Visitor

We've had a cute little visitor for the past few weeks in our yard. It's a pretty white rabbit. I found out she (I'm calling her she because a rabbit that pretty just has to be a she), belongs to our neighbor.

I've gone out several times and taken some pictures.

The first one I took the other morning, she was nibbling on some grass.


Then she stopped and looked up ...






She's a really sweet, pretty rabbit and she seems fairly tame. Our neighbor thought it would be fun to just have her scampering through out yards, pausing every now and then to munch on some grass. Our neighbor is also giving her some rabbit food. I'm not sure how good I feel about her just being loose like that, but it's not my rabbit, so I'm not sure there is anything I can do about it. My only concern is for the rabbit's safety.

On another note ... Eddie and I have decided not to go to Florida. His allergies are just giving him a fit right now. He always has a terrible time at this time of the year. It just makes him feel awful and the medicine he takes doesn't make him feel much better. I think that with all the things that have to be done to get ready for a trip, it was just more than he feels like doing right now.

I'm a little disappointed ... but just a little. I have plans for the next couple of weeks that involve getting a massage, reading, doing some crafty things, going to a painting class, getting together with some friends and some other things that I don't normally get to do when I'm working. I'll probably spend a couple of days with my mom going to lunch and stuff like that.

At work today I'm trying to get caught up on some things that I've been neglecting so that I can feel like I've accomplished something and can leave with a clean slate. It sort of clears my mind for being away from work and hopefully getting to do some fun things. That wouldn't be possible if I was thinking about everything that I had left undone at work.

Maybe I can get some new things photographed to put in my Etsy store. I would like to go to Knoxville and get the rest of my jewelry from the art gallery and bring it back here to put on Etsy, or have a sale of some kind somewhere. I really enjoy making my jewelry, but sometimes it feels like everyone else is doing the same thing, so there is not much of a demand for it. Now, I have all this jewelry that I don't know what to do with other than have a huge Etsy sale. And I might do that. I'll have to give that some thought.

Florida

We've been slowly but surely getting ready for our Florida trip. We seem to be having a hard time getting motivated to pack. It seems like there is alot to do and no time to do it. It's a little overwhelming. Eddie said today that he wasn't in the mood to pack. We both wondered if it's because it's been so long since we've been anywhere, that we just don't care. I don't know how that could be. We're going to be staying in a condo on the beach for free for a whole week courtesy of a business associate of my cousin's. It's an opportunity that we won't get again any time soon, if ever.

So far, we've only gotten this far. Getting the suitcases down from the attic:


And starting to pack a few necessities:


In between packing I've been working on a few crafty projects. One of them is a quilted potholder that I finished:


And another one in progress:


I also found some great collage sheets from several different sellers on Etsy. I got them all printed out on sticker paper that I bought from Staples and decided to put them in a little box that I'm calling my Sticker Box:


I thought it would be fun to have stickers to put in my handwritten journal that I keep. It might be fun to just reach in a draw one or two out every time I want to write in it and let it be the theme for my journal entry for the day.

And I can't forget to give you an updated picture of my friend's mailbox garden. This little garden is flourishing.


And last, but not least, I decided to make an altered clipboard:


I found this great tutorial for making altered clipboards that seems very easy to me. I didn't vary much from the example in the tutorial, but I'm pleased with the way it came out. I still have to apply the Modge Podge to mine, but I'm in the process of letting it dry for 24 hours before I do that. Before watching this video, don't forget to go to the bottom of my page and turn off the music.

Tired and Wrung Out

I've been feeling really tired and wrung out for the past two weeks. I've been taking antibiotics and ibuprofen for the toothache I've had and I think between the both of them, they are dragging me down. All I want to do is sleep. My dentist told me that I have a cracked tooth and that I need a root canal, a new filling, and a crown. I understand the root canal and the crown, but I'm confused about the new filling. In the meantime, he has decided to retire, so not only do I have to go to a special dentist to get the root canal, I now have to find a new dentist. I really hate it because I loved my old one.

Somehow I feel like I'm repeating myself. It could be that I've talked about this in a previous post. Either that or I've thought about it so much that I think I posted about it. If I've posted about it before, I apologize for the repetition. My days seem to be running together too.

Well, on a good note, my peonies are blooming like crazy and I cut some for a tabletop arrangement.


I've also been hand piecing some 5" x 5" squares, and then I decided to make a small quilt square. Then I thought, what am I going to do with a small quilt square? Then I decided it could be used as a pretty mat under a vase of flowers, or a mat for a candle or whatever I want to use it for. I really like sewing these by hand because it doesn't require alot of physical effort on my part, which right now I couldn't muster up the energy to do if I wanted to. I can sit in my recliner and watch TV while doing it and talk to Eddie. Then if I get sleepy, I can go take a nap. Of course I can only takes naps on the weekends because I can't at work.


I made two of them. One in lavendar colors and the other one in some yellow.




