Reflection Day

This is a recap of a blog I wrote a week ago.  I felt that I needed to change it somewhat and write just a little bit more.

I know when I decided to write this blog, that I wanted to be informative, light hearted and humorous.  But with life a little sadness seems to leak in now and then.  I'm sitting here at my desk trying to compose my thoughts while the world is moving forward, cars going by my house are headed to work, and a dear friend has died.

Life can come at you like a knockout punch. It is always changing.  Sometimes for the good, the bad and in this case the sad.  If you are a Christian like me, death is something to look forward to. We get to go to live with God.  What is better than that? 

I think that we all hang onto those we love, not for their benefit but maybe selfishly for ours.  I hate saying good-bye. It seems so permanent.  But it really isn't.  We will get to be with all of our friends and loved ones that have gone before us after we die.

I don't really think much about death.  Like most humans, I love it here on earth and want to hang around for as long as I can.  I'm not ready to die.  There is so much more out there that I want to see, learn about and experience. But who's to say that soon, God maybe ready for me. It isn't our decision to decide when we are going to die.  God has his own agenda. When he calls you, you can't ask him to wait till tomorrow.  You can't tell him that I've got to clean the garage, do the laundry or take in a movie.  You just answer his call and go. 

I guess that I should celebrate the life of my friend. Mr. Roy.  His humor, wisdom, and graciousness are traits that I should strive to copy.    My friend was a man of God.  His faith has been tested a few times, but he always has held strong in his beliefs.  He was a true western cowboy, from his white straw hat, his slow country drawl, down to his scuffed cowboy boots.  I have always enjoyed his warped sense of humor and the gotcha jokes that he loves to catch you with.  I will miss that. 

He was a true gentleman, in a time when manners and consideration seem to have been forgotten.  An avid hunter, he loved to swap stories or guns.  He was a devoted husband, father and friend. Patient and kind, I don't think he ever met a stranger. He was always ready with a handshake and a hearty hello.  I know he sounds like a saint and I am sure that he had some bad points, but right at this moment in time, I'm having a hard time remembering them. 

I sat tonight at the funeral home and listened to some of Roy’s friends and family tell stories about him.  Some of the stories made me laugh, some made me cry, but all of them made me remember.  They made me remember that even though Roy isn’t here in body, his spirit, his “joy of life,” will live on in all of us forever.   God broke the mold when he made my friend Mr. Roy.

Monday Blahs

It has been a very up and down weekend.  The up was we had fun at the rummage sale we had.  We didn't sell a lot, and their weren't very many shoppers, but we got rid of a lot of junk ....OOPS.......I mean treasures.  The down was a good friend passed away early Saturday morning.

It was a very long day because at 4 am we got the call that a very dear and close friend of our had just died.    I think everyone was shell shocked for the rest of the day, and in some ways we still are.  How do you accept the death of a man who meant so much to us all.  Not just his family, but also to the friends who knew his so well and considered him family.  How do you say good-bye.

Mr. Roy was everyone's friend.  You just couldn't help but like and respect him.  I think that is the word that brings to mind one of his characteristics.  Respect is hard to come by and usually must be earned.  But once in awhile there comes along a person that just naturally gets respect from everyone.  He also was a Godly man and had a close relationship with the Lord.  If there is just one thing that I have learned from him is that the Lord is here, within us all.  You just have to reach out and he is there.

I know I will cry some more the day of his funeral.  We all are shedding many tears for him.  But we all need to remember....He is with God.  He isn't in any pain.  He is free.  I know that the Lord had his hand out reaching for Mr. Roy on Saturday morning, and in his other hand he had a pair of golden wings. 

We Love you Mr. Roy and will miss you at our card games.  Until Thursday.....read a book, make love and eat chocolate.

Rummage Sale Race

Today we are getting ready for a rummage sale.  It is a madhouse here.  Will post results Monday.

