My mom...

Thinking about her alot today - today is not a special day for her or I.  It's just another day in January - a cold windy winter day.  The sort of day she would greatly dislike.  She is blessed to be able to spend her winters where she enjoys- Florida - The sunshine state.  How she ever made it as my mom I will never know!  She and I are about as opposite as it gets.  I love cold dreary days.  She loves warm sunny days.  She is short.  I am tall.  She is lean.  I am NOT!  I could go on all day on our differences, but you get the idea.  We butted heads all the time - I like to do things myself - figure it out and then MAYBE concede to her way of thinking.  She is a total control freak - she will tell you different and you will believe her, only because she will convince you she is right.  HAHA...that is what I love about her.  I am not making fun of her just telling you like it is.  I am stubborn.  Have very little patience.  Want to have control at all times over every thing....so maybe we are alike.  She is creative - so am I.  She makes a mean shrimp salad - so do I.  She is independent - so am I.  She is sure of herself - so am I.  She is a hard worker - so am I.  She has volunteered many hours at her church - so have I.

I think I might learn to be her - can I , might I, will I .... am I my mother?

Could be worse....I have a crazy Auntie! 

(that's another story for another day)

 

Ok... it's been almost 3 weeks now since we lost our "Murphy".... our companion of 15 years.  The day Murph died Mr B said "no more dogs".  Well I knew that would not last and I was right.  A couple of nights ago Mr B said...."I don't think I can live without a dog"...."what are we going to do?"
I suggested a rescue dog - he smiled - and said "maybe soon"....kept smiling and I started looking online at rescues in our state - there are alot of babies out there looking for their forever homes.

Hope you are all still working on de-cluttering - I am slowing down right now but gearing up for more.  Think this week will be directed towards clothing and taking box after box to goodwill. 

Peace to you this week - do something nice for someone to day.

Keep calm and carry on........................

Sorry! 

Sorry I have not been productive lately and have not been very good about blogging. 
I have been doing a pretty good job tho about the de-cluttering tho!!  Have found a great use for the clothes I no longer wear or want - I am going to recycle them into rugs...I found 2 different "how to" books while cleaning that I had bought years ago.  Both rug making books use 2" strips of fabric - so I am going to start having Mr B cut up our old clothes into 2" strips for rug making 101!!  Recycling our old jeans as well - going to make patchwork quilt for the cover of my window seats in our cabin.  I want to use jeans from all the grandkids for the fabric.

I have really cute pics to show of the rugs -  but for whatever reason my silly ol' computer will not allow me to add the pics on here! ugh!  Maybe another day!

I also found a real cool idea for old magazines and books - the pages can be folded and cut into the cutest flowers!  AND since I am not able to show pictures I can share where I found the idea and that was in my favorite all time magazine- Mary Janes Farm Girl - check it out http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/

If you could be anything in the world what would you be?  .........................................

I often wonder where I would be in this world if I had chosen the one thing I wanted to do many many years ago - (FYI - I would be me ....)  The one thing I wanted the most when I was younger was to be a mom - and the second was an artist and dancer!!  Family - - - STOP laughing!  Many of you know I already love art and I think I am pretty good.  But I am pretty sure NONE of you knew I wanted to be a dancer.  I would watch old black and whites of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire - Gene Kelly (whom I happen to be named after) - and thought - "I can do that" and I would secretly dance in my room - thank God it was not in public!  I am NOT and never will be a dancer - can not dance at all.  HORRIBLE!  So I thought I would encourage my beautiful little daughter to become a dancer. 

OH!  Do I so wish I had the capablity to put a picture up today!  She was so stinkin' cute!  She went every week - twirled, tapped, mastered the heel toe tap thing - and - hated every minute of it! ugh! No dancer - BUT WAIT - there is my very athletic little boy - surely he would make a good dancer.  Let's enroll him into dance class.  Would be great - he could be another Gene Kelly!  So off to dance class we go - got him thru the first session and all was good - even got him thru to the recital - and then he announced that dance class was "lame"!  Back to the drawing board...and thank GOD for granddaughters!!!  Got a dancer - until she discovered softball....oh my!

Have a good day - hope this finds you all well.... do something - anything that is good for the earth and good for someone today.

CARRY ON.....

Junk or Treasure

Junk or Treasure?

That is the hardest question to answer when de-cluttering.  Finding "stuff" that I once thought was a treasure but now I am tossing it into the dumpster as "junk".  How did my heart flip flop?  I know was in love with it once...

I have decided that I might... I said MIGHT be an emotional buyer of "stuff"!  I know that I see value, interest and another life in things.  But if I don't fix it up and pretty it up right away - that value, interest and new life changes...goes away even.  UGH!  How does that happen...?  Everything deserves a second chance - so maybe I should keep it and .... trip over it some more, keep moving it from one spot to another, and....just maybe I will see it in a new light...give it its second (or third) life.... WAIT!! WAIT!!  I need to throw it away....give it away or make something out of it and sell it. 

So needless to say today my de-cluttering didn't go well. 

I did get a load of laundry done - does that count? 

I did organize all my cookbooks, so that is a plus.  I am giving away over half of them.  I really want to get all my favorite recipes on the computer.  That will have to wait til another day.

I also cleaned my refrigerator.  YUCK! Went to the grocery store and stocked up on fruits and veggies.  Going to start eating right again - too much junk food over the holidays I think.  Have a great energy drink that Mr. B and I really like.  He calls it his "Green Slime"! 

Green Energy Drink
1 avocado cut up
1 cucumber cut up
squeeze of lemon
large handful of spinach

Blend the above until smooth - refrigerate till cold and enjoy!

The other one that I love is a berry energy drink.

Berry Energy Drink
1/2 cup of each:
blueberries
raspberries
strawberries
blackberries
1 cup of unsweetened Pomegranate juice
Ice
Blend all the above....YUMMO!

Have a great day people!  Do something nice for someone today. 

What a week!

On Wednesday we had to say goodbye to our friend of 15 years - our dog Murphy.  He was our best friend and companion.  Life will be different without him.  He provided us with many laughs and tons of love.  Rest well buddy roe!  De-cluttering my life did not include pets! ugh!

On Thursday I decided it was time to get rid of the Christmas tree at last!  And in true recycling fashion I put the tree on the deck for the birds to enjoy this winter.  I will be taking old toliet paper rolls and covering them in peanut butter and then rolling in bird seed to place over the branches of the Christmas tree.  I also like to thread (use cotton thread) fresh cranberries and hang them from the tree. If you place the tree near a window you get to enjoy all the birds!  Great way to relieve stress!

Friday we were on the road again!  To the cabin we went.  Worked on the kitchen area.  Mr B worked on my plate rack and I tackled the glass tile backsplash behind the stove.  Turned out great!
I also painted and stained the trimwork for our master bedroom.  We found some very inexpensive trimwork at Habitat for Humanity Restore in LaCrosse - LOVE that place!  We have found alot of materials for the cabin at the Restore store.  If you have one in your area I suggest visiting it!  Whether you need to buy or donate it's all good.  Check them out!

Saturday night we got to watch our beloved Green Bay Packers defeat the Minnesota Vikings!! GO PACK GO!  :)

Now back to reality... work on Monday.  And time to start the de-cluttering again.  Start looking thru the seed catalogs...love them!   Just wish I had more time to garden.  We use to put in a large garden but now that we spend every other weekend at the cabin it is too hard.  Can't wait to be living at the cabin and get a huge garden started.  Have you heard I also want chickens?  Yep I wanna be the crazy chicken lady!