Wordless Wednesday

Brrrr........at least it's not snowing.

Weekend Woes and Goes

It was my long weekend.....WOO HOO....I love it when I have Fridays off, have I said that before???? I didn't have any errands to run and seem to have more energy since I have been taking vitamins and I had 'stuff' to do here so.........I decided to put this storage cart together. I dumped everything out of the box and looked at the picture, all the parts were shown with the number of the items I should have. Also shown was a diagram of the finished product, and no explanation of where everything went. I am not a brain surgeon nor am I an idiot. After some head scratching and thoughtful staring at said diagram I figured out how it went. Great! that's done...now where do I want this??? I could use it in the bedroom between the dresser and wall...perfect except that I needed about an extra inch of space. Easier said than done. Ever try to move a big dresser with a mirror attached? I huffed and puffed, pushed and tugged, made a big mess, but finally got it. That activity lead to me cleaning off the dresser (a much needed to be done, but not planned, task). I spent more time cleaning and organizing. I'm beginning to feel good. Hubby picked up a fish lunch for supper. :-) no cooking...........what more could I want?

Saturday I decided to visit the new thrift store in town where I ran into a friend and visited with her. We went downstairs to check out the vendors and I saw another friend to talk to. That was my social hour for the day. I purchased some items in the store but did not take a bag (b/c I do not like plastic bags). The few things I bought went in the Rubbermaid bag I purchased. As I was leaving I hear someone say "If she needs it that bad......" I didn't think anything of it then, but now I think someone commented that I didn't pay for my stuff. I really feel bad b/c I did! The man who checked me out wasn't there at the time. I wasn't planning to leave the house today but now I think I will stop in there and tell Linda that I really did pay for my items. If I hadn't I know I could never return...and that would be a terrible fate for me.

The rest of the day I spent time on the telephone and the next thing I knew our grandson was over. We spend time doing stuff...nothing too exciting.

Sunday I took him to Sunday School and after lunch we went to his brother's 8th birthday party at a local hotel's pool. It was kinda hectic and noisy but the kids had fun. Twice I played the 'bad guy' (which I am good at). I told one kid to stop kicking my beach ball or I'd take it away. He had been kicking it so high it hit the ceiling. Another boy was in the pool with a golf ball sized water balloon in his mouth and I had to tell him to give it to me. I went in the hot tub for a while (when the kids were not in it). Otherwise I helped pick up a little but decided to leave the party to mom and her mom.

Sunday night I looked at my house and thought 'what a mess'. What happened to my clean house?

Another thing that has me puzzled are the bad dreams I am having and I don't know why...my meds haven't changed. I've been having dreams that people are after me and I wake up scared and anxious. Then I have a hard time going back to sleep.

February is going to go out 'like a lion'. Almost all of our snow has melted but a winter storm is predicted for midweek.....some reports say 4-8" and some more. Guess we can't complain too much b/c we have had an EXTREMELY mild winter and it's almost spring.

I'll end on a happy note- a friend and I am going on a Red Hat trip to St. Louis. I have never been there so I am excited. More about that later.........

Still Alice/book review

Our book club read Still Alice by Lisa Genova. It's a novel about a 50 year old professor of psychology at Harvard who starts forgetting words, where she is, where she is suppose to be and is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. The story followers her descent into the disease and how she and her family deal with it. Alice and her husband are very intelligent and learned people and it's 'good' to learn that this disease attacks the young and 'upper class' population as well as older and not so educated. It is a frightening story, partially because I am over 60 and sometimes just can't find the word that is on the tip of my tongue and because my aunt had Alzheimer's and my mom has the start of dementia. I spoke to another of the gals in book club and she said she just bawled when she read it (b/c of her family history). I have a feeling there will be a lot of discussion at our Tuesday evening meeting.

To put it in a nutshell - You should read this book!

The Friday 56/The Descendants

Freda's Voice: The Friday 56: Welcome to Week 64 with me! Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56. *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grabs...

"What's good to know is that if a patient survives the first 7 to 10 days following the injury to the brain, then long term survival can be expected, but--"

A Fun Day?

I don't think so...............

