Let Me Introduce You To My New Best Friend....

No, I'm not talking about our painter, Mr. Molasses (who is still painting outside). I'm talking about my Mother's Day/Anniversary/Birthday gift from Mr. Snoots this year. I kind of had to beg for it while simultaneously promising to ease up about getting the house on the market, if he'd only get this for me. I've seriously wanted one of these since the company began making them, 26 years ago.

I'm sure that you're just dying to know what it is, right? Well, it's a Skier's Edge (skiing simulator) Machine Toy!!! I call it a toy because you get to have fun while working out on it as well as improving your level of snow skiing skills. It finally arrived today and I'm just beside myself with joy! Lord knows my skiing has suffered in the past 10 years or so due to lack of exercise, especially during winter.

Of course, I've been trying to figure out how to get some exercise without leaving the house, just like I do every year. Forget the fact that Mr. Snoots got me a WiiFit Plus for Christmas. It was far too complicated for me to figure out and I detested having to be reminded of how badly I was out of shape every single time I turned it on. Besides that, I don't like having to do basic exercises standing on a little board (I have terrible balance issues) while listening to weird munchkin voices telling me I'm not doing it right. Also, you can't proceed to the next (fun?) level until you get through the first (boring) one. It's ridiculous and I'll skip a level if I bloody well want to. Well, um, no. The system won't allow that, so of course it ended up in the closet after I totally lost interest.

However, I tried one of these machines once before in Taos, New Mexico at a ski shop. I was instantly smitten with it... Until I saw the price tag. They were actually much more expensive back then. Now, almost every Olympic ski team in the world has these machines for off season training. The PSIA (professional ski instructors of America) is even using them to assist in teaching beginners to ski. The results are tested, tried and true. They also offer a monthly payment plan now, if you can't afford to make entire payment at once.

My favorite part about this Canadian company is that none of their models have ever, nor will they ever, become obsolete. I've never heard of such absurdity. Instead of making their older models obsolete with the presentation of new ones, they opted to offer upgrade kits for all their models, as well as replacement parts. What genius!

Furthermore, the new skis of the 2000's are not like the skis I started on and they are shaped like an hourglass, meaning that in order to carve a turn, you need to know how to use your ski's edges. This is your machine for that. Edging has always been the most difficult part about teaching people to ski... Until now. This great toy teaches you through workouts on the machine. It's almost like osmosis. And, it's FUN! They also offer a 30-day money back guarantee, which only demonstrates how much faith they have in their products.


So, I'm a *Happy Camper* for the time being. Sometimes you just have to figure out alternative ways for doing certain things. I'm willing to be happy and silent (about moving, anyway) while working on our house, as long as I have my lovely new toy. Now, I'm off to have a quick couple of runs down the mountain in my bedroom....


I'd love to say they're paying me for this stellar recommendation, but they have far more important endorsements than I can offer. Check them out if you'd prefer to have fun while losing weight or getting in shape. Even if you don't ski, you'll love it!

A Sunday Afternoon Trip To The Emergency Room...

Yes, I was afforded a little magic carpet ride to the local emergency room on Sunday afternoon. It wasn't fun by any means but it was most certainly necessary, in my own mind. I'd felt bad on Saturday for sure. On Friday night I went to bed at 11:00 PM and ended up sleeping until 3:00 PM Saturday afternoon. Not my normal modus operatus. I felt a bit nauseated all day but just blew it off thinking it was my normal sinus drainage into my stomach making me sick. Au contraire.

When I awoke on Sunday I felt even worse. Very nauseated. No energy. Extremely agitated about anything & everything, none of which is my normal. My head was killing me, I was nauseated, my mouth was dry, I was having difficulty breathing, my eyes appeared jaundiced (to me), my blood pressure was way high for me, and I felt light-headed. I got scared. Petrified, really. I waited all day before saying anything to Mr. Snoots because I didn't want him to have to miss his Sunday nap.

However, as it turned out, I did not have anything wrong with my heart. I have a UTI (bladder infection) (AGAIN) and along with the Neuropathy symptoms, I suppose I simply confused it with all of the signals I'm receiving from my body. Who knew it could become so difficult to read the signs your body sends you? I apparently also was experiencing some anxiety, thus the chest pains. Once they gave me something I'd never heard of for anxiety, I began to calm down and feel better. By 10:00 PM they finally let me go home with my tail tucked between my legs, shamed that I'd wasted their time.

Anxiety is a part of my daily life. I've been trying to get this house market ready for 3 years now and it's just not happening, which causes me a lot of stress. I'm trying desperately to keep a smile on my face throughout all of this but I keep losing that smile, especially when it's taking a freaking year to paint the outside of our mansion (so not a mansion). The painter was supposed to show up today but I haven't seen him. Honestly, I can't take  this stress much longer. It doesn't take this long to paint a house in the real world... only in my weird alter world. Why in the Hell would this all be stressing me out? I can't imagine.

So, I've reached the ultimate conclusion that it is imperative that we become familiar with our bodies & the signals they are trying to send us. The better we get at reading them, the longer we might be able to survive on this crazy planet called Earth. I've also come to the realization that I'm going to die in this house, whether I like it or not. I'm stuck here, with no way out and it gives me an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness. We sit around this house, week after week, with nothing happening and I can't take it any more. I keep trying to make the little improvements that I can but they only seem to be band-aids in the big scheme of things.

