What's Been Happening the Last Several Months

Since the first of the year I've had sciatica. Then I went into physical therapy for it. After 4 months I'm somewhat better but still a burning hurt in my hamstrings. I'm now under the care of a massage therapist who is doing myofascial release for that area of my body. I am uncomfortable much of the time, but I have faith I'll be much better soon.

But during all this I had a meltdown because of being in PT and Chiropractic also. I'm getting better with the crying but I'm still a bit weepy at least every day or two. I'm also very, very tired. I have some women who are a great support for me.

We were planning a trip to California, where hubby would go to Fresno to a model RR train convention and I would stay with our daughter. I decided to stay here in our home. It's an 11 hour trip to the SF Bay area where hubs would leave me with our daughter for 10 days. Then he would travel to Fresno and pick me up on the way back. Just about everyone had me convinced to go so I wouldn't be alone. At the last moment, I sat my hubby down and told him I'd changed my mind. I wanted to stay in my home, my comfort zone. This was terribly important to me.

He left early Monday morning. When he got to Reno he called me and told me he cried pulling away from our home. He was sad leaving me alone. I appreciated his sentiments more than you could ever, ever imagine but I felt good about my decision. I assured him I was fine and he called every day to see how I was doing. I suppose this happens when you're in the twilight years of your life. Sure I cry each day for missing the love of my life for a solid 9 days and pray that we're both well and have no problems. I told him on the phone tonight this is the last time we're apart. No more conventions, only going to visit kids, grandkids and great grandgirls. That's it. It is so much easier being in my own comfort zone, cry alone, go to a local restaurant if I want to and sleep in my own luxurious bed here at home. And I can clean my house and do some projects that have been put on hold for so long. But I'm getting much better and have friends who actually love me very much. I'll be fine. But, yes, it definitely took a lot out of me. I am getting my groove back though, trust me!
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If you love red, white and blue kitchens this will get your heart pumping. I think it's fabulous!

And an exotic bedroom on a step-up level is pretty enticing also.

If only I had this large a space to work in! But I don't do a whole lot of crafting anymore.

I've always loved this look on steps and those plants, which the name escapes me at the moment. ;-)

I love this chair—color, tufted back and on wheels also.

This actually looks quite like a shop with its tall wall but it could be a home. Gorgeous idea no matter what.

I very much like vignettes like this.

I actually have one of these little cages in my living room but it has roses in it. Easy way to add pizzazz to a room.

Beautiful Old World gardens.

Clever way to show off your dishes and store them at the same time.

My friend, Rhea, paints these little birdhouses. I am the recipient of one of these, plus a few other painted things she's sent me through the years. They are displayed in various rooms of my home. I love the way she paints. She's very clever and very "neat" in what she does. She's been very sick for a long time and just lost her young hubby to a medical error when he had an appendectomy. I've talked to her on the phone and want to try and keep it up as she's very special to me.

I love the colors of this room, yellow and pink. That is my favorite color combo. Those colors are stunning together.

A very tidy and lovely office and craft room from all the fabrics behind the doors in the dark cabinet. Just beautiful.

Clever and gorgeous way to store trims.

Another idea for a birdcage.

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Back Soon!

I shall be back soon with more photos and a bit of an explanation of my absence.

Connie

Producers' Message with Reign of Judges: Title of Liberty TEASER - MUST ...

In Regards to My Rant Post

I deleted the rant post because that's what happens when those who disagree with what I believe start their venom and vehemence. It wasn't worth it to me. There are those of you who will agree with the rant and then there are those who don't agree but defend your right to say it and then there are those who attack and attack and can't let it go without baring their teeth when faced with an opposing view and then spew their venom. I can take it but hubby said it wasn't worth it. Belittling comments kept coming in from that one person. I won't say something like "I feel sorry for her" because actually I truly don't. I am sorry she disrupted it for those of you who had the courage to comment. Remind you of Nazi Germany in the 30s and 40s? Hmmmm?

Story about Watches

Yes, I know I haven't been blogging much lately but I'll try to do better. Just too much "chaos" in my life right now. And I am not happy about it. It will get better though.
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This is a story of an anniversary gift from our son on our 50th wedding anniversary a few years ago. Although we requested no gifts as he and our daughter were treating us to a 3 day weekend in Santa Barbara on the beach and that was costly enough, our son gifted us with 2 very expensive watches. We had a delightful weekend and then went home. We put the watches back until we could get a few links taken out as they were a bit big. I'm sure these watches cost a couple of thousand dollars because when we took them in to the jewelers they told us they were extremely good watches—or in jewelers parlance, expensive, which is typical of our son and daughter.


It took us a while to get them into a jeweler who would do it. Yes, "a jeweler who would/could do it." They can only be done by the maker of the watches since there were no approved dealers in Boise. So our batteries wore down. Well, to have the battery changed we had to take them to an approved jeweler for these watches or send them in to the manufacturer. We took them to a jeweler who would wrap, insure and send them in to the watchmaker for us. It cost us $250.00 to have the batteries changed. Needless to say, we will now conserve the batteries by pulling the stem out (this preserves the batteries) when we are not wearing them. They are beautiful and have a simple elegance. I just wish our kids wouldn't spend so much money on us. They are both very generous to their mom and dad though. Now that I think about it, they'll inherit them. Hmmmm. ;-)
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I don't think I know anyone who wouldn't love to have this kitchen. It's one of the largest and prettiest I've ever seen.

