we are ok

Just a quick post from a motel room nearby...we are ok. No power or cable or phone, but we are ok. I'll keep you posted. Stay safe!

Happy Friday!

Another Friday has rolled around and I'm touching base with all my peeps...

 This was going to be just a usual post to let you know what is going on in my part of the world, but when I Googled "Peeps" I got over 45 million results. Yes you read that right, 45 million results for the word Peeps. This bears more research.

Those little tasty bits of marshmallow, that so many of us love have a huge cult following.  They have their own Wikipedia page, which clues us into their history and other various reference links.

They have their own webpage which seems to be geared to the younger set.  With lots of fun things to do, including a fan club and recipes for various holiday themed peeps.

There is a research page dedicated to the little  bits of fluff, with research having been done as to the longevity of the species, as well as various results from experiments being conducted regarding the destruction of these critters.

They have their own Facebook page, there is even a diorama contest, where there are entries with peeps placed in everyday settings, such as this...

Yes, you are seeing this correctly.  Pole dancing Bunny Peeps, being ogled by overweight business men who should be at home with their families.  Tsk, Tsk.

I have said for a long time that everyone has an artistic streak in them, and the fascination with Peeps seems to reinforce that thought.  Life can get tedious and sometimes it can get downright mean for some folks, so if playing with sticky marshmallow candies helps them temporarily lose the heavy thoughts that have them bogged down, then I say "go for it".  I would like to remind folks that moderation is the key here, as with so many fun things, don't let your love for peeps take over your life.

Personally, I don't eat Peeps, they creep me out.  When a friend at work gave me one, instead of eating it, I promptly placed it into the mouth of the baby alligator head that I kept on my desk. Said alligator head was presented to me by that this same friend as a souvenir from his Florida vacation.  Why I keep  calling this person "friend" is beyond me, he was a bit funny turned, to be sure.

But, in any event, I can no longer recall what today's post was going to be about, but here I am saying have a good weekend and stay creative...(and  cool).

Billy Goat's Gruff

No, it's not what you are thinking. This post is about my adventurous husband and the brush cutter.  It's called a Billy Goat and after delivery on a truck that was waaaaaay too large...

Seriously, the mower looked so tiny on this huge truck.  Then after it is unloaded from the truck, it looks more like a piece of machinery that can actually be used...

It's a pretty meaty mower.  This souped up mower is supposed to cut and mulch thick brush and even small saplings, and my hubby is raring to go.  When gazing at the brush and weeds in our wooded lot, I'm not too sure that either one is up to the challenge...

We usually have a tree cutting service bring a heavy duty piece of machinery in to do the cutting.  After all we have almost an acre of woods.  Although this is a huge undertaking, we started doing research and found a walk behind brush cutter and decided to rent one to see if it would even make a dent in it.  If so, this would save us several thousand dollars each year on brush cutting.

There was a bit of a learning curve with this machine, and while it wasn't easy to operate over the very rough terrain, it was doable.  That's not to say hubby didn't have to man-handle it a bit, but for the most part, it worked pretty well.

The thing he really liked about this mower/cutter is the ability to go around the trees.  The tree guys aren't able to do this with the tractor and attachment that they use and more often than not, lots of what should have been cut was just being crushed by the wheels of the tractor.  Not with this machine, it really did cut and mulch the sticks, weeds, ivy and such.

It took the better part of two days, working in 2 hour segments at a time, taking periodic breaks for water and a bit of rest.  Actually the first machine had a cable break and we had to have them bring another one to replace it.  After the delivery of the second machine is when the real work got done.  Hubby is quite a go-getter and he was determined to make sure he got the job done...

So with all that being said, let's look at the after...

So, that's what we did this past week. He really worked hard at this project and found out that for the price of rental and delivery, under $200.00, to be specific... woods maintenance is something you can do yourself. Just count on sweating a bit, using plenty of Off and some slightly sore muscles.

Hubby's main reason behind making sure we got this done, was the fact that my second cataract surgery was Wednesday.  Everything went fine and each day my vision is better and better.  I can read the closed captions on the TV's at the gym and hubby is astounded at how fast I am walking.  He has been so supportive of my decision to do this, as has my sister and my friends.  I told my surgeon when I went back for my next day check up that he did more than corrective surgery on my eyes, he actually did surgery on my confidence.  I feel like a different person, and I realize now that I was dealing with much worse vision than I realized.

I'm seeing life in a different way... and it's looking good.

So with all that in mind, I can honestly say now...I'll see you soon.

Quick post, mostly pictures...

Even though I had my surgery almost immediately after I got my new metal working supplies, I did find time to get in a little soldering practice beforehand.  Both pendants are made from copper sheet metal, not soft enough, by the way.  I had to anneal them with the torch when they became work hardened.  The only solder I had on hand was plumber's solder on a roll, heated with a hand held butane torch, actually did pretty good.  My next purchase is jeweler's solder and a specific head for my torch.

