Manic Monday

(I LOVE this!! And must admit, I kyped it off another blog.)



I had so much to do today, and got a smidgen of it done. And that's okay. (in my best Stuart Smalley voice) *grin

I am in severe pain from planting the irises yesterday, as I knew I would be. I'm all hunched over , like the Grandmother of Notre Dame...lol But I got all the laundry done today, and went to the springs to fill 29 gallons of drinking water. Yes, 29 gallons. I nearly spit! If my lower back didn't hurt enough, by the timeI had all those jugs filled it did. I carted them around back using my trusty garden wagon and got them all into the mudroom too.

I'm a freaking work horse.

I also got groceries and went to the Rural King for scratch for my chickens, lye soap for my husband (poison ivy), biscuits for my dogs and a bottle of bleach for me. Then I picked himself up from work and came home and fixed corn on the cob on the grill with teriyaki turkey burgers and grilled fat onion slices. We ate like big dogs.

Speaking of big dogs....I called the no-kill shelter in Benld and asked if I could bring Fred there. They said they were full up and unable to take any dogs that wouldn't be immediately adoptable. That translates to : something small and cuddly and cute that people want. So, Fred is still here. Not sure what the next step will be, as we really cannot afford to take care of one more animal. Especially a 75 pound guy named Fred who likes to chase cats. Sigh...I hate to call Animal Control...they will take him to the pound and after a few days or a week, he will be put to sleep. I tried to check his ears for a microchip. If there's one there, I sure can't feel it... I know that I am such a sucker for these animals, but it breaks my heart...

I am ready for sleep....kitchens cleaned, lunches made, breakfast egg sandwich made and waiting in the microwave, litter pans scooped, food and water for cats and dogs and birds all checked and filled. My darling boy is already sawing logs for the past 3 hours. I will not be getting up at Zero Dark Thirty again tomorrow. I am staying home. One of my sponslings is coming over at noon and we will have a nice little chat about the 2nd and 3rd Steps. And lunch. Not sure what I'll make yet...perhaps a quiche....I have some beautiful cantaloupes that need eating as well, and lots of blackberries too. Maybe a quiche and a little fruit salad on the side. Yummmm....I have to get up early enough to get my juice made and straighten my house a bit.

Want to shout out a WOO HOO to Macdaddy for being nominated for a black blogger award in about a gazillion categories. This man is some kind of wonderful, baby--and I am proud to be one of his stalkers. lol xoxoxox You go, Daddy....

Wishing you all the sleep of the innocents...sweet dreams and restful bliss.



Namaste.

Celebrating Sundays

Have you had a kindness shown?
Pass it on;
Twas not given for thee alone,
Pass it on;
Let it travel down the years,
Let it wipe anothers tears,
Til in Heaven the deed appears -
Pass it on.

~Henry Burton, Pass It On

I thought this was just lovely.....Don't know Henry Burton...but, thanks, Hank!


I am the proud owner of 2 new iris beds as of about 5 PM today. lol I worked my butt off digging and trimming and planting irises that I got from my friend Chris. Free flowers are my favorites. Not just because they are free *wink* but because they are something that someone has passed on to me. Something that someone said, Hey-I bet Annie would like these! Somebody thought of me, in a generous and loving moment. I can't explain how much that means to me...
I was looking around my yard this evening and thinking about how it looked when we bought the place. Old cars, rusted sheds, ruts from tires in the yards, crap everywhere....And now it is slowly becoming my little haven. Probably 75 % of the flowering plants in my yard were given to me by friends, family and neighbors. Or I dug them up on the side of a road somewhere. Today I have these plants in flower: hostas, tiger lilies, day lilies (5 different kinds), Rose of Sharon, black eyed Susans, Shasta daisies, petunias, Evening Primrose, Zinnias, Marigolds, Pink and White Coneflowers,Nasturtiums, Rose Moss, Honeysuckle and sunflowers. I was thinking maybe tomorrow I should go out and take pictures of nothing but flowers. It's absolutely beautiful out there. Today I planted lavender and yellow irises. They won't have flowers again until next year, but look out! I planted them along the west side of the house and then along the rock wall bottom and still had a few left to plant out back. And that was AFTER I gave my neighbor about 30 of them for her yard. All the trimmings went into the compost bin. All in all, a very good day.

