~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS~~

It's coming soon. SOON.. Hope you all have your plans set and shopping done. I have been baking with my 4 year old "helper". He had a really fun time and yes the more icing the better. He was really good about NOT eating the cookies after he iced them. I told him that the ELF on the shelf would report back to Santa that he was doing a great job. This is his first Christmas with the ELF and it seems he likes looking for him and being GOOD. Bless the person who thought this idea up it really helps. I had to reflect back when his mother was his age and decorated cookies at this same table. It was a tradition to visit Grandma's house and decorate cookies with her cousin every Christmas.       

Seeing a third generation following along made my heart happy. I know his Grandma in heaven was watching and smiling. In the years to come he will find that making them and giving them away will bring him a great feeling of joy. 

I hope this Christmas, that whatever gives you the greatest JOY and blessings find you and your family. 

 

 

WHAT'S GOING ON????

Looking at the courtyard.

 OH MY..what is going on..???

Heard in the hallway when a woman left a large dog inside an upstairs apt.
IT started BARKING at everything that moved. NO DOGS allowed in this building so it was bound to bring people out of their apartments and into the hall. Is it any surprise that the lady left it in the place ABOVE ME??? NO not to me.. it sounded like an elephant running around up there. THIS was NO little dog. I have put up with people keeping me up all night and loud children running up and down but nothing like this. So I called the manager and reported it. The lady came back almost 2 hours later and I was so relieved when she left with TWO LARGE LAB dogs, I think everyone else was too. 

In APT 101 an elderly woman named Margaret lives and she has been in it for at least 25 years! I was startled to hear this. I also was surprised to hear that the management has NEVER replaced the carpet or painted since she moved there. She does not smoke but keeps her apartment hot summer and winter. I learned from her to put some sort of rugs over the top of the areas that are the busiest pathways. I asked her if they wanted to clean the carpet for her and she said.."Oh honey, I cannot move all this furniture around..so NO they have ever cleaned it." I made a mental note to not let my place get so cluttered that the carpet could not be cleaned somehow. Margaret and Barbara were good friends. Barbara lived in my apt for over 20 years too. Barbara was in her late 80's when she got too ill to stay here. Her daughter moved her to a facility out of town and Margaret could not visit her. They said their goodbyes when she left this place and Margaret never saw Barbara again. Two months later Barbara died from pneumonia at the facility. I had been on a waiting list for years and finally I got the call I had been waiting for.  The day I got keys to my apartment was a hot hot July day and the smell of new paint and new carpet was overwhelming. I talked to the maintenance man Aaron and he told me that almost everything in my place had been replaced. The only thing that wasn't was the tub and the refrigerator. He told me that Barbara was an immaculate housekeeper in her day but the place really needed so much replaced. The carpets had not been cleaned in years, again, because she had so much furniture they could not clean it. 

So I had to wait to move into my place because the smells were so strong it made my Asthma go crazy. I moved some things into the apartment but  I  really moved into my apartment a whole month later.
More later.....

GRATEFUL THANKSGIVING

SITTING in my nice apartment I am so grateful this year that the ground is green and we have no ice or snow to deal with. We had 9 inches earlier in the week and it was 14 degrees one morning. This morning it is 55 and it is all melted. We had our preview of winter. I decided to put up my tree this week and enjoy looking at it. Gets me in the holiday spirit.                                        

Yesterday I prepared several dishes to carry to my Niece's home for dinner today. I am so grateful they moved to my town and we can visit and see each other more. I am so used to preparing dishes to pass for so many years that THIS year I can actually share them instead of eating them alone. She has a 4 year old and that is always fun being around kids for the holidays. Traditions come and go and since Mom passed in 2011 life has been all over the place for me. I am grateful this year we are all together and celebrating the holidays together again. I hope whatever you do and wherever you are this holiday you stay safe and enjoy the blessings of the holiday with family and friends. 

 

STAND BY PARIS...

