A Taco Bell Incident

Not long ago, I noticed a dark spot on the carpet and told hubs I think he spilled some chocolate from his mini-drumstick. (Remember, I've banned the ones with nuts on them because they were forever falling off and I'd be stepping on them in my bare feet all the time. As much as I love the Drumsticks with chopped nuts on them, I love my feet more!) He said he didn't think he did it, but I hadn't had any chocolate so it had to be him. Anyway, he got the spot remover and I got it up and all was well. Then I asked him how he was always dropping stuff from the cone onto the carpet. His reply to me: Because nothing gets past your chest. He's so right! That's one of the problem larger-chested women have. So be happy if you have a small chest. We've discussed this before, have we not?!? Hmmm?!
*
 
Then recently there was the Friday trip to Taco Bell. I love Taco Bell and don't think anyone can beat them for Mexican fast food. But this night was a disaster. I ordered a taco and a burrito with beans and rice on it and a small drink. I filled it with lemonade, took it to a table, put it down and it immediately spilled over 2 tables, floor and me. Sigh. Then I got some burrito on my shirt. I tell you, be glad you're small in the bust department. It was truly ugly that night. I even offered to mop up the lemonade for them, but being kind they refused. I was so embarrassed but that's my life sometimes.
*

A quote I love:
All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on. This can apply to people and houses.
*

 

If this photo doesn't make you happy, there's no hope for you. These colorful cottages are adorable. The foliage looks tropical but it looks like snow on the ground, but it must be sand.

What a way to decorate for a party. This is first-class, I tell ya.

Just some beautiful flowers. Almost seem tropical with their vibrant colors.

Yeah, yeah, I know, you want the bed but the pillows must come with it, right? In fact, I'd like a couple of those pillows but I have enough to start a store now.

Just love the patina of this door and the balcony.

Learn your geography while spending time in this bathroom. It's a wee bit busy for me, but very creative. Wonder if it's in England. Hmmmm, could be.

A rose covered old cottage.

This looks like a vintage photograph but I'm sure it isn't. The photographer did a very good job on this though.

While the yard and path are gorgeous, I threw this in for a friend of mine, who loves dogs.

A stunning room. I'd love my office to be this cute.

For you lovers of cups and red ware.

Look how this homeowner has made the dining room so cute with these old barrel chairs painted white and shabby-ed up a bit. Then the gorgeous display of roses on the table and the huge plant on the credenza with a huge mirror. This is a lovely room.

I haven't a clue what kind of tree this is but I love its purple flowers and the serene setting for a luncheon.

This is in no way my style, but I just love the little daybed. Very colorful room though.

You've probably noticed I have a "thing" for secluded spots for lunches. Even indoors at restaurants I prefer a secluded spot if available.

*

Tidbit:

The Netherlands has built 800 miles of massive dikes and seawalls to hold back the sea.
~*~

Bye, Bye, Miss American Pie. The Day the Blender Died.

Reminder about my Pinterest page. I now have almost 9,300 images on there that you won't see on here for a long time. Also, a reminder about the giveaway I'm going to have. It'll be on 6/12 so be sure and be here to check it out.
*

This is a long post so be prepared.

Some people who read my laundry post emailed me with a homemade detergent recipe. I had read blogs extolling its frugality and effectiveness, but I'm lazy and didn't want to make it. Not all that stuff works well for some of us. Plus I have a year's supply of Tide. But, hey, I'm game to try it out if so many of you see results. So onto the shopping list went Fels Naptha, Washing Soda and 20 Mule Team borax. Hubs wondered why in the world it was on our shopping list and I told him and he remembered his mother using Fels Naptha and I remembered the same about my grandmother slicing it up into her round ringer washer and me helping her with it, so he was game for it. (Any conversation of this sort fondly recalls memories from his childhood and I have to listen to—get the pleasure of hearing him tell me the stories. That should have been my first clue. ;-)

So on one of our twice weekly visits to Wal Mart the items were purchased. I also read the instructions from one particular blogger that said it works really great and it was cheap. Cheap never enters into my shopping decisions. I've been thwarted more than a few times; no, make that more than a lot of times. I simply don't care if something is cheap or not if I want it. I know some of you understand that. Of course, I always watch the circular that a store here in town sends us for Pepsi so I can get 4 cases for the price of 3 cases. Other than that I don't care.

So I pulled out my blender to use as I don't use it much at all anymore. In fact, it's in a closet in our 4th bedroom. I use a food processor now for all things I have to make/cook. This is in lieu of eating out, which I prefer above all. Need I say more? No!

I cut the chunks into small pieces after setting the blender up. I took off the cap in the lid to drop small chunks in. Well, it went flying all over the kitchen. I immediately stopped. If you look very closely at the buttons, between the last white button on the left and the 14 Speed Blender on the right side, you'll still see bits of Fels Naptha. It was a mess, so I had to stop and clean up a bit.

