A Patriotic Pallet

A few weeks ago I happened to be at work and went out the back door to toss something into the dumpster.  As I was headed back in I noticed something that caught my eye.



Aren't they lovely ;-)?

Piles of pallets that have probably been sitting there for years.

Normally I wouldn't have given them a second glance, but on this particular day the light bulb went on and the Fourth of July was coming up.



After a trip to Home Depot for red, white and blue paint, I set up a temporary painting table in a spare office and got to work.  

I was happy to find a stencil at Hobby Lobby that had a long row of stars.  So much easier than doing them one at a time.  I couldn't quite fit in 50 of them, but as you can see I also couldn't fit in 13 stripes.  To borrow a phrase from Vee in this post , I guess I just used a bit of "creative license". 



We've had a super busy couple of days around here, but now things are slowing down and I hope to be by to see what you all have been up to.

Revisiting an Old Friend

Over the weekend I became reacquainted with an old friend ... cross stitch.  There was a time in my life when I did a lot of cross stitch.  When I was newly married I worked with a girl who taught me and a few other co-workers.  We used to bring our current projects to work and work on them in the lunchroom after we ate.  Happy times as we stitched and laughed and laughed.  The girl who taught us also possessed a fierce sense of humor.

Oddly enough as I was becoming reacquainted with this old hobby of mine I received a call that the girl lady who taught me was presently undergoing a double heart bypass operation. 

As I stitched I remembered all of the fun times we had years ago as we shared this hobby ... making gifts for friends, samplers for our babies nurseries, Christmas gifts for our families, etc...

As I stitched I sent up a prayer for my friend.  She lives in Michigan and I don't see her as often as I would like, but I will forever remember her as one of the truest and most loyal friends I have ever known.

So, the weekend here was spent on my cross stitch.  I haven't done it in years partly because my eyesight just ain't what it used to be.  But, I got myself a stronger pair of readers and gave it another shot and discovered that I really like it. 

Peanut came and joined me from time to time until it was time to get up and make the chili.  Chili has been a Superbowl tradition for years at our house. 

A Day for Remembrance

Flying my flag today and ...

remembering along with my fellow Americans.

"Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding. "

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Baking Up an Easter Craft

I did a bit of baking yesterday.  It was so much fun rolling and cutting out these spring themed cookies.

But, I wouldn't recommend eating them unless you are partial to hard, salty cookies.

You see these aren't real cookies, they are Salt Dough Bowl Fillers.  The credit for this fun project goes to Colleen at And Baby Makes Five.  I recently stumbled upon her blog and fell in love with her bowl fillers.  She has made them for many different seasons & holidays and kindly provides tutorials on her sidebar.

I was the only one home yesterday.  No dinner deadlines or schedules to be kept, so I put on some music, lit a honeysuckle scented candle and started playing.

It was so fun, relaxing and I might even say it was down right therapeutic.

Soon it will be time to start my Easter decorating.  I think these will be fun to incorporate into the decor.

Thank you Colleen for this fun idea!!

Pinecone Therapy

While out grocery shopping I added a little bouquet of flowers to the cart. At home, I put them in a canning jar & placed them on the counter right above the kitchen sink. How nice to have a cheery touch to look at as I wash my dishes & prepare meals.

~click to enlarge ~

It has become a bit harder to visit my mom in the last week or two. I think the Alzheimer's is progressing to a new level. I have been to visit a few times where she is totally out of it. The first few times I saw this I was concerned that maybe she had suffered another stroke. In talking to the nurses I have learned that she is becoming agitated more often and has even on occasion tried to walk out of the facility. They are very concerned that she may fall as her balance was greatly affected with the last stroke. In order to help calm her down when she is like this the nurses have to give her medication to calm her. Unfortunately when this happens she is sleeping a lot the next day. On a "good day" she will be awake but usually very confused. She is seeing things that aren't real, but to her they are. In other words, she is living in her own little world. It is so hard to see her this way. I still visit her every other day and will continue to do so even if she is asleep. I recently came across the poem in the photo above and feel it perfectly describes the point we have reached in this journey. I put it in a frame & placed it next to the flowers so that I can read it every day and remind myself that my visits matter even if sometimes they seem like they don't. She still remembers me & thanks me for visiting after we kiss and exchange "I love yous."

This afternoon I was working on a little project in the kitchen & got a waft of SPRING!! It smelled exactly like spring bulbs and flowers. On closer inspection, I discovered it was coming from my grocery store flowers. I didn't think they had a scent when I bought them ~ I just thought they were pretty. Wow, what a bonus. Also, it seems so appropriate as my mom always used to remind me to "take time to smell the flowers." Now every time I smell them I am reminded of the happier days we shared :-) Flower Power!!

Would you like to guess what my little project in the kitchen was?

Lesson #1 - unless you want blue sparkly fingers. . .

Wear a pair of these :-)

After a bit of spray painting, spray gluing & glittering you will wind up with some of these.

A new winter centerpiece.

I know it doesn't look too wintry out my window, but it's supposed to get colder again. Won't you join me for a cup of tea or coffee?

The sun is shining and the pine cones are a sparklin'.

Thanks for visiting with me today. Have an enjoyable weekend & remember to take some time to smell the flowers ~ even if they come from the grocery store.

A Boring Post to Clear the Air

Brrrr . . . it's cold outside.

There's no snow, but it sure feels wintery outside. Seems like the perfect weather for some of this. I haven't tried it yet, but tomorrow I plan to stop at the grocery store for some Nutella.

