A Stitch In Time

 So here were are, nearing the end of November. I'm finally over whatever I've had for the last 60+ days. I still have a cough now and then. My biggest problem is fatigue. Because I was waking up off and on during the night and coughing, my sleep patterns (always dicey) are skewed. I've tried for a week to get back on track but after a single night of great sleep, I woke at 5 a.m. with only five hrs sleep. I had to go back to bed by 9 a.m. and slept 3 hrs. or I would have passed out in the chair. 

I still haven't made it to my aunt's for a visit. The plans are still out there. Just not a definate date when I can go. It isn't a good idea to drive sleepy. I'd like to say by December 1st. 

Anyone ever find themselves not caring for food? I don't mean not hungry. No. I get hungry but I can't seem to find anything that I want to eat. I'm sort of looking forward to my sister and I going to Golden Corral for Thanksgiving. They have great food and lots of veggies. It sounds wonderful. We'll see if the appeal holds.

I had to get a new sewing machine. I was working on something and my old one just stopped. It is at least 10 yrs old and I've had problems with if for several  years. It reached the point that I had to have it serviced every year and that's just silly. The old machines, I could service myself. Twenty yrs ago you could even change your own belts. Now, it is all computers. I got a great deal on a Janome and this is the quietest machine I've ever used! I've used it for several days to do minor repairs. That's the easiest way to get familiar with a machine. No. They're not all alike. It's just like driving a car. If you've driven a truck for 10 yrs and now you get a Mercedes, you're going to find a lot of bells and whistles. You have to figure out where the keys go. LOL, for real!

Anyway, I like the machine. I just hope it holds up better than my last two Singers. I doubt I'll ever buy another Singer. I did check on the Brother machines but they were very cheaply made and when I compare reviews across several sites, I didn't want to take the risk. The machine I bought is a $900 machine but I got it for a third of that on a sale. So great deal. It's odd, actually. I've bought everyone of my the machines I've owned (4) on sale at good prices. All but one were good machines. 

By the way, were you aware you could buy sewing machines at Home Depot? Yeah. That's a thing. And no, that's now where I got the machine. When I was shopping for the machine, I Googled and that came up. They actually had some good prices. 

Now, I'm off to the shower. I need a hot one and to consider getting to bed earlier. Have a lovely Thanksgiving if you celebrate the holiday.

#ACraftyWench, #Janome, #Stitches, #Sewing 

Sniffling, Snuffling, and Snorting

 After three weeks of illness, I'm beginning to feel human again. For three days now, I've sweated like a miner. No idea why, except it may be my body cleaning itself of whatever made me sick. I suspect, but have no verification, that it may have been covid again. That would be my third bout, if so. Since I don't have fevers and the onset was very slow, I just don't know. I had similar symptoms: headaches, fatigue, and some foods tasted off. Last time I couldn't smell for a year but that doesn't seem to be a factor when cleaning the cat boxes.

I actually thought the B1 had stopped working and my fibro symptoms had started again. Turns out I might have been wrong. I'm thankful the worst seems to have abated and I'm feeling better, still somewhat tired but much better. I have a loose cough and am constantly blowing my nose to clear it out. Things are draining. 

I have plans to travel down to Georgia sometime in the coming week, and from there, I'm going to go to Alabama to visit the graves of my great-grandparents and put grave stones on their graves. They've never had stones, although my grandparents do. When the grands were buried, it was a big expense and the family was rather poor. Their vault covers are above ground and one has a crack in it. I wish I could get that fixed but can't afford it. The other is older, rounded top with metal loops that were used to lower the stone in place. It is sad when the graves get in such contition and there is very little family left to care for them even if they were interested. My siblings and I have tried to keep thing clean and in good shape on my grandparents and mother's grave. My brother is buried there now too. He doesn't have a stone either. Maybe later I can do something about that. 

While in Florida, I'm hoping I can visit other family but I'm on a time crunch and not sure how long I can stay. Mike and my sister, Phyllis are taking care of the cats while I'm away. I don't like leaving them so I guess I'm officially a cat lady. 

