Random Ramblings

Rambling about the Rain

2009-09-10T00:00:00.009-04:00

"Rain, rain go away - come back some other day" I said as I looked up to a sky filled with angry gray clouds. We had some rainy weather recently. Rain poses a few challenges for us. We have to strategically plan when to send the dogs outside for "potty breaks" between rain showers. That's followed by us wrestling the dogs to wipe off wet (possibly muddy) feet. Shelby goes through tennis ball withdrawal. Bianca just wants a warm lap. Tiffany poses no problems on rainy days as she simply finds a spot to nap all day.

Exercising is also a challenge for us during rainy weather. Since May, Ira and I have enjoyed a "lifestyle" change. We have reduced the size of our dinner portions, eat sensible breakfasts and enjoy bowls of fruit for our lunches. We also started walking after lunch. This consists of a brisk stroll to our mailbox and back - roughly 1.5 miles. We also play badminton every evening after dinner; usually the best 3 out of 5 games.

But when it rains - Ira and I don't get to take our walk and we have to postpone our badminton tournament until the rain clears. Instead, we play games on our Wii, but it just isn't the same.

However, we have "Plan B"...we have a treadmill (or "dreadmill", as I

like to call it!). One rainy day I decided that I was going to have my

walk - no matter what! So I boarded the treadmill and started my trek. I finished my 1.5 mile stroll in around 25 minutes.

I "discovered" something while walking on the treadmill. When it rains, I miss our walk on our road. Ira and I almost always notice something new on our walks. Sometimes it's tracks on the road left by deer or wild turkeys. In the past couple of weeks, we've noticed the first few leaves changing color. After several days of rain we see lots of colorful (and probably poisonous) mushrooms. The most important thing that we miss during rainy days is "our time". This is time that we spend together without the interruption of phones, e-mails, or even the dogs. While we walk, we enjoy having conversations. We find all kinds of things to talk about; from places we'd like to visit to stories from our respective childhoods.

While we don't have a plan to save the world from impending doom, we are making life better in our own little place on the planet...one step at a time.

Bittersweet Bloom

2009-09-03T16:57:00.005-04:00

One of the things I love about life here at Grassybranch is that we have all four seasons.

The winters here are, for the most part, pretty mild. We might have one small snow; just enough for us to take the dogs out and play. What I like about winter is seeing the "bones" of the trees, and the clean, cold air. I welcome the end of winter, though. We get a couple of pleasantly warm days that give us a taste of the season that's just around the corner.

Spring is just beautiful here. the trees all have a sheen of pale green, the grass starts growing, and I take to the greenhouse to start my summer veggie crops. I particularly enjoy that part of springtime where we can open the windows for fresh air before the the pollen blankets everything. The temps are warm with low humidity, and the daffodils celebrate the season with blooms everywhere!

Summer arrives and brings with it, lots of heat! Luckily, the humidity doesn't get uncomfortable until August. The veggie garden is full of plants promising to fill the pantry and freezer. The flowers are all starting to bloom; butterflies and bees are everywhere and we start watching the wild blackberry bushes for the perfect day to harvest. Summer is also the season where the daylily garden is in full bloom; seeing the garden is like watching fireworks in the night sky ~ each bloom is prettier than the last until everything is blooming at once, offering a dazzling array of color.

Fall is the most restful of all the seasons. It's much cooler, and the humidity eases. The leaves begin to change their colors, transforming the entire area into a picture perfect palette of reds, golds, oranges, and purples. Although I enjoy this season, it carries with it a sadness. I must bid farewell to all the beautiful flowers that have decorated our home for the summer.

This past week I witnessed the final bloom of the season on one of my daylillies. It's my favorite; a vibrant red that was named for my grandmother, Anne Bridwell. When she saw it, didn't really care for the color. She preferred pale pink and dusty rose to bold colors like orange and red. But I think the flower is perfect. Even though the color is bold, this daylily has the sweetest, most gentle fragrance ~ I honestly believe that this is why the flower was named for her. My grandmother was a vibrant woman; she was independent into her 90's. She drove her own car, paid her own bills, cleaned her own home, cooked for and entertained friends and family. She had a wonderful sense of humor, a quick wit and warm spirit. I miss her still; particularly her scent...sweet and gentle...kind of like her daylily.

