Posts (page 2)

The thing about this piece is that some of us think like this regardless of being a mother or a father. We worry about making ends meet, having a clean house, making sure our friends are okay and ensuring we are there for those moments when fears come to the surface and they come quickly. It happens, it's part of life. Which, in my opinion, is the reason we should love and respect one another regardless of our differences and be on the ready to ensure that "the kids" (whatever that might mean - an elder left behind needing care, the kids, the dogs or fish or cats and birds, the family heirlooms, the home, the garden that nourishes a community that one person keeps planted for all the neighbors and need to come gather food when in need. But then life takes hold and we tend to not think further than ourselves....but we should return to it often to help us reach our goals.

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Okay, so I so want this for myself when my life is finally over. I did want a few close friends to take me up the east coast and one trip to Las Vegas for each place I've lived, and spread my ashes with a final stop and dusting off the coast of Maine in Ogunquit or Booths Bay Harbor or Camden, BUT with this little project, they can each chunk a pencil with my name on it and still have plenty left over for a lifetime of doodling! How wonderful!!!!

CARBON COPIES by Nadine Jarvis

Well, I will say that thanks to friends and acquaintances in positions to hire someone, I now have a job so I get to keep my home! I'll start tomorrow morning at the local Dollar Tree here in Gainesville. And it's a big store. I'm happy to be on and thank John so much for allowing me to do the job at hand. I couldn't be more ecstatic this evening. I'm celebrating with a cold beer and a smoked pork sandwich and movies on cable, which now gets to stay on too! Whee! I'm going to be alright. And, hopefully, Keith will too as a result.

When things are tough, we all hear to keep our chins up and look on the bright side of things. Well, I try to remain positive and do try to look on the bright side, but some days, the worst gets the best of me and I'm say, "You all get in my shoes during this time of worry for me and try to stay on the bright side and positive!" It's hard! When you've been a house husband for a few years, and your comfortable and settled (so you think) and then you get the big news that I got (which was horrible - one, almost cost me my partner's life - two, and subsequently will most likely, unless I can do something to make money in the next two weeks or so, will quite possibly cause me to lose my home, it's just not as easy to look on the bright side. I still smile and try to stay focused, but I really want to just have a miracle happen, and time go backward and this even never to have occurred, but I know that won't happen. I'm a realist. And it gets even more real every day.

So, chin up everyone and remember that things can be a lot worse!

JD

Well, I'm sitting in Inman Perk Coffee here in Gainesville, due to my having awoken this morning to find that there is no phone, no cable and no internet. (Bundle) and with Keith's recent situation, he also failed to pay the bills. So. I'm home without a way to contact anyone. Good thing there's a coffee shop close with free internet connection! Yay!

I came out this morning to get into the car and lo and behold it's snowing! After a 75 degree weekend. It's been this way all winter. Hot/Cold, weekly. I think we had a 2 week cold snap and that was it. No wonder everyone is staying so sick.

Peace and Easter Snow everyone!

JD

Last night, our friend Terry came to visit from Atlanta. And he is such the joy in our lives and of all those he knows. Always upbeat, comfortable, casual and warm. And I so love to hear him laugh! He makes me smile. Last night I made fresh salsa and cooked up some soft tacos for dinner. Then I made my wings for a snack while we watched Slumdog Millionaire, which I highly recommend. It's a bit slow getting into it, but once you settle into the style of movie, you begin to enjoy the story. We all went to bed early.

This morning, I woke at 4:30 and started my day by quietly putting away dishes so as not to wake our guest and Keith. Yeah, I know. Nice, huh? Then I hopped on the computer to do my morning reading and found quite a few great stories! I'll share them with you now. In case you wanted to know what they were...and if not, well, don't click. Yeah, I'm in a great mood today!

Pride and Prejudice Zombie Addition
Brain Wave Powered Game - I so want one!
God to Man: Get Over Yourself - A must read (short)
Ohio School System Sued Over Bullying - Now, I understand where this is coming from, but I have to say that as parents we must teach our children how to act. My mother worked in the school system and many a time the schools were asked to correct their children's behaviors. But this is a job that should fall MAINLY on the parents. I'd sue the parent's of the bully for not teaching their child how to treat other people. (Yeah, I know there are shades of gray here, but damn...come on.)

And now I'm back to breakfast....which at the moment, I'm frying up some bacon, taking my time, and after removing the first batch from the frying pan and placing the second batch in, I go to salt and pepper the bacon, and BAM!, all the salt dumps to the floor because the stopper on the bottom of the salt shaker decides fall out. I think it's the ghost lady that lives here. She's playing jokes. But I'm sure she'll just love the breakfast I'm cooking up for buscuits, gravy, bacon and eggs and toast.

