Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Norma and Me - The Organizers


An old wardrobe that contains all my exercise clothes

Today Norma, my black and white domestic short-haired cat, and I are organizing my clothes in my bedroom.  We have been sorting and folding clothes to be stacked in my new cupboards I bought at a trash to treasure store in our little town.

I've probably mentioned that I have problems with obsessive collecting.  Doesn't matter if its hoodies or rusty treasures for my crafting...I need it and buy it and pile it up.  I'm trying to change my ways.  I'm not to the hoarder stage but that is my most fearful fear.  Being remembered as the grandma they found buried underneath her treasures one fateful day...not the picture I want to leave for the kids of my kids.

So Norma and I wander through the house trying to focus, stay upright, and away from the computer to complete our task.  As I sit here, Norma stands up against my desk and paws at my camera that sits along side of me on the desk.  She brings me back to reality and the line item that I mean to check off my list of "Things To Do" today.  So I get up from the comfort of my screen and I go back to the bedroom to try and find places for all the stuff that doesn't seem to have a place.  A wooden bowl filled with things I threw in there when we got back from Norway...a small container of bandages, the tie from the hood of a hoodie, a small journal (too small to write in), and other odd items. 


My newest screen door cupboard 

Norma keeps wandering off and so do I.  I guess we have done the best we could today considering our attention span for this organizing ordeal.  My wicker chair is cleared so I can sit and read in my room now.  That is a big positive.  When I can't sleep I can stay in my room instead of going into the livingroom in the middle of the night. 

 I guess its time to start another project...this one is almost done.  A few pictures to hang or set somewhere.  I keep covering up the walls so I lose room for picture hanging.  The screen door cupboard now covers the side wall and the back wall where pictures used to hang.  Oh well - another project for another day.  If it keeps snowing and blowing, I might be home for a couple more days.

I better go see if Norma is taking a cat nap - I might join her.  This organizing stuff is tiring. 

My helper...Norma Jean

Take care,

Bonnie



Monday, November 29, 2010

Defining Friendship

It's difficult for me to put my finger on what makes our friendships work so well.  Not sure I can define what it is that bonds us together at this point of our lives.   Maybe we really need each other.  Whatever it is - it is strong, vastly important and unconditional. 

Some have been friends for a long time and some friendships are new.  We are inclusive and welcome everyone to come to coffee after exercise.  There is no membership criteria and no dues.  If you don't have money for coffee, it will be supplied.  If you forget to pay, we will cover your debt. 

Most of our group of 15 -16 women meet three times a week at Curves in our small town.  Monday, Wednesday and Friday is on my schedule for Curves and coffee afterwards.  On very rare occasions, I have to schedule something else on those days at that time but only under emergency circumstances.  To meet with my friends is that important.  It is a constant in my life.  Some mornings it is why I get up and get going and get happy.

There is no gossiping, backbiting or other evil doing.  We are witty, crazy and laugh a lot about  anything.  We are caring, thoughtful and loving.  We are forgetful, inquisitive and empathetic.  We share ideas, knowledge, and experiences.  We come from every background and nationality.  We have multiple personalities...in the best sense of the words.  We are mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, great grandmothers, great great grandmothers and friends.  We are the best of friends. 

I am so lucky and thankful that I am part of this group at this time of my life.  After world peace, I wish this kind friendship for everyone everywhere.

Bonnie 

Friday, November 26, 2010

Easy baking ideas!

Tomorrow we are celebrating Thanksgiving...between the weather forecasts and work schedules - it was decided to declare tomorrow as Thanksgiving for our family.  And anyway, we can be thankful any day and every day.

So today I am baking.  Actually I'm using cookie mixes to make bars.  A pumpkin spice cookie mix has been turned into pumpkin bars.  The directions called for a cup of melted butter...couldn't be bad I thought to myself.  I frosted them using a can of cream cheese frosting.  I know - sacrilege.  They sunk in the middle for some reason, so we just had to sample them.  I thought about filling the low part with frosting but decided against it.  I'm not sure why.  My expert food sampler claimed that it was very good.  That's why he's my favorite guy.



Then I had a peanut butter cookie mix.  I had planned on making the cookies and sticking a chocolate star in each when I took them out of the oven.  Sounded like more work than I wanted to do so when I read the directions I saw that there was a peanut butter bar recipe.  According to the package you were to mix up the regular cookie directions and spread them in a 9 x 13 pan.  So that's what I did.  They baked for 15 minutes or so.  Removed them from the oven and I took chocolate stars and estimated where they should be - 7 stars by 4 stars - and stuck them into the bars.  When they cooled I cut between the stars and wa la!  Oops - another bar burglar!