On another note, I'd like to mention that most women almost never have the same symptoms of  heart attack as men do, therefore much more difficult to diagnose when necessary, so we must all be on the lookout at all times. We must always be our own advocates and understand what our bodies are trying to tell us, which isn't always easy. Listen to the rhythms of your body and pay close attention to those rhythms. They are truly trying to tell us about ourselves and we need to learn to listen. If we don't then we're going to spend a lot of wasted time in the emergency room...

Living With Neuropathy.... Part 2

While anxiously searching the internet for some kind of help, I stumbled across something. I discovered a company called The Wellness Support Network that works with combinations of vitamins to treat  many *conditions* because they believe we aren't getting them from our food sources any longer and that certain drugs are stripping us of them. All of their products are made up of herbs & vitamins. Due to my belief that herbs & vitamins help us, I decided to give their Nerve Support Formula a try. And why not? They offer a 90-day money back guarantee.

Once inside their website, I discovered that many hundreds of people have actually found success through their products. So, I took the jump and ordered as per their directions. At this point I was willing to try almost anything aside from more FDA approved pharmaceuticals. When the pain reaches this level, I'm sure anyone would be as desperate as I was.


Each customer is assigned a *counselor* of sorts, who makes sure you understand how to take their formula and when. They also tell you how many pills to increase each week and when it begins to help, you start taking fewer pills. The counselors help you plan ahead to how many you'll need so that you don't run out before the pills have done their job. They also want to know what drugs you're currently taking and they don't want you to stop those meds without the advice of your doctor.


Now, their Nerve Support Formula works on a cellular level, which means it isn't going to be an overnight cure. One must be patient, which is hard when you have this condition. A quote from their website says:

Today, most people with neuropathy (nerve damage) are only treating the symptoms and not getting to the root of the problem.

One of the major causes of neuropathy are certain prescription drugs. Most drugs that lower cholesterol will cause neuropathy, many blood pressure medications and even a few antibiotics will also cause neuropathy.

For diabetics, higher than normal sugar levels (as a result of a diet that is too high in carbohydrates and incorrect nutrition) in the body can often cause diabetic neuropathy. Furthermore, many medications given to people with neuropathy or diabetes actually makes the problem worse instead of correcting the cause of the problem.

The only way to correctly manage diabetic neuropathy is to address the real causes, not the symptoms. This involves improving the control of your blood sugar levels, implementing a lower carbohydrate diet and taking the nutrients your body needs.

Chemotherapy drugs and radiation treatments often cause neuropathy.
 
Sports and accident injuries, as well as operations where the nerves are damaged, can cause neuropathy that may not show up till many years afterward.

Even the build-up of toxins in the body as a result of the pollution in our air and water, and the preservatives in the food we eat, can cause neuropathy.

So, after I'd been on the nerve support for a couple of weeks, I decided to get busy on treating the root of my problem as well, which is the high blood pressure & the meds I take to treat it.

Through my research I've found it turns out that many people are put on high blood pressure meds before they  really even need them. I mean, think about it. When you have your blood pressure taken at the doctor's office, you're already in a high anxiety situation, which is probably going to force a higher reading as it is. Furthermore, not all blood pressure machines are created equal. As patients, we need to do some of the work on our own in order to be better informed about our health. I bought my own machine and check my own blood pressure  on a daily basis. I've never had the same readings I get when at  the doctor's office, which is consistently higher than I get  at home.

WSN also offers a Blood Vessel Support formula which works at a cellular level to repair your blood vessels, hence at some point, rendering the blood pressure meds no longer necessary. However, this is where it gets tricky and you have to pay very close attention to your BP readings. As the formula begins to work, it can actually cause you to have low blood pressure, which can also be dangerous. So, you must also work closely with your doctor in order for him to  know when to take you off the meds you no longer need. Again, this formula is also made of entirely vitamins and herbs.

Now that I'm at week 4 I can honestly say that I'm beginning to feel a teensy bit of relief. The excruciating sharp shooting pains have been better on certain days and hopefully the burning/freezing sensations will improve next. Because it works on the cellular level, it simply takes more time to see results. But, as your symptoms begin to go away, you begin taking less pills until you reach your maintenance level with a bit of trial and error........

Living & Coping With Neuropathy... There Is No Coping

I've only admitted this to a handful of people because I was initially horrified and scared by what was happening to me. As it turns out, I have full blown Neuropathy, which involves burning/freezing feet and hands, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It started slowly so that I didn't notice it much at first. When it began to escalate, I knew something was wrong. Bad. Wrong. As time when by, I went for my 6 month checkup after submitting to the regular blood test beforehand. Upon my visit, my doctor walked in and proclaimed that all my blood work and numbers looked great and to keep up whatever I was doing. Just as he was about to turn and move on to the next patient, I said, "Wait. I have a question!".


I explained the symptoms I'd been having with the burning/freezing hands and feet. He suddenly frowned and said he didn't like what he was hearing. Yeah. I don't like feeling it either. So, he ordered another more complicated round of blood work and said that he'd see me again the next week. Normally, Neuropathy is caused by Diabetes or high amounts of sugar in the blood. I don't have either.


