Better and Better

What are you going to worry about now?
I'm not worrying, I'm arranging in my mind how I want it to go.
That's worrying.
No, my stomach doesn't hurt when I'm mentally arranging my ducks in a row.  And if the stupid ducks stay put, my stomach doesn't hurt.
Besides, I was right to worry about the insurance; now it's fixed.  Looking for a manual I haven't used in several years isn't worrying...it's looking.  Besides, I found it.
I hadn't noticed I was out of checks, but they've arrived.
My background check at the hospital (for volunteering) was finished last week, but I still have to take the physical either tomorrow or next Wednesday.

Today Was Better

I have been worried and upset for several days.  Today things started to fall into place.  I finished painting the plastic shelves I want to use for the gourds.  Almost everything is working out as I hoped it would.  One or two things are still pending, but not things I'm especially nervous about.  Maybe I'll sleep without waking in the middle of the night, still worrying.  The painting helped.  Waiting is very difficult.  My husband is way calmer than I am.  He asked if worrying was helping.  I said, "Not yet."  He said to let it go.  I wish I was better at that.

 We had a plastic shelf that I brought into the greenhouse to put my gourd stuff on for when I am working on them.  Working on gourds is messy and I didn't want to do it inside.  But the greenhouse has water and a ceramic tile floor that we put down.  But the plastic shelf is old and stained.

Well, it's looking better.  I'm cleaning it and sponge painting it a combination of white with a little green.  It isn't fast, but it is looking much better.  I'm about half finished with it.  I was just blotting the paint on, but it was taking a really long time so I started just scrubbing the paint in with the sponge.  I can't get the marbled look scrubbing it on instead of blotting.  I may finish it scrubbing and then go back and blot over it in places.
The greens talk about how long it takes plastic to decompose.  Well, that makes it sound like something plastic would last forever, but it doesn't.  It gets a grimy gray, absorbs stains, and becomes brittle.  Paint takes care of the color, and maybe it won't crack apart before I decide gourds are too big a pain.

Almost Afraid

Last night I was almost afraid to go to sleep.  The night before I had gone to sleep worrying.  I had worried all day.  Well, at one o'clock I woke up and it felt like I had been awake the whole time, still worrying.  So I got up and drank a cup of cocoa (yes, diet, but still lovely).
Last night I went to sleep and slept through the night.
The last two times I used the roomba irobot, it didn't hang up anywhere.  Today it has managed to stubbornly wedge itself into places.  When I nudge it out, it just went back and stuck itself again.  I think I'll turn the couch over and see if there is a low place under it.  There's just one place where it hangs up.  It also likes to position itself on the thresholds to outside.  When I can remember to close the doors, it eliminates that.
I've been having trouble with slugs, outside and in the greenhouse.  I have diatomaceous earth for the greenhouse and any place that might have food growing there.  I have some kind of poisonous bait for the rose strip (I found a five inch slug while weeding).  But Larry found a suggestion for a beer bait in a homemade plastic trap.  It reminded me of when Mama wanted to make a barbecue recipe that called for beer and her cousin wanted a beer for a chili recipe.  Neither of them would buy a beer.  But they found a six-pack hidden along their walking route.  Each of them took one beer and they opened and dumped the rest.  I asked why they didn't keep the others in case they liked their recipes.  Finding beer isn't a reliable method.  No answer.

One for the Money

We saw One for the Money today.  None of the characters looked as I had pictured them except Lulu.  The movie wasn't as tense as the book was to me, but it seemed that they got most of the funny parts in.  It was interesting to me to hear people saying, "I've read all eighteen of them!"  I managed to not join in those conversations since I didn't know the people:)

Clogged Drainage Pipe

Today's annoying challenge was do dig out the end of a drainage pipe.  I couldn't find it, so I just started up at the last place I knew for sure where it was.  Larry was not happy.  So he griped and took the shovel away.  He found the end of it.  The part where I had dug a pretty good trench before he discovered my method is what made him complain.

roses and lilacs

Today I ordered ten more knock-out roses (double pink) and a package of ten lilacs.  I've ordered a bundle of ten lilacs before but it was when we first moved here and I didn't have time to water them.  This year I will.  I've ordered ten knock out roses from them before.  They did beautifully and I'm going to lengthen the strip this year.  I'm planting them alternately with dwarf pink crepe myrtles.  I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom.

