It's been a while since I posted on this blog. Not that I haven't had anything to say, but that I am just lazy. Everything has been chaos in my world and I think that I would benefit from blogging on a regular basis, just to get things out of my system, but it seems that I step on toes and make people mad or give them something to gossip about, so I have kept my blogging to Myspace where no one is around anymore to read the postings!
The past few weeks have been really tough though and I thought I would hit the high spots tonight. This week has been horrid, not just for me, I am ok really, but the Nation has seen it's share of disasters. Such is life in the free world I suppose, but it seems that there are forces that are not of good working here. First the bombings in Boston at the end of the Boston Marathon... then the scare of Risin found in several spots, then the fertilizer plant in West, Tx that had a fire and explosion. The Beaumont explosion at the Exxon plant, the flooding in Illinois, the pipe bomb and grenade found in a storage on Grandview and 52, way too close to home. The woman trying to kill herself and crashed into another car with a child inside... Gee, what next?
I guess that things are just a bit spooky right now. You know, back in 2001, there was that panic, that sense that things would never be the same again... this time it is like.. this is the way it is, we have to decide if we want to go on being open, caring, loving...
I hate that we have these decisions in our minds, our hearts. I know we as a nation have it in us still to overcome these trials and tribulations, but really, do we want to? I do, but then I look around me, people that don't care, don't want to better themselves, play video games all day and smoke pot, drink, goof off then expect someone else to help them out because they don't have money... because their job is dull, because their job is hard, because it is cold/hot/nice outside.... whatever the excuse to not work, to not be useful, to sit on their butts and do nothing constructive. I don't get that.
I know I am from a different era, and I know that I don't fit in here in this society that has become deranged... but darnit. I am trying to fit in, can't anyone else try as well? Can't people get up of their arses and turn off their X-box and TV and do something. Has our government turned us all into zombies? is it the government? is it the labor unions that are teaching that minimum wage isn't good enough? is it our schools? is it the parents that just don't do anything with or about their kids? Is it a combination of all? What on earth?
I am so proud of my daughter, she works everyday whether she wants to or not, she is efficient and good and the company has helped her because she is dependable. That makes me proud. My son will be as well I am sure when he is old enough to work. He is dependable and good and honest. Something that is obviously lacking in most kids now. Myself? I don't work every day, well... I do. I teach part time at the college, I work in my studio every day, and I have a son at home (two kids in the summer) that I cook for every day, clean up after, chauffer around, do laundry for.... and I take care of the yard, such that it is... take care of the house, the truck, and anything else that comes up.
I say that I do it all by myself. Most of the time I do, but I have had a friend that has been visiting that has taken care of things that I wasn't able to do or had put off doing because I wasn't feeling up to par. God Bless, because I know that I needed some help. It will quickly be back to just me and my son again until the Summer. My Grandson is coming to visit and it will be the three of us. Last Summer, he came for a month. I felt so bad for him... it was right in that month that Mom got so sick and I took the boys with me to the hospital every day to sit with her. They were both such angles that it made me cry.
Well, so anyway, I do work. I do something every day. It might not be huge money making, but I do work. So I feel like I can say something to those that don't do anything but goof off every day. I feel like I can say..Get a life... I went a lot of years when my daughter was little that we didn't have anything. No telephone, no TV.... then we had a black and white TV... for a long time. People didn't want to come to our house not because of the little b&w tv, and that we didn't have cable but we didn't even have air conditioning. We didn't have furniture really, we bought a set of three pieces for $100 from a friend, and I had a bed and rocking chair... my daughter's crib. My husband made a bed for her... we didn't do anything because we didn't have money. We didn't go to the movie, we didn't go out to eat, matter of fact, we had beans and cornbread for just about every meal for a while. We bought a washer finally, after doing laundry for three kids and two adults in the laundry mat... it was heaven. I still had to hang out laundry and iron, but hey....
