Today!

I saw not one, but THREE robins!

Because It Doesn't Always Go Badly

Before I run downstairs to fetch the sheets from the dryer so I can make the bed which I shall eventually fall into I have to note this (just try to diagram that!).

Today I thought I would have the morning free.

But, I got a call from the nursing home saying that they had a difficulty with getting payment from the insurance company for my mom's prescriptions. The very nice lady asked if I had proof of some information that would be necessary to get this all straightened out.

Of course, being the whiny type of person that I am all I could think of was 'there goes my morning'.

Navigating the health care system for the elderly is not an occupation I would have chosen. No. I would have chosen raising puppies.

My sister had recently given me the final papers for my mom's new status, so I quickly e-mailed her to find out if anyone had mentioned to her how to handle the prescription insurance.

Here I will remind myself that once, when I had a mangled knee swollen to three times it's normal size and needed to have another person to help me into a standing position, I had to e-mail my sister at her job an hour north of here to have her call my house to wake up my sleeping daughter so she could get me up to go to the bathroom. That said, my sister is rather used to getting weird requests from me by e-mail.

But, she said that all of the papers had been turned in and that everything should have been taken care of.

The reason I am writing this is that when I called the first number I could think of - my mom's Part D coverage, I talked to the most helpful person! Though I am quick to criticize, I want to be just as quick to say that this person was hard for me to understand. My accent and hers were not even remotely similar, but she was able to connect me to the information that I needed. I was put on hold for a few minutes, but, considering how some simple information has taken us weeks to get, what was a few minutes? I will not even whine about how loud the 'on hold' music was. No. No whining from me, because, she was HELPFUL. And I? I was GRATEFUL!

Of course, I still wasn't sure that the paper I had and the fax number I was given were going to end up being the right combination to open the magic fairy box where the mystery money is kept, at least I was buoyed by the thought that I had talked to a HELPFUL person who seemed to know what they were talking about. Or, better yet, what I was talking about. Because really, I didn't feel like I had any idea about that which I was talking.

Armed with the proper paper and the fax number I left for lunch at Old Country Buffet with my other sister and my dad. Goodness, is that place ever busy after 1:00 on a Friday afternoon!

Upon entering the nursing home I promptly located the woman who had interrupted my morning of supposed bliss and, now this is the good part, she said "Oh! This should do it! That was quick! Thank you SO much!"

To me, it felt like the time I got an A+ on the writing assignment that my teacher read to the class.

So there. I wrote it down. Next time when something goes wrong and I am tempted to say "Things like this are ALWAYS happening to me!" I will have this reminder that, no, they aren't ALWAYS happening to me.

Now. I have to go get my sheets...

Oh, Day of Rest and Reading

Well, that isn't EXACTLY true. But not telling the truth has been my day today. I did not bare false witness against my neighbor, but I did try to sound all perky and not worried when I told my dad that I wasn't worried about him today. When I was. VERY worried.

All of my ducks for the day were perfectly in a row so that I could devote my afternoon to reading. Reading. Ah, I love reading. It's right up there with 'napping with a baby'. But, I had no baby to nap with today, so reading it was. I'm hurrying to get my book done so it can go back to Youngest Son.

So, I was about to flop down deeply into my chair - the one with the reading lamp shining brightly behind it- when the phone rang.

It was from the nice lady at "Meals on Wheels" who reported that my dad did not leave his cooler out on the step, did not answer the door, and did not answer his phone.

I had a very good idea that he had just forgotten to put it out, but, he has after all had a few strokes and a fall or two in his long-legged life.

What to do? At this time everyone I know would either be at work, on their way to work or having new carpet installed in their basement.

Every morning I do talk to my dad, and this morning was no exception. He was going to lunch with friends as is his habit on Thursdays for as long as I can remember.

I was getting ready to make the mile walk in the rain (if he wasn't there, i would have driven his car back home) when he called. He had gotten my perky little phone message for him to call me when he got home.

He was all apologetic about having forgotten to put out the cooler. I said that I knew he was fine and just out to lunch and that I had assured the "Meals on Wheels" lady that I would follow through for her.

Then I hung up.

I read. I rested. But, I also thought.

I had three teenagers at the same time for a few years.

Never in all those years did I worry as much as I do about my mom and dad. Today I realized exactly why that is.

My kids grew up. They are no longer teenagers.

My parents, on the other hand, will not grow out of this phase.

I never allowed "I forgot" as an excuse for my children.

