Ramblings 10/27/2012

Ramblings today.

Finger-tight has a whole new meaning when you're married to Love Bunny. Now, he is the strongest man I know. He and my oldest grandson have no idea of their strength. They just don't have a clue. When being hugged by our oldest grandson, who is 28, it actually hurts. He always apologizes, but at 6'4" his hugs get my upper back just under the arm pits and it hurts so bad I always have to tell him to back off. Hubs doesn't do that to me, but if he grips my ankle to apply lotion to my feet or puts my socks on my feet (I know; I'm spoiled!) I have to tell him to stop. He just doesn't realize how strong he is.

Recently I had him help me with some curtains on a rod that slips into some brackets that have a tiny screw to tighten it. I had to reposition it later in the day and couldn't get it to unscrew! I called him in to do it for me. Same with lids on jars and bottles. Always too tight! Today I was refilling the salt and pepper shakers in the kitchen and dining room. After filling, I turned to him to put the tops back on and pulled my hand with the salt shaker back and told him, "Nooooo, I'll never be able to get it off again if you do it." You have no idea how many times I have to go outside or to another room to find him to get a lid off of something he's put back into the refrigerator. While it's frustrating, I never have to worry about someone attacking me because he'd have broken limbs before I could even shout for hubs to help me!
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Have you ever had someone you know come to "just drop off" something? I actually hate that. They usually won't come in and there are times I'd love to chat with that person. It's always when they're on their way to something with kids. I think that's becoming the norm in the world. I have only one or two friends who'll come over to just sit and chat. It's much needed in society today. So when you have a chance, visit with that person; don't just "drop off" something.
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Do you miss the old-fashioned dust mops? I do. I have a Dyson vacuum cleaner, a Swiffer for dry floors and a Swiffer for mopping floors. I told Love Bunny about this recently—missing the old dust mops—and he said to go buy one. Well, we did. Now, they aren't the triangular ones with yarn for dusting, but the long oval one I bought does a nice job of getting the dust bunnies from under cabinets, something my Dyson can't do due to its height. I love dust mops. Makes me feel like I'm a real woman! LOL
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Do you remember when ice cream used to come in little squares or rectangles wrapped in cardboard? Hubs brought this up recently and I had forgotten. We have so many memories that kids today will never know or have the sweet memories or experiences we had as kids. I feel sorry for them, actually.
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Have you ever seen such a pretty colorful patio?

More beautiful bowls, thermoses, cups and vintage, rustic scales.

Bowls filled with spools of lace, a candle in a champagne class, lace and a rose in a milk bottle. Darling!

Pretty table centerpiece of roses.

Love this lamp shade!

A pretty entry way.

This just reminded me of an old house we used to live in. This is quite cute though.

Lovely garden shed.

Just some pink and red eye candy I found adorable.

A cute place to sit in a back yard. Look at the "pool"! I may try to duplicate something like this next year in a shady corner of our back yard. I love this.

Now, this could be a place for sleepovers for a teen or it could be 3 sisters in a room of their own, but it certainly has a lot of pizzazz.

A play area for a little munchkin.

I should think this is somewhere in another country from the looks of the stove.

A peaceful bedroom.

No, you'll probably never have a home like this but it's fun to look inside something this beautiful. I think this hallway is about the size of my entire house! ;-)

