Friday, August 30, 2013

Making Ready For Getting Old(er)

Greetings!

I cannot believe it's been a week since I've posted!  Where does the time go?  And why does it go so quickly?  Perhaps it is true that the older you get, the faster time goes; kind of like when you get towards the end of the roll of toilet paper!  I'm assuming you've heard that saying before and know how it should be, because I know I didn't say it right!  :)



So, after all the "forced" buying of things last week, I decided it was time to do some "for me" buying.  I saw this perfect sized reciner on sale for cheap - $200 - and couldn't resist.  It looks pink, but in reality it is beigey tan.  It is not one of those oversized chairs, and fits my short stature perfectly.  I love it.  But now the question is what to do with "my" other chair, cause there is not room for it anymore.  It had become Salli's chair pretty much anyway, and is for now on the back porch!

 


AND, this is my new bed!  You can't tell much by the picture, except that Jax likes it too, but it is a gel and memory foam mattress.  I mean it is at least 12 inches thick if not more, and is sooooooo
comfy!  I almost need a stool to climb in.  I've been sleeping like a baby............

So I think I'm prepared to grow old-er in comfort, at least for the time being.  Had great fun shopping and going out to Chinese  supper; I highly recommend it!  Speaking of getting older:  "Don't worry about getting older; our age is merely the number of years the world has been enjoying us! "  A cute quote I saw somewhere!

I hope you all have a wonderful Labor Day weekend, if you are in to that stuff.  That's another thing about getting old-er...........one day is just like another!  We are staying home and enjoying it.  Until next time, take care.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

It's Been Two "Of Those Days" !!

Greetings!

You know the old saying, "It's been one of those days"?  Well we've had two of those days!  I don't really know where to start, but will just jump in I guess...........who cares if its in chronological order!!


This is my laundry room, and the appliance in front is my NEW dryer, piled high with tools and stuff.  Yesterday morning I went to clean the lint filter on my old dryer and found that the lint in it was all wet!  Then I opened the dryer door and there was water inside!  I called my husband and he had no idea what could cause that, so his solution was to just go buy a new one!  So we did.
On the way to the appliance store I thought maybe if the dryer vent hose was plugged it would make the inside of the dryer wet because the water from the clothes couldn't escape.  Sounded good, but ....


So when we got home and got the new dryer installed, we noticed that the hot water heater was leaking; and it had leaked all over the floor and ground under the mobile.  All that moisture is probably what condensed in to the dryer?!  Anyway, husband had to make a trip to Lowe's (about 80 miles round trip) to buy a new water heater.  It was too late to do all the removal and installation so it all went on hold until today.



And this is our deep freeze that sits in front of the door that covers the water heater space!  So of course, it had to come out and sit in the hallway in front of the back door!  Overnight!!  Along with the cat litter box, paper trash can, outside shoe basket, etc.  And of course, since the water had to be shut off to stop the leaking, we had no water.



So here's a few of the dirty dishes stacked up!  And below are a couple of jugs of water we had on hand.  Also used for hand washing and toilet flushing and animal drinking!



So husband gets the new water heater in, has to make a run to a hardware store for some parts, gets it to stop leaking and ready for action.  But guess what?!  Our city water line had a break and so we are without water - - again!!  Somewhere around 3:30 p.m. we get water back, with hardly any pressure.  In the meantime, the water has heated and I can get the dishes done.  And somewhat later, we get a little more decent pressure!  So we are back to normal................YAY.

These last 2 days reminded me of how it was 4 years ago when we moved up here on the "hill".  I'm glad those days are over --  at least most of the time!  :)  I'm looking forward to a "normal" day tomorrow!  Until next time, take care.

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Jackpot!

Greetings!

As I sit/sat here playing Turbo 21 on Pogo, and eating grapes, I thought I should write on my blog.  Especially since I haven't done so in a few days!  So here it goes.................

The jackpot is my new stash of T-shirts!  A couple of weeks ago I went to a used clothes closet and picked them up;  25 to be exact!   Brought them home and washed them and stacked them neatly in their bin!

 

 
 
And today I went there again and got 5 more!  So, with 30 shirts to cut up into strips I figure that will take at least 60 hours of my time.  It can take any where from 2 to 3 1/2 hours to cut a shirt, depending on the size.  And the BEST part is.............they were FREE!  And maybe, just maybe, I will get 2  rugs out of them.  Not big ones, but nice little throw rugs.
 
The closet is run by a church and is open the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month.  When I told them what I was looking for, they were glad because they had an over-abundance of men's T-shirts!  So it worked out for both of us.   I also got a pair of summer shoes today.  They have about 1 1/2 inch heels and are real comfy!


 
 
Oh, almost forgot. .....  This is my current project, a rug for in front of the kitchen sink.  It's just about done.  Then I suppose I have to start cutting........................................  :(
 



Well, the fixin's for my potato salad are waiting to be made up, so guess I'd better go start chopping.  Have a great weekend.  Until next time, take care.

Sunday, August 11, 2013

The Smells of Summer

Greetings!

Today is going to be kind of a mish-mash of things.  Things I've been thinking and doing and enjoying!  So here goes...............

The first is the smell of the new cut hay as it lays in the fields for a couple of days, waiting to be rolled into a huge bale!  I love driving down the country dirt roads and smelling the hay, and seeing all the well manicured hay fields when it's all done.  It seems the haying has been going on since Spring.   Last year there wasn't enough hay, and this year we seem to have an abundance; all due to the weather!

