Just Some Thoughts 7/10/2013

I'm back. I really didn't get all done that I wanted to, but I'm a blog junkie so here I am. Is there a cure for it? A shot? Therapy? Rehab? Sigh. I may not post as often but I'll definitely be around at least a couple of times a week.
*

I saw a blog the other day, not a fashion blog either, which are very popular, but it had over 18,000 followers and one post had 751 comments! WOW! That's astounding.
*
Imperfect people are all God has to work with. That must be terribly frustrating to Him but He deals with it. (J. R. Holland)
*
I've had this insatiable thirst for root beer lately, but not just any root beer, only Henry Weinhards Root Beer. I sent th' hubs to Wal-Mart the other day with a very small grocery list, about 4 items. I had told him to get 2 cases as we've been drinking a lot of it lately. So he got there and they didn't have any cases of 12. He called me to tell me. Sigh. I told him to go ahead and get 4 of the 6-pack cartons. No, I didn't scream or have a breakdown; I very politely told him even if he insisted it would cost more. When I'm in the mood for a H.W. Root Beer, don't even question the price! Double sigh.
*
I don't let anyone dull my sparkle. One woman had a good shot at it several years ago and it sent me to a therapist because of it. I told her after that I didn't want her in my life. Period. She kept insisting as she thought I was something special. I'm not. Well, to my family I am, but that's about it. She even had her hubby call me to let her back in my life. We moved to another town about an hour away after that. So, a couple of months ago I met up with her daughter at Costco and tried to ignore her but she's as bad as her mother. Well, her mother was there also and she called her over from another aisle and I just about wanted to fall through the floor and get out of there as soon as I could. That didn't happen. (Plus the fact that it was a hurried, emergency trip to Costco and I looked like a hag. Why don't you run into people you don't care for when you're looking your absolute best?!?!) She wanted my new phone number and I'm not a good liar so I gave it to her. Aaaarghh. Hubs and a dear friend said I should have given her a false one. I just don't think fast enough in those situations. Since she asked for it several times putting it into her cell phone, I'm hoping she copied it wrong. I've since turned off our home message machine and gone with the phone company generic one with the generic voice. I'm such a wimp! Well, not usually, but this was a shock. Plus I didn't want to be nasty, which I can do very well. ;-)
*
Many people prefer the comfortable lie. Oooooh, do I cry now or tonight.
*

Squeeeeallllll!!!! I'd love to have this for my very own in my backyard. Just a dream, not going to become a reality.

I'm not a big quilt fan but this one is gorgeous with all the pinks and flowers.

Another cute and quaint kitchen.

The color of verdigris is what I loved about this door.

A charming little home in France, Italy or Spain. They have really cute stone homes.

This is one spectacular lighting fixture. It would look grand in my backyard. ;-)

This looks like it's copper but I think it's beautiful even if it isn't.

Can you see yourself strolling down the petaled pathway here?

More lovely flowered china for you.

Our roses are blooming prolifically now. These aren't ours though.

A most unusual tablecloth. It looks like petals. I've wondered how she did it.

If I had a work bucket that looked like this, I might just dust more often. Then again, maybe not. :-)

I love everything about this room. Beautiful!!!!

Another patio to relax on.

Vibrant roses against a vibrant sofa and pillows.

*

Tidbit:

In 1928 travel writer Richard Halliburton paid
36¢ to swim through the Panama Canal. [This just goes to show you nobody gets a free ride through the canal.]
~*~

Just Photos Today

Reminding you again of my Pinterest page, where I post at least a couple of times a week. You'll see images that aren't yet on my blog so go there for a visual treat of nothing but beautiful images.

Also, I'll keep reminding you until 7/1/2013 that Google Reader will no longer be available. So if you want to keep track of your favorite blogs or, if you are a blogger, you'll need another site to do that. Of course, you could just see them if you have bookmarked them, but you wouldn't see if they're updated so you'd have to check every single one. I'm using Bloglovin' as many others are and while it's not as good as Google Reader, it's still better than having to click on every single blog to see if it's updated. If you want to follow me on Bloglovin', just click on the logo on my side bar.
*

This is one of the cutest spots for a dinner I've ever seen. Can you imagine sitting in the shade of this old barn? Yummmmy!