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Laundry Rooms 4

I read recently about New York hospitals locking up the baby formula from new moms. What?! Both of my kids were raised on baby formula as I couldn't breast feed. What a crazy world it's turning into.
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I got an email from a blogger recently about the quote I had at the bottom of one of my blog posts asking if it was my quote or someone else's. I told her I paraphrased it somewhat but that is truly how I live my life: By creating beauty and order where you live and work, you will be controlling the private hours of your life. It is what I believe, how I live my life and my philosophy about life. Yes, I certainly do live my life beautifully and wish others would do the same. I cannot control some of my thoughts but I can control how long they stay in my head. I can definitely control how I live in my home and how I think about living.
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Whatever happened to watermelon plugs? I know some of you will remember them. When we would go to a grocery store or buy a watermelon at a roadside stand, the seller would cut a triangular plug into it so we could taste it. Not anymore. Ya take yer chances now. I always wondered what they did with those melons we didn't select to buy.
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We eat at Jack In The Box every Monday night. It's our salad night there. When we walk in they know exactly what to make. But recently we walked in and had to tell them we were having their Bonus Jacks at two for a dollar. Threw them all off! Funny to watch them. So the next week they looked up and asked if it was back to the usual—salads. It's pretty bad when the local JITB knows us so well they don't normally have to ask what we want.
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Hubs had to help with a funeral today. Setting up chairs and tables for the bereaved family to have a luncheon. It reminded me of some of the catch phrases to friends who've lost family members. The polite response should be: I'm sorry for your loss. You should never say Bummer; at least he's out of his misery; or I had a brother-in-law that had the same disease. Show some class, people.
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Small, elegant and red!

Love everything about this laundry. Containers, folding table, high stool to sit while folding clothes, enough storage space and trinkets to make it lovely and homey.

This vintage ironing board is so cute with its flowered cover.

Drying rack for towers and socks. Small wire basket to hold dry clothes.

Something simple like old clothes pins in a wire basket along with linen fabrics to cheer up a small space.

Got everything in a very small space here needed for wash day.

Cute storage area for sewing and washing. Lots of cabinets and light.

I like this one a lot.

And it does sparkle! Chandelier, gorgeous blue color and tiles reminiscent of french decor.

This one kind of reminds me of being in the garden with the green color and lattice doors on the upper cabinets.

Small closet just big enough for this homeowner's laundry room. NO wasted space for her.

Another laundry reminiscent of a garden with flowers, pretty paint the color of outdoors, pretty arches in the doorways and flowers on the bench and countertop.

I would love something like this. I need extra folding space other than the top of the washer and dryer. I could probably put a table top on let on the other side of my laundry room.

Eye candy for the laundry room.

Pretty fabrics stuffed into cigar boxes. Not a laundry item but I thought you'd like it.

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Linking up with Mosaic Monday
and WOW.

Post-op Visit

I had my post-op appointment with my ob/gyn doctor early in the morning a few days ago and we just chatted. I doubt I could have stood him viewing his handiwork anyway. The day after surgery was his planned vacation to the East Coast. He had given me his cell phone number before he left with specific instructions that I was to call him if any problem arose but I wasn't about to interrupt his vacation. When I went into ER, that doctor had no such compunctions, however. She was a feisty little thing and I immediately liked her.

Anyway, she caught him in a cooking class in North Carolina. I think his wife planned this event for him. Initially, he didn't want to go but then he was glad because he learned how to make the perfect pie crust. He likes to bake and Tomato Pie was something he wanted to try.

His lesson taught him to use high protein flour—cake flour—and lard. Butter has too low a melting point but lard/Crisco shortening doesn't so it gives the pie its flakiness without melding the layers together. Interesting conversation. I really like him. I did tell him I'd want a piece of a pie he baked however.

I told him my family history about not liking to take pain killers and he said he and I had similar histories in regards to them but he told me I definitely needed to keep taking them. So I'm on my third week of pain killers as I write this. I'm pretty loopy most of the time. I write down every single time I take a pill so I won't forget but hubs takes good care of me since he's home with me all the time. (A positive side of being retired!)

But that day since we were already out, I told him let's pop over to WM and get a few things. After several minutes in the store I started getting woozy and nauseous and informed hubs he'd better get me out asap. He did. I went home, took a pain pill, parked my hiney on the living room sofa and stayed there for a couple of hours.

Then towards the afternoon I asked him to take me to Joanns Fabrics as I hadn't been there in months and had some ideas rolling around in my head that needed a visit to Joanns to set my plans in motion. I'll post pictures of what I got and what I'm doing with some of it very soon. He did and I was fine. I do think I was a bit too aggressive with the activity that day, however.

