Only in the Country

Only in the country
does a special person
bring you a bowl of your favorite Turnip Greens and 3 onions just picked in their garden.

Also repaired a favorite little sign

They are the couple
Sheila and Francisco
that helped me move years ago
and cut down so many items from the woods.

So now I am boiling some eggs to be sliced on greens and cooking 2 pieces of chicken
in the frying pan - hope I can eat this.

I love to cook and have not cooked much the last year, maybe I can return doing it in small
amounts - it would be a special gift to me.

Now if I can manage a 1/2 recipe of my corn bread I will be all set.

Stuffed pepper prepared yesterday was way too spicy for me.
May freeze and top spaghetti with it.

So difficult to chew becsuse area where teeth were pulled is tender with Shingles.

Morning By The Woods

Mornings
are my favorite.

Images by email continue - my day begins with a smile...

Early to rise
like 5:30 or even earlier,
after prayer, meditation and some yoga in bed.  Wish it was the floor but now on the floor I can do
but getting up is another matter.

Breakfast is my favorite meal and this morning
scrambled egg, toast with special preserves made with pears and pineapple, I buy yearly from a friend.  Fresh eggs brought by weekly from a friend and they are so large that I usually cannot eat all of it.   Small glass of Kefir

ir, small serving of yogurt, 1/2 banana and 2 cups of Lemon Ginger tea,
Large glass of water to take with Tylenol 8 hour Arthritis relief (take every 8 hours and helps more
then anything else) few more supplements
and day begins.

This morning drove to Cindy s,  she is better then a doctor and April with her hair washing (wonderful) and when I leave them feeling so much better then when I arrived.  Hair washed and blown dry in 20 minutes, never went weekly in the past  and want to do occasionally myself but now too difficult.

So good to be driving in my nearby small town, feel like a bird out of a cage.   Son drove when he
was with me and helper took me on special errands.  Now I am solo in local area.

Rain began and headed home.    Rain has stopped, sun is shining, a good day ahead.

Usually at noon drink an Ensure with addition of ice cream

2:00 time for my second meal and today filling a large green pepper that has been cut in half and
blanched.   Will fill with ground beef, tomato, onion, basil and rice with cheese on top.   Surround pepper with
same mixture - forgot Garlic and just rubbed the pyrex dish with it :)

.


For some reason craving this mixture.  I can no longer eat 3 meals a day and this seems to be perfect schedule for me.

In the evening try and eat a small piece of dark chocolate, another Ensure, usually about 6:30.   Drinking these for more calories and wish I would gain more
weight but have gained 2 lbs.

Shingles has surfaced again on my face, when oh when will they go away...

Several things I want to bake, especially Nan's - (Letter's from a Hill Farm) Orange Cookies....
they are soft and make about 3 or 4 dozen - I love her recipes and always in the past tried many.

Memory
oh how I miss doing this.....
my new header

the small yard in the city 11 years ag
and the Zenia's seemed to flourish

Today

Thankful the young man that helped me plant many flowers surrounding this cottage
arrived this morning to weed and mulch.   A good buy at the nursery, mulch 5 bags for $10.00
All planted is thriving and multiplying, love the thriving look but miss so that I cannot weed
and work along side of him, but I can direct.

Several have asked "will family be with you this holiday weekend" and I quickly respond "no just me" Jamie with her girls and Beth probably has errands and her dad.    I am fine just sitting and
observing the beauty surrounding me, turkeys in front soybean field, feeders full of birds and
plants everywhere are huge.

What am I going to eat, do not eat much as nothing seems tasty and Shingles still bothering my mouth, eyes, ear and face.    I remember the local market grills sometimes on holidays, slowly
into my car and head for the market.   Oh yes I could smell them cooking, rrbs on the grill.
I have baked beans, tomato and cottage cheese and this is fine for me.

Asparagus in season and buy some, plus bananas as I eat one a day and some more yogurt as almost
out.

I eat and the memory surfaces how much my dad loved to cook.   My parents first small home
"finally" I was 14 years of age and immediately my father had a brick barbecue grill built in the yard,
he was so proud of it and ribs were his favorite to cook,   I have a huge crock that belonged to my parents and they would always fill it with fresh lemonade whenever they cooked outside.

I am finished eating, kitchen cleaned and now will sit and read until my early bed time.