Insurance Confusion

I have spent a couple of days on the phone trying to figure out what to do about Medicare.  It's very confusing.  Here is the latest snafu: Mutual of Omaha said I can sign up my husband on a different Plan D because he has six months from the time I retired.  The company I had him signed up with (Cigna) said I can terminate his coverage, but he can't be covered by someone else until October of next year...there is a sixty day period of time not six months.
So I called Social Security to ask which one was right.  The Cigna company was right.  If I had done what the Mutual of Omaha guy said, my husband would be uninsured until next October.
Check and double check.

Today's Challenge

I usually plan to have one challenging thing (or one annoying thing) per day.  Today's challenge was to try to make Crab Cakes using a recipe claiming to be like Joe's Crab Shack.  I like Joe's Crab Shack, and I had a pound of crab meat.  I didn't have Old Bay Seasoning.  So I looked up a recipe for that and didn't have all the ingredients for it, so I put a dash of everything I had that was in that recipe.  Then I started substituting so the patty itself would be on my diet (Atkins).  I'd been planning this for a while.  I had saved end-of-loaves from low-carb bread so I tried making my bread crumbs.  That turned out all right, but not as easy as I had envisioned.  Then I used peanut oil to fry the patties.  I had to put a couple more eggs in the mixture so the crab and stuff would make a patty.  And I used crushed pork rinds instead of flour.  So I made them and Larry said they were good.  I do understand that he doesn't really like crab cakes all that much.  But he was willing to eat them.  I thought they were OK.  I didn't throw them away, but I don't know that I'll make them again.

Pretty Good Day

 Today we put the strip of beaded trim, stained honey oak and varnished with hooks on the ceiling.  Then we hung our glass balls.  We already had the stained glass pictures that Larry made put up on the south side so they get a lot of light.

 Larry hung two more of the shelves he made to display part of his beer stein collection.  He has two more that he will hang on the west wall.  I think he has enough shelf space to finish the beer stein collection.

 This shot is from a different angle, but it still doesn't get all of them.

This is what wasn't in the previous picture.  What I didn't take a picture of is my electronic stuff which had to be disconnected and moved.  I finally got everything plugged back in where it belongs.  The printer was the last to show signs of life.  But it is working, now.

Miscellaneous Update

I think the kind of camilla that blooms at this time of year is called a japonica.  It is really nice to see something blooming right now.

 I have been working on carving eggs.  I have two metal "trees" now.  I found the second one at an antique/junk warehouse.  It makes me sad to go to antique stores because I see old stuff and imagine someone loving it and no one wanting it when she is gone.

 This wall unit once held books.  My husband made these units for books.  But with the advent of my Kindle, I have been able to donate hundreds of books to the local library.  So now I can spread out the components of a different hobby.

 This wall unit holds books that I can't manage to let go of, craft materials, and collections.

 The cuttings in my greenhouse have grown so much that they are reaching out to the side for sunshine.  I've broken one off trying to get out the door.

 Here is the part of my art room devoted to sewing.  I haven't tried the sewing machine yet.  The last time I used it, it worked, but Diane was here.

This is what I'm taking to my art class at the senior center.  It ensures I spend time on the wooden eggs because that is all I'm taking with me.  I can't see something shiny and wander off!

Not in My Night Clothes

We had high winds and storm warnings last night.  When it sounds really bad, I sleep in my clothes.
I've seen those women on television standing amid the remains of their homes in their night clothes.  I think if I'm going to lose everything except my clothes I'm wearing, I'd rather it is blue jeans and a sweat shirt, not a nightie.

Maybe Somebody Broke In

We have been cleaning out the shed.  We've lived here almost twelve years and decided it was time.  As we went through deciding what we could live without, Larry asked, "Where did we get this stuff?"
It was a valid question because I didn't recognize some of it, either.
Finally I said, "Remember when we had to have the door repaired because it looked like somebody broke in?  Maybe they put stuff in here instead of taking our junk."

