A Few Of My Favorite Things & No Internet For Three Days

Hello how are you? I hope you have had a wonderful week and weekend are looking forward to a great week. It is hot here in the south with most days reaching 90 degrees with a heat index close to 100!!!!

It has been awhile since I shared some of my favorite things with you. You will have to disregard the beginning of this post however because these were not some of my favorite things.

This has been another crazy week for me. It started with me getting a bee sting. I am not totally, where I have to have an epipen, allergic but I do tend to swell pretty bad when I get a sting. The little bas$&@d got me on the side of my stomach through my shirt!!!! I was on my way to the land fill, dump, and had gone over to my father in law’s house to pick up some garbage. His house is next door to ours. He has a gate to get into his property and every year bees or wasps build a nest in the opening where the lock is. I checked and didn’t see anything but then when I put the key in, a red wasp flew out. I went on my way even though he was circling me. On my way back I again checked the lock and didn’t see anything but then when I put the lock back on he came out of nowhere and started circling again. I felt a pain like a hot coal on the side of my stomach. I knew immediately what it was. I went back to the house and got some wasp and hornet spray but I am not sure if I got him or not.

I went about my day and took some Benadryl which made me feel loopy and seemed to open my sinuses causing me to feel really horrible and have a sore throat. Anyway I felt bad all week. On Wednesday my internet went out. Because we live in the boonies we have satellite for our internet system. It is not great. We have Hughes Net. I guess they do the best they can but I have been less than satisfied with them. When I called them on Wednesday evening to report the problem they did several tests on the system and after an hour they told me they would have to send me a new modem. By this time it was 8:00 pm on Wednesday night. Day one without internet. Although the lady on the phone assured me the modem would arrive the next day I was skeptical. And with good reason.

On Thursday the modem did not arrive. I went home from work without internet. Day two without internet. Even though I may not seem like it. I am actually fine without having internet. It is more of an annoyance than anything. I like to read and do lots of other things. But there is just something about not being able to check email, or any other sites, that is just plain annoying. I think it’s more of a mind thing.

On Friday the UPS man arrived at work without the modem. I jumped up and down and begged him to check the truck again. Not really. I did ask him if he was absolutely positive he had nothing for me on his truck and he said he did not. He said all orders were arriving later than usual because of the Amazon Prime Days which were Monday and Tuesday. This did not make me feel better after all I was promised delivery Thursday.

I called Hughes Net, the thought of a weekend in the boonies without internet was less than pleasing. The young man I talked to assured me the modem would be here by the end of day today, Friday. I explained that our UPS driver had already made his delivery and had arrived without my modem. He still insisted it would arrive by 8:00 pm. Friday night. We will see. Anyway, on to some of my favorite things. I will make the best of it.

These are granny squares that I am crocheting. I have been working on them for several weeks. They are really big with ten rows each. It will take twenty of them to make the blanket I want. But I love making granny squares and these have been so much fun. I have eighteen now and I can’t wait to put them all together. I wanted to use mostly light colors with lots of white. I had a spring, summer throw in mind but if I don’t hurry it’s going to be fall.

129dacd5-b396-4932-8e5c-c3c94f36f44f

Hydrangeas. Are they not just the most beautiful flower you have ever seen. This photo is of a bush at work. I love the pink ones. I have a couple of bushes at home but they are not doing as well as these. These are also easy to dry and they last a long time. I dried some of them last year and I have them in some milk glass vases. I will show you those one day.

From crocheting to knitting. I recently finished two pairs of socks. This is one of them. I worked on these mostly while I was on the European trip. Lots of airplane time and waiting in the airport makes for lots of good knitting time.

