The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY MARCH 30, 2009...

Outside my window...the sun is shining and we are on our way to 67°. Another beautiful day, just like yesterday. Tom went sailing. He said it was perfect. He happened to see his brother-in-law, Bill, up at the marina and they went together on Tom's boat. I stayed home and made Glenda's Stuffed Buns for an activity at church tonight, then sat out on the back patio and read for the rest of the afternoon.

Waiting…and maybe it's time to just stop waiting and put my energy elsewhere.

Catching up on…blogging. I finally posted an entry on my food blog and have a couple more to post this week. It feels good to have the time.

I am thinking...about a passage in a book I am reading and how I think I know how someone in an Amish community feels when they are shunned. Do you continue to try or do you ultimately just give up and walk away because there is no hope?

I am thankful for...all the people who so generously share their lives with me. Maybe, after all, that's where I should focus my time and energy.

From the kitchen...dinner is made and ready to take to the church.

I am wearing... Nike cold weather sweats, a purple cotton turtleneck and black beaded flip-flops.

I am creating... a new look for the alter at church for Easter Sunday.

I am going... to church later to work on the newsletter.

I am reading...Plain and Simple, A Woman's Journey to the Amish by Sue Bender. A small quote: I didn't know when I first looked at an Amish quilt and felt my heart pounding that my soul was starving, than an inner voice was trying to make sense of my life. I didn't know that I was beginning a journey of the spirit, what Carlos Castaneda calls following 'a path that has heart.' It is a very interesting and insightful book.

I am hoping...to begin painting the house again soon, now that I'm no longer at my job.

I am remembering…our first apartment. We cleaned and painted before we moved in. The landlord gave us permission to cover the kitchen cabinet doors in contact paper. I think he might have been sorry he did. It was 1969. The contact paper was white with yellow, orange, and green flowers, similar to this...



We painted the kitchen a lime green! We thought it was the coolest thing ever! But, we were beginning our hippy-dippy phase which translated into having absolutely no taste whatsoever. No matter. We loved it!

I am hearing...the hum of my laptop and the click of the keys. It is quiet in the house.

Around the house...I need to dust and vacuum. I keep mentioning that, don't I? Hmmmm.

One of my favorite things... is to try new recipes. I get so excited when the dish turns out even better than I could have imagined and is simply amazing.

A few plans for the rest of the week …I will finish the church newsletter, then bake something new and share it with our neighbors, Rob and Amanda. When I asked Rob yesterday if we could help him somehow with replacing the fencing between our yards, his daughter, Verity, (her mother's Irish, hence the name) spoke up and said, "Yes! Bake a cake!" So...a cake it will be. I'm thinking Chocolate Flan Cake.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...



Our azaleas and other plants survived the near freeze Friday night. Whew!

Based on The Simple Woman’s Daybook

I feel like a fugitive from the law of averages. ~ William H. Mauldin

I shouldn't be quitting my job. Tom shouldn't have any work. But I am and he does. In this economy, when everyone is struggling to make ends meet, struggling to find decent work, struggling to keep their heads above water, we're doing extremely well.

Tom is getting phone calls every single day for potential work. It's kind of spooky, actually. When banks are not supposed to be lending and real estate sales are in the toilet, there are still people out there who are doing just fine, thank you. Since Tom's work is so specialized, meaning that he doesn't do regular finish work, his work is primarily in larger, two- to three-story homes. The people building and ultimately residing in those homes enjoy living in the upper end of the income scale and seem unaffected by the economic woes around them. Seems kind of unfair, doesn't it?

Oh, I'm not complaining. I just think...well, I'm a bleeding heart Democrat. 'Nuff said.

So anyway, today was supposed to be my last day at work, but I've been off since I got sick a week ago Wednesday. My visit to the doctor and the meds she prescribed on Monday helped, but she was once again dead-on accurate with her prediction that I wouldn't start to feel a lot better for three or four days. Today is the fourth day and I am spending my last day at my job at home. I'm feeling a lot better finally, but not really well enough to work.

What's on my mind today? First off, the weather (geez, you can tell I've lived here too long when my topic of conversation starts with the weather!). It's been beautiful, but they've been warning of a cold front and severe storm moving in today. Everything...and I mean EVERYTHING...is budding. The wisteria that we planted to cover the pergola just over two years ago is finally going to flower for the first time this year!