At that point, I'd stop the blender when I dropped a new chunk in, put the cap back on and blended again. We're talking soap here so it was a bit waxy/clingy. That's when the blender started smoking—big time. I thought my kitchen was going up in flames. That brought about the ambivalent feeling of "do I let it happen and eat out for weeks" or "should I try to put out the fire and cook for the rest of my life." I had to stop and think about that one. Saving my house and the embarrassment of explaining to the firemen was the biggest consideration. (I've already had the police here with our security alarm going off and me not remembering the code or contact person. The policeman told me that's one and I only get 3 of these alerts before they start charging me for trips to my home. Sigh. But that's another story that I've probably posted about before on here and can't remember at this point.)

I then poured the 2 cups of the other 2 products into a bowl and emptied the blender stuff into it. I'd forgotten the smell of Fels Naptha from my youth. It isn't bad; it just isn't Tide's smell. I could get used to it I suppose. But it didn't blend as well as the instructions said it would. If I ever do this again—and that's pretty iffy at this point—I'll grate it with my grater that I was afraid I'd thrown out but found later in the day. (Due to the availability of cole slaw already chopped at the stores now, I refuse to grate another cabbage! In fact, most times I'll even buy the salad greens already chopped in their neat little bags. I'm all for someone else doing it for me.)

I'll let you know after a few times of washing how it does. I guess putting in the fabric softener will dull the smell a bit. The nice blogger said she'd gotten used to the smell. I doubt I could because I'm such a fanatic about good smells, especially in my home.
*

Now, onto the second item of business here.

When we moved into this new house, there was a large mirror over our double sinks in our bathroom. I thought we needed more shelving over our sinks before we needed a huge mirror. So we took it down, gave it away and put in 2 medicine, or in my case, makeup chests instead. It worked fine but now I thought we needed more shelves in there as my counter was becoming crowded. I then saw this photo on the internet and asked him to make me one. That was a marriage-killer right there, let me tell you.

  My hubby has to get it perfect or try. It is NOT perfect but you'll see the photo down among the flowers below here. He drove me nuts. I wanted 4 shelves but he said he couldn't do it with our ceiling height and the light bar over our sinks. Fine. Adjust it. Then he had to go shopping for special lumber. Heaven forbid, he doesn't have we'll-use-this-sometime-in-the-future-lumber out in the garage or his shed. But off to Home Depot he went.

I wanted bars across it to hold items better. I didn't get them as he said it wasn't high enough between shelves to lift a bottle up and get it out. Then he wanted to spray paint it after he assembled it. I told him it would be easier to paint before assembling but he's his own man and did it his way. Is it perfect? No. But it's definitely better than having 3 mismatched shelves in that space, plus there's more surface to put things on.

I wanted them done in a timely manner. Riiiight. That'll never happen around here as he's involved in too many things. So my makeup and few random items sat on the countertop for several days before I made a deal with him. I offered to do a task for him one night while he installed the shelving. I have to say it's not what I expected but it'll do fine. He's such a good husband that I don't want to burst his bubble. And he is going to do a perfume shelf for me in our bedroom. That will have the cross-bar to keep my plethora of perfumes from falling. I've just about destroyed my dresser top from spilling perfumes and oils on top of it. I'd redo it but I just don't have the energy and it would take a lot to haul it outside to refinish and that's not going to happen—due to the energy problem, mine, not our natural resources.

This is the blender sitting on a small freezer in our garage. I put it there so the garbage can wouldn't catch fire as it was still smoking. He just happened to be walking in as I was taking the blender out to the garage. I told him what happened. He didn't even flinch. He knows me too well.

*

This is the first peony of the season. Hubs sure can grow beautiful flowers.

One of our rose bushes. Sorry, he hasn't had time to weed them yet.

Another gorgeous rose. I usually only buy David Austin roses. They're very fragrant smelling and have performed magnificently for us in this hot summer desert.

It's very hard to have a favorite but this one is at the top of the list. Perhaps that's because I love pink and yellow above all other color combinations.

This is the shelf hubs made. Sigh. It actually looks pretty good there between the 2 medicine chests. We could only go so far in the width but lower than the 3 mismatched shelves we had there before. Plus the shelves are deeper so that worked out even better. You can see the birdcage I have hanging over our garden tub also.

Another peony, different day.

This is the little tin that I put the washing detergent in. I'll be sure and let you know how it works after several wash loads.

I'm rather chatty today, but this gorgeous blue in this hydrangea reminds me of a color of Jantzen sweaters that was called French Blue back in the late 50s and early 60s. I longed for a Jantzen sweater that other classmates had before I got mine. I didn't wish for much and rarely bared my feeling to my parents. I don't know why I didn't get one for a long time but when I did, it was a double-breasted cardigan in this color. It was gorgeous. I loved it. When I think about those lustings back in my teenage years, I have to chuckle. I am rarely envious of anything anymore that someone else has. Oh, I see the beauty in some things but I'm just glad I'm this old and alive, have beautiful kids, grandkids and gorgeous great granddaughters. I am truly blessed in this life.