I finished these purple ones after I got back home. I actually had these almost finished before my trip

I am not usually a reality TV fan but I came across this show a few weeks ago and I love it. It is called “Out Daughtered”. It is about a couple in Texas who had a young daughter maybe three years old. They were trying to have another baby and wound up with all girl quintuplets. So they now have six daughters and they say they are officially out daughtered. I don’t know why I love this show. The quints are four or five years old now and I have been binge watching all the episodes. They are adorable. They all have such unique personalities. The show deals with their day to day lives, which to me seems quite overwhelming. I guess not ever having any children of my own makes me think WOW!! How does anyone do this. Of course they have lots of help from their families. Check it out. You might like it. http://www.tlc.com/tv-shows/outdaughtered.

I just finished this book and I loved it!!!! I read it for book club last weekend. I finished it in about three days. Read it. I think you will enjoy it.

img_3923-2

I just have to tell you about this cream I have been using for a couple of months now. Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair, I saw the commercial on TV and decided to try it. If you are not used to using retinol it takes just a bit for your skin to adjust to it. I apply it around my eyes after I have put on my nighttime moisturizer. I only put it on a couple of spots. A little goes a long way. It really makes a difference. You can see a noticeable difference in the skin around your eyes or forehead, or wherever you choose to use it, in about a week. It really brightens your skin and softens the wrinkles.

Well back to the internet. Believe it or not the modem did arrive later in the day on Friday. A different UPS truck delivered it to my office about 3:30. I was overjoyed. I picked up the box and stroked it and cuddled it and called it George. (you have to be old to remember that cartoon lol)

Anyway the internet is back up and looking back I guess it wasn’t that bad. I had a couple of nights of going to bed really early and probably getting better sleep.

Have a great week and remember,

Love your day your way!!!!

4669C85C-694C-42DF-B9D2-C426714C8679

Who Will Come To Your Funeral?

Warning: This is just the ramblings of an old errrrr older southern woman. Yeah that’s right.

I attended a funeral this past week. A young woman in our town passed away. I was not a good friend of hers but her daughter was part of my work staff. My husband was work friends with her husband so yes I knew her. I knew that she was an amazing woman, mother, wife, daughter, aunt, friend, co-worker. This woman was only 40 years old with so much life ahead of her. She was diagnosed with cancer three weeks ago and before anything could be done she died.

I do know that this woman was loved. You could hear it in every comment, every tear that was shed, every story about her, every hug to her family and in one way or another every person that was present.

There were hundreds of people there to pay their respects. The small funeral home in our hometown was probably overwhelmed with the amount of people crammed into this small building. Actually there was a line of people that wrapped around the building. In the south we call this “the receiving of friends” it is usually held in the evening for a couple of hours and then the graveside service is held the following day. You go to the local funeral home and stand in a line and socialize with people you haven’t seen in a while and make the obligatory remark “It’s good to see you I wish it wasn’t under these circumstances” and “why must we wait until times like this to get together?” Yes why indeed? You may hear comments like “ohhhh the flowers were amazing” and “we couldn’t believe the turnout”.

Do you ever wonder who will come to your funeral? Do you care? I am curious. I know this probably sounds narcissistic but don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind. I think this is something that comes to mind when you realize you are probably more than halfway through your life.

Does the good works of someone or maybe how many friends they have or what they have contributed to their community determine how many people will come to pay their respects when they die? Maybe it is because they have a large family and lots of their friends are coming to pay respects. I know it isn’t the age of someone because it seems the older people get the less friends and loved ones they still have around. Does it matter? NO. You will not even know. But still I think about it when I attend a service.

Lord knows it can’t be based on how many Facebook or Instagram, or any other social media site, followers you have. You can run into “them” at the grocery store and they don’t even recognize you, or feel familiar enough to speak to you.

My husband refuses to attend most funeral services. I tried to explain that it is not for the deceased but for their living family members. It is a show of respect for them. At least I hope this is some of what it means to most people.

Sometimes I think we attend because we think we should. I certainly wouldn’t want someone to attend my funeral because they “think they should”. If this means only two or three really close friends or family attend mine then I’m ok with that. And I hope they bring balloons and ice cream and cake. And daisies. Those are all my favorites. And even if I can’t enjoy those things then I will know that someone else has.