So, fast forward to my next appointment. By this point the Neuropathy had gotten considerably worse, now involving random excruciating sharp shooting pain throughout my hands and feet. To say I was even more scared is an understatement. I was terrified. I was contemplating trying to live the rest of my life with this pain and the other symptoms and I wasn't sure I could handle it all. Frankly, I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to handle it. Absolutely nothing helps to ease any of the symptoms. Not Advil, Tylenol or any form of pain killers. Nothing. Nada.


Once the doctor comes in to discuss my additional blood test results, he admits that he cannot find any medical or physical reason why I should have these symptoms. Really? Are you kidding me? Then he waltzes out the door and on to his next patient. Honestly, this was the week I went into such a bad depression and contemplated ending my life. As  much as I normally complain about the daily comings and goings of my life, I just didn't want to tell anyone aside from Mr. Snoots what was going on, although I did tell a few choice people that I trusted. Of course, no one can understand what it feels like unless they have it too. So, I was mostly met with the "Gee, I'm so sorry". Didn't help much since I really don't like others feeling sorry for me.


Alright, here is the real clincher folks. I finally put on my big girl panties and decided to do the research myself, in hopes of finding something, anything that could be done in the way of relief. I'm a desperate woman on a mission, which means there is no better researcher than I, at this juncture.


I think I went through the first several pages of a Google search until I came across something that tweaked my interest. Going to the source of the problem to treat the problem rather than take a pharmaceutical as a band-aid and only treat the symptoms? Wow. What a novel idea.  Maybe this should be catching on here in America some time soon. Or perhaps not.


What I soon discovered was that Neuropathy is a common side effect of the two medications I take on a regular basis. Tarka (for high blood pressure) and Gabapentin (for migraine headaches) both list Neuropathy as one of their major side effects. Um. WHAT? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME? Why would my doctor not know this? Why would he not alert me to this side effect? Does he honestly think I sit down and read 3 long pages of side effects before taking the meds that are supposedly saving me from certain death? I think that would be a tad naive for any medical doctor. It was especially naive of me to trust my doctor, assuming he tells me the truth about everything. He. Does. Not.


Every time I'm forced to wait to see the doctor in his waiting area, I see what's going on. I see the trail of young, vibrant pharmaceutical salespeople pulling their little rolling bags full of drugs in and out of said office. I know he often tries to push new drugs on both Mr. Snooty and myself but I always considered it to be just normal in the scheme of things concerning having to see the doc every six months. NOT. SO. The more research I do on the Food & Drug Administration, the less I trust the bastardos. (Italiano for the word bastards), which is really nothing new. I've been suspicious of them and their complicity with the big pharmaceutical companies for many years. My suspicions have now been confirmed and thus, validated. The government (our very own government) is supposed to be protecting us when in reality, they are not and haven't been for decades and it all has to do with politics, money, war, unions, and power... Not your health or mine. There are so many people  in this country today, they don't really give a rat's patootie if some of us live or die. On the whole, they just don't have the time, the palm greasing or the inclination to care. They have more people to *do* and more money to be made off those people. US. Too bad for you, as you're a mere statistic in their duplicitous actions and opinions.


The saddest part of all  is that I am a loyal patriot of America. I was born and raised here, taught to believe in my country and its leaders, who are now failing me, my family, and most everyone I know. It's a debacle I was  never prepared for and will  never be prepared for, because it simply is not right.


So now, I'm getting really worked up over this again and I'll stop my rant for today. The pain is reminding me how much my government cares about me. I'm beginning to feel the same disdain for them as they obviously feel for us. Stay tuned for *the rest of the story* tomorrow. I plan to blow your minds and you won't be able to do a thing about it unless you bury your little heads in the sand and choose to not read about this travesty any further.


Stay tuned for the rest of the story next week...

I Missed My Old Wreath So I Made Another One... Among Other Things

No matter what I hung on the front door after Valentine's Day, I wasn't satisfied. I wanted something classic to pull everything together even though the front door STILL hasn't been painted by Mr. Molasses and the front porch is totally dirty after high winds (with blowing dirt) that never seem to cease. I also have new door hardware to add when the front door finally gets painted. However, I'm hopeful that the exterior of  the house will be finished by Thanksgiving. A year to paint the exterior of the house, you ask? Umm... Not my decision, okay? You'd think we lived in a mansion for it take this long, right? Wrong. So wrong. We just have Mr. Molasses. The. Bane. Of. My. Existence.




So anyway, I spent an insane amount of time making my new (brown) coffee filter wreath. This time, I avoided blisters on my fingers by buying a not-so-hot glue gun. It worked like magic. I'm a total fan. I went through two large packs of brown coffee filters before deciding it was more than enough and I frankly didn't care whether it was or not. I. Was. Done.


I'm still working on another wreath for the new guest room because I wasn't satisfied with the outcome of the first one. Yes, I'm picky stupid like that. I also bought a huge amount of unbreakable Christmas ornaments after Christmas and made another ornament wreath, which I have no idea what I'm going to do with. Really.

I have also been working on a slipcover for the ottoman in the den for about 3 months now, that I hope to eventually finish in this century. Perhaps I'll finish it right after I finish the canvas floor cloth I started 7 years ago for one of our best couple friends. No wonder they haven't called us to do anything lately.


