Week In Review

making pancakes with Pop

This morning Cosy was hanging out with me while I put on my makeup when this conversation happened:

Nana: Is your tum tum hungry yet?
Cosy: Yes.
Nana: What do you want to have for breakfast?
Cosy: Pop is making pancakes for me. (starts heading downstairs)
Nana: ???
Nana: Pop, are you making pancakes for Cosy?
Pop: I guess so.

And he did. Girl knows how to get things done!

Time to reflect on the past week... It was a strange week because we had pretty extreme flooding here... and also because I didn't go to Marvin's until Wednesday morning. I had a doctor's visit in Gainesville - which is about halfway between my house and his - on Wednesday morning so it made more sense to go down after that instead of going down Tuesday and backtracking the next morning. Since I didn't go down until Wednesday morning, I stayed down there until Friday morning where as I would usually be home on Thursday afternoon. His Thursday trivia show is a good bit later than the one on Wednesday so I went on to sleep before he got home but we did have several hours to hang out together Thursday afternoon / early evening that we would usually not have so it was worth staying over. Getting home on Friday morning instead of Thursday afternoon made it seem like today was Friday instead of Saturday and... well, you get it. We're such creatures of habit. The ebb and flow of my life depends on Austin's work schedule and Pop's golf schedule for the most part. With Austin driving the days change a lot less for me but things do also revolve a bit around when Cosy and Oliver are here.

Tried to get a picture with both babies but
Cosy was NOT having any part of it!

Cody and Marquee and Oliver came up for a visit this morning. Usually they come the first Saturday of the month and usually I get Cosy so that she and Oliver can play together. They both love each other dearly but can fight like siblings at times. She's not great at sharing and he's a little comedian. She will dramatically scream and cry if he takes something she is playing with and we all get tickled at how over the top emotional she gets... he realizes that he's done something to make us laugh and so he will repeat the offense which gets her even more upset. For the most part we let them fight it out but we will use gentle reminders like, "let's share...." Oliver ALWAYS asks where Cosy is when I FaceTime with him and when he knows he's going to come up here he tells me he is going to share with Cosy. Like he knows that is the number one rule. Cosy is ALWAYS excited that Oliver is coming but she does not want to share or hug. Other than that... she's cool. I posted a ton of pictures on Facebook from this morning and I shared several little videos of them. They played in the hose and really, really had a great time. Cosy even gave Oliver a hug which is maybe the first time she's ever voluntarily done that.

Marvin called me on video-chat this morning while Cosy and I were waiting on Oliver to get here. Cosy LOVES Marvin. I think he sometimes thinks I'm exaggerating how lovingly she speaks of him but truly, he is the first man who is not family that she has ever even made eye contact with. She does not like men. Even with her Uncle Cody who she sees once a month or more, she doesn't often speak to him or make eye contact with him. She loves her dad, obviously. She loves her mom's dad, who she calls Papa. She loves Pop but that's a fairly new development. But pretty much every other man who ever is around... nope. So we were both talking to Marvin on the phone and when he was about to hang up and we were telling him goodbye she blew him a kiss! Completely unprompted... just... blew a big ol' kiss! He was shocked... and honestly, so was I!

We had a funny moment this morning with Pop. Cosy and I were downstairs with Pop and he was checking his blood pressure. She noticed the blood pressure cuff on him and said, in the sweetest, most comforting little maternal voice, "You'll be ok, Pop". Because obviously, blood pressure cuff = sick.

Oliver was jumping on the bed and somehow we got started talking about boys and girls... the fact that Oliver is a boy and Cosy is a girl, etc. I asked Oliver, "what is Nana, a boy or a girl?" He stopped and looked at me very seriously and said, "what are you?"

Marvin and I took a little drive on Thursday after breakfast and stopped at Chateau Elan, a winery and resort near him. He snapped a few pictures in the vineyard. I gotta say... I don't love the pictures of me because I feel like I look soooo fat. But I also don't want to erase all the memories of things I do because I don't love how I look in them. I'd rather have photos of life happening than only capture things that stroke my ego. Lord, help me, though, this is why I love cold weather because I can hide in a hoodie!

 

This picture of Oliver cracks me up because this is the look on his face when his mom told him it was time to get ready to go... meme by Marvin.

