Guest Post from Jennee and yes, she really is amazing

So, I’m the awesome daughter that I’m sure you all have heard so much about. (Unless I’m just sounding like a fool here, thinking that I am being flattered more than I actually am…) Anyway, mom asked me to do a guest post on her blog and not only because I am amazing, but because, well, she has been too busy to post a blog and I have had plenty of free time to post more than enough blogs.

I know that mom likes to cover topics such as her garden, her grandchild (as I like to call her, the Holy Child) and her hubby. Well, I don’t have a garden, or a grandchild, or a hubby. I am 0 for 3 and that means, I have to talk about something that I know something about.

I have a good memory.

Unlike my mother.

And I don’t think my memory is good because I’m still young(er). I actually have the most unusual type of memory. I remember conversations and because of the conversations, I remember details that surrounded the conversations. I try to not be snooty when people tell me the same story over and over again, because when they start telling the story (the same way…why do people always tell the stories the same way?) my mind reminds me of the when and where the first time I heard the story.

The repeating of the same stories happens often with mom. Out of orneriness, I like to finish her stories for her…unless it is because she can’t remember how the story ends.

The other day my friend sent me a text message. She asked me if I remembered what happened during the summer of 1999. Nothing really stood out at first. She told me that she was going to counseling and had some repressed memories surfaced. She told me what she remembered and asked me if I remembered seeing this happen.

“Was it when we were standing around and Todd was showing us how he is a human piano and singing the lowest keys on the piano? Remember Todd said that he didn’t know if he could get the right pitch unless we had a pitch pipe, but he’d try.”

She had no idea what I was talking about. So, I continued on with what I said and that what she said and then what he said. This wasn’t the moment she was referring to.

“No, it was after we left the building.” She redirects my memory to earlier in the day.

“Oh yeah and Chris was saying how he is fascinated with Elisha in the Bible. And then we met that one guy.” I start remembering what I was wearing and that it was a sunny day and I felt uncomfortable in my own skin at this event we were at.

I ended up remembering what she wanted me to remember but it was only because I had to relive the dialog in the moment I was supposed to remember.

So, what I’m trying to say here…be careful what you say to me because I’ll remember when you said it, where you said it, the facial expression as you said it and your tone dialect. I guess this is why people disappoint me when they lie and swear they never said it, because, I know they did.

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I Married Mr. (Always) Right

I don't mean that in a bad way, but Hubby is almost always right.  Take the other night, for example.  I had been working outside, mostly cleaning the patio, putting plants in the garden, that kind of stuff. I came in from working, and the inside of my wrist was a little itchy.  I took a look at it, and it looked like some kind of a rash.  I said to Hubby, "I think I have a rash, maybe from the heat." (I really had no clue, but thought that sounded good.) He took one glimpse at it and said, "You've got poison ivy or poison oak. STAY AWAY FROM ME!"  I said, "You barely looked at it, how do you know?" He said,"Don't have to. It's poison ivy. Don't touch me."

Now, I have not had poison ivy since I was 12 years old. Not a pleasant experience. On the other hand, a good year for Hubby is to have poison ivy only one time per summer. In all the years we have been married, and the countless times he has had poison ivy, I have never got it. So, I didn't really believe him when he said that's what I had. I was certain that in a day or two, my itchy rash would be gone.  I wasn't in the woods. I wasn't pulling weeds. There was no way that I had poison ivy.

Well, instead of going away, my rash got all bubbly and seepy.  So, I had to pull out the Calamine lotion, and admit that I do have poison ivy. But, oddly enough, Hubby has shown no sign of having poison ivy. Usually, if he is in the same room as someone with poison ivy, he will get it. 

I just hope this does not mean that we are switching roles! Boo for poison ivy!

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I Have Not Fallen Off the Earth!

I am so excited to be blogging today!  I haven't blogged for so long that maybe you thought I may have fallen off the face of the earth. Or, maybe you thought I actually forgot that I have a blog! I have been known to forget a LOT of things.  Or, maybe you thought I buried myself in my garden, accidentally, of course. I'm happy to say that it is none of those reasons. The real reason has been quite simple, really.
 
Due to our economic status of no regular work, we have been trying to save every penny we can. We haven't had cable for over a year, and I must say, haven't really missed it. We have been getting internet service by catching the internet waves as they fly overhead. But, lately, they haven't been flying over (or the neighbors have quit paying their bills!!), and we just haven't been able to get online.  I sat down at the computer today, as I have been doing everyday. My plan was to hit the internet button, see the failure to connect sign, then play a few games of spider solitaire. But today, lo and behold, I got online! Yipee!  I have missed blogging and reading everyone else's blogs. So, I just want to say to all my followers, (if you are still following), and those who have left comments, I will eventually, get back to blogging more regularly, and I promise to visit all your blogs.

After about three weeks without internet service, we have decided to bite the bullet, and sign up for internet service. (It may still take us a few weeks to go through with it, but we will eventually!) 

Well, I'm going to stop blogging now, and try to visit a few of your blogs, while I'm still connected! Have a good day, and keep on blogging!

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Just Call Me Farmer Dar Part 2

I thought I'd give you a little peek into what I've been doing lately. Word of warning: I'm at home, totally unsupervised, so I'm not promising that I'll get pictures posted. However, I am going to try. Apparently, millions of people have no trouble posting pictures. I, however, am not one of those people.

We've been having some unseasonably warm and dry weather here in Ohio. It has given me the itch to get some plants in the ground. Hubby and I have also decided to put out a garden (our first in over 30 years of marriage).