I think this is a gorgeous home. I don't lust for it but I doubt I'd have turned it down when I was younger. Now? Too much yard and too many levels.

A delightful kitchen in aqua and white.

A shop somewhere that I'd love to go visit. I see a couple of things that tweak my interest.

Same with this shop. Notice the beautiful French doors to the entrance and the molding on that doorway. I could probably spend a long while in this shop.

A cheery dining room with a vintage table, chairs and red roses on the curtains. I like this room a lot.

Oooooh, I don't know where to begin on this porch. I want mine to be this pretty and relaxing. I say every year I'm going to do something with ours but I haven't so far. Maybe this will be the year I succumb to those desires and get my bum off the sofa and do something with our large porch. :-)

*

Tidbit:
 I've always been interested in English since an early age. I loved English and majored in it in college. But I'm always seeking out the abuses of our language. That's why I find these little tidbits to pass on to you. I'm forever correcting someone's English and grammar, whether written or verbal. Sigh. It's a tough job but someone has to do it. Right, Claudia? ;-)

Just Deserts:
The phrase has its origins in the obsolete word 'desert', meaning that which one deserves. In use since at least the 1300s, it is commonly seen in print as just desserts, as in the sweet final course of a meal. It is pronounced this way, but the spelling is incorrect.
~*~ 
Linking up with Pink Saturday, NMH
and SSS. 

A Veteran Story

My hubby is a retired Marine. While in the Marine Corps, he was a drill instructor during the Vietnam war. It compromised his hearing as he was just like the teenagers of today who think that the loud music they listen to—especially with the ear pods in their ears—won't affect them. It did. He's lost a great deal of his hearing though gradually. But we have many blessings and one of them is that part of his retirement is not taxable. He also gets free hearing aids from the Veterans Administration because teaching recruits how to shoot diminished his hearing, so it was job-related.

The VA takes really good care of its veterans. A golfing buddy and friend of our son's had cancer and survived it, luckily. Our son, who is a nurse and works for a VA hospital in California, plus was a Marine for about 6 years, kept telling him to go to the VA as the man served in Vietnam during the agent orange era. He kept saying no as it was too much trouble. Our son told him all he had to do was tell one person (an advocate) his name, serial number and years in Vietnam. That's it. Then the advocate would handle it from there. Well, he finally did. He called our son a few months later to thank our son profusely. Not only was he awarded a pension of a couple thousand dollars a month but it was retroactive. He got $36,000 in a lump sum that he never would have known about if not for our son. He was ecstatic. He now doesn't have to worry about money as much with that veteran pension.

As I said, the VA is an advocate for veterans and my hubby is also. He was contacted by the VA a couple of weeks ago and asked to come in to reevaluate his hearing again. (He normally does this about every 3 years, but this was a bit early and he was perplexed.) They wanted to see if he could get his hearing evaluated for more money that would be tax-free. We're waiting for the results but as his wife, I can guarantee they'll up it as it is getting worse. We were even thinking of getting a hearing-aid dog for him in the future if anything would happen to me because when he is in certain parts of the house he cannot hear the doorbell or even the security alarm if it goes off sometimes.

Well, while he was being evaluated, they told him they're going to get a louder doorbell chime for us and also an alarm clock that is louder and has a vibrating pad for underneath his pillow so that can wake him up. He's a sound sleeper. I was thrilled as these things will cost us nothing. While not every man is meant for military service, I thank those that have given up years of their life to protect this country. I cannot tell you enough what it means to my hubby and me. I honor them profusely and their wives and children who don't have them with them all the time. Also, the ones who have sacrificed their lives for the freedoms we have are greatly honored in this family. Thank you all, military men, women, wives, parents and children of those who serve or have served. You're special in this household.

Oh, btw, we received a box just 8 days after the evaluation. It contained a door chime with a very bright blinking light when the doorbell is rung—and it's portable so he can take it to any room in the house or garage—and an alarm clock with a large dial and loud ring and vibrator to put under his pillow. Yep, his advocate came through for him. (You can also tell I prepare these posts well in advance as this happened in early May.)
*

Now you tell me, what could be so cute and this work space?! Just adorable.

I've tried this with sheer curtains on our patio but it didn't work well as hubs' grape vines tore through them as fast as the wind could carry them. I'd suggest heavier fabric if you intend to do this. The wind in our desert can be very fierce sometimes.

Just a beautiful fabric wrapped sweetly. I've seen women's closets where all their fabrics are stored beautifully. This doesn't happen in this house. I can't keep them arranged that well as I'm always digging around for something I try to make work for a project. Just one look through it and they're all messed up. I could take on a permanent job of arranging the fabric I have!