,

And another cute way to store linens.

I've always loved purple and it is the favorite color of my great granddaughter. Her mummy buys her a lot of thing in purple or lavender.

A quaint old country neighborhood. They live much closer than we do and I kind of like that idea. Much more secure and that's important to me.

Personally, I love these old stone sinks. I'd much prefer one outside rather than inside but they have so much character.

Several years ago I found some pink towels. Now, I mean a true bright pink, not rose-colored. I have not been able to find any pink towels since then. They are gorgeous, and I'm going to be very distraught when they wear out. Why can't the towel industry come out with just pink instead of a dulled-down pink? This photo reminded me of that. This is a beautiful soft pink but I'm waiting for the true pink to come again.

These little bins are adorable. I wish I could find some for a few items I would put in them.

I adore this old country kitchen. Large sunny windows. Cute old photos on the wall. A sturdy table. Splashes of color in the plant peeking in the photo and on the table.

I'm sure this is a set-up for a wedding but think how cute the idea is for your dining room. Silk flowers and ribbons on the back. Not a lot of trouble or money at all and the pay-off is jazzy.

Yep, we're going out for ice cream tonight!! Did I ever mention I have pink spoons for eating our ice cream? I sure do and it makes the experience even more beautiful.

Yes, I really do like white sofa slipcovers and even had one made for my old Ethan Allen sofa. I can put them on or take them off and have completely different looks. They only cost $400 and I thought that was a steal considering the ugly ones I've seen online.

An excellent, cute and inexpensive way to add storage to your bedroom.

I really like this settee. I've never seen one like it but it looks comfy. Of course, the pink stripe adds to the effect for me.

Just a quaint and cute place for a lunch.

This has to be a shop for Green Gate items. They have the most darling kitchen ware of any store I've seen.

*

Tidbit:

Ringo Starr received more fan mail than any of the other Beatles and George Harrison was afraid of flying.
~*~

Linking up with the Dedicated House. 

Food Storage and 72 Hour Kits

First of all, a bit of eye candy for you. I've promised you beautiful things on this blog along with useful things also, but you'll pretty much see eye candy no matter what.

The vases I finished recently are now stuffed with some coffee filter roses I've made.

Little faux cupcakes that grace my living room end table.
~*~

Right after Easter this year hubby and I went to the stores and bought up a bunch of marked down candy for emergencies. (Yes, this is a boring subject today but one that definitely needs to be addressed.) We vacuum sealed some candy and thought we'd open it after several months to see how it survived. This past week we opened up our Milk Duds.

This is how they looked when I cut the sealed bag. Hubs said to throw it out. I beg to differ, man!!! Throw out chocolate? Is the man nuts?! Never. I peeled the cardboard box off it and broke it into tiny pieces and ate it. While it doesn't look quite appetizing, I can assure you it was delish—hard but delish. It softened up after sucking on it for a few seconds and then it was just fine.

Hubby and I recently went through our 72 hour kits for emergencies. We do this periodically and it's a good thing. Listen up. You can do this. You need to do this. Remember Haiti, New Orleans and other areas hit by natural disasters? Those people could have survived if they had some food and water. Besides, our church leaders tell us to do it, and I'm obedient in as many things as I can possibly be because I'm pathetic is so many other ways.

Hubs and I started with backpacks and put them on luggage carriers in case I couldn't carry it on my back any longer. Easy peasy.

Then we added extra undergarments, shoes (good thing I checked it because I could no longer get my feet in the shoes in my pack after all the surgery 2 years ago), towel, washcloth, dry packed food, change of clothing, which can be just any old thing you want to put in since it'll be an emergency and the fashion police won't care. I hate MREs so we opted to buy Mountain House at WM and will now buy some that is even better called Dri-Lite from a local sporting goods store. We got 3 dinners but just put oatmeal, cereal and pancake mix in the backpack for breakfasts and snack type things for lunches. See the blue bag in the bottom right. Never hurts to have a few of those in there. YOU CAN DO THIS!!!! Pair of wool socks and gloves in case the disaster is in the winter time.