The Memorial Service for my friend Tuttle is today, so I'm basically just trying to stay afloat of the emotions for the time being. Crafting, not math, is my ally through the hard times. It seems to sustain me, which is always a good thing, right?

Another Friend Bites The Dust & This One Hurts....

Yes, he's the guy in this picture, when we were both 18 years old. After graduation from boarding school, my mother sent me here to stay with relatives & work for the summer. Jim was my boss and became my very best friend, a friendship that spanned 40+ years. Even after I left here to go back to Aspen, we stayed in constant touch and he came to stay with me and ski, many times. He and I had countless adventures together, as  he always dated my best friends & I always dated his best friends. It worked, for a time.


*Tuttle* (as I always called him, it was his mother's maiden name and his middle name) was truly one of the most charismatic people I've ever known. He had a magic personality that naturally drew people to him. During his life he skied for the Univ. of New Mexico Snow Ski Team, he was briefly a card dealer at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe, he was one of the most beautiful skiers I've ever seen in my life, and his style was impeccable and enviable. He was always the one person who was never satisfied with my level of skiing. He always thought I could do better, at least until my accident that rendered me ineligible for the Pro Skiing Tour. He also knew my first husband quite well, as we skied together the many times he came to stay with us in Aspen.


Naturally, he gravitated to LaLa Land (Los Angeles) and sought a career in acting, which eventually led him to Tuscon (Old Tuscon) and acting in Western movies such as Young Guns, The Missing, and several Walker, Texas Ranger episodes made for TV. He was still a member of the Screen Actors Guild upon his  death. Acting was what he loved most, although skiing was his second passion. He was a born entertainer and I loved him so much, even though I hadn't seen him in at least 6 years. We still talked by phone every other year or so, as always. I've known a lot of  interesting and famous people in my lifetime and Tuttle was one of the very best.

Tuttle married once, for a brief time but never  had any children. He was a Hemophiliac and had many brushes with death throughout his  life, still he was always the same happy Tuttle that he'd always been. Honestly, none of us who loved him could ever get enough of him. Tuttle was always off on another adventure before we were able to. He was like the elusive butterfly, beautiful but always flitting off in search of something.


Sadly, he died alone in a hotel room in Taos, New Mexico, after a fairly lengthy illness. I wish that I had known. No one should have to die alone after such an exciting and adventurous life...


So, today I'm sad beyond words...

Music Offers You A Profound Perspective of Your Past... Especially If You Attended Boarding School

Yesterday I was tripping down the old *memory lane path* by way of listening to some old Simon & Garfunkel tunes. To be specific, the album 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' from the year 1966. This album was our unofficial school anthem album. It was always being played during our free times, in one room or another, often more than one.


While listening to the old songs today, I thought, "Could these songs be any more depressing for a teenage girl tucked away in a Catholic boarding school, or what?" I'm surprised we didn't all attempt to hang ourselves. Of course, it was just a little of what we were allowed to play, according to the nuns. If it played softly, it was *in* and if it played loud, it was *out*, as far as our keepers were concerned. I'm quite certain they would have all swallowed their tongues if they'd had to deal with today's music choices.


There were plenty of other musical artists to listen to, they just weren't approved by the nuns who ruled our lives. One afternoon a particularly rebellious schoolmate of mine was playing Country Joe & The Fish. The song was "I  Feel Like I'm Fixin' To Die" from the album of the same name, circa 1967. I can sing the song from beginning to end, without looking at the words. It was that important to me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBdeCxJmcAo

Truly one of my favorite songs during my days away at boarding school. I was against the war in Viet Nam, what else can I say? However, once the floor mistress heard the sounds emitting from my friends' room, we were promptly given *touchdowns* and demerits, which meant NOT going to town (to smoke cigarettes & drink coffee) the upcoming weekend, or being allowed to go to Teen Town, where we got to see boys, dance with them, and sometimes *makeout* with them. Sometimes the rebellion felt so empowering. Sometimes, not so much.

From Simon & Garfunkel it was "Homeward Bound", which all of us longed to be. None of us really wanted to be at boarding school, but I'm sure we were each much better off there than we'd had any idea. We used our music as a sort of therapy and friendships were the same way. We somehow managed to heal one another from the the damage our parents managed to constantly inflict upon us. None of us was exempt from that hard, cruel fact. Every letter from home was a potential time bomb for each and every one of us. As much as we loved Mail Call, we also hated it, fearing what wrath might be cast upon us next by our parents. Letters from my mother (The Brown Recluse) were always especially brutal and could send me into a depression for days. I was worthless, bad, stupid, and had no talent of any kind, in her opinion. Thank God I never listened to her. Stupid woman. She had no idea what an awesome daughter she really had. Therefore, she has no claims to making me the the woman I am today.





Another killer song was "The Sounds Of Silence".






I have to admit that even though we didn't have awesome sound systems, boom boxes, or personal ear buds, or personal players, iPods, and the like, we were still able to somewhat heal the pain in our lives through the unity that the music of that time afforded us.  It also gave us all a *common ground* that we might not have otherwise had. We learned to deal with our own personal pains through music and friendship.

To this day, I still use music as my personal therapist, although blogging affords its own therapy, even if it is in a different way. Music can change my mood quicker than you can slap a fly with a swatter. I love knowing that I always have a tool to change my mood to whatever I need it to be. Without music, my life would be so very incomplete...

