Goodnight John Boy!

My weekend?

Just a glass while I watched Fringe.

It's hard to beat a cheap, youth group sponsored penny
auction and yard sale.
And the pork b'beque was real tasty!

But next to my baby coming home from uni, my favorite part
of the weekend by far was digging in the garden today.
My fingernails are ragged, my back is tetchy,
my knees complain when I walk upstairs and
I'm exhausted.  But just as the old song says:
"It hurts so good"!

Goodnight John Boy!

HOW TO GAIN WEIGHT SUCCESSFULLY

Todays class is entitled:  "How to Gain Weight Successfully and Water-down your Mid-morning Bowl of Berries 'n' Yogurt with your Tears."  

This is a multi-stepped process which includes the following:

1. Spend several months growling and lashing out at large but inert piles of stuff belonging to one's beloved children
2. Encounter slight guilt over feelings of elation at impending departure of beloved Child #2
3. Become mildly stressed with impending return of beloved Child #3
4. Take lots of Advil and/or Tylenol because of on-going shoulder and neck pain
5. Don't walk for a week because of rain 
6. Forget that you're 57 and exhaust yourself by slogging all weekend cleaning & organizing
7. Refuel your exhausted 57 yr old body with non-nutritious comfort food like granola bars and grilled cheese sandwiches
8. Spend your Sat evening laughing,drinking red wine and eat deliciously cute little sandwiches (sans crust) and rich decadent iced brownies
9. Celebrate a birthday with lasagne, lemon cheese pie and more red wine
10. Accidentally pick up 4 PP+ regular Kozy Shack rice pudding snacks instead of the 2 PP+ no sugar variety .... and then eat them all during your work week.

One or two of the above may not give you the results that I achieved.  But together, all 10 of the above steps should ensure a successful 1.6 lb weight gain just like I did.

If, on the other hand, you are wishing to avoid the above, here are some helpful steps to take:

• Continue to demonstrate love to beloved children.  (And pray and pray and pray for them and you!)
• De-stress your life as much as possible:  Breathe deeply, pray, meditate, rest and laugh.
• Relish in the thought that the decluttering and organizing is done.
• Resume your walking routine (and then soak those tootsies in that nice Avon foot soak)
• Take your vitamins
• Make sure you have an ample supply of healthy snacks and keep your eyes open when you shop
• Drink water and eat one salad every day
• Spend 6 days of your week sticking to your healthy regime and only ONE day indulging in your wicked eating desires.
• Pray 'n' worship; and pray 'n' worship,

and possibly the most important 

• pitch a big tent in the backyard, get the house keys from the kids, yell "Look!  There's free beer on the deck!" and lock the door behind them!

(Hahahaha!  Just kidding about that last one.

I'd never put the beer-bait that close to the house.


And I'll at least wait until the end of May when the temperatures warm up!)

Oranges like Candy

An orange is just an orange you say?

Ohhhhhh, I think not.  


There are bad oranges that are dry and tasteless.  There are pretty good ones that are not  bitter but may have a lot of seeds.  And then there are oranges like candy!


Those oranges are soooo sweet, and sooooo juicy, and soooo gorgeous that they make the inside of your mouth sing and send angelic choir verses ringing through your brain and fireworks all the way down your epiglottis ..... and then your stomach sighs!


 


They are the happy fruit who hum as they grow and gladly give up their lives for our nourishment and enjoyment.

"Thank you happy fruit for your sacrifice!"

An orange like that is not something you find everyday.  An orange like that is like a fine work of art (that you eat); it's like a symphony played by the best orchestra in the world (that you eat).  It's almost as good as chocolate (that you always eat).  

     Hey!  I said "almost"!

Oranges and chocolate!  Why didn't someone think of this earlier!

Ahhhh!  My stomach is sighing!

Can your children moving out be considered de-cluttering?

Lovely daughter #2 moved out this weekend.  I'm looking forward to loving her from afar from now on.  

Is it too soon to do a dance of joy?  

Molly and friends did all the moving, but I worked like the dickens as well because Daughter #3 is coming home from university this Friday.  I slogged through the back basement, hauling out the extra bed and dresser, and organizing back there.  Then I slogged through the rec room (And believe you me!  It was a wreck!) cleaning, re-arranging, organizing, tossing out whatever wasn't wanted or needed.  

• 7 bags of garbage,
• 5 bags for the thrift store,
• 7 dirty pop bottles,
• 2 almost empty tortilla chip bags,
• 3 flattened packages of gum,
• 4 teaspoons (I wondered where my teaspoons were)
• 1 fork
• and miscellaneous dirty tissues & junk food receipts 

    LATER ........ my knees ache, my feet throb, my hands are dry and sore, but Molly's happy in her new place and the room downstairs is almost ready.

The sad thing is that by this time next week, that room will look similar to what it did like last week!  

Pig children!

But in spite of the fact that my kids don't all fully appreciate their loving mother (and her many sacrifices, stretch marks, grey hairs and empty pockets), they do appreciate her cooking.  Yesterday was Molly's birthday, so Mama slogged in the kitchen Sunday night and prepared Lasagne Bolognese and this delightful lemon cheese pie.

Pie crust; cheesecake layer; lemon layer -- and after
it's baked, the cheesecake magically goes to the top.
Add a dollop of whipped cream and enjoy!

Sigh!  It's hard (and very tiring) being a SuperMom!     But we've got to be nice to them because some day they'll choose our nursing home!

.