2009-08-24T20:55:00.003-04:00

The girls...throughout my life we've always been there for each other. We consist of 3 sisters; Shirley, Barbara and Judy, Debbie and Cathy (Barbara's daughters), Carly (Cathy's daughter) and myself (I'm Shirley's daughter). Between us we've experienced 12 weddings and 7 divorces. We have been the moving party for each other, and have spent just about every Christmas together my entire life. We're close ~ we share something that I have discovered is quite rare...we've never fought with one another. When family members from out of town come to visit, the girls organize a dinner. We also have "girls' night in" for each other for our birthdays - we enjoy dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant and then back to Judy's to watch a movie over wine and snacks. We also take a couple of trips each year - Spring Fling and Fall Frolic. Yup - we're a close family, but we're also best friends. We owe this to our grandparents, who raised us to love and respect one another.

Okay, on to the adventure of the week...

Barbara & her husband Earl recently bought a new piece of furniture. What started out as a simple purchase of a bed evolved into a new bed, new hardwood flooring and fresh paint. Needless to say, their normally neat and tidy home was turned upside down in anticipation of paint and flooring crews. With the flooring done and the painting completed in the main living area, Barbara and Earl faced the daunting task of getting everything put away. On Saturday, I joined with "the girls" to help Barbara get her house back together. We just couldn't let her have all that fun by herself!

First, the flooring and the paint job were both gorgeous! My eyes panned around the room and then noticed that the sunroom was FILLED with all the living room furniture, lamps, pictures, etc...the kitchen was filled with dishes for the buffet and china cabinet. It was at that precise moment that although I know that Barbara and Earl have nice things...I didn't realize HOW MANY nice things they have...boxes and boxes of them!

Once all the girls arrived, we discussed where each piece of furniture should go. Once we got the furniture placed, then we started putting the smaller tables and cabinets in the room...then the things that are stored in them - Heaven forbid that they have a cabinet or drawer with nothing in it! That just wouldn't be right! Once we got one cabinet filled, we moved on to the next one. We stopped for lunch - Cathy and I via e-mail arranged for everyone to bring something to add to the lunch table - we had ourselves a small feast! Chicken salad and rolls, cherry tomatoes and cucumber spears, fresh concord grapes (off my vine),cheeses, crackers, Jell-o with fruit, coffee cake with cherry filling and blueberry/peach pie. See you tomorrow, Diet!

At the end of the day, Barbara had her living room all put back together, and her sunroom only had a few things that were going in other rooms. A rumble of thunder outside warned us that we were in for another storm. We all quickly got our "hug line" done and everyone headed for their respective homes.

On the way home, I reflected on the day. Barbara and Earl so appreciated us all jumping in to help get their house back in order and bring lunch to boot. We were all happy to help...who's house is next???

Taking the Plunge

2009-08-17T15:32:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday, Ira and I went to his daughter's home to attend a wedding reception for her son and his bride. Ricky is the oldest of Kim's boys and the first of Ira's grandsons to get married. The "official" wedding took place in June at the Outer Banks ~ a very small affair attended only by parents and siblings.

When Ira and I delivered the cake the day before the party, we could see that some of the preparations had been made; the tents in were in place; the tables & chairs were arranged. When we arrived Saturday, the entire backyard had been decorated ~ WOW! It looked great! We could easily see that much work had been done. Kim's got a big yard so we knew that it took a good while to get all the decorations completed.

Kim originally planned that at the end of the reception, Ricky and Jen were going to jump in the pool and release the balloons...one small problem...it was a scorching 90 degrees (give or take a few) outside and the balloons were popping from the heat. Kim told me that she was going to try to get all the activities done quickly and hopefully their would still be a few balloons left to release.

Once the guests arrived, Kim quickly set the pace for the party. She was part Mother of the Groom, and part Drill Sargent! I kinda liked it!