Hubs tent and plastic ware for eating and his little mess kit that contains cooking pot, plate and cup.

A ziplock bag can hold soap, toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner, comb and brush and any meds you might need. Rotate them for expiration dates.

I have a whole roll of toilet paper squished and put in a side pocket. You'll be very surprised how much you can get in a backpack. A coat need not go in there because in the summer you wouldn't need it especially, and if it's in the winter time, you'll be wearing it on your back. ;-)

A plastic bandaid can will hold an entire infirmary in it if packed right—bandaids, neosporin, pins and needles, lip balm.

I love having a whistle just in case we might get separated. Plus a length of cord can save a life. Side bar here:

Once with hubby was taking a scout troop for snow camping they came upon a pretty sheer cliff of snow and ice. Hubs is a large man—6"2' and about 200 pounds and the strongest man I've ever met. One of the other adults went across with the rope while hubs stayed on the starting side to sort of belay his across the chasm. Then the boys would have an adult at both ends to hold onto the rope while the boys were secured to it. A ways across this 300 ft. drop a boy slipped and started sliding. (He was an only child and very protected by his parents and I hate to think what would happen if he got injured or fell to his death on this trip. Anyway, hubs kept telling him to be careful but he got a bit cocky and started sliding. Hubs, in his best USMC drill sergeant voice told him to stop and grab the rope tighter to not slide so much. He listened and did what hubs told him but he was shaking badly when the guy on the other end got hold of him. He was sliding pretty fast and good on that rock covered with snow and ice. My man is a hero and I never doubt that he could save me from just about anything. But a rope can be used to throw to someone who might have fallen over a cliff or into a river.

Flashlight, my utensils and a foil blanket for warmth that packs down very small.

Lots of sweets and cocoa and herb tea. If you in a stressful situation there is nothing like sweet candy to help with the stress. And it's the best stuff for bartering you've ever seen. Have lots of it. During WWII cooking oil was the most precious commodity for trading. If you had sugar, candy or oil you could trade it for anything.

Hubby's jacket and the water filtration system. Easy and small to have. You don't want to get sick on the water if there is a major catastrophe. Light that goes around his head so he can help with hands free in the dark.

This is the back end of our garage where we have a 250 gallon water storage tank. I never worry about anyone stealing it because water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon so that tank weight 2,075 full of water. And it's house water to drink. We got the tank from a man in our church who made them for about $180 each. Well worth it if a catastrophe hits. And there have been many lately.

Now, within the next couple of weeks I'm going to talk about food storage. We have a years supply of food and all the essentials. You can learn how and do it surprisingly quickly and easy. Here we had all our canned fruits, vegetables, pastas, peanut butter, nuts, ketchups, sauces, salt, pepper, spices, packaged dinners, cake mixes and frostings, vinegar, oils, canned meat, vacuum dried nuts, jerky, mayonnaise, mustard, candy, cereals, pancake mix, etc.

As you can see, I had a virtual grocery store in my basement. That was our former house and we have less than half the square footage here in our house now than this one—the former one. It's a bit tighter and we have to be more creative but it can definitely be done. The five gallon tubs contained dried carrots, dried onions, sugar, dried potatoes and dried beans. This was just part of it, the largest part, but there was more upstairs and meat in 2 of our freezers.

Here we kept toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, fabric softener, bleach, soap, toothpaste, lamp oil for oil lamps when electricity would be shut off.

So later on I'll tell you how to start your food storage. In reading an article this past week on food, there is no doubt it's going to climb in price and there are already shortages on some things. As Mormons we've been told to be prepared for these kinds of circumstances. Please, please listen and get some essentials for your home for the coming days. I doubt very seriously that you'll regret it but if it's not there, you'll regret not having it.
~*~