Today was a very Dark and Gloomy Day - Till Noon -

Yep, today started out to be a very ugly, cloudy, rainy and dark day.  How bad was it you ask?  Well, I usually have to fight my way to the front door to let my dogs out to go potty.  But not today,  I asked "Who has to go potty?"  Man you should have seen the looks I got.

Not only did they not want to go out, but I had to literally grab a couple and push them out the door.  Did I mention it was pouring cats and dogs out at the time.  I guess they thought that meant that they would be some of the dogs that went pouring down.  Anyway the rest of the morning went like that.  They acted like they were dead to the world.  I couldn't get a response out of any of them.

But wait.  What was that?  A ray of sunshine.  One ear perked up.  Uh, Oh, the rain stopped,  a couple of eyes started to open.  Hey the wind stopped, I saw movement on the couch.  Holey Moley, the sun is out. 

OMG,  how did they know.  You thought they had just won the lottery.  What a commotion.  Barking, yapping howling....."Let me out, Let me out!"  I had to again fight my way to the door.  The way they went out the door, braying, howling, tails up, feet skidding, all of them going about mach 20.  You'd think that Jack the Ripper was in the yard after their balls.   It was a sight to behold.  Yeah, I'd like to behold it in someone else's yard.  

Dogs are a funny sort of people.  You can't live with them, and you can't live without them.  They are funny, endearing and there when you need a good lick on the face.  I love the mutts, so I guess I'll put up with their quirks a while longer.  I know that they always put up with mine.  Till tomorrow, read a book, make love and eat lots of chocolate.

I Thought Taking Pills Was For Old People

When did I get old.  I don't remember it happening.  I just seemed to wake up one day last week, and really looked at myself in the mirror.  WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED.  Who was that old lady looking back at me?

Where and when did the grey hair come from?  And OMG the bags under my eyes.  It looks like I don't have any eyebrows or eye lashes unless you get up close and WHOOP There They are.....solid white.  Where did the lush, long black and flirty lashes go?   And I don't want to talk about my BOOBS...... they have really gone south.  I used to laugh at pictures of old women and the sagging long boobs. No longer.....those boobs are mine.

I don't feel old.  I still like to look at hot men (especially my sexy husband). I don't dress as nice as I used to, but who has to dress up just to vacuum the floor.  I still like to go fast in cars, but thank God for those hand rails on the side of the doors.  I guess if I really sat down and thought about it, I would realize that all of the changes in me, have been gradually coming on.  Some changes on the other hand are coming on like gangbusters.

Yes, I am talking about the one thing all of us women dread to see coming....MENOPAUSE!!!!!  I used to laugh at my mom when she would have hot flashes in the middle of winter.  Here she was on the back porch, in her robe, fanning herself as it was blizzarding out.  What a hoot.  Boy did I laugh at her.  Well, the shoe is on the other foot, just last January, here I was out on the deck, 10 degrees below 0, hotter than a pistol, wishing for more snow.  Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

When I was younger, I would visit my grandparents.  I used to get a big laugh out of them and their pills.  Six with breakfast, two at lunch and more at bedtime.  I told them they didn't have to ever eat, all they had to do was keep taking their pills.  My grandmother looked me in the eye and told me not to laugh to hard because someday this would be me.   Well she was right.  Someday is now and oh boy, do I have to take a lot of pills to take every day just to keep going.  Pills for high blood pressure, pills for thyroid, pills to make me feel good, pills to make me poop good and the list goes on and on and on.  Who knew that my life would revolve around taking a bunch of pills every day.  I bet my grandparents in Heaven are having a great big laugh right about now.  I think they call this poetic justice.

What it comes down to is this.  You do what you have to do to make your life better.  If I have to eat handfuls of pills to survive...so be it.  If my boobs are sagging, the only man who is going to get to see them is my hubby, and he still thinks I'm beautiful.  As for my wrinkles and white hair, I think of them as character points.  It points to the fact that not only do I have a lot of great characteristics, but that I am still somewhat of a character.  Which is good, because that means that I don't take myself that seriously, and I can still see and appreciate the wonders of life. 