As a wedding gift to the couple, I took pictures to create a scrapbook/wedding album. Since the activities were being done at a frantic pace, I was running to keep up! Once everything was done, we were ready for the happy couple to "Take the Plunge".

"One...Two....Three" we all chanted and then a big splash and a round of applause and the formal reception was over and the laid back party could begin. And there were still a few balloons left for the happy couple to release to the air.

Ricky has found his Princess and Jen now has her Prince Charming...I hope they live happily ever after!

So far so good!

2009-08-10T21:39:00.006-04:00

What a busy week it's been! Keith, Louise and Phillip flew up from Texas for the week. Mom brought everyone over on Sunday for a visit. Keith had only seen our place very briefly a few years ago just after we moved in - I was glad he got to see all the changes we made around here. He took lots of pictures to take home to show Annette. Ira also took off for Danville to visit his daughter and grandsons for a couple of days. I took care of the dogs while he was gone.

Monday was Mom's birthday, so we all went out for dinner at Plaza Azteca. We're a rowdy bunch; I hope the other diners didn't mind too much!

Tuesday Ira came home - he was beat, but glad that he had some one-on-one time with Sam.

Wednesday I took off to Newport News to pick up the gang for lunch and then to shop at the local craft store - we even found a large gem stone for Phillip - he was overjoyed! Louise got her first scrapbook...I think she got the "bug" while looking at everything in my scraproom!

Thursday Mom, Keith and the kids came over for dinner - spaghetti with homemade sauce! Yum! Keith and the kids were intoduced to our Wii games - they were hooked - my guess is that they will have a Wii by the end of the year - Keith really enjoyed the golf!

Friday was all about the girls! Mom and Louise met me, Barbara, Cathy and Carly in Williamsburg for an afternoon of shopping! We picked up a few things and had lunch at Sweet Madeline's.

Saturday I played "catch up". I got some housework done and generally relaxed.

Sunday I blanched and froze corn, canned some tomatoes, planned the menu for the next month, made the commissary shopping list and gathered up my coupons. I finished my day at roughly 11:20PM ; yes, I said PM!

Today we got an early start and took off to Wal-Mart. The temps were expected to be around the 100 mark. This evening I went to the King William Library for my monthly "Art Club" meeting - we even had 2 new people show up!

Now that our company has gone home, we all have gone back to our own respective routines. I've added "update my blog" to my Monday schedule! I've made it for the 2nd week - so far so good!

A new Attitude

2009-08-04T00:18:00.003-04:00

When I was a young girl I had any number of diaries ~ with each new diary came a promise from myself to write my innermost thoughts on a daily basis...yeah right. The reality...each book contained an average of 2 weeks worth of my innermost thoughts and then I lost interest.

When I began my blog, I also made a promise to myself to post on a daily basis...guess what! Today's blog is yesterday's diary; so it comes as no great surprise that I started off with a bang and then fizzled out. This morning as I checked my normal online "haunts" my mouse pointed to my blog and I took a few minutes to re-read my posts. Then I pondered why I lost interest in posting. I read other blogs daily and am inspired by the dedication of other bloggers to keep posting on a daily basis.

But I had to finally admit to myself that I'm just not gonna post daily - it seems too much like a chore. Then I started thinking about trying to post once a week. "Hmmmm now that might work" I said to myself.

So here it is - my first weekly post.

I'll start off by summarizing what I've been busy with since JANUARY.

