can you say "achy"?

 The other day, I mentioned to the deep water swim instructor that the water exercise seems to help my arthritic knees.  She asked if I felt okay otherwise.  Um, no, I do not. Well, I ache all over and have crampy muscles.  She looked surprised, and said that was too bad.  She is probably 15 years older than I am.  She obviously does NOT have achy crampy muscles.  hmmm.  

Last evening after painting for a few hours, I was a hurtin' unit, as we used to say back in the eighties or nineties.  

Fast forward to this morning in the pool, ahhh, the pool...one of the ladies there mentioned that both her sister and her mother have ALS, Lou Gherig's Disease.  One is wheelchair bound, one can still walk a little bit, both are happy and still do as much as they can, optimistic.  We all have our things, this lady said.  This is so true.  We all have our things.  It was one of those really AH HA moments for me.  I just have to do what I can do, and be thankful.  :)

So after the pool, we dove back in to the painting.  Camille is the roller and the go-up-on-the-ladder and reach the hard spots girl.  I am the trim lady, the cutter-in-er, with the tiny little roller for under the cabinets and the doorways.  (The doorways are a mystery, do we paint them or leave them the living room color?  We chose paint, because ha they needed paint!)

If you would like to see my view from my chair, voila.  A ladder in the doorway.  Cam went driving (Darius is teaching her), so I painted all the trim I could reach, and am taking a break.   She knocked down the aloe plant with the long handle of the paint roller, dirt all over the place...oh well, the plant is salvageable and I vacuumed up the dirt.  

It looks like dumpity dump ville, but it's just because we had to move so much stuff from the kitchen into here, and there are dishes in the drain.  Shh, there are a few in the sink too.  I painted for so long yesterday afternoon, then had some leftover chicken pot pie, which I had made for dinner on Wednesday, and some of the Costco chicken, put things away, rinsed the dishes, and haven't washed them yet.  I never have dirty dishes in my sink, I keep up with them, do not like dirty dishes in the sink, at all.  But I was too tired to do them last evening, and didn't ask Cam because she was painting with me right up until she left for Norwegian lessons.  Paul put the handle pulls on that thing with the baskets I painted last week, when things get cleaned up, I'll post the After picture.

Anyway.  I will wander back into the kitchen and wash up those dishes, clear up the counters a little bit, and get things ready to put back together.  We are almost finished painting...Cam has some more rolling to do.  So far we have paint left, bought only the one gallon, cross your fingers!

The bathroom is next on our list.   We have a new vanity top, a new vanity base, and will get new faucets, as one is broken.  We'll paint it first, because why not?  And, remove the blue tile floors and probably put this waterproof LVP because we have some left.  Camille has a pinterest board with bathrooms, and all sorts of ideas.  :)

I am enjoying my break, there's nothing like a little work to make the comfy chair extra comfy.   

My hope is that we get all the painting finished today, I get the curtains hung, everything put back where it goes, and it looks absolutely fantastic.  :)

Have a really good day.

the good, the bad, and the ugly, aka home improvement...

But first, some congratulations are in order for my second oldest daughter Abigail,  she is engaged!

You never know when Mr. Right will come along, here she is with Derrick.  Aren't they cute?

The bad is truly sad, but not my story to tell, so allow me to be vague...we lost a tiny little unborn grandchild, 15 weeks.  Very sad for all of us, especially the parents.  I don't understand why these things happen, but I do know that Jesus learned obedience through what He suffered (Heb 5:8).  We also learn mercy, and to be thankful for our children.  

It's been a busy few days, had six grandchildren here all day on Tuesday, then three of them stayed for two days.  We did have fun, but oh ho is Grandma tired today!  You'd think I would have stayed home, but nope, Miss Cam and I had plans.  We had spackled up spots in the kitchen yesterday, moved furniture away from the walls, took all the mirrors and pictures and wall hangings down.  This fine morning, we sanded and vacuumed and wiped things down.  She opened up the paint, stirred it, and started rolling while I used the small brush and cut in.  Well, she did not like the foam thingy on the roller.  At all.  She said it should glide right on, and it wasn't.  She wanted a new roller cover, if possible.  I had just changed into my lovely floral painting shorts, and the green shirt with stains on it.  We're five miles from the hardware store and the car was covered in snow, so we decided that instead of making two trips out, as we were out of quite a few things, we would wrap up the paint and go to Costco...and Trader Joe's....and the hardware store.  

Sonja went with us too.  Costco:  yogurt, heavy cream, croissants ($5.99 for a dozen, Camille loves them), a rotisserie chicken, cauliflower rice, protein bars, a big package of burger, and whatever else adds up to over two hundred dollars.  Thankfully I spent considerably less in Trader Joe's.  Some dye free candy, seltzer (black cherry vanilla, yum!), the milk chocolate peanut butter cups which should be illegal they are so good, and shh, four bags of popcorn.  

