I have felt poorly for quite a while now. On 31 March, I had a total hysterectomy. I feel much better now, except for exhaustion. I have severe anemia but am working hard to clear that up. Iron pills and eating well is all I know to do.

I bought these tulips at Aldi's before I had surgery. I love that store. They have unique items along with the best produce around. The tulips bloomed while I was home, recovering. I really enjoyed watching them open and show their lovely color.

Six tulips from Aldi's $2,99

Miss Cleo ... showing her true diva self.

I couldn't put Samson's bed away after he passed. Miss Cleo has found it to be one of her favorite spots. I have it on the couch because it keeps hair off the couch cover. If someone happens to drop by, I just put it in the floor. I've tried to go outside to enjoy coffee or relaxing a bit but every time I do, I can't help but cry; how lonely it is to be without my happy companion. I pray I get past this bit of sadness. I love being outdoors but it's not the same. I have never spent any time outside without Samson since we moved here 12 years ago.

I've wanted a small step-back cabinet for many years. Unfortunately, I've not come across one that fits my budget. A friend of mine found this at an estate sale for me. She called and asked if I thought it was worth $35. I jumped on it! There is a drawer and a door on both sides, 3 pegs on the left along with a 14" drop leaf on the right. I don't have it in this particular spot now but this is the only picture I have of it. It's helped tremendously with storage of two appliances and some small items. I'm still looking for a small step-back cabinet ... one day ... :-)

I hope your weekend is wonderful and you have the opportunity to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Snow and snow and snow ...

The blue "snowflake" in the picture is a window cling. I put them on the glass door to break the reflection so the birds won't try to fly through it.

The snow has covered the land and all it holds with a heavy blanket. I took this before it finally stopped on Friday. That tiny brownish strip on the other side of the tree is the one strip of paved roadway that is left to be seen. By the time it was all over, there was no tiny strip. The DoH had scraper trucks out with gravel and dirt spreaders. It was far too cold and coming down too quickly to use salt. There is a total of about 18" of dry, powdery, lightweight snow. As beautiful as it is, I thought I was going to die because of it. 

  

This photo below is the reason why. I begin to smother if I feel I'm "tied down". I know it's crazy. You'd think after 35 years of wheelchairs and crutches, I'd be familiar with being "tied down". But I have never really felt that way because I've always been 100% independent. That independence is very slowly diminishing in certain areas (I'm concerned with making my way up a ladder to change a light bulb now) but not in the area of getting myself "out" if I need or want. The front door was completely snowed shut. The back door was as you see below. I could get out but my wheelchair wouldn't be going with me. ha I've never had the extra money to have roofs put on the porches so the snow piles up to the doors. It's a horrible feeling. Fortunately, two very dear friends who always watch out for me came with shovels and brooms yesterday afternoon. I can now get out on my porches and feel like I can breathe. My cell phone battery died when we were out yesterday before I could get any pictures. I'll have more tomorrow. My car is out there somewhere. ha It's totally covered except for a tiny area on the front wheel.

Yep. That's a long string on the door knob. It's the only way I can close the door behind me instead of completely turning around and closing the door. I'm not patient about things like that and it was just too irritating to try to close the door, especially if I'm loaded with groceries.

While I'm snowed in for the next few days, I'm working on several projects. This crochet project is for a dear lifelong friend's first grandchild. It's a girl. The body of the blanket is Patons Astra (acrylic) white. I haven't chosen the three trim yarns yet. I know I want pink, light pink and gray. I'd like to find a yarn with a little sheen to it that will compliment the Astra. The nursery is in pink camoflouge and Jersey cows. Never have I seen or heard of such a combination but to each their own. ha This pattern, called Hugs of Love, is of intermediate skill level, but if you read the pattern carefully, and not get too involved in the television, you should be able to do it. 

 During one of my snack breaks, Miss Cleo decides she needs my Cheez-its more than I do. ha She loves Cheez-its.

I wanted some blueberry muffins for breakfast so I went to Just Cats, Deb's blog, in search of her blueberry muffin recipe.

I baked them in my Oster countertop convection oven that I really love. The only problem is I forgot to choose convection bake instead of just bake. That's partly why the tops didn't brown evenly. I baked the dozen on the right at the same time. They're blueberry with brown sugar. The three on the left I baked last because I wanted to try something different. I added a chunk of pineapple to each muffin center and put nutmeg and cinnamon on top. They don't look perfectly baked but they tasted perfectly baked. :-) I had one each and a big cup of hot tea.

Most churches and some businesses are closed today. I've been awake for several hours and haven't seen more than five cars on this main roadway. 

I hope wherever you are, you're warm and happy. And please, snow or no snow ... feed the birds and all the other little critters out there. They really do depend upon us.

