Why do women take baths?

I decided today, instead of showering to take a bath. I had Epsom salts here and I heard they are good for detoxing and adding magnesium to our bodies. Apparently almost everyone is magnesium deficient and that's what causes many illnesses. The man is at work, I thought ok , I could do the classic lie in the tub and soak thing women do.

Now I hate baths, Im a shower girl. And I think that's mostly cuz other than the wonderful old fashioned claw foot tub, I hate tubs. NONE are comfy. But I thought I give this a try, Ive never been in the one here in my house.

Its a weird little tub but bigger than I thought. That would have been a good thing normally. It had the stopper on the side which is weird but this is a manufactured home, they do things different. And so I proceeded to get out a big towel, a clip for my hair, I put on soft music, lite my favorite rose candle and got a drink of juice. I also got two books to read so I could spend some time in there.

What a joke!

First it was too hot so I had to play with the water, that's one of those things I hate about baths, water temp doesn't stay steady. So I added lots of cold and was finally able to get my feet in. I'm 60 yrs old now, getting into a tub is hard work. I have to hang onto rails and stuff and hope I don't fall. That ticked me off.

And then I tried to find a comfy spot. Leaning back the wall was cold so I tried to put a dry washcloth back there. Not ez to do, my butt stuck to the bottom of the tub and moving around in there was hard. I got mad , removed the cloth.

Tried to find a way to sit back and relax....ok Ill try the corner......um no, not for long. Just hurt my back. So here I am in more pain than I started, my bottom half is hot and the top of me cold......cuz I cant slide down deep enough to get comfy. grrrrrrrr

So I decide Ill try to read a book, after all Im here to relax (yea right). So I had to sit upright and a bit twisted to the left so I could rest the book on the edge of the tub. Well that position hurts too after awhile and when I tried to move, my butt bones were sore from the bottom of the tub. Never had that happen before. Guess I know where I lost all that weight from.

And so I finally got so frustrated , I decided to just wash and get out . Ladies for centuries have bathed in tubs, lounged in them. They would bathe in all sorts of things,....milk and honey, flowers , even blood to look more beautiful . And I have to wonder why because I'm more cranky and in pain than before I started. Maybe I just don't have that bathing gene.

Last of the summer days.......

Yesterday was a busy day but a really beautiful one too. My friend called and asked if I wanted to go mushrooming but she had such a busy day planned, I said to her, how will you squeeze this in too? Why don't we do it another day? I had already planned on doing some canning so I couldn't leave till it was done anyway. And so if the weather holds, we will go mushrooming on Friday. She said there's Oyster mushrooms out now. I also saw on a local mycological  site that Chantrelles are starting to come out too.  We started doing this last year together after a friend of hers taught her what to look for. I love hiking in her woods anyway and often take my camera with me so this should be fun.
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 A friend gave me these tomatoes the other day. She doesn't eat many of them and I use a lot for sauce. So I skinned them and cooked them down to can the next day. And so yesterday I finished the laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and made my list of bills to pay once the man got paid. I canned 8 qts and one pt. of plain tomato sauce to use for cooking from that pile of tomatoes I got from my friend. She goes to the local grocery outlet to get things they cannot sell anymore, to feed her chickens. But we found that we can often get food that still really good to use for ourselves. Since she doesn't eat tomatoes and her chickens don't like them much, she gave them to me. There were many prepacked bags and in each maybe one tomato was going bad. So I sorted it out and I think I may have gotten 15 lbs or so of really beautiful ones. And it was free !

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As I was canning I thought to myself that wow its getting hot in the house. I just thought it was the steam from the canner. That usually happens. The last few days have been cool and windy and very fall like with fog in the mornings too. I had that one gorgeous beach day and thought that was summers last fling. But I was wrong. I went to open up my doors to let some cool air in , and there wasn't any. It was still, and very warm outside. And so I changed into shorts cuz I was dying and opened every door and window in the house, hoping for some relief. It didn't help at all. But it was a beautiful clear day outside, summer wasn't over just yet.
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I didn't know what to make for dinner. I was out of everything here and the man got paid. So I had to wait till he got home to go to the store. I decided to make Chinese Chicken Salad and the man wasn't too sure he would like that. Hes eaten it many times but I haven't made it in a very long time. I often made dinner salads when we lived in Ca. because it was so hot. Ive forgotten about it living here where its cool and rainy most of the time. And so I went shopping for the ingredients, a few other things we needed and as a treat, some ice cream! It turned out to be the perfect meal for a warm nite like this was.
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I got a surprise from my daughter too for my birthday. She told me something was coming this week but it would be late. The dog went nuts barking today and I shushed her. Then I remembered what my daughter said and went out to the porch. Good thing I did as it was a very warm day and these would have melted. Had one after my lunch already , YUM!
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After having a very nice dinner...I sat down to watch TV . We eat rather late cuz the man gets home, showers (does construction) and has some coffee and relaxes. And I wandered thru the channels to see what was on....and there wasn't much. I barely watch it anymore. X Factor was on and I swore I wouldn't watch that show after last yrs mess. But nothing else was on and I caught one of the singers in the middle of a song, she was really good. And so I watched till the end. Perhaps this yr. will be better. I heard Simon was changing some things to improve it. I hope so.