Now my Dad is bringing the pies and they will be wonderful but no pumpkin.  So my Guy bought a frozen pumpkin pie and I decorated it.  I made a streusel using 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 cup pecans.  With the oven set at 400, I baked the pie for 15 minutes, then added the streusel and lowered the temp to 350 and baked another 35 - 40 minutes.  We won't be able to sample it until tomorrow...unless I can figure out how to steal a piece and skooch it together.  Hmm...




So all that baking only took less than two hours.  Had I made it all from scratch...who knows when I'd get to bed!  I roasted a turkey (we'll be having two turkeys) and cut it up and froze it on Tuesday.  Tonight I will make stuffing with sage sausage and cranberries.  Tomorrow I will warm the turkey and stuffing and make the gravy.

Then its over the river and through the woods to Jenny's house we'll go. 

Thanksgiving will be complete as we eat together and give thanks for family, friends and our bountiful lives.

Take care,
Bonnie

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Gratitude Attitude

Today my life is like sitting in a warm tub of water - that all over good feeling before the water turns cool.  All is good and no conflicts. 

It's easy to be grateful when all the planets are aligned and the stars are shining bright.  It's those other days when its more difficult to appreciate my place in the universe.

I've read a couple of articles recently about how healthy it is to be actually, naturally grateful each day.   In looking for another challenge, I've decided to try my hand at this way of thinking.  One of the ways to cultivate and express this new way of thinking is to create a Grateful Journal.  Each day I will record and reflect on small and/or huge things I'm thankful for in my life.  Then on the days that I'm not feeling so good and grateful, I will have some recorded reminders to remind me.

I've heard of Thankful Jars.  Little strips of paper fill a decorated jar, daily a strip is removed, you write down something you are grateful for, and put it back into the jar. At some point you can record these little strips of paper or just take them out, read and review your thankful thoughts. 

An Affirmation Jar is filled with simple sayings like "You are the best listener" or "You have the greatest smile".  Each day a strip is drawn out, read and you begin your day on a positive note.  I see these as great gifts that are achieving multiple things - recycling a jar, an inexpensive gift and so thoughtful! 

I'm off to make a couple of these Grateful ideas! 

Today I'm grateful for having a place to express my thoughts. 

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Take care,
Bonnie

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Good Long Day!

It was cold and the drizzle began to freeze on the windshield as we made our way to the first of two clinics we would visit today.  Two appointments to follow up on my husband's tests.  One more test to go in January.  According to the experts, we can deal with this issue.  Good news.

He's a quiet one and never more so in a doctors' office.  I'm the one with the reputation for asking too many questions about his medical issues.  I'm inquisitive to a fault.  I have to go to the doctor with him from now on because he told me we were going to a neurologist when it was actually a urologist.  Even the urologist thought it was funny...along with his regular doctor, the nurse and my Dad.  Sometimes I can't help myself.

It makes my day when I can make him laugh so we had many laughs about this all day long.  He was still smiling at the end of the day - he was a good sport.  He is hard of hearing so it was my way of getting back at him for having to REPEAT everything!!!

I'm in awe because he is so calm and unworried...I think.  Difficult to tell sometimes.  Another good life lesson for me on how to behave when things get complicated.  He's stoic...I'm a drama queen.  He's brave and I'm not so brave.

Between doctor visits, we shop to pass the time.  Then we agree to grab a cup of coffee.  The manager of the small pretzel shop with very good coffee arrives with her small son.  It is evident that he is adopted...he's about five and his eyes are huge and he is animated.  I drift over to the counter to get a cover for my cup.  I learn she has a biological son in combat, a 19 yr. old biological daughter and three adopted kids...one with severe physical, learning and behavior problems.

She and her husband have had many financial issues in raising this special child.  They are getting caught up with their expenses.  Even with all these struggles, she knows raising these children is what they should be doing.  I'm so glad she shared her story.  We need these angels among us. 

This has been a day of revelations and lessons to be learned.  Life is good.

Take care,
Bonnie 

Saturday, November 20, 2010

100 Words: Cold Inside and Out

It was 12 degrees this morning.  The power went off at 6:24 a.m.  We  bundled up in our quilts.  The TV was silent - the furnace was silent also.  By the light from outside, we read our books and waited.  My feet and nose got cold.

At 9:54 a.m., the lights came on...the furnace started.  The pipes won't freeze.

Now it's dusk - the picture outside my window is in black, white and shades of gray.  The air is cold - the flag barely moves.  There are gun shots...they hunt.  Be safe and run and hide.  Let the darkness protect you.  

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

I'm Intimidated But I Blog On!

