Friends

Today there were TWO MEN here helping me with miscellaneous jobs. One patched an old hole in a bathroom bottom log that was formerly used for a drain hose of an old dehumidifier. At least the log wasn't rotten! He then figured out why the bottom drawer of the newer (but still quite old) dehumidifier wasn't cooperating with me when I attempted to put it back in after emptying it into the toilet every day last summer. Let's hope that it will function better for this year and I won't have to invest in a new one yet.

The other man is my "yard guy" a very dutiful and thorough fellow who sprayed for carpenter ants a couple of weeks ago. Today he raked, wheelbarrowed debris away, cleaned gutters, blew leaves out of places they didn't belong, fixed the ramp to the shed and then moved the snowblower into it to rest beside the lawn tractor. Soon he'll take the tractor for a ride just to make sure it still functions, even though he uses his own. THEN...the summer mowing and weed-whacking will begin. The porch chairs still need to be power-washed and the swing will be uncovered as soon as the 'squiggleys' have fallen from the trees. They are actually tree catkins and are a nuisance. In early spring it's the turn of the willows, populars, maple and oaks to open up their catkins.

How lucky am I? I have a long story that a friend sent me from SC about the need for having friends. There sure is! I'm keeping that story as I continue to clean out my files. It hit me really hard. 

Why?

WHY did I start this purging project? I really think I was trying to save parts of my life with so many good friends and family members. I was also feeling in control of what is thrown out, what is recycled and what is still saved!  Oh yes, so far I'm a failure with decisions regarding cards and correspondence of family and special friends. I guess I am a special kind of hoarder. I must move to a different project. Perhaps the other file cabinet won't reveal memories and it will be much easier. I know there is stuff there that not only can but WILL go!

I can compare this with having a handful of jelly beans - all colors - and saving the red ones 'til last. Do you do that? 

I did manage to get James' winter scarf off and dried and I also put on his spring scarf of forsythia. The image below is last year's as my golf car isn't back yet to go out on the road to get a picture of him. 

My Visitor..

Yesterday as I went out on the front porch to see if any of the daffodils had bloomed, a strange looking butterfly was in the area flying and landing from spot to spot. I didn't go back in and get the camera so the photo you see here came from the internet after I identified it. 

I haven't seen one of these before to my recollection. It is called a "Mourning Cloak" representing the cloak worn by people who mourn the loss of a loved one. This type of butterfly is a symbol of "mourning" the death of a loved one. Well, that fits...doesn't it?

The "Saver"

When we moved from the big house into the cabin in 1997 I threw a lot of things away. Some of them I now feel that I should have kept. Today I started purging my greeting card box. The cards in there all came from friends, some very special, and also from family members. I only worked on the "friends" section this morning. So many memories of friends exist in that box! Boy is it a difficult thing to do!  BUT I'm not throwing much into trash, I have already contacted a local young artist who will accept and recycle them. She creates cards as I have done in the past but quite different and beautiful. I gave her my scraps several years ago. I made many and sold them all during the years 2013-2015. I created over 250 handmade cards (not counting Christmas) from my photographs of flowers and birds and other interesting scenes. 

It was a pleasant process this morning for me, knowing that they won't go to waste at all! One of them was sent to me with a sweet note. It was one of my own creations and she bought many! That was a surprise that I had forgotten about. I scanned all to keep memories of my project so will now show you the one that came back to me with her hand-written message inside.

It's time to empty some files, but not easy for me. I'm a compulsive organizer, though my eldest daughter tells me I'm too sentimental. I just am, who I am.

The family section of saved greeting cards will be a bit more difficult for me to sort, but I WILL. I think my inclination is to probably keep all of the thank you cards and notes. They mean a lot and more people should send them IMOP. After this project I really must get into the file cabinet and see what HAS to go. That is going to stress my brain, I'm sure! You might think this should have been a winter project. Well it is a project of "renewal" - SPRING AHEAD!  (Spring cleaning, too.)

Bright and Beautiful

After another rain event early last evening I saw this sign of hope!

Cleaning Galore

Today is the day the dusting is being done on all of the upper beams! My grandson and his "Significant Other" are at it again! They not only dust, they clean the living room top beams that hold my 'treasures' and the tops of the kitchen cupboards with other 'treasures'. She washes and dries items as he travels up and down his extension ladder replacing things to their former positions of display. I used to help but it is now too difficult as I don't move like the former me.  Their cleaning project carries on to other areas and also entails getting behind the very old dressers in each bedroom and taking care of all dust bunnies, cobwebs, etc. that have accumulated during the past year. The bare floors are swept and swiffered!

