Whoa Whoa Whoa!!

What is it about riding in a car that brings out profound statements? I suppose it is the fact that one is trapped in a slab of steel; no escaping. I personally feel free to confess, proclaim, dream aloud, or question anything that pops in my mind. After all, I have a captive audience. They have to listen to me, they just have to. That is just what happened today on the way to get groceries with my hubby. If you read yesterday's blog you remember that I had a skunk problem. I cleaned and cleaned yesterday knowing that I could not overcome that skunk smell in my house, but I could make sure everything else was in order. Perfect except for the odor. That was my second day to clean this week since Monday is my normal cleaning day. Then today I was expecting the stone fabricator to come calling so again I cleaned all over again hoping that my guest's nose would be filled with the smell of lemon scented Pledge and Pinesol (not to mention pleasant smells of candles, incense, and ionic sprays) rather that blasted SKUNK. My husband and I were just riding along silently which often is the best thing to do when one retires. Then my thoughts could not be contained and I just formed these words out loud, "I think I like having a clean house. I think I will clean every day. It makes me feel so good." "Whoa, whoa, whoa," my husband said as he jerked his head a 90-degree angle to look at me. "Whoosh, plop, was that the sound of pulling a head out?" I just totally cracked up. Seriously, I was laughing so hard I could hardly stay in my seat belt. This the man I married, the wise ---. He has an extremely dry sense of humor and I appreciate it more everyday.

Skunk

Living in the rural areas of Oklahoma City, you will often smell the odor of a skunk. Most of the time you will smell their scent right at the same time you see their flatten bodies on the street. Too late! You cannot get away from it. BUT today, guess where I smelled that odor. Inside my house! Yes, that is right, inside my house. Stink to high heaven! Horrible! Disgusting!! And there is no DEAD skunk YET, but believe me, if he ever shows his disgusting black and white body, he is DEAD. He is already DEAD to me! Do you have any idea how hard it is to get rid of this smell in my house? I am burning every candle in the house. Even pulled out the 1970 incense. Boiling vinegar doesn't work, neither does bleach in the sinks, toilets, and any other thing that will hold bleach. I tried using Febreze and any other deodorizer I had in the house, even using an air ionizer. Nothing is working folks. So I did what every woman does in a panic situation. I cleaned. I used every product I had. Most of the times when you clean, you have that great clean smell. Well, that was what I was hoping. Nothing! Oh yeah, my house is clean, but I am going to be so embarrassed when someone comes to the door cause this smell is going to knock them over. Yes tomorrow I am expecting the marble fabricator to measure my bathroom vanity. Ugh! And my clothes, what about my clothes? Will people gag when they come near me? Am I going to have to wash everything in my closet????

Now this is the strangest part of this whole story and I am not sure that I am not just a little crazy. I lived on a farm until I was 21 years old and have lots of wonderful stories which I hope to share in another post. Living in the country is a simple life dealing with all kinds of critters including skunks so I should be seasoned. Mom and Dad's house had a crawl space with a little door so you could fix plumbing if need be. Once in a while a skunk would get under the house and do his dirty work, but one time in particular the smell was especially horrible. This was after I married and for over a month every time we visited them you could smell that nasty smell. Today that memory came flooding back to me. You would think it would be a disgusting memory, but for some odd feeling it was a sense of comfort. I think the memory of visiting my parents during that "skunk" episode and the warm fresh air flowing through my windows via my attic fan served as a catalyst to the past.

I guess if one can find a blessing in a skunk spraying the house, it might be the sweet memory of momma and daddy. Still, I don't want my own kids to have this memory. Life is just a laugh a minute.

If Only She Had Lost Two Pounds........

Have you ever obsessed about your weight when actually there was nothing to obsess about? I could tell when I woke up Saturday morning that I was going to be in one of "those" moods. Nonetheless, I walked with my husband our normal 2.5 miles. Normal since we only started walking again 2 weeks ago. We hadn't walked but about a block before he asked me what was wrong. Being in "the" mood, I replied, "Nothing". This is how is goes with us, the question is asked what is wrong. "Nothing" is the normal reply. He and I both know something is wrong, but we have to go through this little game. So we walk on silently. Finally, I have to let it go. We both know that sooner or later I will talk. And talk I did. About my weight! Of all the things in this world that need my attention, my weight seems to be at the top or at least it was on Saturday. Oh boohoo! You see we had eaten Chinese food the night before and do you know how much good food is plated up in Chinese restaurants? And this was not even a buffet. And I over ate. You know it is a lot of food when the doggie bag weighs 3 pounds.

