Early To Bed (Not)

Insomnia .. loud crickets .. change of life (two years and counting) .. summer rush in the garden .. have all been contributing to my lack of sleep.  I settle down on the couch for a little TV at night .. usually an old movie .. then doze off.  Usually I'm already for bed so I can just shuffle half asleep down the hallway to bed.  Once there, I toss and turn a few minutes.  Still tired.  Then it hits me.  I need to check the front door, take the pooch out for a potty run, get a glass of water, and heaven forbid if I've forgotten to brush my teeth and decide to use the electric (bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) toothbrush.  I get back in bed and have a hot flash, which makes me get up to turn on the fan and put on cooler jammies.  Settling back in .. I am WIDE AWAKE and thinking I should go bake the bread dough slowly rising on the counter.  This is the dough I forgot to add yeast to yesterday so hastily added it after I noticed it wasn't rising.  Humm .. I must have been distracted (again).  Adding dry yeast to bread dough is not a good idea.  But now it smells all yeasty and like sourdough .. so I don't want to waste it.  Time to turn on the oven and finish baking bread.  Smelling the yummy goodness makes me hungry so I make a pot of coffee and wait for the bread to finish.  My day today is going to suck.  I'll need a nap just after Nathan gets on the school bus .. oh, I forgot, it's Wednesday and I have my little grandson ALL DAY.  I really need to mature and better order my day!

Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise .. Ben Franklin

Ever Thankful

Nathan .. age 15

Thankful for one left in the nest.  After Ann moved out in May, I have come to discover it would be pretty lonely around here without any youngins at home.  Nathan (the possessor of an extra chromosome) is perpetually youthful and adds great joy to life.  To be so young at heart .. always .. is a gift beyond measure.

Every part of life is a season.  I think the empty nest phase would be quite .. well empty without our special needs son.  So thankful God knew we needed him before he was born.  Even with all of his challenges, life adds a richness that would be lacking without him.

In God's infinite wisdom .. He has blessed us and given us reason to have joy as we enter the golden stage of life.

Whatever Happened To Mrs. Mac?

Mr. and Mrs. Mac at Memorial Day Service

It's been a while since I dug in and wrote a blog post with more than a sentence and a few pictures.  Life has a way of passing by without so much as a hiccup .. then .. the brakes get applied. 

Our youngest daughter, Ann, recently moved out on her own.  She has been working as a dental assistant for almost a year now after graduating from school last summer.  This makes the homestead a bit quieter and has freed up my schedule.  You wouldn't think that having an adult child living at home would make the parent's calendar fill up .. but somehow now that she's not living here .. I have more (me) time.  Her room is being transformed into a little retreat for sewing projects and quiet day dreams. 

Nathan finished up the 8th grade yesterday and is home for the summer.  He has three days a week planned for summer camp activities.  Did I mention that he has progressed to the point that he can pretty much take care of himself? Thanks to the work of a very special interventionist that has helped to transform a very needy (special needs) child .. into one that is very capable of managing his own self without very much assistance.  PTL!  I'll post an update soon about his health after a recent scare we had .. but for now, let's just say he's growing like a weed and seems to be on the mend.  The docs don't suspect leukemia .. will know more after his next blood test in July.  Thank you all that have been praying for him ..

I hope to get my writing grove back and post more often.

Going, Going, Gray

Some of you will think I'm nuts ... but I'm about to embark on a journey that will find out what the true color of my hair is. Of course, I know it's got a lot of gray in it ... but I'm curious as to HOW much gray there be! I'm a bit tired of keeping up with the continuous touch ups ... not to mention the drain in my wallet. Hollywood has been knocking at the doors of the everyday housewife and career woman young and old for the past fifty years ... youth has run amuck and I'm crying foul. Slavery was defeated years ago and I'm going to put down the box of Lady Clairol in preference for my natural state of age. This does not mean that Mrs. Mac is going to "let herself go." I've seen plenty of stylish gray haired women that can pull off the graceful aging gig. I don't plan on sporting pink or blue hair ... nor shall I cut it short and have a perm. Just wait and see ... along with me. If I never post a picture of myself again ... well, you will know that this experiment has failed! ... stay tuned, maybe not, eh?