A few pictures of Oliver and Cosy from today. I haven't bought a little splash pool yet this year. I need to get one that is hard plastic and not the inflatable ones because the cats always puncture the inflatable ones and I just haven't tried to maneuver the hard plastic one in the car. We improvised with buckets and the hose today.

 

And now it's time for me to settle in for the night.

What was the highlight of the past week for you? Answer in comments below or post under the link on Facebook.

Love and hugs, y'all!

Food Friday - Adult Lunchables

Oliver sleeping in his high chair. Hair is in a
ponytail... don't worry, they haven't cut it. 

Congratulations on making it to the end of your short work week! This week has been tiring for me - I've had to wake up to an alarm twice - Wednesday for a doctor's appointment and Friday to get back home from Marvin's in time for Austin to get to work. I had an amazing nap yesterday afternoon but today it's just not happening. My back is not good at the moment. I can't seem to get on top of the pain and I'm sure that's what's keeping me from sleeping. Maybe "sure" is an exaggeration because I don't know how I can sleep like it's my job one day and the next day... nothin'.  Anyways....

I hope you are enjoying my return to blogging. I am truly finding passion in it that I thought I had lost forever. My blog has always sort of been the "person" who listened when I didn't have anyone else to talk to. Part of it was being able to share information so that people I care about will know what's going on in my life without having to have the same conversation with a hundred different people. It's an efficient method of communication that is well suited to articulate introverts. And I type fast so it's easy.

Cosy enjoying the lo mein at Sunflower

I'm finding that I do a lot better with writing my blog posts if I have a topic already - otherwise I'm just rambling on like the paragraphs above. I'm going to try giving each day a theme so I at least have a starting point. That also lets me write some posts in advance, which is helpful for days that I don't feel well enough to blog.  As you may have notice there are already two days that I've been using a theme: Resaons To Love Monday and Throwback Thurday.

by the way... if you aren't reading my Throwback Thursday posts you're missing out! I link you to every blog  for that day in previous years. Starting with yesterday's edition I included paragraphs that were of particular meaning to me or were particularly ironic or interesting. I'm hoping this will make it interesting for those who don't want to click a bunch of links.

And today's topic, if you didn't notice on  your way in... is FOOD! On Fridays I will share different food related things like my personal restaurant reviews, compare the same food from different brands... I may even talk about what I've eaten that past week or share recipes... anything and everything food related. Today I want to discuss my search for the perfect "adult lunchable".

If you're not familiar, Lunchables are these little snack kits, initially geared toward children, that contain lunch meat and cheese and crackers... or little pita rounds with sauce and toppings for little pizzas. They started out pretty basic but now they make them with nachos and cheese, little hot dogs, kabobs.. everything you can imagine. To me, it's basically a plastic bento box with too few cubbies.

The thing that makes them my current favorite meal is that there's no prep involved, it usually contains protein (I don't get enough) it works well with my stomach and it's just the right size for me. I eat small meals because if my belly is full it makes my back hurt. I always stop eating when I start feeling full. I like not being in pain better than I like the taste of... anything I can think of at the moment. Marvin has learned to order smaller meals for himself when we go out to eat because he's almost certain to be finishing my meal. I just can't eat much... and it's just not worth the time and trouble to cook, especially when it's hot outside.

SOOOO I have been in search of the Best Adult Lunchable. Here are a few that I have tried in the last week or three in no particular order:

 This little kit from Walmart had bread sticks to eat with prosciutto and mozzarella cheese. The prosciutto was good but a bit salty for this high blood pressure patient. This was a  higher price than most of the others at $2.68, maybe because prosciutto is more expensive? No idea but definitely would NOT buy again.

 This one from Hormel contained little bits of cubed chicken, cubed cheddar and chocolate covered almonds. They don't have the actual name of the product ON the product that I can see but on their website they call it the Hormel Natural Choice Snacks. They also have a Natural Choice Stacks which includes crackers. This one is just the meat, cheese and almonds. I would probably rank it among my favorite and would definitely buy it again. But probably it would smarter to just buy the meat and cheese and almonds myself and make a homemade lunchable. It would not be a horrible amount of prep. This was only $1.50, though, which is an entirely reasonable amount to spend on ... what ends up being a meal for me.