I started my day still angry from an email I received last night stating that BIL doesn't want to be in the same room with me so he is 'allowing' his estranged wife to bring their son to my grandson's birthday party. That's cockeyed because he never attended this boy's party before and I think it's just an excuse so he wouldn't have to go this year either. Guess I could back up a bit....earlier I posted that my sister in law was facing a difficult decision as to whether to leave her husband or stay in a house with tension as thick as ice; where she retreated to the bedroom when her hubby was home; and if she spoke to him he just folded his arms, rolled his eyes at her and said nothing; her phone conversations were eavesdropped on; her mail was opened; she received no help with parenting their demanding son; and on and on. One day he told her he was not available to watch THEIR SON and she snapped. She told him she'd look for a different place and he said 'DO IT!!!', so she found an apartment and moved out. So now it's all my fault because I talked her into it.....I can remember telling her to buy the boots cuz they were adorable but have never been able to talk her into cleaning my house or cooking for me, much less taking her son and leaving her home. She's an adult and thinks/prays things through. K is definitely deranged and needs to look in the mirror.....this is his 3rd ex......I don't mind taking the blame for something I did, but I had nothing to do with breaking up his marriage. Any one who saw them together saw the way he treated her and even his own family commented on it. So K "WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE, ROSES, or whatever other stinky stuff is right under your nose". At first I tried to be understanding because I know it's tough and hurts so I gave him the benefit of a doubt, but now I am angry. Get over it, it's not MY fault!!!! If you want your family back you better change....a LOT!!! The sad part is that K is my hubby's twin brother and is the only one in his family that we do things with, we had lots of good times with K & M.

And the day gets better.............

I have an appointment for a mammogram. Contrary to the popular consensus I don't mind it, I'd take a mammogram over a pap any day!!! The worst part is when they put the pasties on.....the nipple ones have little silver dots........I had plenty of the rings on that they use to denote raised areas on your skin (I am blessed with lots of moles or what ever is the technical term).

When I finished there I stopped at a thrift store to look for some army men for my grandsons. They like to play with them and it's one thing they agree on. I didn't find any.

I still needed to buy a gift for my grandson whose birthday party is Sunday (8) so I ended up at Walmart and found something there. By that time it was 11:30 and I was getting hungry so I called my SIL (whom I knew was job hunting with a friend) and we met for lunch at Applebee's. We all had the same thing: Grilled Shrimp 'n Spinach Salad and Three Cheese Chicken Penne.

We oohed and ahhed over that salad, if you get a chance try it. Neither one of them eat tomatoes so I asked for the salsa that they picked of their pasta. I like lots of sauce and toppings. We had tghe Brownie Bite for dessert, it's yummy....and just the right size.

I had one more place to stop after that, then I came home and started laundry, etc.

So, it wasn't a bad day after all!!! I am not going to let someone else's stupidity ruin my day.

New Toys

The Today's Special value on HSN (shopping channel) a couple of weeks ago was the We R Memory Keepers Lucky 8 punches. I love to watch the craft/scrapbooking shows and only buy something once or twice a year. I like to see what's new. The punches are huge. (See Stampin' up punch for compairison). It takes only 8 punches (hence lucky 8) to transform a 12 X 12 sheet of paper into a fancy die cut scrapbook paper. Each punch can be used to make 3 different page styles, depending on which cuts you are using.

All you do is line the paper up (see the right corner above) and punch the corners. The bottom design is the retro dots one. This is only one of the 3 was to use that punch. Another way is to punch the dots and the whole circle with a scallop design.

On the paper below I had all 3 settings set to on. I think I'd prefer this one without the flowers around the edge. ....and I can do just that if I want, on plain paper or patterned....the PERFECT paper for my layout.

And, of course, it can be incorporated into card making also. I used 12 X 12 papers above, if you use a smaller size you get a whole different design. Wanna play?


My favorite toys of late are punches and of cousre PAPER!!!! What are yours?