433w2 ( A message from G-Rod the little yellow kitty) Not sure what it means...

I've had a bath and have to get up early tomorrow morning. I'm pretty whipped from all the manual labor. The dishes are done and I'll make hubby's lunch in the morning. We watched Night at the Museum tonight (well, the second half of it anyway) after supper. It seemed to get late fast! lol


I'm blessed today, if for no other reason than I am a child of God. So are you. So, every chance4 we get...let's ...Pass it on....


Namaste.

Seriously...Saturday????

(I've always been one to give my "ALL" for a good cause...)


It was a strange and lovely day today...weird ass July weather in the mid 70's for crying out loud!! We attended a family get together that was just wonderful and came home around 6:30. Stopped at a local produce stand and got 2 glorious large cantaloupes. Both are sweet and meaty and fragrant. Left them in the trunk of the car and when I opened the car to leave, the smell nearly knocked me over.

Got to spend some time with my favorite 6 year old niece and my brother and sister-in-law.

Am dead tired now. Thinking I will stay home tomorrow while my beloved goes to his meeting and I'll plant irises and do a little clean up work out there. I need to make a grocery run as well, sometime tomorrow, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Feeling greatly blessed tonight that I have a loving family. A bunch of cracked pots, certainly, but still... I feel blessed that we can break bread without breaking each others necks. I feel grateful that we're all doing alright, both financially and healthwise. We're not a rich bunch or anything, but we've surely all got everything we need on a daily basis. And we all love each other. My son came today too, with his wife. We had a good time and I got some hugs and kisses from my sonny boy. Every mom is grateful for that!

Feeling glad that tomorrow is another day and that I am loved and able to love...all the people in my life....


Namaste.

Fried day...

Oh Lordy, lordy...we have had us some rain in the past 24 hours!!

Torrential bucketloads, thunder and lightning like only the midwest can do. Had to pull off the road on the way home last night, wipers on high couldn't clear the windshield. Had to unplug the computer 2 days in a row. Wowsa...

The day before yesterday it rained over 4 inches in less than 5 hours. The roads were all flooded, it flattened my corn patch(see above picture!), my back deck collapsed...it was a roaring mess alright. Stayed overcast and pretty dry most of yesterday, and then the storms came back in late in the day. ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!! My garden is drowning, raised beds and all. I have worked way too hard to watch it all go by the wayside, just because we are having ridiculous weather for July. lol The highs for the weekend are only supposed to be around 75. It's crazy I tell you...

Today I see the surgeon about the knee. It is feeling much better for some reason, ((PG)), and Aleve, I think. Still isn't right, but at least the pain is more bearable. I'm feeling especially blessed by THAT, believe you me!

A friend is coming by in about half an hour to help hubby with the deck. I am going to my son's for a shower before going to the doctor, as we are still; without running water. (A minor inconvenience, really).
But today, the sun is shining and tomorrow I go to my brothers for a bbq and to see my other brother and his family...a little family get together. It'll be good, as I have a ;large crazy family who couldn't love me more. And I love being loved. It just feels gooooood.

Welcome ((daddy))---so good to see you here. How's the vacation going?? :) I have a sneaking suspicion you just might be my brother from another mother.... I love those women too... and I adore Betty Carter. Hard to find her music sometimes though...my all time fave--Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most.... Have you heard the cd that Joni made doing all torch songs? Awesome.... My other fave is Johnny Hartmann--that man is pure liquid love...what a voice!!!

Alrighty...we have a new stray that I made posters for the 2 markets here in town. Hopefully someone has lost him and will be so grateful to get him home....he's a very sweet old dog, but we need one more dog here at Annie's Ark like we need 7 more holes in our heads...

In praise of sunshine and dry, blue skies....


Namaste.

Magnetic Monday

Had the MRI first thing this morning...quite an invention, that. Was tickled at all the questions they ask...about body piercings, tattoos, metal plates in your head...lol. They asked if I had had brain surgery. Over they phone they asked if I weighed over 350 pounds. I said "Not yet."