The hardware store for two new tiny edging brushes and a new roller cover, then home....ahh, home.  But no time to put the feet up, no sir, put away those groceries and start painting!  

Miss Cam says she likes the ladder.  She is a very happy co-worker, cheerful and optimistic.  

Yeah, shambles.  This shows the blue still around the cabinets....and the cooler, doesn't everyone have a cooler in their kitchen?  It was actually out on the deck right outside the door, with drinks in it, but when it got so freezing, they would all explode so we dragged it in, and there it is...

Naked windows, and the line on the wall where the bench hits...we're going to add some furniture sticker things on the back edge of it to try to prevent it.

Curtains have been washed...

You can see the new color on the left, still blue around the cabinets...wish we could replace the counters but it's not in the budget or in the plans...

So, we're almost halfway done...it will need another coat...be glad to finish it up!  You all have a good day, I'm tired and now I'm cold, since I was so busy and now I'm relaxing...:)

not finding the words today...

....I'm sitting here in my comfy chair, not for long, as swim class starts in an hour and five minutes.  I have my coffee, and I've fed the kitties and the doggies and washed up a few dishes.  My fingers are dancing over the keyboard, not quite knowing what to write, was just going to change screens and read news instead...

Sometimes things happen that aren't your stories to tell, but make you sad.  I won't say anymore, but when we trust that God causes all things to work together for our good, it comforts our hearts when things don't make any sense to our souls.  

Oh dear.  We have had quite a weekend, taking care of the little pup, then having lots of people over yesterday.  Football was on, and I found myself getting interested, oh no!  I think when the teams are at this level, they're so good, it's more exciting.  And, being a New Yorker, duh Buffalo!  Then they lost, and I cared!  We had pizza and wings and chocolate chip cookies, and lots of fun.  We set up some dollhouse stuff on the kitchen tables, and the kids played with cardboard boxes and balloons still floating around here from Ophelia's birthday.  They watched cartoons with Grandpa, and played house in my room.  They ran up and down the hallway, and they had a few fights.  

Sweet Blythe...and Old Kitty.

Suri in the foreground, Sunny parking where the good stuff falls...sometimes the kids catch on, and just toss it so they can see the doggies crunch.  

This fine freezing sunny winter morning, I'll go swim, then go out and about with my older sister and older brother, to pick up our Aunt Barb for lunch.  Our father was one of 12, there are only two of his siblings left still living, Barb and Dorothy, who lives in Ohio and has increasing dementia.  Barb's husband passed away years ago, they never had children, so she's a very lonely lady.  

So, the before and after for the Thing With The Baskets Under It will wait, I have the drawer pulls ready to go on, but they needed longer screws, so Paul was getting them at the hardware store yesterday. Once they go on, I'll snap a picture, it looks so nice.  The cabinets look nice too.  I really like the look.  It's so satisfying to imagine something, then actually make it come true.  The wall color debacle however, has been hilarious.  I have them painted a beautiful color right now, a hint of blue, not sure the actual color name, but now with the cabinets this Biscuit color, which has a hue of pink, just a tiny hint, the blue looks bad next to them.  It wouldn't bother me much, but Miss Cam thinks strongly that we need a new color.  So off to the paint store we went, and choosing paint colors is one of my worst traits.  We brought the actual little roller pan with the dried paint in it from the cabinets to have a nice idea of what we wanted to match up.  

This is the cabinet color, which is in a satin, so a little bit shiny...

This is the wall color, which is in a flat paint.  Our cabinets will disappear into our walls, we'll have to just feel where they are.  Only the hinges and pulls will show.  It's supposed to be a "thing", texture being the only difference...the shades are slightly different...I'm hesitant, but you know what?  It's one can of paint.  (hopefully.  If we run out, today's the last day of the sale, we're waiting for the next sale to finish it ha).  (It's also toil and mess and time and work). But.  Miss Camille is open and willing to help, so what is it going to hurt, even if it looks awful?  Maybe it'll look fantastic, and we'll love it.  These days with Camille are numbered, she's seventeen, right now she's taking a breather after homeschooling, she works a day or two a week, but will be going to college, and before you know it, she'll be grown and moving out...it wasn't long ago I had a whole gaggle of girls here helping, giving opinions on projects.  Now they have their own projects, their own homes, and it's different.  It's the way it should be, but it leaves me knowing how quickly they move on through.  

Ah well, now I have to hurry hurry hurry so I'm not late to class...have a good day, and thank you all for reading!

on a whole different note...

