random – Page 2 – This Old House 2

Don’t Stop Believin

One of my favorites from my high school days…

Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin –

and seriously.. if you remember the song and you’re not

instantly drawn to sing along with it,

Lighten up, I say. Go with it.
No matter what’s troubling you – and especially if you’re having a difficult time today
regardless the reason – let it go for a few minutes, get lost in an old song.
Throw in some air guitar while you’re at it.

It does a body good.

turn up the volume and click HERE

First Snow

Thank you all for such thoughtful comments yesterday…

amazes me how well we are able to get along regardless of

religious or non-religious beliefs – proof that it IS possible.

What you all drove home yesterday was the idea that
we all believe in the simple celebrating of a joyful time of year,
that’s my AMEN.

The first snow of the season fell yesterday morning..

The knock out roses have now officially been… knocked out.

It’s a new day, all. Make it a good one 🙂

Alfred Hitchcock would approve

Today is football Sunday here at This Old House….

where the men are men and the women are useless.

Unless they’re serving up a plate of cranberry meatballs

or crackers and cheese with pepperoni, please.

Now I like football, I watch it when my team is playing

(Go Patriots!!)

but hour after hour gets a bit redundant and what’s left of my hearing

is in jeapardy with all the hooting and hollering that goes on in that cave.

So a walk with the dog(s) it shall be…

and a little admiration of the one thousand common grackles that have decended

at the feeder outside my kitchen window.

I’m guessing this kind of encounter inspired good ole Alfred Hitchcock for

his movie, THE BIRDS.

Did you see Anthony Hopkins in the movie..Hitchcock?

He’s one of my favorites, but in this movie he was particularly wonderful.

Amazing, no?

I personally believe the common grackle is one of the most beautious birds around.

If I could convince one to stay as a pet, I’d be tickled all the irridescent

colors these birds show off – they literally glimmer –

why they got such a common name is beyond me.

Seriously looking dude..

Woods Walk

The Mr. has cleared some beautiful walking trails

behind this old house – part of these trails were the original

“road to town” back when horse and buggy were the method of travel.

Our fall here in New England has been glorious and we’ve been

walking the woods, reveling in it’s golden hues and the scent of moldering leaves…

(is that a word?)

That particular scent reminds us both of our childhood and the wonderful

memories that this time of year invokes. Is that true for you too?

This is part of the original road that leads down into the woods…

There are still stone walls remaining from the past two centuries,

when cattle and horses and sheep grazed these pastures, now full of second growth trees.

Swamp maples have the most beautiful colored leaves…(below)

a red orange yellow glow like no other…

..and the fungus among us is extraordinarily beautiful if you look beyond it’s name.

Another shot of the road less traveled….

Your truly hiding behind one of the majestic trees…

Here since that road was a major thoroughfare, I’m sure…

When you see a tree this large standing in the middle of the woods,

you know it once stood alone, allowed to take in all the light and water so

that it could mature to this size. The small second growth trees all around it give that away as well.

Heading back up out of the woods to This Old House, the sky last night

was radiant…

Randomness in the Rain

Good morning all – I’m doing what I’m good at.. procrastinating before diving into the housework that’s begging for my attention. What better way than to purge the many thoughts I have whirling round in my head.

Ready?…

Rain is a beautiful thing when you’ve got a hundred or so plants in the ground that have just weathered a string of hot humid days. My hose nozzle clutching hand is thankful.

Knock out roses – the rose for people who want minimal maintenance and maximum show.

It’s a beautiful thing.

*******

Going from pretty to ugly…

I see that J*ran Van der Sl**t is to be married in jail within the next two weeks.

Remember that creep? Murdered not just one but two young women.

Serving 25 years in a peruvian prison for the proven murder of one.

The other case is still unsolved, but the circumstances are pretty clear.

He’s actually found a 28 year old woman willing to marry him.

What is wrong with this woman??..

Seriously.. is she F-ing nuts???

A bigger question is… why is this man allowed to marry?

Once again, the convicted heinous murderer gets to live a life

while his victim(s) lie dead in the ground.

My solution? Put him and Jodi Ar*as in a cell together and let them have

their way with each other. With luck, they’ll seduce each other to death,

as they’ve done with their previous victims.

*******

Cleo is sitting contently in her nest this morning..

had to wash those thoughts out of my head, bare with me…

*******

I have been served with a Jury Duty notice.

First of all, with the way I feel about our Justice system,

I wouldn’t be a good juror.

Besides that, I long ago submitted a doctors note that I am hearing impaired,

which excuses a person from jury duty because…you really can’t hear what’s going on. Kinda important.

So I called and asked what has changed, because I still don’t hear well.

“Has your hearing improved in this period of time, m’am?”

“um, no. It’s gotten worse as I age. That’s what happens with all hearing impaired people

but hey, if you people have found a solution, I’m all ears! Literally! “

long pause and hold on the other side of the line..

and then an “OK, you are excused once again. You can disregard the notice“.

*******

Jean Stapleton, who played Edith Bunker on that beloved obnoxious show

All in the Family, years ago, has died. I loved her, I think everyone did.

When I see those old reruns it always brings me back

to those sleep overs at my grandmothers house when we’d watch them together.

