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.)
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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. :-)

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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.
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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!
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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.

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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."
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My Solitude

Reminding you again of my Pinterest page. I now have over 9,100 pins of the loveliest photos you've ever seen. I scour the internet regularly for these images. There are only images, no funny sayings or anything like that, just beauty you'll love to see. I promise! So click on the logo on my side bar or the link here. I've made it super easy for you. I just want to share the eye candy I find. It's become a passion of mine.

Also, don't forget Google Reader is going the way of the dinosaur in another month or so, so be sure and get another reader if you're a blogger or if you like to keep track of your favorite blogs. A lot of us have chosen Bloglovin' and you can follow me by clicking on the logo on my sidebar at the very top.
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I love my solitude. (Some may call it free time, but to me it's solitude that's important.) Our house is very quiet and that's my choice. No radio or television (don't have one) blaring, ever. Just quiet with the ticks of a normal house—clocks, heating/cooling, creaks at a certain place in the living room, the fountain and the wind chimes tinkling through the security camera on the front of the house, which plays on the small television I have here in my office for that purpose only, things like that.

Many mornings I awake before hubby. Sometimes, it's 4 or 5 am and I'll either read or come in here and prepare posts—one of my favorite things to do. But I let him sleep. I shut the bedroom door, don't turn on many lights and walk softly. I need the solitude as much as he needs the sleep. I don't need as much sleep as he does, I think. He works much harder than I do. He volunteers at our Family History center one day a week, another day he's in the Temple all day volunteering. Then he has the VFW, Marine Corps League, teaches classes at a career institute several times a month and is a leader in our Church, which means he gets called out a lot to help others who may need it. At 72 years of age, I don't know how he does it. I'm going to post this photo of him as he wouldn't mind at all. Does this look like a 72 year-old man to you? Not to me, he doesn't. He was giving me the evil-eye when I took this photo. He's also very funny sometimes and will tell people the biggest lies about me! They're sometimes surprised when they meet me.

I think he needs his solitude also, but he's gotten this huge desire to help people in any way he can lately. But his favorite thing to do is play cribbage on his computer or iPhone. He can do that for hours.

Anyway, he'll give me this look sometimes. He's a big ham also. And he's quite attached to his great granddaughters. I've never seen him so happy as when those munchkins were born or when we visit with them.

Back to solitude. I think we all need some of it just to get centered or get our lives in order where we can function. I know myself well and am very honest to myself about myself. If I don't balance myself I will lose the feeling of being centered. We all need some time to ourselves at least once a day, even busy moms. Sometimes, it's bathroom time. Sometimes, it's garden time. Sometimes, it's shopping for yourself time. But there's always a need for me time for everyone. Try and find what yours is. Mine is reading. I read voraciously. That's what I need to be taken out of this frenzied world sometimes. Remember: water cannot be drawn from an empty well. Give yourself the gift of time.

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Another lovely setting for some me time.

I'm partial to the rusticity of this wood and gate. Beautiful elements together.

Tiny vase of roses sitting on the floor.

Gorgeous white and very pale pink roses.

Not particularly elegant, but a beautiful bedroom nonetheless.

Donut holes in an elegant cup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I'd have put 3 scoops on there though. ;-)

What a beautiful closet and what beautiful things the homeowner has put in there. Love the shutter doors also.

Do I even need to say anything about this kitchen?!?! I'd love to have this one. Even though I hate the grind of daily cooking, I could just show it off. Right?

Can you imagine the amount of roses it took to make this tieback? Those definitely look real and not fake, too. Gorgeous! I doubt I'll be trying this one in my home though.

A stunning small dining room. Very elegant.

I like this idea also. You can hang anything you want on a chandelier.

I've been trying to find this Washi tape to use but haven't found the flower kind yet. I'm still looking.

And this is a chandelier!!! I've never seen one like it but it's fantastic.

One of the prettiest tablecloths I've ever seen. I have many tablecloths that I've given away to granddaughter but have a few left that I think I'll start layering on our dining table. I love that look.

Probably Italy, but I just love the quaintness of the streets and houses close together.