 ...my friend died yesterday.  She was a very special lady, she ran my water aerobics class.  When I joined, she made me feel more welcome there than I've ever felt anywhere, like she knew me forever.  She was one of a kind, with her aqua plastic bracelets and her swimming leggings in the pool.  She was the kind of woman who did for others.  She drove her grandchildren to school and to sports practices, and to the Dollar General to get snacks, with money she gave them.  She never missed their games, and she babysat whenever their parents asked her, which seemed like quite often.  She gave me a whole pile of dresses that she had made in her craft fair days, and when I told her how much my granddaughters liked them, she asked if I needed more, she could make them. (of course I told her no!) She was always making meals for people, and bringing cookies to her church, and donating aprons or mittens to someone or something.  She did summer bible school for her church kids, and she put on senior luncheons.  

She was funny and she could tell stories about her grandchildren without missing a beat, running that class.  She prayed for my sister, and asked her whole church to, as well.  She would make the class fly by with her musings, and we all adored her.  She had us going out to breakfast together on the first Wednesday of every month, had everyone's phone number, and made us all feel so...special.

She mentioned quite often during the summer and early fall how tired she was.  I thought it was almost a habit, and didn't think too much of it.  She said it after every class.  I'm just so tired.  Then in September she told me she might have cancer, and by October it was confirmed, and she let everyone know.  She wasn't able to come to the pool anymore, so her husband ran the class.  He kept us updated, and it wasn't good.  It spread and then the chemo didn't work, and she was tired and worn out, and she passed away.  

I knew it was coming, and it still hit me like a ton of bricks.  I'll never see her again, until I get to heaven that is.  She was so lively and fun and and good, and now she's gone.  

I didn't cry when I found out at the pool this morning.  I didn't cry when I went to town with Camille after class, to get a gallon of paint for the kitchen.  (More on THAT later!).  Then when Paul teased me about something and I got upset with him, then apologized and gave him a big hug, I burst into tears...I am crying again.  I miss her, and I will never forget her.  

I won't get into all the details of the dynamics of the class, but there are two classes that go on at the same time, and our class has gotten smaller and smaller.  Some go away for the winter, some have stopped coming for health reasons, and obviously her husband stopped coming last week as she got worse, and who knows when he'll be back.  So I have been going to the other class, a whole different group of women...it's different, but it's still a good workout.  When her husband comes back, I'll swim with him, he needs friends, and probably some of the others from our class will be back.  Either way, I'll get my exercise, but it'll never be the same without her.  

My kitchen project, The Thing With The Baskets, is done except for the handles, so I'll wait on the Before and After pictures.  It looks nice.  Camille and I picked out paint for the kitchen, Sherwin Williams is having 30% off, then I used a $10 off of $50 coupon . I think the color we (she) chose was Aged White?  I'm not even sure.  But it's a creamy-ish white, off white, not quite light beige.  Now, I like a hint of blue or green in my white, but I figured she's so set on this tone, and what goes together, and so willing to repaint, what does it matter?  It'll look fiiine.  We're not starting yet, we have to spackle and sand, prep the walls first.  But Paul's going ice fishing with some friends and son-in-laws and grandkids tomorrow, and Camille and I are babysitting for a little dog named Junie, who is Jon's fiancé 's pup, while they go to Ohio to some friends' wedding.  Then we're going to the symphony tomorrow night...so we won't be doing any painting or prepping this fine weekend.

Oh well, sorry for my laments and sad rambling, I grew so fond of her...when I found out she had cancer, I thought she'd just beat it, I never thought the last time I saw her would be the last time I saw her.  Hug your friends, and tell them how special they are, and your sister too, if you are so lucky to have one.  I have a very special one, the best sister in the world.  Hugs to you, Cheryl.  :). Thank you all for being my friends too.    Good night.

another project!

 I am a second guesser.  The QUEEN of second guessing.  I have had an idea in my head for ages, for this piece of furniture, it has no name, we call it That Thing With The Baskets Under It.  We bought it at an unfinished furniture store a few years back, and I think I put some light stain on it before sealing it with poly.  In any case, I don't love it anymore. 

AS you can see, the knobs are different.  The wood one on the left is what it came with, the flower one is off the kitchen cabinets, I considered spray painting and using...then decided to just use the new pulls we just put on the kitchen cabinets...which means two holes, and these holes had to be filled.  I couldn't find any wood filler, so just used drywall compound.  Paul said it won't work, but Google says it will.  :)

I sanded the top, and will put one coat of clear coat, the rest of it will be painted the same color as the cabinets.  I don't love painting over wood, because wood is nice.  But this wood has always looked patched together to me, on the top it's fine, but the rest of it...nah.  The Second Guesses started to paralyze me, so I had to take a bloggy break.  Not really, the drywall stuff has to dry so I can sand it off and prime it.  And, the paint brushes and the top coat are downstairs, and I've already gone up and down the stairs once today, which is one time too many, in my lazy book.