Some Things You Should Know

If anyone has a Kuerig coffee maker I just want you to know that they have great customer service. Mine was a Christmas gift in 2010 and 2 weeks ago, after I used the MyKcup, I could not get the lid to open more than 1/2 way. (It was always a little hard to open and sometimes I had to pull the Kcup housing down manually.) I tried everything short of forcing it to the point of breaking it: cooking spray, WD4o, pleading, threatening, etc; but it would not open. I called the company on Monday and I received a new coffee maker in the mail on Thursday. That is what I call wonderful customer service!!! I only had to return the small, black Kcup holder to them.

If you get arrested you can not make your one collect call to a cell phone.

I just hate all of the extra pages instruction manuals have with the different languages..... I understand that products are sold worldwide...but at least print a separate manual in each language. Our new printer at work has 3 0r 4 manuals. I can just toss or not use the ones I can't read. My new sewing machine has 3 different languages in the same instruction booklet and I am annoyed by having to sort through and read every 3rd paragraph. To be honest I throw out the Spanish and French instructions...what do you do?

If you are purchasing a renewal of Onstar ask for a discount. I did and saved $50. It is more expensive than a stand alone GPS but for me it's probably a better fit. I am usually driving alone and can just call and get directions, an address, or phone number with out taking my hands off the wheel.

The Sally Hanson brand base coat nail polishes that I have are made in the USA. I am not sure if all of their products and colors are.

After my grandson left this afternoon I had a productive couple of hours catching up on some sewing/mending projects. After Christmas I bought an inexpensive, reconditioned sewing machine so I could do some simple sewing projects. Hubby was at work. I toyed with the idea of going to Goodwill but: 1) I don't need anything, need to purge and 2) I'm broke. Two good reasons to stay at home and get something done! It worked! Hope your sunday afternoon turned out just the way YOU wanted it to.

the Book Nook

Guess I'll continue on the reading/book thread........... I belong to a book club with some fun loving ladies, we drink wine, laugh, and even discuss the books we read. Many months ago one of the gals suggested ONE FOR THE MONEY, by Janet Evanovich, it's suppose to be hilarious. I had never read any of her books so have been keeping my eyes open for her books.....finally I found some, starting with #3 though. I could never find the first book in that series....not on Overdrive and nor at my public library. Some one mentioned that the Book Nook would probably have it so I finally stopped there on my lunch hour (it's about 4 blocks from where I work). The Book Nook is quite unassuming from the outside, just the bottom floor of a house. I was a bit worried that she wouldn't have it because the movie has been playing locally the past 2 weeks (and maybe others were interested in reading it) but the shop owner found it for me. It wasn't on the shelf but she knew it was in the basement and down she went to get it. Her memory is excellent, she knows where to find just what you're looking for and if she has it in stock. This woman has to be at least 70 years old and is as sharp as a tack! Good for her!!

That place is full of books!......everywhere you look on the first floor and in the basement. There is barely room on the counter to check out. I think she has nearly every book that was ever written. Her prices are not what I am used to paying at the thrift store, but if you want a certain book, like I did, it's worth it.

I got 2 Janet Evanovich books, one by Harlan Coben, and UNCLE TOM'S CABIN (all paperbacks) for $17.63 and she gave me a new, in wrapper, coffee table book about Manitowoc County. It's interesting to those of us who live here.

Come back to read my book reports in a later post.

the Friday 56/Still Alice

p. 56 "Okay, I am going to tell you a name and address, and you're going to repeat it back to me"

Join Freda's Voice for the Friday 56 http://fredasvoice.blogspot.com/2012/02/friday-56_16.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FXCAdm+%28Freda%27s+Voice%29

I'm a Size 3!!!!

Or I LOVE Chico's sizing......I haven't been a size 3 since I was 12 years old. OK, maybe Chico's has vanity sizing.....in the rest of the world I am not size 3, so I will revel in this for a bit. I found this Chico's platinum denim jacket at my local thrift store today. I think it's cute, looks good, and I liked it so it came home with me today.

A couple of weeks ago I found this NEW, tags on, Oshkosh B'gosh sweater for one of my grandsons for $1.99 at Goodwill (of course I was there on senior day).

