Worst Times, Best Times

The is the latest I've ever written a year's end review...but this time I do have a reason. I was sick, sick, sick for a couple weeks, starting on New Year's Eve night. It was my first illness since late DH died, and while truly awful, at least I learned a lot about how to cope alone. The main lesson was not to wait till I'm too sick to get myself to a doctor, which is what happened. My sisters had to take me to Urgent Care.

I'm not sure how a stomach virus caused such consequences for me, but according to the doctor at the Urgent Care, it's a bad virus and many people here have had it. I became almost dehydrated, and that caused a separate issue. Alas, I'm better now -- well enough that I actually took the dogs on a long walk today.

As for the past year, it was one of the worst in my life since we had the EF4 tornado that destroyed most of my neighborhood. Fortunately, the damage to my house/property wasn't as bad as many surrounding homes. But it's been a long year since last spring, and I really dread the onset of tornado season this year.

As for the best news, I qualified for my late DH's SSI...and the first check should be deposited this month. I'll be glad to have that extra income, and I'm hoping to save most of it.

Because the tornado so overwhelmed everything, it almost seems as if nothing else occurred. I know it did, but honestly, nothing stands out enough to even write about it. With the exception of getting reacquainted with my grand-nieces-nephew and enjoying their company more often. That's been rewarding and fun. I hope it continues this year.

My dogs are well, my cats are well. That is something I'm grateful for; they truly enrich my life every day.

Now for a few photos of our Christmas family gathering:

The baby is my newest grand-niece; my other grand-niece that visits is next, and that's my nephew's wife and nephew watching the baby rip into her many presents!

This is my grand-niece showing off her "Fijit" robot doll; she loves it!

Oscar showing off his new sweater, standing by his & Rambo's other presents.

Rambo sniffing the present with some treats in it!

Rambo in his new sweater; he doesn't like wearing clothes as much as Oscar.

Oscar recently after a long walk, snoozing in the sunshine on the back porch.

Oh, I've lost 6 pounds since that stomach virus. NOT a way I'd recommend losing weight, but I needed to lose a few pounds so my clothes wouldn't get uncomfortable.

And that's about it for now. Not much of a year end entry, but since it's delayed, about the best I can do now.

Life in November

Bad as I hate to admit it, seems I can only update this blog about once a month. Lately it's not even that nothing is happening, I just can't seem to get in the writing mood. And oh how I always loved writing; it was the heart and soul of myself. I'm not sure how it came to this: rarely any writing. I guess it's due to not "just doing it" ... instead of procrastinating, writing in my mind, not onscreen or paper. Wish I could promise to do better, but the older I get, the fewer promises I make to myself. Life is just happening...without many plans by myself.

To give you an example: My nephew's wife and my two grand-nieces have lived near me since I moved back here. I would sometimes see the kids out playing, stop with the dogs, talk and then be on my way. I always invited them over, but they never came by -- except when the tornado struck, they did check on me. Part of my hesitancy and theirs was probably due to the fact that my nephew is divorced from A., and with due cause (he got seriously messed up on meth). A. has since developed a good relationship with a very nice guy, and they are planning to marry soon. They have been living together for a year or so, and he brought his two young children to live with them.

At any rate, several months ago, my grand-niece, S., started dropping by. At first she only stayed a little while, but then gradually she came more often and stayed longer. She is ten, so it was like getting acquainted with this entirely amazing little girl with her own unique personality. We'd never been very close, and I became more and more intrigued. Anyone who knows me would be quick to tell you I'm not overly fond of small children...say, less than seven or eight. And infants, uh, no...just never had that particular mothering gene. Still, over the months, I've grown fond of S. and her sister, H., as well as the other two kids, age eight (girl) and (boy) nine. Oddly enough, S. and I never run out of things to talk about. She's a little chatterbox, and of course, ever the writer, I have a million questions to ask her. This whole experience has been truly remarkable, and something I never expected -- knowing my loner tendencies. And though I have no idea why, S. seems extremely fond of me; her mom says she talks about me all the time. As I stated, I don't plan, I'm just going to roll with this...see how it progresses as I visit them and they visit with me, share activities together.