 This is another version of that last one. Again, $1.50, you basic meat and cheese cubed with the dark chocolate covered pretzels and... yum! Also... I'm cracking up at the backgrounds of these photos because... blankets... obviously I eat in bed.

This Hillshire Small Plate was very tasty but again, a bit too salty for me. I'm a salt-aholic so if I say it's salty, believe me, it's salty! However... the little bread rounds... croutons?... not sure what you'd call them... had a nice crunch and were tasty. I can't find the price for this at Walmart (where I bought it) but I'm finding it ranging in price from $1.25 to $2.99. If you find it at $2 or so, yes, that's a good buy. More than that, maybe not unless you're really in the mood for such.

 This wrapper is mangled because this son of a b&*#@ was too hard to open. I had to use so much force ripping it off that I ended up dropping all of the little pretzel chips on the floor then I had to scamper really quickly and pick them up to beat the thirty second rule... (that's a joke, I know the thirty second rule is not a real thing). Basically what you have here are the little thin pretzel chips with a lovely soft cheese for dipping. Since I lost a few pretzels in the wrestling match to open this, I also used the dip on my favorite Blue Diamond Almond Nut Thins crackers and it was excellent on those as well. Probably the least nutritional value of all the lunchables in this post but it would serve me well as a little "need something in my stomach" snack. This one runs $1.98 so... eh... might buy again.

These two products have been purchased but I haven't eaten them yet so... I can't tell you if I like them or not. First is the Marketside Baby Carrot and Cheddar Cheese kit... includes a turkey jerky stick, broccoli, ranch dressing and the things mentioned in the name of the product. I bought it because it had veg and protein which is a win in my book. I can't remember what I paid for it and can't find it listed online anywhere to give you an idea of the cost but I think it may have been the most expensive of all the kits I bought.

On the right is an actual Oscar Meyer Lunchable but they don't call it that... it's a "meat and cheese plate"... fancy schmancy! It's got slow roasted turkey, white cheddar cheese and basically triscuits... although they call them "whole wheat crackers" so they aren't ACTUAL triscuits. This guy is high in sodium (boo) but it has 34% of your recommended protein and 25% of your recommended calcium so... maybe not an everyday product for me but closer to something nutritional than what I usually eat.

Audience participation time: what is your go to - I don't want to cook but I need something in my stomach meal? Do you buy these little snack kits for yourself? Do you have a favorite? Leave your answers in the comments below or at the Facebook link of this post. Happy Weekend, y'all!

Throwback Thursday - May 31st

As usual I'm using Throwback Thursday to look back over this day in the history of my blog. You can click the enclosed links to read the actual blog post if you like. I really enjoy them and I hope you will too!

The most recent May 31st blog entry was 31-derful things about May back in 2013. The whole post is worth a re-read if you have the time, just click the link here. I'll repost the last thing because it is especially poignant to me:

31. I think that in the future I will look back on this season of life... as a 45 year old single, empty nested woman, living in her parents' basement/converted garage, wearing the same maxi-dress and hoodie and the side braid that seems to be my go-to hairstyle lately... and I will treasure these days. Despite the uncertainty of the disability thing, despite the pain, despite the whole hermit lifestyle, for some reason, these really feel like good ole days.

And they truly were.

In 2012, things were a little less settled for me. I was making the move back to Riverdale, to my parents' house and trying to find a job with just enough hours for me to get by financially. You can click here to read the whole blog but the part that is particularly interesting for me to read, six years later is

What I want is my little cabin in the woods and a job that will allow me the right salary that will allow me to work the kind of hours that my back can sustain and ... well, that's not gonna happen... so I'm just thankful for the right kind of job (lord willing) with the right number of hours... with the right amount of responsibility that will allow me to be around people I love, have the respect that comes from gainful employment but not PAINful employment.


Yep. I did find that perfect job but what I gained most from that job was the understanding that even in the most supportive employment environment, I was no longer going to be able to stay gainfully employed. They were so kind to me and allowed enormous flexibility but I found that even just an hour or two of sitting was more than my back could take. Even now... when I find myself at dinner that runs a bit long... or a social engagement that doesn't allow me to sit as comfortably as necessary, I still end up in a lot of pain.

