My corner of my world...

Mornin, Mornin... I am not cheap, but I am certainly frugal with my monies when there is no need to be otherwise... I'd prefer to think that I am just careful in what I spend... If someone thinks I am cheap, so be it... LOL... 

That having been said, I have been struggling again with my little corner of the world in our home... I took over the living room long ago and put my computer between two HUGE windows so I could see out when I wanted to... 

Each time I get to workin' on my corner of my world, something comes up and stops me... It has a greater need and so I stop, get done whatever needs to be done, and once that is completed, go back to finishing off the reorganizing of my area... 

I have a computer desk that is quite a few years old now, but it never was built for the kind of storage I need... And it was certainly never designed to be a corner desk... I expanded the desktop part of it with a nice piece of 3/4" plywood... I must have carried that piece back out to the garage 10 times or more as I had to cut it to fit around a post in the computer desk... I didn't want to clean up the sawdust in the house, but in retrospect, I certainly could have done it much easier if I had!... Oh well... Not all of my ideas or ways of doing things are the best, but I just keep on trying!   :)

From time to time, I'd price new desks on the Internet and would just 'choke' on the price they are asking for them... I need space AND storage - not an easy combination... I do a TON of work on my computer and in my area... I like things organized and in easy reach... And I HATE searching for crap... 

And wherever I am, so are the dogs and they really like laying in the sunlight sunbathing in the mornings... So I couldn't get too far away from the Chihuahua penthouse idea or else they would be underfoot... But they did take over the shelf underneath my computer desk by my feet - I just gave up eventually and put doggie beds in there... (smile)... It is also a nice feeling to wiggle your toes in the belly of a soft Chi too, so it is a win-win all the way around... 

For a few weeks, I have been sitting at my desk and looking at my area since Paul's office is now done... He's got a really nice area to work in and I probably do 150% of the computer work he does here at home... I started thinking I was working in a dark, dingy store room, ya know?... I like open windows and breezes - I detest the AC being turned on - and finally I just gave in and realized I could put this off no longer... I needed to pick up this 'yoke' of getting my working area into shape that I liked and could live with... 

But how?... How to do this without having to pay out a gazillon dollars to get what I needed and wanted?... The more I thought about it, the more I realized that a desk is just a desk and I am a creative sort of person... I'm not unhappy with my computer desk now that the desktop has been expanded and I sit in a corner of two large windows... 

Two things kept nagging at me... My chair and storage... 

My computer chair was OK and probably better than other ones I have had... I wore the wheels out and my "fix" was not a good one... A good effort, but in the end, I made the area around the chair just too large to work with the set-up... Besides that, if I had to put in large amounts of time sitting in it, my back would just ache and ache until I could no longer 'out-think' the dull and annoying pain I was feeling... An hour or two was fine, but much more than that in one day and it would certainly ruin my mood and attitude!

Last week, I had finally decided on what I was going to do in here... I LOVE those steel open shelves that are in restaurants - know the kind I am talking about?... They are on wheels and you fix the shelves at the heights you want them to be by clipping the rubber stops around the poles... Costco has them for $84 and we bought two for the garage to store stuff... Certainly uncluttered and organized that area really fast... 

And I was thinking if I got two of them and intentionally left open the area around the window, I could built a 'picture window' of space to see out the window, but have the storage above for me and the shelves below for the Chihuahuas to sunbathe in...   Another win-win as far as I was concerned... 

So last Sunday, I engaged Desiree to go run errands with me, intent on getting two sets of those steel shelves and get this area organized this week... We had a few shopping errands to run, so we hopped into the truck and started off... While at Costco for the shelves, I sat down in this office chair and fell in love... Leather, it is made of that foam they make beds with - the memory foam?... And for a change, the lumbar support part actually fit me... Usually it is too high, or the seat is too wide, or my knees run short for the chairs are made for men moreso than women... 

I really 'choked' on the price - $179... No gimmicks, no internal back massage-rs, bells or whistles that you wind up to take you to the moon, etc... Just solid support and comfort in a size that fits my back and body well... I had not intended to purchase a new chair at this point, but there was only one left in the box and with Costco, you can just never tell when they are going to sell out on something you like... 

Desiree and I debated back and forth on it... She neither tried to talk me into it or out of it... The more I sat in it and thought about the past week of computer work and back pain I'd gone through, the more I realized that what price to be a bit more pain free?... Earlier that morning I had asked Desiree and Paul to carry his "throne" out onto the patio (now Desiree's "throne") and absolutely soaked it with water than enzyme cleaner after years of being inside the house, sat on, smoke absorbing, etc... So I did have room to do a bit of juggling around while it sat outside and dried out fully for a few days... 

OK - sold... Now to see if it would fit inside the cab of my truck as we had a few more stops to make... 

Desiree and I managed to get it into the truck - she more than I as she climbed into the cab backwards and pulled it in... The chair (still in the box) practically took up the entire back seat of The Beast, but we had it in there!... (We are Women - We are Strong... ).... 

The two sets of steel shelving are in the bed of the truck, so off we go to finish our errands (i.e. OMG Walmarts)... I attempted to park The Beast in a handicapped spot, but the pole is in the center of the parking spot and my mirrors can't see it... So Desiree sticks her head out of her window (and then most of her body) as she watches the pole while I am backing up... 

She tells me I have it, then I put The Beast into park and start getting ready to turn off the engine, grab my purse, thinking about all of this and how I am going to get it all off the truck, put together, etc...

As a matter of habit and not thinking, I automatically reach for the window buttons and push all four up and closed... To hear "DAUGHTER STUCK IN OPEN WINDOW~!!!" from Desiree as she is stuck hanging out the window and it is closing in on her belly... LOL... 

Desiree and I have had some really funny moments together - she's a great cohort to have in crimes for she has a quick and funny sense of humor... She's gonna miss me when I am gone and hopefully she tells the grandchildren all the funny stories (and none of my bad traits!!)...

Monday I spent tearing down my area of the world, and then slowly dragging in the steel shelves one by one with my handy dandy doiley, assembling the shelves and putting them in place, then rehooking up my computer, sorting out stuff, etc... 

I have my nice open space and can open the window to get in the breezes, everything is in easy reach and although it probably looks cluttered to someone else, it 'fits' me quite nice... The dogs have their pillows and doggie beds by the window and can sunbathe every morning --- or snooze in the afternoons if I am working on the computer... I use the bottom step of their doggie steps to lean back with and take a bit of the pressure off of my back at times... And amazingly enough, everything that is connected to my computer (except the sound which didn't work previously) once again works!... How about that??!!!... LOL... 

