The Hurricane has started to make a turn to the Philadelphia area.  It has been raining all night long.  I have no idea how much has fallen, but it has been steady.  The bulk of the rainfall will be this afternoon and tonight.  This afternoon the wind will be picking up and trees, with there wet and soppy roots, will begin falling and the power will go out.  The power crews will not be going out until the winds are reduced.

I just watched a wind expectation map.  I should be seeing gusts up to 50+ MPH.  The cool thing was seeing the eye come across the area, and right over Chester County, where I live.  It may be a scary storm, but if that happens, it might be very interesting.  I will let you know.

For now, I have power.  Molly and I have plenty of water available, lots of flashlights and books to read.  I will keep you as informed as I am able.  My cell phone has a hot spot, but that uses a great deal of the battery power, so until the generator goes into use, I will not fire that up.  But once the storm passes and before the power is restored, I will still try to post from time to time.

For those of you who know where I live and are concerned about my becoming stranded, I had a phone call this morning from a friend who lives in Parkesburg.  Willie worked with my late husband and has checked on me from time to time and done favors from time to time as well.  He called to say I was more than welcome to come pound on his door, at any time of the day or night, should I need a place to go.  I am hoping I will not need that to happen, but it warmed my heart to know that I could.  I am so blessed with people who really keep me in their thoughts.

Ready for Sandy…..

OK… here I am, sitting in my recliner, dog fed and curled up in my lap, corned beef and cabbage in the Crockpot and I think I am ready for the hurricane to come.

It was gray and cloudy this morning, a little sunshine briefly and then drizzle.  I guess the outer rain bands are making their presence felt.  I got the big blue flower pots off the front porch and stored away in the garage.  The wind chimes are also in the garage.  The stuff on the deck is stowed away so they will hopefully not blow all over the place.  But I have not been in a hurricane before, so it may be a really big learning curve for me.

I did some adjusting on the platform for the generator.  The bench that is being used was at one time screwed down to a parade float.  Today it is screwed down to the deck.  I have two cinder blocks on the seat as added weight.  I have a 2 by 4 screwed to the top of the bench.  It gives the big board cover a tilt out to the yard so that rain might run off.  This is the board that was cut out of the wall in my new store room when windows were installed, so it is a nice size.  This will also help move the fumes from the generator beyond the edge of the deck.  I placed this big board on the 2 by 4 and then scooted it into position and then screwed it into the deck railing AND the 2 by 4.  This will allow me to place the generator on the bench so when it is running it is covered from weather and the fumes will go out into the back yard.

I spoke to Marji several times today and she passed on a suggestion from Danny that I should try starting the generator.  So, I did.  I had it down on the ground so I had a good distance for the pull.  I opened up the gas by flipping a lever, turned the generator ON and pulled.  Nothing.  I pulled and pulled and pulled…. Nothing.  Then I remembered the choke, so I slid that switch.  I pulled and pulled and still nothing.  I am beginning to think that in spite of having the generator, close to 20 gallons of gas, enough 2-cycle oil to mix plenty of gas for the generator I would be in the dark.  Then I looked at the ON/OFF switch.  It is the funky kind that has a line and an O to indicate off and on.  The O was down so that was how it was set.  I got started thinking that maybe the O was for OFF, so I pushed the line down and pulled.  The recoil just about took my arm off.  One more pull and the generator was humming.  Amazing how well it worked when it is properly set.  So I am set there.  The generator is sitting inside the back door of my outside porch, safe from the weather.  Once the storm is waning, I will get it running and then wait for the electricity to come back on while I watch some TV and charge the fridge from time to time. 

Just finished a delightful meal.  I had gotten some home grown cabbage the other day, so picked up a corned beef brisket.  Put it in the Crockpot this morning and it cooked while I worked.  It was yummy.  Molly even liked it, too.

Just finished giving Molly her bath.  She suffers from Cushings Syndrome and one of the effects is frequent staph infections on her skin.  We have an anti-bacterial shampoo that I use to keep it at bay for as long as I can, and then we have to get an antibiotic from the vet, but they will soon stop working.  They come more frequently these days and since we have been fighting fleas, too, I think that the staph was there and I thought it was flea bites.  Anyway, I am bathing her every other day, at this point.  If we still have power tomorrow, I will give her another one because once the power is out, I am going to have to watch her scratch and nip at her legs.  Might have to get to the vet for more antibiotics and she just finished a course in September.

So, I am waiting for Sandy.  Could use the rain, but not 8 to 10+ inches all in one shot!!!

Preparing for a HURRICANE???