So here I sit.  In the middle of a project.  The cabinet doors, oh dear.  They are all done, finished, and hung back up.  I can't show an official After Picture, because my lazy rear doesn't feel like putting everything 100% away on the countertops, plus I'm still using the paint and stuff.   I'm in the middle of sanding the wood edge of the counter top too, and it's hard, ha.  So I skipped over to this other little paint project.  Why clean when you feel like sanding and painting?  

Right now, I feel like doing nothing.  A bloggy break is just the thing.

This is why you buy extra cans of crushed tomatoes.  

One coat of primer...

And the second coat...the top is sanded but I haven't put anything on it yet.

I have to tell you a story.  Those hinges?  I was so proud of myself, I spray painted them and absolutely love the finished look, they match the handles perfectly.  Well...

Wait, tangent:  this poor corner cupboard, known here as The Broken Cupboard...true story, I have a picture of Evelyn standing in front of it as a toddler, it was broken then, don't know how long before. Evelyn is 25.   It was attached to the lazy susan inside, there were no hinges.  You just pushed it.  Well, it broke off, and well...true story, it sat in front of the cupboard...for years.  So many years you wouldn't believe it.  We removed the broken inside lazy susan, and put some shelves in there, used the cupboard, with the broken front just sitting in front of it.  When it was finally glued up, shored up with some brackets on the back, and hinged onto the cupboard, 22+ years had passed.  We still call it The Broken Cupboard.  (I think life would have been easier if we named ALL the cabinets and cupboards right from the start.  It would be easier to explain where things are to kids who haven't looked for it but ask where it is.)

Anyway.  The hinges.  I love the look.

 I wanted to help things along, half the doors were still not installed, so I used that drill and put on the handles, then the hinges, so Paul could just hang them up.  Well.  I put EVERY SINGLE hinge on backwards.  He had to remove them all, and fix them, didn't say anything, if I were him, I would have slapped me, ha, not really.  It was kind of hilarious, but then I wasn't the one doing all the fixing.  I can tell he's rather over the project stuff, he does it because it makes me happy.  He doesn't stand there in the kitchen in wonderment that we actually made it look so much nicer for less than two hundred dollars, in just a few days.  

The thing is, projects beget projects.  Camille is convinced that our blueish walls don't match the cabinets, and that we need the paint called Creamy, which is like my coffee....a little bit of coffee with tons of cream.  Even lighter, just a hint of beige.  I don't love those colors, but if she's willing to do the work, I just may buy a gallon of paint.  And of course I'll be painting too.  

Ah well, my primer is dry, so I think I'll go do the first coat of paint on The Thing With The Baskets Under It.....have a good day!

we do it all for the before and after....!

 ....and, it's not after yet.  But, since I'm nice, I will show you the progress....and some of the before and afters...

Before:

After: 

The color went from flat stark white (Alabaster), to satin creamy white (Biscuit).  The pulls are new, champagne bronze, and the hinges spray painted to match.

The coffee counter cabinets before:

And, in between ha:

The doors aren't all on yet, the tables are still scattered with doors and handles and the hinges just got a second coat, because after these were installed I saw all the spots I missed.  But all is not lost, I got a plastic ricotta cheese container lid, sprayed a pile of spray paint on it in the utility room, grabbed a tiny little water color paint brush, and touched up the dark spots, it worked wonderfully.  (The rest that aren't installed yet were given another coat).  

The little screws for the hinges, stuck in styrofoam and spray painted.

A pizza box full of hinges to have a second coat of spray paint

We did take a little trip to Target yesterday while things were drying...Camille and Sonja tried on hats.

I am a very lucky mama to go on outings with such fun girls.

Random progress pictures, that last drawer was overlooked for a second coat, so it had to dry.  Our countertops are the original light blue laminate, all the rage back when I was like 25 and it was 34 years ago, 1991 and I was picking out the latest in colors.  The edges are oak, we're going to sand them down and put some clear coat on them, try to update them a bit.

These doors have been through a lot, a few were broken and glued together, but hey, they still work.

And shh, I still work, too.  A little bit.

This fine morning, one degree out, -17.2C, I headed to the pool.  Oh ho, I didn't want to go, but I knew I would be glad I did, that the water would work it's miracles, and I would enjoy it so much.  It's the kind of cold that makes you wonder if you forgot to put your pants on as you walk down that sidewalk to the gym.  Your face aches, and if you open your mouth, your teeth will ache a little.  

After the pool this morning, Kathryn needed a few things at the store so I went along.  I got some burger in Aldi, and coffee cream, and some salad mix, blueberries.  Then a quick run in to Walmart, I got a nice new runner rug that matches the new cabinet paint, some four dollar sweatpants, and a six dollar zippered hoodie.  

Home, ahh, home.  I still have hardware to drill on to those remaining doors, and we have to clean up the kitchen...I did vacuum last night, and have been puttering around getting some things put away.  It'll be so nice to have it all done and put back together, and I can't stop thinking of my next project...maybe I'll start it right now...