Sitting at the computer and the news came on my Facebook page that Paris had been attacked. I turned on CNN and was saddened and horrified as to how easily these attackers destroyed lives all over the "City of Lights". It took me back immediately to the attacks on New York City. I remembered how we felt having some terrorists wreak havoc on our country that day. I am so glad that all the world is supporting France and praying for the victims and that we are UNITED in stopping those who want to do us harm. GOD BLESS FRANCE and GOD BLESS THE USA.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN..

Boy am I behind... time was long ago I would make many blog entries every week. Now I make one once a month. I still get out in the world but not very often. Depending on the bus now days to get me around is fine but sometimes not in the budget. I managed to get a few photos on my last trip out. The fall is slowing coming to a close here. Trees turned slow and mostly yellow. I did manage to find some color here and there though.These were taken at a local apple orchard near town. Never have I seen a person deliver gallons of cider on the back of a 4 wheeler though. This place had a whole little house where you could go and pick what apples you want. Kids love it..temperature controlled most of the time. Fresh donuts being made were mouth watering. Nothing like them in the fall. Here are some recent photos

Delivering Cider 

     

APPLE HOUSE

I ventured into our downtown and found it celebrating a scarecrow contest. I began to see a theme start. I am not sure what the one above was supposed to be.

This was the spa.

  

A nurse at the health dept.

On the bus for a country ride.

GOLD tree in the park.

                 HAPPY HALLOWEEN !

WHERE DID SUMMER GO??

Wow I have not updated here in months. I sure am slipping. Blog entry what is that?? I have to remind myself to even look at it when it used to be a daily routine. Life happens.. now I am more settled in my place and enjoying my freedom and have things to keep me busy. Things are still green pretty much here but I expect them to start turning very soon. I am keeping an eye out for the woolly worm to see what he predicts for our winter this year. Last year he was 100% correct for my area anyway.Here are some photos I have taken over the summer..odds and ends.The sky was so orange when a local fire hit. Reminded me of how bad it was in Ca. where fires were eating up so much of their land.Sure was an eerie sight. I took this at a local Walmart made entirely out of their stock. It was very creative and boy it screamed  F A L L !

Haven't been able to get around a whole lot because of the heat this summer. I wait for the cooler days. It is so much easier to breathe.

It was a summer of firsts for my niece's boy Theo.. he had his first real birthday party and his first trip to the local county fair.

Watching him grow up reminds me how short life is and we must enjoy every minute of it.

HAVE A GREAT SEPTEMBER...

THAT OLD HOUSE...

HAD to update here on the progress for our old house. MY my..seems the neighbors that lived around there were pretty sore about looking at it.

  The new owner had really let the place be trashy and unkempt and it needed help badly.They started painting it and the color was well .. not great...It proved to be a real pain to finish the job. When the spring and summer arrived things changed. They picked up the yard and removed the trash and PAINTED THE HOUSE.They hired someone to paint it.. It was a big deal because this old house NEVER had a COLOR before. It's probably 140 years old now and was ALWAYS white. Now it is fresh and clean and looks like this..

There is still plenty to finish up but this latest photo is so very nice to see. I am very happy for the old place to look good again. I love the color and it is such an improvement. AS FOR HELL HOUSE next door.. it is still standing and up for public auction and everyone is wondering if they will get any buyers for it. As a refresher.. Hell House was a home that had three or four apartments and left for the critters to inhabit. It had seen drug dealers and numerous arrests and fights and police visits in its past. The whole neighborhood would rather it be razed to the ground than bought and fixed up. It was gutted after the last tenant left the water connected in the winter and the whole place flooded and then black mold grew inside. It is nasty. Just glad our OLD HOUSE...looks good again.. Mom and Dad surely would approve!

WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN????

When in the world did this happen?? I am asking myself.. when did you get to be "that old woman"?