But my parents?

I have turned into SUCH a liar.

Not worried, my foot.

Anyway...

The silver lining is that I now know that the Senior Meals on Wheels program is a great one, and they do not let any time at all pass before they notify someone when a client hasn't answered the door. I like that.

My dad is not one to shrink back from morbid thought. He reminded me that his friend who delivers for "Meals on Wheels" found a meal recipient dead on the floor.

"Oh, I wasn't worried about THAT,!" I assured him.

No. I wasn't. I was more concerned that he was lying on the floor having had a stroke or that he had fallen and injured himself in some way.

Death doesn't scare me nearly as much as pain.

I remember reading something from, I believe it was, Oswald Chambers where he says not to pray that you will stop worrying, but to STOP worrying.

Oswald died young.

My Wednesday

Let's see. I am on my way to bed. What was my day like?

No weird dreams last night. I do believe that is due to the fact that I am still stuck in the pill dumping/quilt cutting one. It's like it is right there, in the front of my mind, still.

There was a mime on "Mr. Roger's" today. Jonge was delighted by her. He really likes to pretend.

Jonge took a three hour nap, so Famke and I and the kitty took a nice long one hour nap together, piled up in the same chair.

Lunch time is loads of fun now that Famke sits at the table and eats with us. Not that I have a free hand to feed myself. We did have a slight battle of the wills since Jonge is no longer in the high chair and likes to leave the table without being excused. I do suppose that the need to twirl and spin and dance around is greater than his need for food, but still. One must remain seated until I have deemed them excused. Then let the twirling begin!

Jonge has become quite the little singer/song writer. This thrills me, as his mommy was the same way. It's nice to know his mommy's DNA got in there somehow, as the boy is a darling replica of his daddy. But the singing, he clearly gets that from his mommy. Anyway. One of his favorite songs is called "Uncle Buddy to you!" It is sung to the tune of Happy Birthday, but he replaces that with "Uncle Buddy". This is always followed by the "Sponge Bob Square Pants" song (which he didn't pick up from beppe's house as EVERYBODY knows, beppe's tv does not get sponge bob.)

On Monday I noticed that my kitty was not looking chipper. Actually, he is old and hasn't looked chipper in a rather long time. But, I made note of his odd behavior. I wasn't exactly sure what to do about it. We did make a change in his food a few weeks back and had just recently corrected that error. Anyway...as I was breaking apart some ground beef to turn it into meat loaf, I wondered if maybe some raw red meat would fix what ailed him. In my head (the head still pondering over dreams of pills and quilts) I was wondering in a prayerful way just how one might know what an aged cat would be in need of when...SUDDENLY...a very large chunk of the ground beef broke off from the whole and FLEW through the air and landed across the room directly in front of said cat.

I certainly was not going to reclaim it.

He ate every bit of it.

He seemed better today.

So off to bed I go with the book Youngest Son left here.

A Cycle of Weird Dreams

Always, I've been interested in dreams. Lately, I haven't been remembering them. Quite possibly because I haven't been sleeping long enough.

Last night was the second night in a row that I have had deep, Deep, DEEP bothersome dreams with an extreme amount of detail. The kind in which I am hearing multiple conversations and understanding all of them.

In last nights dream I was given a bag full of scraps with the instructions to make it into a rag doll. Included in the bag was an old worn quilt that I could not have cut up at knife point. It was such a dilemma.

So, I left the room I was in and made an attempt to find someone with whom I could talk. What I found were a group of people who had been given old shoe boxes and told to make them into dioramas.

As I got closer, I noticed that all of the shoe boxes contained an odd assortment of my mother's pills. There were children working on these dioramas and I could not pull boxes away from them fast enough, all while screaming to drop everything immediately.

Yet, even during this, I could still hear and understand all of the other conversations.

The pills in the dream WERE actual pills of my mother's. The correct size and color, even. Some were still in the sample blister packs the doctor had given us.

Scrambling in a harried sort of way, I stood with a fast beating heart over a trash can, and thought that I could not dispose of them in that way. Next I found myself standing over a toilet while remembering how flushed drugs still get into the water supply.

I could not think of anything to do with them.

Yet, I felt worse about not being able to finish my rag doll because I could not bring myself to cut apart an old worn out quilt.

All of the conversations were still going on around me, and I was still able to hear and understand everything that was being said, even though it was all being said at the same time.

(i am really tired.)