But the last singer got on stage. She could relate to one of the judges who apparently made a song about being bullied. They had a lot in common and the girl sang her song.....she was really good and put so much heart and feeling in the song that it brought everyone to tears. The audience was on their feet and crying.....and even old hard nosed Simon was choked up. You never see him like that. But  I sat there watching and cried too. It was an awesome moment and I realized that this is the sort of GOOD things I like to see on TV. So Ill see how the season goes , I may continue to watch.
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As I sat there in the dark watching tv....I heard soft summer sounds from my open windows.........and I could smell Mother Earth even. It was so strong it pulled me from the tv to look outside. I realized it was 9pm and I still had all my doors and windows open. For those of you who live where you get hot summers, its probably nothing new to you. I grew up in NJ and lived in CA. too so I remember nites like that. But now I live in the PNW and around dinner time along the coast here, the clouds move in and in an instant you can feel the temperature change. Usually at that time I start to shut the windows because it gets too cold then. But it wasn't till after 9 last nite that I had to do that. In fact it wasn't even very cold but I knew the night air gets damp and sets off my allergies.

And so I shut them all ........except the sliding door in my bedroom. It gets hot in there cuz we close the bedroom door to keep the dog in. As I lay in bed last nite......listening to the night sounds, I looked up at the sky light over my bed and saw stars above me. This was one of those rare beautiful summer nights. Tomorrow is supposed to be hot too and then the rain and such will be back. I intend to pay close attention to this last day, this last gasp of summer. Once the rains starts.......there's very few sunny days again .....till it starts a new yr.

A birthday blog...

                                             Its the big 6 - 0 !!!

My bf has to work today. Yesterday he went to get smokes and came home with a card and these roses. I was so surprised. Money is tight here so I wasn't expecting anything. And I love the cards he picks out. Hes one of the few men in the world that will stand there and actually read them and pick one that says what he feels. I love it. I save them all.

One of my cousins wished me Happy Birthday and I told her its the big 60.....she said hey 60 is the new 50!! Hmmm so maybe I can skip past this then since 50 was pretty awesome for me lol.

So here it is....my 60th birthday. I realized that even if I died before it, it would still be the day I was born. There's no avoiding this at all. I used to love birthdays, guess its a kid thing. But as I look back, I never really had awesome birthdays. Some get parties, Ive always been the one to give them...not get them. I have gotten some wonderful gifts thru the yrs tho. I don't know what it is about this one that's bothering me. But usually on a big day like this I take stock of the previous yrs to see where Ive been and where I'm going.

Thirty was ok....I didn't mind it. Forty tho hit me hard. Before that date, my eyes went bad and I needed my first glasses, my arthritis got bad in my feet and I had to start watching when and how long I wore hi heels. And I became a gramma for the first time too. ....all before this date that yr. I adored my grand daughter and still do but all this was just a reminder of getting old. And I wasn't ready for it.

At fifty I had already left my marriage of almost 30yrs and was starting over. I felt free for the first time in many yrs. He had way too many expectations of me and the kids and way too many demands. He was verbally abusive too and often neglectful. I just knew I deserved more and so I left. I was lucky even tho it was hard because I came out with enough to start a new life with. And for the first time in my life I had to remember what it was that I liked and loved. I had buried all that to take care of a husband and children. Sometimes tho I still don't know and now its 12 yrs later.

So many things I thought would happen when I left him, didn't happen. I thought it would just be a continuation of my life only without him. I thought Id be throwing parties and making lots of friends. And so I bought a house. Some how tho the parties never happened there. I went to them instead. And my children were busy living their lives. That's ok. I did my job......that's what they had to do. I dont know, it just didn't happen like I thought it would I guess. I dated and eventually met my bf.

Hes a good man but a home body so we don't go out much. Its a huge contrast to my ex who was hardly ever home. I did want a man who wanted to be here with me. But I do like to go out too. lol . And so once again our life is different than I thought it would be. I moved again.....away from my family...this time my children, to start over in another place I thought would be better for my health. And I do love it here. And so 60 isn't feeling very good cuz I know that time is no longer on my side.

But I am grateful. I have more than many. I have a good man who really loves me, children who care and grand kids who miss their gramma. I have a nice home by the ocean, my ocean that I love. I have one good friend who is real country and I like that. I guess I don't need much more and yet I feel like there is more.

But when you have been single and married, rich and poor, traveled all over, have kids and grand kids.......not much more to do I think. And so I guess 60 scares me a bit. I don't know where to go from here. And I don't have the energy or the good health to do it even if I knew. I'm not an invalid but I do have to be careful due to health issues. There's got to be more, I just have to find it. Maybe that's what the 60s will be.

This is the beginning of my 60th yr. here. From now on I want it to be as good as I can make it.......and that includes on here too.

Busy week

Very busy week, Its feast or famine around here. L to R: 6 pts. Bread and Butter pickles, 6pts. Blackberry/Plum jam, and 6qts. Garlic Dill Pickles.

Im slowly trying to catch up on stuff I havent been able to do for months....being sick and then being away totally thru me off. So between cleaning and real life, I did manage to get some canning in. But this week Ive been running alot. 

