QUESTIONS

What is the proper thing to say to an 88 year old Mother that is beginning to forget some of the things that have been such a vital part of her very independant life. She still lives alone and cherishes her freedom and usefulness to the family.

Mother: "I've forgotten how to use my sewing machine". She was referring to filling the bobbin and threading the thread through the machine.
Me: "Well Mother you have to write everything down. That's what I have to do. " I said this in truth. The meds I'm on have really played havoc with my thought process. However, Mother doesn't really have a full picture of my condition and it's just as well. I wouldn't want her to worry.

What can I say that will give her some comfort. She is hurt by her loss of memory and ability.
I can't bear to see her hurt. WHAT CAN I SAY ? ? ? WHAT CAN I DO ?

DISAPPOINTMENT

When I saw this on tv, I was impressed. So I on my next trip to the grocery store, I bought one.

I chose the fragrance..Willow Blossom with the white textured shade.

The light flickers for 4 hours and turns itself off until you reset it. It was lovely. Instantly I thought I need more of these.

BUT...I discovered it smelled like insect repellant to me......So what did I do? Purchased a refill with the pretty shade called "Green tea citrus".

Lovely light...pretty display.....burns my eyes like INSECT REPELLANT.



I absolutely refuse to try the other fragrance. I've wasted enough money already. It's such a wonderful concept but I just can't stand the smell.

I guess my daughter in law will benefit from my curiosity once again. She seems to like the smell.


I want my home to smell inviting but I have to be able to stay here too.

Welcome to my closet

Because of the way my mind works now and a burning desire to become organized, I devised a way to see most of my clothes at one time. (Thank You Lord for a guest bedroom) It's remarkable how much frustration this has removed from my life. I have a wonderfully big closet but it doesn't work for me anymore.

sssshhhh

Please be quiet! Please don't let him know.

Taylor "loves" to play tricks on Grandpa. If it's not rubber bands in his hair or stickers on his back, it's something tied to his belt. He usually catches her but she keeps trying.

North Carolina

My personality has always been: Loyalty. School, town, state, country....I grab hold of it and will be loyal to my last breath.
Therefore I just love that Kroger has an entire section for North Carolina products. Mind you, all the products I have tried so far have been VERY good.
The Bone Sucking Sauce made in Raleigh, NC has been a long time favorite in our house. It has replaced my "homemade" bar-b-que sauce.
The Old Mule sauce is made in Columbus, NC and I have not used it yet.
The Yam Good Sauce is made in Turkey, NC and is also untried but I have taste tested both of the new sauces and predict that they will take their place along side of the Bone Sucking Sauce.
YES! NORTH CAROLINA IS QUITE A SAUCY GOOD STATE ! ! ! ! !

A favorite thing

I am especially fond of Mexican Heather. I really enjoy the dainty small violet flowers and the lacy foliage. In the past (at another house) I carried the shrubs through the winter by covering them with straw. Since this procedure is time and strength intensive, I won't be doing it this year. My (new this spring) Mexican Heather will weather the winter in a container on the back porch, pushed into a corner where it can benefit from the heat in the house.

After being instructed by their father, my grandchildren did a fantastic job of "weeding" Grandma's flower beds. HOWEVER.....this is the only wild violet that I have left. It popped up unexpectantly in my Mexican Heather. I'm guarding it very well and hope to coax it to spread and someday be transplanted back into my flower bed.

My new favorite kitchen gadget

The quickest and easiest way to "boil" an egg is to microwave it. If you don't mind dry eggs, that is. If I skip the grease on the eggs, then maybe my country sausage can be excused.

This little gadget makes preparing eggs for salads very easy.

You know you are a Contractor's wife when:

One Saturday we drove 30 miles to a jobsite to pick up the truck, trailer and a large piece of equipment. As usual I questioned whether CY had the keys to the truck BEFORE we left home. He verified that he did so we were on our way.
Once on site, he discovered he did not have the rather odd looking key required to start the loader. Long story-short....I scrambled in my purse and wa-la.....the key! What can I say, I'm a died in the wool contractor's wife.
By the way....I don't know how the underlining got on the first part of this post and I don't know how to get it off.

PEST

Each year we are presented a good helping of this mess. The light brown "stuff" is moist sawdust. The small black spots are ants. The whole mess is an announcement that the Carpenter Bees are back to destroy our porch structure as they build their new homes......






This is a "new home". A hole in the top board of the porch. It is quite large (about the size of a nickle) for an insect and quite unwelcome.
All of this will be avoided once we actually do get the porch screened.