I've got the laundry done, the floors vacuumed, and the den curtains washed this week. Phyllis won't have to clean house and I have a long list that I need to take care of when I get home. 

I hope everyone else is well. I just read that October will end in a widespread cold snap, so be ready to bundle up.

48 Birthdays

 

I have a birthday this month, # 67. Recently, I thought about my Mama. She was only 64 when she went home to be with Jesus. I miss her more than just about anything. 

It occured to me that Mama has missed 48 of my birthdays. She never saw me finish high school. She never saw me marry. When I went to Europe, she was not there to see me off, not once but twice. Nor was she there to greet me when I came home.

When my children were born, Mama was not there, nor was she when my granddaughter was born. Mama never rocked my sons or granddaughter. Mama never told them stories about my childhood nor read them stories from books. She never sang Hobo Bill, The Railroad Bum to them, nor Rock-a-Bye-Baby. 

When I needed advice or was in pain, she wasn't there. When I needed prayer, she wasn't there. When my husband died, I wanted my Mama but she wasn't there. My aunt and uncle stepped into as surrogate parents when Mama died but there has always been a hole where she stood. 

Mama never saw me go to college. She never read my articles in the college paper, never read the writing I did in other areas. She never witnessed my graduating from college. The first of her descendants with a degree and she missed it. Magna Cum Laudy, Mama! Can you believe it? I have as brief image formed in my mind of her standing in the audience smiling broadly. It isn't real. She wasn't there. And there is an echo of her voice from a long time ago where she said, "My girl can do anything." 

48 birthdays, Mama. So long, so very long, Mama. 

A Little Light On the Subject

 

Today, I finally got the new solar light put on. It is on the post of my front porch facing south, which is along the front of the house. I also removed one of the older lights that doesn't work anymore and "fixed" one of the newer ones. 

I have two of these particular lights and they've been a problem staying functional. I usually turn them off and then back on and it works for a while. The nuisance is that I have to use a ladder. That requires a spotter to keep it steady.

At this point, my house has lighting on the east, south, and west. I can walk from the north east corner, along the west facing front, turn left at the south west corner and go toward the east, along the track side, then at the south east corner, turn left again and walk the entire length of the back of the house and lights will come on all the way. It's kind of nice. I'm never scared to go out by myself at night but I'm not stupid. It could be dangerous. Now, I feel better about it. And the lights cost nothing to run. I try and check them regularly by walking around the house after dark. 

 I have no light on the north end, the garage end, and it is difficult to get sun to charge a light there so solar doesn't work well. I may have to get a light that plugs in inside the garage. Not sure. I don't want to pay a bill but the garage side is a dark area at night. The south side of the house now how two solar lights that are very bright and motion detect. This was probably the darkest spot on the property because the railroad is there and a lot of trees and bushes on the siding. So, it could be a bit scary if I had to go out at night. My air condition is there and so is the breaker for it. I don't know why they put it there but they did. 

Tomorrow I'd like to get the other bird house up. I have one on the front and was going to put the other on the back but now I think I'll put them both on the front and get two more for the back. I'm trying to make my feathered friends welcome because the more birds you have around, the fewer mosquitos you have on your property. I want to put up my bat house too but haven't found a way to put it up. It needs to be high and obviously not attached to the house. And it needs to be not facing the north. I need a really tall pole. 

I've been feeling much better since I began taking the B1 supplement. If you don't know, B1 has been shown in at least 2 studies to help fibromyalgia. I decided to test it. I read the reports, bought the pills, and took the theraputic dose for two months. Virtually all my fibro symptoms stopped. Muscle pain dropped, my brain fog disappeared, and I'm not nearly as fatigued. In fact, some days I have a tremendous amount of energy. A very weird but positive side effect was all cravings for sweets disappeared. I've had that for most of my life but now, I have no trouble passing it up. There is also data for that. It actually helps your body process sugar. My doctor was so shocked she looked it up while I was sitting in her office. 