Below is a map of the projected path of Hurricane Sandy.  She is currently off the coast of Florida but expected to slide up the coast before it get sucked into land between two other dominating systems, a strong cold front that might have brought us snow, were it not for Sandy and a very strong High sitting off the coast.  Those two systems are forming a void between them and are quite literally going to pull the Hurricane from the Atlantic onto land.  Without those systems in place, this storm would stay out in the ocean.  Instead, the weather folk in the area are talking “epic”, “historical”. “Record-breaking”, “the perfect storm”!  Yikes!!!!!!!!!

 

My weekend plans were to go to Indian Acres tonight, enjoy a quiet evening and spend a leisurely day tomorrow packing up some more stuff to bring home in preparation to sell my house there.

Instead, I have been preparing to weather this “epic” storm here.  Danny & Marji drove up from Maryland today and helped me set up a small generator that will allow me to watch my TV once the power goes out (“they” say it might be weeks before power is restored) as well as be able to charge my cell phone or use it’s hot spot to access the internet as long as my IPad stays charged.  We have certainly become so dependent on electricity these days.  I then picked up medicine for my dog, Molly, medicine for me, supplies for the generator and, oh yes… food.  I was out at the local Wal-Mart watching loaves of bread, eggs and milk being hauled in every cart.  Lots and lots of French toast in the future of those folks.

I can cook on my stovetop as I cook with propane.  I can also heat my house with a small, ventless propane heater in the living room.  The cold front that is helping bring Sandy to us is supposed to be dropping the temps to a frigid level, but I will be fine.  So as long as the house sustains no damage, I will remain safe and warm until things get back to normal.

I will head to Indian Acres for the day tomorrow.  I will be washing out sinks and tubs.  I will be shutting down the refrigerator, and bring home some more stuff, but I will be back home tomorrow night and getting ready for Sandy.

Good thoughts and Prayers would be appreciated.  This is really scary!

An Emotional Weekend….

I have not written in a few days with good reason.  As usual, I was in Maryland for the weekend.  As was not usual, I began sorting through and packing up the personal things in my house there.  All spring and summer, I have had the place “For Sale by Owner” and have had several folks come in, walk through, talk about how nice it was and then not hear from them again.  I was not asking a great deal for it, but in this economy most people do not have the extra to spend on a second home.

A couple of weeks before I headed to North Carolina for the Golden Girls Quilting Guild retreat, I had gotten a call from one of the lookers. They made an offer on the place and I accepted it.  They then began the process of getting financing so they could buy it.  It has taken many weeks and I am sure twists and turns on their part, but they called to say the bank had finally approved their financing plan and would be getting the money soon. 

So, it begins… the end of an era…20 summers at Indian Acres.  20 summers of fun and parties, friends and fishing, boating and just hanging out and yet it seems like only yesterday that it began.

Thanks to some of those friends, I am making great strides at going through things.  After helping with the garage, Danny & Marji came down Friday night.  Danny and I tackled the shed and got rid of old stuff and fishing stuff and stuff I had no clue about.  Then Sunday they returned and we emptied the attic of Red Hat float stuff and I went though closets and tables and other areas.  There were a couple of trips to the dump and then filling the pickup with the stuff I am keeping.  Between the dump and stuff that Danny & Marji wanted, I have reduced the amount of stuff I need to go through by a great deal.  Danny and Marji were here at home yesterday to unload the truck.  It is stacked in my enclosed porch and I will begin finding places for it all to reside.

Some of the many things I went through were photo albums that had lived under the coffee table on a shelf.  I wanted to see if there was anything that could be trashed, but I found close to 30 years of my life with Rudy, starting with a trip to Hershey Park on a motorcycle while my brother and his girlfriend followed us in a car and ending with picnics and fishing at Indian Acres.  I loved seeing them but at the same time it was very emotional.

But that is what the next few weeks will be.  I will be going through 30 years of life, remembering many happy times and then putting all of the memories and mementos away so I can start a new adventure.  I pray that I will have the strength to handle it all and good friends to hold me up when I cannot.

Moving Forward….

I wonder how many widows dread getting into the dirty, funky areas that our late husband’s had as their sole domain??  After my husband passed away, I began the task of sorting through his things and finding homes for the items that I no longer wanted or needed.  By the end of the year in which he died, I had pretty much accomplished that in the areas of the house that we shared.

There were a couple of areas that were totally Rudy’s.  The first is the workshop in the basement where he built his remote control planes and fabricated beautiful wooden items, including the cabinet doors and drawers when we updated the kitchen.  The other is the garage…..

