Warm from the oven...

Mmmmmm. There's nothing like the smell of homemade bread baking. I don't really know why I decided to bake a loaf in the bread maker tonight. Maybe because we are supposed to be getting some wicked weather later tonight: thunder, lightning, wind, rain, hail. And having the smell of homemade bread lingering in the house makes me feel cheerier, and a little more secure as I will be burrowing under the covers.

Baking bread is one of those memories that followed me from childhood. Mmmm...my mom was a great baker. Getting a heel (my favorite piece) just cut from a warm loaf of her bread with real butter and homemade fig preserves slathered on. Yyyyyyy-ummmmm. And don't get me started on her cinammon raisin bread, cinnamon rolls, and hot cross buns. She used to empty the fresh loaves out onto cotton dish towels.

I haven't baked bread the old fashioned way for quite awhile, but it needs doing soon.

Dear regular readers...

I wish you would ALL go to my One World~One Heart post and leave a comment. Please. I really want you to enter the giveaway too...unless you don't like the dishcloths...then it's okay.

I swear, I am not a hypochondriac...

I've said it here before, and I'll say it again...housework is hazardous to your health!

Since Saturday I've been having more muscle spasms that made the one of a couple of weeks ago seem like a walk in the park. These actually required an ambulance and ER visit. ...sigh...

God bless EMTs. I kept apologizing for having to call them, and they said, "Ma'am, we get lots of calls where people don't really need us, but you weren't one of them. You definitely needed an ambulance." Okay. I can let go of my guilt.

Ex-rays showed no structural damage, so they diagnosed severe strain, the ER doctor gave me some mega muscle relaxers, and I've needed them. I went to the chiropractor yesterday, and today, and I will again tomorrow. That has helped a lot. I made it through today without muscle relaxers or pain pills...still moving carefully. I think I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Good thing as one of my co-workers shattered her knee on Sunday, and will be out for quite awhile. Kind of makes me feel guilty for whining about a muscle spasm.

Anyway, all this to say that I can no longer keep putting health and fitness on the back burner of my life. I have to start exercising regularly again...lose some weight...build some strength in the core muscles supporting my back.

There. I said it. Feel free to call me on it if I don't seem to be following through.

One World~One Heart Giveaway...

February 15, 2010 EDIT: This year's One World~One Heart winners were drawn this afternoon by random integer generator...congratulations to the winner of the Red/Natural set #40 Beadwright, and to the winner of the Blue/Ecru set #245 Bubbachenille. The dishcloths will be in the mail to you as soon as you reply to my e-mail (sent a few minutes ago) with your mailing address. Please don't wait too long...if I don't hear from you within seven days, I will have to draw a new winner(s).

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February 15, 2010...12:00 p.m. US CST...ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED...WINNERS WILL BE DRAWN AND ANNOUNCED/CONTACTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON.

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO COMMENTED AND LEFT SUCH POSITIVE MESSAGES.
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Edited to add a second giveaway item due to high volume of entries...thanks for your positive feedback!



I'm excited to announce my participation in the 4th annual One World~One Heart Giveaway. This event is the brainchild of Lisa Swifka of A Whimsical Bohemian, and it helps bloggers all over the world find and visit other creative bloggers...AND there are prizes to be won!

This year I will be drawing two winners, and each will receive a set of three hand-knitted dishcloths. My blog giveaway is open to all bloggers worldwide!

Set one red and natural...



Set two blue and ecru...



To enter, please leave a comment at the end of this post. Make sure you include some kind of contact info, be it e-mail address or a way for me to link back to your blog. Comments will close at noon (USA Central Standard Time) on February 15, 2010. Later that afternoon, I will draw a winner using a random number generator, and I will contact the winner that same day, as well as announce the winner here on my blog. The winner will have seven days to contact me with a mailing address. If I do not receive a response within seven days, I will draw an alternate winner.

To read more about One World~One Heart, and to see a list of links to all the participating bloggers so you can begin entering the drawings, just click here .

Ready...set...GO!

Salad days...

Isn't this gorgeous?

I promise I won't keep posting the same photos both here and at What's Cookin' 4 Miles North of Nowhere, but the photo is so pretty!

And it tasted good too. :)

Ten favorite freebies...

Lentil Soup ( recipe here )
photo doesn't have much to do with this post except as it relates to #1 and #2.

Notes From the Frugal Trenches recently listed ten things she loved to do for free. I thought it was an awesome idea to contemplate, and maybe I'd write about it sometime. Then What's Happening at My House posted on the same topic, and it was too much...I had to copy participate.

So here's my list:

1. Playing with my digital camera!...and then using the pictures to illustrate...

2. ...this here blog...and this one too!

3. Visit the public library, and then...

4. ...read, read, read!

(Ahem...not really free if you are habitually overdue, however.)

5. Checking out One Pretty Thing daily for inspiration.

6. Digging through my stash of craft supplies and realizing that I can create something without buying a thing.

7. Playing Yahtzee! (oh how I hope Kelley is still checking in here, she will love that answer.)

8. Taking a shower, putting on jammies, and climbing between clean linens on the bed.

9. Rearranging a cupboard or drawer or shelf.

10. Completing USA Today's daily sudoku.

I didn't list any tv shows, since we pay for satellite it's not technically free, but I do have it on an awful lot for it not to be considered one of my favorite things.