So this is where the Press is written and I do all of my computer work... I am finally a happy camper as to my working space and although it took me years to actually finish this to the point I liked it and it did what I needed it to do, it was well worth the time, sweat and energy to get it to this point...

Yesterday I worked on scanning stuff for the rescue for the better part of the day... And it was SO nice to have the window open and the breeze coming in...

SWEET, yes indeed!

As Always,

The Lady

Maybe one of my more crazier notions...

Mornin, Mornin... This might be one of my more crazier notions but here ya go...

In August we are coming up on 65 days since V-J day and with so many of our military still engaged overseas, why not take something iconic and use is at a "poster-child" image to push for world peace in our era?... Sorta/kinda a "Bring them home again" kind of notion...

While I understand the reasons for why our troops are in various locations around the world, even with an all-volunteer military --- AND major KUDOs to all who are serving, plus their family members who hold down the home front --- it would be nice to see the world more at peace in my lifetime...

I was thinking about this idea during my browse through the morning news - something I can only take so much of because it is so disheartening to see humans destroying other humans and their lives - and I stumbled across that iconic photograph of V-J Day in Times Square...

Both the sailor and the nurse are still alive --- or at least the people who claim to be these two in the photo... Life Magazine still has not resolved exactly who the sailor is I believe, but Edith Shain is generally believed to the nurse in the photo, trying to hold down her skirt... The 91-year old showed up Tuesday at a restaurant in San Francisco...

Now, wouldn't it be great if we could get these two people back together and stage this photograph again, updated with them but in the same stance and for a caption, ask the American public to 'bring them home again' in the upcoming year?...

There seems to still be a controversy over who the sailor is, but generally  Glen McDuffie is said to be that young man in the photograph... And it seems he readily will pony up and kiss a lady in the same pose when asked...

LOL...

If Edith is in California and Glenn is in Texas, wouldn't it be great to get both back to Times Square in New York and recreate this scene, updating for today's generation?... Without a doubt, Times Square has changed dramatically but if it would take something in everyone's minds eye to inspire them to get the majority of our military back home, wouldn't it be worth it???

Our kids of this generation aren't as dramatically affected as those who went through the two world wars... It seems that the more it happens, the more we seem to accept the craziness of countries fighting and killing each others peoples... Most of us will never ever forget 9/11 here in this country, but every country around the world has some kind of "9/11" where innocents were killed on their soil for some global or political cause...

If each country took an iconic image, recreated and updated it for today's times, it might just have a dramatic effect on the upcoming generations who are calloused to the point dying doesn't have as much of a spiritual or emotional impact on them...

Something to think about on Earth Day, huh?... Saving the planet for future generations by not repeating the carnage of our past...

As Always,

The Lady

C-F life... or we have too much crap in our lives...

Mornin... Mornin... Every time I write about this topic, I get numerous emails and comments, so I believe many people struggle with this - the need to get rid of crap... Or the implementation of the K-I-S-S principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid)... :)...

And when we lose our battles?... We run the chance of ending up on a reality TV show about hoarders... LOL...

Not to make light of this psychological battle for I can SO understand some of the underlying causes --- an inability to decide what is valuable and what is not, then having the courage to get rid of it --- a CONSTANT bombardment of us from every aspect of our lives - incoming mail (snail and email), bills and papers, the need to keep receipts because most things don't do what they promise they will and a refund requires a receipt --- the IRS' regulations for holding onto receipts and papers --- incoming sales circulars and catalogs --- our backgrounds that were bred into us ("Don't be WASTEFUL")...

And then our lifestyles where we work SO hard each day so when we come home, we want to relax and not deal with more of the crap that invades our personal space at work and throughout life... I get it... I understand it... But it still drives me to distraction...

I think I already wrote in a previous Press about getting a NeatWorks scanner and using it... I have been struggling the past 10 days or so to get all of the bank statements, receipts and other assorted paperwork scanned and organized... It has been a challenge - of that there is no doubt...

But in my mind, the jury is 'in' on this challenge - it is worth the money, sweat and tears... The more I can scan and keep in a digital format, the less I will have to sift through from here on out in the future... And if I am diligent and stay organized, this new habit I am teaching myself will pay off big time... I touch something once to scan it, and I don't have to touch it again... I am finally looking forward to NEXT tax season... ... NOT... But not dreading it as much!

At least 30 years ago or more, I read something that had a profound effect upon me... It was during my American Express training and the point was that 99.99% is just not good enough... The piece pointed out where that .01% of someone not giving 100% could prove to be terribly wrong, if not fatal... I referred to this many times along the last 30 years and although I KNOW I would not have thrown that piece of paper away, I couldn't locate it... I searched on the Internet and didn't find it, although I searched several times in the past 10 years...

Going through some old papers a few weeks ago, I found it... I was in the midst of sorting what needed to be scanned and what could be trashed... Although it was just one piece of paper and 30 years lost, it was a major reality check to me why I should be teaching myself new habits and releasing the old ones... When I die, are my loved ones left behind going to search through each and every item of mine?... Of course not - they'll be thrown away for the most part... And added to the vast amount of stuff being loaded into landfills to pollute our planet even more... The great stuff along with the mundane and useless stuff...

I no longer wonder why we as a civilization have 'forgotten' some of the great things... (i.e. why we don't know how the pyramids were built... or that heart surgery was performed in the Amazon by native Indians centuries ago...)... It is because every civilization and its peoples get overwhelmed with CRAP on a day to day basis!...

Think about it... I'll sit and wait for you... :)

This morning when I opened up Thunderbird (the companion to FireFox that retrieves all of the email from any email addy), it gave me the notice of "1136 unread messages"... OMG... Facts are, I know there are even more that I have previously read and am storing for one reason or another...

Something has GOTTA give or I will NEVER have a free hour to just relax and enjoy life... LOL... As I waited for my computer to completely boot up, I started thinking about this... And decided that what didn't need to be digital simply needed to go... i.e. as in wearing out the DELETE button on my keyboard... :)

I put an external drive on my computer a few weeks back - to be used simply for storage purposes and realized it was 4 times more space than my computer's drive is... Things that simply too important to lose are backed up automatically each day with Carbonite and it is WELL worth the $5.00 a month for peace of mind ~~~ the websites, documents, etc...

But what about emails that you keep?... Because of the code they are written in and where they come from, you just can't hit 'save' and the entire email is kept... This has been a problem in the past for me... I have tried only having one email addy (this was a disaster as too much came through that I had to manually sort out)... And I have tried having numerous email addys (which has worked out) but each email addy has sub-categories or issues, so it becomes a monster eventually... And if you have to save something?  You have several places to look for it...