Diminishing Talent?

What was is no longer in me. There was a time in my life when I could just muster up enough imagination to simply create something. Be it sewing from an antique dress pattern ... arranging flowerbeds .... or baking a gazillion hand decorated Christmas cookies. My last great effort was spent on designing and furnishing our new home. However, I think my light bulb is growing dim. Oh, I still subscribe to home decorating magazines ... but no longer do I rip out pages for my idea scrapbook. I still enjoy ooohhhing and aaahhhing over magazine spreads showing plates and dishes brimming with yummy looking food. To be honest, I don't know the last time I've even tried to make a dish from a magazine. I've fallen into a pattern of making meals that are standard, tried and true meals my kids will eat. No fancy dinners served on China dishes with crystal goblets. No getting out the vintage silverware that belonged to grandma. Why? It's just too much work to hand wash all the finery. My new motto: Keep It Simple. It is becoming harder and harder for me to expend brain cells on creativity. I still have curtains to finish up and walls to decorate at home ... but getting it done is like pulling teeth ... OUCH! My midnight oil is running low.

"For crying out loud ... just get a grip Mrs. Mac. " That's my new mantra repeated under my breath about a dozen or so times a day. This perimenopausal stage of life is the pits. It's comparable to PMS x's ten. My top three complaints are:

1. hot flashes
2. being grumpy
   
3. fatigue until 2 PM

Just when I start feeling energized for the day, it's time to start winding down for the evening routines. Someone take pity on my husband and send him a sympathy card .. OK! If you'd care to share your best remedies, just leave a comment.

Preoccupied/Hot Flashs/Calgon Moment Needed

The post title explains my absence. I've been a damsel in distress but not willing to put up a white flag to surrender (not me). Of course two nights ago I had such bad heartburn I thought for a moment it was a heart attack; but two tums and an hour later, I was just fine. The very last item to tote over to the new home will be my bubble bath ... I just can't afford to misplace it for even a night. Leave me a kind note of encouragement to hang in there ... and I'll be back to posting after the move and the dust settles.

Photos: Guest room complete with doors and carpet, one of two stairways, master bathtub (needs to be repositioned and have the plumbing installed). More photos at "This New House" ... go ahead and visit ... just to the right in the sidebar

Could You Be A D*O*V*E Girl?

I'm sure by now if you have a TV or magazine subscription you've seen the advertisements of middle age and older women clad in their birthday suits strategically posed as to not show too much "ECKS-rated" (rolf) skin. Now really, if the gender was reversed and they used old wrinkly skinned overweight men the company sales would take a fast nose dive. (Me thinks) I would have to return my magazine to the store shelf and/or cancel the remainder of my twenty-four month subscription. While I applaud this company for their efforts to show real women instead of stick-thin air brushed models, some things are best left covered in modest attire and relegated to be seen only under the marriage bed covers. But if you'd like to try a free sample of their newest line, go right ahead. I sent away for mine just this morning. If you haven't viewed the ads, you can before or after ordering your sample.

Time For Pampering

The past few months have taken their toll on my hands. From stripping paint, painting, using glaze, and getting a hole in my rubber work gloves, my fingers resemble a vagabond's or construction worker's scratchy stained hands. I've used scrub brushes, soaps, you name it, but my hands look dirty. Brown paint glaze has gotten embedded in my overworked dry winter fingers and I'm thinking of having to wear a pair of my grandmother's white cotton gloves until I grow some new skin.

Friday is my hair appointment; this is to "remove" any signs of gray hair and get a fresh stylish cut on the ends. I try not to be too vain, and Lord knows my closet screams simplicity, but I just can't let go of keeping up with my hair color. At what age should a woman go a la natural with her hair? This is not meant to offend those of you that have let nature take its own course with your hair ... more power to you. And some women actually age very gracefully with beautiful silver hair. But for me, my hair un-touched resembles a pad of steel wool, and the lack of color takes every bit of life out of my face. Your opinions are welcomed.

"Gray hair is a crown of splendor;
it is attained by a righteous life."
Proverbs 16:31

edit: No, those are not my hands, I don't sport any tattoos :),