Age is just a state of mind.  Even if your body is old and decrepit,  your mind can be young and free.  Like my grandmother Esther used to say, " I may be 88 years old and creak a lot, and I may not be able to outrun a 20 year old, but I still can out think them and that's all that counts."  So I'll be like grandma, slow to the finish, but fast on the draw.  Till tomorrow, read a book, make love and eat chocolate.

Today is a Fibromyalgia Day

Today is a painful day.  My Fibromyalgia is really kicking my butt.  Fingers swollen and painful, so until tomorrow when hopefully I will be able to type......Have fun, make love and eat lots of chocolate.  Eat alittle extra for me.

Nothing At All Happened Today!

Today is Monday.  It was Monday all day today.  Since it was Monday and the first day of the work week, you would think that something would have happened to start off the week on a good or bad note.  But NOTHING happened.  It has been a very boring and disgustingly, unusually bland day.

Oh wait, there was something that did happen today, the wind blew. But that probably doesn't count as a happening because the wind blows alot most days. Except today it was  a little stronger then most.  Not a gale or hurricane force, even though some out -of -staters think that a 30 mile an hour wind is a strong gale.  Boy is that image laughable. 

A 30 miles an hour wind is just a slight breeze around here. At 40 miles an hour we might bring in the laundry off the clothes line. A 50 mile an hour wind, well  maybe we won't have that outdoor barbecue, that is a slim maybe.  A 60 miles an hour wind, is getting a might breezy.  Just breezy enough to comment on.  Now 70 miles an hour that is getting a little stronger, and most of us might think about raking leaves or mowing, just in case it might cause the dust to raise just a tad bit.  A wind at 80 miles now that is kite flying weather, makes for some mighty fine dips and dives, providing your string doesn't break and the kite decides to fly away.  At 90 miles an hour it might be time to start thinking of battening down the hatches, and taking stock of anything that might just be light enough to blow away.  Finally at 100 miles per hour or more, Now  we have a real windy day,  breezy enough to lift a youngster off his feet, and whip umbrellas off of their bindings. 

There you have it in a nutshell, what windy days are like in South Dakota.  I don't know what those folks on the east coast are complaining about.  If your tree fell over, It probably had a bad or weak root system and your roof coming off....well, it must have been time for a new one.  As you can see, us South Dakotans are a hardy breed,  it takes a lot to frazzle us and a gentle 90 mile hour breeze isn't going to do it.  Till tomorrow, have fun make love and eat chocolate.

BARKOLOGY-The Science Of The Dog Bark!

Ok, I know that barkology isn't a real science, but it should be.  I mean have you ever wanted to know just what your dogs are barking about?  I have four dogs.  One I originally got from the pound and three others I inherited from my daughter and son-in-law. 

The grand dame of the dog pack is Jade.  Jade is a 11 year old Burmese Mountain / Rottweiler cross.  She is gorgeous, black and white with lovely soulful brown eyes.  She is one of the original, meaning that I got her, from the pound, when she was just a  pup. Buddy is the only boy in the group and has become my husband's dog. Buddy is a full blood Beagle, and he is just full of piss and vinegar. Being a true Beagle, he is a scent hound.  I think he would follow a smell to Timbuktu and he still wouldn't stop until he was exhausted.  Next on our list is Luna.  Luna's full name is Luna-tic.  My husband named her that because, well she is a lunatic, no pun intended.  Luna is just a year old and is a Cocker Spaniel/blue healer cross.  Long legged, wiry and "Boy Howdy" can that dog run.  She will chase anything that moves including rabbits, crickets, balls, grasshoppers and laser lights.  ( Hence the name Luna-tic)  Smokey came to our happy pack because her owner was going to put her down, and my son-in-law, being the dog lover he is couldn't let that happen.  She is a Corgi cross and we don't even know how old she is.  I would guess she is around 5 or 6 years old.  This dog is starved for attention and is so very loving.  Why anyone would want to get rid of her is a mystery.

