Insomnia

Well, this is a fine state of affairs!  All day long I've been dragging around here tired and wondering where my energy went.  At 5 pm I wanted to go to bed but I knew that made no sense.  I held off until 9:30 and was all ready for a night in dreamland.  It didn't  take me long to drop off but about two hours later, Joycie Poo was awake.  My low back was hurting like crazy.  Or is it my hip?  Grrrr... I'm not in the mood.  Is it my mattress?  Perfectly fine mattress but perhaps I need to put the memory foam back on again.  It's become one of my more odd behaviors...putting on the soft mattress and then pulling it off to sleep on a firm mattress.  Back and forth I go.  Maybe I'm constipated.  Old fat ladies are always constipated.  Maybe it's that old obesity thing again.  Nah.....Arthritis?  Need a hip replacement? Pinched nerve?  None of the above or most of the above?

My back and/or hip has actually caused me a lot of problems for years.  I've learned to live with it and work around it but there are periods where I get mighty discouraged at not being able to be on my feet for too long.  Something is out of whack of that I'm sure.  Unfortunately, though, I've never been able to pinpoint what it is.  I had an MRI many years ago but basically they just wanted me to have another MRI on a different section of my spine.  What?!  It took all my nerve just to go through the first one.  I HATE those MRI tubes.  Too claustrophobic.

Some days I'm convinced it's a pinched nerve.  Especially when I have other issues with the legs and feet.  Whatever it is, I'm not keen on having surgery.  Having gone through a knee and shoulder replacement, I know that surgery is very hard on a person -- especially if they're overweight, out of shape, and OLD!  Seems like most of the people I know have some issue or another with body pain so I tell myself  to grit my teeth and buck up!  I would dearly like to be able to go for walks or go shopping or just hang out at places without having to find a place to sit.  That said, I also know I'm thankful I can walk at all.  Not everyone can.

Since I can't call anyone (it's now 1 a.m.) I thought I would fix myself a cup of cocoa and write a few paragraphs on my blog.  My blog writing has been hit and miss this past year.  Some days I am regular as clockwork and then I get busy doing other things (but not interesting enough things to share) and I let the blog slide.  I haven't been very diligent about keeping my journal up either. I seem to go in spurts.  Then again, my diary notations are mostly reports on what body part is hurting.  I'm so pathetic.  (but at least I know it)  Ha!

I did a lot of sewing this week and will continue on that hobby for the next week or two.  Maybe even longer.  I am finding the time spent in my sewing room with an audio book keeping me company, very relaxing.  Sometimes I head on back to the computer and work on my genealogy files a bit.  Both activities are fun for me.

I couldn't get into sewing today so I sat down to finish a book.  It was a darn good one too!  The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard.  I'm going to give it to Jenni, hoping she'll read it.  About a woman whose husband deserts her and the kids to "be a hippie" and then she gets MS.  Her teenage son ends up taking over this newspaper column she writes (a Dear Abby type) and it's a huge success.
The story weaves through the trials of the kids dealing with their absent dad and their mom becoming more disabled.  Apparently it was based on a true story.  Very good writing. She also wrote "The deep end of the ocean."  My next book is an autobiography by Ken Osmond (Eddie Haskell).

My oldest daughter turns 51 on Monday so I'm having her and her husband over for dinner tomorrow night along with a friend of theirs.  Mushroom meatballs with mashed potatoes and chocolate pie. I might have her help me string some outdoor Christmas lights in the back yard if she's willing (and if I feel halfway decent).

I post most of my photos on Facebook now but I know not everyone goes to that website so I'll post a few here too.

                 Thanksgiving dinner at Jenni & Waynes.  Ed, Wayne's dad came too

                                         Maddie helping her mom prepare dinner

 Cousins at a recent birthday party: Dale, Denny, Arlie, and Arlies son & grandson, Todd  & Ryan

                       Lee turns 80 with daughters Kim and Michelle and wife Elaine

 An old picture I found online of Fairmont Restaurant here in W. Port Angeles

                 Hunter in the backyard.  Him and Maddie have drivers permits now

 Maddie oblivious to the world as she does what teenagers do - texting

                                        Andy and Jake building.  Sooooo cute.

                                             My rearranged (again) sewing room

                         Some of my counted cross stitch designs I'm working on

                                      My brother, Dana, is buying my guitar

 Saw this on Facebook -- cousin Linda with three of her daughters in Kentucky

More stuff I'm working on. Found these cross stitch designs in a thrift shop and they were very well made. I gathered them up and sewed material around to make wall hangings.