By the same token, I guess showering and having clean jammies and linens isn't technically free either. Oh, and I have to pay for Internet connection, so nix the blogging and playing sudoku! Oh dear. I'm just sticking to my list, because this is making me a little crazy, and therapy isn't free either.

All in a day's work...

I had to make a quick trip to the coast today. Galveston this time. This photo was taken just below the sea wall. One of about five photos I was able to snap before my batteries were exhausted. ppbblltt.

I'm usually so good about making sure I have extras in the bag.

Ah, well. It was a gorgeous day to be out in the fresh air and sunshine.

What's up?...

What a slacker I have been lately...well, as far as blog posting goes.

My back is 'back' to normal. Thanks for the well wishes.

We've had so much rain this week. Soggy, messy, and muddy, but oh so welcome! Our tank is almost full again.

Caitlyn came to stay with me yesterday, and we had so much fun. She helped me put away Christmas decorations, and kept me moving, so I got lots of little chores done around the house. My mother often quoted her grandmother who said, 'Kids are more help at six than sixteen.' Though Caitlyn's only four, she really was helpful.

Later, while she worked on a couple of 'projects' (coloring and stringing beads), I went through magazines to recycle. She kept looking over and when I came to a page with a hair care ad, she would take the opportunity to tell me, 'See, I think you should let your hair grow long, like that.' She must have pointed out about six ads. She won't say she doesn't like my new haircut, but it's pretty obvious. :) I never liked short hair at her age either. Though I still prefer it a little longer actually, I'm on a quest to get back to my natural color, so it is pretty short (think Jamie Lee Curtis), and I'm really liking it.

Now I'm putting my feet up and doing a little knitting (see above). I love this basketweave pattern!

Mrs. Tin Man, if you please...

I started out this morning feeling great. I was up and ready ahead of schedule. I decided to leave early and grab some caffeine on the way to work. I went out to feed the dogs...Aaaaack!

Muscle spasm in my back--instanly seized with pain. I think I would have screamed, but all the air was completely squeezed out of my lungs by the muscle contraction...like a charlie-horse in my back.

The photo above was taken awhile back. On the one hand I find it very quirky, and I like quirky. On the other hand it gives me a feeling of discomfort. When I came across it today, it hit me that it looks like a donation station for the Tin Man's spare body parts. Rusty, squeaky, creaky, clanky...that's me today. And see that cylindrical apparatus on the right edge of the photo? Does that not look like a Tin Man hypodermic? :) Luckily, even though I couldn't get an appointment, I finally convinced my doctor's office to phone in a muscle relaxer for me...a nice little tablet, no hypodermic. In a few minutes I'm going to down one and hit the hay.

Hope to wake up tomorrow morning loose as a goose...but I'll settle for anything better than today.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1. Tuesday. Walking down the hall at work, I glanced in my boss' door. Over his shoulder, I could see his computer screen. Guitars? 'Are you looking for a guitar?' I ask. 'No,' he says rather shortly (guiltily?) and minimizes the computer window.

Wednesday. I return from lunch, and he jumps up as I walk by the door. 'I wasn't buying a guitar,' he exclaims. 'I was shopping for THIS!' And from behind his back he quickly draws his hand. A flash of metal. A quick ascent to his mouth. And a sprightly combination of chords burst forth...uuuuuuuuUUUUUP...DOOOOoooooown...uuUUP...DOOoown...uPDOwnuPDOwn...uP...DOwn.

Oh goody. A harmonica. 'You paid for overnight delivery for a harmonica.'

'Yes, because Jane* and I are going out of town this weekend, and I wanted to surprise her with a harmonica serenade.'

Lucky girl. 'Prepare yourself for snide comments about your instrument,' I say.

*name has been changed to protect the innocent

2. My Christmas tree is still up. It will come down tomorrow. It will come down tomorrow. It WILL come down tomorrow.

3. I need a new purse. My current purse has seen non-stop duty since its purchase in February of 2004. I hate changing purses. I like always having a place for everything and everything in its place...in my purse, at least. I buy. I use up. I give a decent burial and replace.

4. I adore my husband. This may require a post of its own at a later date.

5. I signed up to take a couple of classes in clay bead making. I can't wait.

6. Our yard is completely littered with shreds of foam and batting and fabric...bits of porch chair cushion. I thought that dog was outgrowing his bad behavior, but constant good behavior proved too much for him. But he's forgiven. He is doing exceedingly well with his 'stay' command training.

7. It's almost time for One World One Heart again. I'm trying to decide if I will be participating again this year...and if so, what exactly will my giveaway consist of?

Still standing...

Had a little fun editing this photo. But just so you know, I only doctored the texture and background a little...this shed really is in exactly this condition.

This is a spot I drive by on a regular basis. I always mean to take a photo, never sure if it will be standing the next time I drive by. Finally the other day I had my camera with me, and the sun's angle was awesome.

Sometimes I feel just like it looks. Occassionally from fatigue...just not sure how long I'll be able to stay on my feet. Sometimes when the Meniere's is acting up, I have a steady list to port.

2010...

I've been wandering around the internet...reading New Year blog thoughts...resolutions or lack thereof.

And here is mine.




This year I want less.

I can do with less stuff...less clutter...less food...less spending...less perfectionism...less noise...less distraction...less.

I don't want to make resolutions that only bring with them a looming sense of failure. I just want to focus on "less"...to keep that one word in my head and heart.

I don't have to do without. But this year, when I reach for something, I want to remember to make do with just a little less.