Return to Sender Part II

I get some pretty important mail in my mail box.  Unfortunately, it's not for me.  In August of 2009 I received a letter to the Supreme Court of Virginia that was mailed from Norfolk, VA.  It should have traveled about 100 miles, instead it traveled 1,294 miles. It never should have left the state, let alone traveled halfway across the USA.

Today I got this in the mail:

To the Curator of the Contemporary Canadian Aboriginal Art at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. 

CANADA, my friends!  CANADA!

Yea, that's pretty close to my house in Arkansas. 

Not.

Mailed from California to Canada.  2,976  miles.

Went to Arkansas on it's way.  3,165 miles.  I guess that's not so much out of the way.

Return to Sender!

*I'm not knocking the Post Office, I just think it's interesting when something so incredibly bizarre shows up in MY mailbox.  I expect the right house number and wrong street or visa versa.  Not CANADA!

**Taking a Snow Day at home with The Bean.  Mental Break from the hospital/Grandma situation.  She's going to a regular room, so she is better.  They are setting up Rehab and a Home Health Care Service.  Thank heavens!  Thanks again for all the comments and the people that took the time to email me too.  And, yes, I am a clone of my Mom.  That is a good thing!

Grandma Update

I love you guys.  Sooooo many nice sweet comments on my last post, and not just for trying to win those silly Valentine's.  Really, everyone is so nice.  Thank you.

Grandma update:  On Saturday we finally convinced her to call the ambulance.  The first responders thought they would give her something for gas and send her home that night.  But, it ended up that she had a bleeding ulcer and was literally bleeding to death.  (Which makes me realize now that the ambulance techs must not have checked her out that good - they left without the lights and drive slowly.  Meanwhile, she was bleeding to death.)  She is very, very sick and would have died if not finally gotten help.  She is not out of the woods yet, though.  Having said that, I will tell you that she is being the most difficult patient ever.  She had a screaming fit at the two nurses last night and I was so completely overwhelmed by her loudness and rudeness that I broke down and started wailing.  The nurses thought I was concerned over Grandma (that is weird to say because I only call her by her first name, not Grandma), but I was crying for those poor nurses.  I know they are used to it, but it killed me to see them trying so hard to help her and she absolutely did not care at all.  Right before we left, she blamed my Mom for making her go to the hospital.  Guilt trip number three hundred.

Don't think badly of me for talking smack about my Grandma.  She is a different kind of person from anyone else on the planet.  Very difficult, very selfish, very much "her way or no way" and all that other stubborn stuff.  And, not since she got older.  From day one she has been that way.  She's not the "I made you cookies" sort of Grandma or "Here's a birthday card" Grandma.  So, not your usual Grandma.  In fact, is she knew I was referring to her as "Grandma' she'd pop me in the mouth.  "You don't call you MOTHER 'Ma' so don't call me Grandmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww." 

She's not out of the woods yet, the scope could cause heart failure, but they take precautions.  She is 84 and a diabetic.  But they think it will work.  She'll be in the hospital for days and days then to Rehab (or that will be fun news to break to her....) for a few weeks.  Then either home with help or somewhere where there is help.  She has a wonderful old doggie that is our concern - finding help with her and making sure she is well taken care of - she loves my Grandma and she is very sad that she isn't home. 

She is completely addicted and I mean addicted to Diet Coke.  Guess what probably caused her Ulcer?  Diet Coke.  Guess what she can't have any more?  Diet Coke.  Guess who isn't going to tell her that?  Me. 

Since no one likes a post without a photo.  Here's me, my Mom, Grandma in brown and my Great Grandma in purple on the left.  Four generations.

I'll be back when I can.  Thanks again everyone. 

To Blog Or Not to Blog...That is the Question

I love this silly little blog of mine.  I get a thrill with each and every comment that comes through.  Especially when someone new is nice enough to leave a comment and tell me that they like my blog.  With that comes some pressure and responsibility.  I feel like I need to blog about interesting things.  Things that I can write about an that people will enjoy.  But, lately.  Lately.  Lately life has been a real snooze fest.  Too cold to go out.  Too wet to go out.  Too snowy to go out.  And when  do get out..I go to the grocery store or to The Dollar Tree.  Sometimes..Both!  Woohoo.  Livin' on the edge.  Very little thrifting as of late.  I go sometimes, but I usually leave empty handed.  No one is donating because it's too cold to go out.  Too wet to go out.  Too snowy to go  out. 

