Scratch That Itch!!

               Do you ever get an itch you can't scratch!! 

I'm not talking about your skin itching, I'm talking about something you just have to do or bust. 

It had been over a year since I'd dragged out any art supplies but day before yesterday that itch returned and I just sat down and 'scratched' it. haha. 

I shouldn't have mixed graphite pencil with watercolor pencil but I did and that's fine. I am old and can do as I darn well please. another haha

                                     Here's what I did:

One Stitch At A Time

 I used to do a lot of quilting. I liked hand-quilting the layers of fabric and batting together. That was my favorite thing. The piecing was alright but I was not really good at matching corners, having smooth curves etc. 

But, there comes a time in each of our lives when we have to put some things aside. It just got too much for me. So, I gave or sold all my fabric stash, gave my sewing machine to my daughter and now I am reduced to looking at pictures of what I once enjoyed doing. 

I'm not complaining. I often wondered what in the world people did with them when they were cranking out one quilt right after another!! I hope, like mine, they went to a good home. 

I did so love to go to the fabric store. I always walked out with bags of stuff and that is what all quilters do, I am thinking. 

                 Here is some of my work

                           How many of you are quilters? 

                               Or was once a quilter? 

Achoo!

                          It rained last night! 

              That's a good thing. Why you might ask. 

                    This picture tells the tale. 

              That, dear friends, is pollen that was washed off the trees and streets.    So, I am staying inside! 

Do you have allergies? If so I know too well how it feels. I used to say I could write a book on allergies . 

It was cloudy yesterday, just a gray ole day. I looked out my balcony glass doors to see a bright red cardinal 

         and just had to take it's picture. It's mate was nearby. 

It's little happenstances like that, that make our days happy and bright. I'm so thankful for the happy things in my life. And, that includes you all. 

Night Terrors!!

             I'm having trouble sleeping lately. I heard it was caused by old age! 

Last night I was lying in bed on my side, facing the empty space next to me. I was chanting in my head 'go to sleep, go to sleep'. The room was very dimly lit by a small nightlight in the adjoining bathroom so I can sort of see... if my eyes are open. 

I crack one eye open. Just enough to see something move at the edge of the bed. I close my eyes and then it registers. There's not anything that is supposed to be moving in my bed... but me! So I open both eyes. Same thing. It looks like the ear of a kitten and it's switching back and forth. 

                                       I don't have a cat!

So, I raise up on my elbow to get a better look. Well, I be danged if I am not seeing my own finger. My hand is spread out over that empty space and for some strange reason I'm switching my finger back and forth. Maybe I'm counting how many times I repeat 'Go to Sleep'.

                        Well, at least it  wasn't a bug or a snake or some other varmit. 

                                           It was just me! 

                     A gal can't be too careful when she lives alone, can she?

A cat I did in pastels back in 2016. 

Laughter Every Day Will Keep The Doctor Away

 Well, it looks like I fell off the wagon... the blogger wagon that is. 

Just weird how it comes so easy some days and other times it's a real struggle to post anything.

I do have some things to catch you up on, though.

No pictures  for the first one, sorry....

Shirley came to Centerbrooke to conduct the activity meeting Tuesday afternoon. The staff that usually does that, had a dr. appt. We had the best time. While the cat's away, the mice will play!! 

We did get some events planned, committee reports done, that sort of thing but we just ended up laughing our fool heads off for two solid hours. (the meeting was so long 'cause we were having so much fun). 

Shirley had brought some of her wonderful cookies so we'd stop the meeting to  pass them out to the maintanence crew and anyone else who wandered in. We've got a new janitor. Tuesday was his second day, and we plied him with cookies (and his boss) hoping to stay on their good side. ha  

The Director went home at 5 but it was 6 before we turned out the lights and locked up the community room. Everybody needs to laugh every single day and we got caught up for a whole month's worth I think.

On Wednesday some of us drove to Wakefield (25 miles away) to where I used to live and where Shirley still lives. We had lunch at the Virginia Diner.

 That place is pretty famous. Besides being a restaurant they also ship Virginia Diner peanuts to shops all over the world. If you run across any when you are shopping, just think about me!! 

The diner started out in 1929 with a woman selling soup and biscuits out of an old railroad car. Business got so good, she expanded with an addition to it. That establishment got flooded so they just started over with a new building. Folks from near and far stop there to eat when they are traveling in Virginia. 