But for right now, I think I'll just sit here for a little bit in the comfy chair, with Old Kitty on the arm, purring away, hogging up all my arm room.  The washer is running, and the dogs are snoring, Paul left to go to the gym, Camille is cleaning her room....I don't mind winter.  Have a good day.

home improvement is painful!

 One day she woke up without any pain, and realized she was dead.  ha.  dark humor.  I am not going to write a Complaining Post, but I will mention that my body aches, my muscles cramp up, and my knees kill when I stand too long.  But somehow we painted all day long yesterday.  

This fine morning, we'll start in again.  The cabinet frames have one coat, the ends and bases two coats, about five of the doors have two coats, but the other fifteen or so, and all the drawers need a second coat.  All the hinges are washed and are drying, I will scuff them a little with sandpaper, make sure they're clean and dry, and spray paint them to match the new handles, champagne bronze.

Remember when I redid my little coffee table?  I loved the colors together, the creamy white and the bronzy handles...so I ordered extra handles (so reasonable on Amazon!), and decided to paint the cabinets the same color.  Now, if you  know me at all, you know I cannot make a decision.  Paint colors just about kill me.  I dither and teeter and reconsider and second guess.  So when I liked the look of the finished coffee table, and made a decison to use that color, it was just a matter of waiting until Sherwin-Williams had a sale.  Then boom, 30% off, so I got a gallon.  The nice young man told me I probably didn't need two gallons, and he was right.  It's expensive paint, but I am not getting a penny to tell you, it's worth it.  The nice young man just did his cabinets in it too.  He mentioned that most people are put off by the cost.  I said, For me, most of the cost is my time and effort, if I'm putting that in, I want it to look as nice as possible.  A lot of things are overpriced and you just think they're better because they cost more.  Not so with this paint.  It's their trim enamel, and yes, it's pricey, like $85 after the discount.  But, why pay forty dollars for something that will show brush marks and not be durable?

It goes on like a dream.  Then it levels out so nicely.  

Anyway, Paul went to the hardware store yesterday to get Camille a nice paint brush, then he had to go to Walmart for some fishing stuff, he's Grandpa-ing this weekend and going ice fishing with some of the grandkids.  So he got the spray paint for me.  He has been great, took all the doors down, removed the hinges, sanded the fronts of the drawers, ect.  My own dad was a grump when there was anything to get done, so I always expect Paul to be that way, and he's not.  He's lots of fun and so hard working.

I just wanted to post these pictures so you all can see what things look like in a normal, organizationally challenged woman's kitchen during a project ha.  Also note the blue laminate countertops.  I would LOVE to swap these out for something in white quartz, but it ain't happening.  We are going to sand down the wood edge though, and put some clear varnish on it, try to lighten the color.  

My countertops usually aren't so bad, but the towels have no where to hang, and that silver tray is full of clean hinges, drying and getting ready to spray paint.  (I love reusing things!)

Every single surface is covered with cabinet doors.  They are propped up on little disposable cups.

Little Miss Camille is such a hard worker, seriously.  She knows how to paint, too.  She can open it, stir it, fill the containers, look over my work and point out all the spots I missed, and be nice about it too.  

Well it's time to get moving, here in the arctic...the air mass that's keeping us in the single digits today is from Siberia.  Well, they can have it back.  Although I do admire the sparkle of the snow when it's this cold, and the way it crunches when I walk on it.  Today, I might not walk on it.  

You all have a good day, and hopefully we'll get this all finished and post beautiful pictures that look like they belong in a magazine.  Wait, that dates me...Pinterest worthy?  Have a good day!

the way things REALLY are....

 Here it is, the newly started kitchen cabinet project.  It always seems like such fun, then:

The counter, oh well...it's how it looks right now...those cabinet doors are all coming off...hardware will come off, they'll be wiped down, painted on the back, then the front.  The hinges will come off, and be soaked and scrubbed, then dried and spray painted.  There is new hardware already purchased, so cheaply from Amazon, the same stuff that's on my coffee table.  So it's a minimal cost project, but oh the work!

Paul has the day off, and is so nicely and kindly digging into this with me.  He took the drawer hardware off, and sanded the fronts of the drawers, so Camille could prime them.  They had those upside down half cup things on them, all the rage like ten years ago.  

Most of those doors are off now, stacked up and waiting for me to get up and get moving again.  My hands cramp up from painting, and my feet were hurting.  

This is my view from my chair...all the stuff from the tables is out there, and all those drawers all primed and ready for paint.  

This fine morning, I did go to the pool.  It was ten degrees F, which is -12.2 c.  It had snowed in the night, and the roads were slippery!  I am glad I went, but I do not like to drive in it.