In May of 2011, I was about four months into the struggle with back pain. I was still trying very desperately to work full time and keep our little household running so that Austin could finish school in White County. The pain and fatigue were overwhelming but I still kept getting up every day and trying. I really admire that girl from seven years ago. So much uncertainty ahead. I'm not sure I could have handled the truth of what was coming but I know that in those days of struggle, things were lining up just as they were supposed to be. I was supposed to stop working, move in with my parents and spend some precious, precious time with my mom. I was meant to be in that place, in that season of life so that I could be with her at the end. I'm ok with how things went, even though it was really hard at the time. I said in that blog that:

You can like the life you're living or you can live the life you like. I think I do the first one. I could change a lot of things... if I wanted... but there are a lot of things I can't change and I don't stress over them too much.

I just kept living and eventually, things sorted out the way they were supposed to be. You can click this link here to read my blog entry from this day in 2011.

My blog post from 2009 is here... it was a weekend recap from the weekend that my sister-in-law, Angie, threw her parents a 40th anniversary party. We didn't know then how soon her dad would be taken from us and so ... in retrospect... I'm glad they had such a wonderful party. I guess that's the biggest lesson I learn in these throwback blogs... how very precious these little events in life will be for us one day. Yes, we appreciate them in the moment but I think we appreciate them so much more when we look back.

That's all I have for this day in blog history. I hope you enjoyed this little trip back in time. Thanks for taking the journey with me! Love and hugs, y'all!

Pain Doctor Visit and Other Current Events

Today was my pain doctor visit. I see him every other month. It's crazy... I've been going to him for over 7 years now. I joked with the receptionist today that I'm an OG (Original Girl). I don't love going. I don't love the expense, for sure but it definitely helps me to check in frequently and know that my pain is legitimate and normal (for me, with my diagnosis'). I generally see the PA, who I adore for all visits except for once or twice a year and then he consults with the doctor before I leave. I thought it might be helpful to start recapping these visits again so I can remember my progress (not sure that's the right word) and for those who may have similar situations to know what my experience has been for comparison.

My list of diagnosis' is in the sidebar. There's a lot of stuff wrong with my back, nerve damage, migraines, Fibromyalgia and something of an autoimmune nature that we have yet to specifically isolate. I'm on several medications to help with pain although I am hesitant to list them so as not to be at risk for drug seekers. I do have a narcotic agreement with the pain doctor that requires me to submit to a urine screening at each visit... so that's always the first step once the nurse calls you back. Sometimes they will want to do a pill check which involves me bringing in all of the meds I take for anything - including advil - to be reviewed and listed. This time they did not ask me to do a pill check. Some pain doctors will call you randomly at any time and ask you to come in within a certain amount of time for a pill count. This will usually happen if someone appears to be taking medicines inappropriately or perhaps if a medicine they are prescribed does not show up in their screening. That urine screening is so sensitive that mine got flagged once for ibuprofen use... which is something that is approved for me to take but it wasn't listed at that time. It is a bit intimidating to know that anything I consume could come into question but if the alternative is living with pain, so be it. Truly, if ever pain medication were to stop being available to me, I would start using marijuana, whether or not it was legal. It becomes a quality of life issue.

After the nurse reviews your medicines, she will check vitals. My blood pressure today was 156/96 the first time... she did a recheck but I don't remember what that one was. I am on three blood pressure meds and other than yesterday (which I spent with Cosy) I had been resting almost nonstop since last Thursday night. It's frustrating and concerning to me that it's remaining high... however... it's a very clear indication that I'm in pain and ... although I would love to not have to be concerned about high blood pressure, I appreciate the validation so... yeah, high five, high bp! Way to represent! My heart rate was also high but.. that's not uncommon as I also have tachycardia. The cardiologist has already determined that my heart beats fast but in a healthy pattern so... that's ok.