Well, it's going on 1:30 a.m. now so maybe I'll try to go back to bed.  Or not.  Think I'll sleep in the recliner as it's usually easier on my back.

Time to Downsize

GUITAR FOR SALE -- $100

It's 36" tall, a Squirer model by Fender, and includes a few picks, several guitar books, one CD instruction on playing chords, a cloth zipper bag with handle for carrying, and a pitch pipe to help you tune it.  It's in good shape and used very little.  Sigh...

I bought this used guitar (I think) in 2004.  I have ALWAYS wanted to learn to play.  But.... apparently, I haven't wanted it bad enough because the poor thing has not been touched in years.  Huge disappointment in myself and it's a reminder of how I'm all talk and no action.  Another sigh....

Christmas is coming and I'm a little short on dough so I thought I would see about selling things I obviously am not using.  If it doesn't sell, I'll be perfectly fine with that too...cause I really don't want to sell it. Just don't need the constant reminder sitting right in front of me.

I sold my piano back in 1983 and I didn't want to sell that either but needed the money and was moving.  Hard to get people to agree to move a piano.  I miss that piano.  I even took lessons for a while.  I could have been somebody. I could have been a star.  ha ha

While looking for the pitch pipe,which took a good two hours of my morning, I came across a ton of stuff socked away in nooks and crannies that I had forgot about.  I'm seriously considering taking pictures of each item and posting it on my blog (and then over to Facebook) so maybe I can find people who'd have a use for these little treasures.  All giveaways, of course.  And sooner or later, I'll just have to cart them off to Serenity House or Goodwill.  Want to try and give things away first, though, so stay tuned.

That darn pitch pipe!  I looked high and low in every room in the house and through junk boxes in the garage.  At one point, it was even in my hands and I didn't realize it!  I had taken the cloth cover out of the closet to set by the guitar and the pipe was in a zippered pocket. Grrrr.... Hate it when I overlook the obvious.

Anyhow, I've got a job to occupy me a while as I prepare my photos over the next few days.  I could post some of it on Ebay, and I just might go that route for some of the stuff.  There's just so much when you really stop and look things over that you've been hanging on to for years and realize -- why oh why is that thing still living with me?  Ha ha

By the way, I don't want to bother shipping the guitar so it will have to be a come-and-pick-it-up  --- although I will deliver to Sequim, Hadlock, and Port Townsend.

It's Early

For some reason (I'm blaming it on the dark skies and cold weather) I've been very tired all week long.  Went to bed at 7:50 last night and I was out like a light.  Course I woke up at 10.  I stayed put, though, and managed to sleep until 5 a.m. when I horrible dream made me decide I wasn't going back to sleep.

I've had dreams similar to this in the past but man, it went on and on this time.  I was in Vegas (or perhaps it was Reno?) and I think I was with Mary G. and Doris R.  We were staying at a motel called San Anselmo, which was similar to a name in a crossword puzzle I had been doing earlier. We left our room and headed to the airport.  This particular airport kept trying to be a ferry terminal that I've been at before but mostly it stayed an airport.

At some point I realized I didn't have my second bag and that had my airport ticket in it. I left my friends to head back to the casino/hotel to retrieve my bag.  This search (on foot) for my hotel took me all over town.  I was running like a bat out of hell too!  Very agile and fast, hopping over brick walls, running down steps, and meeting all kinds of people in the process.  I was asking them all..  am I close to San Anselmo?  Finally, I locate the place and while the bag they try to give me isn't mine, I object and they locate the right one. I dig out the tickets, leave the bag, and take off running (again on foot) to the airport.

This time my travels take me all over town as I constantly ask people "am I on the right road to the airport?"  I never am.  I end up in a large blue tunnel, in various neighborhoods, on the beach, and at one point in the harbor, a huge Navy destroyer pulls in to port which hundreds of soldiers onboard. Then a jet plane overhead does a loop to loop through yellow clouds and everyone is alarmed that it's going to crash.  This was just one of many obstacles in my way to the airport.

How Reno or Vegas could have a beach or why I didn't take a cab is beyond me. Because it was a dream, I suppose, and you never do the sensible thing in dreams.  I eventually got to the airport but my plane had left. I think I must have woke up then.  Felt like I'd been through the ringer!  Ha Ha

So here I am at 6:30. Sitting here with a cup of coffee and thinking about working my crossword puzzle on Yahoo.  Going to take off for Port Townsend later this morning. Think I'll let it warm up some just in case the roads are a little icy.  The roofs next door don't seem to be as white looking as they did yesterday, though, so maybe it didn't get as cold last night.