I haven't written much but I've started back at it. I've been making list. I think I mentioned this in a privious post. I have to jot down what needs doing because there is so much, I forget it before I can get to the next thing. I've become a lot more ADD than I used to be. I never thought I had ADD but now, I'm not so sure. 

So, that's Friday done. I hope that those who read my blog, enjoy it. I know it is pretty boring most of the time and others full of drama. But that's Life on the Ledge where I live. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. Be blessed and be kind. 

This Too Shall Pass

 And it did. I got nothing done today that was on my list. I didn't get to sleep until around 3 a.m., despite lying in bed with my CPap mask on. I almost go up but decided to just tough it out. I listened to a podcast until I was tired. I turned out the light at 3 a.m. Took a few minutes to get to sleep but I was up at 8 a.m.

I did a devotional and played some games. Then took the shopping trip. I got some groceries and went to Dollar General to get household supplies. So, that's taken care of for the next month. 

I also stopped at the Dollar Tree to get some marbles. I found them! Two bags for my project. I saw this on a video on line and realized I needed it. Two Dollar General baking pans. Two bags of Dollar Tree marbles. Put the marbles in the bottom pan. Put your spices in the top pan. The pan held two shelves of spices. Dollar Tree sells the baking pans cheaper, but they are much smaller. I may have to make a second one of these.

On my return, after I put away all the items and finished the project, I sat and listened to podcasts. I realized a few moments ago that Icouldn't stay up much longer so I'm headed off to the Land of Nod. Yes, that's a place and you can Google it if you want. My eyes feel crosed and I've made a hundred errors while typing this. 

Dream Big & Make It Happen

This post will probably be short. I've spent the weekend taking care of my sister, Phyllis. She has minor surgery on Friday and stayed with me until today. She went home a few hours go. It's always nice to have some company. I only have company from the Amazon delivery person, my son, Mike, and his girlfriend, Amanda. My sister comes by once in a while, but she still works and is pretty tired by 5 p.m. 

If you have a friend who spends a lot of time alone, you will notice when you are with them they talk a tremendous amount. This is because they're starved for human interaction. If you aren't suffering from this malady, please be kind to that person. We are by nature social creatures and when you're forced to be alone constantly, human interaction is like candy to a 5-year-old. It goes straight to the brain. I'm always exhausted after these social events. I'm an introvert, so I require solitude to recharge from social interactions. That doesn't mean I enjoy being alone constantly.

 Next Monday we begin the last quarter of 2023. I can't believe we've gone almost a year now. It's so crazy and with all the crazy stuff happening is unbelievable. 

Tonight, I'm feeling better than I have in a while. I think I've been resting better and getting more sleep. I still have to take a nap sometimes in the afternoon, but if it helps, I'm fine with it. The B1 seems to have helped me with the fibro symptoms far beyond what I expected. And the 10 lb weight loss was unexpected, too. I think it is something to do with B1's effect on sugar metabolism. 

My to-do list has not gotten shorter in the last week, well, sort of. I have accomplished a few things and marked them off. However, I just added other items to it. Still, it helps to see that the list changes. I don't feel I've totally wasted time.

I need to let anyone who is uses subscription to this and the other blog feeds that the feed has changed. FeedBurner isn't doing feeds anymore, at least, I don't think so. There were problems with it, so I switched to Follow.it. There is an icon on the home page. 

Tonight I watched videos of Sarah, my granddaughter. If you've been around this blog for a while, you know Sarah. I had a bunch of them on YouTube but took them down, preparatory to moving them to another site. However, I'm nervous of this with so many pedophiles cruising the web for images of children. It is a disappoint that you can't even share the joys of your life without demonic creepers sticking their horns in your business. I could make them where only subscribers could access but that won't fix the problem. 