How about you? Has music ever made a positive impact on your life/pain/despair?

Laziest Blogger On The Planet.... Perhaps I'll Get An Award

Yes, it's true. I have officially become the laziest blogger on the planet. No, I'm not threatening to quit blogging again. I'm simply stating a fact. I'm not sure whether it's really being lazy or just not having anything meaningful to write about. Lord knows that never stopped me from blogging before. There is plenty proof of that, for which I apologize posthumously.


Things have been a little crazy and totally boring around here. How can that be, you ask? Well, last week I went through the second phase of my teeth implants (the metal anchors are in!), went to the eye doctor, ordered new glasses, painted a wall in Mr. Snooty's new office, worked on the ottoman slipcover I'm attempting to make, then sat around waiting on things to start happening. Yawn. Things like new windows being installed, the rest of the exterior of the house getting painted, the yard guy coming to clean up the carnage of this winter, the fridge/freezer to be repaired again, and all of the other things that currently need to be done. It's the never ending story with old houses.


I'm not really very good at waiting, being the impatient nelly that I am. I want to blink and see it all finished, at the snap of my fingers. Like in the old TV show "I Dream of Genie". Guess that won't be happening any time soon. I've also wanted to get started on the two 1970's tables I'd bought back in the fall (for re-dos) but the crazy wind would have to stop for that to be possible. Why, oh why, did I buy spray paint for them?


The harder I try to move things along with the house, the slower everything seems to go. Some days it frustrates me to the point of insanity and I want to just give up. I mean, by the time we do eventually move, I'll be so far out of shape that I might never find my way back. I need want a pool and I need want it now. That is so not going to happen any time in the foreseeable future.


Unfortunately, even if we were to get our house on the market, there is nothing available to buy right now. Nothing we would want, anyway. There are less than 200 houses on the market here currently (with a population of 120,000 +) and even if the houses have a swimming pool, they also have huge yards to care for. Definitely NOT what we want, by any means. So, I feel like we're stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no relief in sight. The oil business has made for a totally wacky economy here, although we know full well what it's like to be completely broke when a boom goes bust. Right now, restaurants can't even hire workers because everyone is busy working somewhere in the *oil biz*. It's the nature of the beast, as they say.


While I'm pleased that our housing market is so good, I also see that we are faced with a great dilemma. Right now you can't even rent an apartment in this city, much less rent a house. Besides, I refuse to move twice this time. I did that last time. We spent 9 months in the most gawd awful rented 2 story townhouse (with just the bare necessities, the rest in storage) while we searched for a place we wanted. It was 9 months of living hell, trust me. Both of our children were toddlers and still in diapers, so we spent an outrageous amount of time at our lake house, without Daddy. It was the only way I could hang on to my sanity. You're probably latching on to the thought that I don't like moving at this juncture. You would be right. I had enough of moving, growing up with my gypsy mother (The Brown Recluse).


Having said that, I also believe that staying 25 years in the same house is just short of insanity. Moving to a new home makes one ruthlessly purge, whereas just cleaning out the junk doesn't quite achieve the same results. Once you put thought into moving by the cost-per-pound, you tend to get pretty wicked with the disposal of unwanted *stuff*.


I guess I just revealed my dirty little secret. I'm having difficulty really cleaning things out, so I've made the decision to adopt the *cost-per-pound* way of cleaning and organizing. It cracks me up how differently I view things now. Before I can even ask my self the question, "Do I need/want this?", it's already in the giveaway or throw away pile. Nice! It doesn't really matter if you're moving 6 blocks away or 600 miles away; the cost of moving your home and all its belongings has gotten astronomical. So, aside from furniture, I'm beginning to see nearly everything we have as trash or treasures. I'm slowly packing away all the treasures since I'm not willing to let some big bull of a guy pack my glass pretties  for me. I learned my lesson well last time. Don't ask.


Our painter, Mr. Molasses, is back (after his apparent cold weather hiatus) and in true form, as always. God grant me the serenity. If he launches into one more dissertation about the importance of doing a job right, I might have to hurt him. You know. Considering that I had to fix all of his little faux pas in our daughter's old room. Actually, I still haven't repaired or *made right* everything yet. He broke SD's *pocket door* that separates her bathroom and bedroom (somehow) while painting it, so I have to hire a REAL carpenter pro to come repair it. After his leaning on the bathroom cabinets while painting (WTH?) I now need to replace the hinges, which means replacing the other hardware too. The fun just never ends around here, I tell you!


I finally put the counter top paint in my car to take to Ace Hardware for the addition of the color I've chosen. Yes, I've been dragging my feet on this project. It scares me that I might totally screw it up, so I procrastinate. Maybe this week I'll actually get that color added and get started so that it'll be done before Thanksgiving. Yup. That's my goal. I'd hate to rush things you know.

Beware Of The Children Of Strangers....

Approximately one week ago I was at the grocery store, standing in line to check out and the woman in front of me had a child who was coughing (barking, actually). I honestly tried to hold my breath but that effort was totally futile. Two days later I was also barking coughing. Now, it seems I have really bad Bronchitis.