No way to thank these people…

OK, I started to talk about the hard time I was having even starting to clean out the garage following the death of my husband.  But the story has become how wonderful it is to have friends that you can count on, even when you do not expect it.

I had started the task of cleaning out the garage.  I had tackled the job the same way one would of you had to eat an elephant… one little piece at a time.  I had found screws and bolts all over the floor near the work bench.  I had cleaned off the top of the work bench and was working on the shelf.  I had worked on nits of it and then come inside to gather my emotions and energy before heading out to do it again.  Little bits at a time…!  On one of my breaks I had called my best friend in Maryland to see how she was doing and to see if her husband might have time over the weekend to come to the Maryland house and help clean out the attic.  I told her what I was doing and just as I was about to call it a day because I was getting tired, I saw a big blue pickup truck pull into my driveway.  It was my friend Marji and her husband Danny.  They had come to help.

And help they did.  We continued to clean and sort and sweep and arrange for another few hours until I had 5 bags of trash, Danny had a lot of scrap metal in his truck and both sides of the garage were cleaned up and I had room for all of the odds and ends that had been piling up on my deck and storage room that really belong in the garage.  I am thrilled!!!!!!!  It would have taken me another day or two before I had gotten to this point.  I still have tools to sort through and place in the rolling tool chest, but everything is together.

Danny will be down on Sunday (and perhaps tomorrow) at the summer house to help me begin the task of cleaning out areas and getting my stuff moved.  The house in Maryland has been sold and once the buyer has the money in his hot hands, we will schedule settlement and I will be back to one home which is just fine with me.  I am not sure what will happen over the next few weeks, but it is such a comfort to a widow to know that there is someone that can rely on to be there to help me do these physical things like moving boxes from the attic, taking large pieces of artwork from the peaks of a cathedral ceiling house and just do the physical labor that I cannot do alone, no matter how hard I try.

Marji and Danny, I can never thank you enough.  I think God everyday that you are in my life and will do what I can to repay you.  I love you both so much…!

Ambushed….

I lost my husband to lung cancer in 2011.  We had been married for 25 years but together closer to 30.  We had a year long time to say goodbye while he battled the stage 4 disease that cut his life way too short.  He was a 'hard-working man' who really had actually worked very hard at jobs that he really would have preferred not to do, so he could have the ability to retire and play hard while he was still healthy.  He retired and within weeks was diagnosed with cancer which took his life in less than a year.  It sucked, for him and for me.

I thought I was doing OK after he passed.  I had things to take care of and get settled.  I had a summer home to get away to.  I had activities to do and friends who promised they would always be there for me and family who came and went from time to time.  I was a rock!!   WRONG!

The infamous “they” say that all of the firsts after a death are hard.  First holidays, first birthdays, first anniversaries, etc are triggers that remind the one left behind of their loss.  I managed through the spring holidays, the summer events and got all the way through Christmas and thought I really had a handle on it all.  But then I got to New Year’s Eve and just went on a sudden downward spiral.  I do not know whether it was the fact that New Year’s Eve was usually our quiet celebration of another year together or whether it was the “Winter Blues” or the fact that everyone seems to go into hibernation after the holidays and I needed to be with someone.  Whatever it was, I found that I would get up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee and kick back in my recliner with Molly in my lap and not move for hours and hours and hours.

I knew I needed to do something.  I knew I needed to find some help.  I knew I could no longer think I was doing fine, and I had to find a way to get the help I needed.

Over the summer, I had noticed groups listed in the local community paper that dealt with grief.  I had toyed with the idea of going to one of them, but most of the time they met at times that did not work for me or they were far enough away as to make traveling to them difficult.  So I did not take the step of going to a meeting.  As January was coming to an end, I spotted another listing for the group called GriefShare that was being started at the local Mennonite Church the very evening I saw the paper… can you say ‘meant to be’?

So I pried my butt out of the recliner and drove to the church to become part of the first day of presentation of GriefShare in Parkesburg.  They way the sessions work is there is a video played that runs for about 45 minutes.  In these videos professionals who have gone through the grief of losing a son/daughter, mother/father sibling or child talk about the feelings that they had and what they found worked for them in order to get through the grief and back into life.  Then we would break up into smaller discussion groups and we would talk and share and cry and pray.  After 13 weeks, we learned that each of us need to grieve in our own way but there are things that we will continue to have happen, long after we think our grieving is finished.

