The Rooster Party is Just around the Corner!

If you don't know about Barb at Bella Vista's Rooster Blog Party you still have until the 4th of August to get over there and sign up.

I'm getting excited about it!

So get out your best Roosters and get ready to show them off!

"Hey, have you signed up yet? You love Roosters, don't you? I mean, just look at me. I'm gorgeous! What's not to be excited about?"

Hope to see you all there!

Bunnies, bunnies, bunnies

Happy Mosaic Monday, everyone. My husband, David and I, went for a visit to a local park and farm. It was perfect. The weather, the scenery. The peace and the quiet. And the bunnies.

Just look.

I fell in love with the little chunk sleeping on his back. He woke up later and decided to come and check me out and take a nibble of my finger. He did not like the flavor at all and returned toot sweet to his Mommy for some real food.

I want a bunny. I want that bunny. Why can't they stay little like that forever? How adorable can a little bundle of fur get?

If you haven't checked out Mary's The Little Red House Blog, zoom on over there for Mosaic Monday and check it out.

Oh, this is just too much cuteness.

Trying out different looks

Well, I'm playing again. Yes, that's what I like to do. Fiddle, really. I like to fiddle around with things all the time. I change blog appearances every few weeks or so because I can't find one I'm truly satisfied with. I would love to learn html because I have some great ideas for some wonderful country looking blogs, but I don't know if I have the patience to learn html. Oh well.

So, it you stop in from time to time, you may find that you don't recognize the turf any more. Don't worry, you'll still be in the right place. Eventually, I'll find something that suites me just fine. I'm looking for roosters, a country theme, wonderful country thises and thats but can't seem to find one I really love. 

If anyone has any suggestions on places that offer free blogger templates, or low-cost fees for designing one for you, let me know. I should also probably get into contact with my sister. She is getting into this, I think. I may have to give her a jingle. ;-) But she's very busy all the time. You know, that beautiful, warm California life of hers. That's where she lives, you see.  She's an artist and going to a graduate school there and learning all sorts of really amazing artisty things. Her talent ranges from cute and sweet, to dramatic and breath-taking. I'd love to have range like that. But I'm the fiddler in the family. I play with cloth, flowers, and stitch a little bit of this and that. So, designing a blog or website, not really my cup of tea.

If only there were a way to stitch a blog template... hmmmmmm.....

Life is a Gift: Beauty Needs No Words

Monarch on Butterfly Bush

Life is a Gift

I live just a plain ole simple life. There is absolutely nothing fancy to it. I know so many women out there are doing so many things, and I think about it and I feel like I should be doing so much more. At one point in my life I probably would have been. I use to always be so busy with projects and running around. Starting this, finishing that. Going here and going there. And sometimes I miss all of that. Especially when I'm reading the blogs of my lovely blogging friends. I wish I could do so much more. They all seem to be having so much fun and have so many lovely things going on in their worlds. I'm so happy for them and I enjoy reading each of their posts. So inspiring and beautiful. It is many times the highlight of my day being let in a little bit into each of their lives through their sharing. And, okay, I'll admit it. I do a little bit of living vicariously through them as well. Oh, okay. Yes, there is a little bit of envy as well. But what can you expect? I'm only human.

But, I live a plain ole simple life. There isn't anything wrong with that... but I'm still working on accepting that really and truly.

I don't do a lot of running any more if I can help it. It's too tough on this stiff, tired and sore body of mine. I'm only 43 years old, but there are many days I feel older. I have a lot of crazy things happening with my body, and each year the doctors seem to find more. This does not make me happy. However, it is how it has been so far.

Let's see, at last look, the list went something like this:

1. Fibromyalgia.
2. Sjogren's Syndrome
3. Arthritis
4. Mixed Connective Tissues Disease (they think~ not positive but that's what they're saying for now)
5. Possible Lupus~ we have to wait a few more years and see what other symptoms happen
6. Severe scar tissue from C-section interfering with this and that
7. Uterine Fibroids (kind of big and very painful)
8. Peri-menopause. (I can count that. It's my right as a woman.)
9. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
10. Possible Gluten intolerance.
11. Chronic migraines and headaches from neck and back spasms
12. Chronic back spasms
13. Chronic arm and leg spasms
14. Restless Leg Syndrome
15. Chronic infections that flare up here and there and level me.
16. PVC heart palpitations accompanied by pain, which for now are being considered benign.

Yikes. Every time I look at that list it just overwhelms me. It's just so much more then I can take in most days. Just the symptoms of Fibromyalgia are more then enough, thank you very much. (Hey, who asked for this? I don't remember asking for this.)

So, my life, the busy, bustling, having fun life I had before, has kind of turned into a very plain ole simple life.
A no big deal kind of thing. I have had to be very, very creative with my interests in order to not go completely noodlely from having to limit myself so much all the time.

