Just when you think it's safe ...

...to take a day and do NO housework--your favorite brother calls and says they're coming tomorrow for a VISIT, if that's okay.  And of course you say, yes--it's okay--knowing full well you have a 10:30 massage and reflexology appointment that will save your life and you can't cancel on such short notice.  Which leaves no time for housework, as they'll be here when I get back.

  So, you cheerfully tell them to come at their own risk, as the grass is high and the oak seed pods have taken on a life of their own and are everywhere, choking the life out of everything.  I swept the porch and swept them out of the hall going to the front door, and 10 minutes later they were back.

 And the peaceful serene look of this place, harbors a dark underbelly, which will reach out and pull you under if it's not kept at bay by my whirling dervish-type housekeeping schedules.  (Believe me--the yard looks nothing like this right now. I mowed last Tuesday and the dandelions alone are already 2 foot high). And the back yard has not been mowed at all, too busy working the garden beds to be bothered with it, and now it's supposed to rain for like, I don't know, 6 days straight, and do you know what that is going to do??  The grass is already high back there, and the only thing that may save us is that the weather is shifting back to almost normal April temperatures. Freeze warning tonight.  Sigh....maybe the grass won't grow. (Right.)

  It's been a lovely cool day today, and I didn't do a damn thing except drive to Edwardsville for dog biscuits and a few odds and ends. And I drove 55 all the way with the cruise control on and had the windows down off and on. Roxie was with me, of course. She thinks she's a magical dog when we go into Petco and the doors open for her, lol.  I picked up some more soy yogurt (vanilla) and some fruit and a few vegetables. Going down the road, I realized I hadn't been in the car since Friday.

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  I installed a new photo app on my iPhone today--really didn't like the way the other one worked. This one seems better so far...it's called Instagram, and I understand  the spawn of Facebook bought it recently. I don't care who owns it...it was free and it works pretty well.  A winning combination in my book.

  Made Pad Thai for supper and it was good. And easy. (Another winning combination). lol

  Not sure what I'll make for my brother and family when they come tomorrow, but it probably doesn't really matter. They rarely eat with us, very concerned that I don't go "out of my way" for them. lol  But we'll see how it goes. I was thinking  maybe a big pot of beans and cornbread might be good. I got some buttermilk today while I was out...so I could make a skillet of my sweet moist cornbread...mmm...making me hungry just thinking about it.

  Read a few blogs, said a few prayers. I'll get up early with the Irishman and take an hour or so to run the vacuum and dust and straighten up. It'll be good enough. I'm gonna go start a pot of butterbeans to soaking before I go to bed, so I can just get them going early. Trying to decide if I want to put a hamhock in them that I found in the freezer.  We haven't been eating meat, not buying any, but have had fish a time or two when we are out to eat.  I found a turkey breast in the outside freezer and a package of goat--ribs I think- I could cook that turkey breast too.  I had thought of cooking it for Easter, but wound up not having an Easter meal. I didn't realize we still had stuff in the freezer, or would have eaten it up long ago. lol  The goat will probably be a doggie treat, because it's mostly bones-something someone had given me last year.

  So many decisions to make this late at night...lol

  Time for me to go to bed.

  6 AM comes mighty early around these parts.

Namaste.

Monday's Mix

[ Little Caylee, battle scars and all]. click to enlarge

{WOOHOO!!!!!! This is my 100th post on this blog !!!!}

A cold and snowy day today. I stayed in mostly, except for a couple of jaunts out to haul garbage to the road, take puppy out on the leash (which she is tolerating much better since deciding that I'm not just trying to hang her) so that she can go potty, feeding chickens and getting the mail. The worst of the storm is coming in tonight, dropping another 3-5 inches on us probably. I seem to live just above the line where the moderate weather ends and the crazy begins.

Of course, I don't have to drive anywhere or do anything I don't want to (much) so the weather doesn't affect me like it used to, from that point of view. As soon as hubby walked in the door, I sent him back out--to the store to get a couple of gallons of water and some dog food, cat food, and bleach. While he was gone, I got the cornbread ready to go into the oven and it was done just about the time he was ready to eat. lol Now I have everything I need and if I can't get out for 2 or 3 days it won't matter.

We watched some tv and hubby was off to bed early. He worked really hard today and he gets up at 4:30, so 9PM is a long time to be awake. I got his lunch made for tomorrow, but haven't cleaned up the kitchen yet. He was heating water for his bath and I had to wait. No hurry....if I don't get it done tonight, the Brownies can sneak in and do it for me...lol. I almost NEVER go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. Tonight may be the exception....

I got hooked into reading some foodie blogs this morning, and before I knew it, 3 hours had flown by. OH my!!! There are an amazing number of blogs out there...on any subject you can imagine. Homesteading and cooking and recovery and art are my main interests. Oh, and Gardening, of course. If I'm going to keep spending this much time in front of the computer I'm going to have to get a new chair! (This one is almost shot). AND new glasses, as today I was really feeling the eye strain. I've needed new glasses for awhile, and was hoping to be able to wait for some insurance...

I'm grateufl to know that I can make it through the winter sober, that I can live happy, joyous and free, and that I can keep my side of the street clean most of the time. There's a little skirmish going on around here between some AA folks, and I just have to remember what my old pal Art used to say... "I ain't got a dog in this fight." I'm sure that it will conclude and heal, these things usually do. The difference is that today, it's none of my business. And I have learned to keep my mouth shut. "Twasn't always the case...lol

Love and tolerance of others is our code. AA taught me that.

A drink will make nothing better. AA taught me that, too.

What other people think of me is none of my business. In the end, it's all between me and God. Which brings to mind this: (It has been attributed to Mother Teresa as well, but Keith seems to have the copyright.)

The Paradoxical Commandments by Dr. Kent M. Keith

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, renewed 2001

And THAT, as they say, is a wrap!

Namaste

Suddenly Sunday

[The back yard...]

This weekend went FAST! lol. I was up early this morning and stayed in most of the day. Our water pump isn't working and I haven't been able to do laundry for a week, so we loaded it up and went into town to use the gigundo washers and dryers. It wound up costing about 13 dollars was all...and there's something nice about getting it all done at once. Of course, I usually do only 2-3 loads per week, and can do other things here at home while it's washing and drying. I'll be glad when it's warm weather again and I can start hanging them outdoors once more. It's extraordinarily satisfying to me...hanging clothes on the clothes line and the smell and the feel and everything about the laundry experience shifts.

Dear husband goes back to work in the morning. And I'll get some housecleaning done. I like a tidy house...even when I have to redo thing s again and again because I have puppies. lol I think I will make some ham and beans and buttermilk cornbread for supper tomorrow. That means I have to get them soaking tonight. That's a highly satisfying dish that serves as a nice high fiber/low carb comfort food. I think I have a hamhock in the freezer. And I know I have several kinds of beans....great Northerns, pintos, black beans, adzuki beans, and butterbeans (limas). I'll just have to pick one...

I'm feeling especially blessed again today. Plenty of food in the pantry, plenty of love and understanding in my life. Plenty of [clean] warm clothes. PLenty of time to appreciate my llife. Plenty of energy to get things done. Plenty of gratitude to keep me being grateful, not hateful.

Time for bed....tomorrow will come early. The yards and roads are all pristine white with new fallen snow and all's right with my world...

Namaste.