One of them is being ‘ambushed’ by emotions.  It is going along just fine for days and weeks and even months.  You are making new connections, blending the new pieces of your life with the parts of the old that you are keeping and thinking that you are really doing well.  Then, you will be driving along in the car, listening to the radio and a song comes on… and you are suddenly in tears and wishing your loved one could be there to put their arms around you and just give you a hug.  Or you are cooking a meal and a smell will waft up out of the pot and you feel the deep pangs of being lonely and wishing you could share one more meal with the one you have lost.

That is when you are so grateful for the new circle of friends that you made at the grief support group.  Our group has been gathering for a monthly dinner since the sessions ended in April.  I had one tonight and while there are only  a few who still come, we get to laughing as well as sharing tears and when we are done, we are closer than we were at the beginning of the evening and feeling good about where we are in life and ready to tackle what lies ahead.  We are not going to be meeting in November and December because of the holidays and I, for one, will miss the dinners.  I hope and pray that the dinners will pick up again in January.

A New Experience on two levels….

Yesterday was an unusual day.  I only had one major thing to do, but ended up doing several.  It was another busy day, which is fine with me.

I started by going to the bank to deposit a couple of checks.  Then I went to Home Depot to but some gloves to handle the flea spray stuff as well as a vapor rated respirator.  Once that was accomplished, I headed to the hair salon and was able to be fitted in for a quick haircut.  Nice start to the day!

Once at home, I called a couple of friends, had lunch and then gathered all of the paraphernalia to begin the battle against the fleas.  I donned all of the gear to protect myself from this nasty stuff, mixed the concoction in the sprayer and began using it outside, on my deck.  I decided to do my first efforts at spraying so I could adjust the nozzle to get a decent spray setup for inside as well as just get a feel for how it is going to work.  As a result, I will be spraying today, just before I head out for Indian Acres, taking the paraphernalia with me so I can repeat the process just before leaving Indian Acres on Sunday or Monday.  The spray has to be completely dry before Molly can come back into the house.  The application makes things a bit wetter than I anticipated, so this schedule works out to the benefit of everyone, except the fleas and other insects inside the houses.

Once the test spraying was finished, I called a fellow PABA member (Art Polk) who had invited me to come to the Parkesburg Lions Club meeting.  He has been inviting me for over a year, but I have never been able to go.  I decided to take him up on it.  The Parkesburg Lions meet twice a month, on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.  So I drove to the Baptist Church, where the meetings occur around 6:15PM.  I was treated to a lovely dinner, and while the attendance last night was very sparse, they seem to be a nice group of people who are trying to serve the community.  They have already asked me to give them some pricing on embroidering sweatshirts/hoodies for sale to the group next year.  That would be a nice bonus should I decide to become a member.

Off to get ready to pack up the truck, prepare the house for spraying and then off for a weekend at Indian Acres.

Busy, Busy, Busy…

I woke up a little after 7 AM.  I would have preferred to have wakened a bit later as I stayed up watching Season 1 of Duck Dynasty which premieres Season 2 tonight.  Cannot wait!!!

Fed Molly, made coffee.

Gathered dirty clothes, started laundry.

Cleaned up kitchen.

Fired up computers… fun & work.

Wash in dryer, more in washer.

Made bed, dressed and finally had something to eat.

Folded dry clothes and put them away, wash into the dryer.

Created embroidery designs for the sweatshirts that have to get shipped today. (Still waiting for them to arrive and praying hard that they will be the right size!)

Still just noon.  I am doing well so far!

UPS comes early…. Yippee!

Flea fighter stuff arrives.

New hoodies from my supplier… prayers answered, they are Mediums.

Go into high gear and have finished hoodies packed and into the Post Office by 4:30 PM!  Yippee, I can rest easier tonight.

Kicked back, reading about flea stuff…. Nasty  and need to be well protected to spray.  This should take care of just about anything that thinks about crawling around the house!

Still have to finish laundry, grab something to eat and then start working on my quilt project.  Good day, by any standard.

Good Day, Bad Day, Good Day, maybe...

It was another dreary day in Southeastern Pennsylvania, cloudy and a fine mist all day.  Could have used a more steady rain for my ground water and well, but I will take anything I can get.

I got up fairly early.  Coffee and some computer work.  I had been contacted by a lady in New Jersey to do a fast embroidery job (due to her this Friday) and I was awaiting the email with the properly spelled names that had to go the hoodies I had ordered.  I sent a text message to her and still nothing.

I had a dental cleaning today, so I had an early lunch and headed to Christiana.  The dentist that I have gone to since arriving in town back in 1976 had been suffering from some pinched nerves in his back for a year.  He went through some risky surgery so he could continue to do his job (the nerves made it impossible to handle his instruments) but it did not correct the problem and he had to retire and sell his practice to the dentist he shared office space with.  This was the first time I was going to the new dentist as his patient.  I got a “Look Ma, No Cavities” from him and headed home.