Take today. Today I took my son out to the book store, myself to Joann Fabrics, and then we went to  Best Buy for my son to price cooling mats for his laptop. By the time we were one hour in, I was toast. I didn't want to show my son this because he worries about me and he would have called it quits so we could go home and I could rest. There was no way I was having any of that. Too much has been taken from us as it is. It is utterly ridiculous to me that I get that exhausted and into that much pain for doing just about next to nothing. I know I injured my back last week, but I'm doing much better from that the past 24 hours, so that wasn't the problem.

I know what I have is real. I know these things cause pain, fatigue, exhaustion, and, well, more pain. A lot more pain. But I sometimes feel like I've been robbed. I've totally been robbed from being the active, involved Mom, friend, person-in-general I used to be. And I feel like my son and husband are being robbed right along with me.

There are many things I do not do anymore. Many things I just cannot do anymore. But I do try and keep myself busy and look to the brighter side of things.

I started my business from home as a way to keep myself busy and active and motivated, even on those days when I feel like someone is using my body as a pincushion and a punching bag. I began collecting antique books and vintage plates, tea cups and saucers, and roosters. I started up my blogs. I keep my journals and I work on things around the house as much as I can. I try to keep up on laundry, dishes, cleaning the bathrooms, caring for the cats, dusting, and cooking as much as possible. I'm trying to be much more forgiving of myself when I look around the house and see piles of this and that building up. I'm trying to be much more forgiving of my son and husband who can step over those piles, push them aside, and ignore them completely even if I'm going nuts watching them do just that. I'm trying like crazy to make Erma Bombeck's philosophy my mantra:

"My theory on housework is, if the item doesn't multiply, smell, catch fire, or block the refrigerator door, let it be. No one else cares, why should you?"

However, sometimes things do multiply, smell, and could possibly cause a fire. So... I try very hard to breath in and breath out and count to ten and not go all preying mantas on us.

(Lucky Boy: one of my little blessings around here)

We don't go out very much. We go on short day trips here and there knowing full well I may make it the whole day without incident, but 8 times out of 10, I end up a mess of stiffness, pain, and exhaustion. We go out to eat now and again. We see a movie every other month. I still am as involved as I can be with our little home school group, and I try to not feel like such a huge inconvenience to my family and friends.

It's been tough. I've let people down who use to rely on me. People who have been use to me being there for them. Even people who don't know me all that well, they don't understand that a migraine, back spasms, and a Charlie Horse makes it kind of tough to go out shopping or out to eat while they are occurring. I've put on happy faces and laughs to cover up so much to keep people from feeling uncomfortable, but sometimes, sometimes I just can't keep that up. This week may just be one of those times.

(Pumpkin: another little blessing. Here he's making nice with a Silkie Terrier I rescued)

I have to drive for two hours tomorrow in a car with no air conditioning. It's hard enough to just drive the car (I get spasms in my arms, right leg and foot, and neck and shoulders from driving), but I also have to sit in a car in 85 degree muggy weather and not be able to breath very well, all the while getting a sunburn. Hey, those doctors wanted to wait for more signs of Lupus... well... Here ya go!!! What else can I do to throw fuel on the flame?

I'm telling you folks, you've not seen anything until you've seen me drive. If you want a laugh, you have to see this. I start off just fine. About fifteen minutes in, the arm spasms start. So I have to constantly switch arms and try to work the other arm free of the spasm. In short while after that, the neck spasms start, followed by the shoulders. Pretty soon my entire upper body is this tangled mess of locking muscles. I look like I'm trying to attack the steering wheel. I swear. I must have the stupidest grimace on my face making it seem to everyone around me that I may just be some crazy, ballistic, nut of a woman who may just decide to ram into you. Sort of like the scene from Fried Green Tomatoes but with less composure and no snappy retort.

After that the right leg and foot goes for broke trying to outdo my upper torso. It's a free for all. So I'm shaking out my leg every few minutes, moving myself this way and that way in the seat, trying to relax enough to drive, but not to relax too much, because heaven knows if I do that I could let too much of the exhaustion set in and I could quite possibly fall asleep behind the wheel of the car. This could be interesting.

Oh, did I mention my eyes. I have Sjogren's Syndrome, which, pathetically translated means: Dry eyes and Mouth. (No it doesn't, it means dry absolutely everything. Move over Sierra Desert.)  My eye lids start sticking together... they just feel like someone applied Rubber Cement to them and they want to stay sealed. So, every single chance I get, stop signs, stop lights, stopped traffic of any kind, I pull out my handy dandy eye drops and drop them in. By the way, to give you an idea of the amount of dryness my eyes suffer from, I can go through 4 fl oz. of eye drops in four days. That's a lot of drops. And so, I'm doing this with these silly eye drops running down my face while driving, and trying to mop up the excess so I don't look like I've cried all over myself.