But, as I said, I'm a little concerned about the weather. We have a front coming in tonight that is going to bring strong to severe thunderstorms. Behind it will be colder air. Earlier in the week they predicted it would get down to 39 degrees overnight. Yesterday morning, they had revised it down to 38 degrees. This morning, it was revised again down to 35 degrees. Darn! That's too close to freezing for my comfort level. I've already moved my Split Leaf Philodendrons from the garage to the patio. My chives are growing like crazy, the wisteria is ready to bloom at any second, the roses are full of new growth and ready to bud, and my azaleas in front of the house are a mass of bright pink blossoms. I do not want a freeze!!

My sister, Karen, has finally made the decision to move. She plans to ultimately reside somewhere around Kingman, Arizona, but she has made an appointment for April 29th with her doctor in Las Vegas, which means she will probably begin her trip back that way a week or so before hand to find a place to live and settle in some before making the trip to Las Vegas for her appointment.

Karen living here with us has been an odd, rather disconcerting, experience for me. Until my brother-in-law, Tony's death last year, Karen and I hadn't seen each other or spoken in almost 20 years. When Tom and I offered our home to her after Bob's death in September, I really didn't know what to expect. She certainly isn't the person I knew 20 years ago. But, then, I'm probably not the person she knew then either. But, what I didn't expect was her almost complete isolation. When she is not outside having a cigarette or letting her dog out to pee, she is in her room, laying on her bed, watching television. She does come out periodically to do laundry, make a trip to WalMart, feed her animals, perform maintenance on her van, but mostly she just stays in her room. Even when she comes out, we will exchange little conversation and, when silence interjects itself, I can turn around and she will be gone, back to her room. I have felt these last 5 months like I have just been letting out a room in my house to a very private and very secretive stranger. I really don't know her. All I really know of her is what I remember those many years ago and those memories don't match what little I know about her now. I suppose that is what life does when you're not looking. I still feel that same sense of over-compensation for her depression. After all these years and even with anti-depressants, she's still depressed. Inside, I feel my Polly Anna seeping forth, wanting her to get up, go do something, enjoy the day, interact with people more and her dog and cat less. I have to keep my mouth shut, though, because that is me not her; it's what I would do; it's how I would live my life after a deep loss. I would mourn, but I would HAVE to move forward and make a new life for myself no matter how debilitating the grief. I know that is how I would do it. But, it's still hard watching her waste away her life like that. I suppose that's the difference; maybe she doesn't feel like she is wasting her life away at all.

Tom and I have lived alone since our kids left home over 20 years years ago. Our daily, weekly or even monthly routines became like a dance we both knew by heart. Our life became easy, familiar, comfortable, almost effortless. Now, I feel as though my life is starting to become "normal" again. Without the job and without an extra person in the house, my time will be my own. I will be able to cook without giving a second thought to who likes what, clean on my own schedule without worrying if I'm going to wake another person or animal. I will garden, volunteer, do Tom's bookkeeping and bill paying, blog. Soon, Karen and her animals will be gone and I will re-stain the oak bed frame with a white-wash, re-decorate the room and again have a cozy place for guests to sleep comfortably.

Soon, my home will once again be my own. I want to open all the blinds in the house and let the sun shine in. I want to raise the windows and let the cool breezes clear out all the musty remnants of winter. I want to dust and vacuum away the negative thoughts, the heavy memories and counter-productive behaviors. I'm ready to move forward again. And, boy, does it feel good!

Communism doesn't work because people like to own stuff. ~ Frank Zappa

I still have a lot of stuff.

Even though I have culled and culled and culled for nearly 2-1/2 years, I have too much stuff.

Even though Tom remodeled the laundry room, taking out walls, adding new shelves, making a bigger more organized room, I have too much stuff. It won't all fit and there is still more stuff in the garage.

It's like Doritos. You know what I mean. Cull it out, it just makes more. In the dark and quiet recesses of my closets, my stuff is churning out more stuff.

So what do I do? I actually try to accumulate more stuff on purpose, which is the purpose of this blog.

I want one of these...



..and I have an opportunity to win one! The rules are simple. I must blog about the contest so that you will know that you have a chance to enter, too. Seems pretty counterproductive to me. The more people I get to blog about the contest, the more entries there are, which, in turn, reduces my chances for winning one of those awesome bags. Huh??

Oh, well. I'm doing it anyway because I like this company's position. The bags are made in the U.S. and utilize overrun fabrics that would be ordinarily be thrown away into landfills to make these creations.

I'm doing it anyway because I love the bags.

Here's how to enter. Blog about these great bags and the company! Then go to this link, OliveJuiceBags.com , click on "Bag of the Month Contest" and let them know you've blogged about the contest. That's it. Your entered!

Oh, by the way, I want this one...



If you don't want to click on the OliveJuiceBags.com link, you can click on either of my photos to get there, too. Good Luck! May the best woman win...which, of course, would be me!