No, I don't need another nativity scene but this 12" one with a color changing light inside intrigued me........so it also came home with me today. I paid $10 for the Chico's denim jacket, the above nativity scene, a cushy floor mat to go in front of my sink, a pretty green 3/4 sleeve sweater, small Tupperware bowl, and hand made Red Hat pin. It was actually an expensive day for me, not bad though! Happy thrifting to you too!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

My grandsons each made a card for their parents with photos of them posed in "I heart U" positions. Personally, I love the heart they made.

Just a few hand stamped cards for you.

Let's Clear This Up/or a Little Friendly Disagreement

Some people who know me say I am not an introvert....I disagree vehemently! Let's see if I can educate my readers.......
Here's is what About.com says:
Contrary to what most people think, an introvert is not simply a person who is shy. In fact, being shy has little to do with being an introvert! Shyness has an element of apprehension, nervousness and anxiety, and while an introvert may also be shy, introversion itself is not shyness. Basically, an introvert is a person who is energized by being alone and whose energy is drained by being around other people.Introverts are more concerned with the inner world of the mind. They enjoy thinking, exploring their thoughts and feelings. They often avoid social situations because being around people drains their energy. This is true even if they have good social skills. After being with people for any length of time, such as at a party, they need time alone to "recharge."
When introverts want to be alone, it is not, by itself, a sign of depression. It means that they either need to regain their energy from being around people or that they simply want the time to be with their own thoughts. Being with people, even people they like and are comfortable with, can prevent them from their desire to be quietly introspective.
Being introspective, though, does not mean that an introvert never has conversations. However, those conversations are generally about ideas and concepts, not about what they consider the trivial matters of social small talk.

Or check out the top-5-things-every-extrovert-should-know-about-introverts/ click on the link to read the more involved explanations of these 5 points.
1. If a person is introverted, it does NOT mean they are shy or anti-social.

2. Introverts tend to dislike small talk.

3. Introverts do like to socialize – only in a different manner and less frequently than extroverts.

4. Introverts need time alone to recharge.

5. Introverts are socially well adjusted.

Read what WIKIPEDIA says: Introverts, in contrast, are seen as introspective, quiet and less sociable. They are not necessarily loners but they tend to have a smaller number of friends. Introversion does not describe social discomfort but rather social preference: an introvert may not be shy but may merely prefer fewer social activities.

I rest my case! Thanks for reading and commenting, even if I do disagree sometimes. I am NOT always right, sometimes I need to give my opinion.

Sensory Overload

Is is just me or are we afraid: to be alone with our thoughts? of the quiet? to be by ourselves? If that's true, what are we afraid of? What are we trying to get away from? Psalm 46:10 says: “...Be still, and know that I am God...” Why can't we just be still?
I know sometimes the devil shows up and tries to take our thoughts captive when we are quiet, but I need time to be quiet, whether it's to listen to God, nature, or just to clear my mind. In the summer hubby has the radio playing while he washes the car, so do many of the neighbors, not me. I must be like my mother, I enjoy some solitude, I can't stand to be around people all of the time. For instance, our grandson stayed overnight Saturday night (in fact I had both boys in the afternoon) and didn't go home until after 2 on Sunday afternoon. After he left I turned off the TV and just listened to the tick, tick, tick of the clock. I really enjoy having him and often keep him all day on Sunday (my choice). Hubby was at work on Sunday, and I had agreed to go to see THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATOO with a friend on Sunday evening....but the more I thought about it the more I thought that I'd rather stay home.....remember I am an introvert, really! I figured once I got there I 'd enjoy it. I read the book and loved it.

The movie was OK, like the book the first part was rather hard to understand. The friends I was with said they didn't understand the scenes jumping back and forth from the 2 main characters (who were not connected at first). Some of the conversation was hard to understand because of the music and the accent and soft spoken voice of the character Lisbeth Salander. Have you scene it? what did you think of it?

