I'm not sure just how many people have food storage and rotation racks but if you are ready to begin food storage, this is the company that carries a line of products that will knock your socks off.
On top of that, they offer a free give away. You'll have to check it out their site and let me know which unit you decide to buy!
I'm looking at the Pantry 72"....it would be perfect for my needs and from there I can start building a larger storage pantry.

A Garden is for JOY!

I can't begin to write how wonderful it is to have a garden! It is so neat to be able to dig around in the dirt, add a few little seeds and then have this amazing plant begin to GROW!!! Our garden is filled with Watermelon and Pumpkin and Cantaloupe! My cucumber plant has finally decided to give it a go and it won't be long and we will see a few little cukes attached to the vine.

The watermelon and pumpkin are really starting to get big and they were soooo cute when they first got noticed as the size of a ping pong ball!

My flower boxes are doing great and the grass in the backyard is green! Brian added a birdhouse to the backyard but I think we missed the nesting season for this year. Hopefully we will both be able to watch the birds in the springtime choose one of the "stories" to our 2 story bird house!

Well...in the meantime it's enjoying life to the fullest!

Until another time, it's back outside to the garden I go..............!

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was always a special day in my house when I was growing up! I couldn't wait to do something nice or make something special for my mom. Whatever I managed to create in the way of a self made greeting card, never seemed to be enough. From those younger years I couldn't wait to be bigger so that I could buy a card from the store and give it to her. I wanted to see the smile in her eyes as she opened the card and carefully took it out of the envelope. I knew that no matter what the card looked like she would love it but just knowing that I made her day a special day was what counted.
I remember one Mother's Day in particular....I had gone to the store with my brother Mick and picked out a card that was absolutely beautiful! It had flowers and glitter on the front of it and that was all I needed to see! I knew that this was the card that she would cherish forever! The day came and it was time to give mom her card. I handed her the card and she had that twinkle in her eyes as she began to slowly open the seal (of course I had licked it to seal it shut, making it more dramatic in my eyes as she opened it). She took the card out of the envelope and said............."OH how pretty!!!" (That was enough for me to hear to make my day!) Then she opened it up and started to laugh. Laugh? What was so funny about my card? I guess I hadn't really read the verse as I scanned the cards for that perfect flower, glitter, etc. If I had, I would have known that this card was a sympathy card...NOT a Mother's Day card! DOH!
Well....she had a good laugh as she pulled me close and gave me a HUGE hug and a kiss to the forehead and then said...."This was a very pretty card!" I don't remember much more than that. I do know that I read cards now very carefully before sending them.

I miss my kids on all days but especially on a day that's made just for mothers. Usually the Saturday before Mother's day, all moms stay close to their front door in hopes of being home for the floral delivery guy...or better, a surprise from one of the kids that they are home for a visit! Saturday came and went for me......and although the florist trucks were busy at the houses to my right and to my left and directly across the street, they never stopped for me.

But all was not lost when Emily phoned this morning to wish me a happy day, we talked for a little bit and exchanged a few pleasantries and then something interrupted her on her end and she had to go. I was wondering if "the boys" in my daughters lives would get on the phone and wish me a Happy Mother's day too as my brother in laws used to do with my mom. But it's a different world today then the one that I grew up in so many long years ago. Emily said that she would call me back but the phone never rang again.
I suppose that Mandy is busy with Alex and Davey or at work waiting on all the other mothers that have been taken out for a nice dinner by their kids. And Tommy....He's probably asleep or out at the bar with his friends, not realizing that this really is a special day that mothers wait for every year. Just like fathers wait to be shown a little extra affection, a little pampering from their children.
Well I hope that wherever they are and whatever they are doing today that they at least had a little memory of me as they were growing up..........and could share that with someone.

I guess it's time that I forget about Mother's Day 2009 and focus on something else. I do know one thing....it's darn lonely when your kids are spread out across the country and the only thing that you have to hope for is an email card, a cellphone call, or even a snail mail card instead of a hug and a day spent together, and nothing shows up for you.

Oh well........to the other Mother's of the world: Happy Mother's Day!