That is the good part of my day...

I got home from the dentist to find the hoodies on my back porch.  I am thinking… great, now I just need the information.  I left a voice mail for the lady who ordered them and opened the package to check the hoodies.  OMG!!!  I ordered 2 medium.  The invoice said 2 medium and the packing list said 2 medium.  The hoodies were both LARGE!!!  So, on the phone to my supplier, new hoodies on their way along with a shipping label to return the large ones.  Now, if the picker there gets the right size, I may still have a shot at getting them to New Jersey on time.  If not, I may be driving there before going to Indian Acres on Friday.  Several text messages and I finally have the names for the hoodies.

That is the bad part of the day.

I had a chance to talk to one of my bestest friends today.  She has been battling bronchitis and talking for any period of time was difficult at best, usually ending in coughing fits.  She called and was obviously feeling much improved.  I am so happy as she is going to be my roommate in November at a Quilting Retreat in Bird-In-Hand, PA.  I would hate for her to miss out on the fun.  I told her how well my portable ironing board is working out, so I gave her the link to the Etsy site and she ordered one while we chatted.  We should be well equipped for the retreat.

I checked on the flea spray stuff and it should be on my back porch along with the hoodies tomorrow.  So, once I finish the hoodies, I will begin reading all about the insecticide so I can begin spraying on Thursday.

That is another good part of my day.

So, if all of the ducks fall into a line tomorrow, I should have a good and busy day tomorrow.  I love busy days.

Fall is here....

Fall has arrived with a vengeance.  Last week I had the air conditioner on briefly during a really humid patch of weather.  This morning it was in the low 40's when I woke up around 8AM.  The house was at 62 degrees, so I turned on the furnace to take the chill off.  Within a one week period of time, the temps have gone from summer-like heat and humidity to good old-fashioned fall.

But still no frost.

Ready to Sew.....

One of the problems with having two houses is that you sometimes have two of everything.  Sometimes you only have one item and when you want to do something at both houses with that one item you have to haul it back and forth.

I am learning to quilt.  I have completed two so far this year.  I have two tops that need to get a back and batting set up and then go to my quilter.  I have been a sewer, off and on, for many years.  I have computerized sewing/embroidery machines in each house, along with a serger in each house.  I have, in addition to those machines three Singer featherweights and my old Kenmore machine that has a large variety of basic, decorative stitches.  Over the summer, I was also given a Precision Deluxe machine in a cabinet.  The Precision and the featherweights just sew forward and backward, so the old Kenmore is my only machine that goes beyond basics without being computerized.  It still runs beautifully and is very, very quiet.

I have also have learned that if you want to have consistency in your quilt, you sew all of the seams on the same machine that you began the job with.  For my current project, I want to use my Kenmore.  I took it to North Carolina for the Golden Girls Quilting Retreat and I had it at the summer home in Maryland.  When I got back from North Carolina I unpacked the truck and, as usual, things got piled on the table in the dining room.

In between all of the other things in my life that have happened since we got back, that table has been crowded with ‘stuff’ and this weekend was getting things set up again for sewing.

Before Cutting Station

Cutting Station

First was to set up my cutting station.  I had it set up  in front of the attic door before, and while it has been nice to have it gone, I need it back up as this next quilt has a great many cuts to be made.  

Then I have to clear off the table, put all of the stuff away and then set up my machine.  Once that was done, I actually clamped up the new ironing board to the table.  It is really, really sturdy.  I think it is going to work out really well, especially with my new cordless iron.  Sew… sew… sew!  I am all set.  Hoping to get the blocks really knocked out in short order.

All cluttered up

Clamp-on ironing board & cordless iron

Ready to sew

Neato!!!

Neato….

With the holiday shopping period fast approaching, the TV commercials are in full swing.  And I am sure that they will only be getting worse as time gets closer.

I have noticed that the robot vacuum cleaners are getting some primary play time.  I thought I would talk a bit about them.  They have fascinated me since they first came out.  In the beginning they were intriguing but not very good.  But over the years they have improved and improved.  This year, I finally took the plunge to get a robotic vacuum cleaner.  It is not the better known brand, but instead it is a brand called a Neato.  And it is indeed neato.

I have always hated to vacuum.  There were times when I might not have done it for weeks at a time.  Rudy would comment from time to time when he just could no longer tolerate the bits and pieces on the floor and I would then try to do a better job of running it for a while.  Just one of those things I really did not and still do not enjoy.

