Snap out of it!

Maybe I'm venting, but what is going on.  Just got off the phone with the 3rd girlfriend who says they are not putting up a tree this year.  Their kids are gone, or its just a hassle.  Hello, life is a hassle and we all need to embrace it.  I understand that when you have a full time job you are short on "free" time, you are tired and everything else you can tell yourself why you shouldn't.  Here is the reason why you should. Christmas is a special time of year and the tree/decorating is the symbol of the spirit of Christmas.  Its a time when we should reflect and think of others, open your soul to giving and love.We live in a crazy fast pace life, don't let your "job" steal your soul.  There will come a time when you will not have the option of putting up a tree or doing much else. You will have all the time in the world but not the abilities to use that time.  Life is an attitude.  

One size fits all......apparently not!

Ok ladies, i need to get this off my chest, so to speak. 

I'm the type who likes to keep "like" items together.  Tops in one drawer, pj's in another, you get the idea. Well,  I have this nice dresser that has a lingerie drawer.  You know its the top drawer,  very convenient to keep those "items" we wear everyday.  I wear fiber lined bras so my nips don't show, you get me.  The cup is very perky even when empty, due to this I can't closed the drawer.  Apparently, my dresser is made for C cup or smaller. 

Just a tip if your in the market for a new dresser.  One size does not fit all.  In the meantime I have to mix my undies with outside clothes. :(

"shell of a woman"

So my husbans says to me the other day, "you're a shell of the woman you used to be".  I was shocked! Not at his comment, but how spot on he was.  I've been leaking, not in the Depends kinda way,  but in a way that  I can feel the hormones leaving my body, the essence that use to drive me.

Gone is the metabolism
Eyesight...Hearing
Passion -  I can't get too worked up about anything.  Life is short
ambition - I look back at the positions I've had and I think who was that person

The metamorphiose has turned me into a  person that is very grounded.  Gravity.  I go to bed with the chickens (as my mother says) and get up before dawn. I wouldn't know what to do with an evening out and this is from a person who quite often went to bed very late.

Don't get me wrong, I love this new chapter and look forward to how it will deveolp. I use my energy now for myself, family and friends. I enjoy every single day.

Its just different and it seems  not much is said about entering into a senior.  Which I guess is the term, I'm certainly not middle age.

Moral of this story, I don't have one, expect to say.  Life is alway changing enjoy it all.  

I almost forgot, went to the doctors the other day for my yearly woman's exam, and was told I really don't need these yearly anymore.  Every 3 or 4 years will do.  Medical prove that I am turning into a  Garden Nome, friendly soul with no real purpose. Ha

stay curious my friend

Curiosity is a wonderful thing.  It can be a driving force to propel us into action.  The desire to learn something new is what keeps our brain active and our minds alert. 

Theses days my curiosity is focused on cooking, gardening and sewing.  The thought of trying a new recipe is so exciting, planting something new to see how it grows and the act of creating something from fabric is so much fun.

Its interesting how my brain refuses to give an good energy into a job search, its like done, done, done with that!  Ha!

I'm taking a computer class in the evening and just loving new things.

Yet, I notice on all these activities my interest is in the "how" not so much about the end result.  Its like the right side of my brain has checked out and I'm just in lala land. 

Anyway...........

"Green" with envy

I just spend the weekend with one of my girlfriends and were my eyes ever opened.

She didn't use paper towels, zip lock bags, plastic drinking bottles among other green alternatives.

I guess since I recycled some of these products I was "doing" my part.  When in reality I should not even generate this waste.

I outta admit, its easy to grab that zip lock bag, those paper towels, drinking out of a plastic so now I just feel guilty.

I am trying to make a conscience effort to use the alternative to those products in hope that will be become a habit. 

I on purpose ran out of paper towels and I kinda say its a pain in the waste hahaha not using them.

Its really just a mind set.  So before you go for the plastic think if there's another greener way.

I wonder if the guy who invented plastic could see the wide effect of this product.  Proably not. 

Remember it just takes one person to make a difference.

Fake Fake Fake

Tif-phonie, Kalin Kline, knock offs.............I don't get it.

I was at a party the other evening and a gal proudly showed me her "fake" coach watch, only $35!

Then I got to thinking, what is the appeal of the "fake" product.  Are you actually buying the same quality, craftmenship, and design of the designer brand ?  In that case I would say thumbs up. Or is it a "cheap" poor quality piece of crap that just looks like the "real" thing so you can impress strangers of your wealth.

I'm not saying that spending a lot of money and in some cases it can be a lot of money on designer brands is the way to go.  But you are buying something of value, just don't pay full price.   The piece will be timeless, unlike the fake that will undoubtly be toss in 6 months time by saying it was cheap.

To be there's no value in the money that was spent if you turn around and dismis it after you get bored. 