After the flood back in October of 2008 we realized that this was going to take a long time to get the house back into shape. Even if the insurance company was quick to respond with our check(s), the mortgage company made it less then a joyful experience to get things back to normal.
The latest update is that we do have the kitchen and dining area (pretty much the same area),living room, hallway, hallway closets and bathrooms all tiled. We had the room off of the living room tiled instead of carpeted for a few reasons. First reason....DOGS. It's much easier to wipe up a piddle or a poop from a dog that has had an "accident" (because it's owners weren't watching to let them outside to relieve themselves) then it is to clean up brand new carpeting. And we all know that no matter how hard you work to get a "spot" out of the carpeting, it always shows up again.
The second reason....The floor is nice and cool and that means a few things...the house will feel cooler in the summer when we don't really need to be running the air conditioning. So far I have not had it on but Brian did mention that he got up and turned it on the other night because his room felt stuffy. (I don't know why he didn't just open his bedroom window...but then again, he's afraid of intruders so I guess I do understand)
The night temperatures have been delicious! The kind of temperatures that we will long for come August or September! I throw my windows open and let the cool air in..........and most of the time I have a fan running to help bring those delightful breezes right into the house and down the hallway! Intruders be damned! (I know that there is a remote possibility for this to happen but I'm going to hedge a bet that I'll be safe for the next few years living here) Those redneck neighbors of mine know everyone who's supposed to be here and everyone who looks "foreign." After all....they did call the police on Brian and me the night before we got the keys to this house, as we sat in the backyard enjoying the moonlight and our new yard. So I'm going to leave security up to them! They seem to know what to do.

Anyway....back to the house. Brian and I pulled weeds (Brian used the shovel on most of them) and I raked until I got a blister (even with gloves) to get all of the dead weeds and new weeds out of the dirt. I had to stop because I didn't want to get an infection. Remember diabetics don't heal all that fast and I really didn't want to lose a thumb as well as my job as a cashier due to infection. So...Brian ended up doing most of the weeding. After all of that was done, we went to Star Nursery and bought the seed starter, grass seed and steer manure! Mmmmm.....have I mentioned how nice cow dung smells when you add water to it? The dogs had quite a look on their little faces when we introduced them to the back yard that afternoon. All morning they had been in their kennels so as not to disturb the process.

Water water water.....sunshine sunshine sunshine....more water....and today we have the hint of green little blades of grass beginning to poke their heads up through the dirt!!! Hooray!!! Of course there will be patches that we will have to reseed because Chuckie and Gordie had to help with the "sprinkling" and "fertilizing!" I'll send some pictures when there is more to show then just a faint hint of grass coming up!

So....yesterday Brian built what I am going to call our plant stand and grapevine arbor. It looks terrific and there is quite a sense of accomplishment and pride that he takes in doing jobs around the house. He also planted his garden of watermelon and cantalope. My cucumbers are coming up and there are about 8 little peppers on my bell pepper plants! So as you can read...everything is coming up nicely which makes me smile and be very happy inside.

Today I danced with your dad. I watched him approaching me through closed eyes and I felt my heart flutter as if I were a school girl at her first dance.

Today I danced with your dad. His eyes never left mine as he held out his hand, requesting mine. I could feel tears pooling in my eyes as the room went a bit out of focus but I held out my hand with anticipation of his touch.

Today I danced with your dad. As if in slow motion I stood up from my chair and stepped forward. I felt his warm hand enveloping mine as he led me to the middle of the floor. He pulled me close to him and held me tight...as if to reassure me of his protection from something unseen.

Today I danced with your dad. Everything in the room seemed to fade away as we moved together effortlessly. No words were spoken. He held me close and as we swayed to the music I heard him sigh and whisper, “I will always love you.”

Today I danced with your dad. And today for a moment in time everything was all right.

TILE UPDATE.....

OH IT LOOKS WONDERFUL!!!

If I had known how pretty floor tile actually can be in a home we would have had it put down in our house in Henderson! Wow!! I wish you were all here to see it.

Today the workers will be finishing the master bathroom and Brian has already gone to Home Depot to purchase the baseboard. He will bring it home and cut it. Then it will be my turn to paint it. I'll be set up on the patio for painting. After it dries it will go back to Brian and his nailgun and WHAM!! down along the tile it will go! It's going to look sooooo nice in here! And I wish that all of you could come home to see it.

Sigh........

Anyway.....while I'm here I also thought that I would mention that THE TOAST OF THE DAY IS: "Here's to nothing!"

National Nothing Day. Anniversary of the event created by newspaperman Harold Pullman Coffin and first observed in 1973, "to provide Americans with one national day when they can just sit with out celebrating, observing, or honoring anything."

Dose of Mirth: "For a moment, nothing happened. Then, after a second or so, nothing continued to happen."~Douglas Adams

So if you've got "nothing" to do today....enjoy your day! And if you've got "something" planned...well, enjoy that too! hahahaa!