I entered two paintings in the Arts Alive exhibit at West Point High School. I even got my picture in the local paper!
I took off with the West Point Scrapbook Club for our first ever Scrap Retreat in the Outer Banks. I officially began work on my "Heritage Series". So far, I've finished 2 books.
Mom and I took off for a week long trip to Texas to see my brother Keith and his family. We took Mom to the Alamo and the Riverwalk in San Antonio for Mother's Day. Keith cooked breakfast and dinner for us. We had a great time.
I went to the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Chantilly, VA with my friends from West Point. We spent the day shopping and finished up with dinner at Lowery's in Tappahanock. It was a long day, but we all had a blast and are already looking forward to next year's convention.
My garden has yielded a bumper crop of tomatoes, cukes, squash, zucchini and green beans. I canned and froze a bunch of veggies; with more still growing on the vines. The corn's almost ready too. I also made and canned my own pasta sauce.
Keith and the kids are here this week for a visit. Annette's back at the ranch in Texas taking care of all the animals. All the girls are going shopping on Friday. Tonight we all went to Plaza Azteca to celebrate Mom's birthday. Boy am I pooped!

Well, that should catch me up so far. As I have promised myself though the years....while I may not post my innermost thoughts, I will do my best to highlight my week in review in life on the farm! Let's see how far I make it!

A lifetime of memories in 10 Tubs

2009-01-05T19:23:00.003-05:00

Yesterday I rolled up my sleeves and took down all of the downstairs Christmas decorations. It's always a little sad to pull everything down. The holiday season comes and goes in a flash, and since so much activity is squeezed into a few short weeks, there's hardly any time to just sit and enjoy all the decorations.

My lighted Christmas Village is still alive and well in the spare room upstairs until I muster up enough energy to handle taking down my "urban sprawl". Honestly, I haven't taken that down because I still want to enjoy it for a while.

I have all of my Christmas decorations stored in 10 plastic tubs, including our Christmas tree, which takes up 2 tubs. When I start to decorate, I open each tub and welcome not only my decorations, but the memories that go along with them. Each ornament has special meaning, every table decoration, a story. I relish each memory like an old friend. During the course of the holidays, new memories are made, and along with the new memory, an ornament or decoration marks its place and joins the rest of the times that make this season so special.

I guess that's why taking down the decorations is so bittersweet. I spend weeks planning menus, months making gifts and after all of the plans and preparations, it's over in a 24 hour period of time! Just when the party starts getting good, it's over. Don't get me wrong; I look forward to the new year and all of the challenges and opportunities that come with it. I just wish I had the ability to slow down the pace during the holidays so I can reminisce at a comfortable speed. But until I figure out how to do that, I'll just say "so long" to my lifetime of memories that live in 10 tubs.

Time flies

2009-01-01T20:32:00.002-05:00

2008 flew past like a rocket. I finally started a blog and was actually posting to it for about 2 months and then whoosh! It's now 2009 ~ what happened between June 2008 and now? Lots! There's never a dull moment here in the country!

On January 8, 2008, my husband's first wife (and mother of their children) passed away. Though she had been ill, nobody expected her passing this soon. In 2002 when Ira and I were preparing to marry, we held our first Christmas Eve party at our new home in Newport News. As an adult child of divorced parents, I recognize that children of divorced parents experience a level of guilt when spending holidays with one parent and not the other. I didn't want Ira's children to have that feeling. I insisted that Louise be invited to the party so the kids could see both parents for the holidays. We all had a great time and before the party was over, the kids were asking about a Christmas Eve party the next year. Our Christmas Eve party is now a yearly tradition. In 2007, Louise, though ill, still came. Each year, I take a group photo. I had no idea that group photo would be the last picture taken of Louise with all of her kids. I was glad to have been able to capture a happy memory to share with the kids. Christmas 2008 was understandably a tough holiday season for the kids. I made a scrapbook each for Kim, Sam and Mark from photos that Louise had in photo albums in her house. I was able to include our group photos from the last several years in each book. I also started a new tradition - I made stockings for each child, grandchild and great-grandchild. The stockings stay with me and will be filled each year. I better start working on Christmas gifts now - if 2009 goes by as fast as 2008, it will be Christmas before I know it!