AND... the picture below is when he said, "Grandma, did you have a bird in here?" There was one pile of (definitely bird) droppings on the beam where he is looking! (No other was found!) Nope! I have no idea when this happened!!

Well that's it for today. I'm so tired out from watching all of this cleaning!

 

Curtains and windows will be done at a later time. One day soon the living room furniture will need to be pulled out and behind and under them examined and GI'd. 

THEN...the front porch will need to be set up again with seating and plants and I will be happy until next winter.

NEW NEW NEW — From me to me for my birthday. A Dark and Rusty Farmhouse Soup Bowl! Yeow! A  real beauty~  had spaghetti and meatballs in it last night for supper. 

Please tap image to view larger

Spring Adjustments

If you know me you know when I get something into my head it gets attention and this is today....

For many months now I have been refilling two humidifiers daily. I was forced to eliminate the cost of replacement filters in the larger and older one and started anew with double the trouble, but saved a lot of $ on replacement filters. The old one had died January 2, 2022!

One was set up on a plastic crate on my bedroom floor close to the bed. The other was placed in the living room on a step-lamp table. The bottom section of this wooden table was already ruined by spills of water from the past as placement of the previous tank sometimes was tricky and the container was heavy! One and a half gallons! Last autumn, in preparation, I downsized to a variety of humidifier that was, 1. Smaller in capacity. 2. Easier to transport from the kitchen sink to its place in the living room. 3. No replacement filters ever needed. Every single day I have refilled each one; moved one on the rolling walker from the kitchen to the living room. Easy peasy. Carried the one back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom. I cleaned both every Saturday morning. Today I really GI'd them both and will store in their original boxes after they are thoroughly dry. 

click on link below 

Previous Post about Humidifiers

Less is MORE!

If you read the previous post by clicking on the link above, I guess I'm going to toss the brand new replacement that has been sitting in its box as I can't find any 'takers' who want to order filters for it.

Next project:  After the predicted 'soaker' rain quits I'll remove and replace the winter scarf on James with his Forsythia one. Spring! Here I come!!!

And then..... I shall get help and a new dehumidifier will be installed.....SOON!

Very Annoying

Lately, every day there is at least one political shiny semi-hard paper in my mailbox. It measures 6" x 11" and is bright and colorful with one of the politicians pushing for a vote from me. Well I immediately tear these very annoying pieces of junk mail to shreds. What a terrible waste of paper, ink, and money including production and photography effort.  I'll bet I'm not alone.  The other thing that is annoying is that the mail carriers have to deliver this stuff. Bad! Bad!

This 'n That

Get ready for a mixed bag here! I'll start with yesterday. I want to show you that I really do use my pottery and do so every day. The dish drainer usually contains my cereal bowl (microwave oatmeal from scratch), my soup bowl (thicker and larger than the cereal bowl), my coffee cup and my wobbly tea cup which is also used for chicken broth.

I had a visit from Al the Potmaker to deliver two more candle cups. This past holiday I gave two away to my helpers and kept two which now hold succulents. These are special. They are called "Winter Woods" and the scent is "Tuscarora Timber." His picture is much better than mine so I'll show it first. Neat conception and art!!

The tax account lady stopped in with my return for signatures. Good news - a federal tax refund this year. Less is more! I broke her arm when making her take gas $ from me for her door to door service. Just kidding, but it was hard to convince her that it was necessary for me to feel OK about her traveling 28 miles each way, four times! It sure made my life easier.

The fun part of today is that when I woke up and looked out, the giant snowflakes were swirling and landing here! I have always said Mother Nature makes the rules - yes, she sure does. The daffodils seem to be bearing up "ok" so far. 

To start my day I put a very thoughtful gift into action. Last year a SC beach friend who had lost her husband in June, 2020 sent me his trusty coffee pot. She remembered that I like percolated coffee and packed it up and mailed it from her home in WV. I never used it until this morning as my(old) four cup (2 large cups) pot below, was working fine but is heavier!

Yes there is a new guy in town. He's is tall and handsome. After some research I actually found one for sale on the internet. Amazing! Over 50 years old is my "NEW" one! (According to the internet photo and description below.)

My coffee was just as tasty and even a bit hotter! 

Please tap on image to view larger

Eureka!

The GE Microwave oven was a gift from my husband and some of our kids as my 1985 Christmas present. I never even wanted one of these. I love it and it was used several times a day every day by everyone, even the houseful of teenagers! I have no idea of its cost, but we had to replace the oven bulb a couple of years ago and that little sucker cost $23.80 s/h incl! My point here is that I had kept the model number, serial number and instruction manual all these years. 