I overheard some gals talking in the store and they were talking about some old woman. I looked around and saw no one there but me. Well darn, when did this happen? I don't feel that old inside. My gray hair and age showing now, I guess it was bound to happen some day but I am not ready.

 I well remember when a young carry out boy at the grocery store called me "Ma'am" the first time. I was crushed. I was in my late twenties.I guess every age has it's limit.  People live to be 90 and 100 now and that to me is old. Some people look their age and some people don't. It might be time to reconsider coloring my hair and changing my wardrobe. It won't change my age but it might help some. I was reminded lately that I was the OLDEST person at a relatives birthday party. What?? Yes, I looked around and I was.. I was the one complaining about the heat outside and what I could eat and what I could not. Typical talk of one who is older than anyone else there. 

Where did the time go? I think about all the years and all my adventures and the wisdom I have acquired along the way I feel pretty good about it. Getting older is going to happen sooner or later to everyone. My time is now I guess. Time to accept it and move on with life. Watch your health, get better in shape, eat right and be happy with each day you rise up and enjoy another day.

                            JUST HAVE FUN BEING THE YOUNG PERSON...

RANTS WORKED...

Well after my last blog rant here, it seemed to have worked. I contacted the manager who contacted the window company. YES... she called and said she lit a "FIRE" under them because I had been waiting so long. {It did not help that I have been through two managers and so I think the ball got dropped and or lost regarding the window.} So Friday he came and it only took him 20 minutes TOP to replace that window. GOOD!!

While he was replacing it I scraped the old duct tape off the other window and cleaned it up. I picked up my cell and called the office about having my air conditioner put in the window ASAP because the weekend was coming up. I sure did not want to put the AC back in and make a mess of it. So the maintenance man came and WHAM in about 45 minutes...

You have no idea how happy I was to finally get it installed correctly. It had been leaking with all the rain we have been having. No more complaining. Wish I could keep it in the window all year round.. NOPE.. not even with a cover. NEW policy.. they all have to be REMOVED in the fall when the heat is turned on.They pay for heat so I am happy to oblige them. So I hope I can take it out myself..if not I will put my name on a list and hope the guy can come back and take it out.Sliding windows sure are a pain. This AC had to be silicone sealed with plexiglass, so it is not an easy removal. Ordeal over with.. FINALLY.. WHEW what a relief.

WINDOW RANT!!!!!

 ALLOW me to RANT a little....

Well here it is ..coming up JULY and nothing has been done about my window. Despite calls all the way to the district manager .... ZIP.. Almost two weeks ago she promised me that the window was already ordered and ready to install next week. Now you know why I don't believe a word they tell me. So this has been on going since MAY 4th. Meanwhile mother nature and SUMMER decided to rear it's ugly head.I placed the small room air conditioner halfway in the window any way I could and PRAYED it would not fall out. My place faces EAST and boy does it get hot so not putting the AC in was not an option. Then we got storms...one after the other. Towels to the rescue. High winds hitting the window forced me to duct tape the plexiglass down best I could.I had to use a lid from a plastic tub to reinforce it.  It's a real mess.The  heat from the sun coming in kept making the duct tape not stick. Got GORILLA tape and used it. Finally success.

I place towels around it where the rain might come in and I wait. All this for a little tiny nick in the window that "management" said it needs to be replaced. OKAY.. WHEN??? I have lived in so many different places and adapted to so many things and this is just another one I tell myself.. OH WELL... Soon I won't need the air conditioner and will take down the tape and shut the window. I am not going anywhere. I waited a long time for this place and am not going to let RAIN, or a flooded carpet make me leave it.Tomorrow is another day.. WHEW.. thanks I needed that...

FATHER'S DAY!

                     To all those Fathers out there in blogland.. this is for you...

 

AFTERMATH...

If you follow me on Facebook you might know what happened with the flooding situation. I posted some things on there and then deleted them. I was reminded by a friend of mine that it might seem I was COMPLAINING too much and should be putting that someplace else. I was shocked at the statement but then started to think what others might think also so I deleted it all. 
 