Last year I started using PDF995 and ended up buying it after liking the free product... This morning I tried it on emails that needed to be archived and saved for one reason or another and it works - WELL... Kept the email addy in place in case I need to use that again without adding it to my address book, kept the email intact with the date, etc... I saved the pdf files on the external drive with the belief if one system failed, the chances that both systems fail is remote and highly unlikely... It is the best I can do, ya know?

So I continue on my quest for a "C-F" life... (CRAP-free)... I vow to not print out another thing unless I absolutely have to, and maybe I will save some trees before I die... If not, I will save myself some time searching for things - and the computer will search for it instead of me shifting through printed sheets piling up at my computer!...

A year from now on the next Earth Day there lies the possibility I will achieve personally what we as a family have in trash recycling - a reduction by 75% of what is going into the landfills!

As Always (with tongue-in-cheek),

The Lady

New kicks... I like them (although I hated the price...)

Mornin, Mornin... I am probably the world's worst at believing in new marketing of products... I've been taken in SO many times by trying new products, that I have gotten REALLY gun-shy about trying new things... 

Having said that, I have been watching and reading about a new tennis shoe (Skechers Shape-Ups) for months... Not because of a fad or trend, but because several online friends told me they bought them and they saw a 'marked decrease' in pain after wearing them...

The price tag choked me - I'm the first one to admit that!... 

A few months ago, I did the tests for how I stand and walk - I walk hard on my heels and that just makes it harder on my spine... Because of the back damage, I tend to work my right knee harder and can not 'sit straight'... I tell you all of this simply as part of the 'back story' to today's Press... 

The other part is that we work adoptions every Saturday on hard concrete at the pet store... It is an 8-hour day at least for me and between walking the dogs, setting up, standing as we talk to people, etc. I usually get worn out about midway through... By the end of adoptions and on the way home, I can't think the pain is so bad... I have a high pain tolerance level (or so my doctor tells me), but when the pain gets to about an 8 or 9, I can't 'think out' past the hurt, ya know?...  Two weeks ago, I am driving home from adoptions and I am just 'that close' to tears from the pain... Not common for me, because I bull-doze through pain episodes... I realized I was actually dreading arriving home because I would have do a lot of walking until I had reached the point of actually sitting down and relaxing several hours later...

Once this thought hit me and I realized just how much I was hurting, I considered getting out of rescue all together... The more I thought about that idea, the more I realized I needed to do something different... And despite the high ticket price of the Skechers, I might have to bite the bullet and try them... 

Desiree and I made a date to go check them out on Friday night... She stayed with the Sketchers brand...
Now, I didn't buy the Skechers brand, but another (Fila) on Friday night with Desiree... Desiree liked the look, so those are the ones she got...

I got the Fila brand 'Shape-N-Tone'... Same concept (but in black, not in pink as shown here)...  Same concept, but $40 cheaper at our local store...

Some lady came up and told us she'd gotten the LA Gear brand, but same concept, for she has had knee surgery and they really worked for her...

I did cringe inwardly at the price tags at the store, but what price freedom, ya know?... If pain is stopping me (or trying to stop me) from the things I love in life, what is the true cost?...

Still suspect, I did take a back-up pair of shoes with me to adoptions on Saturday just in case the shoes didn't do what they were marketed to do... And for a change, the marketing ploy is accurate (what a concept) - You can see a video at YouTube about how the shoes work...

But basically, I immediately noticed that I tended to walk straighter and not land as hard on my heels when walking... You tend to 'roll' from heel to toe, and I also noticed that Desiree is walking differently in hers as well... She tends to walk heavy-footed almost like a duck normally... She's been complaining about back pain and her feet hurting her at the end of the day as well now that she's working full time...

I don't normally come out and support new products very frequently... But I have tell you - I really love them so far... Saturday evening I got home and although it was a long day, I could actually function without being in pain for the remainder of the night... And although I was expecting to be stiff and sore from the new muscles the shoes were causing me to use, I didn't experience this either...

Our store didn't carry a wide selection of sizes and colors, but you can order them online in a much wider selection... They do have sandals, but I tried one style on in the store and didn't think that much of it... Maybe it needs the closed shoe to work as well... Dunno...

Desiree practically went skipping to work this morning in hers... When your feet hurt, the world seems pretty overwhelming at times... So hopefully she'll come home tonight still in a GREAT mood!....

As Always,

The Lady

Every new household needs a few things we didn't use to...

Mornin, Mornin... It used to be when someone was setting up their new household, some things were pretty 'standard'... Broom, dust pan and brush, pots, pans, dishes, linens, etc... We used that old school list when we began Desiree's 'hope chest' that Mr. Bill bought for her... She's stocked to begin housekeeping on her own one day... 

But the older I get, the more I realize that old stand-by list of 'gotta haves' to set up housekeeping is severely outdated... There are just certain items that I could not operate without... LOL.... (And yes, you knew it was coming - that 'LadyLogic' ramblin...)

Take for example, zip ties... I have created more items around the house with zip ties... I have made doggie couches with the wire grids used for book cases and zip ties... They hold up pretty good in the weather too... We have a secondary fence of tomato fencing across the wrought iron fence that separates the backyard from the pool as well - and it is attached with zip ties... When the overhead covering for the patio starting coming undone (due to poor carpenter workmanship from the contractor), I was up on a ladder with the MEGA zip ties, fastening it back up again... PVC piping hanging around the patio covering framework got the zip tie 'save' as well... LOL... I use them for just about everything and now keep a cutter and set of pliers in the box of zip ties for quick repairs...

A rechargeable screw driver - every woman needs one!  I'm serious!... LOL... Desiree already started her own tool box and this is an item that needs to get in there... If I had to put chores on a list and wait for Paul to have the time to do them, it might take forever... And although this is not the brand of screwdriver I have, mine has seen me through MANY projects throughout the years...

Another thing everyone needs to start up housekeeping is the old stand-by - DUCT tape!... Not just the gray duct tape, but the clear version as well... I have fixed (and created) a wealth of items around the house with a little creativity and duct tape!

And I can't tell you how many times I have used my yellow handled box cutter... Desiree has a pink handled one in her tool box... I personally prefer the one that allows you to break off the tip and get a sharper blade right behind it (scored?)... I have a big one in the kitchen and a small one that is in my computer credenza (why do they package everything in that hard plastic any more???!!!)...

And my favorite thing to have I can't even describe, although I am sure the guys will know what I am talking about... It is screws with little caps on them and go easily into wood because of the tips... I buy them by the box in different sizes and have fixed many things...  There is something about having that screw and washer thingy together that has solved many of my problems trying to repair things (or make new ones)... For sure as God made green apples, I will pick the wrong screw out and the hole is too large and/or the screw won't work right... That washer thingy on these particular screws have saved my bacon many times!

