THE LITTLE THINGS

Feeling crappy for 8 days,

Busy work week,

Stressful "home" issues,

Trying to keep my head just above the water level,

THEN, FRIENDS DO THIS...

They casually pass off my favorite flowers because they know I love them...

And they deliver the ONE thing I needed in my household of one, knowing that I HATE going to the grocery store...

Both of these things have made me happy all weekend!!!!

Friends.

RAIN WATCHERS 2

We received lovely, soaking rain this afternoon, for about 30 minutes. Not enough to fix things but helpful at least.  And we might have more tomorrow!!!

I went outside to enjoy the rain.  I glanced back at the back door and here were the kids enjoying it as well...

Luci wouldn't look at the camera, focusing instead on the wet stuff.  Pancho is always in picture mode (it takes him a while to move of course).

So Luci finally listened to me and posed for the Christmas Card Picture...  :-)

Oh, goodness.

They are my DAILY entertainment, and are always happy to see me when I get home. (Because they want food or water or the litter box cleaned).

But they are happy so see me, that's the point.

RAIN WATCHERS

We had a tiny bit of rain last night.  Normally beautiful Austin is DEAD.
Such a draught.  So sad.

We had some bad, mean, dark clouds move in with lightening and thunder.  NO RAIN from them however.  NOT A DROP.  THEN, a couple of hours later, we had a wonderful 10 minute rain shower.

I opened the back screen door so "house-cats" Pancho and Luci, could look at and smell the rain.  I moved some chairs to the door so they could lounge and enjoy the experience.

Pancho was first up.  Loving the thought that he might be able to get out for a few minutes (come back in & throw up of course)!

Then, Luci, NOT wanting to miss out on anything (but having to give up some other household mission - and not understanding the rain thing at all) decided to get into it, wondering what Pancho was up to.

Then Pancho just basically says, "hey Luci I could eat you alive if I wanted to leave me alone get away from me go to hell kiss my ass".

You're wondering why I even took these pictures, aren't you!?

The point is that we got 10 minutes of rain.  :-)

WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION

And this is assuming anybody cares!
I've probably shared some info. about my July trip to California previously but here is my vacation log.  I've been working on it for a while, mainly for me.  This was my first vacation without HUSBAND, and I thought many times about canceling it.  I'm so glad I didn't.

Here's what I did...

I flew here (gotta love the name)...

Stayed here...

Played with friends...

Watched this...

Tried to figure out a way to get THIS back home...

Watched A LOT of these  (what fun!)...

THOUGHT about doing this - didn't...

DIDN'T do this either...

Ate these from the back fence...

Wanted really badly to follow these...

Wanted to STAY here FOREVER...

Lit one of these (I'm not Catholic, but what the hell)...

Drank lots of this...

And this...

Had this for sure...

Did this...

And came home feeling proud of myself...

One step at a time.

STUFF STORAGE or THE STORAGE OF STUFF

This is what OUR "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" STORAGE UNIT looked like previously...

This is what MY "in-sight-always-on-my-mind" GARAGE looks like now...

The difference...

$285.00 a month!!!

There you go!  So, what would YOU do????

Grocery Shopping

I don't keep much food in the house.  It's a household of one.
Ok, I don't want anyone to immediately say "oh, how sad".  NOPE, not sad, just facts.


And I have always HATED the grocery store.
REALLY HATED THE GROCERY STORE!


HUSBAND knew that and did most of the grocery shopping.  He loved it.
He's not here.  (DAMNIT!)


I'm NOT wasting away however.  Did you know that there are these restaurants that have the DRIVE-UP WINDOWS?!?!  Yep.  They are all over the place.


So, anyway, more about my pathetic availability of food in the house...
Finally, when DAUGHTER stayed over several nights ago, I realized, oh poor girl there's nothing to eat in the house.  I went to work and left her in a house with only CAT FOOD.  And margarine.  And beef bouillon.  And mustard.  And Stubb's BBQ sauce.  And Tabasco.  And sugar, flour, vanilla.  That's it.


Asidefromthebeerandwineanddietcokeofcourse.


So I went shopping today after a looonnngggg, not really enjoyable day at work.
Here is what my freezer looked like BEFORE food shopping...

Here is what my freezer looks like tonight AFTER food shopping...
I threw away the peas and fruit. 

And I re-organized things.  I'm good.

NEXT WEEKEND...

I'm putting up a new post NEXT weekend.

AND changing my background, geez!!!  