Had breakfast with friends at the local casino. Had to get my Senior card but it was worth it. $2 for a breakfast buffet ........I had Eggs Benedict and hash browns and more with a huge OJ. And I got $5 to play which I promptly lost lol. But it was fun. And Ill be 60 next month........the girl who did my card said ......well you have been very blessed because you dont look anywhere near that age. :)  And then later on after I left there I snuck in some canning and then had coffee with gfs in the afternoon. 

The other day I went with a friend to her Dr. appt. .......long drive to Portland but I got to ride the tram that Ive only seen there on my way to other things. It was awesome and I wished I had my camera. But it looked just like this photo I found online.

 That's Mt. Hood in the background there. Too cloudy that day to see Mt. St. Helens or Mt. Rainier. But it still was fun. And we wandered to the farm stands on the way home to see what they had and price things. Its still a bit early out here on the coast to find much or any deals. But I did get some flyers with phone numbers. Ill just call before I go next time. In between Ive been trying to shop , clean , garden and do laundry (today). This week has just flown by!

I needed to get the dust blown off me.....

It was a beautiful day Friday. The man was at work and I was home alone looking for trouble. lol Haven t been able to do much at all with this bad foot. But I know I'm healing cuz I'm antsy and looking to do things. I'm trying hard not to do too much, cuz I do pay for it later. The foot wants rest and so when I push it gets sore and swollen. Thankfully that's happening less and less. The constant pain has eased and I even have times when I notice I have no pain. So I'm on the mend......slow as it is.

But Friday I just wanted to be outside. It hasn't been enough for me to sit on my porch. Lately some bees seem to have found a way to get into the porch and I'm allergic to bee stings.......so when they are there, I'm not. This is the first yr. this has happened and I normally spray if I see bugs. But I don't want to kill the bees so Ill have to figure something else out unless they are actually making a nest.

I decided to see if I could find something I could put on that foot to go outside with. I didn't want to put a slipper on it. We have had rain so it could be muddy in spots and ......that's where my dog roams too. I have a pair of birkies that look like the old Dr. Scholls sandals. I tried them on and I could just barely get that one on that foot. But it has a working buckle ( covered in rhinestones of course, gotta be girly), so I opened it as far as it could go. Slipped my foot in and tadaaaaaaaa I could go outside!

It actually felt good to have shoes on since Ive been barefoot since this happened, except for one slipper, lol , in the house. Now I normally am a barefoot kinda girl but being forced to NOT wear shoes was driving me nuts. So I wandered outside for the first time in weeks and slowly went down my porch steps. I had to take it one step at a time. The angle you walk, I couldn't do or it hurt my foot alot. I forgot on one of the steps, I was so anxious and OUCH! 

Since I didn't know if I would make it or how long I would be down there, I wanted a bit of a project. I saw out my windows that my chives were blooming idiots. More flowers this yr than ever before. So I took a big jar with me to fill with the flowers. I wanted to make Chive vinegar.  It was so nice to be out in my garden. ...altho its not much of one right now. Nothing much growing out there except weeds. But I plucked each flower off and tossed it in the jar. Once I had most of them, I came back inside. My foot was beginning to hurt a bit. I didn't want to push. So I took a look around the yard to assess whats going on and went inside.
My raspberries have taken over the raised bed I put them in. Amazing since I bought that little plant, that was half dead on clearance two yrs ago. I may actually get lots of berries this yr. Once they start to grow Ill have to put the bird netting over it all tho. Last yr. they started to eat some so I didn't get much. My rhubarb came back too altho pretty thin and weenie looking. Looks like it needs fertilizer and water. The artichokes look the same, I don't even know if they are growing. This soil still needs so much work. But my strawberries were almost dead, the slugs had a party in that bed. And now they are full of green leaves and flowers. I need to sprinkle some slug bait there soon so they don't get to them again. My hydrangeas are coming back too but there's so many weeds and such in the beds, Ill have alot to do before I can plant anything.

 I guess I'm feeling better too cuz I haven't even wanted to read or do any projects. The other day I found a crocheted doily that I didn't finish..........so I finished it. And then I started another with some blue thread I found. I guess Ill put these in my Etsy shop once I get it going. Ive put all that on hold because of my foot and not being able to get around.

And then finally, yesterday I realized I haven't even started my car in a month and half. I got worried. I slipped on the sandals again and headed outside. My bf said .....I can do that for you. But I really just needed to get out and said no.......but he followed me. I tried to start the car, but it coughed and sounded weird. Sigh. I thought , great now my car is dead and I have no money to fix it. So I told my bf go for it .......and Bam he got it going. He has this magic touch with stuff like the Fonz. When I cant get things to work, he just touches it and its working!

And so I decide I was going grocery shopping. He was supposed to but I knew we needed so many things and he wouldn't do that kind of shopping. So I told him give me the money and I made my list. It was big. I hoped I could get it all with what he gave me. Then I remembered I had some cash from when I worked. So I added that to it and spent over $200. But I had to. I was out of the basics, almost no meat or veggies in the house except what I canned last yr. No dog food, no lunch stuff, no bread.........so many things used up.