Early this year on http://www.woot.com/ one of my favorite shopping places, they offered the Neato and I decided to give it a try.  When it arrived, I was surprised at the size of the unit.  It really is about as wide as the standard upright vacuum cleaner.  As you can see from the picture, it lives against its charging unit when it is at rest.  It has sensors on the top (the little turret tower looking thing) and when it starts up, Neato pulls away from the charger, circles in place to get an idea of where the furniture is and then sets out to clean.  The ideal situation is to have lots of open space to run around in but in my house, that is a dream.  But there is a method to its journey around my floors and it takes about an hour but will basically clean the majority of my floors, both carpet and tiled, before returning to the charger to charge back up.  I have it set to automatically clean at 11PM on Wednesday night and 2PM on Sunday.  So, even if I am not at home, when I come back, my floors are neat and tidy.  I can also just hit the main button twice to activate the unit and it will pull away from the charging station and head off on its cleaning journey.

The first few times, it would return to the charger with the dust bin full to capacity.  It was awful.  But since it now goes twice a week, Neato can do two or three sweeps before I have to empty the bin.  Once in a while I will come home to find the charger empty.  I just have to wander through my rooms until I hear Neato twiddle and I will find that it has gotten stuck in a tight space.  Not often, but once in a while… most of the time it can wiggle its way out of any tight space.  There are even some places where it goes that I could not get my fancy vacuum in.

So, if you are thinking about taking the plunge, I say… go ahead.  It works well in my little one story house.  If you have a two story you either have to get two or actually carry the robot to the different levels.  But it is very much like having a tiny, little maid who comes in from time to time just to vacuum! Ahhhhh, luxury!

Molly in her "happy place"

Molly is doing better…

Here is a picture of Molly from last night.  She is sleeping in her favorite position, stretched out on my legs as I have them propped up in my recliner.  She would really be happiest is I would just become a total slug and never leave this position.  This is her treat when she has been good or has had a bad day.  It may be for an evening or it could be just for a few minutes, but this is her ‘happy place’.

This is well after the first dose of the new flea medication.  She has been in this position for the last couple of hours.  She was really, really tired.  I am guessing that all of the scratching and ear tossing had worn her out.  And she has not done either for over 6 hours, so the initial dose seems to have given her some relief.  I did find some old aerosol flea spray that I sprayed lightly in the areas she spends most of her time in and hopefully it has killed some of the offending critters.  I await the arrival of the new stuff next week.

In the meantime, here is Molly, at peace and in her happy place!

Not Much Fall Foliage…..

In the course of my day today, I took a few minutes to get some pictures of the nicely mowed back yard and my fall decorations on the front of my house.  Since the Both Hands Project that was held here in June, I have found that having a few minor decorations on the front of my house is a nice touch and makes the house look very happy.  After the pink petunias died, there was a short period when there were only dried, brown vines in my pots.  But I have replaced the vines with some lovely yellow mums and a small scarecrow.  I also ordered a lovely fall wreath from a friend of mine who has an Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/CreativeCraftsByJen).  I think the whole effect is lovely.

The back yard overlooks some lovely acreage with trees.  We had a very dry summer and thus far we have not had a frost.  I think that is going to change this week.  But so far, I have not seen some of the pretty reds and oranges and yellows that makes fall such a pretty time of the year.  I may have to create it inside by creating a quilt and some other items in the fall colors that I enjoy.

Scratch, Scratch, Shake.....

Fleas

It always seems that when things tend to go bad, they go bad in all sorts of ways at the same time.  So it is in life and so it is currently with me and my life.

After returning from Black Mountain, NC, I had to replace the well pump so I could have water.  It was a pain in the butt and to my savings account but not an actual pain. 

Molly has fleas.  While that may not seem bad to some, if you have not had fleas in your house, you do not know what a pain that can be.  I have an upward climb ahead of me to get rid of the little suckers.

I had seen a flea or two on her in the last several months.  I immediately went out to get Frontline Plus, which has always taken care of the issue in short order, but after three courses of the medicine, she actually had more than just a couple of the itchy critters.  I called my vet only to find out that they have been noting that this is happening more frequently, so I headed over to their office this morning to get a new medicine called Vectra 3D.  I have also ordered an insect spray (Talstar P) that I will be using inside and outside the house to really get rid of them.  The good thing about this stuff is that it should also take care of a great many other insects… including Stink Bugs!  It should arrive from Georgia next week.  I will let you know how it works.

The thing that you have to remember with me…. I have TWO houses to de-flea.  Bummer!  But I have become a Flea Fighter so I can get rid of them ASAP.

