Monday, September 29, 2014

REMEMBER WHEN

I smiled the biggest  watching a neighbor teach his daughter how to ride a small two-wheeler. The bike never had training wheels and a small boy neighbor could ride it easily. She could not. So dad got his chance to run around holding the back of the bike and running along beside her. They did all this on the GRASS..no cement or paved street, smart dad. I remember falling on that street. OUCH…oh how I wish I had a video of that moment. There is no feeling in the world like the wind rushing through your hair as you ride as fast as you can and feel like you have wings for the first time. Wife came out and filmed a lot of her riding attempts. She just had to keep peddling. She tried another part of the complex that was flatter. MUCH better results. In less than two hours she was riding like a pro. BIG smile on her face. Neighbors came outside and applauded her efforts. I yelled..”Good JOB..DAD too!” I swear his face lit up like a Christmas tree all twinkly. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at the end of September 2014. I had to think, I hope she remembers where and when she was when she learned, I remember where and how but not WHEN.  I hope her mom NEVER loses that video. A whole new world is ahead of her. Today she went to school, no doubt, with stories of her success. Can’t wait to see if she still rides well after school.. Stay tuned. 
OH DEAR Blog Readers….the smells from my kitchen this morning brought tears to my eyes. I used my oven to bake my mother’s recipe for BANANA BREAD.. OH how the whole place smells like home and MOM making  it over and over again. She loved it so. She never needed the recipe almost up to the day she left. She made it so many times it was in her memory bank.  ALWAYS the end piece with lots of butter on it, that was her favorite. HOT HOT out of the oven would make her just ooooh and ahhhh.  Making it this time for my sister’s birthday. I omitted the pineapple this time and made it plain. Can you smell it??? YUMMM!! Haven’t had this in ages. Last time I made bread it was in the microwave for lack of an oven. Well it was edible, but just not the same. It cracked on top just like MOM made it. So happy it came out good. Recipe link is above.
DSCN6522Got to say the fall here in Michigan this past week has been spectacular. The leaves changing very quick but the temps have been mild and cool at night. NO rain, just nice..it does feel like October instead of September though. I fear the winter will be early this year again. Still looking for the wooly worm and his prediction but the black squirrels here are  busy storing nuts from the nearby trees like crazy. That alone is scary. I shudder thinking about last winter, but at least know this year there will be way way less shoveling for me here in my new place. 
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Wednesday, September 24, 2014

APARTMENT LIFE

Nothing like moving into a new place to live and having to learn a whole new way to do things. I sure don't mind, but I just never know when I am breaking a rule or two..

... DON'T FLUSH at night! Around my building I have NEVER heard a person flush a toilet at night. IS that weird?? Granted I have only been here a short while, but so far the rule has stuck. Everyone has their own schedules and lives to lead, but common courtesy is NOT to flush in the middle of the night. I have heard showers run in the middle of the night but NO FLUSHING...just plain strange.

...ALWAYS ASK before you make changes in your apartment walls. Some places, I have been told, do not allow nails or any type of puncturing of their wall surfaces. I got lucky.. it was pretty lax here but I haven't pushed my luck just yet. Starting over I don't have a whole lot to add to the walls. I made a trip to the local GOODWILL store and bought some small snack plates I thought were charming. Very appropriate for the season. I thought how neat to look at them all the time. So I hung them up. Tiny nails and plate hangers. Guess that didn't break any rules. As you can see the walls are WHITE and boring and I have no earthly idea how I am going to decorate them so far. I guess I will know when the time comes though. (The plates, by the way, were collectibles and ended up being worth at least 10 times what I paid for them. I was very happy when I looked them up on EBay. I love a bargain!)
Sure miss all the stuff Mom had at our house that I could not keep. We decorated for every holiday. It's fun though finding all the things that make a place your own. Looking forward to the holidays and already got my turkey.. well not edible anyway. This bird was handmade by a local artisan in 1979. I will be using it as a centerpiece this year on my table. 
Next will be finding new things for Christmas, stores already have their decorations up, should be easy to do. Apartment life is a work in progress right now. Never know what you will do or find next. I also hung this up on my wall so I could see it every day..it says what I think about where I am right now. It's something I do every day.
HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY WEEK!!








Friday, August 15, 2014

LIFESAVERS

Crazy week so far, busy and strange...

Every single thing here I have used this past week. They truly are
lifesavers. All this moving has made the old body pop and snap and so
I am using any and everything I can to get by.  I bought a new grocery cart that 
surely will come in handy this winter getting groceries inside my place. The less
trips the better I say.. NO lifting either. Wonderful idea! 

Kept hearing banging and thought someone was fixing a roof to the building.
When I went outside I saw that the balcony on the other side was being torn down.
TERMITES! Oh that made me feel creepy. I mean what about the rest of the building?
Needless to say, they are inspecting the whole building. Erected back in the early 70's
these places need updating anyway. Having a balcony patio that gives way is very scary indeed. As I stood and watched them working a neighbor came and introduced herself to me. She said that I was the LUCKY ONE.. I guess they nicknamed me
that. I was the one with an almost NEW apt. All new carpets, floors, bathroom etc. It
wasn't because of me.. it was because the older lady lived here sooo long. She was here for 24 years!!! She said that EVERYONE wanted the apartment that I was in. Well, I guess I am lucky then, because I got it instead of someone else being re-located.
LUCKY ME.. This is the one and only plant I have in my apartment so far, it has traveled FAR..for many years to get to this place. The only plant left that my mother had. I placed it in the East windows and it seems happy there. The hula girl was a present, she shakes when the sun hits her.. very entertaining!!



Tuesday, August 12, 2014

HEARTBROKEN


MY prayers to his family who must be heartbroken over his death. The world mourns the loss of his great heart and loving gentleness. We will laugh for years to come with a sense of sadness. Rest in the Peace you find out there among the stars in heaven. WE WILL MISS YOU
EVEN ANIMALS LOVED HIM.......




Sunday, August 3, 2014

MOVING ON Part Two

Part Two is made up of two parts... One moving stuff in and getting it settled and Two getting used to apartment living again. I LOVE IT! 

I had the help of some of my gal friends and I managed to get a lot done this past week. There have been many delays.. the weather for one, my exhaustion for another. Making so many trips to the apartment by the car loads just plain wore me out. I know that at the end I will be more than satisfied that I did it mostly by myself and that I accomplished a lot. I didn't really have any furniture to speak of. Some small things and a lot I will be picking up along the way. I gave away a lot when I had no place to store them and others kept them safe for me. It was good to see them again. This chair was found at an estate sale. My girlfriend and I got it into her car and took it to it's new home. I love to rock in it. Matches things great.  We stopped by this large sale and saw many things there priced really low and some really new. I was excited to say the least. I learned that the children were selling the whole house full after their last parent, their father had died not three weeks before. I sat in the chair and it was so comfy. I really appreciated how clean and new looking it was. The lady teared up and said" I can see my mother rocking in that chair." That is all it took.. I started crying myself. I told her that I would take very good care of the chair and cherish the memory of her mother.It was a moment I would never forget. I have spent many hours in it so far...thinking about new life and new beginnings.
                                                           


SALT.. a clock.. a hammer...soap,how could you forget these things?? Well I did..I found myself without a lot of small things. Scissors, a screw driver. I remembered so well where they were in our old home. How many we had of each kind... all gone now. Starting over at my age is not easy..there are a lot of bumps along the way but I will get there sooner or later.. There is more to come...just have to take time to tell you all about them..it's a real story.. LIFE over again... hopefully for the last time moving too.