There's a saying : if you buy quality you'll never regret the money spent,  if you buy poor quality you are constantly reminded of the waste of money spent.  Or something like that.

My life told through food

From zero to balistic in under 60 seconds

The mis-treatment of food in an Italian eye is sacrilege.

My Mother is Italian.

Cooking delicious food is second nature to this woman.

Myself,  mom and girlfriends got together for a weekend.

Do you know where I am going with this?

She wiped together homemade pizza on a whim.

She perpared the pork chops that nights dinner.

Then, I heard these words from one of my BFF's  " I'll grill the chops"

My heart stopped, I froze, where can I hide??????? Panic set in.

As it turned out this was NOT a over-reaction.

Luckly, growing up with my mom for 50years has given us all thick skin.

Blessings

Today is the day

Spent the day with my mom yesterday.  She's depressed.  She told me that she would not be "happy" again till she moves back into her own home which is approximately in 4 months.  "I'm just going to be miserable unitl then"  Mom,  I said it takes a lot of energy to be miserable and she said I know it, I'm exhausted!

This reminds me that happiness is a choice.  How often have I said to myself, I'll be happy when I lose 5, 10, 20 pounds, if only I had more money, if only I wasn't married or was married.  Happiness comes from within regardless of the situation.  Life is 90% attitude.

Be happy and the rest will fall into place.

"what was she doing with her hands"

Doing? Why, sitting, sitting in a chair under an oak tree. Her time's not far." "Her hands, Samuel, her hands — what was she doing with her hands? ...

"Samuel seached his memory, "nothing I guess, I remember she had little hands and she held them in her lap.  Liza sniffed "not sewing, not mending, not knitting?" No Mother.  "I don't think its a good idea for you to go over there.  Riches and idleness, the devil's tool......." 


This came from "East of Eden"  and while resently reading this novel it made me think how different yet the same we as women are.  When we sit down in the evening to unwind from the day's events, how we still enjoy to have something to work on with our hands.  As women the need to create something beautiful and surround ourselves with beauty comes natural to us.

I just spend a few days with my group of ladies friends, our bunco group, and we had an old fashion quilting session.  All the ladies expressed a need to doing something with their hands while watching TV in the evening or just to unwind. 

The sewing circle became an expression of creativity, a circle of conversation, sharing of joys and troubles, and an outpour of one's own energy of a piece of beauty.   It was creative, relaxing and a great bonding experinece. 

Inner thoughts

I've noticed lately that I spend my days wishing and hoping and my nights praying and being thankful.

rose care

Hello fellow gardeners, here are some tips for your roses.

Deadhead:  this encourages your roses to grow more secondary bloom cycles, cut 1/4" from an outward facing 5 leaflet.  roses love water, keep soil moist but not with standing water.

Mulch:  cover soil with 2 to 3 inches of mulch.  Keep mulch away from the main stem, mulch keeps down the weeds and keeps the moisture in the soil

Fertilize:  roses love to eat

"Oh Brother, where art thou"

Church sure can bring out the best in a person.

 My mother recently moved in with my sister and I've agreed to take her to Mass on Sundays.  On the first Sunday there was a lady begging for money at the doors of the church. To quote my mom " Oh brother, that is the last thing I want to see at church someone needing help."

2nd Sunday, as we were making our way out of the church,  there was a man in a wheelchair slowing our departure and every maneuver we made to find a path he would go the same way.  When we finally cleared him my mom was quoted as saying " boy, I just wanted to kick him".

I just love Church and the goodness it brings out in all of us!

spring 2011

                                     

you reap what you sow or do you?

I think one of the many reasons I enjoy and like gardening is that you do reap what you sow.  By following all the good gardening steps I end up with the "fruit" of my labor.  Which got me thinking about how does this saying "you reap what you sow" apply to other parts of my life or for that matter life in general.

Childern:  sometimes not always
Husband:  sometimes not always
Job: sometimes not always, usually most people get the short stick on that one

So now the saying "life isn't fair" comes to mind.

I'm keeping with my gardening in which I do reap what I sow!

Got to go mend my afghan now, you know what they say "a stitch in time saves nine"

protect your investment

With the rain comes the snails.  Be sure to put out some snail bait in the next couple of days.  Also a good time to spray those weeds.

rose care for March

apply 1 tablespoon of sulfate of potash (0-0-25) to each plant around march 1st
fertilize weekly with 1 tablespoon of sulfate of ammonia (21-0-0) per plant acidify garden soil. do not use on potted plants
watch for early symptoms of mildrew and rust, and remove afftected leaves by hand
irrigate rose beds with 1.5 inches of surface water twice a week

You can't take it with you

Stuff!  Why do we have (need) so much stuff?  I have been helping my Mother un-assembling our family home of 53 years.  She will be moving in with my sister and renting out the house.