In February, I enbarked on a new journey ~ I took a beginner painting class. I have always been involved in one craft or another for most of my life; however, I've never taken any formal classes to create anything. Not only did I discover that I enjoy painting, but that with practice (ALOT of practice), I might actually be (dare I say????) good at it. Now, I realize that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so if you're the beholder, you might not see beauty in my painting. But at least my instructor says my work is good. I took a second class in the fall of '08 (landscapes) and finished my second work. Both paintings will be shown in an exhibit in January 2009 in West Point. Who knows? Maybe one day, after I'm long gone, my paintings might be worth some $$$, or maybe one day after I'm long gone, my paintings might be for sale in a thrift store for $2.96 (marked down from $4.96). I wonder what Rembrandt's or Monet's first paintings looked like.

In late winter 2008, I started my veggie plants from seed in the greenhouse ~ they were ready to be planted in April. Once planted, Mother Nature sent us about 1 week's worth of rain, which almost drowned my poor crops. Once the sun came out and dried everything up the weeds took over - literally! I couldn't find some of my plants - the weeds had choked them out. The corn we planted in the newly tilled field out back never came up - the only thing that grew well were the radishes and carrots that I had in the greenhouse. My husband and I sadly admitted defeat and vowed to do better in 2009.

In June, one of my husband's grandsons came to visit us from his home in Florida. Gary Lee is a sweet child. Despite outward appearances of height and age (6'2" and 19 years old), mentally he's only about 9; sadly he will probably never mature to more than a young teenager's brain function. Needless to say, a child (or adult) with special needs poses some challenges for a host not prepared for the constant supervision this kind of houseguest requires. Even though he was supposed to stay a month, Gary Lee got homesick and went home after 2 1/2 weeks. My husband was happy to have been able to spend some quality time with him, although once he went home, it took both of us a good week to recover!

In August, Ira, my mom and I drove up to Connecticut for a family reunion. It was so good to see my aunts and uncle. I had not seen them in over 20 years! We had a great time re-connecting with relatives. Ira enjoyed being able to meet that side of my family. It rained (stractch that...it POURED) for most of the party...but the sun finally came out in the afternoon - the funny thing was that after we got the tables moved out of the rain, we never noticed the weather!

The rest of the year I busied myself with trips to Yorktown (July 4 and Yorktown Day), going on "Spring Flings" and "Fall Frolics"and making spaghetti sauce with The Girls, going to crops with the West Point Scrapbooking Club, and working to help re-structure the King William Regional Arts Association. I also served on a steering committee to develop a usage plan for the land behind our house (my civic duty!). We had Thanksgiving at Kim's house (Ira's daughter)and loaded our great grand-daughters up with lots of sugar (cakes, frosting and pies) and then left as they were getting wired (isn't that what grandparents are supposed to do?). I finished the year out with a trip for Cape Charles to celebrate Aunt Barbara's 70th B-Day ~ we went on a Progressive Dinner through the town of Cape Charles.

Well, no wonder I never had time to blog ~ I've been busy! When did I ever have time to work?

Hobbies and the Havoc they wreak

2008-06-16T23:25:00.003-04:00

In 2003, I was in the process of working toward opening our new real estate office. My boss asked me to take on the unofficial title of “Company Historian”. She requested a scrapbook of our first year in business. I thought to myself, “No Problemo”, I can snap a few pictures, stick them in a photo album, add a few stickers, and PRESTO ~ company scrapbook. Boy ~ how wrong I was!

About a month after our new office opened, I went to a “Scrapbooking party”. I discovered that creating scrapbooks involved a lot more than pictures and a few stickers. After dropping a chunk of money, I went home with a bagful of supplies and lots of ideas. However, beginning this task was more than overwhelming. In fact, I was so overwhelmed that I put the bag of supplies in a closet. I would tackle that beast later.

About 2 months later, I forced myself to open the bag and start working on my project. I sat at my kitchen table and embarked on an adventure that turned into a hobby that has become my passion!

The next day, I found myself wandering the aisles at my local arts and craft store. I swear I could hear all the supplies calling to me…”Hey! Over here! Pick me!!!!!" I broke out in a cold sweat; there was so much to choose from! Again, more money was spent, but this time, I couldn’t wait to get home to take my treasures out of the bag! I chuckled to myself – “I can’t believe that I waited so long to discover how wonderful this hobby is”.