Then I got the call. Doesn't everyone carry their cell phones when they walk? Wouldn't want to miss that all important call. Now mind you I haven't had an important call in 5 years, but you never know. My daughter was needing me.....oh yes, she was needing me to help her put together the horse-shaped cake. As often it does, that call gave me a purpose other than dwelling on those two pounds. Then my husband and I both got to laughing about how silly it was to worry about those two pounds. He told me I was beautiful (a much needed compliment), how healthy I was, how much we had to be thankful for and then he said "This is what I am going to put on your tombstone. 'If she had only lost those two pounds'". Now the giggling was really going.

What I woke wanting to do Saturday morning was be this "put your own word here" for the day. Instead, thanks to help from a dear man, it was a wonderful day. I went to my daughter's house to help with the cake. It only took us a few minutes to have the puzzle cake into the shape of a horse. She was relieved and I was happy to be useful. Sometimes it takes just a little bit of help from someone else for us to see the bigger picture.

Surprise

Today I was flabbergasted. I received a surprise. Earlier in the day, I was called to babysit my grandson, Logan, a job I always welcome even if I have to rearrange my schedule. That is exactly what I did, rearrange. There is nothing on my to do list that outweighs keeping my grandchildren. At my urging, my husband went into town to run his errands. While he was gone, Logan and I just piled up on the couch and watched a Tom and Jerry movie, then Barney, then Thomas the Train. It was a cold day so I didn't feel the least bit guilty being lazy. My grandson was so excited when he saw his grandpa's truck pulling back into the driveway. Grandpa came in loaded with sacks and surprises. He had two different sacks of candy bars and three different kinds cookies all for Logan. Then my hubby told me to dig to the bottom of the sack and out I pulled The Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook. I had no idea hubby even knew anything out the Pioneer Woman, so this really surprised me! Now on this dreary Tuesday evening, I have something wonderful to read. Nothing could have surprised or delighted me more. Don't you just love surprises. Better than Christmas because it was so unexpected. Thank you J. You are tops!

Sleep

I must confess, blogging can be challenging. I just spent one hour writing what I thought was a pretty good blog. I went to publish it and it just went away. Maybe this writing is not for me. Now I am tired and don't want to recreate it. I guess all these young tech savvy bloggers have more patience than I or perhaps it all has to do with skill. Do you think I will ever get back to this? Now I am so sleepy I must go to bed. Good night all.

Spring has Sprung

Spring seems to have come over night in Oklahoma this year. And welcome it is. We haven't had all that much bad weather this winter, in fact, other than a couple of deep snows, moisture has been non-existent. We really need the rain. It is the beginning of tornado season if there is such a season. Now bad as that sounds the rains will be surely welcome this year. In addition to the rain, my son-in-law's (side job) cellar door replacement business will pick up.

Now that hubby and I are both feeling better there really has been no excuse for not walking again. In 2009 we were walking 2 1/2 miles per day, up hills to boot. Then our health had some minor issues and we used those to quit (you noticed I didn't say slow down) walking altogether. So for the last three days we have walked those 2 1/2 miles each day. We both remembered 2009 and how good we felt. How we had no problems walking at high altitudes with lots of inclines - no huffing and puffing. Why did we ever quit? Now we are in the throes of achy joints and tired muscles AGAIN! I can only imagine how much better my cellulite legs would be had I been walking for the last year, too.

I took some pictures this weekend of something other than my grandsons much to their delight. I often hear "Nana, why do you take so many pictures of us?" "Because you are so cute", I say. I thought I would give the boys a break and shoot pictures of things that don't care if the camera is within 2 feet of it. But......Oklahoma has only about 10 minutes during a typical day without wind. Not just a breeze mind you, but 25 mph gust with a head wind of about 15 all day long! Oh I forgot, there are those 10 minutes scattered throughout the 12 hours of daylight. So if you take 200 photos perhaps you can come up with a few where you can actually tell what you are shooting. I had fun trying different things with my camera. A photographer I am not, but I sure like to pretend.

