Random thoughts

Why do people water their lawns, to make them grow, so they have to cut them more often? I figure God has a plan for how much rain he wants my lawn to have, so far be it from me to spend money and time watering grass that will only make more work for me if it grows faster. Besides, I am always secretly pleased when after the fall rains, my grass is just as green as those that have been tenderly cared for with sprinklers all throughout the long, hot , dry, summer. I hope my grass decides to perform again this fall. Watch, it would be my luck that this year it totally gives up and in the spring we will have nothing but dirt and weeds in our yard. My daughter did comment on the fact that we have cabbages growing in our front yard. Upon closer inspection, they are actually violets, but far be it from me to be giving horticulture lessons. I'm the one with the green weeds and straw for grass.

Butterflies- have you noticed the plethora of them this year? I feel bad every time one crashes into my windshield as I am driving. It's not like you can avoid them as they flutter up and over , then take a dive right into your grill. They also seem to be all over the yard and trees. What a beautiful sight.

Smoking deals... I was looking for new jeans at Kohls (my old ones, actually new last January, are TWO sizes too big, so I needed new ones- by product of having high blood pressure that my Dr. wanted to treat without medicines, thus the pound a week weight loss regimen since the first of June.) Anyway, I had a $20 bonus credit from my daughter, and a $5 credit for her signing up for email. Then I asked if there was a coupon for using a charge, and got another 15% off. So I was able to get 2 pairs of jeans ( in my new size!!) for $9.58, which I promptly paid off as we are on the Dave Ramsey no credit card program. They had originally been $36 and $49, so as my step mom says, I made out like a bandit. And I am happy to say, my blood pressure has been back to normal. Lower than normal actually. Much lower. Think she'll tell me to start gaining a pound a week? Oh I can only dream...

Where does all the poundage that one sheds go? I have visions of fat cells floating all over the universe, leaving one body and finding another one to latch onto. You know all the people that say they LOST weight? I talk to just as many that say they have GAINED weight. So there must just be this constant exchange of phantom fat cells that randomly move from body to body. That must be why runners don't have the fat cells attaching themselves to them- they are in a constant state of motion and fat cells must be slow. That really is random. I need to go have some chocolate. And some sleep.

The Avoidance Walk- another lesson from my dog

Our dog, Abbie, has acquired a new behavior lately. When she sees another dog approaching on our walk, she crouches down as low as she can go and just waits for the dog/owner to get close enough, and then... she pounces on them, pulling with the force of a Mack truck ( my shoulders can attest to the fact. I no longer need to lift weights on my left side...) Needless to say, this is extremely disconcerting to both the canine prey and also the owners that look at me like I have grown two heads. How can one dog be so out of control? ( I'm sure it is hilarious watching me flail as I am pulling back with two hands with all my strength , as Abbie is at a full force throttle towards her intended victim.) If I thought that she would just greet the dog friendly like , sniffing privates and exchanging tail wags, I would let her go. Unfortunately, she has become crotchety in her ripe ole age of 56 (how I can soon relate..) and I never know if her greeting will be one of niceness or of growls and attack mode. Ugh.

So I have entered into a new phase of my walking her, and it is called avoid any dog at any time. I have been known to cut through the woods, traipse across muddy fields, or take the looonnng way around the park if I see a dog approaching. Makes for some interesting walks....

Made me think of the times that I have gone out of my way in life to avoid something unpleasant- the detours I have taken to avoid a possible conflict. How often to we allow ourselves to veer off our direct path, to avoid some obstacle that may or may not harm us?
What if I just crouched down and waited for the imagined disaster to happen? I may be surprised that it never comes to friution. And if it does, I am in a position to look around and see my best course of action.

What are you avoiding? How far do you go out of your way to avoid conflict?

The State of Forgetfulness

I know now why as you get older, you get frustrated because you can't find anything anymore and your kids start to think you are crazy (-er than they already think). I think I have discovered the problem. As you begin to do the big D ( downsize), you start getting rid of things. And the next week you don't remember getting rid of what you got rid of , so you spend endless minutes, hours searching for the item that you gave to Goodwill a week ago. I have started keeping a detailed list ( color, brand, size) of items I donate, not only to cash in on the tax break, but as a reference sheet when I KNOW I saw that shirt somewhere in my closet and am unable to find it. That way, after I have searched unproductively for awhile, I can check my list to see if it is worth continuing to look for, or if it indeed made it to the brown bag in the hallway that collects items to give away. What are your coping tricks? Can you remember any to share? Wait, let me get my sticky note to write it down before I forget!