I might mention that my helper that I have depended greatly on has hurt his shoulder and may have to
have surgery.  Will be weeks before he returns,  So I cannot give up driving and will be very careful.
A young woman arrives several evenings to help me inside, thankful for this.

The day in the life of someone on a rural road in the country.

I have so many blessings
but
as you age
a lot changes
I am accepting
but do not like it
at all......

Happiness Is

Happiness is receiving this picture and note
from my daughter in Tampa
of
my oldest granddaughter
and baby Graham
my first great grandchild

Laurie
Enjoy
their visit

WORDS

Special words I just read..


"Let today
be the day
you give up
who you are

for
who
you can become"

Hal Elrod

A Lost Art

Do not believe many iron anymore.
Memories of my mother ironing, she loved to iron and can remember Spring and Fall cleaning and curtains were washed, starched and ironed,  my grandmother would move a small table and pull the ironing board secured in a cabinet out of the wall. and iron.    She would starch and iron my Sunday dresses to
perfection and remember I could hardly sit on the pew in them :)

I starched and ironed my daughter's dresses and loved ironing my son and husbands shirts
Ironed pillow slips feel wonderfully smooth and like this.

There was help when my 4th child was born, but 5 in this home.  I was working and remember
Willie Mae so well, guess the only one who ironed to my satisfaction.

I now  wear blouses over tank tops, old blouses of soft cotton (cannot find them anymore in stores or
Amazon)  a basket full and sometimes just put in dryer for a minute to remove wrinkles.

Have wanted to iron again, iron and board up in storage room and do not feel real secure going up and down the stairs to balcony and into that room.    Recently had my assistant bring board and iron
downstairs into small utility room.   Kind of crowded in there but I can look out the window.

My plan was to iron one item every day, but this morning ironed 4 blouses and 2 pillow cases,
I find this relaxing....

Occasionally have seen my daughter's iron
and wonder if granddaughter's do this ?

On this sunny day this, miss a clothes line

Witnessing a Killing

Every evening when my helper arrives
she checks the baby Bluebirds, watches them being fed ,  takes images and has looked up a lot of information on these birds
and shares with me.

Oh how I hate to tell her this evening what happened.

I repeatedly chase the squirrels away as they sit on top of the Blue Bird house.
This is easy as I can just stand on the deck and clap my hands and they leave.

Now so sad as I recall yesterday evening.

All of family has left
I glance out of the window as I clean kitchen
and see a long thick item hanging out of the bird house.
Without thinking  grab my long walking stick
head out the door, onto screen porch and down the stairs into the flower bed.

I want to cry, a snake hanging out of the opening and birds, the parents and several kinds are in a frenzy
flying around.   I step off of the black top drive into the flower bed put the walking stick against
the snake trying to knock him off of blue bird house, he or she just crawls in the house.

I am helpless with my balance issue of going further into the garden and lifting latch on little house.
Tears flowing down my cheeks
as I imagine baby birds, fed by the parents and watched daily by me and Mashell
are being eaten.

I realize that it is difficult for me to return to house by  stepping  up on blacktop and continue up the steps and inside
realize I did not bring phone with me and for a moment frightened and fear falling
steadying myself I am able to step up on the blacktop and continue inside.

So thankful
and a reminder to start wearing an alert I have used and stopped when my son arrived
6 weeks ago.

No Words To Share

No words to share as I viewed
my granddaughter
and my 5 month great grandson

I just  sit at my computer and smile
and think

How can you explain the love of a Mother

Mother's Day

This mother does it her way
guess
it is my way of showing love

Texas Baked Beans
fill the air with such a tempting scent.
Blue Lake Green Beans are simmering (from a friends garden canned last summer
Deviled Eggs, a family favorite, a dozen fill a plate
2 Chickens purchased that were cooking on a grill.
enough
but miss making my Oriental Slaw

Girls bringing more

and my youngest granddaughter;s favorite
Lemon Ice Box pie
just topped
and now in Fridge along with a Chess Pie

Each entering this door
soon
are loved so deeply.

When my son arrived 6 weeks ago my desk was piled high with paper work
and look at my desk at this time.

a lot has been done during his visit
now everyone back to their normal routines

Safe travel wishes
my son.

Come Visit Me On This Day

Beautiful
sunny day
everything is lush and green.

Everything is changing
every day
gardens surrounding
this cottage
change

I am changing also
and need to accept.

and a friend made a visit
bless you Polly, so happy you are at your home "on land."
Thank you for the flowers,,,,

Beauty and the baby bluebirds in danger....

really warm weather may be why arthritis not just visiting but staying.so along with the
shingles I am not in a perfect place except in the garden viewing flowere blooming.