We lived in our means is what I am trying to say. We did without to pay our bills. I am not saying we didn't have help. We did. My aunt and uncle came and helped work on the house when we moved... they helped work on the cars when they were broken down... My mom came and helped out when she could. It wasn't like we did it alone, but we didn't ask for handouts. One time we borrowed from my brother, to put a down payment on the house I think... we did it contractually. I paid him back as quickly as I could, and we did without to do it.
We also lucked into a lot of things. Like the two bedroom house that we bought. we made it into three bedrooms, fixed it up to be pretty nice. Like the boat that my husband finneagled in an odd trade deal. It wasn't great, but it was a boat and we spent time on the lake thanks to his bartering/trading skills. I worked even though I stayed at home. I sewed for people and did crafts and sold them, I traded out skills and we always had something to eat. We were able to help out my sister with her three kids... taking all three sometimes. I remember people looking at us with the combined families... all blond, all looking like siblings, 6 altogether... walking in the mall or at the grocery store, people would point and whisper... I was after all only in my early 20s with all these kids, the oldest was 11 or 12. HA!
Ok, so I didn't start this out to be my complaining. It did turn into that. I am now grown up and have a second family, am widowed and trying to get along with a very small income. I am trying. I don't have an IPhone, IPad, I anything... I can't say that I do everything that my son wants to do, but he is pretty well rounded. I can't say that things are always great, but we get along. My son doesn't ask for every name brand piece of clothing, and he doesn't have every game when it first comes out... but he has an X-Box... my daughter didn't have a tv.... So he feels lucky. He feels that he is blessed. I do, too.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Saturday, July 7, 2012
I hope everyone had a fun and safe fourth of July. I spent most of the day with my Mom, and then my son and I made a sort of circle around the West side of town, looking for fireworks of course. We came upon a stand without much trouble, but we went further out because there usually is a ton of stands and one in particular that is cheaper by a few cents (not enough to pay for the gasoline to cruise around looking for it I am sure). So there were a LOT fewer stands this year, I am sure the drought and the fire danger being what it is has a lot to do with the decline in the booths... So does the current oil boom. A lot people that used to have booths are now working and don't have enough time to man a booth and really don't need to. Pay in the oilfield is high, and the hours are long.
So we settled on the Truckload place and he got smoke bombs and sparklers. He stocked up so that he will have enough to last for a while, but on the way home we stopped at another stand and he bought a bunch more just in case... When we got home he wanted to do a bunch but there was a storm brewing and the wind was up a lot and we waited for a little while. The Edwards family (neighbors to the East) had gone out in their motor home with their trailer, we suspected they were going to ride their dirt bikes, but they came in pretty quick, they had gotten into the storm and headed home before they got stuck in the mud and muck. Their grandkids came over and played with Paul the little boy threw smoke bombs that Paul lit for him... and the little girl loved the sparklers.
Even though it was still a bit windy it was nice and cool, and the smoke blew away from me and that is what I was most concerned with!
All in all it was a nice night, sitting and chatting with neighbors and enjoying the kids, that is the best part of a holiday.
So we settled on the Truckload place and he got smoke bombs and sparklers. He stocked up so that he will have enough to last for a while, but on the way home we stopped at another stand and he bought a bunch more just in case... When we got home he wanted to do a bunch but there was a storm brewing and the wind was up a lot and we waited for a little while. The Edwards family (neighbors to the East) had gone out in their motor home with their trailer, we suspected they were going to ride their dirt bikes, but they came in pretty quick, they had gotten into the storm and headed home before they got stuck in the mud and muck. Their grandkids came over and played with Paul the little boy threw smoke bombs that Paul lit for him... and the little girl loved the sparklers.
Even though it was still a bit windy it was nice and cool, and the smoke blew away from me and that is what I was most concerned with!
All in all it was a nice night, sitting and chatting with neighbors and enjoying the kids, that is the best part of a holiday.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Valentine's Day
I am writing as if I don't have anything to do today... in actuality I am so busy that I needed to sit down , take a breath, and calm down before I get really overwhelmed.