Fly Much??

Why can't I get on a flight like this instead of always getting stuck on a flight with a sour-puss attendant who sounds like she has marbles in her mouth?

Be Careful What You Wish For...

I tried to go to work yesterday for the first time since I got sick. I was miserable and, therefore, cranky. Everything Boss did in the morning made me mad and I wanted to tell him to stick it. He didn't even ask me how I was feeling. Extremely crappy, thank you. I'm here solely because of my work ethic not because I care the least bit about this job!

By about 10:00, on top of the sore throat, ear ache, fever, cough and sheer exhaustion, I was starting to feel dizzy and nauseous. I broke down and called my doctor for an appointment. They could get me in at 1:00. Yeah, I thought, I don't have to work this afternoon.

I told Boss, but all I got was the third-degree about my physician. Who's your doctor? Anne Trussell Isn't she in Little Rock? Yes, but I've been seeing her since before she left the group practice in Conway Where's her office? By Baptist Hospital. Really? Whereabouts? Now, I'm thinking Dude, is this a test or something?? It's in the Med Towers...Med Towers One. I felt like following up with... Do you want to know what floor?? but I didn't. I held my tongue. So your appointment is at 1:00 o'clock. I suppose you won't be in the rest of the day. Good one, Mr. Sensitivity, always thinking of yourself. Poor baby might have to handle the entire schedule of patients by himself. It doesn't matter that the physical therapists in the Little Rock clinic see half again as many patients as he does ALL BY THEMSELVES and work circles around him, but he can't handle his schedule without help.

Excuse me, I went out on a tangent there for just a second. So anyway, I saw my doctor, who I want to interject here that I absolutely love and trust. Sandy, the nurse that has been with my doctor longer than the 12 years I've been her patient, took my vitals, double checked my demographic info and confirmed my meds, all while we gossiped about lay-offs at Baptist Hospital. When she finished, she instructed me to remove my blouse and bra and put on the gown on the table and she was out the door.

I barely had time to sit down and arrange the gown around me when I heard a knock on the door, then it opened and there she stood, all 5 feet 11 inches of her, wearing tight jeans, a little too small white cotton knit top with different colored and shaped appliques, sparkly beads and sequins all over it, bare feet shoved into pink and turquoise wedgies and her toenails painted the brightest pink I've ever seen. After we finished our conversation about the cute top she was wearing (from Chico's, our favorite clothing store) and that it, sadly, no longer covered her ever-growing butt, and my bra (which was laying on the chair with my blouse) which she said looked just like one of her's (her's is from Victoria Secret...no I DO NOT shop there..., mine is from Kohl's), we finally got around to the reason for my visit. She was quiet during the entire exam, asking only pertinent doctor-like questions while giving me a very thorough once over, then stood up straight, put her hand on my shoulder and declared, Well, my dear, I think you're gonna live!

I made the Uggghhh sound and said, I guess that means I'm actually well enough to go back to work?

Not yet. Let me go get you some medicine, an antibiotic. And, she was gone in a flash.

She came back with a huge sample box of individually wrapped tablets (expectorant and decongestant) and a little gift pack from one of her drug reps...a coupon for ZMax (so I would have to pay no more than $20 for the $85 one dose antibiotic) and a free digital thermometer. Her instructions were straight forward. Do not, she said, take this all in one dose as the pharmicist will instruct you to do! I did that and it tore up my stomach. I didn't know whether to throw-up or shit. I want you to take this a little at a time, like in three or four doses, within twelve hours. I talked to the rep and the medicine will remain stable for twelve hours after it's mixed, so use that time, okay? Take a little bit of the medicine, eat a little, wait a little while, take a little more, eat a little more and do that until it's gone. Just make sure you take it all within a 12 hour period. I agreed to follow her instructions.

And, even though I had followed her instructions precisely, by the time I went to bed last night I was miserable. I had a stomach ache, I was nauseous and my bowels were rumbling. I won't go into graphic detail. Suffice it to say, I did not vomit, but I did spend a considerable amount of time in the bathroom before I was able to finally get to sleep.

So, here I am this morning. My throat and my ears still hurt. I took my temperature with my new digital thermometer (thank you, ZMax) and it was only 99.6. I have a doctor's note excusing me from work until Monday, but if I really feel a lot better, I will go in some time later this week...you know, that old work ethic thing.

I'm disappointed that I didn't even feel well enough yesterday afternoon to write my Simple Woman's Daybook. I really enjoy doing that, but I was completely whooped.