In fact, it is so bad that I busted a blood vein in my right eye and might well have strained a muscle in my chest. Oh. Joy. Now, I look like some kind of Vampire or creature of the night, just in time for our trip to Austin to see our son and celebrate Founder's Day with Mr. Snooty's fraternity brothers. I should be quite the hit this weekend, with the way I look. Yes, I'm whining. I look perfectly horrid and makeup only accentuates it.


Good. Grief. I don't want to have to start wearing a surgeon's mask when going to the grocery store, but I'm certainly considering it. This cough hurts and every time I look in the mirror it hurts even worse. Mr. Snoots can't even look at me without his eyes beginning to water. Yes, it's that bad.


I realize that most moms cannot leave their children at home when going to the grocery store. But, for God's sake, can't they at least teach them to cover their little germ infested traps mouths when they cough, so everyone else in the world doesn't get sick too? There are far too many stupid and inconsiderate people in the world, who would do well to pull their heads out of the dark crevices of their bodies sand. If ever a bad virus hits this country, I'm afraid that we are all doomed.


The winds here are predicted to be up around 30 mph today, with gusts up to 63 mph, so I guess I won't be leaving the house until we leave for Austin (due to the Rhinitis I'm plagued with). The stove vents in the kitchen are flapping and beginning to sound like a Gatling gun and I'm beginning to sound like the guy that does the TV commercials for Joseph A. Banks menswear, I guarantee it. Cough. Cough. COUGH. It's so attractive, really.


Have a Happy Monday!

A New Discovery & A Stellar Recommendation

Remember when I bought a new Roman Shade for our den/office door from Lowe's? It looks so cute that Mr. Snoots decided that we needed to buy Roman Shades for the den/office windows. OMG! I was in shock for several days at the mere suggestion. I mean, really....... after 25 years? Are you sure this isn't a rash decision? Would you like to think about it a bit more? Before he'd had a chance to change his mind, I'd already gone on line and ordered custom made Roman Shades with free shipping from a marvelous site called SelectBlinds.com. After entering the measurements for my blinds at numerous sites on the internet, I jumped at the chance Select Blinds offered. Still, there is always that *skeptical* question that lingers inside each & every one of us that has a brain. Will it be good or will it be regrettable?

I first tried Jacque Penney, where the price was well over $900.00. Next I tried Sears where it was over $1,000.00. Home Depot made me want to swallow my tongue at seeing their price. Huh? Seriously? I can't imagine what they might cost through a decorator (you know, with the decorator's cost added in). After perusing several other websites, I was done. I measured my window once again to be certain I was being accurate (because sometimes I have a brain fart and don't get it right). Fine. I might have measured an anal retentive 4 times, just to be sure. Call me crazy.

So, I placed the order and held my breath. Now another marvelous thing about these people is that they give you a few days of Grace, in which to change your mind about color or measurements or whatever. Who does that? No one I've ever heard of, trust me. However, I was solid in my decision. So, they arrived last Thursday and we mounted them on Saturday. We actually took a while to get them done because we thought they would be like every other blind we've ever hung. Difficult. Not so. They were the easiest ever. Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy.

Hello. I'm good here. Not only were we given free shipping, but they also cost a grand total of $490.00. Ka-Ching! These people are not paying me for this free advertising, although I feel as if they should be. This is one helluva plug for them. I will NEVER purchase Roman Shades anywhere else. Honestly. I heart these people!

The custom Roman Shades are beautiful, well made, of high quality, and they arrived in a timely manner. Win. Win. Win.

The best part of all? They were both fully lined and each measures 58" in width and 72" in length. You can even do the math and I challenge you to find a better deal on Roman Blinds as far as installation goes. They were easier to install than the ones we bought from J. C. Penney's, particularly, the ones we installed in the first guest room.

I will forever be a fan of Select Blinds DOT COM. Stellar company. Woot!

Mourning The Death of Whitney Houston....

Wow. I suppose I'm still really in shock over the loss of such a talented and oddly tragic entertainer, the fabulous Whitney Houston. I had not looked at the TV all day so I wasn't aware of her death. However, my daughter, who was practically raised on the song 'Greatest Love Of All', called to tell me. 

I think I was particularly obsessed with her music during the summer of 1992, the same year that "The Bodyguard" was released. SD was 7 that year and she loved listening to Whitney as much as I, especially during summers spent at the lake house. It was always my *thing* to make a summer favorites cassette tape before leaving for the lake (though I usually had several). Back in those days (for you young ones) we had to record cassette tapes from vinyl albums. (which my daughter is now in possession of the 100's we'd owned). Anyway, those songs became what I called our summer anthems and Whitney's songs were up there at the top of my list, long before Celine Dion hit the scene. They were essential to spending long days out on the lake dragging all the kiddles around on our numerous lake toys (behind the boat) while Mr. Snoots was back here in West Texas slaving away during the week.

It was during the days when MTV was king as far as music videos went (they actually only played music videos back then), although VH1 was gaining in popularity. It was a magical time and she was the Queen of them all in my humble opinion. The beginning of her road to the end started with Bobby Brown who will always be a scum bag in my eyes, although I don't mean to diminish the fact that Whitney gave birth to her only child with BB. Still, Whitney changed once Bobby Brown came on the scene, and it was not for the better. His prison time & drug use, as well as Whitney's obvious drug use were well documented and just so very sad to witness. Her music began to change then too, and I began to lose interest.