It's snowing out like crazy, and the temps will be dropping much lower overnight.  It's a good day to stay home and do a project..you all have a good day, and I'll check in later with tons of progress!  Well, I hope anyway!

things that hurt my heart...

 but first, this makes me smile...(that big round lump on Sunny's side is her fatty tumor, benign)

Last evening, Miss Sunny was in a playful mood, she kept bringing me a toy to throw for her.  She did NOT like when Orange Guy planted himself on her doggy bed.  She didn't know quite what to do.  Have I mentioned how much it absolutely delights me that the cats and the dogs get along so well?  The cats rub up against the dogs, the dogs sniff the cats faces and give them a few licks, wag their tails in greeting.  They will curl up together to sleep.  I think Sunny wanted to lie down though, and she is much to polite to be rude to the cat.

Sunny likes to play the game where I have her sit and stay, and hide her toy in the other room, usually in plain sight, but in different places.  She has always finds it.  As soon as she spots it and starts to hone in on it, I praise her hugely, she wags and smiles.  She really likes the game.  

My drive from the pool yesterday, the roads were nicer on the way home.

The camper...the cover all covered in snow.  The camper just makes me happy, just thinking about it makes me happy.  I told Paul recently that part of it is that he and I have such a good time together.  Then I asked him if he was excited about camping this summer.  He just scrunched up his nose and said, I don't know, I guess, and broke my little heart.  I didn't let it sink in too far though, whatever.  Then, ha, the next morning, he was all happy and excited and said, Oh, you know when you asked me about camping?  I DO like it, and I like being with you...I was thinking about it, and realized that!  I just gave him a big hug, and was thankful that I hadn't let myself get too upset about it.  He is who he is, and I love him dearly.  

The grill.  Some people grill in the winter.  We don't have ours on the deck because of the grandkids, but I bought a under-the-grill mat and am thinking of moving it up there in a corner, it's such a pain to go up and down the stairs with plates of burgers.  

Snow...it sure is pretty.

These make me happy.  Money can't buy happiness, or can it?  They're warm and cozy, good traction, easy to put on, and so far, they don't hurt my feet.  Bear Paws, even the name is cute.  

Here's what makes my heart hurt.  The kids growing up and moving out.  It means we've done our job, pushed them into the standing position, they end up on their own two feet, just where they're supposed to be when they grow up.  

I  think there are people out there who jump with joy when their kids are finally out of the house, the happy downsizing empty nesters, who can finally have things they way they want them.  They may be the same people who cheer when their little ones finally go to kindergarten.  

No one wants to read again how I lament the passing of the years and how sad it is that the kids grow up and leave me.  The other day I was telling Emily how excited I am at the prospect of all the kids attending Evelyn's wedding, I couldn't even say it without starting to cry.  It's not just an updated family picture (although this sounds SO amazing!), it's seeing them all.  Nothing brings me more joy than being with them, and reveling in the adults they have become.  

It's unbecoming to brag about your kids, but when you have a blog, you can do it anyways.  :)

I like seeing them interact with each other, and when they start talking about growing up, I can't get enough of the stories, from their points of view.  There are things I didn't know, or didn't remember.  I know I tried my best, day after day, year after year, to love each of them, and to be the best mom I could, but I wasn't perfect of course, and I was tired of course, and there are things I regret, of course.

Molly gave me quite a gift the other morning when we were at the pool with her three little ones.  She said she wished she could do more with her kids but that it's hard, and she wondered how I did it, so patiently.  Oh, I said, I wasn't always patient.  But, she said, that's how I remember it.   Ha, one of them thinks I was patient!

Of course being patient with your kids is the very base level goal there is, it's the building block of everything else.  It's where they get their security.  No matter what they're up to, the parent has a responsibility to put their own frustrations on the back burner, I did it in prayer and need, so that the child could be dealt with in a righteous way, not ever in anger or short temperedness.  I would literally hold my hands right up to God, and ask Him to help them to always be good and do the good.  Patience never came naturally, but I can say that God did give me grace and help.

Anyway, off on a tangent, but it does hurt my heart that the years flew by so fast.  The point of raising kids properly is to get them to the place where they don't need you anymore, then there it is:  they don't need you anymore.  ouch.  

But ahh, the sweet and wonderful gift of grandchildren....a chance to revel in their fleeting childhoods.  When you see your grown children as parents, and the bumps and trials and challenges they meet along the way, and you know those things will just disappear into a muddled blend of memories, and they aren't really big deals at all, just enjoy those kids!  Don't sweat the details.  Yes, you are tired, and I commiserate with you, that's extremely hard, there's no way around that.  But someday, maybe you'll be able to sleep in all you want, and meh, you'd still trade it to go back in time and be with those little ones again.  