One weekend recently I invited all the kids over for a movie. I made popcorn, gave them each a piece of chocolate candy with fruit drink and we all watched the movie on my big-screen TV. It was a revelation for me during the children's movie, since they all like "Big Foot" and were quick to assure me that he is REAL! And most important, it was fun.

I've just returned from several days with my sister in Huntsville; had a great time. We took the dogs to the "Galaxy of Lights" on the "bring your dog" night. Mostly they sniffed every inch of the path, marking here and there, trotting along with the many other dogs. Beautiful lit Christmas attractions, friendly crowd (dog owners always friendly with each other!), unbelievably mild night, light wind...perfect.

The second day my sister and I took the dogs to a wilderness park near their home. Even though we knew rain was predicted, we thought we had time to get in a walk...but about halfway along the path, it started to rain. At least it was unseasonably warm, and it just made us walk faster and put the hoods of our rain-jackets up. Here's a couple photos of the park:

Look at those dark clouds...we should have known it was about to rain!

This is the path, truly scenic area.

Some photos of the dogs at my sister's house:

Oscar covered himself in this old quilt we had put across the car seats!

Rambo takes over the softest chair!

We had our family Thanksgiving a day early, met at a local restaurant and enjoyed the food without actually having to cook it ourselves. None of us really like cooking, so since mother died, we opt for a restaurant. It was nice get-together, and our last living uncle (mother's youngest brother) was able to be there; he lives in Arkansas.

I do cook sometimes however, and here's a recent veggie pizza with homemade crust I made:

Here's some photos of the cats on the prowl late one afternoon in the backyard.

Bitty Kitty on the garage. She'd just been stalking a squirrel in the tree.

Slinky stalking the grass...

As seen above, my two indoor cats continue to thrive. I don't often let them out into the backyard, but before it started getting dark so early, I would sit on the porch and read while letting them roam in the yard. The stray cats I feed are also present and accounted for. While I was away on my trip, I got the neighbor guy to feed my cats and the strays (couldn't let the strays go hungry!)

This is my backyard in mid-October before the leaves fell, and after I had a damaged pine cut. The top of the big pine was wrenched out during the tornado, and had I not gotten it cut, beetles would have taken over.

A recent foggy morning in late November.

I've got quite a shopping list this year for Christmas, but haven't bought a thing yet. I know what I'll be doing in December.

The new Sheriff has declared that this year the Sheriff's Rodeo (in a couple weeks) will be dedicated to my late husband as a Memorial. I'll be there for the opening ceremonies, of course. Late husband got the rodeo started, so it's only fitting he be remembered. It raises a lot of money for the Sheriff's Department too.

I guess that about rounds out the latest for November. I'll turn 60 next Saturday, hurrah! Contrary to how many people feel about hitting 60, I'm just happy I made it to this age. After all, the doctors told me at age 25 I'd never live to see 30. Shows how much doctors know, ha!

I'm outta here!

Fall is here...at last!

Greetings! Yours truly updated my photo to the right, taken around noon today on my back porch. That's an almost-60 woman looking back at you, so try to take that into consideration.

And at long last, I'm writing a post. I wish I had an excuse for not posting, but nothing extraordinary has been happening. And I can't complain, because being content is a nice way to live! However, it's somewhat uneventful and doesn't create material to blog about. As a writer, I could embellish and be creative - but this blog is not creative writing, it's about my life. Thus, my life has been in a peaceful phase.