Cheese Crisps

 This is a cheese crisp Larry made smeared with alluette garlic and herbs.  I'd bought cheese crisps (expensive, but 0 carbs) and put the alluette on it like a cracker.  So Larry looked at where the cheese had melted off of his cheese toast, tasted it and decided he would make it himself.  So he cut three slices and cooked them at 350 for 15 minutes.  The pan below is going to go in at 350 for ten minutes.  I'm very pleased Larry has started playing with his food:)

Note: 12 minutes next time

I was congratulating him for figuring that out when he said Leigh told him about it.

It's Not Our Project

It's not our project if I don't get to make any decisions.
What kind of trim do you want to use?
I just want a 2 x 6 with routered edges.
No a 2 x 6 is too heavy.
So we have a piece of beaded trim...not plain with rounded edges.
What color do you want it?
Walnut
It's honey oak.
It's ready to stain.
Do you want me to stain it?
Yes, I'm going to take a nap.  The brush is outside the door.  It needs to be cleaned with gas.
So I looked at the cans of stain...honey oak.  It isn't our project if I don't get to make any decisions.  I am a seriously annoyed helper.  Well, I used a sponge applicator so at least I won't have to clean the miserable brush.

I understood that

I was talking to Mama about my problems with my machine.  She said she still had hers.  We had taken a sewing class at Singer together way back when.  I asked if I could have it.  She said I could.  She said it is unused, but old.  I said I didn't care. I could take it to a Singer store and they would explain how to get the tension right on the bobbin, but I didn't think I could take a Brothers machine to a Singer place and I wasn't sure about getting somebody at WalMart to give me sewing lessons...that's where I bought the Brothers machine.
She said, "I have a lot of stuff that goes with it, too.  Well, it's not much, but it's a lot."
OK.
I'm making a sewing spot in my playroom.  I unpacked my ironing board.  It's one I found in a rental house we moved into.  So I don't know how old it is, but it wasn't new when I got it about thirty years ago. I had to buy a new cover for it because the foam part of the other cover had disintegrated.  So I spent the morning messing with the antique ironing board.
Then I decided a wallpaper table would be perfect for laying out material and patterns on.  So it took me a while to clean it up and put it together.
But the sewing area is coming along nicely, at a cost of $5 for the ironing board cover:)
Recycling is green.  Being a tightwad is big on recycling.  So I may be green because I'm cheap...wait, thrifty:)

Confusing

My husband said he had to go back to WalMart, he forgot to pay for his gas.  Well, that scared me.  Some gas stations have cameras and report it to the police.  When he got home again, he said he had paid.  They looked it up and showed him the receipt.
I guess I'd rather he'd forgotten he paid than forgot to pay.  I was wondering how much the fine would be if the police picked him up before he got there.

Cheddar's

Today I convinced Larry to go to town with me.  I wanted to look for a pattern for a cape, and I wanted to eat at Cheddar's.  Larry hadn't been there yet.  We had the appetizer onion rings together.  We each ordered Shepherd's Pie.  The onion rings were different from Lloyd's, but absolutely wonderful and only cost $3.99.  I adore the mashed potatoes that top the shepherd's pie.  Larry was happy with the outing, too.
I also went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I wanted three specific things.  They had one.  One is on order, and the other is going to be mailed to my house with no cost for shipping.
I found a pattern for a cape.  I tried sewing a while ago but the machine was such a pain that I gave up.  Maybe since I have time to mess with it, I'll learn how to use it more efficiently.  It was the tension in the bobbin that I couldn't regulate.

New Shelf

This is the most recent shelf Larry has made.  It has two of my ideas in it.  The other shelves didn't have drawers, but the space was there for a drawer.  So he figured out how to make a drawer to utilize the space. This is the second one he has made with storage space inside as well as on top.  The other one didn't have a stop on it, so the whole drawer came out easily.  That was a good idea for that one because it was intended to store chess pieces.  So the drawer could come out and go to the chessboard.
But this one has stops on it.  He showed me his idea for the stops and I told him what I had thought.  He actually liked my idea:)
His workmanship is really wonderful.

I'm a Conservative

I'm a fiscal conservative, but why would I care as a  voter whether somebody running for office is able to convince women to have sex with him?  I seriously don't care unless I have a relationship other than as a voter...which I don't.  Marital fidelity may indicate whether the person keeps his word or not, but it isn't an issue I care about unless he's my husband...not my president.