In 1972 it was moved with us into Cabin Tranquillity. It is used several times daily. Today it is 37 years old and still completely functioning. My title here is Eureka because the oven lamp burned out a second time and I immediately went to GE to get another replacement. There were none available for that particular model and year. I wasn't surprised so I pursued further with internet searches with the part# and found one! It was $4.00 with no s/h and came in just a couple of days. I replaced it and am back in business. 

I tell you this because I have always found it important to keep records of appliances and it has enabled me to know exactly what numbers and models, etc. would be needed for replacement parts. 

I highly recommend this site: Certified Parts.com   909-667-2787.  Link below.

Certified Parts

There is so much waste today and being frugal, in my way of thinking, is being sensible and economical. 

Spring?

Well it is 15° at 11:00 am and snowing. I am sooo glad I don't have to go out. My neighbor calls it Wring. "Wring... when Winter refuses to yield to Spring." Her friend says "Wring is Wrong."  I fully agree with them! 

I have been coughing a lot every morning for a couple of weeks but at least that has now subsided and I won't call for a doctor's appointment. I thought it might be allergies to plant pollen from my gifts but also know that there is a possibility I have a touch of bronchitis or pneumonia. Having a pretty strong immune system throughout my life is a really good gift. It must be all the dirt I ate as a kid, ya think?

I had a very nice birthday over the weekend and am so grateful that the weather was cooperative as one of my daughters drove from NJ and stayed overnight. I hadn't seen her in person for seven years! My nearby daughter visited and the 'girls' exchanged their Christmas gifts as they weren't able to get together last season. I really enjoyed their interactions and bantering. Both sons called with loving messages. Many of my close and wonderful friends sent beautiful 'snail mail' cards and I sure did like them all. Internet greetings came my way as well. I never had a four layer mousse cake before. That was really a fine experience — especially when my daughters sang to me! (One is 66, the other 62 and need some more duet practice.)

I'm looking forward to the return of my golf car so I can take a ride and check out the lake and its residents and take pictures. Too soon yet because I DO NOT like to ride when it is cold. Old feels Cold. Yep!

The Oxheart tomato seeds I saved have been planted in their containers as usual. Missy will share the starters with several people and I am sure to enjoy a few of these favorites myself as the growers share back when they are ripe. 

In the meantime I must get moving more. This sitting around is wearing me out! 

One Day at a Time...

Well, the white hyacinth blossoms have died and I put the plant outdoors to finish off so I can store the bulbs for replanting. I have had a lot of short breath and coughing lately and have had to resort to Coricidin-D for relief. It helps and I really think the pollen from indoor plants with flowers might be my problem.

I received 5 little bulbs with sprouts in the mail yesterday. The soil in front has thawed and the daffodils are poking up so I planted them there. These are special because they came from a family I met in SC who have now moved to the far western part of VA and are building their homestead. Meg found the flowers last year growing "wild" on the property and shared them. Here is one of last year's pictures she sent me.

Of course I then had to research this yellow beauty and here is what I found.

I sure have high hopes they will thrive and join the daffodils for me!

In the meantime, I designed and painted an Easter egg yesterday, using the application on which that I have been trying to improve my skills. I first painted my egg and then resorted to photomanipulating to be satisfied with the results. It is just a hobby, but I like a challenge and will keep trying to paint better projects.

Well there you have it...I'm hangin' in and I'm hangin' on.

don't forget to tap image to view larger

Clovers

As St. Patrick's Day is tomorrow I thought I'd show you a few of my "lucky" finds through the years. Many have been kept in between pages of books, some are laminated on paper or plastic, some are in plastic paperweights, some are incorporated in crafts that permanently cover and seal them, and some are out there waiting for me to find them. Many have dried and broken and turned to dust through the years but I'll try to show a few here.

Are you one of those people who, when walking on a grassy area just look down and one grabs your eye?  This has happened ever since I was a young child when my dad planted clover throughout his lawns. I have also plucked several five'ers through the years and I do remember a six'er! 

Many of these photos were taken a long time ago and then scanned. The last one is today's and shows my hand holding a resin paperweight that I use often.

please tap image to view larger

Fast Facts About Four-Leaf Clovers

• There are approximately 10,000 three-leaf clovers for every "lucky" four-leaf clover.
• There are no clover plants that naturally produce four leaves, which is why four-leaf clovers are so rare.
• The leaves of four-leaf clovers are said to stand for faith, hope, love, and luck.
• It's often said that Ireland is home to more four-leaf clovers than any other place, giving meaning to the phrase "the luck of the Irish."
• If you're lucky enough to find a four-leaf clover, look for more! If a clover plant produces a four-leaf clover, it's more likely to produce another four-leaf lucky charm than plants that only produce three-leaf clovers.
• The fourth leaf can be smaller or a different shade of green than the other three leaves
• If you're the superstitious type, give your four-leaf clover to someone else. It's said that this will double your good luck!