Plans tomorrow: 

• Put up the second bird's house. 
• Take down the non-working solar lights, put up the new one. 
• Spray herbicide on the fence line, since the moron who owns it won't clean it out. 
• Clean up the garage and get rid of some junk (I can dream) 

And before anyone goes off the deep end from a trigger, I'm not able to cut out the vines and 20 foot tall poison ivy vine that takes up 10 foot of that privacy fence. It isn't MY fence. It is on the other guy's property. However, after I've done this, I suspect not much will grow on that line. At least I can hope. The people behind me put up a new fence a couple of years ago. They tore my fence down without telling me. "It was a cattle fence!" she said. But it was MY cattle fence. I didn't reply. 

Anyway, they too are letting stuff come up in their fence. I will not clear it. If they want it destroyed by bushes, that's fine with me. Or I may also run the poison along that fence too. I do hope they have nothing important planted near it. 

I am TIRED of lazy junkyard neighbors that bring down the property values.

For now, I'll stop. I hope, dear reader, that the coming week is a blessing for you and yours. Be kind, be generous, and be safe. 

Widowed Friends

 If you're one of my widowed friends, hop over to Rendered Praise for the post titled

Where was Job's Wife.

Try To Remember... September

 My senior check-up today went well. I could remember the three words and set a clock. I told them they should ask me about the calendar instead, since half the time I don't know what day it is. My doctor, who is probably half my age, said she can't either. 

The doctor I see is lovely. She doesn't berate me about my "herbal" experiments or refusal to take certain medicines or shots. They gave me a pneumonia shot, but I refused the flu shot. I told her the only time I ever got a flu shot was in 1999 and it made me terribly sick. I haven't had one since. She said, "I saw that."

I've lost 10 lbs in the last month. It is probably because I've cut most of my carbs and I've eliminated one meal a day. I also have been taking B1 for three months now and it has had a huge effect on my sugar cravings. So, we'll see how this goes.

The effect on my fibro is nothing sort of miraculous. Brain fog disappeared and my pain from fibro has dropped very low. I still have RA and fibro, but most of the fibro symptoms are barely noticeable. The only thing I still notice is fatigue. It has lessened but not disappeared. 

I have started back at the gym but I'm not doing weights for a bit. My arm is doing well, but they've said to wait because of the pain I've been having in the arm. 

I've been trying to get myself organized. Again. I've been making lists of things I need to do the next day. Then, as I do it, I mark it off. This may sound fairly normal to you, but for me it isn't. I'm definitely not a list person. 

For weeks, I've had problems with depression and a sense of despair. Auto-immune diseases do that to you. But so does the news. No one wants to hear about your problems, so you have to keep it bottled up. Again, not a good idea. So, I spent an afternoon ranting to God. He's much nicer than people. He listens, doesn't smite me, and once I'm finished, he helps me see much clearer. I had a short piece of writing that day that came to me and was surprised it helped me. For some reason, the contents helped me. I'll share it on Rendered Praise soon. Maybe someone else needs it.

After my meltdown, I realized the people who fail you are often the most surprising. People say things you never dream they'd say. It's painful when it happens, but it reminded me that what a person says in those moments tells you more about who they really are than the face you often see. Those unguarded moments, reveals the person behind the mask. 

For a day, I hung clothes on the line. I planned to hang more, but by the time I got to the next load, it was getting dark and I don't actually like hanging clothes in the dark. I don't get scared, but having my back to the dark part of the yard is uncomfortable. Having my back to open doors is too, but in the dark, that's worse. 

Last weekend I priced wall panels for the half bath. Bead board panels. That bathroom is so small I can't do a lot of crazy stuff. The wall is so damaged after having contact paper on it, that I either have to rip it out or find something to go over it. Panels are the easiest and bead board, I think will look nice in a small space. To make it feel less closed in, I plan to hang a picture of a window with an exterior view on one wall. A smaller sink will also give me more space. I mean, all we do in there is wash hands and brush teeth. I'm not washing my hair or doing laundry. 

So, that's my September. 

