Sooner than Later

I'm scared right now. And not over the usual stuff that scares me: snakes, bad hair days, sweating in the heat, waking up in public sporting a pair of those blasphemous pajama jeans...I'm not even necessarily scared for myself. Its my children, and their futures and my future grandchildren that worries me. If this economy doesn't turn around soon then what? It used to be that every generation made it a little better than the last. But that no longer seems to be the case. Now it takes 2 people to be able to run a household, instead of the 1 it took back in my parent's day. A lot of Moms aren't able to afford the luxury of staying home anymore. Not that staying home to raise children is a luxurious day at the spa...I did it for 4 years and it was definitely HARD work.

Bruce read a story about a man who went over $200,000 in debt to finish veterinary school. He graduated, and now spends his time checking feces for worms for MINIMUM wage because there he can't find a job. How sad is that? Its beyond sad, its insane. I just pray that the economy will eventually turn around. Sooner would be better than later. I have grown children looking for jobs, and I want them to be given a fighting chance. I want to retire eventually. Again, sooner would be better than later. I want to not have a heart attack every time I check out at the grocery store, or fill up my car with gas.

The impending defaulting of Government loans scares me really bad. What does the future hold for us? When will the news be bright and promising instead of depressing? I know that its anybody's guess but let me reiterate, sooner would be much much better than later.

Bounty

I know I have a lot of harsh things to say about summer. Trust me, very few mail carriers in the southern part of the country have anything nice to say about it. Its brutal out there, and we are out in it an average of 5 hours a day, straight, with no reprieve. Every single one of us lives on the verge of heat exhaustion every day that we work. We do all the right things, stay hydrated, wear light loose clothing. And while that might keep us alive, it does virtually nothing to maintain even the slightest hint of comfort. My skin stays raw from being damp with perspiration all day long. The worst raw spot? Right around the front of my chest where the bra goes. It gets soaked and then rubs every time I turn or move or....?
I've tried to fix the problem for years....baby powder, anti-perspirants, sports bras that claim to wick moisture and dry at the speed of light. Its just too hot and humid for anything to work well. Stand outside for 4 or 5 hours at a time when its 95 plus degrees and so humid its like breathing in water. And then let me know what parts of you actually stay nice and dry....LOL.

That being said, the ONLY thing about this season that I don't passionately despise is the bounty of fresh vegetables. And this season is particularly generous, too. I am going to have to freeze some I think. I have never really canned, but I guess I could learn. But there is no way we can eat all of these veggies before they spoil. I am getting lots of tomatoes and peppers. I have eaten tomato sandwiches every day for the past couple of weeks. Is that a southern thing or do they eat these in other parts of the world? Fresh tomatoes, the homegrown flavorful kind, not the 'tasteless, engineered not to spoil for weeks at a time kind' you find at the grocery store. Tomato slices, salt, pepper, and a dash of mayo....yum. One of my customers left me a big bag of veggies in the mail box yesterday...tomatoes and peppers. LOL. So funny. I am giving them away too. Although this bag had some cucumbers as well, and we aren't growing those. And Bruce had a customer give him a huge bag of fresh corn. Its been so dry here that the corn isn't as filled out, the kernels are not quite as large and juicy as normal. But the flavor is still good and sweet and there is certainly plenty of it. Tonight we are having a tomato and cucumber salad with vinegar, and spanish rice with lots of stewed tomatoes. Its funny how I was craving a decent fresh tomato back in the winter and now I can't eat them fast enough. Tomorrow night I think I will make some homemade spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes and peppers. I can freeze leftovers. Its too bad that you can't freeze or can them in such a way that they come out fresh and perfect and ready to slice though. That would be awesome.

I am OVER it!

I am so over summer by now. The heat, the bugs, the sweat....it has
got to go. I want to sip hot chocolate all wrapped up in cashmere, wearing some fabulous boots by a roaring fire. Not wiping sweat off my face, standing in front of a fan, just trying to stay cool enough to keep my blood from turning into steam. Over it! Been there, done that, and HATED it! I have no idea how I am going to keep what small shred of sanity that I have for the next couple of months. Maybe I shouldn't even attempt to.
To quote Calvin, "Just go ahead and kill me now".

Also, while on the subject of things that I am completely over....The Casey Anthony verdict. I get that the jurors have to believe there is no doubt, and I get that the evidence was somewhat circumstantial....but the woman is guilty. You know it, I know it, the world knows it. I am going to have to hand this one over to karma. I do believe that everybody eventually gets what they deserve, so she has her day coming to her. I can't believe that she could ever go back to a normal life after all of this. Can you imagine having to serve her food in a restaurant? Or check her out in a grocery store, serve her drinks at a bar, or deal with her in your teller line at the bank? The thought creeps me out. I don't think the public will forget about that child as quickly as she was able to. I just pray to God that she never has any more children....I can't even let myself think about that.

So, we had a good time in Wilmington, but we skipped out on the fireworks here in town after we got back home. It was hot and neither of us was in any mood to deal with the mob scene down on the town commons. Maybe next year. The 4th of July has to be one of my least favorite holidays, probably because its a summer thing. Blah!