And just to add one more element to this lovely state of affairs. Heat, muggy heat, makes it darned near impossible for me to breath.

Driving in the summer. There is nothing I love more.  Wooo hooo! Living life on the edge.

That is what my life has become. That is what I try and work around day in and day out, night in and night out.

So... living a plain ole simple life has sort of been hoisted on me from the powers the powers that be. And I'm working on defining it a little better. Trying to find that happy balance between utter boredom and doing way too much in one day (which is not that much, really).

I feel for all you ladies out there who suffer from chronic illness. Somehow, each day, every day, we face it again and again and again. How do we do it? What keeps us keeping on?

Mine is my love of my family and my love of life. Even though it's painful. Even though it's now limited. Even though I can only dream about many things and no longer truly do them (at least not to the extent I thought I would be doing them), I keep on keeping on because life is beautiful, no matter what it deals you. It's precious. It's difficult. It's a challenge. It's danged near impossible sometimes. But it is non-the-less beautiful.

So, I'll live this plain ole simple life. It's what I've been dealt with and it's mine. And come sunshine or stormy days, I'll do my best to find humor, light, love and joy in little moments throughout each day with those I love, in my quiet solitude, in reading my friends' blogs, and in writing my own, and creating my crafts.

(my very lovely family. Mom, myself, husband, and son)

Life is a gift. Sometimes it comes in a beautiful package and contains the most gorgeous, beautiful and loveliest things you've ever seen. Sometimes it comes in a so-so package and contains a book with some stains, a few pages missing, a couple of tears here and there with the binding beginning to fall apart at the seams, but it still has lovely poetry hidden inside. Lovely artwork to look over and feel appreciation for, and a meaningful story or two inside. Either way. Life is a Gift.

Taking a tour of the "Houskeeper's Helper". Part One.

This was one of my favorite finds. I am an old book junky. I don't much care what shape they're in, just as long as they're old and I can afford them. This one I found at a great antique shop about a two hour drive from our house. It was a steel at $3.00, in my opinion. My husband and I plan on going back there again within the next few weeks, once my back is better (I threw it out this past week) and I'm all mended. 

And without further delay,  I would like to introduce you to the: Housekeeper's Helper, written by George A. Peltz in 1892. 

A little bit of a history lesson within the first pages of the book.

Ancient Roman utensils. 

And if anyone is up for making Cabinet Pudding, here's the recipe.

Modern Facilities for Cooking... 

I love these drawings.

Just in case you need to know how much coal you'll need to cook that something special for your family and guests.

Wow, this is one busy oven.

Can you imagine cleaning it?

And, of course, you must have a hot water spout at the ready at all times.

Nifty faucet, isn't it?

Now this is starting to look familiar. 

Some things never change, or change very little.

There is actually a warning in the book on the hazards of can openers. I can see why. Look at that thing.

Did you all catch the cherry pitter? Isn't that something?

The cabinet on the right side of the above page is called The Double-Door Empress.

Can you guess what it is without reading the text?

And no home would be complete without their own Ice-Cream Freezer.

I know I'd love one. I have been really hankering for some lavender-thyme vanilla ice cream.

I hope you enjoyed your stroll through installment one of the tour through The Housekeeper's Helper. Please visit me again in a day or two when I have up the second installment.

Happy Birthday, Dad. We miss you.

Blessings in the here after.

Photo Break!

A Beautiful Day.

Video Games and the Modern Family: Part 2

For the first post on this subject click here: Video Games and the Modern Family: Part 1

Admitting there is a problem is half the battle. I can admit there is a problem. I like to play SIMS. Not anywhere near as much as I use to. Actually, I haven't played it in months. I haven't played any games (except a few failed attempts with my son when he asked me to) in a very long time.

My husband purchased me my first SIMS game when we were still just going out. I had been having flare ups from fibromyalgia and other health issues, and he knew how much I loved to design things and enjoyed decorating, so he bought me my first ever computer game. It turned out to be quite addicting. I didn't care about the actual game play. I still don't. I enjoy designing the houses and decorating them. When SIMS 3 came out, I was given that game as well. I liked it even more then SIMS 2 in some ways. I could design rooms and houses exactly how I wanted them to look (more or less) and make my own furnishings and such. It was a lot of fun planning out dream houses and making the wonderful properties to go with them. And, I must admit, for someone who can be house bound with very limited things she can do at times, it was a very nice distraction. But, alas, even doing up various versions of your dream home and gardens can become a bit boring and limited. So... I very rarely play any more, though, once in a while I get the itch for putting together a digital house and decorating it.

When I was in my highlight of game play, I was extremely into it and it was hard for me to be distracted from it. I stayed up too late at times working on these silly things. I lost track of time. I had no idea how long I'd been sitting there staring at the silly computer screen. And that's something that I'd like to address.

