Moving Mama

This is a big week.  Mama is moving.  She's been my next door neighbor for the last 10 years.  Now, she's going to be my sister's next door neighbor for -- I hope -- the next 20.

Some people might not enjoy living next door to Mama.  Obviously, they just don't have the right kind of mama.  My mama and I have done all kinds of fun things together.  We've adventured to places we've never been (and still have quite a list to go, both near and far).  We've commiserated with each other over various and sundry things.  We've SHOPPED......oh boy, we LOVE to shop!  And gardened and raised dogs.  It's been great.  But this particular stage of her life is coming to an end.  She's moving on and leaving me behind.

I shouldn't sound too sad.  After all, she's only moving across town.  But when you've been with someone almost daily for years, that's quite an adjustment.  But it's time.  Her big old house and her even bigger property has just gotten too much to handle.  Heck, so has mine and I'm more than several years her junior.  So, I've got some rather mixed feelings about all this.  But tomorrow the movers come and we'll spend the weekend getting her house in some kind of working order.  And then we'll talk about what trouble we're planning on getting into next.  Can't wait!

C'mon, Get Happy!

There's a book out right now titled Bright-Sided:  How Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America by Barbara Ehrenreich.  It's all about how positive psychology and positive thinking are vastly overrated.  Ms. Ehrenreich says it is, instead, "blind optimism" that prevents people from seeing things as they really are and making choices based on the realities of their situation.

There's a part of me that agrees with the premise of her book.  I don't want to be so focused on happiness and getting happy and being happy that I forget there is always going to be "less happy" episodes of life.  And that getting through those graciously and with some common sense is just as important.... maybe more so..... to living completely.

But being happy is something everyone wants as much of as they can get.  Me, too.  It's how you define happiness, I think, that helps you get it.  One woman's "happiness" could be another's "oh, shit".  Personally, I'd like to have the contentment and peace of mind kind rather than the delirious type.  And to also remember in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt:  "is not a goal, it's a byproduct".  So, finding an interest or a cause might be a big first step in the happiness equation.  Time to get out and explore some new stuff and jumpstart the old happiness engine.

Network? What Network TV?

Even though I'm a HUGE fan of Dancing with the Stars (I hear the snickers....quiet!), I'm abandoning all network TV this week.  Ken Burns' new series on the National Parks system started last night on PBS.  If you didn't see it, start tonight.  It's FABULOUS, informative and fun.  It will be on every night this week.

Last night set the stage with the first parks being created:  Yosemite, Sequoia, one other I don't recall the name of, and the great Yellowstone.  John Muir, a Scotsman by heritage but raised here, was a moving force in the birth of the parks system.  He sounds so terribly fascinating himself that I might have to go to the library and delve a little more in to his history.

I guess there will probably be a book......one I will have to buy.  And then, I'm sure PBS will use the video to raise money.  But right now, it's all free and I'm watching!  Hope you are, too.

A Southern Delicacy

Yesterday as I was driving home from the grocery store, I happened to glance up at the Hardee's sign as I went by.  And there it was:  advertising for a fried bologna sandwich.  WHAT????? 

Now, I don't know if Hardees all over the nation are on this bandwagon or not.  Maybe it's just us this particular campaign is aimed for.  But I haven't seen or heard of any restaurant or deli or sandwich shop around here touting bologna before now.  (And by the way, when I was growing up -- and still --- that word is pronounced "bolo-nee", long o's with the emphasis on the "nee" if you want to get the inflection just right.)  Just one more little artery-clogging menu item to entice us with.

I can well remember as a little girl going to the store with my grandmother to grocery shop.  She always stopped at the butcher counter (remember those?) and had the man there slice up at least a pound of the stuff.  Thick slices.....really thick slices.  Back then, it didn't come all prepackaged for you.  He'd slice it up and wrap it in that nice thick, white butcher's paper.  And when we'd get home, I couldn't wait for her to unwrap it and slap it down in that skillet.  She'd fry it up until it was nice and hot and crispy brown around the edges.  Take it out, put it between two heavily mayonnaised pieces of fresh "light bread" and dig in.  Oh, and "light bread", if you don't already know, was white, presliced, store-bought bread versus the homemade kind.  Yummy!  No wonder Southerners seem to have a problem with calorie counting.