Happy Holiday Weekend

Everything is good here (for the most part) in our neck of the woods. Its HOT and we are breathing in the pervasive smoke from the wildfires still burning in Beaufort Co. Its going on 2 months and they STILL can't get those fires out with all the heat and drought going on in this eastern part of the state. Sometimes things are fine, but then the wind shifts and before you know it, its smokey and hard to breathe. But what can you do? Hope they will be able to get it all under control soon.

We are dealing with bears (of all things) here. This one bear has set up a home right here around our yard. We have seen him several times lately, walking the edge of the woods, crossing the road in front of our house....He is busy, I guess. I have a feeling there are more of them out there, because some people have spotted a group of 3 walking around not even a mile from here. But this guy is the only one we see on a regular basis:



This picture was taken just beside the barn on the edge of the woods. Bruce was just a few yards away, all excited. I was hyperventilating because bears can be dangerous. I finally threatened to call 911 if Bruce didn't back off and let the bear go on his way. But seriously? I am a little bit nervous outside now. I am fine inside the fenced yard, but beyond that it is a gamble. We used to walk all over the property, through the woods...there are tons of wild blackberries out there.
But not this year. Not with Yogi and friends on the prowl.

Anyway, I hope you all have a good holiday weekend. We are going to Wilmington to spend some time with Jeanne and Calvin and Greg and Lori and all the nieces. Beach tomorrow! I need a break from the bears....LOL.

Happy 4th to everybody!

Topsy Turvy

I haven't written in a while because my life is feeling a little topsy turvy at the moment. I am trying to make some big changes. The last round of blood tests scared me a little(ok really a lot, but I am trying not to panic). So I am making life adjustments, fewer medications, more natural supplements, healthier diet, exercise (all under the watch of our doc, so I am not just taking chances with dropping meds with no direction). Its all for the long-term good, but it is taking its toll in the interim. Its stressful, but I know it will eventually all balance itself out. My body just has to get used to healthier living and fewer medications.

I was given a 3 month time-frame to make these changes. I need to lower my cholesterol, and blood glucose a little bit or I am facing taking even MORE medication. My levels weren't outrageous, and the 2nd round of tests came back that these things were only slightly elevated....but definitely borderline. I had the feeling that it was now or never. So....its motivating. I am working at it. If there is improvement, even a little bit, then hopefully the doc will give me another 3 months to work on it further.

It's hard though. I believe that it will get easier as these things become habit...right? Its just a matter of time. And meanwhile, if I am not here blogging away about the details of our lives as often as usual, just know its because I am struggling a little, but it will be well worth it eventually. Hopefully....wish me luck. :) And whenever I need a little something to make me smile, I just look at this:



Is this not the cutest thing you have EVER seen?

Soon

Smash the Mole

There are things that have issues in my life right now. This includes (but is not limited to):

-My oven. I know I posted about how the bottom element stopped working and almost ruined Christmas dinner. Well, Bruce replaced it and for a while that seemed to have helped it. Now we are having the problem again...only part time. Sometimes it takes forever to preheat the oven. If I can ever get it to the right temp then it does fine.
I am not thrilled about expensive repairs, OR buying a new stove, so I am just taking advantage of the fact that summer is not a time to do a whole lot of baking. Cold watermelon is every bit as good as cookies when its hot. Right?

-My car. The check engine (or service engine soon) light came on over a week ago. Bruce changed the air filter and the pvc (or is it pcv???) valve that needs to be replaced periodically. The light went out for days. Today it popped back on again.
What a pain. The car drives fine. It doesn't skip or cut off or run badly in any way. But that light mocks me, and I wish it would go off. I have no idea what the next step is to get the thing fixed. Bruce has a code reader that plugs in to the car's computer system so maybe that will reveal what needs to be done.

-Our AC in our bedroom. Our bedroom is the hottest room in the whole house. Bruce went around partially closing vents off in rooms we rarely use (Erica's room, bathroom and guest room mainly) to try and force more cold air into our room. But the air flow is so slight you can barely feel it coming out of our vents. Even with the rest of them almost closed. Something is blocking the air from getting into our room and now we need to figure out whats going on with the air ducts upstairs in the attic. It has to be a problem with the ducts because its blowing out plenty of cold air in every other room. We have temporarily helped the issue by placing a fan right in our doorway. It seems to be moving the cooler air into our room, but still....there has got to be something done about it.

Oh well, just a few things on the never ending list of stuff that really needs to be done. We make a little bit of progress here and there and then something else just comes up all over again. Life is kind of like that carnival game "Smash the Mole".
You hit him back down into the hole and another pops up again. I think it could drive you crazy if you let it.

Also, speaking of moles, our cat Bitty was out in the cat enclosure yard this evening and when I went out to get her I saw she had something in her mouth. I thought it was a frog or a lizard, so I hurried down the steps to try and rescue whatever poor animal was suffering her wrath. I got a few steps away from her, and I could see that it wasn't a lizard. It was this dark little thing and it was making a horrible squeaking/hissing sound. It sounded like pure unadulterated EVIL. I had no idea what it was but I went inside and told Bruce to go figure it out. It turned out to be a baby mole. I thought Bruce would kill it because these darned moles have torn up whole sections of our yard. But he put the hissing nasty little thing in a plastic container and carried it off to be released somewhere across the road in a field. Yuck. Bitty hadn't harmed it, but she had certainly pissed that mole off. No wonder these things stay underground though....they are UGLY!!