After vitals, the nurse will go over your intake forms - a little questionnaire that you get from the receptionist when you check in. Basically it asks you to rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst pain you've ever felt in your life. I don't do well with this scale because I rated it really high in the beginning because it was, literally, the worst pain ever but... it's gotten worse so...? It asks specific questions about what hurts, has your pain changed, is it getting better or worse and so forth. These forms are extremely important when you apply for disability!!! Fortunately for me, I am naturally articulate and my medical records helped win my disability case. I make sure that I always fill those forms out as completely as I can and don't cut corners or downplay things. At the pain doctor it's ok to be a whiner. You pay him to listen to you whine. It helps him know how to treat your pain.

Once the nurse has reviewed everything, the PA - we call him Dr. Matt - comes in to chat. He is the one who will go over any new pain, worsening pain, problems, side effects from meds... basically anything going on with me pain wise. I have a good rapport with Matt and I trust him. Today he discussed my migraines and blood pressure and suggested that I see a neurologist. He has been referring me for a procedure where they squirt meds up your nose to help with migraines. I'm not necessarily opposed to it but... my co-pay isn't cheap and so I've been putting it off. I told him that I'm still not really set, budget wise, for that procedure but I will request a referral to a neurologist.

Although I see the pain doctor for pain... my migraines for some reason fall under treatment of my primary care doctor so I will need to request the neurology referral from him. As with anything else... I hate the process. I hate making an appointment, doing the whole new patient intake.. the cost involved... having to remember what all has been done over the course of time with each diagnosis. It's a lot and my memory is pretty poor lately. Anyways... once Matt and I have finished our chat, he will check to see which medications need refills and then he will go consult with the doctor to get those and see if he has any recommendations. Thing he brings out the prescriptions and walks me to the receptionist with my chart so that I can make my next appointment.

Honestly, most visits the entire process is less than twenty minutes from in the door to out the door. If I'm scheduling a procedure it takes a good bit longer as there is always a wait to see the lady who schedules those things. There's a bit more involved such as getting insurance approval and determining the co-pay (and she's a bit chatty). For each visit to the pain doctor Medicare is billed $800. The agreed rate is much cheaper but it's still a few hundred and it does occur to me that there is a financial incentive for the pain doctor to keep me dependent on his care. At the end of the day, he's in business for a financial gain. All that being said... he is the doctor who has been involved in my case the longest and I do trust him, as much as you can trust someone who makes money off of you. When I was waiting for my disability to be approved he gave me samples of a lot of my meds, saving me literally hundreds of dollars a month. He started very conservative with my care. His office worked very well with my disability attorney and all of that matters to me. Would it be wise to maybe see another doctor for a second opinion on things like... would surgery help, etc? Maybe. The doctor who performs surgery has a financial incentive to recommend surgery so... who do I trust? It's hard to know.

At any rate... doctor visit done and dusted, I headed south for my weekly date. My guy also had a doctor's appointment this morning so I dropped off prescriptions at the pharmacy near his house and then met him at his house to store my groceries (I always bring yogurt and powerade and something to eat for dinner when he's working) before heading back out to his doctor. His visit went better than mine, fortunately. I haven't asked if it's ok to share what his medical issue has been lately so I will just say that he has given me a big scare in the past month. I am definitely glad to see him on the mend. We went and picked up my prescriptions and then headed out for lunch.

We love going to a place called Rico's World Kitchen in Buford for lunch. You can click the link to check them out. They are pricey but they have lunch specials that are affordable and we have never had anything there that wasn't absolutely amazing! We ate outside today although it was a bit humid, it's quieter out on the patio. Marvin loves this place because he can get Cheerwine there... if you're not familiar, Cheerwine is a cola that tastes a bit like Dr. Pepper but better. It's native to North Carolina which is where he was born. I like it ok... but carbonated beverages don't sit well on my stomach so I usually just get tea. Today he had a chicken salad sandwich on a croissant and I had a cheeseburger. We both got the house made potato chips... they are really yummy... and we shared an appetizer of fried green tomatoes. We probably go to this place once a month or so together and he goes by himself every now and then as well.