A vintage table painted white with a white vintage bench and white "schoolhouse" chairs and a chandelier adds about as much elegance to this dining area as you can get. I think it's gorgeous!

Personally, I love the look of lavender but the smell is overcoming to me. Not the best fragrance but its healing properties can be wonderful when applied to burns. I've tried it on burns and it works wonderfully.

Just a celebration of red here. Love this color along with my favorite color pink.

Now, as busy as this room is, it's colorful. It isn't something I'd try as it's too busy for me, but for a tropical paradise decor, this would be perfect. Looks more like a teenager's room though.

It would be heaven to have this kind of garden. Most of my favorite flowers are here in pots and it's an easy way to garden without tearing up your yard. It would also be a place to garden that might not be conducive to a yard in your area. I love this look.

Just a cute piece of ephemera for you.

This bath is a bit exotic for me but it is beautiful.

Hopefully our clematis will grow this huge with time. Ours is still struggling a bit. This one is astounding though.

Just a cute little thatched cottage somewhere in the world. Love its symmetrical design with the blue trim and pink flowers, plus being on a body of water makes it somewhat desirable also.

When I saw these I thought how cute they were to decorate an egg cup when not in use at the breakfast table.

Looks like a garage sale, but I see a couple of lamps and shades I'd like to transform.

This says it all. Endure to the end, my blogger friends. It will be worth it. :-)

*

Tidbit:

The basis of the Macintosh computer was Apple's Lisa, which was released in 1983. This was the first system to utilize a GUI, or graphical user interface. The first Macintosh was released in 1984.
~*~

A Question I Asked Hubby

When my granddaughter was here in March, I had her try on my wedding dress. I just wanted to see if it would fit or, truthfully, see how much larger than her I was as a bride. She's normally a size 2, but is probably a 4 right now because of the pregnancy but she gets weight off so easily I could scream. Ain't so with her grandma! Anyway, it wouldn't even zip up past her hips. Talk about depressing. I thought I'd cry since I was smaller than her when I got married. She's always been tiny even at 5' 4 1/2" tall, exactly like me. My daughter, her mother, is 5' 11" tall. I am the shortest one of our family. Granddaughter is also endowed with the family chest. We all have more than is wanted in that department. Just our heritage as my mother, all my aunts, my maternal grandmother and most of my cousins are well-endowed in that area. Why is it that all of us who have it don't want it and others who don't have it want more? A friend of mine is small and would like a bit more, but I'm always telling her: No, you don't. You really don't.

But that brought me to asking hubby about it. I said, "As a man, why do all of you look at the chests at women?" He, being a man, should know. His very serious answer? "We're hard-wired." I nearly fell over laughing. He's so honest about it. He looks at women just like any other man. I doubt most women are that concerned about the size of their chests.

Oh, and granddaughter? She eats like a horse. I mean she packs it away. Candy? Loves it! Pie, cake, ice cream? Eats it often. Always has to have dessert when we go out to eat. And just like me, if I bake a pie or cake for a special occasion, I have to eat some as soon as it cools from the oven. Drives my hubby nuts. That happened at Thanksgiving at her house. I baked the pie the day before and she and I had some. Hubby just glared at us both. She's so like me, more than her mother really. She just never seems to get fat. Life is not fair!
*

A beautiful clearing in a yard for this dining setting and torches walkway, lots of plants and a building with a canvas top. Perfect for warm evening dinners.

Looks like a large kitchen in the mountains if looking through that far window. It looks like snow covered mountains back there. But it is a huge kitchen.

This must be a very northern European country photo of a living room. You get such marvelous light in that part of the world and simple lines of furniture with bright coverings for the furniture.

Another way to store your bedding and laces. Charming.

A sweet setting of flowers on a charming table.

What a tub to bathe in. Lots of room around for setting soaps, towels, bottles of scents and perfumes, and candles.

Another beautiful purple decorated bottle.

Aren't these cute?! A really fun way to jazz up your paper clips.

Has to be in Europe somewhere. Beautiful lavender and periwinkle wisteria.

A door to an old cottage with a purple door, knocker, mail slot and a #10 on its door.

It took a brave person to paint her gate this color, a woman with vision I think. Just beautiful!!!!

Another compact kitchen but elegantly appointed with essentials.

A bed or sofa to dream in with a canopy overhead and done in relaxing white with 2 splashy throw pillows for color.

I. Want. This. Purse! It's the cutest thing I've seen in  froufrou bags.

I'm still working on my 2 French cane chairs. Maybe soon I'll have them all done and can show them to you.

*

Tidbit:

Spam filters that catch the cord "Cialis" will not allow many work-related emails through because that word is embedded inside the word "specialist."
~*~