I believe that the Vectra 3D is already working.  Molly is curled up in my lap but has not shaken her head or ears for over an hour.  She was doing that frequently the last couple of days which was one of the clues that she had more than the occasional flea.  Fingers crossed that it will be an easier fix than I had thought last night!

Smoked Sausage and Split Pea

Yummy, better tonight!

The soup pictured above is a smoked sausage and split pea.  Easy to put together, cook it for over an hour and voila, dinner.  It called for 6 cups of water, which I used.  I always follow the directions the first time through a new recipe.  Next time I will try using some chicken stock for a little more richness.  But I had two bowls and will save the leftovers for meals tomorrow.  I love fall… perfect soup weather

Today I stripped my bed and washed all of the linens.  I also got the lawn mowed, so the yard looks neat and tidy.  A couple of weeks ago I brought home the red wagon that had been used at my summer home at Indian Acres.  I am a lucky, lucky person… as there is an angel there (his name is Fuji) who has, for the last two seasons taken it upon himself to relieve me of the need to take care of my lawn.  He has mowed, and sprayed the weeds that popup in the sidewalk and even completely removed the crappy stuff in the corner garden so my place looks much nicer.  He does it without ever asking and without taking any money for gas…. I tried and was told I should not insult him again by offering.  So I am ever, ever so grateful.  But I had not used the little trailer there in two summers, so I loaded it into the pickup truck when it had made the trip to Indian Aces for the weekend and brought it home.  After getting a ball for my riding tractor, I was able to hitch it up to the tractor.  Today, I rolled all around the yard, cleaning up the twigs and branches, pulled weeds in my side hill and hauled it to where I could dump it in my back yard.  Perfect.

Then I came in and finally got my shower.  I really needed it then…

A Better Day...

Finish on a leg

Up early to shining sun and a gentle breeze.  According to the weather forecasters, it is going to be more like summer here in Southeast Pennsylvania than early October.  I started the day with my normal cup of coffee and some peanut butter toast.  I debated about getting a shower but thought better of it.  Since it is to rain and then turn much cooler, I plan to take advantage of this lovely day and mow the ¾ acre piece of land that is my home.  I am really hoping it is the last time I have to mow, but I am guessing that I will probably have to do it one more time.

While I waited for the morning dew to burn off the grass, I decided to put the final coat of polyurethane with stain on the leg of my newest sewing aid.  I found this on Etsy and while it is hard to tell what this is, it is a portable ironing board that attaches to a table using “C” clamps.  It should be perfect for the quilting retreat that is coming up in November.  I will take a picture of the board when I use it at the retreat.  I will let you know if the actual theory of the device works as well as it sounds on paper.

Not so good

Looks better than it tasted

So, I got up from the recliner to try to make a yummy, cheesy, creamy soup.  I decided to do an onion and cheese soup.  Followed the directions.  I either over cooked the milk base or the added cheese at the end did not have good melting/blending properties.  It looked good in the bowl, but there were separated particles in the liquid.  Made for a nasty feel.  Tasted OK, though.  I will try a different one tomorrow after throwing the rest of this in the garbage.

Gray and Gloomy Day

Today is a gray and gloomy day.  It rained overnight which was very conducive to sleeping late and then just paddling around the house.  I had made plans with one of my friends to spend the day shopping in Lancaster, but her plans changed.  So I have been wandering around aimlessly, trying to get motivated.

Some days it just seems hard to get out of my own way.

I seem to have one or two days a week, when my dog is the happiest.  I kick back in my recliner which gives her a lap to lie upon.  And except to get the mail, get food and get dressed, I watch TV, surf the Internet and sometimes drift off for a nap.  I do not move from the recliner.  Molly likes days like this.

I, on the other hand, will come to the end of the day and find I have done nothing constructive.  But, it is OK.  Sometimes my best thinking is done on days like today.

I have made plans to try cooking a new soup for dinner.  The cooler weather here has made the thoughts of soup very comforting.  So I got the ingredients for several soups yesterday when I went to Wal-Mart.  So, I guess I have not wasted the entire day, yet.

Maybe I will have a more active evening!

Another Beginning....

Back again…..!  Life happens and sometimes it gets you off track from where you think it is going.  Such is what happened to me.

The last post here had my husband retiring.  We were beginning to enjoy the fruits of our labors by sleeping in and not hearing alarms.  It was short lived.

I woke up one morning in March 2010 to find Rudy sitting up in the living room, having trouble catching his breath.  Off to the ER and then home with a diagnosis of Pneumonia. But it did not respond to treatment, so more tests and by his 65^th birthday in May, he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung Cancer. 