Bad Apples

 The day is gloomy, and we've had a little rain. Yesterday I had the abscessed tooth pulled. I thought he was going to pull my head off! He had to split it into three pieces and pull each one out. Then he had to stitch me up with three stitches. None of it hurt because they had me numbed. However, as he's pulling, I had to hold my head and shoulders down with some effort. 

Mike drove me home and as soon as I got in the house, I sat down. He left, and I passed out in the chair. I was so exhausted. I went to bed early last night and got up around 8:30 this morning. Still not having a lot of pain but I'm still so tired. And my neck and shoulders feel tired. 

I can only say, I'm glad that is over. I never want another abscess tooth. And I never want another extraction. Unfortunately, I have at least one that has to be pulled on the opposite side. Teeth are probably another casualty of Covid. We couldn't get dental treatments for nearly two years. One year of lock down and the second year of trying to get an appointment. 

In other news, I guess things are fine. The things going on in the world have disturbed me and made me wonder how we got to the place where we've placed evil, corrupt people in charge of the country. It isn't like we have a King or a dictator ... well, except for the Democrats, who appear to think they should be the only people in charge. I know no one is perfect, but let's just say some are far less perfect that others. There isn't enough money to pay me to vote for a single Democrat. Until the Trump election, I'd always voted for the person, never for the party. I wasn't even registered with either party until Bush. After the last election, I'll never vote for any candidate on the democratic ticket, no matter how much I think they're a good choice. And I'm not real happy with the Republicans either. 

I never thought I'd say this, but I agree with Roseanne Barr. I do not believe we'll ever see another election. I believe they'll prevent it at any cost. The downfall of America has happened in the last 4 years. We knew it was coming, but it is painful to see. We're rotten to the core. 

Yeah, that's where I've been living since they burned Lahaina down. That gave me several sleepless nights. And the forest fires that they've been starting. Just read somewhere that Gates is going to cut down seventy million trees in the US. Why would a climate change guru do that? Because he can. 

Oh poop. This blog is about my life, not the rest of the world, and certainly not the baffling people running the show. And if you don't think Gates is running anything, do some research. I did. 

They should release the Epstein List to the public. We have a right to know who the sickos are. We should make sure none of them are in office anywhere on the planet.

OK, rotten to the core. Rotten apples spoil the whole barrel and this barrel is rank. 

Today's rant is over. I'm so tired!

This is an affiliate link to follow.it https://follow.it/s/G4nP:

Check it out and if you subscribe, I might earn a few dollars.

Line Dried Sheets

Have your children ever experienced sleeping on cotton sheets that were dried in the sun? If they haven't, you've deprived them of one of the most exquisite sensations in life and a marvelous memory to carry with them. 

The feeling of slipping between cool cotton sheets and putting your head on a cotton pillow case is something no one can describe adequately to you. You must experience it. 

There is also a special scent to them that only comes from line drying. I pity those who have severe allergies and cannot experience this. Being tucked between those crisp sheets and surrounded by the sweet scent of the outdoors at bedtime is one of the most wonderful memories from my childhood. I have carried those memories with me and now, my granddaughter has learned to appreciate crispy, sun-dried cotton sheets. 

Today, my white cotton sheets are out on the line, drying in a boiling sun. Those in the photo are not mine. All my favorite sheets are white, though I have a couple of pastel colors. I also still have a few printed sets. I stopped buying those when I realized only one item in any set, usually the bottom sheet, will get too worn to use and I had either throw them all away or create mismatch sets. And that sets my teeth on edge. 

I have several microfiber sets I bought when the old sets wore out and I couldn't find affordable cotton sets. Just try to find a set of cotton sheets, or try to find a single fitted sheet. I've walked Walmart, Target, and cruised Amazon many times and couldn't get cotton. That changed recently when I found Thread Spread on Amazon. I was overjoyed to find a single fitted sheet, 400 thread count, for less than $20. That's astounding. 