Now, onto another subject. This one is a little touchy for me and I hope it will be taken the way it is intended, but after a lot of thought I have decided to make my blog "tag", "award" and "meme" free. Recently I saw this and liked the idea. Now please don't think for a minute that I haven't appreciated the awards that have been given to me. I am flattered. It's just that I do find it very time consuming to do them correctly. I also find it hard to pick and choose certain blogs to forward them to. I have considered just not responding to them, but that doesn't seem nice after fellow bloggers were kind enough to forward them to me. So, this is my way of clearing the air on the subject.

Just hoping you'll understand . . .

Fluffing the Guest Room & an Award

Part of my day today was spent fluffing up the guest room. My sister is coming for a visit from Michigan on Saturday. She hasn't been here in a long time so I am excited!!

I wish the reason for her visit was for a happier occasion, however. Sadly my Mom was taken to the ER last Tuesday with an "intercranial bleed". She was in the hospital almost a week. She is not well enough to return to her assisted living apartment and is now in a skilled nursing facility. The hope is that she will rehabilitate enough to return to assisted living. I don't know how realistic it is to hope for that. In a 6 week period she has had to adjust to the asst. living and then the hospital and now this new place. That is a tall order for an elderly lady with Alzheimer's disease. She has become very quiet and doesn't smile much anymore. She also doesn't seem interested in eating. So, my sister is coming to see Mom and me. I know she will be sad to see Mom like this. She changed dramatically overnight.

I hope she will be comfortable in the guest room while she is here. I also hope between the 2 of us we can make my Mom feel a little better.

It is hard to see our loved ones suffer . . .

I have been with my Mom through all of this. My sister has called often throughout this ordeal, but it's a different thing to be seeing it firsthand. I have tried to prepare her, but I know she will be very sad when sees it for herself. I plan to have lots of soothing teas on hand.




A few small books to glance through.

And a desk tucked in a little nook under the window ~ just the place to enjoy some quiet moments drinking a morning cup of coffee, writing in a journal or jotting a note to a friend.

We can't shield those we love from every sad situation that arises in life . . . even if we wish we could. Sometimes all we can do is be there with open arms and open ears.

*****

And now, on a happier note, I was so touched to be given this Fabulous Fall Decor award from Two Crazy Crafters. I am supposed to pass it along to 6 others.

Kelli at There is No Place Like Home


Barbara at Oodles and Oodles


Sharon at Rose of Sharon

Donna at Donna's Art

Susan at A Place Called Home

Ceekay at Thinkin' of Home

My Life is Becoming a Soap Opera

While I would love to be showing you pictures of my home all decorated for fall or sharing my recipe for caramel apple cake or even taking pictures of the garden in early fall, life has other plans for me.

In my last post I was feeling good about getting through the stressful time with my Mom. I really appreciated your helpful comments. I even printed them off and cut them out to keep at hand in case stress hit again.

Good thing I did.

I have since had a first hand look at how life can change drastically in an instant.

Last Friday my husband got on an airplane to return home from his business trip in Miami. He was perfectly healthy and felt fine. He fell asleep for part of the flight. Woke up with a stomache which got worse as the day wore on. By 8:00 I decided he needed to go to the ER. He was writhing in pain the whole way. He has been in intensive care since then. The diagnosis is pancreatitis. Most people I tell about this have never heard of it. But those that have say it is extremely painful. So far they have not been able to determine what caused it. He is hooked up to all sorts of tubes and on morphine. It is so sad to see him like this. In our 27 years of marriage he has barely had more than a cold or the flu.

So now, we wait and we pray and we do everything we know how to aid in his healing process. Yes, it would be nice to be assembling fall themed blogs. . . but that will have to wait.



~To everything there is a season~

How Do YOU Handle Stress?

Stress isn't fun. I knew I was facing some serious stress yesterday when I could hardly get up because my body felt like a lead weight and it was hard to catch a breath. Not being able to eat and only drinking a half cup of coffee were sure signs that this was stress like I had never known before. I tried all of the things I could think of to alleviate it but nothing was even touching it. I knew I had to pull myself together because I had to get my Mom to an attorney's office to sign some papers.

I am quickly learning what a horrible disease Alzheimer's really is and my heartfelt sympathies go out to anyone facing it. While my Mom's first few days here seemed to be going well, the third day changed that. The phone call from my Mom wondering who was coming to take her back home to Tennessee was sad enough, but nothing compared to the call I got from the assisted living asking me to come ASAP. The previous night Mom had been hallucinating and trying to escape out the window. The part that really did me in was when she showed me that she had written HELP with her lipstick on the mirror.

In her battle with Alzheimer's Mom has never had those symptoms. I was very worried that her move might bring on a decline as a big change in lifestyle can be very difficult for Alzheimer's patients. I have been with her a lot and am trying everything I can think of to help her feel comfortable.

Anyhow, that is just a little glimpse into what brought on that paralyzing stress. Somehow I did get through it. We got to our appt. and then went out for dinner and to Target for a little shopping. I came back and sat and talked with Mom but it is so sad to have to leave her when she is so confused about everything.

As so often is the case, today has been a much better day. Starting with a shining sun and cooler air with no humidity.

Nothing like fresh air after a long, hot summer!!

What do you do when you are facing a lot of stress? Do you have any secrets that work well in really stressful times?

Here are some of the things that are helping me today

A long walk. It would have been longer, but Peanut was getting tired. I am determined to get that pedometer to 10,000 by days end.

Nature in it's fall splendor.

One beautiful fall leaf picked up on our walk.

Books and magazines that don't require too much deep thinking.

And, of course, a little chocolate always helps.

A few of my friends offered me their tips on managing stressful times ~ chocolate & ice cream seemed to be the most popular.