Eons ago when I set up housekeeping, I didn't even think of these kinds of items, but not a week goes by that I don't use one of these things now... I never intended to be so handy with tools when I was Desiree's age, but then again, the more I can do and get done, the less there is for Paul to do eventually so I guess it all works out at the end of the day...

Two items I have added recently to my 'gotta haves' is a shredder and a NeatWorks scanner... I hate the amount of paper we have to store to do our taxes, run a household, etc... Somehow I feel that if I am putting the shredded clippings in a bag and then into the recycle container, I am helping just a small bit in saving this planet from total trash dumping and landfills...

I have to admit - the NeatDesk scanner was expensive... When I sat and seriously considered how to start scanning all the receipts, documents, etc. so they could eventually be shredded and not having to be stored, I debated with myself for months over this purchase... A flatbed scanner just doesn't handle the volume of a normal home if you are serious about getting rid of the huge amount of paper you have to store all the time...

I have GREAT plans for this scanner and once I get the day-to-day stuff scanned and digitally stored, I'd like to start scanning things (like knitting instructions, etc.) that I can't find when I am looking for them later... But for today and now, I have finally taught myself Quicken and the software for the NeatDesk and am digging through this year's paper... This ole brain is difficult to get moving when I have to learn so much NEW stuff... ...

For once, I have purchased something that I felt I got my money's worth and does what it is supposed to do... What a concept!

As Always,

The Lady

Hand Sanitizers....

Mornin, Mornin... I am procrastinating here this morning... I SHOULD be doing something else, but I struggled throughout the afternoon and evening with it yesterday, so I'm trying to build up my courage to tackle it again (scanning receipts and 3 months of bank reconciliations for two bank accounts... YUCK)....

A few years, Desiree got into this kick of hand sanitizers and at first, drove me nuts about the whole topic...  Then I started paying attention to where everyone's hands go, how much we'd get sick in the fall and winter, etc. and she got me hooked on the idea...

After getting through a winter without me catching anyone else's ugly mugglies, I realized Des was onto something here and I became much more committed to the constant use of hand sanitizers... 

Threw out the sponges that winter at the kitchen sink after reading about the number of germies that hang out in there... Major YUCK~!!!

I got some micro-fiber cloths accidentally at the store one day and I was totally hooked on using them instead of the terry cloth cloths I had been using for years and years!!!... Cleans faster and less elbow-grease, you can almost dry any surface once you have gotten them wet and they are much more absorbent than paper towels any time... Easily thrown in the wash, I am on my second giant-size package of them now... Eventually they do wear out and don't clean or absorb as well as they did initially, but only after a ton of use... I'm sold on them... And use them for just about any kind of chore that needs to be done...

And along the way of life and every day conversations, Desiree inserts ideas about this and that regarding the use of hand sanitizer... Now she has me using it on the faucets and door knobs around the house... Periodically, I pick up my purse and wipe the bottom of that down after the news report on how many germs hang out on the bottom of your purse... And I also wipe down my computer keyboard with the stuff after reading about how many germies live on your desk and keyboard... LOL...

I believe (???) I am a scrubber by nature... When I pay attention to this fact, it seems I must be cleaning and scrubbing something at least 10 times a day... Maybe it is just my kitchen counter, but I am mentally better when things are cleaned up and put away... I can handle chaos when I'm in the middle of a project, but as I'm pushing to the close of my day, a messy kitchen counter is an ABSOLUTE given irritant to my 'pleasing personality'... :)...

A few months ago, I got a BAD 'paper cut' on my hand and it took forever to heal... My doc had told me years ago that with the high level of blood thinners I am on, I can count on it taking three times the length of time for me to heal than a normal person... So I decided to test out that fact and actually marked down the date of the cut and when it was finally healed and no longer kept breaking open again... It was on a joint and it took 19 days...

Hmmmm....

I debated about that fact inside my head for awhile... If I am being so extra careful about the amount of germs that my hands are in, why does it take so long to heal even with the blood thinners?... At first, I bought a box of those disposable gloves that everyone uses in the doctors offices... They didn't work that well because if I was actually scrubbing something, at times the water would drain into and inside the top of the gloves...

I was watching a show from the 60s on the History Channel one day and it showed a lady in her apron, pulling on her "Playtex Living Gloves" before she got ready to do her dishes... I had actually forgotten about them and wondered if they were even still made...I had never really used them, but had seen old TV shows where the woman of the house faithfully put on her gloves before she was scrubbing or doing dishes...

The next trip to the grocery store, I picked up a pair and once home, I was surprised at how easy it was to work in them... They really do fit well (I use the mediums in purple - the knock off gloves are garbage and really don't work that well as I learned eventually)...

The hardest part was to retrain myself to put them on before I stuck my hands in water, detergents, etc... I have to admit - this was pretty tough and probably the hardest part of all of this...

I noticed that cuts healed up faster once I got really good about teaching myself this new habit... And then that got me to wondering how many germies I was putting inside of myself prior to the habit... Could this explain some of the days when you just feel like yuck and wonder if you are coming down with something ~~~ could you be fighting off mild infections you yourself accidentally infected yourself with through a cut on your hands, even with a Band-aid?

I actually like this gloves better than my gardening gloves... I find that I am more efficient at some many things if I have them on - I HATE dirt and yuck underneath my fingernails and am probably a bit compulsive about it occurring...

This morning, Desiree and I were talking about the hand sanitizer topic and my habit of wiping down faucet handles with the stuff periodically... She admits to me that she probably is a bit obsessive compulsive about all of this... Now she tells me~~!!!!...

Should I admit that before I take off my Playtex Living Gloves after a chore, I use the hand santitizer stuff on them to keep germies from growing on them?... Naw, don't think I will do that... ...

As Always,

The Lady

Look, Mom... an alien has invaded our backyard!

"Look, Mom... it is an alien who has come to visit us...."  Naw... it is really Princess trying to kiss the camera...

But the tree is gone - or at least most of it is... LOL... Paul got his chainsaw back from the shop and without any prodding from me the other night, asked if I wanted to 'cut some wood'...
(which really means he cut down the trunk as I cleaned up the small branches, raked, swept up the twigs, etc....)  :)   Works for me!

I have a pile of sawdust around the base of it the dogs are loving to dig through and Paul's chainsaw is back to the shop for they put on the wrong chain (OMG)... Don't ask me how he managed to get it all down with the wrong chain, but he did!... And there must be 1/4 of a cord of wood piled up for burning later in the fireplace as well!... What a deal!