Sleep is still quite enticing to me, and I do appreciate a good night of it.  Orange Guy likes to wake me up most nights, but last night Little Miss Sunshine decided to whine off and on until I got up and let her outside, she must have really had to go, what a good girl.  Suri is mostly deaf now, so she didn't hear me opening my door and letting Sunny out the front door. I however heard HER making a ruckus as I caught her red-pawed, rumpling through the bag of stuff I cleaned out of the closet...stale crackers, mmm.  She looked like a little black bear.  I'm so glad Sunny had to go out, to save Suri from a huge tummy ache, or worse, there were those moldy chocolate bars in there...

If I could wave the magic wand and that elusive sleep would wash over me after getting up with the animals...ahhh, but no sir, it only comes when it's time to get up.  I had to drive Camille to work this morning, I woke up on time...then just blinked and was dreaming again...why ,when it's time to get up is it so easy to fall asleep?

It's one of the mysteries of the universe.

Cam's chicken soup was so good last night.  I'll ask her the recipe and put it on here tomorrow or so.  It was hearty and filling and perfect for a dark chilly evening.  

Ah well, not sure what projects I'll be working on today...but I am not bored.  Seriously, after being so continuously busy for so many years with so many kids, a blank slate of a day is still a huge treat to be enjoyed thoroughly....

You all have a really good day, thank you for reading my rambles.  :)

a nice warm pool....

 ...after staying up way too late last night, I got up way too early.  Orange Guy woke me at five, meowing desperately to go outside.  rrrr, little monster.  I had only been in bed since one, which is my fault of course, but we had popcorn and a movie last night, then I stayed up in the quiet afterwards.  

So back to my warm bed I went, noticing all the fluffy white stuff that had fallen during the night and assuring myself that I was probably not going out the door by 7:40...

I did fall back to sleep, miraculously, then woke up and looked out to see Paul shoveling out my car, and brushing the snow off it.  Well, I couldn't skip the pool after that kindness!  So I hauled my lazy rear up and got ready.  I drove through the snow, and I was rewarded:  the pool water was warm.  I was SO glad I had gone.  

Home, ahh home.  A hot cup of coffee in my sweatpants, and oh I'm happy.  What should I organize?  I chose the pantry.  I emptied it, vacuumed and wiped the shelves, and threw some things away.  It always makes me sad to do that.  We had a snack bin with granola bars that expired last year, we had stocked up when Charlotte was in high school, and bringing snacks every day.  There were opened crackers that got stale, and some things that survived like five pantry purges and still didn't get eaten.  There were two bags of Heath bar chips for baking, expired in 2022, I opened a bag just to make sure they weren't fresh, and yuck, awful.  In the chocolate basket, (wait, you don't have a chocolate basket?!), one bar had melted on the bottom, and gotten moldy, causing all the standing bars to have mold on their ends, and I just threw them away.  Good chocolate too, very sad.  

Now the bins are cleaned up and organized, and it makes more sense.  It was a good day's work, and it feels nice to have it done.  

My next job was going to be one of the hall closets, but I opened each of them up and said, nah.  Not today.  Instead, I made keto-ish molasses cookies.  I say ish because the recipe calls for one teaspoon of molasses, I put in a heaping tablespoon.  

Oh Sweet Mercy is where I got the recipe:

Sift the dry ingredients together, then stir the egg and molasses together, add to dry mixture and stir up, then add melted butter.  The gingerbread spice mix I used was 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1/2 tablespoon nutmeg.  I added a splash of vanilla too.  They bake at 350 for ten minutes, but I don't know.  Nut flours burn easily, and I flipped mine over as soon as they came out, and left them on the hot pan so the tops got more done, but the bottoms were already a bit too done.  I wonder if a lower oven, for less time?  They taste pretty good though.  (I used a mixture of brown sugar stevia zero calorie, and monkfruit with erithritol.  

Anyway.  Camille is making chicken couscous soup for dinner, it's bubbling away on the stove, but the house smells like molasses cookies and the brownies she also made.  It's been a fantastic winter day, and I have no complaints.  I did some laundry, did some vacuuming, and did some prime relaxing in my chair.  

Paul is getting home from a trip to the dump, and we will be eating that soup...have a good evening!

not snowed in yet!

 But, maybe tomorrow!  This fine day, Camille and I decided to go out and about because more snow is coming tonight and tomorrow, and we might be stuck in for a bit.  The library was on our radar, and the thrift store because it's Tuesday, discount day for the senior citizens, which apparently includes me. 

Voilia, my amazing find, a vintage Little Tikes kitchen, just like the one we had when Emily and Abigail were tiny!  And, would you believe it was six dollars?  It looks so nice and new!  I hemmed and hawed, but only for two or three minutes, by the time I loaded it up on top of our cart, I was certain it was a good purchase.  I've been wanting a little kitchen for the grandkids, because ha we need more toys in here.  But if they aren't so interested or it gets in the way after a bit, we can donate it it the small children's activity club group.  