My posts lately have been boring.  Boring.  Boring.  Boring.  Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  Oh, sorry.  I'm back.  I'm awake.

There are things happening.  My Grandma decided it's time to die.  She's gotten her affairs in order, called the funeral home, amended the will and told us who gets what.  She got in bed and refused to get out.  My Mom is at her house round the clock.  Bringing her drinks, helping with trips to the bathroom, etc.  Yesterday she was very weak, sick to her stomach, moaning and absolutely refusing any medical treatment whatsoever.  But, today, she is better.  Demanding a meal.  Upset because "someone" turned the TV off "her channel".  Walking all the way to the bathroom (in  huff) because "someone" brought her a bedside commode and she is "NOT READY FOR THAT."  Sorry, "someone" thought you said you were dying.

*Sigh.  How do you take care  of an elderly veeeeery stubborn woman?  Where do you get started finding help for her at home?  How do you convince her that everyone cannot just give up their lives and move in with her permanently?  It is difficult. 

But, no one really comes over here to read a blog entry about my sick Grandma.  So, I try to think of other things to bog about.  But, with no journey's and no junkin', the ideas are slim pickin's.

I did find one really cool thing at the thrift yesterday.  It made up for all the other empty handed trips.

I spotted this great hand carved wooden owl and I picked it up, thinking I would sell it on Etsy.  Owls are easy Etsy sellers.  So, I pick up all the cool owls I find.  This one is about 8" tall and really awesome.  When I picked it up, it had a sticker on the top, so I peeked under it.  That's when I found the slit on the top and the hole on the back. I don't think the thrift ladies knew what it was.  I knew what it was right away because it is "one of the things that I collect but never talk about".  Do you know what it is?  Because I need some entertainment -  First person to guess will get an envelope full of vintage Valentine's from me.  Maybe it's obvious?  Surely, not!

*We have a winner!  It wasn't as obvious as I thought.  Congrats to Shanna - it is indeed, a whistle!  It is one piece of wood, hand carvedand hollowed out.  The plug on the top has a small opening for blowing and the sound comes out of the hole in the back.  It makes a very lovely "Hooooooooooooooooooooot" when you blow into it.  I ave a small collection, about ten, of handmade whistles in animal shapes.  They are all Native American made and animal shaped.  Please, send me your address Shanna.  Thanks!

**Thanks for the Grandma understanding.  She is something else.  That's all I'm ging to say about THAT.

Why I Can't Get Anything Productive Accomplished

Today was to be a day filled with schoolwork (we got that one done) and lots of photo taking for my Etsy Shop.  Let's see how that went, shall we?

Set up light box.

Take photo of Vintage Sewing Box.

Remove cat from light box.

Take photo of Vintage Mouse in the House Cookie Jar.

Remove cat from light box.

Take photo of Much Loved Vintage Doggie.

Remove cat from light box.

Take photo of Victorian Cabinet Photo Album.

Give up. 

Maybe tomorrow?

Things I Learned While Snowed In

1.  Don't get nostalgic about your teen years and attempt to Facebook that boy from high school that absolutley turned you knees to jelly when you saw him walk down the hall because maybe, just maybe now he has a bit of a potbelly and a receeding hairline and now you cannot get that image out of your head instead of the jelly knee image that you have had for 25 years.  I loved that boy.

2.  Don't go through boxes of old photos and find photos of you and your not-yet husband back when you were absoluely can't keep your hands off each other crazy about one another and you thought he was the sweetest cutest thing ev-uh, only to turn around and see him in his "I've been home for days" sweatpants, ratty "lucky" Razorback t-shirt, slippers and stick-up hair that hasn't been combed in days, because then you still have the moony-eyed love-struck cutie-pie image in your head but the actual "Holy Hell What Happened to Him" actuality staring you in the face.  (Yea, I know, I'm no beauty queen around the house either.)

3.  Do dig deep in your pile of stuff and start listng on etsy and donating the rest.  You might be surprised to find some really good crap in there!  Carp you forgot you had!  Crap you never remember buying!  Crap you've never seen.  It's like hitting a really good yard sale.  In your own house!  For freeeeee!

Fun in the Snow

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! 

Don't do it, Bean!

Power To The People

First it rained.

Then the freezing rain started.

Then the sleet arrived.

A lot of sleet.

Then it stopped.

Then the snow started. 

And it snowed. 

And it snowed.