Sometimes I feel overloaded and distracted with noise, activities, and people; when pumping gas the outdoor speakers blast music at me, our remodeled McDonald's has speakers outside right before the pick up window (what is the purpose of that? don't most people have the radio/cd player on or are even talking in the car?), some people have a TV on in their homes whether they are watching it or not, there's the elevator music, music in stores....people always have to have someone around them, someone to talk to, or something to do, etc. We are constantly checking text messages or face book on our smart phones. Me? I have a 'dumb phone-(plain ol' cell phone and 99.9% of the time I don't text). I have the radio on most all of the time at home and at work, mainly for background sound. At home I listen to the local station to keep up to date with what's going on in the the community and I have some talk shows I like to listen to. At work I have the radio on for background noise also. I'm in a small office and am usually alone unless the phone rings or one of the guys comes in.....it can be too quiet otherwise. I tend to keep the volume low at home, work or in the car; at least lower than hubby has 'his' TV.
Maybe my brain is dysfunctional and I can't think as well as the rest of the world, whatever it is....I like my peace and quiet!

the Current Rate of Exchange

I just finished reading this ebook by Jacqueline T. Lynch. It's not the best book I've read but it was free and I'll give it a good. I like to try different books other than best sellers, the free books on my Nook give me that opportunity, I can read 'em or delete 'em. This quote is from Good Reads:

"Rose, a tall, bumbling American woman, travels to New Zealand to re-establish ties with her late mother’s family, navigating the otherworldly tension of traveling in the months after 9/11. Her ill-planned adventure turns her life around, and that of Nora, her New Zealand cousin, whose family problems immediately begin to involve Rose. Nora’s elderly mother, who broke off ties with Rose’s family; Nora’s unemployed husband who confides his dreams to Rose instead of to his wife; and Nora’s brother whose emotional meltdown from losing the family farm all challenge Rose to bring her family’s past full circle. A sudden romance with the farm manager with the mysterious past of his own was not, however, on her original agenda. She is anxious about continuing it lest she repeat mistakes her American father and New Zealand mother made. Armed with old family letters, Rose retraces her mother’s footsteps as a World War II government agricultural worker, or Land Girl. The information Rose learns from the letters is key to preventing a tragedy in Nora’s family."

"Let's Make A Deal"

Do you make deals with yourself? If I do this, then I can get that? If I get rid of this I can buy that? What I do is: 'if I get this cleaned then I can play'....but many times I do not come through with the first part of the deal. On Tuesday evening at our Red Hat meeting we played LET'S MAKE A DEAL and we played fair. (more about that later) The February hostesses had the table set up so pretty, and many of the gals brought cards and goodies for everyone. I had good intentions to do so, but with helping my SIL move I just ran out of time and 'steam'. Monday was a 12 hour moving day for me. ....oh, I digress.....We have secret sisters in our Red Hat group and look what mine gave me for Valentine's day!!!!

Gotta love the dark chocolate Bliss! That chocolate 'cupcake' is 3 ounces of chocolate fudge....and I just had my annual doctor visit and was informed that I NEED to watch my sugar levels and cholesterol. Guess I will eat in moderation. My secret sister knows what I like :-)

Many years ago I visited Hollywood with the hope of getting on the LET'S MAKE A DEAL program.....but none of us made it on. Tuesday night there was no auditioning, we were all automatically in the game. I was prepared with a bag of 'stuff' and won the the first prize with the toothbrush I pulled out of my bag. That made me the first contestant for a chance at one of the bags. I KNEW which one I wanted and took bag #1 with out hesitation.

And the prize inside was just what I was hoping for................a TP tag book. Joyce is so talented and made such a nice prize. Since I didn't get to be TV I had to do my best and jumped around and screamed like I was on camera. We all had fun....even the gal who got ZONKED with the pregnancy test.