The guy carried most everything off the floor of my closet..only a small portion of the floor was wet.

YES, the owner of the apt. building did pay expenses for the 3 day clean up. It was not a clean up for certain it was a DRY OUT. The machines ran in my apt for 3 days and nights BLOWING air and sucking out the humidity. When the man came back on Monday morning I was more than ready to see him. I confronted him by telling him he LIED to me. He lied saying it would be warm in that room. It was 100 degrees for three days. There was NO staying in the bathroom or the bedroom at all! GET IN and GET OUT. The noise was like jet engines..you could not hear yourself think. Thank GOD I could close the door and block some of it out. I can only imagine what the guy upstairs thought. HEAT rises and I am sure his apt was HOT up there too. 
 

The hose drains all the moisture out so the sink was totally unusable.

 So I decided since these machines were totally doing their job I would shower in there at least once ANYWAY.. it so happened that it was over 80 in the rest of the place and humid outside. MISERABLE. My asthma went nuts. The spray they put on to kill any germs was pretty powerful because of the heat in there. Neighbors told me they would have left. I had no place to run to so I had to stay. I was very grateful the whole thing was not worse. Could have been SEWER water but it was not. Clear warm water with a little soap in it. 

NO they did not clean my carpets.. all they did was dry it out. I did vacuum in there after it was over with. That caused dust and dirt to blow up again and so allergies went crazy  and have not stopped since. Time for MEDS.. 
I highly recommend using the plastic tubs in a closet..it saved me a lot. Easy to move and free from any moisture.Now I am waiting for the electric bill for 4 large machines running for three days and nights on my bill. It did not seem like the district manager was too thrilled to pay anything on that bill. We will see when I get it. 

I did put my AC in the window MYSELF..with good ole duct tape and some prayers. It works and maybe SOMEDAY I will get a new window..it's only been six weeks so far. Maintenance man here said he would put the AC back in when they replace the window. He chuckled when he saw ALL that tape on the window. I told him I had to have some way to hold it in there. I used NO screws etc. Scary ..you might say that. GOD is good .. the weather cooled off a lot so I have not needed it lately. Isn't that the way it goes? Taking it one day at a time now..

P. S.  Got another message yesterday.. Another new manager for us here, this one has 20 years experience. I sure hope it works out. She is the 4th manager in less than a year. 

FLOODED

 MY STORY...

GRANTED it is not as bad as those who have severe flooding and loss of life and homes. I am truly grateful for that. I send my heartfelt prayers to them. Yesterday morning it all came to a standstill when things started backing up all over the bathroom. It's not as horrible as some things are, it was the entire shower the man upstairs took down into my bathtub and out onto the floor into my bedroom and my closet. My tiny one bedroom apt looks like a disaster zone. I went into survival mode. Mopping and sopping whatever I could. I asked for a wet vac and got one too late. He used it but barely scratched the surface of the problem. The maintenance guy was OVER-RUN when the manager called and said 3 other apartments were having troubles too ..all of us on the same floor.
 

THANK GOD for my drying racks.. they sure have come in handy.

So beyond his capability he called the manager back and she came to inspect, yep we needed PROFESSIONALS.. IN came the ROTO ROOTER guy and he worked non stop for 4 hours and still had problems with drainage so he called in backup. Two guys came to help him who had already worked their shifts under a house laying pipes he said. They stayed until 10PM...it was an all day job. They took very little breaks we could tell and offered them cold drinks. I had so many people coming in and out of my apartment that I just left the door wide open and let them walk in and out. Neighbors upset, wondering if we could use the water at all. NOPE not all day long. Very humid situation even with the darn blower. I removed half my clothes from the closet because today the smell is there. EW. Nobody wants clothes that smell like old water.. it smelled  nice like his shower gel.. nice yesterday, even the water was warm. I was yelling for him to turn it off but he didn't hear me. Who would half way through anyway. WHY today it smells worse I have no idea as I had BRAND NEW carpet. Yes indeed new carpet. I was so crushed.

