Figuring Out My Life

Oh, don't get excited.

I'm not sure about my life just like you're not sure about your life.

But, I am sure of one thing.  I'm a "get'er done'er."

Huh?  Listen, I'm truly figuring out what I do for a living.  I get things done.

I might not be the one doing them, but I know how get a task completed.

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This year has been busy.

I've spent a majority of time listening to people and helping individuals….and getting things done.  But, there's lots more to do.  LOTS!

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Missing the "Cat Wrangler" has been a fact of my life right now….

Priorities…..

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I have numerous personal projects which have been put on hold-- a wall of family photos, Mike's memory garden, and my "lids and container" symposium have all been moved to the back burner until I finish this  TOD.

There was an old Central t-shirt that proclaimed, "Winners make commitments; Losers make excuses."

I needed to tell all of you that the Cat Wrangler is still thinking about her blog!  I made a commitment.

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Meow!

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So, I'm at this fancy meeting on the 17 floor of the Twin Towers.  Mature, "I grew up in a small town Erin", was more  intrigued  looking out the window than listening to the questions.  At the end of the meeting, I asked one the Department of Education folks how they got any work done with that great panoramic view of the ATL.  "I don't really look at it much," the person said.

Hmmmmm, that might tell us all we need to know.

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Summer is here.  It's time to enjoy every minute.  Read some great books.  Cook some really good food.  Swim, splash, and float!  Look at the clouds.  Smell the flowers.  Take care of yourself.  Be kind.  Expect the best out of others.  Expect the best out of yourself!

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LOOK OUT THE WINDOW!

Laundry and Dishes are never Done, Being a Woman is Lots of Fun!

Wrestling with a fitted sheet is about all I want to fight some days.


Cleaning the counters and putting dishes in the dishwasher are two of my favorite things.


We have two dogs and three cats.  Sometimes I find enough pet hair hiding in the corners of the rooms that I could "build a pet."


Vacuuming is sometimes fun-- and sometimes it's a chore.


I'm happy I don't have to go down to the creek to wash my clothes.


Is Thanksgiving my favorite meal of the year or is it the meal made with the Thanksgiving leftovers?


Sometimes the refrigerator just gets away from me….okay….the expiration date says "2001" but I don't think it's telling the truth.


I love sweeping the porch.


Hoarding is in my blood.  I'm not proud of it....but do you want to see a note of mine from junior high?


I spent the morning cleaning the window where Raggs waits for me to come home.  When he sees me get out of the car, he licks the window.  I wish there was chicken flavored glass cleaner.

The Rights of Spring

I try to stay apolitical.  I have strong feelings but I think for the most part people want a blog to entertain, relax, and maybe, just maybe make them think a little.

Bill and I finished watching "Breaking Bad"; Molly, the girls and I did some spring shopping yesterday, and today, I'm praising God and thinking about spring rights.

Spring cleaning is a rite.  But, today, I'm concentrating on rights.  Spring RIGHTS!

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It's right to tell the truth.

It's right to pick up after yourself.

It's right to move forward.

It's right to learn from our mistakes.

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It's right to eat fresh foods.

It's right to open the windows.

It's right to feel the first of the spring breezes.

It's right to smell that smell of spring.

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Come on spring!  I'm ready!

Heavy Dog

Most dogs I know make themselves heavy when they don't want to do something.

Putting Pawley in the bathtub = heavy dog

Carrying Raggs to the house from the yard = heavy dog

Pulling Mille from under a bed, carrying her downstairs, taking her outside to go the bathroom after a thunderstorm = really heavy dog

Toting Snoop (our dog from childhood) upstairs = heavy dog

Carrying Snoop downstairs (with a hand over his eyes so he wouldn't be nervous) = heavy dog

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You know, it's not a bad idea!

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Woman not wanting to leave knitting = heavy woman

Woman binge watching Netflix = heavy woman

Woman puttering in yard = heavy woman

Woman reading in the hammock = heavy woman

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Bill could drag me, but I don't think he could carry me without acquiring a hernia.

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When there are things we don't want to do, but we know we have to do them, I think we all kind of become heavy dogs (or as I say, heavy woman).  I have been trying to identify "those" facets of my life and power through them.  I can't say I'm always successful, but I've had my share of successes in the past week.   I'm walking more.  Drinking more water.  Eating more vegetables.  Eating less sweets.  Reading more.  Asking deeper questions.  Listening more.  Playing more bridge.

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It's Friday night, this "heavy dog" is going to knit and think.  (Oooooooo, and I am going to watch the last four episodes of "Breaking Bad."

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So, pop me with a rolled up newspaper!  Heavy dog!

My Deer Stand of Life

When I'm traveling down the back roads of Georgia, spotting a deer stand always, I said, always makes me smile.  I think about the thoughtful planning that goes into deciding where to set up a stand.  Those stands become home away from homes for hunters who are waiting for the right shot.

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My deer stand of life tends to be the hammock.  I'm not a hunter of deer, I'm a hunter of hope.  I want to make the world a better place.  I want people to talk to each other.  I want all of us to work together for the good of our county.

