Housewife, 54

I have not written on my blog here for quite a long time, but I do think about it. Today is my birthday.  I am 58.  I hate to admit, but I am starting to feel my age. Still, the alternative to growing older is unthinkable, so I'll just learn to cope. In my last post I commented that I was gaining strength and endurance but suffered quite a bit of soreness in my feet from 'overdoing it'.  Well, that eventually worked itself out and I have since started to work out with a personal trainer.  She really pushes me so that I get really sore - and that makes me feel set-back instead of working forward.  We are seeking a happy medium.  I have also since discovered that the culprit to my foot soreness was shoes.  I gave up the ones that I had worn when the soreness began, bought new, comfortable tie-up shoes, and the soreness is gone... until I tried the slip-ons again!  Mystery solved, but I certainly prefer the convenience of wearing slip-ons! I am so grateful that this fa

There have been times these past few weeks when I have had so many different things that I wanted to post about, that I could not decide how I wanted to set it all down.  Of course, now that I have a few minutes to write, I can't think of many of them!  Here are a few things that I have remembered: DH and I took advantage of a beautiful fall Sunday and went to the Japanese Gardens in Rockford, IL. I have enjoyed blog posts of other people (Isabelle) and the lovely gardens and places they visit, so here is a place that we have visited and enjoyed: Sculptures by Swedish artist Carl Milles Waterfall Our trees are more beautiful this year than ever before: Recipe Night: In an attempt to boost interest in my Pampered Chef business, I have hosted a couple of parties at my house.  The first was a "Girls Night IN". I had my guests help to make a couple of the new Pampered Chef recipes, and my friend brought some of her Stampin'Up business items to make

[Insert all those redundant comments about time... how it flies, where has it gone.....] Okay, so it is now October.  I have been telling myself all through the month of September that it was 'still Summer!'  Now I guess that I have to admit that it is fall.  The trees are just beginning to turn here, this is a tree on our street - not one of mine, my Maples are just barely beginning to go red at the tops. I think it is so interesting that this tree is changing color from the top down! SO, since September was still "summer", here are some highlights: We finally got the work done on our deck; the old one was ripped off in about 2 hours, and it took about 3 weeks to get the new one built, thanks to weather delays and a busy schedule for Building Inspectors... But here is the final product: Most of the deck work is finished, and Jim and I started enclosing the underneath for the dog kennel, using lattice on this side to block view of dogs for the 'back do

I can hardly believe that it is September!  These past couple of weeks we have finally had the hot, humid weather that we usually have for weeks at a time in the summer, but have not had this year.  So just as the kids have gone back to school and it is nice a quiet in the neighborhood, it is too miserable to be outside.  Most evenings I have been able to take Elvis for his jog - me on the tricycle - but some evenings it has been just TOO humid!  We have had plenty of rain and stormy weather, too - so that has added to our un-exercise days.I don't know if I posted this, my new recumbent tricycle and Elvis: Last evening we got our break in the weather and today is dry and cooler.  I wanted to go to a field trial today (the point of running Elvis), but with the weather change usually comes a headache, and today was no exception. Sigh.  I really hate losing a day to a stupid headaches! SO on to other news... My Pampered Chef business is crawling along - I am neither lucky nor a

I was thinking about writing this post last evening... but I decided to wait a bit and see how I felt this morning. I love my husband... most of the time.... I believe that in a post last spring I might have mentioned how helpful he was when my foot was broken?  He did step up to the bat and did well more than his share of housework in addition to holding down his regular job. I'm all recovered now and have taken over the household responsibilities... so no more shrunken handmade wool socks ;-)  And Husband has filled his schedule with his other activities.  Earlier this summer he had several students he was coaching in tennis.  This meant a LOT more laundry. It was normal for him to play tennis 4 or 5 days a week, and sometimes he would teach in the morning, come home and shower and go to work for a bit, then go back out and teach that evening.  Every time he plays tennis he comes home sweating like a racehorse... and smelling of same.  Like I said - lots of laundry. Now t

      These are the first tomatoes from my garden this year.  They are going to be few and far between...  I am growing them in containers and they are not being prolific....  I think I have more of the dark colored cherry tomatoes coming on, but the Early Girls (which have always been good producers) are NOT happy in their pot and I think there are only a couple more blooms..Oh, well.  I'll just have to go to the Farmer's Market. I have had plenty of other things to pick.... Last week I spent a while picking raspberries and currants. I got quite a few but of course, just NOT enough to make anything out of... not enough currant juice to make jelly and not quite enough raspberries to make jam... So I just chucked them all in the freezer!   I still have plenty of raspberries to eat on my breakfast cereal, if I can brave the mosquitoes to pick them! Since I am still recovering from the broken foot/leg/ankle, I have had a bunch of housekeeping things tha

Some of the linens from Margie.. I made the blue edged hankie. Actually, I don't really think I have a "normal" - or maybe I should say I don't have a "routine".  Since my mother-in-law's passing and all the related business, my house is sort of cluttered and I guess so is my mind!  While I have very little of the planning and managing sorts of things to do, I still have a handful of details that I need to work out.  Having sold her house last year, that HUGE project is behind us - and my sister-in-law had managed most of that all by herself.  The few boxes and things that we took into our home are only somewhat distributed, and now we have the items that were in Margie's room at the care facility - she had several pieces of her own furniture, only a few things went to Goodwill, the rest are here.... So I need to do some re-arranging to accommodate the few pieces of furniture, and I am not quite into that level of activity, much as I would