However, I will always love her for the songs she produced that filled me with joy when I listened to them. She was really something special. In fact, her mother Cissy Houston, was (and still is) a well respected jazz/R&B singer (with very strong gospel roots) who worked with the likes of Herbie Mann, Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick (her niece), Jimi Hendrix, The Drifters, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls, and the list goes on. So Whitney cut her teeth around some truly amazing talent.



Whitney Houston was found dead Saturday afternoon in a room at the Beverly Hills Hilton, alone. Cause of death will not be known until after an autopsy has been performed and mostly likely an additional 2-3 weeks while the toxicology tests are being done.

Rest In Peace Whitney......

PLEASE Tell Me What's So Great About Egyptian Cotton Sheets....

Seriously, what is the big hoopla over Egyptian Cotton sheets? The higher the thread count, the more wrinkled they come out of the dryer. I will never buy them again. Ever. 



They always look dreadful coming out of the dryer, crinkled up into tiny little balls of wrinkles. Frankly, I have better things to do with my time than iron freaking sheets and better places to spend my money than on sheets of 100% Egyptian cotton, when all they really need is just a tad of polyester or whatever, to insure minimum wrinkles. Here's your sign:

Enough said, right? From now on, I intend to buy sheets that don't come out of the dryer looking like a Popcorn Ball on Crack. Who's with me?

So, could I recommend any sheet sets I've found that I like? You bet I can! I ended up going to Bed, Bath & Beyond and I bought sets of these sheets for every bed in the house. The best part? They are totally affordable AND they claim to destroy all odors like pets, smoke and body accidents, which I'm pretty sure means the dreaded Dutch Oven, right? In the picture above, they are the ones on the right......

It's Amazing What You Find When You Clean The Cobwebs Out....

Hmmmm... Let's see. Mr. Snooty's fabulous set of Bakelite poker chips that were from his paternal grandfather turned up while he was cleaning out the old playhouse last week. For the past 20+ years we have been certain someone we knew had stolen them. Uh-Huh. Please don't judge. We were young and stupid then.

Then Mr. Snooty found my old bowling ball (engraved with my name) from pre-children days, when we bowled together in a league. We were both sure that I'd sold it in a garage sale. See? It's fun getting old! It's almost like Christmas, every day of the year. Only not. Quite.

For years I've looked for the pictures from my 1982 trip to NYC (as a chaperone to the Pickwick Players theater group (pre-children days), associated with our local Community Theater), to no avail. Mr. Snoots, bless his soul,  found them. Frankly, he's been pulling junk out of the *old playhouse* for four days. Yes, the very place Felicia the Fox had her pups (underneath) for many years. Someone else had to do it because I certainly wasn't going to. To me, it would be like invading hallowed ground, right? Nah. I just didn't want to get all dirty and covered in spiders, m'kay?




Back then, my best friend was Ozzie Whitten, who was gay. Every woman needs a good gay guy friend. So. Not. Kidding. I adored Ozzie and our trip to New York City was magical. Sadly, he died from Aids (brain cancer) in 1992, but he had already carved a permanent spot in my heart. We did so many things together and they are all such wonderful memories.

Oooooh!We also found many incriminating photos of our days before children. Enough said about that subject. My lips are sealed from this moment on and the evidence has been destroyed...

So, no outstanding fortunes of any kind were found and now we can move on. Hopefully. One out-building down. Two out-buildings and a rented storage unit to go!

Does anyone recognize this lovely shawl I'm sporting on my 1982 trip to NYC?? It has been a yearly staple in my wardrobe since that time, when I purchased it for $250.00. I'd say it was a good investment and I've always guarded it like a hawk. I dearly love this shawl and often buy my wardrobe around it. Good pieces really do last forever.....

That was the same year I did my first Jr. League placement as an Assistant Director for one of the Pickwick plays, and it was a wonderful and enlightening experience. The two real directors of the Pickwick Players were Michael and Elizabeth Spicer, both actors who were implants here from New York. They divorced more than a year later and I don't know what happened to them after that, but they were fun on the trip.

I was able to also meet Mayor Ed Kotch, which was really a treat. I always liked him. He always just seemed like a man of the people...





 On this trip we saw "Evita", "Amadeus", "Pirates of Penzance", "Othello" (with Christopher Plummer & James Earl Jones), and "A Chorus Line" , plus one off-off Broadway show called "Cloud Nine". Now that I've seen the pictures again, it all seems like just yesterday...

Houston, We Have Lift Off... AKA The New Guest Room Is Done!

Of course, this doesn't mean I have the bathroom finished, because I don't. I still need to do the counter top, hang a decorative black iron hanger for towels or clothes, find a suitable window treatment for the bathroom window, have sliding door repaired (yes, the painter broke it), as well as have the cabinet doors repaired (that he also broke) and find a replacement for the toilet paper holder (which is darkened-by-time brass). Then, I will actually be finished.

However, for now, the bedroom is finished and I'm so pleased with the way it all turned out.



I just finished repainting SD's old camp trunk that was ugly as sin. It used to be hidden in her closet, being used to store excess junk. I like it much better in black, situated at the end of the bed. The best part is that it's located right by my new craft closet, so I'll be able to hide my large and small containers of paint, etc.

Oh, and here's a picture of my new craft closet. I just love having everything in one place, all organized and easy to find. The excess is located in the next closet, inside our old Heywood-Wakefield dresser, which is also hidden away.