The next day, I spent my entire lunch hour in search of scrapbooking websites on the internet. I couldn’t believe there were so many; I was also amazed by how many people enjoyed this hobby! By the end of the week, I discovered that 7 ladies from my office also “scrapped”. Now, I had a new hobby AND friends to share it with! Things just keep getting better! Woo Hoo!

Within a month, I had transformed my dining room to a scrap room, and forgot what my darling husband looked like. For Christmas, I had to put all my scrapbooking supplies in the guest bedroom. It took me over an hour to move everything. I hated to leave my supplies ~ I gazed longingly at them as I closed the door. After the holidays, my husband made room for my scrapbooking supplies in his office. He also reminded me that when we moved into the house I forbid using the Dining Room for anything other than dining…” Did I really say that?”

The day after moving my supplies to my husband’s office, I discovered that there wasn’t enough room for both my husband’s hobby and mine; my supplies overflowed onto his desk. I couldn’t have been happier at that moment. However, things took a nasty turn when my husband got home from work… he found patterned papers on his chair, brads on the floor, and ribbons, stickers and rub-ons all over his desk, and me in the middle of this mess holding up my newly created “masterpiece”. Beaming from ear to ear, I proudly held up a 12 x 12 layout and said, “Honey, look what I made this evening”. He looked around what used to be a relatively neat and tidy office and said, “that’s not all you made this evening”. But my husband is patient and I’m lucky! So we tried to live in hobby harmony...that didn't go so well...

Within 6 months, my husband and I decided to move our “office/hobby room” to the 2 car garage. This time it took me a week to move all my supplies. Again, it was not pretty. My husband and I negotiated which side of the garage we would have – he ended up sharing HIS side of the garage with the Harley and his power tools. I got the spare fridge!

Within 2 months time, I had re-arranged my side of the garage twice. My dear husband has started therapy. Things don’t look good.

Swimsuit Shopping for the Mature Woman

2008-06-02T18:24:00.004-04:00

In preparation for an upcoming trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks I went in search of a swimsuit. My search criteria is as follows: Cheap and relatively well fitting. That's not a lot to ask for, or at least I thought!

Since I was looking for "cheap" (price-wise, mind you), I took a look at the suits on the rack at my local Wal-Mart (local to me = 27 miles - 1 way). I was pleased to see a variety of styles, colors and sizes.

While I was looking, the sales clerk informed me that the swimwear on the racks were all that they had in stock. Armed with that knowledge, I started my search. I was tickled to find a very attractive one piece suit in my size - choice #1 in the cart. I then noticed the 2 piece separates - some of these had itty bitty string tops (yeah right!) and then I saw some tops with fabric that draped over the middle and ended around the bikini line (must have been designed my a REAL woman!). I found a few of those that I liked - some in my size, some that looked like they might fit. Then I went looking for the bottoms...I found tons of them; and they were teeny!

Now I might add that in my younger days I was all about a bikini ~ the skimpier the better...however, today that sadly isn't the case. I saw some that were "boy shorts". These looked like they had promise because they had ample material covering the posterior (a real must for me!). I found a few that I thought were my size. Just for fun (???) I found a few pair of bikini bottoms to match the tops already waiting in the cart.

The fun was about to start.

I parked my cart outside of the fitting room and started trying on my prospective purchases. I started with the one piece suit. Well, it fit, and it was inexpensive - which satisfied my search criteria. But something was wrong.....it showed every bulge in my body. I know that every woman has a shape...mine is lumpy!

Okay - on to the 2 piece suits. Okay - the boy shorts were extremely low rise - they were wrong for me on so many levels. I tried on one bottom with the little sassy skirt over the brief. Again, just not me (and looking at the abundance of this garment on the rack, just not anyone else, either). I tried on the bikini bottom and OMG it actually fit, not well, but they fit.