That's Lorettta, a sweet Christian lady.... Vivian, a new transplant from the Bronx, NY....Carolyn, another sweet lady.... Donald our farmer.. he has some garden spots here and shares his produce with friends. I sure am glad I am his friend.... Marcia is Donald's wife. She can not hear and it can;t be fixed so we communicate with her via her phone typing out what we say. And, that's where some of our laughter comes from. That phone can't hear any better than Marcia. Some of the things it types, well... I can't repeat here.

Today I repotted my amaryllis. The thing got too big for it's britches  pot. 

We'll see if it grows any better with more space and new soil! I even watered it!! 

What's Next On My Reading List?

                                         I just finished the book 

'Wild' by Cheryl Strayed. A bio about her struggles and how she overcame them on a hike through the Pacific Crest Trail. I saw that Reese Witherspoon starred in a movie about that so I definately want to see it soon. It's on one of my streaming services so it won't be difficult to find. 

For quite awhile now, as I read first this book and then that, I noticed that I run across passages that I just want to read over and over....so I started jotting them down in a notebook. I'll pick up that notebook and read it over again and again. Some of the quotes are by me. I do have some deep thoughts every once in awhile. 😀

                                            I also recently finished 

  'Lessons in Chemistry' which our little book club chose as a read.

        Now, I don't know what I want to read next.                                                         Anyone with any suggestions? 

Where Should I Bury My Coon Dog?

 I don't know about you but nothing seems to surprise me anymore. 

I've been hearing about this cemetery for a long time. When I had the opportunity to go see it (because I lived in the same state if you can call that opportunity) I didn't. I can tell you, it wasn't high on my bucket list. 

But, you gotta admit that a cemetery that only has coon hounds buried in it is rather unusual. In fact, it's the only one in the world. Well, go figure. If anybody's going to do something different it will be done in the state of Alabama! For it's oddity alone, that should be reason enough to at least visit it once. 

There's even a statue in memory of all the coon hounds who have gone on to dog heaven.

To impress people I might say.....

'Hey, I just visited ole Bean Blossom Bommer down at the Coon Dog Cemetery'. 

                     That might set you up a notch on the social scale! 

                                                      NOT

I  don't reckon we ever owned a coon dog. I can't tell all them hound dogs apart! My husband had foxhounds. I am not a dog person but my sweetie was addicted to fox hunting and I grew to dislike the effort and cost all his hounds took. Not to mention the time away from his family. So, no.... I do not like dogs.

Now I am wondering why Elbert didn't start his own dog cemetery! It would have had registered  foxhounds only (his had to have papers). Heck, the ones that died in his kennel alone would have covered a large area. And, we could have been famous... owners of the only FoxHound Cemetery in the world. Wouldn't that have been something? 

It Takes All Kinds

Living in a 55+ apartment complex has been very entertaining, eye-opening and at times just downright funny. 

I've been here 9 years next month and I've seen some things that I never thought I'd see. I've seen the best in people and the worst in people. And, some people whom I never see! 

There was this one woman who thought she didn't have to go by any rules. That is the way of some folks. So, she gets mad about something someone did and proceeded to stand out on her front entry and scream at this woman standing three floors down, all the cuss words she could think of. Uncomfortable to say the least. She moved and I don't think a one of us shed a tear! Gee, I wonder if the staff 'suggested' she move?

Then there was this man who decided to clean his pistol one day and accidently fired it. The bullet went through the floor and ended up in the apartment below him. It was to his good luck that his neighbor didn't get shot. His apartment was soon available for a new tenant!! 

There is one of the younger set around here who has been an angel to so many of the older ones. Doing and caring when someone was in need. Right now she's with her mom in another state sitting by her bed just waiting til the Lord calls her mom home. We all need angels in our lives, don't we? And, we could be an angel for someone who needs us, too.

There are the parties we have, the friends we make, and the sadness we feel when one leaves us.

I could go on and on but I won't bore you. There are those who make this like family. And, then there are those who scarcely nod when you greet them in the walkway. It does take all kinds. 

I love living here. I never know what's going to happen next and that's entertaining. Seeing a pair of panties lying in the driveway was eye-opening. And, for the funny part...

Some of us gals were talking the other morning. One mentions that four of the residents went to the movie but they couldn't remember which movie they saw. One of the gals insisted it was only three that went and so it goes back and forth. To break up the loop of how many went, I said that I went last year to see 'Were The Crawdads Sing' but I didn't remember who I went with. Then we all burst out laughing. I was that fourth one. It was so funny. I guess you probably had to be there to see the humor. My daughter says she's going to have all our memories tested!