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Tidbit:

In 2011 the French actor, Gerard Depardieu, was on a CityJet flight on his way to Dublin to film a movie. The plane was delayed on the tarmac at the Paris airport. Nature called and Depardieu got up to use the bathroom. Flight attendants told him he'd have to wait until the plane was in the air. Depardieu, who suffers from prostate problems, couldn't wait—so he relieved himself on the carpet of the airplane, in the aisle, in front of other passengers. [I think he was well within his rights if they refused to let him do it the proper way—in the toilet. Especially with prostrate problems, you cannot wait.]
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Linking up with NMH Open House Party and Pink Saturday.

Conversation on Laundry

While our granddaughter and her family were here in March, she had to wash some clothes. I have a white Maytag top loader that is 18 years old and looks brand new as I wipe it down after every laundry day. Before that I had a Kenmore that was 30 years old in coppertone and was still washing, but we figured it was so old that it could give out any time so we replaced it before it did. The guy who bought it from us was thrilled to get it in such beautiful shape. We take excellent care of our belongings. She has a front loader on a pedestal and I think it's dark blue.

Anyway, she stuffed so many clothes in there that it could barely rotate and there was undissolved soap when I went in to put them in the dryer—in 2 loads. Top loaders don't take as much as front loaders as we had one just after we got married. They were much smaller then then they are today. So one day while talking to her on the phone, I mentioned about top vs. front. She said the top loaders today have a problem with the rubber seal/gasket or whatever it's called. The seal mildews. I've heard this from a few people. We never had that problem.

This led to a discussion about how to do laundry. I gave her some tips and she was grateful. Since she lived part time with her dad and part time with her mom growing up, I don't think anyone taught her the specifics of laundry. In fact, I had told her we thought about buying a front loader next time maybe. She doesn't particularly like the front loader and had never thought about them not being sold much before the craze hit recently. So I gave her a few tips on how to add detergent, whites only, darks only, baby clothes needing extra care, etc. She was grateful. She didn't really know how to do laundry properly. I do!

When the rubber gasket went out, they called a repair man. It was almost cheaper to buy a complete new washer. She about fell over at the cost. Her hubby went online, purchased the gasket, found out online how to install it and saved a great deal of money. He's very handy for a computer science major in college. ;-) I think she'll purchase a top loader next time though. She learns a lot from her Nana (grandmother).
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I remember these bowl covers from when I was a kid. I don't know if they make them anymore but they sure do jazz up a bowl when going to a potluck dinner or picnic.

I do lust after these kinds of tablecloths covering a table. Hmmmm. I may be able to make a longer tablecloth to mimic this effect. Just give me enough time!

It looks to me that this is either photoshopped or the sun had a wonderful glint to it the day the photo was taken. Love the pink surrounding the pool though. The pool reminds me of the one we had in Puerto Vallarta at Los Tules condos. Many days we had the pool all to ourselves. It was heaven.

This room is one—of many—of my favorites. I pretty much love everything about it, but I'd paint my walls pink.

I rarely can pass up a pretty rose without grabbing it for my Pinterest or blog. This looks like a wall hanging of some sort but not a painting for a wall.

Simplistic room but cleverly and graciously done.

I simply cannot pass up a cute small laundry room. They are just so darling most of the time, which just proves you don't need lots of cabinets or countertops to have a functional area for washing clothes. This homeowner has given it lots of cuteness with the blue check curtains and red check tieback and hanging laundry and a clothespin holder on pegs.

It's the little crock holding the bouquet that drew me in.

A simple little cove to sit in with a friend or hubby. Garden handy for them with chairs and a stool as a table.

I swoon over vignettes like this. And that cover on the arm of the sofa looks exquisite also.

A thick old vintage door, an old-fashioned mailbox, vines over the door of a stone house and moss or lichen growing on the stone path.

If blue is your favorite color, you have it here, especially with the pottery.

A very colorful house and steps with a handmade pond and table, chairs and bench to relax.

While I love that pink chair, notice the lamp. Very different and beautiful.

Two of my favorite flowers: roses and hydrangeas.

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Tidbit:

Hotel owners in Hastings, Nebraska, are required by law to provide a clean, white cotton nightshirt to each guest. According to the law, no couple may have sex unless they are wearing the nightshirt.
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Linking up with Transformed Tuesday.