Paul was up on that huge ladder (the same one we used to paint the outside of the house with) and 'topped' all the large branches off of it until we had just the main trunk left behind...  By that point, both of us were already bushed~!!!... That was a LOT of work already... Between his chainsaw and my 'handy-dandy' Black & Decker portable saw, we had already cleaned up all the branches and had a second recycle barrel full of stuff that couldn't easily been burnt!

I love this photo - it's that look of 'Sooo... now what do I do' that I know so well from Paul... LOL... I have seen it hundreds of times in almost 13 years as I've drawn him into some of my projects~!!!...

Once he finally figured out what he was going to do next, he got on it and the sawdust was REALLY flying~!!!













And I love this photo too... I can just hear Paul saying, "ENOUGH already" - one of his common expressions!... I think (?) by this time he was already annoyed by the number of photos I was taking, but this is recording our own personal history, ya know?

Once he really got after it, the tree was truly dead all the way down through the trunk (so I feel redeemed on my judgment call about the project... WHEW~!!!)...  For once one of my hair-brained ideas and projects didn't blow up on my face!

And, by this time of the evening, I had to switch on the camera flash to take a photo... So you can tell just how long it took both of us to get this tree down to the ground and cleaned up...

Yesterday morning, it was a reality check when I went outside for the first time... It truly is like when you first get a new, radical haircut and pass by a mirror accidentially... The visual makes you do a double take and then you realize that you got a haircut, ya know?... The backyard looked a bit naked and exposed to be truthful...

But, I already had another umbrella bought and sitting on the patio table along with the umbrella stand in the floor of my truck, so I was prepared...

A few years ago, the city removed a HUGE tree from the street below and that provided a lot of shade to the back yard along with the shade this apricot tree provided when it was still alive... Between the two of them, we never had a lot of thick grass below and around the apricot tree, but we always had a lot of shade... Once the city tree came down, I immediately noticed how much the back of the house 'baked' in the hot afternoon sun... And as the number of apricot leaves diminished each year, the back yard continued to bake even more...

However, I do love umbrellas... The nice big, wide ones about 7' or more across... I can control the amount of sun an area gets (or not) even if it means keeping tabs on how much wind we have on any given day... I tend to do that anyway because I really try to avoid turning on the AC all the time to keep the bills down... And where the house sits on the side of the ridge, if I am paying attention and opening and closing the right windows, doors, etc. I can get a great breeze moving throughout the house on practically 90% of the time in hot weather...

I tend to take my breaks throughout the day in the backyard - it has become my sanctuary of sorts... Especially as the evening winds down, the dogs engage in a game of 'catch me' and I enjoy this part of my life immensely... My only regret (and it is a VERY small one) is that when I went from the laptop to the desktop computer, I lost the freedom of working out back there... But this is indeed a small price to pay for a huge amount of serenity IMHO...

Anyway, I guess we could be singing, "Ding... dong... the tree is down... The dead tree, the dead tree is down" now... It was an amazing amount of hard work and months of me thinking about this needing to be done... Now to work on getting a thick lawn of great grass to enjoy in its place!

As Always,
The Lady

Cajun Red *ss Over Telemarketers.... gRRRRRRR

Mornin, Mornin... I am not someone that you want to step on my last nerve... I have the patience of Job in most cases, but even I have my limits... One of the few benefits we have noticed since the bundling of stuff with Time Warner is caller ID on the phone... And after almost breaking my neck several times to catch the phone, I have just about had it with the telemarketers!

In March, some of the calls started with, "Hello, this is Janey and President Obama's..."... I dutifully listened to the end to see if there was a 'press 1 to remove yourself from our list' and there wasn't... Eventually I would wait until the end then leave a hateful message on their system, telling them I wanted OFF their automated calling system... 

Then I realized if I said a curse word in my message, it immediately disconnected... If someone had me on video, running for the phone from the backyard after turning off the hose, picking up the phone and saying "*&$% +&^", it might not be that lady-like but probably humorous to see (except I didn't think it was very funny)... 

This morning I opened caller ID and wrote down all the names, phone numbers and dates of calls since 3/11... Then I used phoneowner.info to see if others had complained (and added a few of my own too!)...

We've been on the 'Do Not Call' list since it was announced years ago... So the more I read this morning, the more annoyed I got... 

Took some time out of my day, but I spent the time to file complaints on all of the telemarketers that have been calling us since the middle of March (when we switched over to Time Warner incidentally!... Ironic, huh?.... )... You can file complaints online at the Federal Communications Commission website HERE...

Needless to say, I have the sheet of the phone call numbers I have logged and printed out my complaints from the FCC... Just what I need... Another piece of paper and file folder... Geesh!

Switching gears somewhat - right around my birthday in February, Paul and I switched out duties... He's been paying the bills and I've done the year-end taxes which has been a MAJOR PITA for a few years now... 

How he does things and how I do them (paperwork wise is as different as water and ice)... Every tax time has been at least a week of questions, irritation, annoyances and discord... So this year I suggested I take over paying the bills and he take over a few of my 'mundane chores'... Namely, laundry of the 'flats' (blankees from adoption), mowing the yard and picking up the doggie poop... At the time, I figured it was a pretty fair exchange... 

And so did Paul... Until he started doing just the flats laundry... Forget about the other two... Even though it is 'not my job,' if I see something is falling behind, I'll get some of it done just so it is not piled up on someone else...

So for about 6 weeks now, I've been handling the incoming mail, paying the bills, balancing bank statements (OMG - what a concept!), etc... And I have a small, crappy shredder by my desk... When we redid Paul's office, he got a new shredder that stands on the floor... And because he makes me paranoid about identity theft, I have been trucking back to his office several times a day, shredding up paper and mail... 

Two days ago, I started going through a stack of papers that had been sitting in a box and realized most of them could now be shredded up... After a few trips to his shredder, I said "Forget this" and rolled his shredder into the kitchen where I shredded (and emptied the bin 6 times!!!)... 

I asked Paul that night why he had such a big and nice shredder when he no longer handles all of this incoming paper and I have such a crappy one... He said there wasn't any specific reason and that if I wanted to swap out, it was OK with him - that I could keep the new one... LOL... I don't think he expected me to immediately agree from the look on his face... Normally everyone around here is used to me just 'making do' with things, but once he offered, it didn't take me but a second to warm up to the idea!... ... He might need to start thinking before he speaks now... Who knows what else I might ask for!

I'm still in my 'spring clean-up and out' mode... Every day I hammer away at getting rid of this and that... Cleaning stuff out, organizing it, throwing crap away, etc... Sans the dead apricot tree from last Sunday (which is totally coming down this Sunday come heck or high water!)... I keep chipping away at stuff... Where does it all come from?... Just not the daily incoming paper and mail, but all of the rest of the crap?...