I thought by reading the Blogs of Note that it might help me with my blogging. So far it has made me feel inferior. My competitive nature did not kick in after reading their wonderfully crafted and descriptive tomes. Because it worked opposite of what I expected, I decided not to tell any more of my stories.


In the past when life has been rough, instead of seeking the counsel of friends, I have crawled into a shell. During these times I have journaled. I write when my world is upside down. That is one of the reasons I decided to start a blog. Writing is an outlet for me but I wanted to expand when and what I write.


And I guess I'm stubborn - I've decided to get back on the horse and just continue blogging and plodding along in my own way. I will continue to blog until I bore myself. You may be bored long before I am. But I will slog on and write as I go.

Take care,

Bonnie

Thursday, November 11, 2010

My Dad My Hero

Today is the day we honor our fallen and active military men and women and our veterans of all wars.  There is no mail - federal buildings are closed - many activities are planned. 

My Dad is a WWII survivor.  He quit high school to join the Marines when word of the bombing of Pearl Harbor spread throughout his neighborhood.  Many of his friends declared they wouldn't sign up to fight and possibly be killed.  There wasn't a moment's pause for my Dad to decide he would go to serve his country.

I grew up hearing my Dad tell stories of the war in the Pacific.  Many Dads didn't speak a word of their experiences.  I heard his stories many times.  He needs to talk about that time and he does to this day.  He is 86 and sometimes wonders why he has lived this long.  He still has much to accomplish and writes a newsletter his Marine Division.

As he talks I see him as the 17 year old high school kid whose parents wouldn't sign the papers so he could enlist and then wearing them down - they consent.  He completes his training and is sent off in a huge ship where he was almost crushed when transferring from the boat to the ship.  The ocean was so rough that as he climbed the chain ladders to board the ship the waves lifted then crashed the boat into the ship and at that moment hands lifted him up into the ship.  Then they sailed across the Pacific to land on unprotected island shores with snipers in the trees shooting at the young Marines running for cover holding their weapons above their heads to keep them out of the water.  Later when a fellow Marine was killed, he was told to pick up the large BAR weapon and carried it in many battles. He was wounded twice.

He isn't a large man but he is a huge hero.  His stories are detailed and he cries when he remembers the battles and the deaths of his friends.

We owe them.  We honor them.  I love him.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

The Almost Completed PROJECT!

I read somewhere a while ago that people who constantly rearrange their furniture are not content with their lives.  I must be contented to the point of stagnation because I never rearrange my furniture neither do I repaint or redecorate. 

I'm feeling so out of character and this brings me to the project I began nine days ago.  Originally I wanted to freshen up the bathroom - the whole bathroom is different shades of off white - the walls, the tiles, the shower surround, the floor, and the ceiling.  I wanted to paint the walls a color.  

Only a week or so later:

1.  The ceiling is primed and painted cream.
2.  The walls are washed and painted Sedona Sand.
3.  The heat grate is sanded and painted cream.
4.  The bathroom is cleaned and the carpet is down.

Yay!!!  I think I'm done and it only took 8 days. 

Now the walls look so good that the shower curtain and window curtain don't thrill me.  They are made of many types of ribbons and trims in many prints and polka dots.  The curtain needs to be tied back or something but it doesn't matter - I will be looking for something different.  The project goes on...

 








Is this my winter of discontent because the scene outside has become so colorless?  Am I nesting?  Do I feel guilty because I don't change things?  Is this easier than cleaning the rest of the house?  Is this how I will clean the rest of the house by painting so it will be clean when I'm done?  Am I doing this because I really want to work on my mixed media/altered art?  Ugh!

I'm off to paint the hallway - only 5 doors and one doorway. It will probably take me 2 weeks because of all the trim.  But in the end there will be no confusing curtains.

I told the SO that he better keep moving or I might redecorate him.  Help me! Help me!


Take care,
Bonnie

Friday, November 5, 2010

Healthy Salad?

In my long standing effort to eat healthy, I put a few healthy items on the weekly grocery list.  Romaine lettuce, mandarin oranges, Almond Accents, Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing and Tyson's Chicken Any'tizers.  My SO (significant other) does our grocery shopping - he knows what a problem it can be if I go to the store when I'm hungry.  It does help the economy when I pull up to our local grocery store, however, and I like to do my part.

I do live in fear that I will have to calculate the calories in my favorite healthy salad some day.  I imagine walking into the local Weight Watcher's meeting where I am asked to record my meals in my food journal...hmmm...best not to start this week.  If a dish contains lettuce, it must be diet food...not so much I guess.