You Might as Well Just Have Crap

I have nice stuff, but I've visited people with more.  Once I was at a friend's house who was the proud owner of lots of beautiful stuff collected from all over.  I looked around and said, "You might as well just have crap."  He was not thrilled with that observation, but honestly, presentation is important.  (OK, it isn't easy to be my friend; I'm outspoken)  If lovely belongings are piled all over the place with random bits (bills, advertisements, whatever), it is difficult to bask in the glow of possession.  We collect things that interest us, things we feel an attachment to.  But if we don't have a clean surface for display, it is not as easy to smile when we see them.
Fortunately, my husband doesn't collect old tractors.  I don't know how we could display them, although I've seen people with very tidy collections of old farming implements.  I'm also glad he doesn't collect old cars for their parts:)

Joyful Noise

The movie we saw today was Joyful Noise.  I liked it a lot.  I liked it that there were all ages ranging from teens to old who had some sense.  In some movies, the kids are smart and the adults are stuck in the past.  I know that some are, but it's discouraging to think that Hollywood sees it that way.  I didn't like the treatment of Aspergers in Glee (I don't think they intended to be offensive, but it was to me), but I thought the treatment of the kid in Joyful Noise was sympathetically done.  I liked it that the name stars didn't dominate the movie...it was a multi-age cast with strengths all the way through.

Ordered Seeds

Today I ordered seeds so I can plant them in February. 

Another Shelf

Larry brought up another shelf and corner shelf he'd made me.  He said they're early birthday presents.  I had him put the matching corner shelf in his corner.  But the larger wall shelf I had him put below the smaller one he'd made me for Christmas:)

You Could

"You could put some tuna in that egg salad."

"Go ahead."

"I said YOU could."

"I'm busy."

"You're playing."

"Yes."

Food

We had a turkey for Thanksgiving.  I put the left-overs in the freezer.  Yesterday I made gumbo with some of the turkey and broth and this morning I made a form of noodle soup with the rest.  The container with the yellow stuff, that's egg salad.  The brown and white stuff is sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding with  sweetened sour cream.  So I have food in the refrigerator that is on my diet.  I like to eat regularly, but I'm not a fan of cooking regularly.  So a variety of things in the refrigerator that are "on my diet" means I can eat well and do other things for several days.  The containers are uniform in size so they stack nicely in the cabinet and refrigerator:)
The only thing I still plan to do today is make a slaw.  I'm not wild about all the chopping, but it will be worth it.  The lovely cabbage is from Larry's garden.  I started to post a picture of it, but decided a cabbage is a cabbage.  He has grown several green ones and also red ones.  It has been so wet in the garden it is difficult to pick one.

Hospital Volunteer

I went to an organizational meeting of hospital volunteers yesterday.  I don't know what I envisioned, but it wasn't that.  I filled out paperwork, and I guess I'll go at least a few times.
It was difficult to figure out what was going on.   We had waited a pretty good while when one of the members called the president and woke her up.  She was napping on the couch at her home.  So then we waited while she got there.  I listened to the minutes of the last meeting, and the treasurer's report.  Finally I said, "So this organization runs the gift shop, buys the stuff to stock it, sells it, and makes a profit?"
"Yes."
"What do you do with the money?" 
So then they listed some of the things they spent money on: an oversized wheelchair, an oversized scale, clocks to go in the patients' rooms, those med-alert things (there is a month fee involved) etc.
So that sounded worthwhile.  My hesitation is not that it isn't worthwhile.  I don't know if I can do gift shop. 
I think I was picturing reading to patients or something.  Well, I won't know until I try.

Christmas Projects - Larry

Larry made the shelves for me for Christmas.  He mounted them today.  I had already decided what I would display on them.

Emergency Contact

When I was giving them the information for the art class, they asked for an emergency contact number in addition to my husband.  I said I didn't have anybody else.  She said maybe a neighbor could be listed.
I said, "If I'm having an emergency, call 911.  My neighbor wouldn't be much help!"