Or this one either. I love how they've woven new with vintage into a gorgeous kitchen. I wonder how they dust the rafters though. ;-)

I love blue but not a huge fan of blue rooms. But this one is stunning. The color of blue and the weaving in of reds and pinks and yellows is truly magnificent, as are the walls.

This room is a favorite of mine. I like the arrangement of furniture, easy to converse when 2 sofas are across from each other...if you have the room.

Of course the colors struck me first. I am not a fan of old dark pictures on the wall. Perhaps these are relatives but I'd still like to see bright cheery pictures on the wall.

I like this room a lot also. Just a room large enough to accommodate several friends at one time. It's just a lovely room.

A small cheerfully decorated dining room done in beautiful colors.

I had to show you this bar of carved soap. Who in the world would want to bathe with it after all that intricate carving was done? Just a stunning work of art.

A beautiful bouquet of roses in a lovely blue vase. Those look like David Austin roses to me but I am no expert on this at all.

A cute sofa in a french style. This looks rugged enough to have in a family room with a bunch of kids. I like this one a lot. I'll take it in pink however. :-)

More flowers in stunning colors of pink and orange.

I have no idea where this shop is but it's certainly a stunning place for a shop.

A delightful place on a back porch for two. I'd really like this on our patio but our patio faces south—in a desert—so you know eating out there isn't going to happen. I've resolved myself to that a long time ago. But this is how I'd like mine to look anyway. Beautiful!

A beautiful rose arch with a pebble stone walkway. We can dream, right?

I find this cute. Plain and simple: cute.

~*~

Linking up with Pink Saturday.   

Some Pretty Rooms and Great Granddaughter Stories

I'm still doing physical therapy for the sciatica and now some chiropractic also. I've always loved chiropractic and it certainly can't hurt. I had a "massage" by a young man who is very familiar with the body. I hurt when he got though but I was hurting badly when I went to him, too. We'll see what happens. And I thank all of you for sending me personal advice. I am definitely taking the magnesium and it's helping. But I'm on pain killers at least once a day. That nerve sure can incapacitate you! It's certainly disrupted my life for 2 months now,

Also, reminding you again to go to my Pinterest page with over 15,300 pins and 26,423 followers so far. I pin every single day and there is nothing on there but beautiful images. Go see for yourself because I doubt I'll ever get them all on my blog here.
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And you know you're going to get some stories about our great granddaughters, too. Right? :-)

Some of the things the 4 year old said while we were over there recently:

At the dinner table: "Pass the French bread, my darling." [HUH!] But we did and she said, "Thank you." Her parents are very good at teaching her manners.

Then later at the table she said: "I have an announcement." And then told us what it was.

Then she told her dad to "Snap out of it. You need to focus, Dad!" We all just looked at her and wondered where that came from. Of course, she was trying to get his attention.

When we speak to her on the phone she always says, "Thank you for the call. And I love you, Nana and Poppop."

Then one night as she was being tucked into bed she told her mom: "You will never be alone because I love you so much. To be alone you would have to hide, because there is someone in this house that loves you so much...me."

When we took her on a surprise visit to ride a pony cart she later told her mom: "I had a great adventure today, Mom."

This is a story she told her mom on the way to work several months ago, all made up of course. She has an extreme imagination. "As a child living in Mexico we swam in the ocean and ate fairies with a little tomato and Parmesan cheese. And then I was a pirate captain in the Sea of Egypt who found a boy who wanted to be a pirate but didn't know how to swim. So we took him to Egypt Swim School, but when they got there it was actually a house filled with gems that were booby-trapped with nails and they all had to run away." [As my granddaughter told me: This kid is nuts! LOL] Oh, and she's never lived in Mexico.

I think we're creating a snob here!! But they are cute, great granddaughters, in general I mean.
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Blue is a beautiful color and I like it a lot also, so I thought you'd like this elegant home to check out.

This periwinkle color is lovely also. Very beautiful and intriguing.

I'm a gal who loves seeing a pretty laundry with all the pretty colors of cleaning paraphernalia, baskets, tins of soap, baskets of laundry, etc. This is gorgeous to me.

While not too elegant, it is something I'd love in a house big enough for it. Lovely and adore the colors.

This is cozy and intimate, more my taste.

A plethora of flowers over a draped door has me envisioning Mexico, which we visited many times. I love it more than any other place to vacation.

This reminds me of Mackenzie-Childs ware, which I've loved since the early 80s. They are a very quirky couple but produce gorgeous items for the home.

Even antiques shows looks gorgeous with all the lovely items they produce for sale. Not many around Idaho though.

How about this darling suitcase used as a storage for quilts for winter. Beautiful!