Stopped by sisters house for a quick chat and came on home. I fielded some phone calls, and then decided I needed to get the lawn mowed since it is supposed to rain tomorrow. I took it slow and easy and actually managed to get almost the whole thing mowed. I picked some blackberries, picked some apples, picked some more cucumbers and picked 3 peaches. Then I took a good rub-a-scrub and called it a day. I pulled some bbq pork out of the freezer and thawed it for supper. Then I put my leg up and took it easy the rest of the night.

We watched the Clint Eastwood film "Gran Torino" tonight. Excellent film. That old codger has still got it...

These crazy kittens have been in hyperdrive all day. It doesn't seem to be letting up, either. They're presently running with joy around the living room. I had to move the cockatiel into the guest room, as they won't leave him alone. The stray dog is STILL in the front yard. I wish he would remember where he lives and go back there....

It was a nice relaxing evening and I am winding down for bed. (((Andrew))) Have a good trip to the Kootnays...love to you and your family as you remember Uncle Bill.

I'm falling asleep in my chair...Nighty night...

Sultry Sunday

A day of off and on rain and overcast skies...made for napping and reading and laying around with one's leg UP. lol

I got a call this afternoon telling me that one of our lambs had gone off to be sacrificed. It was the sponsling of one of my sponslings...dead of an overdose, leaving 2 small boys without a mommy. It breaks my heart, and yet I know how she struggled and couldn't ever seem to "get" this thing... I guess now her struggling is finished and she is done with all this pain of a life lived in the grey areas.
Again I am blessed that my Creator saw fit to pull me out of that seemingly hopeless state of mind and body..once I was so beat up and hopeless that I had no where else to turn. Blessed to be teachable today, when I watch the lessons others take on for my benefit. Blessed to be able to say a prayer for the departed and the broken family left behind.

The MRI is early early tomorrow morning. I am off to bed.


Blessed Be.

Saturday Rantz...

Sigh...my other blog has "lost" the blogroll when I changed themes. This kind of techie stuff makes me loony. I've been screwing around with it for an hour, and can't figure out how to get it back on there.

I'm grateful for a relaxing and quiet day today. Had the young grandson Thursday and Friday and such a blessing he is!! BUT--he's still highly energetic and leaves me ready for a nap by the time he's gone home again. THIS is why young people have the babies...lol


My youngest brother is coming up later this next week. Apparently his plant is on shutdown and he's got a week's vacation. So, I guess we're all meeting up down at my other brothers house for a bbq and family gathering. Criminey. We were just together in June. lol I can remember a time when I never saw any of them more than about every 5 years. Now I see them all the time, most of them are on Facebook, and they all have my phone number. What IS the world coming to?? lol

I've been thinking alot today about all the things I have to be grateful for in my life. Not the least being that I am scheduled for an MRI to get this knee taken care of. MRI on Monday, orthopedic doctor on Friday. Thank goodness. The gimpiness is getting to me...and the pain--well, never mind. Soon it will all be over. And I'll be ready to dance.

I was at a meeting on Friday night where 4 people 'fessed up to a relapse. YIKES! That may be an all time record for me. Luckily I only sponsored one of the four. lol

I was told early on that a SLIP meant S-sobriety L-loses I-it's P-priority
Another good one is EGO E-Edging G-God O-Out
And my all time favorite is NUTS N-Not U-Using T-The S-Steps

I feel especially blessed that I have been able to come here and stay here...I know that's not how it is for a lot of people. There have been a couple of wobbly times, but somehow my Creator managed to keep me firmly anchored in the middle of this tapestry of my life in Alcoholics Anonymous. For that I am forever grateful.


I feel especially blessed to be married to a guy in the program too. Most of the time. *grin
I feel especially blessed to have a son who is clean and sober almost 10 years now.
I feel especially blessed to have been given a whole new life in sobriety.

The beauty of a life filled with grace and love and a relationship with God....is indescribable. I am glad that I didn't get what I thought I wanted (or needed) and I am forever grateful that I didn't quit...5 minutes before the miracle.



Namaste.