2023 in Review, The First Six Months

 As has become my tradition, I will look at what 2023 was like for me, according to my blog. Some day, if I give up on privacy issues, the review will be a more accurate picture of life as I know it. And sometimes, I wonder why I even bother about online privacy. I think Google already knows everything about me, and what they don't know, Amazon probably does. Anyone with a bit of time and inclination could figure out anything they wanted. But I digress. Here it is, 2023, according to my blog.

I didn't do a lot of posting this year, with a total of 73 for the year. Over the 12 years I've been blogging here, that number is just above my lowest year in 2017 when I did 70 posts. My highest year was in 2013, with a total of 278 posts. 

January

This is what I thought for most of my posts this month.
Source?

I did six posts this month, two of which were a review of 2022. Most of the posts were This and That with no central theme. We took a hike on New Year's Day, I worked on my Storyworth Stories (an autobiography of sorts), and I tried speed blogging to stop procrastinating and post something. That worked for that one time. I should try it some more now that I've been reminded of it. The one themed post I did was about being left-handed and directionally challenged.

This was the sign that inspired the post about being directionally challenged.

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February

Snowdrops were the 1st spring flower in our yard.

I did six posts this month, also. I was excited about seeing snowdrops, our first spring flowers, but I lamented that none of our crocuses were blooming like I had seen elsewhere. Ward and I took a trip to West Virginia and Virginia, and we celebrated Valentine's Day by doing couples yoga for something different. We visited our first parks in our quest to visit all of the parks in our town. 

A pocket park we visited in our town.

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March

I did four posts this month, and they mainly featured spring flowers. I was excited that spring had finally sprung.

The crocuses were blooming this month.

So was the ornamental plum.

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April

This month, I did five posts. There were a lot of pictures of the continuation of spring blooming around the yard. We celebrated Wally's birthday with a hike, and I was sprouting beans in baggies on a window in preparation for a STEM program I would do. I also summarized the driving trip that Ward and I took to Georgia and South Carolina to visit family and friends.

Our trip south included hiking to various waterfalls.

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May

Rhododendron were blooming.

I did four posts in May. I continued to feature the blooming flowers and the hazy skies we had from the Canadian wildfires. I did a review of Crumbl Cookies, and there was a tribute to our cat, Leo, who passed away this month. 

Leo

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June

Bee with pollen sac on tomato plant.

I did five posts in June. Along with the flowers, I showed vegetables that were growing. Also, I did a Father's Day tribute to my father and presented my father-in-law with a book I made for him chronicling his life. We took another hike with Wally.

Apples were growing for the first time on a tree we planted a few years before.

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Tune in next time for the next six months.

Time for "Happy New Year"

 

"Again, time elapsed."
― Carolyn Keene, The Secret of the Old Clock

Happy New Year!

Another year, another week, another day. Time is such an interesting thing. We use it to keep track of things as they pass, and sometimes, it's important, and sometimes, it's not. Some people can keep track of it easily, some can't. In some countries, the trains run on time. In other countries, they don't.

It has been measured using different standards by different cultures. 

Well, I was going to develop this post with interesting anecdotes (Wally and Theo stories) and with scholarly and philosophical ideas about time. I was going to discuss how different cultures use time (stories about Ward's background and mine). And I was going to finish up with a quiz about time.

But you know what? That takes a lot of thinking, and I'm not in the mood to tax my brain right now. 😀 Not to mention that it's time to go drop off one of Wally and Theo's gifts that Ward made. I'll show it in another post.

So until then, I hope you are having a relaxing day and thinking about all of the great possibilities ahead in 2024.

Happy Ending

The clean rug on a sunny day.

A few months ago, I sort of went off the deep end looking for a new rug for the living room after our cat peed on it. (If you want to remember, you can read the details below in a post I did at the time.) After a lot of effort, we decided to give up and just live with what we had. That was until I was at work one day, and a coworker mentioned that she was waiting for a call from the rug cleaners. One thing led to another, and we ended up taking the rug to professional rug cleaners. Because we were out of their pickup and delivery zone and had to drop it off ourselves, they gave us a substantial discount - about $350 cheaper than the other one we got. 