Valentine's Day has always made me nervous. As a child with a birthday the day before Valentine's it was always hearts and valentines wishes... and not a real birthday party. It might have had candles, but it was a Valentine's party. Later on in life, I took a job as a florist... I know, about as far from my major as I could get... anyway, I ended up being so tired by the night of Valentine's Day that I just wanted to curl up and not see anyone, not be around anyone, bah, humbug...
So since I had my son, I haven't worked in the floral industry, not exactly, I still do flowers for weddings, etc... but not on a full time basis, and certainly not the volume that I used to experience at the shop. So it was so much better and my husband and I really enjoyed having an evening of romance. After my husband died, I was left with a young child and it was really hard to have my first Valentine's alone. I was weepy and sad, and still had to put on the happy face and help my son with his cards and attend his first grade party. I just wanted to curl up and forget the world.
It has been three years now and I am not as weepy, but still feel empty today. I am not working as a florist yet. Don't think I ever will again. It is too hard of work being a single mom, don't need those 12- 16 hour days... I am working today, I have a photo shoot this evening with 5 couples. I can't wait and yet I am very nervous. I want everything to come out perfect but don't know if it will... confidence is at a low... arrrrrrgh! Other than the photos, I am baking brownies for my son's 4th grade party, we stayed up late last night and made valentines,, the party should be fun, before that I have to finish a bracelet for a friend and have lunch with my Mom and sister, and I have a sewing project that needs to be done this week and have just a few weeks until the annual festival that I have a booth in. Yikes! there are n ot enough hours in the day!!
So, I should be busy right now, sigh, I started this blog to actually do some writing, but seems that I am sorely lacking in postings... will try soon to get back, but truthfully, it might be a while.
Love you,
Me
Valentine's Day has always made me nervous. As a child with a birthday the day before Valentine's it was always hearts and valentines wishes... and not a real birthday party. It might have had candles, but it was a Valentine's party. Later on in life, I took a job as a florist... I know, about as far from my major as I could get... anyway, I ended up being so tired by the night of Valentine's Day that I just wanted to curl up and not see anyone, not be around anyone, bah, humbug...
So since I had my son, I haven't worked in the floral industry, not exactly, I still do flowers for weddings, etc... but not on a full time basis, and certainly not the volume that I used to experience at the shop. So it was so much better and my husband and I really enjoyed having an evening of romance. After my husband died, I was left with a young child and it was really hard to have my first Valentine's alone. I was weepy and sad, and still had to put on the happy face and help my son with his cards and attend his first grade party. I just wanted to curl up and forget the world.
It has been three years now and I am not as weepy, but still feel empty today. I am not working as a florist yet. Don't think I ever will again. It is too hard of work being a single mom, don't need those 12- 16 hour days... I am working today, I have a photo shoot this evening with 5 couples. I can't wait and yet I am very nervous. I want everything to come out perfect but don't know if it will... confidence is at a low... arrrrrrgh! Other than the photos, I am baking brownies for my son's 4th grade party, we stayed up late last night and made valentines,, the party should be fun, before that I have to finish a bracelet for a friend and have lunch with my Mom and sister, and I have a sewing project that needs to be done this week and have just a few weeks until the annual festival that I have a booth in. Yikes! there are n ot enough hours in the day!!
So, I should be busy right now, sigh, I started this blog to actually do some writing, but seems that I am sorely lacking in postings... will try soon to get back, but truthfully, it might be a while.