Oops I forgot the fifth dog of the pack, Peggy.  Peggy is my father-in -laws dog.  She is a hyper, yappy Boston Terrier.  Don't get me wrong she is a very loving dog, but when she gets excited......Yap-yap-yap....she never stops.  When Harold goes out of town to deliver a car for his job, I get to babysit little Miss Peggy.

Now that you have a background on the pack of dogs I have at my house, just imagine what happens if -
1. A stranger, friend or ghost comes to the door.
2. Lord forbid a strange person, dog on a leash or a ghost walks by on their sidewalk.  Or
3. A squirrel, Robin or cat just happens to come into their line of vision.

Oh My Gosh!!!!  You have never heard such a racket......You think the world was coming to an end.  Thus, I would love to know just what the Heck they are barking about.  I remember seeing a Dexter cartoon where he finds a dog and invents a pill that will enable the dog to speak English.  "It's a thing, it's a thing, I don't know what it is but it's a thing"  I can see my dogs saying that.  I also watched the movie "UP. " The dogs in it wore collars that enabled them to talk.  Boy, did that movie hit the nail on the head about how dogs must think.   "My master made this collar for me so that I could speak....SQUIRREL......Hi there."  Man my dogs could have been in that movie.  It is just like them. 

We are kinda mean to the dogs.  Just for fun, when it is totally quiet in the backyard, one of us will blurt out - "SQUIRREL."  It is hilarious, all the dogs fly to the fence, barking like idiots and they don't have any idea what they are barking at. 

But just maybe I don't want to know what my dogs are saying.  I don't want to know what another dogs butts smell like,  I don't want to know that dead meat smells the best and I don't want to know what they really think about me. In this case ignorance is bliss. I am perfectly happy dishing out lots of pets and praise which makes all of us happy.

 So hug your pets, and be thankful you have them.  Until next time, have fun, make love and read a book.

Facebook DOES NOT Rule My Life!

Well, maybe I am a little addicted to the site.  I'm a snoop.  I like to see what everyone is doing, especially  family and friends that are far away.   Yeah I know I could call them or write a letter.  But in today's world why bother when you can have instant gratification when you can go online and email someone.  I want to know what is happening now.  Not two weeks from now when it's old news.  I love to get the latest updates.  I want to know how sick your dog was last night, and how he puked all over your expensive carpet that you've been saving for two years to get.  And how about the blurbs that tell us who partied all last night, is hung-over and  that they are now pucking all over their expensive carpet.

It's not just the news that holds me spell bound to the site.  It's the games.  I am a farmer, which is funny, because when I was growing up I hated to get behind any kind of tractor and plow a field.  But this is different, my hands stay clean.  If it's hot, I just adjust my computer chair, turn up the house air conditioning and plow acres, and acres of cabbage.  I don't even have to feed livestock,  I just click on them and instant money.  Why can't scientists figure out a way for this to happen in the real world.  I bet there wouldn't be a shortage of  farmers then. 

Facebook also lets me live out my fantasy of being a young, vivacious, voluptuous college student.  (yes, I know that I am 54, overweight and have grey hair.....I said that this is a Fantasy!!!!)  I don't have to pay a huge tuition bill, housing costs or even attend classes!  But what I get to do, is go to parties and spend money on lots of clothes, cars, purses and shoes.  I even have a very sexy boyfriend.   I love my real life just as it is, but wasn't it Sigmund Freud who said that a vivid fantasy life was important for a healthy mind, Id and Ego. Or maybe it was Dr. Oz.  I don't know, but I know someone said it, so it must be true, and I'm only doing what is best to keep my mind healthy.   And no I don't want to buy that piece of swamp land you have for sale in Florida!!!