Christmas. It Will Be Here in Nine Months.

If you plan to give a baby as a gift, I suggest you get started.

Yes. You still have time.

Give the gift that will last a lifetime!

Sleepy Monday

Tonight I plan to finish reading Madeleine L'Engle's book "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art". I have enjoyed it immensely. This is at the very least the third time I have read it, and each time I seem to pull out something entirely different than I did with past readings. For this reason I just cannot understand how someone can only read a book once. This time I have dog-eared many pages and have found a few thoughts that I would like to commit to memory. Although, in the past few years I've begun to wonder just how useful THAT idea will be.

Jonge and Famke came today. Yesterday's celebrating wore the two of them out, as it did me. Jonge slept for four hours. Famke and I slept for two. When she was awake, all she wanted to do was snuggle deeply. Oh, we played some, but snuggling was by far her activity of choice for the day. Not hard to get me to comply with that request!

Youngest Son brought a book with him yesterday and forget to leave with it. It was nice to have a book within reach today. He dropped by tonight to pick it up, but I've requested a chance to finish it. It is "Surprised by Hope" by N. T. Wright. This one, so far, is a much easier read than his "Jesus and the Victory of God". I had to re-read each paragraph of that book several times to grasp the meaning, and I'm not sure I did all that well with comprehension.

Oh. I also read "Snuggle Puppy" several times, to Famke.

Jonge had a scary thing happen to him at his house on Saturday. He came face to face with a deer at their living room window. He ran to his mommy right away, and she was able to see the tracks - right up to their house. The retelling of this story by Jonge is precious. It involves much screaming, a big hug is always necessary, and then we must put out our hand and tell the deer "BACK!" in a strong and firm voice. The story ends with Jonge saying "No deer in the house! NO!".

If I notice any more mice (three, to date) I plan to try this out on them.

Easter Blessings to You!

A Few of My Peeps

Easter brunch was yummy!

Famke enjoyed her first Easter very much!

Our doorman was helpful. Although, we never use that door.

And this is for my dear friend Anne.

Your boy came for Easter. It was great see him again! We kept him entertained with vintage toys, such as this Slinky. I'm so thankful that our kids got to be college roommates and that I got to know you!

Why It Took Me Thirty Minutes to Put on Make-up

Jonge spent the night at "Pake's House". Usually, this means that Pake does EVERYTHING for him.

But, this morning, Pake had floors to wax at church, so Jonge was left with me so I could get things done before we left for our morning thrift shopping.

Really, all I had to do was get dressed and put some make-up on. I don't wear much anymore (make-up, that is) because it doesn't seem to help.

It started when I closed the bathroom door enough so that I could see in the mirror that is behind the door. First mistake. Must not shut door!

Enter Jonge, who promptly finds a hand mirror.

"Look Beppe! I see pink potty in the mirror! Look! Look! Look, Beppe!"

Beppe can see the pink potty from HER mirror, but that wasn't good enough for Jonge. Oh, no. There could be no enjoyment possible for him unless I saw the pink potty from HIS mirror.

I looked. Made all the right noises, such as 'Oooo, aaahhh, pretty pink potty in YOUR mirror!'

As mirrored glass and pink porcelain were about to make contact, I ran for my 'drawer of secret treasures' and handed Jonge two 'Bee Movie' characters. One wound up and one had a battery. It took a few minutes of instruction while Jonge tugged at them saying "I do it. I Do It. I DO IT! I DO it!

So, while I attempted to apply cream to my wizened face with the bags under the eyes, Jonge put on a rather lively 'bee' show with the little boy in the mirror. Except that everytime the bees needed to be rewound or the button pushed (poosh da batton, beppe, poosh da batton. NO! i do it.) I had to stop and not do it, but give detailed instructions that were not heeded.

As I added the second layer to my aging skin, Jonge disappeared back into the bedroom. He returned with a jar of old wooden game pieces which I could have sworn were well out of his reach. The boy has grown taller in the last few days.

He lined these up along the pink tile counter while pretending to drink from each game piece as if it were a bottle. Now, he does know that one can pretend without putting something directly into ones mouth, but today that rule was cast aside like a thought hitherto unheard of.

I tried to apply the third and final coat to my cheeks to make them glow like a sun bronzed goddess - an overweight, flabby skinned, aged goddess - only to remember that the shiny bright paint on the game pieces is probably laced with enough lead to have caused my entire generation to do dastardly deeds. I do not want that for Jonge, so I attempted to take the now poisonous game pieces away from him. They cause war and global warming, I told him. He did not care. I took them anyway, but he had the dice clinched in his chubby little fist.