I'm really glad we weren't playing the way we do with our white elephant gifts at Christmas because the gal whose turn was after mine wanted bag #1 also.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Husband leaves on a jet plane to sunny, warm Houston TX, while wife stays in gloomy WI to babysit and move. .....something about that just doesn't seem right to me! No, I'm not moving but helping my sister in law move. That's hard work, even though I do more cleaning than moving boxes of stuff. Hubby left this morning for Houston for work, he'll be gone all week. Actually our weather hasn't been bad, no major snow storms and none predicted for the near future. Yesterday I helped move all day, like I said, I did some cleaning (cupboards-seems to be my specialty) and organizing of things (in the basement). It was a very sunny, spring-like day, I only had on a sweat shirt over my t-shirt and was comfortable.....except when I was in SIL's house alone packing up her curio cabinets.........I was worried sick that her hubby would come home early from work and find me. He knows she's moving but the night before he eavesdropped on our telephone conversation and and had plenty of cuss words to call me after we hung up.....and all I said was that he should have stepped up and helped discipline their son. There are several member of his family that have ADHD but he blames it all on SIL's parenting.....well, then why didn't he help her????
Our grandson was over last night, took him to Sunday School today, we made a candle for mom for Valentines Day, and had my nephew over in the afternoon to play so SIL could do some more packing. Both boys and I did another craft, we made a t-paper core caterpillar. Now that the boys are older and on ADHD meds they get along pretty good. When Michele came to pick up her son I heated up some leftovers and we had dinner. Then my DIL came to pick up my grandson, she NEVER comes in, just sends her older son it to get J.......Guess I was just crabby with all that is going on and when I walked out to the car I couldn't even say Hi to her or the baby. GRRR my bad behavior, I know........but.....Everyone was gone by 6:45 but I still have dishes to wash, a kitchen floor to sweep, and 2 HEAPING baskets of clothes to fold. I'd really like to watch some TV and read for a bit too.
Tomorrow I have to house sit for a delivery SIL is expecting in the morning. After that I am sure I will offer to help in the afternoon too. She needs to be out tomorrow!!! Too darn hard to stay there with all the stress.
It's always something....the week hubby is gone and I only work Tuesday and Wednesday I am busy with SIL, well, I know she'd do the same for me..... My dust bunnies will wait for me. Tonight I am tired!!!
Here's hoping your week is great!

Divorce Hurts

Having been through a divorce myself I understand how devastating it can be. No matter if you're at fault or not, if you worked at making it work you feel unloved and a failure, that "lovin' feeling" make be gone but your heart is still broken, your dreams are shattered. Your trust/belief in the opposite sex may be gone. If you are lucky it can be civil, mine was for the most part; or it can be war...fighting over everything, dirty tricks, bad mouthing the other party and making everyone involved miserable. The whole thing just sucks! If children are involved it is so much worse, they may see the other parent treat you badly and tell you to leave, but they still love both parents and may not like you for what 'you have done' to their world. It takes a lot of courage to divorce someone you once loved and planned to spend the rest of your life with. Of there are those who just divorce on a whim at the first sign of a disagreement, they don't understand that marriage is work, it takes 2 (like my mom always said). Maybe they were never meant to marry in the first place???
My dear friend and sister in law is leaving her husband of over 10 years, it was a 2nd marriage for her and 3rd for him. They have an almost 8 year old son together and he has other children. Over the years we could see things change.....did becoming a Christian change her? For many years she submitted to him, prayed, and listened to the Lord. Did their son take her attention away from him? Her hubby is very selfish, wants all of the attention to himself.
She told me today that one of her friends said that she appeared to be a weak person, but after knowing for the past years my SIL she sees what a strong person she really is. She took the verbal/emotional/mental abuse because she was sure this is where God wanted her. She had joy in the world around her. She has the major role in caring for their son. She's a very friendly, happy, sweet person. None of her family lives here, only her in laws. But she is staying here because she doesn't want to take her son away from his dad and this is where her life is. My hubby and hers are twins...........can you say awkward!!! We all love her and don't want her to leave the family, but she has been beaten down and just can not get up anymore in that environment.
She has been permanently laid off and has to decide if she will go to school or get a job now (at 47). Her son can be difficult (ADHD and defiance disorder). He can be very self centered like his dad. But he can be very kind and loving to her. It's hard to raise a boy alone....been there, done that.
My heart breaks for her, I know how much it hurts. I am hoping that once she moves and gets settled in she will feel calmer and at peace and that her ex can be civil to her (he's famous for cutting down the ex, he's the perfect one (not). She has a lot of friends and is very responsible so I am sure she'll be OK. She may not be my SIL anymore but she'll still be my friend!!! Love ya Michele!!!

Wordless Wednesday/Winter on Lake Michigan