We spent the summer staying at our summer home in Maryland except for returning home from time to time for lawn mowing and chemotherapy.  Rudy was able to fish and crab and boat all summer, something he had worked so hard to be able to do.  The Chemo was not as debilitating as we had expected and kept the cancer at bay for the nice weather.  But as the season ended, the cancer became more aggressive and by February 2011, he was no longer able to fight it off and passed away… less than a year after he retired.

So here I am, alone.  It was rewarding to have the support of family and friends immediately after he died.  My son, Rob, was able to come home from Alaska and stay with me for about 5 weeks.  He got me through the really hard part, along with my BFF’s, Marji and Debby.  As usual after a death, I had all manner of people telling me that they would be there for me; all I had to do was let them know what I needed.  There were meals brought and phone calls made.  Then the meals stopped and the calls became fewer and fewer as the rest of the world moved on with life and I found myself struggling with an empty house (except for my dog, Molly) and lost dreams and trying to figure out what it was all about.

The Holidays were not as bad as I expected.  But after that, I found myself stuck in my grief and feeling like I was never going to be able to get out of it.  But, God found a way to show me the way…

I found a notice in the local Community newspaper for a group called GriefShare.  It was starting a 13 week session at the local Mennonite Church that very evening and I got up out of the recliner and went.  What a wonderful group.  They have videos by experts that tell you each week that we are perfectly normal and how to get unstuck and deal with our grief.  The group that I was a part of was kind and compassionate.  We bonded during the discussions, sharing our inner most pain and through that pain found solace and a pathway back to the joy that is living.

Midway through the GriefShare sessions I also found a new hobby.  A new quilt shop had opened in Christiana, just minutes from my house in Parkesburg.  The Quilt Ledger was offering a daytime class where we created a small Log Cabin Quilt.  It is something I had always wanted to do and Leslie, the owner and teacher, was delightful.  Her patience and willingness to let the slower learners come to the shop on days other than class, to get caught up or to sew under her tutelage allowed me to finish my first quilt.  I am now so totally hooked on quilting and crafting that I look for projects to do like table toppers, bags and other fun projects that I am sharing with others who are getting equally hooked.

I have done some travelling.  Thanksgiving 2011 found me driving to Minneapolis, MN so spend Thanksgiving with my youngest son, Brian.  I was able to meet him in Wisconsin where he was competing in a Fencing Tournament before we drove to his home.  I was there a little over a week before heading home, trying to keep ahead of snow storms all across the country.  I also used that time to spend some time with my cousin in her home in Lake Villa, IL and see her lake home.  It was quite the adventure.  Molly has learned to travel well and we have discovered that Red Roof Inns are very pet friendly, reasonably priced and very nice in general.

In April, I drove to Cape Coral, FL.  I had rented a house for a month and spent the time there visiting with a dear friend who spends her winters there as well as look around the area with the thought of possibly buying a home and doing the same.  Housing at that time was running between $80,000 and $100,000 for a nice, newer home.  I figured if I sold Indian Acres, I could perhaps afford to buy a house which would eventually be my full-time home.  But property here is moving very slowly and property there is moving very fast and going up in price.  I finally have a buyer here but they are still trying to get financing.  In the meantime I have decided to just stay put.  I have so many wonderful friends here and with two houses, I would not have extra money to do fun things.  Only having one home to deal with gives me the ability to do fun stuff.  And if I want to go to Florida, I can rent a place for a couple of weeks or months without the worries of a vacant home when I am here.  Perfect!!  And everyone is happy, except for Lorraine who was looking forward to having me there in the winter.

This summer, I have had wonderful weekends at Indian Acres where one of my BFF’s, Debby, has been spending almost every weekend with me.  She is one of the people we are bringing over to the dark side of sewing and quilting.  It has been wonderful, but I am hoping that the buyers are successful in their financing.  I am not looking forward to going through 20 years of crap that has accumulated, but I am looking forward to being here at home more.

I have my house here in better shape than it has been in years.  A couple of weeks ago I was left soapy in the shower when the well pump seized.  But a new one is in place and better than before.  Screen room is enclosed, so it will be warmer, central air installed, laundry installed on the main floor…. Life is good.

So, while days are much better, I am moving forward.  I miss Rudy everyday.  I wish he were still here to enjoy the fruits of his labor.  It is much better to share things with someone, especially when decisions have to be made, but I am doing OK.

Follow along as I live my new life, discover new things about myself and my friends and enjoy the world that I find myself living in.