I have so much to say - just haven't had the time or the mental fortitude recently.

I'm getting back into the swing of it though, finally!

"I get by with a little help from my friends!"

xoxoxo

LAUNDRY

Hi friends.

I've had some things to deal with.  I've been gone for a while.

Here's my new thing to deal with...

This is just MY laundry.

Just mine.

I told myself a couple of weeks ago, that of course I would feel motivated, DO THE LAUNDRY, when it started falling on the floor... when the basket was REALLY full.

I've washed my favorite sheets and pillow cases a hundred times (because I love my favorite sheets and pillow cases).  They never enter the basket-balancing.

It's amazing how careful I am now about putting my "to be laundered" things on the pile.  I don't want to say "dirty" things, because I don't really feel that they're DIRTY.  They just need refreshening.  But they need two machines, and somebody to put them back where they belong, to refresh them.

I'm just avoiding this regular sort of laundry.  For whatever reason.?

And, clearly, there is more stacking room on top of that pile!  

to be continued...

NEW FAMILY MEMBERS

I just watched "The News" tonight and it talked about how the Austin area deer population is getting more aggressive. They showed some very disturbing videos.

My view of that topic (again probably political!) is that the deer population is just trying to take care of themselves, as we all are.

I have a mom and baby who have been in my backyard for a couple of months.  I'm pretty sure mom was here last year too, with another baby.

They help me with yard work.  They don't ask for towels.

Mom comes over and lays with baby a lot.  She is never far away.

I keep water out for them (I know not to feed them!!!)

They're not aggressive.  They just want their space.  And I let them have it.

I sit in my chair in the backyard, and they lay about 20 feet away. We just watch each other.

BUT, when I reach for my camera during those times, they run away.
Just like the rest of my family!!

IDIOTS & MORONS

OK!
I never get political here, but I have to tell you, I am so, so, so, so tired of hearing about these three guys...

Arnold.

What can I say...  A complete moron!  Didn't we always know that, though?!

John.

I was a supporter for a while!  I was wrong!  I admit it.

Weiner.

The KING of them all right now... makes me want to take a shower.

Just why?  Don't you think that's what everybody is asking?  Why?

I've never known anybody (hopefully) that looks in a mirror at ANY point in their lives and thinks now THAT is worth taking a picture of and showing people.

What an unbelievable idiot.  

I'm reminded of the SEINFELD episode about "shrinkage".  Elaine is talking to Jerry and George and says, "I just don't know how you guys walk around with those things".

Well said, Elaine!  It's a huge (no pun intended!) responsibility.

SINGLE, WIDOW, NOT MARRIED

Hi friends,

I've been away for a while.  Dealing with things.  And dealing with ME.
HUSBAND is gone, as you know.

Single, Widow, Not Married.  Those are my options for these new forms I'm having to fill out now that I am one of those things... after 37 years.

So each day I TRY my best to get out of bed (and it's hard).

SON and DAUGHTER are having the same problem.

Dang, we just never saw this coming!!

So, DAUGHTER sent this yesterday, as she was trying to do something out of the norm, and get a bit of a vacation in the process.  She and her Dad were really close.  REALLY close!  I'm hoping she had a blast!

Here's the picture...

I like it very much!!

I'm trying to have that attitude each day, too.  Can't seem to do it right now, though, but I'm trying, damn it.

So, apparently, I am ALL of these things,  "SINGLE, WIDOW, NOT MARRIED".

In my head & life, I'm not single or a widow and I'm still married.

I'm just sad.

Plus more.

Happier blogs to come..........

LESSONS - PART 1

I've had some hard times over the past two years.  I'm getting my "new" life figured out slowly.  It's hard, but, thanks to supportive friends, I'm moving forward little by little.

HUSBAND is no longer with me. I still have some stories to share though.

Other than "fucking Sprint", or "fucking Time Warner", he never had too many negative things to say (until recent years!!).  He was the better half of me most times.  He saw it differently of course, but...  that's why we were together for so long.

This picture was from the summer after my sophomore & his junior year in high school.  We were at Six Flags in Arlington.  Oh my gosh, we loved each other.

I miss him.  Good times, bad times, ups, downs...  All of it.  I miss him.

I've learned some important, sad, and wonderful things in the past two years, however.

It's amazing what good things bad things do for you!!  (I know that's a weird sentence but I like it.)

I've  learned...