Camille found lots of sweaters and a lovely teacup and saucer, Bethany Fine Bone China made in Straffordshire England.  I bought a few books, and a few grandchild clothes.  

We went in the grocery store for just a few quick things, I tell you, it adds up fast.  

Then home...ahh, home.  I decided to clean out and weed through the shoes near the door, then was going to tackle a closet, but decided to vacuum, then sit down with a hot coffee...ahhh.  Then Oscar messaged me, I picked him up and drove to the small city to pick up Sonja's car, was having a repair done.  

Home again, and time to make dinner!  Cam suggested bacon and eggs, okay.  Molly dropped Miss Lydia and Miss Ophelia off right as my eggs were done, they were going to Activity Club with Cam and I.  Did they eat dinner yet?  No, Gramma, and I LOVE eggs, said Miss Lyd.  Perfect.  We had leftover meatballs, so I warmed up a few of those with some leftover rice for Ophelia, and they were happy campers.  I was also making a quick batch of sugar cookie playdough for activity club, so it was a whirl of crazy going out the door.  We were having a tea party with the girls, so we had to remember so many things.

The little cupcakes were from Ophelia's birthday party, I had put them in a container in the refrigerator so no one would eat them.  Cherry turnovers were not homemade, the little donuts were chocolate, from Aldi.  

Our birthday party on Sunday was loud and silly and crazy and way too much fun.  Ophelia kept telling me how nice it was, and how much she liked it.  

Aunt Evelyn with Blythe

Molly, and Josh with Denzel

Mariel, and Emily with Jamie

The birthday girl, Ophelia.  

On Monday,  Kathryn and I needed a few things from the store.  Darius ended up coming too, and Camille, and we met Sonja and Oscar there, then went to a Mexican restaurant for lunch.  It's a real and genuine place, with extremely good food.  I had steak street tacos, and oh my goodness.  The atmosphere was so pleasant, with a big courtyard-like working fountain, which three small grandchildren were drawn to.   No one fell in, so that was good.

This was too funny not to post, it's me and me, aka Miss Sonja Kathleen.  Yes, those are my glasses she has on.  And yes, she was mocking me.  Joke's on her, she looks just like me ha.  :)

Oh dear, I've gone and stayed up way too long.  I have to leave for the pool at 7:40 in the morning, if it's not too snowy out.  I have decided I just am not driving in it.  Well ha, easier said than done.  If it's super bad in the morning though, I'll just exercise here.  

I am looking forward to a day at home though, I am in this rare organizing mood, so I need to go with it!  I was talking to a lady in the pool the other day, her six kids are grown and moved out, yet she still has a dresser near her door filled with hats, mittens, and scarves!  yeah, I have some things like that to weed out too.  

One of the things I bought at that Amazon store is a set of four wax pillar candles that are actually rechargable non-flame candles.  They came with a cord, and you plug them in, two at a time, to recharge.  There's a remote to turn them off and on, or on to lower or more flickering settings.  They were only like eight dollars, and I get a kick out of them.  I also got a candle warmer, which I'll show you a picture of some time when I feel like taking a pic, ha.  It came with a nice sized chunk of the glass shade broken, but I got out the Gorilla Glue, and now the shade is turned just so... I have a new bookcase from there, wood, it was unfinished and I sanded it and put oil based polyurethane on it.  I got a round mirror with a wood frame, the kitchen light fixture, the bamboo thingy that goes under the Kitchen Aid, with little rolly balls on it, so you can easily move the mixture.  Off on a tangent, perhaps.  

It's late and it's cold, and it's snowing out.  Oh, forgot, I got new boots today!  I have not been able to find my winter boots, I wonder if they were in a bag somewhere, I don't know.  In any case, they were at least a few years old.  I bought a pair of MukLuks from Walmart at Thanksgiving time, for $17.48.  They don't hurt my feet, but they don't have any traction on them, and they're pretty ugly.  I decided to order Bear Paws, because they sell them in wide width, and they're real suede with sheepskin lining, and at $54, ouch, but not TOO ouch.  I got them today, put them on, and oh dear, so nice and warm and comfy, and nice traction on the bottoms, they're the Alyssa boots, from Amazon.  

The rich get their boots in October or November, and the poor get theirs in April.  I am in the middle I guess.  :). They were definitely discounted.  There are not too many weeks left of winter, I told myself, but it was a big fat lie.  Maybe in England, where one of my bloggy friends was talking about putting plants out to get sun, and I thought of the frozen tundra that is my deck.  harrumph.  brrr.  

So tomorrow after the pool, I stay home and get some closets organized.  The sad thing is that I am actually excited about this.  Just leafing through that Marie Kondo book has done wonders for me, but shh, I did bring a huge-0 toy kitchen into the house today, but hey, it sparks joy!  

Have a really good night!