Some people who blurb on Facebook amaze me.  Why are you telling everyone what you had for dinner last night.  Like we really care.   I want the dirt....Who are you dating, what sister is mad at what cousin and one of the most important things, who is reading my Blog!!!  Yes, I need  and want to know what is going on in everyones lives.  As I stated before, I am a snoop, have always been a snoop and will die a snoop.  So get used to it.  With all the information that is available with just a click of a button, nothing, that's right nothing about any of us is sacred anymore. 

Facebook is fun.  It's a way of  keeping in touch with the world that's far away or the friend that maybe right down the block.  Don't take it or yourself to seriously, have fun farming, exploring or gaming.  But remember that there is a whole wide world waiting for you right out your front door. So have fun, make love and eat lots of chocolate and turn off your computer.

Garage Sales Are My Life!

I LOVE garage sales. No, I mean I really do LLLLOOOVVVEEE garage sales.  I bet I am the "Queen" of the bargain hunters.  I get this tingly feeling when I read the ads in the paper and know that I am going to go to garage sales the next day. 

I love to bargain hunt and to get the best and cheapest price . Yes, many have tried to get the best of me. But when I am in my haggle mode, no one can score a win on me.  I come by the haggling talent naturally.  My mother is a champion haggler, and so was her mother before her.  I bet if I could go back in time, I would find that all of my matriarchal relatives were great hagglers.

I learned the fine art of haggling at an early age.  My mother loved to go to sales.  It didn't matter if it was at the grocery store, clothing store or car lot.  She looked at the price and tried to get a better deal. Even if it was only a few cents cheaper, she wore the seller down until I think, just to get rid of her, they agreed to her price. 

Yes, there is a fine art to haggling.  One must convey the image of the bored, and I don't really want this thing but I'll do you a favor and buy it.  Another tactic that I have used is " You know I'm getting this for a friend and I'm not sure she'll like it."  "Could I get it just a little bit cheaper, just in case I get stuck with it?"

I'm cool, calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside I am frothing at the mouth.  I want the thing I am trying to haggle for, I need it, I may not have a use for it, but I HAVE to have it.  Sometimes there isn't any real logic in haggling.  But in my defense, I have gotten some really great things cheaply.  I got a $100 diamond necklace for $5 from a girl who just broke up with her boyfriend.  Some well placed men slams worked wonders on her.  Another time, I got a great upright piano for $30.  I guess I have a great puppy face.

I was blessed when I met my husband.  He is a kindred soul when it comes to garage sales.  He loves to find things and then sic me on the seller to get a better price.  It is a marriage made in heaven.  He scopes out the things he wants and I get to haggle to my hearts content.

My daughter, when she was younger, used to get embarrassed by my haggling,   But now that she is older, married and on a budget, will find an item at a sale and send good ole mom over to haggle for a better price.  But she is learning to haggle too.  I've caught her, now and then, working on a seller to get the price down.  Wow, it brings a tear to my eye to see her score a win....like mother, like daughter.  It's got to be in the genes.

Hopefully, next summer will be full of new garage sales to conquer and more bargains to find and haggle for.  I am really looking forward to it.  Till tomorrow........ Make love, read a book and eat chocolate.

It's a Traumatic Tuesday

I know when I decided to write this blog, that I wanted to be informative, light hearted and humorous.  But with life a little sadness seems to leak in now and then.  I'm sitting here at my desk trying to compose my thoughts while the world is moving forward, cars going by my house are headed to work, and a dear friend is laying in a hospital bed dieing.

Life can come at you like a knockout punch. It is always changing.  Sometimes for the good, the bad and in this case the sad.  If you are a Christian like me, death is something to look forward to. We get to go to live with God.  What is better then that?  I think that we all  hang onto those we love, not for their benefit but maybe selfishly for ours.  I hate saying good-bye. It seems so permanent.  But it really isn't.  We will get to be with all of our friends and loved ones that have gone before us after we die.