So I headed off to shop, not knowing just how long I could hang on. I walked slowly and even in the parking lot, when cars let me go, I didn't rush. I felt it was my turn since I always let others take their time and I patiently wait till they cross. And I took help in the store when they asked. I walked slowly and leaned on the cart. I decided to work my way around the outside of the store first since that's the stuff I needed the most. I figured if I couldn't finish, then the man could come back to get the rest. But picking veggies and meats and such was better if I did it.

But I made it all around the store and got everything. By the time I reached the checkout tho my foot was hurting. The person in front of me was having some issue and there I stood....ouch. And then I got checked out and they asked me if I wanted help.....like always and I said yes definitely this time as I'm not walking very well right now. So the guy who  helped me took his time, said he would follow me to the car. He really took the trouble to pack the car nice so nothing would get squished. I thanked him and headed home. I knew my bf would bring in all the stuff for me. He always does. That's why I wanted to go this weekend while he was home. I didn't know if I would be able to do it all.

And so my foot did swell and it was tender. I left the stuff on the counter for awhile (nothing in there that could defrost) and got a cool drink. I sat in my recliner with my foot raised awhile letting it ease the pain. Once I felt better, I started to put stuff away, going back and forth when I was able. And then I made dinner.....I had the man grill a steak, I made baked potatoes and a salad. Something simple so I didn't have to stand there cooking. Besides he shopped for the basics and I didn't have any salad stuff here for weeks. I was dying for some greens and fresh foods!

And so its a quiet Memorial Day weekend here but at least I got out a bit and it felt so good. I read that the farmers market here was running today also.........darn Id love to go..........but I spent all my money yesterday! 

Things that stick with you....

Sometimes I reread books I have here. I keep the ones that speak to me. And every now and then I'm drawn back to one for whatever reason. Usually its cuz I need something to read in the "reading room". hehehe. And so today I picked up that book by Loretta La Roche.

I like to do that sometimes to refresh my memory of the book, to see why I'm keeping it and sometimes to see just what stuck to me after I finished it. Today this book reminded me why I'm different and I like being different. This book talks about how everyone is a clone today. How the media tells us how to be and everyone that doesn't fit it is seen as weird or eccentric. But she says being different is how we should be. After all we all have different talents, points of views, different bodies and likes and dislikes. So she talks about how to be more different and happy about it . The happy part tho is what drew me to her in the first place yrs ago.

My grand daughter J and I were once watching Loretta's PBS show long ago. This lady is seriously funny and even the young J liked her. But the part that really got us was the TA DAAAA part of her show. She talked about being silly and how it affects you and makes you happy. And sometimes it even makes others smile and be happy. 

 Now the ex was in the downstairs "reading room" right near where we were watching this. It came to the TA DAAAAAA part and J and I were just cracking up. (we have done this often thru our relationship and I just love it, if you ever see her just say the words "poop fairy" and she will start to roar lol) And so silly old us, decided to make grampa smile and J dressed up as the TA DAAAAAA lady. We put a burger king crown on her head and a blanket around her shoulders. When grampa opened the door......we yelled TA DAAAAAAAA in the silly outfit. We were laughing ourselves silly........but he wasn't. He not only didn't get it but thought we were insane. (honestly tho not much will make him laugh anyway so it was bound to fail.) But we had a blast and were doing it over and over all day. It WAS fun.

And so I love Loretta's blog and books and her outlook on life. http://lorettalaroche.wordpress.com/ 
And Ive always been different and freely admitted it. I remember one day an Aunt was over. I forget what we were looking at but I never forgot what she said to me. She said "you like anything that's different" and she said it in a way that sounded like a put down. Like I'm weird. At first I was a bit hurt that she would even say something like that. But then being the different weirdo that I am, I thought shes the one with the problem.....so I simply answered her.......YES I DO.

But long ago I realized being different is what made me special. Its ez to look like a clone of everyone else or behave like that but if its NOT who you are, then you're a phony. Ive always loved the Velveteen Rabbit story cuz in the end your real........and I am real, always.

But this also made me think of long ago. My kids were young, we just bought our first house and he was working for a company that would in the end create a career for him. And so the company would have a yearly Christmas party. Now in the beginning he was just a service tech., just one of many so we certainly didn't have a lot of money nor were we able to keep up with the Joneses. So I sewed alot of clothes for my kids and I.

One of the first few parties tho I didn't have much cash for anything so I wore a pretty black skirt I had and a white blouse with ruffles on the V neck and sleeves. It was a nice outfit, nothing flashy but at least a bit dressy. The following yr. tho I had no money at all to buy anything. I didn't have much of anything dressy in my closet either since I was a homemaker and mom. I didn't need things like that. And so I wore the same thing again. It didn't bother me except that I hoped no one would remember. You know how catty women can be. No one said a word to me tho.

But later on my ex mentioned to me that someone said I wore the same thing two yrs in a row. And he was annoyed with me!  I was shocked. First I didn't think anyone would notice, after all we were not the Pres. and VP or any managers, just one of the peons. Second, the ex didn't give me any money to buy something and I had no extra from our budget so what the heck did he think I could do? He was funny like that.....