This garden adventure is not without its obstacles. Our first problem, was a misplaced gazebo, right in the middle of the sunniest area. So, we moved that little guy 20 feet, or so, first by pulling it with our pickup, then hubby had to hand crank the thing for the last three feet. It was a booger of a job, but hubby persevered, and got it done.

Next, we decided to get some good dirt soil, since what we have is very rocky. We called a guy to bring us some soil, but he never returned our call. So, we called someone else, who turned out to be twice as expensive. Let me tell you, dirt, I mean SOIL, is not cheap! Do I have to tell you that two days later, the first guy finally returned our call! growl.

AFTER we got the dirt, we thought it would be a good idea to check for underground wires. Yep. We've got 'em. And they're going right through our garden area. Naturally.

So, Plan B is to get more soil and make a raised garden, so we don't have to dig down and risk electrocuting ourselves. Yeah, I think that's a good plan.

In the meantime, I've got some seeds started. I think. I don't see too much happening. I'm giving them their little pep talks, but I they don't seem to be listening. I also have six blueberry bushes in pots for the patio. I'm looking forward to lots of fresh blueberries.

I've also been busy making, what I hope will be, a flower garden by the gazebo. I received a bunch of plants that needed divided, so I really don't know what I have until they start blooming. It will be like Christmas in June.

Stay tuned for Part 3.  Hopefully, I'll have a good report.  (In case you're wondering, I did have the teeniest tiniest bit of help. Almost minuscule, however, it was a very important piece of help.)

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Just Call Me Farmer Dar

Today is the day to get my seeds started. I know I'm waaaaaaay behind, but we just recently found out that we will be staying put for a while, so now I can start making long-term plans.

I've never really gardened from seeds, so I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. I've read up a little bit on the subject, and mainly I need good soil, light, and moisture. I think I can manage the good soil and moisture. Hopefully, I have enough light. I'll give them what they need, then it's all up to them.

I don't know at what point plants can hear you talk to them. I always give my flowers a pep talk when I transplant them. I guess I'll give the little seeds a pep talk, too. Just in case!

We've got the garden area staked out, and a load of compost is coming today. We also have a couple spots picked out for our raised garden. We plan to have a covered area so we can grow lettuce this winter. (I'll let you know our success on that endeavor.)

So, I'm going to go out and play in the dirt now, and say a lot of prayers over my little seeds, and hopefully, I'll have something to transplant by the end of May!

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Friday, Friday!

Friday, Friday, how did you get here so fast???? "Face it Friday" is here, and now I must check my list of goals. It's right here under a stack of papers on my desk. Let's see how I'm doing....umm
1. Nope
2. Nope
3. Nope
4. Nope
5. Definitely Nope
6. Sadly Nope
7. Nope
8. I'm in trouble Nope
9. Nope
10. Making Progress

So, you can see I'm not doing all that great (and this is why I rarely make goals!)

Goal Number 10: Learn the (Latin) words and music to "TE DEUM" by Joseph Hayden.
We had an extra practice last night, and it helped immensely. We practiced the last half of the song which seems a little easier because we sing basically the same phrase over and over with a lot of sixteenth note runs.(FYI: sixteenth notes go really fast). I'm concerned with the first half of the song,which does not have many repeats. But, the concert isn't until May 7, so there is still time, as our director will tell us.

Some people in our community choir are Latin experts and are very particular about the pronunciations. There was a discussion on how to pronounce "in". Surprisingly, in Latin it is pronounced: "eeeen". Me? If I get somewhere in the general vicinity, I'm happy. My theory is, how many people in the audience know Latin? Maybe that's not the right attitude, but that's the way it is. I'm not a serious music student. I just sing for the fun of it.

My defense for the other nine "nopes" is because I was very busy doing inside unpacking and outside yard work. Very, very busy! Very.

Maybe next week will be better, but I'm making no promises!

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Discombobulation!

My all-time favorite word is discombobulate.  Not only is it fun to say, but it also expresses the status of my brain most of the time. At this present moment, it expresses the status of my home. I would quote Webster's definition to you, but I can not find my dictionary at the moment. (I know there is a way to look that up online, but I also know it will take me way too long!)  But, my definition is: total confusion.

I was away for a week, visiting my son and granddaughter, then little "Sweetie Pie" came home with us for a week. That right there means "no work will get done"! Add to that, I've been painting for my brother all week, add to that, we get to finally "move into" our house, add to that, I need to seriously start planning for our garden. 

We've been living here for a year, but haven't really moved in. It's a rather long and discombobulating story, but, in a nut shell, in 2008, we sold our business in Ohio, moved to North Carolina (because we were sick of Ohio winters and have always dreamed of living in the south), big financial crashes in the summer of 2008 sent us reeling, being in the construction business, we knew we'd have to find work, but had no connections in NC, so we moved back to OH during a snowstorm, I might add. My sis-in-law had recently married, and moved out of state, leaving her house in OH vacant. We moved in, with the understanding that when it sold, we would, of course, move out. Not knowing how soon that would be, we left a lot of stuff in boxes, never really decorating, just being. Now, a year later, the house has not sold.  So, we've made arrangements to stay here for a few years. Whew! Turned out to be a big nut!

So, now my head is spinning with all the fun stuff that usually accompanies moving into a new house. I've pulled out all my unpacked boxes and have them stacked everywhere! It's like Christmas! I'm unpacking things that I haven't seen in two years, things I have forgotten about. (Which makes me wonder how badly I needed it in the first place. But, we'll travel down that road another day!)

So, if I don't make it back to the blogging world for a week or so, you'll know that I'm wandering around the house, probably holding on to something I need to find a place for, wondering where to put it, and hoping my discombobulated house, will soon become a nice, calm, relaxing home.

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