For a few weeks now I have seriously been considering going and getting a document scanner and start moving this paper and files into digital storage... We have a 4-drawer lateral file that I have to clean out periodically and with the rescue now, it seems that paper and files are like bunnies - they keep breeding more of themselves!

So much for the paperless environment the computer people promised us, huh?...

Yeah, right....


As Always,
The Lady

Why do I continue to write?

Afternoon... First chance I've had to actually sit and think without headed in a gazillon directions today...

Now just WHERE did I sit that roll of tickets down?... I've been looking for them most of the day off and on!... LOL...)... I had an unopened roll of tickets yesterday as I was cleaning things out around the house... I remember having them in my hands and then something happened (can't remember what) and I got distracted taking care of that... I know I just sat them down somewhere, but I can't find them for the life of me... Geesh!

I KNOW I didn't 'put them away' because I would have made a mental note of where I put them... It is SO easy to get distracted around here some days - a barking dog, the phone rings, have a load of laundry to change, you name it!

I used to do it to my glasses, but eventually got tired of hunting them down!

Some days I wonder why I bother to keep writing the Press... It is the same as talking to an unknown and faceless therapist, more or less... My husband says he is more aware of what is going on inside me just by reading the Press... He might learn even more by not having on that damned TV... LOL.... 

I've been doing this kind of 'auto-writing' since I was a teenager... I like to go back periodically and read some of the OLD journals... I had some wild and crazy thoughts back then... I am amazed at some of the TRIVIAL things I felt were so important... And I get saddened by the realization that in some cases, not much in this world had changed... 

And there is something about writing down things you have been feeling and thinking about... My foster mom used to always say that once you wrote it down, you took it off of the 'brain list' you were consistently compiling inside of your head... She's probably very right for there were few things ever that she was wrong about!

Some days I get on a tangent and can't seem to shake off a topic or pattern of thoughts... Yesterday, I put in a call to a friend of mine I mentioned a few weeks back - she's got various forms of cancer going on, and she pops into my thoughts a lot...

And I am always running against the clock... 'Gotta get this done today'... 'Gotta make sure I call so-and-so'... I turn around, the day is halfway over and I am still only 25% down my today's list!... Geezie, peezie.... Does that darn clock speed up on me some days?

I tend to look more closely at life and people in my life for some reason... I'm not so sure that I am objective observer, but I sure do seem to think some very strange thoughts some days... And some of the thoughts are VERY intense... I don't just worry about this or that... I WORRY~!!!... I don't seem to have the capacity to love just a little bit, but all-encompassing, deep, intense love... Same goes for hate and irritation as well... sigh...

But at least when I auto-write it is a one-way thing... For the most part... Some people are pretty good about writing back to me, especially when I hit a nerve on a particular topic...  I know that I will not use the proper grammar or tense in sentences, so I'm always a bit taken back by people who continue to read my rambles... But at least I feel a bit of a release by putting it into text and out of me!...

Off to continue to look for that roll of tickets~!!!

As Always,
The Lady

"I'm 63 and I'm tired" by Robert A. Hall

This was sent to me in an email and after reading through it, I could not have said it any better!

"I'm 63 and I'm Tired" (by Robert A. Hall - read his blog HERE)

I'm 63.   Except for one semester in college when jobs were scarce, and a six-month period when I was between jobs (but job-hunting every day), I've worked, hard, since I was 18. Despite some health challenges, I still put in 50-hour weeks, and haven't called in sick in seven or eight years.  I make a good salary, but I didn't inherit my job or my income, and I worked to get where I am.  Given the economy, there's no retirement in sight, and I'm tired.  Very tired.

I'm tired of  being told that I have to "spread the wealth" to people who don't have my work ethic.  I'm tired of being told the government will take the money I earned, by force if necessary, and give it to people too lazy to earn it.

I'm tired of being told that I have to pay more taxes to "keep people in their homes."  Sure, if they lost their jobs or got sick, I'm willing to help.  But if they bought McMansions at three times the price of our paid-off, $250,000 condo, on one-third of my salary, then let the left-wing Congress-critters who passed Fannie and Freddie and the Community Reinvestment Act that created the bubble, help them with their own money.

I'm tired of being told how bad America is by left-wing millionaires like Michael Moore, George Soros and Hollywood entertainers who live in luxury because of the opportunities America offers.  In thirty years, if they get their way, the United States will have the  economy of Zimbabwe , the freedom of the press of China , the  crime and violence of Mexico , the tolerance for Christian people of Iran , and the freedom of speech of Venezuela.

I'm tired of being told that Islam is a "Religion of Peace," when every day I can read dozens of stories of Muslim men killing their sisters, wives  and daughters for their family "honor;" of Muslims rioting over some slight offense; of Muslims murdering Christian and Jews because they aren't "believers;" of Muslims burning schools for girls; of Muslims stoning teenage rape victims to death for "adultery;" of Muslims mutilating the genitals of little girls, all in the name of Allah, because the Qur'an and Shari'a law tells them to.

I think it's very cool that we have a black president, and that a black child is doing her homework at the desk where Lincoln wrote the Emancipation Proclamation.  I just wish the black president was Condi Rice, or someone who believes more in freedom and the individual, and less arrogantly of an all-knowing government.
 
I'm tired of a news media that thinks Bush's fundraising and inaugural expenses were obscene, but that thinks Obama's, at triple the cost, were wonderful; that thinks Bush exercising daily was a waste of presidential time, but Obama exercising is a great example for the public to control weight and stress; that picked over every line of Bush's military records, but never demanded that Kerry release his; that slammed Palin, with two years as governor, for being too inexperienced for VP, but touted Obama, with three years as senator, as potentially the best president ever.  Wonder why people are dropping their subscriptions or switching to Fox News? Get a clue.  I didn't vote for Bush in 2000, but the media and Kerry drove me to his camp in 2004.

I'm tired of being told that out of "tolerance for other cultures," we must let Saudi Arabia use our oil money to fund mosques and madrassa Islamic schools to preach hate in America , while no American group is allowed to fund a church, synagogue or religious school in Saudi Arabia to teach love and tolerance.
 
I'm tired of being told I must lower my living standard to fight global warming, which no one is allowed to debate.  My wife and I live in a two-bedroom apartment and carpool together five miles to our jobs.  We also own a three-bedroom condo, where our daughter and granddaughter live.  Our carbon footprint is about 5% of Al Gore's, and if you're greener than Gore, you're green enough.