Love you,
Me
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Artwalk 2011
We, and by we, I mean myself, my best friend, and my son, went to Alpine, Tx for the annual Artwalk the weekend of November 19, 2011. If you have never been to Alpine, or to Texas in general, you are missing out on a rather quaint and wonderful experience. I mean, Texas isn't all quaint, but Alpine is. It has this feel of old West meets the artworld and it is blissfully surreal. We didn't know until the last minute if we would be able to go or not (the story of my life) so we didn't call ahead and make reservations. Last year it worked out OK and we got this cute little room in an old motorcourt with a little kitchenette that was awesome. This year, not so much. All the rooms were booked except this one little motel but they wouldn't allow dogs, but were very kind to offer the services of the local vet... ha. I called the vet and asked them what I needed to do to board the pooch for the weekend, haha, she said... "sorry, you have to be a patient, and we require a two week blah, blah, blah..." OK, so , I called around to the outlying towns, and came up with a room at the Hotel Limpia in Ft. Davis. They did charge for the dog, but it wasn't much, and the room was ok, not the cleanest (dust bunnies) but the hotel soap was nice. So was the breakfast and coffee. We were allowed to use the hotel's really nice sitting room and the sun porch to lounge in, dog and all.
I guess I should back up a bit and explain the pooch. He's a Greyhound, kind of big, actually he is one of the larger Greyhounds that I have seen, weighing in at about 95 pounds. I say about because I can't lift him anymore. He's put on weight since we got him, but I haven't a clue how much. There is no way to get him on the scale at the Vet's office. His name is MacIntyre, and is an ex-racer, with his cute little tattoos in both ears.
When I first went to pick up MacIntyre, he was bouncy and playful and went from one person to the next in the room, jumping and playing, throwing his toy up in the air and having a blast. I knew he was the dog for us. He had been diagnosed with Erlichia but was supposed to be cured and had been adopted before, but supposedly the family was in the midst of divorce and couldn't handle him anymore. I think that maybe there were issues with him that they didn't tell us. OMG, we had a time with him. He had a problem with urinating all the time all over the place, usually on my new rug in front of the front door. He was on a special diet and was supposed to get yogurt on his food in the evening... but that just gave him diarrhea which ended up usually in the kitchen floor but progressed into my son's room... Oh the problems were also with him getting into my bed, with or without me in it. I don't share my bed well, and I have allergies so I don't allow pets into my room... well, didn't. I keep him off my bed as much as possible, he won't get on it if I am there, but I know that he comes out of my room bleary-eyed when I come home unannounced. I have gotten used to that, and I will fold up the bed clothes and remove them, and all is well. I am not used to him sneaking in during the middle of the night and sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed. It is kind of unnerving to wake up in the night and have to get out of bed only to step right in the middle of this big hound.
Oh, how I digress... the Artwalk was amazing. there were tons of great artists there, a lot of good food, and some terrific music. I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked just hanging out, but it was good. The Artcar parade was really cool, with some really inventive vehicles participating. There was a couple of bicycles that were decked out as butterflies which I must say were my favorites. Next in line would have to be the ratmobile that was kind of scary in a way!
Weather in West Texas can be sketchy in the Fall, but the day was beautiful, though a little windy, but no real problems from that. I had a long discussion with a lady (I can't remember names ever) about her spinning her own yarn, as I am just starting out with my spinning... and I don't think I will get any better with it, but brought home the prettiest auburn wool from Scotland this past summer and wanted to try my hand with it. I had bought a Turkish spindle while I was in Austin the weekend of the 5th and 6th of November at the Austin Celtic Festival. The guy I bought it from was wonderful and helpful and made it look so easy. I know, it is one of those things that I supposedly learned as a child from my grandmother, but it's been a long time since I really tried to spin some wool... so I bought this spindle and it came with a bag of carded wool, and confident from this guy helping me hold the wool and pulling off just the right amount.... so I had some problems... So I enjoyed talking to this lady, she was amazing, and her son, who I didn't get to meet, made these wonderfully beautiful spindles that I really wanted to buy from her, but they weren't for sale... she only had them for decoration of sorts. Sad to say, I didn't get her name, but the shop that she was showing her knitted masterpieces is pretty easy to find if I want to hunt her down.
