Greener pastures

Hi! I'm back. I doubt I have any followers left after all of this time. It's been well over 2 years since I've blogged. So I may just be blogging out in blank space...but that's OK. I don't expect my followers to keep me on their list if I don't put forth the effort to write something. To be honest, so many things have changed for me. I honestly have had too many things on my plate.

Back in September of 2016, my husband, Chatty and I decided to go to an auction. It was a Saturday and we had no plans for the day. The weather was beautiful. It was too pretty to sit indoors. Our neighborhood had gotten too busy for us over the previous year to enjoy leisurely sitting outside. Chatty's passion is re-finishing or re-purposing old furniture and junk. So we try to hit re-sale shops and auctions whenever we can. Luckily, there was an estate sale not too far from where we lived. So, we loaded up and drove on over. They each were assigned their bid numbers. Chatty was thrilled that she was able to get a couple of small things to work on. My husband, however, walked away with the winning bid on the house and a little over 9 acres of property.

SURPRISE and shock was our natural state for the next few days. Luckily, our other house had an offer on it before it was officially listed. So we closed on the one we bought a month after we won the bid on Auction and closed on the one we were selling a month after that. For a month I was packing, throwing things out, giving things away, working on Loan papers and Contracts. On top of all of that, I had to keep up with 2 part time jobs, home and family.

Once the move was made, the harder task of setting up the new house and finding a place for everything had to be taken care of. Which was easier due to the fact that the house we bought is bigger than the house we sold. When that was all done and the other house was completely sold and closed on----then came Thanksgiving. I hosted 21 people. But it was nice to have enough room for everyone to spread out in. Then of course a month later was Christmas...and end of year tax time for me and all of the paperwork that comes with that. At my age it took me a good 6 months to recuperate from all of that.  Oh and that Christmas, Chatty got engaged and was married the following April. So blogging was the last thing on my mind.

 Of course...nothing looks tailor made for this house. First let me explain, we bought a tri-level home. It's a little out-dated and needs to be re-vamped to a more modern look. Second...my other house was smaller, so my wall decorations looked skimpy on these walls. So...we just moved in and decided we would make due and slowly bring it up to speed as we could afford. It's a slow process.------My husband had to have major shoulder surgery last year. We were not sure if he was going to be able to keep his job....which was scary because I had thrown every bit of our savings on the purchase of the house so we could have it paid off in 5-8 years. So everything came to a screeching halt. Luckily, a few months ago he was cleared to work so maybe we can start making a little faster progress on getting the "look" we want.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying having coffee and watching all of the wildlife that comes to visit our property. We have been very blessed. Maybe a little frazzled...but blessed nonetheless!

Morning Thoughts

Did you ever notice the line between being judgemental and being too Open-minded is very thin? It use to be a daily struggle to make sure you as an individual were balanced and walking the line. America has not only waltzed across that line but has literally run a Marathon over to the opened-minded side. Now if we have any sense of right or wrong, we have to apologize, write a 3 page essay on why we should change our ways, and in the end, be forced to agree with things that down deep go against everything we believe. I don't think this is what our forefathers intended. God have mercy on our Grandchildren. And I hope they will forgive us for the country we are leaving to them.

Missing You!

Well, I guess interest in blogging, like Facebook, has waned a little. Remember how all of us couldn't wait to share our daily lives with each other? I haven't posted in probably close to a year or more. But I check in from time to time to see what my blogger friends are up to. The sad thing is some of my favorite Bloggers have not blogged for as long as I have...or longer. How sad!!!! Some have removed their blogs. Even more sad.

I've come to the conclusion that one of two things has happened. Either 1.)  People's lives have changed and there is no extra time to think and create a new post each day. After all, Blogging requires more thought and preparation than FaceBook. Or 2). Blogging has lost it's luster and interest and everybody has moved on to something else. I get caught up in Facebook but have noticed my friends, along with myself, are not posting FaceBook as much, either. I made a conscious decision NOT to start a Twitter account. After all, I have to have time for ACTUAL living. Since a lot of my Blogging friends are not here, it makes me wonder if they moved on to Twitter or some new and cooler Social Media thing.

But then it occurred to me that there may be some pretty sad life events that have sucked the life and happiness out of some of you. I hope NOT! I know my year has been busy. Some pretty stressful and unplanned things have happened. But nothing that has knocked the wind out of me or left me devastated.  So if you're out there, and something very sad has happened in your life and you just don't have it in you to write....just know that you are truly missed.