Busy Seniors

Today I went to an art class at a Center for Aging. I knew it started at 9.  I didn't know it lasted until 12.  I will take a snack next time.  I left at 11.  They were using oils and I just wanted to paint on my projects around some people.  That worked fine, and I'll go again (with a snack).  The painting looked like some Bob Ross stuff.  I used to watch him on tv and liked the looks of it.  I liked what she did with the class.  Maybe I'll do some oil.  I hate to pick up another batch of hobby materials.  I'm pretty determined to do something with what I already have.
One woman asked if I would be interested in volunteering at the hospital.  I asked if the volunteers had to do nasty stuff.  She said they didn't let them do much; she volunteers on Wednesdays at the gift shop.  There is an organizational meeting tomorrow at 9.  I plan to go. 
Another woman said she is going to lead a clogging class starting in March.  I might try that.  She said clogging is for clumsy people.  That sounds like exercise. And surely the expectations won't be really high.  I really hate going to a gym and doing stuff with coordinated, slim, fit people.

irobot

I decided that I wanted an irobot.  I'm sure it caught my eye because I like the Isaac Assimov Foundation series.  But also I like the idea of not having to try to vacuum under things and it still being clean.  I've only had my roomba a few days.  I'm not positive it gets every single speck of dust off the floor, but when I vacuum, I'm not certain I get every speck, either.  In fact, I know I don't.  The roomba happily crawls under the couch, tables, carts, etc. 
When it finishes, and I don't know if it is finished or just needs to be recharged, I can use the swiffer to spot clean smudges.  Then the floor looks good to me and I feel pretty pleased with the whole idea of a clean floor.  It dragged dust bunnies around, and rolled some of them up and left them in the middle of the floor.  It was easy to pick it up (since it wasn't under the couch).  It's dark under there so if I lean over and poke the vacuum nozzle haphazardly around, it doesn't get all of it.  So, the little dust bin was pretty stuffed with dust and dust bunnies, and more was rolled around and left for me to pick up. 
I think maybe as I do it more, it will get cleaner and cleaner.  I still had to vacuum in places the roomba couldn't wedge itself in to, but that still meant I wasn't doing as much.
I realize that I'm retired and have plenty of time to clean.  I don't like cleaning any better now that I'm retired than I did when I was really busy all the time.  But I still like it to be clean...and not just because I'm allergic to dust!

Money--It's Not Use it or Lose It

A friend said another friend told her she should buy anything big she wants before she retires.  I said she could consider the other side of that issue which is if she doesn't spend the money now, she will still have it when she retires.  If she still wants the item, she can buy it.  But she won't be sitting there looking at it saying, "Man, I wish I still had the money!" 

Healthy Lunch

Carbonated water made with my soda stream, broccoli cheese soup (one cup), and 1/2 grilled cheese sandwich using low-carb bread makes a delicious, filling, healthy lunch for me.

Art Room

I decided the walls in my art room looked bad.  I didn't want to paint everything, so I used a sponge and painted on the spots.  I painted where there weren't spots, too, so it wouldn't look quite so odd.  I'm not finished, but I'm not in a hurry, either.
The senior center put out a newspaper (flyer?) and gave Larry a copy when he went to donate the checkerboard he'd made for practice.  It has an art class listed as meeting Mondays at 9:00 a.m.  I called and got the name and phone number of the instructor.  She said there is room in the class for me.  They paint oil paintings on canvas.  I asked if it would be all right if I bring my folk art projects and just paint in proximity with them but on my own projects.  She said that would be fine; the senior center gets a certain amount of funding based on attendance.  So they will be happy to see me, and I'll have people to talk to who are also painting.
We'll see how that goes. 

German Bakery

We drove about two hours to get to a German bakery we saw featured on television.  We enjoyed German coffee, and our favorite cakes from way back when.  The whipped cream was a little sweeter than in Germany, but the rest of it was soooo perfect!  We brought bread home, too.  I cut mine in half so it wouldn't make me look like the Hindenburg immediately.  I think a half piece of bread grilled with turkey and cheese to have with my broccoli cheese soup will be heavenly.

You're Really Lucky!