 

 
The next picture is of a rather large pond or lake, where people were always fishing.  It was a really nice place alongside a country gravel road.  You notice I say "was" ?   Well apparently it was on some Cherokee land and they decided to do something in that area, and the pond was completely filled in!  You would never know it existed.  I'm thinking, how sad..............


 
There are no trees, no water, no grass................nothing but a hill of dirt going back and up to the right.  Is this progress???
 

The next picture is for my children, in case they have forgotten what their Mother looks like.  BUT, this was last summer and I have curly hair now!  :)



My girls live 2000 miles away and we don't see each other very often!  The horrible muumuu sure does a good job of covering up the "love handles" doesn't it???

I was in a cleaning mood not too long ago and bought some new bleach cleaner at the store and tried it out on my backsplash in the kitchen.  Boy is it good stuff!  I used it and one of those sponge/scratcher type things and now it shines like new.  Took off all the grease splatters and dirt and grime accumulated over a time.  Even cleaned the gas range, knobs and all!  I think there is nothing better to clean with than a bleach/water mixture.  So that mood has passed for a while!

Husband had his 63rd birthday the last day of July, and as is our tradition, we went out to dinner to the place of his choice.  He picked a new place (to us) in Muskogee called Mahylon's.  It's a BBQ/Smoke place and was quite good.  He had the 3 meat platter - brisket, ribs and pork - and was full and happy at the end.  We had cake at home after digesting on the way home, which is about 35-40 miles.  All in all, it was a good outing and he really doesn't look a day older.  Except, one day recently he shaved off his beard that he has had practically the whole time we've been married.  Now that made him look older!  Showed where a lot of the weight he has gained went!  He is in the process of growing it back!  :)

We have a new preacher at church, and I love him.  It seems to me each sermon he preaches is better than the last!  And after church today we had our monthly dinner.  It was baked potatoes with all the trimmings and then some, chicken, home made soups and salads and tons of desserts.  We do this the 2nd Sunday of each month, and it is great; not only to eat and not have to cook that day at home, but for the fellowship that occurs.  I love it!

And on that note, I think I will give my fingers and brain a rest.  Hope you have a good week, and until next time, take care.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Flowers

Greetings!

Hope all is well with everyone on this hot, August Monday!  It was about 97 here with the heat index making it feel like 105.  And will be more of the same, if not worse, tomorrow.  Practically the whole state of Oklahoma is under a severe heat advisory until tomorrow night.  So drink lots of fluids and stay cool!

Now. the picture below (sorry I didn't get it centered good) is of the flower bed my husband made one day.  I was totally surprised!  These rocks (sandstone ) can be found all over the property, and don't need to be "cut" or shaped or anything.   Some of them are nice and flat and you just have to work with them and get them to stack!


He even went and bought two rose bushes and planted them.  One is a light pink and the other a darker pink.  Then my friend gave me a peony start - right side - and I bought some purple fountain grass -in the middle - which is standing way above the roses!  Behind the fountain grass is a yellow rose I bought.  It smells really nice, where the others don't smell much at all.  I love the fountain grass, and think I'll get some more ornamental grasses to put somewhere.

Oh, the white angel is made of iron or steel and painted white.  I've had it for several years, and it just fits into the flower bed.

The picture below is my orange hibiscus.   One time this summer it had 9 flowers all in bloom at the same time.  Then it took a couple 3 weeks off of blooming and I was worried.  But it's back in the swing of things now.  I had it in my screen room for awhile and I think it wasn't getting enough sun.  So back out to the edge of the porch and blooms!

 
 
So that's it for today.  Until next time, take care............and stay cool if you are in the heat!

Friday, August 2, 2013

From Gazebo to Screened Room

Greetings!

This is a short story which kind of reflects how my Summer has been...........

Early on - late Spring - I decided I wanted a gazebo.  So I ordered a "garden gazebo" from on-line.  It was 10 x 10, an aluminum frame, had a cute cupalo on top,  and 4 screen walls that zipped up the middle for ease of getting in and out.  My husband put it up, once we decided where it should go, in nothing flat.  At the time I had a bad cold so I wasn't out using it yet, but I dreamed of sitting out there cutting up T-shirts for my rugs, reading, drinking iced tea, etc.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of it.  A few days after putting it up, we had a BIG wind come through the back yard.  When I looked out in the morning, my gazebo was laying on the ground!  Frame all bent - non-repairable.  So I was upset both because I never got to use it and because there was over $200 down the drain!! 

These pictures are of the screened room addition my husband built me, using the sides from the defunct gazebo! 

 

 
 
As you can see, it's an extension of our back porch.  It is very sturdy and has a metal roof to match the house and porch.  It is 10 x 10 so we could use the screen sides from the gazebo, which really turned out great.  Inside I have a table and 2 chairs and a lounge chair and some plants and of course a fan!  All told, what with lumber, metal roofing, nails and screws, cement blocks, and the money spent on the gazebo (!!) it cost about $900+  to build.  Doesn't look like it, but supplies are not cheap.  Plus we bought a little extra to extend a part of the back porch so we could move the BBQ out of the way and put a roof cover over the ramp up to the porch from the yard.
 
I have enjoyed it, but not to the fullest because the weather has been in the high 90's most of the time and very humid.  Much nicer to stay inside in the A/C!  But I keep hoping that we'll have a nice Fall and I can make better use of it.  It also does a pretty darned good job of keeping the flies and bugs out!  Such is life on the hill.............
 
Until next time, take care.