Thanksgiving has come and gone ...

It was a quiet day for me. My relatives generally gather at a cousin's home but this year everyone decided to fend for their own families. That left me with my cats and parrot and memories of Samson. I prepared a beef roast, mashed potatoes, corn that I froze at summer's end, roasted Brussels sprouts and red onions, and yeast rolls. My aunt stopped by to eat with me. A while after dinner, we had hot chocolate with snickerdoodle liquid creamer and cinnamon chip, raisin, oatmeal cookies.

After auntie left, I cleaned the kitchen and had to stop for a little bit of a cry. Had Samson been here, he'd have loved those leftover roast bits and mashed potatoes and all else. It's odd what will tug at the heart at times. I can get through more than one day at a time without crying then something happens and I just can't help it. I've had more heartache and pain in my life than most but I honestly have most difficulty in dealing with this. I never had to do anything but be who I am for him to love me. I know he's no longer ill wherever he is now. That I do have comfort with.

Samson after Thanksgiving dinner 2014

Miss Cleo after a bit of roast on Thanksgiving 2015

Mister after a bit of roast on Thanksgiving 2015

I certainly took no selfies ... that's just not my thing. haha

The weather is dreary and ominous today. These trees are right beside my house. I'm always concerned with the high winds that blow through here. I hope to not wake up with one on top of me. :-)

Did you get a lot of shopping done on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? Lowe's is carrying their Black Friday sales through this week. I'm going to purchase a dishwasher tomorrow. Mine stopped working properly in May. I look forward to having another one. I thought I could live without one but I just don't keep up with the dishes. I hate to have them in the sink and I keep putting it off then I get aggravated at myself. When I saw the sale ad I knew what I would be getting!

I did some Cyber Monday shopping. I made a purchase from knitpicks.com for a mug/teapot/yarn sampler kit with coaster and dishtowel patterns. Someone will get some nice, heavy dishtowels for a Christmas gift. The "dishie" cotton yarn from knitpicks.com is nice.

I hope you've enjoyed the holiday weekend and are now in preparation for the next!

Rain and the stressors of life ...

The colorful leaves have filled the lawn and left the trees bare. I cannot rake the lawn so I cut them up with my lawn mower. Sometimes it takes a few trips around to get them all broken into tiny pieces but I enjoy being out there.

I'm having a wiener roast for the neighborhood children tomorrow evening. It's just hot dogs with sauce, cole slaw, and all the other fixin's; marshmallows, chips and cookies. West Virginia has the best hot dogs in the country as far as I'm concerned. Check out this place not far from my home ... if nothing else, it will give you a giggle. Hillbilly Hot Dogs ... just the best they is. hee-hee I like just a regular slaw dog: bun, wiener, mustard, onions, sauce, and cole slaw. The others are okay if you're hankerin' for somethin' different.

I'm making a cookie recipe my cousin gave me when I was a youngster ... probably some 40 years ago. I think I was about 11 years old. Maybe. Who can remember back that far? ha Although there are many days those memories are far more clear than the ones from a few hours ago. :-) Chocolate chip oatmeal raisin walnut cookies. Simply amazing. I use coconut oil now instead of other oils. It really makes the dough lighter and crispier. I'll share the recipe if anyone wants it. I can type it up in a minute or two.

Samson is still with me. He has good days and bad. His good days consist of eating and sleeping and wanting his belly scratched.  :-) I have a vet check-up scheduled for 12 Nov. I'll know more of what he's dealing with then. Sometimes he seems to have a fever. He'll shake and quiver as though he's freezing. I cover him with an afghan and at times he wants me to sit there with him. Soon, he's snuggled up to me ... along with Miss Cleo and Mister. Then we all take a snooze. It's good I live alone, I guess. I let many indoor chores slide to spend time with my babes while knitting or crocheting.

Miss Cleo likes to hang close when Samson isn't feeling well. It's almost like she knows he's feeling poorly. She is 13 years old. I found her as she popped out from under my car one day in July 2002. She was barely 5 weeks, according to the vet, and on the verge of death with a viral infection and terribly high fever. That was the first time I've seen a cat "pant" like a dog. She's healthy now and very much a diva in this house.

I'm off to bake cookies and wash laundry! I'm happy it's nice enough to hang a few items out. I love the fresh smell of the outdoors.

Blessings ...

The Bandit ... without Smoky

I've been quite busy for the past few weeks. So much so, that I've not been online to read even one blog post.