The tops were next. I quickly eliminated the bikini top - I actually laughed out loud at that one! Then I tried the last 2. I'm at the point in my life where I need support and comfort ~ if it's pretty, I get a bonus. Well, 1 top had no support, and boy did it show! Adjusting the straps simply forced "the girls" out the sides and under the wire. Finally, I found one that worked. (I swear, I could have heard a choir of angels singing) It gave me support, it was comfortable, it was pretty, and it was cheap! Hallelujah!

Now I found myself in a quandary - do I get the one piece suit, or the 2 piece? I thought about it for a few minutes and then came up with the answer - buy 'em both! But before I left the swimwear department I chose the last item that I need for my escapade to the beach...a cover-up!

I live free because of them

2008-05-26T15:09:00.002-04:00

Today is Memorial Day. To some, it's simply a day off from work. To others it's a day for splashing around at the beach and cook-outs. But to all, it's a time for us to remember those brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our freedom. I can't imagine what it's like to live in a country without the freedoms that we have. Think about it ~ we can live where we want, travel where we want, worship where and how we want; the list goes on and on.

But the brave members of our armed services aren't the only people making sacrifices. There are husbands, wives, parents, and children on the homefront who miss their loved ones every day. Those families truly understand the meaning of "Memorial Day".

Soldiers and their familes are in my thoughts today; I hope these families can be reunited soon. I yearn for peace times again.

The Torch has been passed

2008-05-24T15:00:00.003-04:00

First there was Abby, a mixed breed dog with blonde/red fur. I fell in love with her, then I met her owner! I've always been a cat lover; I still am. However, Abby was able to bridge the gap between dog lover and cat lover and slowly convert me to a quasi-dog lover! She even got along with my 3 cats! When we said our final goodbyes to her, Abby was around 11 years old. I have never felt such an emptiness for an animal before. I guess when she left us, Abby took a piece of my heart with her. Even the cats seemed to mourn her passing. We knew that even if we got another dog, Abby's personality would never be repeated.

I figured that it would be a year or more before we would think about bringing home another dog. My husband surprised me 3 months later by anouncing that it was time to find a puppy. He had our local paper in his hand, opened to the classified ads. He sat down with the phone and started making a few calls. Later that day, he told me we had an appointment to look at some puppies.

When we arrived, the lady brought one of the pups out for us to look at. He showed no interest in us and quickly wandered off to explore the field next door. While my husband talked to the lady, I went over to the pen to look at the other puppies. I think all puppies are born with the ability to woo you with their eyes. I noticed one pup sitting alone, just inside the gate. She looked so sad, almost defeated. I asked to look at that one. When the lady put her in my arms I felt her tail wag as she licked my face. "This is our puppy" I thought to myself. I calmly walked over to my husband who was, by that time, looking at the other puppies. I put this little bundle in his arms and whispered, "Here's your puppy". I went and sat in the car; I wanted my husband to make the final decision. He came out about 10 minutes later, puppy included.

I think I chose about a dozen names before we agreed on one. I looked at baby naming websites, and even Indian and Latin language sites for translations to names like Companion, and Friend. I came up with lots of names, but nothing that suited our little bundle. I decided that we needed to give her a name that would mean something to both my husband and me.

It finally came to me while I was watching TV. I saw a film clip from one of my favorite "chick" movies. I almost cried ~ I had found the name and it was perfect! We named her "Shelby", which is the name of Julia Robert's character in Steel Magnolias. The name is also one of the body styles of the Ford Mustang. Now, when we tell people her name, the girls say "Steel Magnolias" and the guys say "Mustang"!

During the first few months, we tried to find similarities in Shelby's personality and Abby's. But Shelby has managed to develop her own personality ~ one that will never be repeated.

The torch has been passed.

Things we take for granted

2008-05-23T13:30:00.003-04:00

My husband and I left the city life for country living about 2 years ago. It was easy to trade the sounds of cars roaring past the house with loud blaring music, horns beeping and sirens for the sounds of crickets, bullfrogs and roosters.

But there are a number of things that I have had to adjust to:

I used to love having my car washed and waxed to a gleaming shine. We now live on a dirt and gravel road ~ no more car washes!