It looks like I am moving again,something I hate. Chaos!!

 Now before you yell at me, NO I cannot afford renters insurance right now, I have a small income and no room for it. So some of this mess is just my own fault. The price of the insurance or eating, sometimes you gotta do what you have to do. Life is like that sometimes...well it is for me. I will start over, this time getting rid of even MORE stuff I don't need anymore. TUBS are wonderful they are waterproof up to a certain level and this helped soo much. I very highly suggest the nice velvet covered hangers that held my clothes,that got removed from my closet so easily.I also found out that those memory foam bath rugs hold a ton of water and wring out and dry much faster than a towel. I will be looking for others to add to my supplies as it worked better than anything I used on the carpet. Starting over again for the second time in the same place. Maybe I will find some new things that are helpful again.

 ANY and all suggestions about the carpet smell are appreciated, not sure they will clean it or not. Maybe if I insist. I just want my AC in the window soon please.., YES I still have none.. stupid window and their 2 estimates that have to be okay'd by the higher ups. Taking forever and the poor managers hands are tied and she cannot do anything. Sleeping is miserable and hard with my asthma at full blast. I am writing this at 3 AM since there is no rest anyway. Sitting with a fan on me I will get by..one day at a time.

DILEMMA SOLVED...

Around our place a person comes and posts some papers on your door if they need to let you know new rules etc. Well I heard her SLAP the papers on the door so I go out and see what it is all about.

LOW AND BEHOLD.....

The new manager here made a BIG BIG mistake and so the district manager had to let us all know that WE DID NOT have to pay the money for putting in our A/C units. WOW talk about a reversal. A whole lot of tenants were thrilled at this news.Seems you only PAY for help putting it in IF you do not go and get the plexiglass to fill in the windows YOURSELF.{ OKAY, this is not interesting to others I know but it sure was a load off my mind. It's the day to day things that add up and get on your nerves sometimes. I am new to how things work here still and having to learn what goes and what doesn't. }          

I ask about decorating my patio, "Sure do whatever you want out there." Ahhhh well within reason of course. No BBQ stuff and NO umbrella stuff. Can I trust what she says to be true? Will some other person in charge change the rule.. probably. Just

the way it is around here. Some already dug up the rocks around each of their patio and planted flowers in there. That's a lot of rocks!! I dreamed I had a birdbath on my patio the other night..I guess I was dreaming of this one I had in our old yard. I took the flowers out and turned it back into a place where the birds could have some fun. I don't think this place here is a good place to have a birdbath, the hawks might use it to drink out of and capture some snacks of smaller birds...Yikes. That would be a horrible sight. So I will just make do with what I have right now and maybe add some things here and there as the summer goes by. I tried sitting out there the other day and it was SO HOT with no shade I could not stay long.

For those who read this blog and know me, you might remember HELL HOUSE. Well it still stands today abandoned but bought by our local college. Eventually it will be torn down and something will be built on that spot. I am sure the neighbors cannot wait. AS for our old home. Sad to say it looks so bad I just GASP when I saw it recently. Seems those who bought it did some improvements but the outside looks horrible. This paint was applied almost TWO YEARS ago and then just left. They never finished any of it. The porch was full of junk, furniture and the back area by the garage full of garbage and trash. No wonder the neighbors are in an uproar.

She was a grand ole place when we lived there, yes we miss the old days a whole lot when life was good.

Guess I will wrap this up as I am getting too sentimental here. 

                                    

 

 

WONDERING..