While I looked for my mascara (it doesn't show up well on a pink tile counter top especially when i am not wearing my glasses) Jonge rolled dice behind the toilet. I couldn't imagine which was worse, lead paint or the unscrubbed floor behind the toilet. Just because I am cautious about the health of small children, I removed the dice and the boy from the toilet area. Of course I told him that someday HE would go potty on the pretty pink potty. I swear he said "In your dreams, Beppe". Or, it could have been his way of saying "I'm not truly thrilled to have to leave this fun corner of the pink bathroom, and did you happen to count how many points I got on my last roll of the dice?"

Removal of all lead based paint being non-negotiable, Jonge attempted to talk me into letting him switch the night-light setting from green to blue. I like it on green. He was happy to remind me that "Blue your faberate codor". For clothing, I pointed out. For bathroom night-lights I prefer green. "Mommy's faberate codor green!". Yes. That is true. The button to switch the night-light from green to blue is minuscule so it takes several attempts for me to find it. And, I have to keep stepping out from behind the door to "See!" how grand the pink bathroom looks in a pale blue cast. This causes interruption to my Saturday morning eyebrow plucking routine.

Next Jonge notices the new Shabby Chic shower curtain. "Nice curdain! New one!" he says. He has a flair for decor, which I am sure comes from watching HGTV with this grandparents. He slips behind the curtain for an impromptu game of "Where is Jonge?" My thought was that I would now have time to pluck the eyebrow that still feels pain (one doesn't, due to an unfortunate accident with a folding screen many years ago). But, no. "Where is Jonge?" is only a fun game if I feel his facial features and try to guess the many possibilities of who could be behind my shower curtain. "Is it Pake?" Shrieks of NO! "Is it Famke?" More hilarious shrieking. "Oh! I know! It's Mr. Roger's!" Uproarious giggling ensued. "Oh! I know! That feels like Jonge's nose! It's Jonge behind the curtain!" Jonge pops out and says "Again!" I only find that game fun the first time. And, I am not wearing eye liner yet.

A not too happy Jonge leaves the bathroom allowing me to line my drooping eyes only to return carrying a rubber stamp kit containing a bunny!

"Make somepun!" he says, and I am out of that pink bathroom.

I think I only have eye liner on one eye.

You, You Light Up My Bird Cage

The entire family is coming for Easter dinner.

What, you may ask, did I do today?

I put a lamp into a bird cage.

Had I only know that the top came off (it didn't used to, someone must have messed with it at another time and did not share this helpful tidbit with me) it would have gone smoother and quicker.

For the record (there IS a record, isn't there?) I vacuumed out all of my couches and chairs (found things that had been missing since, oh, say, Christmas? i'm happy to report that i found the missing 'y' to my joy.)

The new shower curtain for the pink bathroom came, and I immediately stopped everything and hung it up. It does look very nice. While polishing in there I also moved more stuff around. But, I'm SO over THAT bathroom and have moved on to the half bath off of the kitchen. All of the shiny-shimmery butterfly wallpaper is now gone. Well. The vinyl part is gone. The pasty part is still there, and will have to wait until the next time I have coffee with Daughter after 4:00 and am wide awake late into the night. Honestly, I like the color of wallpaper paste, I guess. It looks better than it did. Once that comes off, the underneath paint color is what can only be called "High Gloss 1960's Elementary School Hallway Green". Still. Better than the butterfly paper.

Jonge came tonight. He comes to stay with Pake, not me. But, while Pake was across the street buying treats, I did have to deal with a nasty diaper. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but my house has a laxative effect on people.

We watched the "Mr. Roger's Neighborhood" episode I had recorded from this morning. It was an opera. I LOVE Mr. Roger's, but those operas. I do not like those. This one was from 1984. I was convinced that I had seen EVERY episode of Mr. Roger's numerous times, but I had never seen this one. Hope to never see it again. But, it was all about grandparents, and we are all about that (which makes me wonder...did anyone see yesterday's episode? did mr. roger's REALLY call his grandfather 'ding dong'?)

So. Aside from having floors left to mop and vacuum, I think I got everything else clean. That leaves me tomorrow to make quiches.

Oh. I also closed all of my blinds today so I did not have to see the foul weather going on outside my windows. While they were closed, I dusted those.