I think another thing that is dragging me down is work. We have several projects coming up this summer and my boss is all geared up to get started and finished. The more geared up she gets, the more wrung out I seem to feel with her sense of urgency. I think I'm burned out and I need a vacation. The good news is that we are going to Florida in two weeks and I can't wait.

Mother's Day Weekend Pictures

Eddie and I had a wonderful weekend with our mothers. On Saturday, we went to Eddie's mother's, and my MIL and her daughter and I went shopping. We had a great time. We found lots of sales and bought several things that we needed. After we finished shopping, we went back to my MIL's house and had hamburgers that Eddie had cooked on the grill.

My MIL and her husband moved into a different house about a year and a half ago and she said recently that she has been missing her yellow rose bush so badly. I remembered that one day while they were still living at their old house I had taken a picture of her rose bush with my digital camera. I was amazed at how well the photo came out, so I decided to have it enlarged and frame it for her. I gave it to her yesterday, and she was so touched that she cried. The good thing about this whole thing is that the man who bought her house, told her that she could come and dig up any of her old plants that she wants, so Eddie is going to take her soon to get her yellow rose bush and any other plants that she wants from there. Here is the photo.


On Sunday, my mother came over to our house and we grilled out BBQ chicken. It was delicious.

Before my mom got there on Saturday, I decided to take a picture of the table setting. It was nothing elaborate, just a simple table setting that I thought was pretty and reminded me of Spring.



Later, after my mom had gone home, I was fooling around with the camera and took several photos of our cat, Heckle. He is so funny.


What?


Ahhh, that feels good!


Where did that bird go?

Lastly, I noticed that my peonies are beginning to bloom, so I couldn't resist taking these pictures and sharing them with you.

Chocolate or Chocolat

Every afternoon after lunch my energy level just plummets. It's all I can do not to lay my head down on my desk. I can't have caffeine, so I'm sure that's part of it, and then I get to thinking maybe some chocolate will revive me. Then I go get some candy. Lately, it's been Hershey's Kisses that I've been craving. I have to stop doing that or I will never lose weight. I'm sure that's what is keeping the weight on me. At least that's part of it. I wish I didn't like chocolate candy so much.



My doctor told me not to eat chocolate because he said it raises blood pressure. I thought he might as well tell me not to breathe. It's been really difficult for me because I've always loved chocolate, even as a kid and it hasn't changed to this day. Sometimes I think when someone tells you not to eat a certain food it makes you want it even more. I think that's what's wrong with me now. I have it in my mind that I can't have it, so now I want it more. Maybe if I could forget I'm not supposed to have it, then I wouldn't want it so much. It doesn't help that every time I go to the doctor he says, "Remember, no chocolate, no alcohol, no this, no that, etc. He wants to spoil all my fun.

When thinking about this chocolate saga, it reminds me of the movie Chocolat. It's one of my favorite movies. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of my page and turn off my music before watching this clip.

Mother's Day

When I think about Mother's Day I think about real mothers with real human children, plus I think about my own mother, of course. I didn't use to think of myself as a mother because we don't have children. One Mother's Day several years ago Eddie and I were in the grocery store and as we were leaving, one of the store employees handed me a red rose and said, "Happy Mother's Day". Rather than tell him that I am not a mother, I just took the rose and said thank you. On the way out to the car, I told Eddie that I felt sort of funny taking the rose under false pretenses since we don't have children and I'm not a mother. Eddie said the sweetest thing. He said, "Well, you are the kittie's mother". It just reminded me once again why I love this man so much. Right now we just have one cat, Heckle, and at that time we had four cats.

This morning I was reading one of my favorite blogs over at A Fanciful Twist and saw that she has offered some of her wonderful artwork for free in the form of cards that can be printed from a pdf file. One of the cards caught my attention because it says "Mammie to all little Creatures."


I love this because if anything describes me it has to be this. Eddie and I don't have human children, but we both love all creatures. Cats, dogs, rabbits, squirrels, and all of God's creatures. It's true we have not had children, but all of these creatures are here on earth and God has placed them in our care. I feel it's my responsibility to take care of them as best I can within my means. I feel that they give us so much unconditional love.

I guess this post is for all of the men and women out there who are childless, whether by choice or not by choice, who have been made to be feel badly or guilty for not having children by people who do. People should never judge other people because we don't know what their circumstances are. I had a miscarriage when I was a young wife. We later decided that we wouldn't have children. There have been many times that I've wondered how old our child would be now, and what kind of personality he or she would have had. I've had people who don't know my circumstances make snide comments about the fact that I don't have children, so I can't possibly know what it's like. Well, no I don't have human children, so I don't know what that's like, but I do know the unconditional love of a cat or a dog. My cat looks to me and Eddie when he's sick and feeling badly because he knows we will take care of him. Heckle also knows when we're feeling badly because he crawls up next to us and just quietly sits. Quietly nursing us and taking care of us.

So, when I think about Mother's Day and Father's Day I think about not only mothers and fathers with human children, but of all of the mothers (and fathers) who take care of all the little creatures that are on the earth, human or not.