I'm an observer of those folks who are so dogmatic about their beliefs are the right beliefs.  Their actions are the right actions.  Their way is the only way.

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I don't think so.

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Compromise is the key to moving forward.  Bill could eat Mexican food every night of the week.  I could not.  I like Mexican food, but I can't eat it every night.  I would get surly if I was made to eat Mexican food every night.  (Sidebar:  I would also be the size of Rhode Island.)

Balance seems to be the key.

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Ecclesiastes 3

King James Version (KJV)

3 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

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So, from the hammock I wonder about those who know that their way is the only way.  My life isn't one extreme or the other.....I float in that middle area.....trying to give more than I get....trying to love more than I hate....trying to listen more than I say.....trying to make the world a better place one day at a time.  

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Last week it was the ice storm.  This week it's 75 degrees and I'm in the hammock.  Life can change in the blink of an eye-- enjoy your "deer stand" wherever it may be.

Snow Place Like Home

I enjoyed the two and a half snow days from this past week.  I might have entered the teaching profession because of my love of two things:  1.  Snow days 2.  Thanksgiving school lunches. (No, I entered because I get a kick out of kids.  They do say the darnedest things.)

I liken the first summer I was in Georgia to how most folks around here react to snow.  They don't get it.

1982

It was 90 degrees for about the 100th day in a row that first summer we were in Georgia.  "Mama, I can't stand it.  The heat is everywhere.  You can't get away from it.  It is oppressive," I wailed this on a regular basis to my mother via the phone.  We were in a second floor apartment.  I was pregnant with Mike and Molly was a busy 2 year old.

You see, I didn't get it.  I didn't know that swimming could be comfortable.  I didn't understand that sitting under a ceiling fan and drinking iced tea while reading a book, knitting, or watching the children play was a great way to pass the time.  Summer was as foreign to me then as the snow is to my friends.

"Mama, it is as hot as hell outside and it's 8:00 a.m."

"Mama, it is 11:00 at night and it is as hot as it was at noon."

"You will not believe it.  We get up and it is like an oven outside."

The heat was my enemy….until it became my friend.

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Swimming--

I never knew that swimming could be….comfortable.  I remember going to the YMCA lessons at Riverside pool in Marshalltown, Iowa.  They always posted the temperature of the water (sadists!).
It was warm if it was above 70 degrees….that's right, folks, the water temperature was 70!

Bill, Molly and I were invited to Lake Sinclair for an outing…picnic, boating, beach….and the water was….like a bathtub.  It was wonderful.  That's when summer became, well, enjoyable.  It was a time to be outside, cool off, relax, go to the park, run through a sprinkler, go to a pool, go to the lake, go to the beach, go to the mountains, go tubing….I got it.  Summer was different in Georgia.  It was hot.  Air conditioning was wonderful.

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SNOW is different in Iowa.  They all have heavy coats, boots, mittens, gloves, chapstick (by the gross), chains for their tires, jumper cables, snowmobiles……and snow plows.  They have lots of snow plows.
I can't do snow as well as I used to do snow.

I don't have a down jacket.  I don't have heavy snow boots.  Gone are the days when I had noon duty from November until March because my principal didn't want the other older teachers to have duty…."You won't break your hip if you fall," he told me that autumn.  "If one of the others go down, they'll be out for weeks.  You're 28 and tough."  I swear I took those hundred kids out if it was above zero.  They had to get their wiggles gone for an afternoon of work.  We sometimes stood like cattle with our backs to the wind….we got our fresh air and had a good experience.  That was in another life, in another time, in another state.

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2014


I am a Georgia girl….I'll layer up and stick near the fire.  And watch the snow fall gently in the woods.

It's the Straw that Broke the Camel's Back

Sometimes life is just too complicated.  It's like everyone else has the rules to the game and I don't know if we're playing Red Rover or Kickball.  Obama care, the government shut down, poverty, work, common core curriculum....it seems like everyone has an idea about what is RIGHT!

I'll tell you what is wrong....yep, these are all my value judgements.  No, I'm not taking on the big woes like world hunger, sex trafficking, or cancer.  Those are complete blogs onto themselves.  I'm talking about things in my little corner of the world.  Things that get under my skin.... 

1.  Coca-Cola in a baby's bottle

2.  Healthy food which is too expensive to buy

3.  ER being used as a family doctor

4.  Ingrown toenails

5.  Wasps, hornets, yellow jackets, and scorpions

6.  Motorcycles that drive on the middle of the white dashed line  passing cars on the Interstate

7.  Knee pain

8.  Not talking or reading to your children in a positive tone

9.  Paper cuts

10.  Tailgating (and I'm not talking an event before a sports activity)

11.  Black and white tv shows that have had color added

12.   A bad hair dye job

13.  Ties that are tied too short

14. 1/8 of an inch of milk in the bottom of the milk carton

15.  Cars pulling out in front of me and turning in a block…and not using turn signals.


None of these are in the category of nuclear war or cancer.   AND I accept it.