Blessed Holy Day

"...how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ..." Ephesians 3:18

Laughing Grandchildren

Famke has a new favorite pass time.

She likes to hang upside down.

Of course, Jonge is delighted to laugh with her.

They invite YOU to laugh along with them.

Go ahead, it will do your heart good!

Bye-Bye Blue Mouse

And another one's gone,

And another one's gone,

And another one bites the dust!

Famke and Me

Today, Jonge was his happy joy filled self. He also slept for 2 1/2 hours.

While he slept, Famke consented to a quick little cat nap.

That gave me enough time to behold her 7 month old beauty.

She wore herself out trying to get from laying on her back to sitting up. She's not quite there yet, but is getting very close!

When does that stop being cute?

Tonight I am not nearly as worn out as I have been. I managed to put dinner on the table, do laundry and get things picked up around here.

So, now I am about to curl up with the "Artful Blogging" book/magazine (it's one of those that look like a magazine but costs like a book) that I bought last week with my Christmas gift card to Barnes and Noble.

I wasn't going to buy it. I passed on the first issue. But, this one looked very very good to me, and since I had a gift card...well...you know how that is!

I'm pleased to say that I am enjoying it very much! It has led me to several great blogs, and also included a few that I visit on a somewhat regular basis.

Somerset Studio puts out so many publications, I can barely keep up. I'm wondering how long it will be until they have a publications dedicated to 1950's pink tiled bathrooms with Crane fixtures.

And again I say, I have got to narrow down my interests. Got to.

Seriously. I Cannot Quit.

This weekend was one in which THGGM and I puttered about doing 'home' things.

It really looks different around here.

Notice the two windows hung together in the bathroom?

A few years ago my uncle graciously gifted us with four leaded windows which were at one time doors to an old cupboard.

While looking for a way to break up the width of the pink bathroom this thought came to me. I only had the epiphany of the first thought, THGGM actually came up with how to hang them and made the trip to the hardware store.

When it's time to accessorize, my meager talents are called into play.

I love the shadows it casts, and the illusion of privacy it gives.

Oh. And on the far wall I hung a glass beaded purse. It adds a certain touch of glam.

Even if it doesn't. I like it.

And as to THGGM putting up with a pink bathroom? He has his own private bathroom in the basement. It has lovely bright floral wallboard with 1970's yellows and greens. Maybe even some oranges. I can't remember. I never intend to use it. It's ceiling is exposed, with plumbing and assorted other ceiling thingies visible to the naked eye. I do not like it, not one little bit. He doesn't mind at all. In fact, I do believe that if I hung a glass beaded purse in it, he would not be pleased.

Saturday Thrift Find

Jonge spent the night. Today, we didn't meet the rest of the family for breakfast, but instead met at our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch.

This meant that Jonge got to go to our favorite thrift store with us!

He and Pake found some fun toys.

Jonge also impressed the grandma's that work at the store by being a perfectly well-behaved gentleman. They all thought that he was much older than he is. Pake was SO proud.

I found this cute vase.

I know it seems weird to decorate a bathroom with china, but it works!

This is now holding tooth brushes.

In honor of this new acquisition we bought new tooth brushes. We like to live big.

One new tooth brush costs more than the vase.

Welcome to Pake's "Bed, Breakfast and...

Barber Shop!"

Random Friday

Dare I say it? There seems to be a whiff of spring in the air!

Now, if I could just get that 'spring' to migrate to my step I would be on my way to celebrating it.

I've had a bit more than random thoughts lately, but no time to sort them out and write them down.

I cannot seem to help myself from trying to crack the code which is Alzheimer's.

There just HAS to be a way around the tangled mess in the brain that reaches the hidden places where memory is stored.

I say this because my mom's memory seems to still be there, she just cannot consistently access it.

Otherwise, how could there be some days when certain memories seem to have fled her, and others where they are right at her fingertips? That, I do not understand.

And, what about 'emotional' memory? Is that somehow stored differently in the brain? I believe it is. But, how and why (and where and to what extent?).

It is nearly impossible (okay. it is totally impossible.) for someone with a mere high school education to find brains with which to experiment. It's totally impossible for me to stop thinking about this.

Therefore, my thoughts are scattered and random.

The high point of my days is having a little 'stamping buddy'. A long time ago, when Jonge was just months old, I purchased on Ebay an old Stampin' Up kit filled with tiny stamps used to make a 'chore chart'. Jonge was DELIGHTED to stamp out the toothbrush, comb, bathtub, and all the other stamps making up the possible chores.

