THE LEMONADE AWARD

Wow, I finally did it. I tried to copy and paste, no go. So finally kept messing around and here it is. Sherry, that lovely lady at Edie Marie's Attic http://ediemariesattic.blogspot.com/,gave me this award. Here are the rules: 1. Put logo on your blog.

2. Nominate at least 8 blogs that show great attitude or gratitude!

3. Link the recipients to your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to this post and the person from whom you received this award.

Sherry is one of the wonderful people I have met in Blog Land, she has a generous and loving heart. She loves her family and pets and does what she can to make sure they know it, I believe she is more of a giver then a taker. This is also one talented lady, if you need a special little plaque check her out. She can paint you something wonderful. Special signs for your little one's room, maybe you have a business and want something unique for your door??

Enjoy the award my friends and lets keep on making that lemonade!!!

Sunny Wednesday

Hump day and even better, Jim should be coming home tonight. He will get to stay until Sunday afternoon, has to be back to work bright and early Monday morning. So things will be good for a few days, get more things done. We are supposed to get snow tomorrow afternoon, the amounts vary according to who you listen too. Glad Jim will be here to help me shovel.

OK, I give up. I scanned this picture and thought I had rotated it, then when it uploaded it is sideways. I can not seem to remove it, or turn it, so here it is. I mentioned before that I used to do hand painted tee shirts. I was going through some photos and found this one, so thought I would share. I made a series of these, each one different. The people came back to me and had me sign them and number them. One lady even put hers into a shadow box and only wore it on special occasions. People like that made me feel proud of what I was doing. I stopped making them after getting burned out by all the negative comments, why does it take so long, what do you charge so much, etc. It is hard to get across to people that being able to paint does not have an off/on switch. Sometimes I can paint for hours and it all works, other times nothing works. I usually spent two to three days on each shirt, sometimes more. The amount I was charging did not even come close to paying for the amount of time I spent on them. Another thing that would annoy me, people will go to a store and pay 3 times what I was charging for a shirt that there are thousands of, mine were one of a kind. Then they would come to me and complain about the price. I just never have been able to develop that thick skin that lets these type of things slide by. I guess part of this post is about my being proud of what I do. The other part is to say, please appreciate the time and effort that people put into things. If you go to a craft or art show, be kind in your comments. Maybe you could do the same things they are offering for sale, but would you?? These people have taken the time and money and created something, hoping it would catch your eye and that they could make a profit. As in every aspect of our lives, there are those who do wonderfully and others who struggle, things come easily to some and not to others. We all have talents and skills, so maybe you are better at some things then I am, but maybe I am better at other things.

Just appreciate what some do well, and help them if you can with what they struggle with. In that process I believe we can all learn.

Ok, Mama is done now. Enjoy your day, thank you for stopping by.

Spoiled Rotten Critters

Do you suppose I might possible overindulge my critters? Came up stairs and here is Miss Molly Doodle on my brand new nightie. Not to mention being on my bed. Tonka looks pretty comfy also. I did not have the heart to shoo them off.

Just wanted to add on a little extra for today.

Monday, an other shot at getting stuff done

I thought this sunset was so pretty the other night, what was even better was the time. It was after 5 pm and there was still light. Days are getting longer, Spring is out there somewhere.

I have been such a slug lately, I get little bursts of energy and go around doing this and that. Problem is there is no rhyme or rhythm to it, so you can not really see that I have accomplished any thing. I really need to buckle down and work on one room at a time, then I will be able to look around and see improvement. I get lost in playing my pogo games, and even then my mind is not wholly on them. I can be playing and my mind is off somewhere else thinking of completely different things. Not easy being me sometimes.

This is the drift that ate my driveway. Saturday I shoveled it away so I could get out, then the wind came again and it's back!!

I keep planting things to try and block the North wind from the drive, so hopefully in a year or so it will be better. My semi wattle fence did help a little bit. Last year this drift was about 4 feet high all the way across. Earlier in the year this was higher and is where I got stuck.


This is up the North side of the property and you can see the drifts, the pine trees do a great job blocking the snow. Unfortunatly they take a really long time to grow and even a small one is pretty pricey. The wind blows the snow around the larger trees so will be planting more lilacs and bushes to help plug the gaps.

I will be making suet today, I have a large pot of trimmings melting then will run it through the food processor, add other goodies and set out to firm up. Saw the little woodpeckers out yesterday checking out the feeders, so knew I need to get moving and get them fed.

Best to you all, Barbara

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope everyone enjoyed themselves, we had a nice day. Jim was able to get home last night and does not have to go back until Tuesday, so super. Nice relaxing day today. He spoiled me with some of my favorite things, Jelly Bellys and mushy cards.

I also received an unexpected birthday present, my friend Ellen made me a beautiful arrangement. I seldom tell anyone about my birthdays, but she read about mine in an email and brought me over the flowers. The roses are so beautiful and unusual, they have green on the outer petals. She is going to find out for me what their name is, I am going to see if I can buy a plant.

In the last post I mentioned about my weather station, it is by Black and Decker. I like that a light comes on automatically when the power goes off, that the flash light is rechargeable and it has a socket to plug in your cell phone to recharge it. You can also tune in regular radio stations, TV stations and the weather channels. I have not had to use it yet, but when it is tornado season I expect it to come in very handy. I have a variety of candles and I learned that if you prop a mirror behind them the light is even brighter. Oh, one thing I wanted to pass on to you all was a piece I saw on the news the other morning. It showed what to do in case you fall through the ice, which up here is a real possibility. They said to act like a seal, the seal bobs several times as it is trying to slide up onto the ice. So if you can you bob and try and pop yourself up onto the ice and then hopefully slide the rest of the way. It was on Good Morning America so maybe they will show it on their web site, it might be explained a little better. I figure you never know when some tidbit of information like that will come in handy.