I don't really think much about death.  Like most humans, I love it here on earth and want to hang around for as long as I can.  I'm not ready to die.  There is so much more out there that I want to see, learn about and experience. But who's to say that soon, God maybe ready for me. It isn't our decision to decide when we are going to die.  God has his own agenda. When he calls you, you can't ask him to wait till tomorrow.  You can't tell him that I've got to clean the garage, do the laundry or take in a movie.  You just answer his call and go. 

I guess that I should celebrate the life of my friend.  His humor, wisdom, and graciousness are traits that I should strive to copy.    My friend is a man of God.  His faith has been tested a few times, but he always has held strong in his beliefs.  He is a true western cowboy, from his white straw hat, his slow country drawl, down to his scuffed cowboy boots.  I have always enjoyed his warped sense of humor and the gotcha jokes that he loves to catch you with.  I will miss that.  He is a true gentleman, in a time when manners and consideration seem to have been forgotten about.  An avid hunter, he loves to swap stories or guns.  He is a devoted husband, patient and kind. I don't think he has ever met a stranger. He is always ready with a handshake and a hearty hello.  I know he sounds like a saint and I am sure that he has some bad points, but right at this moment in time, I'm having a hard time remembering them.  God broke the mold when he made my friend.

God Bless You, Mr Roy, we all love you and are praying that you get well fast. 

MONDAY MOMENTS

As you can tell by the number of posts, this is going to a be a Monday through Friday Blog. I thought I might try to do it seven days a week but trying to get a free moment to myself on weekends is down right impossible. So thinking on Friday that I would have time to blog a few words, I started to think of ideas. BUT do you think that I had time, Ha-Ha, very funny.

It seems that for some strange reason I can get more done, get more accomplished and yes even (GASP) take some time for myself during the week. Weekends come around and forget it. I think it is because my husband is home and 1. I want to spend some time with him, 2. He wants to spend time with me, 3. I just want someone to chauffeur me around or 4. all the little projects I save for him, I also end up helping with. Just pick one of the above and you will probably be right.

So with that said, I will only be doing a Monday through Friday Blog. And even though I feel that I have a lot to say, it may be a fact that there aren't a lot of you out there that really want to read what I blog about. (As astounding as that may seem).

I do want to say a few words about fibromyalgia and food. In this case, my body's reaction to pork. I LOVE pork. There really isn't a more perfect food than pork. It is simply delicious. But my body doesn't like pork, and has a very nasty reaction to it when I eat it. I didn't really make the connection between pork and my body aches until I was complaining to my rhumatologist. She asked me what I was eating, specifically how much pork. I told her we ate a lot of pork, because it was cheap and I loved it. She informed me that people with fibromyalgia and arthritis have trouble with pork because it causes swelling in joints, aching joints and body aches. She didn't really have a scientific reason for this occurrence but it seems to be happening to a lot of us out there.

Well you know me....the doubting Tomas. I decided to experiment. I didn't eat pork for 2 weeks and my body aches were less severe. But being the idiot I am, after the 2 weeks were up, I didn't try just a little piece of pork, but went whole hog and had 2 HUGE pork chops. Well to make a long story short, Pork 10, Kandis 0. Man, did I hurt. For me this was a hard lesson. Doctors do know what they are talking about, and just maybe I should take what they say at face value. So for anyone out there that has fibormyalgia or arthritis, you just might want to try to cut back, or stop eating pork just to see if it helps decrease your aching. Have a great night, blog at you tomorrow.

Friday Is Not Always FUN Day!

Today is Friday.  Or at least I think it is.  For some reason the day started out really great, and went downhill like a bullet after that.  I'm not sure what happened but as you will note, I usually try to blog earlier in the day not in the evening.  Needless to say it has been a semi-busy, semi-windy, semi-painful and semi-lazy day. 