Granny's Apron

I don't think our kids know what an apron is.

The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath, because she only had a few, it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and they used less material, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.

It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.

From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms.

Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove. Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.

In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees. When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.

It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.

REMEMBER: Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.

They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron. I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron ..... but Love !!

IT'S HEEEERE!

I am just so excited that I can hardly control my fingers as I fly across the keyboard!

WE HAVE 72 BOXES OF CERAMIC TILE STACKED NEATLY IN OUR GARAGE TO BEGIN THEIR JOURNEY THROUGHOUT OUR HOUSE ON MONDAY!!!

Oh my gosh I am soooooo excited that I can hardly wait to walk naked (just my feet that is) on our new floor! Hahaaaa! Of course I'll take a few pictures and try to post it but the next few days are going to be tearing down the furniture that is still "inside" the house and putting it in the bedrooms! Once the floor is done....then we begin the bedrooms! Everything OUT of the bedrooms so that the baseboard and carpeting can be put down! I'm thinking that we will be doing this one bedroom at a time?? Sounds logical but so far....none of this has been logical! haha!

Right now our biggest thought to ponder is ...."Which bathroom floor should they do first? The Master bath where we take our showers and need to get to our clothes.....OR the hallway bathroom (that's the bathroom that I like to use)?

Ok....so now I have to get a few things packed (again) and put away (I think my gnomes are getting used to living in a box and out of a box...in a box and out of a box. haha! Time to get them back into the box and move the cabinet someplace.......

Now where's that strapping tape again???

TOAST OF THE DAY!

Ahhhhh ....the first week of the new year behind us! All of the parties and those who attended them are safely back to work by now. Resolutions are being followed out faithfully or quickly filed away for next year, maybe.
For me....I dream of the day when I can go out and ring in the new year and not be at work. I'm not much of a party goer but I think that I'd really like to have a pretty dress to begin the new year celebrations. I'd make something up to celebrate if I couldn't come up with something......and that brings me to what I was going to write about here today.

The book that I've been reading....The Awe-manac. I thought I'd share the "Toast of the Day" with you. I thought that it was something to ponder in a world where we take things for granted. So here it is......

"Here's to the amazing convenience of talking to someone on a long distance phone call!"

Makes me think of all of those who left their families back east and headed west. Some never seeing or hearing from them again once they were out of sight in their covered wagons. I think to myself...."Could I have left my mother and my father? My sister and my brothers? My childhood friends and neighbors? Could I have really just packed everything up and said goodbye?" I know the answer today. I couldn't have done that. I would not have been one of the pioneers if I wasn't leaving as an entire family. I couldn't leave anyone behind, knowing I'd never see or hear or touch them again.

So.......Today, I give thanks for the invention of the telephone and the ability to use it whenever we want to and to be able to do it for pennies. I'm hoping that all of you are safe and warm and feel loved as you read this.

Love
Mom

A New Year and a New Book!

Some people like to take long vacations in new parts of the world. Some like to purchase and wear expensive jewelry. Some go crazy with purchasing art and some just go crazy purchasing! As for me, I can't resist a bookstore!
So...to make the story short and simple, I bought a new book to start my year off with a smile!
The name of the books is THE AWE-MANAC....A Daily Dose of Wonder by Jill Badonsky.
Why did I buy this book?? You're probably going to snicker here but I liked the whimsical hardback cover! I also liked the size of the book, the pages inside with all of the cool things to think about.

Each day there's a space where you name the day! Then there's a sentence that you have to finish each day. Each day you see these words: TODAY I GET TO__________. It's a way of celebrating the day! Celebrating your life! Celebrating someone else or something else....(and God knows I need to find something to celebrate!) There's cool little sayings, and birthdays of famous people and little cartoons on each page of something whimsy.
There's even a TOAST OF THE DAY! Today the toast is...."Here's to a refreshing mid-day's nap!" (Ahhhh....my kind of a toast!)
Then of course there's the part of the page that really gets me going....writing something special. Maybe I feel no words will pour forth from my finger tips or my pen (whichever I may be using) and then the inspiration comes from reading from the "WORD POOL." This is the section where there are several words that make no sense but somehow can inspire you to write write write!
And then there's the special Journal stuff...like...."List 3 things you're glad you did already this year!" 1. Got through New Years at work.
2. Cleaned out the filing cabinet and made new
folders.
3. Continued to read books that I've started and
never finished. (Whew! That's quite an
endeavor!)

So....once again I play to my addiction (bookstores and papers and pens and writing) with pleasure.