I'm tired of illegal aliens being called "undocumented workers," especially the ones who aren't working, but are living on welfare or crime.  What's next?  Calling drug dealers "Undocumented Pharmacists?"  And, no, I'm not against Hispanics.  Most of them are Catholic, and it's been a few hundred years since Catholics wanted to kill me for my religion.  I'm willing to fast-track for citizenship any Hispanic person who can speak English, doesn't have a criminal record, and who is self-supporting without family on welfare, or who serves honorably for three years in our military.  Those are the citizens we need.
 
I'm tired of latte liberals and journalists, who would never wear the uniform of the Republic themselves, or let their entitlement-handicapped kids near a recruiting station, trashing our military.  They and their kids can sit at home, never having to make split-second decisions under life and death circumstances, and bad-mouth better people than themselves. Do bad things happen in war? You bet.  Do our troops sometimes misbehave?  Sure.  Does this compare with the atrocities that were the policy of our enemies for the last fifty years and still are? Not even close.  So here's the deal.  I'll let myself be subjected to all the humiliation and abuse that was heaped on terrorists at Abu Ghraib or Gitmo, and the critics can let themselves be subject to captivity by the Muslims, who tortured and beheaded Daniel Pearl in Pakistan, or the Muslims who tortured and murdered Marine Lt. Col. William Higgins in Lebanon, or the Muslims who ran the blood-spattered Al Qaeda torture rooms our troops found in Iraq,or the Muslims who cut off the heads of schoolgirls in Indonesia,because the girls were Christian.  Then we'll compare notes. British and American soldiers are the only troops in history that civilians came to for help and handouts, instead of hiding from in fear.

I'm tired of people telling me that their party has a corner on virtue, and the other party has a corner on corruption. Read the papers; bums are bipartisan.  And I'm tired of people telling me we need bipartisanship.  I live in Illinois , where the "Illinois Combine" of Democrats has worked to loot the public for years.  Not to mention the tax cheats in Obama's Cabinet.

I'm tired of hearing wealthy athletes, entertainers and politicians of both parties talking about innocent mistakes, stupid mistakes or youthful mistakes, when we all know they think their only mistake was getting caught.  I'm tired of people with a sense of entitlement, rich or poor.
 
Speaking of poor, I'm tired of hearing people with air-conditioned homes, color TVs and two cars called poor.  The majority of Americans didn't have that in 1970, but we didn't know we were "poor."  The poverty pimps have to keep changing the definition of poor to keep the dollars flowing.
 
I'm real tired of people who don't take responsibility for their lives and actions.  I'm tired of hearing them blame the government, or discrimination or big-whatever for their problems.
 
Yes, I'm damn tired.  But I'm also glad to be 63.  Because, mostly, I'm not going to have to see the world these people are making.  I'm just sorry for my granddaughter.

Thinking always gets me into trouble... LOL

Mornin, Mornin... I was thinking again the past few days... Ut oh... That can be dangerous~!!!... They have caulking that goes from pink to white when it is ready - why can't they do the same thing to hair dye?... 

Think about it... Us old ladies need to wear our glasses to see if it is ready to be washed out and yet?   That means you either have to look through the glasses folded up or take a chance of ruining your eye pieces from the hair dye if you actually put them on~!!!... 

Ya know?  If they can get a stick thingie to pop out of a turkey when it is done and caulking to change color, then the manufacturers can come up with a better way of letting you know the hair dye is done too!..

IMHO it just makes sense... LOL...

And why do they name things so oddly?... Take for example toilet paper and paper towels - you know what they are just by the pure name they give it... But how much plastic is in plastic surgery?... Ever wondered that?... Granted, some people do look like they have had plastic inserted into their skin after wards, but I mean - REALLY~~~!!!... Name something as it really is... Instead of something odd that a person who has English as their second language can understand!

I went shopping for under britches last week... Desiree's generation now calls them 'granny panties'... Has anyone strolled down the woman's under britches aisle lately?... I thought more than once when the package I picked out was called "briefs"... Brief I don't need - coverage I do!... I have bought three packages in the past few months that once I got home and tried them on, I threw out because they didn't fit on me like they looked on the model on the front of the package...

Give me a break~!!!... I'd rather see reality in packaging and then I know what I am going to be buying... Is it a conspiracy?... Sell me something you think I will like after you've doctored up the packaging, but put something entirely different inside?...

And talking about under britches - let's talk about the men's side of this... Since when are boxer shorts really shorts a boxer will wear any more?... Has anyone seen the boxers on TV recently?... Those things look more like culottes now that anything else!... If you want me to sit and watch two men brutalizing each other, give me some thigh skin, people... Not droopy drawers like the basketball players wear now...

Men's shorts have been going downhill for quite some time... I remember my first husband looked REALLY good in his shorts for it showed off his thigh and calf... Most men have good looking thighs and if the shorts drop below their knees in length, it is like eating cake without the icing~!!!.... Not good... LOL...

I realize the older we get, the more we have to fight gravity, but please~!!!... Paul has a great set of legs but because he's not a very tall man, most shorts on him drop below the knee (and he does wear them on his hips like you are supposed to)... Put the same shorts on a man who wears them below his hips (like the fashion is now) and I am SO tempted to go up to the guy, grab a hunk of material on each side and just PULL DOWN~!!!

I think when I am old enough the judge would feel sorry for me, I might just try this one day and hope I don't go to jail... Think it would work???...

As Always,

The Lady

(hope I put a smile on your face today!) 

Fundraising effort: Chi-Weaters

I wanted to announce a fundraiser for the rescue - Chi-Weaters - for those of us who love this breed and have a difficult time finding the proper fitting sweater for them... 100% of the profits of this endeavor go directly to the saving of dogs dying in our local shelter... We volunteers not only donate our time to knit these Chi-Weaters, but the yarn as well~!!!

The idea was born after trying to find sweaters that would fit Abby after she became a tri-pede... Every commercially made T-shirt and sweater simply slid right off her shoulders, so we went 'to the needles' to come up with the perfect pattern... After MANY attempts and numerous pieces that were pulled apart, we finally found the right way to make sweaters for Chihuahuas that would fit their wide chests but still be small enough at the neckline... 

I'm lucky to have such willing models to show off our Chi-Weaters... Each one is made individually and by hand, one Chi-Weater at a time - so they are unique and different for those who want their Chihuahuas to strut and be individualized among the many!

Please forward this link around and network... We continue to add items to the website as each new one is made!  Thank you!

P.S. Scudderbutts allows us to do basically anything to him!  He was a banana for Halloween, Santa for Christmas, etc... I couldn't resist this photo of him as I was sliding the Chi-Weater over his head!   What a ham!

Overweight women are NOT lazy... At least I'm not!