So, since I didn't do my Daybook, I still would like to leave you with my picture thought for the day. Let me preface it by saying that I miss my grandkids terribly. Somedays I wish Tom and I had made different choices, although some of those choices feel like they weren't choices at all, but rather survival moves. In any case, we live far apart from either of our sons and their families and unless something drastic happens to change that, that is how things will remain. What keeps us connected is phone calls and photos. As I laid sick in bed Saturday afternoon, my cell phone rang and when I answered it I heard, Hi Grandma, this is Thomas! He called to tell me that he just finished his final wrestling tournament and he took second place in his division.



Congratulations Tommy!!

Same Illness, Different Day

This flu is nasty. I can't remember when I've been so sick. Fever, sore throat, joint pain, headache, chest congestion, coughing with a little vomiting thrown in for good measure. And, yes, I have definitely done my share of whining.

This is my third day in bed, although I am actually starting to feel a little better. Boss in none too happy with me, since this is also my third day off work. That's okay. I only have one more week of work and I'm free again.

Tom hasn't fared any better. This flu hit him harder than anything I've ever seen. To be honest, he is the kind of guy that, when he gets a cold or the flu, recovers in 24 hours and is off and running again. Not this time. He got sick last Saturday and spent Saturday, Sunday and Monday in bed. Tuesday he seemed a little better, but quickly relapsed. Yesterday, he had a fever with the chills so bad that he had to take a hot shower to get warm. Today, he is driving up to Batesville to meet with a client, but won't do anything physical. They will just meet and plan the job.

Karen fixed burritos for dinner last night. Tom and I napped while she cooked, then we shared one burrito and were both back in bed right afterwards, attempting to sleep through the night.

Let's hope this is just about over.

This Baby Has a Woman Cold!

Unlike a man cold, which requires pity, consolation, television and constant care, a woman cold requires very little. Peace and quiet, sleep, ibuprofen and lots of water and juice. Just leave me alone and I will get better all by myself, thank you.

I woke up sick this morning. Is it a cold? Is it the flu? Who knows. My chest is congested. I'm coughing. I'm running a fever. I have a sore throat. I need some rest, but I'm sitting in bed, pillows and backrest supporting me, my computer on my lap, whining to you, my faithful readers, about being sick. How pathetic is that? Let me give you something a little more pathetic.

I called Boss at home at 7:30 this morning to let him know that I was sick and wouldn't be at work today. Did he ask what was wrong? No. Did he say I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling well? No. The first words out of his mouth were do you think you will be at work tomorrow? My decision to resign was completely validated in that moment. What a pathetic jerk.

Yes, I finally had an opportunity yesterday morning to tell Boss that I was resigning and my last day would be a week from this coming Friday. Today, I am sick. I know it might sound fishy or phony, but you can tell by my voice that I am really sick. I am really hoarse and raspy. He's just pissed off because he might have to work a whole day by himself or, worse yet, call college student, Big D, to beg him to come in to work in the afternoon after class, thereby cutting into Big D's play time. Oh, No!

So, anyway, Tom is feeling better although he didn't go to work again today. He's planning Minnestrone soup for dinner.

Right now, I'm tired and I think I will just take a short nap.

I either have meningitis, an inoperable brain tumor or a man cold....Author Unknown ;)

OMG, Tom is sicker today than yesterday and he informed me that he had the very worst night's sleep in his whole entire life (63 years) last night! Worse than when he tried to stop a newel post flying through the air about a million miles an hour, but shattered his skull, turned his sinuses to mush and suffered a concussion instead; worse than when he jumped down from a ladder, landed on his heel and broke his ankle and shattered his heel into a million pieces; worse than when he broke his front shin bone in two places so that his foot would dangle in a very odd position if he lifted his leg off the bed and, to repair the break, the doctor had to insert a steel rod in the front of his leg between the knee and ankle and screw the broken bones to it. Much worse than any of those times. Yep, it's a man cold.

FOR TODAY MARCH 16th, 2009...

Outside my window...it's overcast, but I think spring is finally here. Last week was a little iffy. The temperature went from a gorgeous 80 degrees last weekend to a very cold 33 degrees, with sleet here in central Arkansas and snow in northern Arkansas. I am hoping that will be the last of it. By mid-week, we are again supposed to be at 80 degrees. The black birds are in huge flocks everywhere. They land on the lawn and all you can see is a sea of black, and then they fly off as quickly as they came. The flocks of blackbirds; that's how I know it is spring.

Waiting…to submit my resignation from my job. I decided not to go in on my day off. Instead, I will tell Boss tomorrow.

Catching up on…laundry, cleaning; dusting and vacuuming mostly.

I am thinking...about joining a cross stitch group. They meet at a stitching store here in town Tuesday nights. I miss cross stitching and I think it would be fun to do it with a group.