Physical therapy was today, and as everyone knows I JUST love physical therapy.  It is not that it isn't doing me any good, it is, but sometimes it can be just down right painful.  My therapist, Sonya, is great.  She really knows what she is doing, and tries not to cause any pain.  But because my body likes being a large pain in the ass, it doesn't matter.  It thinks " Aha, physical therapy, lets make Kandis as sore as possible, and make it last all day....mawwwhwhahahaha!!"  Yep, and that is just what happened.  Muscles stretched, pulled and prodded and my body rebelled all the way.  OUCH.  But like always, pain medications are a WONDERFUL invention.  Pop a couple in my mouth and the world takes on a rosier glow.

Because of my car accident this summer, I have spent a lot of time reading.  Yes, I am addicted to Scottish, 19th century English and futuristic bodice riper stories.  My card at the local library is about worn out.  But I have read some great books.  I have a few favorite authors, who's new books are a must buy for me.  Christine Feehan is one of my all time favorites.  She writes 5 different series, and I love them all.  Cheryl Brooks also is a favorite.  Her Cat Star Chronicles are sexy, funny and very well written.  Kate Douglas, writes erotic books that are based on a wolf theme.  But her new mass release series, Hellfire and Demonfire, have become favorites of mine.  I could go on and on and on and on about sooooo many authors.  I love stories that have strong females, sexy caring hunky males and loads of humor.  I also like a who-done-it, which all of these authors have as a story line.  I am finding that I lean toward female authors more than male, but I have read some great book from the male point of view.  I hope to (if I can figure out how) to add links to some of my Fav authors soon.  And if I happen to read a really great book, I will try and give some kudos to the author. 

Garage Sales tomorrow, depending on the weather.  I love those garage sales. 

Today is over, and I think , no I know it is time for bed.  Keep reading, loving, laughing and eating chocolate.

Lists, Lists and More Lists!

Yesterday my husband had the day off. It was warm and sunny, hardly any wind, so we decided to partake of our morning coffee out on our deck. The dogs (we have 4 plus a visitor) were chasing each other and their tails, when he decided to get out his to do notebook.

I don't have a honey-do-list. I tell him what needs to be done and out comes his notebook and it's written down, in ink not pencil, waiting for that magic moment when there is time to get it done.

My husband has not just one list, but three. One for now projects that have to be done quickly or all hell will brake lose, one for the semi-immediate future, projects that kinda need to be done but we can put them off just a little bit longer, and a project wish list. This last list is my favorite. It is a list of projects that we would like to do, don't know if we can do, and don't have the money now to do but sure wish we could do. It is a dream list.

We talked for awhile, then started going over list one. Deciding, prioritizing and adding up how much each job would cost. Then it was on to list two. This list is for the near future. It is a list of projects that will be done as money becomes available. Painting the house and remodeling the bathroom are a few of the projects that will be done in the next year. The first two lists we go over fairly quickly, agreeing or disagreeing on what is needed to be done first. The dream list takes a little longer to discuss.

I leaned back in my chair, closed my eyes and imagined the large, beautiful raised bed garden that I want to do in the backyard. I could taste the peas, spinach and tomatoes that would be grown in this magic garden. I could see my friends and family oohing and ahhing on the bounty of veggies that this garden would produce. Then poof my husband says the magic words "and just who is going to take care of this garden?" Well, I'm going to have to rethink the size and depth of my magic garden.

It's not that I'm lazy per say. But with my fibromyalgia there are days I can't do much. I also don't like to be out in the hot, burning, scorching sun. OK, I also can be a tad bit lazy when I want to. But, I do like veggies. Maybe a very small raised garden will give us a few tasty vegetables for our summer table and what the heck, we do have a great farmers market here in town.

So nothing has been decided yet. I have all winter to make a plan and design a garden. Who knows by next spring I may have come up with a brilliant idea or two for a raised bed garden that can water itself, weed itself and pick its own produce. I did say that this was a DREAM garden didn't I.

Hump Day is NOT what you think!