You have a great Sunday and enjoy your week with much food and love to go round! :) Smile and wink at strangers!

Well, folks. I have some sense of peace for a while. I managed to get the rent paid, (thank God I have lovely friends with means to help me out and without question). As of today, Keith knows his circumstances and the possibilities that may come his way. And for me, I know I have at least some time to do what I need to keep the house. So. Things are not at all without blessing. I'm about finished with the kitchen but the cabinets and hardware are turning out to be more than I was prepared for, but I was prepared nonetheless with all I need to complete the task at hand. With the cabinets finished and hardware re-attached in their new state, the kitchen will be ready to fill with a few pieces of furniture as I find them and with food and friends. (Will most likely be just me for a while).

I'm going to go ahead and plant the garden in hopes that I'll be here and with a job. Plus it will give me something to do for the spring and extra money in the summer from the fruits of my labor. Corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow squash and zucchini, tons of okra and beans and maybe a few things folks don't expect, like tomatillos if I can find the seeds or (maybe I can just buy a few and plant the seeds, but many fruits are engineered for no sprouting seeds from what I can gather.)

Anyway, things are kind of looking up, a bit.

Peace and rainy days!

Let's just say that what you think you know, you never really know what folks are holding on to in their heads until all hell breaks lose. I'm very concerned about my partner, but I'm also just as concerned about my well-being and my home. The past two days have been like a nightmare come to the light of day for me and I only hope that Keith and I make it through this, together, but if so apart and all is well in the end. No details, I just had to write this down. I'm still trying to process all that has happened. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers please, We'll need it.

There is something to be said for trying new things. Why is it that we are met with such negativity when we suggest new things, radical things, challenging things? Take for example a food you once thought you hated. Keith hated egg whites and he would trade off with his brother who hated yolks. Well, one day, I made my oh so tasty egg McGinn, a family staple in the Ginn household and I made him one forgetting that he thought he couldn't stomach fried eggs due to the whites. Well, I brought it to him, and being his mother's son, he didn't say a word an ate it. And then asked for another. And it was to his surprise and mine as I was then reminded how much he hated egg whites. He actually enjoyed it and now asks me to make them on occasion. And then came the greens from this week. He abhors greens having been served turnip greens. That's all he'd ever tried and hated..but knowing that I'm a pretty good cook and believe in seasoning and herbs and the like, he got served a plate last night and he gobbled them up. Granted they were not turnip greens, but mustard and kale.

And then this morning, my friend Dustin exclaimed, regardless of the soreness he experienced as a result of his workout the past two days, that he actually enjoyed working out at the gym. He tried something he once thought he hated, because he put himself in the mindset that he knew it was good for him and that even though hard work, he actually enjoyed the results.

And then I started thinking. Why don't we try something different and new in our government, radical changes that affect us all, Equality for example. Let's just do it. Why fight to maintain old beliefs in systems that do not work and have created differential treatment of differently situated people. And what about education and health care and foreign policy? We have so many different ideas about these things and there is never going to be one solution that solves all problems. There never is, but there are some that TRY to and with thorough thought going into it, but we spend more time arguing over it rather than implementing change. Why are we so scared of change in our world? Why do we hold on to old ideals that no longer serve us as a nation? I think if we all stood back for a minute and said to ourselves, “You know what?! Why not!?” then we would be much better off, one in letting go, two in embracing the change, and three for the greater good of all rather than simply what serves the self best. Let's start thinking the greater WE instead of the singular ME. I'm game!

Okay, so I'm multi-tasking today...Peace Train is playing on the radio, the mustard/cale greens are on the stove (OMG they are smellin' goooooood!) and the mustard fennel rubbed pork loin is in the oven and I'm painting the kitchen. Big job. Two days now....three tomorrow. But tomorrow also I finisn the study. The kitchen (someone stole my camera so...I have to describe it.) is a haze green which is a gray green, very soft, but still with color...and the trim is a dark mustardy brown chocolate ocre color...very french in feel but that was just a byproduct of color choice. And it looks so much better than it did! OMG! The cabs are the same as trim, I might paint diamonds on the cab doors, but I might leave them. The hardware has to be removed and stripped and repainted a bronze.

The study? Well, it's going to be bone with black trim and doors with apple green curtains, bamboo shades and apple green desk. Yes. I'm in heaven! LOL

More to come. Gotta take Penny out to poo! HUGS!