Why am I telling you this? I don't know. Maybe because when I was hanging up those sheets, I realized how much it felt as if I was back to a different time and place. I've hung so many sheets on so many lines. I was in my 30s before I had a dryer. We lived in the south, where it is hot and clothes lines are standard with nearly every home. If I recall, we even had clothes lines in some apartments we lived in. And in Germany, we had a line on our balcony that the owner had installed. In the winter, Jerry's underwear froze, but it eventually dried. 

Anyway, I enjoyed the sensation of hanging up those sheets and pillowcases. I was so caught up in the act that I didn't really notice how hot it was until I came inside. When I sat down, I had this flood of memories of Mama hanging up clothes in the backyard while singing hymns. Or yelling at us to stop fighting. Or calling Daddy to come take care of something. I remembered Michael in a walker darting around me while I hung clothes, and Jerry took photos of it all. I still have that photo. Warm days, gentle drying breezes, and cool, crisp sheets at the end of the day to dream sweet dreams. 

Here's a challenge. Hang out your sheets and when you tuck your child or your grandchild into bed on them, tell them about your memories of line dried sheets and your Mama as she hung them out. I hope they're cotton sheets. If not, buy a set to use for just this purpose. The memories are worth it. 

Fighting Dragons

It would be so nice if you could reach out and capture a day and hold it in place for a little longer, if you could take a net and gather up moments to store them for darker days. You can't but how nice if you could. 

Sarah has been home since the first of June. She leaves Saturday going back to Ohio where she lives with her dad. I know grandmothers are supposed to be used to the grandchildren living elsewhere, but Sarah spent her first 9 years in my home, sometimes with her parents, but much of it without them. So, to say there is an immense hole in my home and heart when she isn't here is an understatement. This month has given me back laughter and joy. 

I loved being a mom. I had so much fun with my boys and I missed it when they left. It has been the same with Sarah when she came into our lives. 

I'm always fascinated by kids. They're amazing creatures and watching their development, their mental growth is just awesome. Who and what they'll be is a mystery that is solved over time. If we're blessed, we'll see the solution. 

I am always stunned when I see myself in Sarah. We share a love of deep conversation. She's a skilled listener in those moments. I can't tell you when I've discussed issues of faith and prayer and the Bible so much with one person. She is open to discussion, and she asks questions. That's half the battle with teens. But she has far more understanding than I expect. Several years ago, I commented on this to her and she said; I listen when I am in church. It showed. Her attentiveness hasn't waned as I expected and this time with her has refreshed my spirit. It has reminded me of the late-night conversations with Mama and how we would sometimes talk for hours when everyone in the house was sound asleep. It is what I miss most about Mama. But Sarah has the gift.

We also share a similar sense of humor. She's always joking or saying things that have a humorous twist. I'm reminded of a text I read once that said humor is a sigh of intelligence. I'm not talking about playing pranks or making fun of people, that's shifts into psychopathy. Genuine humor isn't about that. She's mastered the art of understatement and I've often been nearly hysterical at things she says.

The month has done more than give me some happiness. I've regained a fragile hope. You worry, you know. When they go through dark times, you worry they won't come out of it. Many children don't. She's lived through a lot of dark times in 16 years. She's done some really stupid things. Children do that. It is how they grow. Life is a series of tests. But what I've seen in the last month, tells me the Sarah I know is still in there. The humor, kindness, compassion, and love I've always seen in her is intact. But she's fighting dragons. And fighting dragons is exhausting. However, seeing the craving for understanding the Bible, her  desire to grow her faith, and her desire to learn more are positive signs that she will not let the dragons eat her. Not without a fight.

Dragons are real. They come in all shapes, sizes, and guises. Facing them takes tremendous determination, strength, and courage. I know this from experience. Thank goodness I had a Sword and Shield and Mama. 

As our time ends, I see a strength in Sarah that I feared she did not have. She's fighting dragons between moments of despair. But she's fighting.