Oh sure, there's some ups and downs. The down hit on Sunday afternoon when I discovered my car was having trouble with the power steering. Kept hearing a noise when I turned, and then Monday morning there was fluid all over the carport. NOT good news. However, I quickly made arrangements to have my brother-in-law drop by with power steering fluid, then follow me to the nearest mechanic shop. Left the car there overnight, had it fixed by the next afternoon and walked to the shop to pick up the car. I'm just glad the long walks every day with my dogs keep me fit enough to tackle a trek if necessary. Highly recommended, you never know when walking will be necessary. I do have AAA, but this situation was resolved without calling them. I had offers to take me to pick up car, but I wanted to walk. Glad I can still do that!

Today was a memorable day in that I applied for late husband's SSI benefits -- as an unmarried widow about to turn 60 (Dec. 3rd) I'm eligible for that. It's a bit reduced but I'd rather get it started, and save what I can. Oddly enough, though I've been looking forward to this time for five years, on the way to the SSI office, I nearly burst into tears. I was just overwhelmed with thoughts of husband, and wished he'd lived to file for the benefits himself -- or at least knew I was doing this on his behalf. He worked from the time he was 16, off and on, until he died at age 58. It's really his SSI, but I know he'd be glad for me to have it. That's just the way he was, always concerned about my well-being in every way.

The appointment went well, and I should receive my first direct deposit in January. Just the act of filing was a great relief for me, since I felt it was something I had to do on my husband's behalf. I guess that seems strange, but that is how I feel.

As for all the political wrangling lately about SSI benefits (not entitlements, BENEFITS that were paid for from each paycheck!) I fear the younger generations will NOT get it at all. By then, it'll probably be non-existent and everyone's retirement riding on the gambling casino we call "the stock market." Lord have mercy on the younger generations' souls, because to be at the mercy of the market...for your retirement, sounds like a nightmare to me.

What else? Well I've been enjoying the wonderful Fall weather, going for long walks with the dogs. And engaging in a few other fun activities, like the live concert at our local county fair last Saturday night by "The Kentucky Headhunters." It was great, and my sister & brother-in-law went with me, then spent the night.

Saturday we went to Tuscaloosa, to visit their son/my nephew; he's in law school at Alabama University. We also rode through the tornado-damaged areas of the city, and I have to say, there's been great progress made in clean-up/rebuilding. I was curious to see how their efforts compared to our local city, and I'd guess we're about the same in regards to progress.

Here's some photos brother-in-law took at "The Kentucky Headhunter" concert with his cellphone--not great quality (I forgot my camera!):





What else. The dogs, as usual, keep me entertained...when they aren't snoozing on the sofa:



The stray cats still have to be fed -- this is Goldie & Mister/Mister complaining about a late feeding:



Sometimes this tiny black cat shows up, a feral and won't allow me close enough to even see if it's male or female. I feed it on the other side of the fence, since the other strays seem to intimidate Blackie:



My PC desktop failed a couple weeks ago, so I had to buy a new computer. I got a Dell from Walmart, and so far, I LOVE it. Don't know if my love is for Dell or Windows 7; I dreaded the learning curve, but trust me, it was easy as pie. Windows 7 is much more simple, and seems very intuitive -- knows what I want even before I do (that might be scary!).

I am disappointed in Roku though, because it seems to have failed also -- in less than a year after purchasing. Either that, or my wireless router is failing. Haven't tracked down the real problem just yet, so have been watching Netflix streaming on my computer screen. As Rosanna Rosanna Dana used to say: "It's always something!" Amen.

And I guess that is all for now. Maybe when winter sets in, I'll be inspired to stay indoors and write more? Who knows? The autumn weather is too gorgeous to stay indoors, and soon...leaf raking time will be here. I do plan to have a couple of damaged trees (due to the tornado) cut down next week, so there will definitely be less leaves to rake this year.

For now, I'll leave you with this great video of "The Kentucky Headhunters" -- one of their biggest hits and one of my all-time favorites:

Fridge made from clay pots

This an interesting video, and something to keep in mind if you are ever without electricty for a prolonged time. I know it would have been great to have this easy-to-make fridge during the extended time I was without electricity. It can be ready for food in 12 hours, which would allow you to save some of your freezer stock.