Mornin, Mornin... WOW... There were tons of emails in my box after the last blog posting from you all... Think I hit a nerve on this topic... Mostly from women, but a few from men... Many remarking about the perception of women who are overweight, but again?... Some who recommended this diet or that one... One I am seriously thinking about trying is this one... The amount of dark green stuff needed might play heck with my Factor V problems, but you never know...

Many people commented on the belief that women who are overweight are lazy... Some commented that men don't carry this same misconception - true, True, TRUE~!!!... Statistics and studies point out that executives in top Fortune 500 companies are not discriminated against if they happen to be older AND overweight... In fact, it is almost expected... Younger successful men are perceived to be 'up and comers' if they are watching their health and weight, but the older guys?... Their obesity is overlooked... They are viewed as 'strong like oaks'... Hmmm.... Reverse discrimination at its finest!

I don't think anyone that knows me would ever think of me as being lazy... If anything, I can outwork and out-go both of my family members, hands down... I am SO determined to get something done once I have started it that I will practically work myself into the ground to get it finished... I tend to push myself beyond the pain warning signs that start going off inside of me, believing if I just put one more effort I will get it finished, ya know?...

Yesterday was a good example of my 'hardheadedness' or determined nature (as I prefer to think of it)...  I have watched the apricot tree in the back for a few years now... It has ALWAYS been a PITA in regards to the pool, for it was planted too close and in the fall, dumps most of its leaves into the water for me to clean out (or Paul to clean out of the basket before it hits the filtration system)...

It has also completely ruined any chance of grass underneath of it not only because of the shade it creates (when it has them) but because of the massive amount of water it would steal from the surrounding areas... I gave up having grass within 6' of the base and put Desiree's old futon mattress up on a pallet for the dogs to sunbathe on each day... If you can't have grass close to the tree, you might as well use that space for something else, ya know?

Three years ago, only half of the tree came back... It was the year Paul was messing with the sprinkler system and we had had a few floods out back there... I'm not sure exactly what is going on with that aspect of the back yard, but I think (?) the roots of the tree are too close to a sprinkler head and he can't replace it, so the sprinkler system is turned off to avoid floods...

The next year, even less of the leaves on the tree came in once spring arrived... Of course, the side of the tree I would have wanted the leaves to be on was completely barren... The side by the pool was the one with the leaves...

And last year, only two big branches has leaves... Again, the wrong side of the yard and they fell into the pool when fall arrived...

So for two months I have watched other trees in the area bud and start their leaves... Nothing on the apricot tree... I kept walking up and snapping off branches to see if the sap was working its way back up into the branches... Eventually I decided the tree had finally just died and it was time for it to go bye-bye...

For a few weeks I have sat and looked at that tree, trying to determine how I would get it down... Two calls to professionals and one estimate ($500 plus $100 per 1/2 cord to haul away the wood)... Basically he told me to figure $1,000+ and he couldn't get out until the middle of April...

The second professional told me it would be weeks before he could get out to give us an estimate as they were in their 'prime season and a cutting down a single tree was not cost-efficient to do right now'... I asked how they would get it down without it going into the pool and he said they take it down, branch by branch....

One of the neighbors up the hill had a tree taken down last week... So I watched them do it through my kitchen window... The more I watched them, the more I kept thinking I could do this myself... Problem is, I have to watch going up on ladders around here when no one is home in the event I fall... And anything sharp?  I also have to be careful someone is around in the event I cut myself for I could easily bleed out with the blood thinners by the time I drove myself the four blocks to ER...

Desiree said she was going to be home yesterday, and after listening to the wind howling throughout Saturday night and worrying was the tree going to crash into the house, I decided 'Today is the day that tree is going to come down - or at least get started!'...

Turns out, Desiree had plans that developed during the day, so she was gone but Paul was around the house... After dragging the 10' ladder out into the backyard along with the recycling bin, I started pulling down the small branches and breaking them up for the recycle bin...

Well, I eventually ran out of room in the recycling bin, but I got the tree taken down half way... Some branches I got down, but had to put on the other side of the fence until the bin is emptied tomorrow on trash day... 

Once I get the small branches down, I am hoping Paul gets his chain saw back from the store with the needed tune-up, and he can get the big branches down and the wood cut into pieces that are suitable for the fireplace next winter...

As I'm pulling one branch down after another with nothing more than my SMALL rechargeable saw, I'm thinking about this whole process in a macro-perspective... Nothing in my life has ever seemed to be to overcome (with the exception of my illness).... I might be scared or a bit doubtful to take on something, but courage and hardheadedness always kicks in... I believe I can do it and so I do, ya know?... I've never been afraid to start cutting a piece of fabric, nor to try out a new idea to solve a problem... It might not work, but that potential outcome has never stopped me from trying...

I consistently show Desiree how to do this or that around the house... I hope that my willingness to take on all challenges that come my way rubs off on her... I hope she never believes that she has to have a man around to do these chores or tasks... But I do hope she has more patience than I do about waiting for days (weeks, months, years) for things to get done once you've asked someone else for their help... I keep trying to improve this defect in myself, but it seems my time schedule is never the same as anyone else's... Once I decide I want something done, I'm on it... I am sure I drive Paul crazy about this, but I do try and give him a heads up that I am trying to get something done...

The fine line between what a woman can do and is expected to do is slowly fading... We women know that we can do just about anything, even if we don't have the physical strength men have... I may have had to bring that tree done, small branch by small branch and then up the ladder again to bring down a bigger one they were connected to... But I have no doubts that were the chain saw working yesterday, I would have had that entire tree down to the point I was finished with the project...

Once the tree is gone to about 2.5' off the ground, I will make it into a umbrella holder so that I can control how much sun is on that area and how much is not...

I want to get another small tree out of the backyard - it is a miniature Palestinian lime tree that Paul has been growing for years... The tree has LONG spines on it that never fail to nick me at least once during mowing... And there must be barbs on the spines, because it not only cuts you, it stings and tears at the flesh...

The little birds love it, but it has caused me to lose far too much blood along the way... I can understand Paul's affection for it, but I am hoping he moves it to the front yard so I don't have to deal with it as much... 

And then?... I would like to plant an orange tree and a lemon tree - more towards the center of the backyard than the two are now, but not too close to the back brick wall...  I see a few of these growing around the area and with our climate, they stay with leaves almost the entire year...

I'm not so sure this will be a wise choice, but it is in draft format right now... I would be just as happy with umbrellas and thick grass, but the trees do add shade to an area that 'bakes' in the summer time... And with something back there, it keeps that side of the house cooler too...

Anyway, this just goes to show you that overweight women are not lazy for sure... Not by a long shot!

As Always,

The Lady