Once we got settled in back at his house we started watching the Netflix series Altered Carbon. It's ... futuristic and science fiction-ish and... two episodes in, I'm invested in the plot but I don't love it. Then Marvin left for work ... and I had my usual Wednesday night soak in the bathtub and watched One Born Every Minute on my phone while I soaked in the tub. Tonight's bath bomb of choice was cherry blossom from Walmart. Not my favorite but at least there wasn't any glitter in this one. My back has been bothering me quite a bit today so the hot bath was nice. I carried Cosy up the stairs yesterday because she had a hurt toe - the tiniest little injury is a big deal when you're a three year old little girl and I'm a sucker for baby-ing her when she has a booboo. I even made a big deal of bandaging her toe. She calls bandages "bambages" which is freaking adorable! Anyways... I know better than to carry her ever, especially up stairs so, it's my own fault.

I guess the most prevalent current event today is this Roseanne Barr thing. From my point of view, it's not ok to call someone an ape. Name calling is never ok. I'm not ok with the name-calling of our President, even though he's not my favorite person and... he does a fair amount of name calling himself. Two wrongs don't make a right. Ambien will for real make you lose your filter but ambien doesn't make you racist. The real tragedy is the rest of the cast and crew who have lost their jobs and it makes me sad when anyone says or does something that will forever haunt them. This is a life changer for Roseanne. And that's all I have to say about that.

Anyways... that was my Wednesday. Marvin will be off work in about twenty minutes so I'll get this posted and get my laptop tucked away for the night so I can enjoy his company. I have another Throwback Thursday blog post ready for tomorrow... although y'all aren't seeming to love those so... I don't know if I'll keep posting them after this week. Let me know what you think! Love and hugs, y'all!

Alice Clow Pennington - Genealogy

Alice Susan Clow

1882–1963

BIRTH 25 NOV 1882 • Bangor, Marshall, Iowa, USA

DEATH 16 AUG 1963 • Siloam Springs, Benton, Arkansas, USA

This photo was probably taken in Iowa about 1882. The man is believed to be Ezra Clow who was born in Ontario and died in Oklahoma in 1907. The two girls and boys are his children from an earlier marriage. The lady holding the baby is Lidia Worden Clow, the current wife who died in 1931 and is the daughter of the older lady, Susannah Peet. Susannah is the widow of William Worden who enlisted in the Federal Army from Wisconsin and died at Rome, GA in 1864. The baby is my mom's paternal grandmother, Alice Clow Pennington (1882-1963). The young boy is Calvin Clow who was killed in WWI. 

When we remember our deceased military on Memorial Day, William Worden and Calvin Clow are two of many I think of...

Here is a picture of Ezra and Lidia Clow, Alice's parents, in later years:

Alice married William Judson Pennington in 1905, in Miller, Missouri.

Here is a photo of Alice and William that I believe was taken on their wedding day. 

The 1930 Census shows them living in Hurlbert, Oklahoma. It's a small town even today. The last census showed around 500 residents. The 1940 Census is almost identical. In both reports he was listed as the Proprietor of a Filling Station. I know from my Uncle that the Clow family ran a restaurant/grocery store and if I remember correctly, the filling station was at the same location. 

And here are Alice and William Pennington in later life... 

Alice and William had three children:

Clarence, born in 1908 - my grandfather, my mom's dad

Zelda, born in 1910

Clyde, born in 1914. 

I was born in 1968 so I never met Alice Clow Pennington. I don't remember any stories that my mom shared about her, except that they would travel as children to visit. Eventually I'd like to put together a list of family members in a nice, neat book of some sort to pass down to the generations that follow me. There are a lot of us so it will take awhile but... what better place to begin my compilation than here? Hope you enjoyed! 

Memorial Day Weekend TV Viewing Recap - Girls Only Edition

Oh, what a blissful holiday weekend this has been for me! Y'all may get tired of hearing this but Austin being able to drive has CHANGED MY LIFE! Not only do I not have to take him to work but I can send him out to pick stuff up for me. Consequently, I have not left the house since Friday morning. It's glorious!

Because I have literally done nothing this weekend except watch tv and lounge about... there's nothing really interesting for me to share on my blog. Since I'm grasping at blog-writing straws, I thought it might be fun to look back over my recent television viewing history in case you're looking for something to watch - or something I would recommend you NOT watch. As always, I love suggestions about shows that you're enjoying so feel free to share those... and for the record, because this comes up every time I do a post like this, I have already watched Frankie and Grace, Call the Midwife and Downton Abbey. Bonus points for correctly choosing those as shows that I would enjoy watching because HECK YEAH!