I was happy to stumble across those while unpacking and sorting everything (and i mean everything) in my basement shoppe of horrors. That only served to remind me that there were probably other things I had bought long ago with the future Jonge in mind.

So, off I went (i still think 'goed' is a better word, and tend to use it as part of my common vernacular.) to the garage in search of, what... I could not be sure until I found it.

And, discoveries were made! I found a bag of blocks that could be, if one knew how to put them together, a marble run! It now lays all about my dining room table, because I know not how to put them together. Hopefully, Jonge will be able to figure it out. If not, I'm staking it all on THGGM. Or, there will be tears (mine. if i had any. which, i don't).

I also fear that for the sake of art I am going to have to catch a mouse, live. I need to know how to pose them. My "Blue Mouse Tales" is going nowhere, unless I choose to keep them always staring forward. I can sort of get one leg to reach out in a side-step, but I cannot at all figure out what that would do to the head. I suppose it will have to be a cooperative mouse I catch, and as my luck runs, they tend not to want to cooperate with me at all.

I haven't seen one in awhile. This may be that the pamphlets I've left laying around for points south have been read and transportation has been arranged.

Noted here also, I must comment that I do not think this house has gone for 24 hours yet without an entire room being totally rearranged. Last night, late, THGGM got the idea to move something from one room into another room. This involved a lot of heaving and hoeing. I see a trip (or two) to the hardware store this weekend.

Weekend. It's the weekend already. And yet, I still have my Monday chores to tackle.

Now...where IS that little stamp with the image of a full laundry basket on it?..

Does Anyone Else Find This To Be Odd?

Little things bug me. Big things rarely do.

Saturday I purchased a blender. Today, I finally remembered that I had purchased a blender and went into the garage to locate it.

Since I have what can be termed 'free time' today, I thought I would do it right by actually reading the booklet that came with it.

Now, I am an English speaking person, so I chose to read the booklet in English. To me, it seemed to be the thing to do.

Then I came to this "important safeguard":

"After reading this instruction, please remain it well."

Hmmm. It actually made more sense to me in Spanish.

Famke at Seven Months

I know. I know. I post a lot of pictures of Jonge and Famke. But, if you would like a hint as to Famke's personality, watch this until the end. This video could be entitled, KEEP THE CAMERA ON ME!

The News Is In

The word came this week that my mom will be covered under Medicaid effective back to November, 2007.

Truly, something needs to be done in this country to give the elderly the care that they require. Medicare was a good start, but it pays nothing towards dementia care. How can this be, with Alzheimer's on the rise?

If you had asked me two years ago, I would have been sure that I would be able to care for my mom for as long as it was required.

Somehow, I wasn't noticing how worn out my dad was, as HE was the one actually giving the care 24/7.

And, my hat is off to nursing home caregivers. My mom is doing very well in her new home.

Her medications have been altered a bit. She has become a willing participant in all of the daily activities at the home. She is very talkative and roams the hallways looking for something interesting going on. When my dad goes to visit, he must first play a game of 'Where is Alice?' just to locate her.

My mom knew five years ago that she was headed in this direction. The one thing she feared most was being lonely.

She is not lonely.

Before and After

This is what the pink bathroom looked like on the day we were given the keys.

Seven months later, it looks like this!

I really like it.

Although I am still shocked that it took seven months to get all of that green color out of there.

THGGM changed out the light fixture, which made a great deal of difference. He also added a new blind. I'm not sure if I want a curtain or just the blind. We have a new shower curtain ordered. That was THGGM's idea. He saw one he liked. I'm a big fan of the one we have. If I remember correctly, I paid a dollar for it at a thrift store. There is also a white one underneath it. But, the one he saw had pink roses and a touch of the new wall color, so I am sure I will like it equally well. I think once that comes I'll know better if I want a curtain or not.

I'm thinking not. But, just in case, the hardware is staying for now.

Getting Things Done

THGGM is using a few vacation days.

Yesterday he removed every last bit of the hideous wallpaper that was clinging to the bathroom walls.

Today, he painted.

I accessorized.

Of course, tonight the light is not good enough to take a decent picture. Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow he hopes to install a new light fixture.

I did remove all of the pink planters and swans.

I'm adding touches of white and odd pieces of china with roses.

I also brought in a glass cake plate and set a glass block with a string of white Christmas lights inside of it on top. To that arrangement I added these white hands.