I am thankful for...everything. So far, we are weathering this recession very well. Tom's work slowed down for a month or so, but it has really picked up again and he has more work than he can handle. He said he's even going to ask Scott to work with him for awhile. I am really having fun doing the church newsletter. I'm working on a Mac (which I've never used) and learning InDesign software. Sunday, Pastor Tammy designated me the Office Administrator, purely volunteer, but I am happy to contribute where I can. Except for the man cold, we are in reasonably good health. Who could complain?

From the kitchen...I have no idea what I will make for dinner tonight. Last night we had clam chowder and cheese bread. I guess I'll have to go out to the freezer and pull out some sort of meat. Maybe Pork with Caramelized Onion and Apples, mashed potatoes and green beans. That sounds pretty good

I am wearing... pajamas and slippers.

I am creating... a revised format for the church newsletter.

I am going... to walk after I finish this, then head to the church to finish the newsletter.

I am reading...Multiple Bles8ings by Jon and Kate Gosselin

I am hoping...I can see either of my sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren sometime soon.

I am remembering…that I cannot change the many, many things that are out of my control and I'm learning to let go of trying.

I am hearing...the television. Tom is watching tv in the den.

Around the house...everything is pretty quiet. That will change when my sister's dog decides to get up.

One of my favorite things...quiet mornings.

A few plans for the rest of the week …today when I finish this, I will finish the laundry I started this morning, go for my 3 mile walk, then head to the church to finish the newsletter. Tomorrow, work in the morning, then drive to Little Rock to do some shopping. The rest of the week I'll just sort of wing it.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...



This is my granddaughter, Zoey. She's not in school yet so her mom took her to Penny's to get her photo taken. This is the one they put on a calendar. Isn't she precious?

Based on The Simple Woman’s Daybook

Baby's Got a Man Cold

What happens to big, strapping men when they get get a cold? Not just any routine, common cold, but the terrible, debilitating disease known as a "man cold."

According to my non-medical sources, men are convinced they will die from a man cold unless they sequester themselves in bed or on the sofa, are supplied with countless hours of mindless television (shoot-em-ups, westerns and cartoons) and provided a non-stop supply of kleenex, Theraflu, orange juice and maybe a cookie or two. A handbell to summon the nearest female is optional.

I consider myself a lucky gal. Tom opted out of using a handbell. The house is small enough to hear his wheezing calls wherever I happen to be.

You want to know what my weekend has been like? Take a look...



I hear him weakly calling my name... Teeerrrriii....Teeerrriii...

Gotta go before he dials 911...

I Admit It...I'm A Blubbering Wuss..

Sometimes I come across a poem or some words of wisdom and merely shake my head in agreement. Other times I read something that nearly moves me to tears. I think it's the mood I'm in when I read it, but it doesn't really make any difference. If it strikes a cord, I'm learning something from it.

I found the following words on another blog that I came across just by chance. I hope you find them as inspirational as I did...

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God.

It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

The American Dream, the idea of the happy ending, is an avoidance of responsibility and commitment. ~ Jill Robinson

Well, I don't know about the accuracy of that quote, but I do know that there was a lot of avoidance going on at work today.

I told Boss on Tuesday that I was exploring other work options and that I would decide by Friday whether or not I was going to stay.

Yesterday he confirmed that I was going to give him my decision today and said he hoped I would stay.

I had been struggling with my decision all week. As of last night, before I went to bed, I had pretty much decided to stay on to see what might happen within the organization. But, as I slept, I dreamed about my dad, who has been deceased since 1992. I haven't dreamed about my dad for ages. I can't even remember the last time I dreamed about him. In last night's dream, he was sitting in a chair reading the paper and as he brought it down from in front of his face to his lap, he asked me, "have you read this article?" I asked him, "which article?" His explanation was simple, "the article about taking the 'best' road as opposed to the 'easy' road."

I've been waiting for a "sign" for a couple of weeks. This was it. Staying was the path of least resistance; just stay on, keep my head down and turn in my timesheet every two weeks. The best thing for me is to take a deep breath, admit I made a mistake and move on. When I went to bed last night, I was staying. When I woke up this morning my decision had taken a complete 180 and it felt absolutely and completely 'right'.

Today, I was going to give my notice. Today, Boss didn't want to know.

The morning was scheduled very tight, the first patient scheduled right at 8:00am, a second at 8:15am and four more patients every 15 minutes after that. By 8:30am we had 3 people in the waiting room...and we only have 3 chairs. But, this morning Boss was later than usual, certainly leaving no time for chit chat but merely a passing Good Morning and we were off.