And so I started to sew my outfits, often planning them well ahead of time so he couldn't bitch. I recall one time buying $1 yd. jersey fabric that I liked and made a long gown with it. To spark it up I splurged on rhinestones to make the straps with. Apparently everyone loved it. If they only knew who the designer really was lol.

And another time I found a cheap white halter gown. It looked like the one Marilyn Monroe wore only floor length. I borrowed a floor length black hooded velvet cape from a friend to cover it. So imagine me walking into the room with that cape. Thats the sort of thing you wore to the opera not a company party. And when I took it off there was the Marilyn dress....from all covered up to almost bare on top. Seems I was a hit lol. Even one of the workers dad who came with them......asked me to dance. And apparently he was a great dancer.

He took me in his arms and swirled me around the room like we were great ballroom dancers. My white gown was twirling all around and we were quite the spectacle. Its actually really nice to dance with someone who knows how to lead you around the room. It was one of those moments...you remember forever.

And so I think I like having fun and being different. I dont know why everyone else doesn't like it, why do they all try to be the same? Its so boring and doesn't create good memories either.

Bohemian me....

Bohemian Chic: While this is a bit too rustic for me it has the elements of things I like, Victorian, romantic and country. This is from the Magnolia Pearl site. She designs bohemian clothing from old textiles and prints and some of her stuff is gorgeous, some is over the top for me. But its the flavor of what she does and who she is that speaks to me. Check out her site for more bohemian stuff.......she did her traveling trailer like a Gypsy caravan.....inside is wild too but there are elements I like. Mine will never be that over the top but I can see me using some bits. (I think it just speaks to the Hungarian in me..... :)  )

I'm finding myself drawn to some interesting mixes of decor online. Ive never really been one to put a label on my style...until now. While it does look Victorian in places, romantic in others and even country in other spots.....I don't think I have just one style anymore. I like so many things. Victorian is pretty but tooooo cluttered. Romantic is so girly and fem but too too pink and over done. And country is just too farm house and practical for me. So I feel I do a mix. And after wandering online, I think the name Bohemian fits me.
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B O H E M I A : {noun}

1. a community of persons with artistic or literary tastes who adopt manners and mores conspicuously different from those expected or approved of by the majority of society,
2. the district in which bohemians live.

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I've been accused of being different by others in my family. I always say I'm the black sheep cuz I do stuff my family wouldn't  and I am not afraid to try new things. I tend to collect what others don't but a funny thing happens to me. Once I start to collect it, others start doing that and make it too expensive for me to continue my collections lol. And so I have a bit of this and that. 

But long ago I realized I was different and decided I liked it. Why be just like everyone else? Its not that I like to be center of attention or stand out. But why do I have to like what everyone else does? I don't. And so I taught my kids that too, that its ok to be different and not everyone will like you. But it you have one good friend then you have more than most.

And so today while looking at some Bohemian decor I felt inspired with my house. I don't have any cash right now to do anything. But I do have a lot of stuff around here I'm simply not using. I have some windows too that still do not have curtains. Those windows don't actually need them either but.....I have a few ideas. But I've been a bit stuck here since this house is very different from what I planned on getting. Its not Victorian like I hoped, not very romantic looking except for the view. ...and even not very country with the skylights and big windows overlooking the land with two small windows above it in typical trailer style lol. This isn't a trailer tho and I hate those windows and the wacky ceiling built in this place to accommodate them too.

But while this isn't a New Yrs. resolution it is something Ive decided to do this yr. Most houses Ive lived in I just never finished. I always said when I finish a house we seem to move so maybe that's why I didn't. And my dream house was finished, we spent the money to make it that way and I ended up leaving that one cuz he wouldn't sell it to me. So finishing a house is a bit scary to me.

But when I moved up here I told myself this will be the last house I ever live in. This is where Ill finish out my life. And so its time to finish this one the best I can right now with no money. I have a chandelier that needs to be finished being cleaned and then hung. Its still sitting in the closet. I have a kitchen with lg . areas over the cabinets to decorate that would look fabulous when done. I keep avoiding them tho cuz I just hate hate hate this paint color. But maybe I wouldn't hate it so much if I covered most of it up with stuff up there.

And I don't have curtains in the kitchen, don't really mind that cuz I have a fabulous view and nobody can really see in. But maybe a little valance to finish off the window would be nice. My laundry room is a very used room and a nice size...right now it keeps getting filled with overflow stuff from the kitchen like canning pots and such. I was going to use it as my craft room . I don't think that is going to happen. But it does need some curtains since there's 3 big windows in there. And again no one can see in really but it does feel too exposed in there. I saw a great idea someone had of using old linens as curtains and I have lots of those. So I think its time I made some for that room.

However my sewing machine is still in the garage lol.....and I'm pondering making the guest room, my craft room. After all we rarely have over night guests so that room pretty much never gets used. So I think I'll set the machine up in there. The man has his man cave so why shouldn't I have a room of my own?

Yup its time to get this house done. And I'm gonna make it MY house, decorating it my way even if its not magazine worthy. I don't know why I didn't ever do that in the first place. Its like I always felt it had to be a certain way so people would like it. But really, who cares what people think? They don't live here.