Jerry and I tried to provide our sons with the same weapons. I may have failed them, but I hope not. Still, I made a greater effort to arm Sarah with weapons that could slay dragons. I've spent more time sharing my battles with dragons. We're so afraid of letting our children know about the dragons we face and the battles we lost. That's a mistake. If you want to encourage your children to fail, don't let them see your dragons. And hide your scars. Pretend there are no dragons. Tell them they're the problem, not dragons. Send them out with no warning, no defense, and no faith in them. 

Dragons will eat them.

Songs in My Heart

 I'm not feeling well today. I hurt all over, that wonderful steamroller sensation one gets when you lie down in the road in front of one. I lay down earlier before getting a showerand examined all my pains. They are as follows:

The bottom of my feet, ankles, knees, hips, the palms of my hands, elbows, my left upper arm and shoulder (PT yesterday was extremely rough). The swollen lymph node beneath my left arm hurts and my neck skin hurts. I also have a mild headache.

My sister, Roselynn, asked if I had a fever because my face is very red. I don't run fevers but I am hot after my shower. 

While we sat and chatted, I had a memory. I do not know why, but I remembered a song my Mama used to sing. I can still hear the tune but could find no trace of it online. There are other versions, but they're not at all the same.

A Psalm of Life

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist.

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

   Life is but an empty dream!

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

   And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

   And the grave is not its goal;

Dust thou art, to dust returnest,

   Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,

   Is our destined end or way;

But to act, that each to-morrow

   Find us farther than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,

   And our hearts, though stout and brave,

Still, like muffled drums, are beating

   Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world’s broad field of battle,

   In the bivouac of Life,

Be not like dumb, driven cattle!

   Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!

   Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act,— act in the living Present!

   Heart within, and God o’erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us

   We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

   Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,

   Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

   Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,

   With a heart for any fate;

Still achieving, still pursuing,

   Learn to labor and to wait.

Imagine my surprise as a teenager when I picked up a book of Longfellow's poems and found that poem in it! He became my favorite American poet, and I found many poems in the book I loved. I read a lot of classic poems as a teenager and it continued as an adult.

Mama also knew the following poem. See, in the period she grew up, education meant learning a variety of things and the educated person knew poems and pieces of classic literature, even little country girls. The following poem is one I always loved, and I too memorized it. However, today, when trying to recite it, I found I'd forgotten most of it. Mama never forgot a word of either of them. 

The Arrow and the Song

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

I shot an arrow into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight

Could not follow it in its flight.

I breathed a song into the air,

It fell to earth, I knew not where;

For who has sight so keen and strong,

That it can follow the flight of song?

Long, long afterward, in an oak

I found the arrow, still unbroke;

And the song, from beginning to end,

I found again in the heart of a friend.

I don't think poems today have such sentiments. People don't think of life as anything but a party until the music stops. And they don't go looking for songs in the hearts of friends.  

April Happenings

 

Y'all! What a year and I'm only 4 months into it. 

As many of you will know if you're on my Facebook page, I had to have my left shoulder repaired. An old rotator cuff injury had become objectionable. This took place on April 4th. As of today, four weeks later, I'm doing pretty well. 

My youngest sister came up from Florida to take care of me and that has been a lot of fun, making a difficult situation far less stressful. We've laughed a lot and I've eaten far more good food than I should. I will be sorry to see her leave in a few weeks.

The only complaint I've had was with the sling. It caused enormous pain in my neck and shoulders and after a week and a half, I had to remove it. My doctor was not happy, but I told him, "The arm doesn't hurt but the neck is unbearable." The PT doctor wasn't happy, and I told him, "I'm already hauling 50lbs around on my chest and the sling too much."

I took painkillers to stop the pain in my neck and back for four days. I couldn't sleep on my pillows without pain. The muscles on either side of my spine were in knots.

As of today, I'm doing a lot better. I still have to be careful lifting things and still have weeks of PT, but I think I'll get through that with little trouble. 

My sister plans to return home around the 10th. After that, I'll have to go back to eating sandwiches. (The meals have been amazing.) 