Usually when we have a tight schedule, Boss will stand at his computer, eyes fixed on the monitor, clicking the boxes on the screen and simultaneously chit chatting with me, oblivious to the patients waiting patiently (is that why they call them patients?) for him in little rooms with bad lighting or not-so-patiently checking their watches and listening to timers going off everywhere. Not this morning. He was more attentive to patients than I'd ever seen him. Scurrying between rooms, giving his undivided attention. No chit chat about sports, American Idol...not even March Madness. WTH??

Even after Big D arrived fresh from his class and began helping patients with their exercises, Boss still kept busy, busy, busy AND even when I attempted to make eye contact, he wouldn't. He avoided eye contact altogether. Hmmmmm.

I wanted to say, Dude, you're either going to hear my decision today or wait until Tuesday, but my last day of work is going to be the same! But, we had a house full. It would have been inappropriate.

So, I continued to wait...and wait...and wait, just for one minute. It never came. Or rather, there were minutes when he stopped, but never came into the office, never asked a question, never gave an instruction, never asked for help and never made eye contact. He kept looking at the clock and every time he did I wanted to say, It's getting close to 11:00, time for me to go for the day.

I was meeting Pastor Tammy at the church after work and we were going to have lunch and work on the newsletter together, so I had to leave. I did, at 11:06. He had sequestered himself in a room with a patient about 10 minutes before 11:00 and didn't come out until after I left.

He forgets. I know his schedule and I know where he works. It will happen.

I personally believe we developed language because of our deep inner need to complain. ~ Jane Wagner

So, what was the topic of the day at work? Not just today, but for the last three weeks. Only two extremely important, relevant things: freakin' football (like who really gives a rat's you-know-what) and Kris Somebody from American Idol (which I do not watch. And, no, that's not his last name, but I don't really know what it is since I am the only person in Conway who is NOT his close and personal friend and, no, I will not even take the time to Google it) but, yes, he apparently hails from Conway, Arkansas so he is "The Bomb", so to speak.

I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so negative, but Jesus, Mary and Joseph, could we please talk about something else... or maybe nothing at all. Maybe Boss could just do his job, perform magical physical therapy in a reasonable period of time instead of taking an hour and a half to do what he could have done in 40 minutes if he would just shut his mouth... because apparently he can't move his mouth AND his hands and arms at the same time. They seem to be interconnected to each other and incapable of simultaneous motion and/or sound.

So back to Kris-somebody from Conway. Everyone is talking about him. And, of course, NOW everyone knows him. They are all close, personal friends.

Me: Oh, and what's his wife's name?....Uh, it's on the tip of my tongue...(I should be a detective. Aren't I deviously clever???)

Everyone: Oh my gosh, I just can't remember right this second.

Oh, sure, y'all are such close and personal friends. That comment would, of course, be under my breath as I'm walking away.

Oh, yes, it's been fun at work. Sports talk radio, then some station that could bill itself as American Idol radio (how Boss found this freakin' station, I have no idea), conversations about football games, football players (their drug use and arrests, oh and yes, their superhuman athletic skills), football coaches, football plays and the star of American Idol this season, Kris Somebody.

And what does Tom do to me? He reminds me that this Sunday they (whoever "they" might be) will announce the teams for March Madness!! AAARRRGGGHHH!!! Somebody just shoot me.....NOW !!!

Life is the sum of all your choices. ~ Albert Camus

Our weekend did not go as well as we expected.

We left the theatre at intermission. In spite of myself, I liked the movie, but in my opinion, Legally Blonde, the Musical was not really very good. I guess that's why it played barely a year and a half on Broadway. The music was awful. I think the sound person was asleep. We could barely understand anyone on stage. And the lines we could hear were just silly and insincerely delivered. But, someone liked it anyway. The audience was filled with moms and their little girls ~ pre-teen and early teen. I didn't know that was the target audience.

We walked back to the hotel and spent a good hour sitting at a table on the outdoor patio outside the bar sipping a glass of wine and people watching. The weather the was beautiful, warm and breezy and we both enjoyed being able to sit outside in the evening.

About 11:00pm we decided to go up to our room. To make a long story short, the bed was comfortable but it felt like we were trying to sleep in the back room of a blues club and after trying for several hours to fall asleep, Tom finally got up at 2:30am, dressed quickly, went down stairs and told the night manager, "I'm sorry, but I am not paying for this room." With no where else to put us, the night manager handed Tom 2 sets of ear plugs (can you guess WHY exactly they have them on hand?) and told him, yes, they knew there was a problem with noise and we should have been warned at check-in. We weren't. The music finally stopped at 3:00am and was followed by the police using bull-horns to clear Beale Street for the night.