There are always so many different people showing so many different types of artwork, from metal to paintings, photos, sculptures...to doors and knitted wool... oh, this must be what heaven is like. I don't know how I would take living in a place like New York, where there are artists and galleries and something going on every day. Probably go mad, or lose my interest... This type of escape to me is infrequent, except all the festivals that I attend, they really have some great artists as well, so it isn't just once a year at the Artwalk, but it would be nice to use this one time a year to really get invigorated and think that some day I will be prolific in my work to be a featured artist at a show like this. ahhh... sigh.... at least I am dreaming of making my artwork top priority.... sigh....
I guess I should back up a bit and explain the pooch. He's a Greyhound, kind of big, actually he is one of the larger Greyhounds that I have seen, weighing in at about 95 pounds. I say about because I can't lift him anymore. He's put on weight since we got him, but I haven't a clue how much. There is no way to get him on the scale at the Vet's office. His name is MacIntyre, and is an ex-racer, with his cute little tattoos in both ears.
When I first went to pick up MacIntyre, he was bouncy and playful and went from one person to the next in the room, jumping and playing, throwing his toy up in the air and having a blast. I knew he was the dog for us. He had been diagnosed with Erlichia but was supposed to be cured and had been adopted before, but supposedly the family was in the midst of divorce and couldn't handle him anymore. I think that maybe there were issues with him that they didn't tell us. OMG, we had a time with him. He had a problem with urinating all the time all over the place, usually on my new rug in front of the front door. He was on a special diet and was supposed to get yogurt on his food in the evening... but that just gave him diarrhea which ended up usually in the kitchen floor but progressed into my son's room... Oh the problems were also with him getting into my bed, with or without me in it. I don't share my bed well, and I have allergies so I don't allow pets into my room... well, didn't. I keep him off my bed as much as possible, he won't get on it if I am there, but I know that he comes out of my room bleary-eyed when I come home unannounced. I have gotten used to that, and I will fold up the bed clothes and remove them, and all is well. I am not used to him sneaking in during the middle of the night and sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed. It is kind of unnerving to wake up in the night and have to get out of bed only to step right in the middle of this big hound.
Oh, how I digress... the Artwalk was amazing. there were tons of great artists there, a lot of good food, and some terrific music. I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked just hanging out, but it was good. The Artcar parade was really cool, with some really inventive vehicles participating. There was a couple of bicycles that were decked out as butterflies which I must say were my favorites. Next in line would have to be the ratmobile that was kind of scary in a way!
Weather in West Texas can be sketchy in the Fall, but the day was beautiful, though a little windy, but no real problems from that. I had a long discussion with a lady (I can't remember names ever) about her spinning her own yarn, as I am just starting out with my spinning... and I don't think I will get any better with it, but brought home the prettiest auburn wool from Scotland this past summer and wanted to try my hand with it. I had bought a Turkish spindle while I was in Austin the weekend of the 5th and 6th of November at the Austin Celtic Festival. The guy I bought it from was wonderful and helpful and made it look so easy. I know, it is one of those things that I supposedly learned as a child from my grandmother, but it's been a long time since I really tried to spin some wool... so I bought this spindle and it came with a bag of carded wool, and confident from this guy helping me hold the wool and pulling off just the right amount.... so I had some problems... So I enjoyed talking to this lady, she was amazing, and her son, who I didn't get to meet, made these wonderfully beautiful spindles that I really wanted to buy from her, but they weren't for sale... she only had them for decoration of sorts. Sad to say, I didn't get her name, but the shop that she was showing her knitted masterpieces is pretty easy to find if I want to hunt her down.
There are always so many different people showing so many different types of artwork, from metal to paintings, photos, sculptures...to doors and knitted wool... oh, this must be what heaven is like. I don't know how I would take living in a place like New York, where there are artists and galleries and something going on every day. Probably go mad, or lose my interest... This type of escape to me is infrequent, except all the festivals that I attend, they really have some great artists as well, so it isn't just once a year at the Artwalk, but it would be nice to use this one time a year to really get invigorated and think that some day I will be prolific in my work to be a featured artist at a show like this. ahhh... sigh.... at least I am dreaming of making my artwork top priority.... sigh....
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