On another note.... 

                                Tonight!

Red Hot Chili Peppers

 In my last post I mentioned hushpuppies and pork rind... some of you didn't know what those were. Oh honey, let me tell you... if you haven't had hushpuppies you haven't lived. But, of course, they have to be cooked right and Q Daddy's knows how to cook up some hushpuppies!!

It's just basically a cornbread batter with onions and sometimes corn added and dropped by the spoonful into hot oil. The inside so tender and the outside so crunchy. I love them.

Pork rinds are what they say they are. Crispy fried pig skin. Yes, I know, it sounds gross but they are good!

I am a Southern girl. I am proud of that but I haven't always been in the South.

Following my Navy sailor husband around, I've lived on all four corners of the U. S. plus Hawaii and Midway Island. And, in those places I got introduced to food I wasn't familiar with. 

I remember that right after our wedding back in 1950, I moved with Elbert to San Diego. One day we trapsied across the border to Tijuana, Mexico. Had lunch... I had never had Mexican food, much less REAL Mexican food. It set me on fire!🔥 There wasn't enough water in the entirety of Mexico to put out the flames!!!!

I grew up poor. I was a Depression child and we ate what we grew out of our garden. We never had beef to kill but would on occassion kill a hog. 

My only introduction to Mexican food was when my aunt brought over a can of tamales for us to try. It was pretty mild, pretty mushy but I was intrigued by the shucks they were wrapped in. No, not true Mexican by any means. 

Now, I can put away some Mexican food. 

I love Taco Bell chalupas. I like taco salad. I like chili rellenos. But, that's not really Mexican!! My memories of REAL Mexican cuisine have never left me. 

Blessings! 

What Was I Thinking?

 Okay.... it's official!

I am gonna die! No, wait a minute... I should have died shortly after I ate lunch at Q-Daddy's BBQ today. I am still here hours later but, I am still so stuffed I can't move. What was I thinking?

I ordered a BBQ plate so I could bring some of it home with me. BBQ, potato salad, baked beans and 2 of the best hushpuppies you ever bit into. 

picture from Q-Daddy's facebook page

I DIDN'T LEAVE MUCH TO BRING HOME.

After that, I ripped open a bag of pork rinds, seasoned with their signature rub. That was supposed to go home with me, too. I did not eat the whole bag, just a handful. I swear! 

picture taken by Shirley Dietz

Then Shirley (who was my partner in crime) suggested we get dessert.  

Honey, let me tell you. When she came back to the table with my strawberry milkshake I 'bout passed out. It was huge. And, I drank the whole darn thing. 

picture from Q-Daddy's facebook page

We could not even get out of our seats so we sat there and talked for an hour... hoping our tummies would not explode in the meantime. 

Finally,  we staggered out of that place. We decided that next time we would just order the milk shakes.... oh, and a couple of hushpuppies. They are to die for.

What did I say... 'die for'? It was definately on my mind! Just two crazy nuts who ate too much and lived to tell about it! But, man, I know I will pay for it tonight!

Surprise In a Box!

 Susan said she was sending  me some scarves. Fantastic. I assumed I'd get a padded envelope with the scarves tucked inside. I mean, you get a notion in your head and it sticks. Seldom does it turn out like you thought it would... which is good, RIGHT!

When the BOX arrived it was fairly large. Hmmmm.... what's that girl been up to now?

She'd had fun filling that box with all sorts of goodies and yes, there were five scarves in there as well. 

It was like Christmas. 

'

As you can see there was such a fun variety. Sweets to eat, tea to drink,  a magazine to read, a set of new pens for me to write with and a to-do booklet. What the heck... Do I need a To-Do list? 😁

So,  this morning I  had Frosted Flakes for breakfast and some of my favorite hot tea.

Have you ordered any TeaPigs tea bags from Amazon? Oh my gosh. Susan sent me the Liquorice and Peppermint mix and it is SOOOOO good. Caffeine free, too. 

I hope that you get a surprise soon. 

They are such fun. 

Blessings to you all!

A Little Bit of Luck

 I know... a four-leaf clover is not a shamrock. But, the clover does remind me of them. 

This being the first day of March and since I ran across this old poem and picture I had saved...

Why not, I said to myself....

Happy March