Oops! A little help would be appreciated.

I need advice. When I open my reading list for all blogs, it only shows me one entry for one blogger. I don't know what happened. Usually I see all new entries from everyone on my blog reading list. Underneath the one blog post it allows, it says show more. But when I click on that, nothing happens. Any suggestions?

Observations from my Coffee Table

I don't usually weigh in on controversial issues so I'm not going to defend the current Paula Deen situation. I don't know the woman so I don't know her morals or her character. I've never seen her cooking shows. I briefly saw her on a couple of talk shows during her pre-troubled times. I have some of her cookware and I really like them.

I don't agree with racial or sexual slurs on either side (no matter which side of the board a person is on). But hold the bus, I want to weigh in on the whole plantation worker issue. First of all, I doubt she forced anyone to work for her.  If she had insisted on all white servers, she would have been hauled to court just as quickly. But that's beside the point. My point is if we're going to take issue with the whole plantation issue then why hasn't  "Hooters" been shut down for exploiting women and making them dress a certain way?

That being said if this woman has used her power to bully or make people feel inferior, then by all means, make her answer for it and make amends. But good Lord, don't crucify her! After all, I'm sure there were a lot of people and companies making A LOT of money using her name.

As for her brother....well....he doesn't sound like a very desirable fellow. From what I've heard, he was the one doing the offensive things. But I notice very little of the media attention has been given to him. I find that VERY odd!

Stressed and Feeling Good

I know the older I get, the slower I get. But come on! I thought things were suppose to slow down in the golden years. LOL! Honestly, most days I like a busy schedule. And then there are those other days.......

I won't go on and on about my work schedule. Because let's face it, no one cares to hear about other people's hectic work schedules or job stresses. Oh yeah, they say they do. But they really don't. So don't go there. I guarantee you if you're the type who wants to share something other than a funny story about your job, your captive audience will listen for all of 2 minutes. Then they will go into a blank-stare mode. At which time they will start planning their day. While you're going on and on about the problems and stresses of your job, they are planning their evening meal and organizing their daily planner in their minds. The only people to offer you their undivided attention about anything work related would be your co-workers. Then you have to watch how detailed you are. Because even a co-worker will start clock watching. Besides, job related subjects are just a boring read.

Right now, we are in the process of planning Chatty's October 26th wedding. She and her fiancé (whom for future reference will be referred to as Chatster) are looking for their first home. Anyone who has looked at the housing market in the last 3 years knows it has sucked for awhile. Or at least it has in our area.

Yes, it definitely has been a buyers market. In mine and Mr. Chat's case, that is not always a good thing. When we were looking at possible home purchases for ourselves, all of the HOT deals were gone before we could get our house listed. Then we have the problem that if we sell ours, we won't be able to find the property we want to buy. Rent? Yes, we could rent until we found "THE HOUSE". But I would have to be guaranteed renting wouldn't be for longer than 6 months. It's a guarantee that can't be made. In the last umpteen years, there have been only a handful of homes and properties that Mr. Chat and I have been interested in. On the other hand....by the time Chatty and Chatster find a property they like, there's already a contract on it. Plus market prices are rising a little bit at a time. Which is a good thing for the economy. Not so much for newlyweds.

 

On the upside.....the wedding planning is on schedule.....so far. The church and reception venue are booked. We have secured the minister, the florist, the photographer, the DJ, the sound equipment and the caterers. Chatster's mom makes wedding cakes. She and Chatty are in the process of picking the cake design and the flavors. My sister-in-law is a butcher and she cooks and prepares meat. She is doing the beef.  My niece is a graphic designer. I have bought the cardstock and program paper. She and Chatty will design the invitations and programs. The unity cross is bought and stored away. The guest book and accompanying  supplies have been delivered. Chatty's Maid of Honor (and her boyfriend) have worked really hard on something very special for the dance floor. Chatty has her gown, veil, shoes and garters. Except for the flower girl, all of the bridesmaids/maid of honor have their dresses ordered. I  feel like everything is on track. I know a month before the wedding there will be SOOOOO much more to do and a lot I have forgotten. But until then, I will sit here smugly drinking my coffee and feeling on top of the game.