Just looked over the tv lineup for tomorrow and I see golf is back on. I'll be working in the sewing room watching that and then the Seahawks game.  Going to Jenni's on Thursday and driving her to the Bainbridge ferry on Monday for another doctor appt. she has with the neurologist.  Maggie (the dog) is coming to stay with me on Tuesday and Wednesday, as well. Maybe even through the weekend.

Here's a picture of CAKE eating supper....

In first gear

Can't seem to get up and get going on projects today.  On the other hand, I have had fun browsing on the computer so that has to count for something. And I did make a quick run down to the neighborhood store to buy stamps and  mail off a Town Kid book.  I haven't really been trying that hard to sell the few I have left so it's always nice to get an email requesting one. I suppose it was the ad in the  PTH alumni newsletter.  I have a few copies in the two PA book stores and one in PT too but outside of that, I've let the marketing go by the wayside.  Never was in it to make money anyhow. I've probably got about seven left up in the closet.  If I ever get some money ahead (yeah, like that's gonna happen!) I might consider having some extra copies of  'Walkin' on Water' printed up.  I'm sure they would sell.

I looked over my Christmas gift stash trying to  figure out what to give to who and I'm thinking I just might do some online shopping on Black Friday for a few odds and ends.  I did buy some rotary blades for myself this morning.  Man, but they're expensive to buy in the stores.  So is material and batting.  It's gotten way out of hand.

I got two purple squares of material in the mail yesterday.  I had participated in a chain letter friendship quilt where you have to mail off two purple squares to four people and you're supposed to get a huge amount in return.  Hasn't worked out that way but it was fun trying. I've received from two or three people.  I should be able to finish off my stepping stones quilt today. Just have to sew the border down.  It ended up being a tad smaller than twin size.

I had bought some  counted cross stitch designs that somebody had made (in my favorite thrift store) and brought them home to see what I could do with them. I washed and ironed them up and I'm going to try and find theme material to go along with them to make quilt like wall hangings. I found a pattern yesterday of onion rings and chocolate candy.

Next I've got to find a pattern with breads and salads.

The stitching was quite good on these pieces and I'm hoping my sewing around them does them justice.

Two photos that I had posted on my blog last week but didn't know the identification of were revealed recently.

That's Jim Reicke with Anita & Phil Raymond (thank you Rose Johnson)

and this is Penny Baldridge's dad. Not sure of his name but probably Schmidt.

There sure is a dark cloud hanging over the neighborhood today although I can see some blue sky to the north.  I hope it's halfway decent when I drive to Port Townsend on Saturday.  I guess I'll mosey on back to the sewing room and get busy on that quilt. I have one disk left on this audio book I've been listening to and I'm anxious to hear how it ends.

Chilly Sunday Morning

As usual, the world news continues to remind us that we're probably going to blow things up sooner or later. Too many thugs out there convinced they need to kill everyone they can. What's the solution? Darned if I know.  If they couldn't wipe out these mental defectives after the Twin Towers was taken down, they need to rethink their plans of attack.  Somebody had better take the bull by the horns and get down to brass tacks on this ongoing threat to all of us.

Listening to Bernie Sanders this morning discuss that climate change is contributing to the problem. Perhaps.  But I think it goes deeper than that.  Basically, too many people just have no tolerance and lack common sense and a gene allowing kindness.  But enough sadness for now. On to topics closer to home.

Maybe it's the cold weather but I suspect I'm working on my first bug of the season.  I hope not. I do hate having a cold.  I've been tired all week.  Nothing new there. I'm getting older and slower and the lower temperatures only remind me.  Sitting here watching the birds in my back yard.  A whole lot of them.  No seeds are hung but there must be bugs and worms aplenty among the moss and dandelions as they're quite busy fluttering from spot to spot.  If I had a cat, she'd probably be going nuts watching from the window.

I'm sitting here at the kitchen table right next to the heat vent and am working on my second cup of coffee.  I think I got enough sleep but you'd never know it by how many times I've yawned in the last hour.  I'm probably going to need an early afternoon nap.  Some days I can get by without one but more often than not, I find myself heading to the recliner. Always reminds me of my dad. He always needed more sleep as he grew older.

I've been sewing more than usual the last few weeks. I'm in the middle of a quilt now called Stepping Stones.