I bet Hardee's version doesn't hold a candle..........

Wet/Mold/Mildew/OH MY!

For two years, we couldn't PRAY for rain.  This year, it's monsoon season.  Flooding everywhere in the South.  There's one thing I know for certain:  I can never live in Seattle, London or anywhere else that has gray, cloudy, rainy, CRAPPY weather day after day after day.  Depression City!

This past weekend as I visited with friends in Atlanta and attended a couple of dog shows, it absolutely poured.  The only thing I could think of was how totally relieved I was NOT to have my dogs with me.  All those poor souls slogging around in the rain (some sans umbrellas or raincoats) imploring FiFi to "PLLLEEEAASSE  PEEEEEEEE".  And trying to keep all those hours of dedicated grooming intact long enough for their two minutes under the judge's eye.  Oh me, oh my.  Yep.  It was glad I was that the Little Black Dogs were safe at home.

I was even gladder that I made it home myself.  Especially after I just heard yesterday about the mud slides and tragic deaths happening in the Atlanta area.  This is just one more case of that famous saying "Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it."  And in spades, too.

No More Bookcases?

Just a couple of days ago I read with great interest about all the E-readers (such as Amazon's Kindle) now on the market and the ones soon to be out.  Ever since the Kindle first came out, I've been cogitating on buying one.  It just seems so expensive compared to a trade paperback or even a nice hardcover.  However, the more I think about it, the more the price is looking reasonable.

First of all, if you're a pretty avid reader like me, the amount I spend on books in a year would more than pay for the cost.  Honestly, I try to go to the library more..... and I have.  But often I end up halfway through the library's book thinking, "Oh man...I've GOT to have this book."  This is probably due to the fact that I read with a yellow Bible highlighter in my hand with my own books.  This propensity to want to "remember" passages would be the main drawback to me of an electronic reader.  Unless, of course, they've REALLY perfected their way of annotating.

Secondly, I look around at the number of bookcases in my house, both built-in and freestanding.  You just wouldn't believe the shelf space I've dedicated to books.  There is at least one in every room of my house......plus the built-ins in the kitchen, the living room, one bedroom and my craft area.  There're even two in my attic!  Could an electronic reader really help prevent buying more???  Very possibly.  Could I stop having to give away books to friends and the libraries because I've run out of room in my house to keep them?  Maybe.

And there's always the issue of travel.  Although I don't do much flying or train riding, I am adamant about taking a book along with me wherever I go, even if it's just an overnight.  I can't imagine sitting for more than 10 minutes with nothing to read.  I swear, it's a sickness.

Could this be my Christmas present this year?  Maybe.  Stay tuned.

Another Week Ended

A good friend of mine is about to become a grandmother at the end of the year.  I really can't believe that I'm old enough to have friends who are grandparents, but there you are:  I am.  As I still find it hard to take care of myself and my dogs (and occasionally my husband), there's a big part of me that's glad it's her and not me.  The other little teensy part of me that heaves a big sigh at the thought of grandmotherness filled the need by knitting this little lap blanket for the new arrival.

I love to knit anything flat because
I'm really not much more than a
novice knitter.  So, baby blankets are
my go-to gift.  Plus, I love the yarns
that are designated for such projects.
As a matter of fact, I found a little
jacket for a toddler that I'd really LOVE to make for myself.... just need to find someone who can rewrite the pattern for me.

I didn't find out until I had finished what gender we had coming out of the oven (a boy).  Thank goodness I chose a yarn to do the heart that could go either way.

I hope that this gets used till it falls apart.  And it keeps that wee one warm and cuddly.  Babies truly are a magic gift.  Beside this new little person, my blanket is just a very wee token.