It's still snowing.  Right now it's about an inch an hour.  Forecast calls for the snow to end about midnight.

That's 11 hours away.

One inch and hour for eleven hours.

Plus the two inches already on the ground.

Plus the accumulated ice and snow under that. 

Shazam!  That's deep!

But, we have power so it's okay by me. 

The heat is on.  The X Games are on TV.  I think I will bake a cake.

All is well!

P.S Thanks for the kind blogposts.  And the email from Heidi early this morning.  And the phone call from Oliveoyl checking on me.  A blog friend that I have never even met - calling to check on me.  So sweet!

I love blogland!

And, I love POWER. :D

Batten Down The Hatches

BREAKING NEWS:

ICE STORM

coming our way.

Not again.  Please, tell me, not again.


Not again.

If you live around here, not a day goes by without someone mentioning "The Ice Storm" last year. Ironically, exactly one year ago today. We still have limbs hanging from the trees, a patched roof that has to be repaired, broken fence pickets, a smashed BBQ Grill in the side yard and a broken wrought iron gateway. We are not finished repairing from last year!

The trees still look like this - without the ice.  For now. 

It was pretty during the day.  But so scary at night.  Like a war had broke loose with the trees snapping in half and hitting the ground. 

Three days without power, without heat, no showers, no hot food, no coffee and a dark cold house.

Sigh.

Not again.

So, if I disappear...I will be back.  Someday.  Somehow. Stinky and ready for some hot fried potatoes (my comfort food). 

Off to buy massive amounts of bread and milk.  'Cause that's what you do.  Right?

A Sunny Day

Sunday was indeed, a SUN day. The sun shone brightly in the sky and the sky was a vivid blue. With my Etsy Shop in dire need of new merchandise, I grabbed a couple of totes of items, my tiny display table, my wee little chair and my camera and headed out to the front porch to photograph my wares.

I had no idea that it was flippin' freezing until I stepped outside.  But, I already had everything gathered up, so I set up  my mini photo shoot and went to work.

I often wonder what my neighbors think of me....sitting in a child's chair in front of a small table, hanging old purses on my picket fence, happily snapping away with my camera.  I'm sure I do look odd.  But, I really don't care.  I was on a mission!

I got everything measured, photographed and my notes completed on each item.  I even got them all listed, which is  feat unto itself.  And, I already had three sales today. I suppose I will be sitting on the front porch taking photos next Sunday too.  No, wait, we have ICE, 8 inches of snow and negative temperatures coming.  On the Anniversary of the Ice Storm of 2009.  Seriously.  Maybe I will do that whole photography thing next weekend.

*Not to sound like a commercial or anything...BUT....I do have a lot of cool tings in my Etsy Shop and a portion of each sale is going to The Red Cross and Save the Children throughout the month of February (starting today).

A Different Kind of Junking

The Corp of Engineers is letting the water level down at Beaver lake.  Beaver Lake is a man made lake.  In 1966, the same year I was born, but before we lived here, they made Beaver lake.  They flooded 28,370 acres of farmland. People moved out of their homes, but the homes remained, the barns remained, the junk piles, the fences, old cars and tractors - it's all under the water now.  And, when the Lake goes up after lots of rain, stuff pops up.  And, after the water level drops down, things appear n the shore. it's become sort of a family tradition with me, The bean and my Dad to walk the shoreline to see what we can find.  Usually, it's old bottles, old jars,

I lived out at Beaver Lake for my entire childhood and my Dad still lives in thee same house. His hobby is driving round the lake. A lot. Around and around this way and that way. When we went out at Christmas, the water levels were up over the picnic tables and across the roadways. He called me on Wednesday to tell me that the water was dropping fast and lots of "junk" was starting to float up and lay on the shorelines.  That was our cue to haul it out there Pronto!

As you can see, there are a lot of down trees,sticks, driftwood, stumps and other things.  Beer bottles, Gatorade bottles, Bic Lighters and flip flops are a common sight.  Hmmm...what's that square thing in the middle?  Let's check that out.

My dad says, "What is it?" I answer, "Some sort of box."  The Bean practically squeals - "That's not a box!  That's a SAFE."  Oh my God!  How may times have you dreamed of finding a SAFE????  The door had been peeled open with a crowbar and it appeared to be full of leaves and water.  So, it was obvious that it had been stolen, opened, emptied and then dumped in the Lake.  But, come on, it's a SAFE, we had to check it out. Just in case.  You never know, right?