(Minecraft~ a game that has become a very common fixture in our household)

It is entirely too easy to become completely engrossed in a video game. No matter if it's got a lot of action or if it's as simple and un-action-y as "building" a home. For some strange reason that has not yet been discovered by science, time looses all meaning when it comes to video games and computer games. Seconds slip into minutes which slip into hours. And hours slip into more hours until 4, 5, 6, 10 have passed by. Life, precious life, literally passing by unnoticed to the person playing the game.

I cannot tell you how often I've heard (from myself in the past with SIMS) from my son, his friends, my husband and others; "Wow. I didn't know I'd been on for so long." "Oh, shoot. I didn't mean to play that long tonight." "I'm sorry. I had no idea how long I'd been playing." Hmmmm....  This is really a terrible thing. How is it that something so small, so controlled with massive amounts of repetition, can hold people's attention for so long and eat up hours upon hours (which turn into weeks and months, and perhaps even years as time goes by) of one's life.

Where are the days of long conversations, slow walks around the neighborhood, playing a game of cards, sharing books and ideas? Where are the days of attention and energy put into things like family projects, vacations, and activities that do not involve a computer monitor or a television screen?

Even blogging can get to be too much if it's not balanced with day to day activities. How do we all balance these things in our lives? They are not going away. They are here to stay and that's that. Do we designate certain times and certain days during the week for blogging? Computer games? Video Games?  And certainly those must always fall around the other, much more important things in life, like family and friends and the duties of the home and so forth. Surely they must.

But sometimes they don't. And that's probably okay once in a while. There are certainly days I spend a lot more time blogging then doing anything else. Those are usually days everyone is busy with other things, I don't feel very well and it's a lovely thing to work on, and I get carried away visiting my blogging friends and reading thises and thats. And, if it's not a daily occurrence then it's probably just fine.

Perhaps, for myself, if I just say: "Okay, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings for two hours I will blog and read blogs and then some time Sunday evening. The rest of the time I will do the other things in my life that are also quite important to me and to others." I'm not sure of the schedule I will set up for myself, especially since I run an online business and two other blogs. It can require a good deal of time Online. This week it's proving to be a wonderful thing to have my blogging friends and blog projects due to being very sick and having a very nasty back injury. I know there are times I would feel isolated and lonely if I didn't have my blog friends.

The other thing here is that I'm a writer. I write in journals all the time. I write because it's something I have done since I was small and I love it. It gives me such a wonderful sense of fulfillment. The physical act itself is a great pleasure for me. Taking a pen and a notebook and spending a little bit of time every day (sometimes a lot of time) is something I find happiness and satisfaction in. Though, I do balance that out around my family and household duties, not the other way around.

So... is it truly this way for video game players, as well?  Do they get as much happiness and self-satisfaction from playing a game? I suppose it's difficult for me to understand it because there is no end product. There is nothing other then credits at the end of the game. Nothing to show for it except the same disc they had when they started. That baffles me.

(Minecraft again~ Looking out from the tower my son built)

I know some parents who have bought their children a Wii and Wii games so they would get exercise! What???? What about a bike? What about going out for a walk every day? How about putting them to work around the yard with you? Baseball? Swimming? Playing outdoors?

I hear from adults that they would never get their child to go outside and play or bike ride. They had to get them the Wii since they're already indoors all the time playing video games. How is this helping? And why not just say: "You're going outside to play." "We are going to take a bike ride now." "We have work to do in the yard, let's go." I do not understand the loss of being a parental figure when it comes to video games and abdicating the parental role of making sure your children are well cared for and get fresh air and exercise. Aren't these things important to healthy living any more?

However, if parents are sitting in the house most of the time themselves watching TV, playing video games, or working on the computer in some capacity, it would be difficult to get your child to do differently.

I'm not passing judgement here. I've done this stuff too. Well, I never bought my son a Wii, and I never consider video games a good source of exercise, education, or a substitute for being outside. However, I have let my son play for far too long. I've done things myself instead of "bothering" my husband and son for help while they're in the middle of playing a game. It's hard to get their attention anyway, when they are playing. This stuff is very attention consuming. You may have to fight an alien, or be in the middle of a battle with a monster, or you can't break your concentration because you could fall from a cliff or mess up a challenge. But where does one draw the line at imaginary challenges so that one can face the real challenges of life outside the pretty box of moving pictures?

There is so much more to life. At least, there use to be. I'm sure there still must be. Thankfully, video games have not become a problem with my son doing his school work or my husband going off to work. And we still go out here and there on the weekends. I know from reading about many other women's lives, that their husbands and children live for video games. That's what they do. They don't do anything else unless they have to. To me that's being trapped. I feel the folks who have to play and have to purchase that next game must actually be very, incredibly trapped within the small frame of video game play.

Photo Break!