Three more performances remain on our season tickets: April 4th~ The Color Purple; May 9th (Happy Birthday, Chris!)~ Fiddler on the Roof (with Topol!!!!); and July 4th ~ Wicked. I made reservations for our July 4th stay over a month ago, so when we got home yesterday, I made the reservations for our overnight stay for the first two performances back at the Residence Inn, where we usually stay. Quiet. No surprises. And still within walking distance to the theatre and next door to McEwan's on Monroe, our favorite place to eat and have an after-theatre night-cap.

So, deep breath. Breathe good stuff in. Blow toxins out....

FOR TODAY MARCH 9, 2009...

Outside my window...it's cloudy, but warming up. The birds are singing.

Waiting…for our flip to sell. There was an investor who showed some interest, but nothing happened. Our realtor thinks it would be a good opportunity for someone who wanted to invest, but has very little money, since we are open to selling with owner financing. It remains to be seen if that angle will work. I am still hopeful because the banks here in Conway are still loaning money. It's just that people are so hesitant right now.

Catching up on…everything, since we were gone most of the weekend.

I am thinking...too much.

I am thankful for...being given the opportunity to prepare the twice-monthly church newsletter.

From the kitchen...tonight: Island ribs and fried rice

I am wearing... Nike cropped pants, a light weight avocado-colored sweater and I'm barefoot.

I am creating... my garden. I have started drawing out what I'm going to plant and where I'm going to plant it.

I am going... for a walk at Tucker Creek Trail, then to church to learn how to use the publishing program for the newsletter.

I am reading...nothing at the moment.

I am hoping...both my sons find jobs soon; that Tom's work continues to go well; that we sell our flip house by summer; that Karen begins to accept that life goes on and finally makes some life decisions for herself, in spite of her grief, depression and fears.

I am remembering…the difficult year we had when my former husband of one miserable year and Mike's biological father (why do we have to use the word "father" in this context, when he never, ever did any "fathering" at all) decided he would prove he was the consummate selfish, self-absorbed ignoranus (remember that word from this list? Ignoranus ~ A person who is both stupid and an asshole.) by contacting us the year of Mike's high school graduation and even after I sent him a letter telling him that Mike did not want contact with him, he and his equally Ignoranus wife, got our phone number and address and continued to call and call and call and call until we finally had to get a restraining order. I don't know what provoked those memories this morning.

I am hearing...the birds outside. The house is so quiet that, even with the windows closed, I can hear the birds.

Around the house...there is dusting and vacuuming to be done.

One of my favorite things... is when the weather is starting to warm up. The trees are budding. The birds are singing. New growth is beginning to emerge on my roses and day lilies. We have two rabbits that chase each other around our back yard. It's not our former ten acre farm, but it's home.

A few plans for the rest of the week …I'm making a list which includes buying paint.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing... my chives in my herb garden are coming up...



Based on The Simple Woman’s Daybook

We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.~ George Bernard Shaw

I know you are wondering where I've been. I haven't posted since Monday. I've been busy.

It was a stressful week. We are migrating from paper to computer at work, dragging Boss kicking and screaming all the way! We've been (actually..I've been) entering in all the patients and their data. On Friday, I finally hid the schedule book. It's driving Boss crazy, since he looks at the schedule book at least 6 times an hour. My mantra has become "the schedule is on your computer," which is almost always met with some sort of grumbling about paper and servers going down.

Change is hard for Boss. He doesn't really like computers and we didn't even have internet access for email. He didn't want email because he knew that if he did, the president of the company, The Bigger Boss, would send him tons of emails and give him stuff to do. Boss lost that war. Not only do we have two computers (one for Boss and one for Big D and me), but this migration is actually forcing Boss to change how he does his job. And we have email. He hates it. Boss wanted complete autonomy, but now he can't have it because we are on a server housed in Little Rock which gives The Bigger Boss access to our schedules and patient data AND...drumroll, please... Boss' productivity.

And, on top of it all, I had one of my Back Attacks...for three days I had spasms in the muscles on the right side of my lower back, from my spine to my ribs. It's more painful than childbirth...really! But, it finally over and the weekend.

I only work until 11:00am on Fridays and yesterday afternoon, I drove home with the top down on my car. It was 78 degrees, partly cloudy...just gorgeous. We ate dinner out on the back patio. Tom went to Fuji and brought home sushi for dinner. Awesome!!

This morning it is already 70 degrees and we sat outside with our morning coffee and watched squirrels and rabbits scamper around the yard and listened to the birds sing. Now Tom is on the way to the vet's office to board Goldie until Monday morning and in a few hours we will be heading to Memphis to see Legally Blonde, the Musical!