I only had enough material to make six 18" blocks so I went to Goodwill yesterday and found some material to add as borders and make the blanket about twin size or so.  Been listening to audio books as it helps pass the time. Sometimes the discs skip or won't play (always a problem with public ebooks) but the library has a big supply so I just take them back and carry home an armload of new ones.  Picked up nine books yesterday afternoon so that ought to keep me going for a while.

I continue to play with my ancestry notes and do a little research here and there and I suspect that particular hobby will be with me until the day I die.  I'm also thinking I might begin work on a cookbook.  I've been making cookbooks for a long time.  Here's a picture of two Betty Crocker books that are from 1956 AND 1976.

I guess it was in the 70's when I first starting typing up my own cookbooks.  On a typewriter no less. Before computers came along.  I put the pages in a book report binder of sorts and gave them out as gifts. Lame.

I made a new book every few years adding or taking out certain recipes. Always called my books "And the dish ran away with the spoon."

The table of contents for this particular masterpiece was called "Baldridge Bunch Cookbook." I was ever so proud of them at the time.  Now.  Not so much. Ha Ha   Even my latest book needs revision...

I've been looking over my Christmas gift stash on the top shelf of the closet in the sewing room.  They're slowly adding up.  Since money is a tad tight these days, I'm also thinking I just might start wrapping up favorite "things of mine" to recycle as gifts too.  I've got a whole lot of cute stuff here and there.

Been browsing, as usual, on Facebook looking at photos that people are sharing. Found this one of Dr. Schaill and his wife.  My Dr. Welby. Sure wish I could find another doctor like him. Don't we all?

I also saw this photo which caught my eye because of the schools in the background.  Anybody recognize him?  I thought he was standing somewhere around Ruth's house up on Gise.

Stopped at Fil Bygolly shop (in my neighborhood) yesterday and picked up one Christmas gift. Phyllis Johnson Kendall (from PT) is the owner and always has a huge selection to choose from.

In my search for Charlie Blankenship, I continue to have my doubts that I'll ever find out what happened to him or who exactly he was.  I took the picture of my g.grandparents, Lewis M. and Jane Downs Blankenship and compared them side by side from their wedding photo to one in old age. Either Jane aged quickly and was ill or (could it be?) this isn't the same woman.  All indications are that it is indeed her but still.....  maybe having all those kids contributed to her aging.

If you're so inclined (or interested) go to www.originalmmc.com and read up on the old mouseketeers.  I saw a story on MSNs website about "whatever became of the old mouseketeers" so I clicked on it only to find it was not really my "old" mouseketeers. They discussed newer ones like Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Keri Russell.  I wanted to know about the ones from the fifties. They were all born in the 1940s.

I started looking up various mousketeers from my era: Sharon Baird, Bobby Burgess, Lonnie Burr, Tommy Cole, Annette Funicello, Darlene Gillespie, Cubby O'Brien, Karen Pendleton, Doreen Tracey, and Cheryl Holdridge.  Fascinating reading if you're into that kind of trivia.  I read an interview that Cubby gave, (popcultureaddict.com) among other things.  Darlene ended up in prison, Cheryl died of lung cancer, Annette died of MS, Bobby married the daughter of Myron Florens of the Lawrence Welk Show, Cubby played for the Carpenters and Bernadette Peters, and Karen ended up paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

And that's about it for this morning. Guess I'll scoot on back to the sewing room and see what damage I can do there.  Keep warm.

By Favorite saying for this week:  (seen on a t-shirt)

Yard Work

I knew I needed to get outside and do a little cleaning up around the place so I finally got myself moving after a short nap in the recliner.  I loaded up my wheelbarrow with various "things" I've had situated around the yard.  My knickknacks.  Clutter I should say.  Didn't realize just how much I had until I saw the wheelbarrow being pushed into the garage.

Hunter helped me move all the icky pots from the deck to the side of the house. He says as soon as he figures out how to constuct them, he'll try making me a planting box that goes all along the deck so I can toss the stupid looking pots that really do need to go to the dump.

 He's also going to power wash the deck but I told him that can wait until spring.

I kept my pigs just because they amuse me but we did move the bird bath.  I also had him stick a few of my bird seed hanging posts over by the trees so I can drape them with Christmas lights next month.

I also kept my three birds on a wire and moved the pot to the front.

I made a quick library run this morning as I wanted to get some new audio books.  The ones I had just weren't cutting it for me.  While in the gift shop, I overheard the clerk and another guy discussing a subject I felt I could have joined in on if I was so inclined.  She said:  When I was in my 60s, I did all kinds of activities and nothing seemed to hold me back but once I hit 70, I found I was unable to do a lot of things I used to.  I couldn't understand it.  Everything started to hurt and fall apart.

