’t need, too much screen time, zoning out on Netflix, scrolling TikTok and Instagram for hours are all ways that you can block having to feel anything. All of this can also lead to hypertension, anxiety, depression, and the list goes on and on.

So what is so scary about feeling what you truly feel. Will you cry? scream? be bitchy? hard to deal with? be sad? SO WHAT!!! Isn’t that what life is about anyway. Some of those things I can easily give in to but some I can’t. It’s hard for me to say that I am sad or disappointed or scared. I guess I think I will appear weak or unlikeable but at my age I care a lot less about that than I used to.

So to wrap all of this up and put a bow on it I guess what I am trying to say is this: If feeling what you feel when you feel it, or as my friend so eloquently put it, feel your feels, can help you to deal with reality and just life in general then why don’t we do it? Maybe you do. I hope you do. I will too.

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!

Hello Monday

Hello and happy Monday. How was your weekend? I hope you had a wonderfully blessed Easter Sunday and that you were able to spend time with loved ones. Half of the weekend, Saturday, was rainy and cold and Sunday was sunny and beautiful just in time for Easter get togethers.

On Saturday Mark and I had to go to Cookeville Tennessee. Cookeville is about a two hour drive for us. It did take a little longer because the weather was so bad. We went to visit my brother in law who was in the hospital there with a broken hip. It was a fairly short trip other than the long drive. We stopped at Red Lobster for lunch. I had a gift card left over from Christmas. We also had an opportunity to drive through the downtown area of Cookeville and it was just so nice. Lots of little shops and antique stores. I will definitely be going back when I have more time to spend.

While we were driving through Cookeville on Saturday we came upon this awning. I’m not sure what significance the bicycles have but it’s very interesting.

Saturday also marked the one year date of my sister Pat’s passing. She was very sick and we knew she wasn’t going to get better but it was so hard letting her go. It’s hard to believe it has been a year and yet in many ways it seems like so much longer.

My sweet sister Pat. She had the most wonderful personality and everyone loved her. She made friends everywhere she went.

Easter Sunday was fairly quiet. My nephew and his wife came to eat a late lunch with us. I bought a large spiral ham because Mark likes lots of left overs. I made sourdough bread from my bread starter. I had to make the bread on Saturday and then it rises twice and was ready for baking on Sunday. I was afraid it wouldn’t rise very well on Saturday because it was so rainy and cold but it did. You never know it can be so fickle.

Ready to bake. The bread rose nicely.
Black jelly beans are one of my favorite Easter candies. And the sad thing is you can only find the black ones around Easter time. I made sure to stock up today when the Easter candy and decorations were 50% off.

When I got to work this morning a coworker’s mother had made these adorable Easter Chick Pretzels. She left some on my desk for me.

Aren’t these adorable? They were yummy too.

I didn’t finish the fabric carrots that I started. I totally ran out of time and just didn’t have the time or patience to do them in time for Easter. I put them in a project bag and will work on them again next year. At least all the fabric is cut and ready to be sewn. I may pull them out in the winter to work on them.

So into the work week we go, are you doing something fun and exciting?

Always remember

Love your day your way!!!!!