Our newspaper and mail boxes are almost a mile away on the paved road. So if I'm not going anywhere - I'm still driving to the mail box - and even further out to the main post office if I have packages to pick up.

The closest grocery store is a 20 minute drive, one way. I have learned that running out of anything means about 1 hour out of my day.

There is one thing that I truly can say I miss about the city ~ ice cream! In the summer we enjoy ice cream; everything from plain vanilla with chocolate sauce and nuts, to popcicles, and even the occasional nutty buddy. When we lived in the city, we took ice cream for granted. Now if we want ice cream, we have 3 choices: go to an ice cream parlor, take our chances on ice cream surviving a 20 minute ride home, or buy an ice cream maker and make our own.

So what did we do? We got an ice cream maker! It's not one of those old hand crank devices from the dark ages; it churns on its own. Once I read through the recipe booklet, I went to the store, bought my ingredients and I was well on my way to ice cream heaven!

Okay, I'll admit it. Buying ice cream from the freezer case is much more convient. Although I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I made the ice cream that we now enjoy, I'll never take ice cream for granted again.

Mr. Mojo and his Fickle Ways

2008-05-22T15:37:00.000-04:00

There is a strange phenomenon that attacks me from time to time. It's a condition that I call "Nomojoitis". This is a condition that appears at the exact moment that I find a full afternoon that I can devote to scrapping. Once I sit down, I draw a blank - no creativity, no inspiration, nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

It's not that I don't have anything to scrap; I've got oodles of photos, memoraphilia, paper and embellishments. Maybe I'm just overwhelmed with the sheer volume of what I have to work with.

I know other scrappers suffer from this same condition ~ and just like how to stop hiccups, there are lots of "cures" for a loss of mojo. Some people search online galleries, others browse through magazines and books, and yet other folks "play" with their stash until inspiration hits.

Sometimes inspiration shows up at the most inopportune moments ~ while I'm grocery shopping, driving in the car, cooking dinner, or visiting with friends or family. Of course, once I get back to my scrap table, I will have forgotten what I thought I was going to work on. "Mr. Mojo" has given me the slip once more!

But on occasion, the planets align, there is perfect harmony in my home and the scrapping Gods smile on me. These are the times that I love this hobby and continue to scrap down my piles of photos despite "Mr. Mojo" and his fickle ways.

The Test of time

2008-05-21T19:41:00.000-04:00

I recently took a trip to my local second hand shop. While perusing the shelves chock full of brass candlesticks, tarnished silver tea services and other discarded bric-a-brac, I saw it. It was a pretty picture frame, lovingly embellished with ribbon, jewels and flowers. I looked at it like someone would look at a puppy at the pound. Someone once loved it, but now it's here, hoping that someone will take it home and love it again.

Okay ~ stop with the sad violin music!

Now I understand that once a gift is given, it becomes the sole property of the recipient to do with as they see fit. I also understand that from time to time we all have to discard some of our little "treasures", or our houses would burst at the seams.

On my way home, I thought about the many handmade gifts that I have given. How many things that I spent time creating for others have had the same fate? Will the gifts I make stand up to the test of time?

One thing that I have never found at a yard sale, second hand shop, or trash pile is a completed scrapbook. As a matter of fact, I find that most people who have been given scrapbooks usually display them on a coffee table, or have them close by to show off or enjoy looking through from time to time.

Now that doesn't mean that the only gift I will ever give will be a scrapbook. But I will think twice about the gifts that I make.

Welcome to my world!

2008-05-21T19:00:00.002-04:00

It seems that everyone has a blog these days. Some are very extravagant, while others serve as a "diary" of sorts. While I have been known to act impulsively (you should see me when I shop!), when it came to creating a blog, I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about it. After looking at numerous blogs, I seemed to be more overwhelmed than ever! But then I thought, "if this many people can create a blog, I can too!"

So, finally, after much thought, I have created my blog (Ta Taa....).

As an avid scrapbooker, most of my "Random Ramblings" will involve this hobby (aka passion, aka obsession!).

So grab a virtual easy chair and a cup of virtual refreshing beverage, sit a spell and visit!