Something that makes you smile?

I bet you have something that makes you smile.

It's such a small thing that you never even really think about it.  Sort of a subliminal happy feeling you get whenever you see it or hear it or mention it.

I realized the other day that my old partial set of plates always cheer me up whenever I look at them...yup - had them for many years, have bought other complete sets and still find myself reaching for these when I can.

I even went on eBay and found someone selling a couple more of the plates!  What a score!

The pattern detail has gotten scratched over the years and there are a couple of pieces that have chips on the edges.

But without fail, every time I look at one of these plates it makes me smile.  Not sure if it's the colors (so bright and sunny) or the pattern -  who knows?

Anyhow, just thought I would mention to you that somewhere in your life is probably a small thing that makes you smile and feel happy.

Look for it cause I will bet (yup, here is comes)

You've got it!

So it's a little extra work

I took a quantum leap the other day - well, perhaps better described as a baby step, into the world of less plastic.

Bought a set of reusable, washable, long lasting not plastic produce bags.  Not the bags you can get (which usually are also plastic) to store the product in your refrigerator, but the ones you can bring to the supermarket and carry home fresh veggies in.

Reusable as opposed to all those little plastic bagsonaroller that abound in the produce aisles.

You know....the ones you take home and empty out because you have to wash the produce before you can eat it?  Ok,  you put the stuff back in the bags so you are "reusing" them.  How many times?  Maybe once?  After all, the inside gets damp and yucky (technical term for interior of produce bags after 2 days)

So then what?

Yup!  Into the trash/landfill/endless ocean of plastic!

Now realistically I'm probably not going to single handedly save the world from excess plastic -  however, neither do I want to be part of the problem even if I can't be the whole solution!

So I went to dear old Amazon Prime and ordered a set of cotton, washable, reusable produce bags in a variety of sizes.  Admittedly inspired by a blog item I saw in my niece's blog (Sunshine Guerrilla - there is a link to her blog on mine) but the decision to DO IT was all mine!

The next step was to test drive the process at the local grocery store.  I was fearful that other shoppers would move away from me in the produce isles while whispering among themselves about my political affiliations,  I was fully prepared for the checkout clerk to recoil in horror at this unexpected packaging and to - shudder - maybe even remove the zucchini (my test item) from it's bag! 

Wonder of wonders none of the bad scary things happened!  No one whispered and pointed at me near the broccoli or even when I was using the bag to - er - bag my zucchini.

Checkout lady never batted an eye but continued to carry on the private conversation she was having with the bagger (another subject for another time).

Coming home flushed with victory I posted a picture on Facebook and, lo and behold, within a couple of minutes some friends of mine had ordered their bags.

I would love to think this particular infection would spread - it's easy to catch and then

Yup!

You've got it!

I don't tweet but.....

NWS Tweet


Been a long time since I tried to put a link in one of my posts but here goes.

Looks as if we might actually get a storm - although I believe I have mentioned that previously.

So lay in the milk and bread for those sandwiches or, if you prefer, some real food, prescriptions you are going to run out of Saturday and perhaps a snow shovel or two?

Believe me, if you prepare then (you know what):  you've got this!

Personally I'm not waiting

Alrighty....we all see the weather forecast unless we live under a rock.

It's going to snow - finally....no kidding....really snow!

And of course the real question is always when and where and how much.  Yes, I realize that is actually three questions.

But the actual answer is it's going to snow and it's going to snow soon.

Honest, it really is!

So, here I am again up on the soap box banging that same old long suffering drum:  Please do not wait until Friday morning or, worse yet, this coming Saturday to decide that you need 5 gallons of milk along with the several loaves of bread for those milk sandwiches!

Actually when I went looking for a visual for this post I found that there are several YouTube videos with recipes for milk sandwiches. Personally I thought most of them looked pretty ugly, but it's up to you what you choose to buy/eat/prepare with as long as you DO prepare.

Gas up the car, find the window scrapers and, for pity's sake, have a way to clear off the top of your vehicle when the storm is over.  Make sure you have plenty of easy to prepare food in case of a power outage and don't be doing all that shopping at the last minute.

Not only is the selection lousy in most of the grocery stores

but everyone inside is grumpy and harried and the parking lots can be a death defying experience assuming that you do defy it.

So, since I already went to the store this morning and will gas up the car Thursday morning - yeah, sometimes I plan too far ahead -  it's a curse I've learned to live with -   better too soon than too late.

Think of this as a friendly reminder to do yourself a favor and be ahead of the curve - I still think milk sandwiches look disgusting so you should at least give  yourself a choice.

Be proud that you can sit back, relax and reflect that you got this!

So I made hats

As you may have noticed I've been doing a lot of whining about being sick in the last month or so.

One of the things about being sick (once you are past the point of wanting to die and then being afraid you aren't going to) is boredom.

Serious

Nothing

To

Do

Boredom.