First blog of the new year-chicken sh*t and all that jazz

Yesterday I spent most of the day at the egg lady's house. Her other half D was making orange marmalade. Now Ive never made that before and wanted to learn how, especially since he said his is not bitter. Ive always avoided orange marmalade because of that bitterness. While I understand that is classic orange marmalade, its not to my tastes.

And so I helped zest the oranges and cut them up. Then he cooked them down and did one recipe so I could see how he does it. It does get less bitter as he cooks it but I see some tweaks Ill be making now when I do my own batch this week. Oranges were 2lbs for $1 and it is winter, the best time to buy citrus so I picked some up the other day in anticipation of this. I however will use less pith in my version. I know alot of it cooks down but I didn't like the taste of it on the zest. So Ill remove as much as I can there and leave some on the fruit itself. That seems to melt away with cooking.

But it was a nice afternoon sitting and talking with him about our lives. My friend S was in and out doing chores with the chickens and at the end of the day when I was going home she gifted me with something special. A big sack of fresh chicken shit for my garden lol. Now we have talked about it before but I always wondered how would I get it here since I don't have a truck. But she bagged it up in a big feed sack and used the small digger to lift it and bring it to my car trunk. Then she moved it in there. I thought for sure it would stink but it didn't, thank God. I was wondering how I would be able to stand the drive home lol.

And so when I got here I tried to get the sack out of my car and couldn't lift the damn thing. Now I know why she used the digger and drove it over to my car. I had to get my bf  to get it out and you should see the look he gave me when I told him I needed his help lol. And it was heavy for him too but he slung it over his shoulder and brought it to my garden. (Now thats love!) Now I just have to get brave enough on a nice day here to work it into my veggie beds. It has to cure in the dirt over the winter so it wont burn the plants come spring. Should be real interesting since the only time I ever did that was in NJ. With a shovel in the ground. This Ill have to dig out of the bag and bring over to each bed......yuck . lol But something has to be done about this lousy soil and I have a free source of fertilizer hehehe.

I only had yogurt and fruit in the morning tho before I went to their house and by the time I left I was starving. Not a good thing . I had some of the leftover ham salad in a sammich when I got home but I think I waited too long to eat. Later on we got a pizza since my bf ate late too and nobody was really hungry......so why cook? That on top of the sammich I don't think worked well and I didn't feel good by the time the New Year came in. And so we tried to stay awake till then, gave each other smooches and went off to bed. Damn when did we get so old? Honestly Id rather be at a party but........and even my bf  said he wished he had a gig that nite. So for next yr. I am wishing he gets one so we can really celebrate. I hate this old people stuff lol

And so last nite I pulled out a prime rib roast. I bought it long ago and I'm not sure its good anymore. I'm going to check it soon and if its still ok ......we will ring in the new yr in style. If not, I have a pork roast in the fridge that I can roast instead. But Ill be making my garlic roasted taters and use up the broccoli in my veggie bin too. I'm thinking of making a pie but not sure what kind yet. I don't have any whipped cream here and I don't want to go to the store, but I was thinking a pumpkin pie since we didn't get much of that this past yr.

Later on this week tho Ill be making my orange marmalade. And if I don't screw it up Ill be posting that here. I wished my friends Happy New Yr and hugged them tho when I was there yesterday. Told them I love them and truly I do, they are such nice people. Gave her mom a hug too and teased her about eating all the Snickerdoodles I made for her. She just loved them.  And so I rang out the old year with friends, rang in the new yr with my love.

Trying to drum up some good stuff...

I'm trying to drum up some holiday spirit here.........gonna be probably the worst holiday Ive ever had and my spirit is so down. And so today I decided I really need to get those pumpkins cooked . I started it and realized I was really sick of tv so I turned the music on my cable to the Christmas music.

Now normally I cant stand it....I usually only listen to it when its close to the holiday. But I did this and it seems to be working. I got two pumpkins cut up and roasted and also the seeds to it. I still have 4 more to cook but Ill be working on them tomorrow. Now I have a ham in the oven for dinner.

Then my friend gave me 3 pumpkins. I thought she was just giving me one till she heard what I do with them lol. And so Ill bake them off and bag hers up so she can freeze them. I told her Ill make some pumpkin butter with one of them for her too. Shes always giving me things and helping me so its ok.

And my bf loves pumpkin seeds and he will have plenty after this week . First batch is done now. I just salted these. But I think the next batch Ill make the Vampire ones.......they have Worcestershire and garlic :)

But my bf and I are actually listening to this music as we putter around the house here. Hes singing silly words to some of the songs and whistling some...I'm just plain singing. So many of them are the oldies I grew up with.....Perry Como, Burl Ives, Jimmy Durante, Dean Martin so many classics that just never seem to go out of style. Some my dad used to sing and it reminded me of him. Of course dad always changed the words and they weren't always nice lolol .....but I loved it.

And then there's I saw Mommy Kissing Santa one......and others and if they play Gramma got run over by a Reindeer that will remind me of mom.