Love your day your way!!!

Mimosa Trees and a Flower Moon

Hello friends, how are you?

I will tell you how I am. HOT!!!! And not in the good way either haha. Summer has arrived a little early here in East Tennessee. The last two weeks have found us with temps in the low to mid nineties. What? What happened to the spring? And it’s also humid so it’s sticky and sweaty by noon. The weather, as far as sunshine and no rain, has been wonderful. That makes for nice days on the lake, picnics, and hanging out on the deck under my big umbrella but who has the time for that. Not this girl not right now anyway.

Because of some co-workers’ vacations I have started a seven day work week. We will see how it is going by the end of the week. This is only day two.

A couple of weeks ago me and my niece Amy went antiquing in a small town near us, Etowah. We had been a couple of years ago and we were so sad to see the difference this time. What had been a small but booming town with several shops and restaurants along the Main Street had almost become a ghost town. The last time we were there we visited at least six antique shops and a couple of furniture stores and ate at a great little diner. I know booming right? you know what I mean. Well this time there was one clothing store and one antique store. There was no where on the street to eat. So sad to see the smaller shops moving out of town.

The Gem Theatre is truly a gem. Built in 1927 as a movie house the Gem Theatre was the hub of the city as far as entertainment. In 1991 the city acquired ownership and throughout the year different productions are put on by talented area residents.

The L&N Depot is also a treasure. The old depot now houses a museum.

L&N photo credit- City of Etowah

There is so much history here. You can get more information about the depot here: http://www.cityofetowahtn.com/2186/LN-Depot

We did go up the street to a great little restaurant called The Farmhouse. They serve country southern cooking. It has been there for many years. It was still as good as I had remembered.

We also visited the local farm market. I love going. They have the best vegetables and other things.

So you can see they have lots of other hand made things as well. This farm is run by the Mennonite community in Delano Tennessee. It is very similar to the one closer to me in Tellico Plains. Remember last year I bought the braided rug. Here is a picture. Of it. I’ll show you a few purchases from this trip in my next post.

I still think this sweet town is worth visiting if nothing else for the one antique shop, the Farmhouse Restaurant, the Gem Theatre, and of course the L&N depot.

I got a couple of good shots during the full Flower Moon earlier this month.

I am leaving you with a picture of a mimosa tree in my back yard. I love mimosas.

And my new favorite song by Lady Antebellum. What If I Never Get Over You.

Love your day your way

Calgon Take Me Away!!!!!

Hello friends how are you? Things here have once again been a little crazy. If you are old like me you remember those commercials advertising bubble bath or bath salts or something like that called Calgon. The commercials showed a very stressed woman trying to do about ten different things at one time. She grabs her head and yells “Calgon take me away”. It then shows her in a luxurious bubble bath with all of her problems dissolving away with each pop of a bubble. The famous Calgon bubble bath could transform you into a new person. I used to say it at work every time things got stressful. “Calgon take me away!!!!! ” One of my very young co-workers once asked, Lisa, who is this Calgon and when is coming to take you away? so cute, I had to explain that no Calgon actually was not a person.