Healthy salad in my world is an oxymoron...me being the moron for thinking I can lose weight using my version of healthy recipes.  My rationalizing begins early on in the food making process in my kitchen.  I have the basics down in my brain - lettuce, onions, green pepper, mandarin oranges and a lower caloric dressing...saving on my carbs.  This is where the meal goes viral...the almonds are good except for the sugared part, the chicken is good except for the breading, and then the portion size becomes problematic.  My intentions are usually good but I fall off the rails when I begin adding the things I really like to my healthy salads.

The concept of losing weight is pretty simple...exercise more than you eat.  I'll be off now to run around the county - again.

Take care,

Bonnie


Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Woman's Rage?

"You know, years ago, a magazine writer called me and asked if I used humor so much because I was a woman and therefore needed to disguise my rage under something less threatening."  - Gail Collins, NY Times columnist

When I read this statement in the NYT, it made me smile.  Only a woman would be asked this question.  Then I asked myself -  am I one of those almost raging women???

I use humor frequently to amuse myself, to make a point and just because its fun to see human reactions to it.  You might guess that my humor is sometimes, might I say, sarcastic or aggressive.  Hm...can humor be aggressive?  Yes, I think so.  I voted yes and I won.

On one of our flights on our trip I sat next to a woman I had just met.  During the flight when  things were going to you-know-where-in-a-hand-basket - where did that saying come from? - she asked me if I was always so jovial about everything.  She took me by surprise with her comment.  I mumbled something through my embarrassment.  (Why?)  My grandson had just told me that I laugh a lot.  It sounded better coming from him.  He's seven.

Well - she soon discovered that my sense of humor didn't last forever.  At some point after missed flights and being herded through the airport from one end to the other, my humor wore thin and the rage began to bubble under the surface.  It took some time for this to happen but throw in being tired and the high anxiety of travel overseas these days and you have humor losing its disguise and threatening to slip into rage.

As I've aged/matured, I think I have mellowed somewhat. I do try to contain my opinions when not asked for them - this takes lots of energy.  I guess that's why I'm so often looking for a place to nap. 

It does help that I live in the middle of no where and like it here.  So I socialize on a regular basis, keep it light and as stress free as I can.  At this point in my life, I like to choose my battles carefully and using my sense of humor helps me do that effectively - mostly.  I'm not looking for perfection in life or in others anymore so I try to lighten up on my own self criticism too.

Laughing is like love...you can give it all away and it just keeps replenishing itself if you cultivate it.

Smile all the time - it drives people crazy!!! 


Take care,
Bonnie


Monday, November 1, 2010

A Project is a Project is a PROJECT!!!

So why is it when you decide to do a project - like simply painting a very small bathroom - it turns into a major, time-consuming, money pit, anger producing, energy draining PROJECT????

All I wanted to do is freshen up the bathroom...its small with white ceramic tile circling the room higher than chair rail height.  So one quart of paint will more than cover the walls with extra left over to paint the shelf so it will look coordinated. 

Because I like my hair to stay in place all day, I know I will have to really wash the hairspray off the walls with TSP.  So I get the white enamelware dishpan out - fill it with hot water and dump in a TBSP of TSP into it.  I get on my rubber gloves that come with my hair color and begin to wash the walls. 

Our house was built in 1949 and a cool, albeit, troublesome detail is that the tub sits in an alcove.  This produces steam that doesn't escape and creates moisture problems within this area.  The SO (significant other) periodically paints the walls and ceiling above the tub surround with cement paint and that takes care of this problem for a while.

I haul in a stool that is too short to get the top of the wall but has allowed me to see the ceiling.  The previous owner has committed the ultimate bathroom sin - they sprayed the ceiling so it is rough and is stained from the moisture.  Now I have to decide whether to continue washing the walls or stop to handle the ceiling.  Darn!  So I get the floor cleaning deal with the disposable pad and soak the ceiling with a cleaner containing some bleach.  Doesn't cure the problem...and I have ceiling dodo allover the whole bathroom sink, tub, floor, my hair and face.

Now its time to have a meeting in the bathroom to decide what to do.  It's decided that "we" meaning ""me" will paint the ceiling.  I picked up the wall paint this morning.  Now tomorrow I will have to find ceiling paint either in the basement where the leftover paint resides or I have to go to the store to get ceiling paint.  Me thinks while I'm there I better get trim paint to repaint the woodwork and door. 

I started out in such a good mood - SO was away for the day at the doctor and doing other errands - and I was going to wash the walls and then paint them and be done by supper time.

It's going to be a week long project and now I'm Mrs. Crabby Pants.  So I decided to share my whining and write another addition so you can empathize with me.  Is it working?  I'm feeling better I think.  Even if you don't care - I will be updating you on this project.  I did take a before picture so we'll see if its an improvement or not.

How was you day?   Start any new projects???

Take care,
Bonnie (alias Mrs. Crabby Pants)