A person can only eat so much chicken soup - although for a few days I did go for a record - and a person can only open so many new boxes of kleenex (and I had a lot cause I STORE STUFF!) and, on top of that, Netflix and Amazon Prime can only hold my attention for so long and not a second longer.  And daytime TV rots your brain even if you aren't sick!

So I made hats.

I had a bunch of yarn kicking around the house - not even sure where it came from cause I haven't made an afghan in a long time and I don't knit but I remembered keeping Jack company when he was sick by watching videos on making scarves.

So off in search of videos on crocheting hats...simple hats....VERY simple hats (hey, I was sick, you know?)

With varying degrees of success I managed to turn out several beanie type hats -

Even sent one to a friend who's hair had been the victim of cancer treatments - she said it was just the thing for a chick with a lack of hair!

So I made more of that sort.  About 5 or 6 if I remember.

And then I made other hats -

   Some looked pretty good - others?  Not so much

A lot of them were the same pattern

And some only had one good side!  And, believe me, this IS the good side!

Others could either be worn on a head or used as perhaps a tea cozy or bun warmer.

And one fell into a category of "what the hell did that woman on the video mean anyhow?"  And went to the hat graveyard!

The bottom line on all of this is I found things to do over a 2 week period that were interesting and in the long run useful.

The beanie sorts went to the Cancer Treatment Center at a local hospital - a friend took them in for me and claimed they were received with great enthusiasm and appreciation.  Considering my skill level, they must have been desperate to cover those heads!

Now I have a stash that will either end up on homeless heads or, perhaps, at a local shelter.  Either way it kept me busy, staved off boredom and when I wasn't paying attention, I even seem to have gotten well!

I did discover also that not all instructional videos are created equal - some don't even seem to have been created - more like just happened and the camera was on.  

But I have a few more skeins of yarn and a couple more ideas for hats so.... 

Next time you feel like crap why not try something like this to take your mind off things.

With any luck?

You got this!

When I was a sick kid

Back in the day (way back) when I was a child and got sick, the first thing my mother did was make sure my room was clean so I could be sick in a neat, clean place.  Tidy bedroom, brown paper bag pinned to the side of my bed for kleenex disposal and The Jungle Book all prepped and ready for her to read it to me.

On the face of it that might seem like a good thing but in reality it set up a series of conflicts that have endured to this day (way beyond my childhood).

I'm not supposed to be sick in a place that:

Needs vacuuming - but I'm already sick

Needs dusting - but I'm already sick

Has laundry that needs doing - but I'm already sick!

Has dirty dishes in the sink - see above

None of these things can be done retroactively so I'm left wallowing in a miasma of indecision.

Should I try to drag myself together and at least hit the high spots when mostly I just want to sit down and fast forward to "I'm better now, that wasn't so bad"?

Should I try to convince myself that dirty is a relative term?  Years ago my brother told me that my dirty was cleaner than my clean used to be - that's the sort of things a brother says to warp your mind.

In reality I do pretty much not much.  Find a project (my Facebook friends know what that is this time - the great hat explosion) that doesn't require much effort and only a modicum of thinking and settle in for the 3 days that in my opinion is all it should take to get over anything.

Everyone has their own approach to handling sickness by themselves -  who among my no doubt dwindling followers is fortunate enough to have the house in spick and span condition when that tickle in your throat turns into the real deal?  Not a chance, right?

So keep a few ready made meals in the freezer, train the dog to think that 2 short walks a day really is enough and settle in to enjoy whatever affliction afflicts you.

As I'm so fond of saying,

You got this!

A bit of whining

Yup, it got me.  The annual cold - one minute I'm enjoying the idea that I rarely get sick and the next that little tickles starts in the back of my throat.  I jump into action with essential oils, chicken soup and lots of fluids.

The cold wins.

And I think I know why they call it a "cold" - nothing you do gets you warm!  Triple layers of fleece and jackets, hats (in the house even) and a blanket when you sit down - you tend to spend a lot of time coaxing the dog to please come and sit on your lap.

The good news is my "emergency box" has all the right stuff when the chicken soup doesn't make the grade.  And my freezer has enough home made meals so all I have to do is heat them up. 

I love having a little foresight almost as much as I would have loved NOT having a cold!

So I'm spending a lot of Netflix time while crocheting hats for who knows who.  Just the exercise of trying to follow the You Tube videos keeps my mind engaged while the kleenex  piles up next to my chair.

Periodically duty calls and dog and I venture forth for walkies - with the weather the way it's been lately (read: too damn cold) the walks are short and brisk.  I spent them trying to convince dog that he can do it all within 20 feet while he spends them trying to get as much sniffing as possible before his time is up.

Hopefully the few who might still be waiting for words of wisdom from this blog will allow a little whining - I hate being sick and I hate even more having to spend more than 5 minutes getting better!

Enjoy your holidays and keep a supply of chicken soup just in case.