For the past six months or so, my smoke detector has gone off (mostly in the middle of the night) and scared a few years off my life each time. There is no smoke to cause it, so I'm assuming it's either dust in there setting it off, or it needs replaced. It is, in addition to being powered with a battery, also powered by electricity. I read online that these systems need replaced every 8-10 years. My house is just now 10 years old. Since I cannot get to the detector battery, I called upon a dear friend, who makes my life much easier. He switched the electrical breaker off and removed the batteries; purchased an individual detector and hung it in a proper place. I can again sleep without being on edge. It disturbed Samson as well which bothered me more than anything. Now, he's sleeping soundly too.

That very evening, near dusk, I heard an unusual sound that seemed to be coming from under the house. Suddenly, Samson was in defense mode and headed to the heat register and began barking wildly; cats hissing and sniffing. I'm thinking, "Good grief, all this over a mouse (I'm sure of it!)?" I decided I'd turn the furnace on and that little critter would run back out. So ... turned on the heat ... and instantly knew it was NOT a mouse! It lumbered and galloped and thundered around. I feared it would break the duct work so I turned the furnace off. I listened and gasped! I heard a familiar chatter and a dog-like panting. No way! I'm thinking I've lost my mind and NO ONE will believe this. I went to the kitchen register ... looked into it ... and there ... staring back at me through a black mask was a raccoon!!! How in this world did that happen?! I called my friend, Jamie, to come back. (Fortunately, I've been close with his wife since the day she was born so she doesn't mind to loan him out.) He came back and we waited for it to rear its little head again. Never showed. Jamie sat here with me for almost an hour but the little fellow found his outlet to a cooler spot. I'm sure he was quite warm and thirsty after the heat from the furnace blowing on him.

The next morning I went to my car and saw little muddy 'coon prints on top of the frozen snow, heading from under the back porch to the stream just a few feet away. He needed a drink. :-)

A few days later, I was preparing to crawl under the porch to find out how this chubby little varmint was entering the crawl space. A friend stopped by at that exact time and insisted she do it for me. She said someone had cut one-half of a cinder block out and left a clear opening under the vented block. (I'm assuming the fellow who built the back porch did this when I wasn't looking. Why?) She took a few cinder blocks and blocked for me. I've had no more bandit visits but I fear the bandit left a little destruction behind. I can feel a slight cool breeze at the registers when the heat is not on. I'll have to get someone under the house this summer to check the duct work out. I hate the thoughts of sending someone under there because it's very tight. But, it must be done.

The weather is beginning to feel like Spring. Still a bit nippy but the sun is shining and that makes me joyful.

Wishing you a joyful weekend!

Grow Your Blog Party

I'm participating in the Grow Your Blog Party hosted by Vicki at 2 Bags Full.

My name is LesleyAnn. I've lived in southwestern West Virginia for 51 years ... all my life.  I live with a dog, Samson (10-1/2 years); two cats, Miss Cleo (11 years) and Mister (10 years); and a Quaker parrot (14 years) named Baby. We're all AARP-eligible in this house.

While riding a motorcycle in 1981, I was hit by a drunk driver. I have a traumatic hemipelvectomy amputation. I was comatose and semi-comatose for almost three months in ICU and total hospital stay for ten months. Plus four months in rehab. All before I ever saw 19 years of age. My mother had been killed in an automobile accident in August 1980, buried on her 48th birthday. It's been a stressful life but I've honestly done the best I can. My maternal Granny dedicated the last years of her life to make sure I healed and lead as normal a life as possible. She always said I could do anything anyone else could. I did for the most part. Whitewater rafting. Hiking. I loved the outdoors activities. Still do. I'm just a spectator now for most of it. I use a wheelchair 100% now.

I worked as a cartographic technician for the US Army Corps of Engineers before I took disability retirement in 2001. I loved my job. It was difficult, emotionally, to leave. I was the only person I knew who never wanted to retire. My plan was to work until I died.

I own my home on the property I grew up on in Plum Hollow. I moved back here in 2004. I live independently for the most part. I do have a friend stop by every now and again to replace a ceiling lightbulb or the batteries in the smoke detectors. I like where I live but it's lonely. I rarely see people and in this age of electronics, I only hear the voices of the people on television or radio. Texting is as close as I get to people. Unless, of course, I take a trip to the local Walmart or vets office. It's difficult during winter months when I get snowed in ... like now. But, when the weather is warm ... I'm going to the local lake or friends' houses or just sitting on my porch admiring my flower and vegetable gardens.

Thank you for stopping by. I'll be having a giveaway posted in the next few days. I do hope you stop by again.

Chilly mornings ...

 

Miss Cleo has been with me since July 2003. She was just a weeks-old baby in poor health when she found me. Ten years later, she still wants to be right with me. I sit on the couch, Indian-style, hopping from one URL to the other and drinking coffee on these mornings that seems colder with each one passing. Her furry self keeps my leg warm but I'm afraid I'll have to soon use a blanket. Sigh ... it's coming folks ... time to turn on the furnace.