Today is the 1st day of the rest of your life. What a load of crap. Today is just a day and what you do with it may determine what happens in the rest of your life. It's like a bowl of ice cream. You eat it and it tastes great, and it's gone in a flash. But if you slowly savor each lick, drip and spoonful, it's still will be gone but the memory will linger longer. Also if left out on the counter for a few days, weeks or months....it melts, hardens, gets fuzzy, smelly; starts to grow legs, talks about politics and finally drives you out of your house to seek food asylum at your local grocers.

As you can tell it has been a long day for me. Pain, pain and more pain. I have Fibromalygia. Whew, what a long name for "We don't know what to call this disease BUT if we give it a fancy name people might give us money for research." I make jokes about my disease, but really it isn't a laughing matter. For the thousands of us who every day fight the aches, pains, and crippling tiredness, we just need to laugh at ourselves or we will become so down that all we want to do is crawl into bed, curl into a ball and cry. Not a pretty picture. But this is what it comes down to every day. Medications will help and do take the edge off, but you never are really totally free of some kind of pain, and the pain is NEVER in the same spot. One day it's in a shoulder, next your ankle, now your lower back and the next day your left pinkie finger. It's a guessing game. Along with this disease you might have arthritis, thyroid and myriad of other things wrong with you. I for one have fibromyalgia, osteo arthritis, thyroid problems and a warped sense of humor. I WILL survive this disease. I have bad days and good days, and sometimes days where I'm not sure what the Hell is going on in my body. But such is the life of someone with fibromyalgia.

We all are born, we grow up, we pay taxes, we live, we laugh, we love, we grow old and then we die.

Did I also mention that I have started Menopause!!!!! But that is a whole different Blog. Eat some chocolate, make love and read a good book. Till tomorrow ---Ta,Ta!

It's ONLY Tuesday?!?!?!?!?

This is the first of many times that I will try to relate my ideas, views and general whatevers to anyone who cares to read it.

Wow, what a summer I've had. I kid you not it probably has been one of the worst summers I have ever had and boy have I had a lot of summers.

I'm not an old women. Although to someone 20 years old or less I am probably on my last leg and going downhill fast. But I firmly believe that you are only as old as the amount of pills you take daily. Wow, I never thought that idea out......I must be going on 116 by now!!!!

It never fails. Everytime I go to see my Doctor, she is always changing a pill dose, taking more blood or finding something else wrong with me. Maybe it's because she is only in her 30's that she doesn't see the vital, sexy, energetic person that lives under the grey hair, sagging boobs (yes,they are really going south), wrinkley skin and walks with a sexy flowered cane.

Who knew that when you get older your mind will play tricks on you and delude you into believing that you still can dance the monkey, drink all night and get up and go to work the next morning, fresh as a daisy. Well, that never was me, I still can't dance the monkey, I am still a lightweight drunk, and boy do I get a hangover from just 2 drinks......sucks doesn't it. But life goes on and I will too.

Now, back to this summer. The month of June started out great. My husband and I started a list of all of the things we wanted to do this summer. We checked the local travel blogs and listed the events that we wanted to go to. All was going great, then wham.... a 15 year old learners permit driver decided he wanted to cross out into traffic and drive in the same spot my husband was driving in. He hit us (my side of course) spinning us around like a top and causing the car to slam into the curb almost going over. To make a long story short, he got a ticket, the car got totaled and I got a trip in an ambulance. I will note here that I did have some great looking firemen helping to rescue me...hey, I'm married but I can still look. After many x-ray's, a cat scan and lots of poking and proding...the diagnosis.... severe contusions, bruising, spraining and a lot of pain. So the rest of summer, I have spent going to the Doctor, going to physical therapy, and taking pain pills.... whoop de do, this was not how I wanted to spend the summer. But I am doing better and have been doing a lot of reading while I have healed.

In my next Blog I will talk about some of the great authors and books that I have read this summer. Talk to you next time.