-  There is never anything more important than relationships.  Good or bad, they control your life.
-  FRIENDS are the best thing you will ever have.  Ever.
-  A sense of humor is the other most important thing.  Keep it.  Always.  Laugh at everything you can.
-  Keep gas in your car.
-  Keep a house key hidden somewhere.
-  TV is not bad for you.
-  The worse thing you ever imagined CAN happen to you when you're not looking.
-  When you think you can't go on, you can.
-  Oprah doesn't know everything.
-  Surplus money is important.
-  Things that bloom in bright colors make you smile.
-  Walking is better than therapy.
-  Stay off Facebook.
-  The litter box needs to be cleaned every single day.
-  Dishes in the sink start to smell even if they've been rinsed.
-  Nothing grows without nourishment and tlc.
-  Google rocks.
-  Flashlights!
-  Doctors are insensitive and make too much money.
-  Sitting in the sunshine is so great.
-  Enchiladas (not chicken soup) cure almost everything.
-  Pets can keep your life going and give you a reason to get out of bed.
-  Keep extra lightbulbs and know where they are.
-  Keep extra batteries and know where they are.
-  You don't always have to answer the phone when it rings.
-  Cry.
-  Laugh.

I have more of these and I'll be sending them your way.  Right now I need to spray my new Lavender / Vanilla Pillow Mist (a gift from someone I love, and now I'm addicted!) on my sheets and go to bed.

xoxoxoxo

BACKGROUND

I need to change this brown flower thing.  It's been there a while.  Sorry.

I'll be working on it.

SOMEPLACE ELSE

I want to live here...

I don't know where this is.  And the rest of the house might be a "double-wide".  You know, one of those attachment things - a work in progress.  I don't care.

I think one could really get their shit together in a place like this.

So this is where I want to live right now.

But just for a couple of weeks.

Then I'd have to have a diet coke from 7-11.  And some cheese enchiladas.

I working on getting back to my life.

SUNSET

I haven't written anything in a while.  Here's why...

HUSBAND passed away on Sun., Feb. 27, 2011, after a courageous, 18-month-long fight with ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.

I'm trying to get my sense of humor back, as he would have wanted.

I'll write soon.  Even with the horrible, final 39 hours in ER and ICU, there are still some stories!!!

Get some rest finally, HUSBAND, and enjoy never-ending Longhorn games.

I miss you.

AGING GRACEFULLY

This is another one of those totally random things, but since the things "on my plate" are pretty serious right now, I thought I'd pass this along.  It made me laugh out loud, and I haven't done that in three days.

I forced myself to leave my house today and go to the grocery store.  I was in a horrible, wretched mood, mad at everybody in the world (except about twelve).

I was stopped at a red light, thinking about all the things that had put me in the horrible mood.  A car comes blaring up next to me and stops very abruptly for the red light.  The cars windows were down, and NASTY Rap music was thundering from the stereo.  It disrupted the horrible shit that was already going through my head!!

I did a major eye-roll and jerked my head sideways to look at the car.  I was in the mood to risk road rage.  Who I EXPECTED to see was a young, thinks-he's-too-cool, punk.  And I was ready to give him my you're-an-asshole stare.

Who I saw driving the new, metallic blue, Mustang, with embellished stripes, AND a convertible roof, was...............

Are you ready for this?

A SEVENTY year old WHITE guy with grey hair and neck wrinkles!!!!!

So I laughed out loud!  He looked over at me and I just gave him a big smile.

And it lifted my horrible mood for a short time. 

Until I got to the grocery store.

You just never know about things or people.

YOU TALKIN' TO ME?

Today was bitterly cold in Austin, and will be that way for a few days to come.  Our 1950's house is a bit drafty.

Cats are cold when it's 90 outside.  So when it's 30 all day, and the wind is blowing like hell, well!

Luci knows she's never allowed on the table.  Even when there are chicken bits there from dinner and the table-cleaner person failed to clean the table.  Never on the table!!


This is my fruit basket.  It's been empty for a while, however, but .....

I guess it's not the fruit basket any longer.  And I DID really fuss at her for being on the table.

BUT, I moved the basket into the bedroom.  She never budged.

Who has time to eat fruit anyway?

A FUNNY STORY

I've been a non-blogger lately.

Idea-less.

Lazy.

It's January.

I have a new vacuum cleaner.

But all of a sudden I have these very random things popping into my head.

So here we go, with the first of several totally random writings...