And then here's one of my very favorite ones.....gotta be the Eartha Kitt one tho.....its sexy. lol Then there was the classic Perry Como ,,,,Drummer Boy.....now if they would just play Nat King Cole's ....Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.....that is my all time fav.....altho it might make me cry too . lol

So now I'm on FB playing a game (OMG) I never do that but got hooked on their Bejeweled version. I love that game. And the house smells good like ham....and the music is playing ............and I think my mood has improved some. Now if I can just hang onto it till Christmas.

Andther day of mushrooming and I got booty!

I think I got a couple lbs. of mushrooms today. There's Chantrelles at the back, Boletes on the right and a few coral mushroom in front. 

My friend  called today and asked me if I wanted to go mushrooming again. It was a stunning day, warm and clear so I said yes! This time I made sure to bring my own boots lol. And so I headed over there. 

Saw this lil guy on her front porch and then saw lots more as we wandered the woods. This is the first time Ive seen any up here.....so I wonder does that mean winter will be bad?

 This time her dog followed us on the trip. He loves me cuz I'm the cookie lady, I usually bring both dogs a cookie when I pick up eggs. But her other half is out of town right now so she wasn't sure why he followed us, he doesn't usually. She thought maybe cuz he knew she was alone now. But later on we figured it was cuz there were coyotes wandering around. Dukey whined at me once and growled near her but we didn't know why. Its a good thing she was packing a gun tho cuz after that we heard coyotes . Dukey kept trying to wander off and we had to call him back. He could be killed if they separated him away from us.

It was a bit scary cuz I know they travel in packs but she had the gun and wasn't afraid to use it. She goes hunting for elk and deer on her own so I know Ill be safe. I teased my bf today when I decided to go and said , I'm becoming a mountain woman lol. Sure felt like that today out there. And so I took some pics of some weird mushrooms I saw. I had the lil digital and it was hard to get good pics but you can see enough to know most of these you wouldn't eat.

Here's the dreaded red mushroom with white spots that's poison. I HAD TO get a shot of this cuz the only ones I ever saw were in fairy tales. They are real. 

We saw a few of these. They are so pretty. The tops are fuzzy and look like brown velvet. 

Another freaky shroon, this one yellow with spots. I just know it looks icky and Id never touch it. 

Then there were some weird fungus growing on logs. This one had petals. Kind of hard to see it here . Someone told me it looked like a cow patty. I can assure it its not, it was growing out of some wood. 

No clue, just thought they were pretty. There's lots out there that are but I won't touch any except those I'm being taught about. 

This one is kinda cool too.....another fungus. More petals almost looks like a flower.

 See how dark and mossy it is? Awesome! Lots of little streams and fallen logs with lichen and moss on them. We also wandered thru the old orchard where the trees are too old now to make fruit. But there's all kinds of trees here. 

My friend picking coral mushrooms. She marked the area awhile back. I just loved the moss covered stumps and was going to take a pic of those. Then she said there's my marker and got her shroons lol. 

 We headed back to the house, my back was killing me. I really wanted to stay out more but couldn't. I'm really hurting tonight, but it was fun. And we saw these fresh deer tracks and you can see a coyote one near it. This was around where we heard the coyotes noises. Didn't see any but that doesn't mean they weren't watching us in the woods. We did see one pile of feathers on the way out...I thought perhaps they were seagulls because they were gray and white. I asked her if any of the chickens were missing but she didn't think so. So when we got back, she decided not to let them out. The coyotes would have gotten them for sure cuz they were close. In fact when I was heading out to my car we were there talking and Dukey and Oliver when running down the lane past the chickens. We had to call them back......we think they heard the coyotes.

Dukey was so cute tho , when he came back he leaned right on me like he was protecting me. I said your a good boy taking care of us and gave him a scratch. S asked me if i wanted some pumpkins and I said yes. I have some here but Ill bake off the pumpkins and scrape out the meat and freeze them. She liked that idea and so we went to get two more she had at the barn down the street. I'll cook them off and pack them up and she can freeze them. I have 3 Cinderella pumpkins here already that I need to cook.

And so I headed home. Finally cleaned all the mushrooms and I think I'll just dehydrate them now. This way Ill have them to use when I need them. Right now I have other stuff to do and they will rot. Don't want all that good work to go to waste. So I put them in the dehydrator and Ill let them go awhile tonight and finish them tomorrow. My bf says they are pungent but I don't even smell them. lol.

Got home tho, after stopping for milk and a few things at the store.....and I'm beat. So no dinner tonight.....we ordered pizza. I'm gonna go sit on the heating pad tonight. I am gonna be hurting badddddd tomorrow......but it was worth it.

An unexpected fun day.

(King Boletes)

A local store around here moved to a bigger place and opened today so I decided since I have to grocery shop that Id start there. I wandered to the other end of town to check it out. Pretty much like the old store only a bit bigger.

And then I headed out to grocery shop and doncha know it started to pour.......sigh. Earlier the sun was out and I was enjoying it so much. Now I got wet and I'm just getting over being sick. And so I shopped and headed home. I was supposed to get eggs today from the egg lady too but she didn't call me back before I left so I called her and left a msg. When I got home, still no msg.