I hear that sometimes, and I agree.  But surely good planning counts.  A lot of the time I consider myself lucky, but some of the time things are lousy.  I just have to stay on track and live through the bad times.  Sometimes good decisions don't count for much because bad luck is out there, too.  But "Hope for the best, but plan  for the worst" is a good motto.  Giving up isn't an option because when  you look around, everything is just like it was.  So planning is what is left that works most of the time.
I look at people with more money, more stuff, and it doesn't matter to me, because what I have isn't based on what they have.  I think about people whose houses burned down this winter, or any other, and yes, I'm lucky.  But I'm careful with appliances, extension cords, heaters.  It doesn't mean something can't go wrong...but I'm giving luck a smaller window when I'm careful.  I don't like depending on luck for my happiness and well-being.

Broccoli Cheese Soup

http://www.food.com/recipe/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup-150384
I really like the broccoli cheese soup at Panera's.  I found this recipe and made it.  The part where it says to add the onion, broccoli, and carrot and then cook for however long...pay attention to whether the carrots are cooked.  Even blended, my carrots made little chunks so it looked like it had orange confetti in it.  It tasted good, but it looked wrong.
In fact, it tasted so good, I'm making it again tomorrow:)

Maria

Today I was thinking about Maria.  She was a bagger at the commissary in Worms.  There are people I worked with that I don't remember as well as I remember Maria.  She wouldn't let my husband buy the wrong brand of something.  He would get to checkout and she would tell him that wasn't the brand I bought, she would take whatever it was back and bring back what I used.  Once they had bath products on sale.  By the time she got through loading my buggy, I think they paid me to take them. 

Survivor

Do you suppose the people who were on Survivor know that at least some of the viewers think that they don't know what the words integrity and honor mean?  Do they honestly think God cares about who wins?  They certainly trivialize God when they all join hands and pray about a game and winning a million dollars.  I wonder if I'd think they weren't shallow if they prayed for world peace and an end to hunger?  Although there seems to be a group that thinks if you go to their church you will be blessed with riches.  That seems odd to me, too.

Trash or Treasure

My New Year's Resolutions reveal an organizational problem.  Anybody who wants every book she sees is going to have a storage problem.  This is also a problem with collecting gadgets.  But another whole problem is that my husband was a teacher for thirty years and I taught for 40 years.  Hoarding is a problem for a lot of teachers.  If a person teaches high school or college, then at least the piles will be subject oriented.  But an elementary or middle school teacher is apt to have social studies, science, and all sorts of miscellaneous stuff.  This fall it was a challenge to get through stores without buying class sets of things, mechanical pencils, ball point pencils, cool paper, colored pencils, markers...stuff.  Stickers!
So organization is an interesting challenge.  My Kindle freed up a lot of space.  I've donated car loads of books to the library to either shelve or sell to augment their budget.  But I no longer have books piled everywhere in addition to shelved on wonderful bookcases that my husband built for me.
So now I can store craft stuff on those shelves and still have a wonderful treasure trove of books.  I also don't have books open all over the house because I'm reading more than one.  The Kindle keeps up with where I am in each.
A lot of my stuff is crossover between teaching elementary school and crafts.  So sterilite containers are handy for storing things I know I will want again.  They keep them relatively dust free and organized.  They stack nicely and I can see through the sides enough that I can quickly find what I want.  But I am seriously having problems getting rid of stuff that I know is trash for me now.  I have pounds of beautiful cardstock that I used to made bookmarks for the students.  Well, I know I'm not still going to do that, but I haven't made myself pass that on to somebody still in the trenches.  I will, though.  Soon.
The gadgets I love so much, I don't always keep.  Sometimes I hate cleaning it.  Food processors are that way.  Even if all dirty parts go in the dishwasher, I probably am going to use a knife and a cutting board unless I'm canning. 

New Year's Resolutions

On my post "The Upside of Getting Older" I put the goals that I feel I've done OK with over the years.  Just in case it seems all of my goals have been met and I'm just sitting back breathing, here are my short-term goals:
1.  Continue to lose weight going low-carb, high fiber
2. continue to try to collect every gadget known to mankind
3. continue to try to duplicate the Library of Congress
4. tidy up my stuff
5. plant more perennials
6. take care of what I have
7. exercise
Obviously I don't feel goals should be possible to attain.  Attaining goals isn't as important as working toward them for me, I guess.