This was my typical Calgon morning yesterday: I was running a little late to start with. I was going to wear jeans to work and decided at the last minute to wear a pair of black pants. I changed the jeans but noticed I then had very obvious VPL showing through the black pants. I raced up the stairs to change underwear. Ran back downstairs and grabbed my car keys and purse and jumped in the car. As I was backing up the driveway I noticed everything looked a little blurry. I didn’t have my glasses on!!!! I Drove back down the hill, I have a very long driveway, ran back into the house and ran upstairs to get my glasses. By this time the dogs are going wild with all the excitement. After all they don’t usually see mommy running through the house. Was this some kind of crazy game mommy was playing? Scruffy is barking and my big outside dog Molly is trying to get in the back door. My husband is standing in the middle of the kitchen shaking his head. I put my glasses on and ran back to the car. I jump in the car, which I had left running, and started again to back up the driveway. My car alarm immediately started and a light on my dash started blinking letting me know my keys were not inside the vehicle. Dang!!! I left them in the kitchen when I went to get my glasses. Again I drive back down the driveway and run to the back door and beat on the door, remember I have no key to get in. Scruffy starts going wild inside the house, barking and barking. I am praying Mark hasn’t jumped in the shower and won’t hear me knocking. Luckily he hasn’t and he comes to the back door and let’s me in. I run in looking like a crazed woman yelling my keys my keys!!! By this time big girl Molly, our outside dog, has run into the house and is galloping back and forth like a pony. Scruffy is running in circles barking and Kitty Kitty is streaking back and forth through the kitchen. I grab the keys and run back out the door. My husband just stands there like, what was that? By this time my hair is frizzy from sweat and humidity and my makeup has partially melted off from all the exertion. Yes Calgon take me away!!!!!

Sunday was Mother’s Day as you well know. I am not a mother and my mother died sixteen years ago. I was never a big fan of Mother’s Day. I admire mothers, they have the hardest job in the world. I am glad there is a day to celebrate them. Although we know they should be celebrated every day. Mother’s Day is always uncomfortable for me. I quit going to church on Mother’s Day a long time ago because I didn’t feel like I deserved the little gift they gave to all the mothers. I am not a mother. Most people just assume when you reach a certain age that you are a mother. It is something that never happened for me and I don’t feel the need to explain that when I go to church and a fresh faced youngster hands me a rose or a pin or something like that. I would always take the gift and then feel like I was an imposter.

With that said I will tell you that my mother was the best mother in the world. I never called her mother a day in my life. I always called her mama or mom. I know you may think your mother was the best but mine really was. She loved to wear red lipstick. She wore dresses and skirts a lot and she loved sandals. She worked the really hard crossword puzzles with an ink pen. She could grow anything. She could also fix any appliance or plumbing problem. Her cooking was to die for. She was the best friend I ever had. I always felt like I could tell her anything. She always encouraged me to do things I was sometimes afraid to try. She always made me feel like I was the most beautiful girl in the world. I think I was about eleven before I realized that wasn’t true. It came as somewhat of a shock but made me love her all the more for making me think that.

This is a picture of me and my mama shortly before she died. The picture is not the best quality and you can tell she is not in the best of health here.

So Mother’s Day is a little sad for me mostly because I miss my mom. And maybe wondering how things might have been different for me as a mom. I am happy for and appreciate all mothers. My sisters, nieces, aunts and friends are some of the most wonderful mothers I know. I get a glimpse of motherhood when I dote on my nieces and nephews and now my great nieces and nephews. Getting the opportunity to do things with them has always been so much fun. I go to their ballgames and school events. Me and my husband are taking my seventeen year old nephew to Germany with us next month. Spending time with them sometimes makes me miss being a mom but for the most part I am ok with things the way they are. That may sound selfish but it is my life.

Anyway enough of that. The rest of the week has been o.k. I am reading a book for book club and am about halfway finished. I have also been house sitting for my sister a few days this week while she is on vacation.

Daisies are blooming in my yard.

I love daisies they may be plain and simple but they are my favorite flowers or weeds? I don’t care what they are I love them and they are beautiful. I remember me and my friends used to mutilate them playing, he loves me he loves me not. Remember that little game where you would pull off each daisy petal while saying, “he loves me he loves me not”. You would always get that special boy in your mind that you wanted to love you and hope against hope it ended on, he loves me!!!! Ahhh if it were only that easy.

This is the book we are reading for book club on Monday night. I can’t wait to hear what everyone has to say. I think it’s pretty good and makes you think about how you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.

I will leave you with this picture. Last weekend I made cherry cobbler for breakfast just because I wanted cherry cobbler for breakfast. It was delicious!!!

Because remember you must always

Love your day your way