I thought this was a great idea for kids coming in from mud or snow or for washing the family dog. What a luxury this would be to the lady of the house.

Another flea market showing sweet sofas, desks and a plethora of desirable items we want. Cute!

A little sun room/porch to use as a place to laze around or eat in it in the summer time.

This is an English home—cozy, warm and life revolving around the kitchen wood stove.

I love this kitchen, especially the dining chairs and the french pastry cart.

Not sure what kind of flower this is. Looks like a multi-colored peony but I'm not familiar enough with flowers to be certain. Whatever it is it's beautiful.

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Linking up with Pink Saturday.   

A Story Today and Another One In A Few More Days.

This sciatica has kept me from blogging much lately. I'm on PT three times a week and started going to a chiropractor because the pain is so bad. Hence, not much is happening in my life. I "ice" my hip, left buttock and legs frequently. So see how exciting my life has been for the past 2 months. Wow, can you stand the excitement? Pain pills figure frequently in my life now but I record every single time I take one, even if it's a quarter, half or the full pill. I hate being on them but it is definitely necessary at the moment. The pain from that nerve can be and is debilitating. So here I am tonight thinking of things to blog about. Give me a little sympathy here, please. ;-)

My great granddaughters, featured in some photos below, are pretty funny. I'm relating a few stories today about them.

They love getting mail. We try to mail them something once a week. I'm not doing very well at the once-a-week thing though but they love getting anything in the mail, even a postcard. Sometimes I'll send them Dollar Store items or candy but most times it's a card or note in an envelope.

But the other day I found a doll's comb when cleaning. It looks to be the comb of the character Ariel that she got while she was over here visiting us last Thanksgiving. I put it in an envelope with a note and sent it to her. I had told her mum and her I was sending it so watch for it.

It arrived last Monday with a note from the postman saying that it exceeded its weight so as a courtesy they were leaving it in the mailbox, but they owed the post office a dollar. I was stymied because I have a digital scale for weight and always look up the postage on line even considering if it's thicker than needed, irregular shape, etc. and add additional postage for that. I'm very particular about things like that. But anyway we laughed about it.

But the rest of the story is that Miss C, the oldest to whom I sent it with the note, looked inside, took out the doll comb and hugged the note I sent to her chest. Her mum said she went on and on about her "letter", slept with it, lost it in her bed during the night and her mum had to come in and find it for her! When my granddaughter told me that we laughed ourselves silly. As I said, she loves getting letters, no matter what I say on the card or letter. Sometimes I write, "You [her mum] tell her a story." She doesn't know the difference yet but I'll have to be more careful when she learns to read well. And her father is the best story teller I've ever heard. He keeps ME enthralled with his stories at dinner or evening bedtime stories.

Here's the baby sister, Miss J with the curly dark hair.

She loves being outside and working in the yard.

That antique trunk is one I gave my granddaughter before the girls were born. I'm going to suggest that she paint it white. That will go more with her new decor she's implementing.

In Washington state one day can be like this, dressed in warm clothes...

And the very next day can be warm, dressed in an elegant chapeau. :-)

You can barely see the new chairs and table they have in kitchen nook in their new house. I'm loving that she's decorating similar to mine!!!!

Miss C is either Huck Finn or a bracero with this hat since she's Hispanic. She loves telling people "I'm an Irish Guacamole", since she can't say Guatemalan yet. It's still a tongue twister for her. She's a quick learner though.

This is Miss J with her pony tails. Her hair is so curly it looks short but it's getting long. The white splotches on the wall are different paint colors they're testing. The blue was on the walls of the family room when they moved in but it's gonna go real soon! The whole house will be painted along with all the woodwork trim and cabinets but it'll take them a couple of years I know because of having little munchkins around.

Her favorite color is purple, next is pink.

I saw this colander on the internet, Amazon I think, but I can't justify spending the money just because it's pink. My old one is about 40 years old and still working great.

I love this setting, especially that lovely room divider. The chairs are lovely and the roses just top it off for me.

Isn't this a unique idea for a home outside wall? I like it and think it's adorable. Love the blues also.

Beautiful, but a bit rich looking for me. I am truly a simple girl. Which reminds me of a saying I saw recently and think it is totally accurate:
Be pretty if you can,
Be witty if you must,
But be gracious if it kills you.
I truly try to live by that creed.

I find this kitchen divine. I like how they have an antique rug in the kitchen. I wish more people put rugs in their kitchen. I have rugs over my vinyl to soften my kitchen. It's a small kitchen but adequate for our needs...if we eat out 3 times a week! Notice the doggie bowls are higher than normal so as to help the dog not to have to bend over as much.

I'm going to be looking for something like this that will fit in our small kitchen. Finding the right dimensions at the right price will be my challenge.

This is designer toilet paper! Can you believe that? I'd buy it but I'm sure it costs a lot more than Cottonelle, which I love, and probably not as soft. It is gorgeous and would be fun to have around, but we go through a LOT of toilet paper.

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Linking up with Pink Saturday.