Both pieces turned out quite nice, considering the rustic nature of the work.

As I patiently wait for my eye to heal, I'm trying to read with glasses, trying to read without glasses, digging in the old Fred Sanford drawer for drugstore readers...  I even removed one of the lenses of my regular tri-focals, but that didn't help much.  Here is a shot of one of the things I tried...

As you can see, this is me with no make up, the day of the surgery.  I'm still figuring it out. At least I'm staying on top of the drop-in-the eye regimen. Sheesh...these things will never end. By the way, hubby is looking for a Beanie Baby parrot that I can perch on my shoulder. Argggg, matey.

In addition to showing how beautiful I look sans paint and spackle, I am going to share several more pictures that I took when sister was here in April.  Our uncle was quite house proud and tried to keep everything looking so nice.  His house was filled with family pieces of furniture and the outside was ablaze with color each summer from the flowers that my grandmother (who lived with him) kept in the planters on the front  porch.  Geraniums of various colors, scarlet sage, indian paintbrush...every summer people came by to see "Ethel's Flowers".  Alas,  Grandmother and Uncle have both gone to their great reward and since the house was left to us kids, we decided to sell.   Neither Peri or I wanted to pack up and move back.  Once we left the small town we grew up in, we realized we were much happier.  All that being said, you can be sure that Grandmother and C.B.  are spinning in their graves every time they look down and see this...

What in the H-E-double hockey sticks has this woman done to our house?  Apparently she is a fan of  University of Virginia, which would account for the orange shutters.  The reason for the pink flamingos I'm sure is to just p. everybody off.  As in thumbing her nose at the rest of the neighborhood. Actually, it's kind of funny.  The best looking house in town turns out to be the worst looking house in town.

Our Mother's house, on the other hand, looks much better than it did when we sold it after she passed away.

We all spent many hours in this house and it does a body good to see the improvements that were made to it. 

We visited three cemeteries and I took lots of pictures of gravestones.  This little cemetery is where I played when I was a little girl living with Gram and CB before we moved to the new house. 

You will see in the left of this shot the glass doors of the firehouse.  This is where the house was that we lived in.  Torn down to build the firestation.  There were lots of hedges between the church and our house and I loved to duck through the bushes and play in the graveyard.  I'd be willing to bet that I played Barbies on people's graves.  Things certainly seemed different back them. 

So I guess that's all for today.  I'll leave you with a picture of two cute babies...

Fooled you, didn't I?

Have a great week and stay cool and happy and soon enough I'll be posting about having my other eye fixed and then who knows what I'll get into.

Cataract Surgery

Well, chilluns, I had my first cataract surgery Wednesday.  Started off with writing the check, of course, then I went into pre-op.  I was expecting the surgery to be done in an examination chair, but I was put on a gurney, just like in a traditional operation.  Not all cataract surgery is done this way, but it was comforting feeling.  I was hooked up to monitors, given several drops, several times.  Repeatedly asked my name, birthday and surgery.  I had so many people working with me, that this way there would be no confusion.  When I was in the operating room and they asked what surgery I was in for, since it was the last time...I responded with "appendectomy".  They all laughed and the doc said "no way" .  Dr. Strelow, talked to me throughout the procedure and told me what to expect.  What I would see, that they were beginning the oxygen, etc.

It was an easy procedure and quite interesting, because what I saw looked very much like the old liquid light shows of the 60's on a much smaller scale.  Something like this...

There wasn't any red, like shown on this overhead projector liquid light show.  It was mostly light colors with a spider web effect along with the bubbles.  Visually pleasing, actually.  It helped that my eye was completely numb and I was being given a light sedative with an amnesia additive.

Recovery time was quick.  They brought me out on the gurney and hubby said I looked like Bride of Frankenstein, being raised up on the gurney and swaddled in blankets (looking like I was wrapped in bandages).  When I went to get up, my feet felt soooo heavy, but other than that I really don't remember much.  Good thing hubby got the post op info cause I barely remember the ride home. 

I have drops that I have to put in on a certain schedule and a hard plastic cover that I tape over my eye when sleeping.  Other than a bit of flickering in the eye as it heals and the new lens becomes part of me, I'm not experiencing any side effects.

Well, that's it for now.  Just wanted everyone to know that all went well.  I wasn't nervous and I attribute that to the power of prayer.  Mine and others.  Thanks to all who have been thinking and praying for me.  I have my next surgery on June 13th and I'm sure everything will go just as smoothly.

By the way, I walked the track today without my glasses.  Feels a bit odd to be able to see out of one eye without the glasses.   I was talking to Peri on the phone when I realized I could see out of my "new" eye, so she got to experience that with me.  This time next month I'll be done with both eyes and will have a whole new outlook on life.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Take care and don't rub your eye!