Enjoy your weekend and all the best to you, Barbara

Violet Lady tagged me with a meme. Go to the sixth picture folder, choose the sixth picture and tell what it is about. This is from a couple of years ago and I was trying to make my bed. My cats had a different idea, they thought it was fine just as it was. They staked out corners and took snoozes. I did not notice the date, but judging from the open windows it must have been summer. Tonka is the grey and white cat, such a nut. The white and cream cat in the front is Sabre, our big lover. He is now very frail and I am busy feeding him all kinds of supplements trying to keep his strength up. He is still a lover and has a giant purr. In the background is Peaches and Cream she is the resident cranky old lady. She is so beautiful, but was very aloof until a few years ago now she is friendlier but has the most raucous meow. She informs me if the food dish is low, the water needs changing or the litter box is not to her standard. She is the oldest of my cats, but in better health then Sabre. She and Sabre are Himalayans which are a cross between Persian and Siamese. Tonka is technically my son's cat, but has lived with us for years. He goes under the heading of Domestic Long Hair. Not in the picture is Boo, she is a torty shell Persian, a very sweet but shy cat. All of these are rescues and much loved. I pass this on to any of my blogger friends who would like to give it a try. I look forward to seeing your pictures.

I am off to bed soon, the battery is running low. Jim finally made it home Sunday night and was supposed to be here until Thursday. Unfortunately they ran into trouble at work with some of the key machines. Around 11 pm they started calling. Since I thought I had time I had not bothered to start his wash. Once it became clear he would be leaving early, I got up and started washing and drying and folding. About 5:30 a.m. I lay down on the as I could not keep my eyes open. At 6:30 Jim and the dogs came down, end of nap. I finished up the tag ends of his wash, poor man had over a months worth of dirty laundry saved up for me. Made him breakfast and soon he was on his way back to work. Last I spoke to him everything was up and running and he was headed to his apartment. I slept for about 3 hours this morning and now am fading fast. The wind is really blowing out there, I am very glad that the predicted freezing rain did not show up. I am sure the power would have been off with a combination of ice and these high winds. I have my weather station plugged in and my oil lamps filled so am ready, just in case.

The weather center is neat, has rechargeable light which comes on when power goes off. A plug in socket to recharge your cell phone. It has another plug also, not quite sure what you would use it for. The flash light is rechargeable also.

My best to you all, stay warm and dry.

Thank You.

I did not realize when I started this blog, what a joy it would be. When I come in and read the comments that have been left I feel as if I have been visited by a friend. When a comment indicates that I might in some small way have helped, it warms my heart. I receive words of encouragement, praise and get to share life's ups and downs with everyone. So, I just wanted to say thank you for all the kindness shown me, for the smiles and the joy. My blogger friends, you are super.

Are you a Can or a Can't??

An other sunny day, hooray!!

My title was prompted by a phone conversation I recently had. This is a lovely person that I like very much, but have to admit that sometimes I hurry off the phone. The conversations always lead to mentions of her not being up to par, her memory not as sharp. Her living arrangements not being good and on it goes. Now, at this point I need to mention that she is in her late 80's, in excellent health and I have yet to see signs of poor mental functioning. In the recent talk it was mentioned that she did not feel comfortable where she was living as she is in her daughter's home. I felt obligated at this point to tell her that I had never heard the smallest hint from her daughter indicating that she was a burden. Quite the contrary, her daughter has always had nothing but praise for all the help her Mom gives her. I went on the ask if maybe she was putting this on herself. That maybe if she really thought about it she would realize that her concerns were for naught. She contributes to the household in many ways, financialy and by being a huge help. She thought for a minute and said maybe I was right as her daughter had never said anything negative. As the conversation went on we discussed that she likes to paint but had no place to do it. This is a larger old farmhouse, bigger then mine with an unfinished attic. I asked if maybe she could finish off a corner of the attic and make it a place to put her art supplies. The answer to this way that she was waiting for God to tell her what to do. This lady has been involved with the church for I believe her whole life, and has done many wonderful things with the church. I love the faith she has and how she has lived it, nothing at all wrong with that. As I told her, I tend to be more about the Lord helps those that help themselves.

So, back we are to the title. It seems to me that so often we cripple ourselves, by having negative attitudes about our lives. I know people ,that when ever I mention a plan or a thought, their immediate reaction is to tell me all the reasons it will not work. I told Jim that it is a good thing I believe in myself, otherwise I would not try anything. Unfortunately, the end result of their negativity is that I spend less time with them. I sometimes find myself being more about the can't then the cans, and have to have a talk with myself and get back on track. I have family members who spend their lives blaming everyone else for all their misfortunes. They brought their children up with the thought that basically nothing was their fault, but everyone else being against them. Some times you have to look so hard to find the good in things, but it is there. What is at the time perceived as a disaster can often be the precursor to something great. I can personally attest to that, at the time you can be so stressed that there does not seem any hope. Lo and behold, time passes, we have survived and things are better. Not to say that something else won't go wrong.

I feel that being more like the little engine that could, takes us much further. If we are all about cant's we are tripping ourselves at the start. Of course, we need to be realistic and think things through, but with a positive spin to things. Figure out how to fix what is wrong instead of throwing our hands up and moaning we can't. Sure, there are going to be times that things are not going to work, learning from those times can make the future better.

OK, that is all the deep thoughts I have for today. I am going to enjoy the sun and the promise of some warmer temperatures for the next few day! Thank you for listening and I look forward to your spin on things. The current good thing for me is that Jim should be home tonight, yes!! I think I still remember what he looks like. He says the whole back seat of the car is full of dirty clothes, oh great. I know what I will be doing all weekend.

Enjoy your day and thank you for your visit.