Retirement During Spring Break

It is Friday night and Blaine's, my oldest grandson, Spring Week is quickly coming to a close. What a week we have had with Blaine, his younger brother Logan, and their mom. Monday, both boys were sick so hubby and I took them Krispy Kreme Donuts. Tuesday they all came to our little piece of heaven, our five acres, and played. This after we built some Lincoln Log buildings. Then to Target for a few new toys for Nana's toybox. Wednesday we went to Arcadia to Pops to have lunch. Little did we know that there would be an hour wait. Every momma had the same idea for Spring Break. We didn't wait, but bought a couple of Cherry Creme Sodas for the boys. Off to Freddy's Custard for burgers. Thursday we went to Shawnee to visit my 96 year old aunt. The boys were just in awe, but what little gentlemen they were; however, they were ready to leave when burgers were mentioned again. Hamburger King in Shawnee here we come. It was a wonderful retirement week and just what the doctor ordered for me. No, I didn't do any housework, yes, my house is a mess, but you know what? It can be cleaned. In fact it already is. They didn't come to see me today. They needed some time by themselves and to do something on their own. I needed this day to regroup and rest. But I really miss them already. They make me smile and fill my soul with a renewed sense of love. My heart is bursting with love. Happy Spring

Glorious Fall Day

Just when I thought the fall colors were through, the rain came and now the colors are more brilliant than the last few weeks. I didn't get any photos yesterday, but I will post a couple from our trip to North Carolina last month. Lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant and a movie was in the works today with two of my favorite girls. I also am enjoying some alone time in my own house. What woman doesn't love that?! Having my retired husband around is a joy--most of the time. There are times; however, when I would just as soon have him gone for a few hours. To wish and hope for such times fills me with guilt. I have friends who have lost their husbands and to have those husbands under foot for one more day would be pure heaven for them. So, I am going to enjoy my day, but I will look forward to seeing him open that door. I have been having nostalgic moments lately, thinking particularly of my childhood. I lived in such a wonderful time in history and in a loving community where we all knew one another. It is about the time of the year that my grade school would have their annual pie supper auction to raise money for the annual Christmas tree. All the schoolgirls and our mothers would fill a box with picnic food and a piece of pie. Some of the women would just wrap a large pie. We wrapped the box with beautiful wrapping paper and ribbon bows making them like beautiful presents. Whoever won the bidding would then share the food with the person who made it. My mom would demand my dad remember which box she brought so he could bid on hers and win it. The men delighted in running up the bidding of other bidders knowing full well that the husbands were instructed to win their wives' box no matter now high the bidding went. It was all in fun and raised more money for the tree. We girls were at the mercy of the bidding of the grade school boys. None of us had a boyfriend but in the 4th grade I really thought that whoever bought my box secretly wanted to be my boyfriend. Nothing was further from the truth, they just wanted to eat. How exciting it all was until it was time to share the food. I was a very shy girl. While my "boy"friend would eat the sandwich I had fixed, I would just hang my head. Took a long time for me to win the battle with shyness. More memories in another post.

Zoo Day

Today was beautiful. No wind! Rare for Oklahoma. Just ask anyone who has ever even driven through our state. What better day for a trip to the zoo and that is exactly what I did with my youngest grandson, Logan, and his mom. Did I say perfect? Can't say that word too much, but it would have been more fun if Blaine, my oldest, could have been there with us. The leaves were still beautiful and some had not turned yet. Got off a couple of shots. I sure wish I had the talent of some of my family members with a camera. Tonight we were outside just about dusk and there is a definite change in the air. It feels like winter even though it was only 63 degrees. Summer is a memory now. Retirement is made for days like I had today. I thank God I still have my health to savor these fall days.

Trying This Again

I have not posted anything for a year, but decided today to try it again. Lots and lots of things have gone on this last year, some not so good, but overall, not bad. I can tell you that retirement is time for reflecting and getting one's life on the right track. You have one more chance. This blog is just a place to put down my thoughts and some pictures of various things. I would love to have a nice blog like one of my favorites, http://www.apioneerwoman.com/; however, I don't have anything that interesting to post nor do I have the computer skills involved. How cool would it be to address retirement issues and have a large following? Perhaps not so cool since then one would be obligated to update it and keep it fresh. I do have an occasional recipe to share, but since you, Shawna, are the only one reading this, you may have the recipe already.

Today I will try to post a picture of my boys, my GRANDboys! They are now 6 and 3 years old. We are so lucky to live on 5 acres where they can run and play, scream and yell. At the back of our property is a little pond which occasionally hold water. We walked back there on Sunday and they thought they were on the other side of the world. To them, we were at least 5 miles from home and probably would never find our way back. It was a perfect fall "windless" Sunday. A rare treat in Oklahoma.