I sit here wondering what to do with a current situation I am dealing with. It's summer it seems here in my little apartment. Hot Hot..with the morning sun blazing through the large patio doors.I placed my mother's crystal angels on the door and watched the sun make dancing rainbows all over my living room wall. I love seeing it but boy is it HOT with the sun coming in. So I chose the cool and  closed the blinds and the drapes and shut out the light. Seems one of my windows in the bedroom was broken when I moved in last year and I had no idea that it had LOST the seal. It was a thermal pane window and I didn't know much about those. So this year, new manager it had to be replaced. They measured it and ordered another one but still has not been delivered. My dilemma was that window is the one and only one my air conditioner sits in. So NO air conditioning right now. I admit several times I sat the thing on the window sill let it run to try to cool off at least one room. It sort of worked. You just can't put it in and out. It is a slider window and you have to put a plexiglass panel at the top of it. THERE are RULES here now. I got notice that now the maintenance will put it in for you for $150!! Are you kidding?? That was my first thought. It takes all of 30 minutes if you KNOW what you are doing. The guy here does. So the new management says you can put it in yourself or have someone else do it, but be aware in the fall you will have to TAKE IT OUT. Well, that was like someone dropped an atomic bomb here. People have lived here 15 -20 years and NEVER took them out. So there is a major revolt here in the complex. Twenty four apartments and all the tenants are upset. Would be so much easier if the windows were not sliders. Darn!

Austrian crystal angels and one BEE!

Magic rainbows!

To find someone to put the AC unit in and out each season will take some doing. I will learn how to do it myself..I just need a few lessons I think.
When there is a problem you solve it, that is what I was taught to do. What if you are unable to do it somehow? Wondering what the consequences are if you do not remove it from your window at the end of the season? Guess we all will find out when the new "memo" comes out in the fall.  At least I am on the ground floor, that's a big relief to me, if it falls out it won't have far to go! ;-)

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

FLY AWAY DEAR ONE....

It was sunny out and I sat and watched the clouds drift by in the sky. You came into my mind. Oh how I would
miss you. I will miss your wisdom and humor and advice. I prayed that soon you would not be in pain.
When I started my blogging 10 years ago, you helped me in so many ways. I had no idea what I was doing.
I do know that we all got pretty close and became a sort of "Family" of bloggers. This was BEFORE Facebook, so mostly
we kept in touch daily from our blogs. You were my close friend.... but more like a "Sis" to me. You sent me encouragement
and support when life dealt me so many hard blows. Your phone calls and gifts were so very special. I will cherish them
forever.

This morning you left us here in this place and we grieve for the loss but do know in our hearts..

 "When you come to the edge of all that you know, you must believe one of two things: there will be earth upon which to stand, or you will be given wings to fly."  FLY AWAY DEAR BETH MARIE...


   

  UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN....

PRAYER REQUEST

Please say a prayer for our dear friend Beth Marie..Every prayer will surely be appreciated by her family.

HAPPY EASTER

         HOPING YOU ALL HAVE A WONDERFUL EASTER      
                                        HOLIDAY!

ICY SUNRISE

THANKS to a good friend of mine I am able to take photos again. This camera takes much clearer photos than my old one did. This morning I rose to this spectacular sunrise on ICY SNOW..When you think that this exact same scenario may never happen again.. I decided to capture it. 

When the sun got higher
Daylight Savings time starts Sunday morning.
I am ready for it. Come on SPRING!!!

GOODWILL HUNTING.. REALLY I DID

I went GOODWILL hunting for new things for my apartment. Sometimes people get rid of really good items or even NEW ones. On my budget this place is a real Godsend for many things. I decided my new bathroom was WAY too small so I needed a new look that would make it look bigger. I had a lot of dark towels and such that made it small. I changed my look to more of a beach style, lighter and brighter.  The very next week look what I found.. it started the ball rolling, from there I got shells, new towels and then I found ....several beach items that really helped set the tone.  Great prices and just what I wanted.. how lucky can you get.  It's a work in progress..I keep adding things. Another trip to the GOODWILL again and I might just get it all finished.. I won't stop looking there, you NEVER know what you will find!! ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE!!

                                                   

This was marked down because the back had a small hole in it. $2.99

This was $1.99

Made a nightlight out of this. $1.99