We got the rug back this week, and it looks good. And although it still shows a little wear from cat scratching, the stains are gone. One end is a little faded, so we solved that by turning it and putting the unfaded side toward the window. And Ward says he doesn't even notice any of those things.

Yay! I guess good things come to those who wait. Next up is to get new chairs for that room. The chairs we have are inexpensive ones we bought at Ikea to stage things at our last house when we were selling it. And, of course, the cats scratched up the sides of them. But for now, they are working. And I really don't want to go furniture shopping anytime soon.

Until next time...

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 2023

Rug Crazy

 

The original rug. It's hard to see the stains and fading in the picture.

It all started when we planned to have a baby shower here for my nephew and his wife. Or maybe it really started when our cat Leo died, and his remaining sister decided to show how she felt about that by peeing at various places around the house. Or maybe it all started even before that when Leo, in his old age, was peeing in various places before he could make it to the litter box. Not really sure.

But there was definitely a problem because I could smell cat pee when I passed the living room. That was after we removed the bookcase that had been used as a litter box. The smell wasn't strong, and Ward couldn't smell it, but it was definitely there. And I didn't think we needed to host a baby shower with any extra odors because of the heightened sense of smell accompanying pregnancy. So, after more investigation, we figured out that the rug in there had been peed on sometime in the past. We rolled it up and took it to the basement to store until we figured out what we were going to do with it.

Rug #2 on the porch airing out. BTW, the blue rug in the back, I picked out the first place we went. We weren't trying to match anything and just needed something so the floor wouldn't get scratched. It serves its purpose and adds a little color.

The day before, I had visited Aunt Martha and saw a new rug she had ordered online and liked the looks of it. So I ordered one from the same place, and with miracles of shipping, it arrived Thursday before the shower on Saturday. However, it came in a box and had a lot of creases in it - too many to fall out in just a couple of days. So we rolled that one up and put it aside until we could figure out what to do with it. We had bare floors for the shower, but in the end, I don't think anyone noticed.

We brought the new rug back out, and while the colors were okay, I didn't like the looks of it. It was one of those washable rugs that are made to go into a washing machine. We have a couple of runners like that, but I didn't like the looks of it in a bigger 8' x 10' size. So we returned it, but only after paying a hefty shipping charge. So I said if I got another rug online, it would be with an easy, free return. 

We shopped many stores to see what was in stock. And I spent who knows how much time shopping online and couldn't find one that fit the bill anywhere. The colors were right, but the pattern was wrong. The pattern was good, but the colors weren't right. Too thin. Too expensive. Too cheap looking. Nothing seemed to work. 

In the meantime, I was looking for a place that would clean our old, smelly wool rug. We had had it for many years, but overall, it was in decent shape except for the stains and pee smell. It took a while, but I finally found a cleaner who would clean it for $400. About twice as much as we paid for it (granted, that was years ago at Costco), and that was more than we wanted to spend.

So, figuring we had nothing to lose, we borrowed Miss Landers' carpet cleaner and cleaned the rug even though that was not a recommended practice for a wool rug. We got a lot of dirt out of it, but the stains remained. And while the pee smell was gone, it smelled like a wet dog, even after it was dry. The smell lessened with time but still smelled, and I was bothered every time I walked by the room. (Once again, Ward could smell nothing.) So then, I liberally spread baking soda and borax over the rug and let it sit for a few days.

Rug #3 clashed with the floors.

But I couldn't help myself and continued shopping online until I found another rug that seemed just right. Good colors, a good design, and an okay price. But when it arrived, the colors weren't right, the pile was low, and it stunk. Three strikes and it was out. I was so disappointed, but we returned it with much less hassle than the first one if you don't count the awkwardness of carrying around a bulky rug.

Then, it was time to vacuum the old rug to see if the baking soda and borax had performed their magic. And what a mess that was. I spent two days on it and ended up with fine, white dust over everything in the room. I hadn't realized that even though all of the dials on the vacuum were set correctly, instead of sucking up the powder, it was blowing it everywhere. Eventually, I got it under control, and the rug smelled better. It still had an odor, but it was faint. The stains and fading still bothered me but weren't obvious at first glance. I guessed we could live with it.