I watch continually as the bluebirds go in and out of their house and now think the babies
may be ready to be on their own.
Horrors today
as I look out and see
a huge squirrel on top of their house
made a loud noise and he left
and now cannot get the baby birds off of my mind....

Morning

Really trying to push food, weight just not increasing or just 2 lbs.

I love breakfast, so as I begin always wirh a cup of warm water , egg cooked perfectly, slice of bacon and seems bakery I love in Nashville has closed, son picks up loaf of bread that Whole Foods told him
similar to Tuscany bread (my favorite) and not so, disappointed when toasted hard as a rock,
so I had a slice of my Blueberry Bread and one morning a week make coffee.   All was good

but I am up and down looking out opened door and windows watching turkeys and one parading with his
beautiful tail feathers open and then finally a shot, not good but gives you an idea.

 Being physically challenged at this time, do not like but accepting I cannot run onto porch
and down the stairs with camera in hand, now have to make sure phone is in my pocket, cane in hand.  Yesterday I realized
even more as I wanted to take an image of a new flower, stepping carefully on to dirt, had no cane
as I quickly went outside, I had nothing to hold onto as I turned and when back on terrace I
thanked God I did not fall.

So a new day begins after an all day rain yesterday.  Bed time early as son in Nashville and need to go
over a lot on my desk.

Yesterday read Peter Taylor's best seller years back "A Summons to Memphis."   made me smile
for many reasons.   Also recommended to daughter who went to school in Memphis and a lot of
places in Nashville mentioned.   My son brought this down from his library of many books, saying I might like it, and I did.    Liked it enough to order "The Old Forest and Other Stories"  another book by this author, I always order these
books used on Amazon as such a good price.

My son browses often in used book stores as he travels and I was surprised that there are many
in Bangkok.

Enough shared, I love to write and now am back to another love of reading, but gardening that is
another story but ever thankful when creating around this cottage almost 10 years ago much was
planted and even now a friend occasionally shares a plant.   All plants do well except Roses
which I love.

Planning meal for today, just do not like food brought to me from restaurants, like my food
and now can cook once again.   So thinking stir fry with spinach, carrots, squash, celery, mushrooms ,
rice and shrimp and crab.    Tasty for my son when he returns.

Also when we went to market yesterday purchased fresh salmon and lean ground beef for cabbage
rolls, spaghetti or meatloaf, even a hamburger as like my own with cheese, lettuce and tomato,
also the lean, low sodium bacon that I have not had for a while.

Others for weeks have done my grocery shopping with my list and sometimes wrong item
so love now being able to do this, with cart in hand "I can fly."   Son pulls up to door, goes inside
for cart for me and then I am fine on my own....

See how fussy I am..........

Embrace Uncertainty

Early morning

checking computer

lists being made

much to wind up before my son returns to his home over the ocean

A site I read has some special words that I ponder.

"Embrace Uncertainty"

We have a choice.  We can spend our whole life suffering

because we can't relax with how things really are. or we can

relax and embrace the open-endedness of the human situation,

which is fresh, unfixed, unbiased.

So what is the answer

At my stage of life there is so much to be thankful for, 

just shingles lingering and arthritis.

So need to stop thinking of my wonderful past of being independent

and doing everything my way.

I really try hard and want much to be like it was in the past

and it is not going to happen.

I wonder how in the world there are so many that read my words

comment and email me, so much younger but maybe they will learn something.

Do not give up, do all you can to be healthy

and try to not be so vocal

because your family, if like mine

do not like hearing it.

All

have a wonderful day

a sprinkling rain this early morning

and many errands to be attended too.

Blooms Continue

Blooms continue
and they are like a gift for me

enjoy a small table in front of window

Yesterday, with help - started baking again, she took ingredients out of lower shelves for me and I
made Blueberry Bread and today some kind of cookie.

So pleased to be baking again.

Soon - Hummingbirds

lunch today' one small egg plant
sliced egg plant, mozzarella cheese, chopped onion, tomato and basil' topped with bread crumbs
.Tomorrow this will be
topping for my spaghetti, .....

it seems
Shingles pain on face just continues, trying to ignore as I do not want pain medication

ready to open
favorite color of Iris
from a special friend   

blooming