That comforted me somehow.

When I was taking Hunter home, we noticed this woman sitting in the narrow road that winds  up towards the fairgrounds. Her car was pulled over as far as she could get it and she was sitting there  reading.  We thought it was a weird place as it's kind of dark in there but there was a kid riding his bike on the nearby trails (with lots of hills) so I figured it was a grandma accommodating her grandson.  We have a tendency to do that sometimes.

Finished the first season of Game of Thrones but will hold off buying season 2 for a while. Christmas is coming and my checking account needs to get built up a bit so I can buy a few gifts.  Sure wish my Match 4 numbers would hit this week.  That would solve all my cash flow issues.

Been browsing on Facebook to look at pictures and saw these that caught my eye...

 Band on Taylor Street in front of the Rose Theatre.  Not sure of the date.

 I've seen some of these pictures on FB before of PT scenes. They're fabulous!

 Not sure who the guy on the left is but that's Anita & Phil Raymond on the right.

Dana in the Rhody Run a couple years back. Jan Boutilier and Dr. Scheyer too. Can't recall the other guys name.

Mary sent me this one today of Jake at play.

And this shows my second spool square. For some reason, it's a tiny bit larger than the first one.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day so the kids are out of school, Jenni is off work, no mail delivery, and banks are closed.  I'm gonna spend the day sewing, most likely, and surfing around online.  This is my life now.

Busy Sunday

I don't know what got into me today but I got it in my head that I needed to rearrange (to some degree) every room in the house.  So I did.  Just little stuff although I did need to use my furniture "sliders" to get the book cases moved from the entryway to my bedroom.  Worked fine.

 My exercise bike was in that spot. And yep, that's a walker. I'm always in a conflict of activities.

 The book cases were here in the front entryway but now I have some of my potted plants, globe paperweights, and knickknacks adorning the area.

 I still needed a place to put my picture frames so I moved this old trunk from the sewing room to the living room. It will hold a few Christmas decorations next month.

My sewing room was still not pleasing me even though I've rearranged it at least three times already. I wanted to be able to have my material scraps easier to see and store and I put my ironing board to the right of my sewing machine so I wasn't having to keep moving it all the time.  I think the area flows better now.

I also managed to bake a batch of banana chocolate chip cookies but I put them all in the freezer after I ate half a dozen and got gas.  Ha Ha

Took a 40-minute nap and had to force myself up again 'cause I wanted to go to bed at a decent hour tonight and get back on a normal schedule. Although any schedule can work when you're retired, I suppose.  I went to bed last night at 9 (was really tired) and ended getting up this morning at 6. I don't know why I care one way or the other. Just like to be in charge and my body seems to have a mind of her own.

I did sit down and surf the internet a bit and ordered two Christmas gifts.  Also bought myself something. I don't usually do that but I saw this t-shirt and HAD to have it.  Sure hope it fits. At least shipping was free.

Tomorrow I'm cleaning the oven.  Dreading it even though it's self cleaning. I'll still need to wipe it out afterwards and getting down to do anything inside the oven is a pain!  Plus I'll have to clean the racks myself and keep the sliding glass door open to ventilate the house while it's working.  I'll just hole up in the sewing room or come in here to browse Facebook and other websites.

I made a pitcher of iced tea and a pitcher of lemonade this afternoon but I suspect the lemonade isn't agreeing with me as I keep getting gas. I know. You really want to read about me having gas.  Can't help it, though. It's all I got today.  Ha!

Started watching 'Game of Thrones' last night. I had bought the first season and just hadn't gotten around to putting it in the DVD player.  At first I thought I wasn't going to like it but I gave it time and now I'm hooked.  I think I knew that was gonna happen.  I also watched a movie I picked up at the library called 'A Thousand Acres.'  I'd seen it before and read the book but couldn't quite remember it all so it was very entertaining.  Good actors and good story line.

Hmmmm.... interesting commercial I just saw asking people to keep cats indoors as it's better for the cats, better for people, and better for birds.  I agree.

I think I may have overdid it a little today.  I'm feeling pretty darned tired.  I keep forgetting sometimes that I'm not as young and spry as I used to be.  Hopefully, I'll sleep good tonight. Probably hit the sack after the 8 o'clock PBS show I'm hooked on -- Home Fires.

Well, I just looked up and it's dark outside. Guess I'll go close all the curtains, get my jammies on, and heat up a bowl of bean soup that I made yesterday.