Here are some things I've watched recently by myself - these are chick flick / girly / I'm just a geek programs.

Tulip Fever (movie from 2017) and because I watched that I fell down a rabbit hole of researching stuff on the bursting of the "tulip bubble" in the Netherlands in 1637. Yes, this was a major historical event. I watched two documentaries on Amazon Prime Video - Tulipmania and The Tulip Bubble.

I watched a documentary on Amazon Prime about West Point (the military school). That's the title of the documentary, by the way, West Point.

I started watching The Good Wife. I know a lot of people love it but I'm not really... I'm in maybe the tenth episode and... meh.

Every now and then Netflix or Amazon Prime will mess with me and suck me into a show that isn't in English. In that vein... I started watching 3rd Reich Mothers.... about women who were intentionally impregnated to breed for Germany during Hitler's reign and... then I realized it was in German. It had English subtitles but that's just too much work.

This weekend I have started about a dozen shows that didn't catch my interest. I may go back to them but... we'll see. Being Ginger was one. I started watching Band of Brothers and fell asleep. Monument Men - The Road to Rushmore... zzzzz.... Same with Eric Brown, A Pilot's Story. I'm going to feel really bad if someone google searches their show that they worked for years to develop and put out there and I'm categorizing it with ... too boring... my apologies to any film makers that I'm offending with this blog post. Honestly, what do I know?

Especially when you consider some of the shows that DID hold my interest... things like The Grange Fair - An American Tradition,  The Tents (about the history of fashion week in NYC) Chicken People (about people who raise and show chickens), Men of the Cloth (documentary about tailors in New York City), Dealers Among Dealers (about the diamond trade), Inside Asprey: Luxury By Royal Appointment and lots and lots of episodes of Lock Up. Lock Up is my default program that I have playing at night while I'm sleeping.

I watched a documentary on World War I because, you know, Memorial Day. For giggles I watched Ali Wong's new Netflix special and Tig Notaro's comedy special. Both were edgy but funny.

West By Orphan Train was interesting. Did you know that for a period of about 75 years, kids from orphanages back East would be put on a train and sent to the West / Midwest to work on farms? The vetting process was random and not closely supervised and I just can't imagine what horror some kids must have faced.

I can still see some of the shows I watched last weekend... there was definitely a British Royalty theme at work:
Whatever Happened to The Windsors
Princes of the Palace
Prince Harry at 30
Fergie: Downfall of a Duchess
Princess Diana - A Life After Death
My Mother Diana - Prince William's Story of the Princess Diana

So... I know you're thinking I should probably get a hobby and you're probably right. There are a lot of days for me that pain makes it too hard to concentrate on anything like embroidery or genealogy and physically I just don't feel like moving. Laying still and half watching/half listening to the tv is about all I can manage at times and this weekend was one of those times. I'm also using my down time at home when I don't have Cosy - because it's a completely different viewing lineup when she's around - and when I'm not with Marvin, because he's a guy.

What did you do with your long holiday weekend? What are you watching when it's just you? Leave a comment here or on the Facebook link?

Reasons To Love Summer

It's the Sunday of a three day holiday weekend which... doesn't mean as much to me as it used to but I do appreciate that for many of you the three day weekend is still important. I love holidays, don't get me wrong, but I cringe at the thought of Memorial Day because it means we have the long, hot Summer stretching before us. I know that technically, Summer doesn't start until later in June but in my mind... and temperature wise where I live... Summer is from Memorial Day until Labor Day.

Summer means sweaty thighs and heat migraines and feeling miserable every time I step outdoors. It means having to remember sunscreen when I go outside. It means bugs. It means frizzy hair. It means kids out of school, roaming the streets and making things more crowded. Because I live in a tourist destination it means traffic and longer lines and not being able to go anywhere near Helen. Out of all the seasons, I like Summer the least.