Not many married women can say that they truly love their Mother-in-law.   I can.   My Mother-in law is a lovely woman in every sense of the word. She is kind, considerate, giving and a wonderful role model.  Sometimes I think that I married my husband because I could tell that she was going to be a gem.   I know that she felt good about me, too.  She told me years ago, that in one of her Bible Studies, the discussion was about Naomi and Ruth. This is the infamous passage that is taken out of context and used in wedding ceremonies.  In the Book of Ruth, Chapter 1 we are told that Naomi had two sons, both of whom died and she was left with 2 daughters-in-law.  Naomi decided to go back to her own people, and since the daughters-in-law were from another tribe, she told them to go back to their own people and find new husbands.  In  Ruth  1:16, the second daughter-in-law refuses to leave Naomi: But Ruth says" entreat me not to leave you or to return from following you; for where

Ta DAAA ! I am officially OUT of the cast and onto bigger and better things.... like gardening!  I told my Physical Therapist that I simply MUST get out in my garden and she recommended a brace for my ankle to keep me steady and to protect it from re-injury.  She also warned me against doing too much - which I ignored.... Last weekend we had the boys home and all went to a wedding. Here is a pic of all of us, taken at the reception: I think it is lovely picture of all of us!  Eldest son was a groomsman, thus the matching purple tie. The next day we had Grandma over to a brunch with all of us before Eldest son and D-I-L had to head for home.  Younger son could stay longer, finish his laundry, and again he helped me in the garden a bit.  We just went out to LOOK at the garden, then bent over to pull a weed or two, and just kept going.. until DS hit a nest of yellowjackets!  OUCH!  He was stung 3 times, but we got him in and treated quickly, so it was only a minor injury.  But that

Oh what progress I have made!  In the past couple of weeks I have become more mobile and stronger every day.  I have laid my crutches aside here in the house, and use them only when I am out and about.  I have been to a small grocery store (still not up to roaming around the big supermarkets) and helped more with the laundry now that I can get up and down stairs better... at least in the upright position!  It amazes me how much muscle strength I had lost in 6 weeks of being unable to use one leg!  The other leg is quite strong - to the point of being over worked - but the rest of me is pretty flabby. Doctor appointment yesterday was all good news.  He is very surprised at how well I have recovered, and gave me permission to not only leave the crutches behind, but to leave the boot-cast off when I am at home!  I am still to use it when I go out of the house for at least the next 2 weeks, and start physical therapy to regain strength and functionality.  But the end is in sight and I f

It seems that now the season has changed for good.  Spring is popping out all over - and so is allergy season!  I am the kind of person that loves to have all the windows and doors open as soon as the temperatures are above 60F.... but Dear Husband's allergies do NOT agree.  So the air conditioner is on and I dare only have a window open in the room in which I am working...and I close it as I leave.  Sigh.  I do so love to hear the birds singing and the squirrels chatting and the wind whispering through the pine trees.  Guess I'll just have to go outdoors to enjoy.  WHICH, by the way, I can now DO! But not this evening as we are having a good thunderstorm.  Hopefully it will blow over soon and then I will go outside and just SMELL the good, green growing things. I can now bear weight on my wonky leg - even though I am still to use the crutches - but it makes getting around SO much easier!  I can now go up and down steps - UPright, not scooting or crawling. I know it is cheati

Just a quick note on the status of my broken leg, etc.  Interview with Orthopedic surgeon was wonderful, he claims I am making excellent progress.  I may now progress to "putting weight on it as tolerated", and not wearing the cast in bed at night (particularly wonderful). I am still on crutches, though. So as I walked out of the office, using my foot to bear a little weight and putting considerably less stress on my hands, I was much relieved!  Getting around is easier now, and I can even go upstairs upright! The weather this week has been Spring-like.... 80's on Sunday and back down to highs in the 50's and rain throughout the week.  And we even had SNOW showers on Thursday morning.  The temperature at that time was 38F. I'm still going to set out hardy plants this weekend, if Aaron agrees to take me shopping and help me..... Now, on to more philosophical comments.... In the past week I have read a couple of books, both by one of my favorite authors, D.E.

Sigh.... one of my favorite songs from the musical Camelot.. But it is finally here and so is warmer weather and rain.  Our weather forecaster predicted 80's for Wednesday, so I decked myself out in a skirt and t-shirt, but paid the price.  It only got up to 63!  Never fear, Thursday was well into the 80's and I got properly thawed out.  I even heaved myself out of the house to inspect my husband's project and caught a glimpse of myself reflected in the front door:  Blurry because of two panes of glass, but here I am! I hitched myself over to my front border and bent down to pull up some volunteer plants that are threatening to overgrow everything... that is going to be a big project that I had better get serious about, and soon! The warm weather has really gotten things growing! Each day that I look out my window there is more green. AND my Cherry tree is blooming! It just started yesterday and is not in full spate, but here is today's installment: I am so ple