I had my old lady "get things off the top shelf" grabby tool with me, so I stuck it in and started pulling out the leaves.  Then I heard a *clink* so I got excited and dug in deeper.  The clink turned out to be car keys.  A bunch of car keys all on different rings.  Then I pulled out a few credit cards, a Credit Union Credit card, some soggy receipts, a smushy paper bag and some more leaves.   I was just about to quit, because it was obviously empty.  Then I saw a flat black book which  thought would be an Address Book sort of pressed against the back wall, so I gabbed it and started to pull it out. That's when I realized I saw COINS.  I started yelling, "It's MONEY, It's MONEY".  I thought we were all three going to have a heart attack!

It was a 1973 Proof Set consisting of a Silver Dollar, Half Dollar, Quarter, Dime, Nickle and Penny.  Face value $1.91, Collectible Value about $10.00, Best Damn Exciting FUN we ever had = PRICELESS!  Can you believe we found a SAFE and there was MONEY in it?  Holy Craaaaaaaap.  (That's my Dad holding it).

I do have names from the Credit Cards, so I am going to try and find the owner.  The coins aren't worth much, but they might be from  the year he was born or something.  I'd love to know the story of the stolen safe.  The Credit Cards aren't even expired yet, so I know that it hasn't really been that long since it was dumped. 

Whew.  That was FUN.

After that, all the other junk, well, looked like.....junk.   We did find a cool handmade box of some sort.  It was all weathered and had awesome old hinges from an old ice box on it.  It was bogged won with lots of leaves and sticks and pretty dirty.  It was also pretty far inland and away from our car so we had to leave it.   I wish we could have gotten it home and worked on it a bit - new screen or chicken wire.  It would have made a neat old display piece.  I don'think anyone else but me would have ever found it let alone appreciated it.  So, The Bean whomped on it and got the hinges for me.  It really was a fun day out in the sun and by the pretty lake.  The level is expected to drop seven feet a day for the next two weeks, so I'm thinnking another trip might be in order!

****Update:  My Dad lives next door to a Sherriff's Deputy.  He told him about the safe, where it was and turned everything over to him.  We are off the hook and did the right thing.  But, it was still EXCITING! 

Tuesday's Thrifty Find

I finally made it out of the house today. Nine days of home bound sickness was beginning to get to me.  I made a run to The Super Cheap Thrift.  You just never know what you will find there and it's always affordable.  Today's best find - a Set of Safety Posters for Primary Grade Bulletin Boards - circa 1957 for 10¢.

I  

My favorite is the "Keep matches out of baby's reach."  The seven year old can still reach them, but the baby can't.  There are 12 posters in the book and thay are in pristine condition.  I'm not sure what I will do with them, but at 10¢, they are keepers, for sure.

7 Things (Sans Miley)

Pam at One Gal's Trash tagged me today to share seven things about myself that you might not already know.  I was happy to be tagged for this one, since I am severely lacking in any good blogging material.  Thanks Pam!

1.  I was 17 when I lost my last baby tooth.  We hadn't realized that I still had a baby tooth until it just fell out.  I was a Senior in high school and could not imagine going to school the next day without a tooth!  A trip to the Dentist revealed that my adult tooth was in the roof of my mouth so it hadn't pushed out the baby tooth.  I had to have oral surgery to drag the tooth from the roof of my mouth over to where it was supposed to be.  During the oral surgery, I was loopy on laughing gas and I gave the Dentist and the nurse a very long and torrid description of my High School Crush's......shoelaces.

2.  My first job was when I was 10.  My Mom and I worked together at a local Grocery Sore during their Anniversary Sale selling hotdogs and cokes.   We dumped package after package of hot dogs into a big Nesco Roaster, boiling weiners until we were sick from the stench.  The hotdogs were a promotional one day a year thing, so they were only 10¢ each.  Families would stop and buy ten to eat then and then want to order 50 to 100 to take home.  We had to cook them, put the hotdogs in the buns, add ketchup, mustard and relish, then put each hot dog in a paper sleeve and then put them in paper bags to carry home.  We finally wised up and just gave them the cold hot dogs and hot dog buns in the original packages to save time.  They were going to have to heat the up later anyway, so why not?

3.  When I was little we lived near the woods.  Not far into the woods, I discovered a bare patch of grass with what looked like there had been a fire in the center at some point.  I was completely convinced that this was an actual Indian camp.  I spent hours sitting there, talking to my Indian friends, stirring up bowls of dirt stew and living the Indian life. 