Thrifty Thursday Apr 26.12

Do you keep a list of things you're looking for at the thrift shops?  I always have a running list of thrifting needs and wants; and long on that list has been a pretty set of double bed sheets.  But I can now cross that one off the list.  


I found sheets at my favorite local thrifting shop, The Daisy.  The complete set was $5 (brand new, never opened people!), and although my room is done in blue, they'll be perfect for the girl's bed.  The pretty daisy sheet is a single flat sheet (I already have a white fitted); and when I moved away from home in 1975, I took a set of sheets exactly like this with me.  (Funny thing though -- my current body covers more of the pattern than it did in '75!) 

And then, because a gal never has enough purses, I bought myself this Liz Claiborne paisley-patterned organizer purse ($4 at Frenchies).  Even my herbal tea bags have a spot next to my bottle-return money (which goes into my "City Shopping" jar.)  It's got a good long strap so I can wear it cross my shoulders. 

There were many other fabulous finds on my Frenchies excursion that I'll share after they're washed etc.  It was a good haul!  

But no fear of my bringing home more than I'm getting rid of.  My daughter is moving out this weekend; and with any luck, she'll take half of the basement with her.  (As long as it doesn't come from my refrigerator or my wine cupboard!)

Happy Thrifting!

Thrifting Makes You a Better Person!

You all know how much I love thrifting.  There are many excellent reasons to thrift shop.

• Being green.  I can't save the humpback, but I can help recycle  by reusing someone's gently used castoffs.  

• Health.  Used clothing is healthier for you and for the environment because it doesn't emit those nasty factory chemicals.

• Decluttering.  I almost always drop off a bag of my own discards before I attempt to refill it.  And I never come home with more than I've left there.  This year I have adopted the rule that nothing new enters the house without something going out.  (For 2012 -- Latest count:  173 items out; perhaps 40 items in.) 

• Supporting worthy causes.  We don't have a Goodwill in NS; but we do have The Daisy, which fund-raises for our local hospital and The Sally Ann (Salvation Army) which helps needy families or sends kids to camp etc.  As for shopping at the Frenchies and Value Village -- well, at least they create employment locally.

• Being frugal.  Where else can you buy a pair of dress pants or a tailored shirt for $4 each.  Where else can you indulge your desire to redecorate your bedroom with new curtains, spread and sheets and spend only a pittance of what it could have cost.

• Live the rich life.  I have designer names in my closet!  It's so rewarding telling someone who's admired my beautiful Clark shoes that they cost me $15 as opposed to $100.  My children were able to enjoy dressing in Gap and American Eagle.  And that gorgeous velvet, satin-lined black cape that I wear for special occasions would never be in my closet if it wasn't $8.  

• Being unique.  You'll seldom see your clothing on the street.  And you can put together one-of-a-kind outfits or have unique "chatkas" in your home that others can't duplicate.

• Being creative.  You know that great idea you saw in a magazine or on another blog?  Well, here are the means for achieving it at your local thrift store.  Recovering a lampshade, repurposing an old metal bucket, creating a new way to hang your jewellery?  Ideas abound when I stroll through the aisles of the thrift stores.

• Well dressed babies.  No one needs to spend a bundle outfitting your home for baby's arrival.  Kiddies never outgrow their clothing, so they're not only cheap but in excellent shape.

• Reconnecting with the Past.  My 25 yr old daughter loves to shop retro.  And it's always a hoot to come across something from my childhood days.  Then there's that great Al Stewart LP that I threw out (sighhh) -- or my 38 yr old daughter's Fisher Price castle that I never should have let go.

•  Cheap stress release.  Had a bad day (week, month, year)?  As much as we know we should never shop just because we're stressed, it's hard to feel guilty when you've only spent $10 -- much cheaper than a bottle of booze or a therapist!

• Adventure and fun!  Ahhhh!  The thrill of the hunt as I search for a great navy blue skirt.  And the fun I have when I shop with my girls and top it off with a meal together and a coffee at Starbucks. 

Yup, there's no doubt about it:  thrifting is good for the earth, the body and the soul!  

Middle Eastern Treats!

I bought myself a new camera, so let the blogging action resume!


This weekend was one of food and fun.  Diana and I attended a fund raiser at the local Waldorf school -- a Middle Eastern night.  


We had wonderful food:  humus and tzatziki, dolmas and samosas, tabouli, almond cake, turkish delight, home-made halvah and delicious little ricotta filled cakes dipped in maple syrup.  




After the food, a local belly-dance group performed for us.  It was wonderful to see all ages and shapes 'n' sizes in the group; they were a good group (the young girl in aqua was soooo very good!), and it was a really inexpensive ($15) and fun evening!

I took a few belly-dancing classes years ago, and I'd like to attend the Wednesday night class at the YMCA because it's such good  exercise.  (Plus there's the extra added bonus of feeling all skinny and sexy afterwards --- things I don't usually feel these days!)  But alas, my Wednesdays are already taken.  


Still dancing in any form is good exercise.  So, after the Waldorf, Diana and I headed down the shore to meet friends for an evening of dancing at the LaHave Fire Hall.  "The Usual Suspects" were playing, and they're a fantastic local cover band.  I danced for almost every number, and didn't get home until the wee hours.  

It was wonderful!!!!

And I'm sure that after one more foot soaking and a couple more good night's rest, I'll be fully recovered!  


We're in for a week of rain here on the South Shore; so I'm looking forward to the green that will follow.  What did you do last weekend?