Elsie and Al would light up with laughter

at the antics of Archie and Edith, Gloria and Meathead.

Seeing them outright giddy was a magic I can’t describe.

Simpler times, you know?

*******

My quarter horse friends all made it out of Oklahoma safely and are on their way home.

I feel so badly for the people who have lost loved ones or a home in that mess.

They are brave to continue to live there.

*******

As you know from yesterdays post I had a gluten feast yesterday and

I feel crappy today.. I call it the gluten hangover. I am not a celiac, but there is no doubt

gluten and I have a rocky relationship. To the naysayers who don’t believe in the gluten sensitive

theory and think it’s just a diet fad, (my ex-GP in particular), you are wrong, simple as that.

When I eat it, I feel crumby. When I don’t, I feel years younger,

very little arthritic pain, blood pressure stays at a good number, my stomach issues clear up,

my headaches go away. I believe it’s because the wheat our ancestors thrived on is different

from the GMO (genentically modifed ) wheat of today. Our bodies are rebelling.

It’s time I listen to my body. I’m done with gluten.

*******

Laundry and vacuuming await…I should really just shut up and get moving here.

I’ll get no help from this lot….

As always, I appreciate that you take the time to stop by here and

especially when you join the conversation and leave your thoughts on any particular subject.

I apologize for removing Anonymous comments once again,

too much ugly spam, and I do mean perverted ugly.

It’s a new day, all. I hope you have a great one.

The cell phone situation

I was surprised yesterday to learn that a blog buddy of mine does not own a cell phone. Neither does her husband…and I consider them to be a very contemporary couple. They have no use for it and are very content with their land line. Another blog buddy wishes she had cell phone service, especially for her husband’s business purposes, however their rural area still has no service, eight years after they moved to their current farm in Tenessee. They are frustrated.

I was surprised by both revelations, to be honest. Even though I grew up without a cell phone and the first 15 years of our marriage we didn’t have them, I can’t imagine NOT having them now that they have become a part of everyday communication. Why I love it? It’s the most instant means of getting in touch with someone available today… and a really good way to communicate with teens especially. I am now the queen of texting… this is a VERY valuable tool for the hearing impaired, and that would be me. Mike would be lost without his cell phone as he needs to keep in constant touch with his work crew during the course of a work day. Sometimes he and they are in three different places and issues arise that need decisions in order to go forward.

My 73 year old mother didn’t have a cell phone for the longest time. It was a foreign concept to her, and she was reluctant to get one. Then as she began traveling to visit friends, etc… I insisted she get a phone because we wanted to be able to get in touch with her, Heaven forbid she had a problem or needed assistance. She finally gave in and got one… but the next hurdle was TURNING IT ON. *sigh* I believe it took us three years to get her to leave it on and WITH her when she’s traveling. She still doesn’t know how to get messages on it, but that’s OK. If she needs us, she knows how to dial us. If we need to know she’s OK.. she picks it up on the third or fourth ring.

We still have a land line at This Old House, but it’s not used very often. Most of the time I give out our cell phone numbers for contact info, not the land line. Curious minds want to know… do you depend on your cell phone? Have you ditched the land line all together? Are you still primarly a land line user?

Are you getting your GREEN on?

Although it’s never believed by my appearance alone,

I am Irish as well as Italian. T’is a beautiful thing, if you’re to ask me 🙂

Amen, I say.

Any excuse to join in in some way, celebrate and have a little fun

should be put to good use – whether you’re Irish or Italian or German or Japanese.

Today, where ever you are…In large cities, along the beach, at church,

or in small town USA… , notice the camaraderie.. the wearing o’ the green,

the serving of the green beer, the green bagels at the bakery… The PARADES!

Anything that brings us all together in a good way, is alright by me.

My mom has already prepared the corn beef, cabbage, potatoes and Irish Soda bread.

Delish!

Are you wearing your green today?

I can smell it

Do you see what I see this morning? the GROUND!!… and the scent as I stepped outside to take this picture was of wet earth, and the promise of SPRING!….. do I hear a Hallelujah! The birds are chirping, the chickens are roaming, the horses are muddy and I don’t care.

It’s a new day, folks – make it a good one!

and thank you to all who are donating a book to This Old House’s

Little Free Library. I’ll let you know what we all put together 🙂

Just a thought here….

Now, first understand that I don’t need donations to start up my Little Free Library. I’ve got plenty to stock it. However, if you love the idea too… and are an avid reader and book collector as I am… you can help me stock the library by sending a book you have already read and don’t mind never seeing again. It can be a childrens book or a gardening how to book or a romance or mystery, best seller or new author, whatever! I think it would be really fun to see the diversity of what we can throw together. If this is something that you’d like to join in on, I also recommend writing your blog address on the inside cover indicating to new readers that you donated the book. Send me an e-mail if you want to donate, and I’ll give you my mailing address. karenthisoldhouse@hotmail.com

Below are a few more…

cute window box!

This one is located in Ghana….

And this one is in Memphis!…

alittle imagination goes a long way!

Southern Comfort

I think my southern blog friends Andy and Mandy have taken pity on us northerners with all the snow that’s been dumped on us lately. Yesterday, much to my surprise, the mail lady came trudging up to the side gate with a package in hand…they really do deliver in sleet and snow!