And so I started to put stuff away and get something to drink. Came on the puter to see whats new and the phone rang it was S. the egg lady. So I drop what I'm doing to get the eggs. She only had 3 dozen for me.  I usually get 4 because she has a waiting list as it is. This way when I get low I call her. While I was there we had a nice visit. We always do that catching up on stuff and who's canning or cooking whatever.

She went out to the coops to see if there were anymore eggs and came back with enough to give me my 4 dozen. She cleaned them and packed them in the carton, then said you cant get them any fresher than this, they are still warm. I love this!! I told her hubby D. that I'm gonna tell my bf the birdies pooped out the last dozen just for him. D cracked up laughing.

I mentioned to S. if she was still going to go mushrooming. She went when I was sick so I missed it. She said tonight she was going hunting, it was her last nite to do that.  And so D said he would take me. I had to borrow D's big boots and had a hard time walking in them. He was laughing at me cuz I was struggling to keep up with him in them. But I'm really outta shape too and it embarrassed me cuz I think hes older than me and wasn't even winded.

I swear from now on I'm going to take my camera with me every time I go there . I always see such neat stuff. We headed down the back lane and off to a  fork in the lane. Up into the woods we went. Gosh I haven't been in deep woods like this in many yrs. I followed D wherever he went cuz I didn't want to get lost. We wandered and found different kinds of mushrooms but most were not edible. He found a Bolete tho and showed me what to look for . He found some baby ones too. I only found one but I was so happy cuz I did that one by myself. I made sure he checked it tho. Seems its the end of the season for them so some are not good anymore either. We found one big one that wasn't any good.

(underside of Bolete mushroom, spongy no gills.)

And so we kept wandering down the gravel lane and up into another area of woods. Seemed like deep dark woods and I asked D......are there lions and tigers and bears? He says....bears and I said OH MY!!! and then laughed.  I did see some poop piles but thought they were from the elk tho. So here we are trompin thru the woods and he didn't bring a gun! He wandered off and I couldn't see him .........from that point on I decided to stay close. Eventually tho it started to get dark and both of us with glasses......they were getting so misty we couldn't see. We headed on back to the house.

As we got past the last gate to the lane on the way to the barn there was a cow staring at me. D was wondering how it got out. And so he told me to go up to it and I freaked......I mean its got horns and hooves. I said will it kick me? He says no......I sure hope not. I mean I wasn't afraid but I don't need to get hurt. And so I went over to the cow and it started to move away from me. Ok so I see the game now......move it in the direction of the gate. D was opening it.

Now this cow was being funny and not going to the gate, then I got it there and two more got out! And the first one followed them . So now we have 3 going in different directions and we have to get them all to the gate so D can close it. lol . It actually was kind of fun even tho the cows were not cooperating at first. They found some yummy grass outside that gate and it was hard to make them move. But they didn't know me so they would when I got near them. Finally we got them all in. I never did that before!

And so we headed up to the house. My back was screaming cuz I was struggling in the boots and lets face it I'm freakin outta shape too. Must have hiked quite a bit. So we get to the house and now I'm trying to take off the boots. Now I have big calves, I always have even when I was young and thin. And my legs must have gotten a bit sweaty with the rubber on them and so my calves wouldn't let me get them off.....they made a suction and I was stuck! Finally I was able to work them off but that's hard to do while standing. Got in the house and got my eggs and stuff and D gave me more mushrooms to take home. 

(This is sort of what it looked like, only more mist and greener.)

But I do wish I had my camera with me. There was a low mist hanging over the pasture. The trees where a bit misty too and when the wind is blowing right you can here the rumble of the ocean. We did tonight standing there. But it was just so beautiful there. And as we wandered back to the house the cows followed us along the fence mooing. I did talk to them and told them I loved them and how beautiful they are. I guess they liked me lol ...

And so I left and wandered down the lane. It was dark and misty. I decided to go thru town instead of around the lake. I wasn't sure I could navigate the dark back roads with these bad eyes. As I made my way around the bend there was this person. I couldn't see who it was very well but it looked weird . Looked like a guy with a gun with a bayonet and a helmet on in his pajamas. lol Now I know I was out in the hills and alone and this person waved to me..............so I locked the door. lol

I got home showed my bf the mushrooms and told him why I was so late. Hes such a sweetie he put the lights on for me so I could find home in the dark. And then I made a quick dinner. The phone rang and it was S.......she said hey didn't you see me? I waved to you. Now I know S was going hunting but I thought out of the area. Apparently she just went up her hill. And THAT WAS HER WAVING AT ME!!

Apparently that freaky lookin person was her lol. I told her what I told my bf and we both cracked up laughing. I told her about being out in the woods and she said there's a cougar out there too. OMG . Told her I saw some piles of stuff out there and she said the small dented marbles are elk poop. I said I saw some lg. black piles tho . She said that's bear scat. OMG it was all around me! ! ! And so we had a good laugh. I still cant believe that was her walking down the road tho. She was in her camos, lol not pjs. lol

And for those lucky enough to be able to forage for mushrooms, here's a nice site with lots of recipes. 

http://www.wildmushroomrecipes.org/recipes/category/boletes-leccinum-suillus
And something else I just learned when I looked up a link for recipes......Bolete is also Porcini mushrooms!! I didn't know that!