Oh, I DO like this. Yes, yes, I do.

Is It ALWAYS Thursday?

Thursday.

While I went to the nursing home to see my mom/attend a meeting, THGGM was home stripping off the rest of that hideous green wallpaper in our pink bathroom.

It is all gone. All of it.

No more green in the bathroom.

THGGM has a few days off, and he has been busy. Tomorrow he is hoping to get it painted.

I have been drawing mice.

Tomorrow I hope to draw more mice.

Blue Mouse Tales

Coming soon to a blog near you, Blue Mouse Tales.

Today, I tried to encourage Jonge to tell me a story about the blue mouse.

"Blue Mouse eats cheese." He said, without much excitement.

Hmm. I believe that has been done before.

I tried again. I'm nothing if not persistent.

"Blue Mouse is gone. Not coming back for neber and neber and neber!"

That's fine with me. Perfectly fine. But I still want him to tell me a story about a blue mouse who has a little sister.

I'm getting better at having them show emotion by adjusting the position of their whiskers and tails. But, I do not know how to turn them sideways and retain any of their defining characteristics. I guess they could walk in a sort of side-stepping manner.

Also.

Front paws.

My adult blue mice are either holding word signs or large purses.

I live to tweak.

My Day In the Basement

I spent most of the day working in my basement trying to bring order out of chaos.

My, but I do have a lot of art supplies. I also have many things I refer to as art supplies, but really, it is junk.

Hard to spend a day down there without the theme from "Sanford and Son" running through my head.

Do you like the buttons? I saw one at http://www.housewrenstudio.typepad.com/ (you will need to scroll down until you see it). That one was a real vintage 'baby face' button. But, while sitting here surrounded by old buttons and a black Sharpie, I thought I'd see what I could do. They won't fool anyone, but I can think of a few things to which they might add a certain charm.

She Airs Her Dirty Linens

Last Saturday I made a scrumptious blueberry french toast. Invited the family over to partake of it.

Yum. It was good. Worthy of the linen napkins with which I dressed the table.

When I pulled the linens from the dryer, I noticed blue spots covering all eight of them.

Blueberries? Really, we aren't that terribly messy when we eat.

It took me a second load of whites to realize it most definitely wasn't blueberry.

Somehow, an ink pen made it's way into my dryer, dotting the drum with globs of ink.

Since the INTJ personality in me tends to turn everything into a scientific experiment, I will point out to you that only the 'pure' fabrics attracted the ink. All of the blends were spared.

Oh, lucky them.

Here is hoping that cheap hairspray will remove the spots. I do not use hairspray, and what I have in the house is not the cheap variety.

The scientist in me also wonders how to remove the ink from the drum. Hairspray? Heated? This sounds combustible, at best.

More wet linens?

Monday? All Day?

Someone broke out into a pink rash today. She wasn't quite her usual self, either.

But, like her brother before her (and beside her) she can still muster up happiness, even through her pain.

This, I can assure you, they did not inherit from me.

We had a delightful day.

I am growing rather used to the two hour afternoon nap.

I highly recommend it.

Birthday Celebration!

I took a lot of pictures, but I really LOVE this one of my mom. She was having such a good time.
And the video, although not that great, shows her relating to Jonge. He really enjoyed seeing Grandma, and sharing his juice with her. Hopefully, all he shared with her was the juice. Oh, and a lot of love!

Three Months from Today I Will Be Fifty.

"I am long on ideas, but short on time. I expect to live to be only about a hundred." - Thomas A. Edison

Welcome, March!

This morning I realized, as I grabbed my purse to leave for breakfast, that I had not left the house since last Saturday. Not even once. The weather, a migraine, and my inability to want to leave the house didn't help.

But! Alas! I did putter around quite a bit. And, I certainly spent time in the freezing cold elements today.

The cabinet on the left held the pastel planters and swans until I came to the realization that they looked funny in there. So, I emptied it out and added glass wear to it.

THGGM had the helpful idea that he could hang shelves in the breezeway to hold the pastel pottery.

These are the shelves that used to hold the cobalt glass at our previous home.

I do like how it looks. I can see that the newer brighter swans need to go, but it's too cold out there for me to do more than think about it.

Even though it is March, I did not do any thrift or antique shopping today. Nope. I did not.

Instead, I went to Barnes and Noble. I still had a gift card from Christmas. It's gone now. But, that's a post for another day.