Yes, we are actually playing this weekend. Getting away, just the two of us, just to have fun! Imagine that.

Hope is patience with the lamp lit. ~ Tertullian

I had a hard time finding a quote for this morning's post until I thought about a discussion Tom and I had with Karen on Saturday night.

There is much I do not understand about Karen. We don't talk or communicate much at all. She spends most of her time in her room watching tv with her dog and cat and only emerges periodically throughout the day to fill her water glass, take her dog, Bella, outside to pee, do laundry, check emails or Myspace or make a trip to WalMart to buy personal items or ingredients to prepare an occasional dinner. The only time we sit down all together is for dinner and then she goes back to her room for the remainder of the evening.

I know she is grieving, and everyone must grieve in their own way, but her grief is mixed with a serious depression, even though she taking medically prescribed antidepressants. That concerns me, particularly in concert with her seemingly negative view of relationships and people in general. Our lengthy, somewhat heated, discussion Saturday night was about people and the choices they make about life and death. During our conversation...and I don't even remember what we were discussing specifically...she described a friend of hers as an 80-year-old man who is chronically ill and in constant pain, can't stand his children and has a miserable life and asked rhetorically, "Why does he still want to go on living?"

I didn't really have an answer. I'm not in the man's head or heart. I don't know why he would want to continue living such a miserable life. But after I thought about it over the weekend, my answer would be "Hope." Sometimes hope is all we have to sustain us through the worst times in our lives.

FOR TODAY MARCH 2, 2009...

Outside my window...the sun is shining, but it's cold ~ 28º. The rest of the week is supposed to be pretty cool, but by Friday the forecast is for 79º!!

Waiting…for my new, beautiful, organic cotton dragonfly sheets to arrive from Cuddledown
Catching up on…laundry, blogging, bill paying and grocery shopping

I am thinking...about whether I'm going to stay at my part-time job

I am thankful for...everything...for my husband, my family, my friends, my church, my health, my house, my beautiful furniture and that, in spite of what happens, I can remain positive and have a sense of humor. I am, indeed, extremely fortunate.

From the kitchen...tonight I am making Country-Style Rigatoni, a dish posted by Marie at Proud Italian Cook. This afternoon, I am baking two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread, the recipe and photos for which I will post on my food blog, Terri's Table.

I am wearing... pajamas...lime green top, pink-blue-lime green striped bottoms and faux UGG slippers, because they are more comfortable than my genuine UGG's

I am creating... a mess in our office with all my recipes to be posted on my food blog. It's time to really get busy and post some of them so I can put all this stuff away

I am going... to walk at Tucker Creek Walking/Biking trail later today when it warms up some; then to the grocery store.

I am reading...nothing. I haven't started a new book yet.

I am hoping...and praying for some positive changes in Karen's life.

I am remembering…how beautiful and warm Greers Ferry Lake is in the summer and I'm longing to be lounging in my water floaty, slathered with #15 sunblock with a cold bottle of water or a big glass of ice tea in my hand. Ahhhhh...

I am hearing...the heater just went on. Bella barked a couple of times a few minutes ago, but stopped. I cherish Monday mornings because I usually hear nothing. The house is peaceful and quiet.

Around the house...there is some dusting and picking up to do, but basically, it's pretty neat and clean.

One of my favorite things... flowers, particularly my climbing roses and day lillies.

Recently…my boss asked if I was interested in full-time work. After the three late days I worked last week, I said no.

A few plans for the rest of the week …working, possibly meeting with Tammy, our pastor, to be familiarized with the software she uses to publish the church newsletter.

Plans to focus on…Tom is finishing up the laundry room remodel and I will be bringing in all the stuff he took out to the garage to store while he was tearing out the closet, cabinet and shelves. I might even do a little painting.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

This picture is currently on my desktop. It's called Jonquils in Blue. The artist is Helen Clements.

Based on The Simple Woman’s Daybook

You Don't Like the Weather in Arkansas??

As the old joke goes...wait 5 minutes and it will change!!

And, change it did. Wednesday and Thursday it was in the low 70's, a little humidity returned and I wasn't fighting static electricity in my clothes. It was just enough of a teaser to get me the in mood for spring!

Yesterday and through the early part of the evening, it snowed! Big beautiful flakes. By this morning the snow that accumulated in my back yard was pretty much gone, except for a thin layer in the garden where my chives are peeking through the ground. And when I got up this morning it was 29 degrees.

I am ready for the warmer weather to stay for more than two days, thank you.