• Today, looking for four-leaf clovers is a St. Patrick's Day tradition, but have you ever wondered why they're considered lucky—or how they came to be associated with the holiday? It turns out, the story behind the clovers dates back to hundreds of years before we began drinking green beer and pinching friends who didn't wear green on the holiday. 

  Four-leaf clovers commonly appear in centuries-old legends as symbols of good luck. The Druids (Celtic priests), in the early days of Ireland, believed that when they carried a three-leaf clover or shamrock, they could see evil spirits coming and have a chance to escape in time. Four-leaf clovers were Celtic charms, presumed to offer magical protection and ward off bad luck. Children in the Middle Ages believed if they carried a four-leaf clover, they would be able to see fairies, and the first literary reference to suggest their good fortune was made in 1620 by Sir John Melton.                                                                          

• Information taken from "Better Homes & Gardens" 

You Can Bet on It!

I have noticed recently that there are many ads on TV showing how easy it is to bet on your phones! I don't remember seeing such ads in the past. There is even a number for people to call if they have a gambling addiction and need help!!!

WHAT in the world is happening here? It is awesome to me how people love the state lotteries and now they are encouraged to bet more with their phone apps!

To me it is like driving down the road and throwing $ out of the car window - never to see it again.

One time many years ago we went with another couple to a NJ casino and I got bold and put my Susan B. Anthony dollar coin in a slot machine. Well..... that machine pumped out $100.00 in coins and filled a large cup. Of course I was encouraged by others to try again. NOPE! I carried that cup around with me for the rest of the night and in the next week, deposited it into my small savings account.  That has reinforced my position that it would be easy to become addicted and how simple it would be.

Sorry folks, I just don't understand why people gamble. Guess it must be because I worked too hard to just throw my money away in the hopes of getting more free! 

I remember playing dozens of card games with friends and we never played for money. Only the game Monopoly made sense. Even at carnivals and boardwalks I could never drum up any desire to pay and play. 

Now I don't condemn others who gamble but it is their choice, just not mine, ever! I just DO NOT BET!

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Blooming and Baking

It's been only FIVE DAYS since the plant was given to me and now I know it will be white flowered! Amazing growth! No fragrances yet but I'm sure they will emit soon. I haven't even watered it yet!

This morning I baked an apple-raisin crisp. Good that I was able to share it! The apples were from a bag that was in the freezer. WHAT? Well, they were four large Honey Crisps that I had dehydrated for 7 hours on September 25, 2020. Recipe at bottom of page. I used an 8x11x2 inch release-lined OLD glass pan at 375° for 45 minutes instead of what the recipe suggested and I also added a few raisins.

I rehydrate the chips (and raisins) by pouring about 1 1/2 cups boiling water over them and let them soak in the bowl for about 45 minutes while I blend the topping ingredients. 

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Apple Crisp

4 Cups sliced apples (about 6 medium)

3/4 C packed brown sugar

1/2 C flour

1/2 C rolled oats (can substitute 1C graham cracker crumbs for flour and oats)

3/4 t cinnamon

3/4 t nutmeg

1/3 C soft butter

Heat oven 375°

Place sliced apples in greased square pan 8x8x2

Blend remaining ingredients until mixture is crumbly.

Spread over apples.

Bake 30-35 minutes until apples are tender and topping is golden brown. 

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Stolen Subject Material

I have special bloggers that I check daily. Today one very talented artist and farming woman posted after being absent for a while. One of her images hit me hard! It was a simple one of her little shanty. I snatched it and created a photomanipulation and then a GIF to show her image in a different way. This is the only place I will publish the GIF but not her original image. Just couldn't help myself for the thievery. The weather did it.

Snow Here

Mother Nature gave us snow and promises more to come on Saturday. I must say that snow is nicer to look at than all of the mud out there lately!

Images #3 & #4—The crack in the ice under the snow covering, that goes from my dock to the dam, shifted and it looks like something left tracks. This has happened before and is an interesting sight. The snow cover is rippled.

Today.......

The next two images below were taken on January 6.

I really like this image! Used Zoom full out!

Please click on image to view full beauty.

Snow event on Saturday may be even prettier. I await the event.