And let's be real, the past few Summers have majorly sucked for me. I had a hysterectomy. We had to fight for visitation with Cosy. My mom got sick around this time last Summer and never got well. I haven't mentioned this publicly but Austin got in some legal trouble last Summer that caused us all a lot of frustration. Summer has not been good to me but Summer is here, just like a Monday and must be lived through, no matter how I feel about it. So just like Monday... I'm going to dig deep and find a few Reasons To Love Summer! Here goes:

1. Fresh produce. I love a good farmstand with freshly picked, local produce. Our produce around here in the off season travels further since we are further from Atlanta, the nearest transportation hub and therefore isn't as fresh as I would like. But our local, homegrown stuff can't be beat! There are a few farmstands around and a farmer's market on the town square every weekend and even the bakery sells fresh produce! Corn and watermelon and peaches and tomato sandwiches... yum! A sub-category to that would be boiled peanuts but you can really get boiled peanuts year round... and I learned how to make them in the crockpot so I have them whenever I want.

2. I know I mentioned my frustration with tourist traffic but honestly, tourism is our bread and butter up here. Austin works for the Old Sautee Store and Market which probably has a lot more tourist customers than locals. He's getting longer hours and more workdays while business is good so... tourists = money. I'll eat at my favorite local places during the Winter.... and they'll still be in business during the Winter because of the tourist dollars that keep them running year round.

3. Tourists come here because this is a lovely place to visit... and you WOULD want to live here. Even just a little grocery run reminds me how much I love this little corner of the world. It's small and quaint and charming. People are friendly. The pace is slow. Even though we have traffic - especially during the weekend - I've learned the times that I can go and not have to deal with crowds. And our traffic doesn't even begin to compare with Atlanta traffic so... I really can't complain.

4. Now that Austin is driving I rarely have to leave the house. I literally have not stepped foot outside since Friday morning. I won't hibernate ALL Summer but I can try to avoid the hottest days, at least the hottest part of the day since I don't have to take Austin and pick him  up. This weekend my blood pressure has been up so I'm trying to rest as much as I can and I'll have to check with the doctor on Tuesday.

5. Lord willing and the creek don't rise... this will be an easier Summer than the last two. In 2016 we went two months without seeing Cosette and it shattered my heart in pieces. Last Summer my mom was sick and passed away in August. We worked so hard to take care of her. I can't even fathom a Summer that could possibly be as hard as the past two. I don't feel like I'm tempting fate by saying, it can't possibly be worse.

6. I'm looking forward to good times with Cosy and Oliver this Summer. She FINALLY is no longer afraid to get in the water. Now that Austin can drive, I can be away from home more so I can spend more time with Oliver. I can do things that I haven't really been able to do the past few Summers because I had to be around to keep the household running.

7. At the end of the Summer I'm getting  a brand new niece and I have plans to travel to New York City to spend some time with her family when she gets here! Nobody loves Gant babies more than I do! My sister-in-law is really good about posting photos and videos of my nephew, Finn and I'm telling you, that guy has the BEST LIFE! He's a real New Yorker and I just love seeing him out and about in the city. Being able to see another little one just like him - hopefully with the same curly red hair- is going to make it double the fun for me!

8. My Winter uniform is basically hoodies and leggings. My Summer uniform this year is this dress from Walmart. I have four of them: black and white striped, grey and white striped, pink and orange striped and olive green and white striped. They are only $9.96 and I love the fit on me. It's the softest material you can imagine. Packing for my time with Marvin is easier because I just throw a few dresses in my weekend bag. (Although, to be accurate, since I've started blogging I also take my laptop to his house and that sucker is heavy so... weight wise, my bag is about the same.) I usually wear this dress with keds... which are also part of my Summer uniform. I have them in white, grey and red for this year. I also have a couple of maxi skirts and a few other dresses... but definitely my Summer uniform means wearing pants as rarely as possible.

9. My final (and maybe biggest) Reason to Love Summer this year is my sweetheart. We didn't really start seeing each other until mid-September last year so this is our first Summer together. He hates Summer almost as much as me, as far as the heat and humidity are concerned. This is a man who sleeps with a fan on himself year round so I know that as much as he can help it, we won't be hot when we're together. I'm looking forward to our adventures together this Summer. When you're with the right person, even the bad times aren't so bad.

So what about you? Do you love or hate Summer? What are you looking forward to this Summer? Let me know in the comments below or on my link on my facebook page. Love and hugs and Happy Memorial Day, y'all!