A Bag in Hand

 I don't think I posted an update on the Peacock bag but here is the finished product. I've been using it now for over a month and I'm quite pleased with it. 

Is it perfect? No. There are still things I want to correct. I used velcro as a closure behind the straps on the inside. It is effective, but not enough, and I simply don't like that. I will eventually put a button or a magnet on it. 

The inside is still not to my liking. I have a purse insert in it and that works, but things still get lost at the bottom. They're easier to find since the inside lining is white, but I have to take everything out to locate missing items. A real pain. 

I'm going to make another one but again, I need to work out on paper what I need to do. I have to say the cotton fabric is easy to work up and is washable. So that's a plus. These were fat quarters from JoAnn fabrics. I made straps from nylon webbing I found on Amazon. A package of 4 rolls of different colors was cheaper than buying one set of readymade handbag straps. 

My goal was to make some things to sell, but I've been sick off and on for months, so it hasn't happened. Oh well. Plans. 

Just wanted to share with my friends who read regularly. 

First Post of 2023! Happy New Year!

 And here we are! A new year, 2023! My 2022 ended on a pleasant note. 

For months I've been battling a deadly fatigue. In November, on a return trip from Ohio to visit my son and family, I fell asleep at the wheel. I woke before disaster struck, but it terrified me. I didn't understand why I was so tired. On my trip there, I was so sleepyI could hardly stay awake but thought it was my allergy pill. It wasn't.

I kept thinking the sleepiness problem resulted from a new medication my doctor gave me and so kept moving meds around trying to find a solution. Nothing worked. When I say I was sleepy, I was falling asleep on my feet on some days. More than once I've had to tell my son, Mike, that I had to go to bed immediately and left the room. Once in bed, I pass out. So, after falling asleep at the wheel, I contacted my doctor. 

As of December, I knew I'd be going back to Ohio for a week and had to get to the bottom of it. I contacted my sleep apnea doctor, and they told me my "numbers" showed that my mask was leaking badly and since they recalled it, I needed to come in and get fitted for a new sleep mask. 

I did. After three days, I was no longer getting sleepy and was more alert. A trip to my Primary care doctors days later and she restructured my medication doses to night. Within a week, I felt amazing and could do things I could not do for months because I couldn't stay awake. I could even write the narrative for my church's Christmas program and record it so they could play it in the program. I couldn't believe the change.

December 26, I drove to Columbus, Ohio to spend a week there with Sarah, my granddaughter. We had a wonderful time visiting thrift stores, eating out, going to a movie and visiting the Conservatory there. She is amazing and such fun. It was like old times, when she lived with me. I didn't get to spend as much time with the rest of the family because they were in Florida on a vacation. (It's a long story, but Sarah was supposed to be somewhere else and it fell through and couldn't be added to the trip at the last minute. I was "babysitting".) 

When I drove home this past Tuesday, I left at 5 a.m. and the weather was horrendous. Pitch black and pouring rain. Traffic was difficult, but since it wasn't rush hour, not too bad. My biggest problem occurred because the lines on the highway were so worn I couldn't see them in the storm. Terrifying since there are no street lights on highways anymore. However, I took my time driving 60 mph. When I got to Cincinnati, traffic had worsened, but the rain was getting better and the sky lighter. I pulled off for breakfast around 7:30, just past Cincy. 

My next stop was about 80 miles from home. I stopped at Loves Truck Stop for a break and to get a drink. After that, I didn't stop again until I parked in my garage. It was around noon. 

The rest of this week has been a slower pace. I've cleaned a little each day. While I was away, Mike came and babysat my cats. I have three, in case you didn't know. He did a good job of keeping things tidy. However, dust and cat hair still rule when I'm not here. So, I've been cleaning one room at a time and washing rugs and vacuuming floors. Tomorrow, the living room and my bedroom are the last I have to do. 

So, here we are. A new year. I pray it will be a good one, but I hold little hope for the world. I trust in God to see me through. May He watch over you as well.