The Day My World Went Black

How are all of my Blogger friends doing this beautiful Spring morning? I've been peeking in on all of you. Some of you are great at keeping us up-to-date and current on news and life events. Then there are those of you who are as guilty as I am about laying down on the job and being a slacker. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Work on that, will you?

 How am I doing, you ask? In a word...... BUSY! As I mentioned in an earlier post, Chatty became engaged back in November. Folks, I guess it really is official because they're still engaged. They have set the date for October 26 OF THIS YEAR. Yes, they've been engaged since November but they only set the date 2 weeks ago. So you can imagine how busy it is at the Chat household. Mr. Chat and I had a very simple ceremony when we married so all of this planning and detailed stuff is new to me. Chatty will not be having a huge or elaborate wedding. I think around 300 guests will be invited. There will be dinner and dancing afterward. So, yeah to me that's quite the shin-dig to plan for. Of course.... anything over 6 people is a big hoopla to me.

I interrupt this program to bring you the following message: We were having TV reception problems. Mr. Chat bought a new box for the antenna. Yes, I said antenna. It's my fault that we are still prehistoric. I refuse to pay for TV programming. To me, that's wasteful. But I will allow Mr. Chat to pay for internet service. I figure with internet we get more bang for our buck...the World Wide Web, Blogger, Facebook, Kindle Fire and YouTube. What more could you ask for?.....Anyway, I digress.....As I said, he bought a box for the antenna. Our TV would work for a while then it would get really distorted. He was very frustrated by the whole thing. Meanwhile, I still had my computer to keep me entertained. He finally found the problem. The connection to the box was broken. He replaced the part and VIOLA!....he was a happy camper again. Meanwhile, the TV in Chatty's room needed to be re-set. She decided she wanted to move it to another location. There were so many wires that it became entangled. Instead of trying to follow the wire, he tugged on it, she tugged on it and they finally figured out which wire was causing the problem. Fast forward a couple of weeks. MY COMPUTER crashed. We're talking black screen. It would not let me set it back to last known working state or open in safe mode. I was not about to spend money taking it to a technician to be repaired. So I did what any novice that knows nothing about the technical behind-the-scenes workings of a computer does. I tried to fix it myself. I set it back to factory settings and re-activated all original programs. And you know what? It worked! It had a few glitches but it worked for what I needed. I was quite proud of myself. Almost cocky. It saved me money and kept me from having a complete melt down. Do you know how helpful it is to have a computer at your fingertips for planning a wedding? It saves a lot of wasted time and trips trying to locate services or products.

One night I was surfing for bargains on Bridesmaids dresses. Chatty pulled a chair up next to me. She propped her foot up on the computer tower. That's when it happened. Everything went black!!!! Same as it did 3 or 4 weeks before. The only difference was I could not get the power on. That's when I found it. The power cord had been loosened from the back of the unit. I guess it had been making enough connection to work those few weeks. But when Chatty set her foot on it, it jarred it enough to make the cord completely disengage. I didn't want to and I didn't have time to go through all of the steps as before. But it wouldn't respond to anything else. So I set it back to factory settings. I performed the diagnostic tests that it recommended. FAILED! Errors in several parts of the computer. Oh no! Shot! GGGGRRRRRRR!!!! I had every kind of jerk, tick, and shake a woman could have. Whatever!!! Many a women planned weddings long before the internet was invented. I decided to put on my big girl panties and get on with life.

Chatty and I spent the weekend running from stores to stores that were located an hour away from our house. We came home empty handed and exhausted. We've been using her Kindle Fire to look up sites that might be helpful. But I gotta tell ya, the Kindle Fire is great for her entertainment. But I'm not real impressed with using it for major things. But we were muddling along.

Last night, Mr. Chat came home with a new laptop for me. Whoop-Whoop!!!! Now I'm a happy camper, too. So happy that I'm not thinking about the fact that we could have used that money for the wedding and all of the little unknown extra expenses that will come our way. I have access to the outside world again. Isn't Mr. Chat a sweetheart? There are some days that we growl and bicker with each other. Some people would wonder what we're still doing being married after all these years. But then there are the times when we go above and beyond the call of duty that  makes me know that I would marry him all over again.

I will leave all of you fine people for now. I have to play with my new toy for awhile. I think I have Windows 8 somewhat figured out. It's a lot different than Windows XP. So if you don't see me for awhile, you'll know that I hit a wrong app or button and my world went black again!