4.  When I was seven, I saw Santa.  For REAL!  I was sitting at the dining room table and my  Mom was in the kitchen.  Behind her was a door that had little triangle shaped panes of glass in it.  I saw Santa peeking at me peering in the window with his green mittened hands sheilding the glare in the bottom left hand corner.  My Mom saw my face and said, "Shara! What did you see?"  I said, "I saw SANTA!"  And, I know she believed me, because she saw it in my face.  And, all these years alter, even though I have played Santa as a Mom, I KNOW I saw Santa that night.  I know it.

5.  I walked past a pay phone one day as it was ringing. On a whim, I answered it.  It was a local radio station calling to see if anyone would answer it.  Since I did, the DJ's came to me and gave me a $50.00 Gift Card to a local resturant.  I always answered pay phones after that, but it was usually just some cranky guy at the other end.

6.  I love to read US Weekly and watch TMZ.  I love celebrity gossip, celebrity fashion critiques and celebrity love triangles.  I honestly have no idea who 80% of the people are or what they did to be famous - Heidi? Spencer? I have no idea.  But, I love to read it.  My Mom and I both get US Weekly and we pour over it together and discuss everyone.  She doesn't know who anyone is either.  It's our guilty pleasure.

7.  I have a package of mints from our wedding in our freezer.  A friend of ours made them for us in blue and mauve.  After the wedding, there was a baggie full left, so I threw them in the freezer.  Three residences later, three refrigerators later and nineteen years later - I still have them.  I can't throw them away after all this time!  I can't!

I am supposed to tag seven other people, but I will let anyone that may be lacking in blog material hop in and join in on the fun too.

Collections: Gingham Aprons

I have a lot of collections.  In fact, if you ask me what I collect, I would answer "collections".  Some things, I set out to collect, others came to me unknowingly.  Several years ago, I went to a sale and purchased over 50 aprons for 10¢ each.  It was a huge box of aprons!  I took them all home and washed them, only to find an ungodly gnarl of apron ties in the washer that took me days to untangle.  There were many aprons of all sorts in that box.  Aprons for holidays, aprons for every day use, aprons with the grnadkids names on them, aprons with pockets, aprons with holes.  Lots of aprons.  I have given a lot of the aprons away in swaps and in gifts, but I still have a lot of them.  It occured to me one day that if I was going to keep any of these aprons, I needed to find a common theme in the ones that I liked and only collect those.  As I looked through them, I was drawn to the gingham aprons.  Particularly the aprons with chicken scratch on them.  I went through the aprons, found all the gingham aprons and put them in my kitchen.  I have also added several from sales over the years. 

Now I have a virtual rainbow of gingham aprons.  I actually don't have a yellow apron, that is a yellow gingham tablecloth (with chicken scratch) stuck in there to complete the rainbow.  On this year's Wish List when it comes to thrifting:  A yellow gingham apron and a brown gingham apron to complete my rainbow of aprons.  I don't really need a yellow or a brown apron, but that is just part of the thrill of the hunt when it comes to thrifting - finding what you really wanted!

Wish me luck!

2010: Off With A *BANG*

I have Bronchitis.

We had to spend $700.00 on the truck.

The temperatures were near Zero for a week.

My Mom's pipes froze, burst and she is on Day 9 of NO WATER.

I'll be back when things suck less.

Hopefully, that will be sooner than later. 

monkeybox Reviews

monkeybox is happy to be selected to review a product from CSN Stores.  I looked though their stores and see they have a niceselection of items.  I've always wanted a nice set of  bar stools for my kitchen, but I will need to wait a little longer for those. In the meantime, the nice people at CSN stores are sending me a Calphalon Tri-Ply Stainless Steel 3 Quart Chef's Pan with Lid to review. They have over 200 stores listed at the bottom of the webpage.  Check them out!  And be sure to come back and read my review too.  Thansk CSN!

Word of Wisdom From My Mother

When I was a little girl, my Mother let a colloquialism slip and my little ears were shocked. But, I have remembered it my entire life. And on days like today, I look back fondly on her wise words.

"It's as cold as a Well Digger's ass."

She taught me other things too.

But, that whole "well digger" thing, well that always stuck with me.

It really is indeed, as cold as a Well Diggers.....well, you know.

Stay warm!