Attempt at posting pictures

Michael and Deanna's landscaping on their new house. Looks great , doesn't it? OK my attempts are over as every new pic goes on top of the old. I need my live in tech who moved out and is relocating in Oklahoma. Miss you, Arika!

Here is a pic of the journals the girls and I are making for our upcoming craft show in the fall. ( Like I don't have enough to do!) But it is very fun, relaxing, and gives us quality time together. ( I can hear them now saying, Oh, Mother!) These are actually our older ones that sold.

OK, can't figure out how to not have the pics next to each other...any help out there?

Great sunset fam pic on the dock at Ernie Cooper's Cabin which we rented for a week in Michigan. Ernie is the owner's dog.

Last lazy days of summer....

I remember the days of paper maps and garage sale-ing. I had all the places circled, numbered, and my map highlighted in the most efficient route. Gone are those days. I have taken garage sale-ing to a new level. For the first time today, I used my GPS( a 6 am day after Thanksgiving special with a $20 gift card thrown in) to find my way to the garage sales of choice. Very effective. If I could figure out how to program more than one at a time, it might be even better! So I whipped around town listening to the slightly British accented voice telling me " in 300 yahhhds, tarn riiaahhht." (Who records these voices, anyway?)

I was able to find a few "smokin deals" ( as my sister says!). Brand new, in the box, waiting to be put together 12 compartment filing/storage container for our desk. Or maybe my scrapbooking paraphanelia. I also found a former bead store owner selling her wares, so I got my daughter some square beads which she loves. As the customer before me was an antique dealer, shelling out literally hundreds of dollars, my purchase of one little tube of beads got me the sarcastic remark of "Big purchase, huh?" (Note to garage salees- be nice to your petty purchasers. Those few dollars also add up at the end of the day.)

Anyway, I have a few days left to try to organize my life before school starts. I always wonder where the time flies to. If I could only program my GPS to the beginning of summer.....

I'm Back! Hunting for Dish Towels

Not sure for how long, but I had an overwhelming urge to vent and this seems to be as good a place as any.After 31 years of marriage, our dish towels are in a sad state of affairs. If they are not stained or discolored, they are shredding at the sides. So the hunt for new dish towels is on. My kitchen is a very neutral navy blue, with splashes of red, I guess, in the wall paper border. So I assumed I would happily trot to the store and buy navy towels, or at least some shade of blue. (Red bleeds too much and you have to do a separate load).
Not so fast. After going to 4 stores, I became aware that the colors of the hour are orange, green, brown and yellow. Yuck. Throw backs to my childhood. I would have kept my mother's towels if I wanted those colors. I think it is a conspiracy to have you change your color scheme. I like my navy and red. I could go with white- but that would would be boring and the only size they had at ANY store were "bar towels". When did that come in vogue? I suppose sometime in the last 31 years when I was using my shredded towels. I even asked my friends where to get towels. I went to all the suggested stores and all I can figure is that they have the "in" color scheme.
So if anyone happens to come across any blue or navy cute towels, let me know where to find them. Or I have to keep using my shredded, stained ones for 31 more years.

Traveling

Just realized a few days ago that we have off school for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday. Wanted to make a quick trip to Ohio for my mother-in-law's birthday, but my husband has to work. The girls couldn't go, so I started thinking I had to do something with my 3 day weekend. I haven't seen my dad in Arizona for over a year and a half- so I called our travel agent and asked if she could get a better price than what I got on the internet. She couldn't- but she went ahead and booked the flight anyway, telling me that I HAVE to go- coming from one who didn't have her parents anymore. She said if she could have a chance to see her parents for that much, she would go. So I am going!!! This is very unlike me to be spontaneous and spur of the moment. I just felt nudged to go, and bless Jan's heart- she confirmed it.
So off to Phoenix for the weekend- I leave home at 4 am Sat. and hope to arrive back by 2 am Tuesday- using every minute I have off! Planning on going to bed early tonight!!
It's hard to put a price tag on being with those you love. It's a stretch right now for us for the ticket, but when would it not be? I am thankful I have the time, got a great price, and am going to spend the weekend with my parents.
What have you been wanting to do? What is holding you back? When was the last time you were spontaneous?