I was surprised by how much emtional is attached to the material items she has collected over the years, down to the seemingly un-interesting (at least to me) nic nac.

I have always loved the way going home made me feel, the house to me seemed to be in perfect order, soothing and safe.  As we began to take out the furniture and nic nac's the rooms began to just become walls without any memories.

I guess all the "stuff" she has collected recalls memories for us and created the view in which we are familiar and enjoy. 

I was the beneficiary of many of these items as they were gifts I have boughten her, or items I have admired thoughtout the years.  The most prized items are those that hold the deepest memories of a simpler younger life.

My concern now is will I have the time to create my own memories with these items that hold such a nostalgia so my childern will have something to hold onto that was loved by me.

In the end its not the stuff but the memories, but the memories are connected to the stuff and a life gone by. 

Its not where you end up but how you get there

I just got done pruning and spraying my fruit trees and had to laugh to myself.  When I think about all the care and time I devote to them compared to the amount of fruit they bear its very lopsided.

Then I realized its not so much the harvest that I enjoy but the process.  Each year I seem to learn something new to take better care of them.

If we can all enjoy the ride and not so much the destination it will be a much better trip.

The Perfect Gift

The perfect gift sometimes can be the gift of yourself, especially for an elderly person.  I know my mom has all the things she needs or wants but sharing of one's time is what she enjoys the most.  And it doesn't even have to be an "elderly" person but a good friend sometimes a friendly shoulder.

This year I am celebrating 50 years of friendship with two of my girlfriends.  I am truly blessed to have such long term friendships.  In a way its like looking into a mirror. 

Timing is everything thing!

Death Valley in the winter is a great place to visit.

My husband is so much fun and this weekend we went to Death Valley camping and exploring.  He recently purchased a jeep and apparently this is the place to go.   I have never been to Death Valley, the only thing I knew about it was it's usually the hottest place in California.  I was pleasantly surprise at all the beauty and things to do there.   We camped at Furnace Creek and went from there.  If camping is not your thing there is a hotel there both at the Inn and at the Ranch in Furnace Creek. We had a very civilized cappuccino
at the Inn took in the views.

Many hiking trails and drives.  Something for everyone.

I'm having the time of my life

Through a series of events I find myself unemployed, and although employment is in my future I am having the time of my life.

Its like my spirit has been set free.  This is my time.  The kids are grown and out of the house.  I have this incredible gift to experience.  To be able to be outside during the day, and feel the sun or rain on my skin.  To take a walk, or feel the dirt in my hands.  To just sit and read a good book, or cook something new.  To quilt or just be.

I am so grateful to be alive and I thank God everyday.

Quick and Easy, and I don't mean me.

My new favorite way to cook asparagus is roasting , it only takes 3 to 4 minutes.

Start my snapping off the ends by bending the spear and letting it snap naturally.  Wash and pat dry then drizzle olive oil (always extra virgin) and chopped garlic to coat the spears.  Spread out on baking sheet single layer, give them a sprinkle of coarse salt.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 3 to 4 minutes.  And your done.  Enjoy as a side dish or add them to your salad.

Stay tune to learn how to make your lettuce crisp and chilled.

Darn it!

So my son comes over for a visit last night.  As he kicks off his shoes and rest his feet on the ottoman I look over and view the hole in his sock.  My immediate advise to him is, throw away that sock for goodness sake after all I am his mother.  Its my job to teach him.  He then shows me the other sock, matching pair of holes.

Other than the holes the Nike socks are in wearable condition.  Then it dawns on me, I will darn them.  That's what they use to do before we became a throw away society. 

I put a hard boil egg in the sock and position the hole over the egg.  That allow me to have a flat surface to sew over.  You don't want to have a seam which would be uncomfortable to walk on.  You just kinda use the thread to cross back and forth over the hole as you close the gap.

Not sure what extra life I have added to the socks but my son was impressed with my skills and just maybe he learned a more valuable lesson.  To value and not dismiss. 

On the other hand, he was watching football and his team was losing so its really hard to say.  I thought is was cool, especially the hard boiled egg trick.  That was locked away somewhere in my brain maybe from my mother. 

I'm doing the best I can

When I was young, my mother told me, "only idiot's get bored" fearing I would become an idiot, I keep myself very busy. 

Today I spoke with my mother and she asked me when was the last time I had cleaned my garage disposable, fear crept in and I mumbled something about last week.  Well, your brother never cleans his but I blame the girlfriend.   She proceeded to give me the recipe to clean a garage disposable.  I suspect she was wise to me and knew I really hadn't cleaned mine.

One cup of white distilled vinegar, one cup of baking soda, and very hot water. Pour the baking soda in first, turn on  garage disposable while hot water running and then finish with the vinegar.

Which I did as soon as we hung up the phone.