Also, I finally got the curtain tie backs up today, which was a rather major improvement to the look of the room. 

Here's a picture of SD's camp trunk before I started on it. Let me just say that I had to do a huge amount of scraping and sanding before I could even begin to paint it, which was a necessary evil...





Oh, and I also still have to hang another item for the wall that displays the two Oriental hats, but first I need to spray paint it black, but it's really just an afterthought, to add more interest to the wall. It's not what you'd call an important element to the room, but it will make the wall less boring....

Yet Another Mini-Snowmageddon In West Texas....

Yes, it's true. We received a total of 14 to 15 inches in 24 hours, which set another new record. Haven't we just been the record setters this whole last year? I'm now certain that everything left outside is dead or close there to. We simply aren't accustomed to this kind of weather. Besides, we have no HILLS, much less mountains for skiing. To me, that renders snow to be useless. Can't ski on it? Don't need it. I never cared for cross-country skiing, which is too bad since we've had so much snow the last few years.


We've set records for snowfall amounts, consecutive days of triple digit heat, number of destructive wildfires for a record setting number of days, consecutive days without rain and our first ever city imposed water rationing. It's been like living on another planet, really. It no longer resembles Earth and has seriously cut into our golf playing time. It's almost like we're living on some planet in the Warp Zone. Or the Twilight Zone.


Year before last our yard had begun to look like it had before life got in the way, giving us brief hopes for revival. The last two years have stripped us of any hopes of returning to those glory days. It would just take more energy than either of us have and Mr. Snoots wouldn't even consider having someone aside from the man who mows once a week during the growing months. So, it would be ridiculous to replant everything without someone or a crew to care for it all. We are on a double-sized lot, after all. It would all merely die again, therefore causing us to throw more money down the drain. We have better places to throw our money down the drain, thank you.


Mr. Snoots still hasn't told the painter to come back and finish the back exterior of our house (and the doors). Not sure what that's all about. Surely it can't be Moi? Anyway, I'm still not missing him, if that tells you anything. The painting of SD's tiny room and bathroom nearly did me in. 


Amazingly, Mr. Snoots told me today that he's going to call a local company about windows, which means Mr. Molasses won't be doing the new windows. Thank. The. Lord. I might have gone stark raving mad.


I finally finished hanging the Roman shades in the guest room, as well as the curtains our friends gave us for free. We tried to hang the curtains in SD's room today but found that we're going to need a stud finder. When we tried to hang them today, the whole deal just fell out of the wall, which made me wail at the damage to the new paint job. We are such novices when it comes to DIY that it's almost comical, but not. Really.....

My First Masterpiece Of 2012....

Last year at this time I had made the horribly painful but lovely Coffee Filter Wreath but since it was filthy with irremovable dirt by October, I spray painted it black and added mini pumpkins, to serve as our new Halloween wreath. Not wanting to go through the painful process of another coffee filter wreath, I searched high and low for a new wreath project.


I really hated to put away my Christmas wreath because I love it so much, all sparkly and bright. So after a bit of thought I decided to make a Valentine Ornament Wreath. When I began to look for a heart wreath form to build upon, I found everyone in town to be out of them, save for one smallish wreath on the bottom shelf (at the very back of the shelf) at Hobby Lobby. Of course, thinking that I could easily acquire plenty of red/reddish ornaments, I was further disappointed to discover that NO STORES had any left except for some at Target. I immediately became overwhelmed with greed and piled every single box of medium and small sized red ornaments all marked 80%, yes 80% discounted, into my basket.


Who cares if people were staring at me as if I'd lost my brain somewhere in the parking lot? I was on a mission. Assuring myself that these would be enough for the project, I checked out and raced home to get started. As usual, it wasn't enough but no place in town had any left and I went everywhere that sold (or had sold) ball ornaments, probably spending a small fortune in gasoline, right?


I worked feverishly for two days until I reached the point that I knew I couldn't finish without more red ornaments. Fully aware that there were no more to be had locally, I searched the internet for miniature red balls that would be used to fill in the gaps of my wreath. The cost was astronomical on the scale of after Christmas ornaments, so I declined. Then I did the unthinkable. Yes, I unpacked all of the ornaments I'd already carefully packed away and I robbed what few red ornaments I could find. Then I robbed the front porch decorative trees of their red ornaments as well. Frankly, I decided I could just worry about them next year when supplies are plentiful.


Still, I had gaps that needed to be filled in on the wreath, so I finally had to break down and use some champagne colored mini ornaments I had put away for next year. I suppose I'll have to replace those as well, when the time comes. Until then, they did a nice job of filling in the remaining holes, don't cha think?

The most amazing thing to me is that you can't buy ball ornaments out of season and fleaBay is always a crap shoot. You never know what you'll end up with and it almost always costs more than it's actually sold for at retail prices. Who runs these places anyway? Don't they know that people craft 365 days of the year? They could have made a tidy sum, but they had nothing to sell. Too bad for the retailers, huh?



Did I mention we are scheduled to have another snow tomorrow night? I'm cynical but the hubby says it's guaranteed by the weather service. A guarantee from them is absolutely worthless, thank you anyway. Why does anyone believe them? Their ratio for being accurate is like 2%. Hello......