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Another exquisitely and stunning white bedroom.

A small balcony made gorgeous with flowers and pillows. I really do like this inviting space.

I have wanted one of these carpet bags for about a year now but just cannot bring myself to pay the prices they want for these. This one is one of my favorites though.

A cute vintage and rustic Hoosier cabinet.

Beautiful blues along with pink and a rosie red rug.

Collection of vintage china. I'd take any one of those plates and be happy!

Some tulip eye candy for you.

Just a beautiful old building somewhere in Europe from the looks of it.

A coffee grinder made glam.

A table setting to colorful to pass up.

Simple white canvas with splashes of pink color. Delightful.

I don't know why this little cottage intrigued me but it did. Just quaint, neat, colorful and delightful to look at.

I wouldn't mind doing dishes in this charming kitchen.

Azaleas and rhododendrons always remind me of Virginia. They don't grow especially well here in the deserts but I'd love to be able to have some here. Too dry.

Stunning arches with ivy trim.

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Linking with The Dedicated House.

Laundry Rooms 2

A few thoughts before I show you these gorgeous laundry rooms and accoutrements.

Why is it when a hubby retires all of a sudden my cabinets and pantry need rearranging? Or I can't cook?! I've done these things for him—even while maintaining a job—for over 51 years. It's getting out of control around here and I'm going to have to put my foot down, perhaps on HIS foot. ;-) I love keeping my home...MY way.
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One of the reasons for my recent surgery involved birthing 9 pound babies. Our daughter was 9 lbs. 1 oz. She was also 23" long. Hubs told someone the other night she was 24". I said, No, she was 23" and he looked at me and said, "I was there." I looked at him and said, "No, you weren't. You dropped me off at the hospital and returned the car we had to borrow to get there. But I was definitely there and have the birth certificate to prove it." I had to call him on the phone and tell him she had arrived. Father's memories, hah!
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Why should we have to tip at the ice cream parlor? They scoop up an ice cream cone and hand it to me after I've waited in line for several minutes. They get a wage. And at almost $9 for 2 dishes of ice cream I don't think I should have to tip. Same with buffets. I do all the work except clean up the table. Wait. Sometimes, we even do that! You want a tip, give me some real service. And I tip restaurants nicely for good service also.
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It is not from the benevolence of the butcher or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from a regard to their own interest. Greed was what compels every business to serve its customers. It's what has guaranteed the best product at the best price. I pay premium prices for the best meat and expect my butcher to sell me the best quality and if, after cooking, it doesn't measure up, then I take the receipt back and expect either money back or another piece of meat. It hasn't happened often, but it has happened and I've been compensated with a smile. That's what good companies do and good customers expect.
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My hubs has often not heard my yes or no answer to a question or has misinterpreted it. I now answer right or correct to his question.

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I loved this little sign when I saw it and have no doubt you'll also drool over it. Your hubs could make it easily for you.

Small, economical and it works!

This also is tiny and can work well.

We need a new laundry hamper and I'm leaning towards one like this. Looks sturdier than the one we have now.

The color is what drew me here. You can tell, right?

Small, tidy, efficient and could also be done in a garage laundry area.

Okay, so some megabucks people live here and it would be a waste of space for me but it sure is pretty for the maid when doing laundry.

Cute and colorful.

Even getting back to basics can be cute and updated!

I've always liked the idea of pretty containers for laundry soap in my laundry room.

Just too much room for me and th' hubs but it looks like they've adapted it to gift wrapping also. This room has more cabinet space than I have in my whole house!

I'd love to have that soap dish and container hanging on the wall. Cute and practical.

A homeowner revamped her basement to make it user-friendly and pretty when she has chores to do down there. She's hidden all kinds of pipes and ugly walls with just curtains. Works magically. Lovely.

Small, elegant and cute.

Part of a laundry room. I like how the owner used the door knobs as holders though.

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