My dear friend, and top-notch-English-teacher-book-editor, B, is totally responsible for my literary intelligence.  And probably the fact that I can call it "literary intelligence".   I've always loved to read, and have always done the no-no by dog-earring pages that I liked.  I'd go back and re-read all those dog-earred pages many times, but always feeling like I'd violated the book (old librarian philosophy!).  Over the past ten or eleven years, B has helped me be more appreciative of the books I read.  And also let me know that it's ok to dog-ear pages, and highlight passages, and write in the margins!  That means you love the book.

This little short story is from the book, Bird by Bird, by the brilliant Anne Lamott.  Friend, B, had me read this part of the book a few years ago.
It continually makes me laugh out loud EVERY single time I read it.  And I try to read it when I need a good laugh.

***
My son, Sam, at three and a half, had these keys to a set of plastic handcuffs, and one morning he intentionally locked himself out of the house.  I was sitting on the couch reading the newspaper when I heard him stick his plastic keys into the doorknob and try to open the door.  Then I heard him say, "Oh, shit."  My whole face widened, like the guy in Edvard Munch's Scream.  After a moment I got up and opened the front door.


"Honey," I said, "what'd you just say?"


"I said, 'Oh, shit,' " he said.


"But, honey, that's a naughty word.  Both of us have absolutely got to stop using it.  Okay?"


He hung his head for a moment, nodded, and said, "Okay, Mom."  Then he leaned forward and said confidentially, "But I'll tell you why I said 'shit' "  I said Okay, and he said, "Because of the fucking keys!"
***


I just love this story.  I hope it makes you laugh, too.

Stay tuned for more random stuff...

THE LATEST NEWS

Today my horoscope said, "Today you might have to do a lot of communication with friends".

So, I had nothing really to say here right now, but I'm going to say something anyway.

Here are some of today's headlines in the news...

-  The Kardashian woman  -  where did these women come from?????  And why do we care about them?  Or what they do?

-  Octomom - was interviewed on Oprah today, and admitted that she was "a baby addict".

-  Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin, Sarah Palin.  She's still talking. Shut-up!

-  Kelsey Grammer - still getting divorced.  Again, why do we care?

-  Charlie Sheen - who cares about him either?  Pathetic.

-  Kanye West - said something stupid today.

-  Snooki!  Seriously?  Sad, sad, sad, that we want to see this woman on TV.  What a role model.

-  Martha Stewart cut her lip - required 9 stitches.  Ouch.  She tripped over her dog.

-  Brad & Angelina kissed in public.  I think they conceived 9 more kids.

-  And, I think there was other more serious stuff going on, too.

Shocking.

WHAT PETS DO FOR US

I know I talk about my cats a lot here.  They are a huge part of our life.

Luci ...
Basically, the red-headed-step-child - the beautiful, adopted-from-Illinois, crack-baby.  HUSBAND and I love her so much.  Well, I love her, HUSBAND tolerates her.  And HUSBAND knows that her place in the household is important.  I'm sure he does.  She gets the bugs.  Or at least she lets us know where the bugs are,  brings the bugs to us, shows the bugs to us, wherever we are.

I think this picture is just Luci saying, "Yeah, well, so what!".

She hasn't found her compassionate side yet.  She's just 2 1/2.  But then again, she's pretty cuddly and sweet about 3:30 in the morning, on my pillow, with her ass as close as she can get it to my nose and mouth.  LOVE her then!

Luci has a mind of her own, which I appreciate.  She and HUSBAND are having a tiff right now, however.  Luci spilled his water last night, all over his phone, and the remote control, and other things, and the REMOTE CONTROL.  Luci is into her 5th or 6th of her 9 lives.

But then there's Pancho, our 11 year old, 17 pound (ok, actually now 19 pounds - he's beefed up - we can hear him walking across the house!), orange tabby.
Oh my gosh!

Sweet Pancho has started sleeping by HUSBAND - on the ottoman next to the recliner where HUSBAND sleeps.

And Pancho also waits for HUSBAND outside the bathroom.

(Somebody should have washed Pancho's little face today, as he has allergies.  Somebody forgot.)  Pancho is so understanding and tolerant.  Oh, what a love.

Pancho, also, knows to GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY, when HUSBAND comes out of the bathroom - not wanting to be in the way.   And he knows that's the way HUSBAND prefers it.  Again, so understanding.

The whole point of this blog is to say that our pets do so much for our lives, don't they?!

I think they kind of put the period at the end of the day.

I love my cats.

I love HUSBAND too.  Most times more than my cats, sometimes not!  :-)
But, he's always tolerated my cats.