That was until I stopped by Homegoods one day to see what rugs they had. And there was a decent one that seemed to fit the bill, so we bought it and brought it home. Granted, it was a nice-looking rug, but it clashed with the floors. I had always considered the floors a neutral background, but they're not. The golden red oak floors did not look good with the maroon red of the rug. Ward didn't see a problem. (Have I mentioned that all of my senses are more sensitive than his?) So we took that rug back today.

We're back to what we started with. And yes, you can call me obsessed, crazy, or whatever other term you want. I have used all those words to describe myself during this rug quest. However, Ward has only rolled his eyes at me a couple of times and has not said a word during this rug drama. And what a remarkable man he is that he didn't say what he must have been thinking. And for that, I am thankful.

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas to One and All!

The holidays, especially Christmas, are a time when emotions seem to surface more readily. And often, they are tinged with sadness. While I have shed a few tears this year, my emotions were not as raw as they were my first Christmas after my mother passed away. Here is a post I wrote back then.

If you are feeling sad, I hope you can find at least one reason to smile today.

Christmas Smiles

My mother, last Christmas

Tears flow easily these days. I miss my mother. I have always heard that the holidays are especially hard when you have lost someone, but I've never really experienced it like this. It's taken me by surprise because, in my logical mind, I thought I would be thinking about all of the special Christmas times I had with her and be sad. But logic is not necessarily at work here. It's not the Christmases I miss. I miss the emotional connection.

My mother had dementia and slowly left us over the years in many ways. It was discouraging and sad to watch, but no matter what her outward appearance was, I always felt a connection between us during my visits. Towards the end, she was usually quiet, often with a distant stare. But then I'd say something, and there would be a little glint in her eye or a slight smile, and I knew that she was communicating in the way that was available to her at that point in her life. We were connecting, and it made me happy. Before I experienced the last couple of years with my mother, I never would have thought that those difficult times would be the ones I missed the most. But for now, they are.

However, life goes on no matter what the circumstances and this grief is not consuming my life. It's just a part of it. I am ahead this year in many things and feeling more relaxed than usual. I am enjoying the Christmas lights and the Christmas music. I am having good times with my sisters and friends. Ward and I are having long talks and making fun plans.

With all those things, I'm trying to live what my mother taught me until the end of her life. She kept living even when it seemed to the outside world life wasn't worth it. So, as I think of her little smiles, I smile, too. Through the tears.

Ornament Parade - Handmade by Grownups

Over the next few days, I will be rerunning posts where I featured ornaments from our Christmas tree. Like many of you, each ornament brings a special memory with it. These are good memories for me, but they can also bring a tear or two as I think about people from my past who are no longer with me. But with no further ado, here is the fourth set.

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Today, I'm showing you some of our ornaments made for us by family and friends. If you're into crafting, you may find an idea or two you want to try.

This is a dried orange slice that I made. I made another set I gave away with red beads glued in the middle.

This wreath was made from buttons from my grandmother's and mother's button cans. One afternoon, I sat down with my sisters, and we all made ornaments of various kinds from the buttons. We had fun reminiscing about the clothes the buttons had been taken from.

This powder puff lamb was made by a friend. Notice the clove sticks for legs.

This mailbox was made by my aunt. It has two letters and a package inside - very fun detail.

This angel, made by a friend, is crafted from two doilies.

Another friend knit the cover to this ball. I've been meaning to try this myself, but it remains on my To Do list at this point.

This painted ornament was made by the same local artist mentioned in another post. It was a coincidence, but the picture of the house looks just like my grandparents' house where my father grew up. That makes it extra special for me.

This was made by my best friend in grad school. School took up every waking minute at that point in time, so I don't know how she had time to make it, but she did. That made me appreciate it even more.

My aunt made this Queen Anne's Lace flower ornament. It is a pressed flower encased in